“My bum is numb,” Nick whined. The animal under him whinnied in response as it slowly lead the others, bowing its head.
It was such an abrupt change of scenery that, despite having been travelling the world for the past few – he had lost the count of how many – days, Nick was utterly and totally bewildered. It must have been only a couple of hours since they’d been chasing their felon through the Mediterranean. Once they had landed on the south shores of Turkey, they finally had the solid evidence that Tanja was running off to the heart of the country, somewhere called Cappadocia.
After a quick helicopter ride from the seaside, they had managed to reach the outskirts of the Nevsehir province, which was home to the ancient town of Cappadocia. There, they had met up with Opal, Jay, and Leo.
And now, half an hour after they’d arrived in the province, they were all riding horses, trying to reach the ancient town. Being an avid lover of ocean, Nick had taken an instant liking to the south shores of Turkey, towns lined up by the sea and the smell of the Mediterranean. But going deep inside the country, to the very middle of it, he was astonished by what he saw. Everything was the color of bronze and dust. Mountains, savannas, roads, the hills… everywhere he looked, he saw nothing but constant plains and the blue sky over him. It was overwhelming, but mesmerizing all the same, making him feel little in the grand area and the silence that surrounded them.
And his bum was so numb from riding on the horse. Not comfortable at all. Jay, Opal, and Leo were already ahead of them; he could still see them in the distance.
“Di?” he called, looking over his shoulder. He couldn’t really see her face, as she was wearing an abnormally large summer hat that one could easily mistake for a very small umbrella.
“What?!” she grumbled.
“My bum is numb,” he whined again.
“I’m gonna get wrinkles under this sun!” Diamond whined back.
“But my bum is really numb.”
“And what can I possibly do about it? I have my own problems to deal with here; this horse is too wild!”
Nick eyed the black horse Diamond was riding. It was a rather old one, the tamest one that Nick had ever seen.
He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Di, I’ve seen hamsters wilder than that old horse.”
“Still!” Diamond whined. “What if he decides to throw me from his back?!”
“Di, sweet baby, that horse can’t even throw a fly from its back for the life of it.”
“Whatever.”
“I was thinking maybe a massage would make you feel better?” Nick suggested seductively.
“Ah, a massage would be heaven for me!”
“I can give you heaven, baby…”
“Spit it out, Nick,” Diamond giggled. “I know you’re planning something for your own benefit.”
“Well...” Nick said, drawing it out. “You know I’m pretty numb down there.”
“And…”
“It wouldn’t hurt if I got a massage for myself, too, you know…” Nick suggested, waggling his eyebrows. “A nice good pair of hands, easing my soreness…”
“Alright, enough, both of you!” Styx yelled from the very back of the line. “Jesus, you’re like a bunch of high school kids, high on hormones!”
“Don’t be jealous, Styx.”
“Why did the others stop?” Diamond piped up, pointing to somewhere in the distance. Nick looked at where she was pointing, but all he could make out were Jay, Opal, and Leo getting off their horses.
“Let’s pick up the pace,” he ordered.
Five minutes later, they had caught up with the rest of the team, just in time to see Leo shaking hands with a salesman.
“What’s going on?” Styx asked.
“Change of plans,” Jay answered. “It’ll take too long to reach our destination with the horses. So we’re splitting in two now. Three of us will travel with the hot air balloon right here…” He gestured behind Leo to show the huge basket that was attached to the balloon. “…and the rest of us will keep track from the ground with the Jeep.”
“It was a good bargain to rent both,” Leo spoke up. “And a much faster one at that.”
“So with that, we’ll keep an eye on our thief both from the land and from the air. The terrain is pretty rugged, and we’re hoping to catch Tanja in the famous rock houses in Cappadocia.”
“Are we sure she’s there?” Styx questioned.
“Ninety per cent.” Opal spoke for the first time. “The rock houses are hidden in the mountains, very secure and secluded. Perfect place for Tanja to keep all the stuff she stole. And the evidence was leading us directly to the ancient town. There’s not many places to run from there.”
