"So tell me..." Lucas said as he popped a forkful of food into his mouth and began to chew, "what happened today that was so unbelievable?"

Valeriya cast her gaze up towards him, then back down at her plate. She had barely touched any of her breakfast, but she was courteous enough to at least try for this kind stranger. He seemed genuinely interested in how her day was going, bad or not, and that was a nice change in her everyday life. Petrov was never extraordinarily interested in the things she did about her day, he listened idly and nodded his head, but it usually stopped there. "It's quite a long story, to be honest with you. Are you sure you want to listen to the entire thing?"

A smile crossed his tough looking face, making it seem much brighter than it actually was. The look on his face read that he was completely unaware, playing coy to ease her day, if just a little. There was an air about him that gave off a trusting sort of vibe to her, easing the former tension between them. Little did she know, that once he found out her name, he knew everything about her. Well, to the degree of how terrible her day was probably going, but he had to hand it to her; Valeriya was handling the current situation remarkably well.

When the silence between them started to look like it set her on edge, he parted his lips to speak again. "I'm sure, trust me. You look like you've had a hell of a day, and the least I can offer as a stranger, is to be someone to vent to."

A small smile that rivaled his own played on her lips as she found enough comfort between them to meet his eyes. They were calm, and reminded her of a rolling storm, which was odd considering she usually hated thunderstorms, but with him she found it settling. She looked back down at her plate, trying to avoid the slight rouge on her cheeks from showing. After all, she didn't want this stranger of all but an hour knowing that he played such a big role in improving her day, even if it was just him listening to her wildly Earth shattering story.

"It started a little over a week ago, I think," Valeriya began in a breath. "I was involved in a messy car accident. I wasn't too banged up, but it was serious enough for me to be bed ridden in the hospital while they made sure I wouldn't bleed out internally, you know?" She licked over her lips as her eyes flicked down, then up to Lucas, and then down at her mug full of coffee that she'd barely touched. "I was released this morning, and I was hoping to be greeted by my family and my boyfriend... Well, no, my ex-boyfriend now."

"Ex-boyfriend?" Lucas raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly.

"That's something else entirely." She chuckled dryly, shaking her head. "Anyway, when I got my estate I, instead, found my family..." Her voice began to waver at this point, struggling to find the words she needed to explain to him what really happened, or rather, what she thought had happened this morning.

"Hey, hey... Are you okay?" He reached out a hand, placing it over one of her's. The look on her face read utter fear, disgust, disdain, and every other negative anecdote that would fit how she felt at the time. Valeriya looked completely torn apart, there was an air about her that felt like she had run out of everything in her life, as if it all disappeared.

"I found them dead, Lucas." Her lower lip quivered as she forced herself to say the words, tears beginning to bubble and overflow from her eyes in thick, clear lines. The scenes that were put in front of her at her own home replayed over and over in her head, making her mind feel like it was twisting and breaking with each passing second.

"All of them?" His eyes grew wide, voice dropping down to a low whisper. Shock read all over his face, looking as if ice ran straight through his bloodstream at what she had just told him.

Valeriya nodded slowly, pulling her hands back from the table and settling them in her lap. Thinking about it hurt her at such a deep level. At this point, she found herself lucky to be alive. If she had been home when the killer was doing their dirty work, she could have been an addition to that pile of bodies that was her family. The thought scared her, taking her mind to darker places, especially knowing that they were there at the same time at one point. Her blue eyes rose to meet his grey's, the breath in her throat hitching in an indication that an anxiety attack was waiting just beneath her skin. "Yes... All of them. I could have been included, and somehow I'm here... Alive."

"You don't think you deserve to be alive, or something?" Lucas offered, gesturing this way and that with his hand.

