Hold the Aces

This day was NOT going the way Mike had expected. The mission was simple; cause a distraction that would lure the stiff German guy out, snuck into his room, grab the file, and exit before anyone sees you. Something he has done a million times before. It was just his crappy luck that the guy came back five seconds too early and saw him climbing down the window, and now they were on his tail.

Mike ran into the next alley on his right, then took a sharp turn to the left, in the hope of losing the three guys who were after him, but as he jumped over a —hopefully— sleep homeless man, he could still hear their steps from not far behind.

On the next turn, he entered the main street and tried to blend in with the crowd. Still moving fast but not too fast that would draw any attention.

Not even a minute later things were already starting to look up and an arrogant smile began to form on Mike’s face as he looked behind to see no sign of his chasers. But the smile immediately disappeared as his distraction led him to bump hard into the stranger who was walking toward him from the other side.

Mike opened his mouth to apologize but the other guy was in such a hurry, that he didn’t even turn to look back; and a few steps later, when Mike reached into the inside pocket of his jacket to make sure the file was still there and his fingers uselessly wiggled in the air, he realized why.

“Bastard”, Mike said under his breath as he turned to chase the stranger. From the corner of his eyes, he saw the guy entering the next alley and he followed. Just a minute or two of running before he caught up with the stranger and grabbed his shoulder from the back.

“Gib meine Akte zurück”, Mike growled as he pushed the stranger to the wall and grabbed his jacket as they came face to face.

But the man started to chuckle. “Oh, your accent is still horrible, love”, he said with a British accent and a crooked smile.

Mike’s eyes widened and he immediately stepped back. “Calvin?”

Calvin’s smile deepened and became more charming, “Hey, Mike. Fancy seeing you here”.

Mike frowned as he started to put all the pieces together. “Oh, no”, he breathed out but before he could say another word, they heard a loud sound as a piece of the brick wall next to Calvin’s head exploded and debris flooded into their faces.

In a heartbeat, Calvin grabbed his gun, pushed Mike down, and shot back at the guys who had finally caught up to them.

Mike threw himself behind the nearest dumpster; pulled out his gun, turned, and started shooting at the end of the alley as he was half-hidden behind the trash.

Two of the guys pulled back and sought shelter behind the walls but the third guy wasn’t fast enough and made a faint grunt as he got shot in the chest.

Mike wasn’t sure which one of them shot him and didn’t have enough time to think about it, because before even the guy hit the ground, Calvin had already started to run to the back of the alley, jumped, and grabbed the ladder that led to the closest fire escape and started to climb up as fast as he could.

Mike cursed under his breath, shot his gun a few more times, and immediately followed Calvin. All the way to the top he could hear the bullets hitting the metal staircase around him and saw some sparks too close for comfort but thankfully he reached the top intact.

There was no time to take his breath as Calvin was already one step ahead of him, running across the roof, heading toward the next building. Mike ran as fast as he could to close the distance. “So MI6 decided to also send his best agent on this case, huh?” Mike asked when he got closer to Calvin. He would love it if they could just sit down and talk but they were used to having conversations on the run.

“Yes, and it makes me weep for Americans whenever I think about how you are one of their best agents”, Calvin mocked as he reached the edge and simply jumped to the next rooftop.

Mike was grumpy now, “Hey, may I remind you that I got the file first? Where were you? Taking a nap?”

“Precisely,” Calvin said with a smirk on his face. “Resting and letting you do the breaking and entering that I know you’re so fond of, and then just steal it from you. But you had to screw it up and get these goons on our tail, didn’t you?”

Mike jumped to yet another roof right after Calvin. “You saw me going in?”

Calvin suddenly turned, grabbed Mike’s forearm, and pulled him behind a pile of junk, as a bullet wheezed past them. “I can recognize your ass anywhere”, Calvin winked at him before ducking his head out and shooting at their chasers.

It took Mike a second to get his focus back, turn, and start shooting from the other side. “I guess we can’t make an arrangement and both of us just take pictures from whatever is in this file, right?” he yelled in the middle of gunshots.

“Sorry, old boy. Not this time,” Calvin said genuinely. “It’s not just that my boss wants this information; we can’t have it fallen into the wrong hands,” he said as he turned to hide behind the junk, while he was reloading his gun.

Mike kept on shooting, “Why? What’s in the file, anyway?”

Calvin paused to look at him, “You didn’t read the briefing?”

Mike shot his last bullet and turned to slump next to Calvin, “Nah, it was way too boring. Oh, by the way, what did your agency call it?”

