Nine

He clearly remember the day where he had to convince her to take this photo of her smiling on a bridge where a river can be seen. Her smile, her eyes and her lips— he missed them all but now he realized that it will never come back.

A year before he got to prison, he met her on a cafe where she served her coffee and donut. It was nice, she did even smiled at him even when his tattoo was dragging him down. What he did not know, she was in need of money those times and she pity him for being mistreated but she never felt love. Only Diego did.

He wiped his tears for the second time and grabbed the lighter on a pocket on his shirt. He light it up and put the fire on the corner of their photo, hoping that he would forget her, just like how easy this paper would transform into ash.

When her face started burning and the fire reached corner where his fingers were staying, he let it fall on the toilet bowl and flushed it two times. He wiped his tear for one last time and exited the comfort room.

He walked back to the group of guards standing in a room, facing the white screen where a digital map of a town was displayed. Becca sat on one of the sofas, drinking a smoking black liquid on her mug.

"You okay man?" One of the guards asked him after noticing his gloomy attitude and his red nose.

He smiled at him and rolled his sleeves to his elbow. She looked at him, "Did your shit burned?"

Almost all of the guards turned their back to each other trying to hold off their laugh, one of them can't help it but smile, "Ha ha funny." he shot back, she smirked.

"Okay, that is enough." a man standing beside the white screen coughed and straightened his face, "We are only ten minutes away from Berlin, this plane would land on a wide field which is... fifteen minutes away from the address where Alexis is staying so, I want you guys to stay focus."

Becca crossed her legs and drank the bitter coffee on her hand. If she would be honest, her head hurts like hell, her brain was pounding like it was overused for a month, but she's still willing to continue this mission of hers.

"There are civilians around the area. Our scouts have already checked it yesterday and," she grabbed the pointer from a small coffee table in front of her and pointed on an area where tents can be seen, "This flea-market right here, all of the vendors and store owners are part of a cartel that Alexis have established. So whatever you do, don't draw any attention."

She stood up, trying to balance herself on a stiletto she decided to use and walked across the room. "David, your team will handle side Beta. Faith, yours is on side Charlie. I will be handling the Alpha tower, claro?"

All of them nodded, but Diego.

"Which team am I under?" he asked.

"You will be my eye and ears on the hindsight, Diego. You'll stay here." she smiled downing the coffee on her mouth, "Dismissed."

"Wait."

Diego was not used to working behind computers and phones, not that he does not know how to use them, hell he is a pro, but he was puzzled.

The guards left the cabin, leaving the two to argue.

"You should be putting me on the field," he looked at Becca who started putting her shades on.

"We had a contract that says you will not be included on any hunting that will expose you. You are just my locator, tracker. Besides," she dragged her shades down for him to see her looking, "You don't look like you are on your state of war right now after what happened last night."

"That is done, I am done with her. Stop bringing it up." he sat on a chair parallel to her.

She brought her shades back on her eyes and tilted her head to look at the ceiling of the plane. She pursed her lips after closing her eyes and did not talked after hearing the tone of his voice. She is not afraid of him though, she just thought space is what he needs.

"What about you? You ready?"

"I should be, or all of you will be dead." she murmured.

Five minutes before we land, fasten your seatbelt.

The pilot talked to them, pertaining to the plane landing. Diego transferred beside her where there are seatbelt and locked himself in, Becca did otherwise.

"Hey, are you crazy." she did not opened her eyes, Diego then decided to fasten her seatbelt for her.

He grabbed one on her shoulder and one beside her leg, when he finished fasting them on, he can not help it but look on a slightly violet line of bruise on her collarbone, stretching from one side to the other. He also noticed some marks on her neck, which is the size of his fingers.

He sighed and looked at her face, she does not even looked scared. It is just her usual reaction, or rather her signature poker face.

The airplane started to descend, sending him sliding closer to her, she opened her eyes and saw him looking at her. She slowly curled one corner of her lips, making Diego look away.

"You should've applied at least a cold compress on your neck." he looked at the map then on a window behind them.

"I thought my concealer would do the work." she sat straight, observing his face.

"Well it didn't."

Her eyes darted on a briefcase which started sliding sideways, "Once we finish this, you will be sent back. You have to stay with Lisa until she lets you go."

He looked back at her, she gave him the briefcase at the same time. "Partial payment, the other half would be given to you by her."

They can feel the tire of the plane touching the ground.

"What, do I have to wait for you?" he scoffed grabbing the other end of the case, smiling at her, expecting a sarcastic answer or a hurtful one.

They looked at each other for a long five seconds until the plane came into a stop, Becca smiled back.

"I did not say you'll have to wait for me." she smiled, snapping open the belt on her body.

She stood up, feeling a stabbing stare behind her, but she continued on walking out the cabin where Diego was left alone. She walked to Keith and accepted a silver gun that was kept on a foamed case, she loaded it with the magazine that was included and kept it behind her. She also picked an ear device, together with the gun and put it on.

He walked out of the room and saw her getting ready, baffled by her answer, he asked her.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I don't have time to explain, get ready." she walked down to the stairs while wearing her coat and into a black car parked at the end of it.

He looked outside and saw a lot of guards starting to wear their gears on their body. Some are already on their respective vans, some are setting up their long range guns but most of them are keeping their glances at Becca.

Diego was about to step out of the plane, but one of the guards left with him had his palm on his chest before his shoe could touch the sunlight. "Stay inside, check your systems. Go, you'll have to be there before they could reach the place."

She started her engine and let the two motorcycles in front of her lead the way. She let her car roar when she saw the gates of the port open.

She smiled when her earpiece started to make small sounds, signifying Diego was starting to get ready. She pushed a button on her car to have a map displayed in front of her and pressed another button on the screen for their location.

"I did not know you can drive." He said after opening a screen streaming everything that she can see, "You sure you can drive better than me?"

"You always doubt me." she turned to take the highway, "So, what will be your code name?"

"Who the hell uses code name nowadays? Even Ethan Hunt doesn't use them." Diego started pulling up windows that tracks all the teams he had to command.

"I don't know, thought you like them." she floored it when she noticed that no one was on the road.

"There are a lot of things you're not telling me, by the way. Like, why are you trying to find him? Are you trying to assassinate someone? Also, what do you mean earlier?"

"You are one hell of an accomplice Diego. You're supposed to be telling me now where exactly Alexis is, not chit chat about those things." she sighed.

"It's your fault, you are not telling me enough information." he started typing on his keyboard and looked at the three monitors in front of him.

"You won't need them," she dodge a truck in front of her and drove faster.

"I swear, after this, I will not let you go and bombard you with questions until you answer them." he murmured.

"Can you tell me about your tattoo on your arm then?" she changed the topic.

"Uhh, had to cover some scars I got on burning myself when I was twenty. Tribal designs, favorite things." he saw a red dot moving to enter the flea-market, "He is entering the premise."

She moaned as an agreement, "Becca, I'm sorry about last night."

"That's nothing, always got beaten up by multiple men, didn't pissed myself." she looked at the other side of the road where there is an unknown motorcycle keeping up with her speed.

"No, seriously. I'm sorry."

"Diego, check the plate number on the motorcycle following me."

"Oh, okay. Uhh..." he looked closely at the figure Becca was looking at, "It was stolen last month, wait..."

There are other three motorcyles encircled her car, her guards positioned on her back and front, "Thought so, don't bother. Alexis knows we are here."