Little Hayley Gateson happily giggled when her grandfather tickled her round stomach. Her golden curls bounced as her little round cheeks turned pink.
"The tickle monster is here!" Norman said to Hayley before blowing on her stomach.
From the side of his hip, he felt his mobile phone vibrate and almost cursed.
"All right Hayley, back to your mother," Norman handed the one-year-old to his daughter Elizabeth.
Elizabeth saw Hayley reach out for her grandfather, "She was still wants to play with her granddad," she told her father.
"The tickle monster will get right back to the little princess after he takes this call from his work, ok?"
"Ok, but don't take too long," his daughter said to him.
"I won't," he kissed her forehead before walking away from the living room.
He closed his office door behind him and answered his mobile phone.
"Diana, I'm with my family right now. This better be important," Norman said.
"I know Mr. Gateson and it is. Yuri Marklov and his colleagues have been assassinated," she told her employer.
An irritated sigh came from him, "It was Agent 47."
"It was, sir. He sent me an e-mail."
He blinked in disbelief, "He made contact with you?"
"He did, I have not deactivated my specific e-mail account for him. I assumed he would eventually make contact."
"Good what did the trace come up with?"
"The e-mail was sent from an internet café in St. Petersburg. But Agent 47 is no longer there."
"Of course he isn't. What did he write?"
"If we do not remove the hit on his life, he will continue to steal our clients and murder our assassins."
"That arrogant son of a bitch." he slammed his fist on his desk.
"Are you ok in there Dad?" Elizabeth said from the hallway.
In pleasant voice he answered, "Yes Elizabeth, I just killed a bug. I'll be out in a minute."
"Ok Dad!"
He waited a moment before speaking into his mobile phone, "Diana..the next time Agent 47 makes contact I want a dozen of our best hitmen sent out to the e-mail's origin city and its bordering countries. We will get him!"
"I will, Mr. Gateson," she said while hiding her reluctance. "If there are any further developments on Agent 47 I will notify you immediately."
"As you should, Diana," he hung up the phone and cursed.
"Dad, Hayley wants you!" Elziabeth said.
"I'm coming!" He left the office.
Declan Greene locked the door after entering his apartment. He threw his keys onto the kitchen counter and flipped on the light switch. The image of his dog eating out of his bowl startled him. Kneeling down, he petted the Border terrier.
"Hey Boomer, who fed ya?" He asked then remembered that his girlfriend, Lisa, was out of town.
With caution, he removed his gun from its holster and moved through his modest dwelling checking the living room, the bedroom and bathroom to find no one. He approached the last room left to search, the office.
A sigh of relief came from him as he lowered his gun and turned on the light.
"Agent 47, you could have called first, ya know?" he said as he approached the desk where Agent 47 sat. He then looked at him in disbelief, "Did..Did you feed my dog?"
"He was pawing at the cabinet," he dryly stated.
"Well..thanks," he said with a mix of puzzlement and graciousness in his voice. It wasn't unusual for Agent 47 to break into Declan's apartment but it was the first time he had fed Boomer.
"What?" Agent 47 noticed the strange look the young FBI agent was giving him.
"Nothing.."
"How is Lisa?"
His eyebrow arched, Agent 47 never asked him about his personal life, "She's good, she's visiting her parents in Maine-are you ok?"
"I'm fine. Why?"
"Nevermind," he shook his head, "Why are you here in D.C.?"
"I need you to find someone for me," he stood up.
"I'm an FBI agent, not a private investigator," he ran his fingers through his short black hair and took a step back.
"You're in the cybercrime division because the FBI would rather have one of the world's best hackers working for them instead of against," he calmly explained.
He looked at the assassin, "True but you said we were even."
"I intend to pay you double my usual offer," he removed his mobile phone.
Interested he asked, "You'll transfer money to my account if I agree to find this person?"
"Just one push of the button and you'll have the first half. The rest will come after you find this person"
After a moment he said, "Who is it?"
"She works for my former employer. Her name is Diana, she's English and in her late forties maybe early fifties," he took out a small envelopment and handed it to Declan. "She has only directly contacted me once in my hotel room in Russia."
Declan waited for more details but did not receive any, "That's it? That's all you know about her?"
"This shouldn't be a challenge for man of your skills," he said sounding a bit annoyed.
"Except the C in ICO should stand for 'clandestine' because that's what this organization is, they're ghosts."
Agent 47 held up his phone, "I saw the engagement ring in your closet. With my money, you can get Lisa a ring that she can see without using a microscope and a nice home for you, her and Boomer. But I could always go to another-.."
Declan held up his hand, "It's going to take some time..but I'll find this Diana woman."
"Good," he pressed the send button on his mobile phone and headed for the door before Declan's question stopped him.
"Why do you want to find her so badly?"
He took a moment to choose his words, "I have some questions for her that can only be asked and answered in person. Goodbye Declan."
"Maybe next time you could water my plants?" he called out to him.
"It would be wise for you to not become demanding," he said before leaving.
"I had to give it a shot!"
