A/N - Here is the chapter eight years in the making. Fluff, action, Corleone being a bastard...I hope it was worth the wait. First full chapter of any fanfiction I've written in the last five years. The action writing is a little skimpy, but that's partially on purpose here. Please forgive any typos. This is unbeta'd - fair warning.
YOU ONLY DIE TWICE
Part One: Cyclical History
CHAPTER THREE: Old Friends
1.
Kristýna Kavelek's son was five years old, but his mind was lightyears beyond a normal five-year old's. He had already begun third grade, despite his age, and he was even bored in that advanced setting. Kristýna had considered home-schooling the boy, but she had to work, and finding a tutor for such a precocious student had proved to be somewhat of a challenge. But it wasn't just his brain that set Alfonso apart; there was also his talent.
Kristýna sat in a comfortable chair in the housing unit she rented and watched her son sit at the family piano. It was an old player piano, which had once belonged to Kristýna's grandmother, and over the years, the sound had been dampened and muted slightly, but the boy could make it sound like an instrument she had never heard in her life. The way his arms moved back and forth across the keys was poetry in action, hypnotizing her as the dancing waves and bends of the arms painted a picture, one only enhanced by the enchanting music coming out of the instrument. The melody was one she had known her entire life, and yet was brand new. Her son expressed his soul through wood, ebony, ivory, and metal strings.
He had begun playing the piano at age three, and Kristýna had done whatever she could to ensure he had some kind of training. Not that he particularly needed it. The boy was content playing the music that sprung from the well of his imagination. He composed his own music, and he was only ever getting better.
And yet, Kristýna feared the day that was drawing nearer, a public recital which had been conceived of and encouraged by the boy's piano teacher. In the Soviet State of Czechoslovakia, those with gifts such as his were considered to be assets of the state, an idea which had caused Kristýna many sleepless nights. Already the boy's teacher had suggested placing him in the School of Stolyarsky, a famed Ukranian school for boys with gifts like Alfonso's.
Perhaps she could hold onto him despite his talent for music. He was all she had left of Vaclav, and all that reminded her of him. He was gone, and yet he lived on through his son and heir. The thought of losing him and the last tie to her late husband petrified Kristýna. And thus, there was one talent she had noticed in the boy which she knew absolutely had to be kept secret. One, if displayed, which would surely cause the state to tear the family apart in their efforts to educate their rightful "asset".
The Cold War between the Soviet Republic and the United States had not been fought on traditional battlefields. Instead, it had been fought with white bishops and black queens; with gambits and sacrifices and checkmates. It had been fought with chess.
If Alfonso had any gift that possibly surpassed his aptitude for music, it was his gift for chess. A gift Kristýna knew she would keep secret at any cost.
2.
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. Amy's foot couldn't seem to sit still as she sat on the plane to France. Corleone had set up the meeting in a base Lucy was familiar with in the Alps. Amy couldn't explain why the pit in her stomach was threatening to weigh the plane down and send it crashing to the Earth below, but she had a bad feeling about the whole trip.
She often swore that she shared brainwaves with Lucy, and this was one such occasion, as she was brought out of her nervous thoughts by a hand resting on her knee. Lucy's touch had a calming effect on her and her foot stopped its incessant rhythm. She looked at her girlfriend and mustered up a smile, biting her bottom lip in a slight show of nerves.
"It was that obvious, huh?"
"Your foot was keeping a pretty fast and steady beat there. You've got some natural rhythm for a government agent," Lucy said, a smirk lighting up her face. If Amy was forcing her smile before, it suddenly became genuine. Lucy's smiles were contagious,
and Amy had definitely caught the bug.
"Yeah, well, they do teach us some basic dance at the academy. It helps with flexibility, and there's a lot of overlap with martial arts."
"And what are the uniforms for dance class? They make you wear the plaid skirt or do you change into something a bit more form-fitting?" Lucy's smile grew wicked and spread even wider. Amy's felt heat on her cheeks and knew she was blushing. "What?" Lucy laughed.
"Why is it important?"
"Just humor me. I'm curious, that's all."
"No, we didn't have to wear the skirts, and you know that. They let us wear movement clothes," Amy replied.
