Day 3

He woke up because she was softly squeezing his hand and saying his name. His mind was slow to respond – he'd been sleeping unexpectedly well, probably thanks to the sleeping pill Raquel had given him. He blinked his eyes open and the first thing he saw was her smile, the best thing he could possibly wake up to, and he felt an overwhelming desire to pull her into the bed with him, to wrap his arms around her and breathe her in and not let her go all day – all week – all of his life. He rubbed his eyes and regretfully pushed the impulse away.

"Good morning", she said.

"Good morning. What time is it?"

"Four o'clock."

He frowned. "You should have woken me an hour ago."

"I figured you could use the extra hour. You were so exhausted."

He sat up to kiss her. "Thank you."

"How are you feeling?" she asked him tentatively.

Suddenly, the fog of sleep left his brain as the events of the previous day came rushing back to him and he closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he remembered… dead, dead, dead. She squeezed his hand more tightly, and once again he was so grateful that she was here with him, that he didn't need to bear this alone. The guilt he felt threatened to overwhelm him again, but unlike yesterday, he found that he now had the strength to push it away.

He looked up at her. "I'm okay. Better than yesterday, in any case."

"I'm glad", she nodded. "I knew you needed to sleep. Do you want to talk about it?"

"No", he decided. "No, I think we've said all there was to say on the matter. And now you need to sleep, you must be tired too."

She put on her pajamas as he got out of bed – it was so weird to him that they now slept at different times. He wanted nothing more than to stay in bed and hold her as she slept, but he knew that was impossible, so he let her kiss him goodnight and then he settled himself in front of the screens. Everything was quiet in the Mint, only a few hostages working shifts around the presses while the others slept, so he had plenty of time to think. The guilt he was feeling over the death of Mónica Gaztambide hadn't gone, but he was better able to handle it now, to put it away in a corner of his mind to deal with later, so he could focus on the rest of the operation. He knew they were operating on borrowed time now – at some point, probably within 48 hours, the police would ask for proof of life for all the hostages, and once they discovered that a hostage was dead, they wouldn't hesitate any longer to try and enter the Mint by any means necessary. So his main goal over the next few days would be to delay the police question for proof of life for as long as possible, and by any means necessary. Because if it happened before the tunnel was open, his team would be trapped inside.

Around 7.30, he turned on the transmission for Angel's bug again, and at 8 he heard Angel enter the command center. From that point onwards, all of Sergio's attention was on the radio, to hear what the police were discussing. He briefly got up from his desk at 10 to wake Raquel, motioning to her that they couldn't talk because he was listening to the transmission. She got dressed and took over from him at the desk so he could go out and get them breakfast, then they ate in silence, listening attentively and keeping one eye on the screens at the same time.

When the Inspector left to get coffee, things became quiet around Angel and they could finally talk.

"Did they say anything interesting while I was sleeping?" she asked.

"Angel came into work about two hours ago", Sergio said, then proceeded to catch her up on what had been happening inside the tent.

On the radio, meanwhile, the Inspector came back.

"Here you go, Angel", they heard her say. "Cappuccino, two sugars."

She snorted. "She'd better be careful. If she's this nice to him, he's going to fall in love with her before this is over."

Sergio shot her an amused look. "Why do you care?"

She showed him her most dignified expression. "I don't."

"I think you do", he teased her. "You said he was in love with you. I think you're a little jealous."

"Don't be ridiculous", she scoffed.

He chuckled and dropped the matter so they could listen in on the conversation again. After a while, both Angel and Elena started reading files and nothing else of interest could be heard, so it was safe to talk again. Raquel turned to him with a sober expression.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him again.

"I'm okay", he said. "I'm… I'm trying not to think about it. There's nothing I can do about it now, anyway. The main thing is that we have to try to keep the operation going for as long as we can until they ask for proof of life."

"Yes", she nodded. "We'll probably have to leave much sooner than we thought we would. Meanwhile, we have to try not to let anything else like this happen."

"Speaking of that…" he said. "What will we do about Berlin?"

"I had a talk with him last night after you fell asleep. I think he'll follow orders from now on."

"You talked to him?" Sergio said, a little alarmed. "What did you say?"

"I just reminded him who's in charge."

Her tone was light, but by the look on her face, Sergio suspected his brother had had rather an unpleasant time. She turned to him.

"Can I ask you something though?"

"Of course."

"How long have you known Berlin?"

He hesitated. "Uhm… a long time."

"Then you know him quite well?"

"I do."

She frowned at him. "Then you knew before you recruited him, right?"

"Knew what?"

"That he's a sociopath."

"Oh", he said, shifting uncomfortably. "That."

