The swipe of her knife was as swift as a snake strike, the wickedly sharp knife slicing through the muscle and sinew like butter. The initial shock of movement caused the man to try and turn around, but in the next moment came the collapse when his calf muscles would no longer support his weight. Meg rolled to the far side of the car and sprang up to the top of the work bench to avoid the volley of gun fire that she'd known would follow quickly.

As soon as El Sombre realized she was no longer on the floor, he stopped firing and she could hear him struggling to find cover. With more stealth than one would think was humanly possible, Meg hopped over to the bed of the El Camino. She waited a few beats and then quickly looked over the side, pulling her head back just as a volley of bullets rang past. She reached over and picked up a jug of oil and swung it over the edge, and heard the quiet gasp she was hoping for. Following the same path she launched herself over and onto the man, knocking the gun he raised out of his hand and then in quick succession shot a bullet from her own gun into both of his shoulders to render his arms useless.

The situation under her control, she sat back and put her weight on his legs to keep him from kicking out. She felt through the pockets of his pants until she found his phone and used the flashlight setting to get a good look at the man's face. She grinned down at him and watched his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed back his pain.

"You're a tough son of a bitch... I'll give you that. I know how hard it is to swallow the screams." She reached down and pulled one of his hands up, placing his thumb over the home button so she'd be let into his phone, quickly flipping through to change the password so she'd be able to access it when needed. He grimaced at the movement and then watched what she was doing.

"I won't talk to them. When I don't check in or provide their trophy? They'll just send another for you. Any maybe you'll kill them, but someday you won't... and in the meantime you'll always be looking over your shoulder."

Meg just shrugged and raised an eyebrow. "How'd you manage to kill so many people? Cause you kinda suck at your job."

"Bitch!" He coughed with the pain and she could see the shine of his tears. "I'd have killed you easy if that fucking dweeb Tayte hadn't called saying 'Meg and Norman are here'."

"In other words, you let down your guard. That's a mistake only the worst rookies make, El Sombre." Meg shook her head and chuckled. "What the fuck kind of name is that?"

"I didn't give it to myself!" The exclamation caused him to be racked with coughing spasms and this time he sprayed blood all over Meg. "It was given to me because I manage to blend in... no one can every describe me. Unlike you; the CIA puta who flaunts herself and makes sure no one can forget her." She couldn't help but laugh at this description of herself.

"Hmmm. So you say. Why did you take this contract?"

The man's face hardened. "I'll not be sharing that information with you today. Maybe later when we're both standing at the gates of Hell..." his face was losing color and Meg looked around her at the huge pool of blood that continued to grow. A glance back at his face showed that he was suddenly looking rather smug, which sent a quick shiver up Meg's back.

As the adrenaline from the initial takedown started to fade, another feeling was fighting its way to the front of Meg's brain... pain, followed closely by light-headedness. Something wasn't quite right, and as if moving in slow motion, Meg looked down at the growing pools of blood and the thought that flitted around the edges before fought its way to the front of her brain... too much... there was too much blood. The thought ricocheted through her head and then she saw it; a small hole in the material covering her upper thigh with a steady stream of blood coming out of it. Then, as though it was a screaming locomotive, the moment she launched over the side of the car came slamming back; the sound of the suppressed bullet being shot just before she landed on his chest and knocked the SVR free.

With a trained and steady hand, she shut off the recording she'd been making with El Sombre's phone and laid it on the bumper behind her. Reaching under the rolling toolbox, she pulled out one of the syringes containing the RevMedx injectable and a pouch with the pill she was looking for.

The only sign that she'd injected a needle directly into her gunshot wound was a slight narrowing of the eyes and swift inhalation. Meg sat completely still for several seconds and watched the flow of blood slow to a trickle. She knew that it would help, but she'd still bleed out before help arrived if she didn't take drastic measures. With that in mind she looked over at the unconscious man and shook her head. She'd hoped to get more information from him, but would have to trust that Bob's team would be able to use the recording in a way to satisfy Carlos Antonio that El Sombre had fulfilled the contract. Taking a steadying breath she lifted her pistol and placed a kill shot through his forehead.

Meg leaned back against the tire of her beloved El Camino, placed the pill she'd selected under her tongue and let herself think for a minute about the man who'd changed everything. His blue eyes and beautiful crooked smile gave her incredible comfort, even as the paralysis made it impossible for her to lift her arms and her line of sight changed as her body fell over. Her last thought as the darkness took over was, "I suck at promises."