A Viper's Poison
.:Angelgrl185:.
Thank you for the wonderful reviews of Chapter Eight!
((I do not own Sailor Moon or any of its components))
Special thanks to: DarkParis, Serena, Allison, serenaclutz, FallenOne, StArFiRe2016 and Rockfreak2003 for their reviews of Chapter Nine!
(And yes DarkParis, Serena is no longer going to kill Darien and take the five mil.)
Previously on A Viper's Poison:
"I am the Viper, Seiya, no one gets in my way." Serena said coldly.
"He did once Serena, fortunately that was a good thing, the next time however, it could ruin the mission. Do not let that happen. Darien would willingly sacrifice his life to save the world." Seiya said. Serena looked at him coolly.
"You don't have to worry about that." She said before brushing past him and out of the room.
"Do I Serena?" Seiya said to himself, "I think I do."
Chapter Ten: Bargaining Lives
Serena joined the other girls downstairs, walking into the equipment room with an air of anger. The other girls looked at each other questioningly, wondering what had happened between her and Seiya that made her so upset. Serena walked briskly up to Amy and stopped.
"Cobra, do you have the equipment ready?" she asked, her voice a little forced.
"Yes Viper, if you all will come over to the table I have set up, I will explain everything." Amy replied, motioning to the table to her left.
The five women walked towards the table and surrounded it, waiting patiently for Amy to explain the items.
"This is a communication device." Amy started, picking up four silver watches, handing them out before moving up her sleeve and showing her own. "These will reach any one of us no matter where you are in the entire world. They work on the satellite network so they are advanced, you'll get good picture, no lag and excellent reception." She explained.
"The button on the left side changes the face of the clock from the time to the transmitter. A holographic image of the person you are talking too will appear in front of you. Don't worry about using it in public, the holograph can only be seen from the front." Amy said.
"Awesome!" Mina exclaimed excitedly, placing her watch on her wrist and clicking the clasp in place.
"Next we have a cellular phone." Amy said, handing them each a silver phone with the Silver Snakes emblem etched on the cover. "These are really fun. They also are satellite powered and come with Internet access. You also have access to all document files recorded in the Government from CIA to FBI." Amy said proudly.
"Cobra, did you hack into their systems and steal their files?" Serena said incredulously. Amy blushed, and nodded, her blue hair falling into her face.
"Well I know how that stuff comes in handy and I won't always be with you to access it, so I just programmed it into your phones. The phones are untraceable so the Government will not know that you are accessing their top secret files." Amy admitted.
"Amazing, you are brilliant Cobra." Serena praised her, awe in her voice.
"Next, you will each receive a case that contains different vials of poisons, sleeping potions, numbing potions and gas grenades. They are in the silver cases by the door, please take one when you leave." Amy said, ignoring Serena's praise as she pointed to the cases by the exit.
"Finally, we have been working on new weapon designs for each of you although they are not completely finished." Amy alleged.
"But I like my weapon." Raye protested, thinking about her crossbow.
"You can keep the weapons you have now, we are just giving you newer goodies to use." Amy assured her.
"Now, Copperhead, we have made a series of whips for you to use. The first is just a plain black leather whip, mostly good for boosting you to higher places and what not. Second we have a whip with nine cattails, claws attached to the ends. I assure you, that is a very painful, deadly weapon, use with caution." Amy advised her. "Thirdly you have a new morning star. We riveted the handle to make it easier to grip especially when your palms get sweaty. The chain is a little over four feet long; the metal is a new breed, cannot be bent, burnt or basically, destroyed. The ball itself is about ten pounds with silver spikes all over it, but the spikes are also razor sharp now instead of just for puncturing. That's about all for you."
Amy handed Mina a black duffle bag before turning around to pick up another one. "Coral, there isn't much you need besides that crossbow which is pretty advanced anyways, but we got you a scope with night vision that you can attach on top that also acts like a light. There are a couple of canisters in here with different arrows. Our newest prototype is the homing arrow; it has a small-computerized chip that when combined with your scope, signals it to hone on to the target and it will always hit it. The other arrows are standard wood shaft with silver head. There are a few Silver Snakes trademark ones, Seiya thought you might like to have some fun with them so he issued that we make you some." Amy shrugged as she handed the second bag to Raye who took it willingly.
