2/2

"I've irritated him a time or two, and to be fair he's irritated me a couple times too. Just now? That wasn't my fault. Our… bosses, they aren't being... nice. Or polite. He's going to go… complain."

Of course, that was assuming they knew Renato had some kind of involvement with the young Mist they were sure she knew. It was entirely possible they didn't know the hitman was involved, or what she was doing visiting him so often or why he had been visiting her hotel room lately.

Something about that thought rang a bit off to her, but after puzzling it over a bit she shrugged it off.

There was a kid involved, it couldn't have been because they thought they were sleeping together or something along those lines.

Shamal considered her gravely, with all the seriousness he had to him.

Sonya blinked blankly back, confused over what the kid was trying to say silently.

"Okay then." Baby Mist turned back to the cheap plastic takeout box that held his kiddy-sized portion of lunch.

"What part of 'wash your hands' escapes you?"

A pause, and the brat very pointedly stomped his way to the bathroom.

She sniffed at his back, then glanced at the watch she had strapped to her left wrist when she got dressed for the day.

It was maybe an hour and some change after noon Greenwich Mean Time, meaning that the streets of Mafia Land were likely packed to the point of being uncomfortable. If she took the kid outside for a bit, just so they weren't anywhere anyone watching them would expect them to be while Renato ensured his ward's safety…

Where would they hide, on an island controlled by the people likely to want to do them some kind of mischief?

She didn't particularly want to think of her ultimate temp-work bosses like that… but they were all criminals here. The only rules they abided by was no drugs, no human slavery, and no employee violence allowed to the paying guests.

Kidnappings, abductions, the odd death here and there, all that still happened even in the more 'public' parts of the floating mafia haven.

There wasn't a fully functioning hospital on site just for making up bogus medical histories tailored professionally, or for ensuring the criminals that the island's trade relied on were as healthy as their lifestyles allowed. Its main business was patching up the idiots that thought they could throw down against Mafia Land's best, or worst in this case, and survive without a bloody beating to hammer home how outclassed they were or that and a headshot in the end.

Sometimes it worked out the other way, and revenge hits weren't an uncommon reason to visit either.

Once upon a lifetime, she had put her faith in the inherent goodness of her fellow humans and ended up murdered. The Russian thief that survived from that experience didn't intend to allow herself to fall that way again.

Now?

Sonya put no faith into people she hadn't met, hadn't at least gotten even a half-assed measure of, or anyone she didn't know the reputation of. Until Renato told her otherwise, she'd be assuming the worst and planning for it.

The only problem she could see so far was that the hitman hadn't said anything about if she could take his ward outside of the so far established 'safe' areas.

…two problems, how to leave a message for him that only the two of them could understand?

CXXXVI (Wednesday the 3rd of November, 1966. Mafia Land.)

"Sometimes," Sonya informed Shamal seriously, "we have to make sacrifices in order to get what we want. I want us to be as safe as possible, so we have to do this."

"So… why am I the one wearing the dress when you're the girl?" Baby Mist questioned mulishly, plucking at the straps of his new little sundress.

"Because they expect a woman and a boy, not a young man and a girl." The thief informed him primly, crossing her newly trouser clad legs in a less feminine appearing way. Ankle over knee, not ankle over ankle.

Thank the ever-loving hell Lisa had insisted on ensuring they knew how to act as if they weren't girls or merely thieves in any kind of social setting. Tatiana might have outshone her in that art, but the blonde wasn't any slouch at it either.

Not a master of the art of disguise, but a semi-decent one even if she still didn't understand why certain actions were only 'acceptable' by one gender or the other. It might have been just Lisa's expectations, or the culture of the late 60s, or any number of other things.

All she really knew was that to act male and at least get the casual observer to dismiss her as one, she had to perform to Lisa's expectations.

Thankfully, Shamal had greatly enjoyed exploring the more 'family friendly' parts of the island's amusement park. It was a decent distraction for him while she collected the odd bits and bobs from tourist-trap spots that allowed her to effectively swap their genders without trying to rely on the baby Mist's Flames to hold for long periods.

She wasn't even sure how well the kid's control extended and given what she already had him doing, making them seem less interesting to avoid scrutiny… it was best not to risk burning him out.

Risky move on her part, but with limited supplies on hand and a threat to try planning to counter?

