Chapter 2

Ailee tied the apron around her waist, helping out with the morning rush in Los Angeles, California, her home base. When she wasn't killing people for a living, she was working at a café that ran as a cover for Maquina's headquarters in Los Angeles.

In this coffee shop, new trainees were trained, which was peculiar in some ways. Ailee laughed it off at first, thinking the idea was absolutely ridiculous. But being here, watching these new trainees and the discipline they learned by refraining from cussing out unruly, high maintenance customers, it made sense.. Learning discipline from doing menial tasks such as memorizing recipes or whatnot. It was definitely not an easy task and it definitely it heightened the skills they needed to accomplish.

"Ailee, you're back," a customer she would consider as a regular greeted her as she made her way to the register. "Haven't seen you in a while."

"Had a business trip, looking to expand our café up north," Ailee lied so well at this point, it was fluid.

"Oh! That's a great venture, what areas were you looking at? My cousin is a realtor, could definitely help you find a good place." She responded after making her order.

"I'll definitely take you up on that once it's a done deal, didn't really find anything and would love to have a local show me around," Ailee smiled after swiping her card.

Ailee walked back to the machines, making the woman's drink for her. She never really understood why she needed to be here at the beginning, but after doing this for a few years, she found it as a nice break from the world of killing and causing an uproar in countries to overthrow unstable governments.

After making the woman's drink, she walked over to the woman who found a table, her work for the day already set up.

"Here you go Alona," Ailee placed her drink on the table.

"Thanks Ailee," Alona looked up, with a smile on her face. "Can I ask you a question? I'm doing some research for my next article and I was wondering if you can help me out."

"Uh, sure," Ailee was unsure of this, but at the same time, she knew she could kill this woman if it was an unwarranted question.

"What was the hardest thing you've ever had to do?"

That question caused Ailee's mind to go on a frenzy. There were so many answers to that question. Her first kill. Her first undercover mission. It all had something related to Maquina. But all of those Maquina related killings were never hard for her, no. The hardest thing she ever had to do was walk away from Angel Reyes and that was something that will go with her to the grave.

Ailee smiled as she felt Angel's lips trailing down her bare back, burying her head on the pillow.

"Angel," she groaned.

"Ready for another round?"

"You are insatiable," she turned around, Angel's lips immediately meeting hers.

"What does that mean?" He whispered against her lips before he pulled away.

"You're impossible to satisfy," she always loss herself in his dark brown eyes. She was addicted to Angel and she couldn't quit him. Even after everything that happened with her brother, he was the shining light in this whole ordeal. He didn't need to know that she became a monster because when she was with him, her disdain for herself was not as high. The rules she played by didn't apply.

"Not true, only you can satisfy me," he pinned her arms down as he hovered over her. His eyes trailed down her body as a devilish smirk appeared on his face. "I could never get enough of you querida." His voice sent shivers down her spine.

"I'm sure you tell all your girls that," she teased him knowing she was the only one he ever such words to.

"No baby girl, you know you're the only one," one of his hands let go of her arm, caressing her cheek. "Te quiero."

Ailee smiled. Whenever she was lost in these moments with him, she felt as if she still deserved to be loved. That if she dropped everything now, she would be happy with Angel in Santo Padre along with his father, Felipe and his extended family. But Ailee knew that was all a lie. This could easily be taken from her and she didn't want to cause Angel his life.

"Te quiero," she pulled him down so their lips could meet once again.

She knew that she shouldn't be tangled with Angel right now, she had to meet Elena in 2 hours and that woman was all about punctuality. On time was arriving 30 minutes early.

Ailee pulled away, sitting up and grabbing Angel's shirt that was discarded on the floor. Slipping the shirt on, she attempted to get out of bed, but was pulled back by Angel into his embrace.

"It's your day off," Angel pointed out.

"Baby, my boss wants to have a meeting, it'll be quick. Before you know it, I'll be back in your arms." They never made it official, but after doing this for 2 and half years, there were no words needed.

"You still coming to the clubhouse tonight?" Angel let her go reluctantly.

"I plan on coming, you want me there?"

"I always want you near me."

"Insatiable." Ailee laughed. "Want to join me in the shower?"

Angel just smirked as he stood up quickly, wrapping his arms around Ailee as he placed kisses along her neck.

He was addicted and he couldn't quit her even if he tried.

Ailee watched as Angel walked out of his father's butcher shop, carrying a box of meat to a customer's car. She took a sip of the coffee in front of her, letting the bitter taste slide down her throat.

"I definitely see why you keep coming back to this god forsaken town," her companion commented.

"Fuck you,"

Elena, her commanding officer laughed at her vulgar words. "This is for the best," the humor was no longer present. "Staying around will only make things worst."

