I found myself staring in disbelief at Reese from across the table, surprised at the intent gaze he was leveling in my direction as he sipped his coffee and waited for me to answer his question. No one had ever taken this much of an interest in me besides my own mother, so his curiosity was stunning to me to say the least. Despite every plausible reason I could think of to not be so forthcoming with him, however, I found that I couldn’t help but want…no, need to tell him everything he wanted to know; from how I started up with the military, to how Snow had recruited me, and what I had done while in the entourage of the CIA.
Laughing internally at my own almost involuntary openness with essentially a complete stranger, I responded to his question of how I had come into contact with Mark in the first place.
“After our last mission went south in Iraq, my CO sent me home on leave. He claimed I needed some time to recuperate after the heavy losses we sustained; and while I couldn’t agree more, I lacked even the faintest desire to return home. While with the military, I felt that I had finally gained what could be called true friends, so I was reluctant to leave them and return home to nothing; despite my weariness of the battlefield. In the end, I did come back to the States; and I ambled about aimlessly for a time, enjoying the comforts of home to some degree even though I had no one to catch up with. I had never really connected with anyone before departing for the service, so when I returned I was just as lonely as before I left. All of my friends were still over there; and I was home, doing nothing. I’m sure you can imagine how that felt. ”
I paused to take another sip of coffee, and to gage John’s reaction to my story. As I swallowed the now luke-warm beverage, I thought I saw a trace of sadness in his eyes as he continued looking at me intently from across the table. Of course he would know what it was like; feeling the bond you shared with your fellow soldiers after seeing and doing everything together for the time you were deployed. After all, according to his file, he had been a part of just as many team-oriented missions as I had, if not more; so he must know what it felt like to leave your brethren behind, whether it was to go home or to depart on a different task entirely.
I found myself jolted out of my recollections as he spoke once again:
“And then, Snow found you?” he asked, the sadness leaving his eyes to be replaced with tension and a bit of anger.
I nodded as I took one more swig from my cup before setting it down on the table.
“Only a few days into my leave, I get this call saying there is something very important that an Agent Snow needs to discuss with me; and that I should return the call to set up an appointment immediately” I said, watching the man in front of me with caution. I could sense that any mention of Snow was a sore spot for him; and I didn’t want to cause him any more agitation than I likely already had. Upon seeing that Reese was waiting for me to continue, though, I couldn’t help but comply.
“Long story short, I meet with him and he hands me your file” I said, watching Reese as he raised his eyebrows minutely at the mention of me reading his dossier before I continued “And he offers me the chance to help him hunt you down. Before I know it, I’m on a plane to China; masquerading as his mistress. I honestly have no idea what made me agree to it, because it’s not as though he had to do that much talking to get my interest up. I think I may have just been tired of all the conflict overseas regardless of how many friends I had left behind; and so I was looking for any excuse to not have to go back to that, you know? I figured hunting one man was going to be much easier than hunting several; and with much less carnage besides. At least, that was what I thought before I figured out what Mark really intended to do to you that night.”
I stopped speaking then, because I noticed that Reese’s hand that was resting on the table in between us had clenched into a fist; and as I looked up I saw a muscle in his jaw jumping sporadically as he fought to maintain control over whatever emotions he must have been feeling as a result of my narrative. Mistaking his anger as being directed at me; I shrank back in the seat I occupied, my voice quivering as I said:
“I’m sorry; really I am. I had no idea what he was going to do until it was too late.” After a few minutes of seeing no change in his stance, I made to get up out of the booth.
“Maybe I should just…go” I whispered as I sidled out of the seat; guilt washing over me in waves not only over what I had almost done to this man, but also at the fact that I was making him relive it. Freeing myself from the booth in an attempt to rid him of my obviously troubling presence; I made to leave him, only to find that his hand was now gripping my own as I made my way past him. The sudden contact caused me to look down at him, and I fought back tears as I saw the way he looked at me imploringly as he spoke.
“Please, stay” he said softly. “I’m not angry at you, trust me. I’m just…angry at the situation.”
I stood there for a moment, searching for any sign of duplicity in his expression before returning to my seat, my hand still being held tightly in his as though I was a life raft keeping him moored to the present instead of allowing him to drown in the ghosts of his past. Whatever Snow had done to me, he had done ten times worse to Reese; and I watched him from my seat on the opposite side of the booth, waiting for him to speak. I didn’t want to continue my story unless he was willing to hear it.
