Prompt courtesy : Vivek Komatineni

***

The restaurant buzzed with activity, as the people who would have generally stayed out to grab a smoke, take a walk for shopping at the corner of the street or catcall a girl on the street tried to get out of the chill air. The jostling and the buzzing would on a sunny day drive anyone crazy but to beat the chill air, it was more than welcome.

As a tired looking waitress poured coffee to one of her customers, a phone beeped, a hand covered in leather glove picked it up, and the message visible on the screen read “code -5”. The person to whom the hand belonged knew the time was here and that the target was to be eliminated.

***

Stella looked up from her screen to stretch her neck. She had been working on the big news scoop that could possibly expose most corrupt officials in the city for hours now, although many would have said it was a good story; she was far from being satisfied to say it was finished to be published. She stood up to stretch her legs and went down to the vending machine in the building cafeteria to grab a midnight snack. With the hall deserted, the clicking of her heels echoing, and only gloomy lights on, the place looked like an opening scene from a suspense story. She smiled at her imagination and keyed in the number to get a P&J cookies after inserting two one dollar bills.  As she bowed to collect the change the machine dispersed, she heard it. A lone footstep like there was someone in the building and they were trying to muffle their footsteps. She turned around but found no one. She walked to the elevators and waited. As the lift dinged she heard them again making her jump and turn around. The elevator doors opened and a hand stretched out unnoticed by her and grabbed her shoulder. Just when she thought she was done – a voice called “Now, you are ‘it’!” She knew the voice. She turned around to face him and rolled her eyes “Really? You want to play tag in an elevator?”

Shain smiled crookedly “Well you liked it yesterday.”

Stella’s face turned a bit hot in shame. As she stepped in She asked “Up?” when he nodded she pressed the number to their floor and added “Look, Shain, I really don’t remember what happened after the third shot of vodka last night. Dayna said I called you pretentious and other names in front of everyone. I don’t know what got into me to start drinking but I am sorry.”

“Hey! You don’t have to apologize. Everybody is pretentious, everyone wears a façade – I am no exception and I can assure you I take no offense. It’s really hard to get to me.”

As she stepped out of the elevator on their floor she mumbled: “Now I know why I called you pretentious.”

“What do mean?” He asked as he stepped out of the elevator.

She turned around to him and asked a question out of the context yet not so out of context “What are you doing Shain, at this hour in the office?”

His eyebrows shot up in surprise “Asks the girl who is in the office at the said hour.” He retorted.

But Stella wasn’t done “Well, some people here are real journalists buddy. Unlike you – remind me what do you do again?” Shain started laughing but Stella continued “Oh! Yea, travel blogging.”

“Spoken like the person who hasn’t set foot outside the Bandora city ever in her life.”

She conceded with a smile “Touché!” but added, “In my defense the city is big and mysterious enough to keep me interested all my life.”

Shain shrugged “Whatever suits you. What are you working on anyway?”

“You know the story that I and Dayna were following?”

He took a moment but answered “Yea, something about the secret political campaign between our country and our sister country?”

“Yes.”

“It’s been more than a decade since our country disintegrated Stella. Maybe it’s time the politicians realized that it was about time to put our differences aside, making peace and existing side by side with tolerance? You know it! The war is taking a huge toll on both the countries even if it has been a cold war for the past two years.”

“Yes that was the angle we started off with. But the more we started to dig the more it became apparent. It wasn’t until one of the officials inadvertently revealed that pieces fell into place and we realized it was something else entirely.”

“What was it?” Shain shot the question. When Stella looked at him incredulously, he shrugged “I am curious!”

“Well, Mr. Curious you will have to wait until the story comes out. Like everyone else.”

“Can I bribe you?” Shain asked pulling out his wallet.

“Go away!” Stella shot him down with a mocking – disgusted look. At the same time, her phone started to ring. He smiled and started towards his cube while she answered but stopped in his tracks when he heard the definite panic in her voice when she said “What?” into her phone. He turned back and waited until she finished the call. He was sure it was something disturbing. Even before he asked what it was she gave him the dire news “Dayna is dead.”

“Who?” He asked taken aback.

Stella looked up at him “What do you mean who? Dayna – my friend and your friend” She was definitely furious and he wasn’t thinking.

He fumbled with words trying to think straight “I mean how?”

“BNI thinks it was murder.”

“BNI were called?” BNI – Barmiet National Intelligence was the national intelligence of the country.

She nodded grimly. After a moment of silence, she said: “I have to go.”

He shot back “What do you mean you have to go? She was a friend of mine too and looking at your state – I am driving. Let me grab the keys.” He stepped into his cube to grab his car keys.