Valeriya's crying came in odd spurts, feeling the urge to let loose throughout the day in various degrees of severity. Now was one of those times that she felt the overwhelming need to do so, in front of this man that couldn't possibly offer her more than a generous ear. Her shaking hands reached out as she tried to bring her tear ridden eyes under control, taking the still warm mug of coffee against her palms. The heat radiating off of it was nice, it was calming, and strangely, it was exactly what she found that she needed. A small distraction of sorts.

"Of course I don't deserve to be alive!" She gritted, keeping her gazed fixed on the warmth in her hands.

The outburst caught himoff guard, but only slightly. He straightened his back and brought his hands in front of him on the table, folding them together. "Don't you think that there are reasons for these things? You know, like divine intervention or something like that?"

Her face twisted at what he said, lifting her eyes to look at him, really look at him. She could read that he meant well, but it came off as crass. "Are you saying that my family was brutally slaughtered for a reason? And that me, being here and alive, means something on some bullshit larger scale?!"

"No, no, that's not what I'm trying to say. I swear!" He held up his hands in surrender, silently apologizing for the way he came off towards her. "I'm saying... This could be a positive change in the long run. Take the pain, and use it to do good. I want to help you, Valeriya. Will you let me?"

"How could you possibly help me?" She pleaded in a broken voice. Her entire demeanor looked defeated, everything about what had gone on today had chewed her up and spit her out on the cold sidewalk.

"I run a business that specializes in information, and based on what you're telling me happened to you today..." He paused as if he were thinking something over. "I can make a few calls and launch an investigation into the murder of the Aksakov family anonymously, and I'll do that for you." Another smile spread across his face, but it was different. It looked well trained, controlled.

Valeriya eyed him for a long moment, and then glanced down at her coffee as she took a long sip before looking back up at him again. Lucas seemed like a good guy, genuinely wanting to help her figure all of this mess out. There wasn't a lot to consider, given that this seemed like her best option with how things were going. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place, so there wasn't much else to do other than say yes. "All right, I'll work with you. Just tell me what I need to do, and I'll do it."

"Great!" He exclaimed, letting out a breath afterwards. "I actually created this business with my best friend from college, she's my business partner. So, I'm going to go give her a quick call and discuss it all with her, see what she thinks... And I'll be right back, okay?" His bubbly personality and the brightness in his smile made her feel more at ease about what she could be possibly getting herself into, scam or not.

She watched him get up from the booth and excuse himself towards the back of the bar, giving a nod to the barkeep who Lucas apparently knew. Valeriya saw as he disappeared through an old looking wooden door into a dark room that was quickly cut off from the outside dining area. One of her hands rose to rest against her left cheek, supporting the weight of her head as she leaned hard on the attached elbow. She felt exhausted even though it had really only been a few hours since she woke up this morning. Her eyes struggled to stay open, fluttering a little as she tried to find her alertness again. The bar that Lucas had ushered her into was quiet and calm, which was great, but it didn't help with her current energy levels. Adrenaline had shot throughout her system all morning, but now it was completely drained and she felt like she could collapse right there in the booth.

Valeriya didn't realize that any time had passed between the time of Lucas leaving her alone and the point in which her eyes opened again. Heavy lids finally opened and she was faced with the large man again, looking at her somberly. His grey eyes smiled where his lips didn't, but he seemed like he was watching over her while she slept, which made her heart swell with positive feeling, despite the slight embarrassment that crept up with it. "Did I fall asleep?" She wondered dumbly out loud.

"Yes, you did." He chuckled in a soft tone, folding his hands in front of him like he had done earlier. "Don't worry, though, no one bothered you."

"That's good to know." A shiver crawled up her spine, nearly forgetting the events of the day in her drowsiness. When it all returned back to her after a few seconds her face fell, causing her breath to catch in her throat at all she was now thinking about. "Today really happened, didn't it?"

"I'm afraid so... And unfortunately, I couldn't get through to my business partner. I called twice, but it just went to voicemail." Lucas shrugged, and then began twiddling his thumbs; a habit he took up when he was nervous about something.

