Fic: One More Cup of Coffee - ABOFL
Title: One More Cup of Coffee
Author: jade_starlight
Fandom: ABOFL
Pairing: Tony/Control
Rating: PG-13 for violence
Word Count: 35,639
Warnings: none
Author's Note: This fic more than likely would never have been finished if not for zekkass constant encouragement. Here's hoping it's worth the wait. *g*
Summary: When Tony is sent on an undercover mission things go terribly awry and it's up to Control to save him.
It was going on eleven in the morning when Tony Murchison tapped lightly on the door to Control's office and poked his head in, a cup of coffee in one hand. He was slightly concerned when he noticed that Control was standing by the window rather then sitting behind his desk, momentarily afraid that Control might be about to take another tumble. He let out a nearly silent sigh of relief when he saw that the window was safely closed, and therefore it was very unlikely that Control would be going for another dangerous six story fall.
"Good morning, Control. Is there something on your mind that is causing you to stare out of the window, or are you perhaps just enjoying the view?"
Control visibly started, one hand going up to rest on his chest as he turned towards the door. "Ah, Tony. You gave me quite a fright. I'm afraid that I was completely distracted and didn't hear you come in."
Tony frowned apologetically, carefully sitting the cup of coffee he had brought in for Control on the desk next to a small stack of pale blue folders. "I am sorry, Control. I didn't mean to startle you, and I must say that I am quite relieved that your window isn't open, otherwise my startling you might have caused you to fall out of the window again, and that wouldn't have been a good thing at all."
Control nodded as he moved over to his desk and sat down. "It's quite all right, Tony. And I must agree with you that falling out of the window again wouldn't have been a good thing at all. Though even if I had done so, it wouldn't have been your fault." He sighed, reaching out and taking a slow sip of his coffee. "I suppose you were wondering just what it was that had me so distracted, Tony."
Tony nodded, holding his hands behind his back at a sort of loose parade rest. "I must admit that I am curious, Control, but I wouldn't want you to be telling me anything that I didn't need to know, something that was a secret that only Control would need to know."
Control sighed again. "Unfortunately, Tony, this is something that you do need to know, even though I'm not ashamed to say that I rather wish you didn't."
"Whatever do you mean, Control?"
Tony's blue eyes were concerned, and Control had to take a deep breath and look away before he could speak again. "Do you remember two years ago, Tony, before you were assigned as the Subsection Chief of the East Germany and Related Satellites Department?"
"Yes, Control, as a matter of fact I do. I was working undercover in Eastern Europe before you so very kindly decided to give me a promotion to my current desk job. But what does this have to do with whatever it is that you wish that I didn't need to know, if I may ask?"
Control took another sip of his coffee, trying to convince himself that he wasn't stalling. It wasn't like he could somehow get out of explaining things to Tony, because he couldn't, no matter how much he might want to. "Well, Tony, there have been some developments lately that I'm afraid to say have our masters in Whitehall quite concerned about the way things are going in Eastern Europe right at the moment. And they have asked me to give you a new assignment."
Tony blinked at him in confusion. "What sort of new assignment, Control? Is someone unhappy with my performance at the East Germany and Related Satellites desk?"
Control shook his head, feeling quite bad about making Tony feel less than adequate, even inadvertently. "No, Tony, nothing of the sort. It's quite the opposite, in fact. Some people were actually so impressed by your performance undercover that they've requested that you be sent back under for a special assignment."
Tony's eyes widened, the bright blue going somehow a bit darker. "I'm being sent back undercover, Control? I had thought that once I came back to London and was assigned to the East Germany and Related Satellites desk that I wouldn't be sent out into the field anymore."
Control nodded tiredly. "That was my intention, Tony. I know that you didn't enjoy your time undercover, and I do wish that you didn't have to go back. Unfortunately, it's completely out of my hands. They asked for you specifically by name."
"Well, Control, I can certainly understand your reluctance to tell me what was bothering you. In your position, I wouldn't have wanted to tell me, either. But I suppose there's nothing to do but to buck up and get on with it."
Control was quite impressed at how well Tony was taking the news, and that just made everything harder. Control hated the fact that he would be sending Tony out into danger with no way for Control to keep him safe. That had actually been the most pressing reason he had moved Tony to the East Germany desk since it was a fairly safe, but still quite important, assignment.
He handed Tony one of the blue folders and flashed him an apologetic smile. "I really am sorry about this, Tony. If it were completely up to me I would find another agent to send out into the field, but it seems that our superiors consider you to be the only man for the job. All of the information you'll need for the mission is in that folder, and you have an entire week to prepare before you'll have to leave for Germany."
Tony opened the folder and glanced briefly over the top page. "Well, everything seems to be in order, Control. I suppose that I'll take this back to my desk and go over everything then."
Control nodded, fingers tightening slightly around his coffee cup. "If you have any questions about your assignment, or any concerns, please do come and ask me about them, Tony. The last thing I would want would be for you to go undercover and still have questions about the assignment."
Tony smiled, eyes lightning slightly. "Thank you ever so much, Control. If I run into any problems before I leave, you'll be the second one to know...right after I know about them myself." Then he dipped his head towards Control and quietly left the office.
Once he was alone Control reached up to rub one hand against the side of his face, still being careful not to muss his hair. After all, part of being Control was keeping properly groomed. He wasn't at all ashamed to say that he was worried about Tony, and the other man hadn't even left the building yet.
He'd had a fairly irrational desire to keep Tony Murchison safe and happy almost from the moment that he had first met the other man. He wasn't sure if it was the glint of innocence in Tony's big blue eyes that even years of working undercover hadn't managed to completely dim, if it was the sweet smile that Tony could flash him seemingly almost without thinking about it or if it was something else altogether. All Control knew was that he hated the idea of Tony in danger, and he had no choice but to send him out into it, completely alone.
He reached for his coffee and drained the cup in one long swallow. It was times like this that he really disliked being Control.
* * *
Tony was quiet as he made his way from Control's office back to his desk. He smiled automatically at Valerie as he passed by her desk, but most of his attention was focused on the innocent-looking blue folder that was resting under his arm. He had taken it for granted that once he was given a desk job that he wouldn't ever need to go undercover again. He knew that the undercover work was important, and he was comfortable enough with himself to admit that he was fairly talented at it, but he couldn't help but wish that someone else was taking this new assignment instead.
He forced back a shiver as he thought back to his last undercover assignment before Control had given him the promotion to the East Germany and Related Satellites desk. More things had gone wrong with that assignment than even Control knew, and Tony knew there was no way that he would ever tell Control the extent of the damage that he had suffered.
Tony took a deep breath, dropped the innocuous blue folder on his desk and made his way to the coffee making area. He glanced around to make certain that no one was paying him any attention and proceeded to make himself a hot cup of tea. He knew that it was rather silly to be afraid that someone would see him drinking tea, but the whole sorry thing was actually a bit embarrassing.
Despite the fact that Tony was known all around the Secret Service for his coffee-making skills, he never actually drank it himself. In fact, though he would be loath to admit it to anyone, he had only learned how to make good coffee for Control. It was a small thing that made the other man happy, and since Tony had always felt that he owed Control something for pulling him from undercover work and giving him a rather important desk job instead, he had learned how to make the perfect cup of coffee.
He made his way back to his desk, cup of tea in one hand. He would have to see if he could teach Valerie to make a proper cup of coffee before he left. After all, just because he wouldn't be present was no reason for Control to have to settle for mediocre coffee. Valerie tried quite hard, and he admired her for it, but her coffee just wasn't that tasty. Perhaps he would leave her a written set of instructions. He nodded firmly, then turned his attention back to the blue folder.
His hand shook slightly as he reached out to flip it open, and he slowed his breathing until his hand was finally steady. The file was clear and his assignment seemed fairly simple. He was to go to Western Germany and investigate the allegations of corruption among some of the other British agents. It seemed that certain Soviet agents were managing to slip in and out of the country much more easily than they should have been able to do, taking sensitive information that they should never have seen back with them. And the higher-ups were afraid that one or more of the British agents in the area had turned.
Tony's job was to find out, and if necessary to infiltrate their organization. He sighed softly. He wasn't looking forward to this assignment at all.
* * *
Tony left his office at five o'clock sharp, the folder with the information about his new undercover assignment tucked safely into his briefcase. He headed upstairs, lips curling up into a smile when he noticed Valerie still sitting at her desk in front of Control's office.
"Hello, Valerie. Is Control still in his office, I wonder?"
Valerie smiled at him, tucking a loose strand of blond hair behind her ear. "I'm afraid not, Tony. You just missed him. He said something about getting ready for a dinner meeting, and running some errands for Mrs. Control."
Tony sighed in disappointment. "Thank you anyway, Valerie. I was hoping to catch him before he left for the night, but I suppose I'll just have to speak with him in the morning when I bring him his coffee." He ran a hand through his hair and straightened his shoulders. "Good night, Valerie."
"Have a nice night, Tony. Do try not to work too hard."
He flashed her a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I shall do my best, Valerie. Good night."
He headed back out of the building, nodding absently to fellow agents as he passed them. He had wanted to discuss a few things about his new assignment with Control before he went home to his empty flat, though if he was honest with himself it was more that he wanted to spend time with the other man before he had to leave than that he had any real problems.
Even if this undercover assignment went off without a hitch, unlike the last one that he still hated to remember, it would be hard to be away from Control for however long it took to complete his mission. Plus, he would hate not knowing if anyone else was taking proper care of Control; making sure that he left the office on time, that he always got his cup of coffee before lunch and that he didn't take any more spills out of the sixth floor window.
