1 Chapter 1: Meeting the Rogue Tiger

Chapter 1:

( Meeting the Rogue Tiger)

El Paso, Mexico

12:46 Noon

"You need medical help." said one man in full protective gear. He placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm okay, Damien," Maria said, dismissing him.

"Are you sure? You don't look good," Damien said.

"I'm fine. Go, your team needs you." Maria jerked her head towards the building being raided by the Narcotic Team.

Damien regarded the building with a brief glance before he nodded to her.

Maria ushered Damien into going inside the building with her eyes before she tiredly leaned over the back of the van. Everyone was in chaos but she only shut her eyes closed.

Six Months.

Long months in the grueling world of the most powerful narcotic drug lord in Mexico. She went undercover to help end the reign of El Diablo, the overlord of three large cities in Mexico.

It was considered a successful operation. With El Diablo arrested, his narco network is slowly being disintegrated by the government in Mexico and abroad.

But for Maria, it wasn't nearly a success.

Those operations won't be concluded by her input alone.

Maria worked along with a woman, Sonia, blond and beautiful British, whose eyes were enchanting blueish. They worked perfectly well and last night they planned to visit each other's country and taste some local wine after the op.

But Sonia didn't make it.

And that made the op a failure.

Maria lifted her head towards the chaos in the site, remembering her friend once again.

"Agent, good work." the chief of clandestine had approached Maria, who only nodded to the chief. The chief turned to the other agent and called for some medical assistance. So Maria had no choice but to comply with being assisted with the injuries she got from the raid. "For now, you're released from any further assignments. We'll call if something comes up."

"Yes sir," Maria said while the chief of clandestine proceeded into the site.

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The media was taken by storm with the news of the downfall of the overlord, El Diablo. CNN, BBC, and local Mexican news outlets cover the whole story.

Politicians take credit for a job well done and the applause rang loud and clear to their ears.

But Maria had no time to seek for any claps to resound and feed her ego. No. In fact, it wasn't the case every after assignments, nor will ever be the case for future assignments.

Maria bet, like Sonia, if she ever died in the op, none would ever know. Not the world to hail their names for fighting the ongoing war, behind the scenes. Like the other agents who died for such a cause, none of them would ever be applauded.

Agents in elite task forces like her will forever be in the dark. On the lookout for the war against the 'pests' living among humans.

"Anything in the cart, ma'am?"

Maria looked up to her right side when a stewardess stopped a pushcart.

"Peanuts please," she said.

The stewardess hastily grabbed the peanut from the drawer instead and placed it in Maria's hand. "Enjoy."

Maria didn't get to give her thanks when she bowed to her so-called 'peanut'. Under her reading glass, she looked around at the passengers who were either sleeping, reading some boring brochures, or watching the news about El Diablo's arrest.

Instead of consuming the thing she ordered, she stood up from her seat and went to the comfort room. Getting in, she locked it up from the inside. In the vanity, she saw her dark and straight hair, stretched its length to her waist. For an agent like her, she was advised to have it cut but she was more afraid of her grandmother than any other chiefs who ordered her to cut her hair. Her grandmother wouldn't be too happy if her only granddaughter would cut her hair.

She bowed down to her wrapped peanut in plastic and emptied it until she saw one microchip in there. Carefully getting it out, she then placed it in the frame of her reading glasses before she waited.

The microchip then played her next assignment in the Philippines. She furrowed her brows briefly, leaning over her back at the closed door.

"You're due to report in the next two weeks." the voice in the chip said before it went blank.

Maria withdraws the chip from the glass frame, snapped it in two before flushing it to the toilet. Before she stirred the door open, she watched her image in the mirror first, seeing how the wound on her forehead was healing. She got it from a hard hit by El Diablo's men. It'd been weeks after the operation where she had been flying around the globe just for the heck of it. Until she decided to visit Sonia's place in England, pay respect to their agreement on tasting the local wines in Aberdeen.