"So," Nika spoke to Trent as they walked into his friend's costume shop, "Mrs. Lemster said that I need three references. Elaine and Robert have said yes. Would you be the third? Mrs. Lemster will talk to you and will do a background check. If you don't want to.."
He put his arm around her and gave her a gentle squeeze, "Of course I do, Sweetie! You're gonna be great and don't worry about the background check. The only embarrassing things I have in my closets are acid wash jeans that I just can't get rid of."
Thrilled, she planted a kiss on his cheek,"Thank you. It means so much to me."
"I'm just happy to see that you're spreading positive energy and using your money for good. Now, let's get our fine asses into some fabulous costumes!"
"Ok," she smiled.
"Deanna darling, we're here!" Trent called out.
An attractive 30-year-old brunette woman appeared from the backroom, "Just on time!"
"You know it, kitten," Trent said before they exchanged air kisses. "Deanna, this is my friend Karina."
Nika offered her hand to Deanna, "It's nice to meet you, Deanna. Your costumes are lovely."
"The pleasure's mine and you are a goddess," Deanna said as she admired Nika.
"Thank you," she modestly accepted the compliment.
"Well, your costumes are in the dressing rooms. Follow me," Deanna led the way.
The navy pinstriped suit perfectly fitted Trent's tall lean frame. He admired his reflections in the three mirrors before him.
"Perfect," Deanna hung her measuring tape around her neck.
"Karina come out here, you need to see how fantastic I look!" Trent said he put on a matching fedora hat.
"Ok," she stepped out from the dressing room, "So, what do you think?"
Trent stared at her with wide eyes, "You are pure radiance."
"Really?" she asked and stood next to him.
"Perfection," Deanna proudly eyed the powder blue gown.
"I feel like a princess," Nika said gazing at her reflection.
"You are one. You look like Disney's Cinderella..except she never looked this good," Trent touched the gown's sparkling sweetheart neckline.
Deanna turned to Trent, "Oh my God, that was so my inspiration! I just made my version more modern and sleek yet still glamorous. Those puffy sleeves had to go!"
Just then Deanna's assistant popped her head in, "Deanna, Ms. Spears is calling. She wants to know if the panties that came with her costume are optional."
Exasperated, Deanna said, "Every time! The answer is always no. Let me talk to her," she turned before leaving the room, "I'll be right back."
Running her fingers through her nearly shoulder length hair, Nika said, "I cannot wait for the Halloween gala."
"Me too but it's a damn shame," he said as he linked arms with her.
"What is?"
"That a lovely creature like you is wasted on a fantastic gay man like me."
She chuckled, "You are too kind."
"I hope Frank knows what he's got..Where ever the hell he is," he half complained. "Why does he travel so much?"
Deciding to lie was not easy for Nika but she knew it was the right decision.
"He is a private security contractor. He travels the world protecting troops, diplomats, dignitaries, royalty and other important people," it worried her to hear how believable she sounded.
"I hear ya, that's why he has no address and can't tell you where he is?"
"Yes.."
"Long distance relationships can be hard, Honey."
"I-I don't know if we are a couple..I mean..Remember when I told you about my last boyfriend in Russia?"
He folded his arms and pursed his lips, "How could I not? He was an abusive bastard."
She nodded, "He was a very powerful and dangerous man. Frank saved me from him. He uh.." she felt her eyes flooding, "he bought me the vineyard after I told him it was my dream to have one."
His eyes widen, "Are you telling me that he's the Richard Gere to your Julia Roberts?"
"No-no, we haven't even kissed. And sex..it didn't happen. I tried but he said no because I was drunk."
Trent felt a small ache in his heart when he looked into her green glistening eyes, "He didn't want to take advantage of you."
She sobbed, "Other than my father, he was the first man that respected me, even though I didn't," she remembered his touch. "Being with him, a man who didn't want to use me for my body..I felt like a real woman and not an object. For once in my life I felt cared for and safe."
"He sounds like a good man," he wiped a tear from her face.
Although she didn't know much about him, she spoke the truth, "I believe he is..I miss him so much."
"Maybe he'll visit," Trent said.
"I hope so.." She rested her head on his shoulder.
Underneath his bare feet, Agent 47 felt the soft hotel carpet welcome him after he stepped out of the bathroom. The white tank top hugged his muscular body while the cuffs of his black sweat pants barely swept the floor as he walked onto the balcony.
Resting his forearms on balcony's ledge, he stared up at the full moon. He had never done so before but for some reason he felt compelled to do so that night. As he gazed up at the luminous orb, he thought of Nika. It was Halloween night; he imagined her celebrating with her new friends that Karissa had told him about. Another part of him wondered if she was looking into the night sky and if she was thinking of him. It was then realized he would be in Istanbul in three days.
Like the polite woman that she was, Nika walked through the Halloween gala respectfully turning down all the men that asked to her dance. She was relieved when she finally made it to the balcony but distanced herself from the smoking party guests. With the help of hypnotherepist, she had dropped the unhealthy habit.
The moon's radiance caught her attention. In silence she gazed at the celestial tapestry above her. Its beauty marveled her but she couldn't help but think of Agent 47. She wanted to know where he was and if he was also looking into the night sky while thinking of her.