"Can you walk?", Adler asked as you slid off the gurney to get your spinning head to rest.

Grabbing his shoulder for support, you met his gaze and huffed.

"It's a wound in my shoulder, shades.", you smirked. "My legs are fine."

"You're under heavy medication."

"I know. I was a medic."

"That I remember very well."

With a smile, you pushed his shades up with two fingers and walked a few shaky steps on your own.

You sat down at his table and checked the notes.

About 24 hours had passed after you had passed out.

Things hadn't developed drastically worse, but it still didn't look good. Time was running out.

You needed a plan. Now.

"The next mission is about to start.", Adler said and tapped a picture. "Hastings, Theodore. Sounds familiar?"

You shook your head.

"Agent?", you asked.

"Scientist. Hudson believes he'll bring us straight to Perseus."

"Alright.", you forced yourself up again. "What part am I playing?"

For a moment he just started at you.

A shiver made goosebumps grow all over your body.

Something felt different.

"Angel...", he placed both hands on the table and leaned down to you. "Looks at you. You won't go anywhere."

You huffed.

"Who said that?", you asked and met his gaze.

The tip of your nose brushed against his.

He let out a deep breath. His fingers twitched.

He wanted to touch you but knew it would cause trouble again.

"I say you stay here. Hudson is informed.", he finally said.

The scratchy undertone of his voice tingled the back of your brain.

Without thinking, you leaned in to steal a shy kiss from his lips.

Maybe it was the heavy medication you were on, or the knowledge that this would be one of the last opportunities before the wild adventure the two of you had would come to an end.

But you wanted to kiss him.

You needed to kiss him.

It felt like if you'd let that opportunity slide things would turn out worse and you'd regret it.

Adler didn't hesitate to return the kiss.

His hand found the back of your neck, wrapped around it and pulled you so close that it felt like he was trying to keep you from running.

It felt like he knew something was about to happen.

But maybe you were just getting paranoid.

"Russell...", you breathed against his lips and took his taste in by licking them. "I want to remember you in a good way."

He kissed you again.

And a third time after catching his breath.

With more desire and less patience, he started placing so many kisses on your lips that it almost made you break.

"Russell.", you tried to gently push him away.

But he refused.

"You once said you'd do anything to not hurt me.", he said and pulled away, hand still in your neck. "Is that still a promise?"

A slim smile found its way to your lips.

With a loving shimmer in your eyes, you started to caress his scars, just the way you had always done it.

"Even after all this time you still manage to surprise me, Russell Adler.", you mumbled.

"How so?"

"I never thought you'd be so..."

"So what?"

"So needy for someone. I always thought you'd be a lone wolf for the rest of your life. I always thought I'd be one for the rest of my life, just... me, someone who had no one like myself. But... you changed that. And I don't know if I like it..."

He hummed.

A slim smile appeared on his lips. They were swollen from the kisses, shimmering with saliva.

You wanted to taste them again and leaned in.

He allowed you to take whatever you wanted.

Of course he did. He had never managed to tell you no.

Not in this way.

All of a sudden, you but down on the bottom lip, leaving a mark that might as well would turn into another scar.

The taste of iron filled your mouth.

"I'm sorry...", you kissed the bleeding part. "But I need to leave something behind. For you to remember me by."

He licked the blood.

"I will never forget you.", he said and kissed your cheek in such a gentle way it might as well could have been his way of saying he was in love with you. "You made sure of that."

He pulled away, leaving you behind with a mix of regret and pain fighting inside your chest.

It was better this way.

Even though you wished for something else.

"Are they gone?", you asked Sims in a sleepy voice.

He looked up from the car that needed a round of fixing.

"Yeah.", he looked at the clock. "Shouldn't take long. Don't miss the doc too much."

You huffed.

"I don't miss him, Sims."

"That's a lie and we both know."

"Sims."

"Seriously. I've been married for over 20 years. I can tell when two people are in love."

"We're not made for each other."

He shrugged.

"I'd argue differently. You two are too perfect for another. And that's what scares you."

Swallowing hard, you turned on your heel and walked off into the back of the room.

A radio was standing ready. You knew that it was one of Park's. And the MI6 loved to secure their lines.

That meant no matter to whom you'd send something, the others would never know.

You had to take a deep breath before switching the signal on.

You still remembered one secret Soviet channel that Perseus always preferred to use. You even still remembered the codes he used.

Your hand reached out.

But for the breath of a second, you thought about leaving it.

Maybe there was something good for you in America.

Maybe.

But you were Soviet. You had to be Soviet.

Otherwise, all those years of hide and seek would have been for nothing.

So you started sending the message.

"I'm bringing Russell Adler's team. Meet me and Perseus' right hand man at Duga.", you send, but faltered again for a moment. "Bring an army. We will take them out once and for all."