Jo's POV – Spilling the beans


The air in Charlotte was warm and sticky, a radical change from the chilly breeze of Nunn Mountain, but not unwelcome. At first 87 had reconnoitred the perimeter of the Syndicate's data farm, which was placed in a large building just outside the city, among corn fields. Jo had remained on a nearby hill, waiting for him to return. When he came back, he said that he had already managed to get inside it but something in his attitude showed that he was not entirely satisfied of the outcome. When Jo asked him for details he explained that his plan was to launch a virus in the system in order to destroy once and for all both the data in the onsite servers and those in every other device connected with them. However, for now, he had had to abort his mission because, it came out, the Syndicate had been expecting a cyber-attack and they were running a massive security check of all their servers that was expected to take great part of the night. He could not do anything right now because the servers were offline, and anyway the anti-virus would detect any intrusion.

The inspection, however, had not been a total disappointment: 87 had discovered that, once the check was over, they had scheduled a system update in the early morning in order to protect their data with more advanced security tools. If 87 could just insert a corrupted code into it, it would be the update itself that would spread the virus, and thus erase the Syndicate's research files for ever.

This meant that they had to spend another night together and the thought didn't leave Jo unaffected: the emotions of the last hours had had quite an impact on her nerves and she felt plunged back into her first day with 87, when she was so uneasy and skittish that she just couldn't keep her mouth shut. This time it was of paramount importance to avoid further embarrassing situations – she didn't think she could face another – so she decided to don an air of cool composure and only speak when spoken to.

87 found a room for them in a countryside residence just a couple of miles from the Syndicate's data farm. It looked like a village of small bungalows disseminated through a nice forest of beeches, and he chose the most isolated one for further precaution. As soon as they entered, he set immediately to write the code and, to Jo's question, answered with a mumble that it would take him from three to four hours to finish.

Jo felt utterly useless. She sat down on the armchair in front of 87, her elbow on the table and her chin in her hand, and watched him work for some time, almost hypnotized by the swift movements of his fingers on the keyboard and the adorable crease that appeared between his eyebrows when he was so concentrated. She didn't know how long she had remained in that position but it must have been awkwardly long because at a certain moment 87 lifted his blue eyes to meet hers and arched an eyebrow questioningly. Jo blushed – hopefully imperceptibly – and asked him if it was ok if she took a stroll in the wood. 87 nodded but told her to remain at hearing distance. An hour and 7 laps of the area around the bungalow after, her feeling of impotence was almost too much to bear so she got back and offered to fetch the dinner. 87 seemed to consider the matter for a while then, reluctantly, accepted but recommended:

"Be very careful, will you? If something looks strange, or you feel threatened just leave, it doesn't matter if it's irrational. Trust your instinct. And don't go too far. Any food will do."

She faked a confident smile and left, much more worried at the idea of leaving him – even though only for a few minutes – than she'd expected to be. But everything went alright. She bought two pizzas and two bottles of water – she had been very tempted to buy some beer but doubted that 87 would have approved. When she came back he interrupted his work and cleared the table to make room for the food. True to her resolve of limiting her speech to the bare minimum she ate in silence until 87 asked, furrowing his brow:

"Are you ok?"

"Sure!" she said, trying a reassuring smile.

"Did you notice anything weird, any car following you?"

"No, I didn't."

That's it, just the bare minimum. And no jokes for God's sake.

87 studied her for a while, his eyes boring into hers in a way that made her stomach flutter uncomfortably, then said:

"You look worried though."

"No, not at all. I'm just tired." It was not a lie, after all. She wasn't worried for something she'd seen – only panicking for other reasons – and she was, indeed, exhausted. 87 seemed to accept her explanation and bit into another slice of pizza. When he had finished he opened his laptop again but, before going back to work, said:

"I'm almost done here, the code should be ready in about thirty minutes. Why don't you take a shower and go to bed? You need to rest."

Jo nodded and, after clearing the table, she did as he had said because she really couldn't think of any other occupation to spend her time on. She took a long shower, dried her hair, brushed her teeth – yes, thanks be to God, they had complimentary toothbrushes in this place – and put on the ridiculous clothes she had bought in the pet store. The t-shirt was a man xl and covered her mid-thigh and the boxer shorts were large and loose, she could hardly think of any other night attire which would look less ungainly on her – perhaps a flannel onesie –

But at least they're clean, which is all you have to worry about tonight, right?

87 was still tapping on the keyboard when she finally left the bathroom so she looked for something to do since she really could not try to fall asleep while he was still up and doing. Luckily she found a booklet titled "Discover the Best of Charlotte" which looked like the perfect reading to fill a half-hour and she climbed into the bed covering her legs with the sheet. After a few minutes 87 closed his laptop and went to the bathroom. When he got out of it he was wearing the bulldog T-shirt and the pugs boxer shorts and Jo tried hard to keep the grin off her face: by his rigid movements she could tell that he felt at least as embarrassed as she did

Even though, unlike me, he looks perhaps even hotter in that outfit… damn him!

He shot a brief glance at her, then looked around the room, considering the two armchairs with a brooding expression. It was curious how, until that moment, Jo hadn't realized that there was only a king size bed in their room which meant that, either 87 would revert to sleeping on a chair, or they would have to share the bed. Without thinking about what she was going to say, Jo told him:

"Andrew you don't need to sleep sitting up, there's enough room in this bed for the both of us."

He looked at her, frowning, so Jo added, with a wink and a teasing tone: "I promise not touch you."

Instead of convincing him, however, her last words seemed to indispose him and he reacted quite sharply "I'm not a robot, you know?"