“Diamond, Styx, and Nick, you’re going to be tracking Tanja from the air,” Jay instructed. “Leo, Opal, and I will be following with the Jeep.”
“Hot air balloon ride? In the air?!” Nick protested.
“At least your sexy bum won’t be numb anymore.” Diamond winked at him.
“Never thought I would prefer it be numb,” Nick replied, as he slid off his horse unwillingly. “How safe can a hot air balloon can be?!”
± ± ±
As the hot air balloon soared through the sky, Nick kept his eyes shut tightly, his hands gripped the side of the basket so hard his knuckles were turning white, and he became jumpier than usual every time the balloon swayed gently. Diamond and Styx shared concerned looks from opposite sides of the basket. Finally, Styx approached his mentor.
“Dude,” he started, putting a hand on Nick’s shoulder—a move which caused the blonde to flinch with surprise, “you need to calm down.”
“Dude, I can’t. We’re, like, fifty miles above the ground in a freaking balloon, trying to chase down some crazy chick with a book fetish,” Nick said, eyes still mostly closed, “and I’m not as worried about the crazy chick as I am about the balloon. Tanja is so going down.” Nick groaned. “Oh shit, why did I have to say ‘going down…’?”
“Just… find your happy place, man. And get it together.” Styx advised, walking away. Nick could swear he heard Styx mutter something under his breath about how “pathetic” Nick was being, but he didn’t care. He just closed his eyes again and focused.
“Find a happy place…” He murmured, picturing himself spending the night with Diamond in some expensive hotel room overlooking the ocean. Then he pictured himself on a boat in the middle of the ocean with Pearl, just enjoying her company and the swaying of the boat. He imagined the swaying of the balloon was the swaying of the boat, and suddenly the anxiety began to float away… until the basket began to rock uncontrollably and he heard Diamond scream.
Nick’s eyes flew open, just in time to see bullets whizzing past the balloon—whoever was shooting was clearly too far away at the moment to aim properly—except for one shot, which managed to pierce the heart of the balloon operator. The three agents ducked down and looked each other over, silently checking to make sure each other was alright.
“Nick, you have to steer the balloon,” Diamond told him.
“Me?! Why me?!” Nick exclaimed.
“Because you’re already freaking out; let’s not make that ‘freaking out with a gun.’ You’re less likely to cause any damage just steering the damn balloon,” Styx chimed in, and Diamond shot him a look.
“Look, Nick, we’ll cover you, but someone has to steer this thing, and I really think it should be you.” Diamond flashed him one of those smiles she used when she was trying to get her way. She must have sensed his remaining apprehensiveness because she leaned in closer to him, while Styx decided to return some of the fire they were still under, as a way to keep from having to listen to another one of Nick and Diamond’s flirtatious exchanges. “After all, you’re such an experienced driver…”
“Yeah, I guess I a-“ Nick began, before he was interrupted by Diamond pressing her lips to his. His muscles instantly relaxed, and his mind cleared. “What was that for?”
“For getting off your ass and steering the damn balloon,” Diamond told him, before she, too, began to shoot back at whoever was firing at them. Nick brushed off his coat, took a deep breath, and stood up to grab the control for the hot air balloon, cursing wildly as he attempted to steer it towards where he knew their destination was supposed to be.
“SHIT! How the fuck am I supposed to figure out which of these makes it go higher and which makes it go lower—DAMNIT, that one makes it go lower!” Nick screamed, fumbling with the controls, as bullets and gunshots continued to dominate the air.
“GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!” Styx yelled, as the balloon swayed slightly more than it had before. “Try to get us HIGHER so we have the advantage!”
“No fuckin’ kidding, Styx! I’m TRYING!” Nick yelled, pulling the other lever, causing the balloon to climb higher in the air. Nick mumbled a string of curses under his breath as it did so.
And then, he heard the worst sound in the world to him at that very moment: a balloon deflating.
