Woke Up One Morning... Part 19
A new day is about to begin and I've been sitting, half-dressed on the edge of the bed Heero and I share staring at the wedding band on my finger for the last half-hour.
Waking up on the beach at my husband's internal clock was both a wonderful and heart-breaking thing earlier. Of course, it was enjoyable because the memories of last night instantly came back. There were several reminders of that... the most being the slight discomfort below that I'm now used to. I suffer it gladly.
But, of course, there was also the instant realization that from here out- at least for some time- we won't be able to have near as much time to enjoy many intimate moments like just curling up together. And that alone is enough to put a bittersweet edge to any warm feelings that were still lingering.
One of the things that we both understood was that our rings would have to come off and stay off until all was said and done. Between knowing how much more difficult it would be to hide them as well as how easily they could be lost, neither of us are willing to take the chance in keeping them.
Still, I'm having a hard time removing it.
The shower water in the adjoining bathroom is turned off and it's not long before Heero steps out in nothing more than a towel. While I would normally be admiring his damp physique right now, I am embarrassed to admit that my eyes go right to the ring on his own hand. I can't help but feel a little happy that it appears he's not exactly in a rush to lose that simple band of gold.
Yes... I am hopeless.
Looking over at me when he nears the bed, my lover reads my thoughts once again and smirks, "Having a time with that, too?" Unable to trust my voice, I just nod firmly.
Damn it, I really shouldn't be acting like this over something so simple! It's a stupid ring! A ring given during a marriage that I had no idea that I was getting into!
...But that said marriage has actually been shaping into something. And our rings are the only physical item that we have as a reminder.
Finally deciding that it's just time to move on, I head for my dresser and sigh, "I know, I'm pretty sad, huh?" I remove the band from my finger and seal it away in my top drawer for safe keeping while shaking my head, "It's not like we really need these things to know we're married."
Before I close the drawer back up, my eyes widen when Heero suddenly appears behind me to secure his own wedding ring together with mine. It's another gesture on his part... wanting to keep them both close. I turn my surprised face towards him, finding that his nose is only a few inches from mine.
Smiling warmly, he shrugs, "No, we don't need them for that. But I get the significance they have. I've become pretty attached to my ring as well."
An arm slips around my waist and I'm pulled close, our bare chests brushing together.
No matter how many times I've felt his skin against mine, it always makes my heart pound as it is now. That grin on 'Ro's face spreads further as he reminds, "Now that the marriage has been consummated, I think that we can hold onto that until we're finished. Then the rings won't have to come off again."
Images and sensations from last night fill my head as soon as he said the 'C' word. Beads of sweat start to form on the back of my neck while my heart thumps even harder. It takes a couple of attempts before I manage a rough swallow past my tight throat.
Quickly closing the distance between our faces, my partner kisses the end of my nose and turns to move for his own dresser in fully knowing that his sentiments have worked their magic in brightening my mood without having to see the small smile spreading on my face.
Now that I have other, more pleasant things to think about, I really don't mind how naked I feel without a certain weight on my left hand.
Sometimes, I wonder if he really gets just how much his reassurances mean to me and my sanity.
We dress and eat in silence before heading out for headquarters. During the ride, neither one of us looks back at our home, keeping our eyes on the road ahead both literally and figuratively.
My mind is swarming with so many thoughts surrounding the investigation that we pull into the parking lot in no time. Taking up our duffle bags that we had packed the day before with all the necessities for a long trip out, we head for the front doors.
Rose gives us her always bright smile and greeting as we pass her desk for the elevators and the day has officially begun.
There will not be any checking in at our office this morning. Instead, we take the elevator to the top floor to report in with Kathie.
Grinning widely, she nods to the corner in her office where we can set our bags for the time being. "You're the first to arrive," she informs. "Help yourselves to some coffee in the waiting room. I just started a fresh pot."
Early as it is right now at dawn break, coffee sounds absolutely wonderful right now. Winking at her, I smirk, "You're too good to us, Kathie." She just giggles and returns to typing away at her computer as we step out.
In the waiting room, I've only poured my paper cup halfway when Wufei enters. Spotting us, his eyes flash with satisfaction before he gazes around to be certain that we're alone. "Hey," he greets quietly while approaching as I top off the cup in my hand.
"'Morning, 'Fei," I grin and lower the coffee pot back onto the brewer. His back leaning up against the counter beside me, Heero offers a small nod while I smile to our friend, "Nice day for a field trip, don't you think?"
Snorting, Chang shifts the gears of my banter and says quietly, "You know, it's been bothering me to know what your private meeting with Une was all about two days ago. I know you couldn't say anything in front of Barton, but she isn't on to the two of you being involved is she?"
