Days later, the doorbell rang at the entrance of her apartment. Alice answered and let Sarah come upstairs, sighing loudly. John had been calling her everyday but she had not been able to talk to him.
"Smoothie?" Sarah said as she handed her a green cup.
"Yeah, thanks. Come in,"
"I am glad you let me in. I think you need to know the whole truth about all this and after, you can decide what to do with Casey. He misses you, you know," Sarah said as she sat on the couch.
Alice nodded; she felt ready to hear everything now. Hearing John was missing her made her heart skipped a beat. Maybe she needed to evaluate if he deserved a second chance. She patiently listened to Sarah as she told her the big lines of her mission to protect the intersect as his handlers; keeping everything the closest to the truth she could.
When they could identify Sam Smith, they took for granted he was after Casey, since they used to be in the army together and were not in good terms. But no, Smith was now taking contracts dealing guns for bad guys and his business had taken expansion in the last years. He had hired Spencer and could not anticipate he would take his car and some men to follow Alice. He really had been stalking Alice and it got out of hand when Casey appeared in the portrait. Jealousy got the best of him; he drugged her at the party, thinking he could kidnap her easily. But the best opportunity was during her run, although he hadn't notice Sarah watching for Alice in the park.
"So you are a spy for the CIA. And so is John," Alice said after keeping quiet for the whole story.
"Yeah, well he works for the NSA; we work together in a joint mission. If there is one thing we are told is that spies cannot fall in love. But after all the time I've been working with Casey, I can tell you he really loves you. You get to decide what you will do, but you should at least talk to him," Sarah replied.
Alice nodded her head, weighting the pros and cons. She stood up and opened a bottle of wine, feeling the sudden need for alcohol. She poured a glass for Sarah and they talked until the sun set.
…
In his living room, Casey was sitting in the couch, drinking his uncounted number of scotch. Chuck had been in and out of his place for the last couple of days, checking on him. He had not been working at the Buy More since the last day he saw Alice. He could not think about anything else than her, hoping she was feeling good.
A knock on the door got him out of his daydreams. He opened the door sharply; thinking is was Chuck once more. When he looked down, he recognized Alice, a shy smile on her lips.
"May I come in?" she asked.
"Of course," he replied as he moved from the door to let her in.
He looked accross the courtyard and saw Sarah winked at him. He nodded his head and mouthed a thank you before she entered Chuck's apartment.
"So, I talked a lot with Sarah, and she told me everything. From who you are to the mission your are currently doing," she paused as she sat on the couch. As he sat next to her, she grabbed his glass of scotch on the coffee table and drank it straight before she went on. "It made me understand certain reactions you had; like why you would scan every inches of the room you entered, why you would always sit your back to the wall at the restaurant or why you wanted to keep an eye on me every day after the accident."
He grabbed her hands and kept them in his, his thumbs caressing the back of her hands.
"She told me you loved me, even though spies are not supposed to. Is this true?"
"I made my decision between love and duty a long time again. But the second I met you, I knew I was in trouble," he looked down and swallowed hard. "I cannot say I am sorry about all the lies, you have to understand it is important to protect my cover. I need to know my secret is safe with you."
"It is. I am not mad at you," she paused. "So, what do we do now?"
"We?"
"I- I missed you," she paused once again. "I don't think I am ready to kick you out of my life just yet."
He moved in on the couch, one of his hands left hers only to grab her tight. He looked deeply in her eyes, half hopeful, half lustful.
"How does it work when a spy has a girlfriend? Do I need to sign a release or something?" she said smiling.
"No need. Come here," he said as he kissed her eagerly.
From the apartment across the courtyard, Chuck and Sarah put down the device they used to amplify the sounds from Casey's apartment. They looked at each other smiling, happy that their grumpy partner would get his girl back.
/
I change my mind, this will not be the end !
