Three or Four Years Earlier.... Rio De Janeiro: The Copacabana Palace Hotel
Walking into the crowded bar, I surveyed the room quickly. 3 cameras; each in their own corner, and a lone security guard who didn't look like he could be more than a ten second problem for me. Fat, bald, a five star hotel could do better if they were willing to be a little more generous
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Sam, a photographer? I guess I could buy that. Stranger things have happened. Like me deciding murder was a good career choice. What can I say? When your dead father was a powerful guy, you stumble onto some real characters. They open your mind to a different way of life.
Sam's way of life probably includes a lot of naked women now. It's not what I was expecting, but work is work. I bet he loves his job.
"It sounds like Europe did you some good."
The last time I saw Sam, he didn't know what he wanted to do with his life. I had a few ideas, which turned into something else entirely, but I went down the 'normal girl' road for a while. It wasn't for me.
Sam actually has a job.
That's...a pretty big deal.
"What about you?"
Cover story time.
"I'm in Advertising. I just met with a client a few hours ago. If everything goes according to plan, I should be on a flight back to Los Angeles tonight."
Good. I successfully lied to him.
"How about you? Planning on staying in Rio for very long?"
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That's one way of putting it.
"Opened up some new opportunities."
There's another.
I shrugged, having a little bit more of my drink, waiting for her answer on the whole job thing. She's probably a lawyer, it runs in the family. Even though she said she wanted to be a teacher at one point. Then again, she wanted to be a freakin' gym teacher for a straight week, but I think that was just to drive me nuts.
"I'm in Advertising. I just met with a client a few hours ago. If everything goes according to plan, I should be on a flight back to Los Angeles tonight."
... Advertising.
Yeah, I guess that fits. If you think about how she was in high school, it makes a lot of sense. Almost works on the same level as lawyer, I guess. I nodded, finishing off the drink. "Sounds good."
"How about you? Planning on staying in Rio for very long?"
Not in any real rush to go back home, but that's something she doesn't need to know about. "I've got one more day." I smirked a little. "Final parts of the shoot, making sure all the film got through, all that crap." I can't believe I'm lying to her, and getting away with it. I was such a suck liar before, at least to her.
Other people I could lie to, but never to Carly. I don't know what that means, because I'm still a little stuck on getting away with it. And how gorgeous she looks. Christ, I guess I missed her a little more than I thought.
Damn it, I should have gone for the brunette.
"It's really great to see you." I heard myself say after a really long silence, and then wondered where the hell that came from. Conversation is something I'm supposed to be good at. "I mean... it's... been a while... y'know?"
Since I left we broke up.
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Sam's a working man. That's....weird. Good weird, but still weird nonetheless. I never tried to picture him with any particular job. Now I keep envisioning him behind a camera telling women to give him more sex and take off their tops.
"It's really great to see you. I mean... it's... been a while... y'know?"
"Yeah, it has."
I would love to be petty and make some rude remark about his decision to leave, but I'm going to keep it to myself. I don't want to waste time bringing up the past; it's over and done with. I'm fine with my life, he seems happy with his. That's all that matters. It worked out for us individually.
"'m glad we ran into each other, I wouldn't have expected to see you here but...I missed you."
Crap, I shouldn't have said that. I gave him more information than I wanted to. I don't have a problem with oversharing, I'm an assassin. I was trained to keep my mouth shut.
Trained to kill too, but keeping quiet is a big part of not getting caught!
"I mean...you know what I mean."
Please, know what I mean. And if you don't...pretend. It would really suck to keep making stupid comments and lose focus during an assignment. Technically, I'm not done yet, so I shouldn't be letting myself get so distracted. The device is safely tucked away, but this isn't over until I'm back in Los Angeles.
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I blinked, looking over at her. Sure, I'm supposed to be surprised by nothing but... yeah. I wasn't expecting that, I guess. I mean, it's really great to hear, because I did too, I just... Yeah.
"Oh?" I said finally. I could have come up with something better, but I'm still trying to get over the fact that she actually missed me. Which'd be great if, y'know, I had the guts to do anything about it.
"I mean...you know what I mean."
I smirked a little, and nodded. "Yeah. I missed you too Car."
And there's the God damn silence that I'm not sure to gauge again. I'm going to find a way to get rid of that in a hurry. "So you... uh... seeing anyone?"
...
I just shouldn't freakin' talk. That's the end of it. Because clearly in this conversation, I'm screwed. This is a comprimised freakin' situation, right here.
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...He did? I assumed he wouldn't. I mean, he wanted to leave. Unless he doesn't mean it the same way that I do. I bet that's it. He missed me, but not the way you miss someone you love. He missed me the way you miss a goldfish when they die. You're used to having them around so you notice when they're not there, but in realit it's not a big deal. It's just one less thing to take care of....
Why am I calling myself a goldfish again?
Damnit! He used my real name again!
"So you... uh... seeing anyone?"
