Disclaimer : ** [Default Chapter] Page **
Rating : R
TITLE: Y451
BY: FLAMEIMMORTAL
CHAPTERS FIVE-SEVEN
* * * CHAPTER FIVE
Morning found them sooner than any of them would have liked. The first traces of the sun had barely risen over the horizon as a small group of people made their way slowly across the small airport toward a lone jet, small and sleek and deadly in its own capacity.
Moving with feeling of lethargy left by too little sleep, Ari stifled a yawn and took in her surroundings. She attempted not to appear apprehensive about what was to come, but the butterflies still remained.
Her eyes drifted idly toward her partner, silently trudging along beside herself. Gibbons accompanied them, as she had been told was usual procedure, and Collins and Hernandez were there as well. Xander's silence unsettled her for some reason, though she wasn't quite sure why. She was a nervous talker, and she could ramble on for hours when the feeling overtook her, but in this particular instance she chose to bite her tongue.
She was dressed casually; a pair of faded blue jeans, just a bit too long for her, and baggy pull-over green sweater with a black t-shirt underneath. Covering her head was a denim baseball cap. Her partner was dressed in similarly casual clothes, though a little more typical of his style. Tennis shoes, black jeans and a white t-shirt with the sleeves cut off.
She silently studied the symbols tattooed over his arms, not having been able to see them at all the day before. It was an intricate pattern, and she wondered if they had some specific meaning. Certainly they would mean something considering they would be there for the rest of his life. Something she'd have to ask him later. . . At the very least a conversation starter.
"I'll contact you once you've landed," Gibbons was saying. Ari glanced up to look at him, having drifted into her own world for a moment there. "Hernandez'll fill you in with the rest of the details en route."
She nodded absently, her mind still threatening to wonder to each and every region of thought save for the one she needed to think about. They were quickly ushered to their seats and she buckled up, shifting uncomfortably in the leather seats.
She watched intently as Hernandez and Collins climbed on board and then the jet was sealed up. Hernandez spoke quietly with the pilot before finding his own seat. Collins sat down next to her, with Xander and Hernandez directly across.
Once everyone was settled, the engines cut on and they were heading for the air.
* * *
Ari stood quietly contemplating the information she had been given. According to Hernandez, she and Xander were to infiltrate Coleman Schaffer's Base as a couple from up north looking to get into some deals on a larger scale. They were given all the necessary ID to prove their residency, and several phone numbers to give Schaffer in case he decided to check up on them. The numbers would be re-directed back to secure lines that the NSA had full control of, with agents waiting to feed all the right information for Schaffer.
Now all they had to do was find a way to get into to contact with Schaffer or at least Carletti. She half turned, looking up at Hernandez as the door way closed and he nodded his head one last time toward the herself and Xander.
With a less than energetic sigh, she glanced at her partner and rolled back, balancing on her heels for a short moment. She carried with her a single bag, a navy blue vinyl duffel inside which lay a few changes of clothes and anything she may need.
"So where do we start?" she questioned, tossing the bag over her shoulder, one hand clasping the strap in a firm grip. It was definitely cold in Virginia, she decided. A native of California, she much preferred warmth and sunny days at the beach to anything even remotely cool.
"First we find our place for the night," Xander replied without missing a beat, shouldering his own bag and glancing about at their surroundings.
They had landed in a small, local airport not far from the city of Richmond. A large sign with peeling blue paint stood over a single brick building at the end of the runway reading CHESTERFIELD COUNTY AIRPORT.
The place wasn't too far from civilization, but far enough out of the way not to be noticed. It was mostly for small aircrafts, and probably not used to seeing anything as sophisticated as the NSA's sleek, compact model jet.
"Gibbons already arranged a place," Xander continued, walking toward the tiny building.
"Where at?" Ari asked, keeping steady pace by his side. She shivered slightly in the cold air, praying that wherever they went, it had a damn good heating system.
"Doesn't matter, we're not going there."
Ari paused, a quizzical look crossing her face. "But why. . .?"
"Just a hunch," Xander replied.
When he offered no further explanation, she pushed ahead. "A hunch?"
"Yeah, something like that," he answered, glancing at her over his shoulder. "What's the matter?"
"I just don't like being left out of the loop, that's all," Ariana returned rather indignantly. "The partner does imply a mutual relationship. I think I deserve a little more of an explanation than 'just a hunch.' I've got just as much staked in this thing as you do, you know."
