Dear Diary, I Just Met My Wife

Posted on Fri Oct 18th, 2024 @ 9:37pm by Lieutenant Adrianna Baciami & Lieutenant Fang Lee

1,370 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Stars Around the Well

With the hunt for Vance well underway, there was not much else she could do. It was a waiting game. She prayed not a long one. All of this had made her want to reread his journals. Adrianna often read extracts out of order, just for some light bedtime reading.

Today's extract was unexpected, but welcomed. She remembered the moment all too well-- it was the day they had met.

---

The room was dimly lit, the air thick with the scent of cigars and tension. Adrianna Baciami's target, Vance Adams sat at the head of the table. She casually flicked a chip between her fingers as she watched on, waiting for her moment, but her sharp eyes missed nothing. Across from him, a man in a well-tailored suit dealt the cards with mechanical precision. The stakes were high, and the night was only getting more dangerous. She had overheard what was at stake and she could see that the game was rigged.

From the corner of the room, the woman moved silently towards the table. She was striking—dark hair, olive skin, and a confidence that cut through the smoky haze. She slipped into the seat next to Vance, her movements smooth and deliberate, as though she belonged there all along. She dropped her voice, her lips near his ear. If anyone didn't know better, they'd think she knew him personally, "buonasera, bello. You are not in a fair game-- they are setting you up to lose. Be careful."

Adrianna smiled slightly, her fingers tracing the rim of her glass. “The dealer, il baro… he’s dealing from the bottom of the deck. The man with the hat, his chips aren’t all accounted for.” She shrugged casually, her voice barely a whisper. “If you don’t watch closely, caro, you’ll lose more than your money.”

He grinned. "Will I?" He knew he had it all planned out. "How about you get a drink have them put it on my tab. Vance Adams." He needed her to get out of the way before the fireworks started.

Adrianna raised a eye brow, "careful, Amore mio--" she tapped her glass subtly indicating the person on her left, "he has a two queens and hat man has a flush." She stood up, making it look like she'd kissed his cheek, making her way to the bar, "I'll have a grappa, Vance Adams' tab."

Vance looked over at her and gave a wink. "Alright...I call Let's see them cards." Several people on the corners, all Vances' men started moving in slowly. One took a spot next to Adrianna, an Andorian. "The boss doesn't usually buy drinks so...Best stay behind me."

Adrianna chuckled, "alright, cucciolo. I can protect myself though. Never underestimate a woman that merely sees something that she wants." She gestured subtly to a holstered phaser at the base of her spine and a dagger at her thigh.

He smiled. "Well boss has good taste." Just as he said that all hell broke loose. The whiz of phaser fire and fists drifted over. "Well Poopsicles. But the boss has it covered!" The Andorian stood by knowing that the boss liked to do his own work. He was just there to protect the lady.

Adrianna shrugged not even flinching at the phaser fire. She simply, and somewhat comedically sipped her drink that had been put on his tab. After a minute or so, Adrianna pulled the dagger from her thigh and threw it, she barely even watched what she was doing, trusting her peripheral. It skimmed passed Vance's ear, close to nicking it, and landed directly between the eyes of the man behind him, who was about to shoot. She looked back at the andorian, "tell me, the boss also pay for dinner?"

He was just about to speak when Vence walked over. "Go finish things." He watched as his group of men moved in on what was left of the rif raf. "Now then. You saved my life. How can I possibly thank you." He grinned and leaned on the bar motioning for a drink.

She smiled and sipped her drink, "you can start by retrieving my dagger, Amore mio." Her eyes looked him up and down as if flirting with him, but in truth, whilst-- yes-- she thought he was handsome, she had a job to do, "after than, I'm willing to hear your offer."

"Deal." He strutted over and picked up the dagger tossing it to the bartender. "Clean this please." He came back. "Now then. Shall I set a wedding date?"

She chuckled, her eyes going to him, "come now, Amore mio." Adrianna rested her hand on his arm, "at least buy me another drink first. Either way, it is just the life flashing before your eyes. Calm down."

He laughed. He took the dagger returning it. "How about dinner first?" He motioned. "Boys have all this in hand. There is a great Greek Restaurant just around the corner."

"Are you a sweetheart, cucciolo," the woman took the dagger and placed it back on her thigh, "clearly you are in charge here, and yet you would abandon your team? Hardly a good leader. Perhaps I have you wrong." She retracted her hand from his arm, running her fingers through her hair, "I actually heard you were looking for a translator. I just happened to bump into you before we were set to be introduced by a mutual friend tomorrow. Or would you prefer I remain your future wife, not employee?"

"You can be both!" He motioned. "They have well in hand." He looked over at a tall Nassican. "Make sure Rebler is alive and well when you deliver him to Starfleet." He shuddered. "Don't like bounty work but hell it's well paid so every now and then." He held his arm out. "Now, let's talk mutual friends and translations."

She groaned a little, looking rather hesitant, "Dio santo, Starfleet. You help that corrupted group of wannabe knights in shining tin foil-- perhaps just wife not help then," nonetheless, Ade took his arm, "I'm Adrianna Reggimi, by the way."

"You are not. That is not your name."

She managed to keep a poker face, so trod carefully as she followed him out, "oh?"

"You are Adrianna soon to be Adams." He grinned. "I don't help them often but the bounty was ridiculous and the person they hired originally is not a friend of mine. If I can take money from him by helping them I will....besides this dude destroyed a prototype shuttle, as a man who loves all things engineering I had to help." He grinned. "Even if it's Starfleet."

"Adrianna Adams," she chuckled, "Madonna-- that alliteration sounds funny. Keep dreaming. I am not so easy to win over, Cuore mio. As for Starfleet -- fine. As long as it doesn't mean we do good. It makes me nauseous."

"Meh every once in a while good can be..well good." He stopped their walk and facepalmed. "Oy that sounded wrong."

Adrianna had to chuckle. He was merely human. Perhaps this wouldn't be such a bad intel mission after all. "Now, now, Mister Adams," she sweetly teased him, "am I making you nervous? Got you tongue tied? You shouldn't be nervous around the future Missus Adams."

He grinned as he walked ahead did a little turn and then pulled a flower out. "For you!" He tossed a credit to the lady by the flower bucket. "To dinner then."

"Madonna!" She rolled her eyes playfully.

---

Adrianna chuckled softly to herself. She'd only seen him as a jokester at that point. It had taken two lots of snuggling jobs before she had started to feel something real for him. She could remember what made her snap. He'd always been sweet to her, they'd always had the harmless flirting, but it hadn't amounted to anything. But here-- right there in black and white, he had known all along: 'I don't know what it is about her-- but all jokes aside: I'm going to marry that woman one day'.

A smile crossed her lips and she turned her encrypted PaDD off.

Madonna-- what if he was still alive-- what then?

 

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