Vanguard (27 page)

“Christ, Anjali. Hold your horses!” She finally found Michael’s shirt and pulled it on. Cursing, she unlocked the door and threw it open. Anjali opened her mouth, then closed it again, stifling a giggle. Sophie scowled.

“You made a scene in the hall so you could laugh at me?”

“No. I’m sorry. It’s just that…” Anjali gestured to the room, and Sophie turned to look at it. It was a shambles. Michael’s jeans hung over the back of her desk chair. She’d knocked everything off the bedside table earlier. Pens, pencils, notebooks, and water bottles littered the floor. And of course, the unholy mess beside the garbage can. She turned back, blushing.

“Uh, yeah…well…”

“We’ll catch up later.” Anjali’s face softened. “I’m staying back today. Can you drop around the infirmary before lunch so I can check you out?”

“I promise.”

Anjali glanced over Sophie’s shoulder at the lump under the blankets. “You too, Dr. Nariovsky-Trent,” she ordered coldly. “Dr. Patel will conduct your examination.” Michael grunted in response.

“I’ll see you in about an hour, Anjali.” Sophie started closing the door, a little more firmly than usual.

“Glad you liked the nightgown!” Anjali shouted just as the door banged shut.

She groaned, seeing the crumpled bundle of white silk dangling from the edge of her desk. Michael emerged from under the covers and started to laugh at her expression. She glared at him.

“So fierce.” He patted the bed beside him. “Come here. I desire you even more when you are angry, you know.” She smiled in spite of herself and lay down beside him. He stroked her hair gently. “I suppose we cannot spend another day in here alone, can we? I have not even begun to have enough of you.” His lips started to brush along her neck, causing her body to shiver in delight, despite how much pleasure he had already brought her in the last twenty-four hours.

“I wish we could. But there is much to do if we’re to leave the country in the next few days.” She ran her hand over his scrubby hair. “We’ll have time together tonight. And eventually, we’ll have to slow down or I won’t be able to walk.”

Michael laughed. She’d never heard him laugh so much in the past, not even in GYL.

~~ - ~~

“So?” said Anjali as she took Sophie’s blood pressure.

“So what?”

“How was last night?” Anjali smiled as Sophie’s face reddened. “That good, huh?” The doctor pulled the cuff off her arm and handed Sophie her antibiotics with a bottle of water. “Down the hatch,” she instructed. Over the lip of the bottle, she could see Anjali watching to make sure she took all the pills.

“It was the best night of my life.” She felt enormous relief that Anjali hadn’t asked her to take off her clothes for the examination. Her fair skin was covered in bite marks and scratches, and she’d spotted a chain of bruises around her hips where he’d gripped her. She’d marked him similarly.

Sex with Michael was intense, glorious, and occasionally rough – just like him.

“I’m glad.” Anjali leaned down into her field of vision and took her hand. “It’s okay, really. We’ve been friends for a long time. You’ve had to listen to me all these years about your boss. You’re entitled to gossip about your sex life for a change.” She paused. “I’m not a big fan of Michael right now, but you can still talk to me about him.”

“It’s like everything for the first time all over again.” Sophie hesitated, not sure how to put her feelings into words. “Like every man who came before was practice for him. No one else knows me like he does.” Anjali took her temperature, recording the result on the chart. “The sex is insanely good.”

“I figured as much.” Anjali didn’t bother to hide her grin. “Just try to remember you’ve both been ill. And you especially – no backdoor action for some weeks to come.”

Sophie’s mouth fell open in shock. “Do you and Will do that…wait, don’t tell me.” She held up her hand as Anjali started to answer. “Forget I asked. Never tell me about stuff like that. I have to see him every day at the office.” Anjali smirked and said nothing further.

“Things feel different this time.” Sophie moved the conversation away from that dangerous topic. “We’ve changed. We’ve been together for days now, and haven’t fought at all. Well, not that much. You don’t know how rare that is for us. There was a time when all we did was fight.”

“Everybody grows up. Even brilliant, overachieving idealists like you two. Maybe you’ve reached a point where your emotional maturity has caught up with your brains and bodies.”

“Maybe. I don’t know what’s going to happen when we get back to New York. It’s like a dream here. Maybe when we go home, it won’t be like that anymore.” Anjali’s laughter filled the room, startling her.

“If you two manage to screw this up again, on your own heads be it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen two people who loved each other more, who were so willing to put their lives on the line for one another. You’ve just got to get down to the business of loving each other on a daily basis in real life.” Anjali stroked Sophie’s hair, still damp from her shower. “Love each other hard, and stop being such bloody prideful idiots. If you can do that, you’ll be fine.”

~~ - ~~

Sophie had one more important task to do that day. She dug through her things to find what she needed, hooked up her computer to a portable printer, and cranked out a few sheets. Michael picked one up, scanned it, and looked at her with a resigned sigh.

“For your toy soldiers?”

“Yes, for them.” She didn’t take the bait. “They saved your life and mine. I will not leave them in jeopardy.” She pulled out the crumpled shopping bag Maxwell had given her a lifetime ago in his study. “If they prefer, they can have this instead.” He peeked inside, and his green eyes went wide. “Care to guess who gave me that? For the express purpose of bribery?”

“I can guess. I am also guessing that my mother does not know of this.”

“She does not, and if she did, she’d be enraged,” Sophie conceded. “But I have higher expectations of you.”

He looked away for a moment, then turned back. “I will not stand in your way.”

She smiled and put her hand against his cheek. He leaned into her palm and closed his eyes. “I love you.” She pulled his hand up and kissed his palm. “I love you hard.”

~~ - ~~

Sergei and Sevastian sat down across from Sophie, looking wary. They seemed to know they’d reached the end of a very comfortable gig.