"Okay, fine," he acknowledged with a shrug. "I figure as long as their worried about inside information getting out, we might as well not take any chances. Is that good enough?"
Ari frowned, but nodded anyway. "Any of those agents. . . You know them?"
"Yeah, a few of them."
"Do you think they would have fed Schaffer information?" she inquired, keeping her voice low as they neared the main building and more people started to buzz around them.
Xander didn't answer for about a minute, and just when Ari figured he was set to ignore her, he said quietly, "If they did and they're still kicking then we're probably dead as soon as Schaffer sees us."
"Oh." Ari said the one word in as much of surprise as shock for the bluntness of the statement. She hadn't really thought of it in those terms, and she voiced that opinion.
"That usually applies to everything in one situation or another," he said. "I'll call a cab, just, uh. . . act like a tourist or something."
"That shouldn't be too hard," Ari replied in mock seriousness, rolling her eyes as he held the door open for her.
The place wasn't much on the inside, a few desks and what looked like some offices toward the back. Some old pictures of small airplanes covering the walls, names, dates, and other memorabilia of the like. Maybe twenty people at the most were hanging the inside, and the great majority of them seemed to be pilots themselves. There was a banner hanging over the front desk advertising air tours of the surrounding areas.
She spent a few minutes looking around before Xander called to her from across the room. Ari took a deep breath, realizing suddenly that there was no turning back now. She was here, about to begin something she had to finish. She started across the floor.
CHAPTER SIX
"I'd like to book a room."
Xander and Ari stood at the front desk of an average, small county Days Inn hotel.
The guy behind the desk looked like a typical country drunk, red in the face and obviously on an alcoholic buzz. The man was a little shorter than average, forty-five years or so in age, and just a tad bit on the overweight side of the scale. He smiled crookedly at the two of them and pulled out a worn, faux-leather bound book. As he opened up the large book, dust flew in all directions. Undeterred, the man retrieved a thin tip sharpie with a chewed up cap and looked up at them expectantly.
He winked at Ari and then nodded to Xander. "Looking for a honeymoon sweet?" he inquired mischievously.
Xander rolled his eyes. "Just give us a room," he returned agitatedly.
The man blinked and nodded, seemingly sobered by the look Xander was currently giving him. "I just need to see an ID and I'll set you up."
Xander reached into his back pocket and removed what appeared to be a well- worn driver's license. A picture of himself rested neatly beside the name 'James Walton' as well as fake address and date of birth.
Tongue in cheek, the man wrote down the information, squinting at the card before handing it back to Xander. "All the rooms got a bed, a two-seater couch, table, and a TV set," the man informed them. "Bathroom with a shower and towels and all that," he added, turning to get a key from a set of hooks behind him. He asked Xander how many nights he thought they'd be down there and Xander just shrugged.
The man didn't seem to care much, handing him the key and indicating the number printed in white on the side of thick plastic keychain. "Right up the stairs and to the left," he said, closing his books and tossing it back beneath the desk.
Ari followed her partner up the stairs and into their room. She tossed her bag next to the television set in the corner and sat down on the single bed in the room.
The room was just like the man downstairs had described it; a single bed and a couch with a television sitting in the corner. The place looked like it hadn't been dusted in ages and the TV looked like an original model. There was a small bathroom on the right hand side of the room, the only other door in the entire 'apartment.'
The bed had an old spring mattress, and she could already feel the hard metal poking through parts of it. "They all only have on bed?"
"Apparently," Xander answered, sitting down tiredly on the short sofa. "Don't worry, it's yours, I'll take the couch."
"I wouldn't have it any other way," she joked. She glanced at her watch. "It's only five, shouldn't we be doing something?"
"According to Gibbons Schaffer'll be hosting some kind of party tomorrow night. That's when we'll see about this drug thing. Hopefully we'll be able to talk him into something."
"And until then?"
"Until then," Xander relied, "We don't have any plans."
"How does Gibbons contact us if we're not wherever he wanted us to stay?" Ari questioned, leaning back on the bed with her feet hanging off the end, her arms cushioning her head.
"He'll figure it out," Xander answered. "Besides," he said, reaching into his jacket and removing a small, silver cellular phone. "He is right fond of these things."
Ari nodded, and the two of them were quiet for some time.
"Were you. . . scared at all? On your first mission, that is?" Ariana inquired tentatively, her eyes half closed as she stared off into space.
He glanced over at her, almost startled by the question. Xander shrugged. "I didn't get much choice."