"Python, these are for you." Amy said handing Lita a small duffle bag. "Inside are different types of brass knuckles, though they aren't really brass, but you get the idea. They are all black leather except for one. The black leather ones, each one has a different thing on top, one has nails, one has silver studs, one has razors and one is blunt. The non-black glove is made completely silver that has been worked over to make it pliable, flexible and very strong. It is also engraved with the Silver Snakes emblem." Amy explained.
"There are also a few different guns with leather holsters and straps to hide on you." Amy added as she turned towards Serena.
"Viper, I'm sorry, but your weapons have not been completed yet." Amy apologized. Serena looked shocked for a moment before sighing.
"It's ok Cobra, not your fault, you are working hard. Just get them out to me as soon as possible." Serena advised as Amy nodded compliantly.
"It is now time for us to go our separate ways for now, I will contact you through the communicators if we need to meet. Good luck." Serena said as one by one the girls filed out, grabbing a silver case as they left.
"Copperhead." Serena said, halting Mina at the door.
"Yeah Viper?" Mina asked, looking back at Serena.
"When you evacuate your target, bring him back to our shared apartment, it will be the safest place." Serena suggested.
"Is that where you are taking Darien?" Mina wondered.
"Yes. I'll see you there then?" Serena asked her.
"As soon as I get that idiot." Mina said smiling sweetly. Serena rolled her eyes and together they walked out.
"You can place you things in here." Serena said stiffly, pointing to the room at the end of the hallway. She avoided Darien's gaze as he brushed past her, the contact making her tingle.
"Thank you." He replied as he walked into the room. The walls were void of color, but the carpet was a deep royal blue. Darien placed his luggage on the soft light blue comforter covering the queen-sized bed that was centered against the far wall.
"You hungry?" she asked him as he began unzipping his suitcase.
"A little." He replied before his stomach let loose a low growl. Serena hid her amusement.
"I'll make dinner while you unpack then." She decided before turning and walking back down the hallway towards the kitchen. Darien let out a deep sigh and fell back on the bed, leaving his clothes alone.
"Maybe this wasn't a good idea." He mused to himself. Darien looked up at the ceiling watching the fan spin slowly around.
"Take is slow." Darien decided. "Maybe she's not sure what to do." He reasoned.
"Or maybe she just doesn't like me." He added. "No, that can't be it."
Darien sighed again before sitting up on the bed and pulling the suitcase towards him so he could finish unpacking.
Serena bumbled around the kitchen getting various items from the confines of the cabinets. She placed a cooking pot in the sink, filling it with warm water before setting it on the burning, turning the knob to high. She got out a medium bowl and a bag of romaine lettuce from the fridge and washed it before ripping it and putting it in the bowl. She sliced some cucumbers and mushrooms, adding them to the mix in the bowl. Turning around, Serena picked up the box of spaghetti noodles and opened it, grabbing the noodles in her palm and then proceeding to crack them in half placing them in the boiling pot of water. While the noodles softened and cooked, Serena grabbed the Caesar salad dressing from the fridge along with Parmesan cheese and set them on the table. She got out two cups, two bowls, two plates and two sets of silverware, placing them on the table as well. Going back to the stove, Serena stirred the pasta and got out the sauce, heating it in another pot on a different burner. When the spaghetti was done, she placed the steaming pots on the table and called for Darien.
They ate in silence for a few moments, both enjoying the meal and eating enthusiastically. Darien finished chewing and took a sip of his drink.
"Thanks for doing this Serena." Darien said.
"Doing what?" she asked, looking down at her plate.
"For letting me stay with you, for watching out for me." He explained.
"Oh that, it's nothing. It's the least I can do." Serena said, waving his thanks off. "Besides, I have too." She added.
They fell into silence again as they finished eating, each second growing more awkward then the next. Finally, Serena couldn't take the silence anymore.
"Hey Darien, do you want to watch a movie?" she asked suddenly.
Darien looked up from his almost empty plate surprise. "Yeah, sure."
