Kiev
November 2019
Besides the mission, for Crystal the days in Kiev meant sharing all the truth about her life to Neil.
He also spoke in Russian sometimes, helping her accept her past and grow more fond of him.
He was a good listened and never gave the impression that he was judging her.
Love started to unveil to her with wonderful meanings and she learned to accept her past. Because every step had led her to Neil and to their strengthened bond.
Ives and some other agents joined them in their last weekend in that city.
Crystal felt recovered enough to work together with the team without feeling emotional.
When just some days earlier she had given up on hopes and even on her life, she was like reborn, free to live and love fully with no more secrets.
"Our boss says that we are allowed to have some holidays by the end of the year" Neil said after they left the rest of the team at the restaurant "Seems fair, after all we've been through this year. Do you have any suggestion?".
Crystal glanced around at the night view of the city centre "Holidays...".
She winced when she heard buzzing.
"Damn, Ives left his phone in my bag" she realized, finding the device that was vibrating "I have to go back".
"I'll go" Neil offered, snatching the phone from her "You said you're tired. And I run faster than you. Wait here a moment".
She smiled and watched him jogging through the traffic, until he disappeared from her view.
Breathing deeply, she tried to enjoy the landscape.
Nights were very colorful in every large city.
Crystal looked around trying to locate the ghostly figure of the Motherland Monument, that reminded her of the Statue of Liberty in New York, that she was used to see daily when she trained at the near Tenet camp.
She was distracted by a limousine stopping at her back.
It wasn't something new, expect for the fact that when the door opened she recognized a familiar face.
She needed to blink and peer at the man to be sure that her eyes weren't affected by her drowsiness.
"Sam?" she called, a bitter sense of guilt invading her.
"Crys" he called back, marching to approach her "What happened? I was worried for you".
Crystal crossed her arms with uneasiness. That encounter was totally unexpected again "I'm sorry. I had an errand".
"You decided to stay with Tenet?" he asked with disappointment.
Her voice died in her throat. She wasn't able to confirm it, feeling the panic spreading through her paralyzed body.
The world was so small if people can find her so easily.
"It's better than putting you in danger" she replied feebly, but it wasn't enough to justify her choices.
"You could have trusted me enough to tell me" he accused her, trembling with anger.
"You wouldn't agree".
"No, I wouldn't" he confirmed coldly.
"What's going on?" Neil's voice shouted at her back.
Crystal turned with a hurt face, not knowing how to explain it all.
Neil stared at her with widened eyes, then in the blink of an eye he pulled out his gun.
Crystal felt an arm wrapping around her neck while also Sam pulled out his weapon and pressed it at her head.
"What are you doing? No! Wait!" she cried hysterically, trying to remove the arm that Sam wrapped tightly around her neck while she was forced to see Neil's gun aimed at her.
"Put down the gun or I'll shoot her!" Sam menaced, shielding with her body.
She gasped, unable to accept that absurd situation.
She didn't want any of them to get hurt, but her mind was blank. She couldn't plan a way out.
Both the guns were aimed at her.
"Please, stop!" she begged, her eyes filling with tears that she didn't want because they blurred her vision.
She saw firm resolution in Neil's stare and when his finger pulled the trigger, she screamed and pulled Sam down with her.
Sam cursed loudly, having been so close to meet death.
Hiding behind her, he pulled her into the limousine, keeping the gun pressed on her temple.
"Don't move! Don't move!" he intimated at Neil who he was reloading his gun.
Crystal fell on the soft seats as Sam leaned to close the door and shouted at the driver to go.
She lost balance against at the sudden acceleration and bumped her head against the gun that Sam was still aiming at her.
He looked surprised too he didn't accidentally pulled the trigger.
Crystal leaned away from him, her shock mirrored on his face.
She should have guessed.
If she didn't want to act in the play, she was forced to.
But if she was simply kidnapped as a bait to attract the Tenet agents, Sam could lower his gun and tell her.
