For Love or Country

by Jesse Jordan

  I mount the back steps and stop, listening as the man at the front door argues with the pizza delivery guy, who's insisting on his sixty dollars, man, or else his boss is going to fire him. I try the door and find it unlocked, pushing it open carefully and checking the kitchen area that it opens up to. All clear.

  I don't want to hurt the pizza guy, so I wait until finally, in a spate of yelling, the guards pay the delivery charge. “Jesus, this is fucking stupid,” one of the guards says as the delivery dude pockets his money and hands over the receipt. “What the hell is this for, anyway?”

  “What do you think, dumbass? We got distracted,” another guard says as he closes the door. “Get those fucking pies down and spread out, someone could be here.”

  “Someone is here,” I tell them, stepping out of the kitchen and leveling my M-4 at full auto. I sweep from left to right, just like I've been taught, starting at waist level and trying to keep the rounds down. The rapid spitting sounds of the burst sounds more like a stutterer trying to say pepper than twenty rounds of death, but in the end, the room is clear, and so far there's no response from upstairs.

  I go up the stairs quickly, checking doors as I do, until I kick in the door to the lit master bedroom, my rifle at the ready. Ivan's strapped to the bed, his body covered by a blanket and his mouth covered with a gag, Ashley sitting in a rocking chair with a watch in her hand, smirking. “Nice time. But....”

  “But you missed something,” Simon says, stepping out of the blind spot behind me with a pistol in his hand. “Remember, never forget to check your corners.”

  I sigh, setting my paintball rifle down and raising my hands. “Man... sorry Ivan, I guess we're both dead.”

  “Actually, you did a very good job,” Ashley says. “Seriously that idea of using the pizza guy? Genius. I gotta mention that to the Colonel, he'll get a kick out of it. And you neutralized both the outside team and the inside team without them getting a single shot off. However, since Simon did just shoot you in the head, you gotta pay for the pizzas.”

  “That'd be nice,” one of the 'dead' guards says, coming up with two boxes in his hand. “Hey, couldn't you have ordered something besides plain pepperoni?”

  “I figured that would be the quickest to get here,” I tell him, fishing my wallet out of my pocket and taking out three twenties. “Here. Did you tip him?”

  “Ten bucks,” the guard says, and I fish out another twenty. “Hold on, I got change for you.”

  “Don't sweat it. You'll get me next time,” I tell him, and he grins. I don't know his name, but he's got the air of an experienced operator, and I'm glad to make connections with him.

  “Not bad for a butter bar,” he says, offering his hand. “Not bad at all. The name's Finn.”

  “Christina. That's Ivan over there.”

  Finn nods, and hands over the two pizzas in his arms. “Here, you earned these. Me and the boys will take the other three and take off for the night. Simon, you'll get our report in the morning. Overall... good job for a first timer.”

  Finn leaves, and I look at the two pizzas in my arms, feeling like I've actually accomplished something. I go over to the bed and set them down, freeing Ivan's gag and giving him a kiss. “Sorry baby.”

  “That's okay, you'll get them next time. Just remember, I get to do the same thing sometime in the next few weeks,” Ivan says, smiling. “What do you guys think?”

  “There's some room for improvement, but Finn's right Christina, you did a great job for a first timer,” Simon says. “You should be proud of yourself.”

  I sit up and chuckle, shaking my head. “You know guys, you keep praising me like this, and I'm going to think I'm actually going to be able to kick some ass on this job. A lot different than at the Academy.”

  “We'll take that as a compliment,” Simon says, reaching over and grabbing the top pizza. “Seriously, relax, think over what happened, and we'll review the video tapes in the morning. Speaking of which....”

  Simon goes over to the corner, where I see there is a video camera set up, and pulls the power cord, wrapping it up. “You guys get to keep this house for the rest of the night, the clean up crew will be here Sunday at ten. Half day at the Annex, starting after lunch.”

  I grin, it's a heck of a reward, and I nod gratefully to Ashley. “So... what about unlocking Ivan?”

