Perfect School

Jonah:

Right when he said Kira’s name I was moving into action. I pulled a knife from inside my jacket and reached him before he had time to even register that I was about to kill him. I plunged the knife up into his chest hitting his heart. He died with an expression of shock on his face.

I knew there was no one around to see what had happened. I was always aware of my surrounding enough to know that. I let him fall to the ground but not before I swiped the phone from his pocket and discreetly slipped it into my own.

My knife was out before Jonah's was, but he had the benefits of reach and standing closer to the man. Instead I slipped my knife back into position and took a moment to adjust my clothes as if nothing had happened at all.

While my face was the perfect mask, inside I was starting to eat myself alive. I'd been discovered. Marie's desire of pushing me out into the spotlight for her had backfired. I was compromised here. The mission itself could be compromised.

"Damn it..." I slipped into the alleyway beside Jonah, looking down at the dead man. Kneeling down I started to search him. I drew out a few items like his ID, a gun, a money clip. The money clip also had me go for his watch, swiping it along with his watch before I stood up again.

Looking over the ID I frowned slightly, "Mid-level employee. He could have been meeting someone...this isn't good."

Jonah:

“Kira, go back to the hotel, I’ll deal with this. Stay out of sight. We’ll evaluate the situation when I get back,” I said. I glanced around to make sure there were still no eyes on us. This was both bad for the mission but potentially good for me. Especially if the phone in my pocket had numbers that would be useful to me.

"Got it." I stashed all of the items I'd taken in among our shopping bags before picking them all up and brushing past him. I tried to reason with myself. This wasn't my fault, Jonah had taken care of him in time and would take care of the body, the mission was going to go fine. But still the little needle like pricks picked at me the entire way back to the hotel.

I didn't bother putting anything away. I left it all beside the bed and sat myself in a chair by the window so I could look out over the city. I didn't move until he came back.

Jonah:

I didn’t get rid of the body, I only made it look like someone had attempted to hide it. Someone would find him sooner rather than later. He would be reported. It would make things exponentially more difficult for Kira and me to get in and out of the building with our target. It would make it hard to leave the island with him. Before I went back to the hotel I copied the numbers from the phone and tossed it.

Kira:

I watched out the window as the sun slowly started to set. I didn't move, muscles locked in place. My mind however was a dark place, wearing at me. I so desperately needed this mission to go flawlessly, and already complications had happened. Already were things put into jeopardy. I could only blame myself. I knew how to disguise myself better. Wigs, make up, training. It was easier and simpler to move without.

I finally moved when the door opened, looking up and over at Jonah. I didn't need to ask and yet I couldn't help myself, "Did you take care of the body? Are things okay?"

Jonah:

“Yes. It’s dealt with.” I went to the bathroom and washed my hands and face. When I came out I walked closer to her, explaining how I had done it and that no one had seen. The crisis was averted. Assuming no one else recognized her, it should be fine. At least, that's what I told her.

I nodded and then let out a shaky breath. At once I let my muscles go, feeling a tremor run through my whole body. I hadn't realized how much I'd needed to hear those words until he'd said them. Crisis averted, things would be fine.

Slowly I stood up and with my eyes on the floor I crossed the short distance between me and him. I wound my arms around him, pressing my face into his chest as I hugged onto him tightly.

Jonah:

I hugged her back tightly. It was only then that I realized how shaken she was by the event. I should have known when she had obeyed my orders without question. She wanted this mission to go well and this was something that could have derailed it. She wouldn’t handle it well when it went wrong. Especially not if she knew I had a hand in it.

I lingered within the hug until the tremors that still threatened to run through me faded away. Letting out a slow breath I pulled back slightly, tilting my head back to search his face. An urge gripped me then. I couldn't tell if that urge was a reward for his help, or perhaps it was an urge and desire purely for myself. It wasn't until I shifted up onto my toes and pressed my lips to his that I knew. The kiss was all for me.

Jonah:

I wasn’t surprised when she kissed me. I had seen it in her eyes before she ever made the move. I kissed her back without hesitation. I slid my hands down to her lower back and pulled her body against mine. If this was what she needed right now, I had no objections. I did find it ironic that she gave into me, finally, the night before I would betray her.

