The car was nice but I needed a shower. I was ready to relax for a little bit and now I had the opportunity to because the White Widow was only concerned with Ethan who she believed was Lark. I was squished in the back seat with Walker. We pulled into what looked like a replica of the white house with beautiful grounds and shrubbery. We got out of the car walked into the house we were met with a bunch of men holding guns. Not very conspicuous. I ignored the twitch to reach for my knife. We walked into an adjacent room where I was met with a map on a table I looked at it briefly as the man in front of me started to talk.
"The French government will receive the asset they took in today. Delivery will be by air to the finance ministry at 8:00 AM tomorrow morning. Another motorcade under heavy police escort will transport him on along this root. We'll create a diversion at this intersection. Here. Motorcade will automatically take the pre-planned alternate root, here. Where we'll extract the asset." The henchman told us.
"Extract the asset?" Ethan asked I crossed my arms trying to avoid being in relaxed mode but couldn't help it, the adrenaline from the day had worn off and I was ready to take off my shoes take a hot shower and sit in bed and watch a movie. Ethan looked down at the photographs in front of us I recognized Soloman Lane immediately.
"The asset?" Ethan wanted to confirm it but the people in front of us seemed just as interested as we did.
"We've payed a great deal of money for this information. They gave us everything but this mans name. You don't happen to know who he is, do you?" The White widow told us as she came out of her bedroom changed and ready to go to bed. I was immediately jealous. As Ethan was about to step in and talk I spoke sooner cutting him off in his tracks.
"His name is Solomon Lane. British special agent turned anarchist. He used rogue covert operatives to create a terror network called the Syndicate. Sabotage, assassination, mass murder." I told her annoyed looking up into her face, she was older but pretended to be younger with the blonde hair.
"Ugly as they come." She said still processing the information.
"He was captured by American agents two years ago." Ethan said shortly.
"Since then he's been under never-ending interrogation. Passed around from one government to another. To answer for his crimes." Walker continued while I was trying to clear my head.
"You seem displeased, Lark?" Alanna said with a question in her voice.
"Perhaps I didn't make myself clear. I came to Paris for plutonium." Ethan told her.
"Well, there must be a misunderstanding. I'm just a broker. I connect a buyer and a seller. My seller isn't interested in cash. So if you want the plutonium..." She basically gave him the answer.
"Extract Lane and make a trade." Ethan finished the thought rubbing his face with his hand.
"That's right." She said. She didn't need to confirm the fact. It was known.
"How do I know the seller has what I want?" Ethan asked her, a decent question I walked around to the other side of him. As they pulled out a briefcase opening it to reveal the plutonium.
"A down-payment in good faith. The courier will deliver two more within 48 hours. In exchange for him." She smirked at Ethan proving her point.
"All right. What happens after diversion?" Ethan asked. His question was cleverly avoided. But the pieces fell into place for him as they did with me, they wanted to exterminate everyone involved.
"Kill everyone? That's your plan?" Ethan asked her trying very hard to hold his cover.
"There'll be no witnesses." The henchman spoke up.
"What's my guarantee that Lane walks out of this thing alive?" Ethan asked him. Trying to cover all the bases.
"He's in an armored box. We'll pull him out when it's safe. You want your plutonium? This is the price. Or do you draw the line at killing cops?" The man asked forcefully leaning forwards threateningly I stood my ground hand inching towards my knife.
"That's John Lark you're talking to." Alanna spoke to the man beside her.
"I've murdered women and children with smallpox. I have no line." Ethan replied stone cold. It took all I had in me not to thrust myself across the table and slit the man with sandy blonde hair and mustache to match.
"Right. I'm sorry, you two, I don't know your names." She directed the question at me.
"Josephine." I blurted out without thinking, cover intact. Walker looked at me silently.
"Rick." He answered for himself as well.
"Josephine, Rick, John. Perfect, well let's get you guys a room." She told us leading us down a hallway pointing out our rooms to us. I opened the door to my room and walked inside without even a glance towards Ethan or Walker.
"Sleep well everyone, busy day tomorrow." She told us and walked off in her own direction.
"Josephine…" I heard behind me.
"I'm not in the mood." I told whoever was behind me.
"Kensi, c'mon…" I didn't answer I walked straight into the bathroom and looked into the mirror I saw Ethan behind me in the mirror. I looked at myself feeling anger and annoyance. A moment of weakness had me wanting to punch the mirror image of myself, Ethan caught this and quickly intervened.
"Kens. What is it?" He asked me as he turned me around and held me at arms length watching me go through the inner emotions that were starting to boil to the surface. I had so much anger I wanted a fight so I was going to pick one.
