Chapter 7 - Target

"This is the man who you two chased in the streets a week ago," Arc said, motioning to Cala and Daeus while showing the rest of the group his file. "His name is Olek Romanyuk, he is Ukrainian, not Russian. He has a long history of crimes before having joined Sequi, although he is one of their best. If we were to kill him, we would have a great advantage, for Sequi would be weaker."

"So what's the plan?" Franz asked. "He seemed to know who to target, since he did walk straight up to Cala..."

"We can wait for him to come to me, then we could capture or kill him..." Cala suggested.

"That's a good idea, but that might also get you killed..." Arc pitched in.

"Why doesn't she just track him from far away?" Daeus said.

"I could do that... Check in every two hours or so..." Cala answered.

"So now all we have to do is wait for him to bubble up to the surface, right?" Sen asked.

"Yes," Franz said.

FOUR WEEKS LATER

Five weeks have passed since Cala learned about Daeus's brother. Putting aside the fact that he may be a psychopath, she had developed something for him, and was hoping that he felt the same way.

But, to her disadvantage, Daeus didn't remember the events after his second bottle of beer. And she didn't want to fill him in on what he had done either, for the simple purpose of not losing him.

What Cala didn't know, was that he felt the same way as she did. Upon waking up on her couch, half naked, feeling a lost presence on him, a sweet aftertaste in his mouth, a splitting headache, a cup of coffee waiting for him on the table, he was able to deduce that they had gotten carried away. And he wanted more.

He wanted to remember it the next time, that is if she didn't hate him for what had happened. He wanted to kiss her without the push alcohol usually gave him. He wanted to get touchy-feely only driven by her image. He wanted to be clearheaded when one thing would start leading to another and they would find themselves exhausted half an hour later.

Another mission was to be executed in a few minutes. Cala needed to track another suspect in the field, to see who he would interact with, checking in every two hours, just like they had planned.

Sitting down in the minivan, Arc gave her the signal to hop out and start walking. She gave Daeus a sharp stare, one filled with worry, before hoping out. Just as she closed the door behind her, she caught a glimpse of him staring back, telling her that she'll do fine.

She started walking, taking into account everything around her. A few buildings here and there, many pedestrians, the fact that she was equipped, the fact that the minivan was close to a residence.

After having kept her distance from the target for a good hour and a half, she decided to get closer. Nearing a safe stretch of space, she tried tapping into their conversation, but there were too many people around, meaning that if she were to listen, she would have to get even closer. She kept her position and waited. Then, out of the blue, the man she was tracking disappeared. She knew she hadn't taken her eye off him whatsoever.

All of a sudden, she felt a hand on her shoulder and was spun around quickly. To her utter surprise, Romanyuk and a few other men, including the one she was following, were right in front of her. They managed to grab her firmly, before she even knew what was going on, and drag her down an alley.

She was being kidnapped, that was certain, and to make matters even crazier than they were already, Cala felt something strong collide with her gut. She grunted and fell forward. A punch here, a punch there, a trail of blood here, a pool of blood there, Cala struggled to stay alive, not being able to handle them all.

Then, she saw a fist come up to her face and blacked out.

AN HOUR LATER

"It's been more than two hours," Daeus said, worried.

"Maybe something went wrong with her transmitter..." Arc tried to assure him.

"Even if that were to happen, she would have found a way to check in. I know she would."

"Anything's possible.."

"Then why did our receiver fry after 90 minutes?" Daeus protested.

"I don't know man..."

Then it hit him. "She needs backup."

"What?"

"Where did it fry? Where was she?"

"In some alley not far from here... Why?"

Daeus was already in the driver's seat. "Pull up the coordinates."

"O-okay..." Arc got to work. "Got them. Drive and I'll tell you where to go."

The minivan started speeding down the road, the two charging to where she was scarcely alive not even sixty minutes ago.

They pulled up in the span of five minutes. Daeus was already out of the van and walking toward something shining on the ground. Squatting down to pick it up, his chest tightened. In his palm was Cala's necklace, the one that she rarely took off. A silver flower, a pink gem in the centre, hanging from a sliver chain.

He stuffed the pendant into his pocket and examined the ground. Blood was spilled, that was certain, but the way it was spread out indicated him that there had been a fight. His eyes wandered over to a trail of blood that lead to the end of the alley and continued behind a building, into a small forest. The trail's formation made him assume that the body was dragged, but the thickness of the trail told him that the victim was still alive.

He started following the trail, knowing that he would find her there, but also knowing that he would find trouble there as well.

HALF AN HOUR LATER

Cala woke up. The last thing she knew, she was being beaten in an alley. Her face was throbbing, probably form a punch that blacked her out. She tried bringing her hand up to feel her face for any bruises, but soon realized that her hands were tied down, and her middle was sore.

Panic washed over her and she was suddenly aware of what was going on. She was in a dark room, sitting in a wooden chair, disarmed, slightly off the centre of the room, her ankled tied to the feet of the chair, her wrists tied to the arms of the chair and a piece of cloth in her mouth. She didn't bother struggling, for she knew that it would be useless. She glanced down and saw that she was bleeding.

