Alright, this is my first fic, so I hope you enjoy it. I posted a chapter of something else a while ago, but it sucked soooo. :)
I, of course, do not own these characters. They belong to S.M.
I do, however, own a general chemistry textbook. It's okay to be jealous. :)
There is absolutely nothing like a great run I thought, reaching back to tighten my ponytail. I made it a point to wake up every morning to run. I needed to stay in shape for work, but even if I didn't, I would still need to run. It's almost impossible for me to start my day without at least a five-mile run and a coffee.
It was days like today though, that made me remember why I loved running so much.
Even though it was bitterly cold, as it usually was in Baltimore during the winter, the wind was refreshing against my over-heated skin. I loved the feel of the cold wind blowing through my hair, and the way that I smelled when I came back inside.
Okay, so I didn't like smelling like B.O., but I did love smelling like winter.
It was a refreshing smell, the kind of smell that you can just barely detect when you're outside. It's strongest just before a snow storm, and it fills your senses with either dread or anticipation, depending on your feelings regarding snow.
I had just run into my underground garage to check on my car (I'm a tad obsessed with it) and was still completely amazed at how gorgeous she was.
How sexy is my Aston Martin Carbon Black I thought, dragging my fingertips along the hood. This car was pure sex; black paint that resembled silk, a sleek, completely aerodynamic design… there was nothing about this car that was even remotely negative.
And she was all mine.
One of the many positives of my job as a spy: I got to keep the machinery.
Just then, the invisible earpiece in my right ear beeped, signaling that I had a call that was going to patch in. I waited 3 seconds before saying, "Talk to me, Jake."
Jacob Black was my mission coordinator/gadget man, my 'Q' if you will. We'd known each other since diapers, so when we both discovered that we had taken up the spying business, it was impossible not to insist to be placed together.
Jake worked hard to prep me for any and all missions; it had become so routine for us that I found it nearly impossible to be briefed by anyone else. Jake knew me; he knew what I needed to know, when I needed to know it, and was able to give me all the crazy little gadgets to help make my life just a little bit easier.
And I loved him to death for it.
"Alright, Bells, here's the deal. Tonight you have to meet up with your MI6 contact at the annual New Year's Ball." "How romantic." I quipped, waving goodbye to my car and walking into the elevator up to my pent house apartment.
Jacob laughed a curt laugh, before continuing, "Can it Bells. Look, I know that you don't like working with other agencies on jobs, because you always think you can do it yourself –" "I CAN DO IT MYSELF!" I interrupted, jamming the button for my floor a little harder than usual.
I hated it when people thought that I couldn't get my jobs done. I did whatever I could to make sure that I finished each and every job I was assigned. Any mistakes I made, I fixed. The CIA never heard me gripe to them once. And this was how they repaid me…
"Look, I know that you are an amazing agent Bells, but this mission isn't solely staked on American soil here. This is a global crisis, and you need to be willing to work with other agencies. Just be glad it's a Brit this time, and not a Russian, like last time."
I laughed, shaking my head, remembering the mess that Aleksandr and I had gotten into. That man was sober for all of about ten minutes. How he managed to complete his parts of the mission, I will never know. But he certainly wasted no time trying to get me in bed.
No comment there.
Stepping out of the elevator, I grabbed around in my clutch for my keys, unlocking the two sets of double doors leading to my house.
Jake thought that I was insane when I told him my plans to build my apartment this way. I had an amazingly high tech security system, sound proofing, and iron plated locks in all the doors and windows. It's a lot, but when you consider what I do for a living…
It wasn't that Baltimore was unsafe. Well, at least the Inner Harbor wasn't unsafe.
I absolutely adored living in Baltimore. Though I was born in Phoenix, the unpredictable weather and freezing winters wasn't actually too difficult a transition. I would have stayed out west, but once I got the job in DC, I had to move.
I'm glad that I chose Baltimore, because from what I've heard about DC… it sounds horrid.
"Are you listening Bella?" Jake asked, clearly tuned in to the fact that I have been ignoring him for the past five minutes. "Uhm, yes, Jake. Of course I was listening to you!" I tried to sound offended, hoping that it would make me sound more sincere. It didn't work. "What did I say then?" He asked. I pictured him with his hands on his hips, tapping his foot on the ground. "Jesus Jake, you might want to check and make sure that Leah hasn't cut off your dick. You're such a girl now!" I exclaimed, laughing. Jake barked a laugh, lightening the mood, and letting me know that he understood that I had just been joking with him.
