Chapter Three

Follow the White Rabbit

Edward's POV

The next evening...

"Check, check...are we good?"I spoke loudly and clearly, as I had an audio piece attached to the inside of my shirt collar and an ear piece in place.

"Yep, you're good to go," an agent replied to me, giving me a thumbs-up gesture, as I continued straightening the sleeves of my black jacket and merely nodded at his answer.

I was frightfully nervous, even though I did not dare show any of it in my facial expressions, having to always appear calm and collected, in control, no matter what...as I tried to mentally prepare myself to meet and speak with Jasper inside the Udachi Bar.

It had been confirmed just a few minutes ago that he and Emmett had gone inside, and I, along with another agent, had volunteered to go in at different times to make contact and hopefully record some of their conversations.

"Christ...I need to stop being so nervous...this is just a mission; there are people counting on me about this! ...I just hope they are not speaking only in Russian...I know a little but not a lot...I'm screwed if it's only in Russian..." I mentally noted to myself as I threw on my long, grey knit coat and began marching out of the hotel suite, trying to steel my jumping nerves, trying to get a grip on the fact that I was minutes away from having to say something to him.

I had it planned inside my mind that I was going to engage Jasper gently, compliment his taste in clothing and ask innocent questions, try to get in his good graces so that he might be more inclined to speak about his work with me...speak about anything with me.

I needed to gain his trust; I wanted to gain even more from him...

After the twelve minute drive over to the Udachi Bar, I breathed out a great deal of air into the frosty, evening once I stepped outside of the rented vehicle, before I confidently pulled open the door to the simple-looking establishment, finally feeling a bit of my worry subside and my resolve solidify in its stead.

It was now or never.

The heavy, wooden door closing behind me, I was suddenly enveloped by the dimly illuminated ambiance of aged tables and stools that allowed for private conversations and meetings to take place between customers, the lingering scent of spicy liquor mixed with rich mahogany, and the classical Russian music playing overhead that only made the whole atmosphere and experience of being in such a place that much more rustic and apart from all else in the world.

The air inside the establishment had the weight of the patron's misfortune and whispers of greater things, and I could understand why someone like Jasper might feel at peace in a place like this.

I let my eyes adjust to the mild darkness of the large, wooden room, before taking slow steps towards the long-stretching bar located at the rear of the place, immediately spotting a few occupied tables on my right.

Barely glancing at the innocent patrons sitting quietly, still wearing their thick coats, as they sipped at their drinks, I directed my gaze to the table located further back from theirs, and it was then that I saw him.

There he was...Jasper...sitting with his elbows propped up on the table as he rested his forehead against his thumb, a cigarette burning in his hand, as Emmett animatedly chatted with him about something, laughing wildly as Jasper casually blinked his eyes over towards me.

My careful steps faulted, my green eyes locked onto his devastatingly blue ones, as I felt momentarily suspended in time upon seeing such an emotional, gripping color, this moment where this enchantingly handsome man whom I had only read about in files and seen poorly taken pictures of was looking directly back at me.

"Blue...his eyes...wow...such a dark blue...like navy...absolutely beautiful..." my traitorous mind drifted even farther from my reach as I let my gaze drink in his positively breathtaking features, his face and composure resembling that of classic Renaissance works that depicted lovely, sophisticated men in soft strokes of white paint against harsher tones of black and brown, and I was hopelessly infatuated, all of me.

I swallowed hard, only partially cognizant of how much time had passed with me just staring at him, as I made my feet continue to take me to the bar at last.

The rotund and balding barkeep was currently drying a large, glass mug with a white rag as I finally approached, my previous resolve totally shattered within me from that one, simple look from Jasper now a little ways beside me, as I licked my dry lips and then licked them again.

I could feel eyes on me, his eyes, but I squared my shoulders nonetheless and reminded myself that I still had a job to do...no matter how much his gaze alone was making me tremble slightly.

"Govorite li vy po angliyski?" I asked the burly bartender if he spoke English, to which he nodded as if he was already annoyed with me.

"What you have?" he asked me in broken English, as he set down the glass he had been cleaning and waited for my order.

"Vodka," I decided to go for something simple, receiving another nod from the bartender as he began retrieving a smaller glass and one tall bottle of liquor from his large, colorful selection behind him.