Valeriya was quick to catch the nervous tick that he was doing, having studied psychology for over a year in college. She recognized it, and she could tell that he was clearly worried about his friend and cohort. "Is it unusual for her not to answer like that?"

"Yeah, it is. When I call her she usually picks up on the first ring, rarely does she ever let it stretch to two." He shrugged again. "We usually meet up here after work to eat, drink, and talk. So hopefully she'll show up soon."

Valeriya looked at him for several long, quiet moments before she got the courage to ask him what was on her mind. "You seem to really care about her."

"Oh man..." Lucas lifted a hand and ran it over the top of his bald head, showing a wide reminiscent smile. "I care about her more than anyone else in the world. No one else compares, you know?"

"Sounds a lot like love to me." She intervened softly, leaning back in her seat.

"It is love, but a different kind of love I think. Like..." He took in a sharp breath, trying to find the words. "There aren't any romantic feelings between us, but if I ever lost her I would also lose my way in life. She helps give me clarity."

Listening to Lucas talk about how he felt for his partner was calming for Valeriya, it seemed like the only good thing that happened all day long. A small smile appeared on her lips as she watched him go on and on about this woman that she still had yet to meet. There were a million questions swimming around in her head, but she decided to settle on the most obvious of them. "Well, have you two tried the whole romantic thing in the past? You sound like a good match, from what you're telling me." Her smile faded into a contemplative smirk.

"Not quite..." A rouge appeared on his tanned cheeks, an embarrassed smile showing through. "See, we've never really been like that before. I don't honestly know if we could, she's been my best friend for so long now... I mean, sure I've considered it, but I really, really don't think she would be up for it."

"Come now, what's there not to be into? I mean, look at you!" She pointed out with a wide grin, playfully complimenting him. After all, if there was no chance of him and this woman as he said, then it didn't hurt to be slightly flirtatious for the sake of doing it.

Apparently it did enough to lighten the mood, because he belted out a hardy laugh, causing his shoulders to shake in amusement. It brightened up the small bar considerably, making both of them smile at the current situation. Lucas then shook his head. "No, no, you don't understand. We're not together, because she's-"

Their conversation was interrupted with the violent swing of the front door to the bar. A woman stumbled inside the small establishment, shockingly enough wearing a tank top, even in the harsh cold that was a normal Russian day. Blood dripped down from her mouth and from her right side, causing her gait to stagger as she attempted to make her way further inside.

Valeriya was admittedly shocked at the scene in front of her, and apparently so was Lucas, because he shot up out of the booth and hurried over to her with such worry in his eyes. His lips mumbled something, but she couldn't quite catch what it was, that is until he repeated it much louder.

"Toni, what the fuck happened to you?!" He rushed over to the strange, wounded woman. Oddly enough, he wasn't touching her at all. He hovered around her, just enough that she knew he was there, but that was as close as he got.

"I..." She took in a deep breath, reaching out towards Lucas with the hand that wasn't covered in blood and gripping the sleeve of his shirt. "I reported back to our boss, you know, about what happened this morning. He wasn't too happy about it, to say the least."

Valeriya watched the exchange curiously, unable to hear what she was saying to Lucas, but whatever it was seemed important. Was this the woman he was telling her about? He seemed to know exactly who she was when she tumbled into the building, so perhaps it was his friend, and allegedly the person that was going to help the two of them with the case that she wanted to build concerning her families murder. With the state of this Toni, though, that didn't seem plausible right now.

She watched him escort her towards the back of the bar and past the barkeep that let him through before, closing themselves off in the same back room that he had gone into earlier to make the call to the woman that was now stumbling around like a wounded animal.

"What the hell do you mean he didn't take it well?!" Lucas asked after he shut the door, escorting Toni to nearby chair. Small sizzling noises radiated around the room, given off by her blood coming into contact with the different surfaces that were present.

