chapter two: la cameleon
Kilmer was unusually grumpy when he arrived at the Vault the next morning. He'd stopped by GW Memorial on the way, hoping to see Frankie, but Nurse Ratchet had been waiting at the nurse's station. "I'm sorry," she'd said with what he was sure was a malicious smile. "Frankie's gone for more chest x-rays. Maybe you can come back tonight."
He had no intention of waiting until the evening visiting hours. He'd return to the hospital in the afternoon and sneak in to see Frankie. It was something he was getting good at.
Holly brought him a cup of coffee and told him to cheer up. It's the festive season, she signed. Then she gestured around the Vault to emphasize her point. Someone had obviously decided to bring a little Christmas cheer to Homeland Security and had hung tinsel around the room. There was also a miniature Christmas tree affixed to the top of Holly's computer monitor.
"Someone had fun in here," Kilmer said.
Oh, don't be such a Grinch. If you'd come in earlier you'd have seen Mo corner Lark under the mistletoe.
"What? Really?"
Holly smiled and gave an innocent shrug. Maybe. Maybe not. But at least I made you smile.
He chuckled. "Yes, you did. Thank you for the coffee."
Atkins entered then and everyone sat around the conference table, waiting to be briefed.
"Good morning," Atkins said. "Last night the CIA received Intel that Mircea Alexandru is looking for someone to build him a bomb."
"The Mircea Alexandru?" Mo asked. Alexandru was the son of the former Romanian Prime Minister. Rumor had it that he'd had a hand in his father's assassination, though that had never been proved.
Atkins nodded. "Now, we're not sure what the target is and that's where you come in. Angel, you'll be going undercover as Nathalie Argeneau. You and Kilmer leave for Morocco at 1300."
"What if the real Nathalie Argeneau shows up?" Angel asked. The real Nathalie was known to the CIA as La Cameleon as a result of her ability to reinvent herself at the drop of a hat. They'd been after her for eight years, without much success. She had an uncanny knack of always staying one step ahead. In April, seventy people had died when her bomb sank a cruise ship off the coast of Costa Rica.
"Take care of it." Atkins smiled. "Of course, we'd prefer it if you brought her in alive."
Kilmer nodded, his mind only half on the assignment. Morocco. Thousands of miles from Frankie. His thoughts were mirrored on his face and Angel gently nudged him with her elbow.
"Suck it up, Kilmer. It's only for a couple of days."
He'd grown used to Angel's tendency to poke into his personal life over the last few days, but for some reason, her comment irritated him. He turned to Jelani. "I'm going to need all the intel you can get me on Nathalie Argeneau."
"John, can I see you for a minute?" Atkins tipped his head to the door, indicating that he'd like to speak in private.
John followed Atkins outside, wondering what was going on.
"Is everything alright, John?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure? Nothing going on that you need to talk about?"
Kilmer frowned. "No."
"Okay." Atkins was silent for a moment, then met Kilmer's gaze. "You seem distracted lately."
Kilmer sighed. There was no point trying to deny it.
"I know you care about Frankie," Atkins continued, "and I count on that when I send you on assignments together. But you need to focus. You have a job to do—"
"I've been doing my job."
"Angel's not Frankie. I don't expect you to be thrilled at this assignment. But for the next few days you are going to have to put aside everything you feel for Frankie and get the damn job done."
"Sir, I—"
"Do you understand?"
Kilmer's jaw tightened. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell Atkins just what he could do with this job, but he held back. He gave a terse nod. "Yes, sir."
"Good. I'll see you at Andrews at 1300."
Kilmer waited for Atkins to leave before he returned to the Vault. Though he knew the colonel had been well within his rights to say what he had, the words still stung. He was good at what he did and he had always been able to push aside his emotions to get the job done. That was one of the reasons his marriage had failed. He had turned to his job to bury his pain, not realizing at the time that Frankie was hurting too, and that she needed him.
It was clearly time to reprioritize, but that would have to wait until he got back from Morocco.
"How are you feeling today, Frankie?" Nurse Hatcher helped her sit up then flipped through her chart.
"Okay. I wouldn't mind going home sometime soon." She chuckled. "I'm not sure I even remember what home looks like."
