Day 3 – evening

Sergio tried hard to stay calm as the two police officers steered him into the smaller of the two tents. Elena wanted to ask him questions – what kinds of questions? Was Raquel right? Was she starting to suspect him? Inside the tent, five other civilians were sitting in a row of chairs, and Sergio was deposited next to them.

"Please wait here, sir", the officers said, then went back outside.

"What's going on?" he asked the man sitting next to him.

"No idea. I was just walking home, a couple of blocks from here, and then a cop came up to me and asked me to come with him."

"Me too", said the other men.

At that point, two uniformed officers entered the tent.

"Good evening gentlemen, you have been selected for a random background check by orders of Inspector González. Please give me your ID – in a minute, a colleague will come get your fingerprints. You will be here for a while, so feel free to make a phone call if you need to let someone know you've been delayed."

Sergio's first feeling was one of relief: Elena didn't specifically suspect him after all, it was just a random background check. But as one of the police officers started collecting the other men's IDs, he felt a stab of unease: he had a fake ID, and the identity he had constructed for himself was solid at first glance, but it wouldn't hold up under close scrutiny. If the Inspector had her people really dig into his background, it would quickly fall apart, and then he would be in real trouble. His mind was racing as the officer reached him and held out his hand.

"Excuse me", Sergio said, "but I think there's been a mistake. You see, I'm here at the invitation of Inspector González – I'm a friend of hers."

The cop frowned. "You're a friend of the Inspector's?"

"Yes, Salvador Martín. Please, check with her, she'll confirm."

The cop gave him a suspicious look, still holding out his hand.

"Your ID, please, sir."

He reluctantly took out his wallet and drew out his fake ID.

"Will you tell the Inspector I'm here?"

"Yes, I will, but I'd like your ID anyway."

He handed over the card, wondering how thorough their background check would be.

The cop left the tent, leaving his colleague to stand guard. Sergio watched him go with a feeling of deep unease, then he noticed that the other men were taking out their phones and making calls. He hesitated. He wanted to let Raquel know what was going on, but he knew that the other tent was full of equipment to tap into cell phones and listen in on calls, and if he were Elena, he would definitely want to listen in on whatever calls his suspects were making. If he called Raquel, she might say his name and that would blow his cover as Salva. Then he realized that he couldn't risk Raquel calling him, either, because even if he didn't pick up, the call might still be traced back to the control room – and whatever happened to him, no matter if he was discovered or arrested, he could not allow them to discover the control room – discover Raquel. He hated to do it, because it meant that he would be unavailable in case of an emergency, but he couldn't take any risks: he had to turn off his phone completely.

He glanced at the other men. The officer had said they'd been selected for a random background check, but it didn't look so random to him: all of them were men, they seemed to be more or less the same age, and they were all dressed in a suit.

"Excuse me", Sergio said, addressing their guard. "Can you tell me why we were selected for this background check, specifically?"

"Inspector González has drawn up a profile of our suspect, sir. You have been selected because you fit the specifications: white male, mid-thirties to late forties, wearing anything but jeans."

Sergio suppressed a smile as he remembered his first phone conversation with the Inspector: what are you wearing? He'd told her he was wearing jeans and a sweater, and clearly she hadn't believed him. Smart. The other specifications were based on probability: the majority of native-born Spaniards was white, and he didn't have an accent to indicate an immigrant background – she assumed he was male because of the questions he asked her – and he'd clearly been working on this plan for a while, indicating that he wasn't in his twenties anymore. He was impressed, but not surprised, at the accuracy of her assumptions.

A new uniformed officer entered the tent, carrying the necessary equipment to take their fingerprints, and Sergio shifted uncomfortably. He didn't like the idea at all that his fingerprints would be in the system – his brain was working at full force, trying to think of an excuse, a way to escape, but he came up blank. He became increasingly nervous as he watched the cop's progress along the line, taking their fingerprints one by one. Finally, he turned to Sergio.

"Please hold out your hand, sir."

Sergio hesitated, his thoughts and heart racing, but there was no way out.

"Sir?"

Sergio swallowed, then slowly held out his hand.

At that point, Elena walked in, followed by Angel, and Sergio quickly pulled back his hand, tensing hopefully.

"Elena, hi!"

