Chapter 4~Undercover, Under Wraps
New York
JFK Airport
Tuesday, August 9
10:25 am
Lee leaned back in his seat on the air plane, sighing sadly as he looked out the window and thought about Soo Wong. Would they ever find her? What was he going to do if he couldn't help search for her?
Suddenly, a commotion sounded from the front of the plane. Lee looked up to see people standing and blocking the way of the source of excitement.
"Hey, man, what the hell you doing? My seat is up there," a bearded man grouched angrily to the front of the plane.
"Sit down," a female voice ordered demandingly, definitely not a flight attendant.
"I can't you are in my way," the man shouted, moving his hands animatedly.
"Sit down before I throw you off the plane," the woman answered, and Lee could see the glint of a badge through the people. Once the man finally complied, he saw the face of Detective Eames and Goren was just behind her.
"Detective Lee," Alex said, walking towards him and stopping at his side. "We need you to come with us. We know how important Soo Wong is to you, and we want your help finding her. The FBI wants nothing to do with us, so we will work completely alone."
"We believe you give us a better chance of finding her," Bobby added.
Looking from one face to the other, Lee slowly nodded.
"I would like to help your investigation and in finding Soo Wong."
.:(0):.
Alex drove in the opposite direction of the airport, leaving it in the rearview mirror. Bobby looked to his left at the beautiful women beside him, and he smiled when she glanced at him. Alex smiled back and without much thought, she reached her hand across the console and covered his that rested on his knee.
Lee was in the back seat, on the phone with the Consul. He was pulling information from his friend, anything that would give them a lead.
"Detectives, Consul Han has informed me that the British Ambassador, a friend of his has arrived to support him in this time of grief. Ambassador Fergus encourages him to continue with the opening of the Chinese Museum exhibits," Lee said, but then his face became even grimmer. "Another call was made. The ransom is now 70 million dollars. It is to be retrieved from the control room on the second level at the opening gala."
Alex listened carefully, her brows furrowing. They were going to the gala, and she didn't have a damn dress to wear. Her sister might though.
"Alright. So we each leave to get ready and regroup at 6:30?" Alex asked, lightly stroking Bobby's hand as his palm turned up to encase hers.
"Sounds good," Bobby answered. "Got to dig out my tux that I save for those rare Commissioner's Balls, huh?"
Alex smirked, looking ahead at the road.
"Mmm...I like that one," she chuckled lightly, hearing Bobby's laugh after hers.
From between Alex and Bobby, a hand reached forward and turned up the radio.
"Hope you don't mind," he said, sitting back. Alex and Bobby shared a glance, but shook their heads. They didn't usually turn up the radio, but they didn't mind. That was, until Lee started to sing along. Alex couldn't get to his hotel soon enough, and soon she dropped off Bobby and headed for her own apartment.
.:(0):.
New York City
Museum of Chinese Culture
Tuesday, August 9
6:30 pm
A blonde woman in a flowing navy blue dress stepped elegantly out of a sleek black SUV, her silver heels tapping against the concrete. She was a small woman, with tan skin and a fair complexion. She was hard not to notice. Her curves were distinct beneath the soft, thin fabric of her gown. The dress' neckline plummeted, ending in the center of her cleavage, her perfect breasts playing peak-a-boo. The back was just as revealing, allowing her strong, toned muscles in her back and arms to show. She was a strong, muscled woman, yet balanced perfectly with femininity.
A perfect equation for natural beauty. Every man she passed found it impossible not to stare.
Without even a glance at the men around her, she sauntered into the large magnificent building. Her heels tapping against the marble floor, she stopped to look over the balcony between the two grand staircases.
With pursed lips, she watched quietly as the guests flowed in. Women in flattering gowns and men in glamorous tuxedos entered in a herd of upperclass people. Tonight she was a part of them.
And she is the most beautiful of all, a man thought to himself. With a charming smile, the tall, handsome man approached the woman he had eyes for.
Neither looked at the other as they stood side by side. Familiarity surrounded them, and a chemistry so thick it could be cut with a knife materialized between them.