Instead he kept his gun aimed at her, desperation shaking him like a leaf in the wind about to fall, like those that were falling in that season.
He touched his ear, realizing that he was bleeding. The sight of his own blood turned him more unstable and anguished.
"They hired you to kill me" she understood, not surprised that The Korol and his gang could be so cruel to persuade her only friend to stalk her and finish her.
"You thought that staying away from me would protect me!" he shouted, some tears escaping from his furious eyes "Instead look at me now! I have to do this. But we'll die together".
That was a weak consolation, but it seemed meaningful for him.
Like Romeo and Juliet?
For her it was like Snow White facing the Hunter while craving to go back to her Prince. Sam couldn't be the prince, only envying him.
Crystal imagined him spying her, tormented by jealousy as he understood that she chose Neil, who was able to make her happy and give her everything she needed.
Succeeding in dragging her away from Neil should have been a little triumph for him. The real victory was dying with her.
How dramatic.
But Crystal didn't regret anything.
She was satisfied that Neil knew the truth, that she didn't allow her fears to caged her in Moscow and pretend to live a normal life with Sam.
Death wasn't scary anymore.
She had been lucky enough to find some redemption.
She felt it was the right price.
"Do you remember when we first met?" Sam asked, soothed by her quietness.
Again she had to remember the beginning when about to face the end and see the loop closed.
Crystal pictured a younger self, settling down in Moscow to continue her Physics studies.
In the academy gardens, Sam was lying under the sunlight and she thought he was sunbathing, but hearing his mates cackling in Russian proved her that they were drunk.
She walked closer so her shadow would cover his face.
Sam blinked and when his eyes rested on her, they widened in surprise.
"Sorry" she apologized and checked a little piece of paper "I'm new here and I've been told to look for a chemist called Samuel Valmont. My Russian isn't good yet. Do you understand me?".
Sam pulled himself on his elbows and said dazed "Yes. That's me".
He stood up too quickly and swayed. She offered him a hand to help him. His friends snickered, teasing with other impudent comments that she wasn't able to understand yet.
"I'm Sam" he said blushing.
"I'm Crystal" she said shaking strongly the hand he offered.
They couldn't know it was the start of an awkward friendship. She had no time for friends, but he was the one who helped her to improve her Russian and defended her from the arrogancy of the other members of the company until she learned to defend herself on her own.
"You should have stayed there!" Sam snapped at her "It was your place. But you were just too ambitious. I knew how dangerous the secret branch was, but in the name of our friendship, I didn't want to tell you what to do. I wish I were braver. I wish I had stopped you, before you threw us into this mess!".
Crystal glanced between the gun and his sorrowful eyes, shaking her head.
With the corner of her eyes she noticed a car stalking the limousine where she was trapped.
"Oh, Sam" she exhaled and tried to lean towards him.
He hesitated, then allowed her to hug him.
"I'm so sorry" she said heartfelt and pulled back staring at his tormented expression.
Although he pressed his gun at her side, Sam looked dazed, so she cut the distance again and pressed her lips on his.
When she felt him surrendering to that longing, she moved away hitting him with a punch on the face and kicking him away.
She had no time to catch her breath and opened the door, jumping out of the running limousine.
Crushing badly on the tarmac, she rolled uncontrollably, seeing the car behind the limousine braking violently and turning to shield her from a shower of bullets and the upcoming cars.
She gasped with relief when she recognized Neil in the car.
Quickly he helped her to climb on the vehicle and drove away.
It took a while to persuade herself that the action was over and that she was incredibly alive and safe.
Crystal curled on the backseats she was lying on, tempted to fall asleep while tears kept watering her face and sobs shook her sore body.
The journey didn't last long and Neil parked next to a car where Ives was waiting for them.
"There was an helicopter waiting for the commando" Ives updated sternly "Wheeler got the limousine and is questioning the driver. While Jenny already set up the cover story to justify this mess".