Leave it to good ol' Wufei to not miss a beat when it comes to the goings on in the office. Observant as ever, and the only one of our closest friends to know Heero and I are more than friends.
I'm sure that he was concerned about us when the Commander called us back. It must have been bothering him to press the issue when he would normally never push into our business.
But now comes the dilemma of having to deny. Lying has always been something that I've managed to steer pretty clear of-with the exception of the occasional omitting details to paint a certain picture.
Always my hero, my husband shrugs, "If she was, we still wouldn't be working together as partners."
Nicely handled. Short, sweet and simple. That should be just enough to end any further questions.
Quickly taking that in and accepting the response, Wufei smiles and sighs, "Right. I should have picked up on that, myself. You can just never tell what that woman wants when she calls you into her office."
I swallow a large gulp of my coffee bitterly at the sharp tone in his voice when he said 'that woman.'
Granted, he and Sally have the right to feel a bit slighted that they were not able to continue working together in the field. But their case was unique since his wife always loved working in the medical unit. Their transition was not really such a struggle.
After all that she's done for me and Heero, I can't help but feel protective of Lady Une. So I am not about to take shots at her lightly, but I have to let it go at this point. Coming out and defending her right now would only make the matter look suspicious.
...If Chang has any bitter feelings lingering over his forced professional split with Sally now, I can only imagine how heated he would be to find out she not only knows that we're together but she allowed us to continue working together.
Once again, I am left off the hook from having to say anything when Trowa and the remainder of our team arrives.
Agent Link looks especially bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for just after six in the morning with a few thick folders secured under his arm. Considering the hours he and his team had put in for our search, I'm sure he has been chomping at the bit to share what he's come to find.
We all exchange handshakes and greetings just before Kathie arrives to announce that the Commander is ready for us. All but running ahead, Adam leads the way and we all follow with heads shaking and snorts of amusement.
"No one should be that energetic at this ungodly hour," Danielle comments and I mutter an 'Amen' along our way past the receptionist desk. I'm flashed a pleasant smile at the response from our little Agent Hawk.
Inside Lady Une's office, we take of the eight seats before her desk the way we had for our first meeting together.
A pleasant grin on her face, the Commander waits for the door to close and begins, "Good morning, everyone. Instead of drawing this out, I will have Agent Link get right to business in sharing what he and his team have come to learn about our target." Nodding to Adam, she sits back in her seat.
Quickly rising, our burly tech wizard rises to stand beside the front desk and faces us. Lowering the files that he has had in his care, he clears his throat and starts, "Mister Ivanov has a history of over a dozen aliases that were difficult to filter through in the beginning. As far as we know, Ivanov is his actual name... or at least that is the one he uses the most."
Lady Une presses a button on her desk that dims the lights in the room and lowers a tall screen from the ceiling behind her.
Shots of a muscular man with strong Russian features and thinning hair appear on the screen as Adam goes on, "My team and I have been able to sort through satellite surveillance shots of him meeting with several individuals throughout the globe and the Colonies."
In each shot, our target is dressed differently. Sometimes he is wearing shades or a ski cap, almost always something to shield his whole face from sight, but the build and tall stature leave no room for doubt that it is the same man shaking hands or talking with a variety of different men and women.
"Now, in sorting through our party of interest's habits, we found that there is one individual that he has met with many times," Agent Link smirks before holding the remote in his hand to the screen.
The shot of a lanky, tall man probably in his forties comes up without any distinguishable features to give away his nationality. Really, he appears as nothing more than any normal guy you would pass on the street.
With a deep breath, Adam turns towards us and advises, "This is Jesse Krutza- an American with no prior criminal history what-so-ever." The smirk on his face tells us that he is getting to the good part. "However, a look into his personal banking history shows that Mister Krutza has a very substantial amount of money in different accounts while not holding a normal nine-to-fiver to be able to earn those funds."
Oh, this is good. As I mentioned before, there is very little that ever gets past our Agent Link. A few of us share sideways glances and nod approvingly to the young Preventer for him to continue.
Holding up the folders he brought along, Adam states, "While Ivanov has been difficult to track down, I am beyond certain that Jesse Krutza is a key to finding him. Everything that we have on the both of them is in these folders that I've made up for everyone."
Dutifully, he passes them out and I begin to page through my paperwork as he continues, "We have been able to pinpoint Grayson's current hiding place in Switzerland."
Instantly, every hair on the back up my head shoots up along with Heero and Wufei. "Switzerland?" I repeat. Surprised by the reaction, Agent Link pauses and blinks his wide eyes.
