Chapter Text
Kara sent the text and just ran to the shower. She really didn’t want to know what James was gonna respond to an ominous 6.30 am text that just said: ‘We have to break up. Sorry. Not your fault.’ But she just couldn’t do it anymore. Was it the more courageous way to break up with your year-old boyfriend over text? Not really, but she had been meaning to break up with him for almost two months and she always backed down. Because the thing is, James is a really good guy; respectful, charismatic, funny. And the truth is, that she went pining for him for almost eight months, but as soon as they started dating all the magic went out like a flame without oxygen. And she tried, she really tried. They had swoon worthy date nights with wine, flowers and candles, double dates even, because that’s the thing you do when your respective siblings start dating each other. Her mom loved him. Her friends like him well enough, the sex was also good enough. James was handsome, played sports, was a good dancer, they shared moral values, their jobs were compatible, but together they were boring. She felt more giddy watching Alex and Kelly making eyes at each other than when she was kissing James.
So, yeah, deciding to break up with James was easy. Actually doing it, that was the hard thing, because she cared about him, and she knew he loved her but she didn’t. Not like that.
At 6.45 am when she got out of the shower, she ignored the 7 text messages she could already see on her cell phone screen and proceeded to put on her uniform. Kara Danvers was a Government DEO Agent. She was recruited out of National City University, they had been watching her since she took the SAT’s. Apparently, there is a secret test inside the already convoluted test, and she had the perfect score. Or so she had been told. But the biggest surprise came when she learned that her adoptive sister, Alex, was also recruited a year earlier, when she had finished med school.
They were both recruited for a relatively new branch of the DEO that specialized in secret ops. The Argo Teams. For all purposes, they were spies. They observed, went undercover, used their appearance to neutralize targets, the whole shebang. Their unit at the DEO was named Argo One, unofficially they were called DEBS, something about them being beauties or something because they were all women. It was something people at the agency didn’t call them to their faces, because they were the unit with the most results. Or most likely, because Alex would kill the bastard that had the balls.
The team consisted of her sister, Alex as their leader; loyal, somewhat stoic, ferocious, brilliant, the best resting bitch face she had ever seen, she was a doctor which was great in a pinch for their line of work.
Kara herself, was the second in command, she was mostly the brawn, great in hand to hand and with weapons (even though Kelly liked to say that her real gift were her words, which wasn’t that much of a stretch considering she technically does have a degree in journalism). Alex was more of planning, Kara more of acting, they balanced each other out.
Kelly was an army transfer, and she'd graduated as a psychologist. She was their profiler, always observing their target searching for their weak spot, the perfect timing to strike, and how to efficiently get them to cooperate. She was also fantastic with weapons, and acting as a mediator within the team. (And in the last sixteen months, her most important job had been to make Alex happy. And she was excelling at it.)
Their latest recruit, Nia, had been hand picked by Major General Cat Grant, into the team, after getting an International Relations degree. She was a little green around the edges, but she was great with technology and the terminology of the youth. Kara took her under her wing, training her in hand to hand, and weaponry, mentoring her in any way she could.
Their branch on the DEO differentiated themselves from the rest, with the use of a particular blue plaid fabric on their uniform. Kara used it the most as a neck-tie.
Alex used it the most as the stripes pressed into her uniform pants. Kelly and Nia used it the most as skirts which were technically the correct way to use the fabric, but truth be told, to Kara skirts just felt impractical on the field. Then again, Kelly and Nia rarely went to the field on skirts, maybe Kara just didn’t like the damn skirts, the way it basically demeaned the team, and gave the assholes in headquarters more ammo to call them DEBS.
She was finishing putting on her ankle boots, sitting on the couch, when the door opened and her sister’s head popped on, her hair going in different directions, half dressed and nursing a cup of coffee.
“Minus 20 minutes to leave. Why is my dear brother-in-law calling me to tell you to pick up your phone?”
Kara grimaced, at the question and when her phone started ringing she picked it up. Alex just shrugged and left, closing the door behind her.
“James.” She whispered into her phone.
“Kara, what the hell?” James didn't really sound angry, he sounded more disappointed than anything else. “What do you mean 'We have to break up’? It’s it something about your job?” Kara let out a deep sigh.
“No, not really. Can we talk later? I’m really late for work.”
“Okay, sur-” Kara closed up the call without letting him finish. She really didn’t want to talk to him first thing in the morning. And her actual priority about the whole thing, was Kelly’s reaction to her breaking things up with her brother. And that said a lot about her relationship with James. She really loved Kelly and she loved how happy she made Alex, and she really, really hoped she wouldn’t ruin her sister's relationship with her own break up.