There really hadn't been much else she could try that had a better chance of success.

Renato would be jumpy enough. If he thought she was trying to take advantage of the fact he left Shamal with her?

While baby Mist was in a dress, Sonya had forgone her skirt and blouse in favor for a pair of the hitman's pants and one of his buttoned-down shirts. Picking up a vest to go with the predominantly darker colors the Sun favored and would suppress her developing chest had been tricky and getting the young Italian boy out of his original clothing and into the slightly too big dress had been a touch harder.

Her bright, shoulder-length, ash blonde hair was twisted up and shoved under the wide-brimmed hat she had bought the same time as her vest. Without makeup, she could pass as a slightly younger teenage boy not quite of the point of being able to shave just yet. With a bit used in unusual ways, she could appear to be anywhere from a couple years to about a decade older.

Shamal didn't particularly like getting his hair styled differently, but the current fad for female hairstyles did currently favor shorter hair and that wasn't too hard for the thief to pull off.

He made a very cute little girl, but it was likely he wasn't ever going to forgive her for this.

She made a slightly androgynous adult/caretaker for him. It was the best she could do, because Sonya was a little too pretty to be really mistaken as fully male. Her small but still apparent bust made that hard to conceal, even under a vest.

All in all, they looked like a caretaker/bodyguard and charge waiting for the rest of their party in the lobby of Sonya's hotel.

The thief really had yet to decide if she should've checked out of her room just to ensure the trail was muddy, but this was the only place she could make a suitably vague hint for Renato to follow to. At least in the lobby they had three different lines of escape, and they were set up to watch for either the hitman or anyone else looking for a thief and a baby Mist.

Unfortunately, when the Mafioso did eventually track them down well past midnight, it didn't do much for her nerves.

The Inverted Sun was still as blandly tense as he had been the last time she saw him, but he still noticed her and Shamal without much effort she could see.

Sonya wryly assumed she needed a better disguise for herself and tipped her hat's brim up to see the hitman better as he strolled to the sofa where his ward was sleeping.

"I have to get him off the island." He informed her bluntly, nudging Shamal awake. Tossing her the moonstone and turquoise jewels she had left on his kitchenette's counter once the kid was rubbing bleary eyes.

"I can play decoy." She still had to do her last two Mafia Land contracts for this year, she couldn't quite leave just yet. "They have only approached me so far, you should be able to get him on land before they realize I am no longer in contact with him."

He didn't look particularly happy in the first place, but that suggestion earned her a rather dirty look of its own.

He probably didn't like the thought of using her as a shield. Even if he really couldn't do much against any pursuers besides stand his ground and fight, weighed down with Shamal as he would be. It was likely inevitable she would be used as a decoy even if he tried to say no.

The hitman even seemed to know that, because he gritted out a very belligerent, "Thank you."

CXXXVII (Thursday the 4th of November, 1966. Mafia Land.)

Sonya waited a whole day longer, then ditched her male disguise and checked out of her hotel room.

She visited her storage unit to stash a couple things, wasted a bit of time eating something for breakfast, then did a bit of window shopping. The thief got another contract from her Hall in the late morning and was halfway to the docks before anything remotely concerning happened.

By then she'd put good money on Renato having Shamal free and clear of Mafia Land controlled territory, so she wasn't so jumpy anymore.

"Bazanova Sonya."

It was the same elderly gentleman that had approached her the first time, and she gave him a long look over a shoulder. "Can this wait? I really do need to get on with my job, or I will not have the funds to stay much longer."

"The interests I represent want to know if you have given any thought to what they have suggested."

"You have given me no details of which I can think about." The thief reminded him a little pointedly, because the fact she didn't know what kind of threat made the hitman bail out of a supposedly safe haven rather concerned her. "Only a very vague suggestion that sounds a little sinister."

"They would be willing to discuss terms if you would consent to a meeting in a less… public setting."

Turning to face the man, having him behind her while they talked was a touch unnerving, she gave him a perfectly bland smile. "I have commitments at the moment, but I may be interested in such a face-to-face meeting upon my return."

He gave her a very distinguished looking reproving stare, which made absolutely no dent in her resolve to stall them as long as she could. Sonya even shifted her grip on the coded contract in her hands, because that was a very firm detail to confirm she would be coming back anyways.

She had to, people that tried running off with contracts for Mafia Land jobs didn't tend to last long.