Son of a bitch.
"Harrison had said that he met with Ivanov in the Alps," I recall out loud as Heero and Wufei nod in agreement to the same confession that they had heard. Ever the quick study, Trowa's back goes rigid with the news. "There's a definite direct link between this Krutza and the chemical, then."
A wide, pleased smile spreads across Adam's face at having a confirmation that his research was on the right foot. To his side, Lady Une smirks, "Excellent work, Agent Link. You and your team are to be commended, as always. I will take it from here." Bowing his head, our round-bellied accomplice hurries back to his seat.
Slowly folding her arms on her desk, the Commander declares, "So, there will be a team moving into Switzerland to listen in on our new man of interest. Until we have something solid, we are legally bound to follow the rules when it comes to these so-called 'law-abiding citizens.'
"We cannot handle them as we please, the Assembly will not take kindly to assaulting an innocent without proof beyond doubt that they are a threat. Occasional meetings with someone a criminal happened to name during an interrogation is not enough to force our hand."
Frowning as she folds her arms across her chest, she sits back in her seat and says, "Agents Wing, Scythe and Dragon, you will be heading out there with Barton and a couple of back-up Preventers including Agent Talon to be a little more muscle." The four of us in the front row nod firmly along with Tyson.
Her brown eyes falling on Penelope, Lady Une asks, "I believe that all is in order for their travel arrangements, Agent Bridge?"
Our Latina ally stands and replies, "Yes, Commander. The passports, tickets and papers have all been brought up to date." Biting her lip, she scans the five of us heading out as she comments, "Switzerland has always been seen as the neutral capitol of the world and all of space in that since 1815, but they are not likely to appreciate the chance that there could be a threat to their innocent citizens. The smoother and quieter this operation, the better to avoid any hostilities there." [1]
Penelope reaches into a small folder she had brought along to begin passing out our passports and other needed papers. "You all have new names and identities to keep from drawing attention to yourselves. The city where you are headed to find the target is the city of Lugano, one of the southernmost cities of the country." [2]
I am paging through my paperwork, committing my new name of Jeffrey Cunningham to memory while listening to her continue, "The people there are extremely welcoming to visitors and they do not ask questions. Most likely, that is the very reason the target picked that location. Our communication lines with the cities will be open as soon as you leave to assure that there are no surprises on either end."
Lady Une unfolds her arms and smiles, "Thank you, Agent Bridge." Returning the grin, Penelope lowers her head respectfully as she returns to her seat.
Well, I've heard that Switzerland is lovely this time of year. Of all the places I've seen thanks to the wars and this organization, I haven't been there yet.
"Agent Hawk," Une addressees Danielle seated just behind me. Raising her head, the petite one waits for Une to tell her, "Though they will be flying via standard commuter plane to keep up with their business trip cover, you and your team will be on the ready to head out in our high-speed shuttles to pick them up at a moment's notice. Whether it be at the end of their mission or a medical evacuation, you will see to it that they are returned here as safely and as quickly as possible."
Nodding firmly, Danielle responds, "Yes, Commander."
Satisfied that every angle has been covered, our boss sighs, "Very good. Then for those of you that will be out there, nothing is to be done to Krutza until you have every bit of evidence possible to prove that we want him. Once that is established, then he is to be brought back here so the rest of the red tape in his interrogations can be handled.
"Keep the channels open so that we can receive updates here as regularly as possible. Your flight out will be leaving the International Airport in three hours so travel safely to your hotel named in the folders Kathy will be providing on your way out."
With a deep breath, Lady Une concludes sincerely, "Best of luck to you all. Dismissed."
As we all rise from our seats, the tension is thick as the gravity of the mission at hand sets in for the fresher faces on our team. Stretching, I decide to remedy that and smirk, "Well, I've always heard Switzerland is nice this time of year."
Just as planned, the smart ass in me breaks the heavy air as everyone laughs and snickers. Shaking his head, Heero looks over at me and snorts, "Baka." The laughter grows at his usual response to any of my clowning.
Of course, everyone else around us misses the affection in his voice and the hidden little wink that he gives me as we turn to leave. Sure, it's not the same as having him give me a quick hug or kiss, but I'll take any warm gesture he can offer under the circumstances.
Waving to Une, I turn on my heels and follow the rest of the team out. Plans are made for shared rides to the airport.
And finally, the hunt is officially on to start putting this case to bed.
TBC...
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland Switzerland's history and date of their last war.
[2] A map, info and pics of Lugano: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lugano
Back to SkyLark's Fanfictions Page