Untrusted

"Natalya," Ivan said to her quietly as he walked up to her table as she was taking a sip of her drink. Her face lit up as she recognized him.

"It's good to see you, Ivan" she said in Latvian as she stood up to give him a hug.

"You look well," he responded. "This is a much warmer welcome than last time," he said with a smile.

"I am so, so sorry about that," she said. "I...," she started before stopping herself. "I've been doing a lot of thinking." She sighed. "It's complicated. But I shouldn't have done that. I can't believe I did that, and I'm so very sorry."

"It's okay. I know that there is lot of mistrust that is inherent with this business."

"Yes, and for good reason," she added.

"And... I'm sure that you have been trained, as I have, about the dangers that intimate behaviors can have on our emotions and our judgement."

"It's enough to make a woman psychotic at times," she said as she looked at him with a knowing grin.

"Well, yes," he said as he grinned back at her, but his grin became subdued as he continued. "I've been doing a lot of thinking too. And... I also think about the headlines in the papers saying 'He fell in love with her and made poor decisions to the detriment to his country.' Knowing who we can trust can be tricky in this business."

The smile from Natalya's face had all but disappeared.

"But," Ivan resumed. "I'm really happy to see you tonight." He smiled as he held out his hand across the table. Netayla smiled as she took his hand and held it.

"I almost forgot," she said as she removed her clutch from his hand and reached into her purse. She pulled out a wedding ring and placed it on her left ring finger. "Don't worry," she said. "I'm not married. I was told to wear this during this trip. It's a safety precaution. Headquarters was pretty vague, but there have been concerns about kidnapping and human trafficking. Apparently, someone there believes that wearing a wedding ring would reduce my chances of becoming a target. Also, my official name is Līga for this trip. Where is your ring?"

"Pleased to meet you, Līga," he said. "My name is Andris. I wasn't given a ring."

"That's regretful," Līga responded. "We could pretend to be married."

"We could do that anyway," he said. "I just left my ring at home."

"Well, my husband," she said. "Your beard has grown really long since I last saw you."

"Yes," he said. I'm still under orders to let it grow. I've done some trimming to neaten it up at bit."

"I wasn't sure if I liked it when I first saw it, but it's growing on me." She took a sip from her drink.

"What kind of drink do you have there?" he asked her.

"It's called a Black Balsam cocktail," she answered. "The Black Balsam liquor is common to Latvia, and this hotel makes a really good cocktail with it. I suspect that it has some schnapps and some black currant juice to sweeten it, but their exact recipe is a secret. I had one during a previous visit to this hotel. You are welcome to try mine if you'd like. You can order one for yourself if our server ever returns to take your order."

Ivan looked suspiciously at her drink. Natalya noticed his hesitancy. "I see that you are appropriately cautious. I'll take another sip," she said calmly. She raised the glass to her slightly opened mouth, allowing Ivan to clearly see liquid being transferred to her mouth. "If this drink was tainted, then I'll be affected as well," she said with a smile. "However, I won't be offended if you'd like to order your own."

"That was kind of sexy to watch," he said. "Against, my better judgement, I'll trust you with this," he said. He took the glass and slowly raised it to his mouth, sniffed it carefully, and took a small sip. "It has a quite complex set of flavors," he said. "It's really quite good." He took another sip.

"The Black Balsam itself is very bitter by itself," she said. "I like the juice and whatever else they put in to sweeten it up. However, I don't like it as much as I remembered. Maybe they didn't put as much juice as last time."

"I like it as it is," Ivan commented. "I wouldn't want it to be any sweeter."

"Feel free to have my drink," she said. "I'll order something else once the server returns. Before I forget, I have something else for you." They both looked around the room, and they then she discreetly transferred for a small object to Ivan beneath the table.

"I guess we can now move on from business to pleasure," Ivan commented.

"I guess we can," she said.

"I wonder why they chose us for multiple exchanges together?" Ivan asked.

"That question sounds more like business than pleasure," commented Natalya. "Though, maybe they needed a high confidence of positive identification."

"Or maybe a proven track record of high reliability," Ivan added as he looked at her. "I received a vague bulletin about personal safety as well," he said. "Maybe it's related to your safety issue, which is why you are wearing a wedding ring." He took another sip of his drink.