He sighed as he got into his car, setting his briefcase in the passenger seat. He paid only enough attention to the road to keep from causing an accident, most of his brain occupied with compiling a mental list of all the things he would need to do before leaving at the end of the week. He would need to make certain that anything perishable was out of his flat, ask someone to come in every other day while he was gone to water his few small plants and pick up his mail, and in general just make certain that nothing was going to go wrong.
Tony supposed that he could ask his neighbor, old Mrs. Howlett, to check in on things, though he did hate to be a bother to her. After all, she was getting on up in years, and she did already have a young granddaughter that she often looked after during the day. He would hate to put more work on her, and he knew that if he asked she would most likely wind up completely cleaning out his flat just to be nice. And that simply wouldn't do.
He could ask Valerie to check in on things for him. She was a sweet girl, even if she did have difficulties making good coffee, and she would probably be perfectly happy to help him out. Though she might possibly be a little too happy to help him out, as Tony was growing a bit suspicious that Valerie just might have some romantic inclinations towards him, and asking her to take care of things in his flat while he was gone might be seen as an encouraging gesture on his part.
Tony liked Valerie well enough, certainly, and thought that any other gentleman would be quite lucky to romance her, but he simply wasn't interested. He wasn't sure how to explain it to Valerie without hurting her feelings, or even worse letting on how he felt about Control, so he simply pretended that he didn't realize what was happening when she tried to flirt with him. He knew it wasn't the best way to go about it, but he couldn't think of anything else to do.
He parked his car next to his building and got out, wincing as pain began to throb behind his eyes. He had known the headache was coming from the moment he heard about his new assignment, and it most likely wouldn't let up completely until after the entire undercover assignment was complete and he was back home safe in London, but he hadn't expected it to begin quite so soon.
The headaches were a leftover from his last undercover assignment, one of the things that he had never admitted to Control. He wasn't sure if there was still some physical cause, or if the headaches were now just a psychological response to the stress of even considering undercover work again. The doctor he had seen two years earlier had said that his head injury was completely healed, though he had stated that Tony would probably be more prone to headaches than he had been in the past.
The headaches weren't usually a problem, more often than not manifesting merely as a dull throb behind his eyes that could be cured by a mug of hot tea, a dark room and an occasional painkiller. Unfortunately, Tony was afraid that it wouldn't be the case during his new assignment. Between the stress of the mission itself and his painful memories of his last undercover mission he was more than likely going to spend the entire mission in quite a lot of discomfort.
He flinched as he slid his key into the door lock, even that small noise making the pain spike. Tony knew that he was heading for a full-fledged migraine, and it would only be through sheer luck that he might be able to avoid the worst of it. He carefully walked into his flat, closing and locking the door behind him and dropping his briefcase and jacket in a nearby chair. He headed straight for the bathroom, pulling out a bottle of painkillers and taking one dry, biting back a cough.
Five minutes later he was in bed, the covers pulled up almost to his nose and the curtains tightly closed to keep out the light. Eventually, the pain lost some of its sharpness and Tony was able to fall into an uneasy sleep.
* * *
He groaned when the alarm clock woke him the next morning. The sharp pain of the night before was gone, but it had left a vague feeling of nausea and a lingering tiredness in its wake. He pushed himself slowly out of bed, scrubbing both hands across his face and through his hair. Then he took a moment to just close his eyes and breathe. He would need to be on top of his game in order to hide his discomfort from Control.
After all, it simply wouldn't do for the other man to worry about him before his new mission.
It only took about half an hour for Tony to shower, shave and make his way into the kitchen. He wrinkled his nose at the idea of trying to eat his usual breakfast, and finally settled on eating a couple of pieces of plain toast with his morning cup of tea.
Twenty minutes later Tony was out the door, the briefcase containing the blue folder clutched in one hand. He spent the drive to the office trying to talk himself into a more positive frame of mind, though he only managed to convince himself that he was positive that something was going to go terribly wrong on his new assignment.
He managed to at least look like there was nothing wrong by the time he made it to the office, smiling genially at the other agents as he passed them in the hallway. He slid behind his desk with a soft sigh of relief, almost melting back into his very comfortable chair. He dropped his briefcase on the floor next to his desk, deciding on the spur of the moment that he wasn't going to even think about it until after he had eaten his lunch.
He buried himself in the other work on his desk; filling out forms and reading over intelligence reports, making mental notes of anything that he thought he should bring up in conversation when he brought Control his morning cup of coffee. He had gotten about halfway through the pile of folders on his desk when he finally glanced up at the clock.
"Oh, bother. It's already eleven o'clock, and I haven't brought Control his coffee yet. I do hope he isn't upset that his morning coffee is late."
He headed for the coffee making area, sighing in relief when he noticed that there was already a fresh pot of coffee made. He poured it into the cup, then measured out the precise amount of milk necessary and making absolutely certain to leave out the sugar. Then he made his way quickly but carefully up to Control's office on the sixth floor.
He tapped lightly on the office door before poking his head in and smiling at Control, who was sitting behind his desk and doing some sort of paperwork.
"Hello, Control. Sorry that I'm late with your coffee, but I'm afraid that I got caught up in my work and completely lost track of the time."
Control looked up and smiled, eyes lightning as he dropped his pen to the desk. "That's quite all right, Tony. I hadn't even noticed that it was getting to be that time. I was rather engrossed in my work as well."
This time Tony's smile reached his eyes. "That does make me feel somewhat better, Control. I admit that I was a bit concerned that you would be wondering where your coffee was since I hadn't yet brought it to you." He sat the coffee cup on the desk in front of Control, then stepped back and folded his hands behind his back.
"I do appreciate it, Tony, even if it was a few minutes late. After all, you don't actually have to bring me any coffee at all."
Tony flinched slightly at that, but quickly smoothed his expression back out. "I realize that, Control, but I rather enjoy bringing you coffee." He flinched again, desperately hoping that Control hadn't picked up on the wistful edge to his voice.
Apparently he hadn't as he just smiled. "And I must admit that I'm rather happy that you do, Tony, as I believe that I would miss it if you didn't bring me my morning coffee every day."
Tony's smile faded a bit at that. "I suppose that the next little while will be rather difficult for you then, Control, as I won't be here to bring you your morning coffee while I'm on assignment."
Control frowned, slumping a bit in his chair. "Oh, I hadn't thought of that. I will miss your coming into the office every morning and bringing me coffee, Tony, but I shall soldier on so long as I know that you'll be coming back. You will be careful while you're undercover, won't you, Tony?"
"Of course, Control. After all, the mission wouldn't be much of a success if I didn't remain safe in order to finish it properly and report back in." The idea that Control was concerned about his safety gave Tony a pleasantly warm feeling, though he was careful not to read too much into it. After all, Control was concerned about the safety of all of his agents, which was one of the things that made him such a good leader.
There was a slightly uncomfortable silence before Tony straightened his shoulders a bit and spoke again. "Well, I suppose I'd best be getting back to my desk, Control. I still have quite a bit of paperwork to finish up before I leave for my new assignment."
"I won't keep you then, Tony. But please don't hesitate to stop back by my office if you need anything before you leave." Control flashed him an earnest smile as he reached for his coffee and took a sip, his smile widening slightly as the taste of the coffee slid across his tongue.
Tony just dipped his head slightly as he turned to go. "Thank you, Control. I will." And before he could say something that he would regret, Tony slipped out of Control's office and silently closed the door behind him. He would go have an early lunch, then look carefully over the file with his new assignment.
* * *
The week passed by much more quickly than Tony had anticipated, and soon it was time for him to leave. He had finally asked Valerie to check in on his flat periodically despite his misgivings, and had made certain to give her a few coffee-making lessons which she had seemed to appreciate. Her coffee still wasn't quite like his, but he thought that Control would at least appreciate the effort she put into it.
He had done his best to avoid Control on his final day in the office, as he was quite worried that the stress of his situation might cause him to say something that he shouldn't. The last thing that Control needed was to be worrying about Tony's less than platonic feelings for him, and the last thing that Tony himself needed was to be worrying about Control's reaction to said feelings. Tony, at least, would be under quite enough stress as it was without going looking for more.
However, he hadn't been able to resist taking Control one last cup of morning coffee, though he hadn't stayed in the office very long for chit-chat. He had simply given Control his coffee, made a few comments about the weather, asked about Mrs. Control and left with a sad smile.
And now he was on a plane, winging his way towards Germany and his new undercover assignment. He closed his eyes, leaning his head back and squirming slightly in his seat in an attempt to get more comfortable, a feat which was quite difficult in the cramped quarters of the airplane. He finally sighed and admitted defeat, as there was no way that he was going to be able to shift his long legs into a comfortable position.
His contact was going to be meeting him at the airport, though the file hadn't mentioned just who that contact would be. He just knew that his contact was supposed to approach him once he got off the plane and tell him the code phrase, which he was supposed to answer with another code phrase. He hated to admit it, since he was a secret agent after all, but the lack of solid information and the cloak and dagger doings were making him a bit nervous.
He'd had a fairly steady headache ever since he'd first been told of his new assignment, though so far the pain hadn't gotten too intense. He was uncomfortable, certainly, but he had managed to push the pain back mostly through rest and tea. He did his best to keep the painkillers for the really bad headaches, and so far he had only had to indulge in them twice, which made him feel a bit better.
Though from what he had gathered from the file his headaches might actually make his masquerade a little more realistic. He was supposed to be undercover as a former intelligence agent who had been drummed out of the secret service due to a bungled mission which had resulted in several other agents' deaths, as well as injury to himself, and was looking for revenge. The fact that his headaches actually were the result of a mission gone awry was just this side of a cruel irony.
