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  "So, you know what I am thinking right now?" Ryan asked with a devilish grin, doing well to shift the conversation to a more desirable topic.

  "There will be time for such things when we are through this crisis," Sangmu told him as her cheeks turned a beautiful rose tint.

  At this, the maitre d arrived with the thousand-dollar bottle of wine, and it could not have been better timed, but this was only the beginning of a very beautiful meal.

  She would order the lobster salad, and the Chicken Kiev, while he would have the Duck Blinchik, followed by the rack of lamb.

  The conversation would range from why Tibet should be free, to who was funnier... the old Daffy Duck, or Bugs Bunny, though he would always be certain to tell her how beautiful she was, throughout the entire meal.

  It would end with her having the Crème Brulee, with a Chocotini, and he finished things off with the Chocolate Mi-Cuit, and a Beluga.

  All good things, however, must come to and end, and the time for this one was now.

  "Thank you for a wonderful evening," she told him without standing, "but it is time for you to wake up. We have arrived in Seattle."

  At this, he began to clear the haze from his mind, as he awakened in the passenger seat of his car, and as he turned his head, he saw her smiling at him from behind the wheel.

  "I hope that you are well rested," she told him, before pulling into the parking garage.

  Sitting up, he straightened his shirt, and rubbed his eyes before answering.

  "Very much so," he told her, as he smiled back at her, endearingly, "and it's a wonderful feeling knowing that I'll never have to be away from you, even when I'm dreaming."

  Stepping out of the car, Ryan was quick to grab the luggage from the trunk. It was not very much, because Mirage did not need much at all, for she could make anyone believe that she was wearing any of the magnificent dresses that she could image, even if she was wearing nothing at all. Sweat pants, and a T-shirt were usually comfortable enough.

  "That was a wonderful meal," he told her as she walked by his side, "but how are you able to let me taste things that I've never tried before?"

  Glancing his way, she tossed him a playful grin before answering.

  "You don't actually want to know all of my secrets in such a short amount of time, do you?"

  Although he was a very curious individual, he understood that her mysteries where part of her appeal.

  "I suppose you’re right," he replied, as they made their way to the entrance of the posh hotel, where the doorman politely greeted them, and allowed them to enter.

  Ryan was wearing blue jeans, and a simple button-up shirt, but he understood that he would appear to those around him to be wearing much finer clothing. For that matter, he did not even know if they would be seeing his true face, yet he trusted her judgment.

  "Could I see your driver‘s license," Mirage asked him politely, and he set down one of the suitcases to fill her request.

  "Thank you," she told him, and Ryan replied with a heart felt, "you're welcome".

  Stepping up to the front desk, they appeared to the young concierge to be a wealthy, elderly couple. Mirage told him that they had reserved the honeymoon suite, and said that they were Mr. And Mrs. Tanner.

  Although none of it was true, the clerk’s mind certainly saw it on the computer, and he took the card, which appeared to him to be a platinum credit card, and scanned it through the machine. It read nothing, but the clerk was lead to believe that it had been accepted rather quickly.

  After receiving the key card, and explaining that they would be carrying their own baggage, Mirage insisted that they would see themselves to their room.

  "We enjoy our privacy," she explained, and the clerk was not about to deny her request. They were, after all, about the wealthiest looking people he had seen in a very long time, and he was well aware of just how much of a scene elderly rich people could make, when they did not get what they wanted.

  After this, Ryan and Mirage walked away, and awaited their lift to the proper floor.

  "You made that look really easy," Ryan told her, once the elevator doors closed behind them, yet she found no need to respond. She really didn’t like to deceive people, but some situations demand it. Viper was very cunning, and they needed to be as invisible as possible.

  "I will need to use your laptop when we get to the room," she told him, as she draped her arms across his shoulder.

  "Certainly," Ryan replied, knowing well that he would do anything that she asked of him. Such a simple request went without question.

  The room was extravagant, with dark hardwood shining from one end to the other, and fine crystal could be found throughout. There was a full bar, with four stools, if one might choose not to dine at the finely crafted table. The bedroom would prove to be just as appealing to the eye, though it would have to wait.

  Accepting the laptop from him, she sat down on the plush sofa, and opened it. Moments later, she was pecking madly at the keys.

  "Can I ask what you might be doing?" Ryan questioned, as he sat down next to her, but not in a way that would allow him to see the screen.

  "For starters," Mirage answered without ever looking up, "I am working on the hotel computer, and their surveillance system."

  "You can order from room service now," she said as she looked up at him with a smile, before returning to what she was doing, "and I would love some eggs Benedict."

  "And if their computer is for starters," he continued, "what will be next?"

  At this, she stopped pecking at the keys, and sat there for a moment before she decided how to answer that question. This one required a little more prudence, for she understood that he was a soldier, and she could easily determine the response she might receive.

  "Next, I will send a classified message to the chief of police, here in Seattle," she said before looking up, "telling him that homeland security needs him to apprehend a rogue agent, and hold her until we arrive."

