Yesterday I shared on twitter that I have started this new fic and after all the love and supposrt I've decided to give it a go. Thank you L for all the encouragement and feedback!
This one is different from everything I've written before, so I'm warning you. I feel this one is darker and a bit sex-centered. If you're not into these kind of fics, do not read it.
That being said, I'm still working on it (only a few chapters are written so don't expect regular updates) and I would love if you could let me know what would you like to see happening or how do you feel this story should go. I have already some ideas but this will help me to no end!
I hope you like it!
xxx
Elizabeth had been working in the CIA for almost two years now. Conrad had recruited her right out of college after one year internship and it had been life changing. It had given her purpose and the motivation to get out of bed every morning, her life never empty and dull again.
Now she found herself walking towards his office nervously, her mind reeling as she didn't remember the last time she had been summoned without a clear purpose. It was supposed to be a good thing, though. She had been working tirelessly to get a promotion and she thought the time had finally arrived. Station chief in Baghdad. She was ready to finally leave the country and start a new life, far enough that she could start over and leave her past behind.
Standing in front of the closed door, she took a deep breath and knocked. After being given permission to enter, Elizabeth walked in, closed the door and took a seat in front of his desk. Her hands folded on her lap, her blue stare locking into the man in front of her, who greeted her softly: "Good morning, Bess."
"Director Dalton. What can I do to help, sir?" She asked, eager to know what he was going to say.
Dalton smiled. "I asked you to come because we have an important mission and we would like you to be a part of it."
"A mission? But I thought…" Elizabeth started, a frown appearing on her forehead.
He lifted a hand, signaling for silence and cutting her off mid sentence. "Hear me out, first. I know you were hoping to go to Baghdad. And I promise you that I will do my best to make it happen when this mission is over."
She closed her eyes and huffed, slowly nodding her head. Maybe it was not what she was expecting but she was never one to back down from a challenge. "Okay. What's it about?"
Dalton smiled at her question. She was putting up a fight but she still was willing to hear him out. "We have reason to believe that Scott Hill, the tech millionaire, might be funding one of the most dangerous terrorist groups in the Middle East."
"Okay. And what do you need me to do?" she asked, looking intently at him.
"We will create a special taskforce and you will lead it along with another operative."
She felt good that they thought about her for this mission, but couldn't help but ask for a reason. "But why me, sir?"
It still amazed Dalton how after all this time, she still was oblivious at how good she was at her job. "I know you were leaning more towards being an analyst, but you'll be able to use those skills too for this. Plus you're young, brilliant and driven, which makes you the perfect agent to do this." he said, leaving out that she was cold, hard to get through and impossible to get attached to anyone.
"How long do you think it will last?" She asked, wanting to know how long she would have to stay put before having the chance to leave again.
"We think a year, maybe less. The information we need seems difficult to obtain and we have to coordinate everything with the Marines." he added. "That's where the other operative comes from. He has been stationed in Iraq for a while and has some connections on the ground that could be useful. He will also bring some intel for you to start working right away... I'll introduce you two tomorrow."
Elizabeth huffed at that. "I'd rather work alone… But I guess that's not up to me…"
"Your guess is right. We need them and we have agreed that it will be a joint operation. So I need you to behave." Dalton said, with a smile on his lips as she reluctantly agreed to be part of the mission. He hoped she would change her mind about leaving, although he knew she would be perfect for the Baghdad position.
"Yes, sir."
He couldn't keep the boss façade, his paternal instincts for her taking over at this point. "Bess, I say this more as a friend than your boss. You need to open up a bit, start being a team player and manage to trust your team. You can't do it all by yourself."
Elizabeth stared at him. "I've been doing just that for years… But I know you need this mission to succeed, so I'll do my best. I'll do anything for the Baghdad promotion." she said, crossing her arms over her chest.
He smiled. "Good."
"Then, I assume what you need from us is to get enough information from Mr. Hill to get him and stop him from funding the terrorist group, right?" She asked, her mind already shifting into work mode.
Dalton was amused with herinstant focus, after just asking why they thought of her for this. "That's exactly it. Tomorrow I'll share all the information we've obtained so far so you can start working right away."
"Okay, Sir. I'll see you tomorrow then." she said, sitting up and leaving her boss's office.
And with that, she retrieved for the day, cursing herself for thinking that she would get the promotion she wanted so easily. Of course Conrad would have an ace up his sleeve to make her stay. She should have seen it coming. But she would play nice and try to wrap up the mission in no time. Then she would leave and would be able to breathe again.
In the meantime…
Henry McCord stepped down the plane as he breathed the fresh air. The warm feeling of being finally home ran up his body, as he started looking for her. His wife.
Last time they spoke she assured him she would be there to welcome him home, but deep down he should have known better. As he grabbed his bags and made his way out of the tarmac he couldn't help but stare at the families there, reuniting with each other after a long time apart between hugs and kisses. He felt a pang of jealousy and sadness at that because he longed for it and wanted nothing more than to be greeted by his wife and feel her unconditional love.
That made him think about how it all came to be. They got married right before his graduation because she got pregnant. They got careless after attending a party and drinking more than they should have. He had always wanted to be a father but it definitely wasn't the best time for them to start a family as they had only been dating for a few months and he was going to be deployed after his basic training. He was a responsible and caring man so evading his responsibilities was out of the question leaving him only one option: asking her to marry him. He loved her and she loved him, or so they thought.
Their relationship was steady and they enjoyed the time they had together but all changed when he went to training. Their communication became less and less frequent until one day she made the call he never had wanted to receive: she had a miscarriage and she lost their baby. He was devastated: for the family he could have had, for not being able to be there to support his wife at this horrible time and for not having anyone he trusted to speak with. So he just kept all these feelings for himself and tried to support her as best as he could from a distance.
He knew the easiest thing would have been to ask for a divorce but he wasn't a quitter, and he truly believed that marriage was for life. He wanted to fight for it and his future family so after two years being deployed overseas, when the opportunity to join this mission came his way, he did everything he could to be their guy. It was perfect: he could come home, work on his marriage, reconnect and maybe even try to start a family again while he worked on an important mission.
Shaking his head, trying to clear all these thoughts from his mind, he sighed and hailed a cab. He gave the driver their home address and sat back in the seat, enjoying the quiet ride. "Honey, I'm home," he called when he entered the house.
"Hey, you're here already. I was supposed to come get you but I got caught up…" she said, giving him a peck on the cheek.
"Don't worry, I took a cab. I'm just happy to be home." he said, placing his hands around her waist and looking at her lovingly.
She stared at him and took a step back, his hands falling into his sides. "Did you have a nice flight back?" She asked.
"I did. And I had plenty of time to think… As I'll be starting work first thing tomorrow, what do you say if we spend the day together?" He asked, hopeful of spending some quality time with his wife after such a long time.
she nodded before dismissing him, her voice flat. "Oh, I would love that honey. But I have plans already. I thought you could use the time alone to unpack and relax before starting your new job tomorrow. I'll be back by dinner."
Disappointment cursed through him as he tried to mask it as well as he could. He was not going to give up so easily. "Okay… I'll try to prepare something special then. It's been a while since we've seen each other and I would love for us to be together."
"That sounds perfect. See you later. Love you, bye." She said, before pecking his cheek again and leaving him alone once again with all the day to himself.
He would unpack putting away his things in the one drawer she had left for him in the closet; clean a bit the apartment; sort out the files and the information he would show to the team to start working and would prepare the most amazing dinner for him and his wife. Only, she would never get to enjoy it as she would never make it on time, arriving home when he was already passed out and deeply asleep.
…
