6. SABINA PLEASURE

AUTHOR: wolfern

Sabina had decided that Fiona Friend didn't live up to her name. She'd spotted the slender girl right away, tinkling with silver jewellery that punctuated a velvet Temperley dress. Seeing Fiona was the only other girl their age at the party, Sabina thought she'd better talk to her first.

Now that was a mistake.

Fiona was the kind of girl you could only speak for about five minutes with before you started wondering if there were other things in the world beyond shooting weekends and other people's inferiority. Sabina looked wistfully towards the extremely fit guys standing as a tight unit at the back of the room, deterring any company. They were only five years older than her – seven at most; hadn't Harry Potter complained it was the girls who travelled in packs?

Thankfully, a boy called James came along and without her asking, whisked her away from Fiona's horrid presence to discuss, of all things, the state of fashion these days.

Of course, they eventually found themselves discussing their respective rescues at Alex's hands. Every time she said goodbye to Alex, it was after something horrific had happened, she told James. They shared some silence. She hadn't spoken to anyone about her dreams of her father dying in an explosion, of not knowing if she would be killed by Damian Cray's inscrutable Russian assassin, of the freezing black water at Christmas, where she woke, gasping, choking on nothing.

Watching Alex perform CPR on her father had been… terrifying. Since then, she'd found herself snapping at her parents and itching to move out, as if she needed to become independent from them in case they died suddenly. Only two more years until college, she kept thinking.

They were adding each other's phone numbers when an almost comically large man appeared before them, presenting them each with a small, wrapped object. "For your safety," he proclaimed. They both stretched out their hands to take the gifts automatically. He gave them a smile, a nod, and a strange sense that they'd been somehow pranked as he wobbled away.

"That was odd," James remarked, eyeballing the package.

She had to agree. She'd always been warned not to take things from strange men, but somehow she thought her parents hadn't been thinking of a situation like this when giving her that lesson. It couldn't be dangerous, could it? He'd been invited to Alex's party and there were lots of Intelligence officers around – she assumed that's what they were. Then again, Fiona Friend had also been invited, although the danger she posed was perhaps more of the nosy kind

Sabina blushed at her uncharitable thought, and she looked at James to make sure she hadn't spoken aloud. It was a little silly to imagine anyone was reading her thoughts, but she couldn't help but start and stare around the room for the portly gentleman when she and James unwrapped their party favours. Staring innocently up at them were the unmistakeable figurines of No-Face and Totoro. Miyazaki. Her spine prickled to think he – whoever he was – had listened to them to know they'd mentioned such a trivial thing, so briefly, and so recently. And then the audacity to say it was for their safety?

Sabina looked at James, who was frowning thoughtfully. "He's probably part of MI6, isn't he..?" she floundered. "He must be."

"Exactly." James looked at her levelly. "Do you trust him?"

Finally, it clicked into place. "I think Alex once mentioned a Quartermaster," she started. "Of everything at MI6, Alex said he could always rely on the gadgets. The Quartermaster – I think his name was Smith, or something – gave him gadgets when he went after Damian Cray." She hesitated as James nodded his agreement. "No-one at MI6 believed him then. I didn't believe him when he told me about MI6."

James put his hand on her shoulder. "I did not believe Alex myself, but he came to rescue us, and that was all that mattered. It was only after, when the spies made us sign all the forms…"

They shared a smile.

"I sometimes feel like I have to make up for not believing him, and then for getting myself kidnapped –"

"I sometimes blame my father for sending me to Point Blanc," said James. He shrugged. "Of course, it's Grief's fault for being crazy. Or maybe the fault of whoever made him crazy. Who can tell?" He rotated his figurine from the gadgetmaster in his fingers. "I think I will keep this. Maybe it will keep me safe."

She clutched Totoro in her fist. It was small enough to fit inside a coin purse, or attach to her phone. Maybe that was the point of it. Even if she was left entirely on her own, it reassured her to know that maybe someone could be there to help.

They moved onto the topic of Alex's friends, who seemed to be few in number, and Sabina noticed James' attention on Tom, so of course they discussed that – James offered to sponsor her so they could visit their respective crushes together without anyone feeling like a third-wheel. It was more than she could have asked for – the opportunity to see Alex more often as though she didn't now live on an entirely different continent, and a new friend to whom she could confide.

Tom joined them for some time, until Sabina couldn't stand the tension between the two and shooed James away.

Eventually, though, Sabina decided she had to go to Alex. She hadn't yet spoken to him – and she really did have to; she'd just seen Fiona speaking to him–

As Sabina moved towards Alex, he was corralled yet again, and then someone was standing in her path so she had to stop. Automatically, she briefly admired the on-trend pairing of a Hugo Boss suit and tennis shoes, on a woman only about a decade older than herself.

"Hi," said the woman, clearly American, and Sabina wondered whether she'd been rescued by Alex too. She felt a moment of envy that so much of his life was a mystery to her.

"I'm Tamara."

Sabina shook her proffered hand. "Sabina. Nice to meet you. May I ask..?"

"CIA." Tamara looked around as if asking for permission, then she laughed. "I guess pretty much everyone knows what this party's about. And if they don't, they're going to find out, I'm sure!"

Bemused, Sabina echoed her laughter. She found herself trying to dissect Tamara's appearance, but although the agent was not typically a bombshell, she had a kind of effortless coolness that sparkled when she smiled; something that, despite all the money she might throw around, Fiona would never be able to attain. Gloomily, Sabina noted that Tamara was probably the kind of girl that Alex liked.

"Anyway, I assume you're the female friend we've got on our files? Newly resident of the good old US of A?"

"I –"

"Oh, where are my manners – pretend I never said that." Tamara gave a conspiratorial grin, waving her hand around as if erasing the memory. "Hi, I'm Tamara. And you're Sabina. May I ask how you know Alex?"

It was almost impossible to resent her. "I'm friends with him," Sabina said, wondering if she was doing the right thing. "I've recently moved to America." This time when Tamara grinned, Sabina smiled back. "Pardon me for asking, but –"

"Oh, I was definitely rude first!"

Sabina waved her apology off. "But you seem awfully young to be working for the CIA..?"

"You say that, knowing Alex?"

Sabina blushed.

"I was actually recruited when I was nineteen, still in college. Didn't know what I wanted to do with my life, wanted to travel and make a difference in the world, and there you have it. I wasn't meant to go on a mission so soon, but Byrne thought it might help Alex if someone also young worked with him this time."

"This time…"

"The first set resented him and they ended up passing on, pardon the bluntness."

Although Sabina knew Alex's job was dangerous, had experienced it firsthand, the words still sent a shiver down her spine. She wondered how Tamara felt, being so young and having given up the chance of a normal life.

"Don't get me wrong, I love my job. There's nothing more satisfying than knowing that I've stopped so many deaths. But I never forget the danger. Alex is lucky, you know."

Sabina scoffed.

"Not lucky to work for MI6," Tamara frowned, "but lucky to be alive. He almost died, you know. I had to save him from drowning."

Ice, unbearable pressure surrounding her, fire in her lungs. For a moment, Sabina couldn't speak. "I'm glad he has someone in the CIA there for him."

Tamara smiled, kindly. "My job will always come first. If it comes down to it, the lives of my countrymen will always trump his. I like him, and I'll try to help him, but in the end, my boss is my boss and I do what he says."

She paused as if waiting for a response, but what could you say to that?

In the end, Tamara patted her on the shoulder and moved away, "I'm glad he has friends like you to take care of him when I can't."

Finally, Sabina approached Alex, smoothing down her hair. "Hey, Alex," she began, and felt a thrill when his attention turned to her and his face broke into a wide smile.