Classified

Classified Part 15 A Break In, a Bullet, and Some Broken Glass

      When they finally pulled in to their motel, Thalia was exhausted, emotionally and physically. She showered quickly and fell onto the bed.
      "Do you always get the bad guy?" She asked as Alex pulled off his shirt for his shower.

      Alex stopped. "No. Not always." He admitted, sitting on the bed, his back to her. "Do you remember that explosion in the train station in France last year?" He asked, not looking at her.
      Thalia sat up, trying to remember details. "Six people died."
      Alex nodded sadly. "Six innocent people. My fault. I got the intel too late."

      "It wasn't your fault, Alex." Thalia insisted, sorry she'd asked. "It was the terrorists' fault."
      Alex sighed. "Six families had funerals that could have been avoided if I'd gotten the information sooner."

      "I'm sorry." Thalia said softly. "We'll get the information this time." She promised. "We're almost there."
      Alex smiled. "We'll get them."

      He went into the bathroom and got into the shower and Thalia watched absent mindedly. "Eight cities." She whispered to herself. How many casualties would that be?
      When Alex slid into the bed beside her, Thalia smiled. "How many births, graduations, and weddings do you think have happened because you stopped terrorist activity?" She asked.

      Alex looked her, lost in thought. "I hope a lot." He said finally. "Are you cold?"
      "I'm always cold in Russia." She joked, sliding her feet to his side of the bed.

      She blushed as she realized how comfortable she was getting. A week ago, I didn't know him, and now he's almost naked next to me and I feel totally fine.
      Does it really matter? She asked herself. We're just partners and I'm cold.

*

      By the time they were on the road again in the morning, Alex was in a better mood. "If we can just get the coordinates of the attacks, or the locations of where they're building the bombs, we can stop them." He told her.

      Thalia took a deep breath, trying to imagine stopping them. I'd get to be a hero, even if no one outside the agency knows about it. Thalia thought. I could save so many people's live. She paused in her thoughts, thinking about her project back home. It would also probably improve our chances of getting the funding we need. She realized. And that could also save people's lives.

      The idea of getting back to her nice, safe lab was alluring. As exciting as it was to be out in the field, she knew her strengths actually lay in the field of medicine.
      "How soon after this assignment would you move on to the next?" She asked, looking at Alex.

      He shrugged. "I guess it depends on whether or not there's a new threat in Russia or somewhere I can be useful." He paused. "Assuming I'm not injured or...whatever"
      Thalia didn't like the sound of 'whatever.' "Do you get to go home before you start a new assignment?"

      Alex frowned. "Usually. I have a lot of paperwork to fill out. But it depends on how pressing the threat is here." He told her. "If there's an imminent threat they'll just keep me here."

      "That makes sense." Thalia nodded. It sounded awful to her, to have to jump right back into things without even getting to enjoy your success. Or mourn your failure. She forced herself to smile encouragingly. "We'll just have to make sure we eliminate any threats."
      Alex laughed. "I guess so. I hate flying anyway."

      They parked their car in a field and headed off on foot, with their equipment in their bags. Their trek through the woods was easier than the previous one, but much longer. By the time they got close enough to start being cautious, Thalia was already tired. She wasn't used to this much physical exertion, day after day.