The morning proved to be pretty uneventful, but when lunchtime rolled around Nahla headed down to Medlab to check in and see how Aries' recovery was going. She passed by Genie and DeLeah, who were quietly chatting off to the side. Sherry, Rita and North were retreating down the opposite hallway, probably heading back to their offices.
A glimpse through the door's window showed Aries' was asleep, but Marco wasn't with her, which seemed strange since he'd been at her side 24/7 since Jessica had shot her.
Knocking on Jace's office door, Nahla quickly stepped inside. (Per Aries - "Jessica's Demise - Part 5) "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt anything!" Nahla said when she saw the two sitting there. She started to turn and leave the two alone but Jace stopped her and Marco stood up.
"That's ok. You weren't. I was just going back to check on Aries." Marco said and exited the room throwing Jace one more glare before finally exiting.
Nahla walked over and sat down on Jace's lap. "Now what exactly was that all about?" Nahla asked a bit confused and worried.
"Not much. Aries woke up but her vitals are not strong enough for her to be in the clear yet. I asked Marco in here to tell him that and being in the position he's in, he threatened me to make her live. It's perfectly understandable." Jace said hugging Nahla close to him. "I would do the same thing if I was in his position."
"Yeah. He's really worried about her isn't he?" Nahla asked softly putting her arms around him and holding him close.
"Yeah, he is. He loves her even though he has not admitted it. I hope she pulls through this." Jace said and laid his head down on her shoulder.
"So do I." Nahla said and then let silence fall around them thanking God that it was not them that was going through this ordeal. (end Aries "Jessica's Demise - Part 5)
Nahla idly ran her fingers through Jace's hair, lost in her own thoughts. She wanted so badly to tell him about the mission, but just couldn't, not with the chance that it might end their relationship. Without realising it, her arms tightened considerably around Jace at that thought.
"Sweetie, you might want to ease up there a little or I won't be able to breathe."
"Huh?" she asked, his voice bringing her back out of her reverie. "Oh! Sorry!" She then said, easing her grip, but not letting go completely.
"S'ok. But you want to tell me what caused that?" He asked, leaning his head back so he could look into her eyes.
"Do I need a reason?" Nahla asked, trying to side step the issue.
Jace just gave her a look that said, "Try again". "You forget, I know you. You're a cuddler, but you're not one to latch on like that without reason. Now what gives?" He saw her debating where or not to tell him, and truthfully that hurt. They'd just begun to really open up to one another, but she was hiding something, he was sure of it.
"I can't tell you. Not yet anyway." Nahla said, not really lying to him, but not telling him all the facts either. "Trust me. Please?" She continued, lifting a hand to caress first his eyebrow then down to trace his jawbone and full lower lip.
Jace sighed. It almost felt like she was testing him, but it wasn't in her nature to do that. He took her hand from where it cradled his jaw and placed a soft kiss in its' centre. "You'll tell me when you're ready?"
Nahla leaned down and kissed him softly. "I promise."
Thankfully Jace was planning to stick around Medlab that evening to keep a close watch on Aries' progress, so she didn't have to make an excuse about not being able to meet up with him later. Of course she would have to explain her two-day absence later, but she would deal with it then.
On her way back to Munitions, Nahla stopped by Comm to see if Birkoff had her panel ready. "Hey Birkoff, is my panel ready?
"Yep, just finishing it now," he replied, removing the panel from the computer's tower and handing it to her. "Good luck."
Nahla gave Birkoff an inquiring look. "Is there something I haven't been told about this mission?"
"No, I was just simply wishing you luck, being your first mission and all."
"Oh. Thanks." she replied and walked away.
Before she knew it, Walter was tapping on her shoulder, asking if she was planning on working late.
"No, I guess the time just got away from me. I'll head out in a couple minutes," she answered.
"Good. Go home and get some rest, you look like you could use it."
"Oh, speaking of rest," Nahla replied, "I forgot to tell you earlier that I'm taking a couple of days downtime starting tomorrow." She didn't like lying to him, but it was the only excuse she had been able to come up with to explain her upcoming absence.
Walter frowned, something wasn't right here. Her odd behaviour this morning and now taking off a couple of days in the middle of the week, it didn't fit with the Nahla he knew.
"What?" she asked, catching his frown.
"Nothing sweetness, you just enjoy yourself ok?" he said, but refrained from saying anything. Knowing she wouldn't open up to him unless she wanted to, it would be useless to ask what was going on. Maybe he could ask Jace.
"Sure thing." Nahla replied.
Once she was alone, Nahla pulled out her panel and read through the mission details. She would be travelling to Almafi, the largest town in the Italian province of the same name, and that Mentz would be going as her "significant other". Sometime during the first night of their stay she would be introduced to Mr. Vitriani through a trusted contact that was already in place at the hotel.
From there it was going to be completely up to her to keep Vitriani's attention. She was to do whatever it took to get him away from the hotel the following afternoon and take him to the designated spot where a backup team would be ready to take him into custody.
Nahla shuddered at the thought of what the phrase "whatever it took" suggested. She knew what valentine missions entailed and was seriously beginning to wonder how the hell she was going to pull this off.
Thirty minutes later, Nahla met Madeline in wardrobe. After making sure her wardrobe lacked for nothing, the two sat down for a last minute talk. "Now are you sure you understand what is required of you?"
Nahla sighed. "Yes, but honestly I don't know how you think I'm going to pull this off. I've never seduced a man in my life."
"That's exactly what you're *not* supposed to do, Vitriani prefers to be the seducer. All you need to do is just be yourself, but don't reject his
advances."
"Am I supposed to sleep with him?"
"If necessary, yes."
Nahla felt like she was going to throw up. "You expect me to give away my virginity to this man??"
"Yes, if it comes to that. We told you that Vitriani has a weakness for innocence. Your virginity will be an especially powerful lure to him." Madeline replied. "Now, do you have any other questions?"
"No, I guess not. Unless I can ask that you pick someone else for this mission."
Madeline smiled and simply replied, "I'm afraid not."
"Yea, I figured. Don't worry, I'll do my best."
"Of course you will, we wouldn't accept anything less. " Madeline said, and the insinuations behind her words were not lost on Nahla. "The backup team and Mentz are already in van access waiting for you to join them. Good luck."
Nahla smiled uneasily. "Thanks."
Arriving at van access, Nahla was more than a little relieved to see Michael and Roarke. Roarke was the first to greet her since Michael had his back turned talking with one of the other ops. He didn't take it as a good sign that she looked a little pale. "Hi Nahla, are you okay?"
Nahla laughed nervously. "Yeah, right."