Chapter 10 - The Painting

Valerie stood in the organization's parking lot. She looked at the thin piece of transparent plastic in her hand. Jim had told her to keep it with her somewhere discreet, for it was the device that controlled how the paint on her body appeared. She thought about it for a second, then decided to wear it on her thigh, similar to a garter. It blended right in with her outfit, becoming virtually invisible. She couldn't help but feel amazed - even though she was only wearing the tiniest of g-strings, the bodypaint made it appear as if she was fully clothed. Jim and his team had really outdone themselves.

Satisfied with how she looked, she searched for a sleek sports car. She found it after a few minutes and got in the passenger seat.

"Let's go.", she said to Hawk, who was in the driver's seat.

"About time. Did they brief you?", he asked as he started the car and began driving to their destination.

"Chief filled me in on the basics, but I still need some prep.", she replied. "First thing - our cover. If I remember correctly, I'm supposed to be a rich heiress."

"Exactly. You're Joanna Ronchetti, heiress to the Ronchetti family fortune, here on vacation from Europe. I'm Henry, your chauffeur and bodyguard, and we are on our way to the estate of the one and only M.C. Kaiser.", he said.

"Is he supposed to be famous? I don't really follow hip hop."

"Well, the last good album he made was five years ago. Since then, he's become somewhat of a businessman dealing in the buying and selling of fine art. Probably a better long term career choice for him, if you ask me."

She laughed. "Right, and we're meeting him to buy one of the masterpieces in his collection - a genuine Monet. He definitely has fine taste in art, if not in music."

"Exactly.", said Hawk. "You'll negotiate with him over dinner and keep him occupied, while I sneak into his office and get what we're actually looking for."

"The data chip.", she completed. "Do you think he's working for the Masked Man?", she asked apprehensively.

"No idea - could go either way. He could have just lucked into its possession through one of his deals, or he could be part of something bigger. We should keep an eye out for intel while we're there."

She nodded solemnly. Her mind went back to her previous encounters with the Masked Man and Anya. Just thinking about what he had done to her made her shudder.

"By the way.", said Hawk, bringing her back to reality. "Nice dress. I have a feeling our target won't be able to take his eyes off you."

"Thanks.", she replied, blushing slightly.

She sensed something from him, as he began to speak with that sly smile and twinkle in his eye. She decided to be proactive this time. She couldn't let him do his usual shenanigans, for they usually resulted in her being stripped and humiliated.

"Hawk.", she said, her voice serious. "Please. Can I have your word on something? I don't need to tell you how important it is that we recover this chip. Can you please promise to not mess with me during this mission?"

He opened his mouth, before glancing at her and stopping, seeing that she was indeed serious. After thinking for a moment, he finally said, "All right. I promise that you are safe from me until we get the chip."

She sighed in relief.

"However, I can't guarantee anything after that.", he said, winking.

She gulped. In any case, she would take this small victory. The mission was the most important thing - although she had the feeling that he would have his **** later. She didn't want to think what it could be.

She decided to distract herself by looking at the remaining mission files as they sped towards their destination. She would worry about that for later - right now, her focus was on the mission.