by Alison Ryan
I flipped on the television as I toweled off after my shower. Nothing on Bravo or E! caught my eye, but as I browsed through the channels, I stopped on a football match. After Callum, I’d always called soccer “football”. He’d been a fanatic about the game, and while we were dating he’d often drag me to a British bar near the UNLV campus to watch games being broadcast from England, sometimes as early as 5:00 AM Las Vegas time.
I didn’t grow up with any particular interest in sports, and to be honest, soccer bored me, but there was something about the emotional investment fans made that helped me get swept up in it. Hours before the sun rose, this little bar a few blocks from campus would be crammed with British ex-pats and local aficionados tossing back pints, singing songs, and cheering wildly for the team they supported.
I left the match on in the background while I got dressed. There was something comforting about the crowd, the announcers and their accents, and the ebb and flow of the action. I heard a knock on the door to my little guest house, followed by Piper’s voice. “Clara? Are you in here?”
I pulled on a shirt and opened the door for her. “Come on in, what’s up?”
“Nothing much. Or everything. I don’t know. I feel like I’m losing my mind. I think it’s the nesting instinct. Atlas and I have our little nursery, and I’m sure we have everything we need, but this is just so weird. It’s not what I pictured life with a newborn being like. At all.”
I motioned for Piper to join me on the couch and we sat down. “This is definitely a… ‘peculiar’ way and place to have a baby. Absolutely. But from what I understand, your situation in Alaska may have been worse. If anything goes wrong here, which it won’t, at least you have me. If there had been complications on the island, I don’t even want to think about it.”
“I know, and I’m grateful for you. So grateful. For Odin, for helping me, for everything. The pregnancy, the hormones, they’re just making me a little crazy, I think.”
“You have Atlas, too. He dotes on you. It’s heart-warming to see the way he treats you. I’ll admit it, I’m a little jealous,” I said, laughing.
“You’re jealous of me? You’re this beautiful, brilliant doctor! You shouldn’t be jealous of anybody. And besides, you’ve got your own Titan man in there.”
“Odin? He’s just my patient, there’s nothing- “
Piper cut me off. “Are you kidding? The way you look at him? The way he looks at you? I half-expect to find the two of you making out every time I go in there.”
Before I could protest, someone else knocked on the door.
I opened it to find Raven standing there. She stuck her head in the door and looked around.
“Ugh! How am I supposed to plan your baby shower when you’re in here, Piper? I don’t mind sharing the space with Clara, but this place is cramped for three, or is it thee and a half people?”
Raven and I expected Piper to reply, but we looked over to see her staring at the television, all color drained from her face. She pointed at the screen.
“It’s him. Oh my God, its him.”
Raven and I made eye contact and both walked over to look at the screen. The cameraman had panned to the crowd, away from the action on the field. A group of a dozen or so wealthy-looking sorts filled the screen, mostly men, with a few dazzling women sprinkled among them.
Raven scanned the people on the screen. I’d hit the pause button. “That’s Silvio Berlusconi, right?” she asked, looking confused.
Piper rose from the sofa, walking to the TV and pointing out a man among the frozen faces, two rows behind the man Raven had identified as the former Italian prime minister.
“QB. That’s QB. He’s a monster. He shaved his beard, but I’ll never forget his face.”
I looked to Raven for confirmation.
“I’ve never seen him. He’s a phantom,” Raven said. “But Atlas has. And Nathaniel, I think. I’ll get them.”
Moments later, Atlas bounded into my living room, Nathaniel trailing behind. “I’ll be damned,” he said, wrapping his arms around Piper as he stood behind her. “Good eye, babe.”
“What is this we’re watching? What are we looking at?” Nathaniel asked.
“It’s a football, sorry, a soccer game. I wasn’t really paying attention. Let me see.” I picked up the remote and hit a few buttons, bringing up the pertinent details on the screen. A.C. Milan were playing at home in their 80,000 seat San Siro stadium against Chievo Verona. It was a match from the top Italian professional league.
