The Consultant

Moscow

He was screaming.

Of course, he is.

He is frightened.

She was quick to cover his mouth with her hand, but he was still determined to try and save himself.

He was screaming before the woman could even truly harm him, like a child getting a vaccination and flinches when the rubbing alcohol touches them. This isn't a child. It's a grown man, which is enough for Alessia to become annoyed and her becoming annoyed by him only makes killing him easier.

Before Alessia could do anything, he stopped.

He went completely silent.

Alessia cocked her head as she studied him.

Perhaps he accepted he was going to die.

This is something that Alessia admires, his acceptance and semi-compliance purely because he knows that there is nothing that he can do about this.

Although, she doesn't admire him.

Never him.

She slowly removes her hand when she feels his lips moving against it. 

His eyes were wide as he stared into hers.

The man was trembling with fear, dread, and adrenaline.

"Зачем ты это делаешь?" He asks her shakily.

Zachem ty eto delayesh'?

Why are you doing this?

He looks so confused that she almost feels sorry for him.

Pathetic.

"Вы говорите по-английски?" Alessia asks him with her head cocked curiously.

Vy govorite po-angliyski?

Do you speak English?

When he nods rapidly, she smiles widely at him.

She nods her head slowly with this smile still in place.

"Good. I'm doing this because you've been a bad boy," she tells him before mockingly pouting her bottom lip.

She raised her brows high.

"Don't you agree?" She asks.

He nods rapidly again.

"And you feel no remorse for your actions," she stated.

It was a fact, not a question.

Considering he doesn't attempt to defend himself, she knows that everything his file says is true and not some lie.

She pulls him closer to her by the front of his shirt.

"You angered your government," she whispers to him while looking back and forth between his eyes.

His eyes widened dramatically. 

It makes her smile, genuinely amused by the expression on his face. 

It must be a shock for him to meet someone who is so physically attractive and who has a sadistic gleam in her piercing eyes. Her eyes are already an attention grabber, so to be able to see such a shift within them is something that frightens people.

She sighed deeply.

Looking down at his shirt, she gently straightened it to fix the wrinkles she had caused.

She looked up until her eyes met his, pinning him with her gaze.

She tilted her head to the side and studied the man's face.

"That's why I am here, Ivan. Perhaps, you shouldn't have been such a terrible person. If I am being quite honest, I think you are very handsome. If we met in different circumstances, I would've been interested," she tells him.

Suddenly, she covered his mouth with her hand.

His eyes widened, which made her smile widely.

She wasted no time and injected a needle into his neck before pushing the plunger.

Feeling the needle press into him, he wiggles like a fish, but when nothing happens yet he stops.

Soon, the potassium goes into effect.

He grunts in pain.

His hands attempt to rub at his chest.

Eventually, he goes tight like he can't move because he's in so much pain.

A frisson of excitement ran through her, making her heart race.

“He was or had been a sexist prick when he realized what I was there to do. He said things he shouldn't have and even tried to fight back. Shame. I was willing to make it painless. Killing is...killing. But sometimes there comes someone like that and it makes the job easier. If I was sent to kill him, there was a reason. He is a shit person and his record speaks for itself. He is a powerful criminal here. Unfortunately for him, his arrogance got in the way. The Russian government was tired of playing to his whims. However, if it's known that the government had him killed, that would cause an issue. And another country's agent couldn't be seen here either.

That's where she comes in. 

He goes completely limp and is now staring at something behind her, but his eyes are glazed over.

To anyone else, it will look like a heart attack.

He does have a heart condition after all. 

He really shouldn't have let his associates leave.

After releasing his body and allowing him to collapse, Alessia stares down at him for a few moments. She sighed deeply before looking around the room until her eyes locked on something on the coffee table.

"Ah, here we are," she murmurs when seeing the white powder.

She takes off one of her gloves before dipping the tip of her pinky finger into the powder, and tastes it, rubbing it along her gums.

"Fuck," she groans before squeezing her eyes shut.

'This is the good shit.'

She looks down at the setup in front of her, debating whether or not she should. She shrugs then grabs the rolled-up bill and does the half-finished line. She stands abruptly while shaking her head and rubbing her nose. She tilted her head side to side, cracking her neck and other joints thus loosening herself up.

After a moment, she relaxes and puts the glove back on.

She quickly leaves the house.

§§§

When she was safe in her hotel room, Alessia confirmed the kill.

She called the number that was saved on the burner phone. 

Within two rings, someone answers.

"It's done," she says when the call is picked up.

The woman on the other side of the call laughs happily.

Hearing the woman’s clear excitement about this makes Alessia raise a brow.

The woman took a few more moments to calm herself and cleared her throat, becoming serious.

"Good. The money is transferring now," the woman says in thickly Russian-accented English.

Alessia hangs up without another word.