I've 'seen' plenty of anyones, I just haven't dated in...a while. God, I haven't really had a relationship since..not going to go there. No. Then I'd start saying things I shouldn't, and give too much away again. I should have walked out of here and risked being interrogated.
It would have been safer than this.
"No. I haven't had the time for anything serious, I do a lot of traveling now."
Which he'll probably think is funny because I said I never wanted to. Or he'll think I didn't want to with him, which isn't true. I hope he doesn't jump to that conclusion; it's not the right one. I wanted to be with him, but...
I didn't think he wanted to be with me. He's the one who wanted to leave town. Right. I thought that meant he wanted to break up. So really, it doesn't sound bad to blame my lack of a relationship on work related travel.
Right.
"What about you? Is there someone you should be calling instead of wasting your time sitting here and talking to me?"
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I'm not going to say anything about that. I'm going to fight down the billions of comments that could come with that one, and behave myself.
"Yeah." I noddded, trying hard to do nothing more. At least she's not seeing anyone, that's a perk, right? It makes the conversation a little less awkward, because I'm not.
I mean, there was Erica for a little bit, but once I got started, that ended. Against company regulations. I still don't know how she managed to work getting to train me in.
"What about you? Is there someone you should be calling instead of wasting your time sitting here and talking to me?"
"Huh?" I blinked. "What? No. Jeez, no." I realized how that sounded, and backpedaled a little. "I mean... there hasn't been anyone else, y'know?" I'm not sure how much I'm admitting to here... do I really want to know?
I don't think so.
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I thought I was asking a fair question. He asked me. I was embarrassed, Sam deserves to be embarrassed too. But now he seems completely caught off guard, and I'm not sure why. I haven't heard anything about him getting involved with anyone else, but that doesn't mean that there weren't plenty of blonde, double D, first class idiots that he got involved with.
Oh, that could be it. He thinks I care? No...he just doesn't want to talk about it. Something bad happened, or didn't happen, or there was a weird orgy that he's afraid I've heard about.
"I mean... there hasn't been anyone else, y'know?"
"Yeah."
I don't like this anymore. I mean I don't like being here. I like Sam just fine, as a matter of fact I'm trying to stop liking him so much and it isn't working. But hearing people talk about something that I did while having a conversation with someone who knows the old me so well is...different.
"Do you want to get out of here for a little while?"
Okay, now it sounds like I'm asking him to have sex. And I'm not. But I'd rather be Carly or Jennifer, not both at once. I want to be Carly for a little bit, and to do that we'd have to be someplace more private.
Still sounds like I'm working the sex angle.
Damnit!
"If you have work to do or something, that's fine. I'm just getting sick of the crowd."
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... Huh?
I'm... going to wait to find out what the hell that one meant. If I do it long enough, she'll elaborate... I hope. Because there's one place my mind went with that one, and I'm pretty sure that's not it.
It's really crappy that still happens, when I haven't seen her in four god damn years.
"If you have work to do or something, that's fine. I'm just getting sick of the crowd."
...
I still don't know if that actually means anything. And I get the idea I'm not going to find out this fast. Which is such crap. "Yeah, sure." I nodded, paying for my drink as I got up.
"Lead the way." I smiled to her. Take that Car, I'm not looking like a damn idiot on this one unless abso-freakin'-lutely nescecary, thanks.
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I paid for my apple jack, trying to ignore the fact that I had no idea where we were going or what we were going to do when we got somewhere, and realized that the bartender probably liked me enough to sell me a bottle for the road. Leaning forward and showing just enough cleavage to get him interested, I asked him if I could buy bottle of vodka. Grinning, he told me it was on the house and handed it over.
I love being a woman.
"Lead the way."
I guess that means I can do whatever I want. Nice. Not especially nice so I don't know what the hell to do now, but still nice just the same. And hopefully we'll open the vodka and care less about where we are than we do about our next drink. I can't get too hammered while I'm on the clock, but I've earned a little celebrating.
A little. Meaning not Sam's version of celebrating.
We left the bar and started walking down a long hallway that leads to God knows where. And all the while we walked silently. I hate that. I never know what he's thinking when he's quiet, but I know it's nothing good.
In order to get my mind off of what Sam might or might not have been thinking, I opened the bottle and took a sip. Then I took a longer one that resembled a gulp, and held the bottle out to Sam.
"Sam, I think you should know that I have no idea where we're going. What do you say to wandering around and getting buzzed?"
The old me would probably have never said that, but the new me?
Well, she wants another sip.
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I rolled my eyes, still feeling that little twitch that happens when she flirts with a guy who isn't me, and waited until we left.
Well Sammy, look at your situation. You've got a botched job on your hands, that you're going to get loads of crap for, and you've run into your ex who you've still got it really freakin' bad for, even after all this time.
Now, she's carrying a bottle of vodka, and walking with you. You're screwed, and not in a fun way, and you know it. What do you do about it?
Abso-freakin'-lutely nothing.
Except maybe wish you were dead, and pray that things start looking up eventually. That's what you do. Oh, and feel kinda pathetic. Can't forget that, now can we?
