Cpl. Maria "Anya" Allen / Ultranationalist Codename "Anya"

Task Force 141 / Ultranationalist Terrorist Cell

Sibera – Shared Ultranationalist Safehouse

"You have utterly disappointed me, Anya," Makarov said to her as he circled both her and Alexi. Although it was true that Anya was able to prevent the intruders from destroying the other weapons caches, but he had made it really clear that they were to remain intact no matter what the costs. The cache that had been gone would set their operations back for about a month. They would not have enough resources to continue at all.

Her head dropped at his words, and fixed her eyes on the ground. She knew that there was no way that she would be able to worm her way out of that situation. She had Shepherd to face back home as well. "I have no excuse," she told Makarov. She knew that before she came into Makarov's office, he had been extremely… displeased at Alexi, who was in there before her. He hardly ever shouted, but with Alexi just now… It was the first time that she had heard him being so angry at someone, and she knew that she would receive the same fate as well.

However, Makarov's voice did not rise at all. In fact, he tipped her chin with her fingers and added, "I expected you to take command of the situation in the outpost, Anya, not act as his subordinate." Disbelief on her part was immediately visible, and his expression softened. "It was a test for you, and although you were able to drive the intruders back and salvage the situation, you fell short because you did not see the opportunity to bring yourself further up. Alexi was supposed to defend that outpost for the past three months, and still nothing was done to fortify it. You used the idea of installing a jamming device, which most probably saved us from further losses, yet you did not place the blame on Alexi who focused his men on the jamming tower and not in the caches. You were the one who changed the focus. Why didn't you take the credit?"

"It is simple… Alexi is your second in command," she replied, looking at him with suspicion. As always, she could not figure out what was going in his mind, but this time, there was this sinking feeling that came with her uncertainty. By then, she thought she was already able to at least act as if she understood him, but she could not. "He must have been through more than life and death with you…"

"Still, my dear, he is replaceable," Makarov continued. "A woman with talent like yours cannot be wasted. You will need more leadership experience if you are to be a greater help to me." He looked straight into her eyes, waiting for her reaction. Anya was rarely betrayed by her emotions, but he knew that whatever happened in the outpost was enough to put her off guard, forcing her to think on her feet. Whatever response that she would give in that moment would be a response that was genuine.

She took a deep breath and shook her head. "No, Makarov," she said, her usual expression quickly returning, a sign that she already had the grasp of the course of things. "This is the true test…" She knew that he was testing her loyalty, if she would be willing to use dirty tactics to remove anyone before her that seemed to be her rivals. Through her eyes, he could see the relief that washed over her, despite her futile attempts to remain emotionally neutral at the time.

"As always, Anya, your sight of things is extraordinary," he praised, placing his hand on her shoulder. Such a gesture usually spoke great volumes of how a young newcomer had proved herself, however, between the two of them, it was a mind-game as always. Those words were only just words, what was truly going on, was in their heads. Those words could be interpreted in any way, and how they acted upon them revealed their psyche to one another. On a piece of paper, Makarov wrote a Chinese phrase, consisting of two words: 义气. "Do you know what it means?" he asked her.

During her days in college, Anya had studied many languages, but predominantly English and Russian. There were others that she had learnt, but she only remembered how to speak them, and not write them, due to lack of use. Chief among them was Chinese. She shook her head, indicating that she did not.

"It's translated as 'brotherhood' or 'loyalty'," Makarov explained, "and you have proven to me this phrase can be seen from your actions. Although, what I've said earlier does apply. Sometimes, even brotherhood needs to be sacrificed in the name of doing what is needed to be done. The Chinese values this phrase so much to the extent of worshipping an ancient general to this day, because he epitomized everything that came to their meaning."

His words were those that came from his heart; that much she knew. She was a soldier, as he had once served in the Red Army. Brotherhood, loyalty, those were the ties that tied a soldier to those around them. Without them, they were nothing but the beasts that they all killed day by day… From those words that he had said, she knew Makarov to be nothing like what the world knew him to be, that he was a man who valued the bonds between those he saw his own, those that he could trust.

"I understand," she said, and looked into his eyes. "Is there anything else you want me to do?"

Makarov shook his head. "None more for today," he answered. "But tomorrow, I will unveil something else, something that will bring us a step closer to our goals despite our prior setback…" He was about to continue when his phone started to ring. "You may go, Anya," he dismissed her before taking the call.

She nodded and turned towards the door, meeting Alexi, who had a scowl on his face. "How did it go?" he asked her, knowing full well that Anya did not suffer the same fate as he did. She did not answer, only moving past him without any eye-contact. That move aggravated him, and he would not want to let her go after utterly disrespecting him. Before she was out of his sight, he took her by her wrist and pulled her back towards him. "You will answer me when I ask you a question."

Anya scoffed, and faced him. "I don't need to answer to you," she told him, eyes widening in her anger. Retrieving her hand from his grasp, she tried to walk away, only to have him push her against the wall.