"Great, let me clean up, you can go pick the movie out." Serena suggested, gathering up the different pots. Darien nodded and ambled off towards the living room and bent over Serena's collection of DVD's.
"You watch these?" Darien said incredulously, holding up the collection of Sailor Moon episodes. Serena looked at them and felt her cheeks burn in embarrassment.
"No, of course not, they are Mina's." She said hastily, turning away from him.
"Sure they are." Darien chuckled before placing the movies back. He reached out and grabbed the first movie his hand touched. Serena came and kneeled next to him.
"Aladdin?" Serena said skeptically throwing Darien a weird look. Darien looked down at the movie he held in his hand.
"It was the first one I picked out." He defended himself.
"Whatever." Serena said rolling her aqua eyes. "Aladdin it is."
She grabbed the movie from him and set it up, placing the DVD in the player and turning on the TV. Darien moved away and sat on the couch in front of the TV, Serena joining him as the movie started, putting as much possible space between them as she could.
"Serena, chill out, I'm not going to bite." Darien said dryly, looking pointedly at her. Serena scooted closer leaving a small gap between them. Both quieted as the opening credits rolled and soon they were lost in the magical world of Disney. Halfway through the movie, Darien was surprised when Serena's silvery blond head settled on his shoulders and she sighed. A small smile pricked at the corners of Darien's mouth, as he looked down at her, that's when he noticed that Serena was fast asleep. Shrugging softly, Darien reached out an arm and placed it around her, pulling her tighter against him and continued to watch the movie, a warm tingly feeling filling his body and he smiled.
The sun shone brightly down on the blue BMW as Mina drove through the streets of Northern Virginia. Trees and shrubbery flew by in green blurs as she sped past. Her blond hair was pulled in a sloppy ponytail and gray sweats adorned her legs, a tight white tee shirt covering the top half of her body.
"Ugh, I cannot believe Serena did this to me." Mina moaned emphasizing believe. She pounded on the steering wheel in frustration as the car drove on.
"Why do we need him anyways? He's just a bumbling idiot, that's all." Mina snorted.
A vision popped in her mind, Andrew smiling wickedly at her from across their table in Chez Antoine, his sandy blond hair falling into his warm brown eyes.
"UGH!" Mina shrieked clearing her traitorous mind of her thoughts. "Stop doing that!" she yelled at herself.
Mina pulled along side a small townhouse at the corner of the street and parked her car in front of it. She got out of the car quickly, slamming the door in aggravation before stalking up to the front door. She had purposely dressed this way, there was no way on earth that pea brain would try to be charming when he saw her like this. Mina smiled proudly at her antics as she reached out a hand and knocked on the door.
"Just a minute!" came a groggy voice a few seconds later. Mina sighed impatiently as she waited for the moron to come downstairs and let her in.
"Yes what is it." Andrew said as he swung open the door. He paused, his brown eyes widening when he glimpsed who was standing on his front porch.
"Mina?" he said in shock.
"Obviously." She said bored, looking at her fingernails.
"Do you want to come in?" Andrew asked flustered, opening to door wide to allow Mina access to his home. Mina breezed by him, not giving him a verbal response.
"So uh, why are you here?" Andrew asked after a few moments of silence.
"Darien is in a little trouble with Crystal Empires." Mina stated. Andrew looked up worried.
"What kind of trouble, is he ok?" Andrew said, concern in his voice. Mina looked at him, startled by the amount of concern he had for his friend.
"They hired someone to kill him." Mina told him.
"WHAT!" Andrew yelled loudly, coming to stand right in front of Mina. "Who?"
"Serena." Mina admitted.
"WHAT!" Andrew yelled again, louder this time if that was even possible.
"Calm down." Mina said, pushing firmly against his chest, trying to move him to sit on the couch.
"Calm down, you want me to calm down when your hussy friend tried to kill my best friend?" Andrew said incredulously. "He's like a brother to me!"
"Serena is not a hussy!" Mina shrieked defending her friend. "She is a trained assassin and was hired to kill Darien, its not like she decided to one day kill him."
"An assassin." Andrew said in disbelief.
