Hey all,
I've been rather sad about not getting any reviews... If you didn't like it, flame me, but this silence...
Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to the two people who got me on their lists - as an only reactions for my latest chapter. If you don't enjoy this, let me know: I won't bother editing it to a readable form just write for myself then.
Anyway, you get some more information about what had happened and how they had gotten sooo close.
Alex isn't mine. Only Rose. And the lovely Grant.
Chapter 4 – Need to be fixed
"Could I see your tickets?" The ticket-inspector leaned closer to the couple. The blond man lifted his head and cautiously nodded, reaching out into the pocket of his jacket hanging from the hook next to him. The woman sleeping on his chest didn't flinch at all. The ticket-inspector nodded, remembering to come and wake up the sympathetic young couple when they reached their station. They were travelling to London from Eynsford.
They must have been visiting a relative, maybe introducing his girlfriend to his parents. Or the opposite and the man wasn't able to sleep because of the disturbing memories of their reactions. Jack smiled comprehending him as he remembered the time when Susie had introduced him to her parents. It had been awkward and terrible and he had had nightmares for a month. They invited them again, and Susie wanted to visit them. He sighed. It was not likely he would enjoy it, but he had to do this much for his wife.
He observed the couple a last time and quietly closed the door behind his back. When he would come back for them, the man and his girlfriend would disappear – they would cautiously take an earlier station in case somebody would bind them to the children destroying the SAS. It was very unlikely but better safe than sorry.
They would take the Tube, the woman leaning against the man slightly, covering the bag in which a camera was to be found – with pictures of bound SAS soldiers. It was eight in the morning: a young couple visited their bank to arrange their money, maybe asking for credit to buy a house ensemble. The man opened the door for her and she smiled back at him, then still standing in the door kissed him, her eyes glinting in the sunlight.
It was the first time when Peter started to think he was wrong. Or, better say, his bosses had been wrong. He knew he was making a mistake - never watch the picture of your target more than once in a safe place - as he pulled out the picture from his pocket. A man was standing next to a woman; they were about to step into the house. He had brown hair and his clothes were the type casual in the Middle East: the clothes of a young Jewish man. Also, the woman next to him was black hairy and she had a much darker skin than now. But they were obviously the same couple, in front of their new house in Tel Aviv, then here stepping into a bank... the Royal and General Bank.
Peter shifted uncomfortably. He walked to a cafeteria down the street and buying a journal ordered a cup of coffee. He didn't like it, but he counted whatever they were doing, they were going to be in the bank for at least ten minutes – it was safer to leave his position for some time, as there were cameras and guards everywhere...
***
"Twenty units. Astounding." His voice was even and emotionless but a light was glinting in his eyes.
"Charlie." Alex answered bored.
"This was more than I expected. Here are the papers you wanted. You are both adults from now. You can dispose over your money, schooling, and you can work in full time."
"Thank you, Charlie, this is very generous of you. Is there anything else?" She asked seeing the hesitation on his face.
"Yes." He didn't continue though as it was something uncomfortable that he was about to say. "I guess you remember... the 16th of December last year?" Rosalie looked at Alex confused, but he nodded.
"It was the date of our wedding. Our cover wedding." He said menacingly. "What about it?" The man didn't seem to reply, so Alex glanced at Mrs Jones standing calmly in the corner of the room.
"According to the law, officially… you're married. We could have refer to your underage, but actually right now with these papers," she nodded towards the documents "you're a married couple by the law. It will take time, but of course we have taken measures. You don't need to worry about it." She seemed somehow worried about this however. "Your divorce will be done in... in a month."
They expected him to explode as he had used to do it, but his voice was just tired. "Anything else?"
The heads exchanged glances then Grant answered with a no. The couple walked out of the room without a word. Alex didn't even notice where he was until he reached the entrance. He stopped for a second then took a deep breath and hurried out of it. This time, he didn't let the woman go before him.
The blond man stepped out of the bank. If Peter had been taught to the rules of courtesy, he would have wondered why the man stepped in front of the woman not only not opening her the door but going out first. But he wasn't taught to such rules, he lived all in his life on the streets, then afterwards with Scorpia – and on Malagosto weren't lessons of courtesy.
Still uncertain about his mission he followed the couple.
"What are you thinking about?" His question was obvious, but the gentle tone he asked it changed the meaning.
"I don't know... what I should think about this."
He nodded and embraced her waist pulling her closer. They walked in silence, not awkward, but comforting, the one you don't have to speak because you already feel the words and know the answers. All he would have said was in the way his hand rested around her waist, his fingers caressing her side. She took her hand onto his shoulder.
They slowly stopped and Alex's heart dumped painfully with happiness as he took her into his arms and the woman's soft lips kissed him back. It told more than any words could have told and he wanted the world to stop and keep this soft sunshine breaking through the thick grey clouds, this sweet taste on his mouth, this scent in the air which was impossible to catch still he sensed it, her scent.
They walked home, hand in hand. Alex was thinking that he should call Jack on at last. He should introduce her his wife. He couldn't help but grin crazily at this thought – Jack hadn't been there on his wedding! She was going to be furious.
