Caeda: Back to Business
by demented20
The beautiful assassin goes on an impossible mission and proves why she's the best in the world.

Caeda stifled a scream as the pressure increased, a single light bulb illuminating her misery and her torturer. He twisted the vice-grips making her squirm and her body quiver from the sharp pain. Her eyes squeezed shut, her breathing was labored, but she wouldn't scream. He held he grips tightly and twisted them harder than he had before. He used both hands and kept the pressure on longer. Caeda's legs spasmed against the floor. Every nerve ending in her body was on fire, but she would not scream. He wouldn't hear her voice until she decided he would. He released the vice grips letting some slack return to the chain he had put around her head. The rough edges of the chain had pressed in on Caeda's temple. Just a simple twist from his pliers made her skull feel ready to cave in. Her chest heaved after his sustained application of pain. She looked helpless.

His boots clicked against the stone floor as he walked around his prize. The great assassin Caeda laid stripped naked bound hand and foot with plastic zips. A leather strap linked the zips, hog tying her. She lay in the grime of countless torture sessions unable to defend herself. Her beautiful face was undamaged but intense from his session. Her usually flawless body bore the marks of his preliminary activities. It would only get worse.

"You are very tough", Colonel Than Sein said in very good English as he continued observing her. He knew thousands of different torture techniques, but he wasn't above kicking Caeda with his steel toed boots. A kick forced air from her lungs, but she wouldn't utter a sound, not even a whimper.

He sent three kicks in a row to the exact same place on her side. Caeda's dirt and sweat stained face showed the signs of pain, but she pressed her lips shut. She looked at him through watery eyes in time to see him smile. He'd found a challenge. Col. Than Sein loved a true challenge. He would make her scream. He went to the wall. Hundreds of items hung there most of them ordinary like the length of chain and vice-grips, but some devices were sinister beyond imagination. He stood still to ponder his next course of action.

While his mind worked, Caeda's fingers started working too. She had let the fingernails grow out on her left hand just a little. She'd filed them before this job to make them jagged instead of smooth. She used the nail of her ring finger to dig into the skin on the inside of her right wrist. She didn't have to dig deeply, but she had to get into her skin if she wanted to live. She was playing it cool, but Caeda knew that Than Sein was the most notorious torturer in Southeast Asia. He'd killed more men and women that some military units. He had the skill to make medical examiners squirm when they saw the results of his torture sessions, or he could deliver a dead body as pristine as the day it was born. Caeda knew she had to free herself.

Than Sein grinned when he'd made up his mind. It wasn't enough to kill Caeda. Everyone had to know that he had killed Caeda. That would make him infamous. He would let the world know that he had tortured Caeda and then killed her, but first he would make her scream. He pulled a rod off the wall. Caeda didn't have to look at him. She could feel what he was doing. She had to make sure that he didn't notice what she was doing with her fingers.

"This is one of my favorites." He showed the device to her. Several wires protruded from the bottom. He studied Caeda's face while he walked around her. He mistook her concentration for apprehension. He twisted a knob on the top of the rod and waved it over her with the wires hanging downward. He lowered his arm and the loose wires lightly brushed the tender flesh near Caeda's right nipple. The blinding flash of electric energy sent pain from her head to her feet. All her muscles stiffened. The pain didn't stay in one spot. He waved the rod over her body letting the wires touch all over her torso. The pain jumped from place to place, but always as bad. Caeda bit her lip hard; drawing her own blood as Than Sein slowly worked the rod towards her vagina. The sparks of electricity sent separate shots of pain when the wires touched one another. The look on his face was as intense as hers. Every time he saw Caeda's body flinch, it gave him pleasure, but not enough. He had to have more. Caeda couldn't move her fingers the way she needed to, not with this rod shocking her as if she were a bull. She had to give him what he wanted. Caeda swallowed her pride and screamed. It wasn't a loud one, but it was enough.

He pulled the rod away and exhaled in satisfaction. The sight of this beautiful woman wasn't what got him off. Touching her didn't excite him. The only way she could hope to excite him was by screaming and cursing life itself. When he broke her completely, he would allow her to die. Until then, he would humor himself with this would-be assassin.

Caeda worked her fingers into her own skin. Finally she had it. She had gotten through the first layer of skin to the tiny ceramic blade she had put there weeks earlier. She had purchased and honed the ceramic blade then she'd cut her own skin to let a new layer of skin grow over the tiny shard, hiding it from everyone. Now she had it between her fingers. She used her inhuman dexterity to draw the blade across the plastic tie that bound her wrists. The edge was sharper than a razor, but this was going to take time.

Than Sein got tired of watching her, so he lay the wire ends against her skin letting the pain increase. Caeda screamed now, not trying to hold it back. It's what they both needed.

"Ahh!!", he moaned while soaking in her pain. He removed the rod and stood up straight. "I had heard great things about you Caeda. People spoke of your physical beauty, and they were not lying. You are as beautiful as a woman such as yourself can be. But..." His boots clicked while he walked to the wall. He put the rod back on the hook. He was ready to step up the pain. The rod was only enough to wet his appetite. He took down a long curved knife with a dull blade and a large wooden paddle with a slight depression like a spoon. Caeda could only guess at their purpose. She worked more quickly now. Her window was closing.

"You know, you aren't the first to try and kill General Tun Win. Many have come, but they said you were the best." He set the paddle down near her feet and stood there. "I have heard stories about you, and then I was underwhelmed at your attack. It was clumsy and foolish to attack General Win during the day."

Caeda drew a breath while her tiny blade worked at the plastic. She quickened her pace risking his noticing.

"You didn't even make my men try! It was as if you allowed yourself to be captured!"

"I did", Caeda spoke for the first time. Her voice was breathy, but strong and confident.

Col. Than Sein tilted his head. "And ruin your chance to kill the great general? Why would you do such a thing?"

"Because", Caeda began as her tiny ceramic blade severed her bonds. "General Win is hated, but he isn't my mark... You are!" Caeda shifted her body and kicked out with both feet as hard as she could. She hit Col. Than Sein in the center of his face, breaking his nose and pushing a tooth through his top lip. He staggered and fell. Caeda jumped on him like a wild beast before his mind could even catch up. She took him by the hair and slammed his head into the stone floor with all her strength. Over and over she slammed his head. His skull made dull thumps against the floor. He'd long since lost consciousness from her fury, then finally there was a crunch followed by another one.

Caeda finally exhaled and opened her hands. Strands of hair and scalp fell from her fingers. She slumped against the wall taking deep refreshing breaths. A pool of blood spread from behind the dead torturer like an evil halo. Caeda sat and watched it grow. Her mind wondered how big her evil halo would be when she died. She grinned and looked at Than Sein's dead face. "You were good, very good, but I'm better." She patted him on the chest then stretched out to grab her small blade. She used it to slice through the plastic around her ankles. She wiggled her legs to get the blood flowing again. She looked at his torture tools and found one that she liked. She took the garrote and went to the steel door. There was no knob or latch on the inside, but she'd seen how the late Than Sein got the attention of the soldier outside. She took the garrote in her left hand and banged the door hard with her right three times.

The loyal and well drilled soldier snatched open the door to do anything his master demanded. He had seen horrible things in his time with Than Sein, but these days he didn't balk at even the most ghastly sight. He ran into the room as he had been trained. His eyes only caught a glimpse of the colonel's body before the cord bit into his neck. He hadn't seen anyone standing to either side of the door when he came in. He had been trained to look for that. His mind screamed that he hadn't seen anyone! Caeda was perched above the door. He never had a chance. Her muscles flexed to their maximum. The toes of the soldier's boots barely touched the ground now. The skin at his neck was maimed and torn from his futile attempts to save his own life. He was a few heartbeats from death. It came as Caeda bore down and sank the cord so deeply into his neck that she severed an artery and sliced through muscle tissue. She didn't have to worry about a spray of blood. His heart stopped. She jumped from above the door and stripped the soldier quickly. There would be no patrol this far into the complex. No one interrupted Than Sein during a torture session not even his boss. Caeda knew that this soldier had been the only one close. With him dead, Caeda dressed in his clothes. They were almost the same size, except she was about an inch or so taller. She pulled her helmet low over her face and slipped on gloves from Than Sein's pocket. They were too big, but it all served her purpose.

