It could have been anywhere, really, as far as Riya was concerned. Cities all began to look alike after long enough, and she could have easily placed the buildings and greenery in another town, another country, another continent.

What made this particular trip unusual, however, was not the location. It was not her objective here, her mission, her contract. It was not Thoth seated beside her in the luxurious chaffeured sedan that drove them to her safehouse, a condominium in a secluded part of town.

No, what distinguished this journey from any other was the third person accompanying them, seated across the way and looking idly out of the window through tinted shades.

Alejandro de Altamira. Ejan was here.

More than a month had passed since their encounter in Hiroshima, even longer after their first meeting in that tiny, dank flat in Hong Kong. Riya had healed slowly, first in Lyon, then in Seattle, and while contracts came and contracts went, Ejan continued to leave dossiers and little gifts wherever she traveled.

This time he had insisted upon accompanying them, for a variety of reasons that Riya had not listened to. It didn't matter, because he would have followed anyway, and whether he stayed in a hotel or in her safehouse was all the same to her. More secure, it was, to keep him close; Hiroshima's mishap still weighed heavily upon her mind, even after all this time, and Riya was in the mindset to keep her partner close and her enemies in plain sight.

As she sat there in the dark confines of the sedan, she watched him, surveying him through flat, empty eyes and trying to decide whether or not he could be considered an enemy.

Riya had long ago given up on the futile idea of avoiding him. They could have, she and Thoth, if they really tried, but he was the one supplying them with the means to kill and the wealth that came with it. Dodging him would have proven an unnecessary hassle, one she did not want to exert the effort to attempt. Besides, he was always polite, and if his regular presence ever annoyed her unduly, Riya managed to hide it.

Thoth, however, made no effort to mask her intense hatred for the Wolf, and it was exactly for that reason that Riya allowed him to continue seeing them.

It was amusing, to put it simply. For that alone she would have tolerated his visits, solely to see Thoth fume and glare, and when he finally left, to listen to her rant and rave. Riya shook with silent laughter during Thoth's tirades, entertained by the elaborate threats of death and inexplicably touched by her partner's overprotective promises of torture and murder.

As fervently as she might to deny it, however, she was also growing accustomed to him. He seemed a dependable thing, and she appreciated the unwavering deference he treated her with. Riya did not tolerate very many people, but the longer Ejan stayed, the less inclined she was to dispose of him.

He had wealth far greater than her own, but he enjoyed it in the same manner; never flaunting it, just living in comfortable luxury. While it gave Riya great pleasure to surprise Thoth with outrageously expensive presents and weapons, she had never been one to be pampered herself, and Ejan took it upon himself to fill that role. When she realized that he would neither go away nor desist from leaving little gifts for her, she sulked for days, but he always returned with another surprise, and like a small child she could never resist for long.

Even his reserve matched her own as they drove through the streets of Berlin, and it was Thoth who alternated between staring out the window and pouting to herself whenever she looked at Ejan seated nearby. Riya did a passable job of diverting Thoth's attention to other things, and she played the tour guide, giving her partner another focus as she pointed out the different sights along the way. It helped pass the time, and when they finally stopped outside the entrance to this week's home, not one single death threat had been made, and Riya was surprisingly pleased to find that no one had been injured.

By now he had learned not to offer them help, and Riya hoisted bags from the back of the sedan, handing a few to Thoth before retrieving her own. Ejan's she left, and he picked them up himself, following a few paces behind as they made their way to the front door. A few keys, a few swipes at the security system, and it wasn't more than a few minutes later that they stood inside the dusty living room of her safehouse and looked around.

Thoth sneezed. Ejan succeeding in refraining from such an action, and Riya just regarded her two pets with happiness in her eyes. "It will take a little cleaning," she conceded unnecessarily, leading them down a hallway and pointing out rooms. "Thoth, here. My room is adjacent." She nodded toward Ejan, then up at the ceiling, and he understood her wordless order and marched upstairs to find his own quarters.

Later, when everything was arranged, cleaned, and satisfactory to Riya's rather picky sense of organization, she suggested dinner. It felt oddly familiar and frighteningly comfortable, to conduct life in such a manner; had anyone ever asked Riya if she thought she'd grow to endure two companions, she certainly would have been offended, but when she closed the door behind them and reset the alarm, that was exactly what she was thinking.