  “We figured we'd let you do that,” Ashley says with a twinkle in her eyes, grabbing the other pizza and setting it on the dresser. “The keys are under the pizza. See you guys.”

  I give Ashley and Simon a confused look as they leave, both of them trying not to laugh, before I turn to Ivan. “Uh, why didn't they unlock you?”

  “Take the blanket off any you'll see,” he says, his grin growing when I take the blanket off to see that he's naked underneath. My eyes immediately go to his cock, which twitches and starts to stiffen, rising in front of my very gaze. “I had to convince Simon to let me do this, he thought it was hilarious. Ashley teased me that I have a latent bondage streak because of it.”

  “Hmmm... well, let's see if that's true,” I tease, reaching for my belt. “Or maybe we'll just have a little fun.”

  “And the pizza?”

  “I love cold pizza.”

  Chapter 20

  Ivan

  I can't really believe that I'm the same guy that stepped out of Fort Leavenworth nine months ago. Yesterday, walking through the mall in Richmond, I was able to strike up conversations with six different women, each time using my newfound slightly Southern accent, and at no time did any of them question if it was genuine or not. Christina was a bit jealous when I showed her the four phone numbers I collected, although we both got a laugh out of it. “I never knew just how extensive your skills were. You had that one girl practically eating out of the palm of your hand, and she didn't bat an eye when you said you're from Newport News.”

  “It's a gift, and a curse,” I tease, using a quote from my newfound favorite show on Netflix. “But none of them compare to you.”

  Christina smiles in appreciation and gives me a kiss on the cheek. “Fine play, mister. Come on, let's get home and relax. With Simon and Ashley out of the country for the next few days still, I'm looking forward to just being able to train on our own.”

  It is another strange thing about our recent training. While Finn and some of the other men who have stepped in as opposition forces during field problems have come into the Annex to assist us when needed, the majority of our training for the past three weeks has been by ourselves. We receive daily tasks from Simon or Ashley via email or video conference, doing them on our own. There's freedom, but still a lot of expectation to perform each day. We haven't been slacking off one bit.

  Driving back to the house, I use the two hours on the highway to give Simon a call on our duty phone. “Hello?”

  “Hey Simon, it's me,” I greet him, using my 'American' voice. I feel like showing off a little. “You free?”

  “Yeah, me and Ash are just chillin' in the visiting NCO barracks,” Simon says. I'm not sure what their mission is right now, but I have gotten clues. They're in Germany, and at least one of them is pretending to be a NCO of some type. “She's catching a workout in at the fitness center. What's up?”

  “Just heading back from the mall, wanted to check in. Total success, Christina's got the video to upload when we get back. How's the phone voice sounding?”

  “Pretty good dude. How's the California coming along?” Simon asks, and I grumble, making him laugh. “Not a problem, start with just one and then you can go from there. Okay, go back to your normal voice, before you weird me out.”

  “Thank you,” I answer, letting go of the accent. “I feel like how those British actors do when the director calls cut, and they let go of their American accents. It's fun, but I feel better in my normal voice.”

  “Good. All right, I'm going to take you at your word on your training mission. When you two get back home, check your laptop. There's going to be an email, with you
r first mission. I hope you two are ready to get cold again, because I'm sending you guys up to Fort Drum.”

  Christina is sleeping peacefully in bed while I sit up, drinking coffee at one in the morning two nights before we leave for Fort Drum, nervous. My laptop dings, and I see that it's Simon, giving me a video call. He must have seen my email, and that I was online. I pick up, and give the cameras a second to come into focus. “Shouldn't you be in bed?”

  “Can't sleep,” I reply, sipping at my coffee. “This crap probably doesn't help, but after tossing and turning for an hour to the point that I was keeping Christina up, I decided to come out here. Am I disturbing you?”

  “No, just got done with unit PT. I still have two hours until I start work. What's got you up?” Simon asks, rubbing at his hair. He's trimmed down to just inside military regulations again, and to be honest he looks different that way, much more like the photos after his escape from North Korea. “You look worried.”

