Once Upon A Spy

She was the only bright spot left in his life. But with a job as dangerous as theirs, how long would that last?

The quiet hum of a laser cutter is the only sound to be heard as we sit on the rooftop of the Hotel Lagario. I pull out the circle I had cut and lean over the edge, peering into the room where our targets are located. I signal to my comrades, who are standing guard and direct them down the hole. I stop the girl who is about to follow and place myself in front of her.

"Elizabeth, sweetheart, this is a man's job. Why don't you just here?" I tease.

Her eyes narrow, and she shoves past me.

"Shut up, Blaze. Follow me," she states harshly, "And try to keep up."

She winks before slinking into the room gracefully.

~~~

When I get into the room, two guards are unconscious on the floor in front of Elizabeth, who is smirking proudly. I roll my eyes and signal to the two other men with me to follow Elizabeth and I into the next room. We approach the locked door with caution, and I watch as Elizabeth places a decoder on the lock. Within seconds, the device beeps and the door unlocks, the wind pushing it open ever so slightly. I open the door wider to find an elaborate laser grid system. I look across the room and see the button to deactivate the system mocking me. I glare at Elizabeth, who is chuckling quietly to herself. I sigh before nimbly jumping over, under and around hundreds of tiny laser beams. When I make it to the deactivation button, I look back and see my comrades with their jaws dropped and Elizabeth with her tongue stuck out at me. I wink slyly, and she huffs at me angrily. I press the deactivation button and disable the grid, allowing my comrades to run and get the box off the stand in the center of the room. I walk up behind Elizabeth and stand there, admiring her for a moment. Her 5'7" frame is petite compared to my 6'3" height. Her slender build gives her an advantage in tight situations and looks great in cocktail dresses like the one she was wearing. Suddenly, she spins around and collides with my broad chest. I groan at the impact and then realize how close we are. I had grabbed onto her waist to keep her from falling backwards, and she had rested her arms lightly on my chest. My heart constricts as she glances up at me with her breathtaking green eyes. Her breathing goes shallow, I can feel the change as her pulse goes erratic. I had almost convinced myself we were somebody else, somewhere else and, right before I did, an alarm went off, drawing me out of dreamland and into action.

We bolt up the staircase and head out onto the roof.

"Let's go, Smythe!" I yell as I run towards the helicopter that was waiting just ahead of us.

She stumbles and grimaces before violently kicking off her fancy heels and booking it to the helicopter. She jumps in right as we lift off the ground and smiles brightly.

"Another perfectly timed entrance, Elizabeth," I say, and she chuckles.

"Always," she replies.

I grab the box from under my feet and open it, letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding when I see the device inside.

"Another successful mission, team," I state proudly.

"Not quite, Agent Nitton," a voice says from above me.

I look up to see my boss on the screen in front of us.

"Why not, Major?" I ask.

"Because Dastrow knows you have the weapon, and he will trace your location until he has his hands on it," Major Monograph states harshly.

"Can't we just take it back to Headquarters and put it in the vault?" Elizabeth interrupts.

"No, Agent Smythe. Not until Dr. Dastrow is stopped and in prison."

Elizabeth's brows furrow, and I discreetly rub her back comfortingly. The screen goes dark, and I barely heard Elizabeth mumble something under her breath.

"What?" I question, glancing at her curiously.

"That doesn't make sense," Elizabeth whispers.

I look at her, willing her to explain further.

"That vault is impossible to get into. Literally, I've tried. There's got to be something Major's not telling us," she says hesitantly.

I nod, realizing she is probably right. After all, she is the brains of our team. All of it just doesn't add up.

"Pilot, redirect us to the tower please," I say.

The pilot looks at me, confused, but changes route nonetheless.

~~~

We arrive at the tower where we had made our temporary base within minutes and cautiously enter, looking for any signs of Dr. Dastrow. Once we are positive that the coast is clear, we make our way to our separate rooms. I halt, realizing that Elizabeth is following closely behind. I turn and raise an eyebrow at her. She huffs quietly before explaining.

