Hushed voices bring me out of my drug induced slumber. As my blurry vision slowly clears, I realise I'm at SSS HQ, probably in their infirmary. Uncle Sam is standing by my side, looking absolutely tensed as he speaks with a fellow agent. He notices I'm awake and dismisses the agent before turning to me.
"Hey, sweetheart. How you feeling?"
"I've been better."
He chuckles and hands me a glass of water which I thankfully accept. Once my throat doesn't feel so parched anymore, I slowly sit up in bed with his help.
"How long was I out for?"
"About a day. Your dad's gonna kill me when he sees me next."
"Why? Does he know?"
"He suspects,I guess. You haven't been home in almost a week, Alex. Everyone's worried."
"Not everyone." I mutter to myself, thinking about how happy Damien would be now that I'm out of his hair. Uncle Sam hears me but he pretends not to.
"So, you gonna debrief me now?"I ask him, wanting to change the subject.
Uncle Sam stares at me wide eyed."You're insane. You're gonna get checked out first."
He calls the doctor who then proceeds to tell me that I'm okay save for a few bruised ribs and several wounds on my back which were thankfully healing fast. According to him, I should be good to go in 2 days. I mentally scoff to myself, I was so getting out of this infirmary tomorrow.
Once the doctor's left, I reach for my clothes which are lying on the couch and hand him the chip.
"That goddamn chip better have been worth it." I grumble and he laughs.
"It is. Thank you Alex."
"It's my pleasure. So, are they gone for good?" I ask seriously and he knows who I'm talking about.
"they're all dead. He's dead. The threat has been taken care of and the mission was a success."
I nod, not really feeling happy at the moment knowing what was to lie ahead for me.
"Alex, I'm so sorry."
I turn to look at Uncle Sam in confusion.
"I should have never agreed to send you in alone and if we were fast enough, if I was fast enough, that idiot would not have hurt you. I'm so sorry sweetheart."
My heart breaks at the look on his face and I hug him as best as I could.
"It's not your fault. You saved me when I couldn't save myself and you did so today. So, thank you."
He nods before standing up.
"Well, I'm gonna let you rest. We can talk details tomorrow."
I wish him good night and eventually the morphine lulls me back to sleep.
The next morning, I shower and change into a clean outfit. Popping a few painkillers into my mouth, I walk out of my room, signing myself out and heading into the conference room where I know all the directors are gathered. As soon as I enter the room, all heads turn to look at me in shock.
"Alex. What are you doing out of bed?" Uncle Sam rushes to me but I stand my ground even when everyone else agrees with him.
"I'm fine. So, statrep please." I turn to them, completely in business mode. They sigh, knowing I was not gonna budge.
Turns out the blast did its job. There are no surviving victims and while I was on my mission, agents all around the world took out sleeper cells linked to The Syndicate. All those gangs who pledged their allegiance were taken care off except a few which was why it was still necessary for me to follow post mission protocol.
"Alex, we were discussing and we have a proposition for you." Uncle Sam says after sharing a meaningful glance with the other directors.
"What is it?"
"Since we managed to successfully take down most of the sleeper cells, we decided it would be okay for you to head back to New York and continue life as normal. Of course, there would be added security measures for you and your whole family but we could work something out."
Immediately, I shake my head.
"Absolutely not. It's too dangerous and I will not put their lives at risk like that. Besides, they all have a lot to lose and I'm not going to put them in harm's way."
"And you don't?" Uncle Sam asks me firmly. Silence fills the room and everyone waits for me to answer. Not giving my blank expression away, I say passively
"I made the decision to go on this mission and I am making this decision to adhere to protocol. End of discussion. Now, what time will my flight to wherever the hell I'm going to leave?"
The CIA director hesitates before speaking up,"In an hour."
"Good, we're making a short stop in New York first. then, I'm all yours."
Walking out of the room, I head to my room and pack my few belongings into my bag. A knock on my door breaks me out of my autopilot movements and I open it , revealing Uncle Sam.
I sigh, letting him come in. As soon as he shuts the door behind him,I say,"If you're here to change my mind, don't bother."
He shakes his head,instead wordlessly handing me a iPad.
I furrow my eyebrows, taking it and staring at him.
"What is this?"
"Watch the video." he says and I play what looks like a CCTV footage. Immediately, I recognise the penthouse and I pause it, giving back the iPad to him. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I say angrily,"I don't want to watch this."
He gently pushes the device back into my hand, pressing play again."Watch it, Alex."
Glaring at him, I watch the video. As soon as it finishes, I sink onto the bed in shock, my head in my hands. I feel him take the iPad from me but I don't bother looking up. All I can focus on is trying not to break down in tears.
"I knew something was wrong between the two of you when you arrived. So, I called Jay and managed to squeeze a few details out of him."
I don't say a word, my mind racing at a million miles per hour.
"He never slept with her, Alex." he says softly and I laugh humorlessly. Looking at him,I say
"It would have made things much easier if he did."
Uncle Sam looks at me in pity before bringing me into a side hug. Tears quietly stream down my face as I think about how messed up this is.
The CCTV footage shows Dana entering Damien's unlocked penthouse 15 minutes after I left. She then heads to his bedroom, stripping and getting in between the sheets. She takes a selfie, probably the one she sent me when he comes out of the bathroom. He's frozen in shock for a few seconds before you can clearly see him yell at her in anger,motioning for her to get out. When she tries to seduce him instead, he calls security who escorts her out of the building.
Taking a deep breath, I run my hands over my face. Steeling myself internally, I know what I have to do. The plane was stopping over in New York for a few hours for me to say goodbye before the agency whisked me off to some foreign country.
"We could arrange for him to follow you. Knowing Damien, he would insist on keeping you safe." Uncle Sam says and I shake my head.
"No, I'm not ruining his life anymore than I already did. He has to move on."
Uncle Sam scoffs, shaking his head at me.
"He loves you, Alex. He's not gonna move on."
"Not if he hates me."
Uncle Sam stops dead in his tracks, looking at me fearfully,.
"Alex, whatever it is you're thinking , don't do it."
Grabbing my bag, I head to the door, already in Ice Queen mode.
"When you love someone, sometimes all you have to do is let them go."