"Daddy Trent brought some treats for his puppies!" Trent took two specially made dog cookies out of the small gift basket he held and gave them to Tiska and Lena.
"Hey Trent!" Nika stood up from the kitchen table and kissed him on the cheek, "How was your Christmas?"
"The usual, I went to Louisiana saw my family they're all great. My grandpapi asked me the same question he does every time he sees me," he sat across from her and poured himself a glass of orange juice.
"Which is?" she asked him.
He spoke in a southern accent, "Trent, why can't you marry a woman and just have ass sex with her?"
She broke into a fit of laughter, "You've got to be kidding!"
"I wish I were, Honey," he shook his head and put his napkin on lap. "Then my Mama asked me when I was going to find a nice man, move to Massachusetts and marry him. I love my family but sometimes just a little bit of them is enough."
"They sound wonderful," she tore off a piece of biscuit and popped it into her mouth and savored its buttery flavor. "I missed you."
Touched, he patted her hand, "I missed you too, Sweetie. How was your Christmas with that fine man of yours?"
A satisfied expression formed on her face, "It was good…very good," she purred.
He saw a noticeable change in her face and voice, "Oh I know that look, you got some!"
"No," her tone was flat.
"You didn't?"
She smiled, "I got A LOT!" She then giggled.
Trent chuckled, "Good for you!" They slapped hands in celebration. "How was it? How many times? I wanna know everything!"
"It was amazing! Three times, twice on Christmas night and the next morning during our shower," she happily told him.
Delighted, he replied, "Shower sex is the best!"
"It was. It had been soo long since I was intimate and it was just perfect."
He arched an eyebrow, "And how did he..measure up?"
Her grin was coy, "I didn't have a ruler on me! But he was.." she looked around to make sure no one else was around, "just right."
"I bet he was…" he nodded.
Her face softened, "I've been with other men but with Frank..It was the first time I had made love, you know?"
"I do. It's always different and better when it's with someone you love," his smile was dreamy.
She nodded, "He kissed me everywhere, held my hands, my face, massaged my back and he was very, very generous. It was so.." she became teary eyed. "So beautiful."
"Awww of course it was," Trent rubbed her forearm and took a bite out of his salad.
A proud look came across her face, "But don't misunderstand, he was an excellent lover the things he did..My body never experienced before."
"You lucky bitch," there was bitterness in his voice. Guilt came to him when he saw the confused stare on her face. "Sorry, it's been some time since I had some lovin'."
"How long?"
"Six months, that's when Seth and I brokeup. After I found him underneath his poolboy."
She felt for her friend and lovingly held his hand, "Oh Sweetie, you'll find someone."
"I know..it just sucks being single. I could go out to any club and bring any one of those pretty boys home with me but I'm just not into that anymore. I'm thirty-eight; I'm too old for it," he shook his head.
Her shoulders rose and then dropped, "Then we'll look elsewhere, this is California there are plenty of quality gay men here."
"You're right and we're a coastal state, that's where most gays live because of the beaches and another reason."
Curious, she asked, "Which is?"
"So we can make a quick escape into the ocean if an angry homophobic mob comes for us!" he joked.
They both laughed and enjoyed the rest of their lunch.
With Nika in the front passenger seat, Trent drove to the front gate.
"Good afternoon, Ramon. Karina and I are just heading out to do some shopping we can't start unless you open the gate," he told the security guard.
"Of course but first," Ramon leaned forward in his booth, "I-uh-I was wondering if you had any plans tonight? If not, I'd like to take you out to dinner..if that's ok with Ms. Petrova?"
Trent's mouth dropped and so did Nika's.
With wide eyes and raised eyebrows, Nika shook her head, "Not at all. Trent?"
He handed his business card to the handsome Latino man, "I'd love to. How about seven?"
"Perfect," his smile shined. "Brock will cover for me," he told Nika.
"Here's my card, it has all my numbers," Trent purposely brushed his fingers against Ramon's.
"I'll keep that in mind. You two have a good afternoon," he opened the front gate for them.
When they drove onto the road, Trent asked her, "Why didn't you tell me he was gay and single? I've been fantasizing about that hunk of dulzura since the first time I came here!"
She innocently told him, "I didn't know he was both and neither did you. But who cares! He asked you out, so YAY!"
"I know!" He bounced as he drove.
Like his last assignment, the target disgusted Agent 47. The client was Oscar Dennick and the target was his future ex-brother-in-law Thomas Perkins. Oscar's sister, Sarah, had taken their 9-year-old son Mason and 5-year-old daughter Nariah with her and was currently in hiding. Thomas had become physically abusive towards his wife and she feared it was only a matter time before he would treat the children the same way. He was also a powerful defense attorney with connections to the Chief of Police and so, he had successfully found Sarah twice before. They had a family court hearing at the end of next month but she knew he would win custody of the children. Fleeing was her only option.
Thomas's vile behavior confused and angered Agent 47. This man seemingly had the perfect life and yet he chose to become a monster by battering his wife and traumatizing their children in the process. There were so many people who strived to have Thomas's life while the man himself was ungrateful and selfish.
He then pressed the right arrow on his keyboard and looked at photos of Thomas's home. His wife and children had left so abruptly that their bedrooms were untouched. Agent 47 remembered the little girl in Spain with her toy stuffed dog. He imagined how sad Nariah and Mason probably were when their mother told them to leave their treasured belongings and the only home they ever knew.