She walked over to him, looking a little embarrassed.

"My apologies, Salva, I'd totally forgotten I'd asked you to stop by at nine. I'm sorry you got caught up in this."

"It's alright", he said, smiling in relief. "Just a misunderstanding."

But Angel was frowning as he turned to Elena.

"You know this guy?"

"Yes, I met him yesterday in Hanoi. We were going to go for a drink."

"Forgive me, Elena, but if he's been talking to you, doesn't that make him more suspicious?"

She raised her eyebrows. "You really think mastermind criminals just walk up to police inspectors and introduce themselves? That would make my job very easy."

He shook his head. "I suppose… Still, it can't hurt to quickly check his ID, just in case."

Elena looked down at the ID card she was holding, and Sergio held his breath. Before she could reply, however, a uniformed officer ran into the tent.

"Inspector! The Professor is calling!"

Elena raised her eyebrows at Angel.

"Well, that makes this discussion moot."

She turned to the other civilians.

"Alright gentlemen, you can go. We'll return your ID to you in a minute, and you have my apologies for the inconvenience."

Then she handed Sergio's ID back to him, and he put it back into his wallet with a feeling of utmost relief.

"I'm sorry Salva, looks like our drink will have to wait."

"Tomorrow?" he asked hopefully.

She was already walking towards the exit.

"I don't know, work is so unpredictable right now."

He was struck by an idea. "Then how about you give me your number?"

"Elena", Angel reminded her. "The Professor is waiting."

"You know what?" she said. "Let him wait, it will be good for him not to get what he wants immediately."

She turned back to Sergio.

"Alright, I'll give you my number, put it in your phone."

"Oh", he said. "It's turned off, give me a minute."

"I don't have that much time. Just give me yours."

She took out her phone and he gave her his number.

"I'll text you when I'm free and we can meet up."

"Alright", he said. "I can come pick you up whenever."

She gave him a half-smile. "I'll tell the uniforms not to arrest you next time."

He grinned. "Sounds good."

He walked out of the tent, feeling quite pleased with himself, and hurried back to the control room, where he knew Raquel would be waiting for him. The moment he walked through the door, she was just putting down the phone, and she looked up at him with a stormy expression that made him hesitate to come closer.

"I told you meeting with Elena was a bad idea!"

"What do you mean?" he frowned. "If anything, this proves that it was a good idea."

"What?! Sergio, you got picked up by the cops! If she'd checked your identity, you could have been discovered!"

"But she didn't check my identity, that's the crucial thing!"

"How is that the crucial thing?"

"Don't you see?" he explained eagerly. "They were picking up men with my profile in all the streets around the Mint – I could easily have been brought in for a background check by going out to get us food. If I hadn't known Elena, they would then really have checked my ID. But because I do know Elena, I was cleared of all suspicion! Knowing her saved me."

"I saved you, you idiot! It's because I called them as the Professor that they thought it couldn't be you."

"Yes, I admit that your timing was perfect. But how did you even know to call them?"

"Because I heard them talking through Angel's bug about a guy she'd met in Hanoi yesterday."

"Exactly!" he said triumphantly. "You recognized that it was me because she knew me. Otherwise I would have been just another guy in the line-up and they wouldn't have talked about me in a way that would have made you realize that it was me. So again: knowing Elena kept me safe, proving definitively that I made the right decision approaching her!"

She gave him the most begrudging look. "I suppose."

He grinned. "You can't stand it that I'm right about this."

He took his phone out of his pocket and turned it back on, then his eyebrows rose as it started pinging loudly.

"Why did you call me… six times?" he asked, suddenly alarmed. "What happened?"

She crossed her arms, clearly still annoyed with him. "While you were out getting yourself arrested, the cops and guards in the boiler room managed to free themselves."

"What?!" he yelped. "Did they escape?"

"No", she said succinctly, and he breathed a sigh of relief. "I noticed just in time and alerted the team."

"How did they get loose?"

"One of them got hold of some tools. We traced those back to Arturo Román."

Sergio grimaced. "Román again?"

She nodded drily. "You'd think he'd stay quiet for a bit after yesterday, but apparently it takes more than one bullet to stop this guy from being an idiot."

He shook his head. "Why would he do something like that? We don't want to hurt anyone, but they do have to cooperate."

