Declassified

Declassified Part 63 Imperative to Our Mission

      Alex closed the door behind him, eyes automatically taking in the small changes in the room.
      "Hey."
      He smiled at the petite figure who appeared in the doorway to the bathroom. "Did you have a good day?"

      Thalia nodded, understanding that he was asking about her mission. "Yeah, everything went well."
      Alex wrapped his arms around her, grateful to finally see that she was okay.

      "Did he catch you?" Alex asked, his voice low as he tilted her face back to get a better look at her lips and nose. "I was so worried when--"

      Thalia shook her head. "You saved me." She admitted, letting him pull her into his lap on the bed. "I thought he had me, but then you--" She shrugged, her voice soft. "Everything would have been fine, but then I hit my face when I went out the window."

      Alex winced, both at her words and at the bruise on her nose and the space between her lips and nose. "It looks like it hurts." He observed, running his thumb across her undamaged lower lip. "Are you okay?"
      Thalia nodded. "Yes, it's fine. It looks worse than it is."

      Alex lowered his gaze to her shirt, which was not the same as the one she'd been wearing that morning. The one that had had blood stains on it last time he'd seen her. Before he could ask about that shirt she shook her head.
      "I'm fine." She insisted. "I just bumped my nose. You got into a fight. How are you feeling?"

      Alex had to smile because her toughness was one of his favourite things about her. He pulled her back into the bed, wrapping the blanket over them so they could switch to English. They were keeping their voices low enough that he doubted any bugs would pick them up, but if there was a bug, speaking in English would be a dead giveaway.

      "I'm okay." Alex rubbed his jaw, where Oleg had landed a hard right hook. "I think the worst part of it was having to try to draw things out as much as possible to give you more time."

      Thalia nodded, looking thoughtful. "Do you—" She frowned. "Have you been in a lot of fights here?"
      Alex shook his head. "Not that many."

      "From the way the women have been talking it sounds like you have been."
      Alex felt an uncharacteristic wave of shame wash over him at her words. "It's—that's the character, Thal. I'm not—"

      She shook her head, interrupting him. "I know. I just want to know as much as I can. This is our mission. I need all of the information I can get."

      Alex sighed, sliding his hand under her shirt, her skin smooth against his fingers. "I've been in a few fights, but not as many as you might think. I made sure to win the first couple of fights, but after that—"
      "After that?" Thalia prompted.

      Alex shrugged. "After that I could usually avoid fights. A lot of it is attitude. If people think you're tough and willing to fight, most of the time they try to avoid confrontation with you. I'd just make a show of being aggressive and having a temper and most of the men would back down before a fight could start."

      "Kind of like what you guys said about Andy. Or, I guess the opposite." Thalia observed, slipping her hand up to his shoulder. "It doesn't matter how strong you are if people know you're not going to fight."

      "Exactly. If people think they can push you around, it doesn't matter if you're stronger than they are, they'll push you around because they can." Alex pulled her a little closer. "If people know you're willing to fight back, they'll generally try to avoid it."

      "So, it's more about control than about fighting?" Thalia asked.
      "Mostly." Alex smiled. "But just so we're clear, if someone did try to push me around, I'd fight them. And win."