HOUR 4
"He's back." Lily said, causing Sam to put down the file he was reading while lying on the bed.
"Oh, and he's got company." He observed, noticing the woman lurking near the door as the target switched the lights on.
"No, he's got a hooker."
"This is about to get interesting."
"You're seriously going to watch them have sex?"
"Gotta get any information we can. Handsome man hiring a pro? Means he wants something done that the average woman won't agree to."
"You know this how?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Research only. I never have to pay for it."
"Yes, I'm sure you turn them away left and right."
"You better believe it. I'm sure you shoot guys down all the time."
Lily just shrugged and looked back to the screen. Her eyes widened ever so slightly.
"Is that even possible?"
"Not without a great deal of practice first."
HOUR 6
The knock on the door broke the silence that had fallen since their target and his lady friend arrived. Lily knew that parts of this assignment were going to be weird, but watching two people… that just took it to an entirely different place.
"That'll be dinner." Sam said, standing and going to answer the door.
"Good." Lily quietly murmured.
There was no small talk with agent delivering the food. Again, thin walls. The people across the hall knew what was happening in room 7. The two ate in silence for a few minutes before they both broke out in laughter.
"Would've paid money to not have seen that." Lily laughed. Which amazed Sam. Most women just giggled in a girlish way, but Lily full on laughed… it was actually a bit sexy.
HOUR 10
Sam recognized the 3 quick knocks. It was the signal that someone was heading upstairs to their room.
"Lily, I'm gonna need you to make some noise."
"What?"
"Someone's coming." He started to bounce the bed slightly so that the springs creaked and the headboard hit the wall.
"What should I-"
"Moan!" He whispered.
"Oh… OH!" Her first was of realization and the second louder and more drawn out. With a sweet tone and in a Russian accent she managed an 'Oh God.'
"Good, that's good." He said with labored breath. "Just like that." She moaned again, deeper this time, sitting on the other side of the bed and adding to Sam's efforts.
On the other side of the door the desk clerk lingered a few moments longer than necessary. He had come up to check on the newly weds, perhaps suggest a place for dinner. But when he arrived at the door it sounded as though they were otherwise occupied. The headboard would have to be tightened after they checked out.
HOUR 14
The room was quiet again, this time because Sam was asleep. As was the man on the video feed, but he had to be monitored at all times. Lily was thankful for the few hours of silence. For a moment she glanced towards the bed where he was sleeping peacefully.
I guess he's not that bad. She thought.
She might not have been crazy about Sam at first. But after spending some time with him she could certainly tolerate him more. Looking at him again she realized how pleasant he was when unconscious to the world.
HOURS 16 and 17
Lily turned over again, still trying to get comfortable. For almost half an hour she had been trying to sleep and failing miserably. The sound of her constant tossing and turning was beginning to wear down Sam's nerves. Just as soon as she would fall still and silence would settle, she would move again.
"What are you doing?" He finally asked.
"I can't sleep."
"Can you do it any quieter?"
"Am I making it difficult for you to watch the sleeping man in the next room?" Came her sarcastic tone, muffled slightly by the pillow.
"As a matter of fact, yes."
"I'm not making that much noise."
"It's a small room." He paused for a few seconds, "Maybe you'd have more luck if you stayed still."
"Fine." She rolled onto her back and stopped moving. Tilting her head ever so slightly to see the clock, she found that it had now been a full hour.
"Still awake?"
"Yup."
"Wishing you had gotten into a different line of work?"
"Not necessarily. Still better than being an analyst."
"You never thought of a job in the 'real world'?"
"Do you know who my parents are? Their parents? Teaching or accounting was never really an option in my house. There was an artillery room hidden between my father's den and the playroom."
"I actually worked with your parents once or twice when I was first making the transition to intelligence work. Your mom was a hell of a lady." Lily smiled.
"Don't I know it." She laughed. "I jumped at the opportunity when they approached me. Couldn't take living with my dad, ever try living with a spy forced into retirement? Not pleasant."
"How old are you? Can't imagine you would be living with your parents much longer."
"21. And it was just my dad, mom died."
"Sorry."
"It's fine. The two of them retired and in one house… she probably would've ended up killing dad."
"Too much domestication for them?"
"Yeah. Instead she died and dad took up drinking. I was thrilled when they approached me. How did you get into all of this?" Lily asked, settling her head into the pillow.
"It was just the opportunity that presented itself. I started out in the Marines, starting working in more covert operations, eventually I was approached about doing some more "civilized" work. Ended up here, I was getting too old to be jumping out of planes and…" He turned back to look at Lily and realized that she had finally dozed off. "I'll try not to take that personally." He whispered to himself, turning back to the monitor with a smile.
HOUR 22
"Lily?" Sam knocked on the bathroom door again. The well-worn hinges squeaked as she pulled it open. She was still wrapped in a towel and seemed a bit annoyed that he called her away from the shower just as the water was getting warm.
"Yes?"
"Get dressed. He's getting ready to go downstairs for breakfast."
"Okay, just give me a minute." She closed the door again. Things had been a bit terse since she woke up. More than anything Lily was annoyed at how Sam's voice managed to calm her enough to finally fall asleep. She had no problem being friendly with Sam. But she had no desire to take that further. Infatuation was really the last thing she needed at this point in time. That's what she kept telling herself anyway.
