Loosely inspired by P!nk's "Beam Me Up" because I've been listening to it repeatedly this week. If you haven't heard it, look it up and tell me if you like it :)
The mission was simple enough. All she had to do was accompany a nine-year old girl named Andrea Rinaldi for 36-hour, 48 max. Then, she had to escort her out of Italy to Geneva to meet up with her parents. The married couple fled from Napoli after the father's cover as a member of one of the biggest Italian mafia family was blown. He was one of CIA's assets and had contacted the agency immediately to get his daughter from a boarding school in the northern part of the country.
She arrived in the school a mere hour before the men their boss sent caught up. In the pretence of being the girl's aunt, she flashed bright smiles to the lady in the front office and hug Andrea as if she hadn't seen her a year too long.
Andrea knew that if there was ever a visit from an 'aunt' named Laura Rinaldi that meant she has to come with the aunt. Or do as she instructed. Her parents had taught her that.
"I'm sorry to have come unannounced, but I tell your parents that I want to surprise you!" Annie said to the girl sitting next to her in the school's lounge. She was around her nieces age, younger than Katia but older than Chloe and it reminded her of them.
"I'm happy you visit me," Andrea said shyly.
"Uncle Agusto's wedding is tomorrow. So, you better go pack your bags quickly now. I'll wait here and have a chat with the headmistress," she hushed the girl out the door.
Forty-minutes later, Annie held Andrea's hand as they walked toward her car in front of the school's building, escorted by a guard and one of the teachers. Barber had told her through her earpiece that she didn't have much time as the bad guys was caught by satellite entering the city.
"Where are my parents?" Andrea asked as soon as they exited the school's area and into the road in the black BMW. Her voice quivers and Annie could actually feel how scared she was.
"They are safe, in Geneva. We are going out to meet them there tomorrow. I'm taking you to my house for the night." Annie replied as best she could, not wanting to hide anything from her. The girl was smart, Annie was only sad that she had to know the things she knew at such young an age while both of her nieces were happily oblivious to everything.
"Okay." She nodded and she was quiet for a long time.
"It's going to be okay." Annie took her small hand in hers and squeezed it-a habit she unconsciously picked up from Auggie.
They stopped at a gas station. Annie asked if she'd want anything in particular. Andrea mumbled something about Nutella and Oreo. Annie nodded and went inside the store to buy some usual, essential groceries to last them a few days and Andrea's snacks as the little girl waited in the car. She was not risking her being seen by anyone or accidentally being recorded by any camera.
The girl said little else after they entered the safe house. She was content to just dip her Oreo biscuits into a glass of milk, sitting cross-legged on the carpet in front of the TV.
"She's okay, mostly. But she hasn't say much." Annie was standing by the kitchen counter, checking in to the office and being her luck, her boss was around to drop a few words. "No, I don't see any of their cars and we were not tailed. The garage lead straight to the house, no sunlight has touched her skin since she left the school," she paused, listening to Joan's instruction attentively. For once, she was going to listen and follow them-she does have a nine-year old in her responsibility. "Okay. I will check in again tomorrow."
Annie put the phone back in her jeans pocket and walked over to join Andrea on the carpet. Quietly, she took one Oreo, dip it into the milk and eat it all in one go, savouring the sweetness in her mouth.
"You want to do something? Play a game?" Annie asked.
...
Exhaustion washed over her body as she slid the door close. The apartment was cast in a dim light by the street lamps outside which streamed in through the glassed windows. It was eerily quiet. And she knew he was not home yet despite the relatively late hour of the night. Joan mentioned about a special case that demanded his particular attention and swamped him away from his office to another department on the fifth floor.
She had hoped to meet him and see his face for a minute before she had to get into debrief with Joan. But his office was empty of him. Only his tech minion were there to greet her. And they were not the person she wanted to hold onto, even if only for the briefest of moment. It was him.
The debriefing finished less than an hour later and she went straight to his apartment, unable to be in the building any longer than necessary. Hoping that he'd be finished already and waiting at home, she walked in to the empty and dark apartment.
Physical bruises never did hurt as much as the wound in the heart. Her breath was shallow as she lit the candles that she'd put in various corner in the apartment some lifetime ago. After lighting the last of them, she let her body fall to the nearby window sitting, feeling a shiver run down her body as the cold glass pressed against the skin of her forehead and cheek.
...
The sun roused her from unconsciousness state to find herself to be lying on the sofa. Alertness came to her immediately and she made a mental to-do list as she walked to the only bedroom in the house. Only to find it empty.
She felt like her heart had stopped beating. Quickly, she went inside, pulling at he rumpled blanket and sheets. It really was empty. Checking the bathroom and closet resulted in nothing. She was about to check the window locks when she caught Andrea running around in the small garden in the backyard through a small window in the corner of the room. A drizzle of rain had fallen in the course of minutes she was searching for the girl.
