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Chapter Seventeen
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"That bastard is staring at you again." The young woman with the fringe commented.
"Again?" Nina let out a disgruntled sigh.
She followed her friend's gaze to the lanky beach blonde man in the corner. He was staring at her, one hand in his jeans. Nina glanced away, disgusted.
"He thinks he has a chance with you."
"Me? With a fool like him? Never!"
"Koldan Markov. Twenty Three. Assassin. Russian." The dark haired woman said. "Likes to jerk off in public. What a catch." She said sarcastically.
Nina cackled. "What. A. Catch."
She saw the man get up from his table and head for the toilet. What an eyesore he was. She rejected him several times before and unfortunately ran into the same bars. This was the first time he had in hand in his pants though and she hoped never to see such a sight again. It was plain nasty.
"He's made you his entire world. Heard that he wants a Nina robot. I bet he has a shrine of you." Her friend attempted to sway her to kill the man. Nina was tempted. Really. She was.
"Still not going to get anywhere with me. I'm not into those sexual dom types who want to completely vanish into whoever they want to fuck. I love individuality and independence." Nina declared.
"Plus you're no one's bitch."
"Exactly. Neither are you."
They high fived each other over the table. A waiter came to their table for some odd reason. They didn't order drinks.
"It's on the house." The waiter said, putting a lot of colorful cocktails onto their table.
"What the fuck is this?" Her friend asked.
"Angels Tit, Sex with an Alligator, Bend Over Shirley and Blow Job."
None of the drinks were ever sampled by herself. Ever.
The fool who sent such foul titled drinks was definitely a horny bastard who was beneath their league. No man worth his salt would pull such a shitty stunt. Nina glanced around quickly to search for tell-tale signs. No one was giving them funny looks. But she already had a sneaking suspicion on who had the audacity to do such a thing.
"Who the hell sent this?" Nina questioned the waiter as he finished putting the last of the drink on the table.
Since she couldn't get a face, she wanted a name.
"Here's a note." The waiter said and place the note on their table. Then left.
Both assassins leant forward at the same time to read it. On it, was scribbled, "Baby, drink up. All the names is what I fantasize us doing. You can include your sexy friend too baby. Next time, I give you Anus Burner. Love, your Alligator, Koldon."
"That bastard really needs a good smack across the face." Nina huffed, fuming.
It was something her dad would have said and have done by now. The nineteen year old looked at her friend who also seemed disgusted as she was.
"Anus Burner…why is that even a drink? Damn this guy going all out for some freaky shit."
"Eun, he's a problem." Nina said. A big fat serious fucking problem.
Usually, she was not one to turn away free drinks but accepting bribes? Hell to the fucking no. Drinking all this would tell the guy that she was okay with being harassed by him. He would treat it as an invitation to force himself in her personal space. In her life.
She did not want to be chased out of bars she drank at because some horny shit made her uncomfortable. Her pride wouldn't let her be a coward. She honestly believed after many rejections, the tramp would leave her alone and move the fuck on.
"If only someone paid us to get rid of him." Eun muttered.
Nina and her friend shared a code of conduct. Only kill whom they were paid to and dispose of anyone who got in their way or tried to murder them.
"We have two codes to follow sadly." She sighed. She was a very disciplined girl. It got her to the top.
"Maybe it's time to insert a third code. Kill the sleaze."
"Fucking tempting code that is," Nina agreed.
"Why are you hot babes not drinking?" A thick Russian accent asked.
It belong to a man. Nina quickly jerked her to the side and saw Koldon helping himself to their table.
"I want us three to have fun tonight." He said, leering at them both. He then lifted both hands, made an 'O' and stuck a forefinger on the other hand. Then he pushed the forefinger into the O and thrusted as if it were a penis.
Nina resisted the urge to twist her face in utter disgust. She forced herself to put on an act.
"Open up your mouth, baby." Nina said sultrily as she picked up one of the shot glass.
"Wide." Eun added. "Wide open, baby."
She'd feed the so called Alligator the Alligator drink. How generous she was!
He complied. His mouth was wide open. She shoved the whole shot glass in, as much as it would go. He could choke on it, for all she could care. Biting more off than he could chew. Just like an Alligator. Her friend snorted in amusement and clapped.