He was pulled out of his thoughts as the plane began to land. He made sure that all of his things were organized and put away properly, then clicked his seat belt closed. The landing was smooth, and soon the passengers were disembarking. Tony managed to slip through them, his height and natural grace making it fairly easy for him not to be trampled.
He had just managed to snag his luggage when a fairly nondescript man in a trench coat stepped up to him and gave him a bland smile. "Have you ever seen Surrey in the morning?"
Tony's pulse sped up very slightly. That was the code phrase that he had been told to listen for. "I prefer it in the afternoon, with a nice cup of coffee." He had thought that the return code phrase was a bit odd, and still did, but the words tripped off his tongue easily enough all the same.
His contact smiled, but it didn't seem to reach the rather cool green eyes. "Come with me, please, Mr. Murchison. We have quite a lot to do, and not a lot of time to do it in." Then he turned and walked away, never even bothering to look back and make sure that Tony was following.
Tony just sighed, picked up his bags and began to walk after him, stretching his legs just enough to catch up without looking like he was hurrying. He could already tell that this assignment was going to be a long one.
* * *
It was half past eleven when Control was finally able to put his finger on just what had been bothering him. Tony Murchison was on a plane to Germany, and therefore had been unable to bring him his morning cup of coffee. That fact brought his mood crashing down as he couldn't seem to keep himself from thinking of all the things that could happen to Tony while he was away.
Eventually he shook his head, forcing the negative thoughts back down and picked up the phone. "Valerie, could you possibly pop in and bring me a cup of coffee? Thank you kindly, Valerie." He hung up the phone, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose.
He truly had hated sending Tony back undercover, especially in an assignment where he had virtually no backup. He had his suspicions about what had happened to Tony on his last undercover assignment, though he had never asked the younger man about any of it. He couldn't help but think that perhaps he should have, but he couldn't bear the thought of causing Tony even more pain than he had already suffered, and forcing him to remember what Control feared had happened would certainly have done just that.
He blinked when his office door slowly opened, then smiled slightly when he saw Valerie carefully poking her head in. "Do come in, Valerie. I appreciate your bringing me some coffee, as it isn't actually part of your job."
She just smiled, setting the cup on the desk in front of him. "It's really no bother. Besides, Tony asked me if I wouldn't mind making sure that you had your coffee while he was gone. He even showed me how to make it just the way you like it. I hope I didn't get it too far off the mark."
Control's smile widened a bit at that. He had always known that Tony took good care of him, but he hadn't even considered that Tony would go so far as to teach Valerie how to make a proper cup of coffee. He took a small sip, and was pleasantly surprised. It still wasn't quite as good as Tony's coffee, but it was a fairly close facsimile.
"This is quite nice, Valerie, thank you. It tastes almost exactly like Tony's." He was exaggerating just a bit, but the brilliant smile on her face was worth the slight fib. And since the coffee did taste quite good, even if it wasn't just like Tony's, the fib was very small so he didn't feel too terribly bad about it.
Valerie's eyes were almost sparkling. "Thank you, Control. I was so hoping that I'd gotten it close to right. I'd best be getting back to work now. Do call me if you need anything else, won't you, Control?"
He nodded, taking another sip of coffee as she nearly skipped out of the office and closed the door. Once he was alone though, his smile faded. He couldn't help but think that Tony teaching Valerie how to make coffee the way he liked it was a sign that the other man was afraid that he wouldn't be coming back from this assignment, and the idea sent cold chills down Control's spine. He simply couldn't bear the thought that he might not see Tony again.
Control tried to push his worries about Tony to the back of his mind. He had enough problems of his own to deal with, principle among them being the lingering fear that something wasn't quite right here in the office. He was aware of the potential corruption that Tony was overseas investigating, but he had recently begun to fear that there was corruption in the London office, as well. He had no proof yet, but there was some sensitive information that had gotten into the hands of the Soviets recently that shouldn't have.
He couldn't help but wish that Tony was there to help him with the possible mole. Tony was the one person in the entire office that he knew he could trust absolutely, and the other man often had a fresh way of looking at things that would help Control to make the proper decision. Plus, he couldn't help but want Tony to be where he could see the other man and know that he was safe. Though if he was correct and there was a mole in the London office, neither one of them was particularly safe at the moment at all.
* * *
Valerie made her way back to her desk, still smiling. Control was finally pleased with her coffee, which she knew would make Tony happy. She thought it was sweet that he was so concerned about Control, and had put extra effort into learning how to make the coffee for Control properly. It was thrilling to know that her hard work had paid off.
As she slipped into her chair and smoothed her skirt she couldn't help but hope that Tony would make it back safely from his new assignment. She was terribly worried about him, and had decided only about an hour after he had left that once he returned she was going to tell him how she felt about him. It probably wasn't quite the thing to do since they did work together, but she didn't think she could stand to see him going off into dangerous situations without his knowing that someone loved him. It just wouldn't be right.
It had made her feel all warm and tingly when Tony had asked her to check in on his flat until he got back. She was trying not to read too much into it, but there had been a light blush staining his cheeks and he had had trouble meeting her eyes when he asked, which gave her hope.
And when he arrived back home, safe and sound, she would ask him straight out how he felt about her.
* * *
Tony hated to admit it, even to himself, but he was floundering. His contact, whose name he still didn't know, had placed his luggage in a car and then led him to a small outdoor cafe where the two of them had ordered food and then proceeded to simply sit in silence. He forced himself not to fidget, calling on all of his experience as an undercover agent to remain at least visibly calm.
His headache had grown more severe, and he knew that he was going to have to take a painkiller as soon as he was somewhere alone. Even if he hadn't been getting an odd feeling about his still-unnamed contact, which he was for some reason, he wouldn't even consider making a weakness like that public while on such a dangerous mission.
He picked at his food, the mixture of nerves and discomfort completely robbing him of his appetite. He wondered absently how Control was doing, and whether his coffee-making lessons had helped Valerie at all. He knew that it was important that he complete this mission, but he really wished that he was back home in London.
The longer they sat in the cafe in silence, the stronger Tony's feeling that something was terribly wrong got. His contact hadn't done anything overtly suspicious yet, but he also wasn't acting quite right either. It wasn't until he noticed the slowly growing smirk on the other man's lips that his suspicions turned into dread. Something was very definitely wrong.
Tony glanced casually around the cafe, his attention sparking on two men who seemed to be trying quite hard not to look at him. They were sitting at opposite ends of the cafe, each of them sitting alone with only an untouched cup of what he assumed was tea in front of them. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a large dark automobile slowly pulling up in front of the cafe. The two men he was watching noticed as well, and both rose to their feet and began making their way unobtrusively towards him.
He glanced back at his contact, took in the amused smugness in the other man's expression and bit back a mental curse.
'Oh, bother.'
It seemed as though the corruption was a bit more widespread than anyone had anticipated, and the fact that his contact (who might not even be his real contact, proper code phrase or no proper code phrase, for all Tony knew) was in on it did not bode well for Tony or his mission. The mission, however, could wait. Tony himself could not.
His thoughts whirled as he tried to figure out the best way for him to get out of the predicament alive. Finally he gave a mental shrug, reached for his practically untouched cup of coffee and flung the contents into his smirking contact's face. Then while the other man sputtered and frantically tried to wipe the lukewarm coffee out of his eyes, Tony jumped from his chair and dashed back into the cafe.
As much as he wanted to slip out into the Berlin traffic, something that would have made it much easier to evade his pursuers, it simply wasn't possible. Between the other two men still in the cafe and however many more might have been in the waiting car there was simply no way for him to escape that way. Instead he slipped inside, easily dodging tables and customers alike as he made his way towards the back of the building.
He ducked into the restroom, a small smile twisting his lips as he realized that he was inside the ladies' room rather than the mens'. If he was lucky, that might just confuse his pursuers enough to buy him another minute or two to escape. He looked quickly around the room, thankful that it seemed to be empty, and his eyes lit up when he saw the window in the far wall that looked just large enough for him to fit through.
He glanced around once more before sliding the window open, breathing a sigh of relief when it opened smoothly and quietly. Then he jumped up and pulled himself through, wincing as his stomach got caught momentarily on the sill. With one final jerk he managed to free himself, then twisted as he fell so as not to hurt himself when he landed on the rough pavement below.
The alley he was in was luckily not a dead end, so Tony snuck quietly but quickly towards the exit furthest from the men he knew were following him, making sure to stay close to the wall. Once he made it, he poked his head around the corner and let out a silent sigh when he couldn't see anyone suspicious. He ducked back into the alley, straightened his clothes, took a deep breath and marched out onto the street, doing his best to look as though he belonged.
His heart was pounding in his ears as he walked, but no one seemed to take any notice of him. He tried to keep his breathing even and his pace steady, as the last thing he needed was to look as though he were in a hurry. Anything that drew attention to himself needed to be avoided at all costs.
Tony kept walking for about ten minutes, not really concerned about the fact that he was getting progressively more lost as the minutes rolled by. So long as no one found him, he could deal with getting lost. After all, he was fairly good at getting himself un-lost, so it wasn't really a worry.
Eventually he decided that he had lost his pursuers and started looking for a phone. He only had access to what was in his pockets as all of his luggage was still in the car that the man he had thought was his contact had picked him up in at the airport, so there was no way that he could leave on his own. His only hope was to get in touch with Control, who he knew would do anything in his power to help, even from back in London.
He finally found a phone booth and stepped inside, rummaging in his pockets for enough change to make the call to London. He cradled the receiver between his shoulder and his ear, then slid the coins into the slot. He punched in the proper numbers almost without thinking, and his breath rushed out when he finally heard Control's voice.