She didn’t protest but ran to her workstation, turned down her computer, grabbed her stuff and they left.

***

The sun was reaching the zenith. Shain drove while Stella looked out. They had rolled down the windows to feel the fresh air. Shain looked at her but she was looking out of the car window glumly. He turned back to watch the road but added: “Somebody was making fun of my traveling job the other day.”

Stella turned to him, a genuine smile spreading across her tear-streaked face. Wiping her tears she mumbled “Sorry.”

Shain acted as if he couldn’t hear “What was that? I couldn’t hear you over the engine sound.”

“I said I am sorry.” She said a bit louder but with a smile at him trying to cheer her up and added after a moment in a slow voice “Never imagined that your travel blogging job would save my life and thank you. You didn’t have to do this.”

“I will pretend I didn’t hear the last part” Shain answered as he looked straight ahead at the road.

After a moment, he asked, “Are you scared?”

“No” she lied. He turned to look at her for a bit.

“Put out your hand.” She knew what he was getting at but did it anyways. He looked at her hand which was shivering – no doubt. She knew it too. She put it back into the pockets of her pullover. Neither of them spoke for a moment.

“Why do you think the BNI is involved?” He asked her after some time.

She turned to face him “Isn’t it obvious? I mean – apparently they were the first at the scene of Dayna’s death. How did they know even before anyone called the cop-hotline number? My house was broken into while I sat in the interrogation room. They held me in custody without any charges citing some paper work. In the last two days, there were two attempts on my life. They must have found things on her laptop and realized that I and Dayna were working on the same news report. They are trying to cover up something.”

“Anybody in our office could also be behind it.”

“Yes, I know. And that is why I can’t trust anyone.”

“And yet here you are with me.”

She looked at him with a sly smile and added: “I can kick your ass any day.”

He snorted “Wanna bet?”

Both of them looked at each other for a moment and turned away – both knew that they both were too arrogant to back down.

They drove in silence for another five minutes. Stella broke the silence “What did you tell your girlfriend?”

Stella laughed in spite of herself at his surprise “Don’t look surprised. Everybody in the office knows that there is something going on between you and Amelia.”

All Shain could come up with was “Oh!” clearly trying to avoid answering her question but Stella wasn’t that easy to budge she pushed “so what did you tell her?”

“The same thing I told everybody else – that I am leaving town to review this new 7-star hotel in Shore city.”

Stella exhaled – relieved that Shain wasn’t taking her situation light. “So, where are we going now?” She asked.

“Shore city. I have to check into the hotel to avoid any suspicion. They may be tracking me digitally for all we know” Stella nodded.

***

A sharp looking man knocked on a mahogany door and entered into what looked like an office. A serious, middle-aged man looked up from papers he was signing and asked “Any news about her whereabouts?”

“His handler called in. she says he is taking her to Shore city – An inn named The tidal waves.” was the crisp reply.

The middle aged man nodded “Handle this with care. No mistakes like what happened with the other girl.” The sharp looking man nodded curtly and left closing the door behind him.

***

Stella opened her eyes to a moldy roof. She could smell sweat in the room. She looked around and the sunlight hit her face. The hangover made it worse to think straight. It took her moment to realize she was in a shady inn. She saw Shain sitting on a creaky couch reading a paper.

“What happened?” She asked sitting up groggily.

He looked up from behind the paper “The interesting part or the non-interesting part?” That was when her eyes fell on his bloodied shirt and bandaged arm. “What happened to your arm?”

“Oh! You want to know the non-interesting part?” He looked at her uncertainly “Umm… We were walking down the beach in Shore city.” He paused, she prodded “And?”

“We were attacked.” He added.

She pressed between her temples to think straight “I don’t remember anything after that drink in the bar after we checked in.” She opened her eyes in sudden realization “Wait! How did they know I was with you?”

He gulped and she glared at him fiercely. Before she could speak, he went on knees before her “Stella you have to understand that I did what I did before realizing how much I loved you.” She slid away from him looking at him with disgust, shaking her head “No, no! No! No!” She couldn’t believe it. He reached out to hold her but she slid away further, he tried desperately “Stella, please listen.”

She looked around her wildly. She looked at the windows – they were all barred. She looked at the door – he was standing between her and the door. When he realized what was going on in her mind. He stepped aside adding “If you want to run away from me I won’t stop you.”

She made a run for it. Turned the knob to open in a hurry but paused with her hand on the knob. She slowly turned back. His hopes started to rise but faltered when she asked the questions “Do you work for them?”

He hung his head “Yes, I am a BNI spy.”

“Did you have anything to do with Dayna’s death?” she asked gulping down her sadness and anger.

