Disguised Affection
Troy walked out of the hair salon running his hand through his darker and shorter hair. He put his sunglasses on as he made his way back to his apartment. As he came up to his door he stopped as he heard some commotion inside. Troy pulled out his gun and pressed his back against the wall as he surveyed the surrounding area. Satisfied that no one was around he slowly turned the doorknob and found that it was unlocked. He carefully pushed the door open and turned around to look into his apartment with his gun raised, ready to shoot whoever had broken into his house. Troy slowly inched his way inside and watched for any movement in his peripheral vision. Troy heard something crash in a room towards the back. He walked towards the hallway and slowly made his way down.
"Troy?" A voice from behind him asked. Troy spun around ready to shoot, "WHOA!" Chad yelled throwing himself behind a wall.
"What the hell Chad!?" Troy yelled in aggravation as he lowered his gun and put it back in its holster.
"Nice hair man," Chad laughed, earning a glare from Troy.
"Shut up. What are you doing in my house anyway?"
"I brought Angie over. She wanted to see you and I thought it'd be good for her to get away from the hospital."
"What was that crashing noise before?"
"Oh," Chad sheepishly grinned. "I may have accidentally knocked over your trophy shelf."
Troy rolled his eyes, and was about to say something but, a cute little voice interrupted him.
"Hi Uncle Twoy!"
Troy grinned as Angie hugged him around his legs. He bent down and scooped her into his arms, flipping her upside down momentarily causing her to giggle.
"Hi Angel face." Troy grinned as she sloppily kissed his cheek.
"Your hair is diffewent," the little girl exclaimed as she played with a few strands of hair.
"Yep, it is. Do you like it?" Troy smiled as the little girl nodded and grinned.
"Uncle Twoy?"
"Yeah sweetie?"
"I'm thirsty."
"Okay, how bout we get you some chocolate milk?" Troy asked as the little girl smiled and nodded emphatically.
"Oooo, chocolate milk!" Chad licked his lips in anticipation as Troy rolled his eyes.
Troy set Angie down on the counter before walking over to the fridge and grabbing the milk and chocolate syrup.
Angie grinned as she was handed her cup of chocolate milk. "Thanks Uncle Twoy."
"You're welcome Angel face," Troy ruffled the little girl's hair. "So Chad, how did you get in my house?"
"Your spare key. By the way dude, for an FBI agent, you suck at hiding keys. Under the plant? Could you be any more obvious?"
"Screw you."
Chad grinned as he walked over to the fridge. "Yes! Pizza! I knew it was a good idea to come over here," Chad said excitedly as he pulled out the box of leftover pizza.
"So much for that being my dinner tonight," Troy muttered as he watched Chad grab a slice of pizza.
Troy picked Angie up, and the three headed towards the den. As they sat on the couch, Angie curled up to Troy, snuggling into his chest, falling asleep moments later.
Chad smiled as he watched Troy lay Angie down on the couch and cover her with a blanket.
"She's gonna miss you."
Troy smiled softly as he ran his fingers through her hair. "The feeling's mutual."
"I still can't believe they're sending you in so quickly after you just got done with the other assignment."
"Well as much as I hate that I have to go undercover again, this is the Montez family we're talking about. It's gonna be huge to bring them down."
"Yeah, and dangerous. The agency has been trying to bring them down for years and so far, no one's been able to do it."
"I'll be fine Chad."
"Dude, do you remember what happened last time they sent someone in? Anderson was one of the top agents in the agency."
"Anderson wasn't me. I've got this Chad," Troy said firmly and confidently. He knew it was going to be one of the toughest operations he'd ever faced, but he was up for the challenge. As much as he hated to admit it, the chief was right. Troy was a very good undercover agent—the best the agency had seen in a long time. The Montez family was very dangerous and very good at what they did but, Troy was the same way, and he was up for the challenge.
--
Troy wiped the sweat off of his brow and stepped back from the punching bag. He had gotten up early that morning, and had been working out all day. He wasn't sure when, but he knew he'd be infiltrating the Montez family operation within the week. Tomas Martinez was supposed to be a badass to put it simply—working as a bookie and a drug smuggler meant Troy would have to be rough with people. He'd often be used to send a message to people who tried to cross the Montez family. This was going to be a tough assignment, and Troy knew he had to stay mentally focused and remain physically prepared.
"Bolton!"
Troy turned his attention away from the punching bag.
"Chief wants to see you."
Troy nodded and walked towards the locker room. After showering and changing into his suit, Troy walked upstairs to the offices.
Knocking on the door, he entered once he heard the chief call him in.
"You wanted to see me Chief?" The Chief nodded and gestured for Troy to take a seat.
"Bolton, I see you have taken care of looking the part."
"Yes sir," Troy said as he sat down in the chair across from the Chief's desk.
"Good. And you've read the file?" Troy nodded. "Alright, we got a report in today that we need to send you in soon."
"How soon?"
"Tomorrow. You are to arrive at the Montez home early in the morning. They are looking for someone with your qualifications, or rather Tomas' qualifications. You need to sell it to them that you are the right man for the job. Most likely, they will be checking up on you frequently. So, you need to maintain a good cover. This means no spending time with family or friends. And, more importantly, we can't have you come in to the agency at all to report back in. You won't be bugged or anything. As you did for your last assignment, you will drop status reports off at the specified drop locations every week or if new developments occur. Any questions?"
"No sir."
The Chief nodded and stood up as Troy did. "Good luck Bolton."
"Thank you sir," Troy said as he shook the Chief's hand
"One more thing Bolton," the Chief added. "We need you to stay focused. We can't afford to screw this up."
