Diavolo

twenty five - stab and run

At CIA headquarters

"You're telling me, one girl took out all four of my best agents?" The director beamed his jaw clenching.

A bead of sweat rolled down his assistant's face, "Yes sir, I'm afraid so."

"And Agent Santoro was there prior to the event?" The director couldn't believe what he was hearing, Roman Santoro - Agent 7 was supposed to be working undercover on another case. Not this one.

His assistant nodded, "Yes sir Roman Santoro was there."

"Send him in, right now!" 

"He's still in Italy sir." 

"Well get him on the first flight back!" His nostrils were flared and steam was practically coming out of his ears.

"Y..yes sir, right away."

For years now the CIA has been trying to get their hands on their ex-agent. LeToya De Rosa. It was the director himself that picked her out of the Marines, she was a great asset to the team, one of the best. But that was until she double-crossed the agency and became an informant for the drug cartels. Well...that's what they've been told anyways.

Now she was their biggest enemy.

***

A knock on the door bought Natasha back to her senses as she stood on the balcony of her bedroom. "Come in." She uttered without sparring a glance at who the intruder was.

"You wanted to talk?" She nodded walking over to her bed.

"Theo, you know this isn't going to go away." Her voice was stern and clear but concern was evident.

He placed himself on the edge of the bed and sighed, "So you know..."

"I don't plan on telling anyone, but we're going to sort this out before it gets out of hand."

He looked at her with admiration, "Darling I appreciate it but it's my business, I'm capable of doing it on my own."

Here he goes again trying to solve problems by himself, she shook her head. "I know you're capable, I don't doubt your abilities at all. But when I found a C4 planted in my car, they've made it my business now."

"He planted a bomb in your car?" He asked with a stunned expression. It was a small bomb placed under the hood, it could only be triggered by a force pushed on the gas pedal. Luckily the car was one of a kind, Aston Martin V12 Vanquish with x-ray detectors. 

"Yes he did. Xander's flying us to London in..." She paused to look at her watch, "10 minutes so go pack, I'll wait for you downstairs." She didn't bother waiting for a reply but instead grabs her bags and left the room.

***

They both strolled through the dark streets of London, taking a sharp turn into a dark alley which they were both too familiar with. At the bottom of the alley was a set of double doors which read 'DO NOT ENTER' She slid the doors open and inside was a dimly lit cubical, they walked in sliding the door shut behind them. With the press of a button the small cubical began to descend.

"Password." A robotic voice chimed through the small speaker.

"It's Diavolo, I'm here with Viper." She said bluntly. There was a moment of silence, as they stood in the small box, they shared a look between each other before the doors slowly parted. A small smirk crept upon Natasha's face as they walked into the underground, the crowd parted like the Red Sea.

"So what's the plan? We just confront him," Theo shrugged, "Maybe stab him and run?" Natasha looked at him raising a questionable eyebrow.

"No, I'm going to fight him." She said flatly as if it wasn't obvious while taking her leather jacket off and handing it to him.

"Are you crazy?" He replied practically shouting over the crowd, "No. I'm not letting you."

"It's already done, the bets are in." She replied her eyes drifting from him to the fighting cage.

Theo exhaled loudly, "Are you sure?  You won't remember but he's dangerous."

Before she could reply the loudspeakers beamed, "Ladies and Gentlemen...It's time for what everyone has been waiting for." The crowd cheered and whistled. "Tonight's main event..introducing the first fighter.....The Death Angel." The crowd couldn't contain themselves as cheers erupted. A fairly tall man strolled into the cage swinging his arms carelessly, he wore a pair of boxing shorts which had 'death' written on the waistband. "...And his opponent, the undefeated returns. She's back home...The Diavolo." Once again the crowd cheered with ecstasy.

Natasha turned to face Theo, his grey eyes scanning her face with concern. She smiled at him "I've got you six." Theo was utterly dumbfounded as his mouth formed an 'o' shape, hearing her say those words took him by surprise. He recalled their old catchphrase that they used in the Marines. Which only made him wonder if she's remembered all this time.

The fighting cage was where we transformed years of pain into moments of immense suffering, as if we were beating that torment from one another's bones. The Death Angel was twice the size of The Diavolo, he could easily pick her up and throw her across the cage but that's without taking her speed and strength into consideration.

They circled each other around the cage as soon as the bell struck, Death Angel charged towards her but he made contact with air, "You're gonna have to be faster than that." She pressed. He gritted his teeth as he throws a quick jab at her face but she blocks it. He tries again aiming at her throat but she ducks. "You know your strong..." She said circling him, he bared his teeth as she was trying to provoke him with her snarky comments. His foot came up and extended towards her stomach at lightning speed. But she was smarter than him, he was predictable as always, she caught his ankle mid-air and slammed her heel into his kneecap. His scream was terrifying, it tore through the air like a bullet. "But you have no technique," she whispered by his ear. 

"So you found the bomb huh?" His voice rough like sandpaper, he grabbed her hair into his fist and strikes his head into hers. At that she fell to her knees clutching her head, he rose onto his healthy leg - the other was broken for sure. In one swift motion, she slid under his legs, holding on to his other ankle forcing him to fall face first. A pool of blood welled up on the mat as the red liquid ran down his nose and dripped off his chin. Natasha grabbed his hair and locked her arm around his neck, into a headlock. "Now I'm going to say this once, so listen carefully..." She paused glancing at Theo in the crowd. "You're going to leave Viper alone, he doesn't owe you anything and he sure as hell isn't going to do your dirty work." 

The man chuckled, "and if I don't?" He implied it as a question but it wasn't, although he sounded convince - he knew deep down what she was capable of. She tightened her hold around his neck, like a fish out of water he gasp for air. Her foot pressed into his cracked kneecap as he yelled out in pain. "Fine," he said through his gritted teeth, "I'll stop hunting the snake." He croaked as she loosens her hold slightly, "Just tell him to keep his mouth shut or I'll kill him."

"He has no intentions of leaking your secrets if I wanted you dead. I could do it in my sleep so consider this a warning." She carefully said, before pushing the pressure points on his neck, his body went limp in her arm. The bell rang again indicating she had won this fight, she walked out of the cage into the wild crowd and didn't look back.