Ivan appeared to be deep in thought. "There are so many questions that I want to ask you, but it's tough to come up with things which we are allowed to ask," he said.

"I agree," she said. "I'd like to see what you come up with."

A crafty look came over Ivan's face. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a coin and handed it to Natalya.

"What's this for?" she asked.

"Flip it. Heads, I'll ask a question. Tails, you'll ask a question," Ivan explained.

Natalya inspected the coin and then looked at Ivan with amused suspicion. "I'm not sure what you're up to, but I'm game," she said with a chuckle. She flipped the coin. "Heads!" she said.

"Hmmm...," said Ivan as he appeared to be deep in thought. "You seem to know several Slavic languages. I'd love to know why... whether it's just a personal interest, or whether it's due to your country of origin, though I know that you can't answer that."

"I wouldn't read too much into that. I know Western languages as well," she said

"Do you know English?" he asked. "That's my question for this coin toss."

"Why I've known English since before the Great War," she responded in English using a formal Southern British Sloane-speak.

"Why that's right amazing," Ivan responded in his best Cockney, "especially for a girl and all that." They both laughed heartily. "Flip," Ivan said as he glanced at the coin on the table.

Natalya picked up the coin, and flipped it again. "Heads, again," she said as she looked at him expectantly.

"Can you do American?" he asked.

"I can do American, and I can do an American as well," she added naughtily with an American English accent and another laugh.

"How about this for American?" asked Ivan. "Ich bin ein Berliner," he uttered with a thick Boston accent.

"That sounded like U.S. President Kennedy trying to speak German," she said with another laugh.

"Correct! I see that we both know at least a little about U.S. presidents."

"Hmmm..," she said, "are you probing for information about my origins?"

"Possibly," he answered with a smile. "I'm extremely curious about you... and not just for professional reasons."

"I'd really like to know where you are from as well," Natalya commented. She flipped the coin again. "Tails. My turn." The looked at him and thought. "Is there some philosophical reason for your proposal for the coin toss tonight?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered.

"What is it?" she asked.

"That would be another question," he said. "Choose your questions carefully." Natalya gave him a dirty look, and then tossed the coin again.

"Tails!" she announced as she glared at him. She pursed her lips and thought carefully about her next question.

"If you want to pursue your last question, then speculate and I'll answer all the questions you have about this topic," he said to her.

"Okay," she said. "Does it have to do with lack of control? or lack of responsibility?"

"A little bit or both, I suppose," he answered, "but that's not it's primary purpose tonight."

"Do you like risks? do you like gambling?"

"I despise gambling," he said. "It's a pointless risk, especially when you know that the odds are against you."

"Do you like surprises?" she asked.

"I love surprises," he answered, "but not reckless risks. I like some unpredictability. There an optimal amount of unpredictability that I like in a person."

"In a person?" she said. "Are you evaluating me? You gave this coin to me to evaluate me?"

"You passed with an exceptional grade," he said to her.

"I passed?" she exclaimed. "Please explain!" she stated with amusement.

"I used it as a tool to see how curious you are, and for insight into your depth. Not many people would ask why. You did, and you asked good questions when I asked you to speculate. And I thought that it was playful."

"And I learned a bit about you, as well," she said.

"I supposed you did," he said as he took a drink from his cocktail. Natalya flipped the coin again.

"Heads," she said. They both sat in silence as they looked at each other. "It's your turn for a question," she said.

"I know, but It's tough coming up with questions that are allowed under our professional restrictions," he said.

"I'm not feeling very sympathetic right now," she said to him with a smirk.

"All of the ones that I can come up with would get me slapped," Ivan said.

"Go for it," she responded. "It may be all we have to talk about. I promise not to slap you. Besides, I'm curious about what you come up with."

"I'm glad to hear that," he said, "but I was half joking. I can't ask what I was really thinking."

"Too late. The cat's out of the bag," she said with emotional animation in her face.

"No, really," he objected.

"Do it," she demanded with a smile. "Ask the question."

"Okay, then," he said. He paused. "I've been enjoying your blond hair. Is all of your hair blond? What color is your pubic hair? What's your natural hair color?"

"Silly man," she said. "I can't show you my pussy hair in here. I might be able to get away with showing you a nipple, but I couldn't pull down my pants and show you my pussy right here," she said while barely suppressing a smile.