“No, No.” He added hastily. “I was tasked only to keep an eye on her as there was a suspicion that she was a spy from Abermia. I really don’t know who killed her and I can assure you it wasn’t the BNI. But now, for some reason they think you are a Spy from Abermia and you might have murdered her.”

“What? That’s…” She was baffled.

“Stupid, absurd, preposterous, ludicrous?” he offered. When she looked up at him, he continued “I know.”

She stared at him for a moment and then collapsed on her knees crying. It was obvious she knew – the life as she knew – was over. He hesitated a moment but walked to her side, slid down the wall on his back and sat down. She cried silently and he let her knowing she was mourning her friend’s death and the death of her life as she knew it.

***

She walked out of the showers; avoiding his eyes she opened the windows to let some fresh air in. She saw him make a movement from the verge of her eyes – clearly to tell her not to open the windows but sat back silently. After that, finding nothing else to do, she sat down beside him. Both of them sat in silence, avoiding each other’s gaze.

She asked without preamble “What changed your mind?”

He took a moment to gather his thoughts at the sudden change in attitude but answered: “When two attacks on you failed, the BNI realized it would create suspicion and panic in the general population – not to mention the loss of faith in the government. They wanted you out of the city.” He paused.

“And I came knocking on your door.” Stella rolled her eyes. “Of all the people I could have chosen I chose you.”

Shain nodded with a smile “I didn’t have time to reach out to them. So, I played along and drove you to Shore city.”

“The reason you asked me to stay in the car when you checked in.” she nodded realizing the truth, of how she was played.

“Yes, I called them but I was ordered to hold. Apparently there was some argument then about bringing you in alive to interrogate. Someone high up in ranks must have got tired, instead of going by the protocols; they sent my handler and a team in. In the meantime, you got drunk. I think it was around your fifth shot of tequila that I realized how much I loved you. You are a totally different person when you are drunk; unpredictable, yet raw and genuine.”

“Façade came down?”

He smiled nodding “the façade came down.” And continued grimly “But it was too late. I got the message from my handler to leave so that they could take you out.” He stopped there. He didn’t have to continue. She could imagine what might have happened next.

“Did you get that trying to save me?” she pointed to his arm.

He shrugged “Ah! It’s nothing, it will heal.” When she didn’t speak anything next, he continued, “You have to understand Stella, we are trained to follow orders no matter what. But you, you made me realize how mechanical I have been. In my line of work, I never see that genuine side of people, or for that matter the real humanity. You have to understand how difficult it is for me to do what I did.”

“I understand.” He turned to look at her uncertainly but realized she really meant it as a slow understanding smile spread across her face. They sat looking at each other for god knew how long. Finally, after what felt like ages Shain leaned in to kiss Stella but she pulled away. Embarrassed, he moved back apologizing “Sorry.”

And she said nothing to put him out of his awkwardness. They sat in that awkward silence for a bit. He decided it was time to go out and scout the premises. When he stood up, she spoke again “How can I trust you about this love story of yours, when I know you have a girlfriend Shain.”

He sat back looking at the dirty carpet on the floor, took his time to answer “Amelia, is my handler.”

He continued looking at the carpet and only nodded when Stella asked in surprise “She is a spy too?” “She is not your girlfriend.”

It took Stella a moment to grasp and come to terms with what this meant and when finally she did, she leaned in to kiss him. He was clearly surprised when he found her lips close to his but kissed her back with passion and before they knew, they were both lying, gasping in the bed.

Shain closed his eyes tired but Stella propped her head on her elbow and asked. “So, your handler?”

Shain asked with his eyes still closed “What about her?”

“Has she ever been in love?”

He opened his eyes “Why do you ask?”

She shrugged making up her mind “Just wanted to know if she would understand your predicament.”

He sat up, pulled her close. She rested her head on his chest while he explained “If she was ever in love. Don’t you think she would have quit being a spy?”

“I don’t know.” Stella shrugged “I mean – watching all those old spy movies makes you think that all spies have some love story or other.” He laughed.

But Stella wasn’t embarrassed she was persistent “So, she was never in love?”

He thought for a moment and answered: “There is a rumor that she was in love with her handler.”

“What happened to him?”

“Some say he defected to Abermia, some say he just went into hiding and that he is very good at it, some say he was killed by Amelia. Nobody knows for sure. All his records are sealed and nobody speaks about him.” He shrugged.

“Do you know his name?” She asked.

“Theodore, I think.” He answered.

Shain saw her smiling in the mirror. She pulled herself up to kiss him and said: “I pray your handler Amelia finds her true love – Mr. Theodore and lets us off the hook.” Shain laughed at her naivety and they made love again.

