Stiletto does her stretches

Stiletto spread her legs, fingers reaching for the ground. In the background the Hunt's preshow was already broadcasting. Kurt Jackhammer, a retired Hunter, was telling viewers what to expect.

Before joining the Hunt, Stiletto was a secret agent—

“Case officer,” she corrected him. One, two three, four and up...

–who identified terrorist recruiters—

“Angry losers.” One, two, three, four and up...

–and neutralized them using lethal ****.

“Nonstop sex.” One, two, three, four and up...

“Hey, it's like the truth,” Morwen's perky voice kicked in through the earpiece. Stiletto forgot she'd already put it in, but then she was so used to having her agent chime in that without it she felt... how she imagined other people felt when they were naked. “You really were a spy after all.”

“Yeah, the kind that fucked nobodies so hard they fell in love with democracy.” Stiletto fidgeted with the stun gun pressing on her hip. “I've fired more shots for you than I ever did for the Company.”

“Don't be so modest, they trained you to shoot. And I still don't believe you never ran an obstacle course in a pair of—”

“Not even once, Morwen.” Stiletto braced an arm across her full chest.

“Come on, it's your codename! It's part of your legend!”

Stiletto rolled her eyes. Part of her legend. She was good at legends, as the Company had called her false identities. She could slip into them like a fish into the current.

“The last time I wore your damn stilettos, I sprained my ankle twelve minutes in. Remember that?”

“I do remember the 'impossible' win that made you the most famous woman on the planet, yes.”

“My answer's still no.”

“You baby. You need the practice. The real Stiletto would never settle for a stunt double.”

The real Stiletto. Escaping her legends, going back to the real her... that part was always trouble.

“The trolls tell me we're pushing our luck with this Hollywood thing.” She rolled her shoulders, arms out behind her back.

“Oh please. You're the first woman to win three consecutive Hunts. You'll be the first woman to win four Hunts ever. Hollywood would kill for your life story. Angelina's already promised to cast you if we sign with her.”

But she was good at trouble, too. Whenever she imagined she was someone different than her legend, that's when she knew she was pretending. Did she think the “real” her was better than Stiletto? No one was better than Stiletto.

“The Angelina?”

“How many Angelinas d'you think there are in Hollywood?”

“Plenty.”

“Forget the name. The name is bullshit. She'd still be Angelina if her name were Suzie Q.”

Stiletto snickered.

“What?”

“Nothing.”