Chapter 18
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Declan's POV.
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It took quite literally everything in me to hold back from looking absolutely giddy about all that had happened the night before—even if nothing actually 'happened'. The woman I loved, she loved me back—so I was in the clouds with no chance of returning anytime soon.
By the time I exited the elevator with Zhen, I managed to construct a completely convincing serious face. Soon my emotions calmed with it, and I got back into 'agent mode'.
Luther looked like a mess. He probably had a hangover—a big one at that. It wasn't surprising, since we all figured we were on vacation… yet obviously that wasn't the case.
"This girl is starting to piss me off," Luther announced.
"Yeah, tell me about it," Smartie complained, rubbing his temples. "First Reggie, now Heron?"
"She's picking us off," Bobbie decided. "She has a vendetta against IMF. It only makes sense."
I shot her a look to let her know that I hadn't forgiven her for that stunt she pulled the other day.
"Don't try to make sense out of madness," I countered, setting my jacket down on the table and taking a seat. "She's insane, that's all there is to it. Now how are we goin' t' get our boss back before Lucas poisons her?"
"We were hoping you could tell us," Luther said. "You were the one who stayed to watch the tracer pin her location. So where is she?"
"Los Angeles," I replied without hesitation. "But I can't remember the address. Something Valley Road."
"Well, that helps…" Bobbie said sarcastically.
"Sea Valley Road," said a familiar voice from behind them. All eyes turned to the door, where Ethan Hunt leaned against the frame with a smug grin on his face. "I took the liberty of getting the tracer computer out of the wreckage. I had Benji run a scan."
"What's up, brother!" Luther said, a grin showing through on his face for the first time that day. He shook hand with his old friend. "What brings you up to this part of the building? Shouldn't you be off educating some novices somewhere?"
"Thought I'd lend you a hand," he replied with a smile, shaking my hand and doing the same to everyone else. "It is my day off, after all."
"That makes one of us," Luther mumbled angrily as he typed in the street name into his laptop. "Sea Valley Road, Malibu, California."
"You wouldn't happened to have dug up the address, would you, Hunt?" I joked.
"No," he replied. "But I know someone who can."
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Declan folded his arms, watching through the one-sided mirror into the interrogation room. The entire team stood around him, gazing at the Spanish man on the other side like a fish in a fishbowl. His neck was in a brace.
"I thought you killed Costales, Zhen?" I said to her.
"I thought I did too…" Zhen replied with confusion, looking to Ethan for the answer.
"You got him pretty good in the neck, that's all. A guard found him long after you guys left and he called 911. The police matched him to the most-wanted list and tried to interrogate Costales themselves, but as soon as we figured out who he was, we came and picked him up."
"Has he said anything yet?" Bobby asked him.
"Only that he, and I quote, 'wants to speak to the bitch who put him in the brace'. He won't talk to anyone else."
I glanced at Zhen, whose eyes were fixed on Costales. Her expression was unchanged. She must've been back in 'agent mode' as well.
"Day off, my foot," Luther commented with a smirk. "You've been following our case the whole damn way, haven't you?"
"Just keeping an eye on some friends."
"Yeah, we your only friends," Luther retorted.
"Might as well give him what he wants," Zhen said. "I'll talk to him."
I looked at her with surprise and a little worry. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw an exchange of looks between Luther and Ethan at my obvious concern for Zhen.
"Are you sure?" I asked her. She nodded firmly in reply.
She exited the room, Bobby, Smarty and Luther at her heels. I moved to follow her, but Ethan held me back by my arm.
"Hey," he said. "Can we talk for a minute?"
I let the door close without me going through.
"Am I in trouble?" I asked jokingly, but I was a little cautious.
Ethan smiled in his usual mysterious way.
"Com'on," he gently urged, smile still in place.
I was a little nervous about what Ethan would ask for a private moment just to tell me. He carried papers in his hand, which only added to my inner turmoils. Though, outwardly, I showed none of this.
"I don't want to make a scene," Ethan said. "So I'll make this quick and save you from having to answer too many questions."
"What's up?"
"These were on Costales when we found him." Ethan gave me the papers in his hand, and my eyes grew wide at what I saw.
It was me, leaving the restaurant with Zhen, and another, kissing her before we had parted ways to go to her house. Someone had spotted us.
My heart froze, and I knew we were busted. I was disappointed at how quickly it had happened. How quickly our heavenly world came crashing down to hell.
"Don't freak out," Ethan warned me. "I confiscated them before anyone but me could see them."
I could only stare at the ghastly black and white photos, my own face staring at me, not really computing all that they entailed. This couldn't be happening… it was unreal…
Then I looked up to Zhen, who was just entering the interrogation room. The voice speaker was off, so I could only read her lips to know what she was saying to him.
"We can safely assume Costales took these himself, but what we don't know is who gave him the tip. Were you in contact with any people that night?"
"It was late, some ungodly hour," I replied in a monotone. "Not another living soul for miles… Wait—except the bartender."
I recalled when that blasted man had given me a thumbs up on my way out with Zhen. And me, like the stupid fool I was, returned his gesture without second thought.
"What's going on with you and Zhen, huh?" Ethan asked, motioning to the window where Zhen was circling around the prisoner in deep conversation.
I looked at him and didn't know what to say. He caught on quickly; probably with the look on my face it was answer enough for him.
"You're going to ruin her, you know that right?" Ethan warned me. "Did you think about her in all this?"
"I couldn't—I tried to, but…" was my pathetic response.
"You're too good for this, Declan," Ethan said. "What happened to loving the single life, being a bachelor forever?"
"It… changed…" I said in a low voice, staring at him shamefully.
"Declan," Ethan leaned even closer to whisper. "I have to ask: have you slept with her yet?"
I looked at him fiercely, offended by the question, but I knew he had a right to know. This man held my career's fate in his hands—I had no choice anyway, but to answer. I stared at Zhen when I replied:
"No, I haven't. But believe me, that's not for lack of wantin' to."
I shoved the papers back into his hands, glaring at him seriously.
"Burn them," I commanded him.
"You'll be found out by IMF next, sooner or later, you know that, right?" Ethan put his last two cents in. "If you're in love as much as you obviously seem, than you won't be able to hide it."
"No offense, but watch me."
"You've just made this more hazardous for the both of you. I want you to understand, I'm strongly advising you against this."
I was getting mad now, even though he was just saying what I had already thought on before.
"I know the risks," I countered. "But I'm not letting this one go."
"Then I hope you're prepared to live with your decision."
I stared at my beautiful lady, getting into the heat of the moment now with her captive, her hair falling all into her face and her eyes wide with anger.
"Oh yeah, I'm prepared," I assured him.
"You're still stubborn," Ethan said, shaking his head with disbelief. "Com'on, I'll buy you a cup of coffee before you jet to Cali."
I felt a sudden sense of guiltiness for dragging Zhen into this. Who liked the other first? It was me, wasn't it? So that made it my fault, right?
"Ethan," I stopped him with words before he left out the door. "You'd do the same if it was Julia, wouldn't you?"
He seemed to consider it, then answered boldly.
"Most definitely."
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Sorry it took so
long! Life has been, in a word, crazy. Please review.
Signed,
--RedRogue