Red Sparrow (rewritten)

Based on a book and movie of the same name.

Our story begins in March of 2013. There was a 28-year-old Russian ballerina named Dominika Egorova. She was the daughter of Vasili and Nina, the former of whom had passed away. She lived with her mother in an apartment and performed ballet at a theater called the Bolshoi. After she was dressed for her performance, she was excited to see her paternal uncle named Ivan Egorov show up. Ivan was always one of Dominika's closest relatives. He was only about thirteen years older than her and when Dominika was younger, she would always laugh and play with him whenever he was around. She hugged him and he even introduced her to a man named Dimitri Ustinov, whom she shook hands with. A photographer took a picture of Dominika with Ivan standing to the left of her and Dimitri standing to her right. "Do good" said Ivan while patting his niece on the back. Dominika smiled back at him. As Dominika was dancing onstage with her partner named Konstantin, music was playing and people were watching in awe. All of the sudden, Konstantin violently landed on her. She shrieked as he broke her leg. The local Russian paramedics were called in and Dominika was taken to the nearest hospital in order to get surgery on her leg.

Close to the hospital in which Dominika was being held, an FBI agent by the name of Nate Nash was talking to someone. It was pitch black outside. A few Russian mobsters walked up relatively close to him and shouted "Hey! What are you doing?" The unknown Russian ran away as he wanted nothing to do with the whole scenario. Nate fired his gun. It just missed them. That's when he began running with them hot in his tracks. They chased him on foot and called in a couple of their Russian Mafia buddies who tailed Nate in their cars. Nate looked behind himself and started running faster. They were all shooting at him but soon turned around as Nate ran right into an American embassy. A few mobsters gasped and one contemptuously spat out "American government official!"

Three months later in June of 2013, Dominika was finally released from the hospital and walked all the way home to her apartment using a cane. Nina hugged her daughter and said "The doctors said you wouldn't be back for at least four months." "Doctors don't know everything," said Dominika. She turned on the television in his bedroom and changed it to the channel that broadcasts ballet. She gasped upon finding out that Konstantin broke her leg on purpose because he was in love with another ballerina named Sonia and wanted to dance with her instead. That made Dominika very irate. That night, she went into the Bolshoi where Konstantin and Sonia were in the dressing room, flirting with each other. She used her cane to whack them both to death. She knew she had to get out of the theater ASAP after committing her first act of murder. She went to the nearest telephone booth to the theater, calling the local Russian police but obviously never telling them that she was the one behind the murder. When she got home, she had trouble falling asleep and only had about three hours of sleep.

It was in the afternoon on the day Dominika's leg finally healed. There was a knock on her apartment door. "Come in," said Nina. It was her brother-in-law Ivan. "I would like to have some bonding time with my niece," said Ivan. "Of course. You haven't seen her in three months after all" said Nina. Dominika walked outside with Ivan. As he was driving her, she asked him "Where are you taking me?" "To meet some people I know. They'll know another way for you to help your mother after that career ending accident" answered Ivan. He said "This is the place" as they arrived at the mansion. Dominika and Ivan got out of the car and were let inside by the underboss of the Zakharov crime family named Vladimir Korchnoi. He greeted them and guided them to the crime syndicate's boss named Kiril Zakharov, who was sitting at his desk while smoking a cigar. "So, this must be Dominika Egorova, your niece whom you've always been telling us about," said Kiril. Ivan nodded, smiled, and said "Yes. That's her." "Take a seat, Dominika" said Kiril. Dominika sat down in a chair right in front of him with Ivan and Vladimir standing on each side of her. "Your uncle gave me a picture," said Kiril. He pulled out the photo of her, Ivan, and Dimitri all standing together. "Do you remember that man on the right?" asked Kiril. "Yes. That's Dimitri Ustinov" answered Dominika. "Correct. From the moment he laid eyes on you, he was in love. I know this because he had conversations with me, your uncle, and Vladimir about you. We always thought of him as one of us, but he never was. He's been an FSB agent this whole time. You will become a seductress for us in order to provide for your mother. Can you do it?" asked Kiril. Dominika was split in half and hesitant about what to say. "Come on, answer. We don't have all day" said Vladimir. After a few minutes, Kiril slowly put his cigar out, opened his mouth, and was getting ready to make a decision for Dominika, but luckily for her, she said "It sounds like an offer that I can't refuse" before he could get a word in. "Excellent! Oh, and one last thing: your uncle will get you your clothing and tell you the rest of the details" said Kiril. Dominika then followed Ivan and he handed her a red dress to wear. She changed into it in the bathroom then came out. "Dimitri will be hanging out in a hotel not too far from the Bolshoi. He always eats dinner there around nine o'clock PM. Be advised because this time, he has two undercover FSB agents protecting him" said Ivan.