Once my filled glass was placed before me, I could not help but turn towards Jasper's table as I brought the drink to my lips, admittedly sniffing it first in order to detect any unwarranted additives, before taking a small sip of the smooth but fire-laden alcohol.

Jasper's broad back was to me as he faced a loudly exclaiming Emmett, my eyes switching from tracing languidly over Jasper's wheat-colored curls and black-clad body to glancing over at Emmett's smiling face as he cackled at his own jokes.

"...so, as soon as he got out of his car, I ran up and beat the hell out of him! He did not know what to do!" Emmett laughed once more, his large hand hitting the table, and I could audibly hear as Jasper sighed before dropping his hands from his face so that he could flick the ashes from his cigarette into the ashtray.

"Hey, you there!" Emmett suddenly shouted over to me, cocking his head away from Jasper and waving at me with his fingers.

I could feel my stomach tighten in unknowing trepidation as I lifted my eyebrows and slightly angled my chin up in a gesture that he had my attention.

"Why are you staring at us like that? Do you have some kind of a problem?" Emmett abruptly stood up from his chair, his huge shoulders raising as he evidently readied himself to progress his confrontation further with me.

"...n-no...no problem," I forced my best Russian accent as I muttered the words, my shock at the situation somewhat outweighing my nervousness of the brutish Faction member as he eyed me critically.

"Emmett...leave him alone," Jasper spoke to his friend, his naturally accented voice as smooth as the finest silk to my ears as my acute memory clung to the way his Russian heritage made his words almost chunky where his vowels were pronounced oddly and some consonants were more emphasized.

I loved it, and it was within that split second that Jasper had spoken that I realized I could listen to him talk forever.

"But, tovaras..." Emmett attempted to argue, but hushed up once Jasper lifted his honey-blonde head and, no doubt, fixed him with a significant look.

"In fact, why don't you sit down, da?" Jasper, this time, spoke to me, his head only turning a little towards his shoulder as he did so, and I could feel any anxiety I might have had suddenly increase to near manic levels of anticipation.

"I'm going to sit with him...my mission is working...to hell with that right now, though...I just want to see him again..." my thoughts quickly sprung such revelations to the forefront of my mind as I easily navigated around a few chairs until I sat down at the circular table at Jasper's right.

I set my drink down on the table, my jade eyes hesitating before finally lifting to see Jasper already peering steadily at me with his piercing sapphire orbs, inhaling smoke from his cigarette as he was merely silent for a moment whilst observing me.

I wanted to shift in my seat, the heat and intensity of his gaze being enough to melt all the snow in Nizhny Novgorod, and I felt more than anxious being so close to so much quiet power and beauty.

I was helpless subject to such a lovely, meaningful gaze directed to no one else but me.

"What is your name?" Jasper asked me at last, lowering his eyes whilst he let his cool, tempered voice course through me once more, while he set his cigarette inside the ashtray and picked up his amber-colored liquor.

"Eduard," I adjusted my name a bit, still using a fake accent, watching like a man put in a trance as Jasper lifted his drink to his delicious-looking lips and let the warmed alcohol slip into his mouth.

"American?" Jasper cocked up a perfectly arched eyebrow at me once he swallowed his drink, my eyes glued to the way his Adam's apple bobbed up and down, finding nearly everything this man did to be impossibly erotic, before temporarily snapping out of my daze so I may answer his question in an appropriate amount of time.

"I am from Ukraine," I lied creatively, trying to also cover up for the 'reason' why my unnatural accent was so much different from theirs, as I followed up with a question of my own, "...what is your name?"

I did not miss the pointed look that Emmett shot towards Jasper the moment the words had left my mouth.

"My name is..." Jasper began, but trailed off as he appearing to be smirking sadly to himself, his eyes lowering once more as he finished his drink and set the empty glass down on the table, "...Jascha."

Interesting.

He gave me his real name.

"Tovaras, I must be going. I still have to see Rose tonight, you know. You want me to say hello for you?" Emmett chimed in as he stood up from his chair once more, this time being much more civilized, as he began securing his waist-length coat around his bulking frame.

"Da. Da vstrechi," Jasper told Emmett he would see him later in Russian, his native language positively coating over my already severely compromised senses, making them even more hazed with increasing admiration for this man, as I remained by his side, sitting with only him now inside the quiet, somber bar.

"So, what is it that you do, Jascha?" I could not help but use his name in my seemingly conversational but wholly purposeful question to the gorgeous man before me, as I observed how he leaned back in his chair, his long legs parted wide.

