Hi there,
We're approaching the end, but there are still a few chapters.
Hope you like this one.
:K
Chapter 8
After checking the wound on Gaby's face was not too serious, the doctor left them alone. She was sitting by the helicopter and Illya never abandoned her, his hand resting on her shoulder. They might seem two teammates taking care of each other, but it was much more than that, and Illya and Gaby knew it.
"Did you find my father?" She asked in a whisper, without looking into his eyes fearing the answer.
"I did. But it was too late."
Gaby nodded once and took a deep breath. "I guess it was inevitable. Besides, he chose his own path long ago."
"Gaby…"
"Hello chaps, well done." Waverly said interrupting. He came accompanied by Napoleon Solo, the man who saved the young girl's life. "I am glad to see you two are still in one piece, but we have a problem."
No one spoke, it couldn't be good news. "Wrong warhead." He added while the Russian and the German sighed heavily.
Back in the aircraft carrier, Gaby and Illya remained alone in a small room where they could wash themselves up and change her clothes. Her dress was soaked and it wasn't the most appropriate. "You can turn around now." She told him funny to see him facing the wall.
Illya did not answer, he just turned and they sat down on the stools anchored to the floor, looking out the small window at the vast ocean that extended before them. The mission was not over but suddenly reigned such a special peace that they would have done anything to keep it.
Unfortunately, it would not. There were too many things in the air and both of them had to talk about everything that happened. "I know you have a lot of questions, and I guess you're furious at me…"
"No, Gaby. You had to do it, and it was not in your hand to tell me about it." She was interrupted. "At the beginning I was surprised and even angry, but when Waverly explained I knew…" He looked at her eyes and grabbed her hand. "If it had been someone else it would not have affected me much but…"
"We both know that we are more than teammates." She said finishing the sentence.
Gaby stroked the Russian's hand, tracing circles without even knowing. "Waverly recruited me a few months ago and told me that he would get me out of Germany if I was willing to work for him. At first I hesitated, I didn't trust him because it seemed a too good offer, but then I thought carefully and knew that I had not so many options. Living in Berlin was okay, in a way, but I've always wanted to do something with my life, besides it was my father's issue." She stopped at that point and he grabbed her hand tighter. "I know I should be furious with him for abandoning me, but now that he's dead I feel it's wrong to blame him. And even a part of me wishes to forgive him even if it's not going to change anything."
"You can begin forgiving yourself, that is what I did long ago. You can not consider yourself responsible for others' choices."
"I know." Rising she began pacing the small room until she stopped next to the window to watch him. "It'd be easier to hate him, or ignore him as I have done for the past eighteen years. But it is not okay to hate dead people or speak ill of them."
"The important thing," he said standing up and walking towards her, "is that now we are teammates who do not hide secrets. And we still have a mission to fulfill, don't you think?"
"Yes." Illya opened the door and held it for her to go out, but before doing it she stopped and kissed his cheek. Her warm lips made the Russian to feel an electric current running down his back, but in a good way and not when Rudi had fun with him. "We have much to talk about, but work comes first."
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Waverly had already reunited the crew but for the moment there was no plan in place.
"The bomb we found was not armed with uranium, which is surprising, so there must be a mistake." Said the commander, until Gaby recalled what she saw.
"There was a second bomb in the lab." Everyone looked at her surprised and perplexed. "I saw it, I was even told that the two of them were equipped with a synchronization system so that if one did not reach the target the other would." Illya smiled proudly, she alone was about to solve the problem.
"Well, then we must assume Victoria escaped with the other bomb and is now trying to sell it somewhere." Waverly thought aloud. "But where?"
"I want to see the list of ships that have left the port this morning." Illya demanded and he had the paper in his hands in less than a blink. During the party where he met uncle Rudi, Illya disappeared to give uncle and niece privacy, and meanwhile he amused himself by watching the audience, employees and any small detail that captured his attention.
"Diadema." He said suddenly. "It's Sergio Vinciguerra's old fishing boat. It must be the one we are seeking."