Caeda sneaked out of the military complex forty minutes before dawn. She ran two miles into the tree line where a scooter she'd bought from a kid in Rangoon was waiting with food, water, and clean clothes. She changed there in the jungle as the sun came up, wiping her face as best she could, then starting east. The military was in an uproar after the death of Than Sein, but Caeda played the part of an aid worker from Stockholm. No one pegged her for a dangerous assassin. She didn't even have weapons. She slipped past the checkpoints, finally smuggling herself into neighboring Thailand where she suddenly became a corporate executive.

She stayed in Bangkok under an assumed name for a couple of days before going to the airport to catch a flight to Hong Kong. Caeda sat in a smart pinstriped business suit sipping some excellent coffee while reading a German newspaper. It was amazing what could be found in Bangkok. She sat completely at ease until she felt a man look at her a moment longer than he should have. The man didn't try to be evasive though. When Caeda casually raised her head to look at him, he bowed quickly but respectfully. His eyes looked left and right while he greeted her. "Mistress Caeda."

"Master Chun", Caeda rose from her seat. "It's an honor."

"The honor is mine. May I sit for a moment?"

"Of course." Caeda motioned for him to take a seat. "So, Master Chun, how are the Knives?"

"Not bad. How's the Gate?"

"Never changes", she told him with a grin.

"Nice work you did the other day", he told her with a twinkle in his eye.

"News travels quickly." Caeda knew that the world of assassins wasn't a large one, and the killing of a man as notorious as Than Sein would make waves. "And thank you."

Chun smiled tightly then stood up from his seat. "You're welcome. I must get back to business, Mistress. Happy hunting."

Caeda stood from her seat. "Happy hunting to you as well." Chun bowed then continued to his gate. Caeda sighed in relief. It had just been a social call. Sometimes the Tin Knives took offense to Westerners like her operating in this part of the world, and as good as Caeda was, she didn't want to tangle with a man like Chun unless she held all the cards. Chun had showed up to let Caeda and the other guilds know that the Tin Knives were always watching what happened on their turf. There were no problems though. Caeda boarded her flight and landed in Hong Kong on time. Her flight to Vancouver was twenty minutes late, but that didn't matter. Once Caeda was in British Columbia she rested a night then rented a car under her assumed name, tore the gps tracker from it, and drove into the forests. She waited until nightfall to torch the car then dump it in a lake. With that done, she simply walked across the border between Canada and the United States. Once she was in Washington, her fake identity melted away, and she once again became Amaris Johanssen. Only then did she reach into a secret compartment on her carry-on bag and pull out her choker. She rubbed the St. Jude Medal on the front before she slipped it around her neck. She took a Greyhound bus to Boise then caught a series of flights home to New York where her boyfriend Russell was waiting.

She opened the door while he was setting the table for dinner. "Welcome home", his smiling face said while he set the dish on the table.

Amaris was dead tired and mentally drained, but all that left her mind when Russell stood smiling at her with his whole heart. "How'd you know I'd be back today?"

Russell's grin widened, and Amaris chuckled at herself for not remembering. "Let me guess, you've been doing this every night for the past week."

Russell walked up and took his woman around the waist. "No, just for the last three days." They shared a laugh. Russell gently led her to the table where he pulled the chair out for her. He could tell that she was sore. Usually Amaris moved like a breeze across the prairie, but today she was slower and stiff. He sat her down and served a Menchoui that would have been well received at even the most exclusive gourmet restaurant in New York, but Russell had cooked this North African delicacy just for the two of them. He served it with spiced tea instead of wine. Amaris was trying to wean herself from alcohol, especially after jobs.

That night, Amaris and Russell lay in bed. The curtains shifted the outside light in the darkened room while the open windows let in a little of the cool night air. The sounds of the city came in too, making a fuzzy backdrop to their silence. Here in the darkness, the emotions from the job caught up to Caeda, who had been doing her best to outrun them. Fear was the worst. The fear that she'd been suppressing since she was tied up on that floor filled Caeda like a flood. For a woman who used to court death, she now feared it a little. Not because she deserved to live, but because of how it would hurt Russell if she were killed. The thought of him being in pain from her death, made tears flow down her cheeks. She cried quietly, wetting her pillow. He tightened his grip on her, thinking that this was the natural release of emotions after Amaris had killed someone. He was wrong. She put her hand on his while she sobbed. "Let me get you something for-", Russell started then was cut off quickly.

"No!", Amaris blurted urgently. She sighed and her voice dropped near a whisper. "Just hold me", she pleaded softly. Russell held her the rest of the night, and she settled to sleep wrapped in his arms.

The next few days were sunny outside and inside the apartment. Amaris put the emotions from her latest contract behind her, and worked at sculpting. Russell was at her apartment most of the time. They still had two separate places, but only until his lease ran out. They had discussed moving to his place near Central Park West, but Amaris fit the Village, so they would live at her place. Amaris agreed to get rid of some of her stuff to make room for his stuff. Of course she got Russell to help.

"Where do you want me to put this?", Russell asked from the bedroom.

"Umm, you have to show it to me. I don't know what it is", Amaris called back from the hall closet where she was doing some cleaning and throwing out. She had a scarf tied around her head and some paint and clay stained clothes on. The thin shirt and tight capris covered the fading marks of Than Sein's torture, but displayed the slim sexiness than drove Russell crazy.

Russell walked across the hardwood floor from the bedroom to the hall where Amaris was working. He paused for a moment to admire her before he held up the strange short bladed knife. "This is the one I'm talkin about."

Amaris' mouth dropped and her eyes widened like saucers. "Oh my God Russell, drop that!", she exclaimed.

Russell opened his fingers and the knife thumped to the floor. He backed away. "What is it?", he asked, dreading the answer. His heart was racing. "Did you use it on a contract?"

Amaris nodded slowly and approached the knife lying on the shiny wood floor like it was radioactive. Then she bent down and picked it up quickly. Russell couldn't see her face when she was leaning down, but he could feel her amusement. "A contract to make a statue. It's just a carving tool", she announced and looked up with a wide grin on her stunning face.

Russell had another look on his. She'd gotten him again. He was embarrassed and amused at the same time. He looked down at her smiling face then kissed her sexy lips. Amaris closed her eyes and pressed her mouth to his before gently parting his lips with her tongue, just a little. They both pulled away at the same time. She waved the knife between their faces. "I would never leave a real weapon just lying around the bedroom. I'll never do anything to get you in trouble." She took the tool into her small one room art studio to put it where it belonged then they went back to cleaning. "Besides I won't need those other tools soon", she stated proudly.

"Good. Then this chapter of your life can be over. We can go on and live a normal life together."

"I do live a normal life", she began with a chuckle. "I have an apartment, friends, a boyfriend, I even have a cat." Elskede meowed, and she rubbed his head. "The only thing different is my job. It's a big difference, I grant you, but I'm like any other in demand professional, except I'm retiring in my prime."

Russell was speechless, so Amaris continued. "You know I'm just now reaching my peak earning years. That job I just did was a big deal. There might not be another single operator who could have pulled that off", Amaris boasted.

"Have you told Dimitri that you plan to retire?" Russell got serious.

Amaris sighed. "No, not yet. The Broker doesn't know about my plans. I've been avoiding him, but you're right. I have to tell him soon, before he comes up with another near impossible job for me to do." It was too late. Things were already in motion.

It hadn't been very sunny for the Broker over the last few days. A young woman named Jan Caufield had been abducted on banks of the Chesapeake by a ruthless underworld Syndicate run by Jason Mallster. The young woman was quite special. The leaders of the Syndicate wanted to experiment and replicate this young woman's gifts, but things were looking up for the young woman and for the Broker because now he had all the information he needed. For a man like him, information was oxygen, without it he would wither and die. Now though things were falling into place. He no longer had to worry. He had enough information to bring down the entire operation. He waited patiently in his limousine for his new assistant.

People couldn't help but stare at the white Rolls Royce parked at the rest station in Northern Virginia. They couldn't see inside the darkened windows, but many of them pictured the owner of the car correctly. His expensive suit and refined look fit the car he owned. The Broker sat with his fingers laced and a smile on his face.