"Okay, then, show me a nipple," he said, "though, I didn't really ask to see anything."

Natalya's expression looked a little more serious now. She looked around the room, reached into the bottom of her sweater, maneuvered a nipple out of her bra, and quickly raised the bottom of her sweater to flash him a glimpse of one of her nipples.

"I can't believe that you just did that," Ivan said as he raised his glass of Black Balsam cocktail and gave her a toast before taking a sip.

"I got to see your cock, so I thought that you should be able to at least see a nipple," she said playfully.

"I'm grateful for your generosity this evening," he said.

Natalya flipped the coin. "Tails," she said to him calmly.

"I'm glad that you enjoyed the nipple. Now it's my turn. You may regret taking our conversation in this direction," she said with a sly smile.

"But we started out with questions, not dares," he said. "You turned my question into a dare on your own initiative."

"Oh, it's still a question," she said. "It's a fair question as long as it doesn't reveal our identities or violate our employment terms, right?"

"I'll tentatively agree," he said.

"Okay," she said. She grinned as she asked, "How many times did you masturbate this week?"

"No fair!"

"It's a fair question," she said. "You COULD lie about it, if you are a coward. We may never see each other again, so why not be honest?"

"Okay," he said with a sigh and an uncomfortable smile. "You'll get an answer and an honest answer. So, I guess that nothing is off limits tonight." Natalya continued to smile heartily at him. Ivan took another sip of his drink. "Okay... today is Thursday... so... Sunday... four times."

"So almost once a day," Natalya said with joy in her face.

"Today isn't over," Ivan added.

"This is fun. I'm enjoying myself immensely tonight." She glanced around. "I wish that our server would return for my drink order."

"Well, I'm travelling, so I haven't been able to maintain my usual five times a day quota," he added.

"Is that a joke?" she asked with an air of seriousness.

"Obviously. What do you think?" he asked.

"Oops, I forgot to flip." She flipped the coin. "Heads."

"So how many times did you masturbate this week?" he asked.

Natalya's face fell. "No fair!"

"What's not fair?" he asked.

"I've already asked that question. You can't ask my question."

"That's not a rule. You made that up. Besides, it's a really good question," he said.

"I asked if you were joking about the five times because... well, I masturbated five times Sunday," she said sheepishly.

"Seriously?" he asked.

"Hey, don't judge!" she responded. "You don't live in my shoes. I didn't masturbate at all on Monday."

"I'm not judging at all. I'm actually quite envious... and I'm sorry to hear about Monday," said Ivan with a huge smile. Natalya began laughing and worked extremely hard stifle it, as to not to draw attention to themselves.

"On Sunday," Natalya began, "my luggage was lost. I was stressed, and the weather was cold and crappy. I had nothing else to do that day, so, I bought a new sex toy on my way to the hotel and spent the afternoon and that evening... doing... you can image. I felt much better afterwards. It was therapeutic and cheaper than drinking at the bar."

"I think that the world would be a better place if more people did that," said Ivan.

"While we are confessing," Natalya added. She paused and some seriousness returned to her face again. "I guess I should tell you this. I will confess that I tailed you after our meeting in Germany," she said. "I followed you for about an hour. I'm sorry. I wanted to know more about you, and I justified it by convincing myself that it was a safety issue."

Ivan's smile diminished somewhat, and he commented "It's okay. It's part of the business that we are in. I've done it as well... and with good cause. You had some concerns that you thought were troubling. I hope that you feel that you can trust me now."

"I didn't see anything troubling," she said. There was another pause in their conversation. "I noticed that you like wild wet cunts."

"Huh?"

Natalya couldn't help but smile. "That porn magazine that you picked up at the news stand, 'Wild Wet Cunts.'" Ivan's face fell. Natalya burst out laughing.

"I was stressed after our last meeting!" Ivan protested. "I needed a... a distraction."

"You don't need an excuse," she said. "This business can be hard and lonely at times." Ivan sighed. "When I saw that you had picked that up, I figured that you weren't too much of a prude, so maybe you weren't horrified by what I did at our first meeting."

"I kind of like the old school print magazines from the various countries that I visit. There's a treasure trove of regional erotic culture thrown into each country's porn. I find them interesting for several reasons," he said. "And no, I wasn't horrified by what you did at our first meeting."

