Assassin!verse – follow up to Diwali.
Who? A/Z
Hotel Bar
She toys with the flute of champagne in front of her. She watches the bubbles rise up, idly remembering the chemical reaction which causes them to form. The location is not one she would've chosen, but this is a night for celebration.
Why, then, does she not feel like rejoicing?
Based on her work, a major crime syndicate has been taken down. She's retrieved heaps of information that will take federal agents months, or possibly years to get through.
This is her last assignment.
Her contracted work has come to an end, and with it, her contact with Zoisite.
There will be other work, no doubt, and the money she's put away over the past few months will provide a secure nest egg for whatever she chooses to do. She's smart and relatively young and, and as she finishes the glass of Veuve, contemplates getting into the field of medicine. She's always liked helping people.
At the hotel bar, crowded by some convention or another, she feels uncomfortable in the mix of strangers. Nodding to the bartender to fill her glass, she retreats to a small alcove near an ostentatious fireplace. Feeling silly for dressing up, she fusses with the blue satin dress, which in the store made her feel beautiful – the fabric rushing over her skin like water.
Against all hopes, she wants to believe Agent Zoisite will join her tonight. She received a missive late in the day to meet at this bar, to receive last instructions here, and then the remainder of her fee would be paid in full.
Her sapphire eyes check the entrants to the bar and her field skills (rusty, but still in effect), clock a familiar face.
Thoughts of fireworks – on the street – and in her room in India – flare in her memory.
A mistake.
One of the best nights in her life, but a mistake nonetheless.
"What are you doing here?" she asks as he appears by her side. She is wary. The timing is too perfect.
"I couldn't stay away."
Realization dawns, and she asks, "You knew then, and you didn't say anything?"
"I didn't want to compromise the assignment." He runs a hair through his blonde hair, causing the coif to stand on end.
"I…"
"That came out wrong."
In a haze of tears, Amy ducks out of the bar, running away. The young man notes she's left a pashmina behind and smiles to himself. Picking the finely woven cloth up, he settles her tab and walks out of the bar.
# # #
A knock on her door a few minutes later shouldn't surprise her.
"I know you're there."
Silence greets him.
"Please let me in, I can explain."
More silence.
"You forgot something."
Against all hopes, he hears the lock move and is delighted to see the door open a sliver.
"I was unprofessional. I went against protocol."
"And now? Are you back for a second helping? One last hurrah with the technical geek?"
"Will you just let me in to explain?"
"No."
"Fine. The reality is that after today, I knew there was a chance I would never see you again. I couldn't let that happen."
She sighs and cracks the door a bit further, then asks, "Why should I believe you?"
"I tried convincing myself that you couldn't fall in love with someone over protected e-mail. That I couldn't know you without having met you. That's why I went to India."
"And?"
"I was a coward. I thought if I told you, you wouldn't feel the same way."
More silence.
"I'm prepared to stay in this hall all night if that's what it takes."
The door swings open and Agent Zoisite steps forward, a large smile on his face.
AN: WAFF for everyone, get your WAFF here!