Olivia wakes up twenty minutes before her alarm is set to go off. When she rolls over she's greeted by the sight of Tiago again, his back to her and his chest rising and falling with his breath.
She just stares at him for a few moments. She longs to drag her fingertips down the skin of his back, or even to press her lips against him, but she controls herself. It would be so easy to slip her arm around his waist and slide her body against his.
Memories of Matthew suddenly rush back to her. She's used to a warm body in her bed, and Matthew's gentle touch on her shoulder to wake her up every morning. She imagines the look of hurt on his face if he were to find out she had another man, let alone an employee, sleeping in her bed. Olivia knows she would have more than a few choice words for him if she'd caught him in bed with another woman.
She rolls on to her back and stares at the ceiling, wishing she was back at home, even missing the comfort of her own office and desk at Vauxhall Cross. She exhales deeply, trying to make the tension leave her body. This trip was a mistake, or at least bringing Tiago on this trip was a mistake. Maybe potential alone wasn't enough to commend him for this sort of work, and she cursed herself for hiring him in the first place. If she'd just disregarded him based on his accent alone, which so many others were quick to do, he would not be interloping in her hotel room and making her so uneasy all of the time. Alas, like some innocent schoolgirl she'd fallen for his charms, and now she paid the price.
Slowly he started to stir next to her, stretching and yawning before turning over to look at her.
"Good morning." he said, "Thank you for letting me join you."
"Yes, well you've joined me for the last time." she said, jumping out of bed, as far away from him as she could get, "Go get ready. We have to be at the terminal soon, our ferry leaves at 8:30, remember?"
Tiago nods, "Yes, ma'am."
He throws the bedsheet off and stands up, lifting his arms over his head to stretch, letting out a heavy groan. Olivia watches him out of the corner of her eye, watching his muscles flex as he stretches. "I'll be back shortly." he says as he leaves the room, and she soon hears her front door open and close again.
Olivia lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Her mind was running over every conceivable scenario of how Tiago could humiliate her during today's mission. She started to feel some panic rise in her chest; she was going to be alone with him, while he was armed with a borrowed gun, in a city she'd never been to before while following a mark she had only seen a few photos of. It was downright insane when she considered it. She prepared herself for the day, showering and combing her short hair, putting on light makeup so as to not draw any attention to herself. She wore casual slacks and an oversized top to hide the gun she would have holstered on her hip. Such an outfit would never be appropriate in Macau during the nighttime, but she hoped it would suffice for the daylight hours and that no one would bat an eye at her.
She tried to think of their mark, Teixeira, and his features; a broad face with wide set hazel eyes, a well manicured moustache and brown hair cropped close to his head. He was also quite a large man, standing at almost two meters tall, so she figured spotting a sizeable white man should not be too difficult given the circumstances.
The sound of movement in her kitchen pulled her from her thoughts, and when she went to see what the noise was there was only Tiago fumbling with the coffeepot.
"You can't do this in your own room?" she asked.
"I figured you would want some coffee too. Was I wrong?"
He wasn't wrong, but Olivia didn't feel like giving him any satisfaction, so she said nothing. Instead she grabbed her passport, the one bearing the name Helen Garcia, and shoved it in her purse with her wallet, ferry ticket and room key.
"You have your passport?" she asked him.
"Yes, ma'am."
"The gun?"
He furrowed his brow but lifted his t-shirt, showing her the gun tucked into the waistband of his jeans, "You think I'm an amateur, ma'am?"
"I think you're still a bit of a rookie." she mumbles, "Considering how the last few days here have been, I just need to know that you're prepared."
"I've got this!" he says, grabbing a cup and waiting for the coffee to finish brewing, "I was born for this."
"Oh really?" Olivia rolls her eyes, "Talent alone won't save you, Mr. Rodriguez, you need to be ready for anything."
He smirks at her, "Oh, I am ready for anything, ma'am."
Olivia chooses to ignore the suggestive undertone of his comment. Once the coffee is finished he pours two cups of it and hands her one, which she eyes with distaste.
"I take it with cream." she says, and grabs some of the small plastic cups of creamer that have been provided in the basket with all the free coffee and tea.
"I'll remember that." Tiago says, sipping his black coffee, "Ugh, this is terrible." he says, making a face.