She picked up her glasses and put them on, fixed up her neck-tie, making sure her white button-up was free of any lint, picked up her keys and closed the door. They lived in a tiny 10-storey apartment building, close to a covert military base and belonging to the DEO. The team were basically neighbors, Alex living across from her. Nia lived two floors up, and technically speaking, Kelly did too, but she spent all her free time at Alex’s. Living and working with someone wasn’t easy, but somehow their little team was great at it.
“Coming,” she called aloud, when the cell on her hand started ringing showing Alex’s face on the screen, moving down the stairs with quick steps, two floors down to the lobby. She was the last one to arrive at the meet point, and Alex gave her a suspicious look that Kara rebutted with a bright smile.
“J’onn called a meeting at 08.00 hours. You’re late, and I’ll not be accused of favoritism.”
Kara rolled her eyes after seeing her watch. “Being on the dot, it’s not late.” She said walking up to the blue Chevrolet Camaro. It was hers, but Alex always drives it. She refuses to sell the Ducati Monster 1200 S Black on Black bike she has, and she would only be caught dead on the Volkswagen Beetle convertible that Kara was gonna buy at first.
They compromised, because the Ducati is a bitch to drive on National City, Kara prefers to be in charge of the music than drive, and with four people in the car they could use the carpool lane, it was great. “And you will always be accused of favoritism, because you work with your sister and your girlfriend. The odds are already against you.”
As always, Alex groaned when Kara played their one daily song of the greatest album in history, No Strings Attached, but still sang it under her breath. Kelly smiled softly in the back, catching Alex gaze on the rearview mirror, and Nia kept trying to sneak a few more minutes of sleep.
Kara waited for a Dua Lipa song to end a few minutes later, when they were halfway to the DEO to speak. “I broke up with James”
“What?” Nia asked, over the loud music that was starting to play.
“I broke up with Jimmy.” She said again, louder.
“Oh, thank God,” Kelly said, at the same time that Nia asked: “Oh, why?”
Alex kept quiet, but she looked at her for half a second, with an indecipherable look.
“I just… Wait, Kelly, did you say ‘ Thank God’ ?” She looked at her sister-in-law, turning on her seat, like she had grown a second head.
“Yes, Kara. Because I love my brother and I love you, and you’re both great people but you two together are as boring as watching grass growing. You have the sexual chemistry of a wet matchstick.” Alex snorted, and Kelly continued as nothing. “And while that’s not everything in a relationship, you didn’t make each other better, or were any more happier with each other than when you were just friends. Sometimes a relationship is just not meant to be.”
“Yeah, and watching you two kiss was like watching you having your teeth pulled.”
“Alex! ” She screamed at her sister, flabbergasted.
“I thought they were cute together.” Nia piped up, almost in a whisper.
“They’re both very attractive people,” Kelly rationalized. “But that doesn’t always translate into a successful relationship.”
“Well,” Alex started while she parked the car into their assigned spot. “I just hope there are no hard feelings between the two of you. Because not only would that make things awkward if there is any joint mission with him and Homeland Security but also because, you know, Kelly and I.”
Kara blinked at her sister, and then turned around to watch Kelly. “I… I was actually more worried about how you would take the news.”
Kelly lowly laughed. “No need. I know you care about him, just not like that. It’s all good. Besides, there is a Danvers-Olsen couple still going strong.” She said winking at Alex through the mirror.
“And not even Pam in HR could do anything against our love, babe. You’re in for the long haul.” Alex said, all cocky getting out of the car, and extending her hand to take Kelly’s.
Kara smiled at them before also climbing out the car leaving the door open so Nia could do the same. “Where is the meeting?”
“He said we should go to the canteen, in order for you to feed your bottomless pit of a stomach and actually pay attention,” Alex answered without missing a beat, interlocking her fingers with Kelly’s, who let out a small giggle at the same time as Nia.
Kara gasped on fake outrage. “Well, that’s just rude. But I am hungry, so I’ll let it slide.”
“Sure you are.” Murmured Nia.
They all walked to the canteen, chatting animatedly about the upcoming Endgame Gala. All year long, all the government agencies try to outdo each other with their accomplishments and the Gala is where they can boast about it. This year the Argo One, had caught a big, once upon a time billionaire in a massive pyramid scheme by the name of Maxwell Lord. It was a big deal, the DEO was happy, Alex was furious because she had to seduce the man, and Kara, Kelly and Nia had so much fun teasing her about it. They absolutely made a ridiculous video helping her dress for the big date.
They joined the queue and ordered their breakfast like everyday. Nia was a fan of sugary goodness, she almost always went with strawberry muffins and cappuccino.
Kelly being the healthier of the pack mostly went with fruits, granola and yogurt, and coffee with oat milk.