"The signs are all there: he's aware that his actions are wrong, but he clearly feels no regret. I don't think he feels empathy, either, and he has a terribly narcissistic personality."

It was painful to hear her describe his brother in that way. She had a point, though… Sergio had always been aware that Andrés had some serious flaws, but he was only now beginning to realize that his brother may not have shown the worst parts of his personality around him – either that, or he'd been blind to them.

"I've always known he's rather… unemotional, yes", he admitted.

"Then why did you put him in charge?"

"I thought it would be an advantage. Berlin stays calm no matter the circumstances. We needed someone with a cool head in charge."

"I agree, but there are people who can keep a cool head and still be humane. This is an operation where a lot of people are put in a vulnerable position. You should have put someone in charge who wouldn't abuse their power over them. If you've known Berlin for so long, you should have known that he's not that person. Why did you put him in charge, Sergio?"

He shifted uneasily under her scrutinizing gaze.

"I knew he would stay loyal, that he would follow the plan no matter what happened."

"He didn't, though, he ignored your direct orders. Why did you think he would stick to the plan any more than the others?"

"I have a good reason to trust him."

"Care to share it with me?"

He fidgeted, and she frowned.

"What are you not telling me?"

He hesitated, but she was asking him a direct question that he couldn't really answer without lying. He didn't want to lie to her.

"Sergio", she pressed, "why did you put Berlin in charge?"

He took a deep breath and pushed his glasses up his nose. He should have told her this a long time ago anyway.

"Because he's my brother."

She didn't react immediately, just stared at him.

"Are you joking?"

"No."

"He… he's your brother?"

"Yes."

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

He gave her a few moments to let the new information sink in. Then she asked the inevitable question:

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm not entirely sure. Andrés and I just agreed right from the start that we wouldn't tell anyone that there was a personal bond between us."

"I understand that you didn't tell me right away, but we've been together for weeks now, Sergio! You could have mentioned it!"

"But if I'd told you that, you would have regarded him differently. It would have automatically created a personal relationship between the two of you, and I wanted to minimize those."

She raised her eyebrows. "Really, still? Even after you and me…"

"That's exactly my point!" he said. "You and me, that was bad enough! I didn't want to create even more personal relationships."

"I'm sorry", she said indignantly, "you and me was bad enough?"

He scrambled to correct himself:

"I didn't mean it that way."

She gave him a dark look. "Let's deal with the Berlin thing first. I still think you could have told me."

He nodded. "I understand. But personal relationships can get so terribly messy in an operation like this. Look at what happened with Tokyo on the first day: she shot and almost killed two cops because Rio got hurt and her emotions got the better of her. That's the kind of thing I wanted to avoid. I couldn't stop you and me from happening, but your relationship with my brother was something I could control."

"So you've just been lying to me?"

"I never lied", he said quickly. "I just didn't correct you when you called him my 'friend'."

"That's a very thin line", she grumbled. "Were you ever planning to tell me?"

"Of course I was. Just… after this was all over."

He saw comprehension dawn on her face.

"Oh! So that's why he's coming with us to Palawan!"

"Yes", he nodded.

Her expression suddenly became more sober. "Then… you know he's dying?"

He looked at her in surprise. "Yes, I know. How do you know?"

"He told me last night when we were talking. Honestly, I couldn't feel very sorry for him after what he did yesterday, but if he's your brother… Sergio, I'm sorry…"

He raised his hand with a pained expression. "Please don't."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I really don't. This isn't the right time, we're in the middle of a vast operation, I don't want to think about… that… now."

She nodded. "I understand."

She put her hand on his arm for a moment and squeezed, and he shot her a grateful look. Then she leaned back in her chair and raised her eyebrows at him.

"So. Do you have any other family members on the team that I should know about? Is Rio actually your son? Are you secretly married to Tokyo?"

"Well", he said, "now that you mention it…"

She looked so alarmed that he chuckled and quickly amended:

"That was a joke, I'm joking! No more hidden family members, I promise."

On the radio, they heard Angel and Elena start talking again, so they quickly fell silent and listened.

"Are you going to call him?" Angel asked.

"Not yet", Elena said. "I'd rather he call me."

"Why?"

"Because the person who initiates the call is automatically in a weaker position."

Sergio nodded in agreement.

Elena continued: "I'll call him if he hasn't called us by eleven."

"Good to know", Sergio said. "Then let's make sure not to call her before eleven."

Raquel got up to stretch her legs while Sergio idly flipped through the different images from the cameras inside the Mint, watching the presses roll, the hostages at work or resting. Finally he reached the camera in the breakroom… and he froze. It couldn't be.