"That's why I use cream." she laughs, "What can you expect from hotel coffee anyway? You've got to mask the flavor somehow."
They drink together in relative silence. Olivia is thinking about what the day will bring, and what is expected of her. She is to call Hendricks after they first spot Teixeira at Casino Lisboa, and again after he leaves. That's all, very simple and not at all complicated. According to their intel, Teixeira should have arrived in Macau at 6 AM, and she thinks of him currently passing through passport control and getting his luggage at baggage claim. He had no idea there would soon be eyes on him.
Once they've finished all they have to do is look at each other and nod, and soon they're off on their mission.
Surprisingly the ferry terminal isn't packed, and only a few people are meandering around whilst waiting for the ferry to depart. Olivia is relieved there isn't a huge crowd as she expected, but then again, not many people are looking to gamble during business hours on a weekday. No, it was only clueless tourists who did that, as they were pretending to be.
When boarding began Olivia was pleased to see they had plenty of space on the ferry to spread out, and she pulled Tiago to a small alcove near a window. No one ended up sitting near them, and without much fanfare the ferry departed.
Olivia was admiring the harbor as they sailed, watching smaller boats float by and taking in the scenery. It smelled of salt water and diesel fumes on the ferry, as well as an undercurrent of bleach from prior cleanings, but she found herself getting lost in the journey. Tiago was also looking out the window, he was sat across from her with a small table in between them, his head propped up on his fist.
"You know, my Portuguese is a little shaky." he said unprompted.
"Oh?" Olivia asks, unsure why he is telling her this now, just as they are headed on their mission and why he said nothing sooner.
"I haven't really spoken it in years. But I do remember what it sounds like."
Olivia says nothing, and instead keeps her eyes fixed on the dark water out the window.
"My mother always tried though," he begins, "She thought it was important I speak her language. She was proud of where she came from. Well, proud of the Portuguese side, less proud of the British side."
Olivia looks at him then, "And why is that?"
"Hmm, I don't know. She didn't grow up there. She took me to Aberdeen a few times to meet her extended family, but honestly I couldn't understand a word they were saying." he laughed, "I understood my Nana though. She hated Scotland, said it was too cold and that's why she married a man from the Algarve. There was nothing but sunshine there for her."
Olivia nodded, "I can't say I'm fond of Scotland either. It's always been dreary, the few times I went there. Glasgow certainly wasn't the most welcoming place. Edinburgh was a bit better."
Tiago shrugged, "There can be beauty in dreariness, no?"
"Maybe." is all Olivia can say.
"Anyway," Tiago continues, "Once Nana died we lost contact with that side of the family. I haven't been back to Aberdeen in many years. I don't even know if any of those people remember me or realize I'm still alive."
"I'm sure they remember you," she tells him, "You're a part of their family."
"Hmm, a part of their family who doesn't speak Scots or look anything like them." he sighs, "Now that my mother and Nana are gone, I'm just another stranger to them. That's alright though, I always had my Abuela. She loved me more than anyone, even my father who was her own child."
Olivia cocks her head but continues listening to him, unsure why he is suddenly telling her so much about his family.
A look of distress passes over Tiago's face, but he continues, "My Abuela lived on an island, incredibly small but I loved it there. Her family had a leasehold on it from the Spanish government, but I thought I would stay there forever. When she died the government took it back because I wasn't listed as a remainderman on the lease. I really felt like I had nowhere to go. My parents were dead, all my grandparents were dead –" he pauses, but then smiles at her, "And then I found you."
"I'm sorry." is all she can say to him.
He chuckles, "Well, all that to say my Portuguese is rusty. So I'm a bit nervous."
"You don't have to say anything," she reassures him, "We're just there to observe. This isn't a mission which requires true immersion."
Tiago has a faraway look in his eyes as he gazes out the window. "My mother would have loved this. She loved the water. She would sit on the beach for hours while I played in the sand. Sometimes we would go on out a boat with her friends and just aimlessly sail. That's when she was happiest."
Olivia doesn't know what to say so she just keeps quiet.
"She was an angel. I've missed her every day for the last twelve years." he looks over at Olivia, "What about your family? Are they still around?"