"You didn't train with the agency," Ari acknowledged. "You did that actions, sports thing?"
"Yeah," he answered, laughter coloring his tone for the first time since Ari had met him. "One hell of an adrenaline rush, I'll tell you that. Not quite like getting shot at and blown up though."
"I saw one of your tapes once. . . You, you stole some guys car and drove the thing of a bridge. That parachute thing was awesome," she said, smiling. "I thought you were crazy!"
"So did a lot of other people," he replied with a wink. "Unfortunately that's what landed me here."
"What do you mean?"
"It was either work for Scarface at the NSA or jail time. Considering my options. . ." he trailed off with a shrug.
"I didn't know that," Ari commented, her brow furrowed.
"The NSA isn't all about fair play, kid."
"Kid?" Ari repeated, eyebrows raised as she propped herself up on her elbows. "I'm hardly a kid, Xander."
"Maybe not, but you're still green as hell," Xander returned.
"I'm trying to fix that," she replied, not sure whether to be offended or spurred on by the comment. "I'm gonna take a shower," she said, stretching tight muscles before standing up and heading for the bathroom.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Xander lay back on the small couch, only have registering the sound of the shower running in the next room, the sound muffled by the now closed door. He yawned, shaking his head in an attempt to clear his head. He'd barely slept an hour the night before, and he could already tell this mission wasn't going to be anything in close relation to the word 'fun.'
He rolled onto one side, closing his eyes and relishing the darkness. This was the last place he wanted to be right now. But Gibbons wasn't much for choices that swung in his favor, either.
Shifting his weight awkwardly on the tiny sofa, he tried to find a comfortable position and gave up after several moments. Nothing new, after all.
Despite the discomfort of the position, within moments exhaustion and stress caught up with him, dragging him downward in an uneasy sleep.
* * *
NINE MONTHS PRIOR
"Relax. Why are you so worried, hmm? You, the calm and collected one," a soft feminine voice joked, a distinct accent coloring her voice.
"It's just a feeling," Xander replied. The woman smiled wryly and wrapped one arm around his waist as the two walked slowly down the crowded street.
"A feeling," she repeated, leaning into his warm embrace. "And tell me, Mr. Cage. What does this feeling tell you?"
"I don't know," he answered, looking down into her knowing gaze.
She raised her eyebrows and laughed. "There are no problems. Not when we are together," she said warmly. "When this is finished. . . we will go somewhere. Anywhere, I don't care. A break from all this. Just us, you and me."
"You know, Yelena," he said, tapping her nose lightly with on finger. "We'll have to find a way to ditch Gibbons."
"I don't care about the government," she returned, an impish glint in her dark eyes. "They'll dare not interrupt me once I've started something," she whispered the last part, so that he had to lean forward to hear the words.
"Well aren't we a naughty little spy tonight."
"You wouldn't have it any other way."
* * *
Ari turned off the shower and shook the loose water from her hair, running her hands through it slowly. She toweled off and looked at herself in the mirror, wrinkling her nose at the dusty thing. She wiped a clear spot in the center with a paper towel, glancing down as her stomach growled.
She grabbed her jeans and the rest of her clothes from the counter where she'd left them and quickly slipped into the fresh clothing. "Well, I guess somebody should go and get some food," she mused to herself as she stretched, feeling refreshed and ready to go.
When she stepped back into the main portion of the room, the soft sound of snoring met her ears. She smiled as she stood in the doorway, watching her partner sleep, only half lying on the short couch. "Guess that decides who goes for the food," she said absently. She walked to the closet next to the bed, opening it in search of some extra linens. Finding a spare blanket, Ari draped it over her sleeping partner before slipping into her shoes.
* * *
"Yelena?" Xander questioned, opening the door to the diminutive apartment. When she didn't answer, he tensed, his earlier feelings of unease suddenly coming back to haunt him.
Relax, you're overreacting, he thought to himself. Please be overreacting.
Somewhere in the back of the apartment, something large moved. He called for Yelena once more, and was once again rewarded with only silence.
Wary of whatever dangers may lurk inside, he gripped the black grips of the silver handgun and set it for standard bullets. Xander edged cautiously inside the room, back to the wall as he stared forward into the darkness.
He reached out and flicked on the lights, making sure to stand far enough in the shadows so as not to be easily seen himself. If anyone was in there, they already knew he was in the apartment, no need to make himself any more of an open target.