He looked up to see two gaping holes in the balloon, where a bullet had ripped through it, and his stomach fell faster than the balloon seemed to be. “HOLD ON; WE’RE GOING DOWN! OH JESUS CHRIST, I DON’T WANNA DIE!” His arms dropped down to the sides of the basket, and he was once again gripping them for dear life, now completely frantic.
Diamond walked over to him and shook his shoulders vigorously, while Styx continued to shoot at their attackers. “Nick. THIS. IS. NOT. HELPING. We ARE gonna die if you don’t help us think of something!” Diamond said to him, as calmly as she could manage, before turning around and firing a few more shots.
Nick nodded silently in reply, looking up at the torn balloon at that very moment. He was instantly struck with an idea. “Going lower… We need to keep going lower!” he exclaimed and began to operate the controls, causing the balloon to keep sinking, but at a calmer rate. Despite his sudden inspiration, Nick was still in a panic over being in a hot air balloon, hundreds of feet in the air, that had a hole in it and was now travelling down to the ground.
“Nick… are you sure about this?” Diamond asked him carefully, noting his current state of mind.
He shook his head furiously as he gripped the controls firmly with both hands, his eyes tightly shut. “Not really… but a quick death and a slow death are still death, right?”
“Guys, I think we might be okay…” Styx said, peering over the edge of the balloon. Nick and Diamond realized that no more shots coming at them, and Nick figured that they’d stopped shooting when they saw the balloon falling. “We seem to be landing, or getting close to it.”
Diamond looked over the edge of the balloon as well, just to see for herself that they were falling safely. She turned to Nick, who still had his eyes closed. “Nick, he’s right; we’re not gonna die. You can open your eyes now.”
“You don’t know that. We could still crash,” Nick replied, his voice shaky.
“Man, we’re like, fifteen feet off the ground right now,” Styx told him.
“I could still fall out of the basket and land on my head, okay?!” Nick exclaimed.
“I’m starting to wonder if you’ve already fallen and landed on your head once in your lifetime…” Styx mumbled, still loud enough for Nick to hear. Nick lifted one eye open enough to glare at Styx for a few seconds before quickly closing it again. He refused to move until the basket officially landed and stopped moving.
Once the basket touched down, he hopped over the side and dropped to his knees, bowing down to the ground and kissing it several times, spitting out the dirt he’d gotten in his mouth every time he arose. Styx tried to hide his amusement while Diamond shook her head.
“Okay, I am not kissing you anymore this trip until you’ve gargled with a whole bottle of mouthwash,” she told him sternly. Nick finished his small ritual, praising whatever higher power had kept him from plummeting to his death, and stood up to face Diamond, his lips turning up into his infamous smile.
“If you say so, but we both know you can’t resist me,” he responded with a wink.
Before Diamond could reply or Styx could once again complain about how nauseated he was with Diamond and Nick’s antics, three people on horseback rode up to them. As the riders got closer, they could see that it was Jay, Leo, and Opal, who looked surprised to see them.
“What the hell happened to you guys?” Jay asked, after his horse came to a stop. He took notice of the fact that Nick looked incredibly shaken up. He made a note to ask Nick about this and possibly mock him for it later.
“Someone started shooting at us—I’m just gonna guess it was Tanja,” Diamond explained, “and not only killed our balloon operator, but shot a hole through the balloon. So we had to do some quick thinking, and Nick saved the day.” Jay raised an eyebrow at the last part of Diamond’s story and glanced at Nick.
“Well, I suppose this means you’re riding with us, then?” Leo said from his horse next to Jay’s.
“I suppose so,” Diamond replied with a smile. “I call riding with Leo!” She smiled wide and walked over to Leo, who held out his hand and helped her up onto the horse with him. Nick glared as she wrapped her arms around his waist and placed her head on his shoulder. Styx, in the meantime, walked over to Jay and asked if he could ride with him; Jay nodded and helped him up on the horse. That left Nick to ride with Opal, whom he grinned at as he walked towards her.
