How I Met Your Mother Ch. 08

"Look, you got me, alright? I fucked up. You win this one. I'll leave this town tonight and you'll never see me again." He straightened up. "Just keep away from the Russians." Andrew's chest ached. He watched her there, hunched in the pale moonlight, her long hair amiss from the struggle. The blood from her head had dried and crusted along the edge of her face. She looked like a sad little girl. It was an astute reflection of the night's fates crossing, a dark little tragedy played out for the starry Greek sky. All along he'd known what had really brought him here, to Greece, to her. Every step he took down the cobblestone streets had been a lie. Every note jotted down and bribe paid out to a willing store clerk or beachcomber had been to shade himself from the expanding light of reality that could not be forever ignored.

And what had he done? Where had his gentle lies taken him?

To their collective ruin?

"If only you'd stayed with me..." He lamented to the darkness above her head. "At least our kind stab you in the front." He heard a quiet chuckle from her.

"You never quit, do you? Will I never be absolved of this?"

"I suppose it's not the kind of thing one lives down," said Andrew. "Everyone stinks of some eternal sin."

"You're the only one who can smell mine, and yet I can't seem to escape from you." Andrew looked at Leah now, with that rare shadow in his eyes.

"No, you can't." Leah met his eyes with her own fire. Whatever tears had been threatening were now disappeared, and with speed that again surprised him, she was on her feet with a blade driving into his gut, a hair's breadth from piercing flesh and organ. Andrew gasped, a sharp breath, and stared her in the eyes. He had slipped into striking range without even realizing it.

"I know one certain way to escape you, Andrew." her voice came out again in an angry hiss. Despite himself, his heart galloped in his chest.

"Indeed, the only certain way." His voice wavered.

"You've impeded my life since the day you tossed me aside. Have you no decency? What more would you do to me before you're fully satisfied that my life is in shambles, just like yours?" Still Leah whispered, as if afraid the universe at large would mistake her desperation for prayers. Andrew blinked at her, and pain crossed his face.

"Why can't you leave me be?" Leah pleaded. Suddenly the knife at his gut seemed a small nuisance.

"Is that really what you want, Leah? Not once in all my sudden visits have you ever made move to arrest or kill me. You could have been rid of me dozens of times by now." He lowered his head now, hovering his face over hers. "But you haven't done it. Because you don't really want me to leave you alone."

Leah's face twitched, but she kept her eyes strong on his. He thought he saw her lip quiver.

"Not wanting you around doesn't equate to wanting you dead." Strong words, but her voice trembled. She wanted to mean it, badly.

"I've seen you kill without conscience or pause. Never cold feet."

"You weren't in my head."

"Oh yes, I was." His face drew closer. "You never showed hesitation. And you can't even seriously injure me without losing sleep." Her mouth clenched.

"Keep talking and that may change quickly."

"Come with me, Leah." Leah missed a step, and her eyes widened.

"What did you say?"

"Let's get out of here tonight. The two of us can handle whatever the outside world throws at us. Leave the Department behind and come with me."

"You are fucking insane," she said, and now tears popped from her eyes. "I'm not leaving with you."

"You can never go back, you know that. One photo of this moment right here, and one more of me leaving with all limbs attached, and that rat bastard Benedict will have you ousted. Maybe even thrown in The Glasshouse for good measure. This will not end well unless you come with me."

"I hate you, Andrew. I want nothing to do with you." The knife at his gut was shaking. With doom waiting in the close night, his restraint had dissolved. Andrew wrapped his hands on either side of her face and smashed his lips on hers, kissing her with forceful passion. Leah let loose a muffled yelp and the knife between them fell limp, and it was all she could do to keep from wrapping herself around his body, much less keep from kissing him in return. When he finally released her, her face was stained with tears, her lips swollen and red.

"Come with me," begged Andrew with his dark, teary eyes. "We both know you never stopped loving me. Come back to me."

Leah had stopped trembling, her face dissolved into a mask of wet pain. She flicked her wrist and brought the knife back to attention. "I never loved you."

Pain struck Andrew's face, but he didn't take the bait; not entirely, he assured his racing heart.

