Secret Agent Man

Gerard felt something brush against his face and draw him out of the comforting fog of sleep. He didn’t want to open his eyes just yet, but once he heard the words spoken to him, he knew he had to change his mind.

“Do you want me to leave without you?” Lyn said softly, trailing her hand along the line of his sunglasses. He reluctantly sat up and opened the car door. He stepped outside and tried not to breathe too deeply; the city air always smelled thickly of water-soaked pollution combined with the other usual scents of such a place. He pressed a button to open the car’s trunk and walked around to it.

A split second later, he was staring straight into the barrel of a handgun. He froze in place and slowly brought his eyes up to meet those of the gun’s owner.

“Hello, Agent Way,” said the voice. Gerard’s breath caught in his throat.

“Matt?”

“Glad to see you still remember my name,” Matt said as he climbed out of the trunk and stood next to the car. Gerard was vaguely aware of the passenger door opening and Lyn stepping out of it, but he couldn’t move his eyes away from Matt’s face.

“Why wouldn’t I?” Gerard asked placidly. “I’d never forget the face of the man who betrayed me on my first mission.”

“Oh, I thought we decided there were no hard feelings about that, Gerard.” Matt stepped closer to him. “Besides, look where you are now. Top operative for the Agency, last I heard.”

“And I didn’t get this way by letting lowlifes like you kill me,” he answered. The sound of a gunshot stung his ears a second later. He expected searing pain to course through his body, but when Matt fell to the ground before him, he sighed in relief and took a moment to breathe. Lyn stood just a few feet away with a pistol casually clutched in one hand. She re-holstered it and retrieved their suitcases from the car as if nothing had happened.

“Thanks for the help, but I could have handled it,” Gerard said with some indignity. Lyn rolled her eyes.

“You’re welcome.”
-
Gerard had intended to ride out the whole plane ride by sleeping, because besides attempting to draw on any nearby scrap paper or conducting awkward small talk with his partner on the next seat, there was nothing to do on the five-hour plane journey. Besides, said partner was already long gone, fast asleep, her head lolling against his shoulder.

Gerard had tried to follow suit, reading the small print on the laminated safety rules and whatever else had been stuffed in the net holder in hopes of making himself sleepy, but would just wake moments later from fluffed black hair tickling his nose. It was annoying, but he didn’t feel compelled to nudge her head onto her own chair. He instead stared out of his tiny window, watching the clouds gently rock the plane wing up and down.

“Here’s your drink, sir.” He turned and took the plastic cup of soda from the flight attendant’s hand, hearing a quiet click as he did so. He noticed the ring on his left hand gleaming in the dim glow of the overhead lights, and felt a tiny smile come to his face upon seeing it. They were traveling together as a married couple, and though he knew the charade was only temporary, the idea of something so normal being applied to him made him want the moment to never end.

When they stepped off the plane and into the terminal, Gerard took a sip from the water bottle he held in one hand and tried not to cough from the sudden wave of dry heat filling his lungs. He felt he should have been used to it by now, but the city never ceased to shatter his delusions that it might be the slightest bit more humid every time he visited it. Lyn seemed unshaken by the sudden climate change.

“I take it you’ve been here once or twice,” he offered as they fought their way through the crowd to get to baggage claim. Lyn glanced at him sideways.

“You have no idea.”

They retrieved their luggage, and he followed her out to the parking garage. The afternoon heat was even more stifling once they stepped through the doors. Lyn walked over to the elevators and pressed one of the buttons. The metal walls of the elevator were covered in red and blue scribbles of marker, showing people’s names, phone numbers, and the occasional random drawing.

“I always did like the Stardust the most,” she said absentmindedly when she stepped out of the elevator a few seconds later. Gerard was a little confused.

“Hm?”

“The floors are named after hotels,” she said, pointing to the sign telling them what level of the parking garage they were on. “This one’s named after the Stardust.”

“I like going to hotels that are still around,” Gerard countered. It wasn’t necessarily true, but he wanted to see her reaction. “The Wynn is nice, and I like the Palazzo enough.”

“You just don’t appreciate old Vegas,” she said with a wry smile as she unlocked a brand new black Mercedes with tinted windows and lights, among other things Gerard was certain had not come with the car. She opened the driver’s door and sat down, but he caught the door before she could close it.

“Please?” he said, trying to look as pathetic as possible, even pouting a little. Lyn glared at him.

“Get your hands off my car.”

Gerard sighed and walked around to the passenger side. Lyn started up the car – he noticed it was a stick shift and immediately had more respect for her – and wove her way through the garage and out onto the freeway. “Where are we staying?” he asked.

“The Red Rock, for now,” she answered as she suddenly accelerated forward, revving the car’s engine as far as it would go before smoothly shifting gears. “We need to be fairly far away from the Strip.”

“Why?”

“We’re less likely to be suspected.” Gerard raised an eyebrow in question, and Lyn rolled her eyes. “Just trust me.”

“You act like I have a choice,” he muttered, still hoping she would hear it. She tried to hide a smirk at his words, but he noticed it anyway and laughed lightly. Lyn couldn’t help it and started laughing as well.

“You’re so ridiculous, Gerard,” she said with a lighthearted giggle that didn’t seem to suit her personality. “What am I going to do with you?”

“You could always let me drive…”