"Good. I need to take her to the hospital. She is in shock and bleeding".
She was still lying on the backseats and just heard the conversation like it came from another dimension.
"You forgot to throw a carpet when she jumped from that fucking limo" Ives teased "Take this car. You have to give that one back before someone finds out it's you who has stolen it. I'll join you at the hospital to check that no other killers are around. We clean up and evacuate".
Neil agreed and picked the woman in his arms, placing her in the other car.
After he drove again and stopped by a first aid hospital, he covered her with his jacket and picked her into his arms again.
"I can walk" she protested weakly, but pulled herself closer to him.
"Let me be useful" he teased "You got all the bruises and I don't know how to deal with this rush of adrenaline".
She chuckled faintly and gave up, lulled by his walking.
"I can't let you alone one moment without risking to lose you forever" Neil commented when later she woke up and found him sitting next to her bed in a hospital room.
"I'm a magnet for tragedies, didn't you know that?" it was too true to be just sarcastic.
She held her breath when he placed his hand on hers. Her sore body welcomed that little gesture.
"We all are" he murmured with the shadow of a smirk "You can rest as much as you want. The doctors say that the phychological trauma hit worse than your physical wounds, that luckily are not as bad as I feared".
"Nothing broken?".
Neil pondered her sad eyes "Nothing that they can see in their diagnosis".
He was right. She felt broken hearted, but her heart was still beating.
"Did you suspect that I was betraying you again?" she asked uncomfortably.
His hand squeezed hers without hurting.
"At first, yes" he admitted lowering his head "Then I saw how shocked you where. You told me about him. So I understood what it could mean. I'm sorry".
She breathed deeply, trying to collect herself against another storm of emotions "They sent him to kill me. But I couldn't let him have me that way. I'd rather have died in that jump".
"What's happened happened" Neil said quickly, moving closer and saving her from being overwhelmed by her emotions "You are here, alive. We both are. This is all that matters. I felt so distraught too when I pulled the trigger and risked to shoot at you instead of him. But we've been lucky. Here we are".
"He could have shot at you too" she recalled.
"He was more wicked than that. He understood that he would hurt me more if he shot at you" he said deeply upset.
Crystal pulled herself up and ignoring the itching of the band aid covering her body, she pulled him into a hug.
"What's happened happened. And here we are" she repeated his words to comfort him "I'm ready to leave".
After she dressed up and got released from the hospital, they found Ives waiting to drive them to Minsk, where they reunited with some other agents.
"We have to avoid planes. It seems that it's easier to track us in that way. We go back to Tallinn separately, on different days" Ives planned.
"Our boss urges you to go back, Neil" Wheeler said uncomfortably "You are needed to resume the inversion trainings".
"I already told him that I don't want to leave Crystal behind, after what happened" Neil replied angrily "We need to make sure that we are not followed".
"Maybe that's what they are waiting for. If you leave now, they can go after you, expecting her to be with you, if they are after her, as you claim. And the rest of us will be ready to assault their backs" Ives suggested.
"Yeah, but we don't know for sure. I don't like splitting the team" Neil said bitterly.
"Don't we work better separated when we train with the inversion?" Ives remarked "Separated doesn't mean that we can't communicate".
"You can enjoy the city for a couple of days, anyway" Wheeler added "I leave tomorrow, then we'll plan the other departures".
Ostrov Slyoz, Minsk, Belarus
"You look quite miserable for acting like my bodyguard" Crystal teased, peering at Neil who was constantly glancing around them.
"I'll ask a pay rise for all this stress" he smirked "And for persuading me that staying indoor isn't safer than taking a walk where any sniper is able to aim at us".
"You convinced me to wear the bulletproof jacket all day, although I insisted that it's not that sexy. Are we not even?" she couldn't hold a soft laught at their discussion.