“Hold the Aces.”

“Ours was Save the Aces. So close,” Mike said with a dumb smile. “So what are these Aces? It’s some kind of information about some rich people, right?”

Calvin stared at him for a second and shook his head in sheer disappointment before turning back to shooting while Mike was reloading his gun. “This file has dirt on some of the most powerful people in the world. It could start or end wars in minutes!” Calvin finished by finally hitting one guy’s shoulder.

“Oh,” Mike said, just now understanding the depth of the situation. He looked out to the other side of the roof and the city behind it. World War II ended a few years ago but parts of Berlin were still in ruins. Yet, Mike had a soft spot for this city. He had very fond memories from the last time he was here. As he looked, something drew his attention and he finally made up his mind.

“You’re right. This isn’t something we can share,” Mike said, as he turned to take one last look at Calvin. “Which is why I’m so sorry,” he continued as he stood up and clenched his gun.

Calvin’s eyes widened, searching Mike’s face to find out what his next move was going to be. They have punched and kicked and bruised each other through the years but was he really going to shoot him? He was shocked when Mike just put his gun back in its holster, turned back, ran to the edge, and jumped. Calvin ran after him and looked down just as Mike landed on the train that was passing right below. Mike wasn’t the brightest, Calvin already knew that, but did he just abandon his mission? Unless…

“No, no, no, you didn’t,” Calvin said as he horridly checked his jacket but couldn’t find the file. Mike must have snatched it when Calvin pulled him behind the junk. But this was far from over.

Calvin narrowed his eyes, turned, and walked toward the other guy still standing, fired a couple more shots at him, turned back, ran to the edge, and jumped.

*

Mike found his way into the mostly empty train and dropped himself into a vacant seat next to the window. He pulled out his flask and took a sip. Closed his eyes and breathed out, thinking he could finally relax.

“Do you mind if I have some too?”

Mike’s eyes snapped open as his flask got pulled out of his hand by Calvin who just elegantly sat on the seat in front of him. Calvin took a sip from the flask as he laid back, threw one leg on top of the other, and looked out from the window, in absolute peace; which made Mike uneasy.

“Look,” Mike started. “In my defense, you stole the file from me in the first place. I just took it back.”

“Yeah, I know,” Calvin said without taking his eyes from the window. “But I need to take this to my boss. This mission is way too important to fail. I’m gonna be in big trouble-”

“Oh, come on,” Mike cut him off. “You have a perfect record. Your boss won’t fire you if you fail one time!”

“No,” Calvin finally turned to face him. “But when he finds out the Americans got it he wants to know how I couldn’t beat you. Then he gets suspicious if we’re working together and he’ll dig deeper and then, he’ll find out… about us.”

Mike shook his head, “No, no way. There’s no way they can find anything. We’ve been so careful.”

“It’s MI6,” Calvin said as if explaining it to a child. “You don’t think they can find something if they dig deep enough?”

“So how they hadn’t found anything till now?”

“Because we never gave them a reason to. I always got the bloody job done and kept them happy. The moment I slip, they’re gonna check everything and then we’re both doomed,” Calvin said as he started to massage his temples.

Mike took his flask back and had another sip before talking. “Well, it’s the same here, isn’t it? I mean, my boss already doesn’t like me very much as is, and she knows we sometimes help each other out in our missions. Cindy just doesn’t say anything because she likes you. But if I screw up this time she’s gonna pull out all of my past missions and she’ll finally find something in there.”

Calvin crouched on his seat as he put both elbows on his knees, “So, no matter if I get the file or you, we’re damned anyway.” He grunted and hid his face in his hands.

Mike opened his mouth but before a word came out, a motion down the aisle caught his eyes. A man was walking in their direction and Mike immediately recognized him as one of the German guys who was following them earlier.

Mike put his flask back in his pocket and reached for Calvin’s wrist. “I’m sure we’ll find a way but now we have a more pressing matter to attend.”

Calvin raised his head to face Mike, then followed the direction he was looking at and saw the German guy, “Goddammit.”

In a matter of seconds, they were up and running through the train aisle as the guy followed them closely. They managed to jam a door, which bought them a bit of time as they ran to the next cabin, which turned out to be the last one, filled with baggage and boxes.

“Okay, I have an idea,” Mike said as they paused to take a breath. “I might have some connections in Russia. What if we give the file to them, in exchange for shelter and new identities?”

Calvin frowned, “So we just leave everything behind and go live in Russia?”