Something crashed down behind him, and he glanced backward in reflex, cursing as someone from the other end of the room used his surprise to get off a shot. He rolled forward, the bullet just barely missing its mark. Before he had time to retaliate, something hard collided with the back of his head, sending him reeling toward unconsciousness.
* * *
Ari quickly paid the guy at the counter of the fast food restaurant, if it could be called a restaurant. The teenage country boy behind the register smiled at her and slid a white paper bag across the counter top. Ari wrinkled her nose at the grease already staining the bottom of the bag. Well, food was food, she supposed.
She grabbed the bag with one hand and walked back out the door. The sky was painted a dark gray, storm clouds looming in the distance. "What a beautiful day," she said shortly as a light drizzle of rain started to fall over the landscape.
* * *
Consciousness slowly returned to his aching body, the darkness still creeping at the edge of his vision. The first sensation that met his senses was a throbbing pain emanating from the base of his skull, spiraling outward through the rest of his head.
He rolled over onto one side, one arm instantly holding his ribs as a surge of pain seared through his chest. Xander shook his head, leaning forward on his knees and bracing himself against one hand to get his balance.
"Yelena," he whispered, forcing sound from his throat as he looking ahead into the darkness. The night was black as pitch, and eerily still as he listened for something, anything that might signal life.
Staggering to his feet, Xander stumbled forward. "Yelena!"
"You don't have to worry about her anymore," a voice said from the darkness.
He spun on his heel, regretting the motion as his vision swam. Half falling backward against the wall, Xander squinted forward, trying to locate the source of the sound.
"Where the fuck is she!" Xander shouted at the unknown presence.
"Long gone from here," the voice returned. The voice was low and gravelly, distinctly male and strangely. . . familiar.
"Answer! Where the fuck is she!" Xander stared into the void, unable to sense the other's presence. "Goddamnit, where is she!"
* * *
Ari dug in her pocket for the key to she and Xander's temporary 'apartment,' the fast food back still clutched tightly in one hand. Finally reaching her goal, Ari withdrew the key and unlocked the door, pushing it open with her foot.
She set the back on the bed and glanced over at her partner, a frown creasing her fair features. "Xander?" she questioned softly.
He was lying on his side, back to her, and the blanket had fallen to the floor in a heap. Even from the doorway she could see the warm sheen of sweat glistening over his tanned skin. He jerked suddenly, mumbling something that Ari couldn't make out.
She walked forward slowly, leaning over him. His mouth twitched as he whispered something, a name as far Ari could tell though one she didn't recognize. Yelena?
"Xander," she said, one hand on his shoulder in an attempt to wake him. "Xander, wake up," she said more sternly, kneeling down next to him. One hand brushed against his cheek and without warning he sat bolt upright, breathing heavily and staring straight forward.
"Xander?" Ari questioned, both hands on his shoulders now. "Xander, talk to me," she said slowly, trying to gain his attention. He was shaking like a leaf. "It was just a dream, Xander. Listen to me. It's Ari."
"Son of a bitch," he murmured, his head resting against one fist.
"Are you all right?" Ari asked worriedly, eyes narrowed in concern.
"Yeah," he answered, shaking his head in an attempt to clear it. "How long have I been asleep?" he asked, making a desperate try to keep his voice steady.
Ari glanced over her shoulder at the small digital clock on the table. "About forty-five minutes," she replied. She walked back to the bed and removed a bottle Coke from the greasy back and handed it to him. She sat down on the couch beside him, hands resting on her knees.
"Is that anything you want to talk about?" she inquired quietly, looking up at him with her cool emerald gaze.
"No," he answered without precedence. Too quickly for her to dismiss it, but she put her own questions aside for the moment.
"Why don't you go take a cold shower or something?" Ari suggested. She nodded toward the bag still sitting on the bed. "Dinner's ready when you're done. We don't have much time before we have to head out of here tomorrow."
He didn't answer her, just took a deep breath took her suggestion to heart.
* * *
TO BE CONTINUED. . .
4/25/03
Author's Notes: There's another set of chapters underway :D We're almost to their first interactions with Schaffer and the lot, which will start to really unfold in the next set of updates. As always, read and review and let me know what you think. Thank you to my reviewers, love you guys, and hope you enjoy this set of chapters. There are probably more typos in this one than in my last chapters, but I wrote the great majority of these at about two o'clock in the morning. lol I'm posting them anyway, but I'll probably go through and edit them sometime and fix all the errors. Just let me know what you think!
Don't forget, Read and Review!
