DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fan-fiction, nothing more.

RATING: Mature for moments of intimacy and violence

BRO 3886

CHAPTER THREE: Chancing Blackmail

At Shanghai's Golden Dragon hotel's mezzanine floor, 47 sat quietly, he had ordered for two breakfast, pork and spring onion dumplings with fragrant vinegar soy sauce with sesame oil. It was a small table, and across him was his controller Diana. She was currently in the act of talking, about Merces Letifer's re-hiring offers for 47, and a twenty-percent increase in salary due to inflation in the economy.

He appreciated that there was no awkwardness with her behaviour, but now there was the former formal behaviour that she most often showed him, as if nothing had happened last night. 47 wore his typical calculative and brooding expression as he listened carefully to the terms and conditions of Merces Letifer's, simultaneously re-playing in the back of his mind their night of shared intimacy.

Nothing much seemed to have changed really, it was just like being recruited after he had been "set free" from Dr. Oortmyer's cloning facility.

"–you shall find the increase in salary useful, particularly when finding accommodation and needing to extend your stay when studying wealthy targets." Diana explained in the Queen's English, her flawless British accent pleasant to the ears as always.

Sitting there watching Diana talk in such a detached manner, as if giving a corporate presentation, 47 was reminded why he was always taught never to get personally involved. Work is work and socialising had no place in it, not that he had a social life in anyway. His mind went back for a moment to his early life. At the cloning facility, there were actual "socialisation" classes, how to act normal and at least carry an acceptable conversation, and the art in behaving what society considered "normal."

"You'd all behave like apes in a zoo if it were not for this class." Was what Dr. Oortmyer told 47 and the other clones.

To 47 Diana looked so real, like a real person with feelings and emotions. Needs. She was the only person of whom he saw as human, he had spent too much time interacting with her, even if it was just work. He felt most people, and especially targets were not "real" to him, he objectified them very aggressively and naturally in his mind. He saw people as biologically active objects that moved around, they were alive yet they were not to 47, a conundrum he sometimes thought about. He knew he was a killer, did not think of it most of the time, but before Diana he actually was concerned about what she thought of him.

At the cloning facility, plenty of things were done to remove emotions irrelevant for the perfect assassin. But other emotions and morals remained, a strong work ethic, honour and integrity, among others.

Now 47 was confused, wondering what Diana thought of him but as per training, he shoved his emotions aside and followed his first impression of what he wanted.

In amicable silence they ate their Chinese breakfast before 47 abruptly said, "I already decided I'm coming back to the ICA. I like Merces Letifer, work's not stimulating enough here."

"Oh that's smashing 47! Now, what made you change your mind?" Asked Diana brightly, dabbing her lips with a napkin after finishing her meal.

"You." Came his simple reply. He picked up his chrysanthemum tea and sipped it.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I'll sign the contract if you sleep with me tonight."

It was not even real blackmail, he had already stated he had decided he was going back to the ICA, this however was a plus to him. He decided to sort out his thoughts and confusions later, now he did not have the time. He had to act quickly, since she was sitting right in front of him. He watched her daintily putting on her red lipstick, he knew she was actually buying time to carefully consider his offer. Outside he looked serious and bored, inside he was anxious and nervous.

"But why?" Diana tentatively asked, her beautiful green eyes searching 47's face for any expressions or hints of his true intentions.

"I want you near me. You make me feel good." Seeing Diana's surprised and incredulous expression he added quickly realising how classless that sounded, struggling to find the right words, he frowned and closed his eyes continuing, "and safe... and wonderful."

"Do you want to talk about this matter 47?" Offered Diana gently, her expression softening. It was this tone of voice that so attracted 47 to her, he could hear from her voice that she was concerned for him. It was warm and tender.

"Please, tonight." He blinked at the words he had uttered. "I have a hit later this afternoon, I'll see you after dinner? The butler will let you into my room."

They parted ways.

Well at least this client had an imagination, and a mischievous nature of a rare and dark type. Killing the target was not at all a problem nor a challenge. His behaviour was strongly routined and at fixed timings. The target was a CEO of a food processing plant in Shanghai, the client did not specify why she wanted the target dead. She simply sent the request to 47's present employer and to her delight 47 approved it.

47 stood in the private office of said CEO inside the food processing factory. The entire office was covered in shiny one-way glass, and was high up in the factory's space over-looking most, if not all operations below, of bustling workers and rapidly moving machinery, along with crates and crates of products going out of the brightly-lit factory.