A teenager and his grandfather turned their heads to look at the Rolls before turning their heads the other way to get a glimpse of the young woman walking out of the building heading straight for the limo. Her bright yellow pleated skirt brushed against her soft chocolate colored skin while the muscles in her sprinter's legs gently flexed with each confident step. She pulled open the door and got inside. The people at the rest area had seen her walk from the bathroom, but she had really just completed a forty mile round trip in a matter of seconds. The walk to the car was the slowest leg of the journey.

"Did you get a good look at the inside of the house?", the Broker asked when the door closed.

"Of course I did. That's what I went there for. So where to now?", LaShaunta Turner, the new assistant asked.

"To your friend's house. I have some good news to give Mr. Caufield. His daughter's alive, and I'm sure he'll want to know about it."

It was about an hour drive to the Caufield's opulent home in the upscale community of Clarksville, Maryland. They made the trip in near silence. The Broker had to compose himself to face a grieving father. The Broker had no children and could only dimly imagine how Jack Caufield felt. When the limousine pulled up the brick and stone driveway, he didn't hesitate to get out and walk to the front door.

From inside the car LaShaunta couldn't hear what was being said, but she could read body language well enough to know that Jan's father could be a scary and intimidating guy. When LaShaunta had met Mr. Caufield the year before, he had been a huge teddy bear, but standing in the doorway, he would have made a lesser man shrink away. The Broker though stood his ground. After a minute or two, things eased up, and LaShaunta relaxed. He came back to the car with a big smile on his face.

"Why won't you let me help?", LaShaunta asked the Broker.

He put his hand on her firm thigh before he spoke softly. "You are going to help, but not in that way. And don't worry, I believe in my heart that you'll see Jan again."

"I hope so", LaShaunta sighed as the limousine pulled through the always open gates at the Caufield home. LaShaunta just wanted to help her friend from college.

"You'll get your chance to put your abilities to good use next week."

"Why next week?"

The Broker shook his head. She had so much to learn. "Jason Mallster will be in New York. I can't have Jack Caufield mounting his operation early, so I had to delay him by not telling where Jan is being held. He'll find out soon enough, and he'll most certainly kill the body of the beast, but if we don't kill the head then we won't be safe and neither will Mr. Caufield or his daughter. Mallster won't be in our sights until Saturday. Don't you worry about all of that. Prepare yourself, and make sure when you meet Caeda that you're polite."

"I've heard that she can be a pain in the ass."

The Broker chuckled and patted his assistant's leg again. "No, my dear, that is putting it too mildly. Now get us to my garage", he told her.

Amaris dropped Russell off at work and started towards New Jersey. She was meeting with a town committee about doing some public art for them, then her phone started buzzing. She turned the screen towards her and read the text from the Broker's office. She sighed and turned before she had to enter the tunnel. Instead she headed across the island to the Upper East Side. She parked her powder blue new Beetle in front of the Broker's very nice townhouse off of Park Avenue and walked up the steps. This would be a great time to tell him about her plans to retire from contract killing, she thought to herself as she stood outside. She rang the doorbell, expecting the butler, but instead a young woman swung the ornate wooden door open. Amaris had never seen her before, and looked her over with a single glance. Her expertly braided hair hung past her shoulders, but even with her hair back her facial features were soft and pretty. Her body was curvy and hard with nice round breasts, a flat middle, small waist, round sexy backside, and strong shapely legs. She was a sprinter, Amaris could tell right away.

"You must be the one Dimitri's waiting for", LaShaunta said and stepped aside so the woman could come in. She observed Amaris closely taking note of her salon styled hair, handmade floral skirt, and hemp sandals. If this was the great Caeda then she didn't look so dangerous. "He's waiting back here in his private study."

"Who are you?", Amaris asked bluntly.

"I'm LaShaunta Turner, the Broker's personal assistant", she answered.

"I haven't seen you here before", Amaris pressed.

"You haven't been here in a while, plus Dimitri's been keeping me out of sight."

"How long have you been working here?"

LaShaunta sighed before she answered. "A few months, ever since I came here to kill the Broker."

Amaris' brow lowered. "You aren't serious?"

"I'm not proud of it. Dimitri's been trading my power since I was a kid, and it gave my family a good living. The money he sent back to me and my family allowed us to move out of the projects and into a nice house of our own. I've known him my whole life, but then I found out that he'd transferred my powers to two rapists who brutally murdered a classmate of mine. I came up here thinking that I would kill him, but I don't think I was ever serious... just very angry."

"I'm glad you weren't serious. He wouldn't gave traded your powers to rapists if he'd known who they were", Amaris assured LaShaunta not even knowing what the pretty athlete's power was.

"I know that. He actually killed them both before their deadline when he found out what they were doing, but I was so mad at him that I just wanted to kill him at first."

Amaris nodded her head. She knew how LaShaunta felt. "Just remember that revenge cuts both ways. I've learned from experience."

"So you really are Caeda." LaShaunta stopped walking and turned to face the slightly taller woman.

Amaris gave a half smile. "I am for a little while longer anyway."

"They tell me that you were trained by the best, and that you killed all of your teachers when you learned from them."

Amaris laughed loudly and nearly choked on her own words. "Kill my teachers? No, I don't think so. I'm still friends with some of them. Not saying I didn't want to kill them from time to time, but I rarely kill for free."

It was the last statement that struck LaShaunta. "So I can't believe everything I hear."

Amaris gave another half smile before they entered the Broker's study. He wasn't alone. A smiling Morgen Stern was there in all his envy inducing perfection. "Come in my Dear, I have something to discuss with you", the Broker called out as soon as Amaris came into view. Amaris sat down in a comfortable chair and crossed her legs. "What's this about?"

The Broker tossed a flash drive to Caeda's lap and explained about the abduction. "The organization that abducted her is linked to the same group that was run by Romano Scarlforo. This North American arm is run by Jason Mallster, and after this abduction, his organization is even more dangerous than Romano's. He's working towards making armies of unstoppable super soldiers. If they're able to replicate the powers from this young woman then all of us together wouldn't be able to stop Mallster. Now's our chance."

"What do you want me to do?", Amaris asked simply.

The Broker explained about the meeting in New York and about a leak in the FBI that had to be plugged. He explained quickly how Agent Will Davis had sold secrets to Mallster and his people. "Agent Davis lives alone in Alexandria. It all has to be done in the same day. I'll leave the details to you."

Amaris frowned and scratched her chin. "Those two marks are a couple hundreds miles apart. I could miss my window."

The Broker smiled brightly. "That's where the lovely LaShaunta comes in. Show Caeda what you can do."

LaShaunta had been standing several feet behind Caeda before she vanished. Amaris turned and frowned when she felt her disappear. While her back was turned, she felt LaShaunta appear next to the Broker. Amaris turned again, this time more slowly. "Nice trick, but how does bouncing around a room help?"

LaShaunta grinned and waited for the Broker to explain. "She doesn't just bounce around the room. Miss Turner can teleport herself anywhere as long as she knows the place or can see it. I took her to Agent Davis' home in Virginia. LaShaunta can take you there, and get you back here to New York in an instant."

Caeda frowned. "I work better alone", she stated matter of factly. "But this could come in handy." She stood up and took a step closer to LaShaunta. "How do I know I can trust you? Killing is dirty business. Most people run away or freeze."

"I've been trained too!", LaShaunta exclaimed and stepped up. "They'll need a replacement for you soon anyway. No one lasts forever, not even you", LaShaunta told Caeda smugly. "I'm plenty good enough for this job."

"We'll see", Amaris told LaShaunta, then turned to face the Broker and Morgen Stern. "She's right about one thing. No one lasts forever. This is my last one. I'm retiring from the business." At first she'd been worried about the Broker's reaction, now she didn't much care what he thought. She'd just stated a fact, not opened a discussion.

The Broker stood up from his seat and came over to her. He took her gently by the shoulders, and looked into those icy eyes until they thawed. "I'm happy for you", he said softly then pulled her to him. After an embrace he pushed her to arms length and smiled broadly. "Don't forget about me."

"I won't", Caeda said seriously then cracked a smile. "Just make sure the money for this job is in my account by this evening."

The Broker laughed. "It will be, my Dear, of that you can be sure. Once all of this is behind us, I'd like to talk to you about another statue for my foyer. I'm getting tired of the one that's there."