"You know something, Leah? You can give yourself airs about your strength and your resilience till kingdom come. You can fall asleep every night dreaming of the day your righteous anger is fully rewarded, and pat yourself on the back for your painful journey. But you will regret one day. You'll regret all the truths you never got to tell, the truths that make your heart scream in pain just keeping the secret. And then you will remember this night, when you had your last chance, and your life will feel meaningless."

Andrew stalked away from her and wandered through the shadows to the nearest window with view of the street. He watched silently, waiting for movement in the darkness to reveal those that hunted him. Leah's armour of anger had returned. She straightened and with dried eyes folded Andrew's pocketknife with the delicate silver-swirl inlays on its handle. She gave no warning before tossing it at him from across the darkened room.

Andrew caught it in his open left palm. He looked to her soulful eyes in their swollen sockets.

"I suppose I can always leave those little truths in my will," she said. "And then I don't have to regret anything." Eyes on the street, Andrew's back stiffened at her words. He felt a bitter, painful acid race down his throat.

"I always believed that if someone didn't have the balls to say something in life, they have no goddamn right to say it in death."

And before she could respond, Andrew dropped out of her window and into the inky summer night. From the dark house, Leah watched and waited until he had cleared her property. By now, he either thought he was terribly clever, or he had realized she was bluffing about the Intel that she had authorised to be leaked. Either way, it was unlikely he would discover the planted tracker in the handle of the knife.

As she sank to the floor, a little truth washed over Leah, and she cried.

****

76 Burrow Street

The pitter-patter of rain striking the bedroom window was repetitive, monotonous almost. She rolled over in the bed, facing towards the prone form of her husband as her eyes opened slightly. He was nearly motionless for the moment, the steady rise and fall of his chest the only noticeable sign of life.

A smile drifted across her face as she moulded herself into his body; placing her head on his chest and feeling the soft embrace of sleep slowly claiming her.

****

Prague

December

"Are you sure?" The question made Leah scowl. Had it been anyone other than Alison asking then it would have been met with the contempt it deserved. "I mean it could have been just a random..."

"What? That someone would break into my apartment and do nothing other than leave me a note with a set of GPS co-ordinates that happen to lead us to this run down industrial estate on the eastern arm of the Czech capital?" She spat. "Of course it was Andrew -- who else could it be? Plus the bastard had been rifling through my wardrobe as well."

"I was just asking." Alison said as they waited in the darkness. "Are the others in place?"

"Moore, Connery and Lazenby are waiting for our signal." Leah replied. "The locals have been informed to move in if we get involved in any sort of protracted engagement."

"Funny, that reminds me of my relationship with Eric." Alison mused. "So, how long do we wait here?"

"For as long as we need to." Leah replied, tapping her fingers on the dashboard and staring intently at the run down buildings that were below them.

****

Everything had gone wrong.

As the sound of bullets whizzed past the metal crate she was crouched behind, Leah inwardly berated herself for allowing things to get out of hand. Shortly after observing Andrew arrive, then watching him being joined by a black SUV full of what were clearly ex-Soviet military types, they had waited until the electronic surveillance equipment had given them enough evidence to proceed. However, neither Leah nor Alison had allowed for the tenacity of the Russians when it came to holding their ground in a firefight.

Moore had been the first to fall; cut down in a hail of automatic small-arms fire when they had entered the building. In the confusion of several thunder-flash grenades going off they had lost track of Andrew and his purchaser -- a rather burly looking man who looked like his best days were well behind him -- as they fled into the disused warehouse. Connery and Lazenby had then both been taken out by what Leah could only surmise had been the explosive blast from a hand grenade. Alison had retaliated by placing several well-aimed shots into the fuel tank of the SUV -- generating a ball of fire and three scorched bodies.

She gripped the pistol in her right hand and pushed off against the impromptu cover, breaking into a run and firing blindly into the air to try and generate a momentary opening to allow her to move across the sparse interior of the warehouse without getting shot. Sliding on her knees for the last ten feet, the sound of bullets sizzling through the air around her, Leah found herself crouching beside the remnants of an old industrial hot water boiler. Her breathing was hard and rapid, mirroring her heartbeat as she tried to focus. Taking a moment to reload her firearm, she glanced around the edge of the metal façade.