Olivia thought back to her parents, they were a handsome couple but both always had a bit of a stiff upper lip, as was the English way. She barely knew her father, a bureaucrat who was rarely at home, and had shed few tears when he died. She'd been only eleven when he passed, and only six years after that she would lose her mother. At the very least they'd succeeded in giving her a good education that had made it possible to be in the position she was today.
"My parents have both passed. I'm an orphan of sorts, but it feels strange to say that at my age." she tells him.
"Well, that's two of us then." he says a little sadly.
Olivia chuckles, "According to our passports you aren't an orphan after all."
"Ah, you're right, aren't you?" he says as he leans back into his seat and watches the scenery going by again.
The two hours on the ferry passed faster than Olivia had anticipated. Tiago had told her more about his childhood, of long summer days on the shores of the Algarve and the nights he stayed up reading books about spies and damsels in distress. He'd asked her questions about her life, but she tried to keep it as vague as possible. When she'd told him of Matthew he'd smiled and said, "He's a lucky man, having you." but left it at that.
Finally they were pulling up to the Taipa Ferry Terminal, and the bright colors of the casinos glistened on the skyline even in the daylight. They passed through yet another border and they got into yet another taxi, until eventually they were at the front doors of Casino Lisboa.
"Stick with me until I tell you otherwise." Olivia told him as they stepped inside, "We'll pick a meeting spot in case we do get split up, is that understood?"
"Yes, ma'am." he said quietly, as they made their way onto the casino floor.
It was incredibly smoky inside and there were many tables that lined the large atrium with the sound spinning roulette tables bouncing off the walls. Olivia scanned the room, looking for any imposing figures, but initially saw nothing.
The casino was lavish, decorated in hues of red, gold and brown, and seemed to stretch on forever. Olivia pointed at a bar near the front entrance.
"This is it." she says, "If you get lost come here and I'll find you."
Tiago nods, and dips his hand in his pocket to pull out a singular casino chip that he'd received back in the office, "Should we try to fit in?"
"Not yet. Let's do a sweep of the casino floor first."
They walked together through the hall, eyeing up games as if they were going to play them rather than looking for a single individual who might be there. In the back of the casino there were rows of slot machines with thick clouds of cigarette smoke looming over everything. Olivia beckoned Tiago to sit down with her at the slots and slipped a loose coin into one before pulling the lever.
"Nothing." she says to him, her eyes trained on the screen of the slot machine which was spitting out her bid, "Did you see anything?"
"Negative." he said, and he looked around them at all the people who were glued to the spot, pulling the levers of their machines over and over again, "Not back here either."
Olivia's slot machine disappointed her – a cherry, a seven and bell; she'd lost.
"Come on, let's try again."
They stood and made another round, and once again did not see their mark anywhere. There was always the chance he wouldn't show up here despite their intel, and that was alright. They just needed to confirm or deny if he had been spotted.
After a few more rounds of the casino and a few more disappointing goes at the slot machines, out of the corner of her eye Olivia saw a large figure looming at the cashier's cage.
"2 o'clock." she says to Tiago, and keeps her line of sight straight so no one will catch her looking at their mark, "Is that him?"
Tiago follows her instructions and looks past her, "Sure looks like it is."
"He's cashing in chips?"
"Oh yeah." Tiago says, "Looks like quite a few of them too."
Olivia went to sit down in a spot with a vantage point and Tiago followed her. They feigned interest in their new slot machines while they tracked him from across the room.
"I suppose I'll go give Hendricks a call. There's a payphone out front. Keep an eye on him while I'm gone."
She gets up and inconspicuously leaves the casino, making her way to the one phone booth she'd seen in the vicinity. Once inside she picks up the receiver and slips some coins into the phone, dialing the number she knows goes directly to Hendricks' desk.
"Hello?" he answers.
"We got him. It happened fast. He's cashing in some chips, I don't know how much longer he's going to stay in the casino-"
Olivia's words slip away as she sees Teixeira also exiting the building, with one large duffel bag swung over his shoulder, likely filled with many thousands of dollars.
"I take that back. He just exited the building."
"He just exited?" Hendricks says incredulously, "That was fast."
