An atypical morning

[MD1, 5:30AM, Zenya's apartment]

Zenya awoke with a start, aware of someone else in the bed with her. Her first instinct was to reach for her gun, but fortunately, it was locked away in a box in the closet. Opening her eyes, she found Valery lying next to her, smiling at her in a way he hadn't in a very long time.

"Just coming to bed," she asked, although she already knew the answer. It had been the routine for months. He would sleep while she was at work, then stay up all night working on whatever project he had going at the moment, basically avoiding her as much as possible. And that was just fine.

"Yes, I thought�"

Zenya looked at the clock. "Oh, God, look at the time! I have to be in the office early this morning," she lied. Throwing back the blankets, she jumped up with unprecedented speed, grabbed something out of the closet, and disappeared into the bathroom to change.

"At five-thirty in the morning," Valery called after her.

"You know how irregular my hours can be," she answered. Zenya felt a little guilty, but completely justified, about her reaction. It was time, she knew, to either commit to making some changes or just walk away - for good this time. It was just too early in the morning to deal with such a decision right now. And if it wasn't that, it was late and she was too tired, or there was something she had to do and she didn't have time to think about it. Or maybe she was just waiting for Valery to make the decision for her, something she knew that he would never do.

By six-o'clock, Zenya was out of the apartment. The sun was just coming up and the streets were still quiet, which was a disappointment. She was longing to get lost in a crowd, to wander aimlessly through the streets for a while, observing and thinking, alone in a sea of strange faces each with a story as unknown to her as hers was to them.

She stopped by a coffee bar down the street from her place with high hopes of a decent espresso, but the place was just opening and it wasn't ready yet. She had to settle for a large regular coffee which didn't have enough coffee flavor to it to be worth wasting time on.

Next, she stopped at a newsstand where she picked up copies of the Washington Post, Vladivostok News, the English language paper out of Moscow, and a Russian political journal, Argumenty i Facty. Comparing the perspectives of events offered by the two Russian papers was always good for a laugh or two.

Slowly, Zenya made her way through the streets, pausing now and then to watch the city come to life in the early morning, and finally found herself at the Mall, as good a place as any to pass the time before she had to be anywhere. She settled on a bench and picked up one of her papers.

By nine o'clock, she'd read through all of them, finished the lousy coffee and decided to head to the office, although there wasn't much for her to do there just now.

[JEH Building]

Zenya took her time getting to the J Edgar Hoover Building, and even longer getting to the office. She made a couple of uncustomary detours, stopping to chat with the guard at the entrance and dropping by her old office to see how things were going there. For some reason, she was suddenly in the mood to be social, even exchanging greetings with everyone she passed in the halls. She just had a feeling that it was going to be a good day, or at least interesting.

Zenya walked into the office and dropped her things at her desk before even noticing that Jim was already there, chatting with a tall, dark-haired man. "Good morning, Jim," she said.

"Zenya. This is our new team member, Martin Reed. And this is Zenya Gorky."

Zenya stepped forward and extended a hand. "Nice to meet you, Martin. No one else here yet?"

"Jordan was here earlier. And Vanessa went down to the firing range. Haven't heard from Leo yet, though."

Zenya nodded and turned to Martin. "Have you been with the FBI long?"

"This is my first assignment, actually," he answered. "I was with the IRS until recently."

"Well, welcome to Zulu. I think you'll like it. Its a good team."

"I'm sure I will," Martin said.

The telephone rang and Jim answered it, and turned on the speaker phone.

><> Jordan said. ><all at the airport as soon as you can get home and ready. I'll get >Jenny to organise the tickets when I get there. Now, go on, and >I'll see you for take off.>>

"No rest for the wicked," Jim said and left the office.

Zenya nodded to Martin. "See you at the airport," she said, and she, too, left the office to go home and pack.

[Airport]

Valery was still asleep when Zenya got home, so she was able to pack and get out in record time. She considered waking him to tell him that she was going to Boston, but in the end, she left a note instead.

At the airport, she found Jim and Jordan waiting at the terminal.

"What are we going to Boston for," she asked, curious.

"I'll explain everything when we're all together," Jordan said.

-----

Sydnie Kathryn MacElroy
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alternate

SA1 Kate Calloway, X-Files, DELTA
SA3 Zenya Gorky, X-Files, ZULU
Fianna Nikal, Kal-Dixas Spaceport
(visit the DELTA archive )

Linguae quae genera distincta non habent inuriam faciunt feminis.

"It may not be apparent, but I am often amused with human behavior."