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It had been a long night. The first light of morning was peeking over the horizon when the agents of Himitsu Takana finally boarded their private plane to take off. They chased the sun all the way back to Nevada, where the sky was as pink as peppermint.

“I can’t believe it’s Christmas morning,” said Nick, as he stepped off the plane and set foot on the dusty ground. To his disappointment, the snow left over from the freak snowstorm had melted. Nevada never felt very Christmas-y, but he supposed it was more similar to where Jesus was born than somewhere with evergreens and snow. That thought cheered him up some as he followed K and the others into their sprawling headquarters.

The remaining members of the agency were waiting to greet them inside, gathered around a gigantic Christmas tree. “Merry Christmas!” they cried, and everyone ran to embrace one another, exclaiming over how lucky it was that they’d made it back in time to celebrate the holiday together.

Nick made sure to spend a little quality time with each of his ladies over the course of the day, but it was Red whom he’d promised himself to, and so, when the festivities had died down, he slipped away to her chambers. In her bedroom, which was lit only by the flickering candles of her menorah, he found her posed seductively on her bed in a sleek negligee. “Merry Christmas, Nick,” she murmured, as he dropped the stuffed dolphin he had brought her, stripped off shirt, and climbed on top of her.

“Happy Hanukkah, Julianne,” he whispered, nuzzling her neck.

“Hanukkah’s been over for nine days,” she said, “but I do have a gift for you.”

He looked down at her. “This isn’t it?”

She smiled an impish smile and slipped her hand underneath one of her pillows, pulling out a small package. “This is part of it.”

He unwrapped the present and wrinkled his nose. “A dreidel?”

Her smile grew. “Not just any dreidel. Look closely.”

He took a second look at the little top and saw that, instead of indecipherable Hebrew letters, each side was inscribed with a set of directions… for different sex acts. Nick grinned, warmth spreading through his body. He could tell by Red Jewel’s bright pink cheeks that she was feeling just as warm. “Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel… with dreidel I shall play!” he sang with excitement, leaning in for a kiss.

It was nearly midnight when Nick finally staggered back to his own dorm, exhausted and sore. He hadn’t slept properly in at least thirty-six hours and was eager to go to bed. But just as he was starting to drift off, he heard something that made him sit bolt upright again.


I finally relaxed as I lay in my bed,
With visions of Red’s “Christmas gift” in my head,
Until I heard bells and a laugh like a boom,
That caused me to run halfway across my room,
Would you believe when I looked out my window that night,
That I got to see Santa before he drove out of sight?
He gave me a smile and a wave of his hand,
“Try harder this year to be good, my young man,
Right now, though, go to sleep! Celebrate your good plan!
I’m very impressed that you knew such a trick,
But I’m mostly quite grateful! Merry Christmas, dear Nick!”



Nick shook his head as he watched Santa’s sleigh getting smaller and smaller as it soared off into the sky. Did that really just happen? he wondered. He knew if he told anyone the next morning, they would say he had just been dreaming.

But as for 00Carter…

He believed.


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