SUSAN TIPPETT BRAITHWAITE

Welcome to the continuation of Eva and Jack’s story set in the world of The Deniable Unit series. Check out Part One or last week’s episode.

Nightfall brought some relief from the afternoon heat in Valencia. The streets were adorned with strings of tiny lamps lining the way. Jack flexed his grip around Eva’s hand as they headed up the stairs to the hotel she had chosen as their base. The whole plan was ridiculous. Consortium agents didn’t just turn with barely a whisper in their world. There were usually months, if not years, of rumour that someone wanted out. He huffed out a breath.

Eva dug her fingernails into his hand and turned to him with the sweetest smile. “We’re supposed to be here for a good time. Try to look like it.”

A good time would be getting back on the plane and heading home. He smiled. “So, did you beg Harvey to send us here as a couple, or was that just his form of punishment for me?”

“Oh, I begged.” Her lips quirked into a smile, making her nose crinkle like a damned bunny. “It’s easier to kill you and make it look like an accident if we’re a couple.” 

He pried his hand from her grip, wrapped an arm around her, and placed a kiss on the side of her head. Leaning in, he said, “If you wanted to fuck, all you have to do is ask. This,” he waved a hand at the hotel, “is a wee bittie far to go to make it happen. I’m always amenable to a bit of fun.”

Her lips parted, and she locked him with a hooded gaze. “Okay. If you can point me in the direction of a real man, I’m game.”

Ignoring her, he led them toward the stairs leading to their room. They’d checked in a couple of hours ago, and it wasn’t until he unpacked a few things that he realised it was a room, not a suite with two bedrooms. Admittedly, Eva had seemed surprised by that fact, but the woman was a damned good actress.

“Wait.” Eva pulled him to a stop on the first flight of stairs. She pulled out her phone and tapped the screen. “It’s her.”

Finally. As nice as Valencia was, Jack wasn’t in the mood to fanny about looking at the tourist sites. He missed their former team leader, Niall Millar’s, way of doing things. But Niall had gotten himself demoted for punching out one of their bosses on a mission last year. Fucking idiot. Now, Alpha Team was stuck with Eva as their Team Leader and her… unique approach to the job. “What’s she saying?”

“We’ve got ten minutes to get there, or she’s gone.” There was a hint of nervousness in her voice. “You set?”

Jack nodded. When they landed, their first stop was the local Deniable Unit base to arm up. The local team was grateful they were doing the meet. It was too risky for them to do it, as it could risk other ops in the area. He held out his hand for her and led her through the hotel lobby and back out to the street.

Tourists and locals hustled down the vibrant streets in search of dinner. The rich scents of paella mixed with the last of the day’s heat weren’t enough to distract Jack as he scanned the patrons for potential threats or tails as they made their way to the art gallery, where they were meeting the Consortium agent.

Eva wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned against him without breaking their stride. “We’ve got eyes on us.”

“Where?”

“The wean behind us.”

Using the shop windows, Jack spotted the kid—a ten-year-old, he guessed. It wasn’t unusual for spies to use weans to keep watch. Jack slipped his hand into his pocket, pulled out a few notes, and dropped one.

Like a vulture, the kid swooped in behind them, snatched up the fifty Euros and ran in the opposite direction.

Eva sagged slightly against him. “Nice work.”

The woman might be the most annoying person he’d ever met, but she was almost tolerable when they were on the job.

As they neared the gallery, she rechecked her phone. “She’s in the Hall of Mirrors exhibit in the back.”

Jack looked up to the ever-darkening skies. “What a fucking cliché.”

After paying entry to the award-winning angular building, Eva led them through an installation that projected famous works of art onto the walls, floor, and ceiling. Although he wasn’t much into art, he wouldn’t mind visiting again when he wasn’t on the job.

The projections’ reach faded as they entered the Hall of Mirrors exhibition. It was clear that the Consortium agent’s choice of meeting place had nothing to do with the old spy cliché and more to do with the inability to capture anyone in the room on camera. Mirrors of different shapes, sizes, and positions created a fun house mirror effect and a trippy maze all rolled into one. He could barely recognise himself and Eva in the reflections. Flashing lights bounced off the mirrored glass, disorienting him even more. If this was art, he hated it. “Where is she?”

“Over there.” Eva pointed to a pair of feet peeking out from a mirrored panel hanging from the ceiling.

They headed to the corner of the room where the feet were located. A woman in her thirties with short blonde hair edged toward the wall behind her. “Are you Eva?”

Eva nodded. She released Jack’s hand and closed in on the woman. “You are?”

The woman eyed him nervously. “Adrienne Corvasce.”

“Do you have the intel?” The hairs on the back of his neck stood up on end. Something was off, not with the woman, but the fact that this exhibit was empty bar them.

Eva must have sensed it, too, because she grabbed Adrienne’s wrist and said, “Give me the intel, and we’ll get you out of here. Now, or you don’t leave here alive.” It wasn’t a threat.

Adrienne glanced around before pulling a thumb drive from her skirt pocket. “Everything you need to take them down is on this. You need to get me out. They’re going to know I’ve made copies.”

Just as Eva touched the drive, the lights in the exhibit flickered out, plunging the maze into darkness. “Grab her,” she hissed at Jack.

Jack was already reaching for Adrienne when the lights went out, but now she was gone. The clicking of high heels echoed off the walls of glass. “We need to go, Eva.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her close behind him as he felt his way around the labyrinth.

Something metallic slid across the floor. “Flashbang!” He let go of Eva, covered his ears, and squeezed his eyes shut just as the grenade went off. The blinding light still got him.

A hand grabbed him, and for once, he was relieved it was Eva. “Exit up ahead.”

He had to take her word for it. But he didn’t need to see to know that a Consortium armed assault team was right on their tails. Trusting Eva to get them out of there, he fired behind them to keep them at bay.

“Keep moving, Jack.” Eva pulled him up and tugged him out the emergency door.

The night air and soft lights were gentle on his eyes, allowing him to see somewhat. “Where to?” They couldn’t return to the hotel, and going to the local DU base was out of the question. Doing that would only jeopardise the work they were doing in the area. No, they were on their own.

“We need to find Adrienne. She still has the drive.”

Jack nodded. “We will. But first, we need to get the fuck out of here. They won’t stop until they have us.”

Next Episode: Eva & Jack (Pt 5)

This post is my entry for Kevin’s awesome No Theme Thursday challenge, where Kevin shares some of his artwork to inspire us to create!

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I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it!

Stay awesome,

Susan x