  “I am,” I admit. “Simon, I'm a confessed spy, and a man who still doesn't feel one hundred percent comfortable in the United States. What happens if I screw up?”

  “That happens,” Simon admits. He chuckles, and rubs again at his hair. They've done something to it, maybe highlights, maybe a bit of a dye job, but it's just enough that it does change his appearance more. “Did you know, my very first mission with the 52nd, I had my cover blown exactly four hours after the start of my mission?”

  “Really?” I ask, surprised. “What happened?”

  “Ashley and I were sent to Schofield Barracks in Hawaii, and we had pretty simple covers. She was supposed to be my wife, I was supposed to be an officer, that's nearly foolproof, right? Well, I get there, get checked in to my 'new unit,' and barely have my damn paperwork turned in before I'm walking across the parking lot towards the on-base shuttle bus, and one of my own classmates sees me and hollers out my name. My target for investigation was fifteen feet away, total cover blown. Probably the shortest mission in the history of the 52nd,” Simon says with a laugh. “Four hours, zero results. Ashley hadn't even had a chance to unpack her swimsuit from our suitcase, and we're on a flight out of Hawaii. It wasn't even a civilian flight, we had to make our exit on a damn C-17 just to make sure that we didn't cause any further damage to the investigation.”

  I chuckle, nodding. “How'd Ashley respond to that?”

  “Well, the kids were still with their grandparents for a little while, so when that Globemaster landed in San Diego we took a day and went to the beach there, and paid for a night in the Coronado hotel out of pocket. She forgave me pretty quickly with that,” Simon says with a wistful smile. “It turned out to be a good weekend.”

  “So you're telling me that shit happens?”

  Simon nods, chuckling. “Yeah. Ivan, the fact that shit happens is exactly why we're set up in partnerships. There have been times that means we've done all sorts of strange setups. I've been Ashley's husband, her subordinate, her civilian spouse, she's been a civilian... it's always worked out. Because we trust each other with everything, man. More than the 52nd, I have faith and trust in her. She's the one who has nursed me when I've had PTSD flashbacks, as you figure I have. Sometime, I'll tell you more about what they did to me in North Korea. But.... Ashley's always been by my side. You've got a partner too, so you're going to be fine. Christina knows her shit, she'll have your back, and you have hers.”

  “I will... thanks, Simon. Uh, I think I might try to get some sleep, but thanks for the talk.”

  Simon nods, and looks off screen. “Okay babe, just a minute. All right man, breakfast time. I'll check in with you later. Don't sweat it, Ivan. You'll do fine on this mission.”

  The screen goes black, and I sit back, thinking. Simon's right, Christina knows how to do her job, her growth as a person and as an all around badass in the past few months has been phenomenal. There are almost no signs of the insecure, shy girl who compensated by being overly eager to please that I met back at West Point. She's still sweet though, that core of her personality hasn't changed at all, and she's more loving than ever.

  “I need to go all-in,” I whisper, making a decision. Sure, it's one thirty in the morning. Yes, I don't have a driver's license. But, sometimes, the needs of life don't fit normal schedules, and as I grab the keys to Christina's Honda, I am glad that I have money in my checking account. Six months of busy training hasn't left us with a lot of time to waste money, and I need it right now.

  “Where in the world have you been?”

  I'm surprised when I get back at three, it took me longer to find what I wanted than I thought it would, and Christina's sitting up, her pistol sitting on the table, her eyes filled with worry and anger. I thought I'd been quiet leaving, and it was still the middle of the night, she's usually such a deep sleeper that I thought I could be back without disturbing her.

  “Ah, well, I went out for a little bit. I had an errand I had to run,” I say, glad that my purchase is in the pocket of my coat. “I didn't think I'd wake you up.”

