Velika: The story of a lover

Velika O'Sullivan wished she could tell Bryce Sanchez about who she really was, and what she did for a living, but she couldn't. Though she had this sense of feeling that perhaps it was her time to move on and leave her past behind, she took a step back, just like Bryce Sanchez, who couldn't tell her what he was as well.

When they could feel the chill in the breeze, it was time for them to say farewell, before the day they departed, they sat in a small cafe, sipping coffee and enjoyed the last afternoon they had together.

"Velika," He started slowly, the sun light shone on his white shirt, Velika O'Sullivan liked his shirts, Bryce Sanchez was the man who wore different kinds and designs of shirts day by day, she loved his style, "So you are just simply going back to work then?"

"Oh yes," She winked, "What else can I do then? Bills piled up high. What about you? Keep going on your business tour, Bryce?"

"Ah, I think so," He smiled, "What else can I do?"

"Well," She curled her lips, "Look for me when you come back to the States, okay?"

"Certainly," He nodded, still had the friendly smile on, "Certainly."

So, they separated the following day, Velika O'Sullivan went back to Natural and began her busy work, soon she put Bryce Sanchez behind. What happened in the summer was like an unrealistic dream, she couldn't convince herself that she found her perfect match, after all, she wasn't a teenager dreaming about romance all day long, she was a grown woman who risked her

life every day and had no time to think about personal life, although deeply in her mind she wanted to meet that man again.

But she never expected the next time she saw him, they were aiming at each other with pistols in their hands.

About five months after Velika O'Sullivan came back from her vacation, she was sent on a mission to prevent a jewelry robbery and caught the world known thief who committed multitudinous crimes but never been caught, it was a difficult operation, she sacrificed half of her team members and finally got close to the thief. She hid behind the door, at the moment the thief stepped in, she closed the door and aimed at him, almost at the same time, he turned around and aimed at her.

When they saw each other's face, they both stiffed.

"That's unanticipated," Bryce Sanchez frowned, "Haven't seen you in a while, Velika."

"Such a long time." She bit her lips, "Are you still trying to tell me you are a businessman, Bryce?"

"And you are far away from an office lady." He smirked, put down his pistol, she was confused, "Shoot me if you want, I'm not going to fight you, even I did, there is a squad waiting for me out there somewhere anyway."

She looked into his blue eyes, didn't know what was on his mind, she sighed, radioed her team to come take their target.

###

"A man like you, Mr. Bryce Sanchez," Astoria Leontes said slowly when Bryce Sanchez was sitting at her office, not like a prisoner but like a guest, "Should easily figure out there was a trap for you."

"I figured," He held his arms, "It was too easy to predict."

"Then why did you go?" She leaned against her desk, her blonde hair was perfectly curled, made her looked like a doll, "For Velika?"

"No," He smiled, different than before, this was a fake, cold smile, "I know she works for Natural a long time ago. What brought me here isn't her, it's you."

"Me?" Astoria Leontes rose her voice unconsciously.

"Yes," He stood up and walked to her, she retrieved a little but remained standing fearlessly, with a sneer he lifted her chin and said ruthlessly, "You fascinates me. I know all about you, I know who you are and what you've been experienced. Hence, I always wanted a chance to connect to you, but you had a really good cover. When I found out Velika works for you and I know you will use her to get me, so I waited, finally the day came."

"What do you want to say?" Even she was held still by him, she had no scare in her eyes whatsoever, "Your point is?"

"I know who you are." He said unsympathetically, she had a flash of fear in her eyes, "And I can help you to get your revenge, or whatever you want. And since I'm here, I can tell that you want my help."

"And what do you want in return?" She asked coldly.

"I walk free," He emphasized every word, "Your division will no longer trouble me, and keep the police along with other assassination agencies away from me."

"The world known Bryce Sanchez couldn't take care of this by himself?" Astoria Leontes, smirked, "That's some news to me."

"That's called insurance," He whispered at her ears, "Now, do we have a deal?"

"Of course, offer accepted." She laughed and he finally let her go.

###

"You shouldn't tell me this," Velika O'Sullivan finished her drink when Bryce Sanchez stopped talking, "Now I feel I was used, even I know this was a coincidence."

"Well," Bryce Sanchez smiled, "Then you should have told me you are married, now I feel I was cheated on."

"Ah, I just didn't manage to find a time to file for a proper divorce," Velika O'Sullivan interrupted him, and sighed, "At least we are finally being honest to each other, and that's a good thing, isn't it Bryce?"

"Absolutely," Bryce Sanchez stood up, so did she, "Absolutely."