Jake and Leah had found each other about six months ago, and were virtually inseparable. She was tough where he was soft, and quiet where he was loud and exclamatory. They foiled each other perfectly, and their love was spectacular.
I was more than a little jealous, but there was no way that I was ready to handle a relationship at this stage in my life.
"Well anyway," Jake continued, "as I was saying. You're going formal for this one Bells. I don't care what you wear, just make sure that it's going to work with the ball at the Aquarium."
"Ugh, the Aquarium, Jake?" I complained, "I love the Aquarium. I refuse to have it ruined by this espionage!" Jacob scoffed in my ear, ignoring my griping.
"Alright, so it's eight a.m. now, Bells. You need to be ready by eight thirty tonight." "Gotcha Jake," I said, walking over to pull out the blender and rummage through my fridge, "I'll be ready. Do you have any info on my contact?" Jake sighed into the phone, and I knew that he was probably awkwardly shifting his weight and fidgeting. "You didn't get it did you?" I asked, a bored, yet accusatory, tone to my voice. Jake laughed uncomfortably, confirming my suspicions.
"Dammit, Jacob! How am I supposed to know who I'm meeting if you have NOTHING on him right now?" I slammed a jug of orange juice on the counter, followed by several small containers of fresh fruit. Jacob chuckled quietly before saying, "Bella. Calm down. You don't really need all the information on this guy until you're on the way to the ball. I do, however, have to brief you on the situation. Are you prepared for that?"
I fumbled with all the containers, trying to move them from one counter to another without dropping everything, as I replied, "Can you actually give me a minute? I'm starving. I just got back from my run, and I need a smoothie. I'll call you in five minutes once I'm locked in the briefing room."
Yes, I had my own briefing room.
"Alright, Bells. I'll work on digging into this guy now." And then he clicked out.
Sighing, I ripped the ear bud from my ear, and pulled off the tiny microphone that was "disguised" as a freckle on the side of my neck.
Have I mentioned how much I love Jake's gadgets?
Picking up the iHome remote, I clicked on my music, and felt my body instantly relax as the sounds of Jack's Mannequin filled the air. I plugged in the blender and began throwing in all the ingredients and set it to blend. While I waited, I set up the coffee maker, and started brewing.
After I made my smoothie, and cleaned up the associated mess, I walked down the long hall from the kitchen to the "screening room", spinning around immediately after entering to lock the door.
Pulling on the concealed handle, I opened up the security panel; I locked the security door in place, effectively sound proofing the room. I then pressed a button for a quick security scan, which told me if anyone had recently entered the room, and did a quick search to detect any wireless devices in use in the room.
Once I knew we were all clear, I popped my mike on, and shoved in my earbud, taking a sip from my smoothie, before saying "Call: Jacob Black."
As the phone rang, I took some time to check and make sure that the fax was loaded with paper, that all the drawers in the room were locked, and that everything was secure.
"Alright Bells," I heard Jake come streaming in through my ear just as I pulled the control panel out from the desk drawer. After pressing a few buttons, a 52-inch flat screen monitor came out from the wall. "Go ahead Jake," I said, "I'm just typing in my password now. I'll be on the system in a second."
"Okay, well, I'm going to start giving you the break down then," he said, undoubtedly sorting through all the material he was about to shoot to me over the computer screen. "Does the name James Conklin mean anything to you, Bells?" he asked, as a file shot up on my screen. The man pictured wasn't someone that I had ever seen before, but the name certainly sounded familiar. I told him so.
"Well, that's probably because of this mission, Bells. Alice has been freaking out about this guy for weeks, and she's happy that she's finally got you on assignment. I'm sure that you've at least heard her talk about him once or twice." I nodded silently, as I perused his file.
Alice was my very best friend in the world. Though I loved Jake to death, there were some things that a girl just needs to talk to other girls about. I had met Alice when I first started working at the CIA 5 years ago; about a week before I was due to get my first assignment.
I was walking down the hall, carrying about fifty folders in my arms and I walked directly into Alice, causing the coffee in her hands to blow up all over her very expensive Versace handbag. I, of course, immediately began freaking out. Not only had I ruined someone's very expensive handbag, it was my boss's very expensive bag.
Alice was my age, but she was absolutely brilliant, and had worked her way up through the lower ranks of the agency during her college years. Alice got to decide what missions I went on, when I got them, who I worked with, and how much money I was allotted. But really, Alice was nothing more than another one of us who just happened to have a higher rank.
Though, I didn't realize this at the time.