The more time she could buy Renato, the safer Shamal would be.

"They would be delighted to, the very moment of your return."

As if that wasn't suspicious as hell, but the Storm-Cloud merely smiled again. "As long as I may refresh myself beforehand, for this is a rather farther-flung contract for me."

"We will be waiting." With that, the gentleman walked off as if he had wanted nothing more than what he had gotten from her.

Sonya turned back to the waiting ships and figuring out which one she needed.

Since she was rather sure the hitman would take his baby Mist back to Europe, as that was likely the place he had more or better contacts than in Mafia Land, she was going to China. Halfway around the world would tie up any kind of investigation into where she could meet or join back up with any baby Mist, and Asia was vast enough to be a real drain on any kind of search.

The only problem with this whole situation, other than her Mafia Land bosses being dicks of a sort, was the contract she had taken.

It was a first for her, because it required her to present herself to the client that requested a thief to get the full details of what she was supposed to steal. Obviously, the risks for this kind of contract were higher than the usual anonymous ones but it was still less of a risk than just waiting for someone that was looking to 'collect' Shamal getting suspicious of her lack of things to do.

It also paid a lot more than anything else. There was even a 'security deposit' the contractors had to pay. If they got the thief that eventually reported to them killed that deposit was forfeit.

Not much of a safety feature, but the Russian could understand that risk.

She also needed the money, for minion-reasons.

This contract was also open-ended, which meant it would take as long as it would take. The only part of that which made her uneasy was the fact she needed another contract done before the end of the year, but she still had two months before New Year's Day.

Overall, it was a very good method to stall any demands on her time. Once she accepted the contract, Mafia Land's own policies would ensure word was passed on to the contractors that their thief was in route.

If anyone in Mafia Land tried waylaying her, those contractors would not be very amused.

Now she just had to figure out how to end the contract in a month's time.

CXXXVIII (Tuesday the 8th of November, 1966. Fúzhōu, Fujian Province, People's Republic of China.)

The directions in her contract sent Sonya to a very quaint little tea house, and while waiting she ordered herself some spiced orange black tea.

Very different to what she normally drank, but she decided it was a good kind of different.

The point that she was in China made the fact that the man who slid into a kneeling position across her low table obviously Asian in appearance. It was just… red.

After waking up to the possibility that Renato was possibly one of the Arcobaleno, she had tried to dredge up the rest of that cast of immensely powerful characters and what they looked like.

The details had faded rather alarmingly on her, but she did recall little things.

One of those Seven Strongest of the Era had belonged to the Triads, and mainly wore red. This wasn't likely the Arcobaleno of the Storm, but if she kept her eyes open…?

"Do I have time to finish and pay?"

A sharp nod was her answer.

Obviously not a very talkative person, but she could deal.

After she had bought her tea, and a bit of loose leaf for when she was back in the USSR to share with Lisa, Sonya followed her guide out of the teahouse and into the city of Hong Kong.

It only really occurred to her to wonder why one of the Triad groups of China needed an outsider thief once it was a bit too late to back out, but by the point she realized which underworld group had contracted her it wasn't something she could realistically question.

From what information she had been able to get from this part of the criminal underworld, there were several 'Triad' groups in operation. About twelve major ones and a handful of less powerful ones so far.

And a shit-ton of minor branches that were or were not actually connected to any similarly named Triad branch.

Which made the fact she was led into an obviously less central location to any main operations rather worrying… or reassuring, depending on what the situation was.

There was a group of people waiting for her and her escort, one obviously very important person seated cross-legged in a very tiny office space and a lot of bodyguards. The more 'boss' like man didn't look too impressed with her, likely due to the fact she was female, but shortly gestured to the floor before him.

The Russian didn't argue, blink, or dismiss the suggestion, as he was likely her paymaster for the time being. She folded herself down to sit patiently, waiting for him to speak.

"You are hired to remove or eliminate any information the police have on Triad operations. Whatever way you may choose to accomplish it." He informed her in a tone of voice that suggested he didn't care why she took on the job or who she was at all. Which was alright with her, really. "Do so."

Giving a half-seated bow, mainly to show she would do so and hopefully he wouldn't get irritated if she posed a question, the Storm-Cloud opted to stare at the flooring for a moment instead of glance up. "May I know the worst offenders, so my efforts will be more immediately useful to you?"