They hugged each other, and Bryce Sanchez walked out of the door first, Velika O'Sullivan stepped out two minutes later.

You never know what life could bring, a smile climbed on Velika O'Sullivan's face. When she first heard the rumor Bryce Sanchez walked free and became Astoria Leontes' lover, she was agitated, at first, she thought it was Astoria Leontes' trap for her, especially after she was told that Romeo Leontes was the one made her husband left her. So, she went to her friend Nicholas Watson for help, back then when Natural's classified files were still assessed to network, it wasn't hard for Nicholas Watson to find out Romeo Leontes' plans. After she saw the file about developing XYZ-2421, she made up her mind to co-op with Astoria Leontes, and also assured herself, Bryce Sanchez's appearance wasn't in her boss's plan.

She doubted if Bryce Sanchez was ever Astoria Leontes' lover.

###

Early in the morning Velika O'Sullivan received an encrypted email from The Sinking Boat, told her to get ready, the chopper was on its way. No plan for her, not even a single warning about what she should beware of, fortunately, she was an experienced field agent and worked out a plan for herself last night with a little help from Nicholas Watson.

That vent she was about to get through wasn't some kind of normal vent, it was the vent that ventilate the incinerator of classified files. Just like what mentioned before, Astoria Leontes was totally old-fashioned, had no faith in high-tech, so she had a file room and an incinerator. They cremated every Tuesday, and unfortunately, today was Tuesday. Velika O'Sullivan wondered The Sinking Boat did this in purpose, raised the difficulty of the task, tried to figure out how good she was.

So she had to be more careful. As the incinerator was operated manually, Nicholas Watson couldn't breach in anything but be there himself to stop burning his friend into ashes. He felt lucky Astoria Leontes didn't suspect him, she locked up Dean O'Sullivan away for the purpose of the show. but she never thought Nicholas Watson would be a part of the crew.

The fire was usually at 8 o'clock in the morning, and no doubt now was 7. Velika O'Sullivan had to admit how wise The Sinking Boat was, they knew how to trouble a young woman who had to complete the mission almost all by herself.

She hesitated a little when she put her knife in her pocket, the knife Dean O'Sullivan gave her on her 20th birthday. There was a line carved on the hilt, 'To My Beloved Wife', she felt hurt every time she saw the line, carved in beautiful writings, her thoughts would fly back to the old days when they were young and impulsive. Even now she recalled, she couldn't remember where she got the courage to run and get married without telling anyone, even her uncle-in-law wanted to get rid of her, still, she felt she did a bald move. So did Dean O'Sullivan, he was always a good son, and the only time he upset his parents was a big one, his marriage. Velika O'Sullivan never asked, but she knew his parents didn't like her, not a bit, they felt she was too ordinary for their son, they wanted their son to marry someone stunning, not a plain Asian woman with a strange accent and had such disastrous family background.

None of their friends thought their marriage could last long, and now, they've been married for nearly ten years, she sighed when she thought of the number, time did fly.

Impressive.

She got a message from Nicholas Watson, he was ready to help when she needed him. Almost at the same time she heard the roar of the chopper's engine, she knew it was the time to go on her little trip back to place she worked.

Velika O'Sullivan didn't say a single word while she was on the chopper, she had to confess she was nervous, undeniably nervous. Going back to Natural was more or less equal to suicide, even she had the help from others, she had to do most of the part by herself, like the old times, well, the difference was before she worked for Natural, and now she was against her old employer, who trained her and changed her life.

What's the probability that Astoria Leontes still trusts her and had the intention to work with her like the old times? She had no answer. Just like herself, Astoria Leontes was a very insecure person, she tried to hide as much of her background as possible and she wouldn't trust anyone unless she believed the cooperation was mutual benefit so the other side wouldn't turn against her since there was a profit tight. However, in the case of Velika O'Sullivan, even Velika O'Sullivan herself could not answer the question why she worked for Astoria Leontes. For a revenge that had been delayed for so many years? She didn't know.

The incinerator was already located in the basement, all she needed to do was avoid people and approached to the room where Daniel Heinrich was chained. After she took down the guards and breached the door using Romeo Leontes' old identity code number, which he gave her before he left, the system had ten minutes to find out and then the alarm would ring, in this ten minutes, she had to evacuate with Daniel Heinrich and potentially, Nicholas Watson as well. If everything went smoothly, she would have exactly ten minutes. Astoria Leontes enjoyed making numbers precise so no question would be asked.

When the chopper was swirling above the roof, she was rubbing her hands. It was almost autumn now and weather started getting colder and colder, she nodded to the pilot, took a deep breath and jumped down.