Growing up Alex’s favorite breakfast was their mother's Eliza, blueberry pancakes, but she had stopped eating them because Kelly was allergic to blueberries. (Kelly had told her numerous times that she could eat them but Alex simply refused.) Now her favored breakfast consists of an everything-bagel with cream cheese and prosciutto, and black coffee.
Kara asked for pancakes with chocolate chips and whipped cream. Bacon and eggs with toast. A banana muffin, a chocolate chip muffin and a latte. (According to Alex, Kara was like a 5-year old without supervision when it came to eating.)
“I’m still wondering how you can eat so much?” Kelly questioned under her breath, once all their food was delivered.
“You would think it had something to do with the job, but nope. She has been eating like that since we were kids,” Alex responded, walking over to the table where their boss, J’onn J'onzz was seated. “It’s a miracle she hasn’t any underlying medical condition. Morning J’onn.” She greeted the man, taking a seat by his side.
“Maybe I just need a lot of energy to deal with you. Morning Papa Bear.” Kara smiled at the man, taking the free seat at his other side.
“Morning. Please, don’t call me that.” J’onn pleaded, once again.
“Morning, Papa Bear.” Kelly and Nia, said at the same time, seating next to Alex and Kara respectively.
He sighed and looked at Kara, but said nothing else while taking a sip of his black coffee. Kara smiled at him and started eating, as if someone were to come and take her food from her.
J’onn was a coworker and old friend of Alex and Kara’s father, Jeremiah, who had gone MIA years ago and was presumed dead. Since then, J’onn had taken care of them, and personally trained them once they joined the agency. He was the Director of the DEO and the liaison between the Argo teams and Major General Grant. Argo was basically her pet project, and she was very protective of the teams and expected nothing short of perfection. Exactly at 08.00, J’onn put up a tablet in the middle of the table.
“Attention, please. We have a new mission.”
The tablet lit up, and none other than Cat Grant showed up on the screen. Almost, imperceptibly Alex straightened up. Kara stopped eating, Nia and Kelly stopped chit-chatting between them.
“Good morning, Major General.” J’onn politely greeted.
“Director J'onzz.” She responded curtly. “Morning, Argo One. It’s important that you know that this mission takes priority over any other case you have open. The window it’s extremely limited and only God knows when we will have another opportunity as good as this one. You will have all resources at your disposal. Be careful and please make me proud.” And then, as if nothing had happened, the screen went back to black. The table stayed silent for a couple of minutes.
“She had never talked directly to us before a mission.” Alex said quietly, almost in awe.
“Yeah, well, this one is a big one.” J’onn said nonchalantly, moving his hand over the tablet to bring up the mission files. The picture of a brunette with striking green eyes, and a jawline so sharp it could probably cut glass, appeared on the screen. “Lena Luthor.”
Kara dropped the fork and knife she still had in her hands. Alex groaned, massaging her temples as if she already was battling a headache.
“Holy shit.” Kelly mumbled, after taking a sharp breath.
“Sorry, who exactly is Lena Luthor?” Nia asked.
“Lena Luthor. Former COO of LuthorCorp. One of the youngest COO’s ever. She’s a certified genius. Almost an Olympic fencer, chess prodigy, three PhDs by the age of 23.” Kelly babbled. Her and Kara had spent months studying her, trying to catch her.
“Ok. And?” Nia questioned again.
“One day she just vanished and a series of bank hackings left some companies bankrupt, like these companies never had any money to begin with. Then, she went into the actual companies and wreaked havoc on them. Trashed the place completely, released the blueprints of their prototypes and projects on the web. At first, they were her direct competitors, tech companies. But then she attacked pharmaceutical companies, food conglomerates, the beauty industry, car manufacturers. It had no particular pattern…” Kara explained, half her food forgotten.
“How do you even know it was her?”
Kara smiled at Nia’s question. It was a very good question. “Well, as we said, she is a certified genius, when she was in high school—”
“At 13, mind you,” Alex interrupted.
“Yes,” Kara continued. “She hacked into the DoD.”
“Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack.” J’onn said, no trace of humor in his deep voice.
“She said it was just a simple bet with her brother, Lex, that she could do it. But, the Luthors are one of the wealthiest families in the western hemisphere so, the incident went away without much fuzz, and the DoD cataloged the attack as harmless. But as you know, hackers tend to have a signature.”
“And the signature is the same?”
“Basically. I mean, the newer attacks are way more complex, so much that we still haven’t found the physical IP origin of them. But the signature is the same. As for when she personally attacks she leaves behind these green rocks. Kryptonite, they call them. It’s like a zirconia, which she apparently made when she was in MIT. It has a unique radiation signature, harmless as far as anyone can tell. She’s the only one that has the formula, to get the right shade of green or something.”
