"Anya is well asleep," Viktor told Makarov, walking towards his seat aboard the plane. The two of them, Anya, Anatoly, Lev and Kiril were heading to Malaysia to inspect a "shipment" of incoming Indonesian cargo, ranging from exotic beauties and locally-made narcotics in return for armaments from Brazil, supplied by Alexandro Rojas (as usual). They would stop over at Singapore for about an hour, and head to the capital city of Kuala Lumpur after that.

Their cargo, this time, would come in the once-famous Port Klang, and it would be where the young newcomer would be tested not only on her skills, but also, on her quality, in terms of being the right girl for the job. For the past three months, Anya had been following them wherever they went, and so far, she had done nothing to rouse any of their suspicions. Unbeknownst to her, he had charged his men to run a thorough background check on her, and they did not find anything incriminating at all. She was exactly as how she had presented herself, an orphan who had earned his old friend Dimitri's favor during her time in the Spetsnaz. The only thing that he did not like about her was that she had been to the United States for her tertiary education, but that was already quite common for young Russians of this day.

And that was what made him even more… suspicious of her. Those sapphire eyes held only the iron will for a purpose that he could never fathom, and there was that smile upon her face that made her even more complicated in his mind. He had once prided himself in being the best judge of character, but with Anya… he could not judge a thing. Not a thing at all.

"What do you think of her, Viktor?" Makarov asked his old friend, looking at the silhouette of Anya's arm upon the armrest. There was certainly... something about her, a grace that he had never seen before. The way she had acted around him, and around them already highlighted that she had been a highly-trained soldier, and even then, were they not all the same?

Viktor actually furrowed his brows when he pondered the question that Makarov had asked. "She's a good girl," he answered rather truthfully. "I've actually seen her shoot more than a few rounds, and I'll tell you that she has a talent for this thing." Of course, Makarov knew that she was nothing less than that. "Makarov, you know that this girl wants nothing more than to help you. Why can't you give her a chance?"

"Is it just like that?" came Makarov's reply. He knew that it had been Dimitri's dying wish that she be sent to him, but he still did not know what for, as he was completely surrounded by able-handed men who already knew him well enough. He did not know what to make of the situation that she had posed for him at all, a new recruit with boundless promise, whom he could not decipher at all.

"You should get to know her," Viktor said bluntly. "She also makes great pasta if you ask her nicely."

Cpt. John "Soap" MacTavish

Task Force 141

Task Force 141 Submarine Base – Location: Sembawang Wharves - Singapore

Their submarine was docked in Singapore, but the place of their operation would be right across the border, in hearty Malaysia, the older sibling of Singapore. They had received information regarding yet another one of Makarov's operations, and MacTavish knew that Shepherd was keen to get Makarov this time, and judging by the information that Anya had leaked back to them, he was sure that they would be able catch the Russian terrorist-cum-Underworld mogul red handed.

"Boys, this time the operation is easy. We get it, find Makarov's ship and take everything they have, including our girl," Shepherd told those involved with the operation in the briefing room. There were pictures of the ship titled Cinta Negara, filled with massive amounts of containers heading to Port Klang. There were some of them who were new to the 141 and did not know who Anya was, and thus, Shepherd put up a picture of her for them to see. "Corporal Maria Allen, call-sign 'Anya' is the only girl in the Task Force 141, and is one of our best snipers. We've planted her right beside Makarov to provide us with the necessary Intel. And we couldn't have even discovered anything about Makarov this time without her help."

Shepherd did not say anything more about Anya, but instead focused on their current mission. They were supposed to be working with the local police force, but it seemed that what the Malaysians would be the ones observing them instead. The Malaysian government was so corrupt that it was not worth any mention. There would be a high certainty that Makarov already paid off Customs to let his shipment pass.

"Sir, what about the rules of engagement?" Ghost asked after discerning the numbers of local policemen that were going to be "involved" in this mission.

Shepherd did not even take a second to ponder his answer. "Take down anyone with Makarov." It was simple, short and to the point. After all, out of Russia, what were Makarov and his cohorts but terrorists and Underworld scumbags? "If there are no more questions, you boys better get started. The ship arrives at Port Klang at 0600 hours tomorrow, and it's a four hour drive from Singapore to Klang."

"What about Anya?" Meat asked MacTavish when Shepherd left the briefing room. "She'll have to fire at us, 'Tavish…"

The possibility of a 141 soldier killing another in the line of duty had never crossed his mind before in all honesty, and MacTavish did not relish the thought of it happening right before his eyes, to him or to his men. And the worst thing was they would have to direct some fire at Anya as well.

