Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Kissing Kalliope (Kindle Worlds Novella)

by Amy Briggs

  “Yes. Yes, that’s my understanding as well. I received the email you sent, outlining some of your procedures, and I have some questions for you.”

  “Ok, do you want to go over them now?” I asked. I wasn’t given any itinerary for this entire week, which is probably typical CIA behavior, but I needed some direction here. Specifically now, under these circumstances. My luck couldn’t be worse.

  “Hmm, no. Let’s go over them later. Let’s talk about what’s going on here right now.”

  Come on, really? I had to pretend it was no big deal, but it was a big deal. “Ok, what would you like to talk about?”

  “What would you like to have for dinner tonight?” he asked.

  What? We couldn’t have dinner. No way, not now. “Are you serious?”

  “Yeah, I’m serious. We have all week to talk about work.” He folded his arms over his chest and smirked at me. I couldn’t figure out if he was fucking with me, or if he was for real.

  “We can’t see each other again… socially. We have to work together!” I exclaimed, in the most hushed tone I could muster.

  “Why the fuck not? We don’t actually work together, Kallie. We’re doing a bullshit Public relations assignment for a week. You and I both know that. So, now that we know who the other one really is, let’s have some fun this week. We’ll get the work done, and we’ll both submit our reports to our superiors. Everyone comes out looking like we can play in the sandbox together and at the end of the week, we go back to our regular jobs. What do you say?”

  His reasoning was valid. It was crazy but valid. He was so hot and so charming, and now that I knew he was fucking CIA agent, he was even hotter. I don't care how that sounds. He's a spy, and it's sexy as hell. "Fuck it. I'm in."

  He practically lunged across the desk, and scooped me up into his arms, crushing his lips against mine, taking my breath away. Butterflies, the kind you feel in high school with your first kiss, fluttered inside me, and I dropped the pen I was fidgeting with and ran my hands through his perfectly neat hair. He devoured my mouth, his tongue exploring every inch, and when we came up for air, we both let out a small laugh.

  “I’ve wanted to do that since I left you at the hotel last night.”

  "I'm glad you did." I attempted to fix my lipstick and smooth out my hair. Whatever it was about him, I couldn't resist it. Maybe it was that he was so smart, he was clean-cut and classically handsome, and then there was the whole spy thing. He was the complete package, that's what made him irresistible.

  “All right, we do have to do some work, but now we can have some fun with it. Wanna learn how to be a spy?”

  “Umm, yeah, I do. Has anyone ever said no to that question?”

  "I never asked anyone before. You're the first." He winked, and after adjusting himself, sat back down in his chair across from me. The fact that I turned him on as much as he did me, made me want him even more.

  The rest of the day, he went over the chain of command at the CIA and walked me around to meet a few of his colleagues, as well as his supervisor, who must have arranged this with my Commander. I shared our chain of command as well, which he was already familiar with, and explained my role with Delta Force.

  As an intelligence officer, I had a purposefully generic title, that meant different things for different assignments, but also protected my identity and safety as well. It sounded like a low-level desk jockey, but much of what I did was assist in the planning of missions for Delta, based on the intelligence that we'd gathered. I explained who and what we were dealing with, and made my operational and tactical recommendations, based on the possible outcomes. These outcomes were determined using mathematical algorithms and were graded by level of risk in two areas. The risk to the success of the overall mission, and risk of casualties.

  Ethan listened intently as I explained a typical day leading up to an operation. “So, in your line of work, while it’s a support role, do you carry a weapon?”

  “I do.”

  “Did you carry here?” he asked.

  “I did not. My Commander and I agreed that flying armed was a hassle with TSA, since I’m still a civilian, and it didn’t seem like I’d need it here.” In retrospect, avoiding hassle is akin to taking a shortcut, which I probably shouldn’t have done.

  “I think you should be carrying. So, we’re going to go down to the armory, and take out a loaner weapon for you for the week.”

  “That’s not necessary, I don’t really need it.”

