Martini & Salsa

"The paranoia of the agencies has gotten thicker, hm?" Lena allowed herself to be lead by Josh, after all she could still end up very dead very quickly. The tone of her voice didn't indicate that she was going to be submissive at all. "So you're her partner. Glad that all the idiotic moves that have been made someone with some decency is with Cynthia."

While the contempt was showing through, Lena's concern for Cynthia wasn't completely hidden. Obviously caring for someone could be dangerous, even if the person dragging you around might actually care about the same person. "Is she still putting up with your people, or has she wished up yet?"
 
"She is off field duty." he said "Where she'll be safer.. not that the internal workings of the agency are a concern for you." Letting her know Cynthia was alright while maintaining that he was an agent and she wasn't, or was he still? He was disobeying direct orders. He took her down into a subway station and onto a train as it was leaving, the noise of it and its mobility making it hard for anyone to listen in or even follow them. They were heading downtown, to the park, the hedge maze was on of his favorite places to talk.

His arms remained around hers the entire time, to most they'd looks like a couple or close friends. Martini didn't speak until they were surrounded by high walls of green the thick leaves making excellent soundproofing against the noises of the city and against eavesdropping with no glass for laser microphones to work on.

"Now we can speak." he said letting go her arm. "You're not working for the cardinal and you care about Cynthia. So why send her to us? Why get her involved?"
 
Lena rubbed her arm, not that Martini had been rough with her, and took a few steps away before turning to look at him. She was unhappy, but not nessisarily with him. "The man you know as the Cardinal has a vendetta againsts Agents Cold Blue, Willam Bennette and who in the day was known as Shard. I believe you know her now as Daddy Dearest." It was no secret that the Cardinal was believed to have murdered Cynthia's father, but Lena was indicating it was just a job he took, it was personal.

"Cynthia was going to be found soon. Honestly I'm not sure how she stayed hidden from him as long as she did, and no, I don't know why he hadn't killed her two sisters yet. Maybe he wanted to take out all three at once to show the Agency how ineffective they were." She gave him a weak grin. "He doesn't think much of all of you."
 
"And contacting us was out of the question?" he said. "Doesn't look like you think much of us either."

Josh was clearly running though things in his mind, his training and instincts telling him to trust her.

"But you don't know Daddy, this is personal for her too. The agents killed here her closest friends including Cold Blue and having his daughter show up instead of the agent I was meant to meet with... Cynthia could have used your help too, shes not built for this work, not the cold side of business."

-----------------------​

"Where did he go?" Salsa had been summoned to the operations room, Daddy was there and she was furious. "Martini... rogue?" Winestien was also having trouble believing it.

"I want him found." Daddy snapped pulling in an armored jacket and strapping a pistol to her hip. "Salsa, get ready, ass soon as Martini and Lena are found we're going after them. Your gun is in the armory, and so is a jacket, we're taking no chances."

-----------------------​

"So Lena, if I may call you that. What is your plan? What is your place in these games?"
 
Cynthia looked just slightly surprised. She had not expected to be brought back into active duty so suddenly. That Martini was not following orders, that wasn't exactly surpring her. After all hadn't he allowed the agency to follow her false trail to give her a chance to make a choice. Martini going rogue? Not likely.

"Right," Salsa nodded. She headed to the armory. Whatever he was doing, Cynthia would make sure he got a chance too.

~~~~~~~~~~~​

"No one is ever ready for the cold side of the business. Cynthia was better off being an agent. Give her a fighting chance, and maybe live a little if everyone survives." Lena shrugged as though she was unconcern. "As for myself, I'm tired!" she might have been messing with Martini a bit about her reasons for throwing Lena into the world of espionage, but her own weariness was not exactly surprising. Agents burned out if they were not careful and she obviously was playing a lot of games. "I was planning on disappearing before I found out he found her."
 
"Could have at least given us the pleasure of throwing you a retirement party." He joshed. "But thats not why I'm here. You are the only one in position to know what I need to know." The tone of his voice has changed, he was getting down to business. "The cardinal is after personal revenge, this makes him more dangerous than even Daddy knows, what is his next move and how do I stop it. You've made this personal to me too... by bringing Cynthia into this..."

His stance was threatening, and his face set with determination but held no weapon... He was demanding answers and the penalty for not supplying them would not me a swift end. It was personal.

*​

The armory was fully stocked, enough weapons for a small army. She was allowed to take whatever she liked as Daddy picked out the car they would be using. No low-key car for this mission but a fully-equipped armored spy car like something out of the movies.

BMW_Concept_Coupe1_thumb.jpg

She waited arms crossed leaning against the bonnet. "One more thing." she said Handing over the wooden-handles revolver. If you're going to be on the field you'll need this."

Without another word she slipped into the driver's seat and closed the door, starting the engine with her fingerprint. On the scree on the dash a video came up with Martini walking with Lena along with a location and a time stamp... "I know where hes heading.." Daddy said... she had known Martini too well not to know.
 
Lena looked at Martini in surprise. He was a trained professional. She'd read the limited file on him when she was given her reassignment paperwork. She didn't know anything about his history, but his psyche records and list of achievements had made her assume he was completely married to his job. Not saying a career agent didn't have feelings nor show a bit of kindness, but he was taking it to a whole nother level. "Cynthia,...? Nevermind."

The rogue agent took a deep breath. "Look I don't expect you to sympathize with me, but this is difficult. He... I don't..." clearing her throat her expression took on a more bland mask. "Okay, it's like this, Cold Blue's daughters... Taking them out would be like eating candy for him. Nice for a short while. What he is really after is the main course, Shard. He wants her dead, and he wants to pull the trigger. I think he was disappointed blowing up Cynthia's place didn't pull her out. If he could he'd target her personal life, but... So he's been going where he can to make her vulnerable... The agents.... She's his true target. As to what he's planning next...." Lena shook her head. She could guess, but Martini didn't look interested in speculations.