Neil teased the hem of her clothes "I thought you were serious when you once told me that you find uniforms and even bulletproof jackets very attractive. I honestly agree".
She tilted her head at his penetrating gaze that seemed inappropriate in a crowd of tourists visiting the city centre.
"I'm just trying to pretend to be a normal woman. We are lucky that the weather is unstable or how would you justify that I'm wearing a raincoat two sizes bigger than me?".
Neil wrapped an arm around her shoulder to lean closer and murmur to her ear "If this attire is so annoying for you, we can go back to our hotel and I'll warm you up".
No matter the hell they had been through, he was still so fascinated and fascinating, capable of melting her legs under his gaze.
She stifled a laugh at that awkward offer and promised patting his collar "Later. Now I want to visit this city just like any normal tourist. What is that small island everyone is pointing at?".
Neil searched in his pockets and checked a brochure, replying "It's called Ostrov Slyoz. The Island of Tears".
She glanced at him with surprise "It seems appropriate. I've cried more tears in these last weeks than in my last decade".
Neil pulled her closer to press his lips on her temple "I'll make sure that you won't need to shed them anymore. Or at least, I'll be there to wipe them away. But I hope I can manage to make you smile more than cry".
"You are surely capable of that" she replied offering him a warm smile.
"You'll travel with Ives" Neil announced when he surrendered to his departure schedule.
Their two days together had been very precious, but they weren't supposed to be divided for too long.
Ives and Crystal were supposed to be the last two of the team to leave, hoping that the waters truly calmed down like it seemed during those days of surveillance.
"We'll keep in touch" she promised gesturing a phone "If you won't reply, I'll start to worry and drive back on my own".
Neil snorted "You're the one who's supposed to always reply my calls".
She swallowed the unpleasant allusion "Poor Ives. I'll be snobbing him all the time because I'll be busy on the phone with you. Why him, by the way?".
Neil's grin faded "He still feels guilty for what happened in Kiev. He claims that if he didn't forget that he used your bag to keep his phone, you didn't risk to get kidnapped".
"If I didn't complain that I was tired and left the restaurant so early..." she reminded, but he pressed his fingers on her lips.
"Shh, it's useless to try to blame each other. We all need to move on. Will you be alright if I let you travel with Ives?".
"I'll take care of both of us" she promised, helping him to get ready and nostalgically watching him driving away.
"I insist that calling is too dangerous" Ives repeated, irritated by her constant being on the phone.
They spent some quiet but cold days of November on their own in Minsk. Ives tried to spoil her by buying any kind of souvenir, that she claimed wouldn't fit in the jeep he rented.
"Did you hear that, Neil?" she asked placing her phone between her and Ives.
"I did. You can tell Ives to..." Neil started to list all the curses and insults he could think of.
Ives snickered and lowered the volume of the call "I'm just trying to protect my best friends, no matter how much they exasperate me with their flirting".
"If you want attention, then you don't mind if we revise the physics behind the inversion and the annihilation".
Ives raised his hands widening his eyes "I surrender".
Crystal checked the timer she wore since Neil was gone.
Only few hours left away from him.
Ives checked the maps again to study the best route to drive from Minsk, crossing Belarus, Latvia and Estonia before arriving in Tallinn.
"Are you ready to be caged in a car with me for ten hours?" Ives teased when they said goodbye to Minsk.
She grinned locking her seat belt "Only if you are. I can drive too when you need some rest".
"You're selfless, but Neil would never stop mocking me if I let a woman drive because I can't handle ten hours of merely driving" he said proudly patting the steering wheel "You can sing for me, if you want to entertain me".
"I'm not a singer" she cut off "Let's discuss about physics".
Ives groaned in frustration "No, please, I'll fall asleep...".
"I know how to keep you awake" she remarked raising her hand and gesturing to slap him.
The journey wasn't unpleasant.
They took a break whenever they arrived in a town and had soft talks all the way long.
Eventually they arrived in Estonia.
