by Mike Ryan
Parker made a childish face at him, but knew in her heart that he was right. She took a deep sigh and sat down on the couch, deciding that she would open it. She was actually more fearful of reading the letter than she was of facing a cold blooded killer. At least she was good at that. Relationships were a whole other matter. She’d opened her heart up once before and it got broken. Now, by reading the letter, she would risk opening it up again, and possibly getting it broken again.
“Alex,” the letter opened. “I know I broke the trust you had in me, and in us. I’m sorry for hurting you. It was the last thing I wanted. I love you. Always have. Still do now. And I still will months and years from now, even if you decide never to see me again. My only excuse for letting the job come between us is that I got swept away in how important it made me feel. I wanted to feel like your equal somehow. You’re an intimidating, beautiful woman. I’ve always felt like a failure on some level, never really having satisfaction in anything I’ve ever done. You are what you are, and with the things you’ve done…all I’ve ever done is work for a video game company. I just sometimes feel like we’re not on the same ground and I’m not sure why you’d want to stoop down and give your heart to someone on my level. So when Burnett offered me the analyst job, I felt it was the first time in my life I could do something really important, really worthwhile. And I’d feel closer to you, knowing some of the things that have gone on in the world you’ve lived in the last ten years. I felt like I’d actually be on the same level as you and I’d be worthy of the love that you’ve given me. I wasn’t trying to shut you out. I wasn’t trying to do anything but do something with my life that would make you proud of me. I know that I hurt you and I hope that in time you’ll find it in your heart to forgive me. Maybe even give me a second chance. The last thing I want to do is pester you about it, knowing your talents! Even if it’s not anytime soon, even if it’s a year from now, I know you’re the only person I ever want to be with. I don’t want to be without you. I’ve been miserable without you and know that my life isn’t worth living if it doesn’t have you in it. If it takes quitting this job to get you back, then I’ll do it. Today. You’re more important to me than anything and all I want is you back in my life.”
Parker’s eyes started tearing up about halfway through the letter. Crying wasn’t something she was accustomed to, but once she started, she couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. Cole turned to look at her and saw she was emotionally overwhelmed. He grabbed a box of tissues and brought them over to the couch. As Parker finished the letter, the tears hadn’t let up, and she saw Cole standing in front of her, and took the box from him. Cole thought about saying something but decided against it and went back to his own business, figuring she needed to sort out her own feelings. Parker sat there for several more minutes, letter in hand, crying her eyes out. Once she was able to get a handle on her emotions, she started reading the letter again, and she started to cry all over again.
“This is gonna be a long night,” Cole assumed.
Chapter 3
The following morning, Parker and Cole got word from Burnett that they’d have another conference later in the day to finalize mission plans. Before they did, though, Parker heard a voice inside her telling her that she needed to make things right with Turner before they left. Just in case things didn’t turn out so well. She came to Cole’s room around nine so they could eat breakfast together and go over a few ideas they had for the new assignment. Cole could tell she had other things on her mind, though, as she seemed distant. He had to repeat himself several times to make sure she heard what he was saying. Quite often, she seemed to just be staring at her plate, moving her food around with her fork, playing with it.
“You gonna eat it or just play with it?” Cole asked.
“Huh? I don’t know,” she replied, not really hearing the question.
“I think there’s an assassin behind you.”
“That’s nice.”
“He’s got a gun on your head.”
“Maybe,” she said.
Cole laughed. “Hey!” he shouted, waving his arm over the table.
His loud voice and movements snapped her out of her trance. “Huh? What’s the matter?”
“I know you’re sitting here but we’re not really in the same room,” he told her.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you haven’t heard a word I’ve been saying.”
“Of course I have. You’ve been talking about the mission,” Parker replied.
“I haven’t talked about the mission in five minutes.”
“Oh,” she said, putting her fork down.
“Just call him and talk to him.”
“Who?”
Cole rolled his eyes. “Who? The king of France, who. We both know who.
“I don’t know if he wants to talk to me.”
“Are you serious? I babysat him yesterday as he spilled his guts to me. I babysat you last night as you cried your eyes out. It’s quite obvious you both still care for each other, so enough with the games! Just call him,” he said, somewhat agitated.
“I wouldn’t know what to say.”
“Hi usually works as an opener.”
“It’s not that simple,” she countered.
“It’s exactly that simple. He still loves you. That’s pretty obvious. By your reaction last night, and the frequent lapses in your consciousness, it’s obvious your feelings are the same. Stop with the nonsense and get it over with before I bang both your heads together.”
While Parker was fiddling with her food, Cole got up and went over to her purse, which was on the kitchen countertop. She wasn’t paying any attention to him as he ruffled through her purse, looking for her phone. He found it and took it out, taking it with him as he walked back to the table. She’d deleted his phone number, but Cole had it memorized, and dialed the number. As the phone was ringing, he handed the phone over to her.
“What’s this?” she wondered, taking the phone.
