Ch. 2 - I Can Do No Other

2 weeks prior
***

"Catch me if you can!" Maddie called, pushing herself straight off the chairlift, and dashing down the slope. The wind around her was icy, small crystals of manmade ice stinging her cheeks and flakes of natural snow clinging to every crease of her clothes. The surface was hard from the thaw couple days ago, with shifting mounds of powdery cover.
She felt the exhilaration of picking up speed, airborne, yet still connected to the ground with her skis. Her eyes probing the expanse ahead, calculating her moves to balance speed and safety, she let out a whoop and a laugh as she flew over a step where the slope steepened.
Suddenly someone crossed her path, making her do a sharper turn than she intended. She's frowned, pointing herself back downhill.
Oh no, you won't!
They arrived to the lift queue almost at the same time.
"You should think twice before challenging a Colorado guy on his skis!" Thorne smiled lazily through his icy beard, and pulled slightly out of breath Maddie into a kiss.
"Cold!" she protested weakly.
"Mom! Dad! The instructor said I know everything now! I can go with you on the big slope!" their daughter called out from the kiddie area, beaming next to a nodding young man in a uniform.
"That's great news, Squirt," Thorne skated over and offered her his pole. "C'mon then, I think we have a couple more rides in us..."
Maddie nodded and then frowned as her phone vibrated.
"You two go ahead, I'll catch up," she said, and mouthed *work* to Thorne.
He glanced at his pocket, that was still and silent, and shrugged, heading into the queue with kid in tow.

Six hours later Lioness was sitting across the table from Wolf, reading a mission brief. She set the papers down and leaned back.
"Am I being punished?" she asked only half seriously.
Wolf's eyes glittered with amusement.
"I know crowd control is not your forte," he replied. "But we simply don't have anyone else available for it right now."
And here I thought I had a chance for holidays with family, Maddie sighed.
"The threats are too credible to just leave it, unfortunately. And you know what they say..."
"... it's the most Magical time of the year. Yeah," she finished, shaking her head. "I always wanted to check out those indoor slopes, anyway."
"Hopefully you'll find the time for it."
There was a knock on the door and Osprey came in. Wolf indicated a chair, and she picked up the folder on the table in front of her. She frowned.
"Shouldn't there be a bigger team?"
"We have local contacts on standby as backup. However, if it really goes sideways, there will hardly be time to call anyone in. That said, although the threats are credible, they don't seem to be especially large scaled."
Osprey didn't seem convinced.
"Still, this is hardly a dream team. No offense."
Lioness gave her friend a tight-lipped smile.
"None taken. A lot of people don't like working with empaths."
Wolf gave them a moment, then said:
"You leave on Christmas morning. Make sure you have you equipment kits, your papers will be in your boxes."
With that, he dismissed them.
***

1 week prior
***

Dubai was bustling with activity. After the crispy winter of Central Europe the heat was almost oppressive, but nobody else seemed to mind. Lioness and Osprey were wandering around the bazaars and markets, making sure no illicit magical substances and items were traded. Not that there would be no magic at all - absolutely the opposite, in fact - a lot of objects on display were imbued with one sort of magic or other, but they were harmless. Which of course didn't stop Osprey from examining them with great interest.
"Should we send a sample to the lab?" Lioness asked, after the sixth lamp Osprey asked to see up close.
"Maybe. Probably."
"At least Mouse will have something to do before New Year's."
They picked a lamp with the strongest magical signature, and deposited it to a drop with a brief message. When that was done, they went out to the beach. The crowd there was a bit looser, and generally more relaxed, to Lioness' relief.
Still, she couldn't shake the feeling this will be a long week.
***

Present
***

Osprey and Lioness barely spoke as they made their way back to the hotel, via the nearest equipment cache. Osprey raised an eyebrow when Lioness affixed a holstered CZ75 to her lower back.
"Wasn't kidding about guns. You don't live with Raven without something rubbing off on you..." Lioness murmured.
Osprey chose her weapons carefully too. A pair of guns, blades to hide on various parts of her body. Couple of artifacts. After a moment of thought, she grabbed some warm clothes. That caught her partner's attention.
"Where exactly is Tiger?"
Osprey frowned, probably double checking the connection.
"Greece."
"Tessaloniki..." it came out as half a question. "That must have been it. The location Weta and Owl were scouting out."
"Location for what?" curiosity and suspicion laced Osprey's voice.
"A meeting. It was about some newly uncovered ancient site. Apparently very important - but there were concerns about the other side playing above board, if it was Swan out of the Trinity to go..."
"...and you know this because?"
Lioness shrugged. "We are all spies. It's what we do. Although I wouldn't have put it together until now. Anyway. This only means we are very likely to be walking into a trap."
"It doesn't make sense for them to stay in the same place though," Osprey opposed, then frowned. "Unless they want to lure someone in."
"But who, if they already have the ultimate prize?"