Wrist still causes issues. Had two weeks vacation and thought it would get better and it did for a while, now it's back to hurting -.-
Still, enjoy :)
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters that appeared in the show.
"So, what's the thing that you couldn't tell me upstairs?" Penny asked as they got ready for bed. "Is it about what you did at the hotel?"
"Yes." he nodded and snipped his fingers, causing Major to get up and jump onto the bed where he laid down on his back so Leonard could rub his belly.
"What was it?" she wanted to know, also snipping to call Tyson to the bed so she could do the same.
"When we were at the park, I noticed a car standing across the street with the driver watching us, the group, with binoculars." he told her. "I first thought it was maybe an ex-partner or spouse of one of the people we were with but when he noticed me looking, he lowered the binoculars and drove away."
"You knew him?"
"I do." he nodded. "He looked like another assassin I met a few times, a man named Ricardo Gutierrez. I went to the hotel to ask the manager if he was in the city."
"So, he is?"
"Yes. Not only that, he's been asking around about me."
"About you?" Penny gasped.
"Specifically, about John." he clarified. "They're trying to find out my real name."
"They?" Penny noticed his use of the plural form.
"Yes, two more. One is Aaron Gaspard, who's more like Howard than me and the third is Robert McNamara."
"I've heard that name before." she mentioned.
"Robert McNamara was Secretary of Defense during the Vietnam war and he died over a decade ago." he chuckled. "But this particular Robert is the brother of Caspar McNamara."
"Wait, that Caspar...?"
"Is the one that tried to kill me in Omaha, yes." Leonard confirmed. "Apparently, Robert is quite irate about it and seeks revenge."
"He knows where you are?"
"Yes, but not who I am." he nodded. "But he can't really search for John Smith, since John Smith doesn't exist. Or, if one does, it wouldn't be me."
"Nobody in the organization told him?"
"No, few know who I really am and those that do respect me too much and also, given that I had to kill Caspar and the organization condoned it, they wouldn't make it possible for him to take his revenge." he explained. "But, you should be on your guard in case someone is following you."
"You think they would try to get to me?"
"Caspar did it with your family, didn't he?" he looked at her. "I don't know if they're aware that I'm training you to be an assassin. If they don't, you are a hidden asset that they won't expect."
"You want to use me as bait?"
"Not in the slightest." he shook his head. "If possible, I want to leave you out of this. At some point, there will be a reckoning that will end up with at least one dead body."
"As long as it's this Robert and not you." she shuddered.
"They've been active for weeks if not months and still can't find out my real identity." Leonard calmed her. "And they can't just walk up to me and kill me. Thanks to them asking around about me inside organization assets, the organization knows that if I were to end up shot on the street, they would be responsible and be censured."
"Censured how?"
"They'd be killed." Leonard said bluntly. "Remember when I told you that Caspar would have gotten away with killing me by killing you, your family and his crew?"
"Yeah." she shuddered at the memory.
"That would have worked because Caspar worked outside the organization in his plot to kill me." Leonard said. "Robert wasn't as smart and asked around about me within the hotel, for example. Which means that he can't just kill me without the organization coming after him."
"Wouldn't the organization accept revenge as a reason?" Penny asked.
"No, because my killing of Caspar was accepted as necessary." Leonard replied. "I'll be on my guard but I doubt Robert will act in the near future."
"What about them going to the university for your personal information?"
"My profile isn't publicly available because I'm not a teacher and also, remember who the university president is." he chuckled.
"What is Jeremy supposed to do against them hacking their servers?"
"Jeremy has placed a firewall on the university servers that not even Howard has been able to crack." Leonard laughed. "And Howard has tried hard. Jeremy even promised him certain gear for his workshop if he ever got through."
"I never thought there would be this kind of infighting in the organization." she mused. "Is that something I need to worry about when I'm a full member?"
"Generally no." he shook his head. "This current issue came from the young members thinking we old members take away the best jobs and of course, when me and others destroyed the sex trafficking ring around the world on our own, without anyone getting paid for it."
"I see." she felt calmer. "By the way, how is that case going?"
"What case?"
"The trafficking ring."
"We think that most of it is destroyed. Some of us are still hunting for other, more hidden members, which are mostly the more powerful ones."
"Is there a ballpark number of how many have been killed so far?"
"About three hundred." he shrugged. "A lot of powerful figures in middle eastern countries have been targeted, plenty in Asia and also quite a few in Europe and here in the states."
"I wonder what countries I will have to visit once I'm done with the training." she mused.
