Vera laughed at Lily as she paced around the room, going off on another tangent of angry spells toward the man she was dealing with.

"Vera, I'm not laughing." she chucked her heel at her.

"I know you're not but damn I am." she laughed. "These moments with you are hilarious."

"I'm glad you find hilarity." she stormed over to the table, slamming her bag down.

"Ever since you've been working for Braginski, you have had these fits at least twice a day. Heck, I think I should record them and see what the internet thinks."

"If it wasn't for my job, I would have popped him by now."

"Oh, come on, don't tell me Ivan Braginski isn't that-" Vera couldn't even finish her sentence as she busted out in laughter.

"You know it is. Since day one it's been nothing but 'Why don't you be a good girl and organize those papers with Toris.' or 'Keep your nose where it belongs and not on my desk.' or wait how about this one, 'You sure you are dressing best?' as my ass pops out every time I bend the hell over for anything!"

For the last two weeks Lily, had done the man's bidding and didn't argue with anything he told her to do. What irritated her was the fact he wouldn't let her fully work on things, especially the Krokodil.

Well, what little he knew was better for her as well. Lily had been secretly gathering intel like mad and finally had enough for Vera to nab one of the biggest dealers and makers. She was quite proud of herself snooping under his large nose. Heck, she was humming the Mission Impossible theme during it.

Vera sighed as she wiped her eyes, "Ok, now that you have made my sides ache, it's time for us to head to the theatre."

"True. Give me a moment to escape this outfit." Lily stated, wanting to rid the day away.

Lily's headache was just the beginning of a new once she got to the theatre, the actors practically did what they wanted and ignored her at every turn as Vera searched for the programs and documents for the group.

"Once again, from the top." she said for the umpteenth time.

Viktor, their one partner in the small program, shouted her words in Russian to them finally getting them to listen.

"I hate to break bad news but I think the folder is at the apartment. I'll run and get it." Vera said, gathering her bag.

"Are you sure dearie? It's not here in the back office?" Lily questioned.

"Net. I checked everywhere. I think I left them on my desk. I'll be right back. You have issues use Viktor." and with that Vera was out the door.

"Grand." Lily mumbled to herself.

A set of sour notes and a thud caught her attention. Glancing up she saw the one actress was dropped on her bottom and the chorus looked at Lily in worry.

"Are you fucking kidding me? Of all things, you do that? Anna, are you alright?" Lily shouted.

"Da." came the mousy voice.

"How hard is it to keep together and stay on the right path with everything? We have gone over this whole scene for days now and yet not one of you have it right!"

"Hmph!" the lead actress crossed her arms and glared at Lily, finally blasting her with a string of Russian so fast that she could barely catch up with it.

"Enough!" Lily slammed her fist down on the table.

"Lily." Viktor spoke up.

"Yes?"

"She's saying you can't understand what they are doing. The piece is too hard for them." he explained, "She said you have no place to talk. You can't do anything Russian, especially in the play."

Lily's blood boiled to its max. "I can't do Russian stuff? Fine then, shoo! All of you, off to the sides. I'm coming up."

The cast scattered to the sides, letting Lily have the stage's limelight. Cracking her neck, she gave a small sigh and nodded to the pianist. If she could do one thing Russian, it was this. And she could thank her whispers and dreams for this. As the gentle melody lifted in the air, Lily felt as if she was being watched by unseen eyes. One that was curious of her, and another that wanted her dead. Shaking her head, she let the music take her to the dreams as she began to sing.

"Bozhe moy." Ivan whispered as Lily began to sing Bayushki Bayu.

Iryna sang that song to him after the fall of the Soviet and WWII, along with...no he refused to think of them. It was a painful past he hated to relive.

The sweet lullaby filled the air as Lily hit every note perfectly and spoke Russian as if it was her natural tongue. To say he was intrigued with her was an understatement, he was slowly becoming infatuated with the honey blonde. She was a wild spirit that brought trouble to him, but he found it fun to tease her.

His phone pulled him away from Lily as it vibrated impatiently in his pocket.

"Allo?" He answered, annoyed at the interruption.

"It's me sir." Eduard replied, "I tracked down the source and where their next target is."

"Good, you know what to do."

"That's the thing. It came from the house and tracked to an apartment. I think someone didn't heed your warning."

Ivan's blood ran cold, "Gde?"

"I'm sending out a request for officers-"

"Gde?!" Ivan gritted out.

"Exactly where you think."

Ivan looked down to the stage, listening to Lily finish the lullaby. Why couldn't she have just listened to him in the first place?

"I'll be back later then." Ivan said ending the call and making his way for the door.

He had to beat them there. No doubt about it. He just prayed he was fast enough.

"Viktor, has Vera come back at all tonight?" Lily asked picking up the last script.

"Net."

"Odd." She pondered, "Wonder where she went?"

"Knowing her, she got caught with other stuff." Viktor reassured her.

"I guess you're right. Alright then, have a good night Viktor. Do svidaniya." She said walking to her apartment.

"Do svidaniya." He replied.

Lily was still wondering what Vera could be up to. Only thing that crossed her mind was the fact of the Krokodil. Maybe things got better on the branch end. She hoped in her case after gathering all she did.

The eerie sensation of being watched sent a cold chill down her spine. Glancing around, she saw nobody around the neighborhood, but the sensation just got stronger. Rushing as fast as she could to the building, Lily threw herself through the doors, running to her apartment door. She fumbled her keys, dropping them to the ground.

"Bollocks." she whispered, bending to get them.

A small breeze caught her attention as it caressed her cheek. Looking at the wooden door, she noticed that it wasn't fully shut.

"Vera?" she said pushing it open. "Vera, darling, where are you?"

Lily slowly made her way into the small space. Noting seemed out of place. Everything seemed to be the same as they left. Vera's purse and keys sat on the table, pure sign her friend was home. She looked for any other sign of her friend, the only life she could recognize was Whiskey's meowing from the bedrooms.

She shook her head, "Work tire you out that much? Didn't think you'd nap on a rehearsal night Vera."

Lily entered the bedroom, the calm she had died abruptly as a strong copper scent hit her. She didn't have to go far to find the source. Horror filled her as a scream built up in her throat. She couldn't be seeing this, no, not Vera. This only happened in movies, not real life. Yet, there she was. Her throat viciously slashed ear to ear, her still chest soaked with the crimson liquid. Her hands, arms and legs covered in cuts in defense. Vera's sweet blues were now dull and staring right into Lily. Almost like it was Vera telling Lily it was all her fault it happened to her.

She finally let out the scream, only to be muffled by a hand and cloth. Lily fought the intruder, screaming against them, thrashing herself around, doing whatever she could to escape the hell she witnessed. Cold Russian was growled into her ear as a blade met her neck. She choked back a sob as she struggled against them. A sudden pain ravaged her head, slowly her world became a blurred fog. Yells and scuffling broke out around her as she slumped to the ground. She watched through blurry eyes as the assailant was fighting a monster of a person, only to lose as a long object met them. For a moment, Lily accepted this fate. She had sealed it after disobeying, now Vera was dead and so was she.

The tall figure came over to her, inaudible, garbled words were spoken as she finally fell into the darkness. The last sight she had was someone's violet eyes.