Caeda smirked like when she was a teenager. "I might do that for free." There wasn't much more talk. Caeda went home to study the information on the flash drive. Morgen Stern was left alone with the Broker.

"You should have tried to talk her out of quitting", Morgen told the Broker after a sip of brandy.

"Why would I want to do that, Morgen? That girl has served us very well. We've more than gotten our money's worth. Let her live the rest of her life", he exclaimed with a wave of his hand. "She's found love. If only we could be so lucky."

Morgen scoffed. "Speak for yourself, Dimitri. I love the bachelor life. You let your feelings for Amaris get in the way of business decisions. She's a great asset. I don't think she should be able to walk away just like that."

The Broker considered his associate's words. "Just let it alone. It's her life, and we've meddled in it enough. She's doing this job for us, but that's it."

"She's doing it for you. You are the one positioned to benefit most from Mallster's death, but there are hits that I need done." Morgen downed his brandy. "I might have to take this into my own hands. She can't be allowed to leave the business." He stood up to leave.

The Broker swilled his fine Polish vodka and took a sip. "Let her be, Morgen", the Broker warned.

"What are you going to do Dimitri? I may not be able to use my power against you, but no one can get to me", Morgen boasted.

"Chet Perkins can."

Morgen laughed. "I could make him blow his own brains out. He couldn't even touch me if I didn't let him."

"He could if I gave him my power." The Broker watched Morgen's excruciatingly handsome face break. "Just remember Morgen, there's always a way to get business done."

Morgen's anger showed on his face for only an instant before he turned to leave. "Yeah, you should remember your own words, Dimitri."

The Broker raised his glass as Morgen got to the door. "Goodnight, Morgen."

Morgen Stern paused with his hand on the knob before turning slowly and letting his animosity drop away. "Goodnight, Dimitri", he said meaning it. He pulled the door open then closed it quickly behind himself. He took a deep breath, and shook his head. He couldn't beat the Broker at his own game. There would be other opportunities, but it wouldn't matter if Caeda didn't kill Mallster. Everything rode on that.

Caeda fastened the St. Jude medal around her neck and peered out the safe house window. Night was falling. She could make out the lights of Shea Stadium in the distance, as she and LaShaunta prepared. Caeda had gone over the plan with LaShaunta so many times in the last four days that the younger girl was mouthing it in her sleep. Over those four days LaShaunta had come to fear and respect Caeda. She'd never met a more focused person in her life. The last four days had been sobering for LaShaunta. She'd learned a lot, but Caeda had a few more lessons to teach. "It's time to go", Caeda said.

Jason Mallster was a good and gracious host to the three Commission members and their entourage. They had spent their afternoon touring Mallster's state of the art facility in Oklahoma, but now it was time to relax and talk strategy in New York. It was a strange position for the Commission members to be in. A year earlier many people had been calling for Mallster's removal, which would have meant his death. He had been so far behind the European wing of the organization that many believed he would never catch up. It was a different world now. Mallster was their best hope since that bitch Caeda had killed the leader of the European wing of the organization and most of the mercenaries the Commission hired to break him out of prison. Caeda was some sort of deadly blood sucking beast, but they didn't have to worry about her tonight. The entire building had been checked and rechecked by Mallster's new Series 4 super soldiers. The three Commission men were more than impressed by these soldiers that looked human, but were many times stronger than a normal man, and never tired, or whined, or wavered. They were the future. The Series 4's were going to grow the power of the Commission in new and profound ways.

Mallster sat with his legs crossed telling amusing stories about the fits and starts of his super soldier program. While he talked, two close confidants stood to one side of the room. Things had gone too perfect so far. That worried the two ex-soldiers. Michel stayed in the room until he left to check on young Billy at the front door. Billy was a good soldier, but he was hot headed sometimes. That left Heath to take care of the upstairs security. Heath was an able man, but he wished Jean was there. Jean was the best tactical guy Mallster employed, but their boss had sent Jean to procure some ladies for entertainment. That job was beneath Jean, but Mallster always wanted to show his complete control over his subordinates.

LaShaunta left Caeda and teleported herself to the dank basement. She'd been down there several times during the preparation, but this time it was for real. She walked on her toes, her hard runner's calves causing the material of her tight black pants to jut out at angles. She found the main box and waited. There was no signal, there was just the clock. She looked at her watched and pulled the breaker.

The meeting was great until the lights went out. All the powerful men and their entourages looked around. Surprised faces were hidden by the darkness. The special windows let in almost no light. A few anxious seconds ticked by before the first chuckle of bemusement hit the room. "Fail to pay the bills?", Alazar Santos, one of the Commission men asked his host.

Mallster's embarrassment was hidden as well. He had paid top dollar for the best electrical contractor in the city, but the backup generators weren't install yet. "I apologize. It must be a glitch. Heath, get to the roof and see if this is a localize thing or just this building. And call Michel at the door. Tell him we're in the dark up here."

"Yes, sir." Heath hated being sent off like an errand boy, but Mallster always put on airs when he was around his betters. He took a Series 4 with him in case there was trouble.

Downstairs Michel looked around when the lights went out. He didn't need a call from Heath to get moving. "Search the perimeter now", Michel ordered. He didn't pull a gun, but kept his hand ready. The best sneak attacks came in the dark even if the darkness had to be manufactured.

Mallster took a long drink from his glass, trying to figure the best way to minimize the damage from this unfortunate glitch. "You gentlemen aren't afraid of the dark are you?", Mallster asked to keep the jovial mood alive.

Allistair Stanley, another Commission member, laughed loudly. "Of course not", he began. "As a matter of fact Alazar once had an orgy in the dark. He ended up with a woman 40 years his senior. Not to mention she weighed at least 20 stone." The room erupted in laugher.

Caeda used the cover of their laugher to remove the section of ceiling that she had painstakingly cut out over the last half an hour. She used her power to lift the piece up and out of the way. Caeda lowered her body through the hole slowly, using just her arms. She kept her body parallel to the floor in an impossible looking manner, but she was insanely powerful. She instantly knew where everyone and everything was in the room. Some people would wonder how one woman could possibly kill an entire room when she was out gunned and out numbered... one at a time. Caeda's face was impassive as she hung upside down for a moment picking out her first target. She crawled along the ceiling, silently getting into position.

"She wasn't that heavy", Alazar defended himself.

Allistair choked a laughed. "Next you'll tell us she wasn't ugly too!" The room laughed. The people were now enjoying the darkness. It allowed them to relax. They hadn't had this much fun with each other in years.

Allistair's principle bodyguard was a formidable man. He had killed grown men with his bare hands, but while he relaxed, he died with a glass of Italian red in his hand. Caeda slipped behind him and plunged her ka-bar deep into his back, piercing his heart and slicing his diaphragm like a big rubber band. His body tightened and jerked. Caeda took the glass from his hand and pressed it to his mouth to catch the blood that frothed to his lips. His eyes were wide, but they only saw blackness while his heart beat in vain against the cold steel of the assassin's blade.

Caeda effortlessly held his weight while he died, and when his life was over, she pulled her knife out slowly and let the dead guard slump into a chair. She wiped her knife on the inside of the dead man's jacket and moved away. She stepped behind Allistair, but this wasn't his time. He'd live a while longer. She had to get the guards out of the way first. In the darkness, she stood very still until she put her hands against the wall and hoisted herself up, crawling like a venomous insect up the wall, after more prey.

"Is there a reason you made the windows so dark?", Alazar asked the host.

Mallster chuckled, not knowing that there was a dead man in the room. "I usually like my privacy, but under the circumstances this might be a little over the top."

A man died when Mallster started talking. In the darkness it was too easy for her. Another man died, and then thirty seconds later, another. Caeda moved like phantom, bringing death to whomever she touched. This was the purest power, more than money or influence. The power she had over life and death was intoxicating, but she kept her head and killed another man. That was five.

The door to the room opened as her sixth victim breathed his last. Heath came in using a flash light to show his way. The light fell briefly on a dead man, but no one noticed. Caeda had already faded into darkness.

"The electricity's on all around us", Heath announced to the group. "I called Michel. He's checking the breakers in the basement. Maybe he'll find something."