"So, what exactly are you talking about? I'm picturing black, form-fitting pants? Maybe spandex?"
"Something like that."
"So, how come the most I've ever seen is your sports bra when we spar? Dress up and show me some of those dance moves when we get home? I promise I'll do my best to keep up."
"You dance? Like more than slow-dancing? First you spring the fact that you play guitar on me and now you're telling me you dance?" Amy asked, incredulously. "What other hidden talents are you keeping from me?"
"Well, there's a little thing I can do with my tongue that I've been dying to try out," Lucy responded, and for the second time in as many minutes, Amy's face turned red from top to bottom. She couldn't help but let out a soft laugh, one which Lucy soon joined with her own.
"What are you two schoolgirls giggling about?" asked Scud, sitting with Janet in the seats behind Lucy and Amy. "Here I am enjoying my Mr. Pibb and peanuts and there's a joke you're keeping from me? I want in."
"It's nothing, Scud," Lucy said, dismissively. "Go back to Janet and your airline peanuts."
"I will, thank you very much. And get serious, girls. Need I remind you we're on a mission here?"
"Shh!" Janet said, admonishing her fiancé, headphones on and watching the airline movie, some animated movie about a Viking and a dragon that Lucy had no interest in,
"Something just happened with Toothless and I missed what they said."
"Toothless?" Scud responded. "What are you talking about?"
"Shh!" Janet repeated, louder than before, placing a finger on Scud's lips. Scud stared at the finger, flabbergasted, and simply remained quiet, eliciting a curt "Thank you," from Janet.
Lucy turned back to her girlfriend, with a more serious look on her face. She felt for Amy's hand and took it in her own. "So, are you still nervous?"
"No, I think I'm calmer now," Amy responded, "thanks you you." She squeezed Lucy's hand, reassuringly. Her insides were still roiling with the thoughts of what this visit with Corleone might entail, especially with the Shaffers back in the picture, but she was determined to present a calm exterior. She was the perfect score, after all, and confidence was as important on a mission as anything else.
"All I'm doing is going to talk with him. Nothing more," Lucy said. "In and out. No guns, no fights, nothing like that. Just peaceful discourse."
"Discourse?" Amy laughed. It was an odd choice of words
"What? Aren't I allowed to have a vocabulary?"
"Are you sure that you're not the slightest bit nervous either? You can tell me if you are, you know that."
"Of course I am," Lucy responded, matter-of-factly. A steely look suddenly formed on her face. "I am nervous, I am furious, I don't know how to name half the emotions that are flooding through me. The Shaffers are still alive and Corleone is somehow involved, I know he is. And I just don't know what I should feel about any of it. And the fact that you're here and Scud and Janet – that only makes me more nervous. I'd much rather be the only one going. That way, if things go south, it would only be me at risk."
Amy frowned. Lucy had a tendency to pull away from other people when she needed them most. She had done it during the fight with Chastity, when she had made Amy promise to stay home, and it had nearly gotten both of them killed. Had she learned nothing? "I don't even want to think about you at risk without backup. Luce, we all need other people to help us out, even you. There's a strength in numbers. We all love you, and that's why we're all here?"
"You love me?" Lucy asked coyly, sashaying her shoulders slightly in her seat.
"What kind of a question is that? You know I do."
"I know. I just like hearing it is all."
Amy smiled. She couldn't help it, Lucy was just being so damn cute. She leaned over and gave her girlfriend a quick peck on the lips.
"There's still thirty minutes left to the flight. What say you and I forget about the nerves, get a little nap and make sure we're rested for whatever happens?" Amy suggested.
"Deal."
Once they touched down in Nice's Côte d'Azur airport, they had to catch a shuttle to get to the resort in the Alps where the group would be staying the night. Finally, after a couple hours of a bus ride, they had arrived. Lucy was more thankful than she had ever been to be off a bus. After hours of sitting either waiting for transportation or on the plane/bus, she was tired of sitting. Being static only made the nerves grow, and the butterflies in Lucy's stomach had threatened to bust free of their membranous walls if she hadn't been able to walk around in the fresh air much longer.
