The infos that Bell supposedly had gathered in Da Nang were actually yours. They had been part of the one big success you had managed to pocket in the war.

You still remembered that day.

Adler had appeared out of nowhere to kick you out of his bed. Quite literally, because he grabbed the edge of the bed, shook it and made it turn so that you slid into the crack between the wall and some ammo boxes.

Annoyed, you squeezed your eyes shut, blinded by the burning sun.

"Angel! Time to wake up.", he called out with a cocky grin, already turning to the exit again. "And stop sleeping in my fucking bed."

Throwing on your gear and grabbing a riffle, you jumped after him.

"Never.", you said as teasing as possible.

"If you don't quit that I'll start to think you want to sleep with me in it."

"What can I say? It's just the most comfortable."

"You need to learn that if you want to climb the CIA ladder, you need to arrange yourself with the worst first. Your bed's on the floor for now."

You shook your head and smiled.

"Nah, I'll just leech off your success."

"You really think I'll carry you the way, don't you?", he gave you a gentle hit to the back of your head, making the hat slide into your field of vision.

Chuckling, you fixed it.

"You won't have a choice.", you said and pushed him. "I'll follow your every step from now on."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Playing the little copycat, no?", he asked.

"Only learning from the best, sir."

He pulled a face.

Despite him being a proud man who sometimes came across as too full of himself, he hated being called sir by the people who worked with him.

You had to give him that, whenever someone was under his care, he treated them with respect and not like he was superior.

Adler lead you through the entire Camp Haskins, through terribly improvised shelters, past cars that needed fixing and down some stairs to a field full of helicopters.

Working helicopters.

You had already informed the Soviets a few days before that this camp was off limits, too well protected and too many functioning heavy machinery.

The helicopters were just the icing on the cake, since the other side didn't have a lot of those at hand.

With a gesture of his hand, Adler guided you towards one helicopter in particular.

Sims was already sitting in it, one leg dangling off the side. He had his attention turned to a magazine.

"Hey, Sims!", Adler took the thing. "You know reading that shit is gonna make you go blind."

At first, you frowned in confusion, tilted your head and tried to see what he was talking about.

But Adler noticed your attempt and showed you the full page instead.

"Lovely.", you said in a sober manner. "She must be freezing. Look at her nipples."

Shaking his head, Adler slapped you with the pages.

"Don't go there, angel.", he wanted and pushed you into the helicopter. "You've got a reputation to loose."

Sims laughed.

"He means you're the virgin of the team.", he said.

You gifted him a smirk.

"Ten bucks I've had more women than you.", you said to both of them.

Adler couldn't hide a smile.

"Don't challenge me.", he dropped next to you. "Back home I was quite the player."

You smirked.

"I can tell...", you leaned towards him, so close that he leaned back out of reflex. "Never seen you without the shades, but I'd be lying if I said that you're ugly."

You pushed the glasses up his nose with two fingers.

Struck by the sudden gesture, Adler couldn't respond. He just sat there, frozen and seemed to stare at you.

"Adler, the mission.", Sims reminded him.

Adler swallowed hard.

"Right...", he leaned out the helicopter again, so that everyone could hear. "We've got a new assignment. FOB 4 Ripcord is holding a vital asset that Charlie wants real bad."

"What kind of set are we talking about?", Sims asked.

"The kind you don't ask about. Ripcord has been taking a hell of a beating, so it's our job to secure the asset and get the fuck out."

As the helicopters flew over the mountains of Vietnam, you couldn't help but risk a glance.

The sinking sun was throwing sparks of light over the water, mixing the red and orange with a deep blue.

All of a sudden, Adler's hand held you back.

"Sit down, angel, we don't want you to fly away.", he said and pulled you close.

It was probably just a coincidence, but you felt like his arm wrapped around you for a reason.

You weren't wearing a safety belt, in fact, you were the only one who didn't have one.

So Adler was probably just making sure you were safe and sound.

For a moment, he seemed to be in thoughts. Then he raised his gaze to Sims.

"We're breaking off from the armada, taking a detour.", he informed.

Sims raised an eyebrow.

"And... that's good because?", he asked.

"A source has tipped us off that there might be a heavy hitter in town, a Soviet operate known as Perseus."

As the name Perseus reached your ears, your body stiffened in Adler's grip.

"Perseus?", you asked with bated breath. "The Perseus?"

With a hint of surprise, Adler looked at you.

"You know him?", he asked.

"No. How am I supposed to?"

But before you couldn't explain yourself, Sims made his opinion know.

"Aww, shit!", he cursed.

"Appreciate the enthusiasm, Sims.", Adler joked. "If our source is right, we could be looking at an intel gold mine."

In that moment it hit you.

The Americans were talking about the man that your parents had prepared you for all your life.

Perseus.

The leader, the mind and heart of the Soviet Union.

If you would be able to meet him, you could pass on all your information without having to worry that anybody could manipulate or loose them.

You would be able to tell what the Americans were up to.

You had to meet him.