Noin walked quietly through the inner warrens of 'The Underground', a secret organization of the so-called scum of the Earth and Colonies. She was just one of the assassins that dwelled in the Underground 'family', although she was the only one who was technically considered an independent, an assassin that took commissions outside of the Underground.

"Hey Storm," Lucrezia's friend Seth, smuggler and technician, called out. Noin nodded his way.

"Hey Seth," She peered at the readouts on his screen, pushing her now shoulder-length black hair behind her ears. "What's up?"

"Not much," Seth answered. "You've got a commission from his Excellency."

"Great, he usually makes everything worth my while."

"Yeah and this one's a golden fish*," Seth grinned. "But I have a feeling he's gonna have a hard time getting you to take it."

"Why?"

"It's a woman."

Lucrezia's eyes narrowed. "Lei sa che io non ucciderà una donna**."

"Yeah, I know you won't kill a woman." Seth replied. "But this one could get you out Lu! You wouldn't have to kill any one else again. EVER. And have a hefty penchant besides."

Lucrezia thought about that for a moment. Out. Out would be wonderful. "Molto bene. Dire il suo Excellency che accetto***." She paused for a moment and realized that she had been speaking in Italian. "Sorry. I'll speak English now."

"Great. I'm sure he'll be overjoyed." Seth typed a reply accepting the commission and turned back to Lu. "And I don't mind you speaking other languages as long as I understand them." Noin turned to go. "Oh, one more thing Storm. We've got a new guy coming in. His Excellency specifically requested you to show him the ropes, give him some training, etc."

"Wonderful." Lu sighed. "Is the guy a complete greenhorn?"

Seth consulted his computer. "Nope, not totally. He fought with OZ as a pilot, joined White Fang during the Mariemaia Khushrenada coup d'etat, and then joined the Preventors for a little while."

Noin frowned, feeling as if a large stone was settling deep in her stomach. "What's his name?"

"He didn't specify." Seth said. "He said for us to just call him 'Wind'. He got a bit of ribbing for that though." Seth paused for a moment. "I should probably mention that his tormentors are now in critical condition. I wouldn't want to mess with him."

"What does he look like?"

"I didn't get a real good look at him." Seth answered with a frown, trying to remember. "The thing I remember best was that he had long, white hair and these pale blue eyes. Those eyes, uh," Seth shivered. "Gorgeous in a weird sort of way but…"

"They looked right through you didn't they?"

"Yeah,"

"Seth," Noin grinned a bit. "Don't tell me you're falling in love with him." Seth turned red and opened his mouth to speak.

"Really, you two. I'm flattered." A voice came from behind Noin. In less time than it takes to blink, she had her dagger out and pressed against the intruder's throat.

"Rule number one 'Wind'," She said. "Never sneak up on a professional assassin without identifying yourself." Noin sheathed her dagger and stepped back. Zechs smiled.

"I'll remember that." He nodded at Seth. "Nice to see you again."

"Likewise," Seth returned the nod.

"Well, it's nice to see that you've made a friend," Noin's voice was cold. "But I need to speak with you Mister Wind. I'll meet you back at my apartment in an hour. If you're not there by then I will hunt you down and snap your neck. Clear?"

"As crystal." Zechs replied smoothly. Seth looked at him with shock as Noin left the room. Seth wordlessly handed her a stack of papers as she walked by and she took them without stopping or looking back.

"Damn," Seth shook his head. "If Storm talked to me like that I'd be shaking in my shoes."

"I'm not afraid of her." Zechs replied.

"Well then Wind my friend," The smuggler grinned.

"I'm here to repay a debt," Zechs replied gamely.

"Wow, you've picked a bad set of people to be indebted to."

"Not a set. One person."

"Storm?" Seth asked. "Were you two lovers or something?"

Zechs threw back his head and roared with laughter. "You thought… me and Storm? Oh, that's rich!"

"Good, that means that you won't mind if I hit on her every once in a while?" Seth asked mischievously.

"Not at all." Zechs answered, still chuckling.

"Well, I guess you're not Zechs Merquise then."

Zechs was instantly sober. "Why?"

"Storm keeps talking about this Zechs Merquise guy that she went to school with."

"And she told you that she and this man Zechs were lovers?"

"Naw." Seth shook his head. " But the way she gets when she talks about him, I think they might have been." The smuggler sighed. "What I wouldn't do to have her talk about me like that."

"Yeah." Zechs replied ruefully. "Me too."

*

A.N. Ok, I know I used a lot of weird words in here so the following is a translation key.

*Golden fish: Assassin's lingo for any commission over 20 million dollars (That's a lot of moola!).

** Lei sa che io non ucciderà una donna: You know I won't kill a woman.

*** Molto bene. Dire il suo Excellency che accetto: Very well. Tell his Excellency that I accept.

Next Chapter: The Storm Within (More than likely gonna be a lemon. We'll all find out won't we? :o))