"I hope so", Mallster allowed.

In the basement, Michel pulled a small flashlight, but he still walked with his hand out. There were things hanging down all over the place, and the light shined mostly at the floor. Billy was behind Michel with a Series 4 trailing. Michel worried about depending on those damned super soldiers, but they did have their uses.

Mallster had Heath hold the flashlight while he poured himself another drink. The reflection showed on Heath's amused face, but Mallster watched as Heath's face changed to serious.

"Something wrong?"

Heath had seen something from the corner of his eye. In his former line of work, seeing in the dark had been a job requirement. "I thought I saw something, but its probably the damn shadows from the outside playing tricks on me", Heath said aloud, but he was sure he'd seen something. Just to be sure he swung the light to the spot on the wall where he'd seen the movement. The men in the room held their breath while the light panned. There was a small sigh when there was nothing but bare wall.

"I think the darkness is getting to you, Heath", Mallster joked. Some men laughed, but not Heath. He knew there was someone or something in the room. He could feel it.

"There's no way anyone could get in here. The security is state of the art", Mallster boasted.

"Just like your electrical system?", Seydou Gbagbo, the third Commission man, jested.

The room laughed again, but Heath was right. Caeda watched the light shine below her feet while she crawled towards the ceiling. She had already chosen her next target. She was near Allistair again, but this time on his right side. Her gloved fingers flexed and closed around the handle of he knife as she stepped behind the unsuspecting victim. In one quick motion she pressed the knife to man's throat and sliced deep and hard until the matte black blade gouged his spine. Blood sprayed out like a gory sprinkler, spattering the table top and Allistair Stanley's face.

"Do you have a leak in here?", Allistair asked and wiped his face. Heath knew it wasn't a roof leak. It wasn't raining.

Michel was near the breaker box, but something wasn't sitting right. He could feel it. He stopped for a moment to concentrate. Caeda had planned this entire operation to the second. She had studied the Series 4 super soldiers long enough to find a weakness, but there was one thing she couldn't plan for because she didn't have the information. Michel was a telepath and while he was too far away to feel Caeda's mind. He could feel LaShaunta's. She was in the basement near the box. She was supposed to blink away when she heard men getting close, but she wouldn't hear them. Michel had been moving without much caution, but now he ordered everyone to move tactically. Michel kept contact with the mind he felt. It was a woman he could tell right away, and she was tense. Her mind was agile and sharp, but unaware of what was about to befall her.

Heath panned his light around the room taking in the faces of the men having a good time. He finally shined it in Allistair's direction. The British Commission man was finishing the last of his drink when the light hit him. He had a joke in his mind, but the room became deathly quiet when the flashlight illuminated his face. There were red smears on his skin.

"What is it?", Allistair asked, a little amusement still in his voice.

"That... that looks like blood", Alazar told his fellow Commission member.

Allistair wiped his face again then looked to his left. His head of security should be standing there, but instead there was just a slumped form in a chair. Then the light panned to his right and there sat his assistant with his head nearly cut off.

"Sweet Lord", Allistair exclaimed and jumped towards the center of the room, nearly tripping over another body that lay on the floor.

"What's going on!", someone shouted as the flashlights shined around the room illuminating other dead bodies.

"I told you somebody's in here!", Heath whispered to his boss. Guns were drawn as lights went around the room looking for the killer but finding empty room.

"It's the assassin Caeda. No one else kills like this!", Alazar yelled. The men gathered around the light, but no one saw anything until a small throwing knife struck a man in the center of his chest. It hit with such force that most of the handle buried itself in his body.

"Fuck!", a guard exclaimed and fired his gun. More men fired, but blindly. After the gunfire ended, the room was eerily quiet. Only the ragged breathing of scared men could be heard.

Caeda let them stew before she hurled another knife. The light glinted off of this one in flight. It couldn't save her target though. The man died as surely as if the angel of death had been in the room. Bullets flew. Caeda stayed in the corner until they got close then she leapt from one wall to the next.

Heath saw the movement from the corner of his eye and spun with the light. "There!", he yelled and caught Caeda in flight like a black blur. The room echoed with the loud bangs of gun fire and falling plaster. Caeda could feel each muzzle and easily stayed out of the way. She grinned under her mask as she moved.

The shooting stopped after a few seconds and dozens of shots. There was silence again. "I think we got her", Alazar Santos said with a grin. The men had only started to believe that he might be correct when the tip of a Vietnam era ka-bar erupted from his chest. Blood leaked from the corners of his lips as the powerful Commission member died. The men were stunned. She had gotten into their mist without anyone noticing anything.

Guns fired all around, but only a few shots even got close. Caeda could move with inhuman agility when she was using her gift like this.

"They say there's no escaping her", a man yelled at the top of lungs. "We're doomed. Caeda can't be killed." The Spaniard, who had until a second ago worked for Alazar Santos, began to panic. His breathing was shallow and quick. His forehead was wet from the cold sweat. He mumbled something in spanish and tried to escape the room. A small red wound appeared on his forehead. It almost looked insignificant, until he fell to the floor, dead. Another man ran for the door, but a single shot to the back of his head put him down. The small calibre hadn't made an audible sound to human ears, but the Series 4's weren't human. They heard the action of Caeda's pistol. They raised their guns and fired quickly, one firing a little to the left and the other a little to the right. The bullets hit the wall right where Caeda would have been if she hadn't dropped to the floor.

Mallster had seen enough. It was dark in the entire building, but he made a run for the door. He had nothing to lose. The rest of the living followed him. They bumped and ran down the hall, but Caeda didn't care. They couldn't run fast enough to get away from her. She'd picked them. The line of men got shorter as Caeda continued her grizzly business. The men in the hall could only hope for a miracle.

LaShaunta sighed, thinking about the fun Caeda was having on the top floor. She stood with a hand on her hip and her weight all on her right leg. She wasn't ready to move, and she wasn't ready for action. That's why it came as a shock when two arms encircled her from behind at the same time a man with a gun and a flashlight came out of the shadows. LaShaunta tried to yell, but the arms were too strong to be human. They just kept crushing and crushing harder and faster than any normal man could have. She knew that she was in the deadly embrace of a Series 4. The man with the gun dismissed the captured female as dead already. She could see it on his face as he began to turn towards the breaker panel. That made LaShaunta angry. She disappeared.

"What the?", Michel breathed, but turned to the panel and pushed on all the breakers. The lights came on, and the men looked around. It was the Series 4 who saw LaShaunta standing several feet away, gagging and clearing her throat after his choke. "There", the Series 4 told the group and pointed. "Get her!", Michel ordered, not knowing that there was carnage on the top floor.

They all ran towards her. LaShaunta cleared her throat and her head then took off at a sprint. She ran like she'd been shot from a cannon, her long braided hair flying out behind her. They didn't know that they were chasing one of the fastest girls in the country. The two regular men had no chance to catch LaShaunta. They marveled at her power. The material of her body suit stretched to accommodate her calves and muscled thighs as she ran away from them. They fired a couple of shots, but neither hit. They had to slow down. She was way too fast. Michel went back to the electrical panel to make sure the lights stayed on.

Caeda decapitated Allistair Stanley with her razor wire whip. Gbagbo tripped over his friend's head while he ran to get away. The lights came on just as he hit the ground. The influential man had time to turn to see his killer. The assassin stood over him, legs slightly apart, her entire body encased in non-reflective black. Gbagbo looked, but his eyes didn't beg or plead. This was his end, and he knew it. She raised the whip in her right hand but shot him between the eyes with the pistol in her left. Caeda respected a guy who died well, so his death was quick.

The remaining men looked over their shoulders at the black clad woman. Even looking at her in the light, she was as much myth as reality. Just a dark female shape bent on killing. Her movements were so fluid, smooth, and confident. She was unstoppable.

They raised their weapons to shoot her, but each shot missed, even the well aimed ones from the Series 4's missed. She kept coming. Mallster heard a man scream as he died behind him. He ran faster. Caeda had already killed all the Commission members and most of their entourage. He wasn't going to let this assassin kill him too. He had to get to the ground floor and out of this building, but first he had to get into his armored elevator. Michel seemed to have the lights secured. A small flicker of hope filled Mallster. He ran despite his fatigue. His armored elevator was only a few steps away.