"He's part of a biker club for god's sakes." Ailee retorted. "I only have Angel," Ailee paused for a moment. "After what happened to Vince, he's the only person who truly understands."

She saw Angel slip on his Mayans vest before getting on his bike. For a moment, she thought he saw her as he looked across the street, but then she realized that the window in front of her was tinted, almost impossible for him to see. She left him in her apartment so that she could meet Elena.

Angel never knew of her affiliation to Maquina. It would be too difficult to explain to him, but she was certain that he knew of Maquina through Vince. The two became much closer than before after EZ went to prison. Vince confided everything to Angel, except for his enemies since he never wanted to get Angel involved.

Maquina was a different beast compared to Angel's MC.

"Lee, sacrifices have to be made, Theo is still out there and if he knows of your weakness, he won't hesitate to wipe out Angel, his family and his MC." Elena reasoned, her voice in hushed tones as a precaution. "I know he's technically in Madrid, building his weapons company, but you know he's staying quiet and waiting for the right moment."

"You need me to be focused."

"You've been through a lot due to Vince's recent passing," Ailee closed her eyes, still not coming to terms with her brother's death. "I've watched you, you're becoming more ruthless, which benefits us, but I never wanted you to lose your humanity." Elena watched as Angel rode away, Ailee watching along with her. "Maybe this is a mistake, I think you should stay near Angel, it's the only time I see your humanity come out. I'm not sure if it's due to you putting up an act in front of him or your humanity comes through when you're with him."

Elena was right and Ailee knew it. Angel was a distraction. As much as she craved for his company, as much as she loves him, he was an unnecessary distraction. She needed to be committed and focused on Maquina.

This was the only way she can guarantee that.

"When do we leave for DC?"

"In two hours."

"We should go."

"You're not going to say goodbye?"

"I already did."

Ailee broke away from her stupor and gave Alona a small smile. "Opening this café was the hardest thing I've ever had to do."

"I figured you would say that," Alona returned her smile. "It is quite a feat, many people frequent your café even though there are other café's near by."

"What can I say, we give great customer service," Ailee shrugged as she let out a slight chuckle. "Good luck on your article."

"Thanks Ailee,"

She made her way to the kitchen and found her team already waiting for her. The team consisted of Michael, Jennifer and Xander. She didn't need a big team, the four of them could rattle a whole country, the less people on a team, the more efficient the assignment was carried out.

"Took you long enough," Jennifer teased. "It's not that busy."

"Why won't you try it for a change?" Ailee playfully threw her apron at Jennifer.

"I would, but I already paid my dues," she smirked, catching the apron and placing it on the counter.

"You ready? Arthur is going to brief us." Xander questioned as he slipped his phone back in his pocket.

Ailee nodded remembering why her team was here in the first place. They usually went their separate ways after a mission. As much as they adored one another a little time apart was much needed. Besides, Ailee liked her space to rejuvenate and rid herself of any remnants of a mission. As much as her emotions have been locked away, she still had a sense of humor. She knew that she worried her friends, her family, but this was who she was now. The blood she's shed over the years, an eternity in hell wouldn't even begin to pay for her sins.

The five went down the hall that looked to lead to the back end of the store, but instead, it led to the office that was disguised for one of the entrances to the Maquina headquarters in Los Angeles. No one would ever suspect a coffee shop to be a front for a secret organization.

Once inside the office, Ailee placed her hand on the wall, which illuminated under her, scanning her handprint.

"Welcome Ace," a voice greeted as the door opened.

Behind the wall was an elevator that led to the ground floor of the café. Once they were under ground, they walked down a hallway that led them to another elevator that brought them up the building that was next to a café. It was another front, a furniture shop at the bottom and offices up top.

"This is the most extra headquarters ever, feel like we could just had blocked off a top floor of one of the buildings in Century City." Michael rolled his eyes as the elevator made its way up to the 10th floor.

"Far too flashy, too many corporations want to set up shop in Century City." Xander replied.

"Yes, because Santa Monica isn't." Michael scoffed.

Once they arrived on the floor, they made their way to one of the conference rooms where Arthur was waiting for them. Michael opened the door, holding it open until everyone was inside.

"Of course you 5 would be late," Arthur rolled his eyes. "Do you assholes think I have nothing better to do?"

"Arthur, we were literally a minute late," Jennifer argued as she sat down on one of the chairs.

"Punctuality, that's what you 5 lack of, the café should have been around when you 5 were trainees, would have taught you a thing or two."

"Yes, because you're always punctual," Ailee smirked. "If I recall, you were 2 hours late for our last meeting," Ailee's smirk grew. "Since you were on a date with that cute trainee."

"I forgot about the meeting!" Arthur looked away from Ailee, focusing his eyes back on the laptop in front of him.

Ailee laughed, shaking her head. "Lock it down."

