Chapter 3

As the crowd cheered and congratulated them a pair of men in impeccably pressed uniforms stood slightly removed from the crowded room. The medals on their shoulders marked them as high ranked officers. They watched the scene unfolding before them without any expression, faces set like a stone. One man’s jaw worked as though he were grinding invisible teeth, the other's gloved hands flexed in and out of fists behind his back, fingers knitting and unknitting. No one noticed their presence; they had made sure of that but they watched everything.

To them, this was not only a boastful display but also a potential threat. The younger officer leaned over and muttered in a low voice, careful to keep his gaze neutral. “This isn’t going to be any good for us, sir. If they put those two on the front line it’s only a matter of time before they start poking holes in what we've built here.” His tone was mixed with something between anxiety and resentment.

His superior, a man older by perhaps a decade but bearing himself with an alarming stillness let the moment hang heavy before responding. The corners of his lips ticked up minutely, just enough to suggest what could be seen by his gesture. “You’re thinking about it all wrong,” he said softly, eyes narrowing. “It’s an advantage to have them somewhere we can see them. With these little ceremonies and medals, they have been disillusioned into the illusion that they matter, that they're being rewarded for loyalty and service.” He paused to watch the medal recipients salute crisply then step down from the platform into a sea of handshakes. “Let them believe they've won something,” he continued. “If they get too clever or too loud, well… accidents can happen.”

A brief silence passed between them as both men considered how many times such “accidents” had already occurred and they smiled in satisfaction.

A week later

“Honey, we have been given a two month holiday. What do you think we should do?” Emily whispered lovingly as her head rested on her husband’s shoulder as they were on their way to the airport to fly out of the country.

Richard Clarke smiled at his wife who was looking at him lovingly and his heart was filled with unspoken feelings he lifted her chin and kissed her slowly wanting to devour her completely.

After a few minutes he let go and held her in his embrace whispered. “Why don’t we go on a vacation with our children after all we haven’t taken them for any vacation for the past two years. We need to give your parents a break.”

“Ow honey, that would be great and we can take mom and dad with us as well.” Emily beamed as she lifted her chin and kissed her husband naughtily.

Richard on the other hand was amused as he looked at his loving wife. Never could he have imagined that an orphan like him could be so lucky to marry an heiress who gave up everything to be with him. He could never thank her enough but would make sure to love her unconditionally.

She thanked him and he wished to say something about how he would be nothing without her, how he would remain a faceless legal clerk in a city that didn't give a damn about him but the words were stuck in his mouth. So, he concentrated on the road before him, keeping track of the green lights as they fell into the beat of the city waking up. They arrived at the terminal with fifteen minutes to spare. He pulled over, turned to her, and for a moment just gazed. He saw in her the girl she once was barefoot on college lawns, sunburned and bright, never reluctant to laugh too loudly or dream too widely.

He saw, as well, the mother she had become, the wife, the soft tyrant in a home where love was a rule, not an option.

He reached out and cradled her face, and she leaned into his touch, her eyes fluttering in expectation.

He kissed her then gently with no rushing motion but with something more. He yearned to write the tale of their life together, to create a memory that they could haul past the customs and make inside the waiting flight. When he finally ended the kiss, he did so with reluctance, his eyes holding hers for a fraction of a second longer than needful.

 “Let's make a memory," he told her, half-teasing, and she smiled with such uncomplicated sweetness that it almost destroyed him.

"All right darling.” she said, and together they collected their bags and their tickets.

The airport was noisy, as ever, but Emily glided through it with the self-confidence of a spy on a covert assignment just like she was during their missions. She threaded the check-in machines and security checkpoints with military efficiency, stopping only to cause Richard to chuckle at the drama unfold with the different families travelling with them, the mismatched footwear in the x-ray machines, the screaming toddler demanding a forbidden juice box, the harried executive quarreling with a flight attendant over seat accommodations. All the while, she provided a detailed description, running commentary, describing their journey as if it were the world's most delightful show..

They arrived at the gate on time. Emily called up her parents, verifying arrival and suggesting arrangements for rejoining after their brief stopover at London. Richard looked on as she talked his heart with the kind of yearning that doesn't cease with making her his but intensifies with it.

“Mommy, where are you?”

“Mommy when are you and daddy coming home?”

“We miss you.” Their children’s voice was coming from the background and Emily was replying to them very patiently knowing their children were looking forward to their visit.

As she hung up and put her phone away, she caught him looking at her and laughed. "What?" she asked and he shook his head.

"Nothing," he replied, and it was, ridiculously, the most honest reply. There was nothing more. There was only Emily.

She slept against his chest on the flight, the rumble of the engines soothing her into the deep sleep. He rubbed her hair and viewed the clouds passing by and thinking about their life together. 

Flash back

Richard had never thought that he would ever be this content, had never dreamed of being able to do so. He’d lost his parents young, spent most of his childhood shuttling between indifferent relatives, and had learned early that love was a kind of currency, dispensed only in exchange for good behavior or secrecy. When he’d met Emily, he’d thought her world unreachable a place of light and color and inexhaustible kindness. She had been showing him up, time and time again, until he'd begun to think that perhaps he did belong there, after all.

It’s been six years since they were officially married after dating for two years. He fell in love instantly with the most beautiful magnet just as she walked inside the university campus on her first day and when he heard that she would be joining the criminal investigation department he was over the moon as he would be able to meet her frequently.

