It was sitting on the beach in Cannes deep in the South of France sometime last summer that Ana decided that she wasn't going to marry Mario.
The sea lapped gently at her toes as she stood staring out over the Mediterranean. It was five am in the morning, a few more hours before the sun would begin to beat down on her and before these pale sands would be lined with a rainbow of towels and parasols.
She remembered being glad for the peace. A moment alone. A second to think.
Mario didn't like her to think, in fact he far preferred it when she didn't. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe that's why she couldn't go through with it. The marriage wasn't conventional with love being absent in many ways, she had known that all along and yet, even for the sake of the agency, Ana couldn't bring herself to stand in front of the Family and take her vows, especially after the previous night.
His touch.
His breath.
The sight.
It all haunted her, scarring her dreams.
She would find no release from this prison but she could at least not inflict any more traumas upon her tired mind. There had to be another way, a way to bring Mario to justice from the outside. This had been the easiest route but that didn't mean that it was the only path that ARC could have chosen.
She had made her decision on that beach last summer. She didn't run from him for another three months, not until the rain had begun to fall and winter was well on its way. Perhaps it was fear that stopped her, a fear of Mario and what he may do, a fear of her mother and what she would say or even a fear of the countless others waiting to cash in the cheque that would enviably lie on her head.
The spy that was going to marry into the mafia.
That story was never going to end well.
Ana blinked, forcing her smarting eyes to focus onto the picture frame in front of her. If she could manage it she wouldn't look at the picture but only the glass mirror surrounding its form. She didn't trust herself to look at those hypnotising olive eyes and not fall back under his spell.
"Ana?"
"Coming." A traitorous tear slipped down her cheek but she swiped it hastily away. She couldn't stay in the past, she had to keep moving forwards.
"Are you alright?" Adam's voice was closer now, quieter too as he noticed her stance, shoulders curved over the desk.
"Of course." But Ana kept her back to him.
His hand reached out to touch her shoulder. It was only to offer a gentle, simple brush of his calloused fingertip against the line of freckles that lay there. A reassurance. But Adam withdrew his hand before it could make contact with the bare skin. He couldn't allow himself to fall down that rabbit hole again. This was his job; Ana was his assignment, nothing more.
Nevertheless he couldn't bring himself to be cold towards, however much easier that would have been in the long run.
"We don't have to go. I can ring your mother and..."
"It's fine." She assured him, snatching her clutch from the desk in front of her and negotiating the elegant emerald silk of her floor length dress. Why were these types of events always heel occasions? They made her job much more difficult.
Thankfully Adam didn't question her any further, instead offering her his arm so that she could gracefully descend the stairs outside of the room rather than the trip, fall, face plant method she usually adopted in such conditions.
"You've read the briefing?" Adam asked, as he led her through the open door at the foot of the stairs and towards the awaiting car, only dropping her arm to open the slick, black passenger door for her.
"Of course." She hadn't. She hadn't even turned over the 'confidential' page but Adam knew that. He would have noticed the pristine file on her desk, a bright pink post-it with a helpful reminder still pinned to its front. Unfortunately he rarely missed her faults.
"Harold Chapman is our target. He has information that the ARC would like regarding a certain fiancé of yours."
"Ex-fiancé." Ana bit but Adam ignored her as he would continue to do for as long as Ana's cheeks sparked red every time that he said it. Even in her subdued state they still flared fuchsia.
"Since you gave him the slip the agency have managed to build a case against our lovely Mario but there are some holes that need plugging before we can take him down."
"That's presumably where we come in."
"It does indeed. Tonight is Mr Chapman's wedding anniversary, we are crashing the party." Adam shifted the gears of the expensive sports car, shooting down the road at a speed that didn't agree with Ana's stomach but she refused to tell him to slow down. That would just give him more ammunition.
"And when they recognise me?" She asked, attempting to distract herself and therefore quench the queasy feeling lining her throat.
"I doubt that anyone will. Mr Chapman likes to keep his dealings with the Mafia on the quiet side. Apparently it isn't good for business if you are seen in the wrong company. If there is anyone there who does recognise you then we will play it by ear." There was a causal shrug and an easy smile in Ana's direction as Adam pulled off of the motor way and started to wind the car through the quiet countryside towards Mr Chapman's home.
"That is your brilliant plan? 'We'll play it by ear'?!" Ana was very aware of the slightly hysterical note in her tone and yet Adam didn't tease her about it this time. He seemed to realise that there may be something more than he was anticipating going on. It was one of his very few good qualities.
"I shoot them. We leave. How about that? Better?"
She huffed, glaring out at the fields of crops as they glided towards the mansion just creeping into sight.
