"Are you sure you know what you're doing?"
Melody stared at Wade with perched lips and a raised eyebrow. Her expression said, 'Really?' and a smirk formed across his lips. "Which one of us has been undercover for two years?"
"You're cute when you're annoyed."
"Shut up," she said as she tried to hide the light blush that heated her cheeks. Melody was carefully attaching wires and a small microphone to Wade's chest. A powder blue dress shirt hung loosely on his shoulders, leaving his chest exposed. He was leaning against the back of the couch, watching Melody work. She tucked wires into his black slacks and connected them with a receptor box that clipped to the inside of his belt. Melody was talking to herself. Wade smiled at her, not really listening to what she was saying. He just watched her. She went back to her bedroom and grabbed her clothes without Dick noticing. She wore light wash skinny jeans and the blue hoody that Wade gave her weeks ago. It was still big on her, and she still looked adorably small in it.
"What's the plan again?" Wade asked as Melody secured the wires with surgical tape.
"The plan is you have no idea about what is going on. Don't tip him off that you are wearing a wire. Just don't mess anything up, okay?"
"Oh, you have such little faith in me. What exactly have I suppose to be listening for, then?"
Melody answered him as she put the surgical tape back in the first aid kit. "Anything connecting Dick to a human trafficking ring stationed on an island off the border between California and Mexico. This prick sends his wealthy business partners and friends down there to buy foreign girls to be exotic wives. Most of the girls can barely speak English, let alone consent. The men he sends are high-end socialites, real estate tycoons, and trust fund babies. People that can make anyone at S.H.I.E.L.D. deal with ten years of paperwork each. Not exactly the lowlife's you deal with, Wade. Are you sure you're up to this?"
Wade nodded as he buttoned his shirt. "Anything else?"
She turned back to face him. "A name. Rachael Mores."
"And what about you?" Wade said walking closer to her. "How'd you get caught up in all this, Mel?"
Melody looked him in the eyes finally. "I do my job, Wade. Sometimes it gets messy. But I do what I have to do."
"What do you mean?"
Her eyes got sad and she perched her lips. Staying silent, she obverted her eyes so he couldn't see the haziness that was forming. Melody knew she would have to tell him sooner or later, but she had been praying for later. "My so-called husband is a man that isn't very happy when he doesn't get what he wants. I'd call him a spoiled child, but he's much more dangerous than that. He's killed without a second thought. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s been after him for years. I'm one of the only agents that have gotten this close to him in an investigation. I can't let what he does to me compromise two years' worth of undercover work and let it go to waste. It'll just add to the charges."
"Melody. I know what he does to you." Wade gently grabbed her arms. "He's beating you, hurting you. It's killing me to know that. And it's killing me that I can't do shit to help you. I know you can take care of yourself. And if this is the only way to keep you safe, I'll do whatever it takes."
Melody smiled at him. The tears in her eyes subsided but they were still clouded with mist. She adjusted the collar of Wade's shirt. Wade's hands shifted from her arms down to her waist and he held her closer to him. She wanted to kiss him so bad, but she was afraid if she did, she wouldn't want to let him go. She couldn't risk it. Wade could. He had nothing to lose. Melody had everything to lose.
"You should get down there," she said in a soft voice, barely above a whisper. "He'll be suspicious if you're late."
Wade stealthily stole a small kiss from her and let her remove herself from his arms. Melody took longer than he thought she would. She lightly held his hand and stroked his skin with her thumb. The memory of his rough skin made her shiver. She hoped Wade didn't notice. "Why do I still have to wear these suits?"
'Way to ruin the mood, Wilson.'
Melody smiled halfheartedly, "Just go. Don't make me regret trusting you with this."
She pushed him lightly on the chest as he made his way to the door. She followed close behind. Their hands never separated. Wade opened the bedroom door. He turned to face Melody once more before leaving the threshold. He smiled down at her again and she returned bashfully. Wade leaned into her and captured her lips in a passionate kiss. Melody closed her eyes and let herself get carried away by him. The kiss was short but full of desire.
"Now, what would make you do that?"
Melody sat at the monitor that was stationed in the hidden control room. Her feet were tucked up underneath her and her eyes were glued to the several security monitors that surveyed different areas of the house, specifically where Dick and Wade were. She wore a set of headphones that connected to a microphone. Wade was given an earpiece so that he could hear Melody and Pierce in the command room. Melody watched the screen, mindlessly, recording any sort of conversation that was going on between the two men.
She heard the door to the hidden room slide open. She didn't bother to look. She knew there was only one other person that it could have been. Melody absentmindedly reached for the coffee cup that Pierce was handing her and transferred it to the counter in front of her. Pierce sat in the chair next to her with a huff and took a sip of his coffee.