"You'll most likely visit countries like Canada and western- and central European countries because that's where you'll fit in." he said. "You might be able visit other countries and can pose as a tourist but that's always a risk because if you go into buildings you have no business being in, you'll be noticed as a white, blond woman."
"Makes sense." she admitted. "I guess I would also have to stay away from Middle Eastern countries, won't I?"
"Quite possible." he agreed. "Though it's possible, but also very risky, to go to certain Middle Easter countries where women are forced to cover their entire bodies. You can hide underneath a burka to move around unseen, however, in those countries, women are also not allowed to move around alone."
"Horrible." she sighed.
"Well, enough dwelling." he smirked and gave a whistle, causing both dogs to get up, shake and then jump off of the bed to go to their dog beds.
Leonard turned off the lights and laid back, closing his eyes and breathing slowly in his usual method to fall asleep quickly. Penny, however, could not stop thinking about what he had told her about the brother of this Caspar and his friends trying to find out about Leonard to possibly kill him. She looked at his profile in the weak moonlight, his eyes closed but his face calm.
She wondered how he could be so relaxed about the fact that someone was after him. Feeling a momentary sense of loss, she rolled over and on top of him, pressing her lips against his, feeling him react in surprise before returning the kiss. She kept doing it, languidly, wiggling her body to get under the covers with him so their bodies would touch.
"I love you." she said and it took a few seconds before she realized what she had said, her head snapping back and her face going fish-mouthed, while her heart began racing, wondering if she somehow has ruined what they had, especially when Leonard didn't say anything for several seconds until he began smiling.
"I love you too." he said and Penny felt the weight of the world being taken off her shoulders.
Feeling that no more words were necessary, she went back to kissing him and her hips began grinding against his crotch almost by reflex. Leonard's hands moved to her behind and pushed her night shorts as far down as his arm length allowed, Penny using one hand to push it far enough for Leonard to use his foot to push it away fully.
Penny did the same with his shorts, having some trouble until Leonard helped her push it down. Leaving it at his knees, she grabbed between them and guided him into her, sinking slowly down until she bottomed out. Never stopping the kiss, she slowly moved back and forth, grinding on top of him which felt better than anything any client had ever done with her during her years of hell in the city.
A minute in, Leonard pushed against her side and rolled them around, ending up on top of her but continuing the slow thrusts. The only time that changed in all the thirteen minutes of their lovemaking was at the end, when Leonard sped up to chase his climax. They didn't stop the kiss even after finishing until it became to gross not to do it.
Once they were back in bed, Penny put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. His calmness as he slept helped her get lulled to sleep as well.
"Fuck!" Penny cursed. "I can't move my legs anymore."
"Two more reps." Leonard chuckled, urging her on. "Get going."
With severe difficulties, she managed the last two reps on the machine before dropping the weight, it being stopped by the blockers to avoid harming her legs. She got up and almost collapsed, holding herself up using the machine as she tried to get some strength back.
"You know, when you said that it was leg day, I didn't envision this." she complained. "Six different exercises, all legs only? Why are you torturing yourself like that?"
"It's concentrated training." he explained. "You focus on a certain muscle group, be it arms, legs, chest or back to make them stronger."
"And on the days we train everything?" she asked.
"That's either retention training or simply endurance, not for improving strength." he told her. "The last thing you want to do is increase your muscle mass too much."
"Why?"
"Because you lose flexibility." he shrugged. "If I put on ten pounds of muscle, I can move less quickly, not just because of the extra weight but also because bigger muscles often can be a hindrance."
"You could hit harder though, right?"
"Given my training, I don't think the difference would be great." he chuckled. "I can already hit pretty hard, as do you."
"That's true." she had to admit. "But why do we this gain training once a week then?"
"Because we always lose some muscle mass, despite the retention training." he said. "This is just to get back what we lose. You may have noticed that neither of us looks more muscular than we already did."
"That's true too, I guess." she nodded. "Still, this is torture."
"Live with it." he chuckled.
"Good news, everyone." an appearing Howard shouted into the gym.
"Impersonating Hubert Farnsworth now?" Leonard rolled his eyes.
"Shut up." Howard huffed.
"What's the good news?" Penny asked.
"We're done with the course." Howard said proudly. "Just did the finishing touches."
"That was quick." Leonard wondered. "Yesterday you said there were some things you needed to work out."
"And I did, last night." Howard nodded. "Had an epiphany before going to bed."
"What about?" Penny wanted to know.
"You'll see tomorrow." Howard winked.
"Do I get new blueprints?"
"No, the blueprints stay the same, it was about realizing them." Howard told her.
