For the next two weeks, Nash and I stay relatively far apart, well, as far apart as we can get while sharing a house. The only time we act like we like each other is when we're in public. When you're a spy, your legend is your life, no place to screw up. This is why I'm hanging off of Nash's left arm, making weird faces that newlyweds make, you know the I'm-so-in-love-that-I-can't-make-a-coherent-sentence-face. Nash is enjoying this WAY too much, he pulls me into a hug every three seconds, and whispers in my ear, "I love you." I don't know if he's acting or if he's really saying it, he's good at this.
We are on our way to Smith's house; we've been doing this for the past week. Smith is starting to believe that we are so broke after our wedding that we are in desperate need of some cash. He promises us millions of dollars for a simple favor. That favor would be to infiltrate the White House, and steal the security system blueprints. We reported this to the Agency immediately, and they shipped us some copies. We have to make Smith believe us, we can't deny that mission, it will ruin everything if we did. So when we walked into Smith's house today, that's why we handed him the blueprints. "Excellent, very excellent," Smith says while looking over the blueprints. "Thank you," Nash replies. "Now that we have this valuable piece of the puzzle, we only need a few more weeks before we are completely ready for the final mission." Smith announces to us and his henchmen. That's all we have, a few weeks, to try to make a counter plan to save the president. This is going to be tough.
The next three weeks go by WAY too fast. Smith, his henchmen, Nash, and I are in this stainless steel room, going over the plan. The ten henchmen are to take out most of the security guards, steal their uniforms, and take their places. Nash is going to lead the henchmen down the right corridor and make sure everything goes as planned, while I am supposed to pose as the president's advisor and lock him in the oval office, where a bomb is planted in the fireplace. Our plan is constructed to take Smith down. Nash is going to lead the henchmen into a room where forty CIA agents are going to be waiting to arrest the ten men. I am going to make sure the president is as far away from the oval office as possible before the bomb goes off.
Why did I feel worried when Smith assigned Nash and me to different ends of this mission? Could it be that I feel safe with Nash around me? Possibly. "Throw that stupid thought out of your mind, Lauren. You can do anything without Nash, you don't need him!" I think to myself, I need to get my head on straight. "I know you two are going to be uncomfortable being away from each other on this mission, so I'm going to allow you three minutes to say some final good-byes," Smith tells us. We've played our parts well; he thinks we're nearly inseparable. Suddenly the look in Nash's eyes gets fierce. He swiftly comes to my side, laces both his hand in my hair, and suddenly looks like a broken man. "Lauren. Lauren, Lauren, Lauren. I am SO sorry, for hurting you the way I did. I just love you so much, and I knew that with our jobs it's very likely one of us might not come home. I didn't want you to be hurt if I didn't come home, and no one was there to comfort you. I was only thinking of you, I couldn't live with myself if you were hurt and I couldn't do anything to help you. Lauren, I'm sorry, I'm just so sorry," Nash was throwing his heart out to me, and as I looked in his eyes, felt his pulse, and looked deep inside myself, I knew I believed him. The feelings inside me were so strong; I didn't know what to do, except to kiss him, to tell him that I believe him. So as he kept rambling, I reached up and pressed my lips to his. It felt like the past two months never happened. I could feel his warm breath on my face; it was amazing to feel how easily our lips fit together; I never wanted this to end. "It's time," Smith said as he pounded his fist to the door, and spy training or not, we both jumped apart just a little. Suddenly, my stomach dropped as I realized this very well may be the last time I see Nash.