“That’s not even the worst part,” Kelly commented.
“I feel like I’m gonna regret asking but, what’s the worst part?” Nia questioned.
It was J’onn who answered. “No one has ever fought her, and lived to tell about it”
“Her mother and brother have condemned her actions, but mostly they act as if she never even existed. LuthorCorp is as profitable as ever.” Alex said before turning to J’onn. “What do we have? Last we heard was when she killed those five agents in Antarctica.”
“Iceland, not Antarctica,” Kara said to herself.
“Well, apparently now she’s stateside. Her known associate Querl Dox, aka Brainiac has been spotted near the business district here in National City.” J’onn swiped on the screen showing a picture of Brainiac, with his dark hair and naturally tanned skin, wearing sunglasses, to the team. “Intelligence says she is going to meet Veronica Sinclair, aka Roulette, tonight at 20.00 hours.” He swiped at the tablet again showing a picture of a tall woman, covered in snake tattoos, in a plunging red dress.
“That just screams trouble. A cyber terrorist and a trafficker? Can’t be good.” Kelly said under her breath.
“Where is the meeting?” Kara asked.
“Il Palazzo. And that’s all the intelligence we have. Your mission is strictly surveillance.” J’onn said severely, stopping Kara’s protests before they could even begin. “You’re not to intercept her tonight. If there is going to be imminent combat, please do not engage her alone. We know how dangerous she is. She is brilliant, and has training from childhood. We’re going to assume she is also armed and that her associates are well within range, so please,” He looked directly at Kara. “Do not engage, if you can avoid confrontation.”
Kara sighed. “Understood, sir.”
J’onn stood up, leaving the tablet with all the info. “Alex, you're in charge. Please, Argo One, be careful. Do not underestimate the target.” Without saying anything else, he left the canteen.
Kara touched the tablet bringing up the pictures of both Lena Luthor and Roulette.
“What exactly could these two be planning?”
She was looking at the picture of someone she hadn't seen since her time in Ireland, at boarding school. She couldn’t even believe Veronica had accepted the invitation Brainy had extended.
“Where is the reservation?” She asked, feeling Brainy standing stoic behind her, also looking at the picture on the screen.
“Il Palazzo, at 8.00 PM. You know, fancy, discreet, expensive, romantic.” He answered with his cadence, almost robotic.
“Mhm.” She contemplated the screen for a few more seconds. "Cancel it.” She said standing up and walking through the warehouse, trying to avoid Brainy’s protests.
“Lena, come on.” He said quickly walking behind her. “You have to get out there. It’s starting to affect our work.”
“I am fine.” She tried to cut up his ranting.
“You need to get laid.”
“Excuse me!?” She stopped walking, turning around to see his face, offended by the mere insinuation.
“It’s simple science.” He quickly amended. Standing before her, the tips of his fingers touching each other, his hands forming a sort of triangle, it was his very particular pose. “It’s a fast way to relax yourself. Sex releases oxytocin, but you refuse to have sex if you’re not in a relationship. Logically, we need to find someone who woos you, to make your brain high on dopamine and serotonin. Resulting in you having sex with them and finally relaxing. It’s been two years since Andrea.”
Lena touched in between her brows awkwardly, and sighed. “Brainy, I don’t need a date to… ‘release oxytocin’. Thank you.” She quietly said. “And about Andrea, I’m fine. I have been out there. I went on that date with the British guy, didn’t I?”
“No. We all went out as a group with Chester, the British guy, and you faked a migraine to get out of the bar, half way in.” He said, matter of fact. “And you are not fine. She dumped you. And now she is engaged to be married to a guy she went on a date with a week after breaking up with you.”
Lena grimaced. “Okay, okay. I’ll go to your stupid date.” She continued walking, to go to her room. “But never talk to me about my sex life again. It’s weird, you’re like my little brother. Certainly more of a brother than my actual one.” The last part she said under her breath.
“We are the same age,” Brainy said, as matter of fact as always. “It is just…” He paused for a second, like searching for the correct words. ”I am worried about you. You haven’t been yourself since… her. And you are getting sloppy. Then, you go on a retirement of sorts to Iceland for almost a year. I can’t do this alone, you know it. You are the brains and heart of this operation.”
Lena looked at him fondly, somewhat surprised that he had opened up like that. That he cares about her so deeply. But she really shouldn’t have, he had been with her since the very beginning, her only companion. He was the one to bring up his findings and worries to her. And they understand each other, both extremely intelligent, always uncomfortably above everyone else that it’s somewhat like a chasm between them and the rest of the world, there is a sense of kinship between the two.