"That information will be supplied along with the assets given for you to use." It didn't seem if he was that annoyed at dealing with her, but she still wasn't going to push it.

Sonya could spare a month keeping Omertà secure on the Triad's dime. The code of silence failing would attract Vindice attention, and no one wanted that.

The young Asian man, who she wasn't really sure if he was a boss or the next boss or just a highly ranked officer type, rose to his feet and gave her a barely there nod of acceptance. He left the little office room in short order, and most of his men when with him, leaving the thief and her guide alone.

Sonya turned to her guide herself, more settled on the contract she had taken and how likely it was she'd be able to finish it without getting herself killed.

It was more reasonable to her now why they would hire an outside thief for this, with the current unrest and 'Cultural Revolution' on-going the Triad was likely a bit more than overworked with keeping the Red Guard out of their spheres of influence or off their people.

She still didn't know which of the Triads had hired her, but they also didn't tell her or even ask who she was. This was obviously going to be as clandestine as possible, even if they hadn't wanted to admit to anyone in Mafia Land that keeping Omertà was proving a little difficult for them.

Getting free with that kind of information was going to likely be tricky, but that kind of risk she had expected.

"I need that information first, in order to ensure my efforts are not in dire need before I can plan to eliminate the rest all at once."

Her watcher/guard/guide gave her a slow nod, obviously rethinking something but she wasn't sure what. "I will take you to the residence you are allowed to make use of."

"Perfect. Then we're going to play tourist. Or actually I am, a rather tacky tourist that will mangle your native language and you get to play my long-suffering translator slash guide."

This obviously confused him, given the furrowed brow and slight frown. "Young miss, you speak my mother tongue rather well for a foreigner."

"I am about to not." She informed him seriously, getting up and brushing off the locally made dress she had bought to make up for her lack of Chinese styled clothing in her possession. "I need a name for you, not your real one."

The look he gave her for that reminder informed her it had been unnecessary, apparently he wasn't quite as green as she had initially pegged him. "You may call me Liqin."

"For the time being, I am Yu."

Mafia Land had wanted to name her 'Sen' for the time being, but she had argued that was Turkish when used as a name and that she needed something different and short to suggest that it was a nickname instead.

Thus, she was 'Yu' for now. A shortened form of Yuliya.

CXXXIX (Saturday the 19th of November, 1966. Fúzhōu, Fujian Province, People's Republic of China.)

1966 China was a very disturbing place for Sonya.

The communist power in charge did at least mean a USSR seamstress tourist wasn't given a very hard look or three from the forces in play, but it was still unnerving to be forced to deal with the Red Guard. She was still 'officially' restricted to only visiting certain locations, and she would do so if only to keep up the appearance of a tourist, but that actually only meant she was allowed to be legally noticed within very small parts of China.

The 'rallies' for the Red Guard were worst of all, and the sheer amount of destruction it ended up dealing to historic sites made her itch internally when thinking of all those books being burned, but it was the mass public humiliation and outright torture going on that she despised.

Thankfully she wasn't in Beijing, but the news that reached her anyways painted the streets of the capital city as worse than Mafia Land's nightlife activities.

If any of that got out, and she really only knew what was going on because Liqin actually brought her unfiltered news while she was planning a spot of police-related arson, Sonya suspected the Großes Volksfest would be changing next year's plans in a fast hurry. She might even tell Master Liam what was going on herself, given what he knew when she reconnected with Cherep.

To that end, she was saving the few newspapers she managed to get a hold on.

Going through this country with the circus was going to be a trial. As it was, since she was here for a job, she had a fair bit of things to get on with while all that civilian unrest and those so called 'political investigations' were going on.

The news that the police were no longer allowed to interfere with Red Guard actives meant she had more work to do, and with more people walking around that might notice her.

That would also return the police's attention to the Triads and other related troubles, the only parts they could now interfere with, increasing the number of people she had to check out to ensure they didn't have backups of certain information.

It took nearly full a month of work, within which she had noticed and gotten tired of Liqin attempting discreet peers over her shoulder and instead deputized him as an assistant. If he was going to report on her anyways, best ensure he knew full well what she was doing and why it was taking her so long to move on it.