Raven scrolled through her phone. “Berlusconi is the owner and president of A.C. Milan. That must be his personal box. I don’t recognize anyone else, but it’s fair to assume they’re all heavyweight politicians or wealthy business associates of Berlusconi.”
“Or murderous whack jobs,” countered Piper.
“We can use this, Atlas,” Nathaniel said.
“How?” Atlas asked.
“Is this an important game? Does anybody know?”
Raven hadn’t stopped digging through her phone. “No. Don’t think so. Milan is a traditional power. Verona isn’t a rival or even very good, from what I can tell.”
“Their big rival is Inter,” I offered. “They’re another Milan team.”
Everyone looked at me with expressions ranging from mild surprise to all-out shock.
“Didn’t figure you for a soccer fan,” Atlas remarked.
“I’m not. But my husband was. He never shut up about it. He was obsessed. So I picked up a thing or two over the years.”
“OK, so Raven, when does Milan play…what is it? Inter?” Atlas asked.
“Give me a minute.” Raven requested, and within seconds she had an answer. “Milan play Inter in two weeks. They share a stadium. Think he’ll want to miss the big game?”
“Not a chance. Thanks, Raven. We don’t have much time for logistics, but it looks like we’re heading for Italy,” Atlas said amidst murmurs from the others.
Piper caught my eye, put both hands on her belly, then shrugged and turned her palms skyward, shaking her head.
20
Odin
Atlas and Nathaniel checked up on my progress and shared what little new information they had with me, and we chatted via my handheld voice box.
Before long, Raven burst in, telling Odin she had something urgent that he needed to see. I hoped it had nothing to do with Piper’s pregnancy. Everyone was on egg shells waiting for her labor to begin.
My brother and top security man left, and I was alone. I hated being alone, feeling so helpless and vulnerable. I didn’t mind them being gone so much, I just longed for Clara’s return.
It may have been nothing more than my imagination, but wisps of her scent hung in the air, and occasionally they’d find their way to me. I was pleased with myself for getting such a full, firm erection. Not when it happened, necessarily, but just the fact that it did had to be a good sign. I wondered if my legs would ever again be able to support my body weight. Legs that had taken me to the Olympics, to the brink of a medal, that now wouldn’t even get me across the room. The fact that my cock worked seemed a good sign to me.
My semi-working hand meant I could again work a television remote, and I flipped through the channels to pass the time. I stopped on an episode of that Las Vegas pawn shop show. A young guy had carted in a mountain of Mickey Mouse collectibles he found in his grandfather’s attic, and he was haggling with the owner of the shop for way more than the expert appraiser said they were worth. I hoped a rare book might come in; I’d actually purchased two such items from the store after seeing them on the show, and I was always on the lookout for more.
The Mickey Mouse guy left, convinced his treasures were worth triple what he’d been offered. He promised to return with a stack of cash after he sold them on the internet, just to prove the shop owner wrong. I didn’t expect to ever see him on the show again.
The next guy brought in a hunk of metal he claimed had been part of a sword from one of Napoleon’s campai
gns. Even with zero supporting evidence beyond his word he seemed genuinely shocked the store wasn’t interested. It was good to laugh; I hadn’t done enough of that lately.
As I watched commercials, my room filled with visitors. Raven, Piper, Atlas, Clara, Nathaniel and one of his trusted associates, Carlo, all filed in.
“Wow, to what do I owe a visit like this? Is it my birthday?” I asked. And it honestly could have been; I had completely lost track of not only what day it was, but what month as well.
“We have a location on QB,” Atlas stated. “Where he is right at this moment, at least.”
“Don’t keep me in suspense,” I pleaded.
“He’s in a soccer stadium full of 80,000 people in Milan. Sitting right behind Silvio Berlusconi.”