"This is the Secret Service. Control speaking."
Tony closed his eyes in relief, leaning his head against the side of the phone booth. "Hello, Control. I do so hate to be a bother, but I'm afraid that I've run into a slight problem."
He could almost picture Control frowning at him when the other man answered. "Tony, is that you? I had thought that you were supposed to be on assignment in Germany, unless I'm quite mistaken about that."
Tony shook his head even though he knew Control couldn't see it. "You're not mistaken at all, Control. Unfortunately that is the problem that I've run into. I have reason to believe that the man that was sent in as my contact is actually a double agent, and that he had intended to capture me, more than likely in an attempt to discover more of our secrets. I was only barely able to escape."
"Are you quite all right, Tony?" The concern in Control's voice made Tony feel quite warm and safe, even though Control countries away. "I must say that I never would have sent you on this assignment if I'd had any idea that something like that would happen."
Tony's lips curled up in a small smile despite the precariousness of his position. "I'm all right for the moment, Control, though I certainly can't make any promises of that if they should happen to find me. Unfortunately all of my luggage and things are gone, as they were in my contact's car, and I have no way to get back to England on my own. I am sorry to be so much trouble, Control, but I'm going to need a bit of help."
"You aren't any trouble at all, Tony. If anything this whole sorry predicament is my fault for not checking up on things properly." Control paused, and Tony could hear the faint sound of files rattling through the phone. "Philip is currently in Paris, and he can be in Berlin within only a few hours to get you. Can you manage to avoid detection until then, Tony?"
Tony almost collapsed under the weight of his sheer and utter relief. "Of course, Control. I shall make my way back to the airport and await Philip's arrival. I do hate that my assignment had to end this way, though."
Control sighed. "I know, Tony, but it isn't your fault. It seems as though we shall simply have to bring in the entire German network and reassign a whole new group of agents until we can determine which are still loyal and which are not. The very idea is absolutely galling." His voice gentled slightly. "Philip should be in Berlin soon, Tony, and he'll get you back here safe and sound. I'm going to call him just as soon as I finish speaking with you."
"Thank you, Control. I'm not at all ashamed to say that I feel much better now knowing that you're taking care of things. I suppose I should stop talking so that you can get in touch with Philip now. I should be in the airport waiting for him when he arrives."
A slight smile was audible in Control's voice. "Philip will be there as soon as possible, Tony. Then you'll be back home and we can put this whole sorry mess behind us. Do be careful until Philip gets there, though, won't you, Tony?"
Tony nodded. "Of course I will, Control. If all goes well I should see you back in the office in the morning." He paused for a moment, trying to soak up all of the reassurance that he could from Control's presence on the telephone. "Good-bye, Control."
"Good-bye, Tony. Everything will work out, you'll see."
Even after he heard the click that signaled that Control had hung up the phone Tony remained standing in the phone booth for another few minutes. He had run an emotional gauntlet in a very short period of time, going from suspicion to utter terror and then to wonderful relief, and he wanted to be certain that he was once again steady on his feet before he tried to move.
He finally forced himself to walk away, hands in his pockets and shoulders slightly slumped. He was tired, and trying not to draw attention to himself, and for once simply couldn't be bothered to try to stand up straight. He started heading in what he was fairly certain was the general direction of the airport, not even bothering to try to get a taxi since he had virtually no money. It wasn't so far that he couldn't walk, and it would be easier to avoid any other agents on foot.
Keeping one eye focused on his surroundings, Tony couldn't help but wish that he were back home, making Control a cup of coffee. Though hopefully he would be back in London soon enough.
* * *
Eric pressed the stop button on the recorder that was hooked up to his tap of Control's office phone and smiled with satisfaction as he reached for his own personal phone. He knew that his superior would be most pleased with his information, especially in light of the retrieval team's dismal failure. None of the agents in Germany had thought for a moment that someone like Tony Murchison would be able to escape them, and had therefore ignored his warnings.
But Eric had seen Murchison in action, though that had been about three years previous, and he knew that even two solid years flying a desk wouldn't strip the other man of his abilities in the field. He had tried to tell them that Murchison would catch on to their rather simplistic plot, that the other man was surprisingly good at disappearing into thin air no matter where he was, but they hadn't listened.
Now the other field agents would be in a great deal of trouble, and he would be the one to save their proverbial bacon.
"It's Red Riding Hood. Murchison got away from the retrieval team, but he's going to be waiting for a pick up in the airport. You need to snatch him before the next flight from Paris arrives and he meets up with Philip. You should have a few hours."
He listened for a moment, nodding at his contact's instructions, then hung up the phone. The new plan had been set in motion, and there was no stopping it. He almost felt bad for Tony Murchison and what the other man would have to endure once his associates caught him, but he put the faint stirring of sympathy out of his mind. He had a job to do, and there was no place for soft feelings anywhere in it.
* * *
Control sat the phone receiver down and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. The call to Philip had gone off without a hitch, and the other man was already on his way to retrieve Tony. Philip was completely aware of the possible danger, and had reassured him that he would be in and out of Berlin with Tony as quickly as possible and no one would be the wiser.
However, the fact that Tony had needed retrieval so soon, or at all for that matter, was weighing heavily on Control. He hadn't wanted to send Tony on an undercover assignment in the first place, especially not one where the other man would be trying to ferret out British agents who had defected to the East. It was simply too dangerous, and if there was one thing that Control hated it was the idea of sending Tony into danger. Unfortunately he hadn't had a choice, and as he had feared, things had simply fallen apart.
He jerked his head up when he heard the door open, and tried to smile when he saw Valerie coming in. The smile faded completely, though, when he noticed that she was bringing him a cup of coffee.
She frowned as she sat the cup down on the desk. "Is something wrong, Control? Is there anything I can do?"
Control shook his head and reached for the coffee cup. "I'm afraid that Tony has run into some problems with his assignment, Valerie, and I'm a bit concerned about him. It's nothing for you to worry about, though." He did hate fibbing to her like that, but telling her the truth wouldn't have done any good and would just have made her worry as well. Besides which, there were some things that Valerie simply wasn't supposed to know.
Her eyes widened and she reached up to twist a lock of blonde hair. "Oh, how terrible. I do so hope that everything turns out all right."
Control forced a rather weak smile. "I'm sure that it will, Valerie. Tony is, after all, a very good agent."
She smiled and nodded. "Of course, Control. You're quite right. I suppose I had best get back to work now. Enjoy your coffee." Then she slipped back out of the office, closing the door behind her.
The smile virtually fell from Control's face the moment Valerie was out of sight. He had a bad feeling that something still wasn't right, that Tony was still in danger and there was nothing that he could do about it. All he could do was sit and wait. And sitting and waiting for news about Tony was something else that Control hated, almost as much as sending Tony into danger in the first place.
* * *
It took Tony almost two hours to reach the airport, and he was extremely thankful that it didn't seem like anyone had followed him, as he was simply too tired to even consider anymore daring escapes through bathroom windows. He made his way towards the gate where Philip's plane would be landing and almost fell into a chair, dropping his head back to rest against the wall and closing his eyes.
He didn't think anything of it when someone sat down in the seat next to him, but his eyes snapped open when he felt something poke him in the side. He glanced down, and his breath caught when he realized that it was the barrel of a gun.
"I wouldn't make any sudden moves, Mr. Murchison, if I were you."
The voice was familiar, and Tony slowly looked up and met the icy green eyes of his German contact. This was not good at all.
"And just so you don't get any bright ideas about making a run for it again, please take a look around."
He did, and went pale when he realized that there were at least three other agents milling around among the oblivious travelers.
"If you try to escape again, Mr. Murchison, we are fully prepared to simply open fire right here, with all of these people around. And somehow I don't believe that you want those innocent lives on your conscience. Now, come with me and no one will get hurt."
Tony deflated, then slowly nodded his head. He was well and truly caught this time, and there was no one there to save him. He could only hope that Philip would figure out what had happened and get word back to Control. And hopefully Control would be able to think of some way to rescue him, before it was too late.
He slowly rose to his feet when his contact prodded him with the gun, and let the other man slide in behind him as they began to walk. The gun barrel pressed insistently against his ribs, and he knew that if it wasn't for the threat of their killing civilians he would have easily been able to disarm the other man, a fact which made the whole sorry affair even more grating.
His headache was returning with a vengeance, though he did his level best not to show it. He did wish, however, that he had taken the opportunity to take a painkiller when it had presented itself. Though he supposed that if he had, while it might have relieved some of his pain it might also have slowed his mind, which was something that he couldn't afford.
Tony let the other man lead him out of the airport, spine almost ramrod straight as he walked. No one was paying them any attention at all; which on the one hand was a relief in that it meant that there was no reason for the corrupt agents to shoot anyone, but on the other hand was a bit disappointing in that it also meant that no one was going to try to help him because they didn't know that anything was wrong.
He briefly considered an escape attempt as they reached the car, but quickly realized that it would be doomed to failure. There were still enough people wandering around to make an attempt at escape simply too dangerous, and he would either be shot and killed or fairly easily recaptured. No, he would have no choice but to go with them and just hope that an escape opportunity would present itself later. Or, of course, that Control would somehow find a way to rescue him.
The hand on the back of his head as he slid into the car made him flinch, especially when he felt the other man's fingers hesitate for a long moment in his hair. The pain in his head spiked suddenly, making his vision temporarily white out, and when he could see again he was squeezed in the backseat of a nondescript car with a silent agent on each side boxing him in. He jumped when he felt cold metal snapping around his wrists, a small bit of hope dying when he looked down and saw the handcuffs binding his hands.