LaShaunta squinted her eyes and dug deeper. The Series 4 was catching her. She knew that he would. He had scientifically enhanced muscles that could lift tons of weight. She didn't, but she was fast. This might have been the fastest she had ever run. She darted left and right, around equipment as they ran around the basement of this apartment building. No matter how she zigged or zagged, this Series 4 was going to catch her. From behind, LaShaunta's muscled legs and glutes were on full display, but the super soldier had no sexual urges left. If he had, he would have marveled at the machine like efficiency of LaShaunta's powerful stride.

LaShaunta could hear the elevator motors start to turn. She had to hurry; there wasn't much time. She ran near Billy and Michel, but she didn't give them a clear shot. Billy took off after her. He figured that by now this girl had to be getting tired. She smiled under her mask. She was just now breaking a sweat. She was strong enough to sprint like this all day, but she wouldn't have to. This was part of Caeda's plan. All she had to do was implement it correctly. She doubled back towards the elevator. Her timing had to be perfect.

The men upstairs slowed as they got to the elevator. Mallster pushed the button. He heard a muffled bang, but didn't think anything of it because the doors opened immediately, like they were designed to do. Mallster closed his eyes and exhaled, thankful for his safety. Once he got inside his armored elevator, he'd be safe even if the power went out again. All he had to do was take one step. He raised his foot, but a strong grip from Heath kept him from stepping into an empty shaft. Mallster opened his eyes in time to see severed cables flapping in a breeze created by his armored elevator plunging towards the ground. The button had started the pulley turning. The sabotaged bolts sheered when the button triggered the failure. LaShaunta, and her engineering knowledge had helped disable the cables and the braking system. Mallster's armored elevator was crashing towards the ground with nothing to stop it or slow it down.

Caeda was hanging from the ceiling upside down. She smiled. It was time to find out if LaShaunta was as good as she thought she was.

LaShaunta felt the outstretched fingers of the Series 4 only millimeters from grabbing her hair. Caeda had asked her to tuck it into the hood, but that had been uncomfortable. She wished she had listened because she couldn't blink. She had to run. LaShaunta pushed her legs harder. Her teeth were set on edge as she pushed her body. Her goal was in sight though. All she had to do was get there. She could feel the wind. Caeda had done her part, but could LaShaunta do hers. The bell rang and the elevator door opened. LaShaunta ran at full speed through the door, putting her foot on the edge to launch her body over the equipment in the bottom of the shaft. Billy and the Series 4 followed her into the empty shaft. Neither of them even paused to figure out why they felt a strong wind when the doors opened.

LaShaunta landed on the floor against the back wall of the shaft. The Series 4 landed a couple of feet away, and Billy landed on top of a pulley assembly. He looked at LaShaunta's eyes and saw the fear. The predator came out in him. All predators love fear. He was going to make this girl pay for what she'd done, but he was wrong. LaShaunta wasn't afraid for her own life. She was afraid this idiot would look up. By the time he did, it was too late. LaShaunta winked and disappeared. The Series 4 threw its arms up, but not even the super soldier was a match for 5 tons of armored elevator falling ten stories. It crushed Billy and the Series 4 and made a gust of wind so strong it knocked LaShaunta off her feet. She'd appeared just outside the door to get a good look at the falling elevator. She smiled when the dust cleared and there was no movement in the shaft. She hadn't let Caeda down. Only after that thought did LaShaunta put her hands on her knees and take a few deep breaths. Her muscles had that good burn like after a warm up run. She checked her watch. It was time to get out of the basement and up to the first floor. Caeda would be flushing them by now.

Michel watched the girl disappear. It was jarring to see a flesh and blood person just vanish like that. She had a wonderful gift, but Michel had a gift too. He concentrated. His telepathic powers weren't overwhelming, but they were strong enough to feel that girl's mind. She was on the main floor waiting to ambush the boss. She thought that she was so slick, but Michel had something else in mind for her. He checked his ammo. He had three bullets left. That was more than enough to kill her. He'd come up the back way and take her from behind.

On the top floor, Mallster made a run for the stairs. He descended as fast as he could with Heath and a Series 4 right behind him. He'd ordered the other super soldier to kill Caeda no matter what. This Series 4 stalked the assassin. She was no longer the huntress. She was prey for the deadliest super soldier yet created.

Caeda had planned for this too. She knew that eventually she'd have to deal with the Series 4's. That was the only reason Mallster was still alive. She let him live so the Series 4's would try and protect him instead of attack her. It had worked until he sent one of them after her. Caeda moved along the hallways from wall to wall and corner to corner being stalked by the super soldier. She wanted to keep her distance, but she wanted to make sure the soldier kept following her. Caeda had underestimated the Series 4's though. She realized it when she no longer felt the beast following her. She's lost him. Then the wall behind her exploded in a cloud of dust and gypsum. Caeda jumped away, but not before the Series 4 caught her shoulder. Caeda squirmed out before he could get a good grip, but in that short a time his fingers had put five neatly spaced bruises on her skin. Now it was Caeda's turn to run for her life.

Michel had LaShaunta in his sights, or rather her silhouette in his sights. She had a wonderful thick athletic figure, but she was about to die. His finger touched the trigger. He felt the familiar pressure against his squeeze, but he and his pistol were well aquatinted. The break was coming soon. He added pressure until the hammer fell. His gun fired and his bullet flew straight into the wall sending small shards of plaster falling to the ground. Michel's mouth barely had a chance to hang open before he felt a jarring kick to the side of his head.

"What? You didn't think I knew you were there!", LaShaunta mocked then punched Michel in the jaw before sending a quick kick to knock the gun from his hand. "People always think I'm not good enough." She got angry, and kicked him in the middle of his face. "A poor girl from the projects can never amount to anything! Is that it?" This time LaShaunta's kick was purposeful. She gritted her teeth and really used her powerful obliques to punish Michel's face. LaShaunta was powerful and explosive. All her years of athletics had turned her into a thoroughbred. Michel was finding out the hard way.

He staggered backwards to put some distance between the two, but LaShaunta didn't let up. She charged him, and hooked her arms under his shoulders. Michel was dazed, but not defenseless. He threw a quick elbow that made her duck. That was all he needed. He grabbed one of her legs, and lifted her body off the ground. Michel head butted the smaller girl as they went down. It hadn't been a full on blow, but it made her see stars. She grunted as they hit the floor with him on top.

"Let's see what you look like." He snatched off LaShaunta's hood. "Pretty, but I'm gonna rearrange your face before I choke the life out of you." He reared his fist back and let his fist fly.

On the top floor, Caeda ran up and around walls. She burst through closed doors. She dodged and darted, using all the skills in her considerable arsenal. The Series 4 kept coming. It didn't use tact or finesse. It simply burst through anything in its path. Caeda knew that any weapon she had on her was useless against this scientifically created beast, but she had a plan. She felt the 4 behind her. She didn't have to look. She felt a piece of wall and ceiling collapse. It had to weigh half a ton, but the Series 4 brushed it aside and followed Caeda with single mindedness. Caeda lowered her shoulder and barreled through a door, knocking it open. She was back in the hallway. She turned to her left and started running as fast as she could. The Series 4 burst through the wall a few seconds later. His quarry was fast and quick, but running out of room. He would have her shortly.

Caeda's breath was coming faster as she taxed her body, but then she saw a door slightly ajar, just the way she'd left it. The mechanical room door was painted to look like the rest of the doors on the floor, but it was really made of steel. It wasn't nearly thick enough to protect her from a Series 4, but it didn't have to. Caeda slipped through the opening like air through a breach. Her right hand found the weapon she'd left there. It was the only weapon in the building that could kill a Series 4. Caeda stuck it out the door and extended her arms. She tightened her grip around the old US Army M79 and pulled the trigger.

The Series 4 didn't have time to slow down. The 40mm grenade with an impact fuse came at his head and hit just below his nose. The loud boom echoed on the top floor. The blast broke one of Mallster's special windows sending thick glass pieces down to the street below. Caeda slowly stuck her head out past the blackened steel door. The Series 4 was still in the hallway, only a head shorter. She finally exhaled, and took stock of things. Mallster and his people were probably close to the main floor. She ran to the open elevator doors, and slung the bulky grenade launder over her shoulder. She looked down the darkened shaft, just before she took a step and jumped into the darkness. Caeda had to get down there. She couldn't leave that much trouble for an unproven rookie like LaShaunta.

