God damnit anon. Why did you suggest this? Now I'm sad. I like Oliverrrrrrrr


July 1969, Willow Creek, Idaho, United States of America

Puzzles always just made sense to Kaley. Always had. She loved a good puzzle, to find the twists and turns of a thing, untangle it and make it neat and show it for what it was by presenting a full picture. Code breaking was the ultimate puzzle. There was no final or focused form to it. There was no image you had to work towards. You just had to know what you were doing, and do it, otherwise you'd never get the finished product. They were the best puzzles. And she got to stick it to a bunch of Templars, so that was a winning situation for her.

After staring at her big white board for a while Kaley's eyes were watering. She'd been here since after breakfast. The head code cracker for the Assassins was a woman named Jovanna O'Toole who ran the entire division dedicated to unraveling Templar and government intelligence. She was a tenth generation Assassin with roots in Saxons of ancient Britain and a third generation cypher. She was an older woman and thought Kaley was a bit obsessive. She was. She should be. Once Jovanna died Kaley would take over for her and it'd be the first time in three generations that an O'Toole didn't lead the Assassin cryptography division. First time the division head wouldn't be in Europe too.

Oh how that burned some of the older families that a Miles- a bunch of once-Germans who'd come into standing in the seventeenth century- and was almost strictly American would take over such an important division in their organization. As it was they were still bitter Troy ran Willow Creek, the second biggest compound in the western United States, and third biggest in the western hemisphere. Only Red Convergence in Alaska and Eagle Point out in the mountains of Pennsylvania were bigger. Still bitter Troy was a friend of Mentor Jefferson and still bitter and sexist a girl was going to take over both Willow Creek and the powerful Miles family. Too much old blood in the old world, and Assassins didn't like change. The French and Italians were so strong, overshadowing their Middle Eastern and North African roots. Too old, too hard to change, too stuck in the old ways. They weren't ready for the future. They didn't have a plan. They were stumbling around in the dark and Kaley knew that.

Standing in front of her white board Kaley saw things she'd been missing fall into place. The code cracking division was one of the most important and competitive divisions of the entire Order. While it was a community that shared everything they also wanted to solve the code faster than any of the others. Only field agents were more competitive. She'd had half formed ideas on her board and now she could see what the Templars had been doing with this code.

"That's so clever," she said with a slight smile. She didn't like what the codes turned into, but she could appreciate a good puzzle. And she'd solved this code in two months. A record. Even Jovanna had been staring at this code for months, beating her head against it in annoyance.

There was a knock on the door and before she could answer it the door opened. "Kay its time for- ahg! Why aren't you wearing pants?" John demanded.

Kaley looked at him. John was a tall man with fantastic hair, dark grey eyes, and a mouth with lips that looked like they were made to suck a dick. Which, incidentally, he did, quite often. John was the oldest Miles, and queer as a Templar with a conscious. No one knew but her and their father Troy. Assassins didn't take well to homosexuals, never had. If you were gay you weren't capable of continuing your line, producing more Assassins. You had far less worth than other Assassins. Troy knew that and kept John close so no one asked or bothered John about why he was nearly thirty and still had no wife, or children.

"I am wearing pants, perv," she stuck her tongue out at her brother and lifted up the long hem of her shirt. Or really, not her shirt, current squeeze's shirt. It was big on her, and comfortable. "Its just hot so I'm in shorts. Geeze, you act like you've never seen me naked," she scoffed.

"Sis, you were six, not twenty."

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, its time for dinner. You missed lunch," he said.

"Are you kidding?" she checked her watch. "Where did the time go?"

"You spent it looking at that wall," he said.

"Hey! I was making important advances in cracking this code. Which, in case you were wondering; I did," she said.

"You did?"

"Yeap! I can't wait to tell dad," and she bent over her desk a moment to finish filling out her notes.

"Well c'mon I'm hungry," John complained.

"Go bother Archie if you're hungry, I'm sure he'll comply."

"Woah woah little sister. That was uncalled for," John said, but was also red faced when she glanced up at him.

"Or did you do that already?"

