Fated Marks

“Alec Udinov?” Kol said.

“Cross referencing… No go, he’s too close to Oleg and the Bratva. They helped get me out, we might need them again.” I said.

Over the past week I had pulled out a list of names from the ledger and looked them up on every possible database to see who was still in the game. Then I had to find everyone who met the criteria of potentially being one of the worst people ever born and cross reference them with the ledger with everyone that was marked as kill on sight. Suffice to say we had a lot of people to choose from. Down side it was hard to find someone to get rid off that wouldn’t come back to bite us in the ass later on.

“Cesar Fisterra why does that name sound familiar?” Kol asked.

“Okay, rule of thumb we need someone who at some point has met Hadrian and has gotten screwed over badly enough to swear revenge. We also need minimum blow back so that it won’t affect our other missing person hunt.” I said. “If it sounds familiar it’s a no go.”

“We could always just blame it on missing person number one?” Kol suggested.

“But then we’d have to find Delilah in three and a half weeks when we’ve been at it for three months and still have nothing.” I said.

“So scapegoat…” Kol said.

“Scapegoat. Karim Nassar.” I said reading the next name off the list. I pulled up a google search on him. He’s kept a pretty low profile. I tried looking up on any intelligence agency database I could get into and got a few hits. “Here we go, Karim Nassar. Runs the drug trade out of Nador but that’s only his side business. He mainly deals in… oh.”

“What?” Kol asked.

“He’s a candidate, leave it at that.” I said clearing everything. “We pick three then we track them down. Whoever we can get a lock on first get’s the job.”

“Bad things do always happen in sets of three.” Kol said. “Might be time for a break.”

“Not yet, two more candidates and then we track them.” I said.

“When was the last time you got out of this penthouse?” Kol asked and I stayed quiet just typing away. “Have you slept at all?”

He wouldn’t be asking if he didn’t already know the answer. I looked up briefly before going back to work.

“Rebekah called.” Kol said. “Said she has no idea what people are asking her half the time and her translator is a bore, wishes you were there instead. She thinks you’d love it there.”

“Heard it’s crowded. Can you get me another cup of coffee please?” I asked.

Kol sighed. “What am I going to do with you?” He grabbed Hayley’s mug and walked over to the kitchen to get her, her fourth cup of the day and something to eat.

Chicago, October 2001-

Allison was standing at the bottom of the staircase waiting for her daughter to come down. She normally didn’t take long to get ready but this morning she was dragging her feet.

“Callie let’s go!” Allison called out.

“Mommy where’s my other shoe?” Callie called out.

“Check under your bed, that’s where you always leave it.” Allison said.

“Found it!” She called out. A minute later she padded down the stairs.

“Ready?” Allison said.

“Mhm.” Callie nodded before grabbing her coat and walking out the door.

Allison looked at her daughter curiously. Ever since Hadrian left and it was just the two of them she had really opened up. She was a little chatterbox but today she was quiet. The only sound in the car was the soft music playing on the radio.

“You hungry?” Allison asked.

“No.” Callie said quietly.

“You don’t have to be nervous. Marcel’s really looking forward to meeting you.” Allison said.

“Mhm.” Callie said.

“His family’s going to be there too. He said his sister Rebekah and brother Kol are a few years older than you so you’ll have other kids to talk to.” Allison said trying to cheer up her daughter.

“Mom is he like Jack?” Callie said making Allison grip the steering wheel a little tighter.

“No Calliope, Marcel isn’t like Jack. Promise me you won’t mention him again.” Allison said giving her daughter a stern look.

“Sorry Mom. I promise.” Callie said raising her pinky. Allison smiled at her daughter’s gesture and reached over to the back seat to linked her pinky with her daughter’s. They drove up to the gate where she pressed on the buzzer and the gate opened up.

Third Person’s POV-

Natasha had finally gotten all the Intel needed for SHIELD to plan out their next mission. It had been months since she had been in her apartment. She stumbled in in the middle of the night and laid down in bed. She placed her gun on her nightstand and saw the photo she had taken of Hayley during one of their outings when she wasn’t looking.

Natasha couldn’t help but wonder how Hayley was doing. She had felt sudden surges of anxiety the past few days but they were sporadic and passed fairly quickly. She picked up her phone and dialed the one person who would tell her exactly what was going on.

“Hello.” Rebekah answered.

“Hey.” Natasha greeted.

“Natasha.” Rebekah said.

“Just calling in to check in. How’s Hayley?” Natasha asked.

“I have no idea. I’m in Hong Kong.” Rebekah said making Natasha sit up.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Natasha asked.

“We’re not speaking at the moment.” Rebekah said with a sigh.

“What happened?” Natasha asked.

“I really can’t talk right now. I’m about to go into a meeting. Speak to you soon.” Rebekah said before hanging up.

If Natasha wasn’t worried before she was now. She quickly dialed Hayley not bothering to check the time.

“Hello?” Hayley answered sounding exhausted.

“Krasivaya.” Natasha said sounding relieved.

“Hey Nat.” Hayley said.

“Did I wake you up?” She asked

“No I woke up a few minutes ago.” Hayley said sounding a bit out of breath. “How are you?”

