Chapter Text
Alex’s POV
It’s the middle of September and the team made quick work of Mexico in Utah and New York. Alex has been on fire since her debut back and she seems unstoppable racking goals like a women possessed and that’s just in the national level. Everyone liked a good comeback story and Portland was no exception. Bringing in a new meaning to the word Horsepower Alex swept in the soccer city like a pent up mustang…they didn’t have a fighting chance and quickly fell in love with her stride.
Her life now consisting of games, photoshoots, interviews, and itineraries. Everything on schedule and routine….It’s too good to be true. And as she sat idly in New York’s JFK airport Alex looks up from a novel she finished back in Utah finding herself missing the spontaneity of her life before. Where no one knew her name… actually loosing herself in the different lives she lived in a span of a week, and the adventure each day held as she took on a mission. Don’t get her wrong of course she grew to hate it all at the end…but Alex would be fooling herself if she said she didn’t enjoy working for James in the beginning of it all.
Due to a problem with the airline Kelley, Tobin, and Alex are the last ones left at the airport out of the whole team and they blame the delay on the sole fact that Alex's name is on the flight manifest and keep teasing her about. Consequently Alex gets stuck watching their luggage as the other two women left to go grab a few things from the shops. Her gaze scans the crowd of the ridiculously busy airport trying to find Tobin and Kelley coming back from their coffee run given they were taking the red eye back to Portland. The crowd is too dense for Alex to see anything until something catches her eye making her smirk.
A lithely teenage girl dressed in a loose white maxi dress bumps against a middle-aged man pulling her weight fully against him.
“Oh Gosh….I’m so sorry!” Alex can read the words coming out of her mouth as she smiles at the man while her left hand disappears into his left jacket pocket.
“Oh you’re fine. No worries.” The oblivious man smiles back flattered by the attention of the beautiful young girl.
‘Oh she’s good.’ Alex scoffs silently to herself watching as the girl simply walks away hiding the stolen wallet behind her as she's swallowed into the crowd.
Alex looks back down at her book a soft chuckle shaking her shoulders when her memory is taken back to one of her first missions as an agent.
*Flashback*
Alex is in Budapest, Hungary, and her target is sitting across the room from her in a swanky hotel restaurant. Sporting a simple black cocktail dress Morgan is holding onto an apple martini while leaning against the bar when a man roughly around his mid-thirties approaches her effectively cutting off her view from her target.
“So how much is it going to take to get you in my bed, tonight?” The man slurs as he confidently closes the little space left between him and Alex.
‘Gross…as if.’ Alex almost gags at the stench emanating from the drunken man. The guy is all over her and before she knees him in the groin she stops and decides to make use of him.
Not able to handle his groping hands any longer Alex slips away looking disgusted she heads straight towards her target taking the only other empty seat on the table.
“Can we be girlfriends right now?” Alex asks smiling as her gaze takes in a closer look at her target.
‘….wow.’ Alex thinks to herself having a closer look at the woman sitting in front of her.
“Sure…..looks like you need a safe zone.” The woman laughs softly as she takes another bite of her steak making Alex lick her lips as their equally intense blue eyes gaze at each other.
Her target is on a whole other level of beauty that Alex has to take a few seconds before she starts making conversation.
“So usually a women as beautiful as you has men falling at her feet…I mean I enjoy a good steak myself, but it’s a little odd enjoying it on your own…” Alex questions effortlessly.
“….are you a serial killer?” Alex whispers coyly leaning her chin against her hand resting against the table.
“Ha….maybe…. you should take your chances back to the bar.” She jokes along with Alex.
“Oh really! …..That scary?”
“Terribly.” The women’s reply holding a serious tone behind it.
“Well I’m a sucker for a challenge…..My names Violette, nice to meet you…?” Alex uses her alias name as she pulls her hand out as a means of introduction.
“…Ahh a fellow competitor. I’m Zsuzsanna…friends call me Zsu.(Sue)” She confirms Alex’s target while shaking hands.
The gap between the two strikingly beautiful women seems to disappear after each glass of wine they finish and Morgan is actually having an interesting conversation about the art of wine tasting when Zsu finally makes a move.
“It’s awfully late can I walk you somewhere?” Zsu leans further into Alex’s space.
“Actually I have a room here….upstairs.” Alex suggests eyeing Zsu intimately slow from the little space left between them.
Alex notices the slight apprehension in Zsu’s movements.
“Well…Have a nice night and thank you for coming to the rescue.” Alex excuses herself standing up from the table, but the hand pulling on her wrist makes her stop.
“If I remember correctly you came and sat your pretty self in my table all on your own….and do you actually think I’m going to let you walk away with my wallet.” Zsu’s piercing gaze looking right through Alex and the former forward is slack jawed at getting caught.
“Uhhh….well you caught me.” Alex turns on her charm once more while taking the wallet hidden inside her satchel out and handing it back.
‘Shit…Shit…’ Alex is panicking internally and her mind is quickly trying to come up with a backup plan.
“Wait…” Alex tauntingly draws the wallet back out of the woman’s grasp making her eye Alex suspiciously.
“….Why should I?” She asks surprised by Alex’s actions.
“Because I grabbed this almost an hour ago and yet you shared dessert with me….why is that?” Alex smiles confidently.
“Natural curiosity….Not many beautiful, blue-eyed, blonde,…..” Zsu pauses making Alex shift in her seat the way her eyes scan down her figure.”…very fit, women resort to pick pocketing.” Zsu explains as she stands up from the table. Alex can’t help but find herself at a loss for words at the beautiful woman before her.
With voluminous wavy brown hair that adds to her alluring character Zsu is six feet of crazy sensual, lethal, elegance that takes the spotlight away even from Alex…..and it’s a nice change that Morgan finds intriguing and enticing all at the same time.
