It was nine in the morning on Monday. Natasha found herself in front of the building the card directed her to.
The front door was locked. She was sure as hell that this was the building. The description fit. "Is there a back door or am I supposed to break into the building?"
Confusion overtook her on how to have access. Her phone beeped, a rare occurrence. She received a message from an unknown number.
"Go through the back. Stand in front of the door and say Password."
If she wasn't familiar with her line of work, she would be panicking right then. How did they manage to contact her on a burner phone?
She went around to the back of the building, there was a door, after all. "Password," she hushed, and the door opened.
It was an elevator. She got in and it started moving. She was thrilled, she remembered her days in Russia.
She would stop the elevator halfway and get into the elevator with her unsuspecting targets. Most of them couldn't keep their dicks in a place. They always wanted to get down with her, making her mission easy.
The elevator stopped and she got out. There was a room guarded by two men. She guessed that was her destination. She made to enter the room and was stopped for a search.
They were wasting time. If she wanted to attack, the blunt shoe she was wearing and their guns were weapons enough for her to attack. She could make use of anything. Moreover, she knew how to hide her 'toys' well.
She was searched for about five minutes—orders from Luca—but they still didn't manage to find the knife hidden in her shoe.
She stepped into the room which was an office. It was a big one, exquisitely furnished with recent furniture and designs. It must have cost Luca a fortune.
The office was empty. She had waited for a while, and she was getting tired. Was she supposed to talk to thin air? Or, spend the entire day waiting for Luca.
"It's been a while," Luca whispered behind her.
She squealed and turned around immediately to attack whoever it was.
"Chill out. It's just me," Luca said amidst laughter. "I knew you would show up. Surely, nobody likes the idea of jail."
She didn't know that the whole weekend, he had earnestly hoped she would take the offer. "Sit. Let's talk," Luca said, directing her toward a chair.
He took his seat opposite her and pointed at a file on the table. "Open it."
The file contained a description of the mission, her reward, and the terms and conditions. She couldn't bail halfway through the mission. She could either complete the mission even if it cost her head or say goodbye to her freedom.
Natasha realized now that he knew of her fear of losing her freedom, and he was exploiting it perfectly. She had no choice now.
He knew her secret. She couldn't go to jail, her sister would be horrified. And, outside that, going to jail would be handing herself easily to getting killed by the Italians who had a grudge against her.
She had to try. How hard could it be to kill Lorenzo Lizzo? He was just another man, after all.
"Vera," Luca called her. "One more thing. Any plan to sabotage me would cost you your sister. You know how I love young girls."
The file fell right out of her hand. She was finding it hard to process what she just heard. Her sister didn't even know she was sitting in an office on the fifth floor of an expensive building discussing an assassination plan with a mafia lord.
She didn't want her involved in any of this. Natasha was furious but managed to keep it down. She looked at the door and walking out crossed her mind, but it was of no use. She was vulnerable.
He knew everything about her. If she ran, he would find her and if he didn't, he would use her sister as bait. How long could she keep running? Lorenzo Lizzo had to die.
"I have no plans to do that, and you will not speak a word of this to my sister," Natasha said, picking up the file.
She had regained her composure. "Don't even mention her in our transactions. And if you try any funny business, so help me, you'll end before I go to jail. It's a promise, Luca."
"We shall see about that," Luca said with a smirk on his face. She wished she could slap it off his face.
"What's the plan?" She asked. "Giving that, I have studied this entire file and there's no picture of the man in question."
"Nobody truly knows what he looks like except those closest to him. But, I have my sources. When the time is right, I'll give you that detail."
Natasha gave a slight nod and then asked, "how are we starting the mission?"
"We'll change you," he said, a desperate attempt at getting on her nerves.
The look on her face showed that she would kill him if she had the chance to, and he burst into laughter.
"Stop being a maniac. Answer my question. What's the deal?" She said, making no attempt to conceal her disgust and annoyance."