"Raquel…" he said, keeping his eyes on the screen. "Raquel!"

"What's wrong?" she said, hurrying up to him.

When she saw the screen, she stopped dead.

"Oh!" she said. "But… that can't be?"

And yet there she was, no doubt about it – her face would forever be imprinted on Sergio's memory. Mónica Gaztambide. Alive. Alive.

He turned to Raquel in disbelief, and he saw his own confusion mirrored in her face.

"Well, call them", she urged him, and he quickly picked up the phone as she reached for her headset.

Berlin answered.

"Berlin", he said. "What… when… how?"

"I know", his brother said, grinning. "It's been quite a journey for me too."

"How is this possible?" Raquel said.

"Denver disobeyed my order. He hid her in one of the vaults."

It was beginning to sink in for Sergio, he was beginning to realize what this meant – they were saved, the operation could continue, he wasn't a killer. He felt so relieved that it made him dizzy.

"Let me talk to her", he heard Raquel say, and the next moment, Mónica's voice was in his ear, sounding a little scared but alive, alive.

"Hello?"

"Say your name", they heard Berlin say next to her.

"Mónica Gaztambide."

"I'm so glad to see you're alive, Mónica", Raquel said. "Are you alright?"

"Yes", she said.

"Are you hurt in any way?"

"My leg. I got shot."

"Do you need a doctor?" Raquel asked urgently, but on the screen, Mónica was shaking her head.

"Denver took care of me."

Sergio finally found his voice again. "Put Denver on the phone, please."

Mónica handed the phone to Denver.

"Did you get the bullet out?" Sergio asked immediately.

"Nairobi did."

"Good", Sergio said, relieved. He didn't think Denver could have done a particularly good job. "Did she suture the wound the way I taught you?"

"Yes."

"Is there any sign of infection?"

"No, I don't think so."

"If you see any redness or swelling", Sergio said, "you call me immediately, understood?"

Denver nodded. "I will, but we used a lot of disinfectant and I'm changing the bandages regularly."

"Good", Sergio said. He wasn't about to lose her to gangrene now.

"Denver", Raquel said next to him, her voice soft. "You saved her."

On the screen, Denver looked rather embarrassed. "Yeah, well, I couldn't… I couldn't just shoot her."

"Well done", Raquel said. "Really, Denver, well done."

"Thanks", he mumbled, then handed the phone back to Berlin.

"So", Berlin said, coming straight to the point. "How about my punishment?"

"I've set things in motion", Sergio said coolly.

"Can you undo them?"

Sergio frowned. "I could, but I'm not sure I should. As far as I can see, she's not alive because of you. You still disobeyed me."

"And I've learned my lesson", Berlin said. "Lisbon and I had an interesting heart-to-heart yesterday, and she… persuaded me that it's not in my best interest to disobey you again."

Sergio shot a sideways look at Raquel. What the hell had she said to him? She shrugged, and Sergio turned back to his brother.

"I'll consider it", he said, then hung up.

On the screen, they watched Oslo carry Mónica out of the room, then they turned to each other. Her eyes were shining and she was grinning broadly, and he swept her into his arms and lifted her off the ground to spin her around, both of them laughing.

"Oh, this is amazing", she said, taking his face between her hands and kissing him over and over again. "Just amazing!"

He couldn't stop grinning as he put her back down, the entire world seeming brighter, a heavy weight lifted off his shoulders. An electric, buzzing kind of energy was filling him, begging to be released, making him feel hyper and a little reckless. He looked at her, so beautiful, her dark eyes radiant, her smile lighting up the entire room, and he remembered how she'd been there for him yesterday. Suddenly, he wanted nothing more than to pull her close and kiss her until she was breathless, to take her to the bed and push her down into the pillows, to take off her clothes and bury his face between her thighs and make her come over and over and over again…

She caught the look in his eyes and raised her eyebrows.

"Sergio", she said warningly. "We can't."

He stepped closer to her, and she quickly took a step back, grinning.

"No, we can't!"

"But I want to", he whispered. "I want to so badly."

"It's almost eleven though!"

"So?"

"The Inspector will be calling us then", she reminded him.

"Do you think she'll call at eleven exactly?"

She laughed. "I'm not risking it! She already interrupted us yesterday – if she does it again, I may just have to kill her."

He grinned.

"Can we at least kiss until then?" he asked. "I feel like we should celebrate."

She was still hesitant. "I don't know, Sergio, do we really want to start something we can't finish?"

He reached out, caught her wrist and pulled her close so he could whisper in her ear:

"Let me finish it then…"

He pressed her close to him with one hand on her lower back, using his other hand to push her hair back so he could brush his lips against her neck.

