By Day and by Night

Chapter 5- What a Lady, What a Night

For the rest of the week, Adelae scrambled to catch up on work. She'd spent so much time focusing on the assassin that several things had fallen through the cracks, and people had started to notice. It also helped her put off talking to Connor, who had called her at 5 AM that first morning to ask what the heck she had given him. She'd made an excuse about it being no big deal, and something she would have to explain in person.

He tried to insist, "No, this is important, I need you to-" 

Adelae interrupted, "Oh, you know what, I really have to go, I've got another call, bye!" and she hung up her cell, gritting her teeth.

Between interruptions like Mr. Walsh asking about candidacy for chairman of the board every other hour and the news reports about terrified civilians seeing "villains roaming the streets," getting caught up proved to be a struggle.

Relief from the piles of paperwork and tedious emails came in the form of a message from Bruce. Thursday night, as Adelae poured another cup of coffee to last her through the inevitably long night at the office, she received a text.

"We on for tonight?" It read. Adelae considered turning it down, but the temptation to get back out for another heist was far stronger than the pull of paperwork. Desire and self-control fought a tiny battle inside her for a moment, before she gave in and sent a quick reply.

"11 PM. Ernest bank. Bring Al." She pressed send before she could talk herself out of it, and shook her head, silently smirking.

Packing up the last of her belongings, Adelae made her way to the elevator and pushed the button marked "lobby." The doors closed, and the elevator began its descent. Distracted with thoughts of heists and the logistics for the evening, she almost didn't notice the elevator stopping prematurely just one floor down from her own. As the doors slid open, she peered down at the memo in her hands, stepping back to make room as two men stepped into the elevator wearing black jackets and sporting poorly concealed handguns.

Almost.

The doors closed again and three things happened at once. The first man, behind Adelae and to her left, unzipped his jacket the rest of the way, pulled out his gun, and shot the security camera with a suppressed pistol. The second made a move to put her in a headlock and she dodged under his arm, removing her shoulder bag in one swift motion. Adelae delivered a calculated kick to the knee of the man on her right, and from there used the torque of her rotation to thrust him into the other man, sealing the deal with a kick to the rib cage, knocking both men to the ground. She pulled her shoulder bag back on as the doors opened, and stepped into the lobby calmly. She walked right out the front door, mentioning to the security guards there that there was a matter that required their attention in the elevator. Adelae couldn't hide the smirk that pulled up the corner of her mouth as she strolled to her car.

******

Varrin didn't get home until almost 10:30 that night. Adelae pulled on a grey sweater, just turning the door handle to leave to meet Bruce, and ended up nearly hitting him with the door. Varrin laughed and greeted her with a kiss.

"Ships in the night, you and I." he commented offhand, leaving the door open as his wife prepared to depart.

"What?" She asked, pulling on the sleeves of the sweater.

"I just mean we haven't seen much of each other these past few days." He replied, avoiding her eyes and tucking his hands into his pockets. "I miss my wife."

Adelae considered him for a moment. "You're right." She set her bag down and wrapped her arms around his neck, forcing him to make eye contact. "I'd stay if I could," she promised, kissing his chin.