Sacrifices for the Greater Good
Mission VII
There were no further incidents or interrogations after the dinner for over a month. Instead, Gaby found that she and Illya were slowly being drawn into a deeper relationship with the Russells. She should have been pleased, this was after all a crucial part of the mission- get close and wait for George to offer the enforcer position to Illya, but she felt uneasy. There was something about George's newly jovial attitude that clashed horribly with the man who had broken down their door. Over the month, there were more dinners and more outings- George would take Illya to see football matches and Gaby would go shopping with Rose. It all became very tiresome, and she was at least comforted that Illya was not having a much better time than her.
"It's not even like I can buy anything." She had complained once when she and Illya were sat down alone at a park. They had picked their seating area carefully, staying far away from anyone else enjoying the nice day, and were mostly hidden away by a few surrounding trees. "And who in their right mind can spend that much time in a shop deliberating over which bag matches a dress better?"
"At least you have some variety." Illya had grumbled. The comment had surprised her, until that moment she had thought he had been enjoying his outings.
"But you get to see all those big games, they seem so important to everyone. Surely that must be fun?" She attempted to reason.
"I hate team sports." He said miserably. "It's so pointless." He sounded so dejected that she had felt a surge of pity for him and climbed into his lap.
"When we get home," she told him seriously, arms wrapped around his neck, "I won't interrupt your chess games for a week." He let out a short laugh and kissed her.
Gaby couldn't help but worry that everything seemed just a little too cosy for comfort, and she was getting more concerned as each day passed without any sign from George that he might trust them enough to let Illya in on his business. Luckily for her, an incident soon after reignited her belief in the mission.
She and Illya had been out for dinner, supposedly celebrating his recent raise at the construction company, but mostly just wanting to get out of the house together without their marks tagging along. The restaurant they went to was cheap and the food was pretty subpar, but Gaby couldn't fault the vodka even as Illya turned his nose up at it. They had left the car in a nearby parking lot, but did not yet want to return to the house. Since George's first visit several more bugs had appeared in other rooms, and even their bedroom had not been spared. He had invited himself to the house on several occasions, on the pretence of wanting to share a few beers with Illya, but each visit ended with more surveillance devices scattered around. Gaby couldn't quite tell if this was a good thing or a bad thing. Perhaps he was getting close to offering the job to Illya but wanted more certainty of their trustworthiness.
They were casually walking around the town, arm in arm, in a comfortable silence. They had done enough inane talking over the course of this mission, and were unwilling to continue doing it in their actual private time. As late evening faded into night, everything grew much darker and the streets emptied. She didn't let it worry her too much, she'd had enough training by now to be able to take care of herself even without the giant Russian by her side. She'd also had enough training to be able to spot the small group of people that had begun following them halfway through their walk, and by the sudden tenseness in Illya's grip she was not the only one.
Illya started to take them on some winding streets in an attempt to lose their tail, but their lack of familiarity with the area eventually led them into a dead-end alleyway. As they moved to exit again their pathway was blocked by the four men, their faces now obscured with scarves which only left a small space to show their cold eyes, no doubt a ploy to hide their identities.
"Excuse me, can you let us pass?" Illya said authoritatively. To anyone else it would have sounded naïve, but Gaby knew Illya was just giving them the opportunity to give up quietly.
"Nice watch." One of them managed to say, voice slightly muffled by the disguise. "You give it to us with your money and rings, and maybe we'll let you pass." Gaby moved a hand over her mouth to hide the smile that was slowly growing, hoping the gesture would look more horrified than amused. The little gang had picked the wrong people to harass and she almost felt sorry for them. The situation reminded her of the mugging back in Rome, but this time Illya was not pretending to be an architect and he had no reason to 'take it like a pussy'.
"No." Illya said simply. "I will give you nothing and you will get out of my way. You would be wise to do this." One of their number stepped forwards, eyes flashing dangerously as he pulled out a switchblade which he thrust in Illya's direction.
"Watch, money, rings. Now." He growled.
