Eat and sleep

Pointing down a hall, she says, "Put your stuff in the back room, and I'll make you something to eat. Do you like eggs? You better, because it's all we have right now. Ivan will go shopping later."

He walks down the hallway, looking in one open door and finding the bathroom. The other doors are all locked, and he was unwilling to put his stuff down to snoop. At the end of the hall, he saw an open door. He stepped into the room, putting his luggage down at his feet, and scanned the room. He saw a dingy, messy bedroom; a dresser on one wall had clothing exploding out of its partially opened drawers; a tall stack of cardboard boxes obscured another wall. The bed in the middle was a tangle of sheets and blankets. The only empty flat surface was one end of the dresser. The drapes were shut, making the room very dark. He lifted his suitcase to the top of the dresser; it stuck out over the edge.

Natasha stuck her head in the door, asking, “How do you like your eggs? Scrambled or fried?”

“Over Medium, please,” he replied, “and just butter on the toast, if there is any. Can I get some clean sheets, or is that asking too much?”

She replied, “There’s a linen closet in the bathroom. You should be able to find something clean in there.”

She returned to the kitchen, as he headed to the bathroom. Inside, he found some clean sheets right where she said; he went back to the room with an armload. By the time he had striped the bed, he could hear the crackle of cooking coming from the kitchen, and he could smell bacon frying. When he finished making the bed, Natasha called out from the kitchen, “Breakfast is served!”

Arnold walked into the kitchen to see Natasha turning around from the stove with a plate of hot food. A mountain of eggs and several strips of bacon lay on the plate with four halves of toast around the edge. That plate could have come from any of a million diners in the world. A place had been set for him with fork and spoon, napkin, and a cup of coffee. The rich smell of the bacon and the coffee had his mouth watering. He sat in the chair as she put the plate in front of him. He dove in quickly, since he had not eaten for a while. Natasha put milk and sugar into her coffee, and watched him eat.

Arnold reached for the pepper and clumsily knocked his coffee over. The dark liquid flowed across the table like a flash flood in the desert, some dripping off onto the linoleum floor. Natasha quickly grabbed a dish towel and dropped it on top of the puddle on the table. She then stooped to wipe up the coffee on the floor with a sponge, and he got a good look down her shirt. The curve of her breasts was a delicious sight. She stood wringing the sponge out in the sink and rinsing it. Then she poured him another cup, setting it gently in front of him.

"Thanks. Sorry I'm so clumsy," he told her.

He remained silent while he continued with eating, still in shock about the sudden change in his trip to Russia. He soon devoured the food and sat back, wiping up what was left of his eggs with a wedge of toast. He then sipped his coffee, before saying, “So, what is going on?”

“Five young technical people just graduated from university have disappeared in the last two months. Harry, the CIA agent who sent you, was going undercover to investigate. You’ll have to take his place.”

“But I don’t know anything about being a spy? I’ve read my uncle’s journals, but that hardly qualifies,” he said with some exasperation. “He’s James Bond.”

“That must be why you were picked by the CIA agent. Mr. Bond must have arranged for you to hook up with Harry. Perhaps you were going work the case together,” she said contemplatively. “Well, we can talk about this later. You need sleep now. Finish your coffee and go to bed. I’ll clean up here.”

He sipped his coffee while she cleared the dishes and started washing them in the porcelain sink. He soon finished and headed to the bedroom. He took off his jeans and flopped into the bed. He was exhausted after the long plane flight and the harrowing car chase through Moscow, and he was asleep in minutes.