"Sentinel..." She breathed, looking up at him with pain clouded green eyes. "He apparently knew that she was alive, too. I tried to give him the death certificate to play it off like she was already dead, but someone fucking called him and told him that they saw her out and about before I got there."

"Wait, that doesn't make any sense." He furrowed his brows, pulling up a chair opposite her and taking a seat.

"How doesn't it make sense?!" Toni interjected, not giving Sentinel the time to continue what he was about to say. "When I got there, he had his men and that fucking cane waiting for me. For fuck's sake, Sen, look what he did to me!"

"No, dammit!" He huffed, taking in a breath and then calming his gaze down to look at her with an easy expression. "I mean, why did you tell him that she was already dead when you and I both know that she's not."

Toni looked away from him at that point, running her clean hand through her wildly curly hair in thought. "You know why."

"I have an idea, but please, elaborate it for me. I need to know why you would knowingly put yourself in danger for someone you don't even know." Sentinel linked his hands together, staring at her with his intense grey eyes. She could practically feel him burning into her.

"I'm sick of killing people, okay? I figured that if I could at least spare this one, maybe I could start to atone for the things I've done." Her words were laced with equal parts venom and hurt, wanting nothing more than to put all of this behind her and maybe even start over. It was a hard future to picture, but there was always that itch at the back of her mind that told her to just run away and go somewhere where no one would know who she was. Toni thought about it more than she'd ever admit out loud. If it wasn't for the records that The Division kept on lock down then maybe she would have a chance, but the amount of resources they shoved into their surveillance and tracking databases made trying to escape a scarier thought than dying. Becoming a traitor to The Division was one thing, but being caught as a traitor was something she didn't want to imagine.

"What makes you think you have to atone for anything, Toni? You are known for killing people who deserve to die. People who have done terrible things, that have ruined other people's lives in order to further their own wealth and power." He began to explain, drawing her attention back towards him. "I know that your contracts are specific to those kinds of people. What you're doing helps the world, you get rid of it's trash, and given that information, you have nothing to be ashamed of. You are a good person. Do you understand what I'm saying to you?"

She stared at him in silence for several long minutes, stretched to feel like a thousand years. There was a quiet urge to cry at how he spoke so highly of her, it made a heat rush through her limbs, but not in the normal uncomfortable way. It made her feel worth something for once. He was the only person in her life to ever praise her for being what she was, even knowing that she had no choice in the matter. Sentinel always made sure that Toni knew that she was special in all sorts of ways. Whether it be for her abilities as a killer, the type of people she killed, or simply her in general. As her best friend, he felt it reasonable to let her know almost everyday that she was perfect just as she was. It was one of the only things that kept her going from day to day, knowing that she had someone behind her for support when she fell.

"Coming from you... That means everything to me." Toni finally said in a soft voice, looking at him with the most sincere gaze she could muster.

Sentinel smiled a little and shrugged. "That's what friends are for, right?"

"Right." She confirmed with a soft smile, and then readjusted herself in her chair. There was a loud click, then a snap, and suddenly she was on the floor staring up at the ceiling. Her sincerity was replaced by sheer annoyance as she attempted to scramble off of the floor. "My blood ate away the wooden legs of the chair again, didn't it?"

Sentinel, on the other hand, was trying all he could not to laugh. "Yes it did."

"If I hear one giggle..." Toni growled, sending him a look, which in turn shut him up right then and there.

"I knew it was too good to be true!" The two were interrupted by a thick accented voice, a figure of a woman that Toni wasn't familiar with standing in the doorway to the small room.

"Who the hell are you?!" The assassin stood defensively, facing the stranger. She stood between Sentinel and the woman, unaware that this was the same person that he was sitting with when she stumbled into the bar.

"You should know who I am!" The petit woman belted out, reaching swiftly into her bag for the pistol she had hidden there. The looks on their faces as she presented it quickly went from angry to afraid as the barrel was pointed towards them. Valeriya switched it off between Toni and Sentinel, her eyes rabid. The