PART TWO

SECOND MEETING -GUANGZHOU, CHINA

She adjusts the buckle of her boot and the reclining back of her seat. For cheaper seats, these were surprisingly nice. Tucking her sunglasses away into her bag she looked around. Really nice considering what she'd expected. Still, this was a job and she couldn't get too comfortable.

The chatter of people around her increases as the car fills with people. Flicking through a magazine she'd brought she watches as people pass her seat. Mostly they're Chinese with the odd foreign tourist and she notes the tour groups. There are a couple of clusters of young people she's not sure of just based on what she sees so she make a note to keep an eye on them incase they're trouble.

Finally, the doors close and the heating is turned up. Chinese, she's noticed, tends to go for extremes when it comes to indoor heating. Still, looking out at the drizzle coating a passing Guangzhou, she supposes she understands.

Seemingly perusing an interesting article, she listens to the gossip swirling around her. Her Cantonese is weak and her Mandarin is passable but she still catches some rumours of a strange group getting a private car. Interested, she flips the page and listens carefully to the speaker who is elaborating on the group. They're interrupted by a bang and a cheer, one of the groups she'd noticed before were causing a ruckus. Counting to ten, then thirty, they quiet but her source has changed subject.

Sighing, she removes the earpiece from it's hiding place in her coat and tucks it in, careful to adjust the fall of her hair to hide it. On the other end there's nothing but static. She doesn't know why she's surprised, this mission had been thrown together at the last minute. They hadn't even been sure that a team would be available, not that she's sure what they're stealing.


He pulls the stupid beanie off as soon as the doors close. Some of the uniformed guards turn and stare but he makes a point to ignore them. At least whoever wanted this thing had the sense to buy out a carriage. Ick. Remembering what had been fished out of the depths of the ocean would put him off seafood for a week.

His companion, a Chinese and English translator who specialised in science, kicked one of the many lead and steel lined suitcases scattered around the carriage. All of them were small enough for carry on and identical. From the outside. Inside all but one was packed with rocks. And that one that wasn't… well no one in here was getting the sushi.

"This is a terrible idea." Wally nodded for his companion, who was too busy kicking all the suitcases he could reach to notice. "We should not be here. We should be on a aeroplane far away from this." The translator flopped down beside Wally, anger draining from their pale face. They stilled for a moment, then went back to attacking the suitcases. Wally couldn't blame them. He'd seen the person who'd had contact with a piece of the… specimen, but his translator had had to talk to the victim. Side effects was to put it lightly. Fortunately for the two scientists, the victim was not able to be transported. Unfortunately, preliminary tests showed that some insulation and careful handling would be good enough to protect from the toxicity and radiation of the thing. So there they were. And as a sign of diplomacy Wally had been chosen as the nearest American scientist associated with the government to watch over this process of studying the… specimen which just had to include transporting it to Beijing.

Standing up and stretching he asked his translator about getting a snack. Distractedly, the translator told him about hot water in the carriage and a dining car further along. And well, they didn't happen to have any noodles.


"Hello? Is anyone there? Over." Tigress frowns to herself over the hot water dispenser. Whoever they'd gotten for this sounded like an amateur kid, which considering the amount she stood to make on this heist should be impossible.

Clutching her paper cup of hot water she pretended to answer her cell, lightly stepping through the aisle. "What."

"You're supposed to say over, over."

"What, kid." she snapped, dropping the bulb of specialty tea in the water. The bulb sank then slowly floated up, unfurling into a blossom and staining the steaming water.

The person on the other end muttered something unflattering then responded, "I've heard a rumor in the US embassy. There's supposed to be an American scientist watching over the cargo. Over."

"Any idea who?" Tigress sipped the steaming tea and tried to remember if she'd seen someone who wasn't Asian boarding the train.

"No, word is they grabbed whoever was closest. Over." The other person sighed over the line.

Tigress watched the flower twirl in the water for a moment. She wouldn't be able to find the cargo based on ethnicity then. For all she knew the scientist was visiting family here in Asia. "Do you know if they hired a translator?"

There was a long pause and Tigress wondered if it was too much of a long shot. "Yes. A translator was hired to work in Hong Kong, and they've received compensation. A lot of it, whoever it is is making almost as much as we're about to. And there's a note here that it's to be weekly until further notice. Over."

Tigress quickly gathered her things. It couldn't be too hard to find someone who didn't speak Chinese. Especially where there were culture clashes. "Got it, tell me if you find anything else. Good work, kid."