Olivia furrows her brow as she watches him cross the street, "Much too fast." she muses, but she's quickly distracted by another form leaving the casino. It's Tiago, trailing a little too closely and a little too clumsily as new agents often do.
"Shit." she says in the phone, "Rodriguez is following him. I have to go stop him; I'll call you back."
With that she slams the receiver down and watches as Tiago jogs across the street. Meanwhile Teixeira had disappeared into an alley, walking so confidently as if he knew exactly where he was going.
What are you doing? Don't get too close, Olivia thinks as she watches Tiago get closer to the entrance of the alley. She wonders how to get Tiago's attention from where she is and decides to tap on the glass window of the payphone but it's far too little too late. Her line of sight on Tiago disappears as he heads behind the alley, just as their mark had done.
Bloody hell, she thinks as she sprints out of the phone booth, following behind where Tiago had gone.
She's halfway across the street when Tiago reappears, and while she wants to breathe a sigh of relief the distress on Tiago's face is obvious. It looks like all the color has been drained from him.
"What's wrong?" she asks when she catches up with him.
"We have a big problem."
He motions for her to follow him, and from a vantage point at the entrance of the alley she can see inside the glass lobby doors of an apartment complex. There's Teixeira with one hand in his duffel bag, but there's also a gaunt looking man there with him and the two seem caught up in conversation. At first Olivia isn't sure why this is a problem, aside from the fact that Teixeira is clearly paying this man for something. That is until she sees the tiny figure standing next to them. It's a little girl, perhaps eight years old, with matted hair and dirty mismatched clothes.
"Is he doing what I think he's doing?" Olivia says, trying to control the shock in her voice.
"I believe so, ma'am."
Olivia continues watching as the two men exchange a handful of bills, and Teixeira grabs the little girl by her hand, saying one more thing to the other man before leading the girl with him and out of the building.
"Bollocks!" Olivia curses, pulling Tiago by the arm so they can duck out of Teixeira's line of sight, "I had no idea! All I was told was that he was laundering money."
"What do we do, ma'am?" Tiago asks.
"Come here!" Olivia says, grabbing him once more and taking cover behind a dumpster on the street. "We wait and watch." she says to him, peeking around to see Teixeira making his way out of the alley and walking down a different side street.
"We should follow him." Tiago says confidently, "Maybe we can get the girl help."
Olivia isn't too sure about that. Human trafficking was far from her expertise and the few times MI6 got involved in cases like this she'd heard of the horrific fallout of their altercations.
As she's thinking of a plan of action she notices another man, slender and tall with Asian features but a severely acne scarred face. He seems to be taking the same route that Teixeira had gone down, and he also walks with a purpose, no sign of hesitancy in his steps.
"Look," she says to Tiago, "This isn't safe. I have to alert Hendricks about this, but we shouldn't follow him – not when there's so many civilians around."
"What?!" Tiago says, "We're doing this to help people, right? We need to keep going."
"We do this to ensure national security, Tiago, not to help individuals!" she says, knowing that she's right, but has a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach when she thinks of that little girl.
"So we just let predators like him continue?" he says, clearly annoyed, "We have to follow him. Get an idea of where he's staying, so we can send in reinforcements."
Olivia shakes her head, "I can't risk compromising this mission. We did our duty, this goes beyond our brief-"
"Fuck our brief!" Tiago says, "You can follow me or not, but I'm going to get that girl away from him."
Before Olivia can say anything else Tiago is off, following the steps of Teixeira and the other unknown man.
"Damn you, Rodriguez." she mutters under her breath, as she tries to follow after him.
Teixeira is nowhere in sight, but she can see the unknown man a few meters ahead of Tiago. She has no idea what his end goal is, and all her internal alarms are going off. This wasn't supposed do go this way, and fear prickles in her chest as she watches Tiago following much too closely.
The unknown man suddenly turns and looks back at them, and it takes all of Olivia's might not to stop dead in her tracks. Just keep going as if you're supposed to be here, she thinks to herself, and soon the man turns forward again, picking up his pace.