"Sergio…" she protested weakly. "We… we really only have a few minutes."

"I don't think I need more than a few minutes", he murmured, running his fingers down her spine to make her shiver.

She gasped as he spun her around so her back was pressed to him, then he felt her melt against him as he started kissing her neck.

"I know what you like", he rumbled with his lips against her skin. "It won't take long."

He cupped both of her breasts and stroked her nipples with his thumbs until they hardened, then he squeezed them and she moaned softly.

"Don't…" she breathed. "We really shouldn't…"

He moved one hand down to press it between her legs, hard, and she gasped.

"Give me five minutes", he whispered. "And I can make you come so hard…"

She shivered, but tried again: "What about our agreement though? No sex during the heist…"

"This doesn't count", he smiled. "Let's call it a loophole."

She groaned as he unbuttoned her pants and slipped his hand inside her underwear. When he touched her, a shudder went through her and she closed her eyes as her breathing quickened.

"You're already wet", he said softly. "Let me make you come…"

"The phone though…", she whispered, but it was a very weak protest by now, and she pressed herself back against him.

"Let's not lose any more time then", he said firmly, then turned her around and pressed her against the desk as he kissed her deeply.

She was beyond resisting as he kissed her neck, then made his way down her body, pausing for a moment to nip at her nipples through the fabric of her shirt. Then he went down on his knees in worship, pushing up her top to kiss her stomach before pulling down her pants and underwear so she could step out of them.

"Spread your legs", he murmured and she obeyed him, a little breathless with anticipation.

He lost no more time and pressed his mouth to her, and she leaned back against the desk with a sigh, one hand behind her for support, the other in his hair. His tongue quickly found the right spot and soon she was leaning her head back and moaning, and he was enjoying every second of it, the taste of her, the sounds she was making, her fingers churning in his hair… and then the phone rang.

She jumped and cursed loudly, giving him a sharp tap on the top of his head.

"Goddammit Sergio, I told you!"

He looked up. "Fuck it. Let it ring."

"What? But the Inspector…"

"Let her wait. She'll call back."

"But…"

The next moment though, he'd pressed his mouth back against her and she was rendered speechless. After a few more rings, the phone fell quiet and as he focused on his task with renewed enthusiasm, he soon had her moaning again. Like he'd predicted, it only took a few minutes before she tensed, and he picked up the pace as she arched her back, her breathing fast and uneven, her fingers gripping his hair so tightly it was almost painful, but he didn't mind in the slightest as she suddenly started trembling, then threw her head back with a sharp cry as the wave broke over her. He knew just how to make it last, keeping up exactly what he was doing, making her utter several more cries as the feeling just kept going. Then he eased off gradually to draw out her pleasure as she shuddered through the aftershocks.

He withdrew to look at her – she was leaning back on the desk, her head tilted back, her hair streaming down, eyes closed, breathing hard. What a sight.

"Oh", she whispered. "Oh, that was good."

She lifted her head to look down at him, her eyes sparkling, and he grinned at her.

"What did I say? Five minutes, tops."

"Thank you for not picking up that phone when it rang."

His grin broadened as he got up. "I'm not tired of living yet. Besides, it's not a bad thing to not answer every once in a while. Let her think I'm busy doing other things instead of just sitting by the phone waiting for her to call me."

She shot him an amused look as she got dressed again. "You sound like you're dating her and trying not to look too eager."

He nodded. "The dynamics are quite similar, yes."

She buttoned up her pants, then came to wrap her arms around his neck.

"Well, thank you anyway."

"My pleasure", he murmured, pressing a kiss against her lips.

When the phone started ringing again, they broke apart, and he felt a little dazed as he sat down in his chair. He took deep breaths, needing a few moments to collect himself and get his mind on the heist again. Finally, he felt the Professor materialize – calm, confident, focused – and he was ready. Raquel put on her headset as he picked up the phone.

"Good morning Inspector."

"How is Mr. Román after his operation?"

"No, no, no", Sergio said, shaking his head. "That's no way to start a conversation. I thought we were becoming friends, Inspector, and now you don't even say good morning?"

"You need to get your priorities straight, Professor. A man nearly died yesterday. I'll give you a good morning after you've told me how he is."

"He's fine", Sergio said. "He's recovering well, and he has no fever."

"Glad to hear it", Elena said. "Good morning, Professor."

Sergio smiled. "You're calling rather late today, Inspector. I thought you'd forgotten about me."

"I wish I could, but it's rather hard to forget about you."

"That's interesting to hear. Do you think you'll still think about me even after this is all over?"

"Sure", she said, and he could hear a slight smile in her voice. "I'll come visit you in prison."