After a few more minutes of the two of us sitting in silence, my hand still held tightly in his, he spoke again, saying:
“Listen, we should probably find you some place to stay for the evening.”
I found myself fighting disappointment that he wanted to call it quits so soon; but I also recognized that, despite the coffee, I was starting to feel exhaustion creeping its way back into my body. Glancing at my watch, I realized with a jolt that it was already 1:00 am, and I found myself barely stifling a yawn as I looked back up at Reese.
He appeared to have recovered from the strain he was under just minutes ago, and was currently doing his best to control a smile at my failed attempt at pretending not to be tired. He got out of the booth with ease, gesturing to me to do the same as he continued:
“Don’t worry, Natalya; we’ll continue our little chat tomorrow. For now, though, we both should get some rest.”
Nodding at him, I got up out of the booth and followed him to the door of the diner; sending a smile of thanks to our waitress before we exited into the night. The streets had calmed down some since we had arrived, and I turned to head in the direction we had come from; but was stopped short by his hand once again reaching out to grab my arm.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, dragging me gently back towards him.
“Um…back to my hotel room?” I said as I gestured with a thumb in the direction of my pajamas and bed, unsure of why he was so confused.
He laughed at me briefly, before saying
“When I said we needed to get you someplace to stay for the night, I meant that I’d find you a new place. You probably shouldn’t be staying in the same location for too long anyway given that Snow is probably still tracking the both of us as we speak.”
I couldn’t deny that he was probably right, but I didn’t really want to lose yet another set of clothes; especially since I had just purchased these ones. I also didn’t relish being indebted to the man I had almost killed, no matter how much he claimed to have forgiven me; so I planted my feet firmly in the ground and protested:
“Really, John, I’ll be fine in the hotel I’m at. Besides, my clothes are there, and my gun”
I left out the part where I probably couldn’t afford to buy yet another new wardrobe without emptying more funds from an account that was likely being watched; not wanting him to feel obligated to go shopping for me in addition to finding me a place to stay.
A curious smile crossed his face before he said
“Relax. I have an acquaintance that can take care of securing your things for you by tomorrow morning. Besides, I’ll rest easier knowing you’re close by now that we both seem to have a price on our heads.”
Yet again, I found myself floored by this man’s uncanny ability to want to take care of me; despite all that had happened to him in part by my own hand. I could do nothing but nod in agreement, falling easily into step beside him as we walked in the opposite direction; away from my hotel and towards some new location that only he knew about.
We had been walking for some time in easy silence when a beeping sound interrupted our thoughts, and he reached a hand up to his ear (he must have had an earwig or something) and said:
“Finch. Funny you should call right now. I have a request for you.”
I listened quietly as we continued moving down the street, deciding that I would take over the task of surveillance while he was otherwise occupied with whoever “Finch” was. I felt a small surge of uneasiness as I heard him assuring his mystery friend that there was no reason not to let me stay in the hotel room next to his; and that his help in acquiring the necessary room would be appreciated. After several more exchanges, it seemed that this person had, albeit reluctantly, agreed to make the arrangements for my lodgings, and I looked sheepishly up at John as he hung up the call; saying
“I never meant to get you in trouble with your friend. If it’s easier I can just…”
John looked down at me, smiling and rolling his eyes as he responded
“You aren’t going back to that flea-bag motel tonight, and that’s final. Besides, it’s sort of in my job description to annoy my boss. Call it a perk of the job.”
“Oh, he’s your boss? And your friend? Who exactly is he?” I asked, unable to restrain my curiosity. It seemed only fair that, after the one-sided grilling I had received at the diner that he answer some of my questions as well.
I was met with another smile and a small laugh as he motioned for me to move ahead of him so we could maneuver through a throng of people standing in front of what looked to be a late night movie theater. He kept his hands firmly on my shoulders, as though afraid that someone would snatch me away from him, until we reached the other side of the group. We were well away from them before I got my answer.
“Those are questions that will have to wait for another time. We’re here” he said, gesturing up at the ritzy hotel that we had just reached.
