Chapter 23: Perched

Marta followed Aaron silently as they made their way through the city. Finally, he pointed at an old, neglected concrete building and she nodded, understanding that was their destination. He led her around back to a parking lot, glancing at the van to make sure it was undisturbed, before heading to the stairway. Marta cringed at the loud creak of the steel door but Aaron seemed unconcerned as they climbed a few flights of stairs. He stopped in front of a door with a worn, faded sign and signaled her to stay put.

Aaron made sure the place was vacant and untouched from his last visit then retrieved Marta. She looked around, taking in the abandoned office space, while Aaron made his way to the bank of windows.

"Come here," he instructed. When she approached, he pointed to another building outside in perfect view of their hide out. "The morgue. Now all we do is wait until the staff is closing up. Then you'll approach our contact and question her."

"And ask her what exactly?" Marta wondered, a sinking feeling settling over her.

"You'll just ask if a young Asian man was brought in a few days ago. You'll tell her your boyfriend has gone missing and you're sure something terrible has happened. She'll likely tell you to call the police and follow proper procedures or to come back in the morning and request information from someone in charge. You'll be very upset and explain he was high when he left you and rode off on his motorcycle to get more drugs and never came back. Tell her you're too afraid to go to police and don't want to get him in trouble, especially if it turns out he's fine. Beg her to tell you only if a young man involved in a motorcycle crash had been brought in. She'll tell you."

"You're sure of that?" she asked, skeptical.

"Yes," he responded, confident. "The tough part will be to convince her to show you his personal belongings."

"The medication dispenser," she murmured, in understanding.

"She'll deny access to anything at first-she won't want to risk her job. So ask to see his body first. Then when she declines, ask if he was brought in with anything that could identify him. It should seem reasonable to her that you're only asking to see his things. If she hesitates, ask only for the necklace. Assure her you only want to see it-that you won't take it and no one would ever know you were there. Hopefully showing it to you will seem harmless enough."

"And if that doesn't work?"

Aaron dumped his backpack on an old metal desk. He opened it and rooted around, finally pulling out a small baggie. He handed it to her. "Offer her this."

She looked at the little pouch of white powder with wide eyes. "Is this cocaine?"

"Yes. Tell her it's all the coke your boyfriend left behind. She'll go for it."

"And if not?" she questioned, though she was beginning to believe his plan would work.

"Plan B," he shrugged. "But I don't think you want to hear that one."

Marta groaned, "I'm sure you're right. I'll just have to convince her to let me see the necklace."

"You can do this. This was your idea," he reminded her, smiling. "We've got a few hours to kill. Our girl is the one who locks up the building at closing time. Let's rehearse the interaction and train for a number of curve-balls. Then I'll go over the details of our exit strategy with you. You need to know how to get out of the country without me, if it comes to that."

He saw the look of fear in her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere without you. We just have to be ready for any complications. If we stay under the radar, we can get clear tonight and gain some breathing room." He placed his hands on her shoulders and drew her close. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she nodded. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and sunk into his embrace. "We need that medication. I'll get it."

He pulled back to look into her eyes. "I know you will. You're a warrior."

She smiled back at him, acknowledging his reference to their earlier adventures. He kissed her, then was back on task, drilling her on the details of the mission until she was mentally exhausted.

"Enough," Marta said, rubbing her temples. "I'm as prepared as I'll ever be. No more."

"All right," Aaron relented. "You're ready. Just one last thing."

Her shoulders drooped and her hands fell to her sides in defeat. "What?"

He looked her over approvingly. "You look stressed and worn out."

"Flatterer."

Aaron wore a crooked grin. "But you're too clean. You're supposed to be a grubby hippy chick slumming around with a strung-out boyfriend. Stressed and worn out is good but we need you dirty and tired, too."

Marta's eyebrow lifted. "I'm sure you have a plan for that, as well?"

"Semper Fi" he grinned, hooking his index fingers in the loops of her cut-offs, pulling her in.

That task accomplished, they still had some time left to wait and silence fell between them as they were lost in their own thoughts. Eventually, Aaron spoke "I wanted to hurt that frat boy in the market," he admitted.

Marta looked over at him. Aaron's big blue eyes were full of guilt and peering into her face for signs of revulsion but found none. "I know," she whispered.

He felt reassured he hadn't yet scared her off. Part of him knew he should be concerned she wasn't alarmed by his actions. The other part was glad she shared his tainted morality. Mostly he was grateful she hadn't rejected him. She accepted him as he was, despite the things he had done. Much the same, he chose to overlook her dubious deeds and love her anyways.

