Part Three: White Reflection.
As she sat there in her bed, Releena reached up to lightly touch her lips, and thought of that dream kiss, of Noin's handsome face bent over her own. Before she had a chance to recover, to collect herself, figure out what she thought, and how she felt about it, there was a rapid knock on her bedroom's door. Without waiting for her to answer, the real Noin stuck her head in the door, the expression on her face grim.
"Releena, we have got to be out of here in five minutes or less," Noin said to her tersely, and closed the door. Without letting herself think about it, Releena quickly began to dress, while she tossed some extra clothes in a travel bag. Obviously, there was some kind of trouble, and Noin would explain when she could. Three minutes later, shoes on, dressed in pants and T-shirt, she stepped out of her room, bag in hand.
"I don't know yet how they found out we're here, but the satellite data feeds show two modified Virgo's inbound, E.T.A. seventeen minutes. We need to get you out of here, as soon as possible," Noin explained. Releena nodded, and followed Noin at a run out into the hallway and down the nearest stairwell.
'I do wish Noin hadn't picked such a tall building,' Releena thought wryly as they barreled down the stairs. "Is there a leak at the Preventers, then?" Releena asked Noin breathlessly, hurrying to keep up with her.
"Has to be," Noin said coldly, her expression bleak. "Either our electronic systems have been hacked, or there's a traitor in our organization." They both sighed a bit in relief as they passed the sixth floor marker. Only five more to go.
At ground level, they took a moment to catch their breaths. "Will they attack the hotel?" Releena asked Noin worriedly.
Noin shook her head. "According to our best information, they're still professionals. It would be a waste of resources, if they attack the building and you're not here. They'll scan for our distinctive lifesigns, then decide if they should or should not attack."
When they finally ran out into the street, Releena nearly stopped in surprise as she instantly recognized the biggest, pinkest car she had ever seen, and it was sitting at the curb waiting for them. The passenger side door was open, and across the front seat, Dorothy Catalonia was waving cheerfully at them both. Noin then all but picked the faltering Releena up and tossed her in, then she dove in right behind her.
"Move! Move!" Noin barked!
Behind Releena, a heavy door slammed shut loudly, and with a throaty roar of the oversized engine they were off. Dorothy flipped two small switches on the dashboard, a pair of lights went from green to dark red, and without turning around in her seat she asked Releena conversationally "How has your vacation been so far, Releena-sama?"
"A little too tense," Releena answered her dryly. She looked over at Noin beside her and asked plaintively "What is she doing here?" Dorothy pretended to look wounded, while Noin reluctantly smiled.
Before anyone could say anything more, the two Virgo's roared by over their heads. They buzzed the hotel tower a moment, looking a little like irritated bees, then promptly flew off. "I've got the E.C.M. system you gave me active," Dorothy said calmly as she gestured to the glowing lights on the dashboard, "but if they know what my car looks like, we're dead."
They waited a minute, then two, before they finally breathed a small sigh of relief. "Dorothy's a Preventer, actually," Noin said to Releena with a smile. "However, she's not listed in any database or payroll file, because of her covert work for us."
"I've got to get my excitement somehow," Dorothy said modestly. Releena softly sighed, and Dorothy grinned at her. "I know a bit about the cost of war," Dorothy said seriously, "and the price of peace. I prefer peace."
"Thank you," Releena said softly to Dorothy. She turned back to Noin with a frown and asked "What are we going to do now?"
"Keep traveling overland, I'm sorry to say." Noin smiled a bit, continued, "I contacted Miss Dorothy earlier, and she's been establishing a cover so we can travel together without problems." She looked out the window, and frowned as she noticed how fast they were travelling. "Where are we going, anyway?"
Totally deadpan, Dorothy answered, "To your wedding, of course. Your cover is going to be as a honeymooning couple."
Noin and Releena stared at her dumbfounded. "What ?!" they both asked Dorothy almost exactly together.
Dorothy grinned at the two of them, and passed them each a slim file folder. She began to recite from memory: "Rita 'Releena' Clark, is getting married to Nicole 'Noin' Clark. You will be then travel together across Europe, honeymoon in the very best hotels and resorts. You're just a very normal pair of boring computer analysts who met on the job and fell in love, with a long, fictitious history I won't tire you with now. All the proper papers have been filed, but I though if we had some photographic evidence of a real wedding, it would finish things off quite nicely."
Releena was barely able to stop Noin as she tried to lunge across the seat at Dorothy, and it didn't help that she almost wanted to throttle her, too!
"Photographic evidence? What are we going to wear for this wedding, you aristocratic twit?" Noin roared.
"Oh, dear," Dorothy said in her exaggerated way, "I almost forgot." Dorothy smoothly pulled the car over, opened the doors and led them around to the trunk. She pulled out one garment bag and passed it to Noin. "Put this on in the back seat, then sit up front. I've put the divider to black so you won't be able to see the bride. Tradition, you know," Dorothy said with a sweet smile. Noin grumbled, but headed off to get changed.
"Well, it's a... very interesting plan," Releena said to her quietly. She smiled a bit, "Noin will probably kill you when it's over, though."
Dorothy smiled, but her eyes were dead serious. "Releena, the enemy we're dealing with here are former soldiers. Very stodgy people, who wouldn't know fun if it ran up to them and bit them on the ass. There's no way they would expect this," she finished, and smirked.
Noin opened the car door and climbed out. She cut quite the fine figure of a woman, the excellently tailored wedding tuxedo hugged her lean form. She reminded one of a noble prince, or a master spy about to go out to seduce the beautiful ladies. "Wow," Dorothy whispered, and said more loudly "Can I marry her, too?"
Releena rolled her eyes, took the other garment bag, and climbed in the back seat to change. Noin leaned against the car and looked at Dorothy steadily, making her sweat a little. Finally, Noin conceded "It's a good plan. I think they will be caught by surprise, assuming they even suspect."
"Thank you," Dorothy said and threw her a mock curtsey. They faintly heard Releena call for Dorothy, and she excused herself to climb in, before she stopped to tell Noin, "No peeking!"
"What's with the lingerie?" Releena sweatdropped as she asked Dorothy in a whisper, as she tried to make sure Noin didn't hear her.
Dorothy laughed and answered "Tradition." She then set about to snap and strap Releena into the various under things, then into the gown itself. "I almost envy Noin," Dorothy sighed, before she stepped out.
Dorothy then ushered Noin back up front, and they were soon on their way. A few minutes later, Noin found herself in a country church, standing nervouly in front of a very amused looking justice of the peace.
"I haven't seen a wedding set up this fast in years," he remarked leadingly.
Noin, totally deadpan, commented, "I knocked her up, and our parents want us to be wed before the baby starts to show."
The priest looked at her in surprise, then began to quietly laugh. Just then the wedding march began, and Noin turned to see Dorothy escort the white clad figure up the aisle. The young priest's words were a blur, and only registered to Noin near the end. "Do you, Rita, take Nicole, to be your wedded wife?"
Releena answered clearly "I do."
"Nicole, do you take Rita to be your wedded wife?" the priest asked.
"I do," Noin croaked.
"Then you may kiss the brides," he said happily.
When Noin heard that, her blood ran cold. She reached over, hesitantly lifted the veil and looked down at Releena's beaming face, and just didn't know what she should do. Or what Releena wanted her to do...
Releena looked up and realized that Noin was completely frozen. She reached up, gently wrapped her arms around Noin's neck, and then drew her down into the wedding kiss. 'I think she kisses better in real life,' Releena thought to herself dazedly, suddenly remembering what happened in the morning's dream.
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