Well I would prefer more of a modern shift just because I'm in a very...spy-espionage-Mr. & Mrs. Smith mood, but it's not a hardset rule.
And your girl sounds like my boy's kind of type.
One of the characters is a guy taken (as a child) from a third world country/general slum area and trained by some agency (whatever the story calls for). He's pretty destructive, but who isn't in this line of work?
The other is a bit older who is a narcissistic ex-agent with a sweet tooth. I can't decide between these two *sigh*