Chapter 3 - Embarrassing Encounters and Important Introductions

Alyssa sat on the plane getting ready for the long flight. The meal came and she looked at it with contempt. She hated aeroplane food even in first class. She could see the plump businessman next to her eyeing up the untouched meal. He coughed a few times but she pleasantly ignored it.

A while later, she decided to put him out of his misery and offered, "Would you like this since I'm not having it?" The man turned to his neighbour as if just noticing that she hadn't eaten. His eyes widened in surprise at the direct offer and he narrowed his eyes.

"No, I would not like to eat your leftovers," he retorted as if she had insulted his integrity by asking him such a thing. She shrugged and turned back to her bag. Alyssa took her I-pod out and began listening to some songs. She hummed quietly as she got lost in the music of 'Hakuna Matata'. Disney was her guilty pleasure. Suddenly, she was pulled from her daydream by the man next to her tapping her. She took her headphones out and looked at him questioningly.

"There are other people on this plane, you know, and I'm sure most of them would rather not hear you singing."

Oops.

She apologised and sank back into her seat. This was going to be a long flight. She heard a laugh from the seat behind her and whipped her head around to find the person. Her eyes landed on a blonde-haired boy of about her age. She glared at him and he saw her.

He stopped grinning and said dead pan, "I was enjoying it. Who doesn't like a bit of Lion King while flying?" She gave him a reluctant smile and turned back to her seat.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are about to begin our descent. Please ensure that your seats are in the upright position…"

Alyssa looked out of the window and saw the airport looming closer and felt the comforting shudder as the plane touched back on to solid ground. The business man left the plane hurriedly, obviously on the way to a meeting.

I hope he's late.

She also got off the plane and proceeded to go and get her bag. Various suitcases came and soon she spotted her indistinctive black suitcase which she hauled on to the floor. Feeling more secure, now that she had her things with her, she set off for the meeting point that had been described in the pack from The Mayna Summer Programme. She wheeled her bag over to the spot and waited. It was there that Alyssa saw that boy who had laughed at her, approaching and he spotted her too.

"Mayna Summer Programme," he said.

"Yeah, me too" she said.

"I'm Luke," Alex introduced himself.

"Felicity," Alyssa replied.

"So where are you from?" he asked.

"I live in Hampstead, what about you?"

"Chelsea," he answered and then they were distracted by a tall black man who came hurrying over to them.

"I'm so sorry I'm late. There was a lot of traffic," he said breathlessly. They assured him that it was okay and then they left the airport. The hot air hit the two teenagers like a juggernaut even though it was the evening. Alyssa took her jacket off and saw her companion do the same.

I'm definitely not in London anymore.

"So where are the other participants?" she asked the man who was called James.

"They have already arrived as you two are the only ones from London," he replied. They would have to wait until morning to meet them since they were packed off to their rooms, upon arriving at the hotel. Alyssa was exhausted but Kane's voice echoed in her head and she proceeded to search the room for any bugs. When she had finished she went to sleep.

The next morning Alex woke up early so that he could check the layout of the hotel. The sun had just risen and there was no one around except for a few maids. It really was a beautiful hotel with swimming pools and a variety of services. He walked down to the beach which lay down a path from the pool area. He sat down on the sand thinking of the mission. Jack hadn't been happy when she'd heard he was leaving.

"I've heard about this guy on the news, Alex, one of the guards ended up at hospital at the latest theft," Jack had warned. It was true; this Masked Man was really good. Alex had read all the files on the other thefts and discovered that he was meticulous. He had an elaborate plan for each theft and carried them out precisely. Alex knew that the thief was probably already in the area, planning. He had assured Jack that he could take care of himself and the fact that this was true worried him. He didn't like knowing that MI6 had had succeeded in making him a great spy.

How did my life turn out like this?

"Luke," he heard a voice call and Alex hesitated at the unfamiliar name. He turned and saw the girl from the airport walking down the sand, looking unnaturally bright at this early hour.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, surprise evident in her voice. Alex faltered.

