Note from Loth(the Sloth): Thank you, Gentle and Patent Readers! *hugs all*
Mishka
Chapter Sixteen: Love Between LiesNatalya insisted on Mac taking some time to rest. She didn't know that his broken arm was bogus, and he couldn't really tell her—only insist that it didn't hurt. When she inquired about the medicine that he'd been prescribed, he had to think fast and tell her that he had none, adding quickly that he was allergic to painkillers.
A small lie, he thought,
relatively harmless. But she frowned at him after he said it, as if she didn't believe him at all.
So they spent the rest of the morning lying on top of the duvet, Natalya nestled under his good arm. From the dark smudges under her eyes, MacGyver guessed that she was very tired—from worrying about her uncle and maybe a little about him. That part of his thought brought him a smile; though he didn't want to cause her any distress, it did feel good to be cared about. He closed his eyes and let himself sleep, but lightly; noises from the hallway or from the next suite woke him frequently. After about two hours, his stomach growled a few times.
It was loud enough to wake Natalya.
She blinked, smiled up at him, and then rubbed his sweater where it stretched over his midriff. “Is that the sound of an earthquake?” She giggled when MacGyver's face reddened.
“I've skipped dinner. And breakfast.” He looked at the bedside clock. “And lunch, soon.”
Natalya pushed herself up and looked down into his face. “Why didn't you say something?”
“I don't talk in my sleep.” She swatted at him playfully and he ducked away.
“You should eat. You need your strength to heal.” She slid off the bed and straightened her clothes. Mac watched her until she noticed and blushed. “Come on!” She held out her hand to him imperiously.
“Yes, ma'am.”
The hotel restaurant was packed and the line of people waiting too long. MacGyver and Natalya left the hotel and, avoiding the taxi-stand with some laughter, walked until they found a café that wasn't too overcrowded. They ordered the specials and ate whatever they were brought, sharing each dish and fighting playfully for the last bite.
Natalya caught him looking at her; she leveled her gaze at him. “What? Do I have
rieska in my teeth?”
Mac laughed. “No. I was just wondering how long it will be before your coach comes looking for you.”
Natalya's smile faded slightly; she ducked her head a little. “Not now. But he will expect me to be working in the gym, preparing for tomorrow's trials.”
“I just don't want to be in your way of getting to the Olympics,” MacGyver covered her hand with his. “As much as I enjoy your company and your attention.”
She smiled at him sweetly. “I feel so bad that you are out. Perhaps next time...”
“Oh, yeah! You bet! I'll be right back in there—before you know it!” MacGyver ignored the pang in his gut as the lie rolled out effortlessly.
Natalya grew quiet, her eyes downcast as she toyed with the fork on her empty plate.
“Natalie? Are you okay? I promise, I'm going to be fine—”
“Oh, no—it's not that. I—I'm just worried. About my uncle.”
“It's being taken care of. Trust me.”
As soon as I'd uttered that word—trust—I wished I hadn't said it. It hung dully between us. I realized, in that awkward moment, that she didn't believe me—even the things I said that I meant.Natalya saw the change come over MacGyver's face, and her heart froze a little.
He knows.She felt her face turning red, and to cover it she raised her napkin, not having to try to fake her tears.
“C'mon.” MacGyver tossed money onto the table and took her arm. They walked back to the hotel, hand in cold hand.
When they reached the lobby, she stopped, pulling her hand free. “I must—go and work out in the gym. Can I—can I come and see you later? You'll—” she took a deep breath, “You'll be in your room? Um, resting?”
“Yeah.”
Hollow, hollow words. “I'll look forward to it. Natalie—” She was walking away from him, but turned back at the sound of her name. “I'm sure everything will be okay.”
She smiled gratefully at him. “It will be... soon.”
xoxox
MacGyver unlocked the door of his room and pushed it open with his fingertips. There had been no one in the stairwell or in the corridor. If the KGB were watching, they had perfected the art of surveillance to the levels of invisibility. The switch was just inside the door; Mac slapped the light on and pushed the door shut.
“Come out, come out, where ever you are.”
Gorodisch peeked out from behind the heavy drapes. “Boo.”
“Huh. I expected you to be in the closet.”
“Closets don't have escape routes.” Gorodisch flopped onto the bed, his hands behind his head. “You don't mind, do you? I've been skulking all night and I'm ragged.”