"Talking about cooperation", she said, "Berlin wants to talk to you."

"Why?" he asked, sitting down at the desk and picking up the phone.

"He didn't approve of my orders – he wants a harsher punishment for Román."

Sergio frowned and pushed the button for the Mint. On the screen, Berlin entered the breakroom and picked up.

Raquel moved away from the desk – she felt like this was a conversation she shouldn't be a part of, and she tried to give Sergio some privacy to talk to his captain, but there was nowhere she could go, and even at the furthest point in the hangar, she could still hear what he was saying.

"Berlin… no, I was out… Yes… I don't care if you don't agree with her decision, when I'm not here, she's in charge and you listen to her… No, I don't even want to know what her orders were, Berlin, she speaks for me and I'm sure she made the right call."

She felt herself relent towards him. It meant a lot to her that he trusted her so unquestioningly.

"This isn't up for discussion", Sergio said curtly, then put down the phone.

She walked back towards the desk.

"You don't even want to know what my orders were?"

"It doesn't matter", he said staunchly. "I'm not overruling you."

She shot him a look. "Thank you."

He nodded. "We're a team. But, just so I know: what did you tell them to do with Mr. Román?"

"I ordered them to tie him up and keep him isolated."

"That sounds about right."

He gave her a long, considering look.

"Raquel, it's such a good thing that you're here with me. This hostage escape might otherwise have happened when I was out, and it could have resulted in disaster. You may have saved the entire operation tonight."

She felt further mollified as he got up and came to stand close to her.

"Are you still mad at me?" he asked softly.

She sighed. "No, I'm not. I can't deny that you're right: if you hadn't approached Elena, you could have been in that tent getting a background check right now and I wouldn't have known."

To his credit, he didn't gloat at her admission that he was right. He just gave her a soft look and said:

"I'm going to kiss you now."

She smiled up at him. "Oh, are you?"

"I think I am", he said, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned against him, her face tilted up to his.

"What makes you think I'll let you?"

He grinned. "Past experience."

That made her laugh. It felt good to laugh with him.

He bent his head and pressed his lips against hers, softly, and they happily sank into slow, sweet kisses for several long minutes, reconnecting. Then she leaned her head on his chest and allowed herself to relax against him with a sigh.

"I'm glad you're safe", she murmured. "I was so worried when you didn't pick up your phone."

"I'm sorry", he said. "I couldn't risk them tracing any calls back to you."

She nodded, then regretfully let go of him.

"We should get back to the screens."

The moment he sat down, his phone pinged, a message from an unknown number.

Sorry again about getting you arrested. Here's my number. E

He smiled. It was a good sign that she was texting him, that meant she was really interested in meeting up with him. He texted back.

No problem! Let me know when you're free.

"Important message?" she asked him as she sat down next to him.

"No", he said, "just Elena texting me her number."

She raised her eyebrows. "You're texting now?"

"You can't object to that", he said quickly. "There's no way she can figure out who I am through a text message."

"I suppose…", she said.

"I just gave her my number so we could reschedule our drink."

He saw her struggle with herself, and he waited, tense.

"After that you won't try to meet her again, right?"

"That's what we agreed", he nodded.

"Okay", she said, in a tone that indicated she was dropping the matter, and he relaxed. He was glad that she had finally realized that he wasn't in any danger with Elena. He checked his watch.

"You can sleep first if you want."

She sighed and got up to start pacing.

"I don't want to sleep yet, I still have way too much energy. I've been stuck behind this desk all day, in the dark, without being able to move more than a few meters."

She turned to him.

"Sergio… I want to go outside tomorrow."

"What?" he said, alarmed. "No, Raquel, that's not an option."

"I can't stay in this awful place for another 8 days without seeing the sun, Sergio, I'll go mad!"

"I'm sorry", he said, "but the streets are crawling with cops, they might recognize you."

"I could wear sunglasses and a hat."

"It's still a big risk!"

"You take risks all the time", she shot back.

"Those are calculated risks", he said. "This would be a stupid risk. I'm never in any danger, but you're a fugitive."

"You get to go outside all the time and I'm stuck in here", she said grumpily.

"I only go out when it's necessary", he said. "You going out isn't necessary in any way."