  For a short spell, he simply stared at her. What she had just told him was that she was able hack a system that should not be so vulnerable, even to her.

  "You weren't taught to be a hacker yet," Ryan stated in a questioning tone.

  Smiling, Mirage placed a hand upon his cheek, and lightly caressed it with her thumb. She had explained it already, but he still could not understand.

  "I told you, my love," she said with an expression that melted him. "I can see inside of people."

  He still sat there looking confused, so she explained it a little further.

  "Charlie was a very good hacker," she went on, "and I learned all that I needed about computers from his mind."

  At this, he understood much better, but there were still more questions that came to his mind. Charlie, for starters, would never have been able to hack the computers of Homeland Security.

  There was never any confusion in her mind, however, and like she had explained, she was quite able to see into the minds of others, and Ryan’s was no exception.

  "I paid a visit to the secretary of homeland security before I went overseas," she stated in a way that made it seem obvious, before turning back away to begin pecking at the keyboard once more.

  For a moment, he sat there dumbfounded, until an even more important question entered his mind, and as Mirage suddenly paused, Ryan truly began to realize how simple his mind was to her.

  "Which other department head did you visit to get your information?"

  Ryan was a soldier. His mind and body belonged to his country, and he learned not to question such a thing, for questioning it could mean the difference between life or death on the field of battle.

  "If I tell you," she asked as she looked back his way, with eyes that seemed to carry a hint of pain within them, "would you go order us some breakfast, without asking anything else?"

  Again, he stared at her, uncertain how to reply, but his love for her prevailed. She was the encasing around his heart, and without her, his love would shine outward
until it exhausted itself, and faded away.

  She did not need him to respond, for she had already felt it from him, so she simply answered his question.

  "All of them."

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Animal Instincts

  Ryan never did order breakfast, for what Mirage had told him was too much to deal with. Instead, he went straight to the shower, and considering the length of the ride, it was long overdue.

  Disrobing, he fought back his emotions, and set the water to be as hot as he could handle. This was always best at first, and his body would adjust until it felt perfect.

  He climbed in, and rhythmically the water beat upon his shoulders, as he refused to think about anything at all. He was committed to his country, yet his love for her seemed to be in conflict with that, and he had no desire to deal with such emotions at the moment.

  Mirage, on the other hand, was not about to allow her love to stray so far from her heart. She had worked very hard to bring his heart back to her own, and she knew that it was worth holding onto.

  As someone that could see inside of the minds of others, she also knew his deepest thoughts. He was, for the lack of a better word, the most honest man that she had met, while still being one of the first. He was strong as well, and though she understood that he felt weak around her, she was to be certain to allow him his right as a man, as seen by many cultures.

  "Can I shower with you?" Ryan heard her say softly from behind the curtain, and though it came as a slight surprise, how could he have ever refused?

  "Nothing would make me happier," he replied as he peeked out from behind the curtain, only to find that Mirage was already bare.

  She met him at that very spot, before he was even able to withdraw, and placed her hands on his cheeks, before pulling his lips to her own. Her passion was overwhelming, and his passion had no choice but to comply.

  Gracefully she stepped into the shower, without ever releasing him, and he would have been surprised by how well she had done so, if not for the fact that his heart was his only set of eyes right now.

  She pulled away from him gently for a moment, only to draw him closer with her words.

  "I love you, Ryan Pierce," and though the words had quickly melted him, she left no time for him to respond. Her lips were quickly upon his own once more.

  His first instinct was to reach down, and embrace her were lovers do, but his mind had other intentions. Instead, he stopped at her lower back, and pulled her tightly to him.

  It was a sensation that she had seen within the minds of many, but now she was able to feel it upon her flesh. It was the embrace of passion, and it sent a tingle throughout her body that she had not been able to feel by simply reading thoughts. She had felt it through the minds of others, but now she felt it through her own skin, and it was consuming.

  Suddenly she stopped, and pushed slightly, and gently away, which left him with a feeling of loss.

  "Did I do something wrong?" he asked, and it broke her heart that she had to step away.

  "No, love," she told him in a most graceful fashion, before pulling away, and exiting the shower, to explaining what she had just felt.

  He was beginning to understand her mind a little, and he did not hold it against her. To be true, he was depending on her for his own survival, yet watching her put her clothes back on was not what he had thought to be soon happening.

  "Soon, love," she told him with a smile, as she pulled her pants back up above her hips, "but Viper has arrived."

  * * *

  She smiled as she got off the plane, knowing that she would be killing him soon. Captain Ryan Pierce was the reason she was here, and Viper felt tickled by the understanding that the time was soon coming. He was, after all, the last one left that had anything to do with her creation, and torment.

  She did not carry any bags, because she did not need anything that she could not acquire along the way, and she needed very little. Only a laptop and a cell phone did she bring with her.