Once nine o'clock PM rolled around, Dominika went to the hotel as she was told. She waited there for a few minutes until Dimitri and his bodyguards showed up. "Dimitri Ustinov?" asked Dominika. "Yes. That's me. You must be Dominika Egorova, the ballerina I saw break her leg" said Dimitri. Dominika nodded and nervously smiled. "You're looking much better after the first three months," said Dimitri. As Dominika was shaking and shivering, Dimitri shot her a funny look, tilted his head, and asked "What's the matter, Ballet Angel? You look scared". "I'm...fine…" said Dominika slowly. "Are you sure? Come on, let me take you to my hotel room so I can calm you down" said Dimitri. Dimitri and his bodyguards guided Dominika to the hotel room. Dominika said "I need some alone time." "Of course" said Dimitri sympathetically. As Dominika walked into the bathroom, she shut and locked the door. She then vomited due to stress in the toilet. Next, she flushed it. One of Dimitri's bodyguards tried opening the door. When he found out that it was locked, he knocked. "Are you ready to come out now?" he asked. Dominika gulped and said "Yes." She unlocked the door and walked out as Dimitri was sitting down on his bed. Dimitri told both of his bodyguards to leave his hotel room and they did. Dominika was staring Dimitri right in the face. He had a good feeling that he knew what was going down. Being an infiltrator of the Zakharov crime family, he was well aware of the fact that Dominika's uncle was a capo for that crime syndicate. "Come here," said Dimitri. Dominika slowly approached him as he stood up. "Turn around" said Dimitri. She slowly turned around with her back facing him. "Hands behind your head" said Dimitri. As he slowly pulled out a pair of handcuffs, Dominika clenched her teeth, quickly turned around, and slapped him so hard across the face that a handprint was made on his left cheek. Dimitri faced her and said "Apparently, you want things done the hard way." He pinned Dominika down on her stomach on top of the floor and as she was struggling to break free, he aggressively shouted "Hold still!" As he was preparing to arrest her, an enforcer for the Zakharov crime family named Sergei Matorin choked Dimitri to death using a thin piece of copper wire. Dimitri's blood spilled onto Dominika. Sergei lent her a hand and she took it. He pulled her up. Dominika and Sergei hopped on a motorcycle and rode back to Kiril's mansion. As they walked inside and sat down at the kitchen table, Kiril, Vladimir, and Ivan walked in. "Dimitri is dead. I killed him for trying to arrest Dominika" said Sergei. "It was too close though," said Dominika. As Dominika was driven back home by her uncle, he told her along the way "I will give you a call when there's more work to be done."

The next morning, Dominika was telling her mother that Ivan was a Russian mobster and that she must work for them in order to provide for her. Nina began crying. Dominika was crying after she was. At first, she tried talking her daughter out of it but a few minutes later, she finally said "If it's the only way."

