Agent Chetiri

Chapter 34

The nature of the world is to be calm and enhance and support life. Evil is an absence of the inclination of matters to be at peace.

-Gregory Maguire

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(December 16, 2013- 11:43 AM)

A ray of light hit Alexa's face, and she burrowed stubbornly under the covers. It was quiet, and she chose to ignore it. Her head felt foggy, and traces of her hangover remained. She felt it hit her face again and groaned, rolling to the side. Her eyes opened groggily as she stared at the clock without a second thought. 11:43 AM-

Her eyes snapped open in surprise, and she fell off the bed. "Shit!" she exclaimed. She winced as her elbow collided with the ground, and she pushed herself back up to get dressed.

"Your response time was slower than I anticipated. I suppose it's only natural, given the time difference in Buenos Aires and the fact that you're hungover," A voice said from behind her as she opened a drawer. She whirled around and stared at Q, who was seated casually on his side of the bed. He had a cup of steaming liquid next to him on the nightstand, and his laptop and Zharkov's phone lay on the bed.

"Q! Why didn't you wake me?" Alexa said, sounding exasperated.

"You need the sleep, and I didn't want stress to catch up to you on the most important part of the mission," he said as he continued to type.

"But it's noon, and I could have started early-" she protested.

"Too late. I started already," he said, turning his computer around to show her. She took a seat back onto the bed and stared at the lines of text on the screen.

"You cracked his phone already?"

"I've been up since six this morning. I've had enough time to make breakfast, go to work, crack his phone, and track down Pavlenko," he said. "By the way, care for a coffee?"

Alexa blinked in surprise and nodded quietly, silently wondering how he could have been so energetic at six AM. She put aside her theories for a moment and stared at the screen. "This would've taken me at least a full day of work," she sighed, sipping the warm drink in her hand. "You are bloody insane."

"Insanity is the backbone of ingenuity," he said dryly as he pulled up a new screen.

"What are you up to? A reversed query?" Alexa asked, pointing at the various lines of text.

"Precisely. I'm establishing the place Pavlenko was at when he received Zharkov's phone call. It's working now, but it should give me the final results in an hour or more," he said.

"You are great. It's a good thing I fell in love with you," she said, breathing a sigh of relief. At her words, he let out a laugh.

"I'm great? Oh, please. I'm everything but," he scoffed.

"You are, because I never would've gotten up to do this. Thank you," she sighed, kissing him gently on the cheek.

"You're welcome. Good morning, by the way," he said. "Sleep well?"

"Hmm, well enough. You kept me warm," Alexa replied. "Did you talk to M about my grandmother?"

"He said he could put her wherever she wished to remain and plant an agent or two to keep an eye on her," he said.

"Mind having company? If you don't, I'll invite her over and tell her the news," she asked.

"I don't mind. Besides, I've never really met her. Does she know I exist?" he said, sounding amused.