A cycle.

That was the only way to describe Alianna's life right now.

Wake up. Train. Eat. Work. Train. Sleep.

Libertà no longer brought her happiness, not when she knew Marino was nearby. She worked mindlessly through the day. Her nightmares were under control as she solely devoted herself to her job during the day and enlisted the help of a little white sleeping pill at night. She hated herself for seeking a drug fuelled solace but to her, it was ticket to paradise.

She stood outside her apartment building on the lookout for a Jeep. Today was the first Sunday she would be training Marino recruits and she was not anticipating it at all. Her week was monotonous and only then she realised how integral Jax was in her life. Even if it was just was mixing his drink or one of their rare conversations, she realised how lacking her life was without him; and it scared her.

She never let someone get so close, she thought she kept Jax at arm's length but he was closer to her than anybody else. She shifted slightly, jostling her garter holsters with her guns and knives ready. She let her mind wander for a while and no surprise to her, it led to Jax. What was he doing right now? Was he getting the information he wanted? Was he in danger? Was he safe? These questions ran through her mind. Of course, she had no way of contacting him, maybe Evan could but what reason would she give?

Alianna sighed before running a hand through her hair, this is why she couldn't get attached. The familiar sound of a Jeep engine echoed through the night. They didn't even stop as she opened the door swiftly and silently jumped inside. She nodded to the men in front before leaning back and plaiting her hair.

~

"As you can see, I have a lot of untrained men," Marino said as he and Alianna walked to the training arena. He made a mental note at how she always kept a distance behind him, ready to run or attack if need be. "I want you to train this batch just as you were trained. No mercy. They are going to be following in your footsteps," he chuckled. Alianna kept her impassive face but she couldn't stop the feeling that Marino had other plans for her. He opened a door and stepped through and she followed behind him.

The training arena was just an empty section of warehouse store room. It was fairly lit and was occupied by 30 men. She sized them up, they had the stature for being an assassin but the lack of skill was apparent by the noise they made. She shook her head as Marino stepped into the light of the room. All activity stopped as the men lined up. Marino grinned and folded his gloved hands.

"You all have proven your worth and ability to be trained by my best," he said softly but the power in his voice spoke volumes. "Your training begins today, may I introduce Sicario." Alianna half stepped into the light, enjoying the looks of fear on some of the men. "She will train you and report your progress to me even though I'll be watching." Another shiver of danger travelled down her spine. Was that a warning for them or for her? Marino inclined his head to Alianna as he walked out the door.

"Sicario?" some man grunted. "Who would've thought the most feared assassin in the world would be a woman." He laughed loudly followed by a few others.

Alianna studied the man. He was definitely older than her and she could tell that the only reason he survived so far was his brawn. "You don't think I can kill you?" she said lowly.

"Smart Sicario aren't you?" he mocked. She exhaled softly and closed her eyes and chuckled lightly. "What's so funny Scario?" Alianna closed the distance between her and the man and punched him with her right fist. The man staggered back and before he could return to his full height, she took him down with a roundhouse kick and placed her foot over his throat, the heel of her boot resting gently on his throat, applying just enough pressure to constrict his breathing but not enough to crush his windpipe.

Alianna's eyes flitted up as she noticed a flash. Her eyes rest on a camera, the red dot indicating that someone was watching on the other end and she knew exactly who it was. Was this all a ruse for Marino to gauge her abilities? Her loyalty? She smirked lightly, deciding to give Marino something worth watching. She could hear the logical part of her brain screaming as she pulled her gun from its holster.

"Let this be a lesson to all of you," she said loudly commanding the attention of the watching crowd without taking her eyes off the camera. "If you step a toe out of line," she clicked the hammer and fired a shot, the scream of pain from the man beneath her indicated that she hit her target, "you lose that toe." She stepped away from the man as she returned the gun to the holster. "Don't help him," she said as she pulled on her leather fingerless gloves. She turned around to see two young men standing on either side of the wounded. She felt a pang at how much they reminded her of Alan and Eric. "He has nine toes, he can walk." She smirked as a string of profanities rang through the air as the man hobbled out.

~

A couple hours later, pairs of men wrestled and fought across the room. Alianna circled them like a hawk, observing and critiquing. These men were fighters but not assassins, she'd be lucky if one or two could pass her training. Her gun and her holster were in the corner as she padded around the room silently. Her eyes landed on a concealed form in the shadows. She sidled up next to it, not surprised when she found Marino there.