"You think that because Makarov listens to you that you are able to step over me?" Alexi demanded, twisting her wrist this time, making sure to look at her wince as he held her in that manner. "Let me tell you this, woman, you are nothing but his whore…"

This was the last straw for Anya and she retaliated. "I am not here because I can hold a man in bed, I am here because I am being trained to be Makarov's new strategist," she hissed, using her prior conversation with Makarov as her leverage. She knew that they were both within earshot of Makarov, who had not emerged from his office, and she knew that with their raised voices, he could have heard every single word between them. "Your job is to make sure that what I plan comes into action, and nothing more."

In a huff, she left, leaving Alexi even angrier than ever. She did not look back, and continued walking until she had reached her quarters in her facility. It was with those four walls that she could at least loosen her expression, and take in a deep breath. That was all that she could do, for she knew that there was a possibility that she could be watched at that very moment itself, but she also knew that such a common act of relief would not undergo too much scrutiny.

Without anything more to do, she stretched and began to take off most of her outer clothing, before flopping herself on the meager bed. She had many, many things to think about that night, chief amongst them was Makarov's "new operation". It did not make sense of him to start something new when he had been planning for the first one for almost a year now. Unless, unless he would open that long stream of activity that was planned with one single act that could rile the world…

She could only hope that she could stop Makarov in time if anything happened. If only she could just get inside his head, but she knew that unless she could decode his train of thought, she was only able to follow it, and try to deduce what was in his head. By the time she had fed the information back State-side, and the crackers in the CIA could crack it, he was already on his next venture…

She was tired of this stagnated progress. She knew that there had to be something that she could actually understand… What were those weapons used for, why did he acquire an airbase in Kazakhstan… There was a pattern to this, she just knew it...

"Am I interrupting you?" a familiar voice broke her train of thought. She looked up and found that it was none another than Makarov, who had already closed the door behind him. She was not going to make herself look like the victim of Alexi's actions, thus, she shook her head.

"If you think that I'm trying to find out ways of killing your right hand man, you're wrong," she told him as he approached her. Her tone of voice was neutral, and she smiled when he leaned in to kiss her forehead. They were alone, and she knew what to do in situations like this. Well, there was literally nothing else to do. "However, if whatever he's doing gives me more chances for this…", she stopped halfway to plant a kiss on Makarov's neck, "I will gladly oblige."

Truthfully, she knew that the only way she understood Makarov was in the carnal way. She knew what words to say to him, and frankly, that was the only reason why she was still there. However, as the days passed, she realized that even Makarov was starting to grasp what aroused her, the words, the actions, and the sights. At that moment, he was caressing her thigh in circular motions, which literally sent tingles throughout her body.

"My dear, you need to only ask," he replied just before their lips met. Now, he meant business. As his lips devoured hers, he started to remove most of his clothing with her help, only to almost rip the ones off her. There was no need for much foreplay, at times like these when they knew what the other wanted. The sight of her without the customary clothing of his faction, be it business suits or armored vests, only in her lingerie and a camisole, was already enough to arouse him. Whatever he saw in her, she did not know, but she knew that at least she was the woman he bedded nigh exclusively throughout her time with him.

"I'm such a lucky girl," she whispered into his ear as Makarov began to ravage her entire body with kisses, causing her to moan each time he touched her skin with his lips. By the time she felt his manhood press against the outer walls of her vagina, she knew that there was no turning back. "Make love to me… now."

The very moment those words left her mouth, he rammed into her at full strength, making her walk the fine line between pain and pleasure. From that time on, there was nothing to stop him, nothing at all. She smiled wickedly and changed their positions, while he was still within her, and began to take control, moving her body up and down his shaft, his hands kneading her breasts as she looked into his mismatched eyes. It was a sensual time, much like their first encounter back in Moscow.

Within a few more moments, they were then spooned against each other. Entering her from behind, Makarov held her in his arms as she turned her head to kiss him, their joined moans muted only so slightly. But suddenly, they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Makarov," said the voice from the other side. It was Anatoly. "Forgive me for interrupting, but you have to see this."

"What is it?" Makarov asked, his brows already furrowed in a frown. He was already getting dressed with Anya's assistance. Anatoly only answered that it was for his eyes only. It was obvious that it was something that Anya could not know of, and she did not press the matter further. "I will come back," he told her, giving her a brief kiss to indicate his intention.

"Just go," she replied. "I'll be right here." She saw him smirk on the thought of continuing their passion, and once he left, she started to rub her temples. Things were not going as she had planned, with one surprise after the other. If it continued on, she did not know if her mission could even continue… She was afraid that it would be a matter of time before any more innocents suffered because of her delay in progress.

Nevertheless, she knew that she had to persevere, no matter the cost. She just had to.

HAN: Hey there! I am here to announce that I now have a Beta-reader! YAY! Hopefully, she can turn the tide for me! Her handle is itachislover829 so give it a round of applause for her! (APPLAUSE) From here, the fic is going to approach the storyline of MW2, and of course, I will need to know if you guys want me to keep the lives of "ye goode, olde cap'n" or not. I guarantee you that Roach, Ghost and Makarov are definite goners in this fic. ^.^ Well then, thanks for reading, and do tell me what you think!