"I'll see you at dinner. Hurry up," John practically squeaked and left her alone. She smiled and shook her head fondly at her brother. John was so predictable. Or maybe it was just men. She got bored of them so quickly. You had to try hard to make her interested for more than a few weeks. All the boys her age at Willow Creek knew that and practically fell over themselves to be impressive. Most of them were just so… boring.

Kaley finished her notes and changed her shirt so her daddy wouldn't ask where she'd gotten it, and went out to the dining room. Troy was there, as usual, at the head of the table and there were two spaces open. It was just her, John, and Troy in the house. Her other two brothers lived with their wives and children, doing their best to keep the family name going. Mrs. McKenna, an old lady who was too on in her years to help the Order in other ways, cooked for them and several other families every day. It gave her something to do and didn't take more able bodied people out of their fields.

Kaley sat in her seat at Troy's left. John came in from the kitchen were two bottles of beer and set one at his plate and the other in front of Troy. "Thank you," Troy said. Troy looked the picture of a hard old man. He had all his hair still, but it was pure silver. He had dark blue, almost black, eyes like Kaley did, and a scar ran vertically down one side of his face. He had deep frown lines on his forehead and corners of his mouth and though he was in his fifties was still in great shape. "Finally come out of your office I see," Troy said to Kaley as he took a sip of beer. Kaley didn't like beer, she thought it tasted icky.

"I had a major breakthrough with the code," she said excitedly as John started serving everyone. It was fresh bass, whole ears of corn and snapped beans with a cream sauce.

"Oh?"

"Meaning, I cracked it!" she cried.

"You did?" Troy asked, eyebrows going up. "That's wonderful dear. I'll send a message to Jovanna tomorrow that she can expect the full information from you in a few days." Kaley beamed at him.

"Show those Europeans the Americans are just as good," she said with a mean while.

"Better," John said rather emotionlessly, more like he was stating a fact he'd been saying for years and just reminding everyone of it.

"Exactly. Better than those Europeans," Troy said. "Speaking of them though," he turned to Kaley. "I'm having someone visiting from Poland in the next few days."

"Oh? Who?" Kaley asked and glanced at John who was quietly eating. Him not talking meant he'd known, and knew who it was, but wasn't telling her.

"A very nice young man. His name is Oliver Ranta. His family is very well known in eastern Europe."

"That's nice. What's he coming here for?" Kaley asked between bites. Troy didn't answer right away and John was very much not saying anything. "Daddy?" she prodded.

"Remember how we spoke some time ago," Troy started, "about your future? How you're going to take over the family when I'm gone-

"And you know I hate it when you talk like that," she said sharply. The thought of her father dying was the worst thought. Her mother had died when she'd been young, killed out in the field by Templars. The thought of losing her father was unbearable.

"Regardless. Its something we must think about. You're not a little girl anymore Kay. Jovanna isn't getting any younger, she adores you, as I'm sure you know. Neither am I. You're going to be Matriarch of the Miles when I'm too old. You need to start thinking about what that means and what it means to our family. Unfortunately, and you know I hate to say this, but you are a woman. Those sexist ninnies in Europe aren't fond of female leaders among us, let alone Americans," he rolled his eyes a bit. Kaley had stopped eating. "I have been talking with some of my friends I have both here in the States and in Europe and they made me come to the decision that it would probably be best if you got married."

"What?"

"Oliver Ranta is coming to Willow Creek, to see you. You will be marrying him."

"Again, what? Did you arrange my marriage?" she asked, gripping her utensils so hard her hands shook.

"I did," Troy said.

"Why would you do this?" she demanded. "As if my life isn't controlled enough by the Order now I can't even pick my own husband!?"

"Kay, please. Oliver is a great young man-

"I don't care!" she snapped. "You didn't even ask me."

Troy's face wrinkled in a frown, his scarred eye becoming tiny and hard. "And I am your father."

"And I am your heir! The only one of your blood. You didn't even consider my feelings in this."

