The three of them watched O'Brien step away from the interrogation room as two other Guards escorted Vyner to booking and then holding. Anna drummed her fingers on the desk as Talbot swirled the fifth cup of coffee in his hands. "You think the bastard'll make bail?"

"He might." John ground his teeth, "On the condition he gives up everything he knows."

"Little people like him always slither away somehow." Talbot downed the rest of his cup. "That's the way of the slimy things of the world."

"Thank you for that image." Anna flipped the page in a folder. "The layout for this hotel is a security nightmare."

"Probably why a host of spooks like it." Talbot shrugged, "Levels the playing field for a bunch of people determined to always have the upper hand."

"Maybe if you all stopped playing in the dark you wouldn't have to worry about that kind of thing." John shook his head, flipping through the pages of scant detail on the attendees. "It's like reading a children's picture book?"

"Because you can read it?"

John scowled at Talbot and held up the page. "No, because there's no detail here at all. I have a grainy photo, the bare minimum of details that I can't even verify, and nothing else,"

"And so it goes with espionage." Anna shook her head. "It's part of the reason I left the industry."

"Lack of transparency?"

"Because I don't like solving cases from both ends of the spectrum." Anna flipped to some of the photographs of the hotel. "It's a nice place. Not so fancy a regular person couldn't get in but nice enough to limit the attendees."

"Too fancy or too trashy and people are on the lookout." Talbot ticked off on his fingers, "It's either end of the spectrum for drug lords, money launderers, and criminals in general."

"So we're talking about the middle management of all those groups with this lot then?" John strained a smile that earned him a glare from Talbot. "Tell me your bosses haven't done deplorable things and I'll pretend we live in a world of rainbows and sunshine where unicorns frolic over the fields."

"This coming from the man who literally just finished interviewing one of his fellow Guards for charges that'll include extortion, bribery, and harboring a fugitive… As well as aiding and abetting, to just cover the ones I know have correlating charges in a court of law."

"If we're all going to prep our stones for throwing we'd best get out of our glass houses." Anna interjected, temporarily diffusing the situation before bringing Talbot's attention back to her. "I'll assume you've some kind of idea for all this or you wouldn't've suggested it."

"I do." Talbot pointed at John and Anna. "I suggest that you two get bookings as… Whatever you want to go as, and get in position."

"To do what?"

"I'm sure you wouldn't mind a bit of kidnapping."

John bristled, turning to Anna. "You can't be serious."

"I'll assume he is serious but his 'bit of' wasn't unintentional." Anna gave Talbot a strained smile. "Was it?"

"I was thinking more of a catch-and-release situation." Talbot shrugged, "If we get a room there then we don't even move him out of the hotel."

"It won't give us much time." Anna shook her head. "Security team like he's got's guaranteed to track him the second they lose sight of him."

"Hence why we need someone who looks like him to temporarily take his place." Talbot's finger flew over a phone John blinked to find in the other man's hand. "Something like this."

John squinted at the picture before shaking his head. "You don't look anything like the man."

"A little stage makeup and I can fool anyone."

"Not a security team that waits for this man to finish a shit in a stall I'm not sure they don't insist stays open." John shook his head. "We'd never pull off even a temporary replacement."

"Then it's the ticking clock for us." Talbot pulled something else up and passed his phone to Anna first. She handed it over to John when she finished as Talbot continued speaking. "He's got two meetings he can't miss. Now, considering his age and some suspicious visits I've been tracking him making to his doctor, I'll hazard he's got time in that extraordinarily tight schedule for two naps. We'll have to get in and out during one of them."

"So what? We'll wait in the ceiling for him to finish?"

"I was thinking under the sink." Talbot flipped through the pictures of the suite on Anna's desk to show the relevant ones. "This sink has an empty underside. With a bit of skill I can get a grapple rig under there and dangle."

"And so could Anna but me…" John shook his head. "And the ceiling's out for me too, if we're being fair."

"Then we'll put Anna in the ceiling and you'll get the balcony." Talbot showed another picture and John's frown only deepened.

"I may be new to this whole spy thing but I was relatively certain that any security team worth their paychecks would check all these places."

