His Fairytale, My Folklore

I sighed as we finally made it to the end of the tunnel. I had grabbed a burn phone while in the tunnel and had Kelsey, Nathan, Jackson and Valerie stay with the kids as we all went ahead, just in case someone we did not trust or like was at the end of the tunnel.
I saw that the van I had put there a few years ago was still there, untouched. I moved the two-way glass out of the way with the help of Valentine. I bent down and picked up a small rock that hid the key to the van. I twirled it around my finger as I stood up.
I looked at Carlos. “I know you’re going to protest, but you’re the only one who knows where it is and I cannot write it down or say it out loud.”
His face held distress. He glanced from the keys to a confused Johnathan. He walked over to him and took him in his arms. I ignored the jealousy and just watched Carlos talk to him in a low voice. Johnathan’s eyes got wide and tears pooled in the bottom. He said something low in Carlos’s ear, but Carlos just shook his head.
“I’m sorry,” he said a bit louder, but still a whisper. He kissed Johnathan’s forehead. “I love you,” he said, before walking back into the tunnel to get the kids.
Johnathan watched him go, a heart broken look on his face. He shut his eyes and shook his head. When he opened his eyes, his face was blank and his eyes held a certain determination that scared me a little bit.
“What do we do now?”
“You walk about two more miles to the other car I have,” I said simply, knowing he wouldn’t want to talk about his heart break. “You have to go South,” I said, pointing to the right of the van. “It will be a black Ford pick-up.”
“Why are you telling us this? Aren’t you coming with us?” Joel asked.
“Yeah, but I have something to take care of first.”
“No,” Valentine said, grabbing my arm as I tried to go in the opposite direction of the way they needed to go. “You’ll come with us.”
I ripped my arm from him. “I swear to God, if you grab me again, I will castrate you,” I growled. “I get that you’re pissed, but you don’t have to keep grabbing me to get my attention. You’re starting to act like Jerry!”
I stormed off to the North, needing to get to the storage before they did. I started running, not caring that I could hear someone following me. I needed them to know. I needed someone to realize that being ‘the perfect spy’ meant that I could not have the normal life that everyone else had. I get that some of them didn’t have a normal life, some of them probably had worst, but I needed someone to know what I went through, because I had a feeling that I was not going to live through this mission.
“What is wrong with you?!” Valentine asked, running to where I had stopped.
We had run about five miles, but with our training, those five miles was nothing. I turned around slowly, taking in the dirt and dry clumps of grass. I saw the breeze lift off the loose dirt, and make small rocks tumble around, except one. I walked over to it, ignoring Valentine’s questions.
I picked the rock up, grunting at the weight of the trap door that was hidden by an inch of dirt. I threw the door open, making a dust cloud form around me. I crawled into the hole, holding onto the opening. I let go, falling about three feet of the seven. I landed in a crouch, looking around the long, dark hallway that led to my documented life. My actual life.
I stood up, ignoring the tears that started to fall down my face. I moved as I heard Valentine get closer. He jumped down, landing easily.
“What is this?”
“My life,” I said sadly.
“What do you mean?” he asked, following me as I started walking down the long, dark hallway.
“My real life; my real birth certificate; my real everything.”
“Why are you here?”
I stopped, taking a deep breath, wondering if I should tell him of my feelings or not. I sighed and turned to him, the movement causing a light to turn on. He looked completely confused, and I did not blame him one bit; I would have been confused too. “I don’t think I’ll make it through this mission.”
“Of course you will!” he objected after he finally got my meaning after a few seconds. “You’ll live and watch Terence grow up! You’ll live!”
“Are you trying to convince me, or you?” I asked, knowing the answer already. “You know my gut feelings are always right. They are never wrong, as much as I wish this one was. We talked about what would happen if one of us dies, you take over and keep them safe. Know that I love them.”
“Don’t leave,” he muttered, pulling me close. “I can’t handle loosing you again.”