It isn't long before they round another corner, into yet another alleyway, but Olivia falls back and just watches from a distance. This time she can see Teixeira and the girl, both about to get into an inconspicuous white car. There was really nothing she and Tiago could do, despite report the incident – they had no vehicle and no backup, and this wasn't even their jurisdiction. While trying to just observe the situation from where she stood, the unknown man suddenly started running towards Teixeira and the white car. As Teixeira looked up there was clearly fear settling on to his face, and he pushed the little girl to the ground. From his waistband he pulled out what was an unmistakable shiny black handgun.
Shit, was all she could think before the sound of gunfire rang out. Tiago was caught off guard and ducked down low, only a few meters from Teixeira and the unknown man, the latter of which had also drawn a gun, and was now firing back. Olivia watched Tiago whip out his gun, and she found herself reaching for her own, pulling up her shirt and unholstering it. Don't be a hero, she thinks, as she sees Tiago make a break for the little girl, who is crying on the ground, trying to cover her head.
When Teixeira notices Tiago he fires at him, the bullets barely missing him and ricocheting off the walls of the alley. Suddenly Teixeira groans in pain, and a circle of blood blossoms at his shoulder. He lurches back, caught off guard by the bullet that hit him. That doesn't stop him from aiming at the unknown man again.
"Drop your weapon and put your hands over your head!" the unknown man calls to Teixeira in English, and when there is no response he repeats it in Portuguese.
What is going on here? Olivia thinks to herself, as she sees Tiago grab the little girl in his arms, making a break heading back towards where she stands. This does not go unnoticed by Teixeira, who fires at them, barely missing Tiago once again. However, Tiago loses his footing, falling to his knees as bullets fly by him.
The unknown man shoots at Teixeira again, repeating for him to drop his weapon, but Teixeira is relentless – he shoots at the unknown man, hitting him in the thigh, causing him to also fall to the ground. As Teixeira is reloading, Olivia knows she has to step in. Tiago had made it to his feet again, the screaming child in his arms, and Teixeira is taking aim at them once more.
Olivia reveals herself, stepping out from behind the wall she hid behind, blasting at him in an attempt to call his attention off Tiago. Of course every shot misses, but her plan has worked. Now Teixeira has targeted her, a ferocious look upon his face, blood streaming from his shoulder as he pulls the trigger repeatedly. Olivia has seen the look on his face many times, that look of someone being foiled from their plan. He's enraged, and it's making his aim worse but his resolve stronger.
Tiago has placed the girl safely in a spot where stray bullets can't find her, and with gun in hand moves to Olivia's side. His eyes narrow towards Teixeira, and suddenly Tiago lets out a yelp, grabbing Olivia by the arm and pulling her quickly towards him. As soon as he does she can feel a stinging in her upper arm, and when she looks down she can see blood starting to flow under the fabric of her shirt. She can hear Tiago firing towards Teixeira, but she's momentarily stunned, having not been injured in the field for so many years and now staring at a wound from where a bullet just grazed her.
Suddenly there is even more gunfire surrounding them from an unknown point, and Tiago grabs her to pull her down into a ducking position, covering her head with his arms and chest. There is a lot of shouting, and Olivia can hear things being said in both English and Portuguese but can't make out any of it, most of it muffled by Tiago holding her close to him. She can hear more people pouring into the alleyway, supposing they're backup for the unknown man.
When she looks up again she can see Teixeira is surrounded, and someone takes him out at the kneecap, forcing him to fall forward with a agonized scream. There's more shouting but the gunfire has ceased, and both she and Tiago watch as someone steps forwards towards Teixeira with handcuffs, telling him he's under arrest while holding him on the ground by placing their foot on the back of his head. Another person picks up the duffel bag full of cash, lifting it over their head and waving it as if it is a trophy.
The unknown man tries to stand with a groan. Aside from the wound on his leg he seems otherwise fine, and he limps over to the other armed men, all now standing in a circle around Teixeira.
Olivia is momentarily stunned to silence, never in her wildest dreams believing what just happened here. Tiago looks down at her, panic on his face, "Ma'am, you're hurt! Look at your arm!"
"I know, Rodriguez." she tells him, "I'm fine."
"You're not fine, you're bleeding! You need medical attention."
Olivia waves him off, "I'll get that later, Tiago. Check on the girl?"