"Nice sweater," He stated in his low voice. "Your boyfriend get it for you?"
"Jealous he didn't get you anything?"
"I'll be happy when this bullshit is finally over with. You really think he can get what we need?"
"You have so little faith in him."
"What are you going to do when this is over?"
"Well, the prenuptial agreement is considered invalid if a felony is committed. Part of the fine print that Dick didn't even bother to read. So I'll get to keep his estate and the profits from his company. So I think I'll be set. How about you? Going to head back to New York?"
"My family is still there. My wife tells me she misses me every day. I'd like to see her somewhere besides a computer screen and Skype. You don't want to go back?"
Melody shook her head. "There's nothing back there for me, Peirce."
"I love gossip as much as the next girl, but isn't there an undercover operation going down that I was thrown into the middle of for some reason?" Wade said through the microphone. Dick must have left the room for something.
Peirce adjusted his headset, "Sorry about that, Wilson. The line's open and recording."
"Ready for this, Beautiful?"
Melody smiled and watched Wade pace around the room. "I've been ready. Let's get this over with."
"Couldn't agree with you more."
They all got quiet with the door to the parlor opened and Dick entered the room with two other men. Melody knew them. They were friends of Dick's that she wasn't fond of. They were just like him. Arrogant, prideful, unable to keep their hands to themselves. Just like Dick. Wade was introduced to the men; their names were John and Henry… or something like that. She didn't really care. They would just be collateral damage. Right now, they just needed to know what Dick had to say.
"Wade," Dick said as he entered the room with the two new men. "These two are a couple of my business associates. Henry and John Callahan."
The two brothers shook hands with Wade, reintroducing themselves to each other. Melody gave Wade some credit, he was good at acting interested. The men chatted about the varying numbers of the rising and falling stocks and their investments in them. Most of the stocks were extremely illegal, but they were hidden by dozens of loopholes and business contracts. They were scumbags, to say the least.
Anyways, they started a game to break the ice. The men discussed things of business and crude humor that made Melody roll her eyes and groan. But still, she listened to their conversations. The four men gathered around the end of the billiard table. Melody leaned back in her chair, her hands clutched her coffee mug. She looked up to the ceiling with an exhausted sigh. She hated stakeouts. She felt like they were unnecessary for the overall outcome. But according to S.H.I.E.L.D., this was the only way to get accurate information on the subject. Much to her disapproval.
Melody had made at least three full rotations in her swivel chair before the men said anything relevant. Dick and the other men were laughing at something that he said. However, Wade looked uncomfortable about the whole situation he was in. Trapped in a room with a man he would kill without a second thought and two guys that he would at least threaten for fun. Whatever he was feeling if wasn't going to work for very long. The others would get suspicious sooner or later.
"At least act like you're interested," Melody hissed at him through his hidden earpiece. He turned towards the security camera, unnoticed by the men in the room with him. Melody watched Wade through the monitor. He subtly flipped her off, hiding his middle finger behind the pool cue. "Flattering will get you nowhere, Wilson." Wade glared at her as best as he could through his peripheral vision. And with that comment, Melody turned her microphone off.
Wade was pulled out of his silent trance with the sound of crashing ivory spheres on the table. Dick had broken the flat pyramid, causing the balls to spiral in different directions. Dick watched, chewing on the end of his cigar, as the colored orbs halted to a stop. He cursed when not one of the small globes sunk into a hole on the edges of the table. The other men chuckled and Wade pretended to care like Melody asked. Even if it was killing him.
"So, Dick," John started as he lined up a shot. "How's that little wife of yours? Rachael. Haven't seen her around in a while."
'Rachael?' Wade thought with suspension.
Dick laughed, unphased by the odd question. "John you must be confused. Rachael's been gone for a while. She just wasn't getting with our program."
John nodded. Then Henry chimed in his two cents. "John, I'm sure I told you about this. He got a new one a few years ago. Pretty, young, Greek girl. Didn't you get her in the same place you got the other one, Dick?"
Wade listened carefully while he aimed the cue ball at the solid red ball. He felt like this was something that was vital to Melody's investigation. Even when the subject matter made him sick to his stomach. Three men that he barely knew were having a casual conversation about buying and selling women. And one of the women was Melody. His Melody. All the strength in his body was centered on the wooden cue as he hit the white ball with great force causing the ball to collide with the red ball and three other solid balls sending them into different directions and into the holes.