I fought to keep my jaw from dropping to the ground as we entered the main lobby and approached the receptionist. Never in my life had I seen the inside of such a magnificent building, and I was rendered too speechless to even protest his aversion of my question. I just stood there, watching as he charmed the woman at the desk into giving him a room adjoining his own for his “little friend here”. As we walked away from the still-stunned receptionist; I looked up at him, asking:
“You’re sure this is okay? I mean, this place has to be ridiculously expensive and…”
He cut me off once again, and we entered the elevator; allowing the doors to close before he continued with a smirk:
“As I said before, I have a friend with a tab that I can basically do what I please with.”
I let the mention of this mysterious “friend” go for the time being; not wanting to pester him with my mundane questions when he was probably as tired as I was, if not more so. We reached our floor and left the elevator, walking down the hall in silence. He came to a stop next to a room labeled 314; and handed me a key for the one next door.
“I’ll be right next door if you need anything, okay? Sleep well” he said, giving me one last smile before turning to unlock his door.
I nodded at him, trying to return the smile before entering my own room; my fatigue finally overpowering me. I shuffled over to the bed, not even bothering to explore the fancy room or turn back the covers of the bed before flopping down on top of the sheets and promptly falling asleep.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………
The next morning, I stretched out on the bed, stifling a yelp as my fingers brushed against a piece of paper that had been left beside me. Sitting up and rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I ran a hand through my hair as I reached the other one down to pick up the sheet. It said:
N~
Had to go to work early, but I left my cell number by the light in case you needed me. I’ll be back to talk later.
Stay put.
JR
So he had come into my room while I was sleeping to scribble the note. I found myself caught somewhere between feeling touched that he wanted to let me know where he was, and freaked out that he had seen me while asleep. Stretching once more, I set the note back down on the bed; as I began to ponder how strictly he was about the phrase “stay put.” I figured that he meant to stay within the boundaries of the hotel itself, but did he expect me to remain confined to the room? I really wanted to explore the hotel during the day; as I had been too tired last night to get much appreciation for the splendor I was now surrounded by.
Deciding that I would interpret his words loosely, I hurriedly brushed my fingers through my hair, straightening my blouse and donning shoes as I made to leave the room. I could at least go down to the desk to see if his “friend” had retrieved my belongings yet; and if he had, I could bring them back up here and take a much needed shower. If not, I would just continue exploring the place, and hope that no one took too much notice of the fact that I looked like I had fallen asleep in my clothes.
Humming softly to myself, I made my way down the stairwell at the end of our hallway; squinting my eyes as I adjusted to the light that bombarded me upon entering the main lobby once again. I walked over to the receptionist; a male this time, and smiled up at him as I said:
“Excuse me, but did anyone leave a bag of belongings here earlier this morning for a Natalya Gerard?”
The young man looked at me curiously for a moment before heading to the room located behind the desk; and remaining there for quite some time. I found myself becoming impatient, as I wasn’t entirely sure why it was taking so long to find a single bag in a room that looked, at least from my position, to be fairly clean. Before I could do anything about my impatience, however, the man had returned.
“I’m terribly sorry miss, but we don’t have anything yet. I am aware of someone that has been looking for you though. In fact, I just called to let him know you were here.”
“I don’t understand; who’s looking for me?” I asked him, utterly confused at his statement. My mind raced as I attempted to figure out who this “person” might be. It couldn’t have been Reese, since he knew very well where I was. Perhaps it was his mysterious friend?
As I continued pondering who exactly was inquiring as to my whereabouts, a glare of sunlight splashed across my face as the front door of the building opened. The man behind the desk gestured towards the door, saying:
“Him, miss. He just arrived.”
I squinted yet again as I tried to make out who had just entered; my heart dropping to the floor as the man standing by the door came into focus behind the glare of the sun.
“Hello, sunshine. I was wondering where we’d find you” Mark said, smirking as he and the other agent with him began to move slowly towards me.
I cursed inwardly as I began backing away from him; sending a glare to the receptionist before turning quickly and running as fast as I could in the other direction. I had no idea how I was going to lose the two agents that I now heard running after me; but I knew for a fact that I would try like hell to do just that. I hadn’t spent time with the military for nothing; and hopefully some of that training would help me now when I needed it the most.
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