“QB supports Milan? Makes perfect sense,” I typed, the machine unable to duplicate the surprise I felt in my heart. Nobody looked quite sure what to make of my conclusion regarding QB’s fandom. I pulled the device into my lap and attacked it with a vengeance. “I forget that not everyone is sophisticated enough to follow the beautiful game. It makes sense he would be a fan of Milan. One of their nicknames is The Devil. Too bad my machine only speaks English. It sounds better in Italian. It is due to their team colors. Red and black. Sounds perfect for that evil bastard.”
Atlas nodded and laid out what he knew. “It seems that yes, QB is a fan of A.C. Milan. And at the very least, acquaintances with Silvio Berlusconi. I doubt you get as close to him as QB was today without being a friend.”
I typed into my device. “You want to go after him at the stadium?”
“Not necessarily, but it’s nice to know where and when he’s likely to be. They play their big rival in two weeks. I intend to be there. Or at least nearby. To finish this,” Atlas said, his voice filled with intensity.
“What about Piper and the baby?” Clara asked. “She’s due within two weeks. Ten days the way she’s going; maybe less.”
“We’ll have to discuss inducing her a little early,” Atlas replied. “I have to do this.”
“Not alone, you don’t,” Nathaniel added. “Randall and Carlo can handle things alone here for a few days. I can call in a few more guys.”
“You’ll need on-site tech support and coordination. Count me in,” Raven volunteered for the mission as well.
“Atlas,” I typed. “Piper is not part of your unit. She is your wife. Or might as well be. You cannot leave her right after she has a baby. Send other guys. You know plenty of people.”
Atlas locked eyes with Piper for several seconds before she looked away and nodded her head.
“She understands, even if you don’t,” Atlas said, directly to me. “We haven’t had a moment’s peace, and I mean true peace, since we met. If I have a chance to end this, to get rid of him permanently, I have to take it. The chance may not come again.”
Raven, Nathaniel, Carlo, and Atlas left to begin planning their mission.
“That was sweet, thank you for thinking of me,” Piper offered.
“You and my niece,” I typed.
Clara sat down in a chair across the bed from Piper. “I don’t claim to really understand any of this world, but if Atlas has to go, and it has to be now, or in a week, or whenever it is, I can induce and we can take care of things until he gets back. If that’s what Piper wants, of course.”
“I trust Atlas. He’s never let me down. If he says it has to be now, then it has to be now. I only wish I could be with him, at his side. But I know we’ll be in good hands here,” Piper said. “I’m going to go lay down and leave you two lovebirds alone.”
Piper got up to leave, and Clara made eye contact with me. She was blushing.
“Lovebirds?” she asked. “Do you know something I don’t, Piper?” Clara was smiling, thank God. “Odin?”
I shrugged with my eyebrows as Piper reached the door, closing it with a laugh.
Since we were alone, I tried something I’d been building up to. I wasn’t sure I could actually do it, and I didn’t want to embarrass myself by trying and failing, but I was ready. Clara had stood up and walked over to the sink, tidying up, keeping her face turned away from me.
“Clara,” I said. Yes, said. It wasn’t my fullest voice, but it was clear and just a little raspy. She turned around as if she’d heard her name spoken by a ghost.
I was very pleased with myself, and felt a smile, a genuine, full smile, spread across my face.
“Odin? You’re full of surprises, mister.” She stood by the bed, looking down at me, her giddy smile matching mine. “How long have you been able to…”
I cut her off. “Two nights ago,” I whispered. “I’ve been practicing. I wanted you to hear me first.”
Clara leaned across me, hugging me tightly, but careful to avoid squeezing my left side too firmly.
“What are you going to do next, go outside and run a lap around the block?” she asked.
“I don’t think I’m quite up for that yet. But how about this?” I stretched my arm toward her, just able to reach her face. I touched her cheek and, inspired by the softness, lifted myself forward from the bed. I couldn’t get all the way to her but my intentions were clear. She bent down into me and our lips met.