Berlin was their newest destination of choice. But this trip proved to be different. Ejan was here. Why he was here was still left to be determined. They didn’t need him. They were partners. For once in her relationship with Riya, something drastic happened: Riya spoke and Minerva remained quiet. If only Hale was here to see this latest development. He wouldn’t believed it if he saw it. She didn’t know what to do with herself in the car. She alternated from staring out the window to glaring at Ejan and then glancing at Riya in that, “what the hell is going on” look that started to become a staple of her facial expressions. Riya continued her verbal tour of Berlin, but slowly Minerva’s mind began to wander to more pleasant thoughts: What would Ejan look like with no ears?

They arrived at the condo, though it seemed Riya hadn’t been here in many years. She sneezed as she went in and thought about all the work that would have to be done to get it bearable. Riya walked them through the house quickly.

“Thoth, here. My room is adjacent.”

Adjacent? Minerva didn’t like the word ‘adjacent.’ They had always stayed in the same room. Since command school. She would not tolerate sleeping by herself. And she had to make sure Ejan didn’t try any funny business. She wouldn’t mention it now, but later she would talk to Riya.

After some cleaning, Riya suggested dinner. Minerva was hungry, but she preferred to stay in a room with Riya…alone…without ‘soon to be earless Ejan’ snooping around. Going out to dinner would only make him feel welcome. He probably thought they were a family now. Minerva made no vote as to go out or not, for she knew her suggestion would be vetoed. She quietly followed her to the car, keeping herself in between Ejan and Riya, waiting for that moment when Ejan would show his true colors and attack. Minerva was ready for anything he had to offer. He was not as smart as he thought he was.

They went to a small German café with mostly American food. Ejan took it upon himself to be friendly to the group. He spoke only to Riya, of course. Slowly but surely, Minerva grew more and more pissed off. He was deliberately ignoring her! She didn’t want Ejan to speak to her, but she did want Riya to acknowledge her existence. Minerva finally pivoted her chair so that it mostly faced Riya and began speaking, interrupting their conversation in mid sentence.

“I need new throwing knives”
Riya stared at her a moment.

“And why is that?”

“My old ones are getting dull. The balance isn’t quite right either. I need new throwing knives.”

“We will find you some new knives shortly.”

“Can we go now?”

“We have not finished eating. Be patient, Thoth.”

Minerva glared, only this time at Riya. Could this be possible? Could Riya actually enjoy the company of this idiot? She gritted her teeth and stared at her hamburger in front of her. She had suddenly lost her appetite. Her mind wandered once more.

I know that you are displeased, Thoth, but you will not throw a tantrum in front of the Wolf. There is work to be done.

The other girl continued to fume and glare her way through dinner, but Riya paid her little mind, concentrating instead on her own food and the careful calculations running through her head. There was much to plan; Ejan's newest assignment was proving to be difficult, even for her, and she could not afford distractions. It was for this reason that she was going to leave them both behind.

Of course, she hadn't yet told Thoth that there would be no accompanying her on this mission. That was a detail best left until the last minute, when Thoth wouldn't have time to shoot first and pout later.

They finished with their meal and made their way back to the condominium, Riya leading, Ejan in tow, and Thoth sulking somewhere behind them both. When Ejan went upstairs to retrieve his briefcase, Thoth cornered her in the hallway, and Riya patiently waited for what she was sure would be fireworks.

"I'm staying with you." She'd even gotten all her bags from her room, and threw them onto Riya's bed with a defiant gesture. Riya waited, but Thoth didn't do anything more but cross her arms and try to look determined. "Is that all?"

"I said, I'm staying with you." Oh. That was all. She had been expecting a tirade against Ejan; in the face of this relatively simple demand, she just shrugged. "Very well."

Her easy compliance made Thoth goggle and then grin, and Riya conveniently didn't tell the girl that she was leaving that night. It was a little battle, and she let Thoth win it, in the hopes of dissuading any further fights tonight.

Ejan returned with the dossier, and they settled around the kitchen table to pore over the paperwork and surveillance photos. Thoth kept asking questions, and Riya quickly made up lies as to their mutual involvement in the contract. When Ejan caught one particularly noticeable discrepancy, Riya just fixed him with a flat stare, and he didn't bother to voice his concern. She hoped that he would keep his comments to himself until she was safely away; then he and Thoth could speculate all they wanted about her methods, but at least she wouldn't have to listen to them.

Time dragged on; eventually Thoth went to pack her gear, leaving Riya and Ejan alone in the kitchen. Riya took a deep breath and propped her elbows on the table, her expression suddenly less restrained and her eyes tired after reading for so many hours. When the sounds of Thoth happily loading her guns echoed from the back bedroom and assured her that they would not be overhead, Riya leaned back in her chair and looked to Ejan.