"Yes. Over and out."


Considering she's got basically nothing to go on, finding the guy she thinks is the scientist is stupidly easy. And to make things easier, by the linger of his eyes as she'd passed by, he was interested in her. She ducks into the bathroom first, and checked her makeup. She'd had to lighten her skin by a couple of shades to pass as Chinese and her hair had been professionally dyed dark brown. The light coloring was still intact and hadn't rubbed off, but the rush meant there was only time to do the top half of her body, relying on jeans and boots to disguise the rest of her.

Tugging her hair out of it's bun, she also took off her sweater to reveal a fitted turtleneck top. Next comes a ring with a small jewel, designed to incapacitate. She slips it on her first finger and makes sure the spike in it is securely tucked away. Finally, she's applying some minty gloss which has a particularly strong tingle. Shes found its a trick that's usually enough to fool people into thinking there's something there.

"This is transport, over. Come in, over." Oh great, another idiot.

"What?" She purses her lips and tries to ignore the burn in them.

"We are ready to receive the package ma'am."

"Well it's not ready yet." She fixed her hair so it doesn't look like she'd been in this bathroom having sex.

"Requesting ETA on package."

"I don't know, where are you?"

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you ma'am."

"Oh, get me your leader." Tigress tucked a set of poisoned darts into her boots. Paralysis poison, of course.

"Ma'am, the is the commander."

"Look I'm still following a lead on this thing. I don't know where it is, or how big it is. hell if they have decoys i'm sending the lot to you. So where is your vehicle."

"Ma'am we are tailing the train, out of sight. Our orders were to pick up the package which will be found along the train route."

"Great, is it just me getting the thing."

"We do not know ma'am."

"Whatever, I'll throw the package off the train. Make sure to grab it." Throwing the earpiece into her tote she zipped it up and pasted a pleasant expression on.


Agent West pouted over his coke, the frosty scenery passing by his table not doing much to help his mood. He hadn't been able to order anything else, the staff on the train didn't know enough English to tell him what was in the dishes. Not to mention, this whole mess made him miss Paris more than he'd usually expect, it felt so long ago. So when she had sat beside him at his little table, he hadn't made the moves he normally did.

"你了解我吗?" He looked at her, then down at her drink which had a flower floating on top. "优秀." Smiling, she placed a hand on his. "You look sad, would you like to speak about it?"

He laughed and took a swing of fizzy caffeine. "It's nothing. Just remembering someone."

"Ah," and something sad flickered in her eyes, "a lost love."

They were silent for a long moment.

"So, could you help me order something? I'm starving but my friend who was supposed to translate is asleep." Wally smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"Of course, what would you like?"

"Anything but seafood."


He felt better after eating, the conversation flowed easily over every topic that came to mind. The flower rested at the bottom of the cup and she was leaning in and laughing at his words. There was a slight pause where she looked straight at him and she slid even closer until her eyelashes practically brushed his glasses.

"You have green eyes," she whispered, as though it were both a surprise and a secret. His lips tingled.

Swallowing he tried to speak, but then she was kissing him, a butterfly light press of her lips on his.

She pulled back, hands going to her mouth then dropping to her lap and she slid away on the seat so there was actually space between them.

"I am.." He kissed her, the cool tingle lingering on him from their chaste contact. She slid one hand behind his neck and must have been wearing a ring because something stabbed into the back of his neck.


Tigress arranged the unconscious body to suggest that he was just looking out the window and stuck him with a paralysis dart just to be sure he'd stay down. Idiot.

Cute idiot, now that she'd seen past the blue hair and red brows. If she wasn't working... getting up she threw away her cup and his tray, wiping away her fingerprints from the table and seat. hesitating at the exit of the car, she looked back to see no one paying any attention to either of them.

Digging out the earpiece and a canister of knockout gas she stepped toward the car she'd gotten out of her target.

"Transport, stand by for delivery."


First of all, this is unedited, I'm just getting it all out and the whole thing will be edited next month. Second, not really feeling the love but whatever. If I did this for attention then there'd be no point. Third, yes it is unrealistic. No not the train, that's about right, everything else.

Translations: "Do you speak Chinese?" "Good/Excellent."

Next chapter, next Monday. Some encouragement would be nice.

Oh, fun fact that might explain some stuff: all those real life places are based on my memories of them, so... Guangzhou should be about right but Paris is probably quite off.