There were five different Bureaus involved with anti-gang and Triad business she had to investigate. Any number of officers she had to locate the homes of just to ensure they didn't have personal copies of any Triad records. Several branch offices of each to investigate and locate the main Intelligence Records Offices and where all the hard copies of the information were stored.

Sonya has started with a base of some information, mostly which police headquarters dealt with the Triads more and which officers were the best in each branch, but another set of hands was of immense help to slog through the bulk of the intelligence she needed to pull her 'information wipe' off.

Since she couldn't actually do the tailing herself, as she was obviously not Chinese and tourist weren't allowed in certain places, she had to get the Triad organization she was hired by to do it instead.

There really was too much for one thief to handle, but apparently this was enough of a big deal that she wasn't going to be the only one working on it. While she was expected to handle the parts where her contracted paymasters were a little too well-known to be seen nearby, they would take care of the farther-flung targets.

Then she had to process the information they sent back to her and try to work up a viable plan to destroy all of it in as little time as possible. Adjusting said plan to changes in police patrols and schedules, and the fact she would have to be both in a visible area when things went up in flames.

Or Flames, as the case was going to be.

Storm Flames were really the only Dying Will Flame that looked like fire in both color and behavior. Hot fire, rather, Skies were the only thing that beat out her Storm in that aspect but she had no Sky Flame.

They were also the only way she'd be satisfied that everything would be destroyed no matter what, it was just controlling it from doing massive damage to other things that had given her pause.

Until the National Police Chief, Xie Fuzhi, claimed it was 'no big deal' that people were getting beaten to death in the streets by the Red Guard. At that point, Sonya didn't care if she accidently removed information they would need for other criminal investigations.

Obviously, they had a very skewed sense of what was right and wrong and she highly doubted the veracity of what information they might have had.

It took longer than she liked, it was edging past the middle of November and she was getting heartily sick of China in general, before she was happy with a nearly eight-hour long plan for everything.

Liqin went with her for the main node of information that had to be taken out, evidently the one in charge of ensuring she did as they wanted and more than likely her murderer if she didn't.

The fact that didn't bother her too much deserved a closer look, but that was for later.

She left her 'guard/guide' outside in a nearby park, sneaking into the main Hong Kong Police Headquarters and to their Records Room. As it was just dusk outside, there was a pick-up of activity in in the lobby as officers either came into work, left it, or brought in some petty or not-so-petty criminals.

Masking herself in that hadn't been too hard, most attention was on the arrivals and departures. With her hair dyed black, with something easily washed out, and dressed in the local fashions ensured she was just one more face.

A face a bit too pale and pointed to be Chinese, but she only really asked for the location of a washroom and that was common enough they likely assumed she was there to make a report of something. She asked in perfectly humble Chinese, a pointed difference from the seamstress tourist Yu who couldn't even manage that much.

Once past reception, it merely took a bit of sneaking past overworked officers trying to tackle paperwork and the odd open office similarly occupied for her to find her way.

It was even labeled for her on the walls.

Sonya merely eased the door open, checked for anyone inside, then entered fully and locked the door behind her. Dabbing the target file cabinets with a touch of Storm Flames each, she willed them to consume everything and warily watched to ensure it didn't burn through the floor.

By the time she was sure everything remotely connected to the Triads had gone up in Flames, using a touch more Storm Flames here and there when it ran out before being done, people were already knocking on the door she had locked. Trying to get in, either in response to the smoke or because they noticed the heat on their way around the offices.

Instead of retracing her steps, the thief melted the bars and glass out of her way so she could dive out a window and up to ground level. Leaving obvious melted parts to suggest the fire had done that, not someone wielding a blowtorch or something.

The only problem with that kind of exit was the melted and glowing hot glass and metal. Sonya had to use her Cloud given Propagation strength to jump through it and outside without burning herself.

It would be hard to explain why a file room or fifteen, the number of places she had to hit up and set a-Flame, burned up without anyone knowing about it. Sonya didn't really care how the police would handle that, they were letting the murder of their civilians go without bothering themselves.

Maybe this way, that Chief of Police letting murder slide would get sacked or something.

CXL (Monday the 12th of December, 1966. Mafia Land.)

Liqin dearly looked to want to ask how she burned everything she had been contracted to find and eliminate; paper, glass, metal, everything that needed to be. However, he displayed a remarkable restraint in not asking for the week they waited for the news that everything that had to go was destroyed.