Troy nodded before turning and rolling his eyes while exiting the Chief's office. He knew the case would be tough and unpredictable, but one thing Troy knew for certain was that he wasn't going to let anything get in the way of his job.
--
Troy sighed as he opened the hospital room door to reveal three of his best friends, Mr. and Mrs. Cross, and Angie.
"Hey Jason, how do you feel?"
"Like crap. I'm exhausted, but I can't wait to get out of here."
Troy nodded and took a seat in an empty chair by Jason's bed. He smiled as Angie crawled up into his lap.
"How long do you have to stay?"
"They said at least a week. We'll see. I got hit a few times."
"Well normally, people duck out of the way when they're being shot at," Chad jeered. "Ahh!" Chad yelled as a tissue box hit him in his head.
"Well normally, people duck out of the way when a tissue box is flying at their head," Jason mimicked as the room burst into laughter.
"So Troy, when do you go in for your assignment?" Zeke questioned.
Troy nervously glanced at Angie, and Jason's mom picked up on the hint.
"Angie, how about you come with Grandpa and me to get some ice cream downstairs?"
The little girl's eyes lit up as she jumped off Troy's lap and sprinted towards the door, causing everyone to laugh.
"So when do you go in?" Zeke repeated.
"Tomorrow," Troy replied simply.
"Dude, that's really soon. I thought you had a few more days."
"Me too, but the Chief said they are ready, and I need to get in there before someone else does."
"You gonna have backup, or a handler or anything?" Jason asked as he stretched a little to sit up more comfortably.
"Nah, the Montez family is pretty good at checking up on people, as evident in the last case. I'll be checking in once in awhile, but who knows how long before we bust these guys and I come back."
"So we won't be seeing you for awhile," Zeke stated the obvious.
"Probably not. This is going to be a long assignment—much more detailed than my last one."
The guys were interrupted by a nurse walking in to inform them visiting hours were wrapping up.
"I have to go anyways. I need to be at the Montez home early in the morning."
Troy gave each of his buddies a hug before walking up to Jason.
"Feel better man. Take care of that little girl too," Troy told him as he smiled.
"Always do," Jason replied. "Be safe man."
"Always."
Troy waved as he walked out of the hospital room. Walking down the hallway, he ran into Mr. and Mrs. Cross and Angie. Troy smiled as Angie held out her arms, and he obliged taking the little girl from her grandpa.
"Are you leaving Uncle Twoy?"
"Yeah. I am going on a little vacation."
"For how long?"
"It's gonna be awhile sweetie."
"But you just got back from a vacation." The little girl protested as her eyes began to well up with tears.
Troy's heart broke as he hugged the girl tightly.
"I know sweetie, I'm sorry."
"Can I come with you?" She asked hopefully. "I'll be good, I promise."
"You need to stay here with your dad. He's gonna need your help to get better. Can you do that?"
Angie grinned and nodded.
"That's my girl. And, I'll tell you what. When I get back, we'll go to the beach for a week. How's that sound?"
"A whole week?"
Troy smiled and nodded his head.
"I'm gonna miss you Uncle Twoy!" Angie exclaimed as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.
"I'll miss you too Angel face," Troy whispered in her ear as he gently rubbed her back.
--
Troy threw his keys on the counter as he walked into the kitchen. Grabbing a glass of water, he sat down at the table and read over the files one last time. He knew he had to be prepared, and that any minor misstep could compromise the entire operation. He had to maintain focus.
After finishing reading the packet, Troy decided to run through a few of the things he needed to do in order to make it believable that he was Tomas Martinez.
"Tomas Martinez", Troy said to himself as he paced around his kitchen trying to perfect a slight Spanish accent.
Flipping open his Complete Idiot's Guide to Speaking Spanish, Troy began to refresh his memory on the language. He had taken courses in college, but he knew that he had to be familiar with everything from the everyday phrases to the more complex sentences.
"Hola. Me llamo Tomas Martinez."
"Tu casa es muy bonita."
"You know some people consider people who talk to themselves crazy."
Troy whirled around in shock, and let out a sigh of relief when he saw Chad smirking, leaning up against the wall.
"Dude, this is the second time today!"
"What?" Chad asked innocently. "Can't I come pay a visit with my best friend?"
"Not when he's getting ready for the biggest undercover job of his career," Troy said as Chad grinned.
"I just wanted to stop by and make sure you were good to go."
"Yeah, I think I'm good. I've been studying up on a few things, and I feel like I'm as prepared as I'll ever be."
"You'll do great man. I better take off so you can get some sleep. Good luck," Chad said as he gave Troy one last hug. "See you whenever."
"Yeah, whenever. Thanks Chad."
Chad nodded before walking out the front door towards his car.
Troy walked back into the kitchen and flicked off all the lights, deciding he should get some sleep.
--
"Uhh!" Troy moaned as he rolled over and knocked his alarm clock onto the ground. "This case better be worth getting up at 5:00 in the morning."
After getting showered and getting dressed, Troy walked in his kitchen and drank his morning coffee. He read over a few things quickly and then grabbed his bags from his room. Setting his bags on the front porch, Troy closed the front door and locked it.
The now brown-eyed guy with jet black hair turned and walked down his front steps, ready to become Tomas Martinez.
Erin A/N: Hey guys! ok so this ch is actually a few hrs early but ONLY because i have to work tomorrow. The response for the first ch was amazing and i can honestly say that this story is going to be amazing. Me and Corri are working on it all the time and writing ahead. I hope you all are enjoying this story as it has become my all time fav as it is probably Corri's too. Finals are this week, so wish me luck, and MG should be updated next weekend. Enjoy the ch and don't forget to review.
Corri A/N: Thanks so much for your response to the first chapter. I hope you guys enjoy the second chapter. Please review and let us know what you think. We appreciate it.