His eyes narrowed when he read about Thomas's background. In his free time, when he wasn't getting criminals back on the street, he was bedding women who weren't his wife and doing drugs alongside the dealers he had freed. Oscar had requested to make the hit look like a home burglary gone awry but to also make sure that Thomas suffered.
Although he preferred a subtle approach to his assignments, Agent 47 was a professional and would obey the client's request. A part of him was looking forward to carrying out this assignment because of Thomas's vile behavior. He'd never admit it but he also liked helping out Declan, one of the few allies he had.
Diana made sure to tidy her office before heading to the top floor where Norman Gateson waited for her. The black pen landed in the silver pen cup by her computer and with that, her desk was spotless. She headed for the door then held her breath when she saw her boss open it.
"Good morning Diana," Norman smiled at her as he closed the door.
"Mr. Gateson, I was about to go to your office," she stepped back.
His handsome face shined, "I know but I thought I would visit the handlers and see how you were doing," he sat down in the chair in front of her desk and gestured to her to do the same.
"I see," she sat down, "I don't know what to tell you other than Agent 47 is still evading capture."
"As I expected," he said in an irritated tone, "which is why I've come up with an offer."
"An offer?"
"Yes.." he didn't want to admit to her his family's shame but had no other option.
"What is it?" She successfully hid her anticipation and fear.
"In history of this organization only one agent has been as successful as Agent 47 at eluding us. He cut ties with us when my father was President of ICO. Agent 18."
Her lips parted, this was first she ever heard of Agent 18, "How is that possible?"
His eyes briefly went to his lap, "It was 1973 well before the digital age. We didn't have the resources that we use today. To his credit, Agent 18 initially requested to be relieved of his position and my father, being the stubborn man that he was, denied him."
"Why haven't I heard of this before?"
"Because it was my father-my family's failure. Agent 18 took clients away from us much like Agent 47, for years he humiliated us. Then seemingly, he disappeared. Never to be heard from or seen of ever again," he then grimaced.
"He could be deceased?" she offered him.
"We have a sample of his DNA and we've traced every death matching his description, the corpses were tested. There's never been a match. Granted, there is a minute chance you could be right but until proven otherwise, he is still alive or we have yet to find his body."
Her thin eyebrows furrowed when she realized what he was proposing, "You want Agent 47 to find and bring him to you? In exchange for what?"
"You will tell him that it would be for his freedom. That when he delivers Agent 18's body to me, his life no longer be in danger and he will be released from his position with no hard feelings," his eyes became dark.
She hid her concern, "Which is false."
"Diana you're a brilliant woman, you know our policy. An agent will only be released from the Organization because of death due to either natural causes or when he is deemed a threat or incompetent, he is then eliminated.
Agent 47 is our best agent but even he can't take down two dozen of our agents including Agent 50," his grin was devious.
She held back her shock, "Agent 50..he overkills."
"He's perfect. So then, when Agent 47.." he was cut off.
"You want me to inform him of Agent 18 when he makes contact again?" Her voice was steady but her heart wasn't.
"Precisely," he nodded and stood up. "I'll have my assistant send you Agent 18's file. Killing two birds with one stone is an example that needs to be set so it will never have to be done ever again. Have a nice day Diana," he flashed a smile before leaving her office.
A heavy sigh left her mouth as she leaned back in her chair. She hoped that Agent 47 would call her soon; he needed to know Gateson's proposal and true intentions.
The hole in the sliding glass door gave Thomas Perkins pause. He bent down and examined the chards of glass on the kitchen floor. Instead of hearing the security alarm blaring the dark empty house was nearly silent, with the exception being the refrigerator's murmuring.
Any other man would have called the police but not Thomas. This was his home and he refused to be violated in it. He quickly went to his study and opened his lock box, it was empty. Suddenly, he heard movement from the floor above him. He immediately exited his study.
Despite the potential danger that faced him, Thomas couldn't help but to show his arrogance.
"Hey asshole, you better get out now or else you'll leave here in a body bag!" He yelled out as he walked up the stairs and entered the corridor.
Before he could open the first bedroom door, Agent 47 grabbed Thomas's arm and bent his wrist back. In agony, Thomas screamed and let go of his knife but managed to elbow Agent 47 in the stomach. A low groan came from him but he quickly recovered and gave Thomas a hard front kick to his spine.
Thomas landed on his stomach and cried out in excruciating pain when he tried to crawl away, "What the fuck do you want from me?"
Agent 47 grabbed him by the hair, "To do this," he then slammed his head twice against the wall and let go of his lifeless body.
As Thomas's corpse lay on the carpeted corridor, Agent 47 proceeded to stage the scene to make it look as if Thomas had tried to shoot the burglar in self defense. After emptying the gun's bullets into the wall using Thomas's hand, he placed it a few inches away from his body. Then he began to remove the most expensive objects from the home before taking certain items from the bedrooms. He took one last look at Thomas not feeling any remorse. Without breaking his stride, he turned on the loud alarm and left the house.
When the pleasant aroma of Nika's berry body lotion filled her nose, she released a sigh of delight and pulled her comforter over her. Although she was happy that Trent's date with Ramon went well, seeing them together made her long for Agent 47 even more than she already did. Her eyes closed and when she slept she dreamed of the first night they made love.
The moment Agent 47 climbed into bed, he turned onto his side and gazed at the empty space next to him. He closed his eyes and remembered the way Nika's body felt against his, so warm and soft. Her sweet scent had invigorated him. He opened his eyes and brushed his hand on the empty space yearning for her.