"Eames," the man spoke softly into her ear, having to tilt his head down to her size. The woman's full lips quirked into a crooked smile, and she turned to meet his hypnotic dark eyes.
"Bobby," she answered, wittily throwing a flirtatious smile at him.
Bobby laughed at Alex, boldly fingering a strand of her soft blonde hair.
"You look beautiful," he complimented her, his eyes doing another once over of his partner's body in the gown that she made appear so flattering and gorgeous.
"You look pretty fine yourself," she smirked, straightening his bow tie and flicking his crisp collar. Damn it, he wanted to kiss that smug smirk right off her face.
Alex was surprised by the sudden flood of emotion and intensity in those dark brown eyes of her handsome counterpart. A feeling began to bubble inside the pit of her stomach, and a nervous yet exciting tingle was sent throughout her body.
Damn. All this man had to do was look at her, and she could barely contain herself.
And then, his bold acts surprised him again. Before Bobby knew what he was doing, his large hand found hers where she leaned forward on the railing of the balcony.
He heard Alex's sharp intake of breath, and he looked into her beautiful face. She was looking down at his hand, watching as he slowly wrapped his fingers around her wrist. He could feel her pulse quicken beneath his fingers.
Painfully slow, he slipped his hand up her arm, barely brushing her soft skin. He felt a shiver go through Alex's body, and he watched as her eyes closed momentarily.
His hand continued up her arm, and over her shoulder where he brushed her hair over her back. His hands left trails of fire in their wake, causing Alex to overheat. What was this man doing to her? She needed him, she wanted him...now. She had held back for so long.
She couldn't stand it any longer.
As Bobby's hand found the small of her back, she leaned forward into his body.
Before he knew it, the woman of his dreams, his partner, was kissing him—hard and passionate. He was kissing her equally so, taking her fully in his arms and pulling her flush against his body. He couldn't control some parts of his body, and Alex quickly realized how much he wanted her.
It was perfect. Alex felt his tongue probing glide along her bottom lip, begging for entrance. Willingly, she granted him passage and her tongue met his. That was when she remembered where they were.
Everything came to a sudden halt.
Bobby looked confusedly at the woman in his arms.
"Bobby, we can't. Not here—"
Bobby quickly backed away, putting a professional space in between them. What the hell had he been thinking? He had just endangered their partnership, and now she was done with him. She would leave him for sure now.
"Bobby—"
"I'm sorry, Eames," he said, angry and hating himself for what he had done.
"Don't you dare say that!" she said, her own frustration sparking her anger.
"Eames—"
"Detectives!" came the distinct voice of Lee. Both detectives turned to see the approaching man in a black tuxedo. Quickly, Alex turned to Bobby.
"Please, we need to talk about this, but now isn't the right time. Please understand that that is what I meant by earlier," she pleaded, her honey-brown eyes gazing hopefully into his, the slight fear he saw in them breaking his heart. Without reluctance, he nodded allowing one more affectionate touch of her arm before Lee was by their side.
"I'm sorry I am late," he said, grimacing slightly. Alex and Bobby smiled, they had kind of grown a bit attached to this man. They might even call him a friend.
"That's fine, we just got here ourselves," Alex answered, glancing at Bobby. She couldn't stop the pink blush that crawled up her neck and into her cheeks. Bobby seemed to be the only one to notice, and he smiled affectionately at this.
Lee did, however, notice this change in the big detective.
"Yīqiè dōu shùnlì ma?" Lee asked with a smirk. He knew by now that the big detective spoke his tongue of Chinese, yet he never spoke it around his partner. Goren had explained that he didn't want his partner to feel out of the loop.
"Wánshàn," Bobby answered. Whether it was a lie or not, he did not know. Bobby couldn't let it trouble him at the moment though. This was important.
Alex looked up at her partner, a hand on her hip and a crooked smile set on her lips.
"I should have known..." she said, shaking her head at him. Bobby laughed at her, and shook his head back at her.
"Shall we?" he asked, seeing the throng of people had stopped at the pulpit set on a stage surrounded by thousands of years' worth of historical artifacts. He offered his arm to her.
