Chapter 1

My God is she beautiful…

Crow really couldn't help himself from admiring her, even when he had cut her loose. He tried to force himself to push her from his mind, but she always seemed to come to the top of his mind and cloud his thoughts, like an incessant butterfly floating around a flower. A flower was pleasant to watch, and a butterfly was an amusing surprise, but after a while, it was only a nuisance.

Ada Wong stared back at him from across the rotunda with hidden fire that cut the air between them. Powerful, even when it was dampened as she stared through the sight of her gun. Few women could muster a gaze like that and remain beautiful, even when furious. She truly was unique.

The Asian spy wasn't wearing extravagant red, much to his own disappointment. Crow would have liked to see her alive for the last time in one of her flowing red gowns that seemed to set her passion ablaze. Her black combat pants and body armor was marred with scars and grit, splashed with white plaster; black to mourn her own nearing funeral. Favoring armor over heels and a slinky dress was astounding. She must have been so committed to killing him that she would relinquish one of the things that defined her.

But even when battered, dirty, and angry, Ada Wong still emitted this unseen radiance like an exotic particle. The very look of murder in her hazel eyes across her elegant Asian features screamed louder than any words could. Crow felt a tingle of excitement run down his spine, even though that hatred was directed at him. It almost felt like an honor to be hated by such a beautiful thing, to know that you could attract such wanton emotional fire from a single woman. At the same time, he knew he should be afraid, no, outright terrified. But everything was under control now, and he had nothing to fear.

Crow would have enjoyed watching that intoxicating gaze all day, but he doubted his men up on the upper balcony would welcome holding their weapons on her for that long. Neither would the ones scattered about the rotunda. Still, he wanted this moment to last an eternity. It had blossomed so fast out of the chaos. He would admit that he had felt fear, but above all he felt excitement, the same excitement whenever he got a glimpse of her performance.

Simply magnificent…

He shook his head dreamily, amused as he folded his hands before him, his revolver firmly in his right hand. The hammer was already cocked back and ready to fire a round. He didn't need to train the weapon on her, though, not with a dozen others already on the task. "You really are something, Miss Wong…You know that, right?"

The tip of her tongue poked from between her lips, wetting them. Other than that, she stood motionless. "Yeah, I do."

"After all the years of overseeing your operations, I never could quite fully understand you." Crow said thoughtfully. "Whenever I thought I had you figured out, you would pull one last twist. You performed years of faithful service, a willingness to do anything you were ordered, and suddenly, you were nearly my demise."

"Don't count that out just yet…" she purred quietly. There was a gentle rise in her arm and shoulder as she realigned her shot minutely. "I could hit you from a lot further away than this."

I don't doubt it. I wonder if she's aiming for my head or my chest?

She was standing on the other end of the rotunda, a considerable, yet close enough distance away, roughly ten meters away. Nothing stood between them other than tiled floor and open air. Too far to attack physically, well within her talent to shoot him, eyes closed probably.

"I could have offered you the world you know," Crow reminded her, still undeterred by the weapon and her threat. Ada was passionate, but not suicidal. "Anything you desired would have been at your fingertips. You could have been the queen to a new world order…But instead, you insisted on continuing to poke about in matters that didn't concern you. Why?"

"Because maybe I found something better than the world," Ada said coolly. "Maybe I was sick and tired of being used." She shrugged elegantly, the muzzle of the gun barely moving. "Or maybe I just felt like it."

"You're not going to pull the trigger, Miss Wong," Crow said simply.

"And why won't I?"

"Because if you shoot me, you die. You won't because you're not willing to sacrifice your life so needlessly. It's never been a flaw, if you consider it one. Your abilities have always been enough to surpass the odds you fought. You have never had the need, although…" Crow smirked. "…that didn't stop you from trying about six years ago, did it? After seeing how that worked out, I'm not surprised you never considered it again."

He was pleased to see a twitch run across her face, from her lip to her brow, even if the gun didn't waver. It was only one minor blemish that revealed itself only for an instant.

"After that, I think you had somewhat of a crisis. You didn't want to repeat the mistake you made, yet you were drawn to it all the same. I believe that's when I began to lose my best operative…pure speculation, of course, as you performed quite well up until now."

"Do you really think I'm going to stand here and let you shoot me?" she asked back. "If you or your thugs shoot, you go down just as fast."

She was right about that, which is why they were locked in this standoff. The silence between them was so thick it could be cut with a knife. A gunshot, or any loud noise for that matter, would cause everyone's reflexes to snap, and he and Ada would probably die. Well, Ada would for certain as dozens of rounds from his guards tore her apart, but Crow might escape with a wound only, depending on how fast she shot.

Unless she shot him in the head, of course, and that was also assuming he would be hit in a non-vital area. Knowing Ada's skill, he decided not to risk the gamble. For now, she had to be taken alive, preferably without gunfire. Once in his possession he could personally take her apart, then dispose of her properly.

"I have no intention of killing you, Ada, at least not right here. You still possess a few pieces to the puzzle that I would like to have. Unfortunately for your sake, my previous offer has expired. You'll tell me what I want to know, but you're far too flawed to be the one at my side."

For the first time since her entrance in the rotunda, Crow took his eyes off of her to catch the eye of one of the guards behind her. With a simple flick of his vision, he gave the order. Two guards behind her moved in, their automatic weapons pointed to the small of her back. She bristled, but held her stance.

Crow looked back and smiled confidently at his former operative. "Now, why don't you be a good girl and drop your weapon. If you cooperate, I might not have to be so hard on you."

Ada's gaze flickered, first to her peripheral, then back to him, then to the men at his flank, then back to him. She pursed her lips, no doubt thinking hard for some way to turn things in her favor. But there were some things even Ada Wong couldn't wriggle out of.

With a slight sag of her shoulders, she turned the gun away from him, then let it fall to the ground with a loud clatter, raising both hands in defeat…