"Yekaterinburg looks so beautiful." whispered Jade Nguyen, looking across the plane window at the Russian city.
"Maybe we can go back and enjoy it when we're not busy taking down one of the most dangerous mafias in the world." Sandra Woosan reflected in a whisper, leaning back comfortably against the seat back.
"Sooner or later we really should plan a family trip and travel all over Europe." agreed Richard Wilson, grabbing a cookie and taking a bite.
Courtesy of Talia, the three assassins on the mission had first-class airline tickets to Yekaterinburg, which, according to her sources, is supposed to be the last place the Red Sharks were sighted. Evading airport security was a breeze and everyone agreed with Dick's comment about the need for increased security at airports.
It had really been too easy to get everything their assassin identities needed onto the plane: armor, weapons and gadgets.
"If only we could find free time in our busy lives." added the world's deadliest woman helpfully.
"Tell me about it." murmured the acrobat in agreement. "By the way, do you know the reason why Aunt Tatsu was not invited on this mission? I forgot to ask Talia."
Tatsu Hikari -better known as Tatsu Yamashiro, surname taken from her husband- aka Katana: of Japanese origin, one of the best assassins in the world, an extremely lethal fighter and skilled with weapons such as swords and katanas. She has been a very important mentor to Dick since she has trained him not only in many lesser-known but still lethal forms of martial arts but has been equally important in his training with the sword and katana, on par with the likes of Slade and Sandra.
After the coup at the League of Assassins and after Talia came to power, she personally offered Katana the chance to be recruited to the organization which, thanks to the new Demon's Head, switched to the anti-hero side: a title that perfectly suited the kind of person Tatsu was. Shortly after she was given that offer and after personally getting to know the various assassin members, including Renegade, Cheshire and Lady Shiva -even Deathstroke briefly, although he was not a real member- and after seeing how the League became more cohesive and more like a real family than when it was under Ra's control, Tatsu accepted and became a core member of the League as well, quickly climbing the ranks and making it to the elite, on par with the caliber of assassins like Lady Shiva and Cheshire but still under Renegade.
He was simply too much for anyone.
Of course, even a woman as deadly and dangerous as Katana could not resist his charms and it was not long before Tatsu herself became an honorary aunt to the current second most dangerous mercenary in the world: she was truly one of the best people Dick had ever known since she had always had the same philosophy of life as he did, namely, to kill the worst scum who deserved to die.
In fact now that he thought about it, he had not heard from her for a couple of weeks.
He would have to make up for lost time with her once this mission was over.
"From what I understand she is in Japan since she found some leads on the Yakuza."
To make a long story short, the Yakuza was a Japanese mafia and Tatsu's now former brother-in-law Takeo was part of it: Takeo killed his brother Maseo aka her husband and that bastard was also responsible for the death of her two children. From then on, Katana was rightly out for revenge and for no reason in the world would give up her goal of killing Takeo and exterminating the Yakuza.
Renegade had repeatedly offered his services to his aunt, telling her that it would be an honor for him to help her exterminate the Japanese mafia but she always declined his offer, saying that it was a personal matter and that she would want to do it herself, which he could fully understand. In any case, Tatsu knew that his offer would always stand and that it had no deadline.
Dick nodded at his older sister's answer. "She's basically going to kill some bastards of that mafia. Good to know." he reflected smugly, getting two nods.
The three chatted quietly until a young stewardess with blond hair and green eyes approached them. "Would you like anything else?" she asked, casting not-so-sneaky glances at Dick.
The acrobat turned his best Grayson-typical charming smile on her, observing with amusement the blush that spread across the woman's face. "We're good, thank you very much." he added with a wink, holding back a giggle at how it seemed the hostess was on the verge of fainting.
"D-don't hesitate to ask!" the stewardess gave them a bright smile, and it was obvious that it was mainly directed at the 17-year-old pretending to be 19, before walking away, shaking her hips with too much exaggeration.
Dick snorted in amusement and when he returned to stare at his friends he met two flat stares. "What? I had to personally verify that my charm still worked!" he defended himself with a chuckle.
"As if you didn't know." Jade taunted him as she rolled her eyes. "You literally have the power to charm just about anyone and put everyone at ease with one fucking smile!"
"I certainly didn't learn that from Slade."
His comment drew giggles from the two murderers and Dick also joined in the laughter. "You know, it's a real shame that you and Louise broke up. I only met her a handful of times but I liked that girl right from the start." stated Sandra casually, stealing the cookie from her nephew's hands and taking a bite.