  “It wasn’t a request. I’m insisting that you do. Almost everyone here carries, myself included. While we’re locked down pretty tight, we rarely go anywhere unarmed, particularly not to work, which could be a target for terrorism at any time.”

  Once again, he made a valid point. “Ok, I see your point. But, you weren’t carrying last night, were you?” I undressed him myself and he didn’t have a gun that I found.

  “No, I wasn’t. Because I knew I was going to have a few drinks. That’s the only time I don’t carry, and it doesn’t happen very often. I had a pistol in the car with us, though.”

  This day was really turning out to be something unexpected. Looked like the whole week was going to be an adventure. Well, I’d wanted to expand my horizons. So, while maybe it wasn’t the most conventional approach, it was expanding them nonetheless.

  Ethan

  It took me a minute to get it together, but when I realized that Kalliope Tyson, Intelligence Officer with Delta Force, was Kallie, the hottest fucking woman I’d ever met, and sitting in my goddamn office, I gathered myself and turned a shit show into a fucking amazing week. Not only did we work together, and we actually did share some interesting information with each other, but after work, we shared a lot more between the sheets.

  The first part of the week was spent in the office mostly, but Wednesday, we went out to lunch, and I showed her ways that we might exchange intelligence with informants. Her genuine interest in learning about what I used to do, and what I do now, made the days fun and interesting. While we sat at a café outside, I got up and walked away, then returned as if I were an informant with information on a slip of paper, and showed her exactly how I would leave it behind inside the empty coffee cup across from her. We had fun. She would have made an excellent agent for the CIA, except that she’s so beautiful, she’d probably draw the attention of every man in sight.

  I couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy when other men looked at her. She felt like she was mine, and when we weren't in the office, she was. We'd slipped into a comfortable togetherness in a matter of days. Call it the honeymoon phase, if you want, but it was easy and yet still exciting.

  It wasn't just me who shared, though. She showed me the risk assessment algorithms she used to assess the risk in Delta Force tactical missions, and it wasn't the same formulas we were using. I was definitely interested in sharing that information in my report, as it seemed a tighter, more accurate representation of possible outcomes than what we were currently using.

  I'd been invited to a small, black tie charity event for that Thursday, and had already paid for the tickets. Even though I hadn't intended to go, I thought it might be a fun night out for us on her last night. She'd agreed, and said she’d wear the black dress again. Just the thought of her in that backless dress made my cock twitch, and even though I couldn't wait to see her in it again, I mostly couldn't wait to take it off her again.

  She got ready at my place that night. She was living out of a suitcase in a hotel, so why not live out of a suitcase at my place, where we didn’t have to leave to get food, and we could walk around naked if we wanted. We didn’t do that, but we could. When she stepped out of my room, I felt my jaw drop. If it was possible, she looked even more stunning than the first time I’d seen her.

  “Maybe we should just stay in. It’s your last night here, and I think I’d like you all to myself looking like that.” I kissed her gently.

  “We don’t have to stay all night. It’ll be fun to go out for a bi
t and celebrate.”

  “What are we celebrating?” It didn’t feel like a celebration; I was bummed she was leaving. Even though I was the one who said it wouldn’t go anywhere, I felt like we were just getting started.

  "We're celebrating an absolutely wonderful week, both professionally and personally. Far better than I think either of us expected." She gave me a sweet smile and pressed her lips softly to mine again. I held her there for a moment and realized that letting her go was going to be harder than I thought.

  Begrudgingly, I gave in and we headed out. She kept telling me how sexy I looked in my tuxedo, and while I felt stuffy, she reminded me that I’m a spy, and 007 wore a tux all the time, which helped. We arrived at the museum where the fundraiser was being held, and I had to admit, I was glad we came. I had the most beautiful woman on my arm, and we were mingling with a bunch of rich politicians and beneficiaries. It was nice.

  Until it wasn’t.