~~~~~~~~~~~​

Walking into the garage Salsa's eyebrow shot up when she saw the car Daddy was next to. The head of the agency did NOT mess around apparently. When the older woman handed her her father's gun, Cynthia smiled briefly. This wasn't going to be a picnic, but at least she knew she wasn't going to be going into this with animosity among them. As far as the field went, they were going to have to trust each other. Salsa didn't presume this meant that Daddy still didn't appreat her recent behavior, but they could disagree about that at their leisure. "Thanks."

Inside was all the buttons she had been disappointed not t see in Josh's car when she first met these people. Now she was disappointed that she didn't know what they all did, just in case. That would hopefully not be an issue as The display showed Martini & Lena. Glancing at Daddy, she was reminded that she had been Martini's first partner, and likely knew him better then anyone in the agency. That's why she was coming out here herself. She didn't trust anyone else to judge his motives. She didn't want to believe he'd gone rogue, but if he did she would be the one to take him out.

It was both grim and reassuring. Daddy Dearest wasn't going to be trigger happy at least.

"How close will we be able to get without him noticing?" the young agent asked as she glanced out the window, the city blurring past them.
 
Martini's brow was knitted in thought and he was silent turning the information over in his head. "That all fits and.. I don't have a reason not to believe you. The reason you're not dead is if you wanted Cynthia or Shard dead there are a hundred ways a trained agent could have tried to incapacitate me. And if I didn't trust that you wouldn't I'd be following orders."

He stepped closer, offering her a hand to shake. "But if what you say is true we don't have much time, if theres one thing that will bring daddy out of hiding its me not killing you and the cardinal is not one to wast opportunities."

*​

"Martini... not close enough but if he knows we're coming we'll be able to see what he does."

The car accelerated smoothly out of the lot and onto the street the satnav suggesting routs that the traffic department had been told to keep traffic light on the moment the engine started. "Could you shoot him?" Daddy's question was out of the blue but relevant. She had been asking herself the same question. "If you are looking down the barrel of his gun as hes about to pull the trigger..."
 
"Crap," was all that Lena said as she frowned and shook Martini's hand. She was a bit disappointed he saw through her, but the utterance was of course because they were now about to deliver what the Cardnial wanted the most.

She looked thoughtful, then shook her head. "I'm armed just so you don't get surprised later." He probably guessed, but Lena was actually covering her own back saying this. She didn't want him to shoot her simply because she pulled a gun out if she saw the need. He trusted her, but only to a point. She wasn't really trustworthy after all, but they shared a common goal, keeping Cynthia safe.