She heard a door open and footsteps coming over to her. The faint light in the room told her that this person wasn't here to help her. They came up to her and stopped. She shut her eyes, feeling heavy breathing on her face. A hand came up and gripped her jaw, causing her to freeze. She refused to open her eyes. A sudden light flashed her in the face. She shut her eyes even tighter to spare them.

"You're really cute aren't you..." a man's voice said. Terror boiled her blood. It was Romanyuk. "Long black hair... A freckled face... Why don't you open your eyes to show me what colour they are..." She didn't dare to move a muscle. "If you don't want to show me, why don't you tell me what colour they are?"

The light went away, causing her an even bigger pain. She felt fingers working the piece of fabric out of her mouth. She debated whether she should bite his hand when he freed her, but she decided not to, since it would be useless as well. As soon as her mouth was empty, she used it.

"Get away from me," she hissed. The man laughed.

"You're a feisty one..."

"F**k you." His grip tightened on her jaw, and this time, her eyes flew open.

"Oh look, your eyes are a pretty pale blue... Isn't that nice..."

"I told you to get away from me, m**********r."

"As you wish, w***e." He flung her head away, almost snapping her neck. She felt a numbing pain throughout her whole body. The whiplash he had created pinched a nerve in her neck, bringing down her level of consciousness. She had avoided death once, but will she be able to do it again, now that she might bleed out from her gut... She felt a hand on her collarbone. It wiggled its way down her shirt, grabbing a hold of her b**b.

She knew she couldn't do anything, to make him stop, so all she did was shut her eyes again and let a tear fall down her cheek. She felt a weight on her thighs. The man was sitting in her lap, fondling her. She felt something cold on her mouth. He was kissing her.

She tried pulling back but it was useless, and it hurt. He imprudently stuck his tongue in her mouth. Now, she tried struggling. He pulled back briefly.

"If you struggle, it won't be as fun..." he said. He leaned in for another sloppy 'kiss', but stopped when he heard something fall in a corner.

A FEW MINUTES EARLIER

Daeus had managed to find Cala's location. It was a small house, surrounded by some sort of security. He had to get in there, and the only way to do that was to go through them.

"Arc, I need you to confirm if all the windows on that house are sealed," he whispered to the mic attached to his shirt.

"No problem..." He had to wait a minute. "They're all shut tight... What are you going to do?" He ignored his friends question.

"You'll see..." He pulled out a smoke grenade from his pocket and a gun from his belt. He pulled the pin and threw the grenade.

It landed in the middle of the cluster of guards, exploding almost on contact with the ground. He had well timed his throw, and now he was scurrying past the men, holding his breath. He found the door unlocked, stepped in and shut it quickly. He took a breath and help up his gun. He didn't know where to go, so he waited, walking down the entrance hallway slowly. Then he heard someone speak in a room. Their voice sounded familiar to him, but he had to check with Arc first.

"You're really cute... Long black hair, a freckled face... Why don't you open your eyes to show me what colour they are?" He used his mic to send Arc a message in morse. 'Can you identify him for me?' He was at the door shortly. He opened it silently and slipped into the room. He shut the door quietly behind him. "If you don't want to show me, why don't you tell me what colour they are?"

He wasn't bad at seeing in dim places, but this room had no windows, and there was only the faint light coming from a candle of two in the opposing corner on the room. When the person the man had been talking to spoke, Daeus was hit by a wave of dread.

"Get away from me," he heard Cala say. He immediately put away his gun, scared that he might miss and shoot her.

"You're a feisty one..."

"F**k you." She squeaked. His heart had tightened at the sight of her. She was beaten and strapped to a wooden chair, a man holding her jaw, trying to give her compliments. And on top of that, her middle was bleeding, most likely what had caused the trail of blood.

"Oh look, your eyes are a pretty pale blue... Isn't that nice..." They're grey, Daeus thought, but only I'd know that from the countless times I've stared into them.

"I told you to get away m**********r."

"As you wish, w***e." He flung her head backwards. It leaned back to such an extent that Daeus thought the man had just snapped her neck. He was losing someone close to him again, and he didn't want that to happen. He focused on Cala, and was extremely relieved when he saw her chest rise and fall.

The man stared at her chest as well. Then, his hand touched her collarbone and found its way into her shirt. Daeus wanted to kill the man for putting his filthy hands on her. He noticed that she was crying. The man sat down in her lap. Then he put his filthy mouth on hers. Daeus was ready to kill him. Cala struggled a little.

"If you struggle, it won't be as fun..." The man said. Daeus shuffled into a corner while the man leaned in for another filthy thing to do. Daeus pulled out his gun and dropped it. The man froze and waited a bit before getting off of Cala. Daeus silently made his way over behind the man.

"Who's there?" the man asked to nothing, sounding terrified.

"Your death..." Daeus said. The man turned around and attempted a punch, but Daeus was too quick, and he dodged it swiftly, grabbing a hold of his arm and putting him in a headlock, while spinning him to the ground and digging his knee into his back so he wouldn't get away. The man tried struggling, but it was no use to him.