"Piss off, creep." Nina hissed and then shot up from her seat.
Her friend did the same. They glared at him before leaving hurriedly. She heard him mutter some nasty slurs behind them. Nina stuck her middle finger over her shoulder, not bothering to look.
Once they were outside, they heard him call out. Oh god. He followed them outside as well! His desperation had no limits!
"Bitches, stop! Or I shoot!" He threatened.
He had a gun. She didn't have to turn around to know. Even if it was just being held, she knew that sound. The sound of it was all too familiar to her. She turned around. He approached her, gun pointed.
"Why you no give me fuck? I want fuck!" He said to Nina, stomping his foot like a child.
She looked at him in the eyes for the first time. Like a predator. His eyes were blue too but a paler shade. Dull and flat unlike hers. Like a cloudy grey color. She held his gaze until she was close enough to swiftly disarm the gun. Her dad said that always worked like a charm and it did. Always.
He was stunned that she even manage to pull off a stunt without breaking a sweat. She pointed the gun at him. He gasped and raised his hands as if to surrender.
How the fuck did this idiot ever become an assassin?
But it worked in her favor. She was the one holding the gun now.
"Don't piss off the lady with the gun." She warned him in a cold and deadly tone.
It sent shivers up his spine. Alligator. Pfft! No piece of shit man was anything before her.
He was rather tall but she could still reach his face thanks to those heels of hers.
Nina then did something amusing. She held out the gun for him. To take. So he reached for it. But swiftly, she pulled it back and slapped him across the face.
It was a loud thwack that echoed in the cold air. She held out the gun again. He reached for it again. Another slap echoed. Rinse and repeat. The idiot fell for it each time.
This allowed for her friend to sneak behind him. This so called 'Alligator's' attention was only on Nina. He really was obsessed with her. The stalker. His face was red as tomatoes.
When Nina had enough, she ended it with a pistol whip and her Korean friend delivered a hard knock against the back of his head which rendered him unconscious. She moved swiftly out of the way when he fell face first into the ground. Her friend kicked his ass.
"Bastard." She muttered.
Nina stomped her foot on him as if she was stubbing out a cigarette. Not that he was awake to feel the humiliation but she harbored a strong dislike for this loser. Hopefully he'd wake up with two dirty prints on his butt cheeks with the sting of shame and regret.
Nina awoke from her strange dream. She didn't know what to make of it other than why was she an assassin and who was the friend in her dream? It was such a vivid dream as well. Like a memory. It was odd that she dreamt of herself as this all powerful badass assassin.
Why else would Ogre choose you?
Nina inhales sharply. It is just a weird dream. She turns around and find Jin sleeping beside her. They were in their hotel room.
She sighs in relief. This was her life. Her new life.
That dream wasn't a memory. It was just a weird dream and hopefully the creep known as Alligator didn't exist.
Not wanting to get out of bed anytime soon, she rolls over to her side to face Jin. Nina takes the time to observe Jin's face as he slept. Propping herself on an elbow, she rests her cheek on her palm and looks down on the handsome young man. Studying the shape of his bangs, nose and how peaceful he seems. She looks at his lips and jawline. He truly was a handsome man and she wondered if he thought of himself as such. He never bragged about his looks.
He was in her life and they were close. They are happy.
Warmth floods her. She is glad he was in her life.
Hopefully it stays that way.
"Morning." She mumbles softly to Jin once he woke up. His eyes flutters open as he finds the beautiful blonde near him.
She notices a warm smile on his lips when he caught sight of her. It makes her smile too. Her hair is dishevelled but she still looks so magnificent.
"Morning." He returns kindly.
He looks into her eyes and speaks to her with them.
Nina watches those eyes of his convey a message that asks, 'you alright?'
She gave a slow blink as a 'yes' before waiting for his eyes to say something else to her. Jin continues to stare at her, nothing else in particular to say but just admiring her face, she surmises. It was like his morning is just made by seeing her first thing in the morning. She let her eyes move up and down as she memorizes the shape of his face while he's awake. Giving him a look that would make someone feel extremely important. It's a subtle hint she hopes he'd understand. Nina would never look at another soul like the way she looked at Jin. As if seeing him lit up her life, heart and soul. Those lips of his slightly curve up in a gentle smile.
