The Final Move
Roxy Dawson had woken up in a couple of hotel beds in her life, and she certainly didn’t mind when her companion decided to start the day by taking the breakfast to her and not the other way around. Of course, that day things were bound to be different, for she had just slept with the enemy.
“Good morning,” the dark-haired man said as he laid the tray in front of her. “I hope you enjoyed yourself last night because I certainly did!”
Trying to fight her growing headache, she looked at him, angrily.
“What did you do to me?”
He grabbed a glass and filled it to the brim with freshly squeezed orange juice. Seeing she had no intentions of drinking it herself, he sipped it quietly before answering:
“You know exactly what I did. I did the same thing you would have done to me if I had given you the chance. Don’t worry, you’re not going to remember any of this when I’m gone.”
“You son of a…”
“Hey, that’s not what you said last night!” he grinned. “I have to say I was a bit disappointed with your performance but that wasn’t really the important thing, was it?”
No, it wasn’t, and she knew exactly what he meant. Looking back at it all, she was amazed at the fact that he wasn’t parading the pen-drive in front of her at that moment. Could it be that there was still a shred of decency left in him?
“You’re going to pay for this!” she growled pushing away the tray with as much force as she could exert. However, it wasn’t just the headache debilitating her. She felt a bit weak, nauseated and seemed to keep yawning at the most inappropriate of moments.
“Actually, your company’s the one that’s going to pay! Thanks to the codes you so willingly gave me when in trance, our little dispute over market supremacy can finally come to an end. It was fun, though… We played cat and mouse for a very long time, but now we know who’s the one with the claws, don’t we?”
After emptying the glass, he tucked her in bed against her will and said his goodbyes with a bitter kiss on her forehead.
“Now then… be a good little girl and forget this ever happened, okay? Perhaps, one day, we’ll meet again… I have some triggers I never got to show you last night…”
He waltzed out of the hotel room, without looking back. Roxy watched him go without moving a muscle, waited around ten minutes in the same awkward position and then finally got up, just in time to answer her cell.
“Well, how did it go?” Her boss, Stana, asked.
“Exactly as we planned,” she said, gleefully. “The enemy operative just left with all the info. As soon as it’s uploaded to their online infrastructure, our hypnotic Trojan horse will do its thing. It’s going to be beautiful!”
“I have no doubt it will, but I have to say this: you played a very dangerous game to pull this one off!”
“I know. Luckily, the final move is what it counts, and it’s ours.”
“Nice work. Report to Headquarters as soon as possible for a full debriefing.”
“Sure thing but… Stana…”
“Yes?”
“When we receive confirmation that all of our enemies have been thoroughly brainwashed, I’m going to be needing a favor…”
“Let me guess, you want some time alone with the operative that just left, right?”
Roxy bit her lower lip, unable to contain her excitement.
“Oh, absolutely! You see, I have some triggers I never got to show him last night….”