When they had arrived at the lodge, it had taken a lot for Amy to convince Lucy not to go skiing right then and there. Despite the fact that they needed to hurry up to make the scheduled meeting with Corleone, the snow beckoned to Lucy, who had spent years in the French mountains while with Pink Thunder. It was a second home for her, and she had vowed to return to the lodge after her meeting with the crime boss and make the trip down the mountain. Skis or snowboard, it didn't matter. Lucy Diamond was going to conquer this mountain once again.
Now, Amy and Lucy stood before an unassuming building only a mile from the ski lodge. Lucy paused and looked at Amy, wondering for the thousandth time today alone just how it was possible that Amy looked so darn cute bundled up in her down jacket with her hat and mittens. She was Lucy's little snow bunny, and Lucy snaked an arm around her shoulders as they stood in front of the building.
"Are you ready?" Amy asked. Lucy nodded an affirmation. "Good. I'll stay out here, like we discussed."
Corleone was not expecting Amy, and she was the wild card in the scenario. Lucy was certain that Corleone had cameras outside, and so he would be aware of Amy's presence. Still, stationing the DEB outside the base would assure that any plans to ambush Lucy after she stepped inside would be nullified, and if things got messy inside, Amy would be ready to step in and help out. Back at the lodge, Scud and Janet were keeping an eye on both of the girls through cameras carefully hidden in their hair.
"Ready to get this game afoot?" Scud asked through the receiver in Lucy's ear.
"Yeah, Scud we're good to go."
"Good, 'cause we've almost run out of cheesy balls waiting for you two to get there," added Janet.
"Wouldn't want to come between a girl and her empty barrel of cheese balls," Amy said, laughing. "How much of those did you eat and did Scud get any?"
"No comment," replied both Scud and Janet simultaneously, eliciting another laugh from both Amy and Lucy.
"Okay, now, down to business, time for serious faces," Scud said, "Luce, you ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be." Lucy kissed Amy briefly. "Stay safe."
"You too," she said before letting go of her girlfriend.
Lucy threw open the door of the facility and walked in. She knew the facility well. It was one of Corleone's multi-use bases, not just Pink Thunder had quarters here, but his other ventures as well, with other, even less shady individuals. She walked past a room with a UFC style octagon, where she saw two tall and heavily muscled men fighting out of her periphery. She passed the door that led to her old sleeping quarters, where she had first really gotten to know Chastity LeFleur. Bad memories all around.
She arrived at the office of the man she once regarded as the equivalent of a second father. Through the glass she could see the man hard at work on a computer. She stepped away from the door, sure she hadn't been seen.
"How's everything outside, Amy? Scud, anything out of the usual?"
"All clear," Amy responded, as did Scud in kind.
"All right, I'm about to meet with him. Let me know if anything happens."
Lucy opened the door and stepped forward. The serpentine man's head immediately swiveled in her direction and fixed her with a gaze that sent shivers of apprehension coursing through Lucy.
"Lucy Diamond," Corleone hissed in his Czechoslovakian accent, "It is a pleasure to see you in the flesh again."
"Actually, since I gave up crime, it's Lucy Reynolds now. You know, like Robert Reynolds? Or have you forgotten him just like you forgot your promise to me?" Lucy spat. She meant to hear the man out, truly, she did, but there were a few things she needed to get off her chest before she was able to do so.
"You are mad?" Corleone asked, seeming genuinely surprised.
"Of course I'm mad, you tricked me all those years ago. I owe you nothing. I don't even know why I'm here today."
"You are here today because of your concern about D.E.B. currently stationed outside my base."
At the words, Lucy took a step forward, a protective fury flaring in her eyes. "If you harm one –"
Corleone put a dismissive hand in the air. "Do not worry. Amy is safe for now. As was promise. I did hope you would come alone, but that is of little worry. As for Robert and promise, I have already told you, I know as much as you about Shaffers' reappearance. I thought family had been taken care of. Seems operatives lied to me. You know assassin I sent after family – you two did have a past, after all."
"Chastity?" Lucy asked. Even in death her psychotic ex haunted her.
"The same. I trusted her, and she betrayed both of us, it seems. Do you believe me?"