A knock on the door made Maria blink in astonishment, not realizing how long she had been staring into the mirror for a time.

Getting out of the comfort room, she mumbled her apology to the one leaning beside the door of the compartment.

"Are you alright?" Asked a man in a heavy British accent.

Maria didn't lift her head to meet the eyes of the man who asked her. With quick assessment, the man stood rather taller than her, his Armani suit hid the powerful muscles underneath it. Her nose whipped his fragrance oud aroma with notes of cedar, patchouli, and spicy saffron which suddenly stirred something inside her. Something about the fragrance that would make the man so hard to refuse.

"I apologize I took so long." Maria simply said with a bowed head before going back to her seat, not realizing the eyes of the man still lingered in her direction before he went inside the compartment.

Five countries. Maria had been crossing endlessly. She wanted to clear her mind from all the weariness from her job. England will be her last stop before she gonna start her next job. She wondered why she was sent on an assignment in the Philippines, her country.

The chip didn't say the details of her task in there and further instructions should be passed to her when she gets there.

Her train of thought got sidetracked when the man in the comfort room passed by. His subtle scent filled her nose once again. Now that he was entering the business class, she saw his back. A dark raven hair pulled neatly backward. One glance at him and Maria knew that the man exuded an aura she was very familiar with. A man with money.

She met many of those kinds.

Billionaires.

Drug lords. Playboys. Politicians. Businessmen.

They are too many and very easy to distinguish. Most especially those playboys who throw money everywhere. Women, alcohol, fast cars, mansions, yachts, and expensive stuff.

But Maria couldn't distinguish the man's category. For he seemed different. The closer shot she can assess him; a businessman.

Billionaire he may seem, but Maria wondered why such a man if he truly fit in the category, would ever bother riding commercial flights rather than riding his own private jets. That way, he may not need to wait for long just to use the comfort room.

When the man disappeared from her view, her mind immediately wandered to the thing she wanted to do in Aberdeen.

*****************************************************************************

Now, reaching London Airport, Maria didn't as much wait for anything at the airport, since she only brought a bag pack for some light traveling.

Hailing a taxi to her booked hotel for the night, Maria told the driver of her destination before her eyes wandered outside the window where she saw some other passengers were hailing for their taxis. Her attention then went to the man in the airplane.

He was surrounded by men around him and exchanged some pleasantries before he was allowed to ride his own car. A black Viceron supercar.

Maria was right all along. She shrugged her shoulders before focusing her attention on the views outside.

"Your first time here, I presume?" The taxi driver threw a conversation while Maria smiled and nodded to him. "Well, you need to see London at night. Go to a pub near the hotel. The whiskey will taste so good after a long flight."

"Indeed. Thank you." She said.

Now reaching her hotel, she was given her key card and wasted no time in proceeding inside her room. After she saw the bed, she collapsed to it, closing her eyes afterward. Her bed felt so soft and clean to her skin, but it wasn't nearly close to the comfort of her home. Her job had kept her from her family for a long time and the feel of the home has been a distant memory. She had

been missing home and it would be a lie if she told herself that she didn't. Even in the middle of operations and undercover, there were many instances where her mind drifted to her family in the Philippines.

She had no idea when is she gonna stop being an agent. Losing so many friends along the way had been her warning signal to stop from her job, but troubles always came knocking on her door. Maybe she'll stop after the Philippines. But she also told herself to stop after Mexico. After Russia, after Germany, after Morocco, after Europe. But she didn't.

She didn't want to lose any friends anymore. She was tired of being the one to visit them in their graves, gave some flowers, and wished them peace forever. It had always been her cause of anxiety. Every assignment, wondering who is next. Will it be her? Will it be her partner again?

Now heaving a deep sigh, she shook her head to shoo away her worries. Maybe whiskey isn't a bad idea after all. She saw a pub along the way near the hotel. She'll gonna have some booze to make her sleep for her next day's flight to Aberdeen.