“Don’t get any funny ideas,” she warned him playfully, as she helped him pull himself up onto the horse. “I wouldn’t want to have to tell Brian about this. You two have been doing so well.”
“We’re due for a good argument, Opal,” Nick replied with a wag of his eyebrows, “but I wouldn’t stoop as low as putting the moves on his girl. So I promise I’ll be a good boy.” He held up his right hand. “Agent’s honor.”
“Alright, we all settled?” Jay asked moments later, as he looked around at everyone. They all nodded or otherwise replied in confirmation. “Okay, let’s go catch a book thief!”
± ± ±
Nick almost felt like he’d been thrown back into time. Like he was in the Old West, chasing down some outlaw. He grinned. He would’ve been a great sheriff. Like John Wayne. Or some other famous western actor he couldn’t think of.
The image floated in front of his eyes… Him in a cowboy hat and cool boots with stirrups, blowing off the barrel of his gun. Pearl, Red, and Diamond running up to celebrate in those old dresses that really showed off girls’... upper assets. They’d swoon over his heroism. Diamond would run her hand along his cheek as she stared up at him adoringly. Him, the center of her attention. Of Pearl’s attention. The only man Red could focus on. Any other wannabes were forgotten.
“Oh Nick… you’re my…”
“NICK!”
His brow furrowed.
“…hero! Nick, you’re so brave…”
“NICK! Pay attention!” Opal’s voice yelled in his ear, snapping him immediately back to reality. He yanked on the reigns, narrowly avoiding a collision with Lameonardo DiCrapio, who was now shooting him a dirty look. Diamond held on to him even more closely, causing Nick’s jaw to clench a little tighter. Jay, oblivious to it all, led the way, with Styx looking distinctly uncomfortable.
“Just up ahead should be the caves!”
Nick grinned. As sad as it would be to see the end of his taunting the FBI, he’d be glad to stop globetrotting for a bit. To go home and relax for a few nights. What day was it, anyway? How long had they been on this mission? He wasn’t even sure anymore. He’d been through so many countries and so many times zones that time had become a blurry mess.
Finally, the six reached their destination. Nick hopped off the horse first, looking succinctly proud that no clumsy moment occurred while doing so. He reached up towards Opal, who looked adorable in that out of character way, with her still bubblegum pink hair and unnaturally blue eyes. He took her hand and carefully helped her down.
She smiled. “I’ll be glad when this is all over. But I’ve had fun traveling around with you guys. We don’t give you enough credit.”
Nick smirked. “It’s okay. We save the world… and everyone else gets the glory.” He shrugged nonchalantly as he checked his guns to make sure they were loaded. “I’m used to it.”
Once everyone was on the ground and ready to go, they met up with Jay along the rocky walls. The sun was high in the sky, beating down on them unmercifully. Nick wiped his brow, feeling the adrenaline rush in. At that, his watch beeped. Leo rolled his eyes, and Nick shrugged.
What am I supposed to do, tell Pearl to put my damn watch on silent? He popped the screen up to see the young scientist in question. “Pearly… I love ya, but we’re kinda busy.”
“Just a heads up: Feds are closing in. So make it happen, or you’ll be the one who ends up in custody, Blondie. And I’m so not up to breaking the news to our fearless leader. He’d have a brand new hernia, thanks to you.”
The screen went black, and he tuned back in to what was going on around him. Everyone was chattering in nervous conversation. While this was their lives, nerves still came every time. “Who was that?”
“Pearl. We have a time limit; the FBI is finally catching up.”
“Okay, so here’s how it’s gonna go down. We go in two by two. Carter, you and I go in first, and keep it quiet. At my signal, Vitruvian, you and Di…”
“What’s the signal?” Diamond asked, inspecting her nails thoughtfully.
Jay smiled as he titled down his shades so that their eyes met. “Trust me, you’ll know.” He turned to Nick’s shadow agent. “Styx, I want you to stay out here and keep Opal safe.”
Fury and complete indignation flooded the newbie’s face. “Are you kidding me?!”