Lucy paused, considering the new information. She couldn't trust a word that came out of Corleone's mouth, and she knew she certainly couldn't trust this information to be completely and genuinely accurate. But if it was, it explained a lot. There was a possibility that Corleone was indeed telling the truth here. And if he was, it did explain things quite well.
"Let's say I do believe you. So you're telling me you took her at her word and did no follow up? Why did they stay underground? Why are they coming out now?"
"Your guess is as good as mine. And no, I did not do reconnaissance on Charitine's mission. She was second-in-command, and until shortly before her," he paused smiling, a smile which instantly put Lucy at unease, "untimely death, I did not have reason to suspect her intentions. For now, I have best agents at my disposal looking into reappearance of Shaffers. I will be in contact about situation with you."
"Let's cut to the chase, shall we?" Lucy asked
"Straight to business. I always did like you, Lucy. I need you to do a favor for me."
"I surmised as much. This is old information, Doc."
"Yes, well, to get down to matter at hand, I require you to go inside DEBS organization. A task that you are uniquely well equipped to handle." Lucy's face furrowed as she considered this in apprehension. Why did it seem that every time Corleone required Lucy's services that he was setting her up against Amy?
"You better not, Lucy. If you do this and Max finds out, it's your funeral," Scud said in her ear.
"Hey, that's the last cheese ball," Janet said.
"How many have I had and how many have you had?"
"Anyway, I agree with Scud, even if he is a cheese ball stealing pirate," Janet added.
"You can tell those you're in communication with that you are not spying on DEBS for me," Corleone said. Lucy's mouth opened a bit, not for the first time, he somehow appeared nearly omniscient. He motioned to the computer. "Base is set up to detect outgoing transmissions. We have known you were talking over encrypted channels since you arrived. It is of no concern. I'd have been disappointed if you hadn't come prepared."
He motioned to a seat across from him near the desk. Cautiously, Lucy sat down. "So, what exactly is it that you want me to do with the DEBS?"
Corleone smiled that sickening smile. "I merely need you to pass on information for me." He retrieved a manila folder from within a drawer and slid it to Lucy across the desk. "Starting with this. Go on, read."
And read Lucy did, opening the folder and looking at the contents. She let in an audible gasp as she looked at the pictures and the documents. It couldn't be. Why would Corleone ask her to pass this on? What was the catch?
"Am I looking at what I think I'm looking at? Or am I literally going as crazy as Corleone?" asked Scud, "What the hell?"
"You want me to pass on information about your own operatives?" Lucy asked, dumbfounded. This defied logic. Why would Corleone sabotage his own organization? "This has to be fake, right?"
"It is quite genuine, Lucy," Corleone replied, letting out a single hissing laugh. "There are rogue agents in my midst, and I need your help in getting situation under control."
"I don't believe that for a second," Lucy said sharply. She shut the folder and slid it back across the table. "I don't know what you're planning, but I want no part of it."
Corleone pressed a button on the computer.
"Lucy, we might have some trouble. Two armed men approaching from the Southeast," came Amy's voice.
Lucy rose indignantly, throwing the wheeled chair backwards in the same motion. "You said no harm would come to her."
"Stick to rules we laid out and no harm will come to her. Do we have a deal?" Corleone asked. Lucy hesitated.
A shot rang out over the communication device in my ear. "Amy!" Lucy yelled out, suddenly fearful.
"I'm okay, Lucy. It was a warning shot. But they're not playing. I can handle them, if I need to," Amy's voice replied.
Lucy paused, she didn't trust Corleone as far as she could throw him, and she had no doubt in Amy's abilities, but she could end this showdown with one word.
"I'll do it."
"Good," Corleone replied. He pressed another button on the computer.
"They're retreating, Lucy."
"You bastard."
"A man is only as good as actions he is willing to take to ensure outcomes," Corleone responded, slightly monotone. "No more, no less."
Lucy knew his real name – Kavelek – but he had earned the nickname the world knew and feared with his penchant of making deals no one could refuse. If this was his mantra, Lucy thought, it was one he lived by every minute of his life. Cold, calculated, and five steps ahead – that was Corleone.
