With Jill standing beside him Joe made a telephone call. She kept her hand on his back, protectively, possessively. Joining them together as one. Their decision was made together; they now had to see the plan through together too.
Occasionally he held the receiver away and spoke to her, dictated what she said back to the caller. Finally Joe ended the call. They looked at each other for a moment.
The die was cast.
She reached out and squeezed his hand. 'We'll have two more people joining us,' Jill called to the girls in the kitchen. 'I'd better get back in there', Joe said, gesturing to the private office. 'Just a minute', she said. Reaching into her bag nearby she handed Joe a box. 'Put these on', she instructed him. He nodded absently. 'Now Joe', she insisted.
Taking the box back out of his hands and opening it she removed his glasses and tucked them into the V of his shirt. 'You'll rub your eyes out if you don't remove your contacts', she chided him, taking his hand and directing him to the nearest bathroom mirror. Standing over him until the task was complete. Once complete he soaked a face flannel in some cold water and dabbed it on his tired eyes, taking a moment to close them, to wash away the salt of the Italian coast and the salt of tears shed.
He dried his face with the fluffy, soft towel Jill held out for him. Blinked as he fixed his eye glasses in place. 'Happy now?' he asked in mock exasperation. She grinned. 'Yes!' she replied smartly. 'Your eyes need the break', she admonished, 'and besides', she continued, bunching his shirt in her hand and standing close, 'they're sexy as hell on you Mr. President', she whispered, her lips tickling his own. In spite of everything he laughed, felt his shoulders, and eyes, relax a little.
Trust Jilly to know what he needed.
They returned hand in hand to the kitchen. He did feel better, like he had stopped squinting even if he hadn't realized he was actually doing it before. He took a deep breath. A glimmer of light now on the horizon. A thousand things needed to go right for them but ...
Unconsciously he kept her hand in his, running his thumb along the back of her hand. Gaming everything out in his head one more time. Checking every step. Assessing every counter step the other team may make.
She watched silently. Knew he needed the space to do this. Watched as he nodded as if in affirmation of some decision he had made deep within his mind. He raised her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. 'You'll let me know as soon as they arrive?' he asked. She nodded, 'of course'. Gently dropping her hands, Joe returned to the private office; now dubbed the nerve center. It was near time to make their next critical move.
He wished Solo would check in. He was flying blind, totally dependent on her and her team. Not that he doubted her, or their abilities. Their commitment to seeing the mission through. But he was used to being eyes on, patched into every move being made. Generally he'd be in the Situation Room for something like this, not holed up in a tiny room in a villa located between the mountain and sea, tucked against the Italian coast.
For their part his own team had everything in place for the extraction of Amethyst. Once the Ukrainins had him they had established a rendezvous point, his special ops team were almost there. He was fully linked in with everything they were doing, could walk every step with them, made decisions and adapt to any situation that would arise. But there was a long way to go before Amethyst would be handed over to the US team. Many anxious hours lay ahead. And the main problem still loomed large. Could he still avert disaster for him and Jill.
'Boss, you're phone', Glen said, gently nudging him, awakening him from his thoughts. He looked at the screen, answered without hesitation. 'Joe, they're here', Jill said simply. 'Thanks babe, I'm on my way' he replied. 'Good luck', Glen said as he left the room.