Escape was still possible, but it was looking more and more unlikely.
Part Two
Author: jade_starlight
Fandom: ABOFL
Pairing: Tony/Control
Rating: PG-13 for violence
Word Count: 35,639
Warnings: none
Author's Note: This fic more than likely would never have been finished if not for zekkass constant encouragement. Here's hoping it's worth the wait. *g*
Summary: When Tony is sent on an undercover mission things go terribly awry and it's up to Control to save him.
It was going on eleven in the morning when Tony Murchison tapped lightly on the door to Control's office and poked his head in, a cup of coffee in one hand. He was slightly concerned when he noticed that Control was standing by the window rather then sitting behind his desk, momentarily afraid that Control might be about to take another tumble. He let out a nearly silent sigh of relief when he saw that the window was safely closed, and therefore it was very unlikely that Control would be going for another dangerous six story fall.
"Good morning, Control. Is there something on your mind that is causing you to stare out of the window, or are you perhaps just enjoying the view?"
Control visibly started, one hand going up to rest on his chest as he turned towards the door. "Ah, Tony. You gave me quite a fright. I'm afraid that I was completely distracted and didn't hear you come in."
Tony frowned apologetically, carefully sitting the cup of coffee he had brought in for Control on the desk next to a small stack of pale blue folders. "I am sorry, Control. I didn't mean to startle you, and I must say that I am quite relieved that your window isn't open, otherwise my startling you might have caused you to fall out of the window again, and that wouldn't have been a good thing at all."
Control nodded as he moved over to his desk and sat down. "It's quite all right, Tony. And I must agree with you that falling out of the window again wouldn't have been a good thing at all. Though even if I had done so, it wouldn't have been your fault." He sighed, reaching out and taking a slow sip of his coffee. "I suppose you were wondering just what it was that had me so distracted, Tony."
Tony nodded, holding his hands behind his back at a sort of loose parade rest. "I must admit that I am curious, Control, but I wouldn't want you to be telling me anything that I didn't need to know, something that was a secret that only Control would need to know."
Control sighed again. "Unfortunately, Tony, this is something that you do need to know, even though I'm not ashamed to say that I rather wish you didn't."
"Whatever do you mean, Control?"
Tony's blue eyes were concerned, and Control had to take a deep breath and look away before he could speak again. "Do you remember two years ago, Tony, before you were assigned as the Subsection Chief of the East Germany and Related Satellites Department?"
"Yes, Control, as a matter of fact I do. I was working undercover in Eastern Europe before you so very kindly decided to give me a promotion to my current desk job. But what does this have to do with whatever it is that you wish that I didn't need to know, if I may ask?"
Control took another sip of his coffee, trying to convince himself that he wasn't stalling. It wasn't like he could somehow get out of explaining things to Tony, because he couldn't, no matter how much he might want to. "Well, Tony, there have been some developments lately that I'm afraid to say have our masters in Whitehall quite concerned about the way things are going in Eastern Europe right at the moment. And they have asked me to give you a new assignment."
Tony blinked at him in confusion. "What sort of new assignment, Control? Is someone unhappy with my performance at the East Germany and Related Satellites desk?"
Control shook his head, feeling quite bad about making Tony feel less than adequate, even inadvertently. "No, Tony, nothing of the sort. It's quite the opposite, in fact. Some people were actually so impressed by your performance undercover that they've requested that you be sent back under for a special assignment."
Tony's eyes widened, the bright blue going somehow a bit darker. "I'm being sent back undercover, Control? I had thought that once I came back to London and was assigned to the East Germany and Related Satellites desk that I wouldn't be sent out into the field anymore."
Control nodded tiredly. "That was my intention, Tony. I know that you didn't enjoy your time undercover, and I do wish that you didn't have to go back. Unfortunately, it's completely out of my hands. They asked for you specifically by name."
"Well, Control, I can certainly understand your reluctance to tell me what was bothering you. In your position, I wouldn't have wanted to tell me, either. But I suppose there's nothing to do but to buck up and get on with it."
Control was quite impressed at how well Tony was taking the news, and that just made everything harder. Control hated the fact that he would be sending Tony out into danger with no way for Control to keep him safe. That had actually been the most pressing reason he had moved Tony to the East Germany desk since it was a fairly safe, but still quite important, assignment.
He handed Tony one of the blue folders and flashed him an apologetic smile. "I really am sorry about this, Tony. If it were completely up to me I would find another agent to send out into the field, but it seems that our superiors consider you to be the only man for the job. All of the information you'll need for the mission is in that folder, and you have an entire week to prepare before you'll have to leave for Germany."
Tony opened the folder and glanced briefly over the top page. "Well, everything seems to be in order, Control. I suppose that I'll take this back to my desk and go over everything then."
Control nodded, fingers tightening slightly around his coffee cup. "If you have any questions about your assignment, or any concerns, please do come and ask me about them, Tony. The last thing I would want would be for you to go undercover and still have questions about the assignment."
Tony smiled, eyes lightning slightly. "Thank you ever so much, Control. If I run into any problems before I leave, you'll be the second one to know...right after I know about them myself." Then he dipped his head towards Control and quietly left the office.
Once he was alone Control reached up to rub one hand against the side of his face, still being careful not to muss his hair. After all, part of being Control was keeping properly groomed. He wasn't at all ashamed to say that he was worried about Tony, and the other man hadn't even left the building yet.
He'd had a fairly irrational desire to keep Tony Murchison safe and happy almost from the moment that he had first met the other man. He wasn't sure if it was the glint of innocence in Tony's big blue eyes that even years of working undercover hadn't managed to completely dim, if it was the sweet smile that Tony could flash him seemingly almost without thinking about it or if it was something else altogether. All Control knew was that he hated the idea of Tony in danger, and he had no choice but to send him out into it, completely alone.
He reached for his coffee and drained the cup in one long swallow. It was times like this that he really disliked being Control.
* * *
Tony was quiet as he made his way from Control's office back to his desk. He smiled automatically at Valerie as he passed by her desk, but most of his attention was focused on the innocent-looking blue folder that was resting under his arm. He had taken it for granted that once he was given a desk job that he wouldn't ever need to go undercover again. He knew that the undercover work was important, and he was comfortable enough with himself to admit that he was fairly talented at it, but he couldn't help but wish that someone else was taking this new assignment instead.
He forced back a shiver as he thought back to his last undercover assignment before Control had given him the promotion to the East Germany and Related Satellites desk. More things had gone wrong with that assignment than even Control knew, and Tony knew there was no way that he would ever tell Control the extent of the damage that he had suffered.
Tony took a deep breath, dropped the innocuous blue folder on his desk and made his way to the coffee making area. He glanced around to make certain that no one was paying him any attention and proceeded to make himself a hot cup of tea. He knew that it was rather silly to be afraid that someone would see him drinking tea, but the whole sorry thing was actually a bit embarrassing.
Despite the fact that Tony was known all around the Secret Service for his coffee-making skills, he never actually drank it himself. In fact, though he would be loath to admit it to anyone, he had only learned how to make good coffee for Control. It was a small thing that made the other man happy, and since Tony had always felt that he owed Control something for pulling him from undercover work and giving him a rather important desk job instead, he had learned how to make the perfect cup of coffee.
He made his way back to his desk, cup of tea in one hand. He would have to see if he could teach Valerie to make a proper cup of coffee before he left. After all, just because he wouldn't be present was no reason for Control to have to settle for mediocre coffee. Valerie tried quite hard, and he admired her for it, but her coffee just wasn't that tasty. Perhaps he would leave her a written set of instructions. He nodded firmly, then turned his attention back to the blue folder.
His hand shook slightly as he reached out to flip it open, and he slowed his breathing until his hand was finally steady. The file was clear and his assignment seemed fairly simple. He was to go to Western Germany and investigate the allegations of corruption among some of the other British agents. It seemed that certain Soviet agents were managing to slip in and out of the country much more easily than they should have been able to do, taking sensitive information that they should never have seen back with them. And the higher-ups were afraid that one or more of the British agents in the area had turned.
Tony's job was to find out, and if necessary to infiltrate their organization. He sighed softly. He wasn't looking forward to this assignment at all.
* * *
Tony left his office at five o'clock sharp, the folder with the information about his new undercover assignment tucked safely into his briefcase. He headed upstairs, lips curling up into a smile when he noticed Valerie still sitting at her desk in front of Control's office.
"Hello, Valerie. Is Control still in his office, I wonder?"
Valerie smiled at him, tucking a loose strand of blond hair behind her ear. "I'm afraid not, Tony. You just missed him. He said something about getting ready for a dinner meeting, and running some errands for Mrs. Control."
Tony sighed in disappointment. "Thank you anyway, Valerie. I was hoping to catch him before he left for the night, but I suppose I'll just have to speak with him in the morning when I bring him his coffee." He ran a hand through his hair and straightened his shoulders. "Good night, Valerie."
"Have a nice night, Tony. Do try not to work too hard."
He flashed her a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I shall do my best, Valerie. Good night."
He headed back out of the building, nodding absently to fellow agents as he passed them. He had wanted to discuss a few things about his new assignment with Control before he went home to his empty flat, though if he was honest with himself it was more that he wanted to spend time with the other man before he had to leave than that he had any real problems.
Even if this undercover assignment went off without a hitch, unlike the last one that he still hated to remember, it would be hard to be away from Control for however long it took to complete his mission. Plus, he would hate not knowing if anyone else was taking proper care of Control; making sure that he left the office on time, that he always got his cup of coffee before lunch and that he didn't take any more spills out of the sixth floor window.