"You have a briefcase containing an extremely deadly strain of the Giardia Lamblia Virus in your possession, Blaze," she sighs, rolling her eyes. "I'm sorry, but I can't leave you alone with it."

I laugh, surprising her.

"So you'll be staying in my room tonight?" I ask suavely. "With me?"

She glares at me and stomps past me into my room. I grin and follow after her, which resulted in her glaring at me once again as she is heading towards the restroom. I chuckle and flop down on the hard mattress that is serving as my temporary bed.

"How deadly is this deadly strain of the guard limb virus anyway?" I think, not hearing Elizabeth walk back into the room.

I must have voiced my thought out loud because she responds instantly.

"It's called the Giardia Lamblia Virus, Blaze. If accidently opened and transmitted into the air, it could kill half of the Earth's population in less than two days." She states seriously.

Not that I am paying any attention to what she's saying. I am too busy focusing on the crease between her eyebrows that shows up when she frowns.

"It's actually kind of adorable." I think before shaking my head and clearing those thoughts from my head. "You're a secret agent, Blaze. Stop being emotional like a twelve year old girl!"

"Well, moving on, where are you going to sleep?" I ask, looking at the one twin bed and then back at her.

She narrows her eyes, and I hold my hands up in surrender.

"The boys are bringing my mattress in here for tonight." She bites out.

"Somebody's tense." I think, but hesitate saying it out loud due to the looks she has been giving me.

I look at her closely as she stands in the doorway, keeping lookout. I don't know whose idea it was to make her my partner but thank God for whoever that person is. Not only is she super attractive, but we work seamlessly together. Every mission we've ever been on was completed flawlessly. Of course, her main role is usually distract and then kick their a*s when they fell into her tap whereas mine is to do all the background work, like breaking and entering, until she's ready for the main mission. As awkward as that sounds like it would be, it is a perfect system that has never failed.

"Blaze, why can't we just put it in the vault?" she asks softly.

"I don't know, Smythe. Maybe the system has developed a fault." I reason, trying not to overthink things.

Of course, Elizabeth proceeds to do the exact opposite and overthink everything until her head hurts.

"Well maybe--" she starts, once again not finishing her thought.

"Elizabeth, don't think so much. For once in your life, just relax." I cry, tired of seeing her pace back and forth across my room.

"But something's wrong!" she argues, looking at me harshly.

I shake my head and lie back down on the mattress.

"She's going to work herself to death." I think, laughing internally.

Suddenly, Elizabeth flops down next to me on the bed and sighs. I glance over at her in shock, only to see her staring thoughtfully at the ceiling. I allow her to lay in silence, and, a few moments later, she speaks, her voice soft in comparison to her usually biting tone.

"You're right." She whispers, rolling her head to the side to look at me.

I focus my eyes on everything but her face, and she continues.

"What am I going to do when this is over?"

I know she's referring to the mission but I feel like there's a double meaning to her words.

"Take a vacation?" I suggest teasingly.

She laughs at that, and the joyful sound knocks the air out of my lungs. She throws her head back, her hair tumbling down her back as her shoulders shake with amusement.

"That's never going to happen, Blaze." She states, her eyes twinkling at me.

I furrow my eyebrows at her statement. She said it like it's a fact.

"Why not?" I ask.

"Because do you think Major is really going to let some of her best agents take a vacation when the world is in peril?" she retorts.

I see her point but I can't let her win which leads me to my next statement.

"So we'll quit. Then take a vacation."

She looks at me in shock, realizing that I'm dead serious.

"Are you crazy?!" she whisper-yells. "We can't just quit!"

"Um, yeah we can. American laws and everything." I reply, adding a 'duh' in my head.

"You know standard protocol, Blaze. If we quit, you won't remember me. Or anyone else." She states, sounding resigned.

"I could never forget you, Elizabeth. Leave with me." I plead.

She rolls her eyes and looks at me doubtfully. I raise my eyebrows, daring her to argue with me.

"What about my family?"

"You know they all think you're gone, Smythe." I bark harshly. "They're not what's holding you back."

