following on from here and here"Wha... where am I?" The thought pierced Sybil's mind. She wasn't feeling well. Through the haze surrounding her thoughts she could hear a soft
susurrus of a conversation in the
propinquity. As her mind became clearer, she could hear two hushed male voices but couldn't distinguish the words. She tried to move but her body was hurting and all she could muster was a slight tremble of her eyelids so she gave up the effort. She concentrated on the voices instead.
"Did you see?" she could hear the first voice in a slightly excited pitch and tried to figure out whose it was. "Her eyelids moved!" There was no mistake - the voice was her father's.
"Yes, for a moment it seemed so... oh how I wish it were true! But it can't be... the doctors said she wouldn't be awake for at least another day, and even then..." She could feel her heart beat stronger. This voice belonged to the man she loved.
"The doctors can be wrong, can't they! And Sybil is a strong girl."
"She sure is. The way she infiltrated into their lines was worthy of admiration. The sex affair was her idea and she carried it out to perfection, thus gaining their trust and the access to the most confidential information. We couldn't have made it without her. Oh, and your help, of course. Publishing the story was an important part of the operation."
"And to think how she kept me in nescience all the while. I'm glad you stopped using that pipe, though."
"I hated the thing almost as much as that ancient typewriter. But it was part of the plan so I put up with it. Even you believed I was what I pretended to be: a grumpy old man revelling in other people's misery. And as such I didn't pose a threat to the drug cartel bosses, or so they thought."
"We all misjudged you big time. Your computer savvy is awesome, and once you and Sybil had gathered enough incriminating evidence, it was easy to send in th cavalry and do away with the bad guys. Nobody could have predicted they would leave a bomb in their headquartes."
"Well, Sybil did, and it almost cost her life. But many men could have died if she hadn't rushed them out of the building. She was the last to leave, and the blast hit her on the way out. It's almost a miracle she wasn't crushed by its force. The concussion is no laughing matter, though, but the doctors say she's going to make it. I want to tell you something, and I hope you'll consent. We've been talking about quitting the job after this operation and the Agency has agreed. I want to marry her as soon as she's well enough and..."
At that moment Sybil's eyes sprung open and a faint smile spread over her face.
***
the hostess of TWT is the awesome
quilly