Thanks,
-FlameImmortal-
Rating : R
TITLE: Y451
BY: FLAMEIMMORTAL
CHAPTERS FIVE-SEVEN
* * * CHAPTER FIVE
Morning found them sooner than any of them would have liked. The first traces of the sun had barely risen over the horizon as a small group of people made their way slowly across the small airport toward a lone jet, small and sleek and deadly in its own capacity.
Moving with feeling of lethargy left by too little sleep, Ari stifled a yawn and took in her surroundings. She attempted not to appear apprehensive about what was to come, but the butterflies still remained.
Her eyes drifted idly toward her partner, silently trudging along beside herself. Gibbons accompanied them, as she had been told was usual procedure, and Collins and Hernandez were there as well. Xander's silence unsettled her for some reason, though she wasn't quite sure why. She was a nervous talker, and she could ramble on for hours when the feeling overtook her, but in this particular instance she chose to bite her tongue.
She was dressed casually; a pair of faded blue jeans, just a bit too long for her, and baggy pull-over green sweater with a black t-shirt underneath. Covering her head was a denim baseball cap. Her partner was dressed in similarly casual clothes, though a little more typical of his style. Tennis shoes, black jeans and a white t-shirt with the sleeves cut off.
She silently studied the symbols tattooed over his arms, not having been able to see them at all the day before. It was an intricate pattern, and she wondered if they had some specific meaning. Certainly they would mean something considering they would be there for the rest of his life. Something she'd have to ask him later. . . At the very least a conversation starter.
"I'll contact you once you've landed," Gibbons was saying. Ari glanced up to look at him, having drifted into her own world for a moment there. "Hernandez'll fill you in with the rest of the details en route."
She nodded absently, her mind still threatening to wonder to each and every region of thought save for the one she needed to think about. They were quickly ushered to their seats and she buckled up, shifting uncomfortably in the leather seats.
She watched intently as Hernandez and Collins climbed on board and then the jet was sealed up. Hernandez spoke quietly with the pilot before finding his own seat. Collins sat down next to her, with Xander and Hernandez directly across.
Once everyone was settled, the engines cut on and they were heading for the air.
* * *
Ari stood quietly contemplating the information she had been given. According to Hernandez, she and Xander were to infiltrate Coleman Schaffer's Base as a couple from up north looking to get into some deals on a larger scale. They were given all the necessary ID to prove their residency, and several phone numbers to give Schaffer in case he decided to check up on them. The numbers would be re-directed back to secure lines that the NSA had full control of, with agents waiting to feed all the right information for Schaffer.
Now all they had to do was find a way to get into to contact with Schaffer or at least Carletti. She half turned, looking up at Hernandez as the door way closed and he nodded his head one last time toward the herself and Xander.
With a less than energetic sigh, she glanced at her partner and rolled back, balancing on her heels for a short moment. She carried with her a single bag, a navy blue vinyl duffel inside which lay a few changes of clothes and anything she may need.
"So where do we start?" she questioned, tossing the bag over her shoulder, one hand clasping the strap in a firm grip. It was definitely cold in Virginia, she decided. A native of California, she much preferred warmth and sunny days at the beach to anything even remotely cool.
"First we find our place for the night," Xander replied without missing a beat, shouldering his own bag and glancing about at their surroundings.
They had landed in a small, local airport not far from the city of Richmond. A large sign with peeling blue paint stood over a single brick building at the end of the runway reading CHESTERFIELD COUNTY AIRPORT.
The place wasn't too far from civilization, but far enough out of the way not to be noticed. It was mostly for small aircrafts, and probably not used to seeing anything as sophisticated as the NSA's sleek, compact model jet.
"Gibbons already arranged a place," Xander continued, walking toward the tiny building.
"Where at?" Ari asked, keeping steady pace by his side. She shivered slightly in the cold air, praying that wherever they went, it had a damn good heating system.
"Doesn't matter, we're not going there."
Ari paused, a quizzical look crossing her face. "But why. . .?"
"Just a hunch," Xander replied.
When he offered no further explanation, she pushed ahead. "A hunch?"
"Yeah, something like that," he answered, glancing at her over his shoulder. "What's the matter?"
"I just don't like being left out of the loop, that's all," Ariana returned rather indignantly. "The partner does imply a mutual relationship. I think I deserve a little more of an explanation than 'just a hunch.' I've got just as much staked in this thing as you do, you know."