Tiago shakes his head but does as he's told, going to the little girl and picking her up in his arms. Olivia can hear him speaking to her in Portuguese. The girl is in tears but she answers him, burying her face in his chest. He pats her on the back and brings her out, still asking her questions. She begins to cry hysterically, and he squeezes her tighter, trying to reassure her.
"She says her name is Bruna, and she doesn't know where her parents are." Tiago tells Olivia, "She says she doesn't know why she was given to Teixeira."
The unknown man now limps towards them, a look of confusion on his face.
"And who might you people be?" he asks in an American accent.
"We're with MI6. We were following Teixeira – he's been implicated in laundering money and bribing the CCP." Olivia tells him.
"Ah." he says with a knowing tone, "That doesn't surprise me. I'm Agent Kim, and we're with Interpol. Teixeira has been suspecting of trafficking children into the sex trade for quite some time now and today we finally caught him. I think he'll be going to prison for quite some time, so I don't think you'll have to worry about him bribing anyone for a while."
"What about her?" Tiago asks, still patting the little girl on the back.
"We'll call social services and they will probably arrange foster care for her. Maybe they will see if she can be placed back with her biological parents, if either of them are still alive."
Bruna eyes Agent Kim suspiciously but she's stopped crying now. Tiago takes the moment to set her back on the ground, and she rubs her eyes as she stands between the adults.
"It looks like you were hit, miss." Agent Kim says, pointing at Olivia's arm.
"Not nearly as bad as you, sir." Olivia says, unsure how he is still standing with a bullet in his thigh, in seemingly minimal pain.
"Oh, I've had far worse. Come with me; if you don't mind we have some questions for you and your partner about what happened today. It shouldn't take too long and we'll fix your arm right up." he tells her.
Olivia figures she doesn't have much of a choice.
Teixeira is led away in handcuffs and shoved into an unmarked vehicle by Interpol agents. An ambulance was called so she and Agent Kim could be looked at by a medical team, and while they were being cared for Tiago had bought Bruna some candy and watched over her before local child services could arrive.
"This day wasn't supposed to go this way." Olivia said to Agent Kim as the skin of her arm was stitched back together.
"I figured." he said, "We've been following Teixeira for months, and it looks like he's a very busy man. You'd be amazed how quickly he makes money, hand over fist. We also knew we weren't the only agency who was on to him, he's even currently a wanted criminal in at least five countries."
"Good riddance to bad rubbish, I suppose." Olivia says as the last stitch is placed. This one is going to leave a pretty large scar; even though it was mostly superficial the bullet had grazed the entire width of her bicep. She could hear Agent Kim and the medic on the ambulance talking, but didn't make out their conversation. She was far too busy running her fingers against the new stitches on her arm.
"Well, it looks like I have to be seen at a hospital." Agent Kim tells her, "The bullet is quite deep but luckily it didn't hit any major arteries. I'll be off - one of our other field agents will be asking you and your partner some questions, and then if you'd like we can escort you on a police watercraft back to Hong Kong. Your partner told me that you two were staying there."
"That's right. Thank you, Agent Kim."
"And thank you, Miss..?"
"Agent Mansfield." she tells him, unwilling to let on that he's actually speaking with the head of MI6.
"Agent Mansfield - thank you, again." he says curtly, before she is given a given a bandage over her now sewn wound and escorted off the ambulance.
She finds Tiago speaking with social services, his hand protectively rested on Bruna's shoulder. After a few words were exchanged the social worker took her, and Bruna cast a sad look back at Tiago and Olivia before she disappeared into the back of a police car.
"They want to ask us a few questions, but at least we don't have to wait for the ferry back." Olivia says to him, but he has a distant look in his eyes and doesn't seem to hear her, "Are you alright?"
He nods, and then casts his eyes down at where her shirt is pulled up and her bandaged arm is exposed, "I was supposed to keep you safe." he said sadly, "But you got hit anyway."
"Tiago, you realize you saved my life? Had you not pulled me out of the way I would have been shot in the chest."
"I could have done better. I should have done better." he sighed, "Do you think she'll be okay?"
"I'm not sure she's ever going to be okay, considering her life situation, but she has a better chance now that she's away from Teixeira." she tells him, but he doesn't seem to like that answer, "We got very lucky today. You can't save them all yet we were able to save her. Count your blessings."