He chuckled. "That's very kind of you. But I think I'll choose someplace more exotic to spend the rest of my days."

"We'll see about that", she said crisply.

He grinned broadly and was about to make a clever retort, but next to him, Raquel rolled her eyes and motioned at him to move things along, so he cleared his throat and came to business.

"Why are you calling me, Inspector?"

"I'm afraid I have some bad news. They're taking me off the case."

He froze.

"It's been too long and we're at a stalemate", Elena continued. "My superiors are starting to doubt whether I'm the best person for this job."

Sergio glanced sideways at Raquel, who was frowning.

"I think you want to keep negotiating with me, though", Elena said. "After all, we're becoming friends, right?"

"We are", Sergio said. "I'm glad you think so too."

"Then you're going to have to give me something, so I can give my superiors something."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Let some hostages go. Eleven hostages: ten minors and the pregnant woman."

"That's a lot of hostages."

"You'll still have plenty left. You can afford to let some of them go."

"And if I don't?"

"Then another Inspector will take over the case, and they may not be quite as… friendly. I'll give you an hour to think about it."

She put down the phone, and Sergio turned to Raquel, dismayed.

"I don't want to start over with a new Inspector", he said.

Raquel was still frowning. Finally she said:

"She's bluffing."

"What?"

"It's a strategy, she's playing you. I would do the same thing if I were in her shoes and I'd gone so long without any progress. Try to force a concession out of you somehow."

Sergio hesitated. "What if she's telling the truth, though?"

Raquel shrugged. "Then we get a different negotiator."

"I don't want that!" Sergio said. "I'm just getting a good sense of Elena, a new person would be a blank slate again."

Raquel narrowed her eyes at him. "You just want to keep Elena because you've started this game with her and now you want to see if you can beat her."

"That's not true", he said defensively. "I just think she's a reasonable and level-headed person and who knows who they'd replace her with?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes!" he said. "Didn't you say if things got really bad they'd bring in Alicia Sierra?"

Raquel frowned. "Well… only if things got really bad. I don't think Alicia would be their first choice."

"Are we willing to risk it, though?"

She was shaking her head. "I'm telling you, Sergio, she's bluffing!"

"But are we willing to risk it?"

She sighed. "Fine. I suppose not. So what do you propose?"

"I think we should free those eleven hostages. It will be a sign of goodwill on our part, and it will take the pressure off for a while."

"That's true", she conceded. "Releasing these hostages would keep them happy for a while, perhaps even days. And they would lose a lot of time questioning the freed hostages. But do you think we can afford to release them? They will tell the police everything they know."

"They can only tell them that we're printing money, which the police already know, and give them information about the fake tunnel we're digging towards the sewers."

"How about describing the members of the team?"

Sergio shook his head. "Composite pictures are always terribly inaccurate, and every person will give a slightly different description. The police won't be able to identify anyone that way."

"Alright", Raquel sighed. "Then I'll look up a list of the names of the minors. Call her back and let her know we'll let them go."

Sergio picked up the phone and took a deep breath to make the Professor manifest again. Once he felt calm and in control, he called the command center. Elena picked up immediately.

"Have you made a decision already?"

"Yes", Sergio said. "We've decided to comply with your request. We'll let the pregnant woman go, and the following minors."

He gave her a list of names, and she replied:

"What about Alison Parker?"

Sergio shook his head. "I think by now you've realized, Inspector, that we both know that Alison Parker is a queen of hearts in this house of cards. We're not letting her go."

"Then our deal is off", the Inspector replied immediately.

Sergio's mind was working fast – there had to be a way to take advantage of their eagerness to get Alison out. He felt the presence of the Professor more strongly than ever as he was suddenly struck by an idea. He leaned forward and was careful not to let the excitement he felt come through in his voice.

"Listen, Inspector, I have a proposition for you. Alison in exchange for the other ten."

Next to him, Raquel's eyebrows went up.

"What do you mean?" Elena said.

"I'll give you Alison Parker", Sergio said, "but nobody else. We both know how important she is, both to you and to me. So if you want her to be released, she'll be released alone."

There was a moment of silence on the other side of the line. Then the Inspector said:

"I need to consult my superiors."

"You have five minutes", Sergio said, and put down the phone.

"What are you doing?" Raquel said immediately. "We can't give up Alison!"

But Sergio was shushing her and turning up the volume of the transmission they were getting from Angel's bug.

"Call him back", they heard the voice of the person they'd identified as Colonel Prieto. "Tell him yes, to let Parker go."

"I will do no such thing", Elena said. "We're not choosing one person over eleven others, including a pregnant woman."