“Okay, Brainy. I’ll go on this date with Veronica. Even if she was a pain in the ass at Mount Helena’s. I don’t even think she remembers me.”
“But you have to be open minded. Do not let your feelings about the past get in the way of it. Please.”
“I will be open minded, Brainy. I promise.”
After breakfast and the debrief, Argo One spent most of the day planning the surveillance operation. Nia had dug up the blueprints of Il Palazzo. Kelly had brought up all the info they had about both Veronica Sinclair and Lena Luthor. Alex and Kara were studying everything about the restaurant layout, assigning coordinates, escape routes, and making sure all the equipment and weapons were in working order.
At 12.00 hours, they took lunch together and then retired to the bunk beds in the headquarters to nap, because it was going to be a long night apparently.
It was 17.45 hours when they found themselves getting ready in the locker room, putting on their all black tactical uniform, gathering all equipment and weaponry.
“Kelly, please, give us an overview about them.” Alex said, once they all were ready, standing on their briefing deck. Kelly took the tablet and put the target’s profiles on the big screen.
“Veronica Sinclair, aka Roulette. 34 years old. Born in National City, USA. Her family net worth is around 13 billion dollars. She alone owns a few casinos here in National City, in Metropolis, Gotham and Central City. She has been linked to underground fights and has been accused of both property and human trafficking, yet no charges have managed to stick.” Kelly said, while a series of images appeared on the screen. She touched the tie that now all four of them sported behind their bulletproof vest, in a mild nervous tell, and then continued. “With the information I’ve gathered I believe she’s narcissistic, she believes she is untouchable, and gets certain satisfaction with cruelty and violence. She herself is not going to attack in a hand to hand combat manner, she surrounds herself with bodyguards usually more than two. She lives a life of luxury. She's not above firing a gun, or a weapon that can do harm, but remain herself at a safe distance.”
Kelly touched the tablet again and a new picture appeared on the screen, it was older, taken from a school yearbook. Two faces were highlighted from the group shot.
“The secondary target and the primary target have history together. This wouldn’t really be a first meeting. They both come from multi billionaire families, and went to the same boarding school, Mount Helena’s in Ireland. However, I didn’t find any evidence about the kind of relationship they had there, if at all. As far as I can tell, the primary target was, at the time, kind of a loner. Apart from her peers because of the large age gap between herself and them.”
She swiped again at the tablet and the pictures of the main target showed up on screen.
Kelly kept going, her voice calm and collected.
“Main target, Lena Kieran Luthor, 28 years old. Her family net worth is around 90 billion dollars, of which we’re uncertain if she has access to. Certified genius with an IQ over 160 points, supposedly. She almost went to the Olympics, foil fencing at age 19. She said at the time, that she didn’t go because she was focusing on school. Has been a chess prodigy since age 5 and has won multiple tournaments. Graduated from MIT. Has several PhDs. She has basic hand to hand training.” Kelly made a pause. Took a breath. “With all the information we’ve gathered, I can infer that she is incredibly resourceful, and can think incredibly fast. She is calculating and precise. I’ve the suspicion that she has an eidetic memory. She is pragmatic, but doesn’t trust easily. Was a model citizen, very well liked and charitable prior to her downfall, two and a half years ago, we don’t know exactly what caused the change in her behavior.”
“Anything else?” Alex questioned
“Yes. With the data from previous encounters, she seems extremely violent. She is in a male dominated line of work, so she probably over compensates. There have been no survivors once she’s engaged. She accounts for 13 casualties. However, they all seem from when she’s been sought after. No civilian casualties on her behalf.”
“Thank you. Kelly.” Alex smiled at her. “Kara please, explain the operation.”
Kara gently took the tablet from Kelly, moving to the front of the screen, showing now the blueprint of the restaurant.
“We’re just to watch the target, figure out her next step and why is she meeting with Roulette. It’s a long game. We’re not to engage with her. If there is an impending confrontation we’re not to go solo. We’re to work in pairs, if needed. Nia, you’re with me. Kelly and Alex you’re team A.” She touched on the blueprint on the tablet, to zoom into the main room. “We will be suspended from the ceiling on the principal main dining area. The ceiling is frankly, ridiculously high, so we shouldn’t have any issue. We’re to use the sonar and wiring equipment to listen to their conversation, and we will need pictures to update the database. Nia, you’re going to listen in and record. Kelly, you’re going to take the pics. Alex and I will guard you, anything should happen.”