“Just talk,” Cole replied.
“Alex?” Turner answered.
“Ryan…hi,” Parker said.
“How are you?”
“Pretty good. You?”
“Good, I suppose. Did Cole give you my letter?” he asked.
“Yes, he did. Thank you for writing it and telling me how you felt.”
“It was just what was in my heart.”
Assuming that the conversation was going to take a while, Cole got up and left, leaving her alone to talk. He went to the neighborhood bookstore for a while to pick out a few magazines to read. They only wound up talking a few more minutes after Cole left. Parker wasn’t great at conveying her feelings and emotions, and she definitely didn’t like spewing them over the phone. With Cole gone, Parker asked Turner to stop by at the hotel. Turner got there in less than half an hour. Parker went back to her own room as she waited for him to get there. Once he did, he knocked on her door, and Parker let him in.
“I’m sorry for everything,” Turner began.
“I am too,” she replied, giving him a hug. “I told you I wasn’t great at relationships.”
“It was my fault. I guess I just felt inadequate dating someone like you,” he shrugged. “I’ll try to be better and more confident in myself if you’ll give me another chance.”
“Just shut up and kiss me,” Parker told him, pushing him against the wall.
They began passionately kissing and slowly started removing each other’s clothes.
“I really missed this,” Parker said.
“Me too,” Turner replied.
The bedroom seemed a really long way away and neither wanted to disengage what they were currently doing. They made their way to the kitchen counter and pushed any appliances that were there to the side, or onto the floor, making a considerable amount of noise as Parker laid on the countertop, Turner on top of her. They continued their lovemaking for about half an hour before getting off the counter.
“We
really made a mess, didn’t we?” Parker asked, observing the clothes and appliances on the floor.
“It was worth it,” Turner answered, hugging her from behind.
“Let’s take a shower and uhh…clean off,” she insisted, taking his hand and making him follow her.
“Well, if you insist.”
As they were showering, and continuing where they left off in the kitchen, Cole came back to the hotel. Since Parker was no longer in his room, he thought maybe she’d gone to meet Turner, seeing as how they seemed to be making up on the phone. He sat down at his desk and started going over some of the information Burnett had sent them about the mission and to prepare for the video call that was due in about an hour. Roughly thirty minutes into his studying, he heard noises coming from the room next to him. Parker’s room. It sounded as if someone was getting flung into the wall or something, almost like a full scale brawl. Hoping he was not missing out on some action, he rushed out the door and ran over to Parker’s room. The door wasn’t locked so he opened it, immediately seeing the scattered clothes on the floor. He stood there for a second, not seeing anybody. After a few more seconds, he heard the mixed sounds of groaning, both man and woman. They seemed to be having a good time there, somewhere in the living room. He grumbled, knowing what was happening, and quickly walked back out of the room before he saw something he wouldn’t be able to get out of his memory.
Standing just outside Parker’s door, he then thought about the call with Burnett. It appeared as if his partner was planning on skipping it, or had forgotten about it. Seeing as how it was to happen in about thirty minutes, Cole reluctantly came to the conclusion he’d have to go back in there to let her know. He could’ve called her phone, but he assumed she wouldn’t answer it in her current state. He figured he’d give it a shot anyway, if only for the possibility that it’d save his eyes from seeing anything he’d regret. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed her number, listening at the door to see if he could hear it ringing. It sounded relatively close, like it was just on the other side of the door. It was probably in one of her clothes that were scattered along the floor. In any case, she wasn’t answering. Most likely, she didn’t hear it. Or she did, and just wasn’t tearing herself away from what she was doing. Not that he blamed her. If he was in the same position, he’d ignore his phone too if it rang. He knocked loudly on the door, hoping it’d get their attention.
“Someone’s knocking on the door,” Parker said, as Turner kissed her neck.
“They’ll go away,” Turner replied.
Cole knocked again, even louder than the first time. They still didn’t answer.
“They’re gonna make me do it,” Cole mumbled to himself. “They’re gonna make me come in and see what I don’t want to.”
He knocked one more time, with the same result as the previous couple of times. Cole closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and walked in. He had his eyes halfway closed, not wanting to see what he was anticipating. He stood just inside the door, by the kitchen, and announced he was there. He figured that if they heard his voice, maybe that would get them to stop their extracurricular activities.
“Ahem!” Cole cleared his throat. He heard no movements of scattering bodies upon knowing they’d been discovered. On the contrary, he heard several more groans. “I don’t get paid enough for this.”
Cole cleared his throat again, this time even louder. To make it heard even more, he noticed a frying pan on the floor and picked it up. He held it over his head and then dropped it on the floor. If that didn’t get them up, nothing would. As soon as the clang of the pan hitting the floor rang out, he heard them scattering about.
“Who’s that?” Parker hurriedly asked, out of breath.
“It’s your maid service!” Cole sarcastically yelled.
“Cole, what are you doing here?”
