Sacrifices for the Greater Good
Mission IV
The next day, Gaby stayed in the house impatiently waiting for the phone to ring. Her waiting was eventually disrupted in the early afternoon by the arrival of a man disguised as a door to door salesman who stopped by to harass her into buying furniture, he eventually left after forcing her to accept a small pile of fliers, amongst which was hidden Napoleon's super-secret risotto recipe (omitting of course the truffles). She had been surprised to see it when it had fallen from the sheets of paper in her hands, but had quickly worked out that Napoleon was suggesting she invite Rose over for dinner one evening after their friendship had progressed slightly. She felt a sudden surge of sympathy for Illya who would be forced to eat all her failed attempts until she perfected the method of making it.
When the call did eventually happen, Illya had held her back for the first few rings, calmly cautioning her not to appear as though she had been waiting all day. She had regained her composure and answered the phone with a friendly greeting. They made idle small talk for a couple of minutes, Gaby forcing herself to relax into the conversation so it could flow more naturally.
"Are you busy tomorrow?" Rose asked eagerly.
"No, did you have something in mind?"
"I need a new dress, and I would really love some advice." A shopping trip, Gaby had been on plenty of those in the last few years and had heard both Napoleon and Illya drone on enough about clothes that it should be easy enough for her to assist her new friend.
"That sounds fun. Is your car working yet? Or would you like me to pick you up?" She heard the other girl sigh heavily over the line.
"No, it hasn't even been looked at yet. My dad is being super paranoid, he doesn't trust anyone to look at it. Could you pick me up? Do you remember the address?" Gaby said yes to both questions, and after a few polite goodbyes she hung up, and looked over triumphantly at Illya.
"I wonder what her father is so paranoid about, do you think he suspects that the informer went to the FBI?" She asked, and he shrugged noncommittally in response.
"Could be that, it might also be that he is on edge after the informer stole his money. We probably won't find out until we are closer to the family." He moved to pour her a glass of wine, but she quickly placed her hand over her glass, causing him to look at her with some surprise. "Not drinking? That's unusual for you."
"I don't know. I'm just not feeling so great about this whole situation." He had been sitting a few feet away during her phone call in order to avoid crowding her while she had the important conversation, but now he walked over to join her on the small couch.
"What are you worried about?" He asked, one of his hands lightly brushing a few strands of hair out of her eyes.
"It doesn't seem right." She confessed. "Rose is so innocent, she doesn't have any other friends. It will crush her when she finds out I betrayed her."
"Are you still feeling guilty about Rome?" She looked away as he mentioned the Italian city. "Gaby…" He sighed. "You need to stop blaming yourself for that, we don't. And this isn't the same. Rose is probably innocent, I still have my suspicions-"
"You're paranoid." He looked like he was going to object, but she spoke up again before he could. "Remember when you thought that waiter was following us in New York? The poor boy pissed himself you scared him so badly."
"I am cautious." Illya insisted. "But this is not about that. Yes, Rose may be innocent, but her father probably isn't. If the FBI are correct, among his other crimes, he is selling women into the sex trade. Girls that are probably just as naïve as Rose, and if we have to further injure the self-esteem of one girl in order to save many, then I think the ends justify the means." She sighed as the truth of his words sunk in.
"You're right. I'm being stupid." She said.
"No you're not. You're still new to being a spy, you haven't learned yet that collateral damage is inevitable. Innocent people are always hurt by what we do, the important thing is we help more people than we harm." He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "Take Rome for example, yes you had to betray Solo and me, but in doing so you managed to find your father and helped us stop the Nazis from getting a nuclear bomb. In the end, it was worth the price paid."
"I hope Napoleon is listening." Gaby said with a grin. "He doesn't give you enough credit for your intelligence." He shook his head in disapproval.
"Cowboy is a terrible spy."
"What do you think of this?" Rose asked, holding up a beautiful red dress up against herself. Gaby scrutinised it thoughtfully.
"The colour goes really nicely with your skin tone, but I'm not sure about the style. Maybe you should try it on?"
Gaby was amazed that her patience was holding up, they had been shopping all day and it was now approaching evening. Nothing Rose tried met her approval, which in itself would not have been so bad if she hadn't insisted on trying on nearly every kind of dress in each shop. They were on their sixth shop now and by the bored but still attentive expression on the sales assistant's face when they had arrived, Gaby could guess that this was a regular occurrence with Rose. She had decided earlier that day that she would do her best to be kind but honest with the girl, figuring that if anyone had tried to befriend the girl in the past based on her fortune, they would have gone with the approach of insisting that every dress she tried looked stunning on even when it clearly didn't. Rose returned from the changing room with the dress on, and Gaby solemnly shook her head as her suspicions about the style were confirmed.
"Thank you for this." Rose said. "You're a lot more helpful than other people I've been shopping with."
"It's not a problem." Gaby insisted. "I'm happy to help." She rummaged through another dress rack until she spotted another dress in a similar colour but in a different cut. "What about this? This might suit you better." Rose stepped over to look, lifting up her current outfit so she did not tread on the expensive fabric.
"That does look nice." She disappeared with it back into the changing room, leaving Gaby to slump back onto the couch provided as she waited the excruciating amount of time it took for the girl to change clothes.