"What's wrong Sparky?" It was the name she hated and yet Adam's tone wasn't one that aimed to provoke a reaction. He sounded concerned, as if he really did care about her.
"Nothing."
"I've disabled the bug in the car. It's just us two."
She hesitated, as if considering whether that should make a difference to what she said. "I don't want to go back into this life."
"The life of a spy?"
"No, I can control that. That's fine, I mean my life with Mario." It was barely a whisper, almost inaudible but the quiet purr of the expensive engine allowed Adam to follow.
"Why did you leave him?" He tried, unsuccessfully, to hide his curiosity.
"It's complicated."
"Did something happen?" The wheels pattered against the pebbled driveway approaching the mansion. The car instantly thrown back into the world as the silence of the countryside fell away to dozens of cars depositing their passengers at the foot of grand staircase.
"You could say that." Ana murmured causing Adam to glance over at her. His eyes were searching, hopeful to find an answer to the question that irked him the most but Ana had been playing the game for long enough. She knew how to perform the masquerade.
A gentle knock sounded on the window prompting Adam to pass the keys to the car over to the valet before retrieving Ana and winding his arm around her waist as if he had been doing so for years. The gesture felt natural rather than forced and Ana felt her body relax into his without her permission.
"Don't worry about tonight. I'll watch your back."
It was only a few words whispered into her ear as he guided her through the throng of people and yet Ana couldn't help but feel a degree of relief at the sound. Somehow, despite his aggravating tendencies he still managed to make her feel safe when he needed to.
"But try not to get killed, please. It's an awful lot of paperwork." And then he usually managed to ruin it.
The pair strode up the staircase confidently, both well practiced at slipping into an uncomfortable role. It was supposed to be their natural environment. Adam's dad was governor of the Bank of England and he had been tugged along to parties a lot like this one since he was old enough to be a source of amusement for other guests. He was good for 'the image' his dad had always told him. The façade of a perfect family life, that's all that was important.
Ana had experienced a similar message from her mother. Play nice with daddy's colleagues, butter them up and try and win him the big deals. "Our job is to make their lives easier." Margarete used to tell her, Ana didn't agree with a word of it and yet she had still wanted to make her mum proud so she had blindly followed watching ARC grow day by day into the best spy network in the world. Somehow, despite everything that she had put her through, Ana still wanted to make her proud.
That was after all, one of the only reasons she found herself standing in the grand ballroom, listening to the clinking of crystal, the exorbitant giggles of the young girls and the gentle rise and fall of waltzing toes.
There was a certain smell that always surrounded these occasions in Ana's opinion. A musk of desperation with notes of unlikely expectations obscuring the whisper of love hanging in the wings. There was never time for this frivolous endeavour at such occasions. Everyone was too busy attempting to determine what their parents wanted them to do and which path would be the least lethal.
"That's him." Adam nodded subtly towards a man standing with a crowd of anxious onlookers, all those praying for just a few seconds at his ear. He was the usual sort that commanded attention, tall and yet not overbearing, easy to spot in a crowd. His greying hair , or at least what was left of it, was styled perfectly, sleek just like his tailored suit and navy tie. The polish on the shoes told Ana everything she needed to know, he was privileged, wealthy and powerful, everything that these vultures preyed upon.
She sucked in a breath "I know him."
She could feel Adam's sharp eyes on her, their inquisitive gaze carving deep into her as he heard the apprehension in her tone. Her own eyes refused to move though, fixated on the man's form.
"How?"
"He came to visit Mario once." Turning her body away from Harold she rested her hands onto Adam's chest, fulfilling the requirements of a loving couple but in all honesty she needed the stability, the support that his presence offered her.
"Did you speak?"
She didn't reply, her eyes searching his highly polished dress shoes.
His fingers found her chin, lifting her gaze to his.
"Ana. Did you speak to him?"
The memory of the greasy fingers slipping down her forearm and the harsh ash breath cascading down her neck felt a little bit too real as Ana attempted to escape the grip of the memory, struggling to keep her mind fixed in the ballroom.
"No." She muttered, blinking sharply to dispel some hopeful tears that prickled suggestively at her eyes.
"Will he recognise you?"
"I doubt it." There had been more important matters to attend to at the time than a young woman dissolving into background.
Adam wasn't satisfied, he could tell that there was more to the story but they were beginning to attract attention and that was never a good idea so he painted a smile over his frown and drew her tiny body into an embrace.
"We will talk about this later." He whispered into her ear, releasing her only to fetch them both a drink and to migrate into the shadows.
"Here." He slipped a small device into Ana's hand, touching his own ear as he did so to switch on his comms. Chambers was a stickler for protocol, especially where Ana was concerned, he wouldn't like two agents going into a situation dark. Nerves never did bode well with him. "Check in, it's straight through to Chambers."