"It's necessary for me not to go stir crazy."

He shook his head. "This is non-negotiable. You're not leaving this hangar."

She bristled – his tone reminded her of something, something unpleasant, but she wasn't sure what it was.

"I can make my own decisions, thank you very much."

"No", he said, "not in this operation. As long as we're in here, you follow my orders – we talked about this beforehand, we established a chain of command and you agreed to it!"

"We agreed that I would follow your orders about the heist, yes."

"This is about the heist!"

"No, it's not! It's a personal matter, and you don't give me orders about that!"

Her feeling of unease was growing, but she still couldn't quite place it.

"Raquel", he said, "we're not arguing over this. We said weeks ago that you wouldn't leave the hangar – only me. You agreed to that! You know it's a stupid risk to take, you're just not thinking clearly because you're tired and stressed."

She sighed and rubbed her face. "I suppose."

"I'm sorry you're feeling cooped up", he said in a gentler tone. "I understand, I do. But we need to stick to the plan, and the plan is for you to stay inside no matter what."

She nodded. "Yes, I know."

"It's only one more week", he said soothingly. "It will be alright."

She sat back down and sighed again. "It's just… I know we've only been here three days, but doesn't it feel much longer?"

"It does", he nodded. "It really does."

"I feel like I haven't been outside in weeks, and the thought that I still have to stay here for twice as long as we've been here already is…"

She shuddered, and he took her hand and squeezed it.

"The first days will feel the longest, though", he said. "After this, we'll settle into a bit of a routine and time will pass faster."

"I hope so", she said soberly.

"I'm sure of it", he said firmly. "Now talk me through exactly what happened with those hostages."

They spent half an hour talking quietly about the night's events, until the excitement of the evening had worn off for her, leaving her feeling drained and tired. She got up and gave him a long, soft kiss.

"I'm glad you're safe", she repeated.

He cupped her face in his hand and stroked her cheek with his thumb.

"You were amazing tonight, Raquel. I don't know how I'd be running things here without you."

She felt a bit better as she kissed him again, then went to bed.

Day 4

She sat down in front of the screens, yawning. Six hours of sleep was sufficient to keep going, but it wasn't enough to actually feel rested – she considered asking Sergio if she could sleep a few extra hours tonight. In the Mint, everyone was still sleeping, and Angel was still at home, so there wasn't anything for her to watch or listen to, and she could feel herself nodding off. She cursed inwardly – she should have asked Sergio to go get her coffee before he went to bed. She couldn't exactly wake him for that now. As time dragged on, she felt her eyelids get heavier and heavier, and at a certain point, she woke up with a start after dozing off. She shook herself – this wasn't good, even if everything was quiet inside the Mint, the team was counting on her to keep an eye on things. She glanced up at the window, through which she could see that the morning sun was coloring the sky orange and gold, and she suddenly felt such a deep longing to walk out that door, to breathe in the fresh air and feel the sun on her face and walk just a few blocks, stretch her legs, get out of this dark, depressing room for five minutes… just five minutes… could it really hurt?

She glanced at the screens – everything calm and quiet – then at Sergio sleeping in the bed. He didn't have to know, right? There was a coffee place just around the corner, it would literally only take her ten minutes to get back. She told herself it was irresponsible of her to keep sitting here if she was falling asleep – yes, now that she thought of it, getting coffee was actually the responsible thing to do, it would help her stay awake. She looked at Sergio again, and she could clearly hear him say: You're not leaving this hangar. Yesterday's feeling of unease crept up on her again, and suddenly she recognized it. A different voice sounded in her mind, saying: You're not wearing that to work. She pressed her lips together and tried to tune him out, but Alberto went on, telling her what she wasn't allowed to wear, who she wasn't allowed to talk to, where she wasn't allowed to go. She clenched her jaw. She wouldn't let that happen a second time, she wouldn't let anyone control her anymore – she made her own decisions.

She quietly got up and put on her jacket and a baseball cap, keeping an eye on Sergio to make sure that he was still sleeping soundly, firmly ignoring the little voice in the back of her mind that sounded an awful lot like him and that was telling her in no uncertain terms that she shouldn't be doing this. He had no right to order her around – and beside that, the thought of the outside was irresistible… She slipped out the door before she could change her mind.