She took a deep breath, changing again to the full blueprint. “If there is any need to escape, we will separate in pairs, and go to our rendezvous point, in Cordova Street, 30 minutes after separation. We’re to use private channel 3 on comms.” Kara gave the tablet to Alex and moved from the front of the screen. Alex left the tablet back on the deck, after swiping to show the pictures of both Lena Luthor and Veronica Sinclair, she kept quiet for a few seconds.
“Please be careful, don’t be fooled by their cute faces, they’re both ruthless. And even if Roulette wouldn’t punch you she could very well shoot you. And Luthor is unpredictable. Good luck. Let 's move on.”
They moved in silence to the unmarked black van, it was close to the 18.40 hours when they were dropped at the backdoor of Il Palazzo, and had no problem breaching the perimeter from up. Kara used a pulley system to drop them one by one into the restaurant, precisely 8 feet from the ceiling. The total drop was 85 feet, so they should be fine. In any case Nia had hacked the place to kill a few lights around them, should anyone glance up. It was already 19.15 hours when they finished setting up. It wasn’t a comfortable position, but it would have to do.
“Comms check,” Alex said, quietly. They were so far apart from each other that they couldn’t hear each other without their earbuds. All four of them checked up. Like clockwork at 20.00 hours the target arrived. Secondary target had yet to arrive.
“Target in position.” Kelly said once Lena Luthor had taken a seat. “Acquiring pictures.”
Nia said something about her suit jacket, Kelly said something about her posture. Kara felt some sort of restless energy just from waiting.
“Heads up, secondary target arriving.” Alex piped up almost 10 minutes later.
“Kelly, make sure you capture the greeting.” Kara ordered.
“Roger that.”
“Nia?” Alex gently pressed, waiting for the youngling to pass on about what they were talking about.
“They are reminiscing about the old times.” Nia said quietly. “How secondary target used to smuggle the targets' favorites to Metropolis.”
“Target grew up in Metropolis, when she wasn’t in Ireland.” Kelly gently supplied.
Kara was watching through her binoculars, curious about the interaction. The waiter approached them and they ordered.
“Target asked if secondary preferred white or red. Secondary prefers vodka. Do you think they’re talking in code? Could be a way to talk openly about their plans without compromising themselves.” Nia said. Kara smiled proudly, it was a good guess.
“Could be. Make sure you’re recording everything.” Kara kept looking at Lena Luthor. “She looks so young...” She said quietly to herself when she heard something next to her. She moved her binoculars from her face, and found herself in front of her ex-boyfriend. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“You thought you guys were the only ones here for Luthor?” James said, quietly yet severe. “It’s like a party, CIA, FBI, you, me... You guys were the last to arrive.”
Kara shot a look at Alex, who made an affirmative nod after looking around. Well, shit.
“Okay, but why are you interrupting my OP?” She asked, gritting her teeth.
“Well, since you couldn’t be bothered to call me at all, during the day, to explain yourself about breaking up with me,” he answered quite nonchalantly. “I just wanted to ask for the bracelet I gave you, on our six month anniversary, back. You know, it was my dad’s and since we’re nothing to each other anymore…”
Kara looked at him, furious. “And you thought this was the moment for that?” She hissed. If it weren’t for the mission and the fact that their target was very, very slippery she would be screaming at his face. The audacity of this man. “Okay, fine. Whatever, Jimmy.” She tried to unhook the bracelet, but then he also tried to do it, and when the damn bracelet broke free, neither of them caught it, and the platinum band fell down, all 85 feet.
And then, everything went to shit.
Brainy drove her to the restaurant on the Porsche Taycan, it was electric. They were both stoked about that. She was not so stoked about her so-called date. But she had promised Brainy that she would be open minded. She dressed up, one of her almost forgotten suits, it was a beautiful navy blue. She almost wore one of her classic stilettos but, truth be told, she didn't have the mental strength to go on a date with Veronica Sinclair and wear stilettos. Instead she went with ankle boots. She would hopefully be seated the whole time, anyways. She wore her hair straight down, bold red lips and a winged eyeliner. She was ready for the world. And yet… She was somehow both nervous and bored.
“You are fidgeting,” Brainy said, parking the car, close to the front of the restaurant. “There is no reason to be nervous. You already know her. Worst case scenario you don’t click and you come back home having eaten in a two Michelin star restaurant. Best case scenario, you release oxytocin.”
“Don’t,” Lena looked at him exasperatedly. Still wringing her hands. “No more happy hormones talk. I’m not nervous about her. It’s more anxiety about being outside. It’s been a while.”
“The place is very discreet.”
“I know. Thank you.” She looked at the clock and smiled at him. “I’ll be going, you know I don’t like being late.”
“Best of luck.” Brainy said, showing her his thumbs.