Ana nodded, making sure that the device was working by talking to the man on the other end, a clear reply reassured the rising anxiety between the pair.
"We have eyes on the target." Adam talked with fake severity into his earpiece but couldn't hold the composure for long, "Beautiful chap isn't he?" The sarcasm was thick in his voice, his eyes fixed on Harold but Ana didn't follow his gaze. She knew that the sight of the balding man, his slick hair scrapped tightly to his head, would send chills chasing down her spine.
"Take him when you are clear." Chambers ordered them both and the pair began to move around the room in a smooth, practiced manner. Their steps were planned but organised in a completely random fashion so that any onlookers wouldn't grow suspicious. Once Adam had analysed every exit possible and Ana had performed a brief evaluation of threat of each of the individuals surrounding Mr Chapman the couple began their slow advance.
There was a waltz playing, the third or fourth of the evening and yet no one seemed to be tiring of the repetition. Without a word the duo formed their plan, seamlessly joining the dance as Adam slipped one hand onto Ana's waist, settling the other onto her shoulder.
Their eyes met, Adam's eyes blazing as that lazy smile graced his face once more. Things had never been simple between them and despite everything Ana still felt drawn towards those chestnut orbs. They were magnetic, addictive.
However even those eyes couldn't distract her from what they were about to do.
Her body tensed, her muscles screaming to run in the opposite direction and Adam felt them bunch beneath his hands. His eye brows furrowed, they had worked many missions together by now but never had he seen her this nervous before.
Ana may have nerves before a mission but she was one of the best at compartmentalisation. Once the mission began she shifted with ease into her role and could bluff the world champion at poker if need be. Calm and collected was just her way, it was strange, and not altogether pleasant to see her acting so differently.
"Relax." He murmured to her, but her wide eyes only acted to deepen his concern.
As the music began to build Adam wanted to stop, to pause time for a moment and find out what was worrying her but he knew that certain processes couldn't be stopped once they were in motion.
They were a runaway train, breaks failing as they flew towards the edge of a cliff, spinning and twirling Ana's eyes lost their focus as they negotiated their way through the crowd of dancers, approaching Harold dancing with his wife. Tottering at the edge just for a moment they both inhaled deeply before Adam's foot moved from its perfect position, snagging at Ana's ankle and bringing her tumbling into the happy couple.
It was just enough to split them up, Mrs Chapman staggering for a few steps before regaining her balance whilst Mr Chapman stumbled in the opposite direction, clearing a path for Ana to painfully make contact with the floor.
"I'm so sorry." Adam declared, using most of his energy to resist making a joke about Ana being sprawled on the ground but he was a professional and he knew that there was a job to be done here. "New shoes are still a bit slippery I'm afraid."
Mrs Chapman smiled politely, her manners dictating her measured reaction but her husband had less restraint.
"Bloody imbecile." He tutted, glaring at Adam.
"Darling." Mrs Chapman warned her eyes reminding him to behave as Adam reached down to offer his help to Ana. His hand gripped hers tightly but Ana knew what her part was to play and she let out an artificial hiss the second that she put weight onto her ankle, releasing Adam's hand to fall back to the ground.
"Are you all right sweetheart?" His voice was sickly, he was teasing her and she knew that but to anyone else, the Chapmans in particular, his actions appeared to be those of a loving partner.
"It's my ankle." She tried not to show her aggravation with him but she could feel the thinness of her lips as she attempted to mask the irritation.
There was a subtle wink sent in her direction, before Adam turned back to the oblivious Chapmans, addressing the more amenable wife. "I don't suppose you have any ice at all?"
"Of course." She smiled brightly, concern for Ana withholding the smile from reaching her eyes. "My husband can take you to get some, can't you darling?" It wasn't really a question, this was his punishment for being rude to their guests and Adam knew that. He tried not to look too cocky as he turned his attention to his target.
"It would be my pleasure." The restraint was strong within his tone but Adam didn't care as he slid his powerful muscles underneath Ana's form and plucked her from the ground making every young woman in the crowd that had now surrounded them, sigh with envy.
Following their mark out of the room as he created a path through the crowd for them Ana dug her nails sharply into Adam's shoulder blade, smiling as she felt him flinch. "That hurt." She muttered to him, revelling in the flash of guilt that crossed his eyes.
"Sorry." It was said with earnest which did make her feel slightly better but as Harold kindly led the way down to the kitchen she became distracted by movement behind them. Adjusting her weight within Adam's arms so that she could get a better view she heard him huff as she became more awkward to carry. "Don't worry about me. I'm just a human climbing frame."