She felt instantly better, feeling her heart lift as she took deep breaths of the cool morning air and turned her face into the rays of the sun. She hadn't realized beforehand how hard it would be to stay in the hangar for the duration of the heist – always in the semi-dark, the fluorescent lighting a poor substitute for the sun, the damp smell of the place always in her nostrils. She smiled and set off at a brisk pace, feeling free and ridiculously happy to be out in the early morning quiet. Then she turned a corner, and suddenly she was almost face to face with two uniformed police officers coming from the opposite direction. Her heart skipped a beat and she immediately turned back around and rounded the corner again, cursing quietly – she knew if the cops had seen her turn around at the sight of them, it would have looked incredibly suspicious. She hurried back down the street, half expecting shouts behind her, a hand on her shoulder, but she didn't dare look back until she reached the door of the hangar, when she risked a quick glance down the street and saw to her relief that the cops hadn't followed her. Still, her heart was beating frantically, and she decided not to risk it again, just for a cup of coffee – the adrenaline would keep her awake for a while now.

She opened the door and stepped back inside, careful to be as quiet as possible so as not to wake Sergio, but…

"Raquel!"

She froze. Oh damn. She turned around and saw him rush towards her, only wearing pants, clearly in the middle of getting dressed. His eyes were wide with panic, and he rubbed a shaking hand over his eyes as he saw her.

"Oh, thank god!"

Then he looked up at her, angrier than she'd ever seen him before.

"Where the hell were you?!"

"I just stepped out for a minute, Sergio, I…"

"Why?"

"To get coffee, I really needed it, I was falling asleep in front of the screens and it just wasn't safe…"

"Where is it, then?"

"What?"

"Your coffee."

She shifted uncomfortably. "I… I changed my mind."

He gave her a suspicious look. "You changed your mind about coffee halfway down the street?"

She sighed. "Fine. I saw two cops, so I turned back."

He made a gesture of utter frustration. "Dammit, Raquel!"

"I'm sorry, Sergio, I had to get out of here!"

"You know you're not allowed outside!"

She bristled. "I'm not allowed outside? I'm an adult woman, Sergio, you don't tell me what I'm allowed to do."

"In this operation, I'm your superior, and you ignored a direct order!"

"I told you yesterday: I'll follow your orders when they're about the operation, but this is about my personal freedom of movement and you have no say over that!"

The adrenaline was still racing through her body, amplifying her emotions, making her unreasonably angry. She knew she wasn't entirely in the right here, but she was so fed up with him right now.

"I'm so sick of you doing whatever the fuck you want while you expect me to sit quietly and be a good girl!"

"I just want to stick to the plan!" he yelled.

"No, you're trying to control me, like you need to control everything else!"

"That's not true!" he said, outraged. "I'm just trying to keep you safe!"

They'd never had a fight like this, going head to head, but the tension of the last few days was all coming to the surface and she knew they had to have it out.

"I can keep myself safe!" she yelled back.

"Clearly you can't! You're emotional, you're impulsive, you have no restraint!"

"So I should just do as you tell me?"

"Yes!"

"That's not how relationships work, Sergio! You can't control my every move!"

They looked at each other, both unwilling to back down, the air between them electric with tension. God he made her angry, he was so exasperating, so stubborn… but then she saw something break behind his eyes and he said in a strained voice:

"But don't you see? I can't lose you, Raquel!"

Realization hit her and suddenly she saw things clearly: he was only angry because he worried about her, and he worried because he loved her, he really did, and she loved him too, fuck, she loved him so much.

The tension between them broke. She ran to him and he caught her and lifted her off the ground as he kissed her hard, one arm tight around her waist and one hand in her hair. She suddenly wanted him desperately, the adrenaline in her blood firing up a desire for him that was nearly unbearable, and she realized all these built-up emotions had to be released somehow. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gripped his hair with both hands as she kissed him back, matching his hunger with her own, and he inhaled sharply as she bit his bottom lip. In a few steps, he carried her to the desk and sat her down on the edge of it, still kissing her deeply, demandingly, then he let one hand disappear in her hair and she gasped as he tugged sharply to tilt her head back, and then his mouth was at her throat, making her shudder as he covered the delicate skin with little bites. Oh, oh, she'd never wanted him so badly. Her hands reached down and unbuttoned his pants, then she hopped off the desk for just a moment to kick out of her own pants and underwear. He immediately lifted her back up and pushed apart her knees so he could stand between them.

