Chapter 30: Chapter 30

C H A P T E R - T H I R T E E N

II awoke to the sound of Falcone's whisper from a distance.

He was talking on the phone.

I blinked my eyes open.

I was lying in Falcone's bed.

I placed my hands under my chin and closed my eyes, as the previous night crept into my mind.

It's all there. And there was plenty of it.

Mont G began with Cosmo G drinks, which had pineapple-infused tequila, cranberry, and guava. Delicious. It's refreshing.

Dangerous.

I wasn't opposed to drinking outside of a cosmo providing the cocktail included cosmo in the name, so Cosmo Gs it was.

There are a lot of them. And plenty of food. And a lot of chatting from me.

During our drive, Falcone's allotted amount of sharing was obviously exhausted. I answered Falcone's inquiries over the course of the dinner talk. He may have known everything about me, but it was obvious he wanted to know how I felt about everything, so he asked me about my Mom. I replied that, as wonderful as Melinda was, Mom taking off sucked, and that the fact that she was able to do so and did. He then asked me about my Dad, and I told him all about him, as well as all the reasons I loved him and thought he was a wonderful father (kind of one in the same but I still went into detail about both topics).

Melinda is the same way. With Isabelle, on the other hand, I did confess that despite the fact that she was only Isabelle and there wasn't much to love about her, I still considered her to be my sister and never gave up hope that she would one day get her shit together. He inquired about Mic, Ryan, and Antonette, but it was I—on my fourth Cosmo G—who related about Enrico and how I was concerned that, now that his crush had been out, he would go from my life and that I would miss him if he did.

Falcone also joined in my laughter when I cracked a joke or related a humorous anecdote, and I joined him when he made a hilarious remark.

He was interested in whatever I said, too, to finish. He was solely paying attention to me. Every word that came out of my lips seemed to be a piece of the jigsaw that represented the meaning of life, and although he already had some of the pieces, he was determined to have them all. There was something about it that felt wonderful, as in really nice, like his carefree and at ease but concentrated concentration, the fact that not one lady who passed by drew his attention, in fact, nothing but me did, and the fact that he was just focused on me.

The cuisine was excellent, the beverages were plenty, my company was entertaining and sweltering hot, and I had amazing shoes. It was simple and enjoyable.

The finest date I'd ever been on was that one.

The second half of the night began after Cosmo G number six, when we departed.

When Falcone's phone rang, we were still driving through Manila's streets in the Camaro, me speculating about where the night might take us next and beginning to quake in a quiet spot at the direction my thoughts were leading me. He answered the call, spoke briefly, then closed and slung the phone back.

"I need a brief on a situation, babe, therefore I've got to head to base. Urgent. Do you mind hanging in my office? ”

When he asked, my first thought was, "Oh my God!" I can see his base now!

The phrase I selected to use, "Sure," came out upbeat and eager, and because I was a little drunk, I was quite sure I didn't disguise my excitement. I saw that he was smiling when I happened to look at him.

He led me to the elevator and took me to the fourteenth story of a high rise office building in upper downtown as he pulled into the basement garage. When the elevator door opened, there was a vestibule with two corridors on either side of it. In the hallway, Falcone turned right twice before choosing door number two and opening it with a keycard.

As I entered with him, I came to a complete halt.

Cool instantly.

Central Command!

Even against the nighttime skyline, the windows with the view out the rear were shadowed. With three levels, four workstations on each level, and a variety of knobs, buttons, and telephones on the consoles of the workstations in front of me in theater-style raised platforms. Rows of screens embedded in the wall behind me, each showing some sort of activity, person, location, or object. The equipment beneath them has numerical displays. Three offices could be found to the left of the theater area, and all of them, with the exception of the final one on the top level, featured floor to ceiling windows that provided constant visibility into what was being done within. There were two additional doors to the right, one leading to a large conference room with more floor to ceiling windows, the other serving as a door with no windows.

There were several commandos in the room, some of whom I had previously seen and others I had not. Some of them were waiting for Falcone at workstations.

"Smoke" was one.

I waved and said, "Hey Smoke."

The commandos shifted their feet and glanced at their boots.

"Hey Gia," Smoke said in return.

Can I choose the nickname you come up with the next time you need to fool someone?" I cocked my head to the side.

More shuffled feet followed by Smoke grinning at me and Falcone laughing before he handed me a keycard and placed his hand in the small of my back.

"Babe, hang there in the top office."  he said, "I'll come get you as soon as I'm finished," I peered up at him and saw him jerk his head to the upper level's shadowy office.

I nodded and, without thinking, placed a palm softly on his abdomen, raised up on my toes and pressed my mouth to his. My body and brain had just ingested six Cosmo Gs, and I had Jimmy Choos on my feet and delicious food in my gut. My night had been spent across the table from him.

Then, unaware that a swarm of commando eyes were watching me, some admiringly and all curiously, I cut over the gleaming black flooring, ascended the side aisle stairs, and used the keycard to enter his office.

As soon as I walked in and turned on the light, I saw how ultra-modern and clinical Falcone's office looked. There are no images on the credenza or desk. Walls are devoid of medals. There are no plaques or trophies on display. No personal items are allowed. There was only a phone on the desk; there were no files, pencil holders, notepads, or even a computer. The space was so spotless and adorned in black, light gray, black leather, and chrome that a doctor could operate there. On the wall, four television monitors had empty screens. A long, black couch was present.

In front of his desk were two black seats, and behind it was a large, high-backed swivel chair. There it was.

Instead of trying to rummage through drawers while I was in Falcone's office, I chose to text Mic and Antonette about the date. First off, even though he may have intruded into my life, it didn't mean I had to return the favor by rummaging into drawers. Second, and more crucially, I believed that he may have hidden cameras that would record my actions, which would make him angry and make Falcone upset, which was a frightening thought.

I texted Mic and Antonette about the date while I sat on the sofa. I got jubilant replies from Tonette and warning texts from Mic, who mostly begged me not to drink any more alcohol.

Falcone claimed it wouldn't take long, but he was mistaken. I ultimately dozed asleep on his sofa since it took a while, I had six Cosmo Gs, I was full from eating them, and I'd had two nights of sleep disturbed by high-emotional moments like break-ins and firebombs.

Falcone picked me up in his arms and roused me from sleep.

I murmured, "I can walk."

“Yeah? " He inquired, then advised, "How about you try it on flat ground in those heels?"

Did he want to carry me? Okay, it was OK with me.

"'Kay," I mumbled as I pressed my forehead into his neck and placed one arm over his shoulder, the other around his neck.

He led me down the steps near the console workstations, but even when we reached level ground, he didn't place me until we were outside the elevator. I leaned deeply into him as he did.

“Tired?" he inquired.

"Six Cosmo Gs," I said, slurring the term "Cosmo Gs" partly because I was drowsy and partly because I was still a little inebriated.

He chuckled and drew me in closer.

"Your briefing lasted a long time," I said as we entered the elevator and I was again squeezed into him.

"According to reports from the field, things had changed, and we needed to cancel the mission, reorganize, and re-engage."

This was all terrifying terminology that my mind couldn't handle, so I pulled my face from his chest and leaned back to stare at him. "Can you guess what I don't want to know?"

"No, you don't want to know," he said, grinning down at me.

"You're smiling," I noticed. "Does this imply that there were no casualties?" ”

"Not the good folks," he countered.

Once again, terrifying. Mind refused to process once again. However, there is good news.

"Good to know," I whispered as I put my cheek in his chest again.

He squeezed my hand. Then he led me from the elevator to the Camaro. Then I dozed off again.