She removed the battery and snapped the phone in half, destroying it, and put the pieces in her pocket. 

She grabs her bags, leaves the room, and heads to the lobby to check out of the hotel.

She tossed the remnants of the phone in a public trash can and began her journey back home.

Paris

Her heels clacked on the sidewalk and her bags hung on her elbows. She takes notice of a stranger on the sidewalk, seeing her multiple car lengths away and she sees Alessia. When Alessia’s flowing hair blows into her eyes, she runs a hand through it, before flipping the hair back into place to clear her vision to see the woman again.

She internally smirks when she notices that the woman's eyes are subtly moving up and down her body.

Soon they’ll be walking past each other.

Their eyes meet right before she breezes past.

When she did, Alessia smirked and winked at the woman.

Alessia could feel the stranger’s eyes following her as if she had watched Alessia walk away.

And so, Alessia turned to look too, and then their eyes met again.

Alessia smirks wide enough for the woman to see it before she turns back around continuing on her way.

'Wow, there's something about her face. I won't forget it anytime soon,' Alessia thinks before she chuckles.

Her thoughts are interrupted when her cell phone begins to ring.

Pulling it out of her purse, Alessia answered without seeing who it was.

 "Yes?" She asks the person. 

There was a clearing of a throat before the other person began speaking.

"This is Carolyn Martens. Of the British Intelligence Services."

When hearing that name, Alessia’s brows shot up.

She had to slow down her pace until she was standing in the middle of the sidewalk.

That's how surprised she was.

"How did you get this number, Carolyn Martens? You got it from someone. Who was it?" Alessia asks her narrowing her eyes in increasing suspicion.

The woman lets out a huff as if irritated with Alessia's questions.

"Now isn't the time for chit-chat," Carolyn says.

Alessia clenches her jaw.

She frowned deeply before she chuckled at the gall of this woman.

"Oh? And how is my time your time? Do you understand how this works? It isn't a negotiation. You tell me the situation and then I decide if I'll be willing to help. My time is valuable, you know," Alessia tells the woman.

She heard the woman sigh impatiently again.

"My bosses have asked that you come to London to talk. The details of the situation will be sent for you to look over. I'm afraid this is of the utmost importance," Carolyn explained.

Alessia sighed deeply.

"I'll look into it. I guess I'll be seeing you soon then, Carolyn," Alessia says before hanging up without another word.

London

And the next morning, she was on a train to London.

She drops her things off at her residence, for the time being, and heads straight to the MI5 offices as requested.

At the front desk, she tells them her name.

The receptionist smiles and types it into her computer. 

She smiles wider upon seeing that Alessia was meant to be here.

"Yes. Just one moment. I'll get you your pass and someone will take you where you need to go," she tells her.

Alessia nods with a genuine smile.

She gets up and heads to the room right behind the counter, walks in and shuts the door behind her.

Alessia rests a hand there in wait before subtly looking around at the people, the few that are in the area at least, and her eyes find every camera in the vicinity. She only turned around when hearing the woman return and saw another person with her.

He gives a polite grin as he hands over a visitor's pass, which Alessia clips on the lapel of her blazer.

"Right this way, Madam," he says before motioning his head in a specific direction.

Alessia follows.

§§§

There was idle chit-chat as Alessia followed along behind him. She asked him a few questions about the organization's history and he does seem very knowledgeable about it. This tour lasted until they were in front of a door with a little window. 

Taking a glance inside, it proves to be a conference room.

Alessia turns to the man with a polite smile. 

"Thank you, Steven," she tells him before she offers her hand to him, which he accepts.

He shook her hand before he smiled once more and then turned, walking off.

Alessia straightens herself and walks into the room.

Everyone looks surprised except for an older woman.

‘She must be Carolyn,’ Alessia thinks to herself.

"Who are you?" A man with glasses asks rudely.

Alessia merely raises a judging brow.

"Frank, this is Alessia. She was hired as a consultant. She was brought in to help," Carolyn explains to him.

He doesn't look to believe her as he looks between Caroyln and Alessia.

He turned his attention solely on Alessia, looking up at her from where he sat and she stood.

"How old are you? May I ask?" He asks Alessia directly.

She smirks at the man.

"No. No, you may not," she retorts with a smile.

Alessia looked down at the empty sear in front of her, she pulled the chai from the table, and take a seat. She turned her head to the other remaining people in the meeting. She finds that they are staring at her openly.

Alessia internally snorts.

They both look very hung over and they don't like me.

Or that what it appears.

I think.

I didn't exactly help the situation.

To be frank, Frank can fuck off. 

She tore her gaze away from them to look from person to person before landing on Carolyn.

The room was dead silent and immednsly awkward.

Alessia cleared her throat with a raised brow.

"I assume you all started early, so bring me up to speed," Alessia requested.

Carolyn cleared her throat before resting her clasped hands on the table.