She grabbed his hair and kissed him hard as his hand dipped between her legs, feeling how wet she was, and his fingers brushing against her made her feel like she would combust. "Fuck me, Sergio", she whispered breathlessly against his lips, "fuck me now", and he did, gripping her hips and pulling her roughly to the edge, then pushing into her with one hard thrust that drew a sharp cry from her lips. He started taking her at a fast pace, and she held onto him tightly as she moaned with the ecstasy of it. She drew her fingernails down his bare back and he shuddered and groaned and took her even deeper. A delicious, tingling tension was building inside her, begging to be released, but there was no way he could make her come like this. He seemed to realize it too, because suddenly he drew back and lifted her off the desk, and she gasped as he firmly turned her around and bent her over the desk so she was leaning on her elbows. He gripped her hips tightly and pushed back into her, taking her harder than he ever had before, and she was loving every second of it, god this was so hot, the pressure inside of her building until she wanted to scream, every deep thrust pushing her right up to the edge and making a strained "yes!" escape from her lips.

Just when she thought she wouldn't be able to bear it anymore, she felt his hand move around her hip to finally, mercifully, dip between her legs, making her hold her breath in anticipation. She came the very instant his fingers touched her, all the pent-up tension rushing through her with a fiery thrill she felt down to her toes, and she cried out loudly, again and again, as he kept taking her hard, rocking her to her core with wave after wave of golden-edged pleasure. When it receded, his fingers and movements eased up for only a few moments, allowing her to take a few shaky breaths, but then he pressed into her once more, touching her again at the same time, and her breath hitched sharply, her fingernails scrabbling at the wood of the desk as, for a few seconds, she was unbearably sensitive, the sensation on a knife's edge between pleasure and pain, but then pleasure won out very firmly, and to her utter surprise she could feel a second orgasm build with astounding rapidity. She could only hang her head and moan and moan as it swept through her, all-consuming, canceling out everything but his fingers in just the right spot and his hard length deep inside her, and she barely noticed it when he cried out too.

She was gasping for breath and shaking hard as the feeling receded, leaving her weak at the knees and tingling all over.

"Oh my god", she whispered. "Oh my god."

His hands were on either side of her as he leaned heavily on the desk, breathing hard. Then he wrapped his arms around her waist and his mouth was at her ear with a soft murmur.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes", she whispered back, still catching her breath. "Fuck, Sergio, that was amazing."

"Was I too rough?" he asked, his tone a little worried, and she smiled.

"No, my love, not even for a second."

She straightened and turned in his arms as she felt the mood shift now that the urgency of the situation was gone. She looked up at him with sparkling eyes and he gave her an uncertain grin.

"That was… uhm… unexpected. I thought we were fighting."

"All that tension had to go somewhere", she said, and he nodded.

"I suddenly had to have you, Raquel, I couldn't stop myself."

"Me neither", she murmured, then lifted her face to press a soft kiss against his lips. They stayed kissing for several long moments, his hand stroking her hair, her fingers caressing the back of his neck. Then she drew back regretfully.

"We still need to talk about this."

He nodded. "But no more fighting. Please."

"No more fighting", she agreed.

He took a quick look at the screens as she dressed herself again, then they rolled their chairs close to each other and sat down, holding hands.

"I'm sorry I got so angry", he started. "But I woke up and you were gone, Raquel, I panicked."

"I'm sorry too", she said. "I thought I would be back before you noticed."

"Why did you do it? Don't tell me it was just for a stupid cup of coffee. You could have woken me up for that."

She sighed. "I just wanted to do it. I felt trapped, and I resented it that you feel free to take any risk, yet you told me that I couldn't. It felt like you were trying to control me, and honestly, I've had enough of that with Alberto."

"Oh", he said, comprehension dawning on his face. "I didn't think of that, I'm sorry. I don't… I don't want to control you."

"Thank you", she said softly.