"I did," Troy said slowly, keeping his temper in check. John just had his head down. They both knew what it was like when Troy lost control of his temper. The good ole' Miles fury was strong in all of them and they could burn a house down with it. "I know there are no boys in Willow Creek you find interesting enough to be with, if you did I would know about it," and that took all the wind out of Kaley's sails. "And since I know you are so fickle and wouldn't settle down with anyone I just took your chance to waffle away from you and picked someone for you. Now he's coming in two days and I expect you to be nice to him. His father has already agreed to this so you might as well just accept this."

Kaley's reply was to knock over his beer and storm away.

"Kay!" John called after her.

"Let her go," she heard Troy tell John. "She'll come around," was all she heard before she was out of the house. She went down the lane to the gym where there were still people training and exercising. She went to her locket and pulled out her work out gear and put on her pads before going to the practice ring.

There were several guys there and they greeted her by name. She didn't waste any time or pleasantries and just told them to beat her up. Or try to at least. After double checking that they'd heard her right they fought. Kaley threw them all to the ground about six times each before they said they had to go home.

Kaley stood alone in the ring feeling impotent. Her father had just married her off to some Polish dick she'd never met! That was all her father saw Oliver as. A dick that could give her well bred children. It was infuriating! She didn't even know Oliver and she hated him. For a moment it felt like her skin was burning and she just wished, in that moment, that she could breathe fire.

Then the moment passed and she threw her gear back into her locker and went home. Troy and John were already asleep. Kaley showered. She'd been so happy in the beginning of the night and now she was going to bed angry.

Kaley was out of the house the day Oliver arrived. She'd made a point to be. She'd gone to the communications office to talk to Jovanna for a while. The two of them could talk forever about their work and it kept Kaley's mind off the foreigner who'd come to Willow Creek. For a while anyway then her brother Eric had shown up.

Eric leaned into the cubical she'd taken over to talk to Jovanna. Eric was her youngest big brother, had only one baby so far. He was cute with big pale eyes and a perfect jaw. His hair was always a mess. "What?" she swatted at Eric in irritation.

"Dad says come home," Eric said and tugged on her collar like a boy pulling pig tails. Anyone else did that and she'd have thrown him on his ass. Eric was too cheerful and sweet to do that to.

"I'm talking to my boss," Kaley said in exasperation. On the other end Jovanna laughed.

"So? Tell her you'll call her back. He's got a visitor he wants you to meet-

"I know why he wants me home. Get out, I'll be home when I'm done," she waved him away. Eric just shrugged and left. "Can you believe the nerve of these men?" she asked Jovanna.

"My dear, perhaps its best if you don't dawdle. I've learned many a time that taking off the bandage slowly doesn't work. You need to just rip it off, get it over with. Besides, your father is a smart man. You might not hate Oliver."

"Uhg! I can't believe you're on his side!" she accused. Jovanna just laughed again.

"Anyway dear, it's late here, I must be getting to bed. You did good work with that code. We'll talk again soon."

Kaley sighed, "Alright," she said. "Talk to you soon, ma'am."

"That's a girl," Jovanna practically cooed and they both hung up. Kaley dragged her feet back home.

When she opened the door she could hear men talking in the living room. She heard her father and brother John talking to a voice she didn't recognize. It was heavily accented and sort of difficult to understand, but not fully unpleasant. She lingered just outside where they couldn't see her, just listening. They talked banally about Troy's accomplishments. Seemed Oliver thought quite a bit of Troy.

Finally she just did what Jovanna suggested and entered the room. "Hi. Sorry I didn't come sooner. Jovanna kept me," she said to her father.

"I'm sure," Troy said and she knew he knew she was lying. "We were just having a chat. Oliver, this is my daughter, Kaley," Troy said.

Oliver immediately jumped to his feet to shake her hand. He had a firm grip with callouses on the palm and fingers from knife fighting and there were a few small scars on the top of his hand. "An honor to meet you Ms. Miles," Oliver said. He wasn't ugly, but he wasn't pretty either. Oliver was about as average as you could get with a face you'd forget the moment you looked away from it. Kaley supposed that was the point. His hair was black and his skin shockingly pale. He had subtle lines at the corner of his mouth and when he smiled as he shook her hand she knew it was from doing so so much.

"Ah, nice to meet you too," she said, caught off guard a bit.

"You were speaking with Ms. O'Toole before arriving?"