“You chose the first time,” I said, pushing him away. “Don’t give me that bull shit line when you were the one who walked away, not me!”
“Are we really going to fight about this now?!”
“If not now, when?!” I said, throwing my hands in the air. “Tell me the truth! Do you love me, or don’t you?!”
“Of course I love you!”
“Then act like it!”
He crashed his lips to mine, surprising me, but not enough to make me hesitate for more than a few seconds before kissing him back. His lips on mine, it was what I had been dreaming of for months, and when it was finally happening, it was better.

I kissed his jaw one more time before I buttoned and zipped my pants up. I looked around for my shirt, but I couldn’t find it. I gave up and just pulled my hoodie over my bra. I sighed as I watched Valentine pull his over his messy hair.
“What else is down here?”
“Every mission I have ever been on.”
He walked further down the newly lit hall, stopping at the opening of a large room. He went over to the closest filing cabinet and pulling out the first file he saw.
“Valentine Wright,” he read. He looked up, a hurt look in his eyes. “I was you’re assignment?”
“Keep reading,” I sighed.
“Security Level: Gold.” He looked back up. “Gold? I thought they used numbers?”
“They do, but not for me. I am Gold.”
“So, this is a paper saying I’m…” he trailed off.
“It’s saying that you have the highest security level.”
“Because of you?”
“Because of me,” I nodded.
He took me into his arms and I rested my head on his chest. His heart beat was still slowing down from our previous activity, but it calmed me.
“Promise me, no matter what, that you will always love me.”
“Gwen,” he sighed, causing my heart beat to quicken. “I could never stop.”
“Promise me that you’ll do anything to make the kids happy, along with yourself.”
“I promise.”
“Promise me, that no matter what, you will tell no one of my feelings.”
“I promise.”
“Promise me that you will tell people of me.”
“I promise that I will tell people of your beauty,” he kissed the top of my head. “Your kindness,” He bent down to kiss my nose. “Your willingness to help everybody in need,” he kissed my lips. “Everything that I love about you,” he whispered against my lips before deepening the kiss.
I let out a small whine as he pulled away. “Come back.”
He grabbed my hand. “Not until you show me what you wanted me to see. We have to go back soon.”
I sighed. “I need to show you my wall.”
“You’re wall? You’re wall of what?”
I looked up at him. “The dead.”
“People you’ve killed?”
I nodded slowly. “Or have died with me. I have to warn you, it’s a bit large.”
I turned on the light and turned him towards the wall that has all the photos. The one that has caught my attention quickly that past few months was the sonogram that Carlos took the morning before I was shot. I ignored the burning in my throat. Valentine let go of my hand and walked over to the sonogram.
“He’s beautiful.”
I choked on a sob. Valentine came back to me and held me for the first time since we had lost our child over three months ago. It was more comforting than anyone else, because he was going through the same thing as I was. He knew the emotions I was feeling, the hate I had towards myself for not protecting Snuffy better. Everything I was feeling, he was feeling too.
“We’ll make it through this,” he whispered in my ear. “You’ll live through this, despite what your gut feeling is.”
I sighed. “We need to get back. Remember where this is, because I want it published.”
“Where are we meeting them?”
“Five miles west of here.”
“Where?”
“Jamie’s house.”
He sighed, talking my hand as he pulled away from our embrace. “Guess we better start walking.”
I nodded and started walking to the trap door. I stopped and took my hand from his. I walked back to the wall and took my baby’s picture off the wall. I folded it twice before putting it in my front, left pocket. I scurried back to Valentine, taking his hand and smiling up at him.
“Now we can go.”

“Oh,” Jamie sighed, taking me into his arms. “Thank God. I thought you weren’t going to make it. It's took you forever. What happened?”
“We looked at the shelter. My shelter.”
“Why did you take him there?”
“You won’t like the answer,” Valentine muttered before plopping down on the couch next to John, who still looked sad. “A gut feeling,” he said louder.