"Depends on what kind of havoc we cause beforehand." Talbot's smile only grew, the glint in his eye making John shiver with a discomfort that raised the hairs on his arms. "If we give them enough reason to only do a cursory check during this time then we've made our window."

"We'll have to make sure they're nice and comfortable on their first checks tomorrow then." Anna leaned back in her chair. "Which means we'll have to be in before they've made their nest."

"Which is why, as I already said, you two," Talbot pointed at John and Anna. "Get bookings starting this afternoon. Extend the stay through the conference and spend tomorrow… I don't know, acting like tourists or something."

"I'm sure Anna's got experience with this sort of thing," John flexed his jaw, "But I've never done undercover work."

"You can be as buttoned up as always, just with a different backstory." Talbot shrugged. "In fact, closer to the truth the better. Two complete idiots making as if they're unworried by everything'll be just as much of a tip-off to these types as two people constantly on their toes."

"If we need to get into his room we'll have to be close enough that they check us out on their first pass and rule us as nonissues." Anna grabbed for her phone, "I'll make a call or two about getting us new identities and booking the room."

"Then…" John stopped, half turned in his chair as Anna raised the earbud to her ear for the call. "We've already agreed to this?"

"If you want," Anna pointed between she and Talbot. "Henry and I could do it on our own but there's a risk that Green knows Henry. If he does and even just changes rooms we're skunked."

"What about if he knows you?" John stood, leaning back against his desk and folding his arms over his chest. "Not to bring it up more than I have to, but you did testify against his son."

"Lot of good that did me." Anna strained her smile before shrugging. "It wouldn't matter. I never worked for him, I barely made a dent in his son's life when he ruined mine, and now… I'm just another woman to him."

"And if he does recognize you?"

"Hair, chin, nose." Talbot touched the parts as he said it, bringing their attention back to him. "Those are how most people recognize others. Distinct features. So we change Anna's accent, give her a wing or even a temporary dye job, and a subtle alteration to her face. It'll be like Kim Novak in Vertigo."

"Accent?" John raised his eyebrows, "Which ones can you do?"

"If I remember not to include a post-vocalic 'R' then I can fake an American accent well enough." Anna nodded at John, "How comfortable are you about pretending to be American?"

"They're easy enough… If I don't speak too long." John sighed, "Make whatever calls you've got to."

Anna walked away, her voice steady and professional as the call engaged. When John turned back to the desk he noticed Talbot's smirk. "What?"

"You're remarkably malleable when she wants something."

"She didn't knock me unconscious and then think about killing me in a flat once." John retook his seat.

"I thought we were square about that."

"Not so square that I forgot it happened." John jerked his head in Anna's direction as he moved his mouse to bring his computer back to life. "We met under completely different circumstances."

"More pleasurable ones?"

"Initially, yes." John's keyboard clacked as he set to typing up his report. "What about you two?"

"We met in the work that I do that she used to."

"And that's…"

"All I can say about that." Talbot gathered the information spread over their two desks. "I know you don't trust me, Mr. Bates, and I don't blame you. I've not exactly endeared myself to you through actions or intentions. But I do have the greater good in mind."

"That's what troubles me."

"What?"

John paused, taking a breath before facing Talbot. "Whatever your intentions, don't mistake me for someone who wants a fair trial for Green because I believe he could be innocent. That man is a sick animal and needs to be put down for the greater good of the world. There's no denying that. However, I can't just let loose like we're in the American Old West. There's a process. As bloated and bureaucratic and occasionally corrupt as it is, it works most of the time. That's why it's lasted as long as it has."

"And do you think it would work for Green?"

"I think we owe it to the people and the system to at least try it." John let out a breath, "And to the families of the dead to at least see the person who did them wrong. Even if they can't stone him to death or light the torches to burn him like they wish they could, they deserve the chance to face him."

"You really believe that?"

"I believe we all need a catharsis. It may not be as fulfilling as we want or the kind of resolution we long for in the lives we want to live, but we need it all the same." John shrugged, "It's not like the movies, with perfectly wrapped endings, but it is something. And that's the something I want to guarantee to those who've suffered at his hand."

"Do you think I disagree with you?"

"I honestly have no idea what you think."

"Then let me tell you, I want that kind of world too. I want the hope that you have. The hope you continue to fight for."

