𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 - Mitch Rapp

Fourteen- death came knocking

Adrenaline was pumping through the brunette as she kept the gun aimed at Ethan.

Her eyes glanced to the lifeless body of Marcos, feeling a sense of relief that the gang leader was no longer alive to bark orders and ruin further lives of innocent women. She hoped the rest of the team would be able to track down the rest of the gang members, and rescue any remaining women under their control- because as of now, the only focus Ava had was going to Mitch's aid.

"Are you out of your fucking mind, Ava?", Ethan's alarmed voice reeled her back to reality.

Her pupils refocused on Ethan's puzzled face. His head kept turning to the floor on his right, in shock that his former boss was laying there as a corpse. He knew Ava was a highly skilled agent, and that any second she could pull the trigger again- but his anger and his ego were much bigger than his fears.

"Give me your phone- I'd rather the French Embassy deal with you,  you're not even worth my bullets", Ava countered coldly.

Ethan furrowed his eyebrows for a brief moment, still stunned that she managed to pull a fast one on Europe's most wanted criminal.

"You honestly think I'm just gonna hand you my phone? You lost me thousands tonight- so you can go and fuck yourself".

Ava fought endlessly to remain calm. The sheer urge to put a bullet into Ethan's head was overwhelming, but she knew she was in enough trouble as it is. Marcos was wanted, but he was wanted alive. The French government wanted him to stand trial, but Ava fatally shot him. Of course, it was a matter of life and death, and Ava knew the CIA would be on her side- but the French government was strict in regards to how they dealt with criminals.

"How far did you think you'd get, Ethan?", Ava retorted loudly, stepping closer to the raven haired man. "Take another glimpse of your boss. That's what happens when you fuck up. When you allow business to overtake your morals".

-" Don't think for a second that I won't shoot you. There's only the two of us here now, I can easily make it look as though Marcos was the one who shot you. So choose wisely", she added with a cold glare.

Ava was convinced she had Ethan. However, much to her dismay, she couldn't have been more wrong. In an instant flash, a blunt object had thrashed her over the head, causing Ava to drop to the floor. A throbbing sensation so intense, began consuming her train of thought- so much so, that she didn't even look to see who the culprit was. After a few minutes of going in and out of consciousness, Ava eventually began to hear two voices conversing back and forth.

One of them sounded like Ethan, but she couldn't make out the other masculine voice. The two men sounded like they were arguing at first, but a few chuckles here and there made Ava lift her cheek from the wooden floor, and slowly raise her head. Standing by the kitchen area was Ethan, arms confidently crossed over his chest, casually talking with a dark blonde male, who appeared to be French, or at least european. Ava couldn't tell how long she'd been knocked out, but it mustn't have been for long, because the blood slowly cascading away from Marcos's head still looked fresh.

"Look who's awake".

Ava felt extremely nervous by Ethan's overconfident voice. Even moreso when he began treading over to her form currently on the floor. She wanted to move. Run. Grab the nearest gun. But all of the above was impossible. She was still slipping in and out of consciousness from the hard blow to the head. Whatever the object was, it caused some serious damage to her head.

"Not so threatening now, huh Ava?", Ethan continued as he currently hovered over. "Looks like Daniel here did some real damage to the side of your head. How unfortunate for you", he eerily smiled.