There was the sound of ringing, and Xena's heavy eyelids opened softly. For a moment, she just laid there, her mind blank. That was until the realization that the bed next to her was empty. Venus was gone.

The ringing had intensified in Xena's ears. It was only then that she realized what it was: her phone.

Xena began scrambling around in her bed, shuffling through the sheets until she retrieved her phone, hidden beneath her pillow. She cleared her throat and answered the call without looking at the ID, still half asleep.

"Agent Vale."

It was Agent Fox's voice.

"Agent Fox." Xena replied, hoping that her voice did not sound as spaced out as she felt.

"Where are you? It's already noon, but you're not in the office. I need you here ASAP. The sketch of our Assassin is nearly completed."

At that moment Xena's eyes shot open, and reality seemed to crash down on her. From the light streaming in through her window, it was clear to Xena that the sun had since risen.

"I'd be there in twenty." Venus said into her cellphone. There was a hum of approval from Agent Fox before he hung up.

Immediately, Xena got to her feet. It was only then that she realized she was stark naked. For a few seconds the memories of the night before crossed her mind and Xena felt her body heat up, then she shook her head. She shouldn't be thinking about that right now.

Xena got dressed quickly enough. She had overslept, no doubt because of the events that had ensued in her apartment in the early hours of the morning.

As Xena brushed her teeth, her mind wandered to Venus. She wondered where the smaller woman was; she wondered why she had left her apartment without saying anything to her. Xena hoped she was okay, she desperately wanted to swing by her apartment to check up on her but she pushed the feeling down. She needed to deal with work first. She needed to find out what exactly was going on and how much they knew.

Things were escalating much quicker than Xena had anticipated.

The drive to work was a very grey one. Literally. It was raining, heavy droplets of water fell down from the sky. Xena found herself thinking that the weather reflected her mood, it had changed so drastically seeing as it was bright and sunny mere minutes ago. Xena tried not to think of this as a bad omen of sorts as she arrived at work.

She passed a number of Agents as usual, nodding at them before making her way to the elevator which led her to the second topmost floor.

Arriving at Agent Fox's door, Xena took a deep breath before knocking sharply.

"Come in!"

She entered the room to see that Agent Daniels was already there, a dark feeling of dread crossed over her as she realized that Agent Daniels was going to be seeing the sketch too.

"Agent Vale, just in time, come in, please."

Xena swallowed as she did just that, making her way over to Agent Fox's large table. Agent Daniels nodded at her, which she returned stiffly.

"Here's the copy I got sent in today." Agent Fox said placing a blown up sketch in front of the two of them.

Xena stared at the picture, and her heart almost stopped. Even though the sketch was not fully completed, it might as well have been. Venus was fully recognizable. It didn't escape Xena how she now had hair. Her long locs were drawn in perfectly. No doubt the Doctor had been able to identify the hairstyle. The longer she stared, the more her throat seemed to close up. The details were there.

Xena found herself shocked at the mere accuracy of the sketch artist just from description. She glanced up at Agent Daniels and her body seemed to go cold all over; he knew. It was clear to Xena that he too had immediately recognized the sketch from the look on his face.

Agent Fox began talking, oblivious to the tension that had grown in the room: "We also have some other details about her. The witness described her as having light brown eyes and being of a smaller frame."

Xena nodded, pretending to be paying attention to the words that Agent Fox was saying when in reality, her mind was spinning.

Was Agent Daniels going to say anything? Xena was certain that he was going to speak up, but the little 'meeting' came to the close and he hadn't said anything.

Not a word at all.

Xena immediately left Agent Fox's room, trying to get as far away from it quickly.

"Agent Vale!"

Xena continued walking, pretending as if she hadn't heard Agent Daniels calling out to her when she felt a hand on her elbow.

Swallowing hard, Xena came face to face with Agent Daniels. She figured that she had to talk to him. After all, there was no way she was just going to get away with saying nothing to him.

Xena motioned to a free office nearby and Agent Daniels followed her inside, shutting the door behind him.

"That's Jasmine." Agent Daniels said the second the door closed shut behind him.

Xena almost scoffed at the name he had called Venus. She liked the fact that Venus hadn't told him her real name that night. It made Xena feel like she had something close to her.

"I know."

Agent Daniels blinked as if she had lost her mind. "You know? So why didn't you say anything? Furthermore, why did I see you go on a date with said Assassin?"

Xena's mind worked fast. She was a Secret Agent, after all. Being able to tell a smooth lie was part of her word requirements. "I had suspected her earlier on. I befriended her to get close to her." Xena had delivered the lie effortlessly. Now she crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for Agent Daniels to eat it up.

Just like she had expected, he did just that. A look of surprise came over his face, which seemed to change into slight awe at her apparent genius. However, Agent Daniels being the smug bastard that he was, did not allow that look to stay on his face for too long, he replaced it instead with one of indifference.

"Okay, but why didn't you tell Agent Fox? The sketch clearly shows it's her."

Shit.

"Not clearly." Xena replied, "I want to be absolutely sure before I got to Agent Fox with my suspicion."

This lie was a bit harder to deliver seeing as how off it was. There was no reason that Xena should hold back, even if she was not sure. The most that would happen was that said suspect would be taken in for questioning and released once they found that she wasn't the one they were after.

However, Agent Daniels ate this up too. "True."

Xena nodded her head, a mixture of relief flowing through her. But now this relief changed, and she was filled with slight irritation as she tapped her feet against the floor.

"That makes sense," Agent Daniels said, "the night that we went to the club. She was there too, that was where I had met her. It was then that she killed the club owner, I should have known."

Xena hated the fact that he was talking about Venus as if she had been confirmed as the Assassin. Xena knew that, but Agent Daniels didn't.

"That's if she is the Assassin." Xena replied, her irritation growing more. She wondered if Agent Daniels had been able to pick up on it in her tone and hoped not as it would lead to complications.

"So her name probably isn't Jasmine, it was probably just a cover name she used."

Xena nodded her head, forcing a tight-lipped smile: "I thought as much, but that's only if she is the Assassin."

Agent Daniels nodded. "Did you meet her that night at the club as well?"

"Yes." Xena lied. Her irritation was growing more and more by the second. She did not like to hear Agent Daniels talk about Venus. "Any further questions your honor?" She asked mockingly.

Agent Daniels shook his head and stood aside to let Xena leave the room, which Xena did immediately. She noticed that he had a certain look on his face as she passed him, but that was not something she would bother about right then. After all, she had bigger issues to deal with. She needed to get to Venus; she needed to get to her fast.

As Xena drove to the Venus' apartment, she had a strange feeling coursing through her. She felt that something was off, that something was weird. But Xena couldn't place what it was. However, it was enough to make her step on her accelerator.

In addition to that, another thought was going through Xena's mind simultaneously. It was only a matter of time before the FBI confirmed Venus' identity and she was taken in.

The screws in her mind were working hard. Just before arriving at the smaller woman's apartment, Xena came up with a plan.