“Natalie says that the KGB have laid off—” MacGyver paused when he saw the dark look on Gorodisch's face. “—but you disagree.”
“MacGyver, my friend, we are on the razor's edge.” He rolled up off the bed in a smooth motion and stood in front of Mac. He looked him straight in the eye. “I hate to tell you this, but your girlfriend is working for the KGB.”
MacGyver gaped at him. “Natalie? No way. Just—no way, man!” He clenched his fists, eyes sparking with anger.
Gorodisch held up a soothing hand. “Take it easy. In this business, it is hard to know who to trust. It is possible that she has no choice.”
“You mean it is possible that she doesn't even have an uncle who wants to defect! I thought you saw him—”
Gorodisch shrugged. “I saw the man—I know his face. He's a dissenter—rumors of his defection are flying around Moscow like leaflets in the wind. Her story is credible.”
Mac looked at Gorodisch; he trusted this man.
But who can you really trust in this business? “And you know this—how?!”
“You forget—I work for individuals high in the Soviet government. I have it from impeccable authorities. I am sorry, my friend—the agents we saw earlier have been assigned to intercept this intel,” he glanced at Mac’s cast meaningfully, “and Miss Vistkaya is the way they mean to obtain them.”
Mac thought back to the moment when he had first seen her. Had the scene at the door of his hotel room been completely contrived? Had she been trying to break in after all? “I don't believe that!” Mac muttered to himself. He crossed his arms to hold in the ache in his heart.
“Dammit! I
never should have gotten her involved!” MacGvyer turned away, thumping an impotent fist against the woodwork.
“Don't beat yourself up, MacGvyer—you've only got one good arm—remember? Look—there was no reason to suspect her. She was innocent when you met—I am sure of it. Somehow they got wind that you were the courier—and that might be my fault, for contacting you too soon.” His hand clasped MacGyver's shoulder. “Pull yourself together, man. All we can do now is work through this.”
“They must've been on to us from the beginning.”
“I can’t see how they found out—but I have to agree. We won’t wait—we go tonight. I’ll have transport ready if I have to steal a plane.”
“What about your cover? If Natalie—” MacGyver hesitated over her name, “If Natalya is KGB—she’s seen your face.”
“In disguise. She won’t be able to identify me in Moscow—my face there is very different from this.” He drew a hand over his own features.
MacGyver sighed. “Let’s go then. There is no point in staying here, waiting for them to bust down the door.”
“You still have some protection, MacGyver—they don’t dare take you outright. That’s why they are using the girl—they need to take what you carry without creating a diplomatic incident.”
“Then we should give them something that they think that they want,” MacGyver said grimly.
Gorodisch reached into the inner pocket of his jacket, pulled out a sheaf of papers and a passport. “Here are the documents that I arranged for Dr. Petrov—they cannot be traced to me, of course—plus a little something for the Party Boys to chew on. Make sure she sees you hide them. Don’t make it too easy for her to take them, and as soon as she's got them, get out of this hotel. Leave everything—we’ll be traveling light and fast.” He held the papers out for MacGyver to take. “Head for the airport. I’ll intercept you somewhere along the way.”
MacGvyer accepted them with numb fingers. “What will happen to her when they find out this is false information?”
“It isn't false. It is information that will reveal a leak at Red Army Headquarters. They will catch a double agent, and Miss Vistkaya will be rewarded as an heroic citizen of the Soviet.”
“A leak at Red Army HQ... what? You're going to out
yourself?”
Gorodisch gave him a wolfish grin. “Don't be ridiculous. You think I'm the only double agent in the Soviet?”
MacGyver shook his head. “Politics. How do you keep all this craziness straight?”
Gorodisch clapped his hand to MacGyver's shoulder, giving him a friendly shake. “Trust me, my friend. I know I ask a great deal, and I won't say that there is no chance that it won't all go downhill—but we can do what we can. What you must do what you must do.” He tapped the cast on Mac's arm meaningfully. “Many lives depend upon making her believe she has tricked you.”
“All right.” MacGyver sighed. “I'll do my best.”
Everyone, sometimes, needs a camel.
Old troubleshooters never die...
They just wait til the last moment and then rescue themselves!
He'll need to ductape the pieces of his heart yet again.