The professional hitman was wearing a disguise- the clothes of a factory worker. He did not need to resort to violence in this case, 47 slipped in through the locker room's window and stole himself a set. At his feet lay the dead CEO. He had completed only part of the client's request of killing the man, 47 then proceeded in a bemused manner to continue the rest.

He propped the CEO onto his computer chair, and left his body that way for a moment. Behind the dead body, he piled boxes and boxes of the factory's products as if they were on display like a shop window, or some supermarket aisle, and the CEO some fashion mannequin. The finishing touches were slicing open the CEO's body, and stuffing the products in his body cavity replacing his entrails.

The client specified she knew that this need not be a clean job because this was not 47's specialty and she was quite grateful, insisting to pay much more. The important requirements were that the CEO's face was clear, along with the brand of the instant ramen noodles the factory produced; for the digital photo 47 was instructed to take, and post anonymously on social media.

47 looked at the time. Ah yes he would be just in time to meet Diana after work, and he would not be too late.

47 returned to his suite at the Golden Dragon, only to find it clean and empty. He sighed, perhaps Diana stood him up. He undressed and went to take a shower. At least he could look forward to his solitude, and the familiar warm glow of his lamps and then his new blue budgie.

When he came out, he could not repress a small and private smile. Diana had come, and she was playing with the little blue parrot, it hopped and chirped from her hand to her lap. She was sitting at the kitchen bar table of his suite.

"Hi." Said 47. "I'll get dressed."

"47, do you wear smart casual even at home?" Diana looked at him up and down curiously.

Although his feet were bare, he was wearing a white shirt and black trousers without his belt, without his tie and jacket. He joined her at the table and said simply, "I don't wear any other clothes for convenience. No thinking required on what to wear."

"I envy you." Commented Diana. She had put the blue budgie back into the cage, and mimicking him she put her shoes away near where the door was. She returned and sat next to 47, and began to fold up his long sleeves.

The clone did not resist, and it was curious to him, how just an innocent gesture like that could be so suggestive and how it could impassion him so, the manner of feeling her fingers and palms on his wrist, gradually folding the fabric and each time exposing more and more of his pale skin. He started breathing heavily through his mouth. He wondered, gazing at her lips, did she feel it too? Or was it just him?

"Was there something you wanted to talk about?" She reminded him, her green eyes inquiring his blue ones.

Giddy and in a slight daze, 47 replied, "Did you do something to me again this time? I feel light-headed."

She giggled, and was smiling, "I've done nothing, I think you've gotten absolutely paranoid."

"Have you had your dinner?" He asked.

"Looking for a chance to poison me?" Diana countered flirtatiously.

"I won't do that... Have you already eaten?" He persisted, pulling her closer to him and before she knew it, he had hoisted her onto his lap, so her arm was around his neck and they were face-to-face. He sighed, wondering if she was just pretending or tolerating him just so that he would sign the contract more quickly.

"Yes thank you." She was beginning to massage his broad shoulder.

"I haven't. Near you is the refrigerator, open it and inside is a baguette sandwich. Give it here."

To the hitman's surprise, Diana held the food to his mouth and began to feed him. His arm was then around her waist and his hand on her knee. Because 47 was completely bald, Diana could see his temples throb when he was chewing his food. It was visceral-looking, and surprisingly sensual.

Time seemed to pass so fast with Diana in his arms. 47 felt Diana's finger tips pushing the last hunk of bread into his mouth, and her hands were upon the sides of his face as he swallowed.

"Diana I want you to be in a relationship with me." He held her more tightly around her waist.

"47 we can't–"

"Why?" He demanded.

She sighed, writhing slightly in his grasp, "Agency... our professions..."

"How would they know? And as far as I know there is no explicit rule they have that colleagues can't be involved with one another!" 47 pushed, still holding Diana but now he nuzzled his cheek against her cheek. Just then a thought sparked in the clone's mind, was Diana avoiding telling him the truth, were there other reasons why she did not want to be with him. Another man perhaps, or just because he did not fit her ideals of what she felt a good spouse should be?

"Stop you're hurting me!" She cried.

47 blinked and slackened his hold over her, he did not notice in his anxiety that he was almost crushing her, subconsciously fearful that she would run away.