“It’s better than whatever they’re gonna do to us,” Mike said as he shrugged. “If we can’t give it to either side, maybe we should find a third party.”

As if on cue, the German guy smashed into the cabin and in a second they were back hiding behind stuff and shooting again. Calvin was so tired of this, he just wanted to give the file to the German guy and be done with this. Well, actually…

“Speaking of third party,” Calvin yelled to Mike in the middle of gunshots. “How about this guy?”

Mike shook his head, “We can’t give it to Germans. You know how dangerous it can be?”

“How is it any better with Russians?” Calvin asked. Then he turned to look at the cabin door behind them. “Come on,” he pulled on Mike’s sleeve and they ran toward the door. Once out, they locked the door, grabbed the ladder next to it, climbed to the top, and ran toward the head of the train, when Mike slipped and fell back, but Calvin grabbed his hand and pulled him back up.

“Thank you,” Mike said, out of breath.

“Well, I had to. You still have the file,” Calvin smirked but then his eyes lit up with a thought. “Wait, what if no one gets the file?”

Mike was confused for a second before he caught up. “What if it accidentally gets destroyed?”

Calvin shrugged and smiled as he reached into Mike’s jacket and pulled out the file. A sound made both of them turn and see the German guy on top of the train, moving toward them.

Calvin turned to Mike but his eyes looked past behind him to see where they were. Somewhere in the woods and just passing across a bridge over a rowdy river. It was perfect. “Grab the file from me,” he said to Mike quietly.

Mike pulled the file out of his hand. “Now make sure to drop it when I hit you,” Calvin said, ensuring the guy couldn’t hear it.

Mike nodded before he paused, “Wait, when you what?”

Without wasting any time, Calvin punched Mike hard, causing him to lose his balance and he dropped the file.

The German guy screamed and ran to the side, watching all the papers fly in the wind and land in the water, so he missed how Mike almost fell too, until Calvin grabbed his wrist, hooking Mike’s hand to the side of the train, making sure he could climb back up.

The German guy raged toward them. Calvin ducked, then punched the guy’s stomach. They threw a few more kicks and punches before Mike finally climbed back up. But he stayed laid down on the top of the train, then with a twist and a perfectly aimed kick, Mike hit the guy’s legs, making him lose balance and fall off the train.

By then, they had already passed the bridge, so they looked at the guy hit the ground, and sat back up but didn’t bother to follow them anymore. What was the point? The file was already gone.

They sat down on top of the train, catching their breath. Mike touched his lips, which had already started to swallow, and winced. “You punched me hard.”

“I should have made it believable, darling,” Calvin said, but when he saw Mike’s frown he leaned in closer. “Do you want me to kiss it better?”

Mike punched his arm and pulled back, “Buzz off. They might still be watching. Don’t forget why we did all…” he gestured toward their surroundings, “this!”

Calvin raised his hands in surrender. “All right. Fair.”

Just then, they heard the sound of another train far away coming from the other side. “I should get back to Berlin. My contact is waiting for me there,” Calvin said as he started to get up.

“Yeah, Same. You go; I’ll catch the next train. We better not get back together,” Mike answered.

Calvin nodded and took a step, then he stopped and turned back to Mike again. “Well, I assume my boss is gonna yell at me for just a few hours, so I’ll be free tonight. What do you say? Should I reserve the room we got last time?” Calvin said with a playful smirk.

Mike narrowed his eyes. “Aren’t you supposed to be the professional one, the responsible one who always gives me flack about taking unnecessary risks?”

Calvin shrugged. “I guess you’re rubbing off of me,” he said and then added, “And we just almost died about five times. I guess we deserve a break. Lay back, unwind a little.”

Mike looked at Calvin’s ridiculous face, with one eyebrow higher than the other one, and a charming smile, staring at him. Mike bit the inside of his lip to not give him the satisfaction of smiling back. But the train was almost there and he should made up his mind quickly. Oh, who was he kidding? The answer was obvious.

“Well, it was a good room. It had a very beautiful view,” Mike said, trying to sound casual.

“Yeah, exactly. That’s all I can remember from that night. The view,” Calvin said, trying and failing to sound serious as he was walking away.

Mike tried to throw a punch at him but he was already out of reach.

“See you at eight,” Calvin yelled over the sound of both trains. He winked, turned, and jumped, gracefully landing on the other train, making Mike a bit jealous; or maybe it was something else. Something he wouldn’t dare to say out loud even when he was alone. So he just laid back and looked at the sky as he waited for the next train.