A friend recently told me that sometimes you just need to put one foot in front of the other for things to get better... and I choose to believe her :)

So here's a long chapter for you all (I apologize in advance for the ending) and maybe it's among my favs of the ones I've yet written. I hope you feel that way too.

Do review and let me know what you think! And thank you for still following the story!

Happy weekend! xxx


The day of the shipping finally arrived and Henry and Elizabeth have been preparing themselves for the perfect stakeout. They wanted to establish all parties involved, to track the package and pinpoint the exact location of the recipient and to figure out how to stop the terrorist group for being funded once and for all.

They had rented a car and placed a fake license plate to not raise any suspicions nor let themselves be tracked. They had already driven to the location a couple of times in advance to get a perspective of the area and choose the best spot for them to see everything without being seen. Hill and his partners were smart and had chosen a secluded area in the city which was difficult to access. After getting there, they agreed on the spot and proceeded to place some cameras around - far away to not raise any suspicions, but close enough so they could get good imagery - and an audio device to be able to record what was being said.

Henry thought a bit further and brought some water, coffee, snacks and homemade sandwiches in case they got hungry. And Elizabeth brought a pair of binoculars and decided to dress for the occasion with a short brown wig, a pair of reading glasses and a total black look.

The sky had already gone dark when they drove to the location, but they still had around twenty minutes to spare. It was late enough for them to not raise any flags in case they sweep the area in advance, and soon enough that they could get ready and be prepared. They got settled in the car and their stakeout began.

They quietly sat in the car just making small talk waiting for someone to arrive. Elizabeth started to look through her binoculars and saw someone had arrived.

"There's someone here. Let's see what happens." She said excitedly, keeping the binoculars on the subject never leaving her eyesight.

"Where is he going?" he asked, already preparing himself for what could happen.

"I think he saw us. He's coming over here. Shit. We need a back-up plan…" she mused, while starting to pick up all the items that would seem suspicious and throwing them to the car's glove box. "I have an idea, but you'll need to trust me." This is a great opportunity to take him out of my head.

"Of course," he agreed wholeheartedly. What is she up to?

Elizabeth looked at him and smiled. She took off her t-shirt and straddled him on the driver's seat. She leaned forward and whispered against his lips. "We'll just pretend we're a horny couple making out." He feels so good pressed against me for real.

Henry's mind stopped working, his heart pounding as his blood rushed through his veins. He was almost breathless at having Elizabeth on top of him, half naked, with her breasts encased in a black lacy bra, looking soft and perfectly shaped, bouncing against the delicate material and pressing against his chest. He sucked in a breath as his fingertips tentatively traced down her exposed skin, feeling goosebumps raise from where he touched her.

Their eyes locked; Elizabeth could see the swirling emotions in his eyes. Shivering, she forced herself to keep looking at him before saying: "Okay, I'll count to three. And for the record, this should not count as cheating."

What should not count as ch- Henry could not finish the thought as she cupped his face and brought their lips together. Henry immediately felt a connection between them, something he had never felt before. Elizabeth felt it too, her stomach flipped and her heart raced as only one thought popped in her head. What the hell am I feeling? This is even better than my imagination the other night. But wait… I've kissed plenty of guys before, this should be just another kiss, nothing special and yet… I don't think I've felt this before with anyone…

As the kiss deepened and their bodies were pressed together, Elizabeth's arms wrapped around his neck as he gripped her waist to pull her closer to him, both clearly enjoying the intimate moment. In an instant it was broken when they heard a hard knock on the car's window, making them reluctantly pull apart and think: It was good while it lasted. This is probably the only change I'll get to kiss him, ever again.

Henry rolled the window down as he still held Elizabeth against him, not ready for the moment to be over. On the other side, there was a tall muscular man, short black hair, dark eyes and a cruel face that was covered in scars, one standing out amongst the others, going down on the left side of his face.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, propping his arm on the door, his eyes traveling inside the car, scanning.

"Can't you see you just interrupted us? Are you the police?" Elizabeth answered boldly, playing her part perfectly.

"No. But you need to get out of here, now." he demanded.

"We'll just get dressed and go." Henry said, trying to diffuse the situation. If she keeps going, she's going to get us killed.

"But what if we don't?" Elizabeth pressed.

"Let's say, next time I won't be asking nicely." the man answered, stepping up and moving his jacket aside just enough to show them the gun he was carrying around.

Elizabeth looked at it intently before playing the part and relenting. "Okay. We'll just go look for another spot."

As the man turned away and made his way back, Elizabeth slid back into the passenger seat and put the t-shirt back on. She looked at him sheepishly, her face flushing slightly at what had just happened between them. "I'm sorry for that." She apologized. "It was the only excuse I could think of that quickly…" And the only change I was going to get to see if you kissed as well as I had imagined.

