Russell Adler x Reader

Fourteen

All of a sudden, the doors swung open and a man stepped into the room to secure the way.

Everyone rose from their seats.

You followed their lead, crossed your arms behind your back and straightened your shoulder. The stiff movement made pain throb underneath the bruises.

Pulling a face, you swallowed hard.

Adler noticed. With a silence gaze, he asked you if everything was fine.

You nodded and told him with your eyes that his attention was needed elsewhere.

Another man entered.

He seemed surprisingly soft, with a neutral face and dark hair. He could have been the friendly neighbour next door, caring for his wife and three kids. He was like any other guy in a suit.

The only difference was that he carried the title of president of the United States.

He came to a stand at the head of the table. His eyes wandered from person to person and finally came to a stand on you.

A cold shiver crawled down your spine. You had to swallow hard.

"Sir.", Hudson nodded his head with respect.

"Mister President.", Woods and Mason mirrored Hudson's respect.

The other two men greeted him as well.

Only Adler dared to look him in the eyes before paying his respect.

"Mister President.", he said in his calm, rough voice and glanced at you from the corner of his eyes.

His bright eyes locked with yours.

You nodded your head.

"Sir...", you whispered, feeling like you were lying.

"Mister President.", General Haig gestured towards Hudson and Adler. "This is Jason Hudson and Russell Adler."

The president raised his hand to make him shut up.

"I know their names.", he gifted Adler a look of approval. "Who do you think approved their last mission?"

He sat down and like a bunch of headless ants, the rest sat down as well.

Adler's gaze immediately fell onto you.

You nodded, just to reassure him.

He knew this was your first time meeting the president and he wanted to make sure you wouldn't walk into an open knife. In fact, ever since Vietnam, he had always made sure you didn't embarrass yourself.

It was strange, but this subtle kind of protection was his way of showing affection.

The president turned to Hudson.

"Is the threat real?", he asked.

Hudson nodded. It seemed weird how confident and little impressed he was by the presence of the most powerful man in this country.

"Yes, sir.", Hudson nodded. "We believe it is."

Reagan turned to Adler.

"Can you stop Perseus?", he asked.

"We can, sir.", Adler assured in his typical confidence. "I've already submitted the requisition for my team."

Reagan nodded.

His attention turned to you.

"You must be the one he requested as his second in command.", he noted with a smile.

Surprised, you looked at Adler.

"Excuse me?", you asked with a confused smile.

Adler nodded.

"That's right. (Y/N) and I know each other from Vietnam.", he said. "We were partners for a long time and I would never want another. The CIA never complained either. I thought, now that we're back, it would be advantageous when (Y/N) and I share the same authority."

You took a sharp breath in.

You had worked many years of your life, not only with but also for the CIA and never had managed to reach the position of power that Adler held. He was allowed to read all the articles, all the reports and some other classified things.

At some point you had lost all hope to reach that position yourself.

Every time you needed to gain very important information you had always turned and talked to him.

But now you were about to be able to skip him and get access all by yourself.

It was a success, a milestone in your life. But it would also mean that Adler was trying to get you close again.

That meant more risks.

And unfortunately it also meant you weren't able to keep him at a distance no more. That could turn out to be another problem.

Reagan tilted his head.

"Your words sound like they come from a deep kind of trust.", he noted. "Do you share this opinion, (Y/N)?"

You let out a soft breath. Your grip on the chair tightened.

"With all due respect, Mister President...", you started. "May I speak freely?"

"I'd appreciate that."

"Then I can only say that you should trust mister Adler's judgement. I've seen him make a lot of decisions, many dangerous ones and many more questionable. But he's never made a wrong one. He knows what he does. And it honours me that he thinks him and I should be equals, both on paper and in person."

Slowly nodding, the president looked back at Adler.

"And you wouldn't chose someone else for this role?", he continued his interrogation.

Adler shook his head.

"There's nobody else whom I'd trust my life to."

"You didn't work together for a long time now."

"That's right. But after the last mission there is no doubt that we are still working like we used to."

"You'll have to agree on important decisions."

"I'll assure you that Adler and I share one mind.", you said. "We'll agree on everything and if not, we find compromises. That's what we always did."

The corner of Adler's mouth twitched. It was a slim smile.

"Always.", he said, more to you than to the president.
Haig sighed.

"Sir, their requests are highly irregular, most likely illegal.", he complained. "If the press gets a hold..."

Mason frowned.

"What the hell are you talking about?", he asked, upset. "Do you know who we are?"

Woods shared his anger.

"Every mission we go on is illegal!", he growled and slammed the file on the desk.

"Sergeant Woods, plausible deniability is the backbone of our work.", Haig argued.

"AL, we're talking about preventing an attack on the free men and women of the world.", the president reminded him. "Give Mister Adler whatever he wants. Gentlemen, you've been given an important task: protecting our very way of life from a great evil. There is no higher duty, there is no higher honour. And while few people will know of your struggles, rest assured the entire Free World will benefit."

A bitter smile appeared on your lips.