CHAPTER ONE

No matter how much contact her gun had, it would never get warm until it was fired. Her cheek was pressed against the cool metal, her skin recoiling ever so slightly at the chill spreading down her spine. She peered through the scope of the sniper and whispered, "I have a visual."

Her right ear buzzed with static until her teammate's voice rang loud and clear. "Copy that, switching you over." The scope atop the gun changed from a view of the exterior of the remote home to an interior, where she could easily see the man inside sitting at his desk.

"He's in position, send the call through." The Bluetooth receiver in her left ear switched on and began calling the man inside. It rang twice before he stood to answer, his left hand resting inside the pocket of his black slacks.

"Hello?"

His eyebrows were scrunched together in confusion until her voice came through the other side. "Marcus? It's Daisy—from the bar."

"Yeah, Daisy with the blonde hair and blue dress. You know, you are one of the first women I have ever met who has been able to out drink me, get three bullseyes in a row in darts, and still discuss the foreign policies of America using complete and coherent sentences." His smile was evident in his words, not just on his face, and if "Daisy" wasn't about to kill him, she might have actually been charmed.

"What can I say, I'm a woman of many talents," she laughed, her grip tightening on the sniper in her hands. "And, because you are obviously impressed with them, I was hoping you would be interested in going on a date with me."

His pacing around the room ceased as his smile grew wider. "What did you have in mind?"

"Wherever a politician goes, I suppose." He moved two steps to his right, immediately in her line of fire.

"That depends on what you're looking for. You see, if you're interested in-" Two shots, inaudible, but the thud Marcus O'Malley made as he hit the ground was loud and clear.

She packed up her gun and started running to the van five hundred yards from her position, her boots hardly making a sound on the fallen leaves. "Marcus? Marcus, did you fall? Is everything okay?" The line went dead, confirming the blood pooling from his body had reached his phone and lost connection.

"Okay, Red, you're now calling nine-one-one," the voice said into her right ear, and immediately her left ear started ringing again.

The black van was just coming into her line of sight when she heard a click, and someone picked up her distress call. "Nine-one-one, what's your emergency?"

The hysteria in her voice was well practiced—whether from personal experience or years of training, she wasn't sure. "I was just on the phone with this guy, and then he suddenly just stopped talking, and I tried calling his name, but then the line went dead, and I just want to know if he's okay."

"Ma'am, I need you to calm down, alright? What was his name?"

"Marcus, Marcus O'Malley." The doors to the van were open and Red jumped and slid into the back of the vehicle. Two men closed the doors and hit the roof, signaling to the driver they were ready to go. Red started stripping out of her tacsuit and into a pair of leggings after she handed the larger of the two men the sniper she used.

A crash sounded as the phone in the operator's hand fell when her grip suddenly went slack. "The Senator?"

Red pulled her auburn hair into a flesh colored cap as the van bumped through the back roads, trying to put as much distance between the house and itself as possible. "Yes. We really hit it off and-"

"We will send a notice to his security and send a squad car out immediately. Thank you for your call." The woman hung up on the assassin, and she scoffed as she took out her Bluetooth receiver and switched it out with an actual phone handed to her by the smaller of the two men in the van.

"That was cutting it, Red, even for you. Security was just switching positions when you fired, you couldn't have been any closer." He had glasses that were constantly being pushed back onto his nose, but they helped shape his deeply tanned face, a benefit of growing up in Mexico, as he constantly reminded the light-skinned woman in front of him.

"I knew what I was doing, Medina, and it's still going to plan. How far out are they from my 'apartment?'" A blonde wig was secured over the cap and held into place with bobby pins, then a pair of earbuds were inserted into the smartphone that was in a side pocket of her leggings.

"Ten minutes. You'll jog up just as they're pulling in front of the building." Her smirk grew wide as he muttered, "Just like we planned." He handed her a house key, which she placed on the inside of her gray sports bra. "Your roommate, Janice, is your witness, give them the number for her in your phone. And when they offer to take you home—"

"Refuse, I know, Matt. I have done this before." They were coming through the city and stopped at a red light.