"Who are you?" he managed with the limited amount of air that was getting to his lungs.

"Can't tell you, sorry..." He knew he had to put away his concern for Cala to be clearheaded so he could fight the man. "How about I ask you a question?"

"What do you want?" The man breathed.

"Are you working for the black market?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because your answer could save your life..." The thing was, Daeus already knew the answer.

Even though Cala was somewhat out of it, she could tell that Daeus was around, and that he was going to save her. She hadn't seen him acting so dark before, but it was probably because he wasn't at ease with her in pain.

"Yes..."

"Sorry, but that wasn't what I was looking for..." he informed the man, hauling him up to his feet by his hair and wrapping his arm around his neck. Arc had already answered him, telling him that he was able to identify him by his voice, and that he was in fact Olek Romanyuk.

"What the f**k is that supposed to mean?"

"I'm going to kill you for touching her, you piece of filth." Daeus tightened his grip around the mans neck. Twelve long seconds went by before his body went limp. He let go of the man and made his way over to Cala. He found her head and held it with both hands.

"Cala, Cala, Cala, Cala..." He already had tears in his eyes. She wasn't responding. He pressed back the tears. "You're safe now Cala, I'm here..."

Cala heard his voice and was snapped back into reality. She heard him tell her that she was safe now that he was here. She smiled faintly.

"Daeus..." she whispered. The room was pitch black since the candles had gone out when the man had died. His hopes went up when he heard her call his name.

"I was scared I was going to lose you too..." It was only while watching the other man rape her that he realized why he wanted to protect her so much. And it wasn't just because she was his partner in the CIA. He loved her, but because of what he had done five months ago, he wasn't able to tell her. He could feel her breath, meaning that his face was inches from hers. He took his chance.

Cala knew that he was really close again, closer than ever. But this time, she wanted to get even closer, to feel even more secure. She felt something soft and warm touch her lips. She let her eyes close. Daeus was kissing her, expressing himself. And she loved him for that. She kissed him back, but lightly.

"Um... Daeus..." he heard Arc's voice in his hear. "You might want to take out your contacts..." He pulled away from her.

"Ah, s**t..." he mumbled, blushing. She wasn't surprised when he pulled back. In fact, she was sort of expecting it. Arc had probably told him something. She felt his hands at her ankles, untying her from the chair. He finished her feet and began untying her wrists.

"No..." she said.

"What's wrong?" he stopped.

"Don't untie my wrists Daeus..." He let go and found himself exactly where he was before, breathing her air.

"Why not? We have to leave, don't we?"

"It's better this way..." She was confusing him.

"What?" He untied one of her wrists.

"Don't leave me Daeus..." she muttered. That was all he understood. She started murmuring some things to herself. He had to get even closer to understand her. Arc was smart enough to turn off his end of the line.

"I'm not going anywhere... Why are you concerned about me leaving?" He cupped her head between his hands again. She didn't want him to leave, nor did she want to leave this place. She was perfectly fine right were she was, with Daeus, their faces an inch apart. But even then she could be happier.

Really all she wanted to do was kiss him, over and over and over again, and maybe get carried away and do God knows what, but as long as his lips were on hers, she was peaceful.

She stuck out her neck an inch further and their lips met again. She had taken him off guard, and she was proud of that. They kissed each other, over and over, just like she wanted, but it wasn't enough.

She wanted him even closer, and the only way to do that, was to pull him closer. She put her free hand on his head and pulled him closer, letting out a long, deep moan. She hadn't noticed that he had managed to untie her other wrist until she realized that her both her arms were wrapped around his head. She pulled back.

"You untied me..." she said, disappointed.

"We have to go..." he answered. The way he said it made Cala think he was hating himself. He started to stand up when she yanked on his neck, stopping him.

"Wait."

"Now what?"

"Are you drunk?"

He frowned. "No..."

"Thank god..."

A moment passed before she stood up. "Why did you ask?" he said, holding her hand.

"You were drunk last time... Franz told my why you were drunk... And I want you to promise me that you won't die..."

He pulled her into a hug, protecting her with his arms. "I'm not going to die... Not while you're around... I've tried to kill myself before... Not once, but 35 times..." He let go of her, keeping an arm around her so they could walk out somewhat safely, scooping up his gun in the meantime.

"Turns out the fish I caught is a crazy suicidal one that loves me..." Cala muttered under her breath. Daeus heard her and smiled, but his bubble of happiness was burst by his training.

He heard someone talk and was suddenly in survival mode, holding up his gun. "Come on, we have to go, now." He started pulling her along. She winced at the sudden tug and pulled back.

"I'm bleeding you idiot," she said, leaning on the wall and clutching her middle. It hasn't gotten better, and blood started to seep through her fingers. Daeus realized that she couldn't continue on her own, so her walked over and scooped her up, holding her in a bridal and breaking into a run.

"We're gonna have to take a break after this..." he said while jogging out of the house.

"That's a good idea..." she answered as he dodged a swarm of bullets. The next thing he knew, she had passed out, and he had to hurry to treat he wound.