"I'm into bondage porn, myself," Natalya added.

"I didn't expect that," Ivan said. "Are you serious?" Natalya nodded affirmatively and Ivan took another sip of his drink. "Should we just decide to end it all and die of embarrassment right now? Or die laughing?" he added as he started to laugh. They weren't doing a good job of being inconspicuous.

"Not until we trade porn magazines," she answered. "Do you still have yours?"

"Of course, I still have mine. Did you think that I'd eaten it?" Ivan asked. They both continued their laughing. "Okay, if we ever see each other again, I'll give you fresh batteries for your sex toy. What size?"

"What makes you think it takes batteries?" Natalya asked.

"I assumed..."

"Double 'A'... four of them!" Natalya answered quickly. "I've drained them all!"

"I'd be happy to help you out," he said with a crafty look. He took another sip of his cocktail as he looked unblinkingly into the smile on her face.

"So...," Ivan continued, "are you into bondage?"

Natalya didn't flinch. "I've liked what I tried. I'm curious, but cautious." Natalya took a moment to study his face. "So, do you like wild wet cunts?" she asked.

"It sounds silly when you say it like that, but yes, I've liked what I tried," he replied with a chuckle. "Bondage and cunts sound like beautiful blend," he added as Natalya looked around the room for their server.

"You are quite a woman," he added. "Got any other juicy secrets that you'd like to get off your chest?"

"Hmmm... juicy...," she said with a red faced smile. "I like to taste my pussy when I'm really horny," she answered followed by another laugh.

Ivan took another drink. He noticed the lines of grout between the tiles on the floor. He hadn't noticed them until now.

Chapter Five: A Rude Awakening

Riga, Latvia

Ivan felt the pillow press against his head. His head hurt, he felt cold, and he saw faint red light through his closed eyelids. He pulled the sheet over his head and fell back asleep.

Ivan awoke again and reluctantly pried open his eyes slightly. Through one eye, he could barely make out an unfamiliar closed yellow backlit curtain covering a window. He had awoken in unfamiliar hotel rooms many times a year, and his current situation seemed routine. He was still cold, and he noticed that he was shivering. The pain in his head had increased. He closed his eyes again.

He opened his eyes again and then bolted upright in bed. He didn't know where he was, and he had no recollection of how he had gotten there. His eyes were seeing double, and it was extremely hard to keep them open. Fatigue and sleepiness seemed to pull his head back towards the pillow, but his growing uneasiness compelled him to investigate.

Sitting upright made his head pound more intensely, and he had trouble making out any clear images with his eyes. The room was freezing, and he realized that he was naked. He quickly threw his feet onto the floor and attempted to stand. His legs immediately collapsed, and he barely caught himself with his hands and narrowly avoided hitting his head on the floor. "Fuck!" he exclaimed out loud. Something was terribly wrong. He began crawling towards the window. The floor was drafty and was much colder than the bed, and his shivering intensified. He carefully stood up and pulled the curtains open slightly so that he could peer through the window. As he stood up, he began to feel nauseous. Painfully cold air poured between the curtain opening onto his naked body, but despite his double vision, he was able to make out an urban landscape covered in newly fallen snow. "Riga," he said to himself, and memories of his journey to this country began to return. He looked closely at the building directly across the street and recognized the hotel where he met Natalya at the bar last night. He still had no recollection of how he had gotten to this room. He had checked into a hotel a few blocks away, and this was not his hotel room. He felt a knot in his stomach, though he didn't know whether it was related to the nausea or whether it had something to do with feelings of possible betrayal by Natalya.

The chill in the room was unbearable, and his next task was to turn on the light and find his clothes. He slowly and carefully walked towards a door on the opposite wall where he found a light switch next to it. He turned on the light and thought that his head going to explode in pain. He closed his eyes for a second, but almost fell over from dizziness. He steadied himself by holding onto the doorknob and tried opening his eyes again. His double vision had partially cleared up, and he was able to make out the key details of what he saw around the room. The room was barren. The bed had a single sheet on it, and two pillows, one of which had no pillow case. He saw a night stand, and on it was his wallet and his phone. No clothes were to be found. His coat, shirt, pants, underwear, shoes, and socks were gone.