Nick turned around before his own superior could. “He’s not kidding. That’s vital, and if one hair on her head gets harmed… you’re not gonna like me. You got that?”
Styx stepped back, nodding, but said nothing.
“Alright, let’s move.”
As Jay entered the opening, Nick quickly followed. His gun was at the ready as the two walked down the winding, narrow path. The light grew dimmer and dimmer as they got further away from the entrance. Finally, AJ gently touched the sunglasses he wore, and a small red light lit up at the corner. The two continued, as quietly as they could. Neither knew when their path would end or where it would lead. All they knew was that their crook was somewhere down here, and this was the only way to end everything.
Suddenly, Nick tripped over a stone in and stumbled forward. “Gah!”
“Jesus, Carter, put your night vision shades on…”
“I might’ve forgotten them in France.”
“Are you kidding me?” Jay hissed, as the tunnel started angling downward.
“Hey, if we’d just listened to me in the first place… I would’ve never been in France, and we would’ve had the crook by now!”
“You’re never going to let that go, are you?”
“No! You trusted a new Double-0 over me. That hurts, Jay! It’s like my instincts don’t matter… I mean, fuck, take me off if you really don’t trust me,” Nick replied angrily. It had been bugging him ever since the whole France incident, especially when he’d later learned DiCrapio had been flirting with the crook in question.
“This ain’t the time for this.”
“Fine, whatever. Let’s just catch this chick and move onnn---Ahhhhh!” he wailed, as he tripped yet again. This time he fell on top of Jay. The two rolled down the rest of the way, landing right in front of a little room. It was cozy, with oriental rugs covering the ground. Lanterns were hung up against the walls, illuminating everything nicely. A beanbag chair was on the floor, surrounded by the various books that had been stolen from around the world.
In the beanbag sat a young, blonde woman, her red trench coat hanging up on a little coat rack fashioned from a protruding stone. She glanced up calmly at the two new guests, who sprung up to their feet immediately.
“Tanja Copenhagen-”
She stood, interrupting them. “Gentlemen, gentlemen… please be careful; these books are priceless gems. I realize you’re here for me, but please, take care.”
Tanja held her hands out, and Jay approached her with the handcuffs. Nick sighed. Well this wasn’t fun at all. What’s the point of chasing someone around the fucking world if they don’t even put up a fight at the end?
A leather-bound book caught his eye, and he bent down to pick it up. He figured he had a free moment. It wasn’t like their crook was protesting or anything. Even Jay was taking a glance around.
Before he could open it, however, his watch beeped yet again before the screen popped up. Pearl’s face was there, smiling at him like always. He was just happy it was Pearl. Between K, and… others, he was starting to wish his watch had a private number.
“Just talked to Vitruvian…”
“Can we not call him that?”
She ignored him. “They just heard from Agent Hank and Agent Tom, who should be arriving at your little hidey hole any moment. Once they do, they’ll lead them down. You should see them soon. So… if you want to look at a certain book…” Her eyes lit up with that impish gleam he always enjoyed. “…and push the blue button as you turn through the pages so that they scan into my database…I’d do it now.” The screen went black.
“Be careful with that book!” Tanja implored, as if it was her firstborn child, rather than something she had stolen.
He opened the book, and his eyes widened. “Holy shitballs…”
Doing as she asked. Page after page. He didn’t have time to read them all, only to scan the titles at the top of the pages. There were so many secrets, so many things he’d suspected about events in history. This book covered them all. He was going to have a field day in the lab later.
Finally, something really caught his eye, and he had to stop. He had to read this right then and there. This was something he’d always wanted to know. And what if it didn’t scan right, or didn’t send? He couldn’t risk not knowing… not when he had the answer in his hands.
Nick read the title again. September 11, 2001.
It was a day no one would or could forget. How could they? His eyes ran over the page, widening at every bit of new information. If any of this got out, it would cause a total uproar throughout the country. This information could change everything. As for Nick, all it did was confirm the suspicions he’d had for a long time.
“I knew it!”
± ± ±
Chapter End Notes:
