Lost In Translation Ch. 04

Sorry it took so long for me to continue. School and exams and a small bout of writers block all got in the way a little. Please, as always, feel free to comment and vote. All feedback is very welcome.

* * * * *

"Well? What do you think, so far?" Dr. Pike and Esther were in the infirmary where the later was getting a physical. Esther had been quiet since the briefing so Liz prodded her a bit to let out her thoughts.

"I don't know. It's a lot to take in. Not only the information, but the situation as a whole. I mean, it all seems so surreal! Drew being CIA, me becoming an asset, a mission to China... I don't know if I can do this!" Esther was becoming more insecure by the minute. The more she thought about it the more she felt like it was too much.

Liz listened intently as she checked Esther's reflexes. "The reality of the situation didn't really hit you until the briefing, right? I could see how your demeanor changed as you listened to the mission briefing."

"Yeah, something like that. I mean, why me? Why not somebody else? And all this stuff about terrorists and bio-weapons... The closest I have ever been to either was in a Tom Clancy novel! And I don't even like those! I can't go around pretending to people and lying! But that is essentially what you guys have to do on a daily basis to do your job! Hell, Drew even pretended to like me to recruit me! I can't do that, ignore my emotions, ignore my conscience, just follow orders! I... I... I can't..." Esther was talking herself into a fit. Her breathing became unsteady and she felt close to tears.

Liz wrapped her arms around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. "Calm down... no need to get upset... it's OK. Take a deep breath." When Esther calmed Liz took her hand and looked her in the eyes. "Esther... the question isn't IF you can do it; because you can, we know you can. That's why we recruited you. We can teach you the skills and give you the tools to do this job. The question is WHY you do it! Why did you say yes when Drew asked you to come work for us? And don't give me that shit about there not really being an option. What made you make the conscious decision to join us?"

Esther had to think about that, and when she reached her conclusion she looked a bit sheepish. "I wanted to get back at Drew for leading me on. And I thought it would be an exciting adventure."

Liz had to grin at that. She continued her examination by taking blood samples. "Well there's a start. Those are your personal reasons for being here, and you don't have to defend them to anyone but yourself. Now, you might think, those reasons don't apply anymore because reality set in. But why shouldn't they? I'm aware of your situation with Drew. Why don't you make him suffer a bit for what he put you through?"

"He was following orders! I can't really blame him for that."

"Why the hell not?! He could have done it differently. He didn't have to take you out or kiss you! There were other ways to recruit you. You think about that. And as for the exciting adventure part; It is! Yes, we follow orders, and yes, there are things to our jobs that we don't necessarily like. But that's life. This job is dangerous and only very few people can do it. You are among those few who can. And at the end of the day there is one thing you should remember: you're becoming a spy! How much cooler can you get? Believe me, there will be enough exciting adventure along the way. Before long, you'll be begging for some peace and quiet!"

Esther smiled at Liz' encouragement. It made her feel better. And it made her think. Why had Drew asked her out? Looking back, she could come up with several easier ways to recruit her that did not involve hurting her feelings.

She remembered their date and how Drew had kissed her. She got goosebumps just thinking about that kiss. If he had taken her home then, she didn't know how far she would have gone last night. And the way he had looked at her when she had stood in the body scanner clad only in bra and panties. In hindsight that look sent shivers down her spine.

The more she thought about it, she realized that he had looked at her much the same today at sparring practice. She just hadn't thought about it then, because she had been letting out her anger at him.

* * * * *

She was heading for the bullpen, to meet Drew at his desk, when her cell phone rang. The caller ID showed Lee, one of her best friends, who had helped her get ready for the date the night before. As she pushed the button to accept the call, she realized she had forgotten to call her this morning. She had promised to call and give a full report on what happened on the date. 'What am I gonna tell her?'

"Hey, Lee! Sorry I forgot to call..."

Lee didn't let her finish the sentence. "Never mind that. How was your date last night? Please tell me he was still there this morning and that's why you hadn't called!" She was excited.

"Uh... well... not quite. Um... he was the reason I didn't call, but he didn't spend the night. The date went great." Esther decided to be as honest as possible and recounted the events of the night before, leaving out being mugged and recruited by the CIA. And up until that point it had been a great date.

Esther didn't want Lee to worry about her, and she knew, that if she told her that the date hadn't worked out, Lee would want to come by to comfort her and give advice on how to handle the situation. And she couldn't have that right now. So she decided to let her think that everything went well.

"He picked me up this morning and we had breakfast." Well, that was sort of true. Drew had brought coffee and donuts to eat on the way to Fortress. "I just had a meeting for my new assignment. And, well, I think I'll be seeing him again later." She didn't mention that later was in just a couple of minutes.

"Wow! You're seeing him again already. Don't you think it's a bit too much?" Lee was a bit concerned. "Don't get me wrong, it's great that you're getting on so well. But you should maybe take it a bit slower."

When she heard Esther snort at that she misinterpreted it as displeasure. "I just don't want to see you get hurt again! Listen, I think you deserve a great guy, but I think it's a bit suspicious that this is moving way to fast. You only met the guy two days ago!"

"Um... you see... I know... he... I..." Esther was stuttering, desperately searching for a way to make it more plausible, because Lee was right. Then she sighed and decided to give Lee a minor detail she had left out until then. "Lee, what I didn't tell you before is that Drew is actually my new client. I know it's totally unprofessional, why I didn't tell you. So the reason I'm seeing so much of him today is that I'm working with him. Completely professional... well almost." There, that explains everything.

"Oh... why didn't you tell me before?" Lee didn't let her answer that. "Aren't you always the one so adamant about not letting your private life get mixed up with business? Now look who's talking?" she teased.

"Oh, stop it, will you! I know what I said. But I decided to take a chance, and we'll just have to see how it works out." Esther answered.

"Alright, alright. I'm just happy for you. I hope it does work out. I need to go now, keep me posted on the Drew front! Bye." Lee hung up without waiting for a reply. That was so like her, a whirlwind with good intentions.

Esther smiled as she put her phone back in her pocket. The Drew front was going to become quite interesting!

As she thought about it, she came to several conclusions: for one, it had been unnecessary for Drew recruit her the way he had, he had to have some ulterior motive; second, the emotion he had put into their kiss was real, or he was one hell of an actor; and third, she was going to take Liz' advice and make him suffer a bit.

She was pretty sure, that Drew was attracted to her. She wasn't conceited, but she knew that with her exotic looks and curvy body she was attractive enough. She hoped she wasn't wrong about it, else she would be making a fool of herself.

She was going to flirt with and tease Drew and see how far she could push him and then drop him cold. She smiled to herself and decided to put her plan right into action.

* * * * *

Drew and Esther were standing in the shooting range. He had introduced her to a number of handguns and explained which were the most used and showed her how to take them apart and clean them. He gave her the basic gun safety instructions and then handed her .45 Glock and a pair of safety goggles.

Throughout his instructions he was a bit distracted. Esther hadn't buttoned her blouse up all the way after returning from her physical, leaving him with a great view of her cleavage. She must not be aware how great, because she kept unconsciously pushing out her chest and bending over the table giving him an even greater view.

"OK, Esther. I should have asked before, but have you ever fired a gun?" Drew asked warily.

"No, but my dad had taught me the basics. He never let me fire one though."

"Well, then let's see how you do."

Esther stepped into the box and laid down the gun and the clip he handed her. She put on the goggles and loaded the gun. She decided to act a bit more awkward than she actually was and get him to help her. She held the weapon in her right and fired, not really aiming, closing her eyes to brace for the impact. "Ow! I thought others were supposed to be hurt by this!"

"You're holding it wrong! And your stance is off. Don't close your eyes! I thought you knew the basics!"

"Well I never practiced them! Why don't you show me?" Esther turned back towards the range and waited until he stepped up behind her.

Drew put his arms around her and told her where to set her feet and to support her shooting arm with the other. She relaxed into his hold and leaned slightly against him.