It wasn't much longer later when Dominika met up with Ivan again. They met at a restaurant. "You used to love this place when you were little. You were always so serious with your big, grown-up eyes in your child's face" said Ivan with much nostalgia in his voice. "What do you want, Uncle?" asked Dominika. "There is a traitor highly placed in our organization. His last known contact is an American spy now in Budapest. What I want from you is to get close to him and establish trust. Then, you bring me home the name of the mole. You follow the trail wherever it leads you. You sacrifice whatever needs to be sacrificed. You understand?" asked Ivan. "Yes Uncle" answered Dominika. Ivan handed his niece a passport with fake credentials. In order to hide that she was Ivan's niece, it said her date of birth was Katerina Zubkova. Her date of birth was listed as January 11, 1990 when she was really born on August 15, 1985. Her occupation was listed as a translator. Dominika studied her passport in order to get a good enough idea on what she was supposed to tell people in Budapest, Hungary.

Later on, Dominika arrived at an apartment in Budapest. She knocked on the door of the room she was assigned. A Zakharov crime family soldier opened the door. "You must be Katerina Zubkova," he said. Dominika nodded. "Come in," said the Russian mobster. He opened the door, got out of her way as she walked in, and closed it behind her. "I'm Maxim Volontov, soldier of the Zakharov crime family. Your uncle told me all about you" said the Russian mobster. "Tell me about the American spy," said Dominika. "His name is Nate Nash and he swims every afternoon. The pool is open from six o'clock in the morning until ten at night from Monday through Friday. It's open from six to eight on the weekends. Hand in your membership card here for a locker key. You get your card back when you return the key. Any questions?" asked Maxim. "No," answered Dominika.

Dominika went to the indoor pool with her membership card and a bag. She showed her membership card to the owner and received a key. She went into the locker room and took off her clothes, revealing that she was wearing a green bikini. Her clothes were put in the locker, she took the towel out of the bag, and she walked over to the pool area. There, she found Nate Nash wearing swim trunks and a swim shirt as he was swimming laps. She set her towel on a chair and went into the water. Nate and Dominika were the only two people there. Dominika clenched her teeth as the water was somewhat cold. Nate laid eyes on her as he was about to get out of the pool. "Hey, what's your name?" he asked. "Katerina Zubkova" answered Dominika. "What's a fine looking Russian woman like you doing here in Budapest?" asked Nate. "I'm a translator and besides, how did you know I was Russian?" asked Dominika. "Well, your name is a dead give away!" said Nate then he chuckled. "What's your job?" asked Dominika. "A foreign exchange student at a local college," answered Nate. Dominika looked confused as Nate was drying off and said "But you look forty-four." "So? College has no age limit. Look, I'd love to continue chatting but I've got to go. See you later, I guess" said Nate.

Nate changed in the bathroom into normal looking clothes while putting his swim shirt, swim trunks, and towel in the bag. He returned the key and left the place. He went to the FBI station where he met up with his handlers named Tom Forsyth and Marty Gable, as well as the station chief named Simon Benford. "The Zakharov crime family has sent a seductress after me. I can tell" Nate told them. "What's her name?" asked Simon. "Dominika Egorova. She's the niece of their top capo named Ivan Egorov" answered Nate. Tom asked for any other information. Nate told her that Dominika went by the name, Katerina Zubkova and that she was posing as a translator. "She used to dance ballet at the Bolshoi," said Nate. "I see. What did she look like and what was she wearing?" asked Marty. "She had brown hair and blue eyes, about five foot seven, thin, in her twenties, and was wearing a green bikini" answered Nate. "If she wants to go out with you then she's definitely a seductress for the Russian Mafia because she sounds way out of your league" said Marty.

The next day, Dominika was smoking a cigarette while sitting on a bench on the sidewalk. All of the sudden, Nate approached her as well. "Hey, I'm that American you saw at the pool the other day. Are you that same Katerina woman?" asked Nate. "Yes" answered Dominika as she stood up. "So did you want me to know you were following me or are you just that clumsy?" asked Nate. "You Americans sure think everyone else is very interested in you, don't you?" said Dominika. "So what made you become a translator?" asked Nate. Dominika shrugged then said, "Interest in linguistics, I suppose." Nate nodded then said "Funny because that's what I'm studying. Listen, meet me at eight tonight because there's an opera at a Russian restaurant around here" said Nate. "I'll be there" said Dominika. "Excellent!" said Nate.