Arthur pressed the button beside him, cutting off the signal for their cell phones and tinting the windows that overlooked the Pacific Ocean. Privacy has been one of the most important aspects of being in Maquina. If someone was not going to be a part of your life in the next 5 years, Maquina should never be uttered. The government went on great lengths to protect Maquina. A certain level of clearance would be the only way for a government official to find out about Maquina.

"Let's begin the presentation," the lights dimmed as Arthur said those words. The screen behind him turned on as he moved to the side so that he wouldn't block the view. "Angel Ignacio Reyes, son of Felipe and Marisol Reyes, brother to Ezekiel Reyes." A surveillance photo of Angel appeared on the screen with his fellow members Coco and Gilly. "His brethren's, Coco and Gilly."

"What? No information on them?" Ailee questioned.

"This is bullshit and you know it," Arthur replied, his tone soft even though his words were harsh. "Ailee, you know all about this guy."

"Many things can change in 5 years," she shrugged.

"Don't overestimate the MC, besides running for the Galindo Cartel, not much has changed for them." Arthur knew of Angel and Ailee's history. This briefing was a waste of time, but he knew Ailee's play. The more she made it seem like one of her regular hits, the more she could make herself believe that this was what it was, just one of her contracts.

"Arthur, please proceed with your briefing." Ailee's tone turned professional and the aura in the room changed. Ace was coming out, Ailee was no longer there. The stone cold killer Maquina created was present.

"His brother Ezekiel has began prospecting for the MC," this information caught Ailee's attention.

"EZ? He's out of prison?" One of her eyebrows rose at this information. Ailee knew what Ezekiel was to his family, the pride and joy as Angel was pushed to the back. She knew it bothered Angel some, but his loyalty and love for his brother always pushed away whatever insecurity he had. It was always there, but that did not mean that Angel wasn't proud of EZ. Though, she did wish that every once in a while, he was shown the amount of love EZ was shown. Angel was a great man, in her eyes, even greater than EZ. Everything was handed to EZ, Angel fought for his keep.

"Yep, the golden boy has decided to follow in big brother's footsteps." Arthur slightly smirked at this revelation, knowing the next bombshell he was going to drop would put the pieces of the puzzle together. "He also has a deal with the DEA in order for them to crack down on the Galindo Cartel."

Ailee laughed out loud at that. "The DEA is such a bunch of jerk offs," Ailee shook her head. "I'm guessing that he agreed to give them information at the behest that Angel and the MC would never be touched."

"Ding ding ding," Arthur tapped the table in front of him. "And of course, an erasure of his crime."

"Why didn't you offer him that?" Michael questioned. Everyone knew of Ailee's past with the Reyes siblings. Whenever they were done with a mission during their first few years of Ailee's Maquina career, she always came home to Santo Padre, along with her brother Vince to visit the small town living they had grown accustomed to.

"Uncle Jin wouldn't allow me too, it was too personal." Ailee knew she could have fought for EZ's release, would have been easy to do so. Attempting to get EZ released would have been easy as it was a crime in a small town that could have been easily covered.

"I'm sure that didn't deter you." Xander slightly smirked, knowing how persistent Ailee could be when she wanted something.

"I bought him protection," Ailee sighed. "Vince reasoned with me that trying to get EZ out of jail would leave a bad taste in some people's mouths."

"Since when did that ever stop you two?"

"EZ did the crime, he had to do the time, it's what makes the world go around," Ailee leaned back. "At least their world."

"The DEA deal can easily be severed, we don't need them sniffing around if you actually decide to," Xander paused, choosing his next words carefully. "Accomplish this mission."

"We can offer EZ another deal, besides, the Galindo Cartel isn't much of a threat, they're merely a small player in a small border town," Michael knew better than to brushed a cartel aside, but they've dealt with far bigger players to worry about cartel they could easily wipe off the map.

"And they're in bed with the CIA, as much as I like pulling the strings of the CIA, I rather not do it for an easy kill," Jennifer added her two cents.

"So what's the plan? We all know there's no point to this briefing, what's your play Lee? Killing a biker isn't difficult, many people want them dead." Arthur knew he was being coldhearted, but he wanted Ailee to see how ridiculous this idea was. Killing Angel would practically get rid of the small amount of humanity that was in her. He wasn't an idiot, he knew that she watched over the MC, and he was almost certain she was the reason that EZ got the DEA deal.

"Guess Santo Padre is getting a brand new café." Ailee stood up leaving them behind, effectively ending the lockdown Arthur placed.

Once she was out of earshot, the four looked at one another and shook their heads.

"This was the plan that Evangelina came up with?" Michael questioned Xander.

"Believe me, this was not her idea," Xander rolled his eyes.

"Whose was it?"

"It was Angel's idea."