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“So, you stopped along the way in Grand?”
Edward chuckled. “Car broke down near Grand. Walked and hitchhiked to Grand. Then hired a local to take me to another city to rent a car. But while I was trying to get help, it gave me a chance to walk around, check out the amphitheater. Just sort of socked that information away for later.”
“Wow. That’s insane. How do you do it?”
“What?”
Daniel loosely waved his hands in front of him, trying to find the words to describe his wonder. “Nothing stops you. Things go wrong or nowhere near your plans, and you just find a way to make it all work. And you do it all so calmly. Like it was your plan all along.”
“Oh, you mean like how I got the identity of a rogue agent entirely wrong and then just sort of kidnapped the poor guy, so I could use him to help me track down stolen information before it could be sold to a foreign government?”
This time, it was Daniel’s turn to snort. “Yeah, something like that.”
Edward groaned. “Geez, when I say it out loud, I really do sound like the worst field agent.”
Daniel sat up and turned as much as he could in his seat with his belt buckled. “Hey! You’re an amazing agent!”
Edward looked over at him, disbelief scrawled clearly across his face.
“I’m serious. I’m pretty sure in your line of work, a bad agent is a dead agent.”
“Maybe…”
A scoffing noise jumped from the back of Daniel’s throat. “No maybe and you know it. You’ve been operating on limited information the entire time, and you’ve made it work. And you’ve managed to keep us both alive. I’d say that’s pretty spectacular.”
“Well, I am proud of the fact that we’re both still alive.”
Daniel relaxed in his seat, smiling broadly at his companion. “Thank you.”
“For what? Keeping us alive?”
Daniel shook his head, but he wasn’t sure if Edward could see it as he kept his eyes on the road. “For this adventure. I know I’m not so much the crazy, bullets-flying adventure type, but I have really enjoyed myself the past week. You’re a lot of fun to hang out with.”
“You mean when we’re not getting shot at?”
“There was that, but I also loved walking around Barcelona and listening as you pointed out all your favorite buildings. Or how you pointed out the new clothing boutiques that you hadn’t seen in Toulouse before. I feel like I learned more about the world and people in the eleven days with you than I ever did in all my years of schooling.”
“Thank you,” Edward said and then paused to clear his voice. “I’ve never traveled with anyone before. I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did.”
Daniel wanted to say more, but the words were lost when they entered the city of Grand. There really wasn’t much to it. It almost seemed like there were more places geared toward possible tourists than actual residents. He was getting more accustomed to seeing the white buildings with the warm reddish-orange tiled roofs everywhere. With only a few exceptions, every place they visited in Europe was like taking a step back in time.
Edward parked the little rental car a few blocks away from the amphitheater and they got out. The morning air was brisk and cool while the sun just started to peek its head fully above the horizon, lighting the pale blue sky. A few wisps of clouds drifted overhead, hinting at a bright and sunny day ahead of them. The perfect summer day. It seemed like a poor match for a clandestine meeting with a traitorous general looking to make a deal with another would-be rogue agent to betray his country. They should have been doing this in some narrow alley under the cover of night or at least heavy rain.
Or maybe he’d been watching too many spy movies?
Edward walked around the car and met Daniel by his door. Using his body to shield them from onlookers, Edward pulled a gun out of his jacket pocket and pressed it into Daniel’s hand.
“It’s loaded and ready to go.” His voice was low and deep, and Daniel felt a reassuring embrace in those words.
“Edward,” he gasped as the cold weight was pressed into his palm. It was one thing to fire a gun to protect Edward’s life. It was an entirely different matter walk into a situation armed and looking to shoot someone.
“It’s just in case. You’ve done a great job of watching my back already, and there’s no one I trust more to continue with that job.”
Edward’s words helped to ease the fear rising in his chest as they started to walk toward the amphitheater. There were very few cars on the road and even fewer people on the sidewalk despite the nice summer morning. They stopped at the little ticket booth and actually had to wait for the person to finish unlocking gates and doing the morning prep before they could enter the historical site.
