Operation London (2 page)

In her bare feet Ava was about five feet five inches, very tall for Japan
. In her three-inch heels she would tower over everyone. They were red with complicated ties that wound up around her calves.

"I can figure out the code to crack into a secret Brazilian file
. I can manage shoe laces," she said to herself in frustration, fighting to control the ribbons. After ten minutes she came to terms with the complication of knots on her legs and decided she would go out and see if she could pull off her best performance in a while.

The heels threw her, sending her sashaying down the hallway like a drunken catwalk model
. She got control quickly and began to make her way to the elevator, clutching the small red silk purse that held her lipstick, her cell phone, and her .45. She could never be too sure.

A limo was waiting for her downstairs, to take her to the party site across town
. Once there she would need to find Hiroshi and mingle immediately. If she wasted much more time he would notice her absence. The limo sped by and Ava had time to reflect on the night's unusual occurrences. Harry had tried to make her feel at ease but she knew well enough that she had messed up substantially. There was no point in denying the fact that Tess McQueen was going to question her very place in the Division. All the flawless work in the world was useless once an agent messed up. Messing up could be a sign that the life was getting to you or that you had begun to focus on something else.

Ava couldn't imagine life lived in any other way
. She had been recruited into Division Lynx fresh out of college. Her incredible knowledge of languages had made her stand out, and when she was asked to take a test for the army her scores came back with interesting results; she had the moral and intellectual makeup for an agent. That was almost five years ago, and once Ava had joined she had never looked back. There was no man and no children in her life, and her mother and father supported her every decision. They were independent people who were certainly fine without having a daughter fussing over them. She had thrown herself into her new profession with a characteristic ferocity that impressed her superiors and colleagues. Until now.

The limo pulled up outside a gorgeous teahouse bursting with light and color. Orange paper lanterns swung on the breeze and soft music poured out from the wide-open wood doors
. Ava was helped out by a footman who seemed shocked by her height, then led into the heart of one of the liveliest parties in Tokyo.

Hiroshi spotted Ava immediately and hurried over to her, feeling excitement well up inside of him
. Despite her proper manners and demure giggles, he sensed something feral about her. She had moved to Japan just three months before and interviewed with Hiroshi. Not only was she a wonderful employee, she was a gorgeous sight to look at every morning upon arrival at work. Three months ago Hiroshi had promised himself he would have Kumiko this night, the night of his company's celebration.

He made his way across the floor, drawn by her vibrant color and cool attitude
. A man of great stature, he stood about six foot two and she came close to his height in her shoes. Grabbing her hand in his, he rubbed his thumbs against the skin on the back of her hands and kissed her cheek, catching the intoxicating musk of her skin as he did.

"Kumiko, I have been searching for you," he said as she pulled away from his embrace.

"Taro, what a wonderful party!" she said, giggling. Ava hated her role, but playing it right was an advantage, and a good agent knew to take every advantage she got.

"Come and meet some of my friends," he said, pulling her along with him.

"You are so kind, Taro! But I must use the ladies' room first," she said, smiling brightly and turning to find sanctuary. Hiroshi watched her retreat and felt his nerves stand on end. He would certainly have her tonight, he thought to himself.

The party had become a deafening roar of smiling faces, greetings and laughter
. Ava's shoes felt altogether too flimsy and her head was swimming already. She made her way to the black marble bathroom and managed to splash some water on her face.

"I'm at the hottest party in town and all I want to do is climb back in bed!" she laughed to her reflection
. Taking out the lipstick she applied the dark red color that emphasized her full lips careful not to activate the tiny camera inside. Smoothing her long honeyed hair back into place, she prepared to return to the party and meet Hiroshi face to face for a long night of pretty smiles and phony compliments. Pursing her bright lips as she left the bathroom Ava stumbled onto an ugly scene in the hallway.

A man and a woman were arguing, the woman keeping her voice low and nervous, the man cursing and shaking her, paying no attention to the surroundings
. He pushed her against the wall, crushing her wrists against the smooth black tiles and pressing himself into her thin body cruelly. For a moment Ava stared at the lovely woman adorned in a fine blue satin dress, her makeup prettily done in anticipation of a long night of fun. Who the hell did this guy think he was?  How dare he attack her like this? 

Fire filled Ava’s head, clouding her vision and sending her better sense to the side permanently
. Marching down the hall in her long heels she put one hand firmly on the man’s shoulder, crushing his fine black suit jacket beneath her fingernails and prepared to thrust the palm of her hand into his nose with the full force of her aggravation. He turned at her advance and she forced every muscle back down.

“Taro!” Ava cried, pasting a smile on her face rapidly
. Taro’s black eyes found her hand, still curled around his shoulder. He seemed to register confusion until his eyes found the face of the pouting woman crushed against the wall. Looking back at Ava and again at the woman his handsome mouth cracked into a wide grin. He jerked the woman to his side and offered his free arm to Ava with finesse.

“Ladies, let us join the party,” he smirked
.

Ava wanted to use physical brutality on this man in a desperate way
. Her attempt to teach him a lesson had been thwarted and the result fed his piggish ego in a way that sickened Ava to the core. But she had absolutely no choice. She could accept his arm or face his suspicion.

He walked out into the bright, decadent dance of lights in the ballroom, flanked by two lovely women and enjoying every ounce of attention his circumstances allotted him
. Especially since his being with another woman had seemed to bring gentle Kumiko’s blood to a boiling point. There was a real satisfaction in seeing her fired up, and those gray eyes brimming with hostile anger aroused a passion in him that would need immediate quenching. He moved one hand to find the firm curve of Kumiko’s buttocks and squeezed gently, possessively.

