Classified

Classified Part 4 The Trade

      Thalia woke up early, still angry. At least I'll get to St Petersburg today. She reminded herself. I can go home and put all of this behind me. She scowled at Alex's sleeping form. And never see Alex again. The only good thing was that he had stayed on his side of the bed. Well, mostly. She thought, glaring at his legs on her side.

      She went into the bathroom and got ready for the day. The new shirt also had long sleeves, with a cartoon she didn't recognize and stylized Cyrillic letters. She folded Alex's shirt neatly and pointedly set it on the floor.

      When she came out, Alex was talking on the burner phone, his voice low, speaking in Russian. Thalia had always been good at languages and just as Claire had predicted, her high school Russian was coming back slowly as she was immersed in the language.
      "Are you meeting them before or after the airport?" She asked when he hung up, having deduced what he'd said from the bits she understood.

      Alex didn't answer. "How'd you sleep?" He asked.
      "Terrible." She lied. "You?"
      "Like the dead." He told her.
      "I'm sure I can make that happen." She looked at the bandage on his lower rib cage. "You're bleeding."

      As Alex examined his injury Thalia sighed and grabbed the medical kit. "Stop touching it. You'll make it worse."
      For once, Alex obeyed, and Thalia pulled the bandage off to find he'd broken four stitches.
      "I'll need to re-stitch." She said, pulling out the tools. "Don't pop these stitches." She warned him, rubbing alcohol on his skin.

      "Then do a better job of stitching me up."
      "Nice gratitude." She scowled at him. "I wish I'd saved one of the terrorists instead of you. I bet they have better manners than you do."
      She could tell by the scowl on his face that she'd finally gotten to him.

      A part of her she was unfamiliar with was secretly happy to not offer him anything for the pain as she jabbed the needle in his skin. She knew he'd be too proud to ask for a painkiller and she didn't try to do it gently. Serves him right.

      With very little communication between them they were back on the road in fifteen minutes. Thalia wanted to ask him where he was going to drop her off, but she could tell he was annoyed with her already. He didn't ask her what she wanted when he went through a drive through, and she didn't comment on it. They ate in silence as they drove.

      Thalia tried to remember her old spy fantasies, but she couldn't get into them. Alex ruined that for me too. She thought bitterly, staring out the window at the countryside. 

      Russia is actually very beautiful. She realized. It's too bad I'm here under such awful circumstances. She thought about her pain management project back home, wondering if the funding had come through yet. She darted an angry glare at Alex's silent profile, thinking about it. If only he knew how much effort I put into helping people like him in the field.

      After a couple of hours, she was surprised when he pulled down a gravel lane that didn't look like anyone had been on in years. It was heavily overgrown with weeds, with no buildings anywhere near it.
      "Where are you taking me?" She asked finally.
      "I'm doing a trade." Alex replied.

      Thalia waited for him to go on. When he didn't she spoke again. "A trade of what?"
      "The car. What do you think?" He snarled.
      She didn't answer, feeling chastised and frustrated. How was she supposed to know what he meant?

      Finally, Alex pulled the car over and got out. "Stay in the car." He ordered her, stalking off.
      Thalia sighed. She wasn't sure if her spy fantasies were going to be the same after this. Espionage wasn't as much fun as she'd imagined. It was scary and frustrating, and very, very painful. And then she got stuck working with someone as unsympathetic as Alex.

      After a while the late morning sun began to bake the car. Thalia unrolled her window but there was no breeze and it barely brought the temperature down. Feeling annoyed at Alex, she pulled open the glove compartment to see if there was anything she could fan herself with. She wasn't surprised to see a gun there, but she slammed it shut anyway.

      With an annoyed sigh, she got out of the car, looking around. There was no one in sight. There was nothing at all to indicate a human presence, but just to be safe, Thalia stayed low in the long grass. She moved to the shade of a small tree, sitting beneath it and wishing Alex would hurry up. After a while she began to braid the long grass to stave off boredom.

      I'm hungry. She thought to herself. Where is Alex?
      There's a car coming, she realized suddenly. It was coming fast, there was no time to get anywhere, so she slipped behind a clump of long grass, her heart beating fast.
      To her dismay, the car pulled right up to Alex's car, slamming its brakes on and skidding to a stop. Thalia pressed herself lower in the grass, willing herself to be invisible.