She smiled fondly at him and got out of the car. She approached the entrance, and was received by the maître d’. She politely asked for her table under the name Tess Mercer. She was guided to her table, and given the drinks menu. Lena glanced at it, feeling like drinking a few tumblers of good scotch, but feeling like the responsible thing to do was to drink a mild cup of wine. She was debating the merits of a glass of white versus one of rosé, when her date arrived. She politely smiled while standing up to greet her.
“Hello, Veronica.” She said, trying to not look at the truly sinful cleavage that left nothing to the imagination, showing the myriad of tattoos that Veronica possessed. “Thank you for coming.”
Veronica smiled, predatory, and waited for the host to retire, once they were both seated, before greeting her. “Lena Luthor, I see we are not so different as I thought we were, back in school.”
“Well, time changes people.” She curtly said. “I’m actually surprised you remember me.”
Veronica smirked. “I do remember secretly gifting you, your favorite scotch, for a few Metropolis galas back in the day. Your mom none the wiser”
Lena hummed. “So you remember me trying to be a rebel.”
“Rebel is kind of a big word.” Veronica laughed. Their waiter showed up and asked if they wanted anything to drink.
“Do you prefer white or red wine?”
“I actually prefer vodka.”
“Mhm. Do you prefer it straight or maybe something like a Martini?”
Veronica bit her lip, hiding a smile. “Surprise me, maybe.”
“Well, th— The lady will have a vodka martini. I’ll have the house white wine. And if you could, please bring Hackleback caviar as an entree, thank you very much.”
As the waiter retired, Veronica made a big show of crossing her legs, even if Lena couldn’t actually see anything about the movement with the table in between them.
“What have you been doing in these last years?”
Lena looked discreetly around them. “You know, global domination and such. You?”
“Ambitious,'' Veronica nodded, amused. “I’ve been coming and going. You know how it is. I opened a little pop up in Freeland a few months back. It has been doing quite well.”
Lena hummed, the waiter bringing their drinks and their entrée. The little ‘pop up' was the illegal fighting ring she had across the country, for the entertainment of the rich and famous. Lena hated the mere principle of it, and she was already set on leaving without going anywhere further with this date. The blasé attitude of Veronica, not gelling well with her. The only thing was how she could exit the place as quickly as possible, without offending her companion. She took a gulp of her wine, it was quite dry, just looking at Veronica take a bite of the caviar smeared toast.
“You have been doing well by yourself.” She commented, noncommittally.
“So have you, last I heard. Quite the black sheep.”
Lena hummed again, moving her glass of wine not even touching the food already on the table, when something dropped in the middle of it. A chunky platinum bracelet. She picked it up, with the cloth napkin, and looked up. There, dangling from the ceiling like ridiculous Christmas ornaments were at least six agents. There for her, no doubt.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” She breathed, reaching for the concealed gun under her suit jacket, pointing it up. In front of her, Veronica had also drawn a gun from somewhere in her minuscule dress. The odds weren’t particularly good. She heard a loud bang somewhere behind her and Veronica fired her gun. She immediately dropped under the table and crawled on the floor, seeking refuge behind the bar. Veronica, next to her. She was incredibly glad to be wearing a suit, instead of a dress. That just didn’t look comfortable.
“I guess that was the end of the date,” Veronica commented, once they were behind the bar, like she was talking about the weather.
“Yeah, I don’t think it was going to work, anyways.”
Veronica laughed. “I didn’t come with the idea of marriage, that’s simply not my thing. But I see we’re just looking for different stuff.” Somehow she had grabbed her long coat, she dropped a grenade over the bar, and just stood up and sauntered out of the place, once the thing detonated. Like there were not bullets flying fucking everywhere. Lena looked at where she disappeared from a few seconds in complete disbelief, before pulling herself together. She also had to move, and get to Brainy. She enjoyed her date for a grand total of 30 seconds, and then even the wine had gone to shit. She hid the gun in the back of her pants suit, and crawled close to a tall table, using it as a shield against the rain of bullets to cross the short distance between the bar and the service door a few meters to her left.
Her ears were ringing with the sound of all the bullets that ricocheted from the metal table, glass breaking everywhere. She got to the service door, dropping the table. “Discreet my ass.” She grumbled under her breath trying to find the way to the parking lot in what appeared to be a frankly large cellar.
In the darkness, she saw a door, the opposite side from where she came from, that had to be her way out of this nightmare of a date.
The first shot wasn’t even a shot, it was a sommelier opening a wine bottle, but Roulette fired in their general direction. And the rest of the teams just started firing at her and Luthor. She couldn’t believe how a simple reconnaissance mission went to shit so fast. All because of a stupid bracelet from her ex-boyfriend. She rappelled down to level floor, grabbing the gun from her tight holster, and approached Nia once she also dropped down. As far as she could tell, Argo One wasn’t firing. She couldn’t say the same for the rest of the agencies.