After a month of looking at her from afar he finally got the opportunity to work on a case together and that’s how their love blossomed as Emily was very pretty and she had many pursuers but with him tagging along with her saved her from unwanted advances and she started relying on him and finally she was the one who proposed to him. What else could he have wanted more as she was the best thing that had ever happened to him. For dating for three years and in their final years of university Emily took him to visit her father and that was the first time he realized the vast difference of class in between them as he was a poor orphan man with no status and Emily was the heiress of the Clarke enterprise.

The rumor was going around through their social circle was that he and Emily Clarke would be joining the criminal investigation department as an undergraduate research fellow, a role typically reserved for grad students and prodigies but no one aware that they had both joined the CIA during their internship and would be joining in full term with them after their graduation.

In their final year at university as graduation was about to be over Emily took him home to meet her father.

He was very hesitant and looked at Emily in confusion but when she held his hand firmly he let go of the unease before entering Clarke Tower’s mirrored lobby.

She led him confidently inside his father’s office as the employees bowed their heads in acknowledgement as they walked past them “Just be yourself,” she whispered when elevator doors closed behind them. “Everything else we can fix later.”

He could only nod his head knowing what was coming and followed her inside, trusting her completely.

Mr. Clarke greeted them in person and looked at him questioningly but chose not to interrupt his daughter who was busy introducing them. But when she revealed that he was her boyfriend and she wanted to marry him Mr. Clarke looked at the orphan boy who had somehow survived two years dating his only daughter and the only heiress of his empire without either scandal or any hidden motive. He had already investigated him before his daughter had told him about their visit.

Mr. Clarke had grilled him thoroughly before giving his consent.

Mr. Clarke from his experience knew that he loved his daughter and he couldn’t be happier as she was his sole heir and she had found him a son-in-law who had no hidden attachments with anyone other than his few relatives and he could be an ideal husband for his daughter and manage his huge empire with her.

But right after their graduation Emily dropped the news to her parents about the joining the CIA and that they have already been assigned their jobs and they will be going under cover for their mission her parents had been devastated and threatened to cut her off completely if they joined the CIA but he and Emily were very passionate about their work and wanted to serve their country so they stood firm with their decision.

They joined the CIA and after a year of constant running around and hectic schedule they finally got a month’s holiday as Emily’s father was hospitalized due to cardiac arrest and she had to rush back home.

Emily was shaking as they entered the hospital’s ICU where her father lay and her mother was looking very weak and fragile as soon as she saw her beloved daughter she hugged her daughter and they both consoled each other.

After a few days Mr. Clarke’s condition was stabilized and when he opened his eyes he saw his daughter right beside his bed he couldn’t control his tears and started crying like a baby and Emily had hugged him tightly and comforted him. Her eyes were blood shot as tears poured down her cheeks.

Mr. Clarke’s condition was stabilized and finally he was discharged from the hospital his attending doctor had told them that Emily was the reason Mr. Clarke had pulled though the critical stage and so she should be cautious not to trigger him.

For a week all of them were on high alert taking care of him without causing him any distress and gradually he recovered. They had very less days of their leaves left so they made most of it and one week before their departure Emily came to know that she was pregnant he was over the moon and so were his in-laws but his father-in-law insisted that they leave their child with them after he or she was born as it would be risky in their line of work. Both he and his wife agreed as the assignment they were working on was dangerous so Emily came back home again for her maternity leave and left her son, their first born with her parents who were way too eager to fulfill their role as grandparents and in a way they wouldn’t be lonely as the toddler would keep them busy.

After two years Emily gave birth to another child, this time a daughter and the Mansion was filled with children’s cries everywhere. Both he and Emily would take leaves in between to visit them whenever they could as the mission was getting very crucial and they couldn’t jeopardize it with carelessness their family was also protected secretly because of the dangerous mission and after six months of continuously tracking they cracked down the code and captured the syndicate which had been giving them trouble for over a decade and finally now with that the mission had ended they could spend time with their children.

He had always been passionate about his job as he had seen his parents being targeted by their rivals when he was ten years old and because of which they had died in the car crash. The culprits were caught but because of bribery were released and that's why he always dreamt of joining the CIA as he wanted to handle complex cases where people would get justice and he would make sure that the people responsible would get punished. Emily on the other hand was passionate and very curious about criminal psychology since she was very young and their common interest brought them closer to each other but now he knew that they had their children and their parents who were getting old so they had to focus on taking care of them. Since they had been given a chance to stay closer to them they would make sure to make the most of it. His first priority was to serve his country but his family was also dear to him.

Present day

Emily and Richard landed at Budapest airport and were greeted with a surprise welcome and they went down to the VIP exit and saw their toddlers running towards them.

“Mommy”

“Daddy” the children shouted as they spotted them.

Richard lifted them both and hugged them tightly as Emily joined them. Their parents wiped their tears as they watched the family of four getting reunited.

Richard and Emily took their children and parents to travel around the world and enjoyed their much awaited vacation.

There was a week left after their return from their vacation before they joined their office in Seattle but they were told to report early as there were a series of murder taking place in the city.

Emily’s father had advised them to stay at their mansion in Seattle and it was well guarded since they were taking their children with them for a few months. Richard agreed as it would be safer and his father in-law was not in the state to look after the company in Seattle and they had to step in his place. They decided Emily would take a break to help out at the company but the higher up didn’t allow Emily to do so and told her to work from home as her main expertise was to study the criminal’s psychology and she would be able to manage.

Emily managed the household, the company and her role as a CIA agent while Richard was busy working a nine to five job and their life was moving at an even pace but little did they know that trouble had been following them from the day they graduated and it was looming very dangerously around them.