“It is time for me to return to America. Michael and I are well enough to travel, and our lives are in danger.

They looked at one another with resigned expressions. “We thought you might leave soon,” said Sergei. “We are sorry to see you go. You have been kind to us, and not just in business. You are a brave, honorable woman.”

“You have been kind to me as well. I owe you my life and the life of the man I love. I wish to repay you for this, and not just with money.” They looked blank, contemplating what could be better than cash. “Have either of you considered leaving the Soviet Republic? Perhaps you could start a new life in another country. My country.”

Sevastian’s eyes widened. “What you speak of is the dream of many young Soviet men. But few achieve this dream. Our two countries have an uneasy peace, and Soviet citizens cannot gain entry to America easily.”

Sophie pulled out the papers Maxwell had sent her. “It is easier when you know the right people. If you wish, you can fill out this documentation. In a week’s time, you’ll be able to follow me to the US where you will be granted entry.” She pushed the papers across the table. “You’re both young, strong men of character. You could have good lives in America.” They stared at her. “Or, if you prefer to stay here, I can provide considerable financial incentive for your continued silence about what happened here.”

Sergei looked down at the papers. “I would go to America. I have no wife, no children. The Commandant has brought dishonor to the Soviet Republic. I can do better.” He drew the papers across the table.

Sevastian followed his lead. “For me as well.”

“You’ve made the right choice,” she said, smiling. “You won’t regret this.”

~~ - ~~

After the team returned for the night, Sophie had a long, heated meeting with the executive committee.

“He’s a living witness to the atrocities in Parnaas, as are you,” urged one of the more fiery members of the team. “We can’t pass this opportunity up. I say we leak Nariovsky-Trent’s story to the media along with your arrival time in New York, and take advantage of the coverage. We’ll get massive exposure.”

Sophie shook her head. “I can’t agree to that. He’s a volatile individual at the best of times, and right now, he’s a walking powder keg. The last thing he needs is a media scrum when he clears immigration.”

“You’re allowing your personal feelings to cloud your professional judgment.”

“I’m no longer here in a professional capacity. I stepped down as the leader of the coalition days ago. I’m here on Michael’s behalf.” She glared around the table. “I recognize what he represents to the coalition; I’d be blind if I didn’t. But he’s simply not ready for the media. And I won’t see him turned into a tool for anyone, even my own organization and causes.”

“Stop for a moment, everyone,” the Rev interjected, holding up his hands. “Can I suggest a compromise?” Sophie gestured for him to go ahead. “What about after you get home? Maybe a week or so. Allow you both to get your feet under you, have Michael visit his family. Then we’ll do a press release and conduct a few interviews under more controlled circumstances.”

She pursed her lips. It sounded like a reasonable compromise. “I can live with that. I can float it to Michael, or you can pitch it to him yourselves. Your choice.” Sophie smiled. “We’re leaving tomorrow. Perhaps one of you would like to try media training him this evening?” Nobody volunteered, and a lot of people couldn’t look her in the eye all of a sudden. Michael’s acid tongue was legend already. “That’s what I thought. Look, I’ll talk to him tonight, and I’ll give you his answer before we leave. Will that work?”

“Yeah, it works.” The Rev nodded to Will, who stood up.

“Sophie,” Will said, “you made this happen. The coalition, this mission, everything. I know we’ll all face some pretty heady things in our careers yet to come, but it’s hard to imagine a bigger one than this.” She saw heads nodding around the table. “We have some ideas on how to recognize you officially, but those will come later. Right now, we wanted to thank you personally for having the guts to pull this off.”

They went around the table, each person saying thank you and sharing an anecdote, something special they appreciated. It was intensely embarrassing and emotional.

Will went last. He looked at her for a long while, his blue eyes sparkling with pride. There were few things she loved more in life than making her mentor proud.

“You’ve always said you’d follow me anywhere. After the last six months, the feeling is entirely mutual.” He swallowed hard. Suddenly, they weren’t in a makeshift conference room on the southern Orlisian border. They were in Dakar, Senegal, covered in dirt and sweat from a day’s labor in a long-ago urban slum.

“You did good work here, Sophie. I hope you know that. You touched some lives.” She remembered him saying the same words to her when they’d said goodbye in Senegal. She’d been seventeen years old, and he’d changed her life forever that day.

“In the end, you saved the one life you so desperately needed to save. We’ll miss you for the duration, but I’m glad you’re going home with him. Michael’s a good man, the right man for you. For what it’s worth, please accept my blessing.”

~~ - ~~

Only the desk lamp was on when she opened the door to their room and slipped inside. They’d drive to Kaliningrad the next day, then fly home to New York via Frankfurt. Sophie had had Michael to herself for days, and it would soon be time for her to share once again. But not tonight.

She locked the door behind her. Michael lay sprawled on the bed on his stomach, all scruff and innocent green eyes. He propped himself up on his elbows, chin in his hands.

He was naked.

“I missed you.” He rolled on to his side and stretched. His long body reached the length of the bed, his feet hanging slightly off the end. Sophie’s eyes widened, and she made a sound in her throat. She looked down; she couldn’t
not
look down.

He’d been waiting for her for a while and clearly hadn’t been able to keep his hands to himself during that time. Her things crashed to the floor, and she leaped on to the bed, pushing him onto his back.

There was no talk of work on their last night together in Europe.

Chapter 18

February 24, 2014

Sophie knew something was wrong before they’d left the base camp.

She’d been up since dawn, packing, having last-minute meetings, touching base with as many people as possible before leaving. Michael, having few possessions and no official role, kept mostly to himself. She saw him laughing with Will and later in deep conversation with the Rev. Mostly, she was too busy to keep track of him.