The door flies open. They're already kissing hard. Alexei pushes Mariana against the wall and she gasps into his mouth, pulls him closer by his collar.
His muscular hands were everywhere. From her neck to her cheek and then her waist. He slowly zipped down her dress and stared quietly into her eyes. Gaze fixed on her like a predator's on its prey.
She tugs at his shirt and the buttons scatter across the marble floor. Her dress pools slowly at her feet. His hands slide up her thighs as he lifts her, his big hard bulge right there on her pussy, still kissing deeply as he walks them toward the bed. She wraps her legs around him, bites his bottom lip.
"Gosh, you so hot, Mariana." He says in perfect Russian accent.
He sets her down on the silk sheets with a light thud. She pulls him on top of her, nails dragging down his back.
"Fuck!" He exclaims quietly.
His mouth moves from her neck to her collarbone and gradually lower.
She arches into him, breathing hard. He sits up, reaches for his belt. And gasps.
Mariana blinks. "Alexei?"
His hand goes to his throat. He's making a sound. Choking.
"What's wrong?"
Blood runs from his nose, pouring down slowly. Bright red. He stumbles backward, still clutching his neck.
"Alexei?!" She calls out again.
No answer.
He falls to his knees. Eyes widened in terror as he watches life gradually pour out from him. The choking gets worse.
Mariana scrambles off the bed. "What's happening? What do I—"
He collapses face down on the floor.
Silence.
She stares at him — frozen. Then she moves and kneels quietly beside him and checks his pulse at his neck.
"Alexei?"
Nothing. Her face changes and the panic drains away. She smiles and nods at a 'job-well-done' and gets up, hand touching her ear.
"Target's down."
A voice crackles back. "Retrieve the item and move. Quickly."
Mariana jolts into action. She's calmer now. She tears through the room. The drawers, closet and even the mattress.
"Where is it?" She asks no one other than her voice echoing strangely across the room.
Something thuds above her. Footsteps. Voices follow — in the hallway, all sounding like angry Russian.
Pounding on the door. "Boss! Boss! Open up!"
Amidst the panic, she finds it. A briefcase behind the bathroom mirror. She reaches for her ear again. "Item retriv—"
Suddenly the door explodes inward. Three guards rush in with guns. They look from her to the scattered room in confusion and then, the briefcase and Alexei's body lying on the floor, lifeless.
The first guard raises his weapon but she's already moving.
One powerful kick to his jaw and he drops. She grabs his gun, uses him as a shield. The second guard fires once—twice and misses. She rolls low, sweeps the third guard's legs out from under him.
The second guard lunges. She redirects him straight through the coffee table, shattering the glass.
Silence. All three are down.
Marina runs to the window. She doesn't stop. She crashes into the window and leaps out into the night's wind.
She's falling. And then she motions into a diving pose and the river catches her with a big 'SPLASH!'.
***
Dark-blue water. She swims hard and surfaces downstream and pulls herself onto the shore.
On the shore now, she strips off her wet clothes and changes into dry clothes from a hidden bag. Blue jeans and jacket. Hair pulled back into a ponytail.
Not too far away from where she stands, a black car is parked. She grabs a key from her jacket.
She gets in.
"It's done," she says into her phone. "En route."
***
She pulls up in front of a restaurant, winds her window down and hands the briefcase to an older man. He opens it. Nods.
"Good work."
She nods in response and drives away.
Later that day...
Marina sits with her team, all five of them. Drinks raised.
"To Mariana!" Dmitri shouts. "Ice cold!"
"To Mariana!" They cheer as they click their glasses together. It was a beautiful day and it went perfectly as planned.
"I kicked one in the jaw and he fell asleep immediately." Marina says and they all crack up laughing.
"That thing with the guards was..." Yuki says. "Beautiful."
Mariana shrugs. "It was just the plan. Besides, I was only doing my part. You guys did everything."
"Yassss... my plan got you out," Lars says raising her glass.
"My intel got you in. I mean, who knew Alexei loved blonde women. Every man, including a mafia boss, sure has their weaknesses." Sara adds.
They all agree.
"Don't forget my poison ring," Dmitri holds up his glass. "It did the real work."
Mariana twists the ring on her finger. A tiny needle glints. "Only one touch from this bad boy." She smirks.
"Still, great job, Marina. If even just a single thing went wrong today, we'd all be dead. You did great work out there."
They all agree and click their glasses together. And drink. And drink...
Yuki slumps first. Then Lars. Sara tries to stand, falls. Dmitri's head hits the table.
Mariana watches them collapse one by one. She smiles softly and stands up. Walks behind the bar. The two employees are staring at her with puzzled looks as they all witnessed what just happened.
"Hey..." She starts. "...I swear, it's nothing personal. Okay?"
They nod with slight relief on their faces.
She turns her back to them, pulls out a gun. Two shots. They drop dead.
She drags her team to chairs. Ties them up. Each one: wrists, ankles and tape over their mouths.
Then she walks out and gets into her car, puts on sunglasses even though it is dark. She then picks up a small device from the passenger seat and presses the button.
Her reflection in the rearview mirror ripples. Her face shifts — nose, jaw and cheekbones. When it stops, a man stares back at her.
He sighs. "Man! What a day, am I right?"
He giggles and starts the car. He drives a little and before he can cover any distance, the car explodes.
***
Suddenly the bar door bursts open. Mariana's team stumbles out. All five of them laughing.
"I think we got it!" Yuki yells. "Well done everyone!"
"Did you see that explosion?" Lars shouts.
The man from the car rises from the flames. He straightens his jacket and runs over to the team with excitement. "That was insane!" He exclaims.
Mariana follows her team into the street. She is still herself. The man looks at her. Nods once. And then a voice from nowhere. "Cut."
The crew gather together cheering as they lower their equipment.
Mariana removes the wig slowly, letting her real hair fall.
She looks at the camera.
"I know you're probably confused right now," she says. "It's okay. You're expected to be."
She walks forward. Closer to camera.
"Let me explain how we got to this situation."
She smiles.
"Right about now."