"I'm sorry." He breathed. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I am." She replied, relieved and yet at the same time hesitant. She clung onto forearm.

"Diana. I love you!" Said 47.

She uttered what sounded like in-between a gasp and a sigh. She blinked her green eyes and parted her lips as if she was about to answer or say something, but the words never came.

There was tension and yet at the same time contentment for the both of them in that embrace, their communication only through looking into one another's eyes. One masculine gaze imploring, hopeful, affectionate and turning seductive, the feminine green one, hesitant, vulnerable and regretful.

47 kissed Diana's cheek, very close to her lips and said softly, "please be with me." His hands soon found themselves on the more sensitive parts of her body, despite being a clone and having so many emotions removed from him, it seemed Oortmyer was not entirely thorough, or failed to realise that by making this engineered human being so sensitive and keen to physical and visual stimuli, it would only be logical that emotions be more intense than normal, or perhaps lack of emotion was not Oortmyer's intention, but more like the ability to control it during assassinations and work.

The professional killer squeezed his controller passionately in his arms, the warmth of her body and the nearness of her, was arousing him and he was sure he could feel her pulse slowly increasing through her skin as well.

"But I'm already with you here..."

"Not just here..." he urged, panting in her ear, "-with me everywhere. Be mine." 47 was seducing her, his body and natural instincts overtook logic, he felt as though he was in a trance, and Diana being so mutually attracted to him responded in kind. Their passion grew as they started stripping each other of their clothing, their skin it seemed growing more and more sensitive to touch and heat.

"There's too much to say, too much on the line here." She whispered softly.

"Then why did you ask if I wanted to talk about it this morning? Why do you let me have my way with you?" His hands were moving under her blouse and feeling her bare skin under his fingers.

"I need you to sign the contract." Diana gasped her poor excuse, her arousal matching his. 47 was going to her head, making her breathless.

"Gimme the contract!"

Diana told him it was in a file on the kitchen table, he reached for it, fumbled with its plastic cover, found it with its company letterhead, and he found Diana's pen and signed it and dated it, softly thumping the pen onto the contract, his arm returning to where it was; around her waist.

"There." He stated, breathing heavily and looking at his official controller once again. He swallowed and then silence.

Their flow of passion ruined, and consciousness and formality was slowly returning. There they sat, Diana in 47's lap, her blouse undone, her chest partially exposed, 47's shirt unbuttoned and hanging off his shoulders. Their bodies still against each other's, still in an embrace. More than friends, less than lovers but most definitely work colleagues again. The scene looked deeply wrong.

Agent 47 broke the silence. "Do you still want to sleep with me?" He looked at his controller, she was still flushed pink.

He felt her arms encircle his neck and she leant in to kiss his ear, and to tell him. "This isn't just about sex, isn't it 47?"

"No."

"I don't know what to do with you."

"If you won't have sex with me, then tell me all those months when I was absent, did you miss me?"

47's erection had gone down, and instead now he cuddled her adoringly. He had missed her it seemed, more than he realised, at first he thought it had only to do with work, but now seeing Diana in this new way, he realised perhaps he loved her without knowing, taking her presence and her voice for granted during all those mission briefs.

She clasped his hand tightly and said, with a faraway expression in her green eyes, "it was more than that. I was so worried, I was sure that you would hate me for doing that to you. I was worried that I might have caused some permanent damage to your body... and I thought. I would never ever see you again honestly."

He hugged her tighter and asked, "Last night, when you said you loved me, did you mean it?"

"Yes. How could I lie about something like that?" She looked at him, her eyes intense and showing underlying indignation. Her pink lips trembled.

He told her to spend the night with him, and allow him to have the pleasure of at least she laying by his side. 47 decided not to push the matter further, at least he knew her emotions were mutual, but her feelings were not in wanting to be in a relationship. At least soon, she would be his controller again, and he could work with her professionally. Professional contact and interaction was better than none at all.

That night, after he dimmed the lights in his room, he pulled her close to him under the sheets and duvet curled up with her, and was happy when she returned the gesture by holding his hands and rubbing her feet against his shins.

"I've returned to agency for you Diana. I'm killing for you."

The two fell asleep in each other's arms. Across the room, the blue budgie fluffed its feathers and went to sleep also.

This chapter is dedicated to:

GabsStories

End Chapter Three: Chancing Blackmail

To be continued...