A week had passed since Alex and I received our assignment. We had just gotten off our plane to Rome, and we were on a bus to Venice.

I gazed out the window, taking in the beauty of Rome. The buildings, the statues, the art, the people – everything was beautiful. Growing up in New York City and Washington D.C., I had never witnessed such a breathtaking sight. I sighed, wishing I could stop to take pictures.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Alex murmured into my ear.

"Yeah."

Alex wrapped his arms around my shoulders and kissed me. Even though I knew he was just acting for the sake of the assignment, his kiss felt nice anyway. Alex pressed his lips to my ear again.

"My friend, Smithers, will be waiting for us in Venice," he whispered.

I nodded.

"Then we're on our own."

"Okay."

Alex leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes and drifted off. After a while, I fell asleep too.

Later that day, Alex and I took a cab to a luxury hotel where a suite was reserved for us. We checked in and headed up to the suite. I unlocked the door and opened it. The main room had a dark leather couch set, a cherry wood coffee table, and a large flatscreen TV. The honey colored walls gave off a warm, homey vibe. Alex and I entered the suite and found that our luggage had already been brought up. I peered into the kitchen. There was an oven, stove, microwave, fridge, and table with two chairs. I went back out to the main room and lay across the leather couch.

"Cam," Alex called, using his preferred, shortened version of my name.

"Yeah?" I sat up.

Alex emerged from the bedroom, a pink flush in his cheeks. "We have a problem."

"What kind of problem?"

"Uh…there's only one bed."

"You're kidding! Mrs. Jones said that she reserved a suite with two beds."

"What's the big idea? This assignment is tough enough already."

I sighed. Were Mrs. Jones and Mr. Blunt trying to make this assignment harder? "Well, I can sleep on the couch."

"Are you sure? You can have the bed."

"Nah, it's fine. I want the TV."

"Okay. Well, Smithers should be here soon with our equipment."

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Alex went to answer it. A middle-aged and round man with gray hair stood in the doorway in a room attendant uniform.

"Hello, my name is Joe Smith. I will be your room attendant for the duration of your stay," the man said. "Let me give you a quick tour of the suite."

Alex let the man in and closed the door.

"Alex, my boy! How have you been?!" the man exclaimed, embracing my friend.

"Pretty good and yourself?"

"I've been wonderful!" The man spotted me and grinned. "Ah, I assume this beautiful young woman is your girlfriend."

I stood up and shook the man's hand. "No, we're just friends. I'm Camryn Albright."

"They call me Smithers. I trust Alex has mentioned me?"

"Yeah, he has."

"Good. Well, on to the gadgets." I caught a twinkle of joy in Smithers' eye.

"Do I get a gun this time?" Alex asked hopefully.

Smithers threw his head back and laughed. "Oh, my boy, even if we gave you a gun, you'd never pull the trigger!"

Alex frowned. Smithers walked to the coffee table and reached under it. He produced a gun that had been taped to the underside. He took it by the barrel and handed it to me. I held it in my hand, testing the weight of the small, black handgun.

"Why does Cam get a gun?" Alex complained.

"I'm experienced," I answered for Smithers.

Smithers walked over the fridge and pulled out another gun from a hidden compartment.

"This one's for you, Alex," Smithers said waving the gun. "This is for emergencies only. Now follow me." He handed the gun to Alex and led us to the bedroom. He took a wooden jewelry box from the dresser and laid the contents on the bed. He held up a pair of diamond earrings.

"These are explosives. They will activate when you put the backings on. Once you take them apart again, you will have ten seconds before they explode."

Next was a small, delicate opal ring. "Turn the stone twice to send a distress signal to MI6."

I took the ring from Smithers and slipped it onto my hand. There was also an assortment of more rings, earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. "Everything else is just ordinary jewelry."

Smithers opened the walk-in closet and pulled out two light jackets – a pink one and a dark blue one. "These look like ordinary jackets, but they're really flak jackets."

Next was a backpack. "Do you recognize this, Alex?" Smithers asked.

Alex smiled and nodded.

"What is it?" I asked.

"A parachute," Alex and Smithers replied simultaneously.

I raised my eyebrow in slight confusion. What's so great about a parachute?

"This backpack was one of my first gadgets," Alex explained. "Wow, I haven't seen this thing for a year."

Smithers took out a pair of sunglasses. "These are normal sunglasses until you push a button. The button on the left side is for rear view. The button on the right is for infrared."

The buttons were so small that I didn't notice them until Smithers pointed them out. Next, Smithers went to the bathroom. Smithers opened the drawer and pulled out two small, metal bottles. One was metallic pink and the other was silver.

"These bottles contain two liquids. One is perfume or cologne. The other is a chemical that, if inhaled, could knock a person out for at least two hours. For the knockout spray, turn the cap clockwise twice. You'll hear it click. Once you spray it, the cap will turn back by itself so you don't accidentally knock yourself out."

Smithers headed back out to the bedroom. "There's a space under the lamps on the night tables to hide the guns."

Alex and I turned the lamps over and hid the guns.

"Keep me posted on the assignment, and I'll give you more equipment as necessary," Smithers said as he left the suite.

I stretched my arms over my head and yawned. I was tired from such a long day. I was ready for sleep. I went to my suitcase and took out a pair of pajama pants and a T-shirt.

"I'm going to sleep; I'm tired," I told Alex. I went into the bathroom to change and brush my teeth. I went into the closet and fished out a spare blanket. I took a pillow off the bed and headed out to my couch. I sprawled myself across the cool leather, waiting for sleep to come. Although I was extremely tired, I couldn't fall asleep. I gazed at the darkness, trying to drift off. About an hour passed, and I was still awake.

"Cam?" Alex's voice called. "Are you asleep?"

I remained silent. Then a very dim light came on. I closed my eyes.

"I guess so," Alex sighed, answering his own question.

I heard soft footsteps, then they stopped. Warm fingers touched my cheek and played with my medium length, chestnut brown hair. I fought the urge to open my eyes.

"You're so beautiful, Cam," Alex said softly. "I wish I had the guts to tell you when you're awake."

But I was awake! I was only faking sleep, but I guess I did a good job of it. I remained silent and still. Alex continued to speak.

"I've liked you ever since I met you when school started. I don't think I'll ever have the courage to tell you when you can actually hear me. I've never really been good at talking about my feelings." Alex sighed again. "Good night, Cam."

Without warning, I felt Alex press his lips to mine. Then I heard his footsteps again and the bedroom door close. I finally opened my eyes, taking in a deep breath. I had no idea Alex felt that way about me. I didn't know what to make of it. After a long time of thinking, I finally fell asleep.