"Sam, I think you should know that I have no idea where we're going. What do you say to wandering around and getting buzzed?"
I coughed, having no idea where that one came from, and tried to look lie I wasn't thinking about what could obviously be done with this situation. Crap.
"Yeah, sure, why not?" I took the bottle when it was offered to me, drinking. "You sure this isn't some desperate attempt to get me drunk?" I never drank once when I was with her, never even tried one until I was out of high school, and even then it was a while.
So I really doubt she's trying to get me drunk. But it seems sort of better to make some sort of conversation after I almost lost it.
Damn it.
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Funny. You know, like when it's not. I'm never desperate, and I never attempt. Either I do, or I don't. I don't try. You either get your mark, or you miss, and who gives a damn whether you attempted or not if you missed? You didn't get what you wanted.
That's how I work. I don't get desperate and scrambling for things, I either have what I want or I don't. If I knew what I wanted right now, I'd worry about getting it. Since I don't, it's safe to say that I don't have anything to be desperate about.
Oh. He was kidding, wasn't he?
"If you're talking about what I think you're talking about, it's definitely not."
I smirked, thinking it over.
"I wouldn't need to get you drunk for that."
I might sound more confident than I am about that, but Sam will be too busy being clueless to notice. Suggestions make him nervous, especially when you can get him to think he's not in control of his own actions for a couple of seconds.
I took the bottle from Sam and had another long drink, enjoying the burn in my throat. The bartender liked me more than I realized.
"So I wouldn't call this desperate at all."
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That time, I stopped the cough. Thankfully. No, no she probably wouldn't. I mean, I might be able to... well, no, probably not. I don't know. I don't know if I'm going to know. This is crap.
And now, I want more of that vodka. But, of course, she's taken it before I can have another one.
Getting buzzed seems really good right now. Want that bottle back, damn it. And I want to know if she's being serious right now, or just screwing with me.
"So I wouldn't call this desperate at all."
"I see." Yeah, weak, but I have no clue what to say to that. All my training, all my smooth conversations that I've had so much practice with... it's all going straight out the damn window.
Then, I remembered about something that was supposed to be happening today, something I heard about on the way here. I took the bottle back from Carly, and smirked, taking a long drink.
"I think I know where to go. Up for it?"
No, I'm not going to tell you where, so stop looking at me like that. I took another drink, handing it back to her. It's not that big a deal, but it's better than aimless wandering, and I just like making her guess.
She's not the only one that can drive someone insane every once in a while.
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That was weak. Sam usually has a better comeback than that. A 'no way' or a 'you're damn right'. Something. Something with the word 'freakin' in it that makes him sound cooler than 'I see'. This is a little disappointing. My teasing was wasted on an out of character two word response.
"I think I know where to go. Up for it?"
"Sure."
I took another sip from the bottle and smiled. I'm not sure why this makes me happy. We're going somewhere. I don't know where and Sam doesn't look like he's going to tell me. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to leave tonight as planned. If he decides to go someplace too far from the hotel, I might not get back in time.
Basically, I'm clueless.
And I love it.
Nothing surprises me anymore. I've been trained to expect anything from my mark, as a result I expect anything from everyone else too. But with Sam, I don't know what I'm in for.
God knows what he is thinking right now. I bet he thinks I'm hating this.
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... Sure?
No 'where're we going'? No 'oh'? No words that even remotely implies that she might be annoyed with the fact that I'm not going to tell her where we're going?
What the hell is that? Where's the justice?
"Good." God damn you.
I headed with her down the street, and the closer we got to it, the more people that were drinking just like us. The music came not too long after that.
I'd almost forgotten about Carnival being today, and I have no idea why. I think anyone would notice people dancing in the streets. It's like Brazil's Madi Gras.
... And whoever that is... No. Attenion on Carly. No head turning. "Welcome to Carnival." I said over the music once we were far enough in. They were doing the Samba parade, which was full of a lot of people partying.
My kind of place.
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I've been working too hard. On any other day I'd be proud of myself for that. Now I'm realizing that I would have missed this if I hadn't bumped into Sam, because I was so completely wrapped up in my assignment that I didn't bother to check the calendar.
I'm staying for the night, they can pick me up in the morning. Carnival is too good to miss, and I'll probably never be here for it again.
"We're going need more alcohol."
I laughed and took another drink from the bottle. Everyone around us was wasted and half dressed, dancing to the music and having the time of their lives.
Unbuttoning my shirt I threw it to the ground the minute I slid it off, leaving on my camisole and skirt. I considered getting rid of the skirt and looking really festive, but I'd only do that if I was alone. With Sam I'd be a little too exposed.
Still less exposed than the gorgeous women around me, but I think walking around in a skirt and camisole is better than a bra and underwear. I don't want to make him uncomfortable.
"Come on."
I grabbed Sam's hand and started pushing my way through the crowd, moving closer to the parade to get a better view.
I love Rio.
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