Henry knew that was right. In fact, it was a great excuse: a couple alone in a car, half naked and kissing passionately, made perfect sense if anyone found them in a secluded place like that. "It's okay. I think he bought it. Next time, just try to give me a little heads-up…" he smiled. Is it wrong to hope there's a next time?

"I promise you, I will." she said, a genuine smile lighting her lips. "But I think we should go before he comes back…" Is it wrong that I hope there's a next time? I need to remember he's married and I can't think about him this way. I can't screw things up, can I? No, I can't do that to him or me.

"Right. Any ideas on where we should go?" he asked, his mind still on overdrive after kissing her. For real this time.

Elizabeth thought about it for a moment. "I think when we came here last time we drove by a road uphill. Let's try to park the car and look for a spot where we're able to see them."

"I think this could actually work." he said, turning on the engine of the car and slowly pulling away from their selected spot to go look for a plan B.

After a few minutes they had settled into the other location without a hitch. The car was cautiously parked on the side of the road, out of sight and they found a perfect spot between trees and bushes to observe what was going on from afar.

After waiting for an hour and seeing no further movement aside from the man that had spotted them earlier and a couple more guys, they decided to eat something. Henry retrieved the items he had brought from home and showed them to Elizabeth. "This one is an Italian pressed sandwich and this one is a pressed grilled chicken salad sandwich. Which one do you prefer?"

"Mmmm…" Elizabeth pondered the options before deciding. "I think I'll go with the Italian one. Thank you Henry."

Elizabeth reached down and grabbed the sandwich eagerly. Biting into it, her eyes widened at how good a homemade sandwich tasted; jam, Italian meats, cheese and perfectly mixed vegetables combined flavors flooding her mouth. After she swallowed, she looked at Henry and said: "Oh my God, this is delicious." Is there something he can't do? Great kisser and great cook. Why has to be so perfect and so married?

Henry bit his own sandwich and agreed with her. "It's just a sandwich… But I'm glad you like it." Why is she so happy to eat a sandwich? It makes me so happy that she appreciates it, though.

Elizabeth looked at him sheepishly. "Sorry, I know it's just a sandwich." she said, still chewing a bite. "But I barely ever eat anything homemade so whenever I do, I truly enjoy it."

"Wait. But why? What do you usually eat?" he asked, surprised at her revelation.

"Well… When I lost my parents I was sent to boarding school. Then I went to college and then I started working at the CIA. I barely had the need to cook until a few years back. But I'm terrible at it and every time I make an attempt, something burns. So I stopped trying. I mostly survive with takeout and cheap microwave meals." she explained, shrugging. This sandwich is a nice change.

Henry saw her putting the last bite of her sandwich in her mouth and was fascinated at how fast she could eat but still savoring every bit of it. "Are you serious? But what about simple recipes such as scrambled eggs or pasta?" he asked, concerned.

"Oh, I love pasta. But nope." she said, popping the p to emphasize her answer. "I really do burn eve-ry-thing."

Henry was about to reply when he saw Elizabeth pointing in the direction they had been observing for a while before saying quietly: "I think they're here."

He turned his head and saw a couple of black cars pulling over, each driver getting out quickly. Elizabeth quickly grabbed her binoculars to be able to monitor everything more closely. The exchange was really quick: the four men gathered in front of the cars, talked, took a briefcase out of one of the trunks and put it on the other. When they were done, they paired up, got in the cars and drove off.

As the sound of speedy tires hitting gravel met their ears, Elizabeth was already texting someone. Once she was done, she looked at Henry and smiled. "I just let Isabelle know the plates so she can help us monitor where they're going. I told her to pay extra attention to the one with the briefcase."

"Perfect. I think our work here is done. Should we head back to the office and review what we have?" he asked her, hoping they could make some progress and also spend more time together.

"Sure. Let's get to the car." she said, starting to lead the way.

When they were walking, Henry's phone went off suddenly and he jumped, startled as the music resonated into the almost silent space. He pulled the phone out of his pocket and, after getting a glimpse of Rochana's name on the screen, silenced it. I'm not in the mood to argue with her right now. I'm having such a great evening.

Elizabeth looked at him quizzically. "If it's your wife you should take it. Maybe it's something important."

"I'll give her a call later. Let's go." he said, not wanting to talk about Rochana. He started walking, getting passed Elizabeth who was closely following him behind.

As they reached the side of the road, one of the black cars they had been spying on was driving slowly until it pulled up in front of them. They didn't have time to react as it all happened so quickly. The car window from the passenger seat rolled down and a gun was stuck out pointing directly at them.

"Henry, bend down! Elizabeth screamed, right before the gun was shot.

Henry turned around, only to see her bracing herself over him as she pushed him to the ground forcefully to shield him from being shot. The next thing he heard was the loud sounds of shots being fired at them as Elizabeth's body covered his, both hitting the ground hard.

The car raced off, leaving them for dead on the side of the road. It took Henry a second to realize what had just happened. "Elizabeth, are you okay?" he asked, concerned.