━━ CHAPTER ONE / negotiations

Italy was beautiful even in the colder months of the year. There was something so distinctly beautiful about Tuscany. The air seemed different and no matter when Ronny found herself there, she adored it. The soft breeze and the vineyards that spread for miles and miles. Even the landscape was gorgeous. It felt like it was created by the Gods, another special and beautiful place to be admired and destroyed by civilization.

The hotel room was quiet as Ronny picked up her dress from the side. The deal for a small blue faience statue was due to take place in the middle of yet another lavish event and Thoth had ordered Ronny to find it and steal it. It was exactly like every mission she had faced before this and she knew she would be fine. Even with Marc around her and probably seeking the artefact just how she was, she would be able to get it. She knew herself and she knew him.

The drive to the event was uneventful and she conversed beautifully in Italian with the taxi driver as he drove her up to the extravagant mansion. The architecture was a mix of Roman and Renaissance elements. Large columns adorned the front of the building, the sculptures perfectly intact and ivy growing through the trelesses up the side of the buildings. The picture perfect Italian mansion. It belonged on a postcard.

But like every beautiful mansion she went to, Ronny couldn't help but feel that little bit jealous. Being an avatar wasn't all bad and even being an archeologist before that hadn't been terrible but there was something so romantic about living in a historical house and having money to spend on lavish events to please people you didn't truly care about. Ronny found herself - at times - longing for that life but she snapped out of it before she thought about it too long. She was content as she was and she finally felt like there was some purpose to her existence.

And contentment meant she could have fun. She walked straight through the mansion doors, faced with gatherings of people. The domed ceilings of the grand entrance were gorgeous and the large ballroom opened up into various other smaller rooms all filled to the brim with people. They were chattering with glasses of champagne and smiles. Gorgeous dresses and fake faces. All of them picture-perfect and hiding ugly personalities beneath the surface.

Ronny fit right into the crowd. Her dress was a gorgeous red with a large slit on her left leg. The shoulders were strappy but she wore in it a way that made it seem almost modest. She felt confident and her heels were tall enough to give her the boost in height but easy enough to fight and walk in. The duality of her outfit was always intentional but nobody ever really realised. Nobody questioned a woman with a pretty face and a pretty accent.

Her eyes flicked across the room. The buyer and seller had been easy enough to track and she knew just about everything about them. Their favourite colour, name, ancestry. Ronny had been thorough but she stuck to the sides of the rooms now. Sipping a flute of champagne and watching the party from afar. She always started outside and worked her way in.

And then she spotted him. Marc Spector. His brooding face, his suave suit and an arrogant smile that appeared every moment he found new information. She watched him from afar, finishing her flute of champagne and abandoning it before she walked over.

He had just abandoned conversation with a pretty dark-skinned woman and Ronny took her chance to gain his attention. Her heels clicked against the hardwood floor as she walked in time with him. He was switching rooms.

"I can't say I'm surprised to see you," Ronny commented as her arms swung by her sides. Her gaze flicked to the man and he stayed deadly silent. A pout appeared on her lips and she continued, "Come on, Marc, are you not pleased to see me?"

"We have a mission," He responded. His voice was entirely dead-pan. Ronny shrugged, picking up a flute of champagne as a waiter passed them both. She offered it to him but he ignored her, not even acknowledging it.

"I know, I just wanted to see where you were going. I can't have you sneaking off now, can I?" Her voice still held a teasing tone and it was almost condescending. If Marc was bothered by it, he didn't show it. He simply stopped by a nearby table, canopies adorning the beautiful gold swirl tablecloth on perfectly polished silver trays.

"You don't want to make a scene here," He warned and she nodded her head. Her gaze flicked across the room and within a second, she spotted multiple known or wanted criminals. Any of them would be able to kill her in two seconds if they even got a whiff of suspicion that she had ill-intent. So, instead, she turned to face him.

"You're right. Come with me to the bathroom, I promise, I'll make it worthwhile." Ronny was clearly teasing, a smirk on her face as she let her fingers run across his arms up to his collarbone. He had neglected a bow or tie so part of his chest lay exposed to her.

"No time with you is worth my while," He snapped in response,

"Oh come on. You know we have fun together. The bruises, the cuts. I still have that scar you gave me a few months back, I can show you it if you like," She winked, "I'll meet you in the bathroom in ten," She added before she began to stroll off. She clearly had no intention to follow through with anything she said to him. She simply did anything to flirt with him, it riled him up and she loved to see him struggle to control his annoyance. With Konshu whispering down his ear the entire time, she was surprised he hadn't killed anyone at the party yet.

But before she could get even a few steps away, Marc had grabbed her wrist and pulled her in. His free hand jumped to her hip, locking her in place against his hard chest.

"I'll give you another scar to match if you get in my way. Leave or I won't hesitate," His voice was a low whisper in her ear and his hand moved around from her waist to the lower part of her back as he spoke. His fingers tracing where they both knew the silver-thin scar traced across her skin to her spine.

"That would be no fun. I can't wait for you to see what I have planned," She met his gaze defiantly. Her skin ablaze from his touch alone but she knew better than to inflate his ego further. This was a dance they'd done so many times before.

Ronny managed to slide herself from his grasp and sauntered off. Her heels clicking and the noise from the party engulfed her once again. Another flute of champagne was picked up from the side, hoping that it would give her a little more liquid confidence. Thoth wouldn't like her resortment to violence but she had tried, she had failed. Marc was stubborn and nothing changed.

