Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin.
Orphaned at an early age and growing up in Middle East displaced persons camps, Modesty becomes a dealer in a gambling club owned by a French criminal syndicate. When the syndicate boss is killed by a rival gang, Modesty rallies what's left of the gang and forms the Network, a very successful gang. She buys Willie Garvin out of a jail in Thailand after seeing him fight in a Thai style match, and he becomes her chief associate and foreman (but
not lover.)
Her goal is to retire rich with half a million pounds, and on achieving it, she dissolves the Network and goes to live in England, along with Willie Garvin who fulfills his dream of owning a pub. But luxurious retirement grows palling to a pair accustomed to a life of adventure, and they find themselves recruited by Sir Gerald Tarrant, a senior British intelligence officer, to assist with occasional difficulties.
Modesty originated as a syndicated comic strip written by Peter O'Donnell and drawn by Jim Holdaway, and has also been the protagonist of a series of novels by O'Donnell.
See
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modesty_Blaise
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Dennis