Martini & Salsa

"He won't hesitate seeing me," Lena confided not wanting Martini to think that her being there would help in the psychological front. She wished it were otherwise, but she was well aware at this point that she was a tool, a usual tool, but nothing more. The rogue agent looked out at where the charge had been set.

Salsa found the vantaged point she needed. She was covered, no one could get to her from behind. She could also see most of the room and while he didn't see her, Salsa did see the Cardinal's silhouette. She knew how he must have been smirking right about now. She'd only met him once, but that had been enough. This was the man that not only killed her father, but seemed to enjoy causing as much havoc and chaos to everyone else as he could.

And yet it was personal to him? It was insulting to all the lives he ruined.

It was hard to keep herself from moving when she saw him approach Daddy Dearest. He could very easily end her life right there. He could for once chose the cleaner route in his twisted revenge. Salsa had to keep from holding her breath, but evey second made it more likely he was sticking to his MO. No, he was waiting for Martini!
 
"You're not here as a shield Lena. If this all goes wrong someone need to tell the Agency what happened. When that goes off. I'm going down alone."

He grit his teeth listening to the voices below. The cardinal was gloating again.

"I'm surprised how many you let me kill without coming to see me.. and to think it wasn't even for me you came out for. I would be insulted if I wasn't such an opportunist... now all we have to do is wait....."

Daddy laughed. "Don't tell me you're hurt by me not coming after you like you thought I would... Really its like you though I was still in highschool."

The cardinal didn't respond, instead he hummed, for a few seconds. "You boy is late... "

"Thats my cue..." Martini pushed the detonator and the ceiling above the cardinal exploded downwards. Margini was though that hole gun in hand fasted than you could blink and there was a shot."

"Seems like I spoke too soon, predictable as always..." he went to kick the gun away from Martini's hand as he lay clutching his thigh. But now that everyone is here.... I can kill both of you..."
 
Of all the things laying around the one that Salsa had stopped to pick up was a toy car. She wasn't even sure why it was there, other then maybe some of the bums lifted it from a store. It was a simple type that one just pulled back and it would zoom off. It was not a good plan Salsa had. She would be the first to admit it. She wasn't trying to even take out the Cardinal.

That was what was so improvisational about what she was doing. She had no intention of what she was doing to get him. It was purely a distraction!

As Salsa had guessed when the car went out his first reaction was tracking it, then when he realized it was a decoy his aim went straight to where it came from. Two shots were fired and Salsa closed her eyes, sure at least one of them was going to impact. Her cover wasn't going to protect her.

A loud grunt and then the sound of the body falling to the ground.

Salsa opened her eyes, not eve looking to see if the others had done what she had hoped and taken out the Cardinal. Instead she looked down at the ground to see Lena lying there. The blood drained from Cynthia's face. She hadn't been ready to die today, even with making herself the last target of distraction, but seeing Lena bleeding away hadn't even entered her mind of possibility. "WHY!"
 
The cardinal advanced, Lena was dead... and there was someone else here, there was only one person it could be...

Three shots fired.. in rapid succession the sound reverberating in the closed space. Slowly the cardinal turned and looked at Daddy, on her feet and gun in her hand smoke slowly rising from the barrel.

He grinned then stumbled forwards his gun coming up. "Well played..." the grin still on his lips he fell forwards hittign the ground with a thud and Daddy moved up to his body, taking his gun and then going over to Lena...

"Shes dead.." she said before turning to Martini, who had just struggled into a sitting position. "Two wounded, one dead and.... Cynthia.." she called her over while at the same time sitting on the floor next to Martini... "Well done... its .... over."

Martini wasted no time calling headquarters and telling them where to send ambulances and a cleanup crew....
 
A few days later at the former residence of Lena.

Humming to herself, Cynthia sorted through the cloths in the closet. There were two piles, one was very large, the other much smaller. Taking out each piece Cynthia would look at it, then throw it in one of the piles. There was nothing in the house that was unusal for a single career woman. Before she had been allowed to come in to sort through everything the agency had a first go.

Actually both Forestry & the FDA branches had sent people and it had caused a bit of confusion, so much that a curious elderly neighbor had caught sight of the people in suits and inquired as to what was going on. The short notice story was they were from a large real estate firm and the address had been given to two differ desks. The excuse had worked on the neighbor but it was a mild embaresment for both groups.

The sound of a car caught Cynthia's attention and she looked out the window. Below she saw a familiar car and coming out a familiar figure. Cynthia smiled to herself and started packing the larger pile of clothing into a pair of garbage bags. When she heard the front door shut she swing out of the room and called out. "I'm up here!" then went back into the bedroom.

When Josh came into the room she smiled at him. "I knew I'd seen it before," she explained as she placed a photograph in his hand. The style indicated it was at least twenty years old. In the photo was a young girl, an older woman and the Cardinal, but much younger. "Lena's mom died when she was very young. She was raised by her grandmother in New Orleans. That's where I'm sending the personal affect. Her father wasn't in her life very much. She was pretty much starving for his affection. All she ever wanted was to make him proud. I think she thought we were alike since she knew my father was an agent. I would have done anything for my dad, but that's because I knew he loved me. She never had that, she kept on trying to make him love her."

What she had known about Lena, what she told her in the half truths of their friendship, and what was found out about her childhood and linkage had brought Cynthia to her conclusion. She doubted she was more then a hair off.
 
"Another reason this should never become a family business." he said placing the photo back down. He was walking again but still limped though that wouldn't last long. Though it still got him sick leave. "Its hard to believe its finally over... Sarah says hello." He sat on the bed and reached into his jacket pulling out an envelope and turning it over in his hands.

"I want to thank you for what you did. And so does everyone. Turns out you were the deciding factor and... indirectly you saved my life."

"We were cleaning out the archives and we found this... or at least thats what I'm meant to say... Daddy has been holding onto this for a long time and said I should give it to you. Its from your father.. in case you ever signed up with us and he wasn't around to congradulate you himself..."

He stopped fidgeting and handed it over his eyes searching her face. "You should read it, it was his only opportunity to tell you what he did.. all of it in his own words."

He stood again placing his hand on her shoulder. "We're on leave until June. Will be nice not to be shot at for a few months..."

In his own way he was looking forwards to the trip he had planned, and although Cynthia didn't know it yet he had bought two tickets... But for now she should be allowed to read in private.. so Josh turned to go.
 
[FONT=Tahoma, Calibri, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif]Cynthia look the envelope a bit surprised. She really hadn't expected this, and for Daddy Dearest, Sarah, to have kept it for all these years for him on the off chance that she joined there secret world, well it was just another reminder for Cynthia of what good friends the two of them had been.

She turned it around in her hands, barely registering what else Josh was saying, before she started opening it, pulling out the letter, her eyes quickly scanning it. He wrote it by hand. Her father hated his penmanship and always typed anything he could. Only small notes like what he would put in their lunch bags were ever written out. He had to have taken quite a bit of time to write this for her.

Looking up, she saw Josh turning to leave. This was one of the most important things she was likely to ever read, and she was already feeling a bit teary about it. "Josh," she patted the stop next to her on the bed. "I'd like you to stay."[/FONT]
 
He stopped and turned, then a soft smile spread across his face. "With pleasure." He sat back on the bed and sat her down next to him. To be someone to lean on while she read her father's final message. Then with this all over they could talk. He could tell she was getting teary so he put and arm around her and supported her fully.

Reaching back he pulled the plane tickets from his back pocket and placed one of them in her lap as she read.

"It would be good to get away for a while. Just the two of us..."

It didn't matter that their work far far from over, that there was still a mole at the agency. They had both earned their rest.. and they were both going to get it.