Chapter Text
Oct. 16, 2008
11:55PM
Dolton Brock was a man of many talents. One was scamming people out of money, then running. He was a con artist. That’s what he did best. But, sadly, one talent he lacked was hiding. The last person he’d scammed was Russian mob boss Alexzander Baranov. Dalton had thought it would be funny, making up a fake story about how he needed help with putting food on the table for his wife and kids. He didn’t have a wife or kids. That was Dalton's first mistake. His second mistake was thinking he could actually get away with the money and never be caught. Oh, how foolish he was. See, Mister Baranov had a secret weapon that everyone feared, that everyone knew you would meet if you crossed him.
That weapon came in the form of a five foot tall girl, a top assassin. She went by the name Sara O’Hare or, as she was known in the criminal underground, рыжая лиса or ‘Red Fox.’ She was called this for two reasons:she always had blood on her hands, and she was sly as a fox.
Sara watched Dolton for days, following him to every casino and bar in Las Vegas. She knew his favorite was a place called ‘Oak and Ivy’. He went there every Friday to have a few drinks and to flirt with the bartender, despite getting shot down every time. The order was the same: a Moscow Mule. After about eight or nine of those, he would head back to his hotel come midnight and sleep in late the next morning. A trip to Denny’s for a large coffee, no sugar, and some pancakes. The same routine every Friday, whilst other days were filled with gambling and his usual scams.
But tonight, the routine would change. Sara was perched on the rooftop across from ‘Oak and Ivy.’ It was six minutes til midnight and, when Dolton came out, Sara would take her shot. The Fox would strike again.
“You do know you could’ve just kidnapped him and threatened him for the money back, right, Alex?” Sara murmured with a sigh into her earpiece.
”Or you could just shoot him and get back to the hotel before your papa Max and Liv get back,” Alexzander said, his tone marked with irritation. “I’m not supposed to be sending you out on missions while you’re on vacation, but this seems like an easy kill for you, рыжая лиса. Now, do your job and get back.” The earpiece clicked off and Sara was alone.
I don’t know why I put up with him, Sara thought, and looked at her watch. It was now 11:55pm and Dolton would be out soon. Couldn’t this have been done later? Maybe after her vacation? She loved her job but, like any employee, she enjoyed relaxing more.
What would grandma Lina say about this? She had been lying to her grandparents for years. Grandma Lina and Grandpa Gene had been Sara’s role models growing up. A nurse and a medic, respectively, in the Second World War, they had done enough worrying, She didn’t want to worry them more. And, thus, she kept the dangerous part of her life out of the letters she sent.
Sara looked at her watch again. Midnight. Sara stood. Looking through the lens of her sniper rifle, she saw Dolton stumbling out the bar. Inhaling deeply, she shot. The bullet hitting struck his head, and he fell to the ground.
“Target eliminated,” Sara said through her earpiece.
“Very good, рыжая лиса. Hurry back now, before your papa and sister return home.”
”On my way, Alex”.
As Sara descended the building and made the way back to her hotel, she couldn’t help but feel like her grandparents would be disappointed in her if they knew the nastier aspects of her life.
They’d spent their lives helping people; all she did was hurt them. Sara couldn’t help but feel like she was letting them down.
Too lost in her thoughts, she didn’t notice Alex at the door of her hotel room, trying to rush her back inside. “You okay?” Alex asked with concern.
She blinked a bit before nodding. “Completely fine. They on their way back?”
Sara was lying to Alex and to herself. She loved her job, but not as much as peace. That was all she wanted and she hadn’t had it in a long time.
“Yes. In the parking lot. Go change and hide the clothes, or else Max will be mad.”
Sara nodded again. In the bathroom, she changed out of her dark clothes, catching sight of herself in the mirror.
What happened to you, where did that bright young girl go?
She’s gone. Sara O’Hare is no more. Only рыжая лиса remains.
Taking a deep breath, she exhaled out all thoughts of disappointing her grandparents and her old self. She had other things to do, like trying to enjoy her vacation and avoiding the disappointment she felt for who she was and the things she had lost.