Killer Instinct:
Chapter 6: Like Violence
Simon watched her from the doorway as she dressed for their next job. He smiled. He'd forgotten how it felt to have her with him. It seemed like life had finally returned to normal, or as close to normal as it could get. She'd changed, something within her was different. She wasn't the Julia that he once knew, sure traces of her remained, but he couldn't help but notice the subtle differences, and the not so subtle...He'd allowed himself to entertain certain thoughts...certain regrets...but he immediately shut them down. It was like having Javier and Avery around again, only inside his head. He knew he should've done away with them sooner.
She fixed her hair in front of the mirror, oblivious to his presence. He smiled. The way she tied her hair back, the way she applied her make up...Julia...But something in her face changed as she stared at her reflection. He frowned. He'd kill to know what she was thinking, to understand what was going on with her. He didn't dare ask her. The last time he'd questioned Julia almost two years ago she'd locked him outside of their cabin in the Swiss Alps in the middle of a blizzard, dressed in nothing but boxer shorts. He chuckled at the memory.
She turned around to find him watching her. She wondered how long he'd been standing there. It tore at her how easily she let herself trust him, how easily she relaxed and let her guard down. Almost three weeks had passed. She was doing her best to go back to being Julia, but the task was harder than she'd first imagined. She had no memory of her time with Simon, her time as Julia, and so she didn't know how to act like her, how to talk like her, how to become her again. She was still alive, so she mustn't have been doing too badly.
"So, are you ready?" Simon asked as he looked her up and down.
"You know I'm always ready for anything," she said as she moved closer to him and planted a kiss on his lips.
"That's my girl." He said as he placed an arm around her waist and escorted her out of the room.
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Simon spoke on his phone as Sydney watched from the other end of the plane. She was going over the file one last time. They had a job to do, and she still couldn't shake the nerves that had suddenly surfaced. They'd pulled off two jobs in the past three weeks, and each time she was sure the CIA were attempting to trace her location. She knew that she and Simon hadn't made it easy for them, they'd covered their tracks and taken every precaution, but she still believed that this would be the last straw, and after they'd finished this job they'd find her. Sydney didn't know what she dreaded more, facing the CIA or having to leave Simon behind. She didn't like to think about it, but she knew that eventually it would be inevitable. She couldn't hide away forever. He couldn't protect her forever. One day they'd be torn apart.
She snapped out of her thoughts as Simon's phone conversation became heated. She couldn't hear what he was saying but the person on the receiving end was getting an ear-full. Simon wasn't happy. She turned her attention back to the file and the objectives were set out before her. It would be relatively simple, almost an in and out job thanks to their connections on the inside...but when something like plutonium was involved, things were never that simple. But that wasn't what she was nervous about…
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They set themselves up across from the base they would soon enter. He watched her as she readied herself for the job; checking and re-checking her weapons, making sure that everything was as perfect as it could be…She may have changed, her morals might have shifted slightly, but when it came to business she was still the same. He opened his briefcase and removed the lining to reveal a compartment below. He removed the weapons…he still couldn't believe what he held in his hands; two tranquilizer guns. How she'd talked him into it…he really didn't have a clue other than the fact that it was Julia who'd asked him, or rather told him to change the weapons he used. Tranquilizer darts would knock the guards out, keep them out of the way and minimize injuries and deaths…that's what she wanted. Live bullets were only used as a last resort. Suddenly the lives of those who stood in their way meant more than just being the hurdles they had to concur. He admired her for it, and yet it was another obvious change in his Julia…
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Simon and Julia entered the bank in Amsterdam, both heavily armed and ready for the heavily armored security guards inside. He shot into the air, warning shots. The people scattered, all of them dropping to the floor and crying out in panic. The frightened civilians stared at them in fear, each of them wondering if they'd make it out alive. He glanced across at her and she smiled. The cashiers slowly moved from behind their desks as they were told, although both he and Julia knew that the silent alarm had already been tripped. Footsteps echoed throughout the foyer of the bank as heavy boots hit the marble floors...the cavalry was coming. They both lifted their guns and aimed in the direction of the footsteps. He silently counted in his head and knew that she was doing the same.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1...The first of the guards appeared and the sound of gunfire echoed throughout the bank. They aimed at the areas of the guards that were obviously unarmored, and within seconds had taken down every single one of them. That only left those who remained guarding the vault. With his heart pounding in his head he struggled to focus, but he followed her lead. She stepped over the bodies of the guards, paying them little attention as she passed.
Can't count all the eyes that stare,
can't count all the things they see,
she kills with no life to spare,
just victims are left to bleed
He snapped out of the memory. Things definitely had changed. He just wasn't sure whether they'd changed for the better…or the worst.
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Sydney breathed a sigh of relief. She'd done her part, and now she had to wait for Simon. She turned around to see the bodies of the security guards that littered the floor. She watched their chests slowly rise and fall…they were alive. She still felt a pang of guilt. They were innocent people doing their jobs, and she, she was a not so innocent person doing her job. But that didn't justify anything. She sighed as she gripped her stomach, trying to get rid of the nerves that still remained. She knew it wasn't the drugged guards that were bothering her…it was the plutonium. She had no problem stealing pieces of art, artifacts, scientific equipment…they were really just trivial items. But plutonium…she knew they weren't just going to use it as a radioactive paper weight. This time she wasn't sure she'd be able to save the innocent lives of bystanders. She hated the Covenant. And she couldn't handle knowing that she'd helped them acquire it, let alone be responsible for the deaths of possibly hundreds or thousands of innocent people.
As she stood there waiting for Simon's return she realized that she couldn't do this anymore. She knew it all along but this was just too much. She needed to do something.
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Simon stroked her hair as she slept. They'd pulled of their job without any hitches, they really were great thieves, as Sark liked to call them. He remained wide awake as he listened to Julia breath. Something wasn't right. He didn't know if his own guilty conscience was getting the better of him or if there really was something going on with her. She'd been almost completely silent on the return trip home. She'd distanced herself and he wasn't entirely sure why. Maybe she sensed what was going on…maybe she knew what he was being asked to do…He shook his head. He couldn't bare to think about it now.
He looked down at her as she slept peacefully. He let his mind fill with the memories of their past together. He felt guilty knowing that he alone possessed those memories; she on the other hand had no idea. He wondered if her lack of memory affected her attraction towards him, her feelings and emotions. Surely, deep down she remembered something, maybe the remnants of a memory, an emotion, something she'd shared with him. Otherwise she wouldn't be there with him, she would have returned to the CIA, to that life that had been chosen for her. Instead she chose this, she chose him, and he had that in mind as he drifted off to sleep.
Like violence you have me, forever, and after.
Thanks for the reviews! I'm going to have less time to update, but I'll make sure I update by the weekend. I have another 2-3 parts planned, but let me know if you think I'm dragging it out or not doing enough. I know what I want to happen in the last part but there's a bunch of ways I can get there. Let me know if I should hurry up and get to the end or continue on a little longer. Lyrics are Blink-182. Thanks for reading / Britt