He sighed as he got into his car, setting his briefcase in the passenger seat. He paid only enough attention to the road to keep from causing an accident, most of his brain occupied with compiling a mental list of all the things he would need to do before leaving at the end of the week. He would need to make certain that anything perishable was out of his flat, ask someone to come in every other day while he was gone to water his few small plants and pick up his mail, and in general just make certain that nothing was going to go wrong.
Tony supposed that he could ask his neighbor, old Mrs. Howlett, to check in on things, though he did hate to be a bother to her. After all, she was getting on up in years, and she did already have a young granddaughter that she often looked after during the day. He would hate to put more work on her, and he knew that if he asked she would most likely wind up completely cleaning out his flat just to be nice. And that simply wouldn't do.
He could ask Valerie to check in on things for him. She was a sweet girl, even if she did have difficulties making good coffee, and she would probably be perfectly happy to help him out. Though she might possibly be a little too happy to help him out, as Tony was growing a bit suspicious that Valerie just might have some romantic inclinations towards him, and asking her to take care of things in his flat while he was gone might be seen as an encouraging gesture on his part.
Tony liked Valerie well enough, certainly, and thought that any other gentleman would be quite lucky to romance her, but he simply wasn't interested. He wasn't sure how to explain it to Valerie without hurting her feelings, or even worse letting on how he felt about Control, so he simply pretended that he didn't realize what was happening when she tried to flirt with him. He knew it wasn't the best way to go about it, but he couldn't think of anything else to do.
He parked his car next to his building and got out, wincing as pain began to throb behind his eyes. He had known the headache was coming from the moment he heard about his new assignment, and it most likely wouldn't let up completely until after the entire undercover assignment was complete and he was back home safe in London, but he hadn't expected it to begin quite so soon.
The headaches were a leftover from his last undercover assignment, one of the things that he had never admitted to Control. He wasn't sure if there was still some physical cause, or if the headaches were now just a psychological response to the stress of even considering undercover work again. The doctor he had seen two years earlier had said that his head injury was completely healed, though he had stated that Tony would probably be more prone to headaches than he had been in the past.
The headaches weren't usually a problem, more often than not manifesting merely as a dull throb behind his eyes that could be cured by a mug of hot tea, a dark room and an occasional painkiller. Unfortunately, Tony was afraid that it wouldn't be the case during his new assignment. Between the stress of the mission itself and his painful memories of his last undercover mission he was more than likely going to spend the entire mission in quite a lot of discomfort.
He flinched as he slid his key into the door lock, even that small noise making the pain spike. Tony knew that he was heading for a full-fledged migraine, and it would only be through sheer luck that he might be able to avoid the worst of it. He carefully walked into his flat, closing and locking the door behind him and dropping his briefcase and jacket in a nearby chair. He headed straight for the bathroom, pulling out a bottle of painkillers and taking one dry, biting back a cough.
Five minutes later he was in bed, the covers pulled up almost to his nose and the curtains tightly closed to keep out the light. Eventually, the pain lost some of its sharpness and Tony was able to fall into an uneasy sleep.
* * *
He groaned when the alarm clock woke him the next morning. The sharp pain of the night before was gone, but it had left a vague feeling of nausea and a lingering tiredness in its wake. He pushed himself slowly out of bed, scrubbing both hands across his face and through his hair. Then he took a moment to just close his eyes and breathe. He would need to be on top of his game in order to hide his discomfort from Control.
After all, it simply wouldn't do for the other man to worry about him before his new mission.
It only took about half an hour for Tony to shower, shave and make his way into the kitchen. He wrinkled his nose at the idea of trying to eat his usual breakfast, and finally settled on eating a couple of pieces of plain toast with his morning cup of tea.
Twenty minutes later Tony was out the door, the briefcase containing the blue folder clutched in one hand. He spent the drive to the office trying to talk himself into a more positive frame of mind, though he only managed to convince himself that he was positive that something was going to go terribly wrong on his new assignment.
He managed to at least look like there was nothing wrong by the time he made it to the office, smiling genially at the other agents as he passed them in the hallway. He slid behind his desk with a soft sigh of relief, almost melting back into his very comfortable chair. He dropped his briefcase on the floor next to his desk, deciding on the spur of the moment that he wasn't going to even think about it until after he had eaten his lunch.
He buried himself in the other work on his desk; filling out forms and reading over intelligence reports, making mental notes of anything that he thought he should bring up in conversation when he brought Control his morning cup of coffee. He had gotten about halfway through the pile of folders on his desk when he finally glanced up at the clock.
"Oh, bother. It's already eleven o'clock, and I haven't brought Control his coffee yet. I do hope he isn't upset that his morning coffee is late."
He headed for the coffee making area, sighing in relief when he noticed that there was already a fresh pot of coffee made. He poured it into the cup, then measured out the precise amount of milk necessary and making absolutely certain to leave out the sugar. Then he made his way quickly but carefully up to Control's office on the sixth floor.
He tapped lightly on the office door before poking his head in and smiling at Control, who was sitting behind his desk and doing some sort of paperwork.
"Hello, Control. Sorry that I'm late with your coffee, but I'm afraid that I got caught up in my work and completely lost track of the time."
Control looked up and smiled, eyes lightning as he dropped his pen to the desk. "That's quite all right, Tony. I hadn't even noticed that it was getting to be that time. I was rather engrossed in my work as well."
This time Tony's smile reached his eyes. "That does make me feel somewhat better, Control. I admit that I was a bit concerned that you would be wondering where your coffee was since I hadn't yet brought it to you." He sat the coffee cup on the desk in front of Control, then stepped back and folded his hands behind his back.
"I do appreciate it, Tony, even if it was a few minutes late. After all, you don't actually have to bring me any coffee at all."
Tony flinched slightly at that, but quickly smoothed his expression back out. "I realize that, Control, but I rather enjoy bringing you coffee." He flinched again, desperately hoping that Control hadn't picked up on the wistful edge to his voice.
Apparently he hadn't as he just smiled. "And I must admit that I'm rather happy that you do, Tony, as I believe that I would miss it if you didn't bring me my morning coffee every day."
Tony's smile faded a bit at that. "I suppose that the next little while will be rather difficult for you then, Control, as I won't be here to bring you your morning coffee while I'm on assignment."
Control frowned, slumping a bit in his chair. "Oh, I hadn't thought of that. I will miss your coming into the office every morning and bringing me coffee, Tony, but I shall soldier on so long as I know that you'll be coming back. You will be careful while you're undercover, won't you, Tony?"
"Of course, Control. After all, the mission wouldn't be much of a success if I didn't remain safe in order to finish it properly and report back in." The idea that Control was concerned about his safety gave Tony a pleasantly warm feeling, though he was careful not to read too much into it. After all, Control was concerned about the safety of all of his agents, which was one of the things that made him such a good leader.
There was a slightly uncomfortable silence before Tony straightened his shoulders a bit and spoke again. "Well, I suppose I'd best be getting back to my desk, Control. I still have quite a bit of paperwork to finish up before I leave for my new assignment."
"I won't keep you then, Tony. But please don't hesitate to stop back by my office if you need anything before you leave." Control flashed him an earnest smile as he reached for his coffee and took a sip, his smile widening slightly as the taste of the coffee slid across his tongue.
Tony just dipped his head slightly as he turned to go. "Thank you, Control. I will." And before he could say something that he would regret, Tony slipped out of Control's office and silently closed the door behind him. He would go have an early lunch, then look carefully over the file with his new assignment.
* * *
The week passed by much more quickly than Tony had anticipated, and soon it was time for him to leave. He had finally asked Valerie to check in on his flat periodically despite his misgivings, and had made certain to give her a few coffee-making lessons which she had seemed to appreciate. Her coffee still wasn't quite like his, but he thought that Control would at least appreciate the effort she put into it.
He had done his best to avoid Control on his final day in the office, as he was quite worried that the stress of his situation might cause him to say something that he shouldn't. The last thing that Control needed was to be worrying about Tony's less than platonic feelings for him, and the last thing that Tony himself needed was to be worrying about Control's reaction to said feelings. Tony, at least, would be under quite enough stress as it was without going looking for more.
However, he hadn't been able to resist taking Control one last cup of morning coffee, though he hadn't stayed in the office very long for chit-chat. He had simply given Control his coffee, made a few comments about the weather, asked about Mrs. Control and left with a sad smile.
And now he was on a plane, winging his way towards Germany and his new undercover assignment. He closed his eyes, leaning his head back and squirming slightly in his seat in an attempt to get more comfortable, a feat which was quite difficult in the cramped quarters of the airplane. He finally sighed and admitted defeat, as there was no way that he was going to be able to shift his long legs into a comfortable position.
His contact was going to be meeting him at the airport, though the file hadn't mentioned just who that contact would be. He just knew that his contact was supposed to approach him once he got off the plane and tell him the code phrase, which he was supposed to answer with another code phrase. He hated to admit it, since he was a secret agent after all, but the lack of solid information and the cloak and dagger doings were making him a bit nervous.
He'd had a fairly steady headache ever since he'd first been told of his new assignment, though so far the pain hadn't gotten too intense. He was uncomfortable, certainly, but he had managed to push the pain back mostly through rest and tea. He did his best to keep the painkillers for the really bad headaches, and so far he had only had to indulge in them twice, which made him feel a bit better.
Though from what he had gathered from the file his headaches might actually make his masquerade a little more realistic. He was supposed to be undercover as a former intelligence agent who had been drummed out of the secret service due to a bungled mission which had resulted in several other agents' deaths, as well as injury to himself, and was looking for revenge. The fact that his headaches actually were the result of a mission gone awry was just this side of a cruel irony.