"Yes." Mina affirmed.
"I don't believe you." Andrew said.
"Believe it." Mina replied, handing him an envelope with his name on it.
"What is this?" Andrew asked looking at what she handed him.
"It is a letter from Darien, it explains everything." Mina explained as she watched him open the envelope. Andrew's soft chocolate eyes widened as he read the information on the page, written in Darien's illegible script. He looked back at Mina, awe apparent in his eyes.
"You are an assassin too?" he asked wonder filling his voice.
"Yes." Mina nodded.
"Wow, so you did all that training and stuff, you could literally kick my butt right?" he said in amazement. Mina smiled at that comment.
"You should get your stuff together, we need to get going." Mina suggested, motioning to his bedroom.
"Yeah, good idea." Andrew said, walking to the bedroom. Mina watched as he stuffed clothes into bags with personal bathroom amenities.
"Ready?" she asked as he walked towards her carrying some bags.
"Yeah." He replied, as he walked out of the door, dropping his bags on the porch so he could lock the door.
"You know, you look really sexy in that outfit." Andrew said slyly, glancing at Mina from the side.
"What?" Mina said in disbelief looking down at her slumming outfit. "I'm wearing sweats Andrew."
"Very sexy sweats." He added in a husky voice, walking over to her.
"You are crazy." Mina said shaking her head.
"Crazy about you." Andrew replied with a heart-melting smile. Mina felt her knees quiver a little bit as he came closer to her, pressing her up against the wall, his hands on the wall at either side of her head. He leaned his head down and brushed her lips softly with his own, feeling her soft body beneath him. Mina's bright blue eyes went wide at the slight kiss, but she didn't move or resist him when he moved his hands down to her shoulders and brought her closer to him, claiming her soft lips, his hands caressing her. Mina responded eagerly, running her fingers through his soft hair. Andrew broke the kiss and grinned at her satisfied.
"Let's think about this. You are a deadly trained assassin who has strength as well as beauty. I just kissed you and you didn't go all psycho ninja chop on me so that must mean, you like me." Andrew said gleefully as Mina's eyes bugged out of her head
"I do not! I resent that statement." Mina said in disgust, pushing him off of her.
"Don't fight the feelings Mina. You love me just admit it." Andrew teased, throwing her a wink.
"UGH!" Mina growled before stamping past him to the car. Andrew gathered his bags and followed her, smiling all the way.
Serena stretched lazily like a cat as she woke up. The sun streamed through the tiny slits of her blinds waking her up as she lay snuggled in her bed. That's when she noticed she was wearing the same clothes as yesterday. Serena sat up abruptly in her bed wondering exactly how it was she ended up in her bed last night. She remembered watching Aladdin with Darien, she must've fallen asleep during the movie.
Serena got out of bed and got dressed before heading towards the kitchen where the smell of bacon was wafting towards her. Darien was standing in front of the stove wearing a pink apron, spatula in hand flipping strips of bacon on a skillet full of grease. Serena smiled in spite herself at the cute picture he made. She cleared her throat lightly, alerting his attention.
"Good morning Serena." He said brightly, waving his spatula enthusiastically at her.
"Morning Darien." She replied, stealing a slice of bacon from the pan. Darien swatted her away with his utensil.
"Wait for the rest of it to be done Serena." He said in an exasperated tone. He took the pan off the burner and slid the bacon onto a plate. Darien reached out and pulled eggs that he was keeping warm out of the oven. Serena sat down at the table as he placed some breakfast on her plate while she poured herself some orange juice.
"Thanks Darien." She said gratefully, taking a bite of bacon.
"No problem." He answered.
They both turned around when they heard the front door open and watched as a squabbling Mina and Andrew burst through the opening. Serena grinned at Darien as they watched their two friends who were bickering non stop as Mina led Andrew upstairs to his room.
"I guess they're still getting alone." Darien said laughing and Serena joined him.
Mina came flouncing down the stairs a moment later, an annoyed look marring her beautiful face.
"Darien I don't understand how you can be friends with that moronic idiot." Mina said shaking her blond locks. Darien laughed.