Nurse Hatcher smiled. "I know how you feel. I'm sure Doctor Moore will let you go as soon as he thinks you're well enough. Looks like the pneumonia's starting to clear though. That's a good sign."
"Yeah."
"And how are you doing otherwise? Still struggling to sleep?"
Frankie shrugged. "Some nights. I'll get over it."
"You know, no one expects you to recover overnight." Nurse Hatcher replaced the chart and her expression turned playful. "Your husband was here this morning."
"Ex-husband."
"Whatever you say." She lowered her voice conspiratorially. "I don't think he likes me."
Frankie smiled. "He's used to getting his own way."
The door opened and Kilmer entered, followed by a redhead Frankie didn't recognize.
"Speak of the devil," Nurse Hatcher said. "Nice to see you again, Agent Kilmer."
She nodded to the woman on her way out. Frankie shifted to get more comfortable, unwilling to meet Kilmer's gaze. She studied the woman instead.
"Frankie, this is Angel."
Angel smiled. "Hi."
"Hello."
Tension hummed in the air between the women. Frankie reached for a glass of water, her eyes narrowing as she picked up on Angel's body language. She noticed how close Angel stood to Kilmer, how her gaze strayed to him every so often, how uncomfortable Angel seemed to be.
Legally, Frankie had no claim on Kilmer and after last night, she wouldn't have been surprised if he had decided to move on. Frankie set the glass of water back on the table and wished they would both just go away.
"I guess I should have come to visit sooner," Angel said. "I just thought it would be strange for you to be visited by someone you don't even know. I see you got my flowers though."
"Yes. Thanks." Frankie forced a smile. "Well, uh, welcome to the team, I guess."
"Thanks. Kilmer, I'll be outside. It was good to finally meet you, Frankie." Angel slipped out, closing the door behind her.
Frankie looked down at the blanket. Blue, like Kilmer's eyes. Why did this hurt so much? After a few seconds, it became clear that Kilmer was waiting for her to speak. She took a deep breath. "So, that's Angel."
"Yeah."
"She's pretty. Looks like she's stepped right out of 'Vogue'." Too late, Frankie wished she'd kept her mouth shut. There was only one way that her comment could be interpreted.
Kilmer sat on the edge of the bed. He tucked an errant lock of hair behind her ear then let his finger trail down her cheek. Still, she refused to look up. "I don't know. I'm kind of partial to the invalid look."
"I'm not an invalid!" She finally met his gaze and saw the amusement in his eyes. "You just like seeing me in my pajamas."
Kilmer fingered the edge of her shirt. "You know I prefer the see-through, lacy kind. Remember Jakarta?"
Frankie slapped his hand away, but she was smiling. Kilmer wouldn't bring up their honeymoon if he were interested in another woman. "I'm sorry I snapped at you yesterday."
"It's okay."
"Doctor Moore thinks I should see a counselor."
Kilmer's hand was on her neck now, his thumb tracing the hollow at the base of her throat. "That's a good idea."
It was suddenly difficult for Frankie to concentrate. "Don't start something you can't finish." Her voice was low.
The light vanished from Kilmer's eyes and he dropped his hand. "I'm being sent to Morocco."
"What? When?"
"Today. We have to be at Andrews at one."
"We? You and Angel?"
He nodded, taking her hand. "It's just a couple of days. And I'll call every night."
Frankie let him hug her. She didn't want him to go. Especially not with the very beautiful Angel O'Reilly. But she wasn't going to let Kilmer know how hard this was.
"I expect a gift," she said, keeping her tone light.
Kilmer's lips were on hers; warm, soft and familiar. She tasted him inside her mouth, remembering countless kisses they'd shared before. Too soon, he pulled away, leaning his forehead on hers, his breathing heavy.
"What was that about starting what you can't finish?"
She smiled. "I guess you'd better get going."
"Yeah. Frankie, you know – Never mind." He held her for a moment longer, then stood. "See you soon."
When he was at the door, Frankie said, "Hey, John. Stay safe, okay?"
He grinned. "You know me."
She did; that was the problem. Trouble had a way of finding him. Frankie hoped she could trust Angel to watch Kilmer's back.