She loves that kind of smile of his. She really does.
"Know what the plan is for today, Kazama?" She asks, running her fingers through his dark dishevelled hair and stroking him gently.
It is an odd gesture but he didn't flinch away so she continues.
"What is the plan for today?"
"Today…we go ziplining."
He turns to the phone on his desk and checks the time. Then tells Nina the time as he turns around. "We still have enough time for that."
He wanted nothing more but to lie in bed and enjoy the comfort of being here and with her. Like it was a lazy Sunday. She resumes stroking his hair again and he softly sighs, a hint to her that she made the right decision.
"Did you have a good dream?"
Having a good dream was rare as a blue moon for him but because of Nina's presence in his life, he did have good dreams here and there. His life wasn't always about bullets, blood and betrayal. It wasn't always about devils and chains.
He smiles again. "I had a dream that we were ziplining over Ras Al Khaimah. It was fun."
Another trip in the future for them. She smirks as she continues to stroke his hair.
"Sounds like a better dream than I had."
She hadn't meant to slip that out so easily but it couldn't be kept it. It didn't make sense and Nina wanted to make sense of her dream. Jin was full of wisdom and sense so perhaps talking to him about it would help her understand why.
"What did you dream about?"
"I was an assassin."
His eyes widens at that. It makes her sharply inhale.
"You were an assassin?"
"In my dream." She clarifies.
Then she tells him about the dream. About that unwanted attention the sleaze was giving her and how she slapped him silly. Jin has an amused smile on his lips.
"I wish I saw you slap him."
"Oh Kazama, would it be entertaining for you?" Her voice is slightly sultry as her eyes gleam.
The idea of Nina slapping someone was oddly enough, entertaining.
"I saw you slap that Marduk guy and I found that amusing." He confesses, his eyes smiling.
Jin really did love that about her. How she made something so offensive so funny. It was as if only she could pull of such a feat. She really was an interesting woman.
"But why would I dream of myself as an assassin? It doesn't make sense, Jin."
He remains quiet and tries to search for some already held knowledge in his mind that he wasn't sure he had. He read something about dream dictionaries before.
"Maybe it's just a manifestation of your inner feelings. Being an assassin may mean you had negative feelings about something." He suggests. "Against the awful man you slapped in your dream."
"Anna, my sister, told me that I had two jobs. One I was a skilled martial artist and two, I was just a secretary that bounced from job to job with no desire to build a stable career." Nina exclaims.
It was one of the reasons why she thought she could stomach the bartender role. Anna also mentioned that Nina preferred working with paperwork in the back office because she used to be extremely shy. It was a trouble of her getting employed as she often failed interviews and she used to get fired often.
She stops stroking his hair and seems lost in her thought. Jin glances at her and sees a hint of confusion in her eyes. He gently places a hand on hers which breaks her out of her trance.
"Why would Ogre pick me? A normal skilled martial artist who can't even keep a job to kill someone like you?" She suddenly asks.
Ogre. Jin grimaces at the mention of it. How come she was thinking of that beast? He was a nightmare Jin didn't want to think about at all. However, the mood set between them was too good to ruin because of this issue.
"Because you are strong. Just like the other fighters Ogre targeted." Jin replies, trying not to remember the loss of his mother.
But then again, Ogre took their lives. He was using Nina as a tool, Jin realizes. Ogre didn't take Nina like he took the others. Something was not quite right about that. Nina on the other hand seemed to accept Jin's explanation. It is a viable one. There is no other reason right? She was just the chosen one out of the other victims to be a weapon. The others sadly were not spared. She had certain skills the others didn't have. For killing purposes.
Sensing her unease, Jin decides to pull her out of the darkness and bring her into the light. He'd let her talk about it with him after she had a good holiday. There was something else he wanted to tell her too which would again have to be after their holiday.
"Don't worry about it. Let's just worry about today and having a good time together?" Jin tells her.
Words that she needed to hear at the moment. Nina nodded. Pushing the doubts to the back of her mind.
She wasn't an assassin.
She was Nina and her life wasn't filled with darkness. It would never be.
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A/N: Koldon Markov is based from the guy who plays Karl Vreski in Die Hard.
