The week following their arrival was, in Thom’s estimation, frustrating. Keegan was gone more than he was around as the day of the election neared. That left Thom at loose ends in a strange city where he didn’t speak the language. He did a bit of the tourist thing, visiting shops and a cathedral that was an architectural landmark. He even, at Keegan’s insistence, took a day trip to nature preserve. It was all well and good, and yes he had to admit it was different and interesting, but for all that he saw of his lover he might as well have stayed home.
Keegan, on the other hand, was wishing for a bit of leisure time. He was getting very tired of hanging around the present president’s xenophobic militia. They only tolerated his presence because he had high-level, if forged, documents certifying him as an observer there to ensure the election was carried out according to international standards. If it weren’t for the fact that he was picking up needed information from their minds that justified his assignment, he’d have packed it in without a second thought and taken Thom on a tour of the continent instead.
By the end of the week the two men were sniping at each other when they weren’t relieving their frustrations with heated bouts of love-making.
After the most recent round, Thom asked petulantly, “How damned much longer?” Then, sighing, he apologized. “I guess I never realized how much of your job was just information gathering. For some reason I saw you as some sort of James Bond figure, literally fighting the good fight while dodging the bad guys’ bullets. This trip puts a whole new light on things.”
Keegan shook his head, smiling. “Often it’s exactly like that, and if this had been one of those times I have a feeling you’d still be back home with three of Alasdair’s people watching you day and night.”
“I’ll pass on that, thanks.” He shifted to a more comfortable position, resting his head on Keegan’s shoulder. “So, back to the original question. The election is in two days. Is the opposition candidate going to survive until then and do we get to leave as soon as it’s over?”
“Yes, to both questions. His going out of the country for a day helped. It gave his people a chance to deal with a known assassin who had followed him.”
“One you knew about because of what you’re doing.”
“Exactly. But with that man out of the picture there’s still a chance another one has been brought in, which is why we’re still here. I picked up on something from the head of the militia when he came to the hotel. Outwardly he was just reassigning some of his men, but he held a closed-door conference with two of them. A name was mentioned that I recognized.”
Thom gave him a worried look. “Tell me you’re not going after whoever he is.”
“Nope, not in my job description this time.”
“Whew. Then two more days and we’re out of here.”
“Exactly. And,” Keegan smiled slightly, “I wasn’t going to tell you this until we were on the plane, but I have been given some time off.”
Thom sat up, looking down at him. “As in time just for you and me?”
"No,” Keegan said quite seriously, “I’m sending you home and then doing a little traveling on my own.” He ceased his teasing immediately when he saw that Thom believed him. “Yes, you nut, as in just you and me. Where do you want to go? There’s a whole world out there and you get to make the choice.”
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