"Just make sure you don't kill her," MacTavish told Meat. "And hope that she's not forced to kill us too."

He just hoped that in any case, none of this would have to happen.

Corporal Maria "Anya" Allen A.K.A. Ultranationalist Codename: Anya

Task Force 141 / Ultranationalist Terrorist Cell

Kuala Lumpur

Once again, she was going to be kept in close proximity to Makarov. They had arrived a full day before their ship would, and throughout the whole day, as the rest of his men were going through the finer points of the operation, Makarov decided that he wanted to spend some more time with her, to try to get to know her better off duty.

That was why they remained in their hotel-room, a shared suite with two bedrooms. They had spent almost a whole day in utter silence, and he seemed to be utterly dissatisfied with whatever he had set to accomplish by keeping her in the suite. And that was the least of her worries.

She knew that Shepherd would try to take the opportunity to bring Makarov down. And if this was true, there was no doubt that the 141 would be nearby. And yet, she felt that it was too early to even try such a move. She knew that there was more to Makarov that being just a normal terrorist, even if he did have some command over the Russian Spetsnaz. And if and when the 141 really was there at Port Klang, she did not even what to think about what she was supposed to do.

Needing a bit of fresh air, she decided to put on her hotel slippers and walk towards the balcony. They were staying at the Hilton Hotel right opposite the central transportation station, half an hour's train ride from the airport, and it was a grand place to stay, with views of the Botanical Gardens as well as the Parliament building.

"I have always thought this country to be an intriguing one," Makarov said to her, leaning on the ornate railing of the balcony. "The government is so corrupt that people like us can come and go earning more money than ever to fund our operations, while the people just carry on with their lives like normal. This is an Islamic country, but, the people here live in harmony with one another, even if the government tries to strip even the most basic rights of their own citizens of different faith."

Anya looked at Makarov and waited for him to say something else, but it seemed that he wanted her opinion on this matter. "Perhaps the will to survive in these people are strong," she replied. "They won't back down without a fight, even if it means sacrificing what means the greatest to them." One thing surprised her though. His knowledge of this place was so deep that she could not even understand why he would go to such great lengths to learn about just one port of call.

But as the seconds pass, she began to understand why. Makarov had an attention to detail that she could only dream of possessing half of; she knew that he had trusted no one else to do the jobs that he wanted in the manner he desired, so he did it on his own. However, as time went by, she knew it as well that he was not a hard-hearted soul as the world had imagined him. This was a man who cared for those whose loyalty was sure, which meant that she was often not included, perhaps not yet. Not that she felt anything towards him…

Perhaps…

Those heterochromic eyes turned upwards upon her words, and Makarov went as far as to caress her jawline ever so softly. "You have a keen sight of things, Anya," he told her, the physical distance between them decreasing with each passing heartbeat. She met her eyes with his, and the moment he saw those orbs of sapphire hue, he gently pulled back his hand. "And may your sight guide you tomorrow when you provide us with the sniper cover you are so famous with. Now go, take a cab to see the city, you'll need some more fresh air than what this balcony can give you."

"Thank you, sir," she said, and went back into the room to change. And when she was ready to go out of the suite, she heard him call her, and she turned around, finding him with only his trousers on.

"Anya, you can drop the 'sir'," he told her, and earned a smile from her. With that, she left the room without another word.

Makarov swore that if he ever saw her smile like that ever again, he would drive himself mad. He had his fair share of beautiful women, that was for sure, but the fact that she was his subordinate, the fact that he could never, ever get past her mind, that was what kept him so wary of her. She was, in short, either a highly complex or a just a simplistic soldier who followed orders with no further thought.

She knew that she had been cooped up with Makarov for too long. She could actually feel the heat rushing into her cheeks upon seeing him half-naked. She was being an utter idiot. She was a soldier. She had seen plenty of half-naked men walking around, and Makarov was in his mid-forties! Why the hell was she checking out a man who could almost be her father in age?

"Calm down," she told herself, oblivious to the fact that she was talking to herself. She marched down into the hotel's café and ordered herself a steaming cup of coffee to calm her senses. And as she looked at the sheer amount of people going about the hotel (it was the school holidays in Malaysia), she did not realize Anatoly taking the seat next to her. "I didn't see anything…"

"What didn't you see, Anya?" Anatoly asked her, not even expecting her to blurt out the words that she was about to say.

"I didn't see Makarov half-naked!"

Those six words were words that she would regret uttering. Anatoly would never, ever, let her live it down, she just knew it. And if the boys back at the 141 knew about it, she would be a goner for sure.