He could feel her head to toe and had to close his eyes to keep his composure. What was she doing? She spoke to him as if she was indifferent, but her body language was oozing sensuality. Did she even notice?

To keep in control he stepped away from her and cleared his throat. He didn't notice the slight smile that was playing about her lips.

To break the tension she shot, again not really aiming, missing her mark.

"Your aim is off. Hold the gun higher and direct your aim across the barrel." Drew was trying not to show his exasperation. She was so good at everything else; he had somehow expected her to be a good shot too.

When she gave him a confused look he sighed and stepped behind her again. He lifted right arm a little higher and explained again how to aim. His face was close to hers, to make sure her aim was right. He could smell her shampoo and her own unique scent. It was a mix of lavender and mint and something uniquely Esther.

As he breathed in her heady scent he felt the urge to lick her neck, find out what she tastes like. Just as his head was drifting down Esther fired another round. He jumped back, shaken out of his trance.

"Bull's-eye!! I hit dead center!" Esther put down the gun and performed a little victory dance.

As Drew watched he berated himself for getting distracted again. He should have let Walker do the gun training; he was the weapons guy after all.

He shook himself mentally and took a deep breath. "Don't get ahead of yourself. You hit the target once. Now let's see you repeat it."

Esther had a mischievous glint in her eyes as she turned back to the range and picked up the gun. She rapidly emptied the clip into the target, all rounds hitting the head or the body close to the center.

Drew gaped at her as she pulled the target sheet off its hangers. Then he composed himself, and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "I thought you never fired a gun before!" he accused.

"I haven't... well not a real gun. But you're looking at the BB gun shooting champion of the Wichita County Fair. I thought that would be in that neat little file of yours." She answered sassily.

Without paying further attention to him she removed the clip and checked the chamber. She then moved back to the table where the other guns were laid out and preceded in taking the gun apart and cleaning it, just like he had shown her.

Drew was stumped. What had just happened here? She had played him, he realized. She must have noticed what kind of affect she was having on him and ruthlessly took advantage of that.

She was messing with his head and had done that even before she realized it. God, what was he going to do now?

Esther was silently celebrating her triumph. She had seen how distracted he had been when she had sat across from him with her collar wide open, while he was trying to teach her Fire Arms 101. And she had been even more satisfied with his reaction when he had to show her how to shoot and aim.

'Gotcha' She thought. 'Let's see how long we can keep this up.'

She did her best to ignore the fact that she had enjoyed feeling his arms around her.

* * * * *

Trying his best to avoid her, Drew had asked Liz to give Esther a ride home.

"What did you do to the poor guy? He looked about ready to run! I've never seen Drew act this way, ever!" Liz was quite amused by Drew's actions.

"I did what you suggested. I made him a little uncomfortable. It's easier than I thought to get him a little riled up." Esther giggled.

She wasn't sure how long she would be able to play this game, however. She was pretty sure, by the look that he had given her as they left the shooting range, that he had caught on to what she was doing.

"Just be careful," Liz warned. "Drew is a fully trained spy. You've rattled his case, so don't be surprised if it comes back to haunt you."

Esther didn't let that dampen her mood. It felt too good to exact a little revenge.

She usually didn't hold grudges, but something about Drew's deception had hit her hard. Something that she wasn't quite willing to examine yet.

Liz dropped Esther off. As she entered her apartment she felt exhaustion overcome her. It had been a long day. And she knew, an even longer weekend lay ahead of her. Instead of going to Tae-Kwon-Do practice on Saturday morning and relaxing to rest of the weekend she would spend the next two days at Fortress going over profiles of terrorists, studying up on terminology in all languages she spoke, and training to be ready for her mission.

For some reason she was actually looking forward to it. At some point she had come to terms with everything: her mission to China, her new job in general, and even Drew.

A little voice in the back of her mind, which she was desperately trying to ignore, whispered that she hadn't only come to terms with Drew; she was playing with fire by teasing him and she was anticipating the outcome.