"Been interrogated? I thought Hydra tried to not have its agents constantly face law enforcement."

"They should have thought of that before deciding to grow inside one of the world's most prevalent government agencies." They pulled through an alley with another black van and a woman dressed exactly the same as Red. The driver and bulky man in the back got out and started switching the license plates as the other woman stepped into the van. "And no, Matt, I've never been interrogated before. But I have killed a man. Beth." Red winked at the woman, slipped out the back door, put her headphones in, and jogged to the building she currently lived in, leaving Matt Medina shaking his head.

As planned, a black and white squad car pulled in front of the building just as Red jogged around the corner. "I'm sorry," one of the officers stopped her and she removed one of her headphones, "Are you Daisy Quill?"

She took out her earbuds completely. "Yes."

"You need to come with us, ma'am, we have to ask you a few questions."

"Do you have any news on Marcus?" Her eyes flicked between the two officers now in front of her, and she could tell by their facial expressions Mr. O'Malley was dead. Her hand covered her mouth as she inhaled sharply. "No."

"We're sorry, ma'am. But we need you to come with us." Red nodded mutely as she climbed into the back seat of the squad car, the black bars unknowingly already holding the culprit.

"When did you meet Mr. O'Malley?" The two officers that had picked up Red left as soon as they dropped her in the interrogation room. After a few minutes, a burly detective in tailored slacks and a white button up, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, walked through the windowless door.

"Last night. I went to 'Nellie's' after work, and he walked in a while after I did." She kept her arms wrapped over her exposed abdomen. "I was talking to the bartender and playing darts, then he approached me and asked if he could join."

"And you said yes?"

She nodded. "We started talking, and he was really interested in my job."

"Where do you work?"

"It's called 'New Beginnings,' it's a non-profit to help immigrants speed up the process of becoming citizens."

"Senator O'Malley would be interested in that," he chuckled as he made scratched away on his notepad with his ballpoint pen. "Why did you call Mr. O'Malley today?"

"I asked him out on a date."

"You two must have really hit it off last night, huh? Where were you when you called him?"

"I was on a run. I stop at the park on Sixth most mornings, so that's where I called him."

"And when he didn't respond?"

"I started running back to my apartment as I called nine-one-one. I stopped running when I ran out of breath, then the operator hung up on me and I kept running again."

"You have anyone that can verify that for you?"

"Uh, yes, one of my roommates, Janice, she left for work around the same time. And I was just getting back when the two officers picked me up."

He marked down her words, then slid the notepad and pen in her direction. "If you wouldn't mind, would you put your roommate's number down here? Just for verification."

"Of course." Red slid her thumb over the home button and opened the contacts app, clicked on the name 'Janice,' then copied down the number onto the pad of paper. "Is there anything else I can do to help, Detective?"

He opened the door and held it for her, his unforgiving gaze scouring her body. "We'll call you if we have any more questions. I'll grab my keys and give you a ride home." He made a move to grab his jacket, but Red shook her head.

"Thank you, Detective, but I'd prefer to run." She gave him a smile before turning on her heel and walking out the door of the D.C. Precinct. She put in her earbuds and ran in the general direction of her "apartment" before stopping outside a coffee shop and walked in. "Matthew, always a pleasure." The Latino stood from his spot in the corner booth and closed his laptop. "How did I do?"

He followed her out of the shop and they continued up the sidewalk. "They called Janice as soon as you left, and her story held up. Another officer called your representative at New Beginnings and you were recognized as a stellar employee. And now they're looking to see if they can spot you on any security cameras."

"And all they'll see is Beth," Red said with a smile. "I love this wig."

"It has, apparently, all gone according to plan. Keep up your routine, yeah? You'll get a call when you're in the clear." Matt turned down a different street and winked at the assassin before she kept running "home."