"Good, I was afraid I had to learn a completely new set." Penny was relieved. "So, tomorrow we start with me doing the course?"
"Yep." Howard nodded. "Be there at nine."
"I wonder how long I will take for this one." Penny said. "The blueprints make it look extremely difficult."
"It is quite difficult." Howard confirmed. "But as the others, doable. But add the padding into the suit, you will most likely be hit with a lot of paint balls."
"Great." she sighed.
They finished their last set and Penny followed Leonard into the other room to do some light sparring. Mindful of her weak legs, they only did a bit of easy weapon training, Penny using the two sticks she was favoring while Leonard stayed with his one. Since they didn't try to overcome each other, she wasn't trying to get through his defense and neither did he. An hour later, at around six, they showered and left the campus, together with Howard and Raj, who had again sprinted on the treadmill, making Penny wonder why he did it like that.
"Listen, I have to take care of some business before going home." Leonard said to her. "Can you ride with Howard and Raj?"
"Sure, where are you going?"
"I'm going back to the hotel to try to find out more about Robert and the others."
"Robert? Others?" Raj looked confused.
"Oh, right, I never told you." Leonard realized. "Apparently, Caspar's brother is after me in revenge and he has enlisted two more, Ricardo Gutierrez and Aaron Gaspard."
"Why would Ricardo help him, he never complained." Howard wondered. "And Aaron isn't really someone who's using physical violence to do his jobs."
"Can you check the firewalls in the apartment block to see if there were some attacks?" Leonard asked.
"We should maybe alert Siebert as well." Raj suggested.
"That may not be useful, the university firewall gets attacked dozens of times every day." Howard said, speaking from experience. "No way to determine who it was. Some of these daily attacks even come from me."
"You really want that gear he promised you, don't you?" Leonard chuckled.
"Are you kidding?" Howard laughed. "I want an industrial 3D printer."
"Can't you buy one yourself?" Penny wondered.
"And do what with it?" Howard looked at her. "Why would I spend my own money to make stuff for the university? I already have my own 3D printer in my private workshop but not an industrial one."
"How much are they?"
"The cheapest but also smallest one I found was ten grand." Howard replied. "One of the bigger ones is ten times that."
"Jesus!" Penny cursed.
"Okay guys, take her home but watch out for anyone following you." Leonard counseled them. "I don't think they'll do anything but still, watch out."
"When we get home, I will take a look at our security systems, give them an update if necessary." Howard added.
They piled into one car while Leonard got into the second, turning into the other direction as they drove off. He wound his way through early evening traffic until he stopped at the same hotel he had gone to the day before. He parked his car and walked into the building, the uniformed doorman opening the door for him.
Leonard took the turn around the stairs and went down to the organization bar. He let a silver coin drop into the slot and the door was opened, the second doorman giving him the equivalent wristband. Leonard entered and looked around, trying to see if any of the three men after him were present but couldn't see anyone.
"Back already?" a familiar voice caught his attention.
"Antoine." Leonard nodded and joined the man, one of his guards pulling the divider to cover the entrance to the private booth.
"I'm looking for Robert, Ricardo and Aaron but apparently, they're not here." Leonard sighed.
"Aaron and Robert haven't been here for over a week and Ricardo was in yesterday, but you scared him off." Antoine smiled his usual smile.
"If Ricardo or Aaron come back in and ask about me again, could you contact me?" Leonard asked.
"For what reason." Antoine was skeptical. "We're not in the habit of helping members kill other members."
"I don't want to kill them, I want to talk to them." Leonard clarified. "I want to know why they would be helping Robert get revenge for his brother. Neither have ever voiced discontent about the older guard, as they put it."
"In that case, I can call you." Antoine agreed.
"Thanks, Antoine." Leonard nodded and got up, the guards pulling the divider away again so he could leave the booth but as he was about to leave, he saw someone sitting at the bar he didn't expect.
"Kenta?" Leonard said to the large Japanese man sitting at the bar. "Is that you?"
"Marcus?" came the reply in the same gravelly voice he remembered.
"Actually, I retired that identity a while ago." Leonard chuckled. "I go by John these days."
"John then." Kenta nodded.
"I haven't you seen in almost a decade. How have you been, since... you know?" Leonard asked, not knowing how far he could go.
"It's okay." Kenta nodded. "I can talk about it now."
"Okay." Leonard said and sat down next to him, mentioning for the bartender to give him a non-alcoholic drink. "So, what have you been doing since your sister died? I haven't heard about you doing any jobs."