Through the haze of the air Leah noticed two figures scurrying away from the fire fight up a set of rickety looking metal stairs to the first floor -- one of them was unmistakeably Andrew whilst the other resembled a former KGB officer she knew by the name of Annenskij who had long been considered a prime mover and shaker within the Russian Mafia. Noticing that the Russian was carrying a steel briefcase in his hands, she realised that the contents was, in all likelihood, the three canisters of CN-20 that Andrew had stolen nearly a year ago. Ducking back down behind the metal construct as several further bullets ricocheted off it, she cursed the fact that she'd failed to apprehend them.

"Evening!" Alison's flippant comment heralded her arrival behind the boiler in a similar manner to Leah. "Turned out nice again, hasn't it!" She said. Leah nodded. "So, I noticed Andrew and his somewhat rotund Russian friend have scampered to the first floor. Do you want to take them or shall I?"

"Like you have to ask." Leah responded grimly.

"Okay, one order of covering fire coming up then!" Alison gleefully said. Poking her head around the boiler for a moment she then opened fire at the two remaining members of the Russian's entourage. Leah took advantage of the opening, running low across the warehouse floor as Alison's repetitive and unnervingly accurate covering fire raked the side of the oversized iron radiator they were hiding behind. Reaching the stairs with a few moments to spare, she began clearing them two at a time, quickly reaching the first floor.

Pausing for a moment as she tried to blot out the sound of the gunfire downstairs, she carefully peeked around the edge the first floor landing and straight into what appeared to be the shell of an office. Advancing through the room and exiting it on to a sheltered corridor, Leah found herself faced with a series of small rooms leading off it at regular intervals. Checking each one as best as she could, she knew it was taking her longer to sweep through the first floor than it should; yet if she failed to do so, she would leave herself open to the possibility of walking right past Andrew or his Russian contact.

By the time she had checked the third room she was already growing impatient. As she turned her back on the room and prepared to check the fourth and final room she heard the unmistakeable sound of two male voices in the middle distance, accompanied by the noise of a door being kicked open. Breaking into a run, Leah scurried along the corridor, eventually finding herself at the flapping door of the building's fire exit. Advancing outside and scrambling up the stairs, she could see two figures making their way across the roof.

Blam! Blam!

Her two shots were intended to get their attention -- something they achieved with ease. Both of the figures stopped dead in their tracks as Leah moved towards them.

"Get down on the ground!" She hollered -- hoping they both realised that she held the upper hand at the moment. Gesturing towards the Russian, she added. "Throw the briefcase towards me and..." Before she could finish the sentence, the Russian had dived behind Andrew with alarming speed, knocking him to the floor and discarding the briefcase as he skittered behind a large metal water container -- one of several structures atop of the abandoned warehouse. Prevented from shooting by something inside her she didn't want to acknowledge, Leah ran over to Andrew -- who was now getting back to his feet.

"Slippery little critter isn't he." He said as he found himself looking up into the barrel of Leah's Glock.

"Tell me why I shouldn't put a bullet in your head right now?" She hissed, irritated by his cocky smile.

"Because, right now, our chubby little Russian friend is probably trying to find the emergency ladder down to the ground floor," He replied, climbing to his feet whilst appearing to be oblivious to her threatening posture. Pulling his own pistol -- an antiquated Walther PPK -- free from the holster secreted on his ankle, he continued. "And the pair of us will be in a better position to stop him working together than working alone."

"What? You're flipping sides now?" Leah snorted. "Have you had a sudden attack of conscience or something now you know you've handed three canisters of nerve gas capable of killing everyone in this city to a terrorist?"

"No, just feeling contrary today." Andrew said as he moved towards the metal construct. Poking his head around the corner, he was met by a bullet careening off the metal casing. "Over to the right!" Andrew called out, gesturing for Leah to flank around the opposite side of the rooftop. As she scrambled across the loose screed, she lost her footing. Falling hard and colliding with the rooftop with enough force to knock the wind out of her, Leah felt her Glock slip out of her grip.