Shamelessly, I let my eyes travel down Jasper's athletic, slender form, able to see the rugged definition of his broad chest and shoulders through his form-fitting black long-sleeved shirt, and when my gaze reached back up to his amazing eyes, it was to find them watching me patiently, his expression ever calm.

"I am afraid I cannot tell you that," Jasper admitted to me, his richly accented English all but killing me slowly as I could already visualize myself in my mind's eye climbing into his wholly accessible lap and wrapping my arms around those strong shoulders of his.

"Oh...well, what can you tell me, then?" I rephrased my line of questioning in a lighthearted jab, instantly regretting my playful words that I had left intentionally vague so that he could do with them what he wished, as Jasper frowned slightly, lowering his eyes from mine once more.

"...Eduard...you seem like a nice man, so I am going to do you a favor and leave you alone," Jasper stated with a sullen sigh escaping his lips as he leaned forward, his angelic face turned a little away from me, as he made to stand up from his chair.

"No...no no! I can't let him leave...well, even if I couldn't, I don't want to stop being with him!" my mind practically screamed at me, prompting me to stand up even faster than Jasper, my hand automatically reaching out and wrapping around one of his wrists.

Eyes as blue and cold and beautiful as frozen water snapped in my direction, widened slightly in genuine surprise, and I physically shivered from how much satisfying electricity I was able to feel sizzle through me upon touching him, almost as if he was made finally real to me now...now that I had him within my very grasp.

"...take me with you," my voice, almost losing its accent in how mindlessly yet fluidly my words flowed out of my mouth, was barely above a quiet hum to the blonde-haired Morzov Faction member, as I felt him pull his arm away from me.

Jasper lowered his eyes to the floor, the tip of his pink tongue wetting his luscious bottom lip for a second, as he appeared to be struggling with my proposal, as he lifted a hand to his textured tresses and briefly raked his fingers through his light-colored mane.

"...pozhalujsta," I begged breathlessly with a simple 'please,' my mind and body quite unwilling to let such a mysterious and yet lonely wonder of a man slip through my fingers like this, not with my mind still hungry for more from him, anything he was willing to offer me; mission be damned right now.

Enemy or not...I wanted to continue spending time with him, noticing his quirks and seemingly infinite grace with everything he did, while listening to him speak to only me.

Jasper was becoming maddeningly addictive to me and I loved it.

"...I don't...usually do this...but..."Jasper spoke, his hand dropping from his hair as he bore his solemn eyes directly into mine, setting my heart on fire and my mind at ease in the same breath, as he concluded his thought, "...okay. I'll let you come with me."

I could not help but smile at Jasper, finding myself quite enamored with the way he needed to assess spending more time with me, and it was after I nodded at him that I offered a reply.

"Great. Shall we go, then?" I provided with another nod, my gaze and smile at him kept easily soft and warm while Jasper also nodded his agreement and passed in front of me, wordlessly telling me to follow him.

Once Jasper and I were navigating through the bar towards the door with me hot on his heels, I brought my hand to the device hidden on my collar and crushed it in between my fingertips.

"I'll just make something up when they ask me about it...it fell on the floor and broke...something...all I know is that I want this to just me me and him..." I mentally deduced to myself as I shrugged on my grey coat, watching as Jasper did the same with his own, long black overcoat.

I smirked as Jasper used his fingers to free the longer locks of his curly hair that had gotten caught underneath his coat, before he cast a soulful glance to me at his side, the expression in his face telling me that if I wanted to back out now, this was the time to do it.

In a knowing answer, I opened the door for him, meeting his mildly shocked cobalt eyes with my smoldering green ones, as he and I both exited the bar together.

I barely felt the cold as it pressed and swirled around me, my eyes only halfheartedly paying attention to where we were going, as I could not help but steal glance after glance at Jasper, just watching as his natural blonde hair and chiseled, porcelain features were made to look even more ethereal amidst so much surrounded white of the fallen snow.

"Does it really matter, Edward...?" I asked myself regarding my situation of not exactly knowing where it was that we were going, as I loyally followed alongside him, matching his long, elegant strides with my own down the city blocks, " ...I think it's pretty safe to say that I'd follow him anywhere..."

Author's Note: Oh yeah. If I am just butchering the Russian language right now...totally sorry. Anywho, onto the next chapter and away we go lol.