He was pulled out of his thoughts as the plane began to land. He made sure that all of his things were organized and put away properly, then clicked his seat belt closed. The landing was smooth, and soon the passengers were disembarking. Tony managed to slip through them, his height and natural grace making it fairly easy for him not to be trampled.
He had just managed to snag his luggage when a fairly nondescript man in a trench coat stepped up to him and gave him a bland smile. "Have you ever seen Surrey in the morning?"
Tony's pulse sped up very slightly. That was the code phrase that he had been told to listen for. "I prefer it in the afternoon, with a nice cup of coffee." He had thought that the return code phrase was a bit odd, and still did, but the words tripped off his tongue easily enough all the same.
His contact smiled, but it didn't seem to reach the rather cool green eyes. "Come with me, please, Mr. Murchison. We have quite a lot to do, and not a lot of time to do it in." Then he turned and walked away, never even bothering to look back and make sure that Tony was following.
Tony just sighed, picked up his bags and began to walk after him, stretching his legs just enough to catch up without looking like he was hurrying. He could already tell that this assignment was going to be a long one.
* * *
It was half past eleven when Control was finally able to put his finger on just what had been bothering him. Tony Murchison was on a plane to Germany, and therefore had been unable to bring him his morning cup of coffee. That fact brought his mood crashing down as he couldn't seem to keep himself from thinking of all the things that could happen to Tony while he was away.
Eventually he shook his head, forcing the negative thoughts back down and picked up the phone. "Valerie, could you possibly pop in and bring me a cup of coffee? Thank you kindly, Valerie." He hung up the phone, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose.
He truly had hated sending Tony back undercover, especially in an assignment where he had virtually no backup. He had his suspicions about what had happened to Tony on his last undercover assignment, though he had never asked the younger man about any of it. He couldn't help but think that perhaps he should have, but he couldn't bear the thought of causing Tony even more pain than he had already suffered, and forcing him to remember what Control feared had happened would certainly have done just that.
He blinked when his office door slowly opened, then smiled slightly when he saw Valerie carefully poking her head in. "Do come in, Valerie. I appreciate your bringing me some coffee, as it isn't actually part of your job."
She just smiled, setting the cup on the desk in front of him. "It's really no bother. Besides, Tony asked me if I wouldn't mind making sure that you had your coffee while he was gone. He even showed me how to make it just the way you like it. I hope I didn't get it too far off the mark."
Control's smile widened a bit at that. He had always known that Tony took good care of him, but he hadn't even considered that Tony would go so far as to teach Valerie how to make a proper cup of coffee. He took a small sip, and was pleasantly surprised. It still wasn't quite as good as Tony's coffee, but it was a fairly close facsimile.
"This is quite nice, Valerie, thank you. It tastes almost exactly like Tony's." He was exaggerating just a bit, but the brilliant smile on her face was worth the slight fib. And since the coffee did taste quite good, even if it wasn't just like Tony's, the fib was very small so he didn't feel too terribly bad about it.
Valerie's eyes were almost sparkling. "Thank you, Control. I was so hoping that I'd gotten it close to right. I'd best be getting back to work now. Do call me if you need anything else, won't you, Control?"
He nodded, taking another sip of coffee as she nearly skipped out of the office and closed the door. Once he was alone though, his smile faded. He couldn't help but think that Tony teaching Valerie how to make coffee the way he liked it was a sign that the other man was afraid that he wouldn't be coming back from this assignment, and the idea sent cold chills down Control's spine. He simply couldn't bear the thought that he might not see Tony again.
Control tried to push his worries about Tony to the back of his mind. He had enough problems of his own to deal with, principle among them being the lingering fear that something wasn't quite right here in the office. He was aware of the potential corruption that Tony was overseas investigating, but he had recently begun to fear that there was corruption in the London office, as well. He had no proof yet, but there was some sensitive information that had gotten into the hands of the Soviets recently that shouldn't have.
He couldn't help but wish that Tony was there to help him with the possible mole. Tony was the one person in the entire office that he knew he could trust absolutely, and the other man often had a fresh way of looking at things that would help Control to make the proper decision. Plus, he couldn't help but want Tony to be where he could see the other man and know that he was safe. Though if he was correct and there was a mole in the London office, neither one of them was particularly safe at the moment at all.
* * *
Valerie made her way back to her desk, still smiling. Control was finally pleased with her coffee, which she knew would make Tony happy. She thought it was sweet that he was so concerned about Control, and had put extra effort into learning how to make the coffee for Control properly. It was thrilling to know that her hard work had paid off.
As she slipped into her chair and smoothed her skirt she couldn't help but hope that Tony would make it back safely from his new assignment. She was terribly worried about him, and had decided only about an hour after he had left that once he returned she was going to tell him how she felt about him. It probably wasn't quite the thing to do since they did work together, but she didn't think she could stand to see him going off into dangerous situations without his knowing that someone loved him. It just wouldn't be right.
It had made her feel all warm and tingly when Tony had asked her to check in on his flat until he got back. She was trying not to read too much into it, but there had been a light blush staining his cheeks and he had had trouble meeting her eyes when he asked, which gave her hope.
And when he arrived back home, safe and sound, she would ask him straight out how he felt about her.
* * *
Tony hated to admit it, even to himself, but he was floundering. His contact, whose name he still didn't know, had placed his luggage in a car and then led him to a small outdoor cafe where the two of them had ordered food and then proceeded to simply sit in silence. He forced himself not to fidget, calling on all of his experience as an undercover agent to remain at least visibly calm.
His headache had grown more severe, and he knew that he was going to have to take a painkiller as soon as he was somewhere alone. Even if he hadn't been getting an odd feeling about his still-unnamed contact, which he was for some reason, he wouldn't even consider making a weakness like that public while on such a dangerous mission.
He picked at his food, the mixture of nerves and discomfort completely robbing him of his appetite. He wondered absently how Control was doing, and whether his coffee-making lessons had helped Valerie at all. He knew that it was important that he complete this mission, but he really wished that he was back home in London.
The longer they sat in the cafe in silence, the stronger Tony's feeling that something was terribly wrong got. His contact hadn't done anything overtly suspicious yet, but he also wasn't acting quite right either. It wasn't until he noticed the slowly growing smirk on the other man's lips that his suspicions turned into dread. Something was very definitely wrong.
Tony glanced casually around the cafe, his attention sparking on two men who seemed to be trying quite hard not to look at him. They were sitting at opposite ends of the cafe, each of them sitting alone with only an untouched cup of what he assumed was tea in front of them. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a large dark automobile slowly pulling up in front of the cafe. The two men he was watching noticed as well, and both rose to their feet and began making their way unobtrusively towards him.
He glanced back at his contact, took in the amused smugness in the other man's expression and bit back a mental curse.
'Oh, bother.'
It seemed as though the corruption was a bit more widespread than anyone had anticipated, and the fact that his contact (who might not even be his real contact, proper code phrase or no proper code phrase, for all Tony knew) was in on it did not bode well for Tony or his mission. The mission, however, could wait. Tony himself could not.
His thoughts whirled as he tried to figure out the best way for him to get out of the predicament alive. Finally he gave a mental shrug, reached for his practically untouched cup of coffee and flung the contents into his smirking contact's face. Then while the other man sputtered and frantically tried to wipe the lukewarm coffee out of his eyes, Tony jumped from his chair and dashed back into the cafe.
As much as he wanted to slip out into the Berlin traffic, something that would have made it much easier to evade his pursuers, it simply wasn't possible. Between the other two men still in the cafe and however many more might have been in the waiting car there was simply no way for him to escape that way. Instead he slipped inside, easily dodging tables and customers alike as he made his way towards the back of the building.
He ducked into the restroom, a small smile twisting his lips as he realized that he was inside the ladies' room rather than the mens'. If he was lucky, that might just confuse his pursuers enough to buy him another minute or two to escape. He looked quickly around the room, thankful that it seemed to be empty, and his eyes lit up when he saw the window in the far wall that looked just large enough for him to fit through.
He glanced around once more before sliding the window open, breathing a sigh of relief when it opened smoothly and quietly. Then he jumped up and pulled himself through, wincing as his stomach got caught momentarily on the sill. With one final jerk he managed to free himself, then twisted as he fell so as not to hurt himself when he landed on the rough pavement below.
The alley he was in was luckily not a dead end, so Tony snuck quietly but quickly towards the exit furthest from the men he knew were following him, making sure to stay close to the wall. Once he made it, he poked his head around the corner and let out a silent sigh when he couldn't see anyone suspicious. He ducked back into the alley, straightened his clothes, took a deep breath and marched out onto the street, doing his best to look as though he belonged.
His heart was pounding in his ears as he walked, but no one seemed to take any notice of him. He tried to keep his breathing even and his pace steady, as the last thing he needed was to look as though he were in a hurry. Anything that drew attention to himself needed to be avoided at all costs.
Tony kept walking for about ten minutes, not really concerned about the fact that he was getting progressively more lost as the minutes rolled by. So long as no one found him, he could deal with getting lost. After all, he was fairly good at getting himself un-lost, so it wasn't really a worry.
Eventually he decided that he had lost his pursuers and started looking for a phone. He only had access to what was in his pockets as all of his luggage was still in the car that the man he had thought was his contact had picked him up in at the airport, so there was no way that he could leave on his own. His only hope was to get in touch with Control, who he knew would do anything in his power to help, even from back in London.
He finally found a phone booth and stepped inside, rummaging in his pockets for enough change to make the call to London. He cradled the receiver between his shoulder and his ear, then slid the coins into the slot. He punched in the proper numbers almost without thinking, and his breath rushed out when he finally heard Control's voice.
"This is the Secret Service. Control speaking."