***

A message beeped on a phone in the middle of the night. The same leather covered hand from the restaurant pulled it out of the pocket. The number was unknown but the message read “It’s Theodore. Permission to proceed with code-5?”

“Granted and stand by for extraction.” Was the reply

***

It was dark outside; Shain’s light snores could be heard in the room. A figure moved towards the wall. It was only Stella. Through the faint moon light that sneaked in from between the pulled curtains you could see she was pulling out a syringe that was hidden in her right shoe. She slid back into the bed. Shain’s snores stopped, he sleepily held out his hand for her to slide back in and she did.

She lay still for couple of moments thinking. How naïve of him? To fall in love with her and to think he could fool her? She had doubted from the beginning that he was a spy. She had a knack for it but again she didn’t have to do anything to dig into his background. His apparent girlfriend ‘Amelia’ was the big give away.

He had walked into the snare when he had stood talking to her on the first day that they had got drunk together. She knew he was after the cover story that she was running with Dayna when he had gone on asking questions pretending to be interested in her blabber when he thought she was drunk enough to think straight and Stella was definitely convinced beyond doubt when he had asked “Who?” with a tone that meant “who killed her?” instead of a surprised “What?” when she had told him about Dayna’s murder.

Stella was still perplexed about Dayna’s death – if the BNI didn’t kill her, then who did? The rebels? The death of Dayna was going to be a setback in her career. Although she was also sure, the breakthrough she had made in this case was going to make her superiors overlook the death of her charge – Dayna.

Shain started to snore again. She knew this was the time, it was now or never. She pulled out the needle cover of the syringe. All she had to do was to plunge the syringe into his neck and he would be dead in his sleep. Knowing nothing about what hit him.

Minutes ticked by but she lay there with the syringe in her hand. She kept thinking “What is wrong with you Stella? He is just another target.” She thought back to their conversation when he had described her as raw and genuine and how he missed it in his line of duty. Speaking about them Shain had exposed that side of him to her and had made her realize how true his words were. Had she fallen in love? Could they lead a normal life like other couples if she didn’t kill him? No, what was she thinking? They would come for her and they would come for him. Although, if she left him now. There was a slim chance that he could survive. He could go back to his people with an excuse that he was working on a different angle.

She slid out of the bed, silently dressed, pulled out the flash drive from her other shoe that contained all the information that he would need to get himself out of the soup, placed it on her pillow, looked back at peacefully snoring Shain one last time and left.

She hadn’t walked even a couple of streets when she heard it in the dead silence of night – a silent yet deadly whistle – before she felt it. She looked down at her pullover as a scarlet stain spread across it and her knees buckled. The last thought before her head hit the sidewalk was “Safe?”

***

Amelia walked into the room while Shain was getting dressed.

He looked at her and said “Hey!” as he moved to pick up his gun.

The reply was “You sly bastard!”

He smiled slyly as he holstered the gun. “She dead?”

“Bagged and tagged. Flash drive?”

He threw it to her but she wasn’t done. She was satisfied only when she saw the initials of Stella etched on it. As she placed it away securely she asked “Do you know what this whole mission was about?”

“Don’t know, don’t care as long as I my orders are clear.” was the stoic answer while he put on his jacket.

“Well it is for the next part of your mission.”

He settled down on the edge of the coffee table and stared at her meaning he was listening.

Amelia took a deep breath and dived into the explanation “The government of the old country before it disintegrated had commissioned a very ambitious project of super intelligent AI but before it could go online the civil war broke and since then both the countries have been trying to get their hands on the project. We received intel that the government of Abermia had made a break through and all they needed was the name of the person who held the final key to the code. The details of the person were lost in the war but their research team dug up some evidence and all they were here was to find out the identity of the person and that is where you and your Stella came in.” she paused when she was sure he had no questions she asked “How did you know? Nobody could have doubted that she was a spy. She was very convincing as a damsel in distress.”

“Are they all not? But let’s just say I have a knack to pick them out.” He replied without any hint of remorse.

“To tell you the truth I didn’t have faith in this spy love-angle of yours.”

“Accept it, at heart every human being is pining for love.” He didn’t tell her how close Stella had been to sticking a needle in him.

“Everyone except you.” She looked at him with the same appreciation she had every time she realized how effective a tool he was.

“If you are done admiring me, let’s get out of this joint. We have work that needs to be done.” He said and walked out briskly. She followed him after a moment running to catch up with him she added: “To think the code was all this time with my ex-husband.” She shook her head.

He didn’t reply anything to it as a different train of thoughts were running through his mind “Stella, he had never realized human beings were capable of such sacrifice. He had always imagined sacrifice and true love were things of fantasy or things that foolish people of the yore thought to be true. Could it all be real?”