"I'm hired on a kind of permanent basis." Kenta replied, Leonard noting the evasiveness. "What about you? Are you here on business?"
"No, I'm training someone." Leonard said, not wanting to talk about the job he did in the city, which still sat uneasy with him.
"A new assassin?" Kenta sat up, genuinely interested. "How did that happen."
"She saved my life on a job and she took interest in what I do." Leonard chuckled. "She was trained in combat my someone I trusted and now I'm finishing her training here."
"By the way, I never could thank you for your condolences after Yua's death." Kenta said. "You were one of the very few who did."
"Lets just say, I know how it feels to lose family." Leonard sighed. "So, what brings you to Los Angeles?"
"You could say guard duty." Kenta joked but stayed evasive. "I'm accompanying someone who does business here."
"Kind of surprising how many of us come to this city at the same time." Leonard chuckled.
"Who else is here?" Kenta perked up.
"Well, you have the retired ones, Jeremy Siebert and Lillian Mendoza. She runs a brothel, can you believe that? Lillian mentioned a few others that were in the city a few weeks ago at least." Leonard recounted. "And then of course, Robert McNamara is here, along with Ricardo Gutierrez and Aaron Gaspard."
"I see." Kenta said, clearly thinking about something. "It was good to see you, John."
"Leaving already?" Leonard asked.
"Yes, I have an appointment to keep." Kenta nodded and offered his hand. "Good luck with your trainee."
"Thanks, Kenta." Leonard shook the offered hand. "And if you ever want to talk about your sister, remember that you always have an ear to listen."
"Thank you." Kenta bowed his head and then left.
Leonard ordered himself a water, paid for it and drank it quickly before heading out as well. Him mentioning Lillian to Kenta brought him the idea of going to her and asking her about any knowledge about the whereabouts of the three men he was looking for. He got into his car and drove the familiar route to the brothel and parking his car in the same spot he had during his first visit.
This time, the man behind the reception desk didn't try stop him, just nodding when Leonard pointed to the Lillian's office. He entered and found her at her desk, rifling through a book. He sat down and knew better than to speak but just waited until Lillian was done with whatever she was doing.
"Leonard, my boy." Lillian smiled at him. "What can I do for you?"
"Lilly, you know everything about other assassins in the city, right?" Leonard asked.
"I like to keep myself informed." Lillian winked. "That doesn't mean that I know every assassin that comes here."
"Do you know the whereabouts of Robert McNamara, Ricardo Gutierrez and Aaron Gaspard?" he asked.
"That I don't know, sorry." Lillian shrugged. "I don't keep tabs on others so much that I know the hidey-hole they squat in."
"Damn." Leonard sighed. "By the way, do you know that Kenta is in the city too?"
"Who's Kenta?" Lillian was confused.
"Um, big Japanese dude, often used a Katana in his jobs..."
"Yeah, I think I know who you mean." Lillian said. "I never knew him as Kenta though, I only knew him as Yorinobu."
"Kenta asked me if I was here on business and he told me that he's hired on a permanent basis by someone." Leonard said. "I don't know who though but he's here on what he called guard duty."
"That doesn't sound like him." Lillian was as doubtful as Leonard. "Kenta is not someone to be a bodyguard."
"Madam Lily, someone is here to speak to you." a voice came through the intercom.
"In a minute." Lillian said back after looking at the screen. "He's here."
"Who?" Leonard leaned over. "Kenta?"
"Yep." Lillian nodded. "You should hide."
"Hide where?" Leonard looked around. "And wouldn't he know I'm here?"
"No, my people don't tell anyone if I have company." Lillian shook his head. "Now hide."
"Again, where?"
"There's a door behind the coat rack leading into a coat closet with a hidden chamber on its right from where you can watch through the two-way mirror." Lillian pointed.
"Damn." Leonard was impressed and walked behind the coat rack.
He found the door unlocked and walked inside. Following her word, he walked to the right end and pushed aside the various dresses but found only a solid back. He pushed against it and it swung open. He went through and just to make sure, he pulled the dresses back into their original position before closing the hidden door. He pushed the second panel away, revealing the other side of the mirror and he could see Kenta entering the room.
"Yorinobu Sakurai, as I live and breathe." he could hear Lillian say to her visitor.
"I gave up that name a long time ago." Kenta replied. "I go by Kenta now."
"It certainly fits you." Lillian chuckled. "Big boy."
"You're still as sassy as I remember you." Kenta gave her a rare smile.
"How did you even know how to find me?" Lillian wanted to know.
