"Za coast is clear, as you people say," said Dragana, walking back into the yard, "Gate twas open. I lock again."
Dragana, now properly dressed and polished, pinched a pink Sobranie of London cigarette from a box, placed it between her red-stained lips, and fired it up with a gold-plated lighter. The lighter had a crest on it and was stamped with three letters in the Cyrillic alphabet - ΠΠΠ.
Kerry raised an eyebrow.
"Where did you get the KGB zippo?" she asked.
Dragana sucked hard on the luxury smoke and answered in the exhale.
"Russian market."
"Isn't that the kind of attention you don't want?"
Dragana shrugged.
"Anyone could have purchased," she said, "So, Danvers. He look like shit when he leave here."
"Yes, he did," said Kerry, taking a seat at the patio table and opening her laptop. "Poor guy didn't know what hit him." She giggled. "I can't believe what we had to do to get him in bed."
"Dah, " chuckled Dragana, "I never work so hard."
"And that strap-on thingy - that was a first for me!" laughed Kerry.
"You were wunderbar," said Dragana, bending to kiss Kerry's cheek, "but why so necessary? He is married man, no? Why not you and heem only?"
"They wanted something more impactful," said Kerry, air-quoting the word.
"Then you should do mΓ©nage with other man," said Dragana, "HAHAHAHA! I know, I know - not possible with your Lloyd."
"That's for damn sure," said Kerry.
She pressed the pause button on the video she was scanning and gestured for Dragana to take the seat beside her.
"I think all I need is the last five minutes, starting here with us on our knees in front of him," she said, pointing at the laptop display.
"Dah, is good," said Dragana, nodding, "No doubt is truly Danvers."
"No doubt whatsoever," said Kerry, "and it has the added advantage of concealing our identities - just wet hair and bare backsides."
Kerry reclined against the chair and sighed.
"I just hope they don't use it," she said.
"You have deep feelings for heem, I sink," said Dragana, reaching to position her cigarette - now well exhausted - between Kerry's lips. Kerry inhaled what was left of the blunt and exhaled a series of smoke rings.
"Yes, of course I do," she said, "It's been over three years."
She closed the laptop and zipped it in its case.
"Zat is very long time for single assignment."
Kerry nodded.
"Once they got what they wanted, they tried to move me along to bigger fish," she said, "but I convinced them the long-term investment in Lloyd was worth it; that was a couple years ago. The video will help, but I need to deliver something else significant and soon, or I'll end up a world away from him, and I don't want that to happen."
"I too am in love," said Dragana, wrapping her string bikini in her towel and pressing it into the duffel bag. "She is royalty - a Princess. She come to visit me every year; they never use video on her. Maybe your Lloyd is lucky too."
"Maybe," said Kerry, "but leverage like this is how SHADE maintains their power. They'll mothball it for 30 years, just waiting for the right time to screw ya."
"Dah, true," said Dragana, nodding, "So, I take cameras?"
"Yep, we're done here," said Kerry, "and thanks friend. It was a pleasure working with you."
********
Kerry set the brush down on the bathroom counter and stared at herself in the mirror. It had been five years since she'd made the upgrades, but every so often she'd still startle at the striking amber eyes staring back at her - the lion's mane of light brown hair, the full and finely curved lips, the beautifully abundant breasts. Without a doubt, the changes had elevated her appearance, and in the ways that made men more amenable, and naturally, this had enhanced her value at SHADE.
Lloyd loved her overly-long hair, especially when she was trailing it down his torso on her way to a Tim Teblow. Sometimes, he'd wrap her ponytail around his fist as he took her from behind, then pull it hard, right before she climaxed - perfect timing. The thought of it made her smile, but her reflection registered something far less than lightheartedness. Why wasn't she whistling Dixie? After all, things had gone as planned today. But, she had next-leveled Lloyd, and she didn't feel good about it, and despite his happy ending, he'd likely demand some sort of an explanation.
What would she tell him? She wondered.