MORTALA, daredevil

23

  NO MATTER HOW HARD YULIA TRIED, she couldn't stop herself from enjoying her occasional mission. The ones where she got to put on an accent, dress herself up and chat to her target. The ones where she got to do what she was trained for.

  As she sat twirling a straw in her drink, she seductively stared down her target. This target was a pretty one, a successful business woman who had many enemies. One of them contacted Yulia's employer and so here she was, sipping a cocktail while dressed in a short sparkly dress and heels in some fancy, rich bar. Her hair was braided into many sections, each had their own intricate design. Red lipstick was painted onto her plump lips, a bold move to attract a bold woman.

  These type of missions usually made Yulia excited. They weren't boring and bland. No simple shooting in the head or stabbing. But instead, they were something that made her feel like a Hollywood actress in a mediocre, oversexualized film.

  The lady, who was clad in a pristine suit, marched over to her. Her hand raised to call over the bartender, demanding a drink for both of them. "A gin and tonic, and for this lady..."

  "A martini." Yulia finished for her. Instead of her usual Russian accent, her voice had changed to a British one.

  The bartender nodded his head and started to prepare their drinks. Yulia tilted her head to meet the woman's fierce gaze. Just by taking one simple look at her, Yulia could tell what she wanted, what she desired.

  "I've never seen you around here before." The woman said, a determination and cockiness laced her words.

  "I'm actually here on a business trip for a few days."

  The bartender placed their ordered drinks in front of them before swiftly moving away to attend to another costumer.

  Both women gave him a quick thanks but didn't break eye contact with each other.

  "I get that. Work is stressful." Her target replied, some of her dark hair falling loose from behind her ear. "I'm Alice, nice to meet you."

  "Penelope and yes, my work is stressful." Yulia lifted her hand elegantly and brushed the other woman's hair back behind her ear. She moved closer until her lips were only a few centimetres away from the woman's ear. "Mind helping me relieve some of the stress?"

-

  Alice was shoved roughly onto the bed, the only items of clothing that remained on were her underwear. Yulia, who also only had her underwear on, straddled her before kissing her again. A moan that came from Alice was easily muffled by Yulia's mouth.

  Yulia felt an odd guilt for this. Matt and her had a unspecified thing going on but they had never confirmed anything. The thought of her straddling Matt consumed her mind. His hand holding her in place as she grinded against him until he couldn't take it any longer. One of his hands lowered down until it was right where she needed it. But she didn't want to think about him at hat current moment so she rid herself of the images.

  Lustfully, Alice dragged her hand up Yulia's thigh but stopped when she felt something wrapped around it. She pulled away from the kiss so she could look at the odd item. An odd item that was made of leather and circled the killer's thigh. A holster that held a knife.

  "What the--" But the woman was immediately cut off by Yulia pulling the knife out and pressing it against her throat.

  "Your little construction friend says bye, bye." In one quick movement, Yulia slit the woman's throat.

  Blood gushed from the open wound instantly. Crimson red splattered onto Yulia's face and body but she paid no attention to the sticky substance. Alice gagged and frantically tried to stop the bleeding with her hands. However, no luck was granted to the woman and in a minute, she was gone. Carefully, Yulia climbed off the newly dead corpse. 

  A phone rang loudly, confusing Yulia on whose it was. A sigh left her lips as she scanned around for the object. The bag that she had brought with her contained the ringing phone, causing her to wonder who it might be. As fast as she could, she opened the bag and answered the phone without checking the contact.

  "Julie." Matt's voice sprouted from the device in her hand. 

  "Oh, sweet Jesus. What is it this time?"

  "Can you do me a favour?"

  Blood dripped towards Yulia's mouth, her finger shot out to catch it before it reached her lips. "Depends on the favour."

  "During the explosions on the Russians, there was a somebody. She wore a suit and a mask, and she was definitely trained." Matt paused for a moment. "She didn't want to kill me though, she wanted Vladimir. I want to find out who she is."

  Panicking would be the first thing on everyone's mind but not her. The fear she had for her identity to be revealed was held back. Her heartbeat didn't jump nor did she breathe any faster. Instead, she just picked up her dress and started to put it back on, not caring about the blood that clung to her body.

  "Uh... I don't know if my contacts can find some sort of mystery female assassin but I'll try."

  "Vladimir told me she was a black widow."

  "Like the avenger?" She teased, hiding her agitation at the sudden topic involving her sister.

  "Apparently, black widows are Russian assassins." Yulia could bet a thousand dollars a small smirk appeared on his face. "There can't be too many murderous Russian women in New York."

  "You'd be surprised, Matty." She muttered.

  The gears in Yulia's head turned, a realisation becoming clear. No feelings could get in the way, nobody could get in the way. And now Matt was getting too close to the truth. She couldn't leave behind any witnesses. She knew what had to be done.

AUTHOR'S NOTE---

sorry for how short this is. i have so many tests for no reason which sucks ass. i just wanted to to post something to keep my beloved readers content (please don't murder me). i am trying so hard not to start a peaky blinders fanfic bc i already have two fanfics to work on. the next chapter will be out as soon as all my tests end(easter probably). also yulia is like villanelle in my head but like less psychotic yk?