      "Thalia?" She recognized Alex's gruff voice but only had a second to relax before he grabbed her by the arm and yanked her up. "I told you to wait in the car." He snapped at her, his hand tight on her bruised arm. "I told you to do exactly what I said." He shoved her hard at the new car and she fell into the side, scraping her knees on the gravel. "Get in the car." He barked, reaching into the old one and grabbing their bags and the gun from the glove compartment. He tossed the old keys onto the seat and then turned back to the new car. "Get in." He said, his voice menacing.

      Thalia did as she was told, trying to hold back tears. Alex threw their stuff in the back seat and reached across her to put the gun in the glove compartment. Thalia shrank away from him.
      He jammed the car into gear and spun the car around, roaring back the way they'd come without another word.

      When they made it back to the main road he exploded. "Do you know how dangerous it is for you to just wander off?" He demanded. "You can't even follow simple instructions. How the fuck did you even get this job?"

      "I—" Thalia broke off, letting her hair block her face from his view. She couldn't answer him. The pain and frustration of the last few days caught up and she could feel the tears spilling down her cheeks. She was stuck with a man she hated, who thought nothing of pushing her around and hitting her, and there was nothing she could do about it. She stared out the side window, crying quietly.

      "Do you even—?" Alex broke off and the car was silent, except for the roar of the engine.
      They drove for a long time, neither of them speaking. Thalia tried to keep her crying silent, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing she was upset.

      "I'm sorry." Alex said finally, breaking the silence. Thalia didn't answer him. After a few minutes, he spoke again. "Did I hurt you?" Thalia remained quiet, not trusting her voice to speak.
      After a while Alex tried again, sighing. "I'm sorry. You just really frustrate me." He looked over at her. "You don't follow instructions, you don't pay attention to your surroundings, and you don't even want to do your mission."

      "This is not my mission." She said finally, her voice soft. "My mission was to deliver the information and leave. I didn't sign on to get beaten up by every man in Russia—including people who work for the same agency as I do." She tried to surreptitiously wipe her tears away, not wanting to give Alex any more reason to talk down to her.

      "Sorry." He said again. He didn't say anything for a long time.
      "I guess the people you usually work with are better at this than I am." He paused. "I've never worked with a woman in the field before."

      "I've never worked with a man in the field before." Thalia countered, glaring at him.
      Alex looked at her, surprised. "Is this your first time out?" He looked as if he was suddenly figuring things out.

      Thalia pulled her knees up to her chest, feeling helpless. "I'm not a field agent. I'm a doctor. I do research. This is not what I do. I just agreed to do it because they needed me and it sounded like something I could handle." She swallowed hard. "But I'm not a field agent. I can't handle this."

      Alex was quiet, digesting this new information. After a while he looked at her. "You're really not a field agent?"
      "No. I told you." Thalia sighed. "I'm a doctor. I was sent just to deliver the drive, and then leave."

      Alex seemed to be thinking. "They told me you were going to help me with the next part of the mission." He paused. "Are you sure you're not a field agent? You're a pretty good fighter for a researcher."
      Despite herself, Thalia laughed. "That was nothing. You should see me fight real men."

      Alex laughed. "I think I'd like to see that." After a couple of miles, he spoke again. "I am sorry though. I shouldn't have pushed you."
      She didn't tell him it was okay because it wasn't, but she was glad he'd apologized.

      "I thought you were—" Alex frowned, trying to find the words. "I thought you were playing some kind of game. Not taking this seriously, even though there are real people's lives at stake."
      Thalia sighed. "I'm taking this seriously." She insisted. "I just don't really know what I should be doing. I just thought I could drop the drive off and go home. I don't know anything about being a secret agent." She paused. "And you're not helping."

      Alex sighed. "I thought you were caught back there. That somehow they'd followed us and grabbed you." He paused. "I've never had an agent leave his post to go make daisy chains."
      Thalia blushed, embarrassed at her lack of professionalism. It sounded stupid now. She'd dropped her guard and braided grass instead of keeping an eye out for anyone following them.

      "I shouldn't have pushed you though." Alex admitted, looking embarrassed. "That was unprofessional and inappropriate."
      Thalia rubbed her cheeks with both hands. "Can we stop for something to eat?" She asked finally. "I'm starving."

      Alex shook his head. "You are a bottomless pit." He smiled. "There's a place not too far up the road. We can stop."
      When they finally sat down to eat Alex was looking at Thalia curiously. "What?" She asked, feeling self conscious.

      "You should stay." He picked up the pickle on his plate. "It'll be fun, and I'll be nice. I promise."
      Thalia laughed ruefully. "You make it sound like we're on vacation." She shook her head. "I'm not designed for this sort of thing, Alex. Look at us. You're made for fighting and getting stabbed and all this. I'm made for researching and putting bandages on people."

