FBI Damsel: Foreign Affairs

Nine: More bombs

“Not gonna lie, Detective, but I thought you were going to put me in another faded shirt or ratty pair of jeans,” Heath said, looking at himself in the mirror.

Lisa smiled from the chair behind him. “Even the rich get dressed up properly for this place.”

“It looks a bit more like me. Perhaps a little too dressy, because it’s a tux, but it’s much closer to my normal business-casual.” He caught her eye in the mirror. “I’ll be blunt; I’m nervous. Worse than my wedding day.”

“You should be.”

He gulped. “Why? They’re going to pull out some big guns tonight, aren’t they?”

“Most likely. They usually do the actual business deals in public places. Occasionally in private, like on their yacht or in the victim’s home.”

“Can we not… call them victims?” he whispered, staring at his shiny shoes.

“It’s what they are. In their mind that’s what we’re going to be, too,” Andrea said from the doorway. Her husband whipped around, a grin on his face. It slowly faded as he followed the lines of her gown on the floor, pausing for only a moment at her pregnant belly, and moving up towards her chest that exposed just enough cleavage, at the diamond necklace around her neck, and her beautifully done face. Her hair was in an up-do and she appeared to have gone with a twenties theme; long black dress, gold shoes, gold clutch, faux fur (she refused to use real) around her arms, bright red lipstick, and the little bit of hair that was down fell in waves.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered.

She smiled, pushing him away slightly when he pulled her in for a kiss. “Don’t, Heath, or you’ll ruin my lipstick!”

“It’s lip stain; feel free to snog,” another Londoner on the case said from somewhere in the other room. He didn’t take a second offer, but pulled his wife as close as he dare without harming the baby, and pressed his lips against hers.

“I love you,” he smiled, resting his forehead against Andrea’s.

She rolled her eyes. “I love you, too.”

“Ah! It’s nearly time! Best get to your room!” Lisa said, rushing them outside. They barely had time to settle into their ‘actual’ room (or so Luca and Patricia thought) and make it seem like they weren’t elsewhere when a knock sounded on the door. Heath answered it, admitting the criminals in.

“Are we ready?” Luca asked.

Patricia stepped into the living room section of the suite, looking for Andrea. When she emerged, her jaw dropped.

“Oh, my, mademoiselle! You’re absolutely magnifique!”

Andrea blushed. “Merci.”

“Let’s go,” Luca said, his eyes lingering for a moment longer than Heath would have preferred. The agent wrapped his wife’s arm around his own.

“Are you ready? We’re in for some serious stuff, ‘rea.”

She took a deep breath, rolled her shoulders back, and nodded. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

He led the way, following Patricia and Luca – aka Marcos and Isabel. They knew they were in for a big night. They were taught in the academy how to handle stressful situations. However, they had never actually been in one such as this. Andrea had yet to experience it, but she’d much rather take giving birth to quintuplets than experience the nervous tension that currently resided in her body. Heath would rather have to deal with having only two days to solve a bombing during elections in extreme heat than this.