While trying to contact the ship, Illya and Gaby went down where scientist were retained and she acknowledged the one who had explained to her the bomb mechanism. She told him that they needed his help, and if he considered himself a smart man he would accept, because it'd speak on his behalf when he was investigated about his involvement with Vinciguerra activities.
"It is done." Said the scientist, and with a slight nod Illya ordered to introduce the bomb to be fired.
After a few minutes they were able to contact Diadema ship, but the captain seemed to have no idea what they were talking about. He repeated over and over again that there was no woman on board, and that they were wrong. Until Gaby picked up the radio and began speaking.
"Hello, Victoria. I know you are there and I have something to tell you." She looked sideways at Illya and he nodded. "This morning I witnessed your husband's death." Silence. "I would love to say that he died in a brave and honorable way, but nothing further. There were tears, prayers and he was even willing to betray anyone, including you, his dear wife, in exchange of allowing him to go alive. But Illya, my fiancé, did not accept."
Only a few seconds were necessary before another woman's voice was heard through the speaker.
"Gabriella, your confession will only serve you to die in last place. I will allow you to see others die, so in the end there is nothing left for you, just the wait. All will die slowly and in the most painful way possible, I will make sure of it. And your friend," she added referring to Illya, "will also have a privilege for dying at the end. That way you two will be able to share your last moments together before the same fate comes to you both. This I swear on my husband's soul."
The missile armed with the bomb was fired and Gaby pressed the button again to speak. "I see a small flaw in that plan."
"Entertain me." Victoria said feeling very confident.
"We found the second warhead, and I must admit that the time I spent with my father in the lab I learned a lot of things. In fact, I was told something very interesting about a safety and synchronization device that allowed both bombs to work simultaneously." The look on Victoria's face changed but she didn't let her voice to tremble. "And we had the necessary help to operate it."
"It will not do any good, we'll be gone in five minutes."
But Gaby had an ace up her sleeve. "We have been faster. We fired our warhead about thirty seconds ago, giving you a few seconds to escape. You will have to jump into water if you want to survive."
Victoria saw the crew abandoning the ship, and when she looked up she only saw the missile coming towards her. It crashed into the boat and everyone witnessed the explosion.
"How is that for entertainment?" Gaby muttered and Waverly congratulated her for a well done job. They had prevented a nuclear war that might have destroyed the world, and they were able to breathe easily now.
At least for the moment.
Both agents were provided with rooms until they returned to the city, but Gaby couldn't sleep when it got dark. She told herself it was because of the last days' tension, but there was more. In fact, she felt she had many things to tell, and only one person to share them with.
Illya couldn't sleep either and standing in front at the window he was watching the outside, a thousand thoughts in his head and an inability to relax after completing a successful mission that might have ended the lives of millions of innocent people. He should be able to lay down in bed and sleep all night, but his body was still in constant tension.
A knock at the door startled him and when he opened he found Gaby. She was still wearing her borrowed clothes but the dark hair hung loose on her shoulders, framing her face in an angelic way. Her deep brown eyes staring at him waiting for him to say something. "Gaby, what is happening?"
"I… I can't sleep." She said and he stepped aside to allow her entrance. "Sorry, I hope I didn't wake you. It's just that…"
"No, I can not sleep either." They stood looking at each other, but Illya finally offered her to sit down on the bed as he did the same on the stool. It was uncomfortable and cold but he wouldn't let her to feel that. "I don't know why I'm here, but… You're probably thinking that I'm a fool but being in this ship makes me nervous, and everything is so quiet…"
Flashing a shy smile the Russian confessed. "I was about to go to your room when you knocked." She chuckled and the tension between them vanished. "We have fulfilled difficult mission and yet it seems it has not ended. I can not get out my head what happened and…"
"I feel the same. Every time I close my eyes I think something will occur that will put us in danger." Illya understood and nodded. "But I want to stop thinking about it, it is over. Goodbye Victoria, goodbye Alexander, and goodbye to all this madness. Now things will return to normal, and I suppose… Well, what is it going to happen now? Back to Russia?"