That chief of police Sonya despised got executed instead of just fired, but she was perfectly happy over that.

The Russian accepted her completed contract paperwork from the same young, likely important Triad officer, and agreed to an escort back to the ship she was taking to get back to Mafia Land.

She still didn't know who it was that contracted her, but that didn't really bother her much either.

It was kind of usual for her, especially considering most of her Thieves Hall work was done anonymously. That disinterest likely kept the Triad organization she had been hired by from deciding she was a loose end they wanted cut.

Overall, it had taken a month and some change. Time enough for a certain hitman to have finished covering his and Shamal's trail, if whoever that had been in Mafia Land was waiting on her to sell out the baby Mist.

Which wasn't going to happen and would be interesting in likely lethal ways to see how this would work out.

There was no help for that, she had to return to close out the contract she had taken in Mafia Land's name otherwise they'd still hunt her down for skipping out on them.

Much to Sonya's surprise, it looked as if Renato had gotten himself some fairly-major backup and dealt with whoever it had been that wanted to 'collect' Shamal. When she disembarked, instead of being greeted with the same older gentleman that had so bothered her the hitman himself was impatiently waiting for her.

"We really must stop meeting like this." The thief informed him dryly, coming to a stop next to him and the other slightly older gentleman that wasn't so creepy seeming to her.

The Sun user didn't bother much with pleasantries. "Are you alright?"

"I was in China until about a day ago, under the Triads' protection. Since I assumed you would head to Europe, I went the opposite direction to draw attention as far from you as I could." She eyed the other man curiously but did return her attention back to him. "Is everything…?"

"Vongola took care of it." He indicated the man waiting with him, who looked as stony as he had when she first spotted him. "This is Tyr, the Sword Emperor."

…and the head of the Varia assassination squad, Sonya finished in her head with a measure of both alarm and irritation. She made a curtsy to the older Mafioso anyways, because there was no point in taking her irritation with her asshole of a hitman contact out on a man who ran a house full of assassins.

Not right now, anyways. She'd get irritated later.

"China then?" The master assassin said instead of greeting her or returning the silent salutation.

He gave a sharp nod, more to himself than either of the two standing with him, and turned just as sharply on his heel to walk away.

"Renato…"

"What other choice was there?" The hitman grouched at her, rubbing at his face tiredly. "Just… be happy we got here before you returned."

That didn't make anything of what would've happened sound good, but she had expected that. It still didn't make her happy that she had gotten this close to any part of Vongola, but in hindsight it was a very good reason for a freelance Mafioso like him to have become aligned even slightly with the largest underworld power in his home country if he started off free-lance.

Depending on what this was going to cost him, he would likely be known as one of Vongola's hitmen no matter what happened in the future.

"What did you buy in China, anyways?"

"Silk." For a sewing hobby she didn't mind but wasn't particularly enthused over doing. Sonya would likely resell most of the material she had purchased to support her working cover as a seamstress in China, maybe even for a bit of profit if she was smart about it. "Is Shamal alright?"

"For a certain definition of alright." Renato informed her with a touch of humor, seeming less tense now she wasn't going to try murdering him for this clusterfuck.

"He is alive, anything else will improve eventually." She dismissed that easily enough, picking up her rather bulky luggage and starting to move out of the way of other travelers. Curious how they didn't jostle either the thief or hitman when the master assassin was still there. "Is everything around you so hectic?"

He snorted, following her out of the dockyard and into the terminal she had to return her fake passport within. "I have been reliably informed that chaos follows me everywhere."

"I know we did not quite get around to what this favor was supposed to be for, but I am calling it done anyways." She informed him a touch more stridently than she intended. "You still owe me a story, two of them actually. This little situation I want the details of, if only to be sure I do not need to keep a watch over my shoulder."

Another snort, and he was still following her.

Sonya assumed he really had been irritated he had to hide behind her for the last month and was doing this just to ensure she really was alright. He was a rather womanizing kind of gentleman, but he was enough of one that a female covering his escape must have upset his sensibilities something awful.

"I want to know how you got the information for your books."

"Fair enough."

It wasn't really that earth-shattering, just a touch expensive for mostly useless information and maybe slightly risky at the outside. That trade was a bit heavy in her favor, but the hitman likely knew he wasn't her favorite person right now.