The Shadows of Diplomacy

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

They had been driving for about half an hour when Arya fell asleep, her head bobbed around for a minute before Keller gently placed it on his shoulder, holding it place by resting his palm on her smooth, soft, cheek. His heartbeats felt stronger and he felt a mild anxiety like he was caring for something that might break.

They drove by Lake Como exiting Switzerland into Italy, and soon pulled up to a small house in the Northern Italian countryside. Arya had woken up, climbing out with everyone else and looking around trying to gather where she was. She noticed the other cars were gone, it was just herself, Keller, and the officer who drove standing in the driveway of the stone house. The house looked like something out of a fairytale; small lights along the ground illuminated its flowery garden, it was small and quaint.

She stayed quiet as Keller ushered her inside.

"What's going on?" Arya asked once enveloped by the house's warm interior, its lighting yellow.

"Geneva is about to get hot," Keller informed, his tone unmistakably serious. "It's safer for you if you're not there at all... regardless of whose side you're on."

Arya took a few seconds to gather her thoughts. "I can't get you the computer," Arya admitted. "We.. we br-"

"Ofcourse," Keller said. "Look, forget about the computer. If you really want to, there's another way you could help."

"How?"

"You could testify against him when the legal proceedings begin," Keller was confident.

Arya felt a pang in her chest, her eyes fell to the wooden floor, her lips were slightly parted in shock.

"You don't have to decide right away, but in the meantime, you'll be safe here," Keller took Arya by the wrist, leading her to the sitting area.

They sat against a backdrop of antiquated books on shelves.

"I'll call you on this," Keller offered her a banger. "You can call me with it too, you speed dial 1. 2 will ring the agency, in case something happens to me, they already know who you are."

Arya looked puzzled. Had she been kidnapped? No, right? She had gotten into the car willingly, and this was probably for the best. She took the phone.

"I can stay with you tonight if you'd like, but I won't be here in the morning."

***

As promised, when Arya woke up, Keller was long gone, but she found fresh groceries with a sticky note that read 'Make yourself at home.' Arya smiled to herself. It was a lovely summer morning. Sunshine was pouring in through huge glass windows sitting high around the house, and Arya could hear birds chirping outside. She made a cup of tea, and toast with cheese, deciding to head outside to take in the beauty of the nature around her.

Simultaneously, Keller was sitting inside his car in Geneva, with a phone in hand, dialling the number for Alexei that he had taken from Ivanov's phone before dumping it.

As Arya tried to unlock the door, she made the unsettling discovery that it was locked on the outside. Panic settled in. She looked around at the windows, all too high to reach. She went to the bathroom, where there was a window over the tub. Standing on the edge of the tub, Arya peered outside. It was still and calm, grass dancing in the summer breeze. Arya tried to open the window to no success. She sighed, exasperated, breaking down into tears. She sat in the tub with her back against the wall.

When Alexei saw an incoming call from an unknown caller ID, he had a hunch it would be Keller.

"Done grieving?" Keller teased.