That evening, Dominika met Nate at the Russian restaurant as she had promised. He told her to take a seat and she did. He passed her a vodka as he already had one in his hands and told her that he bought it just for her. "How very sweet of you!" said Dominika. "Listen, I work for the FBI and I know your true information. I could easily arrest you and take down most of the Zakharov crime family but I like you so you can become one of our spies" explained Nate. Dominika was hesitant but accepted his offer as she deep down inside had a slight crush on him as well even though he was sixteen years older.

Later that evening, Dominika was guided to the FBI station by Nate. She sat down in a chair facing Marty. "Name?" asked Marty. "Dominika Egorova," she answered. "Are you a member of the Zakharov crime family?" asked Marty. "Yes" answered Dominika. "Are you here because FBI Agent Nate Nash recruited you?" asked Marty. "Yes" answered Dominika. "And do you intend to give us genuine information?" asked Marty. "Yes" answered Dominika. "You're now one of us but of course, you must pretend to still be one of them. Much like you guys, here at the FBI, we also have a bit of a traitor. Her name is Stephenie Boucher and she's been bribed by the Zakharov crime family. Not only that but she's even agreed to assist them in drug and weapon deals. We need her captured and brought back to us" said Marty.

The following day, Dominika met up with Maxim at her apartment. That's where she also met Stephenie Boucher. "Great news! Meet Stephenie Boucher, our friend in a high place!" said Maxim. Dominika and Stephenie shook hands. Stephenie told Maxim to get her a drink. Maxim stood there like a deer in a headlight. "You heard her. Get her a drink" demanded Dominika. Just then, Maxim went to the refrigerator. "So, tell me. Why is it that in Russia, all the women are so sexy while all the men look like toads?" said Stephenie. Maxim didn't answer as he was pouring her a drink. "The world may never know," said Dominika. She chuckled alongside Stephenie. "I heard this organization killed Dimitri Ustinov, a Russian spy. I have to say, even as an FBI agent, I would've been way too afraid to do any such thing" said Stephenie. She also showed Dominika all of the drug and weapon money she collected on behalf of the Zakharov crime family. Stephenie sat down and had a drink that Maxim handed to her. As Maxim and Stephenie were having conversations, Dominika snuck into the bathroom, phoning in the FBI. She then discreetly left the bathroom. As Stephenie left the apartment building, Dominika secretly took the drug and weapon money. Stephenie walked into the streets, and she discovered that the FBI showed up. She was very panicked as she knew exactly what they were there for. As she was surrounded, she tried running away but a bus just so happened to run her over.

Neither the Zakharov crime family nor the FBI was happy at all with Stephenie Boucher's death. The Zakharov crime family lost a valuable ally while the FBI lost valuable information. Maxim and Dominika were both captured by the other members of the Zakharov crime family and taken back to Moscow as they were both suspected to have been working with the FBI and responsible for Stephenie Boucher's death as well as the money's disappearance. They were separated and Dominika was tied up while sitting in a chair. She was gagged and struggling to escape. A female Zakharov crime family soldier named Anya came into the room and sat down in a chair in front of Dominika. She had two enforcers, one on each side of her. The two enforcers walked a little more ways and stood behind Dominika. Anya answered the phone and Ivan told her that she could start the interrogation. Anya hung up then gave a signal to the enforcers with her head. Dominika began breathing heavily as the gag was aggressively ripped off of her mouth by one enforcer. "Did you give Mrs. Boucher to the FBI?" asked Anya. "No," answered Dominika. "Then who did?" asked Anya. "I don't know," answered Dominika. She was stripped naked and cold water was dumped all over her as she was in a shower room. Her clothes were given back to her as she was back in the interrogation room. "Let's start again. Did you give Mrs. Boucher to the FBI?" asked Anya. "No," answered Dominika. She screamed as one enforcer hit her very hard on the right hand with a baseball bat. "Are you working for the FBI?" asked Anya. "You know I'm loyal and would never betray the gang," said Dominika. She was whacked across the head with a baseball bat by the other enforcer. "You gave Agent Boucher to the FBI, squealer. Was it for the handsome American fed?" asked Anya. "I would do no such thing," said Dominika. She was given an ice cold shower once again. She was taken by the arms by the mob enforcers and violently set down in the chair. This time, they left her alone with Anya. Anya and the enforcers knew for a fact that Dominika was too weak, afraid, and cold to go anywhere. Anya had a laptop with her and she showed Dominika a video of Maxim being executed via a shot to the back of the head after telling them that he didn't rat out the gang. Anya closed the laptop and said "Last time. Did you give Boucher to the FBI?" asked Anya. "No" answered Dominika as she began crying. "Please. Make it stop!" she said.