"Okay, fine," he acknowledged with a shrug. "I figure as long as their worried about inside information getting out, we might as well not take any chances. Is that good enough?"
Ari frowned, but nodded anyway. "Any of those agents. . . You know them?"
"Yeah, a few of them."
"Do you think they would have fed Schaffer information?" she inquired, keeping her voice low as they neared the main building and more people started to buzz around them.
Xander didn't answer for about a minute, and just when Ari figured he was set to ignore her, he said quietly, "If they did and they're still kicking then we're probably dead as soon as Schaffer sees us."
"Oh." Ari said the one word in as much of surprise as shock for the bluntness of the statement. She hadn't really thought of it in those terms, and she voiced that opinion.
"That usually applies to everything in one situation or another," he said. "I'll call a cab, just, uh. . . act like a tourist or something."
"That shouldn't be too hard," Ari replied in mock seriousness, rolling her eyes as he held the door open for her.
The place wasn't much on the inside, a few desks and what looked like some offices toward the back. Some old pictures of small airplanes covering the walls, names, dates, and other memorabilia of the like. Maybe twenty people at the most were hanging the inside, and the great majority of them seemed to be pilots themselves. There was a banner hanging over the front desk advertising air tours of the surrounding areas.
She spent a few minutes looking around before Xander called to her from across the room. Ari took a deep breath, realizing suddenly that there was no turning back now. She was here, about to begin something she had to finish. She started across the floor.
CHAPTER SIX
"I'd like to book a room."
Xander and Ari stood at the front desk of an average, small county Days Inn hotel.
The guy behind the desk looked like a typical country drunk, red in the face and obviously on an alcoholic buzz. The man was a little shorter than average, forty-five years or so in age, and just a tad bit on the overweight side of the scale. He smiled crookedly at the two of them and pulled out a worn, faux-leather bound book. As he opened up the large book, dust flew in all directions. Undeterred, the man retrieved a thin tip sharpie with a chewed up cap and looked up at them expectantly.
He winked at Ari and then nodded to Xander. "Looking for a honeymoon sweet?" he inquired mischievously.
Xander rolled his eyes. "Just give us a room," he returned agitatedly.
The man blinked and nodded, seemingly sobered by the look Xander was currently giving him. "I just need to see an ID and I'll set you up."
Xander reached into his back pocket and removed what appeared to be a well- worn driver's license. A picture of himself rested neatly beside the name 'James Walton' as well as fake address and date of birth.
Tongue in cheek, the man wrote down the information, squinting at the card before handing it back to Xander. "All the rooms got a bed, a two-seater couch, table, and a TV set," the man informed them. "Bathroom with a shower and towels and all that," he added, turning to get a key from a set of hooks behind him. He asked Xander how many nights he thought they'd be down there and Xander just shrugged.
The man didn't seem to care much, handing him the key and indicating the number printed in white on the side of thick plastic keychain. "Right up the stairs and to the left," he said, closing his books and tossing it back beneath the desk.
Ari followed her partner up the stairs and into their room. She tossed her bag next to the television set in the corner and sat down on the single bed in the room.
The room was just like the man downstairs had described it; a single bed and a couch with a television sitting in the corner. The place looked like it hadn't been dusted in ages and the TV looked like an original model. There was a small bathroom on the right hand side of the room, the only other door in the entire 'apartment.'
The bed had an old spring mattress, and she could already feel the hard metal poking through parts of it. "They all only have on bed?"
"Apparently," Xander answered, sitting down tiredly on the short sofa. "Don't worry, it's yours, I'll take the couch."
"I wouldn't have it any other way," she joked. She glanced at her watch. "It's only five, shouldn't we be doing something?"
"According to Gibbons Schaffer'll be hosting some kind of party tomorrow night. That's when we'll see about this drug thing. Hopefully we'll be able to talk him into something."
"And until then?"
"Until then," Xander relied, "We don't have any plans."
"How does Gibbons contact us if we're not wherever he wanted us to stay?" Ari questioned, leaning back on the bed with her feet hanging off the end, her arms cushioning her head.
"He'll figure it out," Xander answered. "Besides," he said, reaching into his jacket and removing a small, silver cellular phone. "He is right fond of these things."
Ari nodded, and the two of them were quiet for some time.
"Were you. . . scared at all? On your first mission, that is?" Ariana inquired tentatively, her eyes half closed as she stared off into space.
He glanced over at her, almost startled by the question. Xander shrugged. "I didn't get much choice."