He kissed her deeply, his eyes locked onto hers and he realized there was no choice at all. He was bound to love her, no matter what she had done. He had been an unwilling slave to Outcome and broke those chains. With Marta, though, he couldn't bear the thought of those ties breaking.

Noticing the anguish in his face, Marta asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he assured her.

His claim did nothing to alleviate her worry. "Do you have a bad feeling about tonight?"

"No, no. The operation will succeed, I'm sure of it, or I wouldn't let you do this."

"Then...?"

Aaron sighed, not sure of how to put his feelings into words. "I was enslaved. I was controlled and Outcome used me to do their dirty work. A sin-eater, Byer called me."

Marta looked confused but sympathetic. She reached for his hand and squeezed it. She held it tight and hoped to bring him comfort.

"I can't let them take anything more from me. I can't let them win."

"They won't," she told him with confidence. "We've got this. We'll beat them. Together."

Aaron nodded, feeling somewhat reassured. He could take comfort in the fact he had Marta safe with him, for now. She was right; they were in this together to whatever the end. He wouldn't let NRAG strip him of anything else. He would make every minute of life his own. He felt Marta place her hand in his. His eyes met her smiling gaze then glanced down.

"We may have overdone it a little," Aaron said with a chuckle. He brushed the grime of the floor off her clothes. He looked at his dirty hands then wiped them off on the seat of her jean shorts, laughing.

"Oh, nice," she accused as he dug into his pack for his change of clothes. "You can wipe that smirk off your face."

He walked towards her buttoning his shirt, a grin wide on his face. "Baby, this smile isn't wearing off anytime soon."

Marta scoffed and turned from him so he wouldn't see her amusement, but he caught her about the waist and pulled her in to kiss her. He savored the moment and held her tight. After kissing her again he looked deep into her eyes. "I love you."

Marta knew she should tell him the same, but it didn't feel right. If she said it now, just before she put her life on the line, it was like it would seal her fate-that it would be a good-bye. And she wasn't ready to part from him. So she decided to lighten the mood instead. "Well, after what we just did, you better."

A fleeting look of disappointment crossed Aaron's face and Marta realized she had made a mistake. But it was too late. He was already responding, "Oh, after that, it would be impossible not to."

He gave her a quick kiss, leaving her feeling guilty, and walked to the windows. Activity had picked up and there were already some employees leaving the morgue.

"We've only got between fifteen and twenty minutes before you're on." He motioned towards a door at the other end of the open room. "There's a toilet in there but it's bad. I would only use it if you're really desperate. Don't flush."

Marta grimaced. "I'll have to brave it. Perhaps the stench will loan itself to authenticity."

He gave her an apologetic look and a half-smile then turned back to his watch. In that moment, he was Kenneth. Hurt and rejection radiated from him and Marta felf impelled to approach him. She stepped up behind him and placed her forehead to his spine like she had before on the boat. Her hands moved down his back then wrapped around him. She kissed his shoulder blade and was about to speak when he stopped her.

"Don't say it now."

"Aaron...," she interjected.

"I mean it, Marta. I don't need your pity," he said with a bitter edge.

"Pity is hardly what I feel for you," she retorted.

He turned to her then. "Don't you dare. Not now. We need to get ready. Go."

She took a step back, surprised by his harsh tone. He turned back toward the window again. "Aaron...," she tried again.

"It's fine, Marta. Really, I'm fine. You need to head down in about five minutes, so get yourself ready. I'll follow and watch from the alley in the van like we discussed. Go now."

Without another word, she left for the bathroom and he cursed his past life and insecurities. P***y, he muttered to himself. You're on Ops, soldier. Pull it together. Then, after a beat, She needs Aaron Cross, not the weakling you were. Kenny is dead. Lock it down.

When Marta came back, Aaron was back to his old self. "All set?"

"I think so," she responded, glad his dark mood had passed. Then, referring to the toilet, "That was hideous."

He laughed. "Sorry." The word came out more weighted than he meant it to. He walked over to her pack, handed it to her, told her to put it on and turn around. "Good, you look just right."

She gave him a shaky smile.

He stood in front of her, grasping her shoulders, and looked her dead in the eye. "You're a carefree wanderer. You're seeing the world and living life to the fullest, as it comes, with your boyfriend. You open to all experiences and live like you'll die tomorrow. You didn't have a care in the world until your boyfriend disappeared. Now you're lost. You just need to know what happened. You can't move on without him until you know for sure he's gone. You have a bad feeling he is dead but you need proof. Despite the risk, you need to know. Got it?"

Marta nodded her head. After peering into her eyes intently for a few seconds, Aaron nodded once, kissed her forehead, and released her. "Okay. Let's get the program medication and go home."