"I believe so. This mission has been an exception and Oleg, my superior, will be waiting for my return to continue working." Gaby's head fell down in disappointment. "What about you? Back to Berlin?"
"No." She answered quickly. "There is no place for me in Germany, I haven't left anything behind. I guess I will go to London with Waverly, at least that's the plan, but I don't know what will happen after that. There are many questions and I am afraid to ask," she added laughing. "Sometimes it's better to be surprised."
They were both silent again but Illya reached out and brushed her hair off from her face, leaving it exposed. "I know…" He started but stopped. She was looking at him expectantly and that was the cue for him to open his mouth again. "You and I did not start in the best way, but I like to think in the end we made a good team."
"Yes, we are."
He was going to pull his hand away when she grabbed it and trapped it between hers. "There's something you must recover." Illya looked at her strangely and she, dropping his hand momentarily, removed the engagement ring to return it. "No, it is yours." He said before she gave it to him. "I want you to keep it. It will be a memory and a way to know where I can find you." He added thinking on the tracker hidden inside. "No one is going to claim it."
"Thank you, it is beautiful. In fact, I think I'd feel weird if I looked down at my hand and didn't see it." She stood up to go and he did the same. "It's late and we should try to get some sleep." But no one moved. Again they were face to face, eye to eye while an awkward silence formed between them. The tension appeared but this time would only be a simple glances exchange, as the Russian, surprising even himself, laid a hand on her cheek, stroking gently, then getting close and leaning down to kiss her on the lips. At first it was just an innocent little contact but soon became much more intense. In fact, Gaby jumped to him and hugged his neck, wrapping her legs around his strong waist, and kissing him passionately. Now they had started nothing would stop them, and if it was going to be the last time they saw each other, both wanted a souvenir to keep forever.
Perhaps it was not the best idea to let themselves go by instinct when the possibility to not seen the other again was in the air, but if they hadn't done it they'd have regretted for the rest of their lives.
Gaby clung to him with arms and legs hoping that in this way they could stay together for as long as they wished, but she had to be honest with herself and accept reality.
"This is not good idea." Illya muttered separating his lips, staring at her. "Yes, it is a terrible idea. But I like it and I don't want it to end."
"Me neither."
For the rest of the night they enjoyed kissing, caressing and saying honest words to each other, but they did nothing else. Making love on a warship and surrounded by military was not the most romantic thing in the world, so they laid in bed snuggling, enjoying the calm and the relax they couldn't find when they were in their respective rooms.
"I would love to see Russia. It has to be a beautiful but very cold place, but I know I might get used to." Said the young girl imagining a life with him in a whole new country. "Although it is very likely that we got separated and locked up for treason or something else." The fantasy blew up as quickly as it was created, sinking her in dark and depressing thoughts.
Illya did not answer because she was right. "You know, when this mission started I wanted to finish as soon as possible to avoid having to see you again." Gaby confessed stretching her head to look at him. "I was mad when I was told that I'd have to pretend to be your fiancée." She continued grinning. "I did want to yell and punch you, especially when you answered me calmly and quietly. I got angry when you behaved so right." She added laughing and he joined her. "But…you did so much for me that I started realizing that I had judged you too fast, when I barely knew you."
"I did too, no matter I did not say the words aloud." His huge hand grabbed hers and brought it to his lips to kiss. "Gaby, I want you to know…" But a siren echoed in every corner of the ship warning of the imminent arrival at the port of Rome. It was already morning and neither of them realized because the talk made them forget about everything else.
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"I must congratulate you both for your good work. You have avoided that two very powerful people could carry out their plans, which would have meant the death of many innocent people." He reached out and shook Illya's hand, showing their mutual respect. Then he did the same with Gaby and left them alone while they were slowly approaching the city.
"What a wonderful sights." The young German girl whispered while contemplating the dawn's colors illuminating everything in its path.
"Beautiful." Illya agreed though his eyes and words were directed at Gaby and not the city. "Come, we must get ready."
Thanks for reading and reviewing.
:K
