Argylle - The last chance

Chapter XIX

"I'm going to need a hat," Tam noticed, when she and the others left the bathroom about fifteen minutes later. "A beanie, or something like that. Otherwise, I think my ears will freeze off."
"We can manage that," Rachel mumbled. She still looked a bit in shock. As if it had been her hair that Aidan had chopped off.
"We should call Alfie," Aidan said, "Tell him what we found out. And what we want to do."
"Do we have a secured connection? It would be rather stupid if we called him and still had that leak," Tam added. She felt strange, now with her hair gone. It was fresh and lighter than before. But she tried to act as if she didn't mind at all. And as long as it would help to bring her back to Italy soon, she actually didn't mind that much.
"Yeah, Alfie fixed it he said."
"Alright, then let's call him."
Only a few moments later they sat in the living room again and called Alfie via Videocall.
"Oh, damn it, Tam," were the first words of the former CIA deputy director as he picked up the call, "You've got cancer? See, kid, that's the reason I don't live in the states anymore. They put something in the water. You only get sick over there."
"Alfie, we don't make jokes about cancer!" Rachel was indignant.
"But you're totally right. Europe is better than the states," Tam said, "Nevertheless, I don't have cancer," she shook her head, "I'm just going undercover. Tomorrow, or the day after, I think."
"That's right. We found out a couple of things and now we must go undercover. That's why we shove Tam's head and why I will put on my wig again," Aidan explained.
"That homeless-man wig, again?" Alfie laughed, "Fits you, Wylde. Tell me, what did we find out?"
For the next minutes the agents explained the occurrences of the last hours before talking about their concrete plans for the future.
"So, just lemme get this straight; you want to go undercover, directly into the heart of 'the Division' and just hope for the best and that they don't know who you are?" Alfie asked in the end.
"Well, we calculated the risks, of course, and planned on changing our appearance, but... yeah. All in all, that's it. That's the plan," Rachel smiled nervously.
"Of course, we'll need fake IDs for all of us," Aidan stated, and Alfie raised one eyebrow.
"And you think that I can just snap my finger and puff, you have a realistic ID?"
"Well... yes?"
"Lucky for you, that's pretty much how it works," the man laughed, "I need to make some calls. I'll send you an address and tomorrow you can collect your IDs."
"Wait, it's that easy?" Tam asked, confused. She couldn't imagine that it was that simple to get a fake ID.
"Not for everyone," Alfie said, "But for me, it is."
"Oh, and humble he is," she sighed and then smiled, "Good for you that you've got every right to have a big ego."
"Perks of being a CIA deputy director are that no one really expects you to be humble and not really anyone would tell you if you weren't," Alfie grinned and after a bit more chatter the three agents decided to go to bed and prepare for the next days.
It was clear that they couldn't go to the club just tomorrow. Going undercover needed to be prepared and risks needed to be considered.

On the next day, Aidan went to get the new ID's and Rachel and Tam stayed at home to get into their new roles and train a bit. They went into the garden because it was better to fall onto the grass than on the floor in the house.
"So, are you excited?" Rachel asked, as they were stretching their arms.
"A bit. Yes," she admitted and as Rach raised one eyebrow she sighed, "Alright, I am nervous. But only because I've never been undercover before and because I'm afraid that a buzzcut alone will not prevent the bad guys from recognizing me."
"Hey, it's alright. You have got every right to be nervous. But stop doubting yourself. If you yourself doubt that you're another person, why would anyone else believe that you're not Tamara Wylde?"
"My last name isn't-" she protested but shut up before ending the sentence.
"My bad. Your name isn't Wylde. Sorry."
"No, it's alright. It's better this name is known in the business than my Italian family's name."
"Trust me," Aidan suddenly said and both women turned to him, "The name Wylde is known."
"Oh, be careful, your ego might become afraid of heights, as high up as it is,"
"Not because of me," the name 'little one' hung in the air and yet Aidan didn't dare say it. Instead, he ignored the awkward atmosphere and continued: "Because of our father and your mother."
Tam blinked, "What?"
"Alfie's told you that they were spies and they were killed in duty?"
"Yes, he did."
"Well, our father was one of the greatest spies in modern times. And so was your mother."
"If they really had been so good they wouldn't be dead," Tam said bitterly. She had stopped being mad at her parents for dying and leaving her with her useless brother years ago. But sometimes the sharp pain still struck her.
"Hey!" Aidan exclaimed in growing anger, "Our father is a legend among the spies. He invented the definition of a good spy and prevented terrorists from all over the world to destroy America. You think 9/11 was a unique attack? Fucking hell, it wasn't! Just other terrorists didn't have the opportunity to kill anyone because our father infiltrated their system and stopped the problem at the very beginning."
He was breathing heavily and Tam didn't know what to say. Alfie had often told her that her parents had been good agents, but she never knew they were this good.
"In this business you either get killed at a certain point in your career – usually, when too many people grow tired of you -, or you live long enough to become one of the bad guys. And before you ask me if I've already become one of the bad guys then, no. I haven't lived long enough to become one of them. Once I had the chance and I decided to flee from 'the Division' and try and fight them.
You don't have to like the name Wylde if it reminds you too much of me and you can't bear remembering me. But you better be proud to have it, because Jonathan Wylde was a damn hero!"