"But?"

"But I don't live in that world." Talbot chewed the inside of his cheek a moment. "I live in a world where people are put down. And sometimes that's for the good of the whole and sometimes it's for the good of the one."

"Which do you think this is?"

"I'll answer you with another question," Talbot leaned over the desk, "Given the opportunity, do you think Anna would hesitate to put a bullet between that man's eyes?"

"I don't-"

"Better yet," Talbot raised a finger and pointed at John. "Would you?"

John blinked, swallowed, and answered. "I don't know."

"That's why I'd do it. Before either of you had to worry about answering that question for yourselves." Talbot sat back, "I've already made my peace with what I am because of what I do. I'd hate to see the kinds of pieces you'd have to pick up when you'd have to face the chance of shattering the view of yourself that you have."

"You think it'd shatter?"

"A question that like either reveals your deepest fears or your deepest desires and neither of those possibilities lends to someone ready to face themselves in the mirror for a long time." Talbot turned, a smile brightening his face as Anna returned. "Results?"

"I've got us identities that'll hold up on a general search and bookings for the hotel." Anna turned to John, "You ready?"

"I've got to finish this and then…"

"I'll get us started then." Talbot almost unfolded to his feet, moving to Anna's side. "We'll get you both settled and ready."

"We need to arrive together." Anna flexed her jaw. "Let's meet at yours and drive over together. It'll look more natural."

"Better use your car then, it's a rental." John motioned to the computer again. "I've got to file the report and sort out a few things and I'll join you."

"Right." Anna pivoted to face Talbot, "Let's go then."

But even with the little preparation John had, walking into his house to see Anna with dark hair and wearing colored contacts. The double take almost tripped him back out the door but the moment of surprise had Talbot on him in a second, holding a photograph close to John's face before nodding. "Seems close enough."

"What?" John caught himself, steadying as he finally closed the door. "What is going on right now?"

"We're checking how much you match the identities Green's people'll certainly be checking when you officially check in to your hotel in an hour." Talbot collected the passport from Anna to show John. "What do you think? Mr. and Mrs. Clay from Boston."

"Wonderful?" John flipped through his passport. "I've not been many places."

"Are you upset about the world traveling of your alternate persona?" Anna used an American accent and John flinched at it. "We need to sound like we know what we're doing and what we're saying. Might as well try it out now."

"Just caught me off guard, that's all." John coughed and tested out his accent. "Should I memorize my backstory?"

"I would hope they don't interrogate you about any of that but this," Talbot handed over a single page. "Should give you enough to work out the details between the two of you. It's usually better that way."

"Thank you. I think." John studied the page, flinching as Talbot took some measurements. "I'm wondering if this is something I'm really ready for."

"Too late now." Anna blinked at him and John shook his head again. "What?"

"The hair and your eyes… And your accent, being honest. It's all throwing me for a loop and I'm not sure I can do this."

"Not to be rude," Talbot slapped the handful of passports, papers, and a folder into John's hand. "Might as well get used to this since it'll be your life for the next three days."

"Which has me wondering," Anna tied up her darker hair and John almost caught a glimpse of blonde under it. "What did Chief Crawley say about this?"

"I didn't ask him." John shook his head, "I got permission for three days of personal time… Given the emotional strain and our crazy working hours lately."

"So he's got no idea?"

"I thought it best to leave what we're doing in the dark so we're the only ones that go down with this ship when it sinks."

"Oh ye of little faith." Talbot clicked his tongue at John. "No one will even know we were there."

"We'll know and he'll know."

"But Green won't tell anyone about it, when we succeed, because it'd ruin his credibility. And we're not going to tell anyone about it because we won't need to."

"I'm brimming with confidence now." John eyed the contents of his hands before shaking his head. "I'm going to pack and try and figure out how… Mr. Clay is."

John took the stairs to his room, sighing as he sat on a bed he barely remembered. A squeak at the door drew his eyes there and he saw Anna leaning against it. "It's a bit much, isn't it?"

"I don't…" John shook his head, "I don't know if I'm the person for this."

"I think you'll be fine at it." Anna pointed to the bed and John shrugged. She crossed the room to sit next to him on the bed. "And I'm going to be there to help you with it."