I immediately began apologizing, insisting that she let my buy her a new bag, and telling her over and over again that I was "very, very, extremely sorry".
Needless to say, I was shocked when Alice burst out laughing. "Listen, Bella," how she knew my name, I'll never know, "it's not that big of a deal. I needed a new reason to go shopping anyway." "But, Ms. Brandon –" Alice laughed again, and I was starting to question her sanity.
"Please." She said, waving a dismissive hand at me. "First of all, it's Alice. We're the same age, and we're going to be great friends; none of this Ms. Brandon business. Secondly, if you really feel that badly, just come with me to buy a new bag. Then your debt to me will be repaid." She flashed a winning smile at me, and I just couldn't say no.
From then on, Alice and I were practically attached at the hip.
As soon as I get off this call with Jake, I should call her. I thought. She is DEFINITELY the best person to help me pick out what I need to wear tonight.
I pulled a piece of paper and a pen out of my desk, and wrote "Call Alice" on the top.
"Did you get Conklin's file, Bells?" Jake asked, breaking me out of my zone. "Yep, I'm perusing it now." I said, flipping through the files on the screen. "Perfect, I'll get started then." Jake said, and he launched into his usual mission spiel.
"Alright, so you've heard a little about James, but you probably have no idea why we are after him… am I correct here?" he asked, knowing full well that he was. After I answered in the affirmative, he continued. "Alright, well, basically, James has access to File 33. This means nothing to you by name, but File 33 contains the nuclear protection schematics for major cities in both America and Western Europe." "What cities?" I asked, flipping through James' personal files.
Holy fuck, he speaks 5 languages…. French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, and Russian… well, I speak those, and then some. Okay, comforting.
"Well," Jake said, "he has information on New York, LA, DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Madrid, and Edinburgh."
"Holy shit, Jake!" I exclaimed, "How did he get that?!"
"He is trying to buy it off of some rogue Italian agents as we speak. Once he acquires it, he is probably not going to even end up using the information himself. He's more of a middleman. We have him connected to terrorist groups all over the world. Some well established, others more of the underground type that you never hear about." Jake sighed, clearly disturbed by what this information could mean. "We need to get him, Bells. He cannot use this. We will be so totally fucked if he has time to get into the file."
"Wait," I said, now slightly confused, "you mean, he hasn't gotten a chance to use the information in here yet?" "No," Jake said, "he is going to be transferring the file to a rouge group based out of Palestine. From there, the file is going to be transferred to groups all over the world. Eventually, we conjecture that groups will join up to create nuclear warheads. And you know where it goes from there." Jake stopped, giving me a moment to process what he'd said.
"As for now, James only have access to the file. He is still in back room dealings with the Italian dealers who are offering it to him. They won't let them get his hands on it until he offers them a deal they are willing to accept."
"So what do you want me to do?" I asked, as I flipped through James' education background and personal history.
The information flew through my brain, filing itself appropriately so I could bring it up at a later date. It was one of the many positives of having a photographic memory.
My mind worked like iTunes on album shuffle. I could flip through images and bring up the specific information that I wanted/needed at that moment.
"Well, we need you and your MI6 agent to also express an interest in the file to the Italians that are in dealings with James. We need you to buy it right out from under him. Once you secure the file, you are going to evacuate the area, and we'll arrest the dealers and James himself. We're going to find out how they got a hold of the information, and go from there. James, on the other hand, we're going to put right on trial, and hopefully, hold him."
"Yeah, it says here that you have him connected to small terrorist events in the Middle East over the past few years." I said, flipping through pictures of him.
"That's right. It's mostly small stuff, but we can definitely hold him for stuff like car bombs and small transportation bombings. Then it's one less guy we have to deal with later."
"Perfect, Jake. I can do this. Now, explain to me what you need me to do tonight."
"Can do. Basically, besides showing up and finding your MI6 contact, we need to you find this guy." A new file popped up on my screen. "Laurent Da Revin?" I asked, beginning to flip through his background. "Yes," Jacob began, "he is connected to James through some past friends, but he is the American correspondent for the Italian dealers. I'm sending their files over now." Two more files popped up on my screen, and I began flipping through. "Victoria Lefevre and Riley Cohan…" I read. "Hm. Those names seem familiar." "Good, they should be." Jake said. "They used to work for SISMI a few years back, but went rogue when the reform went through back in 2007. They had been working on recovering nuclear files from some rogues at the time, so when they went off, they joined up, and kept on the same mission. They are now looking to sell it off, because they fear that the Italian government is going to find out that they used their resources to find File 33."