"You didn't train with the agency," Ari acknowledged. "You did that actions, sports thing?"
"Yeah," he answered, laughter coloring his tone for the first time since Ari had met him. "One hell of an adrenaline rush, I'll tell you that. Not quite like getting shot at and blown up though."
"I saw one of your tapes once. . . You, you stole some guys car and drove the thing of a bridge. That parachute thing was awesome," she said, smiling. "I thought you were crazy!"
"So did a lot of other people," he replied with a wink. "Unfortunately that's what landed me here."
"What do you mean?"
"It was either work for Scarface at the NSA or jail time. Considering my options. . ." he trailed off with a shrug.
"I didn't know that," Ari commented, her brow furrowed.
"The NSA isn't all about fair play, kid."
"Kid?" Ari repeated, eyebrows raised as she propped herself up on her elbows. "I'm hardly a kid, Xander."
"Maybe not, but you're still green as hell," Xander returned.
"I'm trying to fix that," she replied, not sure whether to be offended or spurred on by the comment. "I'm gonna take a shower," she said, stretching tight muscles before standing up and heading for the bathroom.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Xander lay back on the small couch, only have registering the sound of the shower running in the next room, the sound muffled by the now closed door. He yawned, shaking his head in an attempt to clear his head. He'd barely slept an hour the night before, and he could already tell this mission wasn't going to be anything in close relation to the word 'fun.'
He rolled onto one side, closing his eyes and relishing the darkness. This was the last place he wanted to be right now. But Gibbons wasn't much for choices that swung in his favor, either.
Shifting his weight awkwardly on the tiny sofa, he tried to find a comfortable position and gave up after several moments. Nothing new, after all.
Despite the discomfort of the position, within moments exhaustion and stress caught up with him, dragging him downward in an uneasy sleep.
* * *
NINE MONTHS PRIOR
"Relax. Why are you so worried, hmm? You, the calm and collected one," a soft feminine voice joked, a distinct accent coloring her voice.
"It's just a feeling," Xander replied. The woman smiled wryly and wrapped one arm around his waist as the two walked slowly down the crowded street.
"A feeling," she repeated, leaning into his warm embrace. "And tell me, Mr. Cage. What does this feeling tell you?"
"I don't know," he answered, looking down into her knowing gaze.
She raised her eyebrows and laughed. "There are no problems. Not when we are together," she said warmly. "When this is finished. . . we will go somewhere. Anywhere, I don't care. A break from all this. Just us, you and me."
"You know, Yelena," he said, tapping her nose lightly with on finger. "We'll have to find a way to ditch Gibbons."
"I don't care about the government," she returned, an impish glint in her dark eyes. "They'll dare not interrupt me once I've started something," she whispered the last part, so that he had to lean forward to hear the words.
"Well aren't we a naughty little spy tonight."
"You wouldn't have it any other way."
* * *
Ari turned off the shower and shook the loose water from her hair, running her hands through it slowly. She toweled off and looked at herself in the mirror, wrinkling her nose at the dusty thing. She wiped a clear spot in the center with a paper towel, glancing down as her stomach growled.
She grabbed her jeans and the rest of her clothes from the counter where she'd left them and quickly slipped into the fresh clothing. "Well, I guess somebody should go and get some food," she mused to herself as she stretched, feeling refreshed and ready to go.
When she stepped back into the main portion of the room, the soft sound of snoring met her ears. She smiled as she stood in the doorway, watching her partner sleep, only half lying on the short couch. "Guess that decides who goes for the food," she said absently. She walked to the closet next to the bed, opening it in search of some extra linens. Finding a spare blanket, Ari draped it over her sleeping partner before slipping into her shoes.
* * *
"Yelena?" Xander questioned, opening the door to the diminutive apartment. When she didn't answer, he tensed, his earlier feelings of unease suddenly coming back to haunt him.
Relax, you're overreacting, he thought to himself. Please be overreacting.
Somewhere in the back of the apartment, something large moved. He called for Yelena once more, and was once again rewarded with only silence.
Wary of whatever dangers may lurk inside, he gripped the black grips of the silver handgun and set it for standard bullets. Xander edged cautiously inside the room, back to the wall as he stared forward into the darkness.
He reached out and flicked on the lights, making sure to stand far enough in the shadows so as not to be easily seen himself. If anyone was in there, they already knew he was in the apartment, no need to make himself any more of an open target.