"I don't care about ethics here", Prieto said. "This is a state matter, and the first thing we'll do is save the daughter of the ambassador. Call him back!"

"No", Elena said softly. "No, he's playing us."

"What?" Prieto said.

"Give me a minute to think!"

There was silence on the other end, and Sergio waited with bated breath.

"Well?!" Prieto finally prompted.

"We're not accepting his offer", Elena said firmly. "Because it isn't a real offer. Think about it, Colonel! If you were in his shoes, would you ever let Parker go, under any circumstances?"

"He was prepared to let the others go!"

"The others, yes, but not her. The very fact that he's offering it… it must be a trap."

"A trap? How?"

"Oh!" Elena said suddenly. "Of course! He told me yesterday that he's recording every conversation."

Sergio gave Raquel a sharp look, but the Inspector was still talking:

"If we now choose to trade Parker for the other eleven, he could use that against us. He might leak the recording to the media. How will we look then, Colonel?"

"I don't care how it looks, I want that girl freed!"

"But he'll never free her, don't you see? He'll make us look bad and then go back on his promise!"

"Was that your plan?" Raquel asked quietly beside him, and he nodded, cursing silently that Elena had figured it out. It might still work, though, if Prieto forced the Inspector's hand. And sure enough…

"I'm willing to risk it", Prieto's voice came over the radio. "He might actually let her go, we have to try."

"He won't let her go, Colonel, I'm telling you", Elena said heatedly. "He'll just score another victory over us."

"Inspector", Prieto said angrily, "you'll do as I say."

"I will not", Elena said coldly. "I know how this guy thinks, and I refuse to walk into his trap with my eyes open. This is my job, I know what I'm doing!"

"Inspector", Prieto started, but Elena firmly cut him off.

"No, Colonel. I'm telling you: either we save eleven hostages or we save none. I choose the first option."

"I'll have you fired over this", Prieto threatened.

"You do what you have to do", she replied coolly.

Suddenly, their phone was ringing again. Sergio picked up.

"I don't accept your trade", Elena's voice said in his ear. "I want the eleven hostages we agreed upon earlier. Let them go."

Sergio's mind was racing, but he could see no way out. If he refused to let the hostages go now, Prieto would certainly have Elena fired. In fact, she might get fired anyway, and he could not let that happen.

"Good choice", he said. "I wouldn't have let Miss Parker go anyway."

There was just a hint of triumph in Elena's voice when she said: "I didn't think so."

"The hostages will be released at two o'clock."

"Thank you", she said succinctly, then hung up on him.

He put down the phone and turned to Raquel, his jaw tight.

"You told them we were recording them when you talked to her yesterday?"

"Yes", she said defensively. "I didn't have any choice, Sergio, she wouldn't give us the medical team to save Román."

"My strategy almost worked", he said, his voice carefully controlled. "We almost didn't have to give up any hostages, and we could have discredited the police at the same time. It would have been a big win for us. Instead, we have to let eleven hostages go."

"I don't regret my choice", she said. "A man was bleeding out and she wanted a hostage in return for sending in the medical team. I couldn't make that decision without consulting you, so I had to play a different card."

"You could have tried harder not to play any of our cards at all!"

"Oh", she said indignantly. "You think you could have done better?"

"I think I could have, yes", he said coldly.

"Don't flatter yourself", she snapped. "You can barely keep up with Elena."

"That's exactly why I don't want you to talk to her!" he said. "If I can barely keep up with her, you certainly can't!"

She looked deeply offended and opened her mouth to say something angry in return, but then she suddenly stopped and shook her head.

"I'm not talking to you when you're like this", she said.

"Like what?"

"You're still the Professor", she said. "And the Professor is an asshole. You can come and apologize to me when you snap out of it."

And she got up and walked away from him.

He came to her, as she'd known he would, after fifteen minutes, a contrite expression on his face.

"I'm sorry."

She nodded, but didn't say anything, so he sat down next to her at the table and continued.

"I get so caught up in all of this…" he said, running a hand through his hair. "I… I sort of lose myself."

"I don't think you do", she said. "You're the Professor as much as you are Sergio."

"I suppose", he sighed.

"That's not a bad thing", she continued, more gently now. "You need to be the Professor when you're dealing with the operation."

He nodded. "I do. I need that side of myself to keep a handle on things."

"I understand. But you can't be that person with me, Sergio. You become cold and distant and unpleasant, and I don't like it."

"I'm sorry", he said. "I can't help myself."

She considered him. "To a certain extent, I accept that. I don't expect hugs or sweet words from you when you're the Professor, I understand that you're not capable of affection when you're that focused. But you can still watch your words, you can still show me consideration. The Professor doesn't excuse just any bad behavior towards me. I accept that you're a little different then, but you're still you, and responsible for your own behavior. I don't care who you are or how you're feeling – you're allowed to disagree with me, you're allowed to argue, but the least you can do is treat me with respect."