"I think it's the time difference," he lied, "I couldn't go back to sleep."

"Yeah me too." She came up to him and smiled.

"This place is really beautiful. I was looking around and it looks like we're going to have a good time," Alyssa said animatedly.

Did that sound as perky out loud as it did in my head? Ugh!

"Yeah, I can't wait to dive," he answered back, remembering the time he had gone diving with his late uncle in Guadeloupe.

"It's going to be amazing. I love diving," she replied with genuine enthusiasm. Alex's stomach rumbled and he looked up embarrassed.

"Why don't we go to breakfast," she laughed, "I think we'll be able to meet the rest of the group."

"Good idea," he agreed and they walked back up to the building.

Alex and Alyssa walked into the dining hall and made their way to a table which supported a small sign saying 'Mayna Summer Programme' on it. Luckily, the table provided Alyssa with a view of the whole dining room. She sat down at one of the seats and saw four other teenagers already there.

"Hi, I'm Felicity Reynolds," she introduced herself eager to get to know these people. She wasn't usually this friendly – in fact she was downright unsociable usually – but it was a necessity of this job. She had to find out how hard it would be to slip away from time to time without anyone noticing. The four teenagers looked up. There were three boys and one girl.

"Stephanie Deveraux," the girl greeted with a definite French accent. She had long blonde hair and pretty features and Alyssa sensed she would probably be the object of the boy's affections.

"Brett Cavanaugh," the tall brunette boy introduced himself in an American accent. He was really good looking and Alyssa smiled despite herself.

"I'm Paulo Laudino," a tanned Italian boy said and then the last boy introduced himself.

"Yemi Onowake," the African boy said in a deep voice.

"Nice to meet you guys," she said.

"Hey, I'm Luke," Alex said and shook hands with the guys.

I must be in snob land if 16 year olds are shaking each others hands.

Alex sat down and began talking. Stephanie and Alyssa chatted, being the only girls in the largely male group. Alyssa looked at the people around her and remembered what Kane had said about her being a social leper.

"See something you like," Stephanie whispered playfully and gestured subtly to the boys. Alyssa grinned and nodded slightly, thinking that it would be the appropriate teenage response.

"I know what you mean," Stephanie said.

What the hell was I doing?

She couldn't be worried about such trivial matters such as friends. After breakfast they had a bit of free time and she went back to her room. She contacted Kane and her mind went immediately back to the job.

"Hey, Lyss," he addressed her with her nickname, "what's up?"

"Not much, I found a bug in the room but I'm pretty sure that the hotel has one in every room and they're being paranoid. I can just turn it on and off when I need to. Also, the other people on the programme – I don't think they'll be a problem. I'm sure they'll buy whatever I tell them."

"That's good. Did you get a chance to look around?" he asked.

"A bit, but then I was interrupted by one of the guys from the programme," she said.

"Did he suspect anything?" Kane asked immediately.

"I don't think so – I blamed it on jet lag," she assured him.

"Good, I'll send you the blue prints," he said.

"I'm going diving today," Alyssa added the random detail.

"Uh, that's great, have fun." He hung up and she took out the earrings/ headphones and put her stuff away. She grabbed her bag and headed to the bay for her first dive of the trip.

Thanks to the reviewers

Littlelaunch – thanks for your comment. it was so sweet. I'm not sure about the members thing. sorry. but I mite check out the Harry Potter thing. keep on reading. :)

Glissoning Raven – thanks and hugs to you too. it's just so nice to get this kind of review. I'm glad ur liking the story and I will try my best to update as soon as I have the chapters done because I do care about whether u die from lack of updates.

BrucasGirl4Eva – hey, thanks for the review but I think I can only handle one fanfic at a time so I'll probably post the other one after.

FlyingLikeaPhantom – hi, thanks. I hope your not disappointed with them meeting but I don't think it would have been exciting because they don't know each other's identity. but keep on reading and more drama will probably come.

AD - thanks, I'm glad u like the way the story is going. I hope you like this chapter.