Tiago says nothing and instead just stares off somewhere in the middle ground. She has to remind herself that this is his first real taste of field work, and it's natural if he's a little shocked by the outcome.
Eventually they are interviewed by another Interpol agent, and rehash everything that happened – who they are, where they're from, why they were following Teixeira. It's a tedious process and by the time they're done the sun is setting on the horizon.
They get on the police boat and are escorted over the harbor and back towards the glittering lights of Hong Kong. They say barely anything to each other along the way. Olivia is wondering if Hendricks has heard about this yet, and the first thing she must do when they arrive is call him with the news. They disembark at the ferry terminal and give their thanks, but otherwise the silence hangs heavy between them.
While waiting for a taxi Olivia excuses herself to the nearest payphone, plugging in Hendricks' home landline since he must have left the office by now. It's lucky she knows both numbers off the top of her head, having had to call him multiple times over the last few weeks. When he answers he's relieved to hear from her.
"Ma'am! We received word from Interpol about the situation, are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine. Well, actually I was grazed by a bullet, but thanks to Mr. Rodriguez I was spared of a more grievous injury."
"My God! I'm sorry to hear that." he pauses, "So long as both of you are alright we can delay a debriefing about this until tomorrow morning. Is that acceptable?"
"Of course, Mr. Hendricks, I will see you tomorrow."
As soon as she hangs up a taxi rolls to where Tiago is standing, and she jogs out to meet him and slip into the backseat. That ride is similarly quiet, and while Tiago looks out the window at the city skyline she can tell he is processing what just happened rather than marveling at the architecture.
One they arrive at the hotel they make it to their floor, and Tiago follows her to her door.
"Can I stay with you tonight?" he asks.
She doesn't say yes, but she doesn't say no. She just opens the door and lets him in. A glance at the clock tells her it's close to midnight, but even though she's physically exhausted her mind is still racing with thoughts of the day's events. Tiago is sitting on her couch, head in his hands, and she sits next to him, much closer than she ever has before.
"You did well today, Tiago." she says, "You were reckless though. You chased our mark right into someone else's trap. I understand why you did it, but you have to be more aware of the kind of situations you're stepping into."
He looks up at her, "I just couldn't let him take the girl." he says, "I'm sorry, I just couldn't let it happen."
In that moment Olivia knows that this career is going to break his heart into a million pieces. She knows this because the same thing happened to her. There were plenty of people she couldn't save – her partners, her allies, civilians caught in the middle. It never got easier, but she did become more adapted to accepting the inevitable as it came. Tiago didn't even lose this fight, and yet he was haunted by the implications of what could have happened.
"I understand." she said to him, "Get some sleep. You need it."
She excuses herself to her bedroom, removing her bloodied shirt and replacing it with old pajamas. The pain killers are starting to wear off and her arm is beginning to ache, so when she gets into bed she makes sure to turn on her good side as to not aggravate the injury. It will be just another scar to add to the collection, the patchwork of pain etched all over her body that told the story of her adventures. She didn't realize she was going to be adding another piece to that collection at this point in her life, but she is glad to be alive and safe in bed, even if it isn't her own bed.
The bed dips next to her and she knows Tiago has joined her. She doesn't say anything because she just doesn't have it in her to protest his presence tonight. She can tell that they're lying back-to-back, and she's glad her injury prevents her from rolling over and looking at him.
If she didn't know any better she would try to give him a hug, maybe hold him close to her and tell him it was all alright. Instead she calls to him, "I meant what I said, you did well today."
"Thank you, ma'am." he says, but otherwise remains still and silent.
She isn't sure how long it takes for either of them to fall asleep and the time seems to stretch on in the darkness of the night.
Once sleep takes her she dreams of Matthew. She can't quite make out his face, just his form and the scent of him. She sees him in a garden, beautiful and full of blooming flowers. She reaches for him but he's so far away, and the harder she tries to reach the farther and farther it feels like she gets, until she falls into a deep darkness behind her. As the darkness surrounds her she tries to scream, but no sound comes out.
She snaps awake in a cold sweat, and it's a few minutes before 4 AM. Slowly she wills herself back to sleep for just a little while longer and this time is luckily blessed with a deep, dreamless sleep.