Melody watched him from the monitor. She flinched as the loud crack echoed through the speakers. Melody rubbed her temple and perched her lips. She wasn't ready for Wade to find out about that, but she didn't think the men would bring up the past that fast. She was hoping Wade would never find out, or at least not so soon. She was planning on telling him about her present operation long after it was done and over with.
Peirce turned to her, eyebrows high on his forehead. The equipment continued to record the conversation as he took his headphones off. Melody tried not to make eye contact with him because if she did, she would have to explain what just happened. But she couldn't avoid him forever. Her eyes darted over to meet his, her body stayed still. His lips were pressed into a thin line and one eyebrow was higher than the other as if his face was asking the question for him.
"You didn't tell him, did you?" Peirce asked.
"What do you think?" Melody snapped quietly.
"I think you should've told him what happened before we threw him in the middle of this. What were you thinking?"
"Peirce, I brought you into this because you know my history. I didn't plan on bringing Wade into this. And I plan to keep him out of my history for as long as I can. And you are not to tell him either." Her voice came out harsh and serious. "This doesn't change anything."
She turned back to her monitor and pulled the headphones back on. Peirce sighed and shook his head as he too turned back to the screen in front of him. The men continued on with their game. Their conversation circled back around to Rachael. John puffed out a cloud of smoke into the air. Wade was just happy he had his healing factor. The thick cloud of dark tobacco hung above their heads and Wade could feel it sink into his lungs. John coughed and smiled as he asked, "So, what did happen to the other one? Rachael?"
Dick scoffed. "She really was a pain. You know women sometimes. They just don't know how to listen. Melody might be a pain in the ass, but she can be controlled with a bit of incentive. Rachael just wasn't getting that I don't take "no" for an answer." He chuckled. "But it's hard for anyone to say anything when their lungs are filling with blood."
"Oh my god," Melody breathed. She turned pale and held her mouth in her hand, trying not to get sick. She was hoping Rachael was only missing. She knew the thought that she was dead had to come up at some point. But Rachael was a friend. A fellow agent. When they lost communication with her everyone else assumed the worst, Melody prayed that she just went missing or Dick sent her to another compound and she'd been resold. But now Melody knew that her colleague was dead, rotting in a shallow grave somewhere in Mexico.
Wade was almost in the same level of emotional distress, except he had to hide it. When he heard what Dick had done to Rachael, we had no doubt that he would soon do the same thing to Melody. He had to help her, but the only way he could keep her safe was to get rid of Dick. And this was the way they were going to do it. But the violent voice in the back of his mind was to break the pool cue into shards and impale everyone within a five feet radius of himself. But he kept himself in control. He'll deal with his temper later. Wade knew that getting mad and killing everyone won't help anyone else, besides himself.
The game wrapped up as Wade sunk the eight ball into the upper right corner pocket. The other men and Dick offered for Wade to join them at a cigar bar downtown, but he declined, saying that he had something to deal with upstairs. Dick smiled, remembering the brunette he saw upstairs a few hours ago. The men waved farewell and closed the door behind them. Wade's temper flowed over. Melody watched from her place on the computer. Wade smashed the pool cue against the billiard table, sending splinters of various sizes to fly across the room. The cue was now a short, pointed spear. He gripped it in a tight fist before throwing it at the door where Dick had just been standing. The cue shattered a little more, but a generous piece of it got lodged inside the wood of the door and was now stuck. Wade calmed down a bit before he reached for the door handle and left the billiard room, leaving the cue in the door.
Melody rushed out of the control room. She threw her sweatshirt off and ran down the hallways to the foyer. She now wore her light wash skinny jeans and a black tank top. Melody entered the main lobby of the house as Dick was about to leave. Wade rounded the corner with clenched fists. He looked up to see Dick with his arm around Melody and his lips pressed against her temple. Her body was tense as Dick held her to his body in an aggressive manner. Dick left the house behind his colleagues as Wade entered into the foyer fully.
Melody's face fell in her hands. After all these years of investigation and she found out her friend was dead. Wade came up beside her and gently gripped her shoulder. She flinched. Looking up at his face, he could see tears start to form in her eyes.
"Wade, I…" She didn't finish.
Wade silenced her by pulling her into his embrace. He buried his face into her golden mane. His lips grazed the top of her head. He didn't need to say anything to her, and he didn't need her to explain herself. He knew she would tell him when she was ready. The only thing he knew he had to do was comfort her. Melody melted into his arms. Gripping onto him tightly. Her face hidden from him in the crease of his neck. She didn't want him to see her cry again, but she had no control over the tears that fell onto his skin.
Wade sunk down to his knees, carrying her with him. Her arms still tights around his neck. Her legs folded next to his. He held her like that until her sobs turned into whimpers. And Wade held her there and let her cry.