Dick scowled and gave her a flat look to which his former mentor responded by impassively raising an eyebrow. The acrobat gave an exaggerated sigh and took another. "I was sorry too but unfortunately I no longer had romantic feelings toward her and it was mutual. It was right to end our relationship, even though we remained very good friends."
"I didn't doubt that you remained on very good terms with your ex-girlfriend." Jade said with an amused snort. She assumed an exaggeratedly disgusted look when her little brother licked the entire cookie. "Gross! Why did you do that?"
"To prevent you from stealing my cookie too."
"I would never have done that!" Dick stared at her impassively for a few seconds and finally the girl's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Dick."
The Talon's already impassive gaze grew even flatter. "Was that seriously the best you had?"
Sandra watched in amusement as the two siblings tossed banter and argued playfully, merely remaining silent while munching on her nephew's stolen cookie and enjoying the show.
"I can literally shatter your alter ego's reputation." affirmed Jade smugly.
"Really? Let's hear it, how would you do it?" the last Flying Grayson challenged her.
"Get the word out to the heroes that you've had a crush on Wonder Woman since you were eleven." Jade smirked, clearly expecting defeat from the youngest.
Dick rolled his eyes, an arrogant and victorious smile between his lips. "Please. I literally flirted with her during the fight."
Both Sandra and Jade opened their eyes wide and shared a shocked look. "You did what?" hissed the older woman, staring at him as if she were about to choke him with her own hands.
He would survive anyway, so it was not a problem at all.
"I flirted with Wonder Woman." Dick repeated with a smirk, enjoying the reactions of the female assassins.
"Every time I'm surprised by the lack of self-preservation instincts you demonstrate, even though I shouldn't be." Jade shook her head with an amused smirk. "It's amazing that she didn't kill you on the spot."
"The Grayson charm must have had an effect on Wonder Woman too." the acrobat joked.
The Sportsmaster's daughter huffed. "I honestly wouldn't be surprised."
Dick sent her an amused smile and his gaze settled on his former mentor who was analyzing him sharply. "Is something wrong, Aunt Sandra?"
She continued to stare at him for a few more seconds in silence before crossing her arms. "Do you think you have a chance with Prince?"
"Excuse me? What the hell are you talking about?"
Sandra rolled her eyes. "You're in love with Wonder Woman."
The Talon babbled incoherently, taken aback by her abrupt statement. Jade rolled her eyes. "I'm afraid old age is catching up with you, Sandra. It's been since Dick was eleven that-"
"No." she cut short, interrupting the younger assassin. "You mean that Dick has a crush on Prince but he doesn't. It's much deeper than that. Maybe it was like that before but definitely not now. He is in love with her."
Jade's eyes opened wide in shock, understanding the older woman's message, and she gasped.
There was a pause steeped in shock and then Sandra added. "Call me old again and I'll kick your ass so hard you won't be able to sit down for a year."
Jade shuddered at her threat, aware that she was able to actualize it, and she turned to stare at her little brother, her gaze still shocked. "What the hell-"
"It's not like that!" hissed Dick angrily, casting a grim look at Sandra who nevertheless remained impassive. "It's just a bunch of bullshit! It's just an innocent crush! Like those for celebrities!" he finished, gesticulating wildly.
"If I'm wrong, why are you so worked up?" Sandra challenged, a victorious smirk between her lips.
"Because..." Dick pondered briefly before finding something to say. "Because it's a total lie and-"
"If it were really an innocent crush, I think six/seven years is enough time for it to fade away, don't you think?" the world's deadliest woman pointed out.
"There are many people in the world who develop a lifelong crush on a celebrity." the mercenary retorted with a frown.
"That is true." Sandra admitted with a nod. "But it's not so in your case. Am I wrong or has your crush on Prince only increased over the years? And isn't it true that since you've met her personally, your feelings have strengthened?" she pressed ever more insistently, never taking her eyes off her nephew.
Dick had such an icy and furious look that Jade would have laughed if she had not been scared to death at that moment by her little brother, especially when his eyes went from their natural blue to an eerie, emotionless gold. "You're wrong, Sandra. And by a lot, too. And I don't think it's any of your business anyway."
Sandra narrowed her gaze but did not insist. She knew when it was time to step back and this was one of those times, especially if she wanted to avoid being thrown off the plane.