Anya brought Dominika to her uncle. "Uncle, how could you allow them to do such horrible things to me? I'm your brother's daughter!" asked Dominika. "I don't like this anymore than you don't Dominika but the boss is furious about the loss of Boucher. We're not even sure who we can trust anymore. I have sent you to find out more of this mole in our organization via the American spy and you have failed" said Ivan. He then told Dominika that he had given her a second chance. Nate Nash was being held hostage in the basement of a Zakharov crime family-owned bar. She was to go with Sergei Matorin in order to interrogate him. Dominika accepted the offer.

Dominika and Sergei entered the basement of the bar. Nate called out Dominika's name. Dominika told him to be quiet. That's when Sergei walked up to them with a very sharp tool in his hands. "Do you know what this is? They use it for skin grafting. Burn victims. A blade so fine, you barely bleed. Do you know how long it takes to peel skin off a human being? Hours. Even if you are very good at it. As for me, I like to take my time with it. Layer by layer until I see the whiteness of the bone. If you pass out, I'll inject you with a stimulant. You'll stay conscious until we're finished" said Sergei. He asked Nate for the name of the Russian mobster who had been the organization's traitor. Nate wouldn't tell him then he was screaming in pain as Sergei used the blade on him. Dominika then asked Nate for the name. Nate weakly refused to tell her. Sergei used the blade on Nate once again. Just then, Dominika set Nate free. She screamed in pain as both she and Nate were cut a few times by Sergei. The shenanigans kept happening until Dominika just so happened to find a knife and stab Sergei multiple times with it until he died.

Dominika and Nate were each sent to different hospitals. As soon as Dominika was released from the hospital, she found Vladimir Korchnoi. "It was you who killed Sergei Matorin, wasn't it?" asked Vladimir. "I can explain," said Dominika. "Of course you can. It was me who was the mole working with the FBI the whole time. I know you were the one who gave Boucher to the feds. The boss is suspicious of both of us. I still have a plan to get us out of this whole mess" explained Vladimir. He then whispered a little plan in Dominika's ear. She agreed to go along with it.

Vladimir and Dominika went to the private room of Kiril Zakharov located within his mansion. Standing right beside him was Ivan. "So, tell me. Which one of you was working with the FBI this whole time?" asked Kiril. Vladimir refused to speak up. He began fearing for his life and was worried that Dominika might tell Kiril that he was the rat. "It was my uncle," answered Dominika. Ivan was then in a state of shock. He was so teeth chattering scared that he couldn't even form a sentence. "Leave the room and lock the door," said Kiril. Vladimir and Dominika left the room then Vladimir locked the door. Kiril pulled out his pistol from his coat pocket and a loud bang was heard from behind the door. Ivan Egorov was killed in cold blood after his niece sold him out. Dominika then became a very trusted member of the Zakharov crime family. Her initiation ceremony was even attended by Vladimir and a bunch of other Russian mobsters. All of them were wearing suits and ties. They clapped for Dominika and even congratulated her. Nonetheless, the Zakharov crime family became even more vulnerable as the underboss and a new member were secretly working for the FBI. Meanwhile, Nate had also been out of the hospital and even got a promotion in the FBI for his strong campaign against Russian organized crime.

The end.