  “You didn't, which is what scared the hell out of me!” Christina says, getting up. “Ivan, you're on parole! You get pulled over by some Smokey Bear who decides that you're doing thirty seven in a thirty five and he realizes that you don't have a license, and you're liable to get yourself shot!”

  She comes over, and I take her hands, but she pulls away. “Ivan, I'm serious! You can't just go running off, you scared the hell out of me!”

  I say nothing as I get down on one knee, taking out my purchase from my pocket. I open the box, and show her the small ring inside, not much, the diamond is barely a visible speck, but it's all that I can give at this time. “So am I. Which is why I went out and got this. Christina Logan... would you marry me?”

  Chapter 21

  Christina

  Ivan's on his knee, and the ring in his hand is small, probably all he could afford to put on his bank card at two in the morning, but all I see is the look in his eyes and it all makes sense. The nervousness I felt earlier, the tossing and turning, all of it. My anger evaporates, the fear replaced by the love I feel for Ivan.

  I know my answer even before I reach for his hand. “Yes, Ivan. I'll marry you.”

  Ivan smiles and takes the ring from the box, and I let him slide it on my finger, where it rests, perfectly sized. “How'd you know?”

  “I've held your hand so much, and felt your fingers on my skin, I just knew,” he admits, standing up. We kiss, but before it can go any further, he yawns, grinning foolishly. “Sorry.”

  “Don't be,” I reassure him, kissing his lips. “Instead, carry me to bed, let's both get some sleep, and then after we wake up... we'll celebrate.”

  Ivan grins and picks me up, I always love the feeling of being in his arms, the effortless strength he shows as he carries me to our bedroom and lays me down, stepping back to strip down to just his underpants before climbing into bed next to me. I curl up, his muscular arms wrapping around me to hold me safe and sound, and our fingers intertwine, the slight pressure of my engagement ring reminding me that this is all real, it's not a dream yet, even as I drop down into sleep.

  I don't remember any dreams, but the next thing I'm aware of is the soft tickling of Ivan's lips on my neck as he kisses me, small little butterfly kisses that send warm tingles down my spine. “Mmmm, good morning Mr. Vasushenko.”

  “Good morning to you, future Mrs. Vasushenko,” Ivan purrs, pulling me close. “Did you sleep well?”

  Ivan's hand slips under my nightshirt to cup my left breast, squeezing gently and making me moan, my hips shifting back on their own to feel his cock pressed against my ass, already hard and ready. “I'm not sure if I'm awake yet or having a very delicious dream.”

  I reach behind me and run my hand along Ivan's cock, massaging it as he kisses my neck and strokes my breast, his fingers playing with my nipple until it's hard and aching, my pussy wet with desire for him. “We've never made love just after waking up before. Even that first weekend, we showe
red first.”

  “I remember,” Ivan whispers, turning me onto my belly. I roll, enjoying the sensation of his hands as he slides on top of my legs, pinning me to the mattress but not hard, close enough that I can feel the heat of his cock through my panties but not pressing. “Would you like a rub down in the morning?”

  “I would love that,” I sigh happily, turning my head to the side and closing my eyes to enjoy the feeling. Ivan pushes my nightshirt up, and I squirm a little to let him get the tank top up and over my head, taking it from him and setting it on the floor next to our bed while lifting my hips up so that Ivan can do the same with my panties. Ivan kneels over my hips again, and even with my eyes closed I can feel that he's taken off his underpants, his cock is resting hard and warm against my right hamstring. “Say... massage first, Mister. At least my back.”

  “I plan on it, my lady,” Ivan rumbles, his hands stroking up and down my spine. He starts nearly feather light, just hard enough that it doesn't tickle but instead relaxes me before his thumbs and hands start to move in circles, kneading the muscles around my neck and shoulders before working the middle back. Swimming and all the training have left my back strong, but also it's the place where I carry all my stress, and as he works my flesh, I'm purring happily. I wiggle my hips teasingly, feeling his cock settle on the seam between my thighs, causing me to smile even as Ivan moans lightly. “You're teasing me, beautiful lady.”