"Shh." Her eyes scanned the corridor that they were passing through, every pot plant and every side table held a shadow. They were all potential hiding places. "We are being followed."
It was a flash of moonlight through a bare window that caused her to shove her weight against Adam, meaning that the unsuspecting man landed on the floor with an umph. Despite the bruised coccyx he would be sure to thank Ana later as gunfire erupted seconds later where their heads had previously been.
Mr Chapman yelled in front of them, dropping the ground as he was hit by the incoming bullets but the pair could do nothing to help him as they darted to the edge of the corridor, Adam's hand reaching up to switch off the lights and cover them in darkness.
In relative security, as the bullets ceased for a few seconds, the gunmen waiting for their sight to adjust, Adam and Ana slipped into a side room, clicking the door gently shut.
"Now would be a brilliant time to mention that you have a gun on you." Adam said as he retrieved his own weapons from the holsters strapped to his waist.
"Come out, come out wherever you are." A man's voice crowed from the other side of the door making both Adam and Ana freeze as the footsteps began to creep closer towards their hiding place.
Adam held out one of his guns towards Ana but she simply rolled her eyes at the suggestion, hiking up the skirt of her dress to reveal a gun strapped to her thigh. Retrieving it easily she clicked off the safety and aimed it towards the closed door.
"I know this is really inappropriate timing," Adam whispered as the footsteps grew closer still. "But that was really sexy." He winked at her, a cheeky grin stretching his lips as he threw his weight against the door, smashing the wood open. He always was one for a dramatic entrance "Hello boys. Can we help you?"
With three guns pointed at their chests, Adam holding one in each hand, the suit clad men seemed a little more nervous that their original jeers had suggested. They had guns themselves of course however there was something about Adam's lazy nature that made people nervous when he was handling a firearm. They probably thought he was unhinged. Ana wouldn't have been surprised if he were.
"Mario sends his love." The tattoo covered one at the back spoke up, apparently the bravest of the bunch as he aimed at Ana but he didn't have time to line up his shot before Adam shot the gun out of his hand.
"I'm getting a little bit bored of your ex, love." Adam muttered to Ana as they worked to fight off the inevitable gunfire that followed.
"Focus." She ground her teeth together as her dress proved more than an impractical choice for the occasion, the seam ripping straight up the thigh exposing her tanned skin to Adam's greedy eyes.
"Eyes front." He mock saluted, shooting at one of Mario's men over Ana's shoulder.
There were four men in total, two where now on the floor but as everyone, including Adam and Ana had now lost their guns in the squabble they were now resorting to hand to hand combat. Ana dodged a nasty roundhouse kick before returning one of her own and landing it accurately on the man's ribs. As he faltered, his body absorbing the impact she brought her knee up into his stomach, slamming her fist into his nose.
"Brilliant work as usual Sparky." Adam praised, the man he had been fighting lying unconscious at his feet. "Although if you just tilted your hips on the..." His hands reached out to manoeuvre her hips and demonstrate his point but Ana was still more than a little miffed about his casual tripping of her earlier, along with his constant jeers and dodged his fingers.
"You touch me, you die." She said sweetly turning on her heel and striding away from Adam towards a very still Mr Chapman.
"Target is down." She spoke softly into her ear piece as she checked for a pulse but she knew she wouldn't find one. The man's body was littered with bullet holes; the lack of life was probably the kindest option here regardless of the man's character. "Predator found us." She added, using their nickname for Mario's men.
"Damn it." Adam muttered as he too inspected Harold's body, placing one of Mario's men's guns into his hand when he failed to find a pulse. "We need to go." He instructed Ana, not really paying attention as she continued to talk to Chambers updating him on the situation.
"Ana, now." He ordered as she refused to acknowledge the urgency. If they were discovered here there would be questions, questions that ARC wouldn't answer for them. Ana's mother only had so much power, there were graves that even she couldn't dig up.
Huffing as Ana's eye remained focused on the dead man's face Adam didn't wait any longer, hauling her up to standing and tugging her limp for along behind him.
"Snap out of it Ana." He muttered as they approached the ballroom once more and Ana remained in her daze, seemingly unaware that in a few moments they would be under scrutiny once more.
As he paused at the door he shook her slightly, watching her eyes focus on his. "We have to go back in there and pretend that nothing happened OK. We head straight for the door and don't attract unnecessary attention. We play the game Ana, OK?"
"OK." Her throat was dry, her ribs aching with the beating they had taken but she refused to allow herself to crumble. She refused to allow her mind to focus upon the memories that threatened to drown her. She refused to allow herself to be swallowed by them. There would be time for that later. "We play the game."