Illya looked at the knife contemptuously and in a few short movements disarmed the man and snapped his arm like a twig. The abrupt howl of pain broke through the silence, and Illya promptly threw the now subdued man into a wall. He dropped down and did not move again, and the three remaining men watched with something akin to horror as one of their own was so easily defeated.
"Last chance. Move out of the way, or end up like your friend." Illya's voice had been mostly pleasant before but now it took on a dangerous lilt. It was an unsaid promise of pain and misery should they choose to ignore his final offer of mercy.
The three looked to each other for a moment, as though debating what to do. After a heartbeat they all lunged at some of the empty bottles scattered across the floor and smashed them to create weapons. The action caused a slight frown to appear on Gaby's face, she was surprised that only one of them had thought to bring a knife, and slowly a theory started to form in her mind. Two of the men started to advance towards Illya while the third stayed a little further back, Illya rolled his shoulders back and prepared for the fight ahead, one of his hands pushing Gaby further back behind him.
The two men quickly engaged him, each attempting a stab with their improvised weapons, but Illya deftly dodged each thrust and countered with a well-placed punch or kick. Gaby meanwhile kept her eye on the third man, concerned as to whether cowardice was the only reason he was standing back. Seeing her again, the third man started to advance towards her when he realised that their main threat was currently occupied. Gaby readied herself for a defence, shifting her weight from one heel-clad foot to the other, trembling slightly in an anticipation that the man likely mistook for fear. She was careful not to call out to Illya, any distraction on his part might have opened up a weak point the sharp glass could have been plunged into.
A sudden crack caught her attention, and she watched one of the men Illya was fighting suddenly slam against the wall of the alleyway and sink to the ground, unconscious. When she looked back, the third man suddenly lunged at her, clearly intent on using her as some human shield or hostage. She easily sidestepped him and with a coiled fist punched him deeply into his side. The man gasped out in a mixture of pain, surprise and outrage, she took advantage of his surprise to sink the pointed end of one of her shoes deeply into his boot. Ever since another spy had given her the idea, she had taken up the habit of sharpening the ends of every pair of heeled shoes she owned. Normally it was a fairly useless exercise- the point would wear away as she walked and sometimes she would get stuck in muddy or grassy areas. But on occasions like these she was suddenly reminded why she had started doing it in the first place- it provided her with a wonderful concealed weapon that no one expected. Gaby stumbled as the force with which she stamped caused the heel to snap off and remain lodged in the other man's foot, and nearly fell back as she tottered about on her uneven footing. Luckily the man she had attacked was now hopping about on his uninjured foot and shouting as he spotted the foreign object still sticking out of him. No doubt he was regretting the cheap footwear he owned, she likely would not have been able to stab him as easily if he had bought quality leather.
A smashing sound behind her revealed Illya's other opponent to have also fallen, on the way dropping the remains of the bottle which smashed into tiny fragments across the ground. With his problems dealt with, Illya now advanced towards the remaining man who was still screaming bloody murder, and with a sharp movement also knocked him unconscious. Gaby grinned at him as she took in the carnage they had wrecked. Around them were four men slumped over, each one bloodied and bruised, with her and Illya near untouched with the exception of her footwear.
"I liked these shoes." She complained.
"I'll buy you some new ones." He promised with a dark smile.
Gaby hobbled over to him, nearly falling every few feet as she struggled to adjust to her new gait. She considered taking her shoes off and walking the distance to the car barefoot, but the thought was immediately dismissed as she eyed with distaste the broken glass that now lay strewn about the floor, some of it twinkling a little in the dim light.
"Take your shoes off, I'll carry you." Illya offered and moved closer to her. Finding a space free of glass, Gaby stood there and carefully removed the now ruined pair, and outstretching her arms towards him she wrapped them around his neck as he slipped one arm under her knees and the other around her back. "You're getting heavy." He complained as he carried her out of the alley. "Maybe you should cut down on your number of lunches out with Rose." She punched him hard in the shoulder, not even eliciting a grunt of pain.
"Watch it!" She told him warningly. "Maybe you're just losing muscle."
He laughed at the absurd suggestion and carried her all the way to the car, ignoring the strange looks they got from the rare walker they passed.
