Tengoko: Oh wow! Sorry for keepin you all waiting. I've just got so many things going on, not to mention other stories. Well, it's four in the morning and I think I've finally gotten this chapter right. I'd really like feed back on it. You know what to do. Well, enjoy the chapter.
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Rated M for language and romance
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Chapter 5: Smoldering

Cold sweats. Just another side effect of ArgusinDSA. It wasn't the first time that she had woken up in the middle of the night drenched head to toe. She threw the covers off of her body and sat up, her legs hanging off the edge of the bed. Wiping the sweat off of her forehead, she stood up and walked straight to her restroom.

They were out on the sink now, looming like a sentry by the faucet. She'd gotten two more bottles from the lab, unbeknownst to anybody, and had stored them away in her medicine cabinet. It was just in case she lost a bottle or ran out, which she would eventually. She did have to admit, she was taking more than was suggested, but it wasn't as if she couldn't handle it.

She went straight for the pills and popped the cap. What a sweet, satisfying sound. That in itself eased some of her anxious nerves. She then stuck her fingers into the bottle and pulled out two pills, held them in her cupped palm. So small. So comforting. She couldn't explain it. Parting her lips, she slid them into her mouth and swallowed them together. Oh, they felt so good going down her throat. It felt like home.

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"Would you stop changing the subject?" Rude asked irritably as he leaned against the wall. It was weird talking to her through the thin door of a dressing room. Even more strange that the dressing room in question was located in a lingerie shop. He'd never been inside one before, definitely would have been happy to never have done so. But, at the moment, there were more pressing matters at hand.

"I assure you, Rude. You're beating a dead horse on this one. There is nothing wrong with me and you and Reno are just paranoid is all." Then there was as loud thump, and both Reno and Rude jumped to their feet, standing erect.

"Are you alright, Laney?" Reno asked.

"Yeah. No worries. I've just bumped my head. Damn, I'm not used to putting things like this on. Is it supposed to be…this tight?"

Reno and Rude chuckled. "How should we know, Laney?" Rude asked. "We've never put them on. We've only taken them off." They heard her exasperated sigh and they laughed again.

Well, if you are wondering why they are in a lingerie shop, you are about to find out. As it turns out, Elena's next mission was to play the role of smoldering temptress. It was to be her last mission with Reno…at least for a while…and what a way to go out with a bang? To seduce Giovanni de Luca. Mob boss for a major crime syndicate. Apparently, he was supposed to go out with a bang too. More literally.

"Laney, we're only worried about you," Rude said, getting back on topic. "You do know, despite what Rufus and Tseng said…"

"You heard about that?"

"Yeah. Tseng hides nothing from us," Rude explained. "Anyway, Laney, we…both of us…want you to know that if you ever need somebody to talk to, you can always come to us."

There was a long period where nothing was said. They heard a bit of shuffling before she said, "I'm coming out now…don't laugh." She didn't give them any time for a rejoinder. Stepping out, she opened her black robe and closed her eyes, afraid that her two colleagues would break into fits of hysterical laughter.

If only she hadn't closed her eyes. Both Rude and Reno froze, mouths gaping, eyes wide. She wore a black bustier, a matching thong, black thigh highs and stilettos. Respectfully, Rude looked away, right at Reno who had yet to tear his eyes away from Elena.

"I'm going…over…there…" Rude said, and then hurrying away. It wasn't that he was repulsed, but Elena was the closest thing to a sister he'd ever had. It was awkward seeing her that way. He looked to see if Reno was going to join him; he was stuck in his place.

"Well…what do you think?" Elena asked him. Her voice seemed to snap him out of whatever trance she had put him in. "Do I look good enough to impress the don?" she asked, still awaiting his response. When none came, she hurriedly closed her rob and blushed with embarrassment. "I didn't think so either."

"What?" Reno finally spoke. "No…I didn't…Laney you're b…" he seemed to catch himself before he said another word. "Well, there you go, Laney. You've got me sputtering like a fool. That's never happened to me before, so does that tell you something."

She smiled and stepped closer to him. "Were you about to call me beautiful?" she asked, a smile creeping at the corner of her mouth. He said nothing, only stared down at her light, brown eyes. She stared up into his, and then a strange thing happened. She stepped even closer, never looking away from those blue orbs that so captivated her just now, and pressed her body against his.

"…Laney?"

"Well…if I've got the look, I now need the act. I'm not going to lie when I say I'm inexperienced in the art of seduction. That's why, I was going to ask you or Rude a favor. As it is, it seems Rude wouldn't be up to the task." At that, she felt Reno's hands on the small of her back and heard him chuckle. "What?"