"Wow, that was fast." Sam commented as she opened the door again and emerged completely ready to go.
"I said I would only be a minute."
"I know, but in female time a minute usually means thirty."
"I'm not the typical female."
"So I've noticed."
Downstairs, the hotel had a few small tables set up, most of the furniture was mismatched. There was one young woman, the daughter of the owner, working as the waitress. Given how small the hotel was, there wasn't really a great demand for service. Their target took a seat in the corner, his back to the room, perfectly content to sit alone and read his newspaper. As soon as Sam and Lily reached the foot of the stairs the clerk that had approached their door the day before greeted them.
"The newlyweds have finally emerged." He grinned. Lily played the role of shy wife again, blushing and looking down.
"Honey, why don't you go ahead and get a table." Sam suggested, giving her a nudge towards the dining room. She just nodded and continued towards a table near the man. It wasn't close enough that she was being obvious, but she could make out which section of the paper he was reading. A few minutes later Sam joined her, having stopped to chat with the waitress.
"You know, it doesn't look good for you to be chatting up another woman while on your honeymoon." Lily said, looking up from her own copy of the paper.
"I wasn't chatting her up, I was ordering breakfast."
"Good, I would hate to have to play jealous wife."
"Just playing?"
"Afraid so. What did you order?"
"Just eggs and whatever they serve with them. Probably some kind of meat. What did our friend over there order?"
"Coffee, apparently he's not much of a breakfast person." Sam glanced at Lily who was still reading the paper, her motions matched the man across the room. He wondered for a moment when she noticed what he ordered, he hadn't seen the waitress go near the other table. Lily was much better at this than she let on.
HOUR 29
Lily was just getting settled back into her chair after dinner when those three quick knocks once again graced their door.
"Not again."
"Afraid so." Lily had just stood when she heard the footsteps approaching the door. Without missing a beat, she threw herself against the wall and began to giggle.
"Against the wall?" She giggled again. Sam stared at her for a moment before moving to stand next to her.
"Why not? Just give it a try." Whoever was outside the door stopped moving, pausing and listening to the conversation. Lily looked up at him and shrugged, not sure what to do next. He lowered his hands to her shoulders and pushed her back against the wall, provoking a girlish groan. He was gentle about the movement but kept repeating it as her responses got louder.
This continued for a few more minutes until they heard the person moving again, walking away from the door. Another moment passed before there was another series of knocks at the door. The coast was clear.
"Nice thinking." Sam grinned, returning to the bed.
"Guess you're starting to rub off on me."
"Now there's an idea."
HOUR 34
"I hate this guy." Lily muttered, tilting her head back for a moment.
"Me too." Sam agreed, looking up from the file he was rereading for the twelfth time.
"I'd kill for a beer right now." She sighed. Sam nearly dropped the papers from his hands.
"Marry me."
She scoffed.
HOUR 40
"Lily, time to wake up." Sam shook her shoulder gently. She only wanted an hour of sleep, but he let her have an extra half hour. It was her first surveillance job after all. "Last day in here."
She smiled and woke to that.
"Now that hurts, baby. Don't look so pleased."
"It's nothing personal Sam." She replied, rubbing her eyes. "The room feels like it's getting smaller."
"Still beats working in an office."
"True. Surprised Uncle Greg ever made that change."
"When you say uncle are we talking an actual blood relative?"
"No. He worked with my parents. One week while they were out on a mission he had been injured before hand and stayed with my sister and I. Takes a strong man with military training to spend a week looking after two teenage girls."
"No nepotism involved in this hiring?"
"None that I'm aware of. I didn't even know he was still working. And I take offense to that suggestion."
"Calm down, it was just a question. You don't really strike me as the type to take a job you didn't earn." She just nodded to that and looked around the room.
"Your turn to sleep." She said, standing up and moving to her chair.
"Think I'm going to shower instead."
"That would be greatly appreciated."
"Maybe the hot water is working again."
"You actually think I would've asked for an assignment where hot water is rare?" She laughed.
"Never know, as you pointed out, you're fare from the average woman." She watched him disappear into the bathroom and just shook her head.
HOUR 42
"What time is it?" Lily asked, standing up from the monitors to rest her eyes and stretch.
"Counting down the hours till we're off the clock?" He watched her arch her back in a stretch. "Maybe we could go somewhere… talk, eat… nap?"
"What about your contact? I'm sure she might take issue with you trying to have contact with me."
"Nah, it's not a serious contact. She didn't have any useful information."
"And I do?"
"You don't need it." He smiled appreciatively, looking at her as she reached her arms above her head and tilted to loosen up her back and neck.
"Gosh, I'm so flattered." She replied sarcastically.
"How about dinner? Just dinner."
"Just dinner?"
"Yes. I know all the respectable places around here." She gave him a long look, trying to detect anything from his hopeful expression.
"Fine."
"Nothing I love more than a woman half-heartedly agreeing to spend time with me." Lily laughed and retook her seat.
"I'm sure it's nothing new for you." Sam smiled at her.
Time to clock out
Well that's chapter 4, ended up longer than I intended but there we are. Thanks for the reviews, much appreciated. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up soon.