"Victor Kedrin, a high-profile Russian politician. He was leaving a sushi restaurant near Stephansplatz with his girlfriend, Kasia Molkovska when his femoral artery was sliced open without him or his girlfriend noticing," Carolyn explains.

Alessia nods to herself.

"He is a sex trafficker, was he not?" Alessia asks her.

Carolyn nods, which Alessia mirrored.

She leaned back in her seat, crossing her legs as she become more comforatble.

"Hmmm. Someone had gotten so close to him, but he didn't notice? That is impossible," Alessia tells them with a thoughtful expression.

She paused for a moment, before cocking her head and narrowed her eyes at the wall in front of her, as she became lost in thought. She rests an elbow on the arm of the chair and taps her chin with an index finger.

"Unless," she murmured to herself.

"Unless what?" Frank asks impatiently thus interrupting her train of thought.

Instantly, Alessia shot him a scathing look. 

He gulped.

She grinned, which she does smother for the sake of trying to remain professional.

"That is impossible unless it was a woman," she reveals.

The room went silent.

The man, one of the two that had been previously gaping at her, cleared his throat to gain her attention.

"What makes you think this?" He asks calmly. 

She tapped her chin with her finger again before pointing at him.

"He was a sex trafficker, which means that he no doubt has very few high opinions of women. This being said, he wouldn't have thought that a woman was a threat. And boom, he was stabbed in the thigh," she explained.

A huff makes her turn her eyes to Frank.

"CCTV says otherwise, Alessia," Frank retorted as he practically spat her name.

Alessia subtly clenches her jaw.

Suddenly, she frowned as she processed what he said. 

"CCTV?" She asks with her brows raised in surprise.

When he nods in confirmation, she shakes her head with a chuckle.

"I doubt that. This was where again? Stephansplatz? I know that area and there isn't any CCTV there. Not where the body was found at least," she replied.

"How could you know that?"

Alessia turned her attention to the Asian woman with amazing-looking hair.

Her name is unclear as of yet.

"That's my job. I've spent a lot of time in that area. I was there about two weeks ago. As a matter of fact, I ate at that restaurant. It's great," Alessia tells her before looking toward Frank. Alessia doesn’t show it, but suspicion is ringing in her head.

He shifted nervously under her gaze.

"You truly think it's a woman?" Carolyn asks.

Alessia nods seriously before turnign her attention to the older woman.

"To me, it makes the most sense. If a Russian diplomat is a suspected sex trafficker, then they are one. A lack of empathy for women is attributed to it. He probably saw the person approach and didn't think anything of it. And it was smart of her. She knew what I did," she theorizes.

After a moment passed, Alessia sighs deeply, shaking her head in sympathy for the assassin.

"But leaving the girlfriend alive though. Tsk, tsk, tsk.That was a mistake," Alessia added.

Frank cleared his throat.

"Why are we discussing this? There was no CCTV. You are wrong Madam," Frank spits.

Once again, Alessia looked to him.

For a long moment, she stares at him hard before she looks at the others.

They look just as awkward as she feels.

"What is your problem?" She asks bluntly. She laughed incredulously as she shakes her head. "The moment I walked into this room, you showed contempt. I've never met you before. Are you always this rude? Are you perhaps an ageist? After all, I am younger than all of you. So which is it?" 

Carolyn sighed.

"Ms. Basileios," Carolyn says pointedly.

She paused with her eyes squinted unsurely.

"Did I pronounce that correctly?" She asks.

Alessia nods in answer.

‘Carolyn’s lips quirked, relieved, it appears,’ Alessia thinks to herself.

Her eyes shot to the other woman, the one she doesn’t know the name of, and Alessia sees her mouth her last name to the man sitting next to her. She looks at Alessia and notices that she’s been watching. When they make eye contact, Alessia raises a brow, which makes the woman cringe before mouthing an apology.

Alessia smirked before turning back to Carolyn.

Caroyln appears to have waited until Alessia’s attention was back on her.

She motions a hand for Carolyn to continue.

"As I was saying, Ms. Basileios, you said this assassin made a mistake. The girlfriend. Please elaborate," Carolyn prompts. 

Alessia shrugs. 

"It's simple really, they left the girlfriend alive. She's a witness,” she explains. She moved her eyes to each person in the room, shaking her head slowly. ”There cannot be any witnesses. You need to get a protective detail on her, now. No doubt the assassin will find her to finish the job. Clean up their mess, if you will,” Alessia informs them nonchalantly.

This was not missed by some. 

"You don't seem very worried about the girl's life," the other man, not Frank, points out.

Alessia nods.

"It isn't my job to care about the girlfriend of a sex trafficker," Alessia replies bluntly.

He blinks, clearly not having excepted that answer.

"She's still a human being," he retorts.

She sighs getting aggravated.