“I just got back from a mission.” Natasha said. “Thinking of taking a few days off, maybe stopping by London.”

Hayley just went quiet. “I did say I was going to tie you up to my bed and have my way with you but it’s going to have to wait.” She said sadly.

“What’s going on?” Natasha asked.

“Have some things I need to handle on my end and I’m going to be away from London for a week or two.” Hayley said.

“Where you going?” Natasha asked.

“Starting in Romania, then Prague and then not sure.” Hayley answered. “I think Budapest was mentioned.”

At the mention of Budapest Natasha groaned.

“What’s wrong?” Hayley asked.

“Nothing, just not my favorite place.” Natasha answered. “I’m going to let you get some sleep. Talk to you tomorrow… or later today.”

“Okay. You should sleep too, you sound beat.” Hayley pointed out. “I miss you.”

“I miss you too Krasivaya…” Natasha said.

“Can I stay on the phone until you fall asleep?” Hayley asked.

“Please.” Natasha said as everything went quiet.

“If you had to choose between letting someone you know die or having to go back to the KGB which would you choose?” Hayley asked breaking the silence.

“Why do you ask?” Natasha asked.

“I’ve been thinking about some of the things I did before when I was still helping my mom and if something like that were to happen today whether or not I’d make the same choice.” Hayley answered.

“You can’t think like that. You start thinking like that and things will get dark.” Natasha said.

“You’re right.” Hayley said.

“You sure everything’s alright?” Natasha asked.

“Yeah. When all this is over I’m taking a vacation. I’ve always wanted to go to Bali.” Hayley said.

“Sounds nice.” Natasha said resting her head on her pillow and closing her eyes. Slowly she drifted off to sleep and Hayley heard her soft snores before hanging up.

Hayley’s POV-

I hung up on Natasha and got out of bed. The nightmares and night sweats weren’t going away. Not to mention the flashes I got on occasion made it impossible for me to take a shower longer than two minutes and even that was pushing it.

I got out of bed and hobbled over to the living room to go back to work. The three final candidates came up on the screen.

Bogdan Duric, runs an international drug trafficking ring and uses people as mules. Hadrian met him thirteen years ago when they decided to join forces and try expanding his business into the US. To say it ended bloody would be an understatement. One mule boarded a plane and died of an overdose. During the investigation they found a business card to one of Duric’s clubs where he recruited people. Hadrian threw him under the bus and he got extradited back to Serbia where he spent five years in a maximum-security prison. He now works out of Prague with the occasional business trips to Budapest.

Giovanni De Luca, part of the Italian Mob. He was from Sicily originally but they sent him to the states to clean up a mess his predecessor’s mess. He and Hadrian started a mob war that ended bloody. Hadrian left and Giovanni De Luca was left to clean up the mess. He spent eight years in a maximum-security prison before he was extradited back to Italy where his bosses got him out but not before he sent Hadrian a messenger declaring a vendetta against him. The messenger of course ended up dead, I found his name in one of his decks.

And last but by far the worst or them all, Karim Nassar. This guy literally did everything. He started off as a drug lord’s errand boy, moved up to hit man and cleaner before killing his boss, and marrying his daughter before she committed suicide by putting two bullets in the back of her head. Drug trafficking, black market arms dealing, extortion, kidnapping but the thing that made my skin crawl was that his main business was smuggling war refugees with the promise of taking them to safety and instead selling them to the highest bidder. We’re talking black market organs, sex trafficking or selling babies to couples looking to adopt. This guy had a contract with every major crime organization in the world including the Ten Rings and the Triad. They had a falling out after Hadrian ‘lost’ all his money and couldn’t pay him back making Nassar have many business deals fall through and he was forced to sever ties with a lot of associates. His current location is unknown. He’s been spotted in Istanbul, Marrakesh and Nador.

These guys are all horrible people. Their body count was probably in triple digits if not more. They probably deserved it and despite all of that I couldn’t help but feel… guilty.

If you kill a murderer that still makes you a murderer.

I’m doing it to save my sister but the ends don’t justify the means.

In the end I guess it comes down to one question.

Which life I would trade for Rebekah’s?

October 2001-

Allison drove up the driveway and parked by the front door of the manor.

Callie looked up and marveled at the enormity of the house in front of them.

“It’s not polite to stare.” Allison teased her daughter.

“It’s big.” Callie whispered.

“Well, they have a big family.” Allison said as she opened the door and got out of the car. She walked over to open the door to let Callie out but when she did Callie didn’t move. “Calliope Chauncey Adler get out of the car this instant. You have nothing to be afraid of, they just want to meet you.”

“What if they don’t like me?” Callie asked.

“Why wouldn’t they like you? You’re adorable and a good girl. Now got out of the car and behave.” Allison said impatiently.

“I’m scared.” Callie said getting teary eyed.

“Sweetheart, I promise everything is going to be okay. Marcel is… a special friend of mine and special friends after knowing each other for a while introduce each other to their families. We don’t want to be rude and keep them waiting right? Remember what Sister Monica Joan taught you.” Allison said with a tight smile.

