“Agent 7, I have told you before that your mission has been completed. We caught the bad guy and there is no need for you to remain in the States.”

“I can’t go back! Not now! The trial hasn’t even started! What if something goes wrong and…someone needs to testify?”, she argued.

Aila was shouting over the phone at her commander only to realize her landlady had no security clearance to know the specifics of her conversation and she better lower her volume unless she wanted to no longer be a tenant.

He continued, “Spies cannot testify. You know this already. Your point is invalid because we have that taken care of-an informant from within the company has agreed to share vital secrets with the FBI. You did your job, Agent 7. It is time to come home.”

“But I can’t!”, she whispered into the phone, “I have school still to complete. I graduate in the spring semester. Can I wait til then to come back?”

“Remember agent that your student visa expires in May. After your finals, you must return. Another mission is lined up for you to take.”

“No! I want to stay here and…”

“Is this about the boy?”, her commander inquired.

“He’s a man.”, she objected.

“Forget about him. I warned you about mixing romance with our work. Your relationship was only a ruse to get the necessary information.”

“Maybe at first, but I…”

Her father stated, “And you can never tell him what you really are.”

“Dad, I can’t lie to him forever!!! He was originally my assignment and now...he’s more than that.“, Aila confessed.

“You were acting, Aila. Do you seriously believe he would accept you knowing you tricked him?”

“I lied to him to protect him!”, Aila yelled.

“Then lie and say you’re going back to Scotland and taking care of family. More of a half-truth really, your uncle needs private care and your cousin would rather spend time abroad than help.”, he commented.

“That was the plan, but things have changed.”

Her commander furrowed his brow, “What things?”

“He’s going to propose.”, Aila replied.

“How do you know this?”

“His mood has changed. He went to the mall yesterday and even asked a salesclerk in a store to help him.”

“Not exactly telling signs…”

“Be quiet father! As I was saying, I checked his bank history and there is a 3000-dollar loan unaccounted for that is listed as personal expenses. Someone who is not a spendthrift spending that amount of money on himself is not common. Add that to the fact I found a receipt in his luggage for an engagement ring and I am his girlfriend…I bet even you can do the math.”

“I’m regretting handing out this mission to you. Maybe your cousin would have been a better suit. It seems like what I said to your aunt was right, Female spies is an oxymoron.”

“DAD! I am the best ranked spy in our family and you know it! Put aside what you believe and see the facts. I have successfully completed this mission without blowing my cover and am about to graduate from college. If you mean to imply, women are not capable to handle the pressure of being a spy, you’re dead wrong.”

She paused and said, “Grandmother would be ashamed to hear her son speak that way about female spies.”

There was silence on the other end of the line.

“Leave my dead mother out of this.”

“As your operative, I implore you to give me leeway and commend me for my actions.”

“How about as my daughter?”

“As your daughter, I respect you.”

“No obedience?”

“After what you did to mother, it is a miracle I even speak to you. However, I have obeyed you faithfully in the past.”

“Now?”

“I am adult, dad. Please allow me to attempt to acquire a work visa and stay here.”

“Stay here with Tomas? That’s what you meant to say.”

“He is my boyfriend!”, Aila quieted down again after realizing it was 10 pm at night.

“He was your key to accessing the target. That is all.”

Aila’s fists tensed up and she thought of all the reasons for her to disregard his order.

Only one reason she could think of and he had no clue what she did for a living.

“I’ve met his parents.”

She dropped the ball and heard breathing coming from the other side.

“That serious, huh? Aila, I should have set you up on a blind date when you were younger. Let you have a few heartbreaks. You are naïve to think that you could ever truly be happy with someone like him.”

“Someone like him? What is wrong with Tomas? He is smart, hardworking, and about to become an accountant. What does he have that repulses you so much?”

“His blood is tainted.”

“The Master? Are you judging him because of what his uncle does?”

“Not just his uncle. His entire family in Germany were Nazis back in the 30s and through WW2. They willingly sided with the bad guys and gave money to those who enslaved the Jews. Hell, they even had some of their family members tried in the Nuremberg Trials. A few of them like Tomas’s mother/father ran to Argentina and the rest stayed in East Germany. Now, they’re working with the commies. Tell me if you can trust him after all that.”

“He has nothing to do with that…he doesn’t even know!”

“Let me ask you one question. Are you truly willing to bring into this whole mess? Evil organizations, danger, wars, death…If you love him like you say you do, will you let him be harmed because of your associations or because of his uncle’s dealings? Think about it carefully, my child.”

Aila turned the home phone away from her and started to tear up. He was right. It was for the best.

She had to let him go.

“Alright. I’ll do as you ask.”

“That’s my girl.”

She hanged up the phone and fell to the floor.

Aila spent the whole night sobbing her heart out.