My hands slid up until I could hook my arms together behind his neck. With his help I pressed closer, a shiver running down my spine. I could feel my trigger building, my stomach and a part of my mind wanting to reject what was happening. But I shoved it down. Not now. I needed this. I wanted this...

Jonah:

It didn’t feel like when we had kissed before. That had been for show. This was just us. This was her seeking me out. And yet it didn’t feel like I imagined it would when were together without restrictions. I was holding back. Not physically but mentally.

I did want this. It felt good to have her in my arms, to be with her in a way I had always wanted. She was soft and vulnerable. I tugged her gently, not breaking the kiss, to sit on the bed so that she didn’t have to stand on her toes and I didn’t have to lean down.

In Vegas we had kissed like passionate lovers, all heat and fire. This one wasn't like that. Even as we sat on the bed I didn't move far away. Much like our life had been the kiss was the dance of a spar. Vulnerable as I was and cautious from his part, it was slow, testing the waters of what was between us. And like any good fight action was required. And so my hands moved from behind his neck to tangle in his hair, leaning into the kiss a touch more than before.

Jonah:

Even as my mind whirred with calculations, desire sparked in me. The more she pressed, the more I was tempted to throw caution to the wind. Still, I was controlling the situation. I was getting warm, however, and took my hands off her hips to unzip and tug off my jacket.

Kira:

A made a soft sound of surprise when he started tugging off his jacket. I backed out of the kiss just long enough to see what had happened. A bit of my reservations bubbled through during that moment, but I pressed on anyway leaning forward again to kiss him once more though much lighter than it had been before.

Jonah:

I could feel her pulling away. She wasn’t as eager. I pulled back after she kissed me again. I looked her in the eyes for a moment. “I need a shower,” I said softly. We were always this way, push and pull. It was an unspoken, for her possibly unrealized, competition.

Kira:

When he pulled away I moved my hands back, settling them into my lap as I searched his eyes in return. "Okay." I murmured in return. I had no mask on, hid behind no walls. It was only a vague warm comfort, and the feeling of contentment. Tucking my chin a bit I looked down at the floor, feeling vague touches across my lips. Ghostly echoes of his lips on mine.

Standing up I went to the window, looking out at the city where I let a faint smile cross my face.

Jonah:

I took my time in the shower. I was deciding how far I wanted to take this and if it would have an effect negatively or positively on how she saw me after this mission. When I got out and got dressed I moved over to her and the window and touched her back. "The shower is yours."

My face had returned towards it neutral state by the time he'd stepped out. But I smiled faintly up at him and nodded. "Thanks." Getting up I brushed past him, pausing by my suitcase to grab a change of clothes. My shower was just as long as his, if not longer. When I stepped out I dressed, wrapped up my hair, and brushed my teeth before stepping out. I went right for the bed, plopping down and looking towards him.

Jonah:

I was already laying in bed. I followed her with my eyes when she came out. Instead of saying anything, I reached for her and curled my hand around her wrist. If I said anything it might break the spell. She would start thinking and doubting. She would return to Marie’s rules.

At the tail of end of the shower I could feel touches of the worries trying to worm their way. And when I sat on the bed I opened my mouth to ask him to run through the next day. But he grabbed my wrist and it shook me from that train of thought. Looking at his hand I followed it up his arm to his face. Lifting up my hand I settled my hand on his wrist too, searching his face.

Jonah:

“Come here,” I said softly with a tug at her wrist. She could refuse, of course, I wouldn’t force her to do anything. I might try to talk her into certain things, but never force. I propped myself up on my elbow and pulled her a little more. Bit by bit. Gently.

Guided by his little tugs I laid out beside him. I paused and propped myself back up to toss my towel away and onto the floor. I wasn’t sure what his plan was but I was growing more interested. The thoughts of the mission, tomorrow, the days that would come after. I pushed them aside and they were quickly replaced by a moment not even an hour before. I couldn’t help myself as my eyes dipped towards his lips.

Jonah:

I leaned into her and kissed her lips. This time I was leading and this time it was a little more insistent. What did it matter now if we did do this? She would hate me after tomorrow either way and at least this way she would have something to remember. Perhaps something she would miss and want to go back to. I removed the hand from her wrist and put it on her hip.