“I don’t think I’m making it out of this one,” I said, standing next to Savannah, who was looking up at me. “I’ll try my damnedest, but my gut, it’s never been wrong.”
Jamie came over to me, grabbing my shoulders. “If you leave these children, I will die, drag you back here and kill you myself; got it?”
I smiled, “I know, and I’ll try my best, but I can’t guarantee anything.”
“Stop speaking spy and just give me my damn peace of mind!” he yelled.
“I promise,” I said softly, looking him dead in the eye.
He took a shaky breath, nodding his head in silent thanks. I nodded back and looked at the screen Savannah was looking at. She started typing quickly, trying to gain access to the CIA database. While Valentine and I were at the shelter, she has accessed the NSA, FBI, Mi-6 and MI-5’s databases. Valentine was very impressed by her ease to get into MI-5’s database. It’s a better kept secret than the spooks in the CIA.
“I have compiled a list of everyone who has the security clearance to know about you, but that’s the best I could do.”
“Better than what we had,” I point out, taking the lists.
“Three of them are you, Jamie and Valentine.”
“Why not me and Carlos?” John asked. “Why aren’t we on the list?”
“Carlos isn’t in any of the systems because he doesn’t work for them. He technically works for CPS. You aren’t on them because you haven’t graduated and chosen a profession or where you would like to work,” I said, flipping through the pages. “Savannah, can you get me a list of everyone who have a color for security clearance, any color?”
“Can do,” she said, flipping to a different screen while the other one continued to decrypt things.
“So we’re going in blind?” Jamie asked.
“More like blurred vision,” I said, grabbing a high lighter out of the cup next to the computer screens. “I’m sorry to tell you this Jamie, but you know what I have to do when she’s done.”
He gave a whimper. “Okay,” he said softly. “Just, be careful.”
“You’re coming with us.” I highlighted five names on the NSA list. “You know they’ll do when they get to you.”
“And what would that be?” Johnathan asked.
I looked up at him. “They’ll torture him. They’ll threaten everything he cares about. Then, when he finally breaks and tells them, they’ll kill him. I know you haven’t been in this life long, but you were part of the biggest crime family ever, so you know exactly what they’ll do.”
“I was never apart of that, if you don’t remember a year ago.”
“I remember more than y think I do.”
“Guys!” Savannah said. “I have a hit on something, I don’t know what.”
Jamie walked over to her quickly, typing away at the computers. “Joel, that case I showed you,” he said, looking over to the still silent agent. “You might want to get everyone a gun or two.”
“Who’s coming?” I asked, leaning over to see who’s coming, wincing at the pain of the bullet wound.
“Who isn’t, is more the question,” he grunted. “I see FBI, CIA, and MI-6 so far.”
I sighed, running my hand through my hair. “Trev, I need you to take them to a safe place. Call on the burn phone when you’re safe.” I looked at Joel who was appearing with about ten guns. “John and Joel, back seat of the SUV, Valentine, you’re the best driver.” I looked over a Jamie. “Show them your car. Take the back roads.”
He nodded, throwing the keys to the SUV to Valentine. He grabbed the keys to the Kia Forte. I watched as Savannah quickly printed off the last few pages she had gotten. Jamie kissed his computer before being ushered out of the house by Trevor.
I grabbed the papers before Valentine and Joel pushed everything on the deck to the floor. They made a giant pile. Wired were hanging out and Joel ripped open the computer’s side, exposing the inside. He started a match, dropping it.
I went into the kitchen, grabbing the shot gun from in between the counter and the fridge. I opened the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water. I walked over to the medicine cabinet, telling Valentine to grab a bag from Jamie’s room, before grabbing gauze, tape and aspirin. I dropped them into the bag that Valentine held open for me. I grabbed a box of granola bars and stuffed that into the bag too. Joel moved towards the door as Johnathan took a few guns from him. He threw me one and I easily caught it. I took the bag, stuffing the papers and a highlighter in them before Joel threw his brother a couple.
“Let’s go.”