      "It's not all fighting." Alex reminded her. "But I think you are made for this. How many other people could take down two men twice their size and walk away with no permanent injuries?"
      "I took down three men." She reminded him, picking up her burger.

      Alex shrugged. "That goes without saying, but I'm more like three times your size." He teased. "Maybe not after you eat all that food though."
      Thalia looked at her plate. "I'm hungry. And the past two days have been stressful." She protested.

      "You get used to it." Alex shrugged.
      Thalia didn't think she could ever get used to this lifestyle. Too much violence. Too much pain. Too much fear. She wasn't sure that she'd ever want to get used to it.

      They finished their meals and Alex paid. When they made it to the car, Alex leaned against the roof on her side, looking down at her. "You're good at this, Thalia." He insisted. "You can do things other people can't do."
      "Like kick your ass?" She suggested, raising one eyebrow.

      "Lots of people can kick my ass," He folded his arms across his chest. "But not everyone can be as smart as you are, or sew up stab wounds, or—" He smiled. "Put up with me. And not everyone can be as inconspicuous as you can be." He paused for emphasis. "When the bad guys look at me, they know I'm working against them. When the see you they see a sweet teenage girl, and you can use that. They won't see you coming."

      Thalia sighed. "I know you think I can do this, Alex, but I can't." Suddenly she felt bad for disappointing him, despite how awful he'd been to her. "The agency will send someone over who can help you. I'd probably get us both killed. They know I'm out of my depth. Someone is probably already on their way to help you. Someone the agency knows can do this job."
      Alex smiled. "Come look in the back."

      Confused, Thalia followed him to the back of the car where he popped the trunk. Inside were two nondescript duffel bags. Alex unzipped one and pulled out a small green shirt that was folded on top. "I know this would look awesome on me, but they sent it for you. These are supplies they sent for you. They know you can do this. I know you can do this."

      Surprised, Thalia looked through the contents of the bag. Sure enough, the clothing was all her size, and there was a medical bag filled with new supplies. "This is mine." She whispered in awe, holding up a package of medicine.

      "I know. It's all yours." Alex said. "They wouldn't send you supplies if they didn't think you could do this."
      "No, I mean—I made this." She felt pride well up inside her. "We're still working on it, trying to improve it, but this is what I was working on in medical school."

      Alex looked at it, turning it over in his hands. "What does it do?"
      Thalia laughed. "It was designed with people like you in mind." She admitted. "Field agents who sustain injuries, but who still need to complete their missions. It helps with inflammation and pain without slowing you down."

      "Nothing slows me down." Alex disagreed.
      Thalia rolled her eyes at his pride. "We're still working on it. I'm hoping we'll be getting the funding soon to move to the next stage."

      Alex held his arms out expansively. "What better way to work on it than to test it out on me? You'll get to do some research on your drug, and also possibly kill me."
      "Oh, well that is tempting." She agreed, laughing and putting the package back in the bag. "It's safe. They wouldn't issue it if it wasn't. But there's always room for improvement. So unfortunately, it won't kill you."

      "So, you'll stay?" Alex pressed.
      "I never said that." She zipped the bag and thought about it. Could she really do this? It would just be a few days or maybe a week of her life, and she could make such a big difference. Maybe even help to stop the terrorists. She took a deep breath. "I know I will regret this, but... I think I will."

      Alex grinned. "Awesome. Just don't try to break my nose again."
      "Aw, but it definitely improved your looks." She joked as he slammed the trunk.
      "You can't improve on this." He said, gesturing to his face.
      "Are you really this cocky or is it an act?" Thalia asked, shaking her head at him.

      He shrugged, turning to get in the car. "A little of column A, a little of column B."
      As they drove away the tension between them had eased, and although Thalia had just agreed to stay in Russia and risk her life, she felt calmer than she had in days. "Can I ask you some questions?" Thalia requested, looking at his profile as he drove.

      Alex shrugged. "Sure. Fire away."
      "Do you always do missions in Russia?" She asked, curious.
      "Not always." Alex answered. "But I can speak and write the language, and I know the country pretty well, so usually."

      "How did you learn Russian?" Thalia asked.
      "My grandparents are Russian." He rubbed one hand across his stubble. "On both sides. My dad grew up in Russia and my mom's family is Russian so they both speak the language, and then I took it in school, right through college."