"How are they?" he asked softly.

"They're good fighters," she paused, "not so much assassins. You've got a good mixture of shooters and brawn but not both. Perhaps with a couple months of training they can be good enough to get the job done."

As much as he hated it, Marino had to admit she was right. He grit his teeth in annoyance and felt rage bubble inside him. He had hoped that these men would've been an instant success, he needed a legion of assassins to take down Jax Boveri and he didn't want to wait a couple of months. His eyes slid dangerously over to Alianna. He grinned and stepped into the light. All fighting ceased and all eyes turned to him.

"That's enough for today and this would be your last training session with Sicario," he said. Dread filled Alianna's stomach as she slowly made her way over to her gun. "After assessment, Sicario has come to the conclusion that you are not suited for the job." Resentment, hatred and anger hung thick in the air. All the hairs on the back of Alianna's neck stood on end as she drew closer to her gun. "I'm sure you would like to thank your teacher."

Bastard! Alianna thought as she heard Marino's retreating footsteps. She sprinted for her gun but before her fingers could close around the gun, she was thrown against the wall. Alianna instantly used both feet to push her assailant away while trying to regain her breath. Two men angrily growled and charged at her, she pushed past them both, letting them knock themselves out on the wall. Another one charged and she prepared to side step only to be met with a punch in the stomach. Alianna used the proximity to slam her fist into the guy's temple. She heard an angry shout from behind her and calmly turned around and sunk her knife that was nestled between her fingers.

Arms wrapped around her and she threw her head back and stabbed that guy in the side. As she did a quick count of her knock outs, her head was thrown back as a fist connected with her face. She struck blindly but hit her mark as her knife sunk into the guy's stomach. Her tongue dabbed at the cut in her lip but she didn't have time to take care of it, she grabbed a gun, aimed and fired. The bullet grazed two but missed a third. He turned to her with a cocky smirk. Alianna smirked as well before tucking the gun into her belt. She crooked her finger at him and he charged. Alianna jumped and grabbed onto one of the pipes above. She caught the guy's neck at her ankles and twisted it, just so that he collapsed.

Breathing heavily, she returned to the ground. Her body groaned in pain and she spat blood onto the floor. Her eyes flashed murderously up at the camera. She didn't know what game Marino was playing but she was going to win. She retrieved her stuff before walking out.

~

Evan walked up to the bar. "Evening ladies," he greeted the bartenders. Libertà's doors were going to open soon and he wanted his evening Manhattan before that. Alianna smiled through the haze of pain she felt and made Evan's drink. She didn't say anything as she placed it in front of him, fearing the pain in jaw. Evan raised an eyebrow at this silent Alianna but didn't comment. Instead, he studied her as she prepared for the evening. There was something different about her, it was subtle but different, it gnawed at him as he sipped his drink.

"You need to teach me how do my makeup like this," Kayla said to Alianna as she examined her face under the lights. "It looks gorgeous." Alianna smiled thinly and continued her preparation.

Bingo. Evan grinned as he drank. More makeup, Alianna's natural beauty shone through but it was definitely more that he was accustomed seeing on her. He frowned as the gears in his head started turning. He never pegged Alianna as a heavy makeup girl. He noticed that Alianna was quieter; she didn't smile or talk like usual. Her tongue darted out lightly at a certain spot and his eyes zeroed in on it. He inhaled sharply as he recognised the tell-tale signs of a split lip. She had tried to hide it under a dark lipstick and an untrained eye would easily gloss over it but Evan knew.

His frown deepened. How did this happen? First the torn shirt, now this? Was there more to Alianna than she let on? Was she being abused? As he knew, she lived alone and she spent most of her time here at Libertà where she was safe. He ran a hand through his hair before draining his glass. The screams of excited girls told him that the doors were open and it was time for his retreat. He cast one last glance at Alianna before moving through the crowd, politely ignoring the ladies who threw themselves at him. He was going to call Jax and let him know, even if Jax wasn't romantically involved, Alianna was still an employee and he didn't know if she was being hurt because she worked for the family. Evan clenched his jaw as he entered his office.

He was going to get to the bottom of this.

Author's note: 

For an idea of Alianna's outfit: http://www.polyvore.com/blackout/set?id=187516160