"Would you like to look at anything for yourself?" The assistant asked.
"No thank you." Gaby replied with a smile.
"Are you sure? There's a Dior in green silk that would look stunning on you." The assistant gestured at a dress, and she felt her heart drop as she saw it. It was stunning, a few shades darker than one she had owned in Rome and tight fitting, lightly hugging the curves of the mannequin it was currently being worn by.
"My husband would have a fit if I spend that much money on a dress." She explained honestly, the best way to get someone to stop selling you something was to tell them you couldn't afford it, and predictably the assistant immediately backed off.
"What do you think?" Rose emerged and twirled happily.
"It looks really good, it's the nicest thing you've tried on today." She replied causing the other girl to nod profusely.
"I'll buy it."
"Excellent, will you be wanting anything else today?" The assistant asked, Gaby noticing that neither of them made or expected any mention of prices.
"What about you, Gaby, you haven't looked at anything today?" Rose turned on her.
"I don't need anything." She protested.
"Oh come on, I feel bad. I've dragged you around to find something for me and not even thought about you." She turned to the assistant. "What do you recommend for my friend?" The assistant indicated the aforementioned dress. "You have to try it, Gaby." Rose squealed.
"Really, I'm fine."
"No excuses! I insist."
Without needing to be asked, the assistant returned with the dress draped over her arms, with a patience only to be found in such a seasoned professional. Gaby found herself being shoved into a room with the outfit. She considered refusing, but worried that not giving in to Rose's demands might affect the currently smooth progression of their friendship, and so without further complaint she changed. It was even more beautiful on, and she felt a momentary pang of disappointment when she remembered their tiny budget. It was only for a moment though as she was sure Napoleon would track it down for her if she asked, her birthday was coming up and it would be a suitable gift.
"Gaby, have you died in there?" Rose asked exasperatedly, Gaby allowed herself an eye roll in the privacy of the changing room before carefully replacing her pleased but sad face and emerged from the room. "Oh wow." Rose said wistfully. "It looks incredible. You have to get it."
"It does look nice." She admitted. "But we're having some monetary difficulties at the moment, I couldn't justify the expense." The other girl looked slightly taken aback by this admission.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I hadn't realised." She flushed deeply. "You must have thought me so selfish."
"Of course not." Gaby was quick to insist. "It's not something I advertise, there was no way you could have known." Her private thoughts were not as kind as her words, she couldn't help but be incredulous of the girl who loved silks and satins and couldn't comprehend that the cheap material Gaby wore indicated a much lower standard of living.
A short while later, they were both once again dressed in their own clothes and heading away from the store, the biggest difference being the elegant shopping bag Rose now clutched in one of her hands.
"Oh shoot!" Rose said suddenly. "I forgot my gloves. Stay right there, I'll be back in a minute." Gaby could only watch in surprise as the girl suddenly disappeared, only to reappear a few moments later looking very pleased with herself and holding onto a second bag from the same store. It took her a few seconds to connect the dots.
"Oh you shouldn't have." She said as the other girl proudly handed over the bag, the movement revealing the green fabric hidden inside. "I can't accept this."
"Of course you can." Rose said gleefully. "It's my present to you for putting up with me all day." Gaby tried to think of a solution to her current dilemma, and after a few moments she came upon something ideal.
"If I accept this," she began cautiously, "you have to let me fix your car. Free of charge."
"That would be perfect!" Rose enthused. "I could have the car brought around to your house."
"You'll have to give me a few days, I need to order in the part that you need which might take a little while. I can call you when I get it."
"Sure, but we'll probably get together before then. There's this amazing café I've been wanting to try in town…"
Back home, Gaby turned on the radio and then pulled out a chopping board in order to begin the task of cutting up the ingredients needed for the risotto. The sound of the door opening distracted her, causing her knife to slip and cut shallowly into her finger. She swore loudly in German, pleased that she didn't have to pretend to be of another nationality on this mission.
Illya walked into the kitchen and immediately took in the scene of her trying to stem the light flow of blood. He left as quickly as he arrived, and returned with a first aid kit. Once she was cleaned up and bandaged, she gratefully accepted her hello kiss. He made a hand gesture as he began a conversation about his day, and she immediately stripped to allow him to check her for bugs again. When he had checked her, she pointed at the bag she had brought in with her and resumed her work as he examined that.
"This is nice." He noted as he examined the dress.
"It is, Rose bought it for me. I've offered to fix her car in exchange." He glanced up as she said that, and she saw his lips twist up in approval.
"That was very generous of her." He said, and gave the 'all clear' sign, allowing Gaby to relax a little.
"I was thinking of asking her to come over late afternoon with the car. Once I have the new part it shouldn't take too long to fix, and I could ask her to stay for dinner. Naturally, she would meet you if she agreed."
"Good work." He approved, and carefully removed the knife from her grip. "I shall do the dangerous work, you clearly cannot be trusted with sharp weaponry." She let out a short laugh and elbowed him playfully, even as she started measuring out other ingredients.
Author's Note: Gaby/Illya banter kept taking over chapters around this point :) Sorry if the story is a bit slow at this point, it really is build up right now. Sorry also about the delay, uni's been taking over. At some point in the future I might go back and give the last few chapters a proper edit.