These characters belong to JE.

Fiona's POV

Even though my part in this mission wasn't particularly taxing, I didn't get a lot of rest. As a result, as soon as I was free to sleep, I took every opportunity. I slept in the car to the airport, I slept on the plane and I even slept in the car to the hotel.

Each time I slept, I felt Lester's eyes on me. Normally, if a man started at me the way Lester has been doing over the past couple of days, I'd have given him a shiner or at least a testicular readjustment. But Lester was different. I knew about his playboy status, but I just couldn't see it in the way he interacted with me and the guys. Maybe he just needed the right environment for that side of him to come out.

When we stopped at the hotel, Ranger came over and explained that I should stay in the hotel and that we'd meet again in the morning. He also took me aside and made a really generous offer for a job at RangeMan if I wasn't able to get into another agency after the fiasco with the General. I thanked Ranger and thought about my options for a while.

I started working for the General after my first tour in the Army was over. I had been deployed in Afghanistan for 2 years and when I returned, I was pretty well known in the army circles because I was female and I was a pretty good sniper. On one outing, I managed to take out three Taliban fighters who had ambushed my team. Three were injured and one was killed.

I climbed on top of an old building and managed to pick off three of the bad guys, saving the rest of my team as a result. I was awarded the Silver Star and then approached by General Matthews. I was told that he led Black Ops using military resources and personnel and he used only the best of the best.

I had heard about Captain Manoso and several of his employees, but I never had the chance to work with them on a mission. I had a chance once, but backed out of the mission because my father had a heart attack. He ended up surviving, but I never regretted missing that mission because several of the men sent out didn't return. On that particular mission, only Captain Manoso and one other man survived, and by the sounds of it, they were just shit lucky.

I was standing in the lobby of a pretty nice hotel, waiting for a key to my room when Lester walked over to me. He looked at me for a minute and then said, "Is everything OK? You looked like your mind was far away for a while there."

I smiled at Lester. He was actually a really sweet guy, despite his reputation. "I'm fine Lester. I was just remembering how I got into the in the first place."

"Yeah, I'm surprised you haven' come across Ranger before."

"I was assigned a mission with Ranger about a year ago, but my father had a heart attack and I didn't go. It turns out that my father's near death experience probably saved my life."

Lester thought for a moment and said, "Was that the mission that Ranger and Tank escaped only because their truck broke down and missed the ambush?"

I nodded and Lester smiled. My god, he has a nice smile. I just stood there staring at him, which in turn made him smile wider.

Ranger walked up to us and patted Lester on the shoulder, handing him a key card in a pouch. He handed me one as well and then bid us good night. Lester looked at his watch and said, "Would you like a quick night cap before heading to bed?"

I thought for a moment. I really would like to see Lester in a more relaxed environment and to see his playboy come out, but I was tired. Sleeping in a moving vehicle of any kind isn't very restful. "How about a rain check? I'm really exhausted. I'd probably fall asleep on you and that would be no fun. You'd leave me at the table to sleep while you found your next target."

Lester's face fell for a moment, but only for a fraction of a second. He then smiled wider and said, "I'm sure Fiery Fiona would outshine any other woman in a bar tonight. You'd easily be able to hold my attention, even if you did fall asleep. I will take that rain check and you'll have a wonderful time."

I felt a little guilty at my jibe about suggesting that he would ditch me and look for another woman the first chance he got, but he did have a reputation. I didn't want to actually fall for the guy and then just be another notch on his headboard.

I looked down at my key card and saw that my room was on the 12th floor. Lester was also looking at his card and I noticed that we were in adjacent rooms. Great, that's all I need, handsome, sexy and willing man in the room right next to mine. I decided to pretend that it wasn't a big deal and headed to the elevators.

I wasn't sure if Lester saw my room number, so maybe if I got off on a different floor than him, he might leave things alone for tonight. I walked into the car and pressed the button for the 13th floor. Lester got in and pressed the button for the 12th floor and then turned and smiled at me.

"Are you afraid I'm going to knock on your door in the middle of the night Fiery Fiona?"

"Would you stop calling me that?" I snapped.

"Um, sure Fiona, I'm sorry, it's a habit of mine. I tend to give women nicknames based on their personalities."

"Is that so you don't have to remember their actual names?"

"In some cases, that's exactly why. In others, it's because I like to show affection by giving them a name that nobody else uses."

"Well, if you want to give me a nickname, you shouldn't include a person's name. I hate my name. I preferred to be known by my surname in the army and that is what my colleagues and the General continue to call me."

"Fair enough, but I can come up with something better than LeBlanc. How about White Fire? Or Firefly?"

I was saved from answering when the elevator dinged and the doors opened on the 12th floor. We both exited and walked to our rooms. I smiled at Lester and said, "I think you should keep working on it. Neither of those suggestions is very endearing. Good night Lester."

Lester smiled and said, "I'll find something. Good night LeBlanc."

I unlocked my door and walked into my room. I wanted to do nothing more than collapse on my bed and sleep for the next 12 hours, but I needed to be up and meet with the guys in just under 8 hours. I hurriedly got ready for bed, set my alarm and then crawled under the covers. My last thought before I fell asleep was that Lester was probably doing the exact same thing just a few feet away.

More to come tomorrow.