"This isn't an ethics seminar nor is there time to discuss it. Someone needs to get a protective detail on the girl NOW. The longer it takes, the more time this killer has to find her," Alessia stresses to them, looking from person to person.

Carolyn gives a sharp nod and stands.

Later

Alessia and Eve were in the hospital elevator.

The silence was awkward.

"So...Where are you from?" Eve asks, breaking the awkward silence.

Alessia lazily rolls her head to the side to look at her.

"Really?" She asks with an unimpressed look. Although, when seeing the expression that Eve is wearing, she knows that Eve is not joking. Alessia sighed deeply. "I was born in the US, but raised all over the EU," Alessia tells her.

Eve seemed surprised by this.

"Huh," Eve replies. 

There is a long moment of silence. 

"So do you speak a lot of languages?" Eve asks as she turned her head to look at the younger woman. Alessia nods while withholding the urge to roll her eyes. "Mhm-hmmm. Too many, I suppose. But languages are information and information is everything," Alessia replies.

Eve hummed before facing forward again.

It was quiet, but there was tension in the air, especially considering that this is the slowest elevator that Alessia has had the displeasure of being on. Alessia sighs impatiently unable to stand the tense silence that Eve had created.

"What is it you truly wanted to know Eve? I can feel your curiosity from here," she says to the woman. Not missing a beat, Eve takes her chance. "What is it that you do? There is no way, you are just a consultant. Are you an assassin or something? Is that why you knew so much concerning the one we're looking for?" Eve asks in quick succession.

Alessia’s eyes widen dramatically, before shooting her eyes to Eve. 

"If I tell you, I'd have to kill you," Alessia deadpanned just as the elevator opens.

She walks out immediately making Eve catch up.

§§§

She was washing her hands when Eve peeks her head into the bathroom.

"Hey, you can go ahead and go home. I'll stay, alright?" Eve says.

Alessia shrugs.

"Yeah, sure,” she replies.

Eve smiles.

"And don't mention that I was here?" Eve requests looking hopeful.

Alessia merely smirks at Eve.

"Of course, I won't. Even though it is idiotic of you to be here right now, I won't tell," Alessia replies while giving her a stern look.

Eve raised her brows high.

"You're here," Eve points out.

Alessia scoffs with a roll of her eyes. 

"Yeah, I know. I'm here so you don't get murdered. And if you didn't call, your chances of being so would've tripled," she tells Eve with complete seriousness.

Eve's expression becomes slightly frightened, but after a moment, she clears her throat.

"I'm going to the cafeteria to get something," Eve says.

Alessia smiles awkwardly. 

Eve pauses, which causes an even more awkward silence.

"Alright," Eve finally mutters before shutting the door.

Only a few seconds after Eve leaves, a toilet flushes and one of the stalls opened. Alessia looked in the mirror as the person walked out of the stall, but quickly lowered her eyes before the other person could see.

'I was right.'

The woman walked up to the other sink and began washing her own hands, all the while Alessia could feel the woman staring at the side of her head. Alessia's eyes shift to the mirror, watching the woman’s face, but only sees the side of it since she's intently staring at hers.

Alessia lowered her eyes again as she turns off the faucet.

She flicked her hands a few times before grabbing paper towels to dry them.

Her heels are loud in the quiet bathroom as she walked to the door.

Pulling the door open using the paper towels on the handle, Alessia turns to look at her.

Her. Her cat-like eyes are a color that I can't determine. Like grey hazel, perhaps.’

The woman doesn't smile or react to Alessia watching her. She seemed unfased by Alessia looking at her, just as Alessia was unfaced by the woman looking at her. When Alessia looks down, she notices that the woman is wearing a nurse's uniform.

When she meets the woman's eyes again, Alessia smirked.

"I'd hurry if I were you," Alessia says while now giving her a knowing look.

The woman’s face twitched at Alessia's comment.

It was so subtle, that Alessia nearly missed it, but she doesn't miss it.

The woman's mouth opened and closed a little before she finally speaks up.

"Do I know you?" She asks in a light British accent. 

Alessia cocked her head.

'She's good,' Alessia thinks to herself.

"We saw each other in passing," Alessia tells her.

She blinks at Alessia’s reply.

'The intentions of her stare would be unsettling to anyone else, especially with how direct the eye contact is.'

"Where?" The honey blonde woman asks with a slight head tilt.

So cat-like.

Alessia smiles a little before replying.

"Paris,” she replies. 

The woman blinked again.

"What is your name?" The woman asks a second later. 

Alessia's brows raised.

"What's yours?" Alessia shoots back just as quickly.

The woman's lips twitch.

"Natalie," she replies.

Alessia nearly scoffs, but just gives her another knowing look.

"A bientôt, Natalie," Alessia says to Natalie before she pulls open the door and walks out.

See you around, Natalie.