"Send her in," his voice had become firm once again.
A young lady who looked like she was just 16 walked in. Natasha found herself admiring her.
She was tall and pretty, she had Auburn hair which complemented her flawless skin perfectly.
"Good day boss." Her voice was equally charming, just like the rest of her.
Natasha noticed a tattoo on her neck. It was a red snake. She had seen this same tattoo on the necks of the men at the door. That was probably his symbol.
"This is Vera," Luca said, introducing her to Olivia.
"I would prefer you address me as Natasha. That's my name," Natasha said to Luca.
He quirked an eyebrow and said, "you go by Vera here."
"Pleased to meet you, at last, Vera," Olivia said, extending her hand out for a handshake.
Natasha ignored her and proceeded to ask again, "What's the plan?"
"She's the plan," he replied. "It's best you learn to get along with her because you'll be spending a week with her."
Natasha was confused, "With her? I don't understand. I have a home."
"That place is easy to gain access to Vera, dear. I'm sure I'm not the only one looking for you. So, you should stay somewhere safe."
Natasha kept quiet.
"Also, you have countless things to learn, and we need to work on your appearance. You have to get rid of this and upgrade to a different person," Luca added.
"Different person?" she questioned. "No way in hell would I'm changing myself for anyone. Not happening."
"Oh, yes, it's happening, Vera. Dear. All your needs will be taken care of. We will discuss further after a week," he said, getting up to leave. "Take care of her, Olivia."
Luca left, leaving her with the teenage-looking Olivia. "Your things have been packed from your house. You don't need to go back there," Olivia told her.
She couldn't help but blame herself for the situation she found herself in. If only she had listened.
Flashback * * *
"Vera, must you go?" Her sister had asked that night as she was about to leave.
"Yes, I must go, Natalia, I've been paid for this"
"Vera, please, let's just run away from here, stop this job, she had cried.
"You can never understand. Can you? I'm doing all this for our sake." For the first time, she had raised her voice at Natalia.
"Don't you ever think about nemesis," Natalia asked with tears in her eyes.
She stared at her for a second before walking out the door.
Back to the present * * *
She guessed the nemesis eventually caught up with me. She would do this well and her sister would never have to find out. She would finally be free. She would relocate them to America with her payment from the mission.
"Nice to meet you," Natasha said, beaming a smile at Olivia. She hoped it wasn't too late to get along.
"Nice to meet you too, Vera," she replied nicely.
It wasn't too late. "Call me Natasha."
"Let's eat before we head home," Olivia suggested.
She probably heard the hunger growls coming from Natasha's stomach.
She had rushed out of her house in the morning without eating, it was 12:30 pm, and it was 2:30 pm, and she still had nothing in her.
Olivia clapped her hands and the door opened, revealing two chefs with food trays. One was dropped in front of her and the other before Natasha. There was so much to eat. Natasha hungrily dug into her food.
When they finished, Natasha was escorted into the back seat of a Black SUV, while Olivia sat at the front as they left the building.
The car drove on for minutes. She was tempted to jump out. She felt like she was being kidnapped.
After what seemed like two hours, they arrived at a mansion. There were five guards with two large dogs locked away in their cages.
"Was she going d a week here?" She questioned herself. Left for her, she would live there forever.
The inside of the mansion was even bigger. She could get lost in it. It was very furnished and luxurious.
Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, the designs were classy and beautiful. From what she could see, it didn't come cheap.
She was shown to her room by a maid. Her things were there already. The wardrobe was full of clothes and shoes, all her size. There was a phone on the table. She wondered if it was hers as well.
She had taken a bath which lasted for almost an hour, enjoying the hot water she hadn't felt on her skin for a long time.
She dressed up and sat at the edge of the bed waiting for further instructions. Twenty minutes later, there was a knock on the door,
"It's open. You can come in," she said, thinking it was Olivia.
The door opened, revealing Luca. "Welcome to my home. Training starts tomorrow."