Newlyweds?
by bionic4ever
Chapter One
OSI Director's Office - 2/11 - 3:00am
Steve Austin practically growled at Oscar's secretary as he shuffled, half asleep, toward the inner office. "He'll be just a few minutes? He isn't here? Oscar sends a posse of goons to get me out of bed - rudely, I might add - in the middle of the night, and he doesn't have the decency to be here?"
"Oh, quit your whining, Austin," said a cheerful, wide-awake voice from inside Oscar's office.
Steve's eyes popped almost all the way open. "Jaime?" he hadn't seen her in more than a year, since her amnesia had torn them apart.
Jaime appeared in the doorway, far too chipper and put together for 3am. "If you' d have answered your phone an hour ago, you would've been able to get yourself down here, instead of needing the wake-up posse." She grinned at him, very amused, and handed him a mug of coffee.
Steve smiled back at her, his surly mood forgotten. "What - no donut?" he joked.
"Just get in here," she said lightly. Steve eyed her closely as they both sat down. Just as beautiful and graceful as ever, he thought to himself, and that body...!
"You know why we're here?" he asked. Jaime shook her head.
"Well, I do," Oscar said as he strode to his desk and set several packs of cigars front and center. "Since Callahan informs me that some of us are a little grumpy, I'll get right to it." Jaime and Steve knew this had to be bad; not only had he brought cigars, he had multiple packs, a sign of extreme stress.
"Intel reports indicate a bioterrorism attack in approximately 72 hours. The virus is especially insidious; symptoms don't appear for five days but the victims are highly contagious, almost from the moment of exposure. There is no known antidote - no cure - and the virus is over 95 percent fatal."
"What do you need us to do?" Jaime asked.
Oscar eyed her with great caution. Jaime had been restricted to light duty since her release from Rudy's clinic, almost ten months earlier. This was huge - was she strong enough, physically and emotionally, to handle it?
"First, I want you both to be absolutely clear on one thing: either, or both, of you are free to turn this one down for any reason. Or for no reason at all. We do have a Plan B, so if you feel in any way uncomfortable with this, I want - I expect - you to say no."
"That's a first," Steve muttered.
Oscar spread a large map across his desk. "The attack will be carried out here," he said, pointing to a very tiny island southeast of Florida. "San Martine, a very exclusive, very expensive honeymoon resort."
Jaime did some quick calculations in her head. "Attacking honeymooners on Valentine's Day," she remarked, "Now that's cold."
There are four participants, each with a code and a key. Three of them are already in place on the island. the fourth, a scientist from Los Alamos, we have managed to intercept and detain.
"And you want me to be that scientist," Steve guessed.
"Wrong." Oscar turned to Jaime.
"Oscar, that is definitely not my strong suit! And from Los Alamos, no less," she protested.
"You'll fake it. We'll provide you with all necessary information. They don't know what this woman, Lauren Bradshaw, looks like, so infiltration won't be a problem."
"What's the catch?" Steve asked. "And where do I fit in?"
Oscar hesitated. "Well...like I said, this is a honeymoon resort. The only way to get you there without any questions is as newlyweds."
Steve and Jaime turned to look at each other, their eyes wide. "Posing as newlyweds," Oscar clarified. "Didn't mean to scare you. But this is where it could get sticky. Our scientist is supposed to be on her honeymoon. They'll be watching for a tall blonde in her late 20's whom they know to be very...um...publicly affectionate toward her new husband."
"So you're saying I have to kiss him?" Jaime exclaimed with mock horror.
Steve smiled. I can think of worse assignments."
Oscar didn't return the smile. "I know that, given your past history together, this could prove to be a little uncomfortable. Or extremely uncomfortable. I won't be angry if you feel you can't -"
"We'll do it," Jaime told him. Steve nodded in agreement.
"Good. Your private plane leaves in 15 minutes. On board, you'll find two suitcases and a trunk with all the clothes and supplies you could possibly need, along with dossiers further detailing the mission, the terrorists' plans and the identities you'll be assuming. Good luck...and please be careful."
Bungalow - San Martine - 2/11 - 11:45am
"Steve...there's only one bed!" Jaime said, surveying the bungalow as she checked it for listening devices.
"How many do you need on a honeymoon?" he answered, grinning. "Seriously, though, let's sit and talk before we go out there." They sat together on the loveseat, both much more tense than they thought they'd be. "We have to make sure Tom and Lauren stay completely separate from Steve and Jaime - 100 percent."
"Right," Jaime agreed. "The second we open that door, it's them. When we're in here, it's us. And, Steve, we have to agree to be completely honest here. If it does get to be too much, for either of us -"
"Let's have a code word," he suggested. "Then, if it gets too intense for you -"
"Or for you."
"Right. Then we say the word and come back in here to regroup."
Jaime nodded. "It should be a word that we wouldn't use in normal conversation, but one that wouldn't sound abnormal if we did use it. How about...Disneyland?"
"You got it." He stood up and held out his hand. Jaime took it, and stopped for a moment to look in his eyes.
"Time to commit public foreplay," she said.
Steve held the door open, and they stepped out onto white sand that glittered like diamonds. they chose a bench close to the bright turquoise water. Steve put an arm around Jaime and pulled her very close.
"I love you, Tom," she said, quickly getting into character. "I can't believe we're finally here."
"Maybe this'll convince you." Steve placed a hand behind her head and pulled her forward, pressing his lips to hers. The first kiss was tentative, gauging her reaction. Gotta make this look real, he reminded himself. He kissed her harder and felt her grow limp and compliant in his arms. The line between assignment and reality began to blur for both of them as their tongues began a languid game of hide-n-seek.
Steve leaned back to gaze into her eyes and was surprised to find that Jaime's breathing was as close to hyperventilation as his own. His bionic eye glimpsed something happening on a boat docked about six lots down from theirs. He ran his fingers through Jaime's hair so he'd still seem busy while his eye zeroed in for a closer look.
There were two men standing at the boat's railing, soon joined by a woman with binoculars, and all three were looking directly at them. Steve leaned toward Jaime as though nibbling her ear and whispered "I think we have our audience. You ok?"
She nodded almost imperceptively, and Steve couldn't resist running his lips along the curve of her neck and down toward her throat before meeting her lips again.
Bungalow - 2/11 - 3pm
"So," Jaime said when they were safely inside, "Think we pulled it off?"
"Ask me after I take a cold shower."
"Save some of that cold water for me, would ya?" Their eyes met, and they struggled to ignore the nearly visible spark between them.
Steve smiled, still not looking away. "I'll bet if we go back out after dinner, they'll be ready to take the bait."
Jaime couldn't look away either. "You just wanna put your tongue back down my throat..." she teased.
"Well, now that you mention it..."