Disclaimer: Don't own How I Met Your Mother in any way, shape, or form. 'nuff said.

Recap: If Ted was here, he would be saying stuff like this was destiny and maybe she's the one for you and other crap like that. For him, Robin was one thing. And one thing only: a target...


Chapter 4

A woman went in an office looking for a particular person. She wore a pair of shades, a fedora and a very expensive looking coat. She had long curly blonde hair that reached her upper back. She went directly to the receptionist who was talking to a blonde haired man in a suit. "Excuse me, do you know where I can find, Mr. Whittaker?" She asked cutting the receptionist's discussion with the man.

"Sorry, ma'am. We have no Mr. Whittaker, here." The receptionist replied politely.

"Try, Barney Stinson." The woman said looking at a piece of paper in her hand. The receptionist looked at the man. Both had confused looks in their eyes.

"I'm Barney Stinson. And you are?" the man in the suit gestured for a hand shake.

"Ah. Mr. Stinson. I want you to come with me, please." The woman said refusing to shake Barney's hand. Barney confused at the moment briefly thought of his next move. The woman was so mysterious. He examined her. After moments of battling with his mind, he decided to go with her.

"Maya, tell Ted that I went out for coffee." He told the receptionist. "Ma'am." He nodded politely as he let the lady lead the way. The lady didn't speak until they got to the cafe two blocks from the GNB building. As they sat down and waited for their order they started to talk.

"It's been a long time, Mr. Stinson." The woman said as she took off her shades.

"Let me guess, CIA?" Barney said with a smirk.

"Better. Rogue." The woman smirked back.

"Ah. A fan I see." Barney said as he leaned on the chair.

"More of a hirer." The woman said. This caught Barney's attention.

"Well, then. Tell me your name." Barney said pulling closer to the woman.

"Quinn. Call me, Quinn."

A sudden knock on the door snapped Barney from his memories. He opened the door and found Lily. He had texted her earlier to say that Robin was living in his apartment building. Lily was more than ecstatic when she heard the news that two of her friends live in the same place. "Where's Robin's floor?" Lily asked right away.

"I already texted you her floor." Barney said as he put one hand on his pocket.

"Oh, right. Bye!" Lily said as she disappeared in a blink. Barney shook his head. Lily could be so chipper at times. But Lily was the one person he could actually talk to. Marshall and Ted are great but when it comes to really sensitive problems, Lily was always there for him. If Lily wasn't married to Marshall, he would've had sex with her already. 'Til now it was still in his list of fantasies.

He sat back on the couch he was sitting on a few moments ago. He poured another glass full of scotch and he started reminiscing, again.

"So, Quinn. What makes a fine woman like you, look for an awesome guy like me?" Barney said as their orders came to their table. Quinn gave a slight laugh.

"Charming. The rumors are true." Quinn said taking a sip of her coffee.

"Rumors?" Barney raised his eyebrow.

"Of course. The charming, intelligent and the best of CIA goes rogue. When I came in, I seized to believe it. They say you were to become director until that little incident in Islamabad."

"So you've heard."

"Hey. They say you were legen..wait for it."

"dary." Barney completed the catchphrase. Both gave silent chuckles. "I know but you're stalling." Barney said getting back to the point.

"I have a business proposition for you."

"Business proposition?" Barney raised his eyebrow. Quinn got a folder from her bag and slid it to Barney.

"I work for a multi- millionaire arms dealer in Canada.."

"Uck. Canada." Barney scoffed. Quinn rolled her eyes.

"His daughter apparently wasn't too fond of the family business and gave very amusing threats. She ran away to escape from her father using multiple aliases, fake passports and papers traveling to every part of the US. She hasn't been in the grid for a while until she was found in DC yesterday. We found out that she's been there for weeks..."

"Cut to the chase, please? I don't have much time." Barney said impatiently.

"Fine. My boss has devised a plan. We take her to a plane to New York and that's when you come in."

"How exactly do I come in?"

"Let's say you 'accidentally' met her on the plane to New York. After a little chat, you become friends. Then you 'accidentally' meet her, again."

"And how will I do that?"

"Do you know a certain Lily Aldrin?" Quinn asked that caught Barney off guard.

"Yeah. She's a friend. What does she have to do with this?"

"Apparently, she's also a friend of my boss' daughter. She also knows Lily's husband, Marshall Eriksen and your co-worker, Ted Mosby." Barney was surprised. If what this Quinn girl is saying is true then he should've known about this person.

"So this wasn't about me being CIA's best?" Barney said bitterly.

"No and yes." Quinn said. Barney raised his eyebrow. "We chose you for this mission because there's a great chance she'll get close to you AND because we know who you were and what kind of spy you are." Quinn stood up. "When you meet her we want you to get as close to her as possible. You will be rewarded a great price. Good bye, for now." Before Quinn could walk away Barney grabbed her arm.

"Wait, what happens if I get close to her?" Barney asked.

"I guess we'll have to wait." Quinn answered. Her eyes went to the folder. Barney's eyes followed her gaze. "That folder has everything you need to know. For now." Quinn said. Barney picked up the folder and stared at it. He was having second thoughts on the situation. He hasn't been doing this for a very long time.

"Wait, what if..?" Barney turned around and saw that Quinn was already gone. I guess he's crossed the bridge of no return. He opened the folder and looked for some details of this person his friends are so close to. He saw a picture of a stunning brunette with her name printed below it. "Robin Scherbatsky.."