"Someone told me that you run a brothel. Since there are only a handful in the city, it wasn't that hard." he told her.
"Kenta, you haven't been active for years, why are you here, now?" Lillian asked him.
"I need information and you are said to be a wellspring of them." Kenta said bluntly.
"About what?"
"Not what, who." Kenta said. "You're knowing for keeping tabs on both criminal elements in the city and our organization members who might come here."
"I try my best." Lillian smiled.
"Do you know if there are members of the organization active in the city?" Kenta wanted to know.
"A few are always here." Lillian shrugged. "I mean, I'm here, Jeremy Siebert is too, as well as Hugo and Charlemagne, but we're retired from the business."
"Do you know that Marcus is here? Or John, as he goes by now?"
"Of course, he was here with his protege." Lillian smiled. "Was very surprising to see the lone wolf having company, much less training someone."
"What do you know about Robert McNamara, Ricardo Gutierrez and Aaron Gaspard?"
"They're in the city as well, have been for weeks." Lillian said, and realized that Leonard's concerns seem to be well founded. "Robert wants to kill John."
"Why?" Kenta was confused.
"Robert's brother tried to kill John but John killed him." Lillian shrugged. "Robert's after revenge now."
"He can't use organization assets for that, can he?" Kenta wondered.
"Of course not, but Robert, in his anger, seems to have forgotten a few things, namely not to ask around within organization assets about John's real identity." Lillian smirked. "If John dies now under mysterious circumstances, Robert will be censured."
"So, they would need resources, money and so on, to conduct their plot." Kenta mused.
"I guess so." Lillian shrugged. "Pretty sure they did a few jobs to earn money, since they're not known for being rich. Why do you ask?"
"Have you heard about the deaths of the criminal gang a few weeks ago in that warehouse?" Kenta redirected to another topic.
"Of course, it was all over the news." Lillian nodded. "Not to mention that the wars between other gangs to fill the void have already begun, albeit not quite in the open yet."
"Do you know if one of us did it?"
"I don't know." Lillian told him. "I don't peruse the contract board and you would have to ask Archangel if there was a contract out on them and who took it."
"How would I contact Archangel?"
"I have no idea." Lillian laughed. "If you ever find out, tell me."
"Thank you, Lillian." Kenta said as he got up and bowed.
"Oh, and Kenta?" Lillian stopped him from leaving just yet. "I didn't know how to contact you back then, but I wanted to give you my condolences for the loss of your sister."
"Thank you." Kenta nodded again and left.
"You can come back out now, he's out of the building." Lillian said as she looked at the two-way mirror.
"I think it's safe to assume that this gang business goes deeper than just those sixteen people here." Leonard sighed. "And Kenta seems to be working for someone in that particular organization."
"I concur." Lillian nodded. "But, at least some good may come out of this, Kenta could get rid of Robert and the others for you."
"You think he'll go after them?"
"He'll certainly investigate to see if they have anything to do with it." Lillian shrugged. "And if he just kills them, good riddance."
"You seem pretty ambivalent about one of us getting killed."
"Given that he wants to kill you, I wouldn't shed a tear about Robert's death." Lillian said. "Not to mention that Kenta, if he really does work for the people behind the gang you took out, might be censured if he's found out."
"Good thing is, he doesn't know who I am as well." Leonard said.
"This is something I was always mesmerized over when it came to you." Lillian said. "How you are so determined to keep your real name a secret from most of the people in the organization. A lot of us use their real names in the business."
"Given what happened to my family, are you surprised?" Leonard sighed. "Also, imagine this criminal organization finding out about me and then going to my dad in revenge."
"That's true." Lillian had to admit. "By the way, your protege, when will she become a full-fledged member?"
"She's going to start her third and final test tomorrow." Leonard smiled. "Don't know how long it will take her to finish it, but when she does, my dad is going to plan her final exam and when, or if, she's successful, then I'll take her get the starting gear and coins."
"She got the funds to get those?"
"Yes, I gave her a large payment for my last Los Angeles job." he nodded. "Well, I gotta leave too. Thank you Lillian."
"No need, since I didn't really give you anything." Lillian chuckled. "Now be away, I have work to do."
"Yes, mam." Leonard chuckled and headed out.
He used the side exit to get to his car, just in case Kenta was watching the front gate but he didn't think that Kenta would. In his conversation with him, he had seen no indication that Kenta didn't believe him when he said that he hadn't taken any job. And Leonard thought Lillian had a point, Kenta might just solve the Robert problem for him.
But for now, he still had to wait and see.
End of chapter here.
Review please :)