"When you have known him as long as I have, you learn to look past his flaws." Darien replied jokingly.
"Whatever." Mina grumbled grabbing a slice of toast from the center of the table and plopping down on the chair next to Serena.
"Hey Darien." Andrew said cheerfully as he walked into the kitchen.
"Andrew." Darien nodded his hello.
"Sweet, breakfast, I didn't get any since Amazon Queen over there barged in my house and practically dragged me out." Andrew complained looking pointedly at Mina.
"I did not you liar!" she snorted, "I would never lay a finger on you, I might get a disease."
"Oh really?" Andrew said in a disbelieving tone. "Well then why did you kiss me?"
"I did not kiss you!" Mina screeched. "You placed your dirty lips on me!"
"And you liked it." Andrew retorted with a snicker.
"Darien, please tell your friend that he is a lying barbarian and I wish that he wouldn't speak to me cause I won't speak to him." Mina said turning to Darien who was laughing at their display.
"That's cause you want me to kiss you speechless." Andrew quipped causing Serena to burst out into laughter. Mina turned her gaze to her traitorous friend and glared evilly at her causing her to stop mid laugh.
"Right well, Darien made breakfast if you guys want to eat." Serena interrupted pointing out the food that was sitting on the table.
"Oh Serena, Amy left a message, she has some stuff she wants us to pick up at the Den." Mina told her while chopping on some bacon.
"My weapons are probably done." Serena mused to herself. "Will you guys be ok if we leave you for a few moments?" she asked the two men.
"Yeah we'll be fine." Darien assured her.
"Alright, Mina you ready?" Serena asked looking at the blond who was stuffing her face.
"Yeah let me get my stuff then we can go." Mina said. They said a quick goodbye to the boys before getting into Serena's car heading towards the Den.
Michael watched as the two blonds climbed into the silver viper and sped off. Signaling two his two other men, they crept along the stairs up to the apartment where Darien and Andrew were located. Michael watched as one of his men tested the door to see if it was locked. Nodding his head, the man pulled out a lock pick and began working on the brass door knob. A few seconds later, a soft click was heard and the door was unlocked. Quietly, the man opened the door and let Michael in. Spreading out, the three men stealthily crossed through the apartment looking for the two men.
Michael found them first, in the kitchen cleaning up breakfast. He peer out from the refrigerator and waited until Andrew came near before hitting him hard in the back of the head. Andrew fell to the kitchen floor with a flood, alarming Darien who turned around. Michael and his men closed around Darien who backed up against the kitchen counter.
"Good morning Dr. Shields." Michael said smiling at Darien.
"What do you want." Darien said steely.
"Now now, is that how to greet an old friend?" Michael said rebuking Darien's attitude.
"You were never my friend." Darien spat out angrily.
"Shame, I always liked you." Michael replied cheerfully.
"Now come with us Dr. Shields, you have some work you need to finish." Michael informed him grasping Darien's arm.
"I will never help you." Darien sneered, brushing Michael's hand of his arm.
"I beg to differ Dr. Shields, I think you will." Michael said, his dark eyes glinting stonily at Darien.
"What is that? You threatening me Michael?" Darien asked his eyes narrowed.
"We have a little proposition for you Dr. Shields, one I'm sure you'll be interested to hear." Michael began. Darien looked at him expecting.
"We want you to come back and work on our prototype, it seems that your are just to brilliant for anyone to follow your work."
"I told you I won't help you." Darien said through gritted teeth.
"Now that's the thing Dr. Shields, if you don't help us, your beautiful sister Raye will be terminated." Michael said pulling a finger across his neck. "We don't want that to happen now do we?"
"Don't you touch Raye!" Darien shouted lunging for Michael who punched him in the face, slamming him back against the counters.
"If you help us, we won't. If you refuse, she dies. The choice is up to you Darien. What will it be?" Michael asked evenly, watching the torment and conflict play across Darien's handsome features.
"I'll help."
That's it for Chapter Ten, hope you enjoyed the interaction between Darien and Serena as well as Mina and Andrew. I know it wasn't much on the D/S part, but theirs is a developing romance with many struggles to come. Please review!
.:Angelgr185:.