"I just…" John threw himself back on his bed, letting out a sigh. "I'm exhausted. I'm run down. And I've… I've got nothing left."

"I don't disagree." Anna rotated to meet his eyes. "I'm tired too."

"It's not just tired it's…" John tapped his chest with his fingers. "It's bone deep. Like the thought of even standing up is exhausting."

"If we don't then who will?"

"I don't know. But sometimes," John forced himself onto his forearms, "Sometimes I wonder if it'd be so bad to let someone else handle it. Just every once in awhile. Or even for a break."

"That wouldn't be so bad." Anna stood up. "Maybe once we get this madman locked away we can both take the holidays we're so desperately owed."

"I'd like that." John finally sat up entirely. "But that's a reward for us getting through this."

"This'll be easier than you think." Anna winked at him, "Henry's handling most of it so we just have to do what we're told."

"That easy?"

"Easier than some other situations I've had to manage on my own."

John raised an eyebrow, "How much more difficult could this be?"

Anna opened her mouth but shut it a second later. Her lips pursed, she cringed, and then finally spoke, "Much more difficult. And… And I wouldn't recommend it."

"I'll take your word for it then." John paced the room a second before digging a duffle bag from beneath the bed. "Is this tourist-y enough or a little too gym bag?"

"Given the backgrounds we'll develop…" Anna sighed, "How'd you feel about the idea of being a couple using a holiday to try and save our marriage?"

"So I just tossed a few shirts into a duffle and grumbled all the way to the plane for this holiday?"

"Sure." Anna moved back to the door. "But, at the end of the day, it won't matter for that."

John threw up his hands, "I honestly think I'm going to be shit at this."

"You'll be fine. Even with the duffle bag." Anna left the room, "And remember to practice your accent."

"Right." John checked the bag on his bed before tossing it into the closet and scratching the back of his head. "Where do I keep my suitcases?"

When he finally found a suitcase and managed to pack it with what would constitute a three-day holiday, John joined Anna and Talbot in the kitchen. Talbot only snorted at him before turning back to his plans. "Finally found yourself a holiday bag or do you need some help going and repacking your stuff? Because you might have someone sneaking into your room to check on you."

"If we stay in the room then no one can check it."

"If you repeat that back to yourself, you'll realize how odd that'll be for the cover you've got."

John shrugged, "Only if we stick with your story."

"You don't think you'd go through marital problems?"

"Been there, done that. Also," John raised a finger. "People going through issues like this usually try for counseling or a baby to resolve their issues, not go on holiday. Holidays are for celebration."

"Oh." Anna's face froze for a moment, "You want us to honeymoon?"

"It'd explain why we're spending so much time in the room."

"That's what I hate about people who holiday on their honeymoons." Talbot shook his head. "They pay a lot of money to go to faraway places and then spend the whole time in their hotel rooms. Why not just stay home, have the sex, and then make your honeymoon a year later when you might actually appreciate it?"

"When you're married, maybe you should do that." Anna turned to John. "Are you ready?"

"Honestly, probably not, but we'd better get this going." John reached for his keys but paused when Anna dangled hers. "Are you driving?"

"I have to, I didn't add anyone else to my rental agreement." Anna grabbed her things, working into her coat, and waved at Talbot. "Text before you make contact this time please."

"No promises." Talbot waved at John. "Don't worry, I'll lock up your house before I leave it."

"That's another thing," John paused, one arm in his coat. "How'd you get into my house in the first place?"

Talbot snorted, "I climbed to the balcony of the house where you were staying. You think a lock on your door would give me a problem?"

"Now that you mention it, no. But it still makes me very uncomfortable."

"I promise to leave it better than I found it."

"Still not comfortable." John grabbed his bag and followed Anna out to her car. "Which plot line are you going for?"

"Accent," Anna warned, getting into the car. "And I think your idea about the honeymoon'll be better. It'll make people more awkward without putting us in a difficult situation."

"Would the other story do that?"

"Well," Anna half turned to John, "If we played an antagonistic couple then we'd have to always be avoiding one another. Part of this idea is to make others leave us alone by making them feel awkward. It's harder to make everyone feel awkward if we're always fighting because there's a lot of stress to that. If we're simply being overly affectionate… That's awkward in another way."