Tony closed his eyes in relief, leaning his head against the side of the phone booth. "Hello, Control. I do so hate to be a bother, but I'm afraid that I've run into a slight problem."
He could almost picture Control frowning at him when the other man answered. "Tony, is that you? I had thought that you were supposed to be on assignment in Germany, unless I'm quite mistaken about that."
Tony shook his head even though he knew Control couldn't see it. "You're not mistaken at all, Control. Unfortunately that is the problem that I've run into. I have reason to believe that the man that was sent in as my contact is actually a double agent, and that he had intended to capture me, more than likely in an attempt to discover more of our secrets. I was only barely able to escape."
"Are you quite all right, Tony?" The concern in Control's voice made Tony feel quite warm and safe, even though Control countries away. "I must say that I never would have sent you on this assignment if I'd had any idea that something like that would happen."
Tony's lips curled up in a small smile despite the precariousness of his position. "I'm all right for the moment, Control, though I certainly can't make any promises of that if they should happen to find me. Unfortunately all of my luggage and things are gone, as they were in my contact's car, and I have no way to get back to England on my own. I am sorry to be so much trouble, Control, but I'm going to need a bit of help."
"You aren't any trouble at all, Tony. If anything this whole sorry predicament is my fault for not checking up on things properly." Control paused, and Tony could hear the faint sound of files rattling through the phone. "Philip is currently in Paris, and he can be in Berlin within only a few hours to get you. Can you manage to avoid detection until then, Tony?"
Tony almost collapsed under the weight of his sheer and utter relief. "Of course, Control. I shall make my way back to the airport and await Philip's arrival. I do hate that my assignment had to end this way, though."
Control sighed. "I know, Tony, but it isn't your fault. It seems as though we shall simply have to bring in the entire German network and reassign a whole new group of agents until we can determine which are still loyal and which are not. The very idea is absolutely galling." His voice gentled slightly. "Philip should be in Berlin soon, Tony, and he'll get you back here safe and sound. I'm going to call him just as soon as I finish speaking with you."
"Thank you, Control. I'm not at all ashamed to say that I feel much better now knowing that you're taking care of things. I suppose I should stop talking so that you can get in touch with Philip now. I should be in the airport waiting for him when he arrives."
A slight smile was audible in Control's voice. "Philip will be there as soon as possible, Tony. Then you'll be back home and we can put this whole sorry mess behind us. Do be careful until Philip gets there, though, won't you, Tony?"
Tony nodded. "Of course I will, Control. If all goes well I should see you back in the office in the morning." He paused for a moment, trying to soak up all of the reassurance that he could from Control's presence on the telephone. "Good-bye, Control."
"Good-bye, Tony. Everything will work out, you'll see."
Even after he heard the click that signaled that Control had hung up the phone Tony remained standing in the phone booth for another few minutes. He had run an emotional gauntlet in a very short period of time, going from suspicion to utter terror and then to wonderful relief, and he wanted to be certain that he was once again steady on his feet before he tried to move.
He finally forced himself to walk away, hands in his pockets and shoulders slightly slumped. He was tired, and trying not to draw attention to himself, and for once simply couldn't be bothered to try to stand up straight. He started heading in what he was fairly certain was the general direction of the airport, not even bothering to try to get a taxi since he had virtually no money. It wasn't so far that he couldn't walk, and it would be easier to avoid any other agents on foot.
Keeping one eye focused on his surroundings, Tony couldn't help but wish that he were back home, making Control a cup of coffee. Though hopefully he would be back in London soon enough.
* * *
Eric pressed the stop button on the recorder that was hooked up to his tap of Control's office phone and smiled with satisfaction as he reached for his own personal phone. He knew that his superior would be most pleased with his information, especially in light of the retrieval team's dismal failure. None of the agents in Germany had thought for a moment that someone like Tony Murchison would be able to escape them, and had therefore ignored his warnings.
But Eric had seen Murchison in action, though that had been about three years previous, and he knew that even two solid years flying a desk wouldn't strip the other man of his abilities in the field. He had tried to tell them that Murchison would catch on to their rather simplistic plot, that the other man was surprisingly good at disappearing into thin air no matter where he was, but they hadn't listened.
Now the other field agents would be in a great deal of trouble, and he would be the one to save their proverbial bacon.
"It's Red Riding Hood. Murchison got away from the retrieval team, but he's going to be waiting for a pick up in the airport. You need to snatch him before the next flight from Paris arrives and he meets up with Philip. You should have a few hours."
He listened for a moment, nodding at his contact's instructions, then hung up the phone. The new plan had been set in motion, and there was no stopping it. He almost felt bad for Tony Murchison and what the other man would have to endure once his associates caught him, but he put the faint stirring of sympathy out of his mind. He had a job to do, and there was no place for soft feelings anywhere in it.
* * *
Control sat the phone receiver down and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. The call to Philip had gone off without a hitch, and the other man was already on his way to retrieve Tony. Philip was completely aware of the possible danger, and had reassured him that he would be in and out of Berlin with Tony as quickly as possible and no one would be the wiser.
However, the fact that Tony had needed retrieval so soon, or at all for that matter, was weighing heavily on Control. He hadn't wanted to send Tony on an undercover assignment in the first place, especially not one where the other man would be trying to ferret out British agents who had defected to the East. It was simply too dangerous, and if there was one thing that Control hated it was the idea of sending Tony into danger. Unfortunately he hadn't had a choice, and as he had feared, things had simply fallen apart.
He jerked his head up when he heard the door open, and tried to smile when he saw Valerie coming in. The smile faded completely, though, when he noticed that she was bringing him a cup of coffee.
She frowned as she sat the cup down on the desk. "Is something wrong, Control? Is there anything I can do?"
Control shook his head and reached for the coffee cup. "I'm afraid that Tony has run into some problems with his assignment, Valerie, and I'm a bit concerned about him. It's nothing for you to worry about, though." He did hate fibbing to her like that, but telling her the truth wouldn't have done any good and would just have made her worry as well. Besides which, there were some things that Valerie simply wasn't supposed to know.
Her eyes widened and she reached up to twist a lock of blonde hair. "Oh, how terrible. I do so hope that everything turns out all right."
Control forced a rather weak smile. "I'm sure that it will, Valerie. Tony is, after all, a very good agent."
She smiled and nodded. "Of course, Control. You're quite right. I suppose I had best get back to work now. Enjoy your coffee." Then she slipped back out of the office, closing the door behind her.
The smile virtually fell from Control's face the moment Valerie was out of sight. He had a bad feeling that something still wasn't right, that Tony was still in danger and there was nothing that he could do about it. All he could do was sit and wait. And sitting and waiting for news about Tony was something else that Control hated, almost as much as sending Tony into danger in the first place.
* * *
It took Tony almost two hours to reach the airport, and he was extremely thankful that it didn't seem like anyone had followed him, as he was simply too tired to even consider anymore daring escapes through bathroom windows. He made his way towards the gate where Philip's plane would be landing and almost fell into a chair, dropping his head back to rest against the wall and closing his eyes.
He didn't think anything of it when someone sat down in the seat next to him, but his eyes snapped open when he felt something poke him in the side. He glanced down, and his breath caught when he realized that it was the barrel of a gun.
"I wouldn't make any sudden moves, Mr. Murchison, if I were you."
The voice was familiar, and Tony slowly looked up and met the icy green eyes of his German contact. This was not good at all.
"And just so you don't get any bright ideas about making a run for it again, please take a look around."
He did, and went pale when he realized that there were at least three other agents milling around among the oblivious travelers.
"If you try to escape again, Mr. Murchison, we are fully prepared to simply open fire right here, with all of these people around. And somehow I don't believe that you want those innocent lives on your conscience. Now, come with me and no one will get hurt."
Tony deflated, then slowly nodded his head. He was well and truly caught this time, and there was no one there to save him. He could only hope that Philip would figure out what had happened and get word back to Control. And hopefully Control would be able to think of some way to rescue him, before it was too late.
He slowly rose to his feet when his contact prodded him with the gun, and let the other man slide in behind him as they began to walk. The gun barrel pressed insistently against his ribs, and he knew that if it wasn't for the threat of their killing civilians he would have easily been able to disarm the other man, a fact which made the whole sorry affair even more grating.
His headache was returning with a vengeance, though he did his level best not to show it. He did wish, however, that he had taken the opportunity to take a painkiller when it had presented itself. Though he supposed that if he had, while it might have relieved some of his pain it might also have slowed his mind, which was something that he couldn't afford.
Tony let the other man lead him out of the airport, spine almost ramrod straight as he walked. No one was paying them any attention at all; which on the one hand was a relief in that it meant that there was no reason for the corrupt agents to shoot anyone, but on the other hand was a bit disappointing in that it also meant that no one was going to try to help him because they didn't know that anything was wrong.
He briefly considered an escape attempt as they reached the car, but quickly realized that it would be doomed to failure. There were still enough people wandering around to make an attempt at escape simply too dangerous, and he would either be shot and killed or fairly easily recaptured. No, he would have no choice but to go with them and just hope that an escape opportunity would present itself later. Or, of course, that Control would somehow find a way to rescue him.
The hand on the back of his head as he slid into the car made him flinch, especially when he felt the other man's fingers hesitate for a long moment in his hair. The pain in his head spiked suddenly, making his vision temporarily white out, and when he could see again he was squeezed in the backseat of a nondescript car with a silent agent on each side boxing him in. He jumped when he felt cold metal snapping around his wrists, a small bit of hope dying when he looked down and saw the handcuffs binding his hands.
Escape was still possible, but it was looking more and more unlikely.
Part Two