“Where is she?” She heard Alex on comms.
“No idea, lost her in between the people fleeing the scene.”
“Heads up. By the bar.” Kelly’s voice cracked up. A gas grenade was deployed around the area, from behind the bar.
“Roger that. Approaching target.”
“Kara, don’t,'' Alex warned, but then Luthor jumped out using a table to deflect the bullets, and ran across the place. All four of them fired their guns. Glass was flying everywhere. She grimaced at the disaster, who knows which agency would end up with the bill to pay the damage.
“B team go east to intercept,” Alex said on her ear piece “A team will pursue for the northwest entry. We need at least an idea of what exactly is she planning.”
“Roger.” Three different voices said in unison. Kara could feel Nia next to her while she approached from the east. Once they crossed a door the earpiece fell silent for some reason. She couldn’t hear the movements from any of her teammates from the device, only Nia walking next to her. She stopped, looking around. It was a huge, dark cellar.
“Nia, we need to split. I can’t hear the A team. Something must be interfering with the comms. Go back, warn them.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“It could be Luthor. Please, follow orders, Agent Nal.”
Nia looked at her, clearly not agreeing with her orders, but simply nodded and went back from where they came together. Kara took a deep breath and kept walking. Pointing her gun forward, looking up and down the place, with high shelves, and barrels. Liquor, she assumed, wine, whiskey that sort of thing. Sixty feet or so, ahead; next to a wall of barrels, she could see half a door. She quickly approached it, but right before getting to it, a body collided against her.
She didn’t quite fall on the floor, but she lost her balance with the force of it.
“I am so sorry,” a slightly accented voice said.
“No prob—” She stopped talking when she saw no other than Lena Luthor, was the one that collided against her. She pointed her gun at her. Luthor did the same. They were too close to one another, a bullet would most likely be fatal at that distance. Even if they weren’t aiming directly at each other's heads. It was a stalemate, and they both knew it.
“Lena Luthor, you have the right to remain silent.”
The brunette let out a disbelieving laugh. “Are you seriously reading me my Miranda rights?”
“Anything you say can, and will be used against you.” Kara kept going, extending her free hand, palm up, for Luthor to surrender her gun.
They both kept quiet for a few unnerving seconds. Then Luthor spoke up. “Okay, here's the thing...”
“Yeah?”
“I am really not up for dying today.”
“Me neither,” Kara smiled despite herself.
“So, I was thinking... Why don't you put your gun down.”
“You put yours down. You're the criminal, and I'm the cop, I think I'm more trustworthy.”
“I was minding my own business on a date, when you guys decided to rain shit all over me.”
“Wait,” Kara almost moved her gun out of the way, just from the sheer surprise. “You were on a date?”
“Whatever.”
“With wannabe Lisbeth Salander?”
“She’s not that bad.” Lena grimaced. Silence fell for a few seconds, then; “What?”
“Nothing. I just—” Kara paused, slightly cocking her head to the side. “I didn't know you were into—”
“Why would you know?” Luthor asked defensively.
“That really torpedoes our profile of you.”
“How exactly would that bit of information torpedo a whole psych profile?” Lena mocked.
Kara kept quiet, a small smile dancing on her face. “It actually doesn’t but I guess it could get us a better understanding of you. Since you’re so hard to track down.”
“Yeah, well good luck with that.”
“I don’t need luck. You’re already under arrest.”
“Am I?” Lena mocked again.
Kara heard someone approaching from the northwest entry. “Alex, over here!” She made the terrible, stupid and rookie mistake of trying to see in that direction for half a second. Suddenly, a green smoke surrounded her. It looked nasty, and she used her free arm to try and block her mouth and nose, in case the thing was toxic.
It dispersed really fast, less than a minute, but once it did, she found herself alone for a few seconds until the rest of the team got to her.
“Fucking hell!”
“What happened? Why did you ditch Nia?” Alex questioned. “And why don’t the comms work in here?”
“I almost got her. She was right here.” Kara secured her gun into her tight holster again.
“You would be dead if that were the case.” Kelly supplied, calmly.
“Guys…” Nia said really low. When all three of them looked at her, she simply pointed her finger at the door, where green rocks were scattered on the floor. “I think she really was here.”
Silence fell between them, Kara knelt down picking up a few of the rocks. Kryptonite, she figured.
Then Alex spoke up. “Apparently you are not happy with just being the perfect score, but you had to go and be the sole survivor of an encounter with the one and only Lena Luthor.”
Kara kept quiet, but she heard Kelly swearing under her breath.
Fuck, indeed.