The apartment she and "Janice" were staying wasn't their real apartment. Three days after the murder of Senator Marcus O'Malley, his ex-wife was arrested with substantial evidence stacked against her. That same day, "Janice" and "Daisy" terminated their contracts and moved out of their apartment. They packed their bags and took the train from their cover to their real apartment.

Matthew Medina and a large black man were crowded around a chess board on the coffee table. Matt was seated on the floor while the other man was on the couch. Matt sat back smugly as he watched the man rub his chin and jaw, concentration etched in the lines of his forehead. "Lavon, you're not letting him beat you, are you?"

"Lizbeth, I don't let anyone do anything to me. If Matt is going to beat me, it'll be fair and square." His calloused hands picked the rook and drew it across the board, effectively taking Matt's bishop, but leaving his queen open for the taking.

"It won't be hard," Red snickered as she sat in one of the armchairs facing the couch, the board on full display. "You're terrible at chess, Lavon."

"I'd like to see you do better, West." He stood from the couch and extended his hand to his previously occupied seat, which she gladly took. He switched spots with her and leaned forward on his elbows, observing intently.

"You didn't give me much to work with." She looked up from the board at Matt. "Am I allowed to take back his move and make my own?"

"No," he smirked, "learn to live with other people's mistakes." He leaned back, content after taking his opponent's queen.

She sighed and blew her hair out of her face, then stood and looked at the board from above, each piece visible. Lizbeth sat on the couch with an amused smile on her face, the spectacle in front of her almost too much to handle with a straight face. Ruby turned the board so Matt's white pieces were on her side, and she looked at it again. Then a smile spread on her lips. She continued to look at the board, her smile growing wider.

Lavon rolled his eyes at the lack of progress being made. "How was the mission?"

"I had to pretend to have a day job, do you know how boring that was?"

"You mean you find training to kill people more entertaining than sitting at a desk all day?" Matt laughed. "Never would have guessed."

Lizbeth made a face at him then grabbed her bag and turned to her room. "Whatever. I'm going to get drunk tonight, anyone want to join me?"

"You going to come home, Beth?" Lavon asked, his eyes still on the board.

"I've been gone a week, I can stand one more night." She smirked. "You coming, Lavon?"

He stood and stretched his arms, his fingertips grazing the ceiling. "Sure. Ruby? Matt?"

"I'll come if Ruby ever makes a move," the Latino complained, a slight accent coming out as he grew more frustrated.

Ruby West did not usually maliciously defeat someone in a game. But Matt was asking for it. "Count me in, Beth." She moved her bishop three spaces. "Checkmate." Ruby grabbed her own bag. "Let me get changed."

"That can't be legal!" Matt yelled as everyone exited into their rooms, his exasperated expression not noticed by anyone.

They chose a bar almost ten blocks from their apartment—the farther the better. They were all dressed in black, "the color of a quick escape," as Lavon put it. Ruby laughed and corrected him, saying he just liked the way those jeans made his ass look.

"Never would have guessed you were a techie, Matt," Beth teased as she sashayed past him and to the bar. "You're not leaving much to the imagination."

Matt laughed as she took a sip from her classic martini, "Neither are you, Liz. If that skirt was any shorter you'd be arrested for public nudity." The bartender gave him his drink and he nodded at her before tasting it. "Okay, who are you going for?"

"Other than you?" Beth laughed at the appalled look on Matt's face. "I'm kidding, calm down." She scanned the club and her eye caught on a tall black man. "Him."

Matt followed her gaze as he took another drink of his whiskey. "How long will it take you?"

She scoffed as she grabbed her drink from the counter. "Please, in this outfit? Ten minutes." Matt looked at his watch and nodded, keeping track as Lizbeth made her way across the dance floor. She passed Ruby and Lavon dancing in a group of strangers and stood beside him, her arm almost touching his. "Want to dance?"

He gave her a once over, his mouth firmly shut. "You are looking for something tonight, and I can guarantee it's not me, sweetheart. Sorry." As he spoke Beth focused on the small gap between his teeth. She was disappointed when he walked away, but not deterred from her final goal. She shook her head at Matt and joined him again. They stood in silence and scoped out the possibilities as Ruby stepped off the dance floor, her maroon wig swishing in its ponytail.