"Look", he said, swallowing hard, and she could see that this was costing him. "I accept that I don't have the right to tell you what you can or can't do. But if you go out and get caught, I don't know if I can rescue you again. You escaped from custody once before – if they manage to catch you again, you won't be a low-security prisoner anymore: you'll be a flight risk, and they'll guard you much more carefully. It would be so hard to free you a second time. So please stay here, Raquel, where you're safe. I'm… I'm not ordering you. I'm asking you, I'm begging you. Please."

There was such anguish in his eyes that she relented – she couldn't cause him pain like this. She squeezed his hand.

"Alright. Alright, I won't go outside again. You were right, it was a stupid risk and I shouldn't have done it in the first place. But taking orders from you isn't easy – it just feels so terribly familiar, after Alberto… I accept that you're my superior in regards to the operation, but we're still in a relationship. That doesn't just go away."

He nodded. "I thought it would be clear what falls within the bounds of the heist, and what would fall under our relationship, but it's not."

"No", she agreed. "Sometimes it's not."

"Do we work that out on a case-by-case basis? Are we… are we going to have more fights like this?"

He looked so upset at the mere thought of more fights that she wanted to reassure him that they wouldn't, but she knew she couldn't promise that.

She hesitated. "I'm afraid we might."

He gave her a look of horror. "But that was awful. I mean, I don't mind having an occasional argument with you, but the shouting…"

"No more shouting", she said quickly. "These were exceptional circumstances, we were both very emotional, we'd both had a moment of panic just before and it just… made everything worse. Besides, you've only slept about an hour, you're tired. I'm still tired too, and then there's the stress of the past few days… honestly, there was bound to be some shouting at some point."

"Does… does it mean there's something really wrong?"

"With us?" she said, surprised. "No, of course not. Couples fight, Sergio, it happens. Anyone would fight under this much pressure."

He looked relieved, but only a little. "How do we keep it from escalating, though?"

"Next time we get upset with each other, we just need to take some time to calm down first, and then talk about it like the reasonable people we are. I also think that we should try to reduce stressors. A little more sleep for both of us should make things somewhat easier."

"Alright", he nodded. "We can increase our sleeping time to seven hours. And from now on, I'd like you to tell me if you feel like I'm infringing on your personal freedom." He grimaced. "I would hate it if I started reminding you of your ex-husband."

"That's never happened before, it was just this once. You'd never given me a direct order before and it just brought up bad memories."

"I'll try to limit direct orders in the future. We're a team, you and I. We should make decisions together."

She gave him a soft look. "Thank you."

He leaned in and kissed her, then she said:

"You should sleep now."

"Would you like me to get you some coffee before I go back to bed?"

"Yes, please", she smiled.

He dressed himself properly, then went outside. As he walked along the street, the cool morning air seemed to clear his head, and when he looked back over the past few days, he saw a pattern emerge for him and Raquel. There were moments of calm and even boredom, but between those there were frequent highs and lows of extreme emotion: grief, anger, joy, despair, relief, triumph , fear, panic,… they had lived through all of those and more in only 72 hours, constantly tumbling from one intense emotional state into the next, and he felt the strain it put on their relationship. He had no experience in the matter, but even he could sense that this sort of constant turmoil wasn't healthy. It wouldn't break them – after all, he knew with an unshakeable sense of certainty, they were unbreakable – but it might leave cracks they would be unable to fix.

He couldn't let that happen. He couldn't allow the heist to take such a toll on their relationship that it would be impossible to repair all the damage afterwards – he didn't want to walk away from this with her, only to feel that they could never again be what they had been before the operation, everything just a little bit worse, just a little bit strained, the memory of the heist a grain of sand forever causing friction between them. He realized they desperately needed to restore balance, to normalize things, but how? He wished they could just pause the heist for a while, just return to being them, a normal couple doing normal things, a few hours spent just in each other's company without the extreme pressure of the operation. Then he smiled as an idea struck him. Yes – yes, that might work. As he entered the coffee shop and stood in line, his mind started racing to work out the necessary steps he'd have to take, and by the time he left with a coffee in hand, he felt quite satisfied. His relationship with her was the best thing that had ever happened to him – a thing of beauty, of smooth and shining perfection – and while he accepted that the heist might unbalance them sometimes, he had to try to keep it from doing permanent damage. He had to try his hardest, and the little plan he had would be a good start.