It wasn't very late yet, but Esther decided to call it a night anyways and headed for her bedroom. Without turning on the light she walked across room into the ensuite bathroom. She turned on the light in there and took off her clothes getting ready for bed. After washing up she put on a white tank top and panties and returned to her bedroom. As she flicked on the light she noticed a movement in the corner of her eye. Totally taken by surprise she faced her intruder.

In the corner of the room, sitting comfortably in a stuffed armchair was Drew.

*****

After sending Esther home Drew paced between the desks of the bullpen. What was going on with him? He had never been in such an emotional and physical uproar over a woman. And she somehow knew how she affected him.

How was he supposed to work with her, when he couldn't get his mind off of her? This wasn't good. Maybe he should aboard the mission. But he knew he couldn't, not so close to engagement. And he couldn't find somebody to replace her either. She already knew too much, plus it had taken him months to find her. Somebody with her skills and expertise, and her background. It would again take months to find and develop another asset.

And he was pretty sure he didn't want to lose her this soon either. He had to get her out of his system!

"What's up, buddy?" Walker pulled him out of his thoughts. "You seem to be out of it somehow? What's wrong?"

Drew looked up and scratched his head thoughtfully. "I'm just contemplating if Esther was the right choice for this job."

"Are you kidding me? I've seen files you went through to find her, you couldn't have chosen better. And I heard she held her own pretty well in training today. She wasn't too happy after the briefing today, but most assets react that way when reality sinks in. I think she handled it well, and she had a talk with Liz after which probably helped."

"It's not that... I just don't know if we make a good team..."

"You seemed to make a pretty good team last night." Walker pointed out with a grin.

"What's that supposed to mean. I was doing my job!"

"When was the last time you went out on a romantic date to develop an asset?" Walker answered suppressing a grin. "I mean, I wouldn't have minded to take your place, she's hot! Maybe I should ask her out sometime."

Walker was fishing for a reaction and Drew would be damned if he rose for the bait. "You do that." With that he left.

But Walker's words had made him think. His initial instinct had been to punch Walker for his suggestion. He needed to concentrate on his job, on the mission. And for that he needed to get Esther out of his head. And he knew only one way how he could do that.

*****

What the hell was he doing here? How did he get in? How long had he been sitting there... with a plain view through her open bathroom door to boot? Oh God, had he seen her naked? With so many questions running through her head Esther was still too stunned to voice single one of them.

Slowly, with a seductive smile on his lips, Drew got up from the chair and approached her. That seemed to shake her out of her reverie.

"Drew, what..." more didn't come out as he cut her off by lowering his head and pressing his lips to hers. She couldn't move.

As he settled his hands on her hips to pull her closer she started to struggle. She tried to push against his chest and pull out of his hold, but Drew ignored it and just pressed her closer to him.

He ran his tongue across her lips, and when she didn't open he nibbled at her lower lip. She moaned at that and Drew used the moment to thrust his tongue into her mouth, intensifying the kiss.

Her mind turned to mush at the passion of his kiss. She somehow found herself wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him back. She couldn't get close enough to him and pressed herself against him at her own accord.

He knew she could feel his arousal pressing into her belly. He needed to feel her skin and couldn't suppress the urge to taste her. He nibbled down her jaw and sucked her earlobe into his mouth. At the same time his hands pushed under her top and slowly stroked up her back, down her sides and up again across her belly.

Esther groaned as his lips found the sensitive spot behind her ear and sucked and licked there. His hands felt wonderful on her body. She buried one of her own in his hair, the other stroked down his back. She could feel his muscles bunch under his t-shirt.

His hands traveled back up her front and his fingers ran across the underside of her breasts pushing up her top. God, her breasts were amazing. He wanted to touch them, taste them, feel their fullness. Drew nibbled his way across her collarbone as he carefully wrapped one arm around her body and gently cupped one perfect mound in the other hand, tweaking the nipple to make her moan.

Suddenly, the last few working brain cells she had left kicked in and Esther started to struggle again, fighting her way out of the haze of passion that clouded her mind. What was she doing? Was she so gullible? He just had to show up, kiss her and she would melt into his arms?