Gabriel gingerly touched the skin-coloured gel-strip adhering to his forehead, causing the invisible circuitry to light up in response. It seemed like a silly question when the answer was so obvious: to monitor his neural activity when he was asleep.
But, of course, what she really wanted to know was what was done with the data. Even he didn’t know that, and even if he did he couldn’t tell her. The data collected by the gel-strip, and the uses to which it was put, were classified.
Aster knew all of that, and she showed what she thought of that by reaching up and giving the gel-strip an irreverent flick.
“Don’t touch it.” Gabriel warned her, flinching in irritation.
Aster replied by defiantly flicking the gel-strip again.
“I said don’t touch it.” Gabriel’s tone hardened, “you might damage it.”
“It’s a wireless electroencephalographic monitoring strip, not an egg-shell,” Aster retorted, making clear that she knew more about the technology than he did, “your lords and masters will still get their pristine data feeds.”
She emphasised the point by giving the strip another sharp jab.
A rush of anger swept through Gabriel’s chest, and he angrily seized Aster’s wrists and pinned her against the wall, not tolerating her provocations any longer. Aster inhaled sharply, taken aback by his outburst of aggression.
“Which part of ‘don’t touch it’ do you not understand?” Gabriel hissed angrily, piercing her eyes with his own as he spoke.
He was hissing at Aster through gritted teeth to suppress the volume of his voice, but inadvertently ended up with a menacing, wolf-like snarl on his face.
Aster didn’t respond, but the emotion in her eyes wasn’t fear. They were chest to chest, their lips only inches away from each other. Gabriel’s gaze drift down from her eyes to her button nose and slightly open lips, then down across the soft skin of her neck, converging downwards into a V-shape. He could feel the warmth of her body against his own, and the closeness of their bodies caused another feeling to stir in his chest, quenching his anger.
As Gabriel’s anger subsided, he realised he was physically pinning his wife to the wall. Self-consciously, he relinquished his grip on her wrists and took an apologetic step backwards. Aster used her now free hands to pull his head back towards her own. Their lips connected, and she held him there for a long moment before breaking the kiss.
“Don’t pull away.” She whispered to him.
Aster pulled him in for another kiss, this time allowing his tongue entrance. As they continued to lock lips, Aster ran her fingers through his raven black hair and wrapped her arms around his neck. Gabriel’s own hands slid down her back towards her butt, cupping her cheeks in his palms. Then he reach down further and placed his hands behind her knees, hoisting her effortlessly into the air. Her body felt warm and exciting, and she wrapped her legs around his waist in response, hugging him close.
“We should get back to bed.” She whispered into his ear.
* * *
Even after their nocturnal exercise session, Gabriel still wasn’t tired enough to fall asleep, and he lay awake for the rest of the night, spread-eagled on his back, staring at the ceiling in the dark. His stare was blank, but his mind was abuzz with thoughts.
Revealing details of past operations, let alone present ones, was strictly forbidden, even if those details were filtered through dreams and nightmares. Secrecy was central to what he did. Aster hated the secrecy, and it was a constant source of tension between them. But it was nothing that couldn’t be defused in the bedroom.
Aster was lying face down on top of him, curled up around his chest for comfort. Her skin felt so soft and warm against his own; just feeling her body warmth was enough to rekindle his arousal. Gabriel planted his hand on her shoulder and ran his palm down the curve of her back to her butt, cupping the cheek in his palm.
“Someone’s seems ready for round two.” Aster murmured with a smile.
She lifted her knee a little higher and slid her body up closer to him. From her rear, he reached down a little further to the place below.
Gabriel’s smartphone chimed suddenly, interrupting his ministrations. Gritting his teeth in annoyance at the interruption, he reached over and plucked the device off the bedside table, finding a single message in danger red, block capitals displayed on the holographic screen: ‘REPORT TO DGNI’S OFFICE, 9AM’.
“Another assignment?” asked Aster, perching her chin on his chest and looking up.
“No comment.” Gabriel replied laconically.
“Of course.” Aster said with a sigh.
Gabriel could sense how weary Aster was of all the secrecy.
“It was a flashback, by the way,” he said, abruptly changing the subject, “they’re all based on memories from past assignments. That’s why I can’t tell you about them.”
That semi-cathartic disclosure wasn’t necessarily wise, even though he hadn’t strictly speaking revealed anything classified.
“Listen, I know you can’t talk about these things,” Aster said hesitantly, “but–”
“The flashback happened during training.” Gabriel uttered suddenly.
“…what happened?” Aster asked, wrong-footed by Gabriel’s sudden confession.
“They leave you in space for 24 hours.” Gabriel replied nonchalantly, “If your sanity is intact by the time they pick you up, you pass.”
“Isn’t zero-g combat part of basic training?”
“It is,” Gabriel confirmed, “but that involves learning how to navigate in space using EVA suits. In the training I underwent, they throw you into the void with just a basic suit and 25 hours’ worth of oxygen, enough to get you through the exercise. But there’s no thruster pack, no safety tether, and no retrieval team for those who want to quit early.”
“That sounds awful.” Aster said horrified.
“Worst of all is the toll on the mind,” Gabriel continued. “The sheer emptiness around you. It’s the worst kind of isolation, and you just have to endure it.”
Aster was silent as she processed his surprise honesty. Gabriel was even more surprised that he had done it. He hadn’t technically revealed anything operational, but that certainly wasn’t something the average civilian needed to know.
“I’m glad you told me that.” She said at length, snuggling closer to him, “I hate that the Masterminds know more about what goes on inside your head than I do.”
“You wouldn’t like what you find in there.” Gabriel warned her.
“Maybe not,” she answered, “but I’d rather know than have you shut me out altogether.”
“Also, would you mind not swearing so much?” Gabriel changed the subject again, “I don’t want the children waking and overhearing it.”
“Oh, do accept my humblest apologies, Mr Gabriel,” Aster replied in a mock, upper class accent, “I would hate to sound like a ‘fleeking’, uncouth colonial.”
Gabriel’s smartphone chimed a second time. The holographic screen displayed a plain message from a different sender: ‘Morning drinks at Ellipsis, booth 39. See you there.’
Gabriel scowled at the message. An invitation to drinks at an elite club for the rich and pampered was one thing; an invitation phrased as an instruction was downright condescending. Then again, it was typical of the sender to do that.
“Another message from work?” Aster asked.
“No, it’s a drinks invitation,” Gabriel said darkly.
“I hope it’s not from a mistress of yours.” Aster poked him playfully.
“I don’t have anyone on the side,” Gabriel replied in complete seriousness. “But I do know the sender. One guess who it is.”
Now it was Aster’s turn to scowl.
“Give her my regards,” she said with barely concealed contempt, “or don’t.”