"I've seen Winter Soldier."

"Then you'll get it." Anna started driving, weaving through the traffic. "Do we need a safe word for when we do and don't make a public scene?"

"Any ideas?"

"Something innocuous would be best. A fruit or a household object that wouldn't be odd to say in public."

"I'll let you take the lead on that since, as we've already discovered, I've no idea what I'm doing here."

"Then we'll say something like…" Anna's head wobbled back and forth for a second, as if literally bouncing the ideas in her brain, and stopped when they reached a light. "Harvest."

"Harvest?"

"It's something…" Anna shook her head. "It's something stupid."

"If we're supposed to be married then I don't think I'm supposed to think that whatever you say is stupid."

"It's…" Anna almost shivered again, as if trying to ward off whatever about what she was about to say made her uncomfortable. "It's something farmers used to say. A long time ago."

"What did farmers used to say a long time ago?"

"They'd say 'bad harvest' whenever things were going well. As a way to confuse the gods or make sure the gods didn't think they weren't humble enough."

"Capricious old gods aren't exactly the nicest of beings are they?"

"Definitely not. But, anyway, they'd say it to make sure they didn't lose a stroke of good luck on their harvests." Anna risked a look at John before turning back to the road. "Not too stupid?"

"I think it makes sense. We're risking the wrath of a number of gods going through with something like this and, being that I'm already pretty sure I'll cock this all up, making sure we don't leave ourselves open for divine malicious intervention by seeming to cocky… trying to make it seem like we're already going to mess it up on our own seems like a good play."

"Are you always this pessimistic?"

"Seeing that few things have ever gone right in my life and I've succeeded, without help from anyone else, to mess up plenty, I'd say I have a reason for my pessimism that's grounded in experience. Past being prologue."

"Our situations change on a dime, John." Anna pulled into the parking lot of the hotel. "And if we think positively then positive things tend to happen."

"Isn't that inviting everything to go wrong?"

"You've got that covered so if I think it'll go well then we'll break even." Anna grinned at him, "Get the bags and we can get this show on the road."

John retrieved their bags, nodding at the valet who took the keys from Anna, and followed her into the hotel. Watching her slip into the American accent still unnerved him, and made him even more hesitant to use his own, but she got their rooms and wrangled them a private lift before handing over his card key. She smiled at him as John bent so she could slip it into his pocket as his hands still held their bags. "Are you going to talk at all?"

"I don't trust myself." He muttered and Anna nodded, taking lead again as they walked the corridor to their room.

It occupied the middle of the hall and Anna slipped her key in and out of the door lock so it blinked green to allow them entrance. "They'll probably arrive in the small hours. Fewer people about, lazier eyes on the cameras, and reduced staff."

"So we've got until then to wait for them?" John put the bags on the bed before dragging over the metal contraption meant to support a bag's weight. Instead he propped it against the door joining their room to the other. "Will they block it on the other side?"

"If he wasn't a pompous ass he would've booked both rooms but…" Anna shook her head. "Unless Henry's got it all wrong then…"

John groaned, sinking into the stiff chair by the blind-covered window. "I'm already on edge."

"Then be comforted to know that," Anna held up her phone. "We're not being bugged in here."

"Then I can leave my fake accent at the door."

"Until they arrive, yes." Anna nodded and sat on the corner of the bed. "What's really bothering you about all this?"

"It…" John ran a hand through his hair. "It's not Talbot, if that's what you're thinking."

"The thought did cross my mind."

"I feel this is… A side-step. Like we're moving away from the objective. That every time we think we might have something to better understand the man we're supposed to be hunting we're driven off track. Like our gaze slides off him and the harder we focus on him the less likely we are to find him."

"You think this is a step in the wrong direction?"

"I think it could be."

"I know how you feel." Anna nodded when John only sighed at her. "Not the way you do, since it's never officially been my case, but I know what it's like to think you're getting close to your goal and only having the world knock you off-course. And a lot of that has to do with the man who'll be in that room in about six hours."

She took a breath, "I also thinking we've been running hard for almost seventy-two hours and we're simply not built for this kind of thing."

"We as people or-"

"Human beings, not because of us as we are." Anna slumped a little. "We're not beings meant for hyper-fixation. It leads to… Bad things."

