Outpoint - Gloves Up SmackDown Contest

Lynx - Qualifying Round Submission

A/N: Hey guys! It's definitely been a while, sorry about that. Going to keep this short and sweet - this is my entry for the Qualifying Round of the Gloves Up SmackDown Contest. Enjoy!

Her soft, purposeful footsteps were the only warning she allowed.

"Jorge Adair. I can't say this meeting was unexpected."

Without turning around, the man shot back, "Is anything truly unexpected for you, Lynx?"

"Flattery won't get you anywhere, Magnum."

At this, he turned around, wearing a smirk. Not the smirk of a tough smuggling leader, but that of an old friend. "Still as blunt as ever, I see."

"Bluntness is a part of my charm." Her small, but genuine, smile fell from her face, though, as she was reminded of her task. "What do you want?"

Sensing the shift in conversation, his grin dropped as well. "I have two targets for you." With that, he flipped open the unlabeled file laying on his desk. Two somber faces stared back at her. "Mateo and Amalia Copeland. Husband and wife. Dormant Interpol agents, busted our operation in the past, almost killed us completely. Any information you'll need, including routines, is here."

She picked up the photos, observing the faces, and then skimmed over the information on them, humming occasionally. Being Interpol, they would be difficult to take out, but she had faced worse odds before. "And your offer?"

"Half a million."

She raised an eyebrow at him. Hatred was practically dripping from his voice - he was desperate, and she knew he could do better than half a million.

Predictably, the weight of her unimpressed look got him to crack.

"We also might have another hundred grand in the bank for you if you could get the job done in the next week."

"And the girl?"

"What?" She nearly rolled her eyes at his evident confusion.

"Files say they have a little girl, almost three. What's your plan for her?" Contrary to popular belief, she wasn't heartless.

"Oh, we were going to leave her alone, let her go into the system. But if you want her, you can have her. You always said you wanted children. Extra bonus, if you will."

She stared at him for a second, not bothering to hide her incredulous expression. Then, she burst into bitter laughter. "You call that a bonus?"

"Well, I-"

"No, you listen to me, Jorge." She walked right up to him, until her face was in his. "Ellen Cromwell wanted children. Guess what? She's dead. My name is Lynx now, and there's a reason I'm known as the world's greatest assassin. I have morals, you know, and no child deserves to be exposed to the life that I live." For a second, she allowed her mind to swim in the darkness that shrouded her, the horrors she saw daily. But only for a second.

He was silent. She shook her head at him, tossing the photos back onto the desk. "I can't believe you. The deal's off."

He opened his mouth to protest, but she turned around and headed for the door, with one last comment thrown over her shoulder. "And 600,000 for an assassination of this scale? Please, you're practically scamming me."

A/N: Phew, I had so many ideas for this one, but 500 words isn't a lot, so I had to cut a lot of the good stuff out. But writing from Lynx's third-person limited perspective was a blast. Hope you all enjoyed it!