Oh, gosh, you see? I knew I should have kept my mouth shut…

She didn't understand why sometimes he took her banters the wrong way, she certainly didn't want to offend or upset him.

"I KNOW you aren't" she said with decision and then patted her hand once on the mattress inviting him to sit down, careful, this time, to keep a serious, though kind, expression. He complied, quite sulkily, and started reading something on his phone, firmly avoiding her stare. She couldn't stand the idea that she might, even if unintentionally, have hurt his feelings

He has feelings then, doesn't he?

So she prompted: "Tell me something more about you."

"What do you want to know?" He answered, without shifting his eyes.

"Have you ever had a friend?" That was not precisely the question that she would have liked to ask, but she had decided to go easy and was rewarded with a softened sidelong glance from 87. He pondered his answer for a few instants then said:

"There was a guy at the compound, another agent, he belonged to another batch, he was a year older than me, but he was sort of … kind. He taught me things, how to hide a knife in my sleeve… the importance of keeping your gun oiled." He paused and Jo couldn't hide a sad smile but fortunately he didn't see it. He went on:

"I met him a few years after we left the compound, on a mission. We had related targets. … I saved his skin and then we joined our forces. That's the closest thing to a friend I've had."

"Have you ever had a woman?"

There, the hard question was finally out. She had almost choked on the words – emotion twisting her stomach, and sending bolts of excitement further down – but she had uttered it. He shot her another sideways glance and replied:

"I guess you're not talking about sex…"

Jo rolled her eyes

Of course not, I perfectly know that you've had tens – or hundreds? – of women

But found herself fumbling for words before answering, somewhat bashfully:

"No, I, I'm talking about a … relationship."

"Love?" he asked, finally turning to face her. His expression was hooded, unreadable as ever, but it made her skin tingle nonetheless. She managed to hide the gasp that she felt forming in her lungs and, swallowing, nodded.

87 watched her for another second, then tore his eyes away and, staring at the wall, he answered dryly:

"No. I never fell in love in the past." He hesitated for a second but, just before Jo could start to fully process what he had said, he went on:

"They told us that our gene pool should prevent us from being able to … harbour this sort of feelings…" he paused once more and when he spoke again there was a strange undertone, like a kind of resented self-defence or plea:

"And anyway it would mean that I should tell her everything about me … And no woman would want me if I told her the truth, if she knew who I really am, what I really am."

Jo thought that what 87 was saying was just ridiculous, it didn't make any sense, so she snorted and exclaimed:

"Bullshit! I want you and I perfectly know who…" her words trailed to a stop as she realised what she had just said

FUCKING SHIT

She couldn't believe that she had blurted out that way.

Me and my big mouth … What's wrong with me?

Her face flushed red and her eyes dilated in panic. 87 had stopped speaking and was watching her intently, surprise painted on his face.

Ok Jo, no point crying over spilt milk. Don't chicken out and go all the way, you can't do worse than this anyway… And if you don't speak up in this moment, tomorrow it will be over, so it's now or never.

She bit her under lip in what she hoped was a cute, timid expression:

"I said it aloud…" then repeated, breathily "I want you." and looked at him through her eyelashes. What she obtained, however, was just a deeper furrow in 87's brow. Undeterred, she tried giving further encouragement and, with a malicious smile, she added:

"I promised not to touch you so I'm not going to make the first move".

As her words were met with a deafening silence and an even more perplexed look on 87's face Jo started to realize in horror that she had just made a terrible mistake:

"Which means that you can lie down and get some undisturbed sleep" she said slowly and concluded "… and I will stay here…. And bask in my shame". She flopped her head back down onto the pillow and buried her face, now purple and hot like a Carolina reaper, in her hands.

Why am I so stupid?

Her first impulse would be to leave the room and never come back but it was just not acceptable: she was on a mission, a very important mission, and she would not quit just because he wasn't attracted to her. But certainly she couldn't bear the idea to remain in the same bed with him. She could perhaps hide in the bathroom to recover some composure – if there had been a bathtub she might even sleep in there but in the shower… it was not possible – and then she might sneak outside and spend the night in the car. She could perhaps wait until he was asleep and then…

In that moment she felt 87's hands take hers and move them away from her face as his lips touched her mouth.

Thank God!

His kiss was firm, tight, more like a statement of intent than a passionate kiss and then he paused, probably waiting for her reaction. Jo had obstinately kept her eyes shut, in part for the shame she was still feeling, and in part for the fear of seeing something in his eyes that she mightn't like. But she certainly didn't want this to finish, so she pulled his neck towards her and kissed him back, almost urgently, her tongue in his mouth, her hips tilted against his. He reciprocated with unexpected passion, framing her face with his hand and encircling her back with his strong arm, pushing his weight against her. His breath was already laboured and she could neatly feel his arousal grow.

When their bodies were glued, every inch of their skins touching, his hardon pressing hard against her groin through the underwear, he slowed down, kissing her with care, with long deep kisses, savouring her, shifting his lips over her cheeks, her forehead, her neck, but always going back to her mouth, as if he couldn't part from her lips for more than two consecutive seconds. She got goose bumps all over her skin and a moan, "Oh my God", escaped from her mouth. She bit her under lip remembering the remark he'd made

"you use a lot of religious interjections"

and a shy smile flickered on her face. She finally opened her eyes and looked at him. He was smiling too.


A/N Finally the moment we so long expected has arrived. I hope you've liked this scene as much as I do. Please review and let me know what you think, I'd really love it. From next chapter the story will move to M rated so if it disappears from your list you know why.