Well, guys, sorry for the long wait, but I had a really bad case of writer's block! Here's the new chapter; hope you like it!
-Lauren
x.x.x
The sunlight filtered into the bedroom, and Tamara felt her mind slip back into consciousness as the warmth of the rays tickled her face. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes.
Yassen was already awake, doing weights. As soon as she awoke, Yassen sensed it, and turned around to face her.
'Good morning,' he said politely.
'Morning,' she replied, trying to hide her blush. Yassen wasn't wearing a shirt.
There was an awkward moment – neither of the two knew what to say next. Yassen almost went back to his weights, but Tamara decided to break the silence.
'Why did Joe send us here so early anyway?' asked Tamara, flopping back down on the bed, too tired to bring herself to stand up.
'I suppose he wants it to look natural, and for us to get some background information,' stated Yassen, pulling on a loose-fitting polo shirt and a pair of jeans. Tamara respectfully turned away as he changed. 'Plus we only have a few days more.'
'It's a long time if we've got nothing to do,' said Tamara.
'We're going to the ballet tonight,' said Yassen, sitting down in the hotel chair and crossing his arms.
'Oh yeah!' said Tamara, who'd forgotten all about the ballet. 'What time is it?'
'7 o' clock,' answered Yassen. 'You should get up now.'
Tamara was tempted to be immature and say something like 'but the ballet's not until 7!' but she didn't want to be seen as immature in front of her partner. Plus there was something about Yassen that stopped you from arguing with him.
She pulled herself out of bed and stood up, stretching and yawning.
'What are we going to do today then?' she asked, stifling a yawn.
'I was thinking about seeing the sights of Sydney,' said Yassen. He'd come up with the idea last night – it would be a good time to try to gain her trust; people were more trusting when they were happy.
'That's a good idea,' said Tamara. 'Don't you think it's a beautiful city?' she said, looking out to the harbour. Yassen looked out and turned back to her, not answering. Cities were not beautiful in his eyes. Nothing was, for that matter. Or at least not yet.
'You should get changed and ready,' he said, glancing at his watch. Tamara was tempted to roll her eyes, but Yassen had a point. Plus she didn't want to anger him, at least not yet.
'Yeah, ok,' she said, taking some clothes out of her bag and heading to the bathroom. Within 10 minutes she was changed and ready to leave.
'So, the sights of Sydney, huh? This will be fun,' said Tamara, smiling. She loved sightseeing, but she hardly had enough time when she was on missions. Yassen did not share her enthusiasm, however – he was staring out the window, deep in thought.
'Yes. What do you want to see first?' he asked, turning to her.
'The Harbour Bridge,' said Tamara, smiling. She was excited. Yassen liked the fact that Tamara was happy – people are naturally more trusting and more easily influenced when they are happy.
They walked down to the harbour, which was only a short distance away from the apartment. There was a sense of calm and tranquillity around the area, as slow moving ships forged their way through the harbour. Seagulls picked up food scraps greedily, children chased them off, people strolled through the area, not a single one looking sad or melancholy.
They sat at a small café where they had a clear view of the harbour, the bridge and the opera house. Tamara was taken by the city's beauty, but Yassen couldn't care less – he had many other things to think about.
'Do you want to climb the bridge?' Yassen asked her.
Tamara smiled. 'Why not?'
Half an hour later, Yassen found himself all geared up to climb the bridge. Of course, with his skills, he could climb the bridge safely using only a single rope, but most of the people that were joining them weren't spies, and were definitely not assassins pretending to be spies.
'Don't be scared. There's absolutely no way you can fall,' the instructor told the group. Tamara squeezed Yassen's hand, and gave him an amused smile.
'Who wants to volunteer to be first?' asked the instructor.
The group was silent.
'We'll go first,' volunteered Tamara.
'Excellent,' said the instructor.
As Tamara and Yassen climbed the bridge, they saw that there was no way they could fall off – even if they wanted to. Numerous ropes were tied securely to their waist and to the bridge, and each of the group was tied to each other in one long human chain. Tamara resisted the urge to laugh at the safety of it all when her normal life was fraught with danger.
When they reached the top, Tamara paused to look at the harbour. It truly was beautiful. The sunlight's reflection was dancing on the harbour's waters, like silver mercury mixed with the water. The ships looked tiny from the top of the bridge, and the people even tinier. The Opera House seemed to grow out of the ground like a peculiar white plant, its sails pure white in the sunlight. The wind whipped through her hair, and she felt like she was queen of the world.
Yassen was right behind her, and he held her hand. She turned around and smiled at him.
'I want to live here,' she whispered to him. Yassen was amused. Women were so easily influenced. Tamara had only spent a day in the city, and she already wanted to live here. Yassen thought he would have to take much more time to make any kind of important decision, but little did he know he'd subconsciously made a decision that he loved the city as well.
x.x.x
For the next few hours, they wandered around the city, going almost everywhere. They'd been to Sydney Aquarium, which was in an ironic spot – right by the harbour, where similar marine life lived freely while their counterparts in the aquarium were sealed in.
They had then took a tour of the Opera House, where they would watch the ballet that night. It really was a marvel of engineering, and cutting-edge design. Tamara was looking forward to the performance that night.
They had wandered around the shopping centres briefly, but neither of them found anything of interest to them. Guns were not readily available in Australia, much to their disappointment.
'What do you want to do next?' asked Yassen.
Tamara considered. They'd strolled around the whole of Sydney city, and now, she just wanted to relax. She was ashamed of finding walking around tiring, but somehow, it was. Without the adrenaline danger provided her with, she found she was quite easily tired.
They boarded the ferry and headed to the front of the deck.
'The harbour's so pretty,' said Tamara.
Yassen nodded.
'Just like you,' he said, making another failed attempt to smile.
'Aw, thanks honey,' she replied, smiling perfectly back at him.
The ferry started its engine and with a shudder, it started to move.
Tamara couldn't help but smile. The wind whipped through her hair, hitting her face with a pleasant cold burst.
Tamara ran over to the edge of the ferry, indicating for Yassen to follow her. She leaned over and held her arm out. The spray of the water just tickled the tips of her fingers. Yassen put an arm on her shoulder to ensure that she didn't fall in.
'Be careful,' he warned.
'I'm fine, sweetie,' she said. 'Don't worry.'
Tamara stood back up and looked around. They were passing right under the Sydney Harbour Bridge now; she could hear the rumble of traffic above her.
The sun on her skin felt good. For once in a long time, Tamara felt alive. In Boston, everything was so cold. Clouds forever dominated the sky and there was always a cool wind waiting to make you shiver. However, in Sydney, there was not a cloud in sight and the sun was shining brighter than she'd ever seen it before.
On impulse, and maybe because of the sudden rush of happiness, she hugged Yassen and kissed him on the cheek.
'Thanks for the ferry ride,' she whispered to him.
'You're welcome,' he replied. Yassen felt his heart flutter, and was surprised. It was a CIA agent. Yassen never fell in love. Yassen didn't have emotions.
Or at least that's what he'd been telling himself for the last 21 years.