"Yes," Kaley said.

Oliver just smiled at her, "I hope she's doing well."

"She is," Kaley said.

"Unfortunately," Troy muttered.

"Dad!" Kaley cried.

"What?" Troy asked innocently. "Is it so much I want my little girl to have an excellent position amid the Order?"

"I don't understand?" Oliver said.

"Jovanna has selected my daughter to be her successor." Kaley smiled a little when Oliver went from interested to outright respectful of Kaley. "It is a great honor."

"Yes," Oliver nodded. "The division head has been an O'Toole for three generations. You must be exceptional to get Ms. O'Toole's interest."

"I am," Kaley said. She wasn't cocky, she was just telling the truth.

"You must show me how you work some time. Its so beyond me. I've only the head for field work," he admitted almost shyly.

"Yes. You must tell us Oliver," Troy said. "Both of you sit," he added. Kaley sat and only when Oliver let go did she realize he'd been holding her hand the entire time in both of his with utmost gentleness. She sat next to them. Troy asked Oliver about himself, as the Pol had been far more interested in talking about Troy before.

Turned out Oliver was a rising star in Europe. His family wasn't very powerful like Kaley's, but they were upstanding and came from the Dutch Assassin who was remembered in Assassin history books. Oliver was jokingly called his second coming, though Oliver humbly told them all he never thought of himself like that. He was intelligent, and not the way some Assassins were where they just knew things the Order taught them. Oliver had actually lived and been a part of the world at large. Kaley was horribly jealous of that. Troy didn't let her leave Willow Creek. She was too special, too important.

Oliver also liked to fight and John had suggested that he and Kaley spar sometime. She'd wanted to punch John for that and Oliver had tried to talk his way out of it. Oliver wasn't very good at talking though and when Troy had said that sounded like a good idea he'd just shut up.

A few hours later they were finally done and Kaley excused herself to her room. She fell onto her bed annoyed. She hated that she didn't hate Oliver. Troy had taken her agency of choosing her own husband and then given her the best man for the job. Most of the men her age in Willow Creek were so introverted and stupid and had no charisma. Through no real faults of their own of course, they were Assassins, they were bred that way. They were supposed to be quiet, sociopathic, and follow orders. Oliver was in charge. Of his life, of his cell. He spoke well, despite his Polish accent, though she supposed it was totally fair for him to have an accent as he spoke four languages. He was just, great really and she sort of looked forward to getting to know him better.

"Damnit dad," she muttered.

She rolled out of bed, changed her clothes and fixed her hair before leaving again. Troy and Oliver were still talking though John had left to go do whatever he had to still do that day now that Kaley hadn't set the house on fire. "Back already?" Troy was honestly surprised when he saw her. He'd expected her to go to her room and sulk for a while, not come back out after a few minutes.

"I said I'd be right back," she said, offended.

"Is there something you needed?"

"I thought maybe I could talk to Oliver, alone," she gave her father a pointed look.

Troy's brows went up in surprise. "Of course," he said and with a grunt got to his feet. "I'll leave you two alone then." He gave Kaley a look as he left. A very specific, 'don't be mean' sort of look. Kaley just smiled at her father. She had no intention of being mean. She wasn't happy about being married off, but she wasn't here to be mean.

"Ms. Miles," Oliver said, getting to his feet.

"Please, you can call me Kaley," she said nicely.

"Kaley," he said and then looked around her to make sure Troy was gone. "I am so sorry."

"What?" she blinked in surprise.

"I realize your father did this without your consent. For that, I am sorry. Heh… my father, he went behind my back with this as well."

"So, we both have conniving fathers?"

"Who want the best for us. I trust my father to make good choices on my behalf. Do you?"

"Sometimes," she said. "Other times I want to strangle him," that made Oliver laugh.

"I know how that goes," Oliver said, smiling. He had a fantastic smile and made him look less ordinary and almost handsome. He had dimples. That was cute. She smiled as well.

"Has my father given you a tour of Willow Creek yet?" she asked.

"No. I came right here from the airport," he said. "The drive here was…"

"Boring?" she teased. "Nothing but potatoes and corn here. Well, except here." Oliver nodded. "I'll show you around."