  Her first order of business would be taken care of in the airport lounge, and opening the laptop put her into a world that she knew very well. It was a world where many things were possible, but all she needed right now was a place to set up shop, and what better place than in a nice hotel. These, of course, had nice computers that could be hacked, and certainly she never actually had to pay for anything.

  A few minutes later, she had the reservation that she needed, and she stood to make her way there. As she exited the airport, two cabs nearly ran into each other, in hopes that she required their services, though one would be disappointed.

  Before climbing into the one nearest her, she blew a kiss to the other driver, and smiled brightly at him. She did not like to deny a man's desire to be near her, but hardly could she be in two places at once.

  "411 University St.," she told the driver, and he was grateful, for he was having trouble trying to ask her where she needed to go. It was something that she was getting used to, and certainly, it did not bother her.

  The ride to the hotel was short, for her mind was swirling with ideas. There were so many things that she could do to reach one goal, and she explored them all. None actually seemed to be the dominant solution, but a few stuck out as good options.

  It did not matter which one she chose, just as long as it ended in the death of Ryan Pierce. The fact that he was the last one, however, made it more important to her that the means be passionate, so she weighed that into her calculations.

  A block away from her destination, Viper asked that the cab stop, and when it did, she adjusted her dress, and perked her breasts so that the driver was well able to see her. This was all that it took.

  "I will walk from here, hun," she told him with a smile, as she exited the cab, and it was more than enough to make him completely forget about the fair. If he had not, he would not have charged her, anyway.

  Being a warm Saturday in the late spring, there were plenty of people about, and she put on her sunglasses so as to not allow anyone to see where she was looking. This was not to prevent them from seeing if she was looking at them, because she really did not have to do so to know how they were. Her peripheral vision was way beyond human, and the sound of their heartbeats told much.

  Instead, she was more interested in her surroundings from a tactical standpoint, and to be seen glancing around in such a way would seem unnatural. It was difficult enough to blend in with her beauty, and her aura that caused men such a rise in their testosterone level, so the look of a tiny, shallow blonde suited the situation well.

  She heard one man get slugged by his wife (evident by the ring she had noticed), as the couple had passed her by, and she privately rooted for the female. The smile it produced upon her face, however, was too much for the next man that approached.

  "I'm sorry," he stated as he stopped in front of her, "but do you have the time?"

  Raising her sunglasses to pin back her hair, she looked up at him with a bright smile, and her light green eyes. He was near thirty, according to her calculations, and well dressed, with hair that he obviously paid much attention to.

  Reaching up to run her fingers through his hair with her right hand was more than enough to make him incoherent, and he never noticed her removing his watch with the other.

  Then she moved her hand down to the one that had displayed his timepiece, and placed his own watch within it.

  "This will tell you, handsome," she told him without releasing his gaze, before slipping playfully past him.

  He could not help but to watch her walk away, and it would take him about ten minutes before he looked down and noticed that he held his own watch in his hand. He did not give it a second thought even then, for her image in his mind would make him smile for a long while.

  As Viper entered the hotel, she noticed for only an instant how extravagant it was, before her mind led her back to more tactical thoughts, and her own room was no different. It was a place to lay her head, and set her things.

&
nbsp; After a quick shower, she was ready for a break. Most of what she recalled as her life was torment in a confined area, and she wanted nothing more at this moment than to get out, and experience life like any normal person would.

  Her first stop was not far away at all.

  * * *

  As Viper approached the fish market, she could hear the cheers of the crowd. It was a very special fish market, where entertainment came in the form of flying seafood, and the playful antics of its employees, and it was the most interesting thing that she had read about the city. It was a place filled with happiness, and this spread to all that came near.

  Viper was both petite and limber, and making her way to the front was not a problem, even as busy as they were. She insisted upon getting a front row view, and she was able to do so without being seen as rude to those she passed by.

  "Heeyyy, Yah!" they chanted as they hurled the large salmon through the air, and the people looked on, amused by such a sight, when out of nowhere came a man with long tentacles hanging from his raised hands.

  As though he could sense the fear in the three teenage girls that stood watching in front, he lunged straight at them with the squid, sending them screaming and laughing down the crowded hallway.

  Then he turned, and began to head back in the direction from which he came, yet suddenly found a distraction that disrupted his routine, and it came in the form of a tiny blonde, with pale green eyes.

  He stood frozen, as her smile completely consumed his inner most being, and he found himself with a lack of words. His befuddled mind could only think of one simple thing to do, and he held up the sea creature once more, and let out a faint "rah" sound.

  Parting the tentacles, she looked up at him from beneath the squid, and recaptured him.

  "I would rather have the salmon," she told him with her playful nature, and at this, the man flung the squid over his shoulders, never even desiring to be released from her gaze.

  The worker behind the counter had not seen it coming, and was startled when the creature landed directly upon the back of his head, but when he turned to learn from where it came, he too became entranced by Viper's beauty.