"Like Green?"

Anna nodded, "As much as I think we're both worried about being like him, about what tracking him on this case will reveal about ourselves in connection to him, I think the bigger worry is that we're not enough to catch him."

"Then you understand why I was so cross when Chief Crawley brought you on in the first place?"

"I understood it then, if you remember us at the pub." Anna teased and they both gave a little laugh. "I think that was the most relaxed I'd been in some time."

"Me too." John moved his jaw. "And possibly the best night I'd had in some time as well, if you don't mind me saying."

"I don't." Anna removed her coat, laying it over her bag. "It put us on an interesting foot but I don't regret it."

"I didn't regret it either." John paused, "Or what happened the other night, after Tom's wedding."

"Until Henry showed up."

"We made up for that." John waved down the argument. "And while I don't want to sound like it's the only thing we've got going for us…"

"We do have pretty decent sex." Anna's smile faded a moment. "But it's got to be more than that."

"It can't just be a good time?"

Anna shook her head, "Not after what we've done together. Not after what we're going to do together."

"But you don't like the idea of someone trying to take care of you."

"No, I don't, but this isn't about taking care of someone. This is about…" Anna struggled to find the words for a moment and John caught the way her fingers squeezed into the bedding before relaxing to let the white on her knuckles fade. "This is about what we'll be when all this ends."

"You're sure it will?"

"We'll either find Green or die trying. I for one hope for the first scenario." Anna met John's eyes. "Then I go back to my life and you go back to yours. However this shakes out we'll have to decide what we do about that."

"I get the feeling you're not talking about whether or not I'm simply the guy you slept with while on assignment when you go back home." Anna gave a short nod and John took a breath. "I would like to consider the idea that we could, once we're back to a more regulated stage of life, consider the possibility of seeing where we could go in a relationship styled setting."

"You'd want to try that with a body of water and half a country between us?"

"We've got more between us than simply geography but if it's just geographical then there are ways to get around that." John shrugged, "I like the idea that you'd continue as a feature in my life."

"But if the adrenaline fades, once we're not teamed up to catch a serial killer, what is left?" Anna held up her hands, gesturing to the bed. "I hope you don't think that our compatibility in the bedroom makes up for it."

"I think sexual compatibility is a salve to pain but a bane to real relationships if that's all they're built on." John winced, "My first marriage being a perfect example of that particular travesty."

"Then you want more than that?"

"Don't you?" John removed his coat, trying to reduce the sensation of being slowly stifled. "I thought that was the point of this entire conversation."

"It is. I just…" Anna shook her head, "I've not had a steady relationship in ten years. I don't date people, for reasons I've expressed, and the result is… This. What I am now is what I made myself."

"What do you want me to do?" John waited, watching Anna's face. "What do you want me to say? Because when I've said things in the past you've a way of making them seem hollow and when I say something else I put my foot in my mouth so hard I choke on it."

"I don't know." Anna let her head drop into her hands. "I don't know what I want. But I… I know that I…" She raised her head, looking at him. "I know I want something with you. What that is or what it'll be or how long it'll last… I don't know. But I do know you're different. We're not perfect but there's something about how we work together and understand one another that I've not found anywhere else."

"And you want that to continue?"

"I want to see where it might go." Anna teethed her lip. "If you're up for the uncertainty of it I'd like to try it out to see where we could take something like this."

"Despite all your reservations?"

"Yes." Anna nodded. "Despite where any of this might lead us and I want to follow this course, whatever it is, to its end."

"Then let's see where it goes." John stood up, draping his coat on the back of the chair. "The worst that could happen is we learn from this."

"I'm glad you've adopted the Nelson Mandela approach to possible setbacks." Anna grabbed her coat and bag. "I'm going to get out of these contacts and wig for a bit. They make me itch."

"Good because they unsettle me."

"What, you don't think I can pull off dark hair?"

"I think you pull it off fine it's just…" John grabbed his bag. "If I say something else then I'll just dig myself into a hole."

"You are a wise man John Bates."

It took Anna almost no time in the bathroom and when she returned John made the room look a bit more lived-in, like a couple serious about the holiday they planned for themselves. He turned when she cleared her throat from the bathroom, "Are you ready for a rundown of the itinerary?"