  Just as the first course was cleared, the unmistakable sound of gunfire erupted. I grabbed Kallie and hit the floor immediately, simultaneously feeling for my pistol. I didn’t pull it out yet, but needed to reassure myself it was there. It had been a long time since I’d been under any kind of fire.

  "Do you have your weapon?" I whispered in her ear. With wide eyes, she nodded. "I'm going to look and see what's going on." People were screaming, and rapid-fire shots continued to sound every few seconds. I had no idea what was happening, and I needed to assess the situation.

  As I peeked up, I spotted two gunmen, wearing masks. One of them walked out to the dance floor and started to yell. “Everyone, be quiet! This is a robbery. If you cooperate, you’ll all get home safely in your fancy cars tonight.”

  A fucking robbery, at a charity gala in Washington, D.C.? Who the fuck did these clowns think they were dealing with? And where the fuck was security? I didn't understand how they were even able to get in. I saw security at the door on the way in so all I could surmise at that moment was that they were in on it. I crouched back down to Kallie, who had taken her loaner pistol out and was holding it at the ready under the table, giving the “be quiet” sign to the other couples under the table.

  “There’s two of them. I don’t see security anywhere. They’re MIA,” I whispered.

  “Ok, what’s the plan?” she asked.

  “We take them out. Are you up for it?” I asked seriously. She was qualified with a gun, of course, but neither of us were tactical at this point in our respective careers. She reached down to unstrap the heels on her feet, sliding out of them.

  “Yeah. I am.” She gave me a determined look.

  “Ok, we wait for the talker to come over to our side of the room. The other guy is passing around a bag for people to throw their wallets and shit in. We’re gonna have to take him out second.”

  “Got it.”

  I caught a glimpse of the shooter coming our way, assessing the room. It wasn’t a large space, but big enough that he was looking out for people like us, I’d suppose, and his gun was definitely real. I could tell by the sound of the shots fired on his way into the room, which fortunately, were into the ceiling.

  I pulled my gun, and before I made my move, I grabbed her face with my other hand, stealing a kiss. Just in case. You never know. “Be careful, babe.”

  “You too. Let’s do this.”

  There was still enough chaos in the room, between people scurrying under their tables, and shifting around to get their valuables out for these assholes, that I wasn’t spotted by the shooter until I already had him in my sights, with a clear shot. The biggest problem in these situations wasn’t the personal danger at all. It was all the innocent bystanders. I kept looking around the room for the security guards, thinking that they’d make their move at any time, but they didn’t. Taking a deep breath, I stood up and walked out to the center of the dance floor while Shooter One had his back turned.

  “Freeze!” I yelled.

  He turned around and fired a round at me, that luckily didn’t hit me, and I was able to get a shot off myself, dropping him. It was a non-fatal wound, but I needed him to be incapacitated quickly. Screams from around the room started again, and the second shooter started screaming as well.

  “What the fuck! What the fuck have you done!” He was clearly not the ringleader of the operation, and fumbled with the bag and his gun, giving me exactly enough time to get close enough to shoot him without the risk of getting shot myself. I heard two additional shots behind me and when I swung around, ready to shoot, Kallie was standing barefoot, in that sexy ass dress, her gun drawn.

  Dead on his back was one of the security guards, who had tried to sneak up behind me. She’d shot him right between the fucking eyes. That’s my girl. I walked over to him, kicking the gun out of his dead hand, just to be sure.

  The shooter in the middle of the dance floor was groaning after being shot in the shoulder by me, and his buddy wasn’t moving.

  "Call 911! Is anyone hurt?" I yelled out. Nobody appeared to be injured, just shook up. I holstered my gun and pulled my cell phone out of my pocket. I was calling my boss. This was gonna be a stack of fucking paperwork to fill out at the very least, and who was going to take jurisdiction on it was going to be almost as big a shit show as the event itself. I pulled Kallie into my arms and planted a kiss on her head when she leaned into me.

  “Guess maybe we should have stayed in tonight, huh?” She chuckled.