He shifted uncomfortably. "Yes, of course you're right." He looked up at her anxiously. "Raquel, I'm afraid at some point I might say something really bad, something that will hurt you. I just want to apologize in advance if…"

"Oh no", she said, raising her eyebrows. "You're not getting absolution in advance for treating me like an asshole. You're aware of the issue now, so from now on, think twice about what you say to me when you're the Professor."

He grimaced. "I might still say something hurtful."

"Then you can apologize for it then."

He sighed. "I'm sorry I implied earlier that I could have handled yesterday's situation better. I listened to the recording of your conversation with Elena, and you're right. It was a difficult situation and you made the right decision."

She felt the release of a tension she hadn't really been aware of. She'd known, objectively, that she'd handled the situation as well as she could have under the circumstances, but some part of her had still wondered if maybe Sergio could have done better. She realized that his approval meant a lot to her.

"Thank you."

He nodded. "I shouldn't have doubted you. You're a trained negotiator, you knew what you were doing."

She sighed. "I'm sorry it cost you your strategy, earlier. It was a good strategy, it would have been nice if it had worked."

"It should have worked", he said, clearly frustrated. "If only Elena hadn't figured it out."

Raquel suddenly realized something. "You're too similar."

"What do you mean?"

"Your minds work in the same way. That's why she seems to see right through you."

He nodded thoughtfully. "I think you're right. I need to meet with her again."

She frowned. "Sergio…"

"I need to get an edge over her somehow! She's blocking me at every turn, I need something."

She almost said something, but she didn't want to have another argument, so she swallowed the words and bit her tongue. He noticed, though.

"I know you don't agree with me seeing her, but do you remember when we practiced negotiations back at the house? The better I got to know you, the better it went."

She raised her eyebrows. "We were sleeping together though. What are you proposing, exactly?"

He waved a hand, seemingly oblivious. "That's not the main thing. In the Art of War, Sun Tzu says: 'If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.' That's what's happening now. For every victory we score, we also suffer a defeat, because we don't know our enemy. I have to see her again."

She wisely kept her mouth shut. If he was quoting Sun Tzu, nothing she could say would persuade him otherwise. There was something else that bothered her though.

"Sergio", she started, a little hesitantly. She wasn't sure if she really wanted to hear what he was going to say, but she needed to know. "About what you said earlier, that what happened between you and me was 'bad enough'…"

He grimaced. "That was a poor choice of words. I really didn't mean it that way."

She shot him a look. "Tell me something, though. If you could have made a choice about 'you and me'… would you have chosen for it to happen?"

"Before the fact? No", he said. Then he saw her face, and quickly hastened to explain further. "Because I had no idea of what it would be like! I had no frame of reference at all, remember. But knowing what I know now? Yes, yes of course, Raquel. If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing. If I had to do it a thousand times, I would choose you every time."

She felt something inside her soften at his words. "Good. I would hate for you to regret this…"

"Of course I don't, Raquel, how could you even think that?" he said, sounding a little desperate. "You… you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. You're the best choice I ever made. I will never regret that, never."

She gave him a soft look and shifted her chair closer to his, then leaned in to kiss him. He cupped her cheek as he softly brushed his lips against hers. Their kisses were a little tentative at first – she felt like she needed to find him again, unwrap him from his many layers to access the part of him that she needed right now. Then suddenly something clicked and he was hers again – she felt it in everything: the way he leaned in to her, the way he kissed her more deeply, the way his hand disappeared into her hair. The next moment, he pulled her into his lap and his arms closed around her as she kissed him hungrily.

Their limited time together worried and frustrated her. These past few days had been generally stressful, and the heist posed new challenges to their relationship, confronting them with issues and parts of themselves that hadn't been a problem during their time in Toledo. And just now that they needed it the most, almost all intimacy had become impossible: they couldn't sleep next to each other anymore, they barely touched, they didn't even really have time to talk anymore now that the bug in Angel's glasses was constantly transmitting potentially crucial information. And not having sex was… harder than she'd thought it would be. It had seemed such a logical thing to agree on before the heist, just common sense, really: of course the screens had to be manned at all times. But after their fight, she desperately needed to be close to him now, they needed a way to reconnect, to come back to each other, just for a little while, a few blessed minutes away from the screens and the pressures of the operation.

To her immense relief, he seemed to feel the same way, because he whispered against her lips:

"I'm taking you to bed."