"Laney, if you're a beginner, you should start on a beginner level. I'm way too advanced."

"Really?" she asked, opening her robe back up and pressing herself more firmly against him. Did she heard him right? Did he actually gasp? She put her hand on the crook of his neck and ran her fingertips down to where his shirt revealed his chest.

"Don't think for a second that I don't know what you are doing," Reno said, grabbing her hand and holding it at his side. "Trust me. There should be no problem seducing the don, Elena. You're a woman. It's like you females have the art of seduction engrained in your brain."

"How can you be so sure?" He didn't answer. "Well, fine Reno!" she snapped, backing away from him. "I guess I'll just have to go to somebody else to help me. So much for being a friend! But you know, I'll bet Justus won't complain about this! He's already asked me out for drinks and a movie, so I'll just skip that part and head straight for the…"

"You'll do no such thing!" Reno snapped, apparently angry now. "That boy can't be more than twenty-two years old. It'll take absolutely no skill for him to want to put his grubby little hands all over you."

"Then, that should give me an extra burst of confidence."

"Damn it, Laney," Reno gritted, closing the gap between them and pushing her against the wall. "If he ever touches you, I'll kill him myself, and Rude will be right behind me ready to destroy whatever parts of him I leave behind."

"What? How dare you? Why do you care if the new guy has an interest in me?"

"There's something about him, Laney. Something that isn't…right. I don't trust him, neither does Rude."

"Oh please!" she shouted, trying to slap him but getting her other wrist caught. "What would you care anyway? So what if Justus takes advantage of me? It's not like it'd bother you at all. And at least there's a man somewhere in this city that finds me a little bit attractive."

Before she knew it, Reno had thrown her into the dressing room and, when she turned around to counter, he was already there, pushing her onto the cushioned chair and leaning down over her. "What do I care?" he asked dangerously. "What do I fucking care? I'll tell you what I care, Laney!"

"Oh, don't bother!" she shouted, pushing him away, or at least trying to. "I don't give a damn anymore! I don't care about you or Rude or anything but the job!"

"You don't mean that," Reno said softly.

"I do," she said through clenched teeth. "I've never been more serious in my entire life."

"So, you've resigned yourself to this?" Reno shouted. "You wonder why everybody treats you so damned different? It's because you act like a fucking baby. This all or nothing routine of yours is getting old fast. Now, I've been patient with you, Elena. And I'm not a patient man, so it goes without saying that you are on my last nerve."

"Then let's go our separate ways!"

Suddenly Reno punched the wall. "Damn it! Why are you like this? Huh? Have you always been a bitch or is this a new thing for you?"

"Get away from me, Reno," she commanded. He didn't move. "Fuck, Reno. What do you want from me?"

He didn't answer right away. In fact, it seemed his eyes saddened. He looked away from her and looked at himself in the mirror. "I want you to tell me what happened to you?" His voice was amazingly low, a tone she'd never heard him use before. "You've changed, Elena. I don't like the way you've changed." He turned away from the mirror and walked over to her, taking her hand into his. "I want to help you, Laney. I want the old you back."

"The old me?" she cried, tears now falling down her cheeks. "The old me that everybody criticized and hated? The one that fucked up every mission she went on and gave away every piece of information because she didn't know when to keep her damned mouth shut? The old me that nearly got you and Rude…" She couldn't bring herself to finish.

Reno sighed before wiping her tears away. "Yeah. That one. Do you know what happened to her?"

"She died," Elena said sadistically. "She died back in that hospital six weeks ago. And now I'm here. I've got to make up for what happened. And if that means changing completely, than so be it."

"Elena, what happened six weeks ago…that wasn't your fault."

"Yes it was!" she screamed. "But it'll never happen again. Especially now that I'm training another. I'll be better than I've ever been before."

"You're pushing yourself too hard, Laney," he said. "You're going to make yourself sick. Trust me. I've seen it happen so many times. And I don't want that to happen to you."

"I can take care of myself, Reno."

"I hope so," he uttered.

"And I don't need you or Rude to protect me anymore. I'm flattered that you both care enough, but really, I'm a Turk. I'm not the one that needs protection. Honestly. Who's going to hurt me?"

She didn't give him time to answer. She pulled her hand out of his and quickly made her exit. Reno sighed again and stood up, looking down at the chair that she had just been in seconds before. "…But who's going to protect you from yourself?"