"You started the fun without me?" Annie asked, coming out of the kitchen door to the small area of soil covered with wet green grass.
Andrea stopped her run to look at Annie. She hadn't changed out of her pyjamas and holding a doll in her hand. Without really thinking, Annie charged at her, running to catch her. The girl laughed as she scooped her up and spin her a few rounds.
The drizzle had gone already, but Andrea was rather wet, it left her clothes and hair a little damp, and her barefoot dirty with some soil and grass.
"What's her name?" Annie asked, motioning to the doll.
"Marita," she replied, looking down at the doll in her hand.
"That's a pretty name," Annie told her. "You hungry?"
She gave a small nod.
"Okay. Let's get you clean up and then we can have some breakfast," Annie held Andrea's free hand and tugged her to come inside.
...
The feel of the warm blood stuck with her the entire time she was in the cab to the airport, then as she waited for the plane to depart and for the whole seven-hours until she landed in Dulles. She had kept it all inside, bottling everything up and compartmentalizing. A covert officer should do it on each of their mission. From the first debrief, during check-ins, to the last debrief. Falling apart in the middle of a mission could be dangerous.
And it had been grievous enough without her emotion being all over the place. And she's managed to lost a life without its help, too.
...
A familiar black sedan pulled up in the driveway below. She saw the man she knew by heart exited the backseat door and felt a small smile formed at her lips. She let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding, watching as it forms mist on the glass that evaporate the next second.
She raised a hand to wave weakly at him as he turned to enter the building. She'd wanted him and wanted him soon. Not hearing his voice guiding her was adding injury to the battered emotion and worn body of hers. She realized just how much she depended on his calm, assuring voice to ease her mind. She'd wished, even just for a minute, to get him answer her check-in, but she knew he wasn't handling this mission. And he was busy in another floor, causing dread to new young agents in some department.
The lock turned and the door slid open. The sight of him so near brought a wave of both relief and fresh prickle of tears to her eyes.
...
It was late afternoon, two days later that Barber gave the go for them to leave the safe house. There'd be a private chopper leaving from a nearby airfield and he had managed to get a ride for them to Luxembourg to take a train straight to Geneva. Annie noticed the nondescript black SUV as soon as it appeared in her rear-view mirror. That and the car had done a nice round of switch with two other cars, surrounding her BMW all the time. She was trapped.
With a rather noticeable traffic accident that'd earn her more than a scowl from Joan, she escaped them. She abandoned the BMW in a mall parking lot and chose to seek safety in the crowd as she took a bus, keeping Andrea close to her hip.
They exited the bust in the last stop and continue on foot, Annie searching for a car to hotwire. That was when she noticed the man in the dark suit. She was positive that she could take him down, but that'd leave Andrea in the spotlight, alone, an easy target for the other men to go after her. She knew they were sent to bring Andrea alive, but also knew that they won't hesitate to use their gun to kill.
She picked up her pace when she saw a second man. Andrea was almost running to keep up, holding on to Annie's hand tightly. The two, no, make that four, pursuer started to walk faster and she had to jog, pulling the little girl along with her.
The first shot was fired and she ducked, drawing Andrea close to her body. Then, she slipped to a small corner, hiding the girl behind her back and held her there with a hand on her arm. The girl trembled, pressing her face closer to her back.
"Can you run?"
...
The sun shone brightly, some blackbirds flew in circles in the cerulean sky. Seven people attended the funeral.
Three hours. They had three hours and she was gone. The guilt crept into her, going deeper and deeper. But she held them down. The mission was over but it was not her time to crumble and give up to the temptation of tears yet.
Constellations, some card games and a few packs of shared Oreo had got them closer in the span of two days. Andrea had become her own niece and she her aunt. And for her, it was just like hanging out with her nieces on the weekend, in different part of the globe and with no bad guys out there looking for them.
...
"Annie?" His voice was soft, like a warm blanket spreading over the room, enveloping her in its safety.
A small hiccup escaped her lips. And that was all he needed to know where she was in the quiet room. He made his way to her, feeling her cold hand met his outstretched one and he adjusted his direction. He joined her in the window sitting. She held his face in her hands, taking a moment to admire him, relishing the feel of his skin against hers.
Five days. It had been a mere five days but it felt more like five years. She was worn down to her bone. No words could be formed.
In that glorious minute she just let herself being comforted by his presence, his very being. Feeling contented just so.
Anyone feeling super excited for the season premiere? (Yes, it's supposed to be rhetorical)
Thank you very much for reading :)
UPDATE: I added the much needed break points.