"Rum and coke, please," Ruby said to the waiting bartender. She noticed a man slide beside her but hoped he would just get his drink and leave. She was never that lucky.

"I'll have what she's having." His breath reeked of stale beer, but he obviously wasn't done for the night, because he got uncomfortably close. "How are you doing, sweetheart?"

"A lot better before you got here." She gave him a sickly sweet smile and turned away, but his beefy hands gripped her bicep. "Let go of me."

His teeth were splattered with coffee stains and his hands were sweaty. "What are you gonna do, sweetheart?" He pulled her in close, her drink almost spilling over the edge of the glass.

She stomped on his foot with her heel, his grip going slack on her arm. She grabbed a ring dagger from the waist of her black biker jeans and pointed it at his throat. His eyes grew wide at the sight of the blade and he shot his hands up in surrender. She finished the drink in her left hand and slammed the glass on the counter. "It's on him." She walked away from the scene through the crowd congregated around the pair of them, but he had to open his mouth.

"You're just gonna pull a knife on me and expect to walk away?" A glass shattered right by her head on the doorframe, a small shard barely cutting her cheekbone.

"Sweetheart," she said as she wiped the blood away. Even the music had stopped playing. "If you're going to throw a glass at me," Ruby spun and threw the dagger, the blade catching in his shoulder, "learn how to aim first." She stepped through the crowd again, ripped the dagger out of his shoulder, and wiped the blood off on his shirt. "And make sure you know who you're throwing at." The crowd cleared for her that time, and she walked through the door, the cut on her cheekbone just starting to clot.

The bell jingled once more as she walked down the sidewalk, the wind chilling her exposed abdomen. "Wait up!" It wasn't one of her roommates. "Hey, wait up." He jogged and caught up to match her lengthy strides. "I just have to say, that was awesome."

"What, the fact that I defended myself or the fact that I didn't need your help?" she replied bitterly.

"The fact that you hit him in the part of the cephalic vein connected to the thoracoacromial artery was most impressive to me, but I guess those work, too." He had a light smile on his lips as he appraised the woman beside him. "I'm Sam."

Ruby stopped walking and stared at the hand stretched out to her. "I just threw a ring dagger at a man and you're not scared I'll do the same to you?"

"Nope."

She lifted an eyebrow in skepticism at him but shook his hand anyway. "Ruby."

"Where you headed, Ruby?"

"Home. I don't feel like living with any consequences tonight." Her pace picked up ever so slightly as the wind continued to blow. Ruby was starting to regret how much skin she let show, but the goal of the night was to be so warm with alcohol she couldn't feel the bitter chill. It clearly did not go according to plan.

"I know you don't need my help, or any help for that matter, but mind if I walk you? Being attacked is kind of unnerving." Sam's hands were tucked into the pockets of his dark jacket and his tone was genuine.

Ruby's lips turned up ever so slightly. "Sure. Thanks." Her strides shortened as she slowed down, lengthening the time she spent with the dark-skinned man with a gap between his two front teeth

"So, what made you choose maroon?"

Her black painted nails toyed with the end of the synthetic strands. "It's different. I just wanted to be somebody else for a while." Ruby flicked them back behind her. "Didn't make much of a difference, the same Ruby I've been for twenty-eight years came out anyway."

"Yeah, how did you learn how to do that?" he laughed, the memory coming back to him.

"I'm really good at darts," Ruby laughed back. "Guess it finally came in handy." She stopped outside a building, pretending it was hers. She couldn't take him back to her real apartment, not when it was covered with guns and knives and painted with lies. "This is me."

"Here," Sam took out a pen and wrote his number on a receipt he had in his wallet, "in case you want to show off your dart skills." Ruby took the paper with a smile then walked into the apartment building, giving Sam a light wave as he walked away.

She waited ten minutes before walking back outside and finishing the walk to her apartment, Sam's number already entered in her phone.