Once Riya was gone, Thoth ceased any small effort she'd been making to be courteous and iced over completely. He attempted to start a conversation twice. Each time his query was met by a cold glare and silence, and eventually he got tired of her frosty manner and went to the other room to stare at the phone instead.

He'd been avoiding his older sister since their fight in Japan, but the time apart was beginning to tax him. Aryn annoyed the hell out of him; she was overbearing and dense and wholly irritating, but she was the only real family he had, and it wasn't comfortable to have her angry at him for a long period of time. He had no doubt she was still furious from their last encounter. Would be it such a defeat to be the first to offer an olive branch?

She was used to waking up and having Riya not there. She was usually making breakfast or at the store. However, today they would start their mission, so she excepted Riya to be close at hand. She rolled out of bed and quickly wrapped a robe around herself. She despised having Ejan there purely for the modest factor. She first went into the kitchen, then the living room, the upstairs, the garage…everywhere. Riya was nowhere. After a couple minutes, Ejan came downstairs.

"Where is she?"

There was a pause from Ejan as he stared at her.

"She’s gone. She wanted you to stay here."

Minerva glared at him for another moment, looking into his eyes. Was he lying? Was this a joke of some sort? For a moment she thought it was merely a prank, but quickly realized that he was serious. She hesitantly moved away for a second, still looking at him, then quickly broke her glance and jogged from one corner of the condo to the next. She searched every closet, every room. But she was gone, and so was all her gear. The weapons, the communication devices, the scanning gear was all missing.

She started to grab her own things, prepared to find her, until she realized that she had no idea where Riya had gone. Trying to find her could even jeopardize the mission. She went back into the living room where Ejan was obviously waiting for her to return. Whatever nice bone had been left in her body quickly broke.

"This is all your fault. I should be there! I’m her partner! You are not. If she does not return, you are dead. I will kill you. And it will be painful."

- - - -

Minerva tried to find some way to pass the time. She wandered the house aimlessly for many hours. A couple times Ejan attempted to talk to her. She couldn’t speak to him. He was foolish to think that she would not kill him just for being annoying. She finally locked herself in the bedroom and prepared to clean all of her guns and knives. This could take many hours to do properly and she figured it was a productive way to pass the time.

The crash that followed a few minutes later made him look up, but when nothing else happened he decided it was probably better to let her throw a tantrum by herself than to interrupt it and have her take her abandonment out on him.

He contacted Eric to pass the time and to catch up on business. Eric obediently informed him of everything he needed to know, but there was a hesitance to his voice that caught Ejan's attention. After making some subtle probes and getting nothing for it, Ejan asked him right out.

"What is it, Eric?"

There was a pause as Eric obviously searched for the proper words. "Sir, there's been some discussion of you in the council." When Ejan said nothing, he continued. "There are a few council members who are concerned about your...current assignment." His voice dropped lower. "Your sister was quite vocal about her disapproval, sir. Noir draws a good deal of the de Altamira funds for the work she does. The council wishes to ascertain the nature of the services she provides you does not extend past the people she removes." The silence continued, and at last Eric spoke again. "Sir...I think you'd better come home and straighten this out. Before it gets any worse."

So the council thinks I'm paying for a woman with their money.

His first reaction was to dismiss the council for interfering with his private life, but money didn't mean everything. The council depended upon the de Altamiras for a considerable sum of money and resources, but there was no reason for them to keep Ejan and Aryn around when one of them was so much more dedicated than the other. Ejan doubted that Aryn would continue to assist them if they had him killed, but it would be easy enough for them to convince her that Riya had done it. That would fit perfectly into her not-unreasonable world of fears, and it made Ejan uncomfortable enough to give Eric's suggestion merit.

"Then get me a nine o' clock flight to Madrid. I'll be at the airport in an hour."

Where the fuck is he?

She didn’t care for the idea of not knowing where he was. To be a good Legion agent, she must know where all her enemies are at all times. She decided she would sneak upstairs to make sure he was in his room and that he wasn’t getting into trouble.

She made her way up the stairs but the door to his room was open…and dark. No one was inside. His clothes and belongings were gone. Minerva quickly ran down the hall checking every room: bathrooms, closets, offices. The downstairs. Even her and Riya’s bedroom. He was nowhere.

Minerva had only felt panic like this once in her life: when Riya had left her at IF Command. Now she did not know where Riya was, and the one person who knew where she had left to was also missing. For all she knew, Ejan was going to meet up with Riya. Paranoid thoughts fled through her brain: Perhaps Riya had left her permanently…maybe she chose Ejan as her new partner. She left her once, she could do it again. Maybe Riya was in trouble and Ejan had betrayed them all. He really was the asshole she knew he was.