Michel's eyes bulged in his head, but LaShaunta's muscles bulged even bigger. The material of her skin tight pants was forced to stretch around her surging quads. Michel's hands went to her thighs, but he couldn't pull her legs apart. He'd been surprised by his reversal of fortune. He'd been on top and in position to kill this girl, but she'd used her flexibility to reverse it. After some scrapping, she managed to get her legs around Michel's chest. That was the beginning of his demise. She locked her ankles, and poured on the power.

"Fucking bitch", Michel managed through pained gasps.

"That's going to cost you", LaShaunta grunted then took in a deep breath. Her thighs swelled, and Michel's chest cavity shrank. Michel gagged a scream when he felt some of his ribs break. Her legs were just too strong. The heads of her quads changed shape again, bulging out above her knee. There was another crack. This time's Michel's body began to shudder. LaShaunta's muscled thighs were pushing the broken end of his rib into his own organs, but she wasn't at full power. She threw her head back and her muscles solidified. Michel was near his breaking point. This had to end. He managed to reach his hand into his pocket and pull out a knife. It was a short bladed weapon, but he should have done this earlier. Pride had gotten in his way. He wouldn't have believed that a young woman could have beaten him in a hand to hand fight. He was over that now. He had to save his life no matter what he had to resort to. He pulled the knife free and aimed at her leg. LaShaunta saw the movement out the corner of her eye, and took hold of Michel's wrist before he got a chance to stab her. Their arms shook for a few moments while her hard delts and chest muscles flexed to counter each of his movements. Michel had no leverage to use against his attacker, but he didn't give in. After half a minute he was actually winning, forcing the tip of his knife ever closer to LaShaunta's rock hard thighs. She gritted her teeth, and used all the strength she had, but Michel was powered by fear. She was forced to release her hold and reposition. The instant her legs left his torso, Michel sucked in a deep breath and elbowed LaShaunta in the side of the head. Despite his pain, he pushed himself up.

LaShaunta circled Michel, her movements were bursting with youthful energy, but Michel was wily and experienced. He took a good grip on his knife and slashed at LaShaunta's middle. She dodged it easily, but he caught her with a hook to the back of the head. "I'll knock the cocky out of you", Michel said and kicked LaShaunta in the pit of her six pack. She coughed, but didn't go down. Her eyes narrowed. This was going on too long. She reached down to a pouch on her outfit and pulled out a pistol. Michel should have known that this girl was armed. He stood there with a knife in a gun fight.

As soon as LaShaunta's pistol cleared the holster, Mallster, Heath, and the Series 4 exited the stairwell behind her. Mallster saw the black outfit down the hall. He knew at once that it wasn't the same woman he'd seen from upstairs. The assassin on the top floor had a slim athleticism, but this woman's body exuded pure thoroughbred athletic power. Her hips and legs looked powerful enough to break bones, and they were. All her sprinter's power couldn't help her. She was caught between them and Michel. "Kill her!", Mallster ordered.

The Series 4 raised his gun an instant before Heath.

"No! Don't shoot!", Michel yelled, but it was too late. The bullets were on the way. He knew he was going to die. LaShaunta blinked away, her body disappearing as three slugs passed where her heart would have been. Michel was a little off center from where she'd been, but the hollow point shells tore into his body. He stood for a second or two before falling forward, blood running from his mouth. He died within thirty seconds.

"No!", Mallster wailed. He was distraught, but he didn't have time to shed a tear for his long time employee. He had to get away. He started towards the front door. Heath and the Series 4 were close behind.

LaShaunta had teleported to the basement, but she teleported back to the entrance hall after thirty seconds or so. She looked around to reacquire Mallster, but he didn't see him. Instead she saw Caeda run past her at a full sprint. LaShaunta quickly followed. Caeda ran round a corner with the M79 in her hand. She came to the main lobby. Mallster and his group was almost to the front door. Caeda really didn't want to let them leave. It wouldn't be impossible to kill him if he got to the Manhattan streets, but it would make things harder. She had a shot with the grenade launcher, and she took it. She aimed at the lintel of the front door. The grenade exploded causing a partial collapse. Caeda ducked away from the falling debris. A large piece of the structure fell. The Series 4 stopped and pushed his master out of the danger zone before jumping himself. Heath wasn't as lucky. The debris fell on him.

The lights in the entrance way flickered, and Mallster's ears were ringing. He felt shrapnel in his face and hand, but he was otherwise unhurt. The front door was blocked, but not the stairs to the basement on his right. He went towards them. He had a safe room in the basement and another escape.

LaShaunta couldn't see through the thick dust, but Caeda could feel Mallster getting away. She threw down the now useless grenade launcher and took off after Mallster. LaShaunta hesitated a moment before she started running. She took two steps before the last remaining Series 4 caught by the back of her neck. LaShaunta disappeared again.

Caeda ran through the basement catching up to Mallster with every step she took. He had to run around things while she used her gift to go over them. Mallster ran for his life. Caeda was right behind him. He couldn't hear her, but he knew she was there. He grabbed a fire extinguisher and sprayed it behind him. Caeda cursed and fell when the icy cold CO2 hit her. Mallster turned and threw the empty canister at her. It hit her shoulder, but she shrugged it off and kept after him. Mallster found his safe room door. He pushed the button to close it. The hydraulic closing mechanism activated. Caeda was only a few steps behind her mark. She saw the door start to close. She planted both feet and sprung towards the door. She managed to wedge herself between the sliding door and the frame. The pressure of the mechanism was tremendous, threatening to crush her. It took all the strength in her legs and back to keep herself from being killed instantly. She put her hands on her knees to use her triceps and shoulders. Caeda put every fiber of her being into keeping that door open for a few more seconds.

Mallster saw her in the doorway. If he'd had a weapon, he would have used it, but he knew his best weapon was the back door that lead to a utility tunnel. If he got to the tunnel, he could make his escape. It was a maze down there, and she'd never find him. Mallster stood flat footed and looked at Caeda struggling with the door. She was fighting so hard. He could see the strain her body. He chuckled. "Almost, assassin, but I'm going to leave now. I hope that door hurts like hell when it crushes you flat!"

Mallster turned, but stopped and looked over his shoulder when he heard Caeda grunt like an animal. "Trying to get away?", he asked mockingly.

With great effort and concentration, Caeda removed her right hand from her knee, and pulled out her pistol. Her movements were slow and deliberate. Mallster's eyes went wide in his head. She wasn't trying to free herself. He started to run. Mallster took one step before Caeda emptied the rest of her magazine into the back of his head. He died before he even hit the floor. She dropped the gun, and went back to pushing, but it had taken all of her energy to shoot Mallster. The door closing mechanism started winning. Caeda was slowly being crushed.

LaShaunta reappeared behind the Series 4. It heard her breathing and whirled hard enough to knock her head off with a backhand punch. She blinked again. She had to stop toying with the super soldier. They were dangerous, and she didn't have a weapon to kill them directly, but she had a plan for this. "Time to die", she said and put her hand on the Series 4's back. Before he could react, she teleported them both. In and instant, the Series 4 found himself in the air. The sky was blue around him, and the ground was an afterthought. LaShaunta was right behind him, but she pushed away. He quickly realized that he was falling. Finally the Series 4 looked down. The ground was more than 10,000 feet below. "That's Death Valley down there!", LaShaunta yelled over the sound of the wind. "I wanted to make sure you didn't land on a house! Have a nice trip down!" The Series 4 reached for her until LaShaunta teleported herself back to the lobby of Jason Mallster's apartment building in Manhattan. The Series 4 continued on its lonesome journey to oblivion.

LaShaunta could hear sirens getting closer. It was a mix of police, fire, and ambulances. She had to find Caeda. It was time to go. She ran to the basement. She had her pistol in hand as she searched the basement for anything. Then she heard a man talking. LaShaunta headed that way. A few seconds later she heard Caeda's labored pants. LaShaunta turned on her sprinter's speed. She rounded a corner and saw Caeda in the doorway. She didn't take another step. Instead she teleported next to the tired assassin and took her by the shoulder. A second later the door to Mallster's safe room slammed shut because Caeda was no longer in its way. She was on a rooftop of a building down the block.