Lena let Martini lead the way back out of the hedge maze, now much more alert. There were agents who might still gun her, or both of them down and if the Cardinal saw her with him first he might assume, well even after most her life she never was sure what he thought all the time!

~~~~~~~​

Salsa tensed when Daddy started asking her question, but it wasn't just a "if I tell you" sort of question. It was a lot harder then that. "If I could judge he was going for my life or yours, yes." Salsa surprised herself with that. Theagent she met at the airport, the man that found her at Lena's place, she didn't judge him as disloyal. Yes he bent, even broke rules, but it was actually out of loyalty. "If it's been all an act, if he is working with the Cardinal..." her expression was grim. Cynthia did not like how everyone seemed to be playing with her life. Josh was the only one she trusted, but if he betrayed that.... "I'm not ready to believe it yet though. Has he been prone to disobeying orders, or has it just been since I've been around?" Salsa wasn't honestly expecting it to be the latter!
 
"Who do you think taught him to do that?" Daddy asked as she turned the wheel the car maintaining a staggering amount of grip as it sped around the corner. "But hes never taken things into his own hands like this. If he could have taken her alive he would have brought her in not taken her for his private interrogation. Its not like him. Theres only on explanation other than him going rogue, he doesn't trust the agency, or someone in it."

It was clear she had been thinking this over. "Theres also something you should know. Lena, the original Salsa. We found out shes the cardinal's daughter. Thats why we sent Martini." She glanced over at Cynthia. "We don't know where her loyalties are or if shes been the mole but its a strong possibility, Martini knows this and has not pulled the trigger."

Martini's face appeared on the screen with an updated location.

"Josh are you being sloppy or are you leading us somewhere?" Daddy mused aloud, though knowing the agent... it was the latter.
 
"What?" Cynthia turned and looked at Daddy with a bit of surprise. At this point shock wasn't really an option. "The Cardinal's daughter. I know you're not joking, but this is ..." She wasn't even sure how to describe her feelings on the matter it was ridiculous and made her head swim slightly. "Is this how it always is, or am I just extra special?" Heavy sarcasm wasn't one do her strong points, but she was disturbed by this news.

"Nevermind that, so we either have Martini as rogue or him paranoid that HQ isn't safe. Assuming its not the former and we are walking into a lovely trap, he must have thought he could get Lena to talk. Normally going in solo on something like that would be dangerous." Granted he'd done something similar when he tracked her down, but she was a civilian that was maybe a bit too smart for her own good. Lena had training and experience with the agency and was the daughter to one of their most dangerous rogue agents.

And Lena was her friend.

"She gave me my personal file. My complete personnel file." Martini had told her not to let Daddy see it before, but things had changed. "He knew that. It might be why...." She was going to have to thank him when all this was over!

Salsa looked at the image and tried to think where those coordinates were taking them.
 
"I'm not going to try to guess what was going through his head. Hes always done things his own way which is why we're not going in guns blazing with a dozen swat teams.... We..."

The car jerked as a .50 BMG round cut the armor like paper and tore into the engine housing. With a few clanks and a cloud of oil and a jet of flame the car lost all power and swerved the front dipping then the wheels left the road and it rolled chaotically people screaming and scattering as it came to a rest in a cloud of smoke on it's roof.

Daddy groaned but quickly reached up and detatched the rear view mirror from the roof and angled it to look outside.

"Shot was proverbially from the building west of us.." she said composing her self and despite the large cut on her forehead her training allowed her to stay focused as she unfastened her seat belt and fell onto the roof. He did a rough check of Salsa helping her down onto the roof as well.

"You see that button? That will blow your door off its hinges and you should be able to push it open from there... that building. On three."

She pushed another button on the dashboard and the car gushed smoke much like a military vehicle as a quick temporary camouflage.

"Three."
 
There was an internal moment of "Oh shit," for Cynthia. Unlike her apartment blowing up she hadn't seen this coming at the last minute. One moment she was thinking about Josh and Lena, and the next the car was rolling. Not having either the years of experience, nor the training, it was Daddy's calm, almost routine sounding voice, that got her to squash down the confussion and general sense of panic that could have easily come.

Now on the roof of the car she had her finger hover on the button and on Daddy's signal she hit it, the door blowing out as it was suppose to thankfully, and she went at it with a run. The building was close, but not close enough for her liking. It was also a side entrance, and of course locked. One shot from her gun took care of that problem as she rushed in, Daddy she knew was right behind her.

It was the Cardinal, it had to be. The man that killed her father, Daddy Dearest partner, was now making them a target. How many agents had he killed? Was it just stupid luck that had kept her alive despite his attempts so far? They were going to need to get the upper hand on him if they were going to stay alive longer still.
 
Into the doorway of the abandoned building and out of sight. In a crouched run staking below the windows until they were able to duck befind an interior wall, and finally had a chance to think.

Here? Now? The cardinal, it had to be him, had to have been tipped off in real time. There was a mole and it wasn't Martini....