Whatever way it was, there would be hell to pay.
-----------------

The next day passed slowly. Minerva considered leaving, but she did not know Berlin at all. She didn’t even know if she could call someone. The only plan she was able to work out was that if Riya had indeed left her for Ejan, she could call the Fleet and tell them she had been held captive. They would most likely reinstate her. She had the shot wound to lend some credibility.

In the meantime she watched TV…cleaned her guns…ate a lot of food. She knew of nothing else to do. Night finally came and she contemplated going to sleep early. She got up to grab yet another bowl of ice cream when a sound of screeching tires came from the front of the house. She grabbed both of her guns and ran to the wall next to the window. She peaked her head over slightly to see Riya walking up the driveway. Minerva quickly holstered her guns and ran to the door. She was furious when she opened it, but the look on Riya’s face obviously told Minerva that she did not know the whole story. Riya patted her on the arm she walked in.

“I’m going to Madrid. Alone.”

Minerva paused for a moment and stared at Riya.

“The hell you are.”

“Do not fight with me Thoth. It has been a long day.”

“Let me cue you into a little of what has been my personal hell, shall we? Where were you!? You leave me with Ejan and then he leaves and I have no idea where you are or if you’re dead! No, you are not going to Madrid alone. I am going with you because we are partners. PARTNERS!”

She touched her fingertips to her temple as she listened to Thoth fume over her absence, feeling too guilty to disagree. The girl was right. She'd left, Ejan had left, and Thoth had been alone. It was dangerous. Legion or not, Riya had enemies, which meant Thoth had enemies... and Riya could not conscience letting Thoth get killed.

Speaking of, it would certainly be a danger to bring Thoth with her to Madrid. If she knew of the contract on Ejan, she'd want to kill him herself. If the Wolves knew she'd brought a Legion along, they'd want to kill both of them. Tired, confused, and certainly not possessing the disposition necessary to coddle and reassure her partner, Riya narrowed her eyes at the other girl and did her best to be calm.

"You are staying. I will not take you with me." Thoth's face turned red, but when she opened her mouth to protest, Riya laid a finger on her chin and shook her head. "Do not disagree. I do this only to keep you safe. I must go, to see the Wolves. If you accompany me, they will surely be displeased. I do not wish for you to be at risk. Do you understand me?"

Thoth managed a nod, and Riya sighed. "Then I will go tonight. You will stay here. There is food enough, and you will be safe. I will return. I promise."

I... I did not kill him. Why? Why did he do such a thing, and why did I leave him alive?

To those questions, she had no answers.

Her thoughts were in a turmoil and her driving just a reflection of her inner discord, as she dodged erratically through traffic, nearly clipping other cars and running red lights without notice. It was like the night in Hiroshima, the night she'd been wounded, and just like then Riya's incomprehension destroyed her reserve and left her vulnerable.

Four million, or a kiss. And I did not kill him for either!

Anger was simpler, more easy to accept than the feel of his lips on hers, and Riya buried her disbelief in favor of fury. How dare he?! How dare he lay hands on her, on Kuniyo Sayuri Kinoshita, on Agent Noir?! How dare he cost her a contract, four million dollars, and the cold indifference she worked so hard to maintain?!

Should he dare to approach me again, I will kill him. There will be no hesitation this time. There will be nothing.

She left Madrid.

Her phone rang as she slept aboard the private jet, and a steward finally woke her with a worried frown. "Miss? There is a call for you." Riya returned his frown with her own version of irritation, which was nothing more than a brief flash in her eyes. "Very well."

"You have left Spain. Is it done?"

"No."

"No? Were there complications?"

"No."

"...then may I ask what happened, Noir?"

"No." Riya was not feeling talkative.

"You must surely understand our concerns. If there were no complications, and yet no completion of duty, then what precisely has caused you to abandon this contract? It is four million dollars, Noir. You accepted."

"And now I have declined."

"May I ask why?"

"No."

"Yes, but Noir--"

"You will not question me."

The phone clicked as she hung up, and Riya closed her eyes again.

She arrived in Berlin some time later.

Thoth was instantly at the door the moment she pulled up to the curb, and she immediately began talking, saying things that Riya didn't hear and asking questions that Riya couldn't answer. It was only after she realized that there was something wrong did the girl finally pause in her barrage of talk, and Riya used the opportunity to make things clear.

"We are leaving immediately. Pack your bag, and retrieve your bike. Now."

Ten minutes later, and even Berlin was a memory.