"We shall," she smiled shyly, almost nervously. Was she scared to touch him again?
Eames couldn't be scared of anything, Bobby joked with himself.
The three finally descended the grand staircase and stopped on the outer edge of the audience.
On the stage, standing at the pulpit was Consul Han.
"Good evening, everybody. Tonight is the grand opening of the Museum o Chinese Culture," he said, smiling weakly. Alex's heart went out to the man as he fought on in his speech. "These artifacts will aid in reminding us of our history, and in teaching others of our culture in which we have pride in. This wonderful building of learning will teach the history and wonder to our...children..."
Alex glanced at Bobby as the man's voice cracked, and he was unable to continue. That was when a tall man with greying hair and a gold pocket watch hanging from his suit, stepped forward.
With care as if handling an upset child, the older man took Consul Han by the shoulders and led him to a seat away from the pulpit. He, however, returned to stand tall behind it.
"Consul Han has remained strong through this unsettling and grievous time. For my friend, I will continue his opening speech," the man said in a thick British accent.
Lee leaned over to Bobby, and whispered, "That is Ambassador Fergus. He is very into Chinese culture. He has a large collection of artifacts so I'm told."
Bobby nodded, staring thoughtfully at the British man. His thoughts began to run wild, and his gut told him to be wary of the man. Looking down at Eames to share his hunch, he saw that she was focused on the food bars of white cloth and magnificent trays. At each stationed bar, there were chefs dressed in white.
"Bobby," she whispered, moving closer to him in order to see around the considerably large man that stood between them and the food bars.
Following her gaze, Bobby saw whom she was looking at. He was dressed in a little white chef's outfit beneath a tall white hat that was nearly the color of his scar.
Juntoa was here.
Looking up at the control room, she saw the looming figure of Agent Corey through the window. They had agents everywhere in there, she realized as she scanned the area.
"How the hell have they not seen him yet? Didn't they get a description from Ross? One that we gave," she added, shaking her head.
"They are trying to protect the Consul," Bobby said, seeing the many agents surrounding the stage and podium.
"Well, the danger is right there," she said unbelievably, gesturing towards the blonde Chinese man.
"Eames," Bobby said, watching warily as Fergus made eye contact with Juntoa. "I think the bigger danger is up there, at the podium."
"The British Ambassador?" Eames asked.
"It is possible," Lee jumped in.
"We need to get everyone out. If anyone stays, they've got nothing to lose," Bobby said, looking between Alex and Lee.
"Be prepared to take cover," Lee said suddenly, stalking away and hopping onto a stone slab that was a base for a large statue.
"Lee!" Alex hissed as he walked away.
"Attention! Excuse me! May I have your attention, please!" Lee loudly declared. "We have received a threat on this building, and we ask that everyone calmly exit the building."
The crowd stared at Lee for a moment before slowly shuffling away. Lee sighed irritably.
"Hurry! Hurry!" he said urgently, clapping his hands together. Finally a surge of people frantically tried to escape the building.
Alex looked up at the control room, seeing Corey talking angrily into a radio.
"Bobby, he knows we are here," she said, but when she looked to her right her partner was drawing his gun and walking towards Juntoa. She quickly followed suit, pulling her skirt up and unholstering her gun from a strap around her thigh. The guests were finally cleared out, as well as Fergus and the Consul. All that remained were the Chinese chefs, FBI agents, and Juntoa.
"Juntoa! Hands where I can see them!" Bobby yelled, his gun trained on the criminal.
Juntoa smiled wryly, the dumb cops. From below the table, he withdrew a large gun that would do a lot of damage.
Before the FBI agents could draw their guns, every Chinese chef in the building hopped onto their bar and took the nearest FBI agent to hold a gunpoint.
"Put your weapons down before I kill every cop in this place!" Juntoa yelled angrily, pointing the gun at Bobby's head. A man came running into the room, dressed in black instead of white and he carried a small device. Putting his hands up in surrender, Bobby cautiously took a step.
"I will start with you!" Juntoa yelled.