"How are the Italians handling this?" I asked, pretty sure I already knew the answer.
"You know how they operate. They're going to wait for us to get whatever information we want out of them before they take over. Last I heard, they are planning to send them to the jails."
"Okay, so back to Laurent. How do I approach this situation?" I asked. I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes, letting myself picture the night playing out perfectly in my mind. The more I visualized it, the easier it seemed to execute when the time came later.
"Alright, so after you meet up with MI6," I started to interrupt him, before he said, "and before you interrupt me, I will get his information. I'll call you when you're on the way to the Aquarium tonight." I laughed, before allowing him to continue. "Okay, so you meet up with M16, then spend about a forty-five minutes to an hour mingling around with the crowd. I don't know how MI6 wants to play this just yet, but once I find out, I'll let you know. Anyway, after about an hour, you should wander over to Laurent, and introduce yourself."
"And I'm playing…" I asked.
"You know, Bells, patience is a virtue." Jacob chastised. I laughed, "That I don't possess, Jake. Now let's go. What reason do I have for talking to him?"
"I haven't cleared with MI6 yet, but from what I have, you two basically have to walk over to him and ask him how Jenks has been. This is supposed to signal him that you know that the deal is going on, and are interested in getting in on it. He should then give you details accordingly. Just play it from that point on. I know you're good at that."
"Perfect. That I can do." I felt the smile spreading across my face. "Any questions, Bells? If not, we're done for now." "Nope, nothing. Just call me when you get MI6's information." "Will do, Bells."
With that, we hung up.
Taking my earpiece out and my mike off, I pulled out a small velvet pull-tie bag, and placed them inside. I walked over to the closet on the far wall, and opened up the security panel, scanning my finger, my iris, and entering my password. Once the doors slid open, revealing my gadget storage, I placed the bag in a small holding container near the front.
After making sure that everything was locked up, and setting security to the room, I left, walking back into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee and call Alice.
Picking up my iPhone off the charger on the counter, and grabbing a mug from the cabinet, I quickly dialed Alice's number and set about making my coffee.
Alice, of course, answered on the second ring.
"Alice Brandon." She said, her voice all business. She never checked the caller id when her phone rang; one of these days it was going to get her into trouble.
"Hey Ali, what's up?" I asked, stirring some sugar into my mug. "Oh, hey Bells. Nothing, just got back from my run, making coffee." I laughed, before saying "Wow. We are the same person Alice." I knew she was smiling when she said, "And that, my dear, is why we are best friends. Now, you're calling me about shopping aren't you?" I sighed, rubbing my forehead with the back of my hand before throwing my spoon into the sink.
"How do you always know, Alice?"
"Silly Bella. You forget that I, Alice Brandon, know absolutely everything. Premonition, remember?"
I laughed; she was right. As long as I had known Alice, she had always had this uncanny ability to know what was going to happen before it actually happened. She was quick to brush it off as "feminine intuition" or something equally "average", but for those of us who knew her, and were thereby subject to it, we chocked it up to plain ol' clairvoyance. I don't care what Alice thinks, it is unnatural for her to know a lot of the things she did.
"Where did you want to go shopping?" Alice asked, breaking me out of my thoughts. "Uhm, wherever. A lot of places aren't open right now, but I need something soon. I also need to set up a hair and nail appointment… and I should probably get waxed." I cringed, just thinking about it. I hated getting waxed, but it was a necessity.
"OOOHH, thinking about getting lucky on this one, Bells?" Alice asked, a tinkling laugh tumbling out. I knew that she knew whom I was going to be set up with from MI6, and as much as I wanted to ask her, I knew that I couldn't over an unprotected phone line.
"Ha ha ha, Alice. Shut it. You know that I just like getting a wax. It's a personal thing. Who said anything about men?"
Alice laughed her (annoyingly) perfect laugh and said, "Alright, Bells. I'll pull some strings and set you up in some salons here later this afternoon." I could hear Alice opening and shutting drawers, probably trying to find a pen to scribble herself some notes. "OH!" she exclaimed suddenly, scaring the fucking hell out of me, "Let's go to New York for your dress! I have been dying to go to Barneys."
"Alice," I deadpanned, "New York is three and a half hours away." I couldn't believe that she thought that we would have anywhere near enough time to get everything done if she insisted on us spending seven hours in a car today.
"Oh, Bella. Your cluelessness is absolutely adorable." I could just picture her shaking her head. "We're going to fly into JFK. You seem to forget that I have invested and bought myself a plane recently."