"You know what my problem is? You got us into this and my fiancé has disappeared because of you!" My voice rose as my anger did.
"Kensi you know that wasn't my fault, this is the job you knew this going into it." I pushed his arms off of mine and took a sparring stance. He caught on and did the same.
"No Ethan I didn't imagine at all the mission would take this long. I don't know why I'm here when it could be someone else like Benji." I told him as I threw a punch his way. He blocked me and grabbed my fist twirling me around and holding me against him I looked at us in the mirror.
"I don't know why you think just because you're getting married that you would get a free pass out of the job. And you know why Benji couldn't be here, he's not as great an operative as you." Ethan said I threw my arms down and thrust my hips backwards. Quickly, turning around and throwing a leg at his torso hitting his spleen a couple times. He was fueling my anger as I expected. But, what I didn't realize is that he was doing it on purpose with carefully calculated attacks.
"The problem is I'm here with people that aren't my fiancé." I told him curtly.
"Kensi…" He stopped for a second I glared at him and he took his stance again and threw a weak punch at my face. I knew I could've ducked it but I didn't want to. I smiled in the wake of the immediate pain I felt.
"The problem is there was a time when I did this work without Brandt, I don't need him now but I want him here with me. He got under my skin and he's a weakness. It's not my fucking nature and I just need to know that he's okay. But he won't even contact me." I told him. Spinning his direction with a kick Ethan noticed it and dodged out of the way.
"Walker's hitting on me as well, it doesn't help the process. AND Will kept pushing off our wedding. That's why invitations have yet to go out because the date keeps getting changed." I failed to mention my dream about Soloman Lane. I advanced towards Ethan. Pushing him into the wall of the cramped bathroom.
"He proposed a year ago, Ethan. What am I supposed to think? I also feel further away from you guys. Ethan you trained me, we had a fling. Maybe I don't know Will as well as I think I do." I said as I started wearing down the energy I felt, I started getting more anxious. A bout of sadness hit me. I covered my face with my hands. Ethan started to come towards me realizing we were done sparring.
"Oh Kensi. I'm so sorry. I didn't know all of that." He told me as he held me in his arms I broke down immediately letting my walls I had built come down. I fell into him letting him support my weight.
"What am I doing?" I asked him not expecting an answer. He turned on the water for the shower and basically undressed me realizing I needed it.
"I'll tell you. You're going to take a shower, I'll be right here waiting for you to get done. I'll even sit on the toilet waiting for you. Then we're going to sleep. I need your badass skills for tomorrow. I'll fix it Kensi, the burden isn't only on you O'Connell. I got you." He told me as he gingerly pulled back the curtain for the shower and let me walk into it. I took off my bra and underwear throwing them over the rod and sat down knees to my chest letting the hot water consume me. I closed my eyes and thought of happier times crying because I didn't have those anymore.
"Kensilina that's what he used to call me sometimes." I told Ethan my voice harsh.
"Yeah I remember. Was it like a pet name or something or did he do it just to annoy you?" He asked me.
"Both." I told him my voice flat.
"Seems odd for him to go dark. I'll get some info from Hunley maybe I can track him down as a side mission for you?" Ethan asked me. I just nodded staying silent.
"Kens… I know you don't want to hear it, but I love you, I hate seeing you like this. It won't be like this forever, I promise. And when he does wise up and contact he'll have hell to pay from me. Shit, I'd marry you tomorrow if it'd make you happy. I don't know why he'd put that off you're too great to let this get to you." He told me. I smiled imagining the fight between the two that would ensue. I knew Brandt the annoying doofball that I fell in love with. I did have feelings for Ethan long ago. I sniffled and laughed a little. The truth is I didn't know what was going to happen. But after about another 30 minutes in silence I decided that I should at least wash off and get off to bed, after all it was late. Two agents of the IMF don't do well off of little sleep although we were trained to be able to handle it. I shut off the water and heard Ethan scuffle around for a towel for me, he had also grabbed my phone off the floor. He opened the curtain and wrapped me in the towel immediately being very careful not to steal a glance at me. He scooped me up and took me over to the bed. I laid down staring blankly into space. He set my phone on the dresser beside me, then went rummaging through the wardrobe and came back with a silk night gown for me. He turned around as I changed into it and got under the covers. He smiled at me as he went to turn off the light and leave.
"Wait… Will you stay with me?" I asked him voice horse. He hesitated for a moment and then started removing his suit he was in, until he was in his boxers.
"Of course Kens whatever you need." He climbed in next to me and held me against him. Soon enough sleep came, I didn't even hear the vibrating of my phone as it rang on the table next to me.