Crystal woke up from a brief nap and glanced at the landscape.
"What's that?" Ives asked, slowing down when the road was suddenly interrupted.
The cars in front of them turned to a small road into the woods.
"It says the road is closed. You have to take the shortcut" she translated for him reading from a big sign.
"Great. I like shortcuts" Ives turned the wheel and Crystal admired the nature around them.
The trees were very tall and very thin.
"Won't you follow me into the jungle?" Ives started to sing, rhythmically beating his hands on the wheel "Ain't no God on these streets in the heart of the jungle".
"Oh Lord" she sighed horrified.
"Yes!" he exclaimed elbowing her "Do you know it?".
"I lost my mind, in the city of lights" she sang uncertainly.
"Yeah!" he confirmed and continued "In the backstreets buildings and the neon lights".
"When I heard the thunder, I could feel the rain".
"It's the same to me, just a different name" he waved at the phone resting on her lap "Put it on, come on. I want to sing it all".
She rolled her eyes and unlocked her phone, hearing the driver grumbling.
"What?" she asked scowling at his snicker.
"It's just so crazy that you use photos of him as wallpaper for your home screen and your lock screen".
"Also as wallpaper for calls" she added with pride.
"Jesus. Neil everywhere. I thought he was the one who fell head over heels for you".
"Instead it's mutual" she concluded for him "Oh, come on. Isn't he so cute when he smiles? And with sunglasses? And wearing a uniform?".
She showed him the picture, but he looked away and his eyes fell on the rear view mirror.
"Aren't those two trucks following us for a while?" he asked, suddenly serious.
Crystal stopped smiling dreamily at the picture of Neil and looked up.
"Ives" she warned nodding at the road in front of them, where other two cars slowed down.
"Don't tell me it's fucking trap!" Ives exclaimed adding more curses.
Crystal hurried to load their guns.
"Don't you dare to jump down from this car, no matter what, do you understand?" he hissed, locking the doors.
She looked nervously around them "If they want me, I won't let them hurt you".
"I'd rather die than handing you to them. I'm dead anyway if Neil finds out. By the way, call him" he ordered.
She obeyed and tapping clumsily on the phone, she made the call.
"Crystal? Are you alright?" Neil's voice ringed filled with anxiety.
"I'm not sure yet. There are vehicles that are stalking us" she sensed that also Neil was tensed "What's going on there?".
"We are under attack" he briefed "Crys, can you get out? Where are you?".
"We are still on the way. Somewhere in woods, in Estonia. It's just Ives and me".
"I'm not going to brake, if that's what the bastards want" Ives hissed clenching his jaw.
"Ives, we're going to crush!" she exclaimed seeing how they were moving closer to the cars in front of them.
"Ives!" Neil's voice shouted hysterically from the phone "Don't do anything stupid!".
"I can't stop!" Ives insisted, but slowed down a little, until they bumped into the back of the car in front of them.
"They didn't like it" she warned seeing the trucks behind them coming menacingly closer.
"I don't give up so easily" Ives insisted and pressed on the accelerator, pushing the car in front of them.
"Ives!" she shouted as the trucks towered behind them and one of them started to overtake them.
"Duck!" he shouted, grabbing a gun and aiming at the wheels of their hunters.
"What's going on there? Crys?" Neil shouted from the phone.
She cried his name when the overtaking truck suddenly turned and collided against them.
Ives lost control of the wheel and the car flipped, rolling down the hill.
Crystal tried to curl to protect herself from the violent bumps, until the pain was too much and she blacked out.
A/N
The phone wallpaper 😂
La da da da da
Limousines
So can we speak about limousines and this?
I watched Cosmopolis just because of Robert and his gorgeous look, but damn in all these years I never recovered from how hot being in a limousine with him can be 🔥
There are about 4 chapters left and my goal is to publish them within two days. If you noticed a certain detail in some previous chapter, you can understand why 😌