We kissed clumsily at first, trying to make the most of an awkward position, neither of us sure exactly what the other had in mind; how far we each were comfortable going. If I’d been able-bodied, I’d have pushed her up against the wall and kissed her hard. No doubt would have remained as to how badly I wanted her. As it was, I got a hand behind her head, into her hair, and held her where I could kiss her deeply. She made a soft mewing sound, music to my ears. I pulled back and looked into her eyes. “I hope that’s okay. I’ve wanted to do it ever since the moment I saw you. Before that, even.”
She bit her bottom lip. “It’s more than okay.”
We resumed kissing, and I lowered my hand to her hip, wishing I could pull her onto my lap. I wanted to feel her body against mine so badly.
We stopped for a moment, our foreheads touching, grins on our faces. She gave me another small kiss on the lips before easing herself up next to me on the bed, sitting near my waist. Her hand fell into mine.
“It’s been a while for me, Odin. I have a great big hole in my heart. And I don’t know if I ever won’t. Besides that, you were just in a relationship. I don’t want to be some sort of rebound thing for you. I can’t be that. Tell me I’m not that and maybe I can take a chance. Just be honest with me.”
I slipped free of her hand and caressed her face. “I’ve dreamt of you, Clara. Your voice kept me going. Kept me wanting to live. I was falling for you before I’d ever seen you. And when I opened my eyes and saw how beautiful you were, I was done for. This isn’t a rebound thing for me, it can’t possibly be, because there’s nothing and no one from which to rebound. You’re all I’ve been thinking about for weeks. I know I’m pretty pitiful right now, but I hope you’ll give me a chance. I’ll be out of this bed eventually. Back to the real world. And I want to share that world with you.”
The things I’d said must have been what she wanted to hear, because we began making out in earnest after that, and she stretched out next to me in bed.
During a break, she spilled her heart out to me.
“I’ve been thinking of you, too. Not just because you’re my patient. I’ve had feelings for you, intense ones. And it’s totally unprofessional, so I tried not to, but I can’t. But I don’t know if I can handle this whole world of spies and safe houses and espionage, it’s just so weird.”
“This world,” I replied, “is not typically my world. It’s where Atlas lives. And where Raven thrives. I have security, yes, but not a platoon of heavily armed men. It’s usually one or two guys, and they blend into the background. A life with me in it is not the same as with Atlas. I hope Piper knows what she’s gotten herself into. I’m boring. Give me a good book, a good steak, a great kisser,” at this point I kissed her again, “and I’m happy.”
“
That sounds perfect, Odin.”
It’s all I’d ever wanted to hear.
21
Atlas
I sat down at the kitchen bale with Raven, Nathaniel, and Carlo.
“Can you believe this bastard? In the middle of all this, he’s sitting at a soccer stadium with a smile on his face,” Nathaniel said.
“Sir?” Carlo asked, wanting to interject. His boss Nathaniel, gave him a nod.
“Back when we were hunting Osama bin Laden, our intelligence said that he was a big fan of a London soccer team. Arsenal. And there were rumors that he was somehow sneaking into London to attend matches. He was a 6-foot-5, internationally-recognized terrorist whose picture had been on every television set and newspaper on the planet. I was actually part of a team that attended a few matches undercover at the Emirates Stadium where Arsenal play, just to look for him or his associates. Nothing ever came of it, but there was enough chatter coming out of Pakistan and England to make it believable. With crowds like they get for those games, it’s a logistical nightmare to find one man, or even a group of men.”
“But if we know he’s going to be in the owner’s box, we can at least get eyes on him coming and going,” I countered. “Nobody’s talking about a firefight in a crowded stadium. That box will be locked down anyway. Especially with a former prime minister in there. We could get to QB in there with the right team and plan, I have no doubt, but extraction or escape would be next to impossible.”
“Knowing what I do about him, he probably takes a helicopter to and from the stadium. Even in Milan, there can’t be that many choppers flying over the city, especially if we eliminate law enforcement, sightseeing, television crews, things like that,” Nathaniel said. We can have Raven work satellite imagery as far back as she can get, see if she can narrow down the number of helicopters to and from the stadium and from where they originate and land.”