"I'd like that quite a bit," he said.

"Lets go then," Kaley beckoned him. Oliver smiled and followed her out of the house.

Kaley rarely got to leave Willow Creek. Troy didn't like to put her needlessly at risk he said. Today though she got to go out with Oliver to Lewiston and take him to the airport. He'd been here for two weeks and now he was leaving. When he'd first arrived Kaley didn't think too much of him but now that he was going Kaley was loathe for him to leave. She'd had to beg Troy to let her go. Normally he'd say no and she knew that but he couldn't stand to see her beg. He'd said yes.

Now she was sitting in the back seat of a jeep with Oliver. They had their heads close together, talking. John was driving and Troy was in the passenger seat. She could see her father watching them in the rearview mirror. He seemed pleased. She didn't really care either.

When they finally stopped at the airport Kaley barely noticed. Oliver checked in and they walked to his gate. Kaley held his hand the entire way. There was forty minutes before his flight and he and Kaley spent the time waiting together.

"You must come visit me in Poland," Oliver said, not for the first time in the past two weeks.

Kaley smiled, "You know I'd love to. My father wouldn't love it," she said.

Oliver gave Troy a shrewd look. Troy was reading the paper he'd bought from a kiosk at the terminal. "We'll convince him," Oliver promised. "Eastern Europe is so beautiful Kay," he cooed. "No potato fields," he promised and she laughed. "I'd take you to see a city. They're not like the ones here."

"I've never been to a city," she said.

"All the more reason," he said. "Everything is so close in Europe. We could go anywhere."

"Uuuh, Oliver stop. You're making me depressed I can't come with you," she whined.

Oliver chuckled. "We'll convince that old man to let you visit. He's going to have to let you go if he wants us to get married after all. You can't stay in this dusty place all the time."

"I can't wait," she smiled. She never thought she'd say that either. That she'd be excited to be in an arranged marriage.

"Me neither," he kissed her. Oliver was a fantastic kisser honestly. Kaley fully admitted she loved like a fire. She loved hard and fast without apologies or reservations. She wasn't in love with Oliver yet but she knew she'd just need a little more time. He was the only man she'd met who interested her enough to want to learn all about him and not just use him as a play thing like the boys back in Willow Creek. They spent the next twenty minutes canoodling and she was very aware of John and Troy pretending not to see.

Then a voice came over the speaker announcing that the plane was boarding. "Why do you even have to go back to Poland anyway?" Kaley whined.

Oliver chuckled, "I have work there, my dear," he said, still sort of smiling. "My people are waiting for me. My cell is going on a mission to Berlin. Once I'm done with that mission I'll come back, or you'll come to me. We'll make it official then. How's that sound?"

"Yes!" she nearly whispered.

Oliver got up and she went with him to the gate. "Sir, it was a pleasure meeting you," he shook Troy's hand. "John," he shook John's hand as well.

"We'll be in touch I'm sure," Troy said with a faint smile.

"Good luck with your work back home," John said.

Oliver smiled faintly, "Thank you." Kaley kissed him one more time before letting him go. "Safety and peace," he said before turning and showing his ticket to the flight attendant and walking down the gangway.

As they were driving back to Willow Creek Troy turned back around to Kaley. "Didn't I tell you?"

"Tell me what, daddy?" she asked, looking away from the window where she'd been zoning out back at him.

"I considered your feelings. I didn't just pick some idiot for you. You're my precious daughter after all," he said fondly.

"I suppose you did," she said, smiling back a bit. "When he's done with his mission in Berlin he wants to get married," she said.

"Excellent," Troy turned back front. "Berlin missions last a year or two, so we have time to prepare and decide if he'll be coming here, or you to Poland."

"I want to go to Europe," she said immediately.

Troy chuckled, "We will see about that, dear," he said.

"I want to, daddy. I want to be there, with him."

"We'll see," Troy just said again and she knew she'd have to wear him down to ever get him to agree. Wouldn't be too hard. Troy did anything she asked. She was giddy with the thought and the next year couldn't pass soon enough. She couldn't wait to see Oliver again.