There was no sign, no change in the pass of the world. No suspicious movement, no frightening image. Later he would never be able to tell what it was, neither what he did exactly. Everything he was able to recall was the moment right before it. It was the sight of a businessman ten metres down the street. He didn't act suspiciously nor did anything in particular until that moment. His hands were casually in his pocket.
Afterwards, Rosalie would tell he pushed her away throwing to the ground and moving away. He would remember the strong beat on his side and one more on his stomach, then blackness and her voice screeching his name with a desperation – again. God, what he was going to get for this!
***
Grant's eyes grew wild as they entered the room. The second time that day. Their faces were emotionless as always when they talked to him, but now, hatred filled Rosalie's eyes.
"What…" Mrs. Jones started but she was silenced by the glare Rose produced.
"You." She pointed at them. "Give. Us. Guns." Grant frowned and helplessly exchanged a glance with Mrs. Jones.
"Er…"
Alex sighed and managed to moan in a painful voice, clearing his throat. "We don't really like being shot at while not having a simple pistol, she meant."
Grant's face was fabulous for a moment, if he had got more air, Alex would have grinned. The assassin couldn't have known they were still wearing the bulletproof vests they had used last night, but if he had remained where he had been, letting the bullet find its way to his heart, his previous wound would have certainly reopened. Rosalie continued shooting angry glares at them as she explained the situation. Alex decided to let her explain and sank into a flood of memories.
»She had smoky grey eyes with almond-cut. He didn't see anything besides that, but he caught that little sight impossibly detailed. He saw the little darker dots around her iris and the long eyelashes embracing the unique shape.
He didn't know why he had caught it. He didn't know why he had remembered it. He didn't know who she was or what she had to do with MI6. But after three days spent in the grip of those smoky grey eyes, he decided he would find out. Love at first sight, Jack said mockingly, but he didn't laugh…
The next time he was able to think clearly and straight was in Tel Aviv, when he realized the size of the task and he knew he was in the worst situation in his life – and it was him who put himself there. He glanced aside to see her soon-to-be-wife and knew he couldn't leave her here alone…
It was two weeks after their arrival when the man came for him. Alex could see the fear in her eyes and knew their cover was blown. Strangely he was glad: she was going to be fine, sitting on the first plane back to London when he would be executed at last, if things turned bad. He was visibly military – but this didn't grant anything, even less, considering he was wearing usual clothes. Bad sign…
One more time, he was grateful for MI6. Building into the organization was harder than they had thought and it was going to take a lot of time before they could collect enough information about them. He feared he wasn't going to be fit enough to do the hard work – and he couldn't let all the fight on her. The men were Mossad and MI6 told them about him and his cover mission. He was going to be working for them…
Levi Kroll was close enough. They had tried Scorpia and knew it was impossible so. The next choice was the mafia – in Israel. It was a dangerous game: Alex worked for Mossad at the same time, while in daylight Rose acted like any Jewish woman, waiting for his husband to return from work. They had got a new flat in the centre of Tel Aviv, down under the building were old catacombs Mossad used for fight practice…
On their wedding, they already knew they had attracted the attention of mafia on themselves but they couldn't help it, they had to keep acting. Mossad warned them that there may have been some bugs in their flat, a man with video camera on the next roof…
Afterwards, Alex once joked about he being the virgin on their bridal night. The girl told him the reason why she was chasing Scorpia and Alex never mentioned it again, just hated the terrorists even more…
He remembered her face when, at some occasions they were surely being watched, he overplayed his role. Though, after some time, their emotional relationship started to catch up with the physical part and they sat in the kitchen next to a bottle of wine (the girl didn't drink just water because of the pregnancy they made up as a reason to move back to his 'homeland') and spoke all the night about their lives. And he hated Scorpia even more…
His wife was beautiful and they pretended to move here because of her unwanted pregnancy (Alex though could feel the admiring glances of some men that he could get a bitch that exquisite into his bed), they were supposed to be in physical contact: thinking back about it, it was inevitable they got attached. He could remember the first time they made love instead of just having sex for somebody watcher's sake - it was his sweetest memory for a year…
And he could truly feel the pain again, his own and hers. It happened like in a bad movie… he tried to save her, once. He should have died, that day, but he told fate he didn't want to - a mistake he soon regretted. Then afterwards, when during the long weeks of his torture, her image in his heart began to fade and feeling he was dying couldn't bear the agonizing pain any longer, he realized the hole in himself, the hole she left, and he knew she was the most precious thing on his world…
The next time, he didn't let it happen. He felt he was playing a role, the role of the hero in a movie but he knew he was never going to be whole again, there hadn't been happy ending for them – he jumped in front of her and that bullet of Scorpia, the second he had got from them, killed him at last…
Scorpia definitively killed the boy he had once been and erased him from his soul. The new Alex was somebody else, somebody whose first memories were his wife's screeches as she was trying to stop his bleeding...«
"–we will have to fix this." Grant was saying when he returned from his reverie. "I suggest you should remain in the building."
"Right. We visit Smithers. See you later, Charlie." He bent to the door while Rose gave the head the last disdaining glance.
To be continued…