He slid the folder back to Lucy and waved a hand at the chair she had thrown back. He waited patiently as she retrieved it and sat back down, aggravated at both Corleone and herself. She constantly found herself at a disadvantage against the man. She longed for the day when she could face him on her own playing field and flip the script on the man. She had no doubt that there was something fishy in his scheme, but at the moment she had no choice but to agree.
"So, it is decided. You will bring this to DEBS headquarters in Los Angeles. You will not tell Petrie who gave you information, only that it was anonymous source. I will be in further contact with more information."
"You're turning informant against your own team," Lucy said in disgust, shaking her head. "I hope whatever your endgame is, that it's worth it."
"There is no endgame, Lucy, I hope you realize this." He was lying. Lucy knew it, even if she could do nothing about it.
"How long am I to stay your liaison?" Lucy asked.
"Until I no longer need you. Then third favor is fulfilled and you are no longer in my debt."
Grabbing the folder, Lucy rose once more and exited, relieved to be leaving Corleone's disturbing presence.
"Always charming to see you, Lucy Diamond," Corleone hissed, his voice following Lucy out the door. She shivered for a brief second before a nostalgic half-smile brightened her face upon seeing two tall, brawny Russian women walking through the facility, talking animatedly to each other.
"Tiny! Smalls!" Lucy greeted the twins by their nicknames, descriptions completely antithetical to their actual Amazonian appearance.
The twins turned in Lucy's directions and huge smiles lit the faces of both women. "Lucy!" they said in unison. They ran to her and enveloped her in a bone-crushing three-way bear hug.
"We missed you like bear!" said Tiny. Or was it Smalls? Lucy was never entirely sure.
3.
Scud returned to the lodge thirty minutes after Lucy's meeting with Corleone had ended, grocery bag in hand. He knocked on the door of the room he shared with Janet, who answered the door and snatched the grocery bag out of his hand.
"You got it?" She asked, placing the bag on the table and grabbing the new cheese ball container.
"Of course I did. I felt bad about eating the last of them." It wasn't necessarily the truth, but it would mollify his fiancée. She had an unusual craving for the orange rice snacks today, and Scud was afraid that if he hadn't gotten her a refill that he would have found himself on the receiving end of countless glares the rest of the day. And he had found that nothing on this planet was quite so bone chilling as a glare from Janet.
"Everything still pretty quiet? Have they gotten back yet?" Scud asked.
"Yeah, they stopped in a few minutes ago. Lucy's going to go out and try and," Janet paused, before doing a spot-on impersonation of the ex-criminal mastermind "Conquer the mountain."
"She always did enjoy this place back when she was in Pink Thunder. Does Amy ski?"
"A little. One of the things she wasn't Little Miss Perfect at," Janet responded.
"Well, I'm sure Lucy will take the opportunity to teach her. Either skiing or snowboarding – depends on Lucy's mood. She tends to snowboard her anger away. If she's happy, it tends to be skis – they remind her of time she used to spend skiing with her dad."
"Sometimes I think you know her better than she knows herself," Janet said, settling down on the bed with her cheese ball trophy and beckoning Scud to join her, something he was more than happy to do as they snuggled together.
"Are you ready to be Mrs. Smolinski?" Scud asked. His last name was something only known by Janet, Lucy and the government. He preferred it that way.
Janet's face crinkled. "Janet Smolinski? Really? I thought we'd gone over this. Why don't you take Carmody? Scott Carmody sounds better than Janet Smolinski. And everyone just knows you by Scud anyway."
"I'll think about it," Scud said as he attempted to sneak a hand inside the cheese ball container and grab a snack. His attempts were greeted by a swift slap.
"Mine!"
"Ow! That actually kind of hurt!"
"Want me to kiss it and make it better, cupcake?"
"Yes…" he responded, and Janet put down the container, grabbed his arm and held it near her mouth.
"Tell me where it hurts," she said seductively. She kissed his forearm.
"Actually, I think it's higher up. Near my shoulder," Scud said, it was turning into a game. As Janet kissed up his shoulder and neck, Scud's attentions were drawn to the surveillance feeds of the hotel he had hacked into with his computer. "Janet," he said, but she hadn't heard him. He moved away from her kisses, which clearly disgruntled the girl, but he had no choice. He pointed to the screen. "Janet! Incoming!"