"I don't think the attack was random." She told him seriously when no one was near. "No one in their right mind would try to mug someone of your size with just one knife as a weapon."
"If they had brought a gun it would have been less suspicious." Illya agreed. "Do you think it was a test of some kind?"
"A test of strength maybe," she agreed, "if George is looking for an enforcer he would want to get someone who can handle their own in a fight and can show a decent amount of brutality. I think you managed to demonstrate both, I counted at least two broken bones on the three you dealt with."
"Perhaps you shouldn't have dealt with that last man." Illya said thoughtfully. "It might be a little suspicious, you are meant to be a housewife after all."
"Yes, but a housewife married to a military man." She argued. "I am an immigrant to this country, it would make sense if you had taught me how to fight in case I was attacked in your absence."
They had to stop their conversation as they neared their car. There were too many crevices and structures to check it fully for bugs so they had no idea whether it was bugged or not. Gaby made appropriate comments about the horror of what had just happened, if the attack had been planned then it was likely their conversation after it would be closely monitored. When they arrived back home, she immediately went to find the first aid kit and began to clean and bandage Illya's bloody knuckles.
"I hope those bastards get picked up by the police." She said darkly, aware that they were probably being listened to. "They weren't worth the injury."
"I would suffer far worse to keep you safe." He told her seriously, and she felt a sudden rush of affection as she saw the honesty on his face and realised his words were not part of the act.
Rose arrived early the next day after the attempted mugging. As their friendship had grown she had taken to making unannounced visits to the house whenever she was bored, but as Gaby was not expecting her she opened the door to the insistent knocking while still wearing her pyjamas. Her appearance so late in the day caused one of Rose's eyebrows to quirk up with an unsaid question.
"Sorry." Gaby said around a yawn. "Didn't get to sleep until late, too much adrenaline."
"Adrenaline?" Rose asked in confusion as she entered the house, Gaby immediately heading into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee.
"Yes, Charlie and I were attacked last night when we were in town." She revealed nonchalantly, causing Rose to gasp in horror.
"Oh my god. What happened?" Her concern was obvious and fairly warming to Gaby, it was nice to have someone be worried for your safety.
"It sounds worse than it was." Gaby said, attempting to reassure her. "Charlie dealt with it. It's not the first time people have been stupid enough to attack us, and I think this latest group will think twice before they try to mug someone again."
"How many were there?" Rose asked, seemingly awed by how dismissive Gaby was.
"Four." She took a long sip from her mug and nearly sighed as she felt the caffeine start to kick in.
"Wow! And is Charlie okay?" Rose glanced around as she spoke, as though she thought he would suddenly materialise.
"He's fine. He's at work today."
"So soon?" Gaby had to hold back a smile at that, the suggestion that Illya would be so traumatised by such an innocuous event rather amusing to her. She had seen him dismiss broken bones and gunshot wounds as a mere inconvenience in the past rather than something to be upset about.
"It really wasn't a big deal."
"What about you? Did you get hurt?" She nearly snorted at that.
"No, Charlie would never allow it. And I can handle myself as well, one of those bastards will have a scar from where I stabbed him with my shoe." She felt a sadistic sense of satisfaction at the thought, every time the man put on a pair of socks he would remember her and his idiocy in dismissing her as his target's wife.
"I wish I was that brave." Rose said wistfully after Gaby elaborated about her cryptic comment, taking the opportunity to explain the story (and Illya's part in it) in full.
"Bravery will cost you a pair of shoes." She replied gravely. "They were my favourite pair." Her joke caused Rose to laugh, but the sound was abruptly cut up as her eyes suddenly lit up with an idea.
"Well if you're feeling up to it, we could go find a replacement today!" Gaby shook her head in mirth, somehow the woman always managed to turn the conversation back towards shopping.
Author's Note: For part of the mugging scene I was inspired by 'Going Postal' by Terry Pratchett. In the book one of the characters gets harassed by a drunk and she stabs him in the foot with her "Mitzy 'Pretty Lycretia' four-inch heels, the most dangerous footwear in the world". She gives an awesome speech afterwards, I really recommend looking it up or the scene of it they did in the TV film. I've also updated my drabble series if anyone is interested.