Double Agent- Chapter 7

Standing in front of the mirror Macy gave herself the once over Even though this date was completely made up by the missions both Macy and Birkhoff had, something still compelled her to look good. It was a date after all and she was trying to seduce Birkhoff. Once she was happy with the outfit- pretty yellow top and dressy pants, Macy sighed to herself and headed towards Birkhoff's office. She took another deep breath before she knocked on the door. It took Birkhoff only a few seconds to come to the door. Jaymee was surprised that Birkhoff had dressed up also, as much as the tech would. He was wearing a dressy shirt and a nice pair of blue jeans that seemed to fit him perfectly. "Hi Macy." He smiled in greeting. "Come in."

Macy walked into his office and was immediately surprised that Birkhoff had spent some time clearing up his room. All the random stuff that had been around the room had been cleaned up. Macy was surprised Birkhoff was going to such lengths for a fake romance. "Hey Birkhoff," she greeted him.

"Thanks for coming." He smiled, "I've been looking forward to this."

'Liar.' Macy thought to herself. Walking over to the couch and sat down. She held back a giggle as Birkhoff came over and visibly fought with himself where he should sit. Finally he sat down on the couch not directly next to Macy, but not across the couch from her either. He grabbed the remote off of the coffee table and hit play. Macy wasn't aware of what the movie was, but she was surprised once it started by the choice Birkhoff had made. While she would have pegged Birkhoff for either the action movie or superhero movie, she was pleasantly surprised that he had picked out a fairly artsy, intelligent film.

Macy sat enjoying the movie for a while. About half-an-hour later Birkhoff suddenly got up, bringing some popcorn back with him. "Sorry, I forgot to bring it back before. I hope it's not too cold."

As Birkhoff put the popcorn down on the coffee table, Macy replied, "It's popcorn, I think it will be okay."

This time when Birkhoff sat on the couch, he was a little bit closer to her. As they both reached for popcorn, Macy's hand gently grazed his. They looked up into each other's eyes and Macy gave him a smile. Going back to the movie, they continued watching. Macy was keenly aware of Birkhoff adjusting his position, each time settling a little closer to Macy. She was kind of relieved he was trying, but almost had to laugh at his seemingly subtle techniques. Finally Macy decided to give him a break and moved over so he was sitting right beside her. She wanted to preempt him before he tried the yawn move to put his arm around her. She rested her head on his shoulder and they continued watching the movie.

When she rested her head on his shoulder, it surprised him. He had been lucky so far that she had been very receptive to him. With her head so close to his, he could smell her perfume. It was nice- kind of fruity as opposed to the flowery crap that normally made him sneeze. Gently he rested his head against hers, moving his hand slowly up her back until he had his arm around her shoulders. As much as he wasn't too excited about seducing her, it did feel nice, to have a warm body to curl up with. A little surprised to feel tears against, the bare skin of his neck. "Mace?" he moved to see her face better, realizing the young woman was crying. "Are you alright?"

"I'm sorry." She started to dry her eyes with her sleeve. "I get a little emotional with sad movies."

Birkhoff was surprised that Macy had let her guard down. "It's okay." He gently squeezed her, and then rubbed her back gently.

"Thanks." Macy replied.

For a while they watched the movie in silence, occasionally Macy would snuggle closer to Birkhoff. There were a couple of times she felt like asking him how seriously he was about her, but she did not want to throw up any flags. After thinking a few minutes, she finally asked, "So why are you so interested in me now?"

Thinking for a minute, Birkhoff replied, "It was a bad day for me. It wasn't me. The more time I spent with you, the more I realized what a smart, beautiful woman you are."

Macy tried to look for any sign of him lying other than the obvious- that line seemed out of character with Birkhoff- along with the movie he had picked. At least from the little bit Macy had known Birkhoff for. Either way, Birkhoff seemed to be pretty genuine right that moment. She figured he'd been working with Amanda to improve his flirting and deception. She was impressed. "Thank you." She replied.

Birkhoff leaned in and gave Macy a soft kiss. When they pulled apart, Birkhoff asked, "Are you having a good time?"

Nodding, Macy smiled. "It's a very interesting movie. I didn't know you had such artistic tastes."

"I can be deceiving." He replied. "I have a great mind- you have to be brilliant to hack and with my mind, it requires some stimulating entertainment."

Macy held back a snort for both the absurdness of his ego and the fact that what he said could be badly misinterpreted. "With all the comic books and things it didn't seem like you were as deep as this."

"Well I'm glad to be able to surprise you." He replied, "So Macy, where are you from?"

She was surprised Birkhoff wanted to know about her past. "I come from Chicago." She replied. "Highland Park more specifically."

"Do you have any family? Siblings?"

Macy shook her head no. She couldn't get into too many details without leaving her cover. Finally she decided on, "My family died when I was eight in a car accident. My mom, dad, mom's parents, my big brothers, Wayland and Kyle and little brother Leland."

Birkhoff's face immediately softened. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay." Macy replied. "It was years ago."

"Still." Birkhoff interjected. "That is horrible for anyone- to lose everyone all together."

This time Macy could tell that he was being genuine. "Thanks." She replied.

"If you ever need anyone to talk to I'll be here." Birkhoff locked eyes with her.

Macy got a chill. She was confused. Birkhoff was throwing so much at her; she could not get a good gauge on who the real Birkhoff was. It made her a little uneasy but also a little hopeful that the angry, hurtful man she had first met wasn't the real Birkhoff- just the one Division had created. Now spending time in private with her, he was letting his guard down- whether it was intentional or not. "Are you alright?" she found Birkhoff was giving her a strange look.

"Sorry." She replied. "I'm a little cold."

Birkhoff grabbed a sweater off his chair and gently placed it around her shoulders. "There you go."

"Thanks." Macy smiled in reply, settling back into Birkhoff's arms.

He kissed her temple as she settled back into his arms. As much as it frustrated him, Macy was starting to bring out the old Birkhoff that had existed before. He had no idea how she was doing it, but it just kept coming out. He admonished himself to be more careful- after all this was only a mission- not real life. At the very least the real Birkhoff was helping him succeed- to draw on his past, the person he was somewhat hiding inside. It felt nice to let the real Birkhoff out once in a while.

When Birkhoff looked down, he realized Macy had fallen asleep. Gently he pulled her legs on the couch so she was laying and hopefully would be more comfortable. He placed a pillow on his lap, placing Macy's head gently down, and then returning to the movie.

Meanwhile Amanda sat in her office, a glass of wine in hand, watching the date unfold. It had been hard to get the camera into Birkhoff's lair and even harder to convince Percy, but she had to make sure things were progressing. Birkhoff wasn't dumb, certainly he could surmise that they might be bugged, but so far he showed no signs of discretion at the suspension of a bug.

Amanda was surprised by Birkhoff's chivalry. It seemed very out of character for him. Either way she knew she had more digging to do when it came to Birkhoff. She sipped her wine as Birkhoff watched the movie, Macy in his lap sleeping. Her plan was coming together, but she had to make sure they didn't get too close.