"So I need to be?" John padded barefoot to the bed as Anna got onto the middle of it, crossing her legs to sit more comfortably as she read from her phone. "Pretty sure my comfort in all this is secondary to success."

"And there's the pessimist again." Anna lowered the phone. "Do you truly have no confidence in this plan?"

"It's more me that've I've no confidence in." Anna set her phone to the side, her eyes narrowing as she looked at him. "What?"

"I think you've a low opinion of yourself, John, and it… It breaks my heart."

"As I said, John adjusted on the bed, "Every good thing in my life I've successfully ruined. This situation is just one in a line of them."

"No." Anna covered his hand with hers, "You'll be fine."

"If I…" John dropped his eyes. "I don't want to be the reason we fail at this."

"Which 'this'?"

"This case, this job right now, this thing we're hoping to maybe make between us…" John's fingers barely graced over the back of her hand before he pulled away. "Whatever worries you have about what we might make, I've got them double because I ruined this all for myself so many times before."

"Then this time's the charm." Anna scooted toward him, taking his face in her hands. "We'll sort this out between us."

"I don't know if-"

"I know." Anna insisted, forcing him to look at her and see the blue eyes he remembered. "And I won't give up without a fight so don't you dare."

"I won't." John smiled and blinked when Anna leaned forward to kiss him. "What was that for?"

"Because we're a couple on our honeymoon and if we don't get use out of this bed then we'll never hold up our cover." Anna slid toward him. "Do you agree?"

"I…" John could not stop himself leaning into the next kiss as Anna's legs moved on either side of his hips and her grip changed from his cheeks to the back of his neck to urge him over her. "Yes."

"Good." Anna's foot ran up his leg. "Then please help me sell this."

John obliged.

It was hectic and a little hazardous, in their exuberant disarray, but they managed to remove their clothes. Hands and wrists trapped in the sleeves of their clothes led to a few laughs and struggles against fabric that left their hair standing on end or the hint of static shock that made them flinch but they settled when they were skin-to-skin again. The sensation of slowly retracing and relearning one another seemed to bring them back to the moment.

John set himself to leaving Anna quivering beneath him. Their escapades being what they had in the past, this one fit them perfectly. The tension of the situation around them, the weight of the world still on their shoulders, and only a little time to find the eye of the storm. So he sought for it with each kiss he laid on her skin, every touch of his calloused fingers, and by following the dips and rises of the noises she made when he encouraged her closer and closer to climax.

Anna's knees clutched around his head as John's fingers and tongue ran between her folds. Her fingers dug into his scalp and tugged the sheets from under him until her body relaxed with her finish. The shudders and tremors of her body only encouraged John to continue until she rose and hit a second orgasm.

But he could not reach a third when her nails scratched the back of his scalp. The scrabble of Anna's fingers against him almost had John tumbling over her but he caught himself despite the desperation in her kiss. The kiss that distracted him when her legs locked around his waist and her free hand guided him to her entrance. Then it was only a matter of minor adjustment to align them.

The knowledge that their bed knocked against the wall only stopped them a second. Part of John wondered if it would prove a boon or a bane to their plans for their future neighbor in the next room. The other part of John focused on Anna's arched neck or returning her kisses, or lavishing her breasts with attention as she urged him to finish with her.

Cooling in the aftermath left them close and yet distant. John turned his head on his pillow to see Anna staring at the ceiling. "What are you thinking?"

"That I don't understand how your marriage failed." Anna finally looked at him. "I know sex isn't everything in a relationship but if you had this then…"

"Why did my wife leave me?" John shrugged, "When you can get sex from anyone then it's really not a matter of who does it better I guess."

"I think you do it just fine." Anna shifted toward him, straddling his waist. "And I think we'll provide a pretty good cover."

"Because the bed knocks against the wall?"

"Because we won't sound fake." Anna teased, slinking down John's torso as she kissed at random spots. "But just to be sure…"

John took his turn tugging and wrenching at the sheets as Anna's mouth and tongue played him to hardness again. Then it was a matter of following her lead as she rode him to her finish. Or rode him to finish and then allowed him to bring her over too. Either way, when they finally settled, they lay much closer than before.