Something crashed down behind him, and he glanced backward in reflex, cursing as someone from the other end of the room used his surprise to get off a shot. He rolled forward, the bullet just barely missing its mark. Before he had time to retaliate, something hard collided with the back of his head, sending him reeling toward unconsciousness.
* * *
Ari quickly paid the guy at the counter of the fast food restaurant, if it could be called a restaurant. The teenage country boy behind the register smiled at her and slid a white paper bag across the counter top. Ari wrinkled her nose at the grease already staining the bottom of the bag. Well, food was food, she supposed.
She grabbed the bag with one hand and walked back out the door. The sky was painted a dark gray, storm clouds looming in the distance. "What a beautiful day," she said shortly as a light drizzle of rain started to fall over the landscape.
* * *
Consciousness slowly returned to his aching body, the darkness still creeping at the edge of his vision. The first sensation that met his senses was a throbbing pain emanating from the base of his skull, spiraling outward through the rest of his head.
He rolled over onto one side, one arm instantly holding his ribs as a surge of pain seared through his chest. Xander shook his head, leaning forward on his knees and bracing himself against one hand to get his balance.
"Yelena," he whispered, forcing sound from his throat as he looking ahead into the darkness. The night was black as pitch, and eerily still as he listened for something, anything that might signal life.
Staggering to his feet, Xander stumbled forward. "Yelena!"
"You don't have to worry about her anymore," a voice said from the darkness.
He spun on his heel, regretting the motion as his vision swam. Half falling backward against the wall, Xander squinted forward, trying to locate the source of the sound.
"Where the fuck is she!" Xander shouted at the unknown presence.
"Long gone from here," the voice returned. The voice was low and gravelly, distinctly male and strangely. . . familiar.
"Answer! Where the fuck is she!" Xander stared into the void, unable to sense the other's presence. "Goddamnit, where is she!"
* * *
Ari dug in her pocket for the key to she and Xander's temporary 'apartment,' the fast food back still clutched tightly in one hand. Finally reaching her goal, Ari withdrew the key and unlocked the door, pushing it open with her foot.
She set the back on the bed and glanced over at her partner, a frown creasing her fair features. "Xander?" she questioned softly.
He was lying on his side, back to her, and the blanket had fallen to the floor in a heap. Even from the doorway she could see the warm sheen of sweat glistening over his tanned skin. He jerked suddenly, mumbling something that Ari couldn't make out.
She walked forward slowly, leaning over him. His mouth twitched as he whispered something, a name as far Ari could tell though one she didn't recognize. Yelena?
"Xander," she said, one hand on his shoulder in an attempt to wake him. "Xander, wake up," she said more sternly, kneeling down next to him. One hand brushed against his cheek and without warning he sat bolt upright, breathing heavily and staring straight forward.
"Xander?" Ari questioned, both hands on his shoulders now. "Xander, talk to me," she said slowly, trying to gain his attention. He was shaking like a leaf. "It was just a dream, Xander. Listen to me. It's Ari."
"Son of a bitch," he murmured, his head resting against one fist.
"Are you all right?" Ari asked worriedly, eyes narrowed in concern.
"Yeah," he answered, shaking his head in an attempt to clear it. "How long have I been asleep?" he asked, making a desperate try to keep his voice steady.
Ari glanced over her shoulder at the small digital clock on the table. "About forty-five minutes," she replied. She walked back to the bed and removed a bottle Coke from the greasy back and handed it to him. She sat down on the couch beside him, hands resting on her knees.
"Is that anything you want to talk about?" she inquired quietly, looking up at him with her cool emerald gaze.
"No," he answered without precedence. Too quickly for her to dismiss it, but she put her own questions aside for the moment.
"Why don't you go take a cold shower or something?" Ari suggested. She nodded toward the bag still sitting on the bed. "Dinner's ready when you're done. We don't have much time before we have to head out of here tomorrow."
He didn't answer her, just took a deep breath took her suggestion to heart.
* * *
TO BE CONTINUED. . .
4/25/03
Author's Notes: There's another set of chapters underway :D We're almost to their first interactions with Schaffer and the lot, which will start to really unfold in the next set of updates. As always, read and review and let me know what you think. Thank you to my reviewers, love you guys, and hope you enjoy this set of chapters. There are probably more typos in this one than in my last chapters, but I wrote the great majority of these at about two o'clock in the morning. lol I'm posting them anyway, but I'll probably go through and edit them sometime and fix all the errors. Just let me know what you think!
Don't forget, Read and Review!
Thanks,
-FlameImmortal-