Two men were walking down the hallway towards Janet and Scud's room. As he looked out the window for a possible exit, he noticed another two. Scud didn't have to see weapons to know they were bad news. He recognized the men. What were the Shaffers doing here?
Lucy walked towards the ski rental shop, hand in hand with Amy. Her mind was still on her meeting earlier with Corleone. What did he want? What was the game? Why on Earth was he having Lucy rat out his own operatives. None of this made any sense. If there was trouble within any of Corleone's organizations, surely he could deal with them himself.
While Lucy was distracted by her thoughts, Amy seemed distracted by something else entirely. She kept glancing behind her. Lucy squeezed her fiancée's hand, "Hey, if you're nervous about trying out snowboarding, we'll go slow, alright?"
"It's not that," Amy said, brushing off Lucy's concerns. "Luce, I think we're being followed."
Lucy swiveled her head to look behind them, and sure enough, Amy was right. Even worse, Lucy knew the three middle-aged women who walked behind them. "Amy, keep calm, laugh like I just said something funny." Amy laughed on cue, God, that laugh was so cute. Lucy brushed the thoughts away from her mind; she couldn't afford them right now. "Behind us are Susan, Linda and Cynthia Shaffer. Are you armed?"
"I have still have my Glock on me."
"Good," Lucy replied, improvising a plan in her head. "We'll split them up. When I give you the signal, run for cover and prepare yourself." Lucy paused, continuing to walk until she came up behind a man in a ski cap carrying a snowboard on his shoulder. "Now!" she shouted.
Lucy grabbed the snowboard from the man, capturing so quickly the man had no time to react.
"Hey!" He shouted.
"I'll return it, I promise!" She shouted. Amy ran towards cover behind a nearby shed as Lucy hopped on the board and started down the mountain. She had to try to get the Shaffers away from the crowd. She heard gunshots behind her. Turning her head briefly, she saw Susan and Cynthia following her. Linda must have stayed behind to deal with Amy. Great. Now all she had to do was survive the decline with two homicidal bitches behind her who clearly wanted her dead.
She zipped down the mountainside as fast as the board could take her, swerving to avoid trees. She didn't have the luxury of looking behind her as she tried to avoid all the scenery. No one was in front of her and for good reason. She quickly came up on a yellow sign that warned her of a cliff in front of her a ways. Lucy started to turn in order to avoid it.
A loud boom rang out, reverberating around the mountain. Sparing a quick look behind her, Lucy noticed the Shaffer women were nowhere to be seen. She hadn't realized she'd lost them. Her focus then caught on something of much bigger concern. This suddenly just got much harder.
As Janet jumped out the second story window to deal with the goons outside and split up their attention, Scud scrambled to find a very specific box within his luggage. Unzipping his rolling suitcase, he smiled wickedly as he came across the box. He undid the clasps and opened it up. Inside the padding were nestled his babies.
He picked both objects up and placed them on the bed. He then grabbed the remote as the door opened.
"Get down!" yelled one of the Shaffers. Scud didn't know his name, but he had seen the man before. He had greying blonde hair, and a severely pronounced widow's peak. His teeth were crooked, and he was missing one of his incisors. Lucy had personally delivered the blow that knocked out the tooth, Scud remembered fondly.
He pressed a button on the remote, and held his arms out, bent at the elbows, palms up, and perpendicular to his body on either side. The motors whirred to life, and before the Shaffers could react, the twin spherical ORBS (Operator-independent Real-time Battle Servo-controlled robots; ORBS worked better than OIRTBSCRs, Scud reckoned) sprang to life in the air and aimed their automated weapons at the Shaffers, who were stunned into stillness in response.
Ever the movie buff, Scud couldn't help himself. He'd been saving this particular quote in his back pocket until he got to use his new toys. "Say hello to my little friends."
Just then, the Earth shook beneath them, knocking Scud and the two Shaffers off-balance. He turned his head and glanced out the window. The ORBS had this. Janet was fine, and had already knocked out one of the goons, while she had the other on the ropes. That was his girl. As the ORBS did their job, and Scud heard the Shaffers drop their weapons, he saw it. The snow started to slide down the mountain. It was an avalanche.