“Giving you your wake up call.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked, getting dressed.
“Perhaps you’ve forgotten, but we have a call with Burnett in about twenty minutes.”
“Oh, jeez. I completely forgot!”
“No wonder. Your mind was preoccupied with…other things,” Cole replied.
Turner put his clothes on first and came out to the kitchen. “Hey, buddy.”
Cole faked a smile. “Hiya.”
A minute later, Parker made herself visible, buttoning up her jeans, her shirt half tucked inside.
“You might want to brush your hair first,” Cole noted.
Parker’s eyes went up, raising her eyebrows as she tried to see, even though she obviously couldn’t. “Crap.”
“Looks like hell in here,” Cole stated.
Turner looked around, seeing the same thing. He looked back at Cole and simply smiled, not able to contain his enthusiasm over what’d just happened. Cole was actually feeling uncomfortable just standing there, the smell of sex in the air, and Turner standing there next to him. It was probably one of the few times Cole had ever really felt uncomfortable about anything.
“Parker! I’m going back to my room. Head over there when you’re ready,” Cole shouted.
“Be right there!” she replied.
“Want me there too?” Turner asked.
“Uhh, I think we can get by without you,” Cole responded.
Cole left to go back to his room to prepare for the call. About five minutes later, Parker entered, looking happier than she had in months. Cole was happy for her. Not that he’d let it show too much. If anyone deserved happiness, she did. The sad, depressed look that she had permanently attached to her face was hopefully now in her rearview mirror. A minute after she came in, Turner also entered.
“Turner! What are you doing here?” Cole angrily asked.
“Don’t worry, just relax. I won’t get in the way,” Turner replied.
“Fine. Just stay out of sight.”
The conference started about ten minutes later. As soon as Burnett appeared on the screen, she could tell something was up. Parker looked different.
“Alex? Are you all right?” she wondered.
“Uhh, yeah,” Parker replied, not getting her meaning. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“It’s just that you look…happy. You’ve got a smile on your face. I haven’t seen you with a smile on your face in months. Not since you and…well, you know,” Burnett told her, trying not to bring back bad memories.
“Oh,” Parker smiled. “It’s fine. I’m good now.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I’m fine.”
“Good. I’m pleased to hear it.”
Burnett started talking again but was interrupted by the sight of Turner walking in the background. She moved closer to the screen, making sure of what she was seeing. Cole started looking around, wondering what she was looking at. He turned around and saw Turner, drinking a glass of something in the kitchen. Cole closed his eyes and shook his head.
“What is Turner doing there?” Burnett wondered.
“Uhh..,” Cole stammered, unsure what to say. He looked over to his partner for help.
“He’s uhh…,” Parker continued. “He’s uhh…”
Burnett put her hand up, stopping them from trying to think of an excuse. “Stop. I don’t want or need to know any details. From the look on your face, and seeing him in the background, I can probably deduce what’s going on. And for the record, it’s about damn time.”
Parker smiled and laughed to herself.
“Let’s get back to business,” Burnett stated.
“Get final details on the mission?” Cole asked.
“We have, and it’s changed significantly.”
“Oh?”
“After much thought, spirited debate, and a lot of careful planning, it’s been decided that one team going after all seven organizations in different countries is too tall a task,” she informed them.
“What’s the plan now?”
“We already have teams in place in Europe to deal with those factions. Your
assignment is still Canada.”
“When do we leave?” Parker asked.
“As soon as possible. You’ll have three days to locate your targets and eliminate them.”
“Why the deadline?” Cole wondered.
“Because once one or two of the leaders or organizations are eliminated, the others will be on high alert. They may even go underground to the point it’ll take months or years to find them again. The plan now is to hit all seven targets in the same day, before they get wind of any hits on any of their other branches,” Burnett explained.
“That’s a tall task in itself.”
“It is. But we have come to the conclusion that sending one team after seven leadership groups, in seven countries, is an almost impossible task. The only hope we have to eliminate the entire organization before they know what hits them. And that means hitting each one on the same day before news spreads.”
“So each hit has to be done three days from now?” Cole asked.
“That is correct,” Burnett answered. “I just e-mailed you everything you need. Plane tickets, hotel reservations, instructions, and the files on your targets. Once you’ve looked everything over, contact me if you have any further questions. If not, check back in once you’ve arrived in Canada and surveyed your surroundings.”
“Will do.”
Once the screen went black and the participants were logged out of the conference, Parker and Cole looked at each other, knowing they had to get moving quickly. The sooner they got to Canada, the better their chances of a successful mission was. It wasn’t the first time a deadline had been thrust upon them depending on the circumstances, but it did put a little more pressure on them. Especially in a case of this magnitude where there was to be multiple hits in several different locations, all on the same day.
“Hey, you know what I was thinking?” Turner asked.
“No! You can’t go with us!” Cole shouted back.
“What? Why do you think that’s what I was gonna ask?”