"How are you so sure this will work!?" she screams.

She collapses into my arms and breaks into heaving sobs. I hold her tightly and rub her back, trying to soothe her. I can't blame her for doubting it. I'm trying to change her whole world. But I know it's for the better. Memory wipe or not, Elizabeth is the only thing I've come to care about, and, in this line of work, that's too dangerous. So I've got to convince her to leave with me.

"Okay," she sniffles. "I'll go. We can quit and leave together."

Her eyes are still red and teary but the small smile on her lips is genuine.

"That was easier than expected." My brain states, still reeling from her agreeing.

She stands and takes my hand, pulling me up from the mattress on the floor. We creep silently to the other room, walking past our two other men. I almost feel sorry for leaving them; they'd always been faithful. But I know we have to leave them behind. We walk out on to the platform where the helicopter is parked and sneak into it quietly, tiptoeing past the pilot who fell asleep on duty.

"Amateur."

"Do you know how to fly this thing?" Elizabeth whispers, her voice lilting through the harsh wind whipping around us.

"Of course." I scoff, sliding into the pilot's seat and grabbing the cyclic.

She raises an eyebrow at me skeptically but slides in the back anyway. I start the chopper, which effectively wakes up the real pilot. Unfortunately for him, I'm already eight feet in the air by the time he's coherent enough to understand that we're high jacking it. I see him radio somebody but it doesn't matter. We'll be at HQ soon enough. At least they'll have a heads up.

~~~

"Is there anything you'd like to say to your colleagues before you forget them entirely?" Major asks, looking slightly amused.

"Goodbye, guys. It was cool working with you." I state.

They all look down at mine and Elizabeth's intertwined hands and nod discreetly in understanding. Elizabeth and I are led to a white room with no windows, much like an asylum for our standard memory wipe.

"I guess this is goodbye." she says solemnly, her voice cracking and filled with unshed tears.

I look over at her and see only fear written on her beautiful features. I know there is no force on this earth that will stop me from loving Elizabeth Smythe, so I take her hands calmly.

"Think of it as a new hello, Smythe." I reply affectionately, wiping off the lone tear from her cheek.

The corner of her lips quirk into a half smile at that and then it's gone, disappeared without a trace, as the door opens, and a uniformed man steps in. He says nothing, but simply separates us by a couple feet and stands in front of me.

"Good bye." I hear, and a flash goes off.

~~~

"Where the hell am I?" I wonder, looking at the street around me. "Was I in a bar?"

I glance around to try and figure out my surroundings but my eye is instantly drawn to the gorgeous brunette who is standing next to me, looking thoroughly confused. Her eyebrows are furrowed together, making an adorable crease between them as her green eyes shine with uncertainty.

"Excuse me, miss?" I find myself saying. "Do you, perchance, know where we are?

She looks over at me, a hint of bemusement on her beautiful features.

"As a matter of fact, I was wondering quite the same thing." She replies.

I look up at the building behind us; a large hotel with big fancy lettering. I look back over at her and smirk widely.

"Well seeing as we're both outside a hotel and neither of us remember where we are or what happened last night, I'm going to have to assume the worst."

She laughs loudly at that implication, and the overjoyed sound almost makes my heart burst.

"Is it possible to fall in love with someone after meeting them two seconds before?" I wonder.

She pulls a sleek IPhone out of her clutch and walks closer to me.

"You can call someone, if you like." She says sweetly, glancing up at me.

I scratch my neck and grin sheepishly.

"This is going to sound absolutely crazy but I don't remember a single number." I say, looking at the floor.

She takes my hand, and I look up at her in shock.

"I can't even remember where I live at this point, so don't feel ashamed." She confides.

She taps a few buttons on her phone, then smiles triumphantly.

"Found my address!" she cries. "Now to figure out where it is."

"I could help, if you like?" I offer.

She whips around to face me and smiles widely.

"Could you?"

"Absolutely."

"I'm Elizabeth, by the way." She says, grabbing my hand and pulling me down the street.

"I'm Blaze."

And that was the beginning of the rest of my life.