Ten minutes later, LaShaunta was kneeling behind a parapet wall looking down at the gathering commotion around Mallster's building. There were dozens of emergency vehicles, helicopters, newspaper reporters, television reporters, and gawkers. She wondered what people were saying, but she couldn't hear them, only see them scurry about. While she watched, she tried to forget how scared she had been. Instead she smiled. "That was great!", she exclaimed and turned to Caeda for affirmation. The tired assassin had none to give. Instead she sat with her back to the wall and her hood in her hands. Her usually ethereal face was drawn. Her eyes were weary like she had all the responsibly in the world on her slumped shoulders.

"Well the Broker's right. You are the best."

"I'm just normal", Caeda replied with a deep sigh.

LaShaunta stood up and came closer. "How can you say that? You're the best."

Caeda shook her head. "Don't get ahead of yourself. What we did had its moments, but in the end the job doesn't make you special."

LaShaunta leaned down putting her face a few inches from Caeda's. "You can say that if you want." She disappeared and continued from twenty feet away. "Maybe you're tired and ready to get out, but not me", LaShaunta tried to convince herself. "I'll pick up your pieces. I'm not normal. People like us are supposed to be extraordinary." LaShaunta started blinking from place to place around the roof.

"You don't even know what you're talking about. You're more normal than you want to admit", Caeda called out so LaShaunta could hear her.

The teen teleported close to Caeda. "You might be, but I'm damn near unstoppable. I admire the way you work, but I can kill twice as many people as you with half the effort", LaShaunta boasted.

"We'll see about that." Caeda got to her feet, and LaShaunta blinked again. She ported herself around the roof from near to far and every place in between, pausing less than a heartbeat before porting somewhere else. LaShaunta was having fun toying with Caeda until after one port, she felt a hard push to her back. LaShaunta fell to the ground hard. The smile left her face and she turned quickly, whipping her braids out the way. Caeda stood over her with her left hand still raised.

"I could have just as easily stabbed you through the heart."

"How... how did you know where I would appear?", LaShaunta asked, slightly deflated.

A small smile turned up the corners of Caeda's lips. It was the first time LaShaunta had seen her smile in days. "You have a lot to learn." Caeda reached down and helped the chastened LaShaunta to her feet. "Now for one more lessen. It's time to deal with the turncoat agent." Caeda put her hand on LaShaunta's shoulder. "Take us to Virginia."

Agent Will Davis grimaced and pulled the top off a bottle of Budweiser. He tossed the cap in the trash and hurried to his tv room. He'd already started the dvd of Naked Gun, and he wanted to catch the opening scene. He took a long drink of lager and settled down into his easy chair. His eyes were glued to the screen. The movie was funny as hell, and it reminded him of better days in his life, when his son had still be alive, and his ex-wife had been his wife. He got lost in the movie and very soon he was going to lose his life. He never really had a chance. There was no sound when LaShaunta teleported, and the assassins were silent as they maneuvered in Agent Davis' home to get a look at him. The flat screen television was mounted at an angle and his eyes were a little off of center. He never saw LaShaunta looking at him through the open door.

She wondered what Caeda had been talking about on the roof. She figured that this was some sort of test. She could feel Caeda's cool blue eyes appraising her movements as she got into position to observe Agent Davis. Caeda was indeed appraising her. LaShaunta's powerful body was perfect for this type of work. She could command her muscles to be explosive or to do the smallest of things with great precision. After observing Agent Davis for a few moments, LaShaunta looked over her shoulder at Caeda. Their relationship had been firmly reestablished. LaShaunta once again understood who was the mistress and who was pupil. LaShaunta was about to learn her last lesson from Caeda.

"Do it", Caeda mouthed.

LaShaunta felt like a bowling ball had dropped into her stomach. She moved slowly, pulling her silenced pistol. Agent Davis never saw the barrel of the weapon pointing at his head from across the room. LaShaunta looked down the sights, but it wasn't necessary. The center of Agent Davis forehead was only fifteen feet from the muzzle. It was a shot she could make with her eyes closed. She curled her finger around the trigger. He laughed at a scene and spilled beer on his pajamas. He brushed his hand over the spill, but kept laughing at the movie. LaShaunta waited until his head was still to look down the sights again. She checked her aim again, and again, but deep down she already knew. She knew what Caeda had been talking about on that roof.

Her hand shook, and her trigger finger faltered. Beads of sweat dotted her skin, and her throat was completely closed. Her tongue was dry. Her mind screamed and her body shut down. LaShaunta thought about Caeda standing behind her. Those exotic blue eyes were looking at her every move, assessing her, and grading her. The greatest assassin in the world was looking at her freeze. LaShaunta was showing just how weak she was. She wasn't what she thought she was. Finally the gun lowered as if on its own. LaShaunta was powerless to stop her own arm from taking the gun off target. She turned then, her beautiful face twisted with shame. Her scared eyes met Caeda's rock steady gaze. "I can't do it", LaShaunta mouthed and sank to her knees.

Caeda nodded and stepped forward. Her pistol was already in her hand, and she pulled the trigger twice without hesitation. One second Agent Davis was a living breathing man, and the next he was as dead as King Tut. Caeda pulled LaShaunta to her feet. "Time to go." LaShaunta wiped her tears before teleporting she and Caeda to the safe house in New York.

LaShaunta kept wiping her eyes while she pulled off her weapons and boots at the Broker's safe house. "You were right. I failed. I couldn't even do an easy kill", LaShaunta lamented.

Caeda sat down next to LaShaunta. "It's not too hard to kill someone who's trying to kill you, but shooting a guy who's done you no harm while he's laughing at a movie... That's the hardest kind of hit there is. You did exactly what I wanted you to do."

"You mean, not shoot the guy?"

Caeda nodded slowly. "You aren't cut out for this LaShaunta, but you wouldn't listen to me say so. I had to prove it to you." Caeda took LaShaunta's hand. "You don't need this life, and it doesn't need you. Someone will take my place when I retire, but it won't be you. Go back home to your family and friends."

"What about Dimitri? I've been pushing him to do this. What if he doesn't understand?"

Caeda grinned. "He will, and if he doesn't, I'll explain it to him."

That seemed to calm LaShaunta's fears a little, but she still felt like a failure. The Broker had spent a lot of money on her training.

"You're really good", Caeda began, like she was reading the teenager's mind. "You could be a great operative, but you aren't an assassin. Let Dimitri use you in other ways if you want, but never take another contract as long as you live. Do you hear me?"

LaShaunta nodded. "You don't have to worry about that. I've learned my lesson."

Caeda managed a smile. "Good, then my work here is done." LaShaunta laughed, and they soon parted company. Caeda went to her apartment to shower again. She let the water run for a long long time, but she never felt clean after a job. Regular water was never enough. She walked to her kitchen and looked at a bottle of liquor on her counter. She grabbed the bottle quickly and broke the seal. She could use a little to chase the demons away, but no. She put the bottle down and went to find some shoes. She couldn't stay here, not tonight.

The sun was rising when Caeda shut the door to Russell's apartment. She tossed the keys on the coffee table and plopped down on his sofa. The first rays of light were filling the room, but it was still mostly dark. She felt more at peace here, but she was exhausted. Her head fell against the cushion then she heard noise from the bedroom.

Russell walked out yawning and scratching his face. "Good morning", he greeted Amaris. He walked up and kissed her before coming around the couch to sit next to her. She looked very drained and very weak. "What have you been up to?", he asked lightly, hoping for an equally light answer, but instead his girlfriend reached for his remote and turned on the early news. Scenes of the chaos around Mallster's apartment building filled the screen with a flashing headline reading, 'Gang War Erupts in New York City'. The smile slowly left Russell's face. "I guess you don't want to talk about that."

Amaris shook head slowly, tears welling in her eyes. She turned to Russell looking as fragile as a porcelain doll. Her mind went over the events of the night, then she thought of LaShaunta. "I think I saved a life today though", she nearly cried.

Russell's face brightened into a comforting smile. His kind eyes met Amaris' anguished ones, and he put his arms around her. "Tell me all about it."

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