The doorways out of the party rooms were always guarded by security. Each of the men were tall, broad and about twice Ronny's size and height. They were freakishly tall and engaging any of them in a fight would only end in disaster.

So, Ronny waited. The chance came when one of the guests who had drunk a little too much champagne started shouting. The guard quickly came over to sort the issue and Ronny rushed past down the corridor, quickly getting out of sight. The flute of champagne was still in her hand as she strolled down the corridor.

The mansion may be completely unfamiliar in reality but she had studied the plans for days and she knew exactly which turn to take to get where the statue was allegedly stored. Whether it was there or not was beyond her and relied on the information from informants that had no reason to tell the truth. It was all a gamble. Well, most of her job was.

"I told you to negotiate," The voice of Thoth boomed through her temple. His words had an angry edge to them but he had been the great negotiator among the Gods, he didn't become angry over such petty human ordeals.

"I talked to him, he didn't listen," Ronny shrugged as she took another sip of her champagne. Thoth seemed unimpressed but his face had always been unreadable. His face was an ibis, a long black beak with hollow eyes. Mythology suggested that Thoth had a human form but Ronny had never seen it or she may in fact be that human form. The myths were never truly clear.

But she often found herself not listening to Thoth. He may be a master negotiator for the Gods but humans were different. They were rarely rational and resorted to violence when they didn't like someone. They were not so easily talked down.

"You flirted with him," Thoth responded and Ronny smirked, glancing up at the God. Her neck craned just to get a view of Thoth's face.

"It's better to flirt with him than negotiate in your way. He despises me and it's easier to make someone love you and then you take everything." Ronny turned the next corner and noticed the door down the hallway was ajar. The door that she needed to get to, according to her intel. She paused in her footsteps and took note of the area. It was a long winding corridor with shiny wooden floors and walls a deep shade of faded red. A few paintings on the wall, a side table with a mat and some other trinkets. Nothing inherently dangerous and nothing she could get caught on. Perfect.

"Maybe you should use the powers I gave you for something more than flirting," Thoth suggested, an air of bitterness to his tone but Ronny didn't say a word. That would get her caught if she wasn't careful and the bubbly fizz from the champagne was already getting to her head. She placed the glass on the side table as she walked up to the door, gently pushing it open.

Marc was standing inside the room with the statue in hand and a wave of frustration ran through Ronny but it was gone in an instant. She closed the door behind her and it was just the two of them in the room. She slipped a small piece of papyrus parchment into the keyhole of the door and it locked it, permanently. Only Ronny could remove that. A small piece of magic, a spell from the Gods.

"It's just you and me now Marc," Ronny said as she leant her back against the door. Marc barely lifted his head in any acknowledgement. He was ensuring the statue was what they both believed it to be. It was certainly authentic looking from what she could see.

"I warned you," Marc responded as he placed the statue back in its protective casing. Ronny cocked an eyebrow as she crossed over to him. She tilted her head as she looked into his eyes.

"I know." A teasing smile on her face. He - as always - threw the first punch and she dipped away. Her fingers gripped onto the front of his shirt, pulling him against her. Her knee landed in his groin and he collapsed against her. Ronny shoved him to the floor and grabbed the case from the side and then she heard the noises outside. The commotion.

"What did you do?" Her voice was louder than she intended, aggressive and the panic rolled through her. This was not good. They shouldn't have known.

"Konshu wouldn't send me here for that," Marc spat as he stood up. Ronny stared at him, realising her mistake. Her face fell and the flirty facade disappeared completely. Marc straightened up his suit and Ronny continued to stare. He rolled his shoulders and walked past her, going to open the door but it was still locked, "You better unlock this door before they kill us both," He warned, glancing back at her.

Ronny finally moved but not to open the door. Instead, she grabbed the back of his collar and used her other hand to shove him down onto the floor. But as he went down, she fell with him. His hand had grabbed the side of her dress and he quickly got on top of her. His hands scrambled to catch hers and he gripped her wrists, pushing them above her head.

"What did you do to the door?" He asked, his tone warning. Ronny felt the smirk come back. She squirmed, trying to get her hands back but his grip was tight and bruising.

"I locked it. We're stuck in here," She spat in response. Marc's eyes narrowed and she pushed against his hands again. His grip loosened and she pulled her hands free, punching him across the face before he could react. She pushed him off and scrambled to her feet. The case was now on the other side of the room but Marc didn't care for it. He had completed his mission.

Marc was on his feet already and he punched her square across the jaw, disorientating her for a moment as he dragged her to the wall. He held her against it but didn't restrain her hands this time which gave her the advantage. Her hands slipped underneath the slit of her dress and she pulled out the dagger hidden in the holster pressing it against his femoral artery as she stared up into his eyes. That playful look spread across her face again.

"If you make one wrong move, this knife will slice your artery. We've been doing this long enough for you to know what would happen next." Her threat wasn't subtle or nuanced but she didn't have the time to be clever or witty. She wanted to make him suffer for her own fallibility but she also knew that she had to get out with the artefact before they were both killed.

The suit came together in front of her eyes and Ronny glared. The knife wouldn't do a thing now so she dropped it. Marc threw her across the room and she clattered into cabinets. Glass smashing over her head as he strong-armed the door open.

Her head was spinning but she pushed herself to her feet and stumbled to grab the case before she rushed out of the room. A large part of her wanted to go after him, give him a few punches for what had happened but she was not Thoth's 'hands of vengeance'. She had to protect and allow law and order to serve its course no matter who they were or what they had done. That was Thoth's ideology and she couldn't help but agree.

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NOTE; here i go with chapter one!! i hope you enjoyed <3