Ava felt the blood racing to her head as Hiroshi fondled her like his personal concubine
. To top off her aggravation, the man actually thought this kind of behavior turned her on. When she had looked at him in surprise he had squeezed harder and winked at her, smiling a dimpled smile that implied he knew her every desire. How far from the truth could a man get?  Did women honestly respond to this kind of animalistic display?  It took every shred of restraint to keep Ava from catching him in a chokehold and forcing him to apologize. She gritted her teeth and smiled, trying to keep her focus on putting on the best performance of her career.

Hiroshi led her to a table where he introduced her to his friends
. She surveyed the nervous collection of businessmen who laughed overly loud at every lame joke Hiroshi passed off. Most of what he said was sexist, some of it racist and all absolutely ignorant. Still Ava had to keep a smile plastered on her face and remember to rest her fingertips lightly on his hands when he spoke. She excused herself to go to the bar and made a call to Lynx Base using her earphone once she couldn't stand him anymore.

"It's Ava
. What have you got?"

"The file contains everything and more
. Hiroshi's a done deal," Harry said with definite happiness.

"Do we link him full circle?"

"Tokyo to New York, New York to Detroit, Detroit to Mexico City. Weird but true."
"What kind of charges are we looking at?"

"Funny you'd bring that up
. You know how you were always complaining about what a dipshit this guy is?"

"Yeah?" Ava couldn't help grinning
. He was an absolute idiot.

"Well, we thought he'd have been aware of the dangers of exposing too much
. We figured this whole scheme would take at least a week or two to break down. Winds up he printed it all up for us."

"Surprise, surprise
. And when are we hauling him in?"

"Oh, Ava, I wanted to give you some more time to enjoy yourself at the party, but...."

"Tell me I can do it!" Ava said. Busting this guy would put her at ease for once.

And she needed it after her grueling three months under his Neanderthal stare.

"Go for it baby!" Harry laughed.

"Thanks, Harry
. You just made my night!"

"And kiddo?"

"Yeah?"

"You did good
. I'm proud of you," Harry said, his tone low with seriousness.

"Thanks, Harry
. Now I have to bust this creepy bastard."  Ava clicked her phone off and started over to the table where Hiroshi was trying to get some play with the pretty pouting girl from the hallway.

Ava grabbed the girl by her lithe arm and yanked her up from the table, ignoring her whelps and cries
. Her small, kitten like face was inches from Ava's own, her startled brown eyes full of questions. All attention was on the two, just the way Ava wanted it.

"You," she pointed at Hiroshi
. "Apologize to this woman."

Hiroshi's jaw clenched itself into a tight knot
. His embarrassed friends looked away as he struggled to find the right words to say to calm Ava down.

"Kumiko, please..."

"I didn't say to apologize to me. That will be later. I want you to apologize for treating this woman like garbage."  Out of nowhere Ava's .45 was in her hand, her sight steady and fixed on the spot between Hiroshi's eyes. "Now."

Hiroshi's Adam's apple moved up and down rapidly as he stared at his meek secretary,
hair flying, eyes blazing. She meant business and even a man as stupid as Hiroshi knew better than to ignore her.

"I apologize to you, Sani," he said bowing low, his eyes fixed on Ava with a mix of disgust and fear
. The woman Ava held seemed to stand up a little straighter for a moment. Ava let her go gently pushing her back to the table. She noted with slight annoyance the way the woman rushed back as if she had been held hostage and rubbed her arm self consciously.

"Unbelievable," Ava muttered, painfully aware that this was not the first or last time she would see a woman act so ridiculous for the attention of a man.

"Now apologize to me."  Her voice dripped like hot oil, sizzling and singeing everything in its path. She lowered the barrel of the gun, indicating that Hiroshi should bow to the ground. His entire body tensed at her command, but he did as he was instructed, prostrating himself at her feet.

Ava put one crimson heel on his shoulder and bent her body over him, her bright hair a curtain of silk strands around her face
. Her arms were tense in front of her, ready to annihilate Hiroshi if he did not do as she asked.

"What exactly am I apologizing for?  You seemed satisfied enough in bed last night," he chided.

"You bastard!  How dare you lie to my face? You apologize for treating me like a piece of crap or you sign up to meet your maker right now," Ava said carefully, grinding her heel into the soft flesh between his joints.

"Oww, you bitch!"  A heel hit his face, causing an eruption of blood to spill from his nose
. "I'm sorry!"

"For what?"

"For treating you like crap!  I'm sorry!  I don't know!" Once Hiroshi let the panic take over there was no turning back. He was sorry for everything he had done, every mistake he had made, whatever got him off the hook. Ava knew that the apology was merely an act of cowardice. There was no real victory for her in this situation.

She flattened his chest to the ground with her foot, pulling a pair of handcuffs from the garter at her thigh and joining his wrists firmly at his hips
. Pulling him up roughly by his styled black hair she looked with evident disgust at the bloodied, sweaty face before her, the same face that had regarded her with such arrogance every day for three long months.

"So you're nothing but a coward after all?" she said, close to his ear
. "I figured as much." She yanked him around and addressed the silent, staring room, still fluttering with lighted lamps, music humming softly in the background. "Please enjoy your evening on behalf of Mr. Hiroshi. It will be the last party he ever throws as a free man," she said, showing her stunning white teeth in a smile that electrified the room. "Sayonara!"

Moving Hiroshi out of the room roughly she turned him over to Harry and his men, waiting outside to take him away.