My mind went completely blank as she finished speaking. "A…a…a.. p-p-lane?! Alice! You can't be serious. You want to fly into New York so that we can go get a dress?!"
"Yes Bella." Alice replied, obviously talking down to me. "You know, for someone so intelligent, you really underestimate the effect of an amazing dress. I'll call the airpark and have my plane prepped. I'll be over in twenty-five minutes to get you."
"Holy fu-" I started, before she hung up on me. "-ck." I sighed, looking down into my empty mug of coffee. "God damn it Alice." I put my mug in the sink, then sprinted to my bedroom, ripping a pair of gray Sevens from my drawer, along with a scrunchy purple tank top, tossing them on my bed as I ran to my closet.
I flung the door open, pausing in front of my wall of shoes, before selecting my black zipper heels. I love these things. They are sex personified.
I leaned out of my closet, throwing the shoes onto my bed, and ran back in to look at my jewelry selection. I finally decided on a knotted silver necklace and my large diamond flower ring.
I tore my clothes off and ran into the shower, jumping in immediately after turning the knob. The water was freezing, and I screamed, jumping under the stream, but forcing myself to pull the shampoo from the shelf, and quickly lather my hair. Slowly, the water from the shower began to heat up, for which I was immensely grateful.
As I rinsed the shampoo out of my hair, I blindly grabbed a loofah, and poured on my strawberry scented body wash. I smiled, breathing in the scent.
Every time I smelled it, I was reminded of my mother. To this day, I remember my mother telling me that, even though it's nice to smell like an expensive perfume, or like some blend of floral smelling chemicals, men really appreciate a woman who smells of something natural, like fruit.
Even though she lived all the way across the country, in Phoenix, my mother and I were still very close. We didn't talk every day, but we kept up pretty regularly using email.
Renée was a very caring mother, though she had a tendency to be a little… scatterbrained. My mother's inner child was in permanent control, and as a result, I was forced to grow up rather quickly. It's not something that I regret about my life, or blame my mother for. I just sometimes wish that I had a little more time to really be a child when I was growing up.
Rinsing off, I quickly conditioned my hair, giving it some time to sit while I washed my face. I gave my body one final rinse, before jumping out of the shower, grabbing towels off of my heated towel rack.
I quickly wrapped my body up, and threw my hair into a towel, before walking back out into my bedroom.
I patted myself dry, and quickly began pulling on clothes, making sure that all the zippers were zipped, and giving myself a quick once over. Alright, I look fucking smoking.
I walked back into the bathroom, toweling my hair, and applied simple mascara and eyeliner before switched on my blow dryer to quickly blast my hair.
One of my favorite ways to style my hair (other than just letting it air dry or throwing it up in a ponytail) is to blow dry my hair while I "finger-scrunch" my damp hair.
It usually ends up working out pretty well.
I dried my hair for five minutes, before shutting off the dryer and then running back out into my room to check the clock. Only twenty minutes had passed, so I still had plenty of time to relax before Alice was here.
I slipped on my jewelry, checked my hair and makeup, and then walked back into the kitchen.
After I put the dishes in the dishwasher, and made two to-go mugs of coffee. Alice was going to want another cup of coffee; we both started our days with at least two cups… it's sad really.
Just then, I heard Alice's signature knock on my door, and I walked quickly to the door to let her in.
"Hey, Ali!" I said, a smile on my face as I wrapped my arms around her tiny frame.
Alice stood at 5'1", three inches shorter than my 5'4". Though our heights weren't substantially different, there was just something about Alice that made her seem a million times more fragile than she actually was.
Because she was so small, Alice took to wearing heels at a very young age. The ones she was wearing now had straps that wrapped around, with golden studs and a buckle. They were edgy and sleek, and the perfect offset to her jeans and blazer/t-shirt combo.
I was always so jealous of Alice's outfits.
"You ready for those flashing lights, darling?" Alice asked, a smile flitting across her face as she followed me into the apartment.
I turned my head over my shoulder as I smiled at her, grabbing my clutch and coffee off the counter. "Here, I made you another coffee. I know you need two cups in order to really function." Alice looked so fucking happy, I thought she was going to die.
"THANK YOU." She said, as she took a generous sip from the cup.
"Alright," I said, walking back to the door, grabbing my brown bomber off the coat hook. "New York City, here we come."
And off we went.
AGHHHH!!!
What do you think?! I hope you enjoyed it.
Reviews make me very happy. :) Thank you!