      "What did you take in college?"
      "Are we playing twenty questions?" He asked, looking at her. "I did International Relations with a minor in French."
      "You speak French?" Thalia asked, surprised.

      "Yeah. It helps when I have to pretend to be Canadian, which is a lot." He smiled at her disbelief. "Why do you seem so shocked?"
      "I guess... you're not as dumb as you look." Thalia smiled teasingly at him.
      Alex laughed. "I think you should reserve your judgment on that."

      Thalia laughed. "Yeah, I should wait until after I see what you've gotten me into." She paused, frowning. "I'm not... I'm not going to get beaten up again, am I? I mean, that's not what happens every time, right?"

      Alex shook his head. "Not usually. Mostly, it's a lot of sitting around waiting for stuff to happen, or trying to collect information." He paused. "I'm going to stop soon. I can take your special pain meds and then I can tell you what we're going to be doing."

      Thalia took a deep breath. "Okay." She said, trying to feel brave. She looked at Alex. "Are you in a lot of pain? I guess I should have offered you the pain meds back there, but I didn't even think of it." She said, feeling a little guilty about her medical care for him. She knew she had let her anger get the best of her, and she hadn't treated Alex like a real patient.

      "No, I'm fine." Alex insisted. "I just want to test out these fancy new meds of yours."
      Thalia shook her head. "You wouldn't admit you were in pain even if your arm fell off, would you?"
      Alex laughed. "No way. You just agreed to stay. Now I have to prove that I'm at least as tough as you are."

      "You're going to have to let me shoot you then." Thalia teased. "And not cry about it."
      "If that's what it takes I'll mark that on my calendar." Alex turned down another gravel road and pulled off into a field, stopping the car. "This is as good a place as any." He said, getting out.       Thalia followed him to the trunk and grabbed the medical kit.

      "If you ever have to do this without me, make sure you use a clean needle, and clean the area around the cut first." Thalia pushed his shirt up and wiped an area near the cut on his lower rib cage. "Is this the one that hurts the most?" She wrinkled her nose. "Sorry I gouged you there. I've never fought anyone before. I just wanted you to let me go."

      Alex shrugged as if it didn't matter either way. "You didn't know who I was." He smiled. "My face, however, is another thing. Are you sure you've never done martial arts or anything like that?"
      Thalia laughed. "Positive."
      Alex leaned on the edge of the open trunk. "You're a natural. Think about what you could do with some training." He teased.

      Thalia laughed, injecting him near the big slash.
      "We'll put some muscle on you, you'll go back home totally jacked." He predicted. "You'll just go into accounting and demand your funding, and they'll be too scared to say no."
      "If only it were that easy." She said, finishing up. "How does that feel?"

      Alex pulled his shirt back down and ran his hand across his chest. "Pretty good. No pain, but it's early."
      Thalia nodded. "I know you won't listen to me, but don't exert yourself too much. These shots should last longer than the other ones, and won't cause damage to your liver. Don't wait too long to get a shot, Alex. If you're in pain, take it. There's no sense being in pain if it can be helped."

      "Pain, I can handle." Alex smiled. He reached into his duffel bag pulling out an unmarked map. He shut the trunk and put the map on top. "Okay, so our plan so far is to meet our contact here, just outside of St Petersburg." He pointed to the map. "From there I'm thinking we'll head to here." He slid his finger to an arbitrary looking spot near St Petersburg. "We're pretty sure this is a terrorist owned operation, but the politsiya won't go in without cause."

      Thalia nodded, trying to figure out what her role would be.
      "Our contact will get us surveillance equipment, but we'll have to be careful." Alex advised. "We don't want to get caught. That's where your special skills come in."

      Thalia shook her head. "I've trained on some of the agency's equipment, but I don't have any special knowledge of it, or anything." She protested, embarrassed.

      "No, I mean your face." Alex smiled. "This office building is in an area with moderate foot traffic. If I get too close, they'll be suspicious. They know one of their enemies is a big American man, but they don't know about you. If you get too close, you'll just look like a young girl out for a walk." He folded the map up. "You don't look like someone the agency would hire. Most of the agents I know are big thuggish men, not nice young girls."

      "I guess." Thalia frowned as they walked to their respective sides of the car.
      "Don't worry." Alex told her, smiling as he ducked into the vehicle. "I'll keep you safe."
      "Who will keep you safe?" Thalia asked, only half joking. She buckled her seat belt, frowning.
      "You will." Alex said confidently. "Don't worry. We've got this."