Callie looked up at her mom and knew she was one step from loosing it.

“Okay mommy,” Callie said getting out of the car and taking her mom’s hand. She couldn’t stop shaking but kept moving. Allison rung the doorbell and waited a minute for someone to open the door.

“Miss Allen.” A maid greeted.

“Hello Millicent.” Allison greeted.

“Please come in.” Millicent said.

“Thank you.” Allison said ushering in Callie.

“May I take your coats?” Millicent said.

“Oh thank you.” Allison said taking off her beige coat. Callie carefully undid the buttons of her red coat before handing it to Millicent.

“Thank you.” Callie said quietly.

“You’re very welcome little miss.” Millicent said giving the girl a smile.

“Allison.” A tall man wearing a dress shirt and a sweater over it came over. He had a huge smile on his face and couldn’t take his eyes off Allison.

“Good morning.” Allison said wrapping his arms around him and giving him a kiss.

“It’s good to see you too.” Marcel said.

Callie just stood awkwardly away from the two lovebirds looking at a painting that was hanging on the wall.

“We should probably hold off on that till later.” Marcel said.

“Oh right.” Allison said.

“This is her?” Marcel asked.

“Yeah.” Allison said walking over to take her daughter’s hand and bring her closer. “Callie this is my friend Marcel. Marcel this is Calliope my daughter.”

Marcel bent down so he was eye level with Callie. “Hi sweetie, it’s nice to meet you.” He said with a kind smile. Callie hid behind her mom’s leg.

“Callie.” Allison said chastising her daughter.

“It’s okay, she’s just shy.” Marcel said understanding how it might be intimidating for a six year old to meet her mom’s new boyfriend. “Why don’t we go into the day room? Everyone’s in there waiting.”

“Oh you didn’t have to.” Allison said.

“Of course we did.” Marcel said. “Are you hungry Callie?”

Callie just nodded.

“Do you like waffles?” Marcel asked.

“Yes.” Callie whispered.

“That’s good because there’s a giant stack of them waiting for you.” He said. “Don’t tell your mom but there’s also chocolate chip waffles.” He whispered the last part.

“Really?” Callie said perking up.

“Of course,” Marcel said winking at her making her laugh.

“You’re dealing with her sugar high.” Allison said with a smile.

“No problem.” Marcel said with a smile. “Come on Callie, let’s go say hi to everyone.” Marcel said offering her his hand. Callie looked at him then at his hand and then back up at him. Callie let go of her mom and took his hand before following him down the hall to the living room.

And just like that Allison could tell that Marcel was wrapped around her daughter’s finger.

Hayley’s POV-

I was in the middle of mapping out all known sightings from the past three months for each potential target when Kol walked with coffee and bagels.

“Morning sunshine.” Kol said.

“Fucking hate that name.” I said.

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, that is if you slept at all.” Kol said walking over and putting the coffee next to me along with a salmon, cream cheese and some other veggies on a bagel.

“Thanks.” I said.

“Don’t thank me yet, you need to get dressed.” Kol said.

“Uh why?” I said taking a sip of my coffee. Hm… extra espresso shot just the way I like it.

“You have a follow up appointment with John at his clinic.” Kol said.

“I’m fine.” I said.

“Hayley, you were used as a punching bag and drugged with who knows what. Besides don’t you want to know when you can get off the crutches and take the wrist off? If it heals wrong you’re going to need surgery.” Kol said.

“I won’t. I’ve been typing away and it hasn’t been bothering me.” I said. Okay it hadn’t hurt that bad. No pain no gain right?

“If we’re going after the terrible triplets, you need to get cleared.” Kol said.

“Says who?” I asked.

“Says me.” Kol said. “So you’re going, you could use the sunlight anyway. We have less than three weeks to find one of those three and turn him over. We can leave as early as tomorrow if you get cleared if not I’ll go on my own.”

“I hate it when you play hardball.” I said.

“It’s the only way you’ll listen, now get up and go get dressed, your appointment’s in an hour.” Kol said.

“Yes Dad.” I said rolling my eyes.

“Eat your breakfast too, don’t think I haven’t noticed how you’ve been skipping meals.” Kol said.

“While I’m changing, look over the intel on the screen see of anything rings a bell.” I called over my shoulder.

“Use your crutches!” He chastised.

“I’m fine!” I called out.

I ended up picking out some thick black leggings with a long tunic tee and a beige blazer over it. I noticed that my clothes were starting to fit me a bit loose. Maybe I should start making sure I eat regularly. I picked put some simply beige flats to use on my one good leg.

“Okay I’m ready but please tell me you’re driving because I’d rather not have to walk to much.” I said.

“I thought you said you were fine.” Kol teased.

“Yeah, but I had a needle jabbed into my rib cage and my ribs are still healing. Need to build up endurance again.” I said grabbing my coffee and bagel.

“Uhuh.” He said looking skeptical. “Smile.”

“Why are you taking a photo of me?” I asked.

“I want you to see how horrible you look.” Kol said.

“You’re an ass.” I said grabbing my clutch before walking to the elevator.

“You’re stubborn,” Kol said.

“Let’s just get this over with.” I said.