With her heart pounding, Jade leaned slightly closer to her little brother. "Your eyes." she whispered very softly, confident that his enhanced hearing would pick up her words.
And indeed it was.
Dick sighed heavily and ran a hand over his face, taking deep, long breaths. In less than a minute he felt anger, frustration and any other negative emotion leave his body at least partially and when he removed his hand from his face he saw his older sister nod slightly, a sign that his eyes had returned to their original hue.
The acrobat leaned back on the seat back and closed his eyes with the intention not to fall asleep but to let his mind wander until the plane would land.
Or at least that would have been his intention if his damn mind had not focused exclusively on two sentences Sandra had spoken.
Do you think you have a chance with Prince?
You're in love with Wonder Woman.
Dick groaned inwardly.
Thank you very much, Aunt Sandra.
The favorite time of the plane ride after what had happened, in Dick's humble opinion, was definitely the landing. He quickly retrieved his bags containing his Renegade equipment and waited for the other two assassins at a nearby café, sipping a good cup of coffee and reading the newspaper in the meantime.
A habit surely picked up by Slade.
Jade and Sandra easily spotted him and reached him. For a brief moment there was an awkward silence broken by Sportsmaster's daughter. "For heaven's sake if you won't apologize for your damned pride at least hug each other!" she asserted in a snarl, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration.
"Says the one who at our first meeting didn't even want to fight me because she was afraid I would ruin her pride and her reputation." Dick pointed out in a flat voice.
Jade stared at him hard. "I'm going into the bar to steal a small bottle of water and if when I come out I don't see you hugging I'll poison your food!" she hissed before walking away.
"I'd survive anyway! And don't get caught!" yelled Dick at her, bursting out laughing when she gave him the middle finger without turning around. He turned and met Sandra's indifferent gaze and he let out a defeated sigh. "So... I'm sorry for the way I treated you. You didn't deserve it and-"
"I'm sorry too, Little Bird." Sandra interrupted him with a sigh. "I recognize that I was acting inappropriately, frustratingly and heavily toward you and for that I apologize. It is none of my business whether you are truly in love with Prince or not."
Dick bit his tongue hard, avoiding the automatic response that threatened to escape his lips, and instead hugged her tightly. Sandra initially stiffened, taken aback, but soon she relaxed and gently returned the hug, pulling her nephew closer to her.
"Love you, Aunt Sandra."
Sandra smiled and placed a tender kiss on the top of his head. "Me too, Little Bird. Me too."
The two enjoyed the warmth of the embrace until they heard the familiar voice of the third assassin. "Finally! I was beginning to seriously fear that I would have to carry out the mission in heavy embarrassment!"
Former mentor and former student broke away from the hug and stared at Jade who had a shit-eating grin on her face. "Come on, you know we would be able to put aside our differences for the sake of the mission!"
Jade tilted her head to the side and after a few seconds nodded. "True." she said taking a sip from the bottle of water she had just stolen.
"We'd better hurry up and go book the rooms at the nearest hotel." Sandra stated, wrinkling her nose. "The sooner we finish this mission the better."
The other two assassins agreed and took a taxi to the nearest hotel. They discovered that there was only one room left but none of the three minded so much since they had already been forced to share a room many times during their many missions. Once again they were able to easily evade hotel security both in terms of their identities thanks to the fake passports that Talia had kindly given them and their assassin equipment and eventually they managed to get the key to their room.
The three assassins entered their room, closing the door behind them, and their gaze immediately fell on the bed and sofa present. "This is literally a luxury for us." Dick pointed out, shrugging his shoulders. "Especially compared to our mission in Berlin. You remember that, don't you?"
"How could we forget it." nodded Jade with a giggle and Sandra merely nodded with a small smile.
"I propose we take a little tour, thus getting familiar with the streets and the city, then return to the hotel for a nap and, after we have dinner, start investigating in the evening and at night with our assassin equipment." Sandra advised. Dick raised his hand and she fixed him with a flat stare. "Yes Richard, rest is mandatory. Just because your Talon physiognomy allows you to go for entire weeks even without any hours of rest, that does not mean the same applies to Jade and me."
The acrobat lowered his hand and pouted.
The two female assassins exchanged an amused look and shook their heads with slight smiles between their lips and moved to put down their bags.
They should prepare themselves for whatever scenario would await them. After all, they would soon be dealing with one of the most dangerous mafias in the world.