“You need to pick something else to make money off of….amateur.”
“Excuse me! Amateur?!” Alex arches her brow daringly up at Zsu towering over her.
‘Amateur!.....Amateur!’ Alex keeps repeating the word in her mind. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone called her that.
“Have a good night, Violette….if that’s even your name…” Zsu laughs walking away from the former forward her long toned legs taking her only but a few strides to make it out onto the lobby of the hotel.
The way she walked away from Alex so easily pushed one of Morgan’s buttons and she quickly tries to catch up to her target.
“Hey who do you think you are?!” Alex calls out once she reaches the lobby, but the tall woman is nowhere in sight.
Reaching back into her satchel she grabs her phone to make a call when a small piece of paper falls out and lands on the floor just by her heels.
Grabbing it off the ground she reads the intricate cursive message written on it.
“What an Amateur….”
-Z
Alex bites the inside of her cheek harshly as she crumbles the paper and makes her way outside of the hotel and into the busy nightlife of Budapest determined to find her target.
*End of Flashback*
“…That’s ridiculous Kelley you’re never going to see her again.” Tobin’s voice breaks through Morgan’s thoughts making her slightly scowl at the memory she just had.
“Oh don’t act like you didn’t blush when she touched your shoulder back there and I swear to you she groped my ass…. MhmmMhmm damn she was HOTT!” Kelley sits on the empty seat on Alex’s left side while Tobin sits on her other side handing Alex her fresh cup of coffee.
“Excuse me….blush? Who touched whose shoulder?” Alex interrupts Kelley’s antics.
“Some hot….Hot! Foreign babe Tobin bumped into by the coffee bar.” Kelley gushed leaning her head up against Alex’s shoulder.
“Dude, Kelley you sound like a hormonal teenage boy….she wasn’t even that hot.” Tobin tries to play off shrugging her shoulders.
“Oh so you checked her out?” Alex taunts while taking another long drawl of her coffee even though it was scolding hot.
“Absolutely NOT!” Tobin scoffs finding the lid of her coffee cup suddenly very intriguing as Alex eyed her suspiciously.
“Then how do you know she isn’t hot then?” Alex asks pointedly.
“Well because I’ve already got my hot….beautiful Fiancé, right here…..why would I need to look anywhere else?” Tobin smoothly replies leaning into Alex’s shoulder to leave a subtle kiss on her jawline.
“Ew…ew…gross.” Kelley retracts from Alex’s other shoulder as fast as she could.
“Nice save….” Alex returns the kiss making Tobin laugh against her shoulder.
“Gate B 13 is now open. Repeat Gate B 13 heading for Portland, Oregon is now being seated….” The intercom announces their flight and the trio begins to grab their things and make their way past the heavy crowd and towards the gate when someone bumps against Alex’s side almost making her drop her coffee.
“WHooaa…” Alex calls out trying to save her coffee more than anything.
“Oh gosh….I’m so sorry!” The surprised voice making Alex look up from her coffee and sure enough it’s the same young girl from before.
Before the teenager can walk out of reach with what Alex can only think of countless valuables she has on her person….Morgan takes a hold of the teenagers shoulder stopping her from disappearing.
“Oh hold on a sec.” Alex calls out.
“Hey! Don’t….” The girl begins to shout, but Alex cuts her off.
“The last thing you want to do is cause a scene. So just give me back whatever it is that you took from me and we’ll leave it at that.” Alex bargains.
“Look lady I don’t know what you’re…”
“Alex, is there a problem here?” Tobin interrupts standing near Alex just out of line to the gate.
“Oh no, babe….I just dropped something and she’s politely going to hand it back over….Right?” Alex encourages smiling as she lifted her hand out towards the girl.
“Oh whatever….” The girl hands over Alex’s wallet surprised that the girl got that deep into her carry-on so easily.
“Damn she’s good!” Tobin voices her thoughts as they watched the girl disappear into the crowd.
“Hey dorks! Hurry up!” Kelley calls out to them still holding their spots in line.
Returning to the line Alex quickly opens her wallet completely forgetting to check the contents inside it a soon as the girl handed it over.
‘Shit!’ Alex scolds herself as she opens her wallet and all her cash is missing. All her credit cards and important documents were still in place, but in the fold where her cash used to be a small piece of paper lay there instead.
Grabbing it she immediately pulls her head up over the crowd and scans all around standing on her tiptoes only slightly as she moved in a complete circle. When her eyes fall on a body towering over most of the crowd with very distinct wavy brown hair a couple yards down the gateways Alex can feel her heart begin to pound against her chest.
‘Zsu?’ Alex hears the name in her head and she blinks several times when the tall figure turns the corner barely catching a glimpse of blue piercing eyes smiling at her just as they walk out of view.
All she could do is close the gap in front of her and Tobin. The midfielder looking ahead oblivious to it all as she stood in front of Alex.
'Nope there is no way....It's just really late and you're tired...that's all it is!' Alex tries to talk herself out of who she thinks she just saw, but the note in her hands is to much of a coincidence.
Looking down at the note she finally reads it. Her fingertips beginning to tap against the paper out of nervous habit.
“What an amateur….”
-Z
Alex crumbles the paper much like the first time and lets it fall to her feet when something catching the light inside her wallet grabs her attention once again. Reaching inside she takes it out and realizes it’s an engagement ring.
‘Tobin’s engagement ring?’ Alex scowls harshly at the ring and immediately looks up at Tobin standing in front of her.
As if to prove Alex’s hunch Tobin pulls up her left hand to rest against her shoulder holding the strap to her carry-on putting it in plain sight for Alex to see.
Tobin's left hand is bare and the only thing indicating her engagement ring was ever missing is the significant tan line on Tobin’s ring finger.
“No Fucking Way!” Alex breathes out.