She didn't argue this time, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and kept kissing him as he lifted her and carried her to the bed, where he put her down gently and joined her. It was such a relief to have him close, to feel his body on top of hers, to wrap her arms around him as they sank into kiss after kiss after kiss, making up for lost time. When he'd gone down on her before, it had felt so good, and she was certainly not complaining, but really it had only made her hungrier for him. This was what she craved: her body pressed to his, his mouth on hers, her hands under his shirt to feel his skin. Breaking apart for even a second seemed unbearable – neither of them wanted to waste a moment of this precious stolen time – so they kept kissing as they undressed, until they were finally, gloriously, skin to skin for the first time in days, and the bliss of it was so intense it made her entire body tingle.

His caresses were infinitely tender as he ran his fingers through her hair, brushing down her neck, then he made her shiver as his hand moved lightly down the side of her body, over her hip and thigh. She opened her legs to him and he started stroking the inside of her thighs, slowly moving up and down, his touch light, always stopping right before he touched her where she wanted him, firing up a deep, insistent tingling between her legs, and as he kissed her deeply, she felt such a longing for him that it left her breathless. She opened her legs further, but he didn't take advantage, and his slow stroking was driving her crazy, until the only thing she could think about was to have him inside her.

"Sergio", she breathed. "I want you, I need you."

"Are you ready?" he murmured, and she gasped as he finally brushed his fingers against her.

"Yes", she whispered. "Yes, yes, yes."

He moved his body on top of hers and she reached down to guide him in, inhaling sharply as he entered her. He pressed into her very, very slowly, and she let out a long, low moan of pleasure as she felt him fill her up, inch by delicious inch. When he was deep inside her, he stopped, and they leaned their foreheads together for a few long moments as they held each other close, just connecting. Then he pressed his lips to hers and kissed her deeply as he started taking her with deep, deliberate strokes, pushing in his entire length every time, making her moan against his lips. Then his mouth sought out the sensitive spots on the side of her neck, and she sighed with pleasure and buried her fingers in his hair as he kissed her there. It had only been a few days, but oh, how she'd missed being this close to him, how she'd missed his mouth on her skin, his arms around her. She wrapped her legs around him and he groaned as she pulled him even deeper, unable to get enough of him as he filled her again and again and again.

He suddenly withdrew, breathing rather fast, and whispered:

"Turn around."

She turned onto her side and when he came to lie close behind her, she fitted her body against his as he gathered her in his arms and held her tight. He entered her again and it still felt so good, and now his hands were free to touch her where she wanted to be touched. She sighed in satisfaction as he moved his fingers between her legs and started stroking her, and soon she was moaning with every breath, pressing her hips back against him each time he thrust in. He picked up the pace, and it didn't take long before she felt the tension inside her build to an almost unbearable pitch, and when she tensed, he used his free hand to pinch her nipple and that sent her straight over the edge. The feeling was so strong that it took her breath away, and she could only gasp as wave after wave of pleasure washed over her, leaving her helpless and trembling in his arms. A moment later, he tensed behind her and buried his face in her hair as he pushed in one, two, three more times, then groaned softly as he came deep inside her.

They lay without moving for several long moments, catching their breath, basking in the afterglow, and for the first time since the heist began, she felt truly connected to him again. For a few minutes, he hadn't been thinking about hostages or money or the Inspector – for a few minutes, he'd left the Professor far behind and just been Sergio – for a few minutes, they had been able to recreate the beautiful, intimate little bubble that had been theirs in Toledo, and she was so grateful. Beneath the friction and the arguments and the tension, they were still them, unchangeable, inseparable, eternal, no matter what life would throw at them. She sensed that the next few days wouldn't be easy for them, though, so she tried to capture the feeling she had right now – something to hold onto when the going got rough, when he pulled away from her again, when the Professor took over.

He stirred behind her and tightened his arms around her as he kissed her neck.

"Well", she smiled, "so much for our agreement that we wouldn't have sex."

He chuckled. "We didn't even make it three days. I should have known, though. You can't keep your hands off me."

She laughed and turned around to kiss him. "So true. I'm sorry I made you break your own rules… again."

"I just can't help myself around you", he sighed. "But I suppose it couldn't hurt… just this once."

"Yes", she nodded. "Just this once."

They kissed again, then she said:

"I suppose we should get back to the screens."

"Yes," he said, rather sadly. "I suppose we should."

Neither of them moved to get out of bed, however, unwilling to break the spell of their togetherness, knowing it would plunge them back into reality, knowing it would be a while before they got another moment like this. So they held each other close, sharing soft kisses and even softer touches, ignoring the seconds that were ticking away. Just one more minute, they kept whispering to each other. Just one more minute with you.