  "Seriously, babe." I looked back over at the dead security guard, who was obviously in on the heist, and squeezed her tighter. "You did fucking awesome, Kallie."

  "Thanks. It seemed like you had the two shooters under control, and I was looking around, trying to figure out where the hell security was, when I caught him trying to sneak up on you. Looks like all that range practice came in handy."

  “It sure fucking did. Nice shot.”

  Kallie

  We answered questions until the wee hours of the night; it was exhausting. It's likely there would be both a commendation, as well as a reprimand in our files after that. I'm pretty sure we broke protocols, but that could have escalated out of hand if we hadn't intervened. I suspected that the other security guards got away, or were paid off to disappear in some way, because there's no way in hell these guys should have been able to get in.

  That being said, we did our duty and explained to eighteen different officers, both local and federal, our side of the story, while they interviewed witnesses around us as well. Ethan had wrapped me in his jacket, as it was getting cold in the room. When we were finally permitted to leave, we walked out and he put his arm around me.

  "How are you doing, babe?" He squeezed me close.

  “Well, it’s been a long night, Ethan.” I looked up into his blue eyes and smiled. I was tired, and I was bummed out that our last night together ended the way it did. It wasn’t exactly romantic.

  “That it has.” He stopped and hugged me tightly. “Let’s go back to my place and relax with a glass of wine. What do you say?”

  “I still have to pack. I’m leaving tomorrow, remember?” I pulled away so I could see his face. His frown, which was more like a scowl, hid what I perceived was disappointment.

  “I remember, but I’m ignoring it. Maybe you should stay a few more days, in case they need you for the investigation.” For the investigation? Come on, dude. Just say you don't want me to go. I'm still gonna go, but don't pretend it's about what happened tonight. Men are so frustrating.

  “I leave tomorrow afternoon, Ethan. I think that we should probably prepare ourselves for that. We knew this was coming when we met. We had a great run, though.” I was basically trying to break it off before he had a chance to. As juvenile as that sounded, I figured it would hurt less that way.

  “A great run?” he repeated, as if it were a question.

  "Don't get mad at me. I live in Texas, and you live in Virginia. They're not exactly close. Come on, let's go." I tried to drag him toward the car.

  “No.”
r />   “What do you mean, ‘no’?”

  “I mean no. It wasn’t a great run. It is a great run. It’s not over.”

  “What are you talking about, Ethan?” He was confusing me, and he also wouldn’t budge. Leaving wasn’t what I wanted either, but what other option was there. I knew after our first night, and brunch the next day, that he was exactly what I’d always wanted in a man. But that didn’t change the fact that he was a fucking spy, and I was support staff for Delta Force. We had jobs, important jobs, for our country, to do, and they were thousands of miles apart.

  “I’m not going to let you end this on me.”

  “What?”

  “Kallie. From the minute I met you, I knew there was something special about you. And yeah, it’s been one week, but it’s been the best week of my fucking life. Don’t tell me you don’t feel it too. I can see it in your eyes. You don’t want to leave.”

  “Of course I don’t want to leave.”

  "Then don't," he said, as if it were that simple.

  “I have a job to do too. A job that’s just as important as yours.”

  He realized I thought he wanted me to quit my job, and quickly corrected himself. “No, no. Stay the weekend. What difference does it make if you go home Friday or Sunday? Stay the weekend with me, and we’ll figure out how to make this work. I’d never ask you to give up what you do. What do you think?”

  “I think you’re crazy, Ethan, that’s what I think.” I couldn’t help but smile. I’d already decided to change my flight when he asked the first time, I just didn’t realize it until that moment.

  “I’m crazy about you, Kalliope.” He grinned, pulling me in for a kiss. “I don’t care if I have to fly to Texas every other weekend, and you come to D.C. in between. I can’t let you out of my life. You’re everything I never knew I was looking for.”

  I felt the same way. I had no idea that he was what I needed in my life. In the brief time we’d spent together, I smiled more than I had in years. We understood each other.