The world seemed to slow down for a moment; as she slid across the loose gravel that adorned the rooftop she saw the overweight figure of Annenskij moving out from behind the small cooling tower he was lurking behind. Her mind registered the fact that he was taking aim at her with his Scorpion pistol; her mind was rapidly running through all the outcomes and even in the few brief moments she had left they all came out with the same terminal outcome for her.

The sight of Annenskij's chubby fingers pressing down on the trigger as Leah tried to roll away were the last things to fill her mind before she turned away from him.

Brakka! Blam! Brakka! Blam! Blam!

The short bursts of gunfire were unmistakeable -- yet Leah's trained mind identified two distinctly different weapons being discharged. Her eyes were screwed tightly shut, waiting for the searing, burning paid of the bullets tearing into her flesh. As the seconds passed, Leah realised that far from the expected pain her body should have felt, she felt nothing. In fact, she also heard nothing. Rolling back over she could see two bodies lying on the ground.

Immediately knowing what had happened she struggled to get to her feet; racing over to the fallen body of Andrew, Leah grabbed his shoulder and rolled him onto his back. Blood poured from the series of neat holes in his chest. Cradling him in her arms, Leah failed to hold back the sudden ball of emotion that threatened to overwhelm her.

"Andrew...I...I...why?"

"Ssshh..." He mumbled, blood leaking out from his mouth as he did so. "I couldn't...Koff! Koff!...let him...shoot you now...could...I?"

"Just hold on -- I'll get you some help; we'll get you out of..." His hand reached up to her face, stroking her cheek with blood soaked fingers.

"No, no time...besides, it's...better...this way..." Andrew gestured for Leah to lean closer to him as he struggled to impart something to her. His voice was barely a whisper now. "Check...your wardrobe...again..." Leah looked at him with a confused expression on her face. He was smiling at her, his eyes locked with hers for the final time as the life faded away from them.

Behind her she heard the sound of the heavy metal door to the roof being opened. Half expecting to be shot, even as she heard Alison's voice screaming at her as she saw the blood on her jacket, Leah looked up to the heavens as the first few drops of rain fell onto her face, mixing seamlessly with the tears that were flooding from her eyes.

****

The flight and debriefing seemed like a blur to Leah. The numb sensation continued to seep through her body as Alison drove her home. As the car turned into the cul-de-sac that was home to Leah's apartment building, her friend looked over at her.

"It's funny that those canisters the Russians had were empty." Alison commented as she brought the car to a gentle halt outside her apartment building. Receiving no response from her passenger she prodded once more. "Are you going to be okay tonight?" Alison's question rolled around Leah's head. She nodded in response before opening the door. "I won't ask again, but you know where I am if you need me." Leah's hand moved to the door, pausing for a moment as she began to close it.

"Alison, I know I don't say this often enough but thanks," she said. "Thanks for everything." Leah closed the door of the car and began the suddenly lonely walk to her home. Leaving the apartment in darkness as she moved around it, Leah spent what seemed like eternity in the shower; desperately trying to wash away the events of the last twenty-four hours.

Padding softly to her bedroom Andrew's final words suddenly sprung to mind. Pulling her towel tightly around her body, she began to look through her wardrobe once more. Searching through her clothes, then her shoes, before finally looking at the selection of jackets lined up on the far right side. As she shuffled through them a small white envelope slipped from the pocket of her favourite leather jacket. Kneeling down to pick it up, she could feel that there was something inside.

Tearing the top open Leah found a small metal key inside and what looked like a business card. Lifting the card up to the light filtering in from the window she could see an address scribbled on it along with a series of digits. A moment later she realised the address was that of a bank in the centre of London and the digits were clearly those of a bank account.

A wistful smile drifted across her face as Leah resolved to visit the bank first thing in the morning. With that she discarded her towel and crawled into bed.

****

76 Burrow Street

3:31 am

In an instant, Andrew was sat bolt upright in bed. His heart was racing and his mind awash with colours and images. Feeling the rolling movement of Leah stirring in the bed next to him, Andrew reached over to the bedside table and grabbed a pen and a small notebook.