"Cynthia." she said catching her breath... and that when she felt it. A sharp pain. She looked down and was the white lining of he armor though a gaping rip slowly turning red. It had to have happened in the crash, the adrenaline not letting her feel it. He put her hand to the wound and immediately winced. Broken rib at least and a very deep wound.

"Shit... keep moving!"

There was going to be a red trail to follow at this rate but a strap of fabric torn from her collar was all she had to staunch the bleeding. They were more screwed than Salsa probably realized. Hell the entire building they were in could be wired to blow.
 
Salsa bit back the argument. Yes Daddy was injured, but she was still in charge right now. She went further in and hit a flight of stairs. Going up wasn't going to do them any good, so they went behind the stairs. It wasn't a great place to hide, but it was atleast partly secure and it would give them a moment to plan their next move.

"We can't stay together." Salsa hated that she even thought of leaving Daddy alone and wounded, but their only chance of getting the Cardinal was if he couldn't get them at the same time. He always had surprise on his side, they needed to take that away!

Before she had a chance to ask Daddy what she thought would be the best way to go about that she heard a creak, it had been barely audible but it was the type of sound of weight shifting on flooring and before she even had a chance to see who it was she had pulled her gun out and pivoted to where whoever it was was coming from.
 
Martini paused on the stairs, gun raised as behind Salsa Daddy tried not to groan. Martini took another step down and then paused again a smile spreading over his lips. "You shouldn't have come." his instinct prickled and he knew who was pointing a gun at him, and who else was under the stairs. "Lena and I came as fast as we could but we saw him inter the far side of the building. Her here and hes not going to let us get away lightly..."

It was then that he turned and looked down at the junior agent and Daddy glared at him over Salsa's shoulder.

"What kind of stunt were you pulling.. It I weren't bleeding I'd have you pushing papers from here until Christmas. " she winced as he wound pulsed but kept her footing.

"With all due respect I've learned enough to confirm my theories, Lena wasn't the mole.. I'll tell you more once we're out of here...."
 
Salsa moved her gun but didn't holster it right away. She looked past Martini to Lena and frowned at the woman who seemed far too at ease, even happy! Looking back at Martini, she had to admit she was glad to see him. "If we're getting out of here we are going to have to be careful, Daddy's not going to be able to make another running dash. You aren't!" she insisted looking behind at her boss. "If we could distract him somehow so his focus isn't on Daddy for a bit..."

"How did you know she's his target?" Lena asked a bit surprised.

"I didn't, she's just our weakest link right now." Something else was tickling at Salsa's thoughts. "What IS considered procedure in a situation like this?" The Cardinal knew the agency, he knew how Daddy Dearest operated Salsa was sure. If he was as smart as she feared he likely knew to a degree how Lena & Martini might react too!
 
"Call for backup.. get daddy out of here and back to base." Martini answered immediately. "He expects us to run but I don't see us having a choice."

"There is one.." Daddy said unzipping her armor and letting it fall to the ground. "He would expect this of me.. Its what hes been waiting for." She limped forwards drawing her gun and pushing Salsa out of the way, then gave Martini a significant look, who nodded and also stepped out of her way.

"I'm going after him, Martini you know what to do."

Martini didn't move to stop her as she stepped hack into the corridor, in fact he put and hand on Salsa's shoulder stopping her from doing just that. "The cardinal may know the agency but Sarah knows the Cardinal." he said using Daddy's actual name. Then he checked his weapon load and began to mount the stairs taking Lena with him.

"Cynthia, follow her but do not be seen, then wait for me... and when the time comes. Improvise.
 
"Improvise?" Lena whispered to Martini. "Is that wise?" As far as the rogue was concern this was playing right into the Cardinal's hand. Lena certainly didn't want her father killing someone she cared for.

Salsa smirked slightly and nodded to Martini. She then waited before she made her own move. If she was spotted too soon they'd lose any sort of element of surprise. The building had been gutted some years ago, but there was evidence that squatters had used it from time to time to get out of the elements. There was random debris and garbage in corners here and there. Salsa even saw a bike tire. She couldn't even imagine why that ended up in here.

She felt she was walking painfully slow, following behind Daddy Dearest and wishing she knew the woman wouldn't get hurt more before they finally took out this monster. The sunlight from outside snuck through the spaces between the boards that covered the windows. From outside there was no way for anyone to know what was going on here. That meant that the Cardinal's eyes couldn't tell him anything useful!
 
"The Cardinal doesn't want to kill Daddy." Martini said moving in a parallel course to Daddy one floor up. "He wants to destroy her and everything she has built since Cherry Pop... that includes killing her protege." He spoke openly but quietly, not maintaining as much silence as possible. "So Daddy is the bait, because the Cardinal will know I'm coming he won't kill her... until hes killed me. In front of her. Thats where we come in."

He didn't mention the second part of the trap, Cynthia... because LEna wouldn't allow it to go through

There was a lot of risk, too much for it to be an agency plan. Thats why it had the best chances of catching the cardinal by surprise.

"Here..." In the center of a room he placed a shaped charge on the floor and retreated.. waiting for the signal.

*​

Daddy limped into and room and brushing debris from a broken chair sat down placing her gun in her lap and waited, until she heard movement behind her.

"Finally." The cardinal's voice.. one she knew so well and hated so much. "Its been too long..."
 
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