51 Out With The Old

This plan had been weeks in the making. From the time it took to train Lia to control her breath and pulse, to practicing the spar and the hits. He had to give her credit. She was a natural born fighter, and largely fatal when ticked off. It had to have been difficult for her to throw that fight. In fact that had been the hardest part.

Over the years Lia had turned herself in a one man killing machine, she reflexes were like that of a cat. The training had been brutal but it was necessary. He looked at the young girl in the back and felt a flicker of remorse. She wasn't moving, but he knew that was due more to the pain than anything.

"Bear with it for now, once we get back to the cabin, I will be able to help you with those injuries. You did good today." Cage muttered back to her as he drove.

The plan had been utterly flawless. The only people who were in on it were her, Cage and Hunter. The circle had to be kept small to avoid leaks and casualties. For this reason, even Charlie couldn't know. In order to fool your enemy, you had to fool your friends first. Once they had faked her death. The plan was simple. They would move the base of operations to a remote cabin that Hunter kept in the bush. The supplies had been purchased using an intermediary, an unknown from the street who was not affiliated with the soldiers, and paid for in cash.

Now that Luke was officially "dead", they would have Lia lay low for a couple days before Hunter reintroduced her to his men. She would be the boss's lady. And in the interval of time between her reintroduction Cage would coach her on her manners, speech and appearance. By the time they were done, Lia would be a thing of the past and thus be freed up to look for intel unfettered.

It was genius.

Lia had her doubts at first but the more she listened and helped Cage and Hunter with the strategy and planning, the more faith she had in them.

Shifting in the backseat she groaned, a slight whimper coming from her lips. Her jaw hurt. It hurt to breathe and she could still taste blood. It had taken all her willpower to keep from fighting back and blocking those punches. She knew she could have. But it had to look real. It had to be believable.

Hearing Cage's attempt at comfort she smiled faintly, muttering softly from the back "Heh. No pain no gain, right?" she smirked weakly at the rear view mirror.

"Well, at least you haven't lost your sense of humor." Cage smirked back. The smirk only barely concealed the worry in his eyes as he watched her. Not many men could take a punch from Hunter, and she had taken two. He would have to have his cousin come to inspect her to be sure she was safe to begin training for her new identity.

Meanwhile Lia leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes. Dying off didn't bother her a bit. Everyone connected with her old life was already dead. And Luke had been a work of fiction. The only one left to mourn him would be Charlie, and while it broke her heart, it was necessary as they drove through the woods she glanced quietly and window and whispered softly "Sorry Charlie…" before closing her eyes and surrendering her body to oblivion.