"Calm down, you don't—"
"Don't talk to me, cop. Do you know what this is? It is a remote to a bomb with C4. That bomb is attached to the little girl," Juntoa smirked, holding the remote in the air with his thumb hovering merely centimeters away from it.
"Nî bùxiâng zhèyàng zuò, tā zhîshì yīgè xiâo nühái!" Bobby said. Alex didnt understand a word said, but he said it as calmly as he could. The American detective's ability to speak his language, surprised Juntoa. Not enough to freeze his antics.
"Tíng zhî! Wô huì chuī nî de nâodai!" he threatened. He then gave a sanguine smile as he looked over at Eames. "Hùozhê nî gèng yuànyì wô chuīle tā? Zhè jiāng shì yīzhông chîrû, zhèyàng dì mêijîng bèi pòhuài, bingqiê fèiyong zìlî. Tā shì zúyî ràng rènhé rén huànxiâng..."
Alex didn't like the look Juntoa gave her, and she could feel Bobby tense up beside her. He was very angry, but for what she didn't know. It had to do with her though...
"Nî tā mā de," Bobby spat, his anger boiling over.
"Juntoa!" a firm voice called, subduing the angry Chinese mobster. Everyone looked to see Ambassador Fergus as he walked slowly from behind Juntoa, resting a hand on the mobster's shoulder.
"I suggest you put down your weapons, Detectives," Fergus said, walking towards Goren and Eames. Lee was no where in sight. Slowly, Bobby and Alex let their guns fall to their fingers, hanging dormant with their hands up. "Good..."
"Ambassador...this is very below you," Alex said, her eyes filled with a deep loathing for the man. The older man's eyes turned to her, and an uneasiness settled in her stomach.
"Well, you see, Detective, what you are looking at right now was all mine. But when Hong Kong had become its own governor, it was taken away from me. Millions' worth of artifacts," Fergus said, as if it explained it all.
"And so you kidnapped a little girl, because there are only three things you love in life: money, power, and of course Chinese relics..." Bobby said calmly, gesturing around them.
Fergus frowned for a moment, but he slowly eased into a chuckle. That chuckle escalated and the man was practically hysterical.
"I like you, Detectives. Had the circumstances been different, I would have invited you for drinks," Fergus laughed.
"Hmm...tea and crumpets with a criminal," Alex snarked, getting irritated in the position they currently were in. She didn't favor this end of the rope.
"Your partner is very charming," Fergus said, turning to Bobby. "Now, if you will all excuse me, I—"
Suddenly Lee jumped out from behind Juntoa, and he wrapped his arms around the man, reaching for the remote. Juntoa's weapon began firing off rounds, and soon every other gun in the room was going off as well.
Alex and Bobby quickly took cover behind a large stone slab. Alex looked for the remote frantically, hoping desperately that Lee had knocked it from Juntoa's hands.
Spotting it she turned to Bobby, leaning back against the rock as they loaded their guns.
"Damn, two gunfights in two days," Alex said, shaking her head.
"I'm just glad you are on my side," Bobby teased, peaking around the corner of the slab and firing.
It was true, Alex had a great shot. The best shot in the department, and she was putting it to use.
"Bobby, that man that brought the remote..."
"Yeah?"
"He went out that way. Please don't ask, just cover for me," she pleaded, meeting his gaze. She saw the worry in his eyes, and the hesitance, but she knew he would do it. They always had each others' backs.
Nodding, Bobby watched carefully as Alex found her way towards the door the man had exited. Fear clenched his stomach, and he watched with panic as the one woman he loved disappeared from sight.
A/N: Man, that was a lot of translating...ugh, it probably isn't even right. Haha. Oh well. Any way, the conversation won't be revealed until later. Hehe, I mean I can't keep you from looking it up, but like I said before it probably isn't even correct. You will find out what was said, but only if Alex is able to. And she has her means of getting Bobby to talk. Hope you guys enjoyed, and I have absolutely loved the reviews you have been leaving. Shout out to sell, whom reminded me of Bobby's *many* talents. Thanks to everyone who left comments! Keep them coming cuz they are inspiration! Haha.
~Love