"Alright, Jacob, the Masterson Group needs that statue. Can you find it for them please? Or have Leah locate it. I need to keep up appearances. It would not do to have my company die because I was lax in my dealings," he perked a brow and nodded as I turned my attention to Edward, "My employers want your secrets. What are you keeping from the world that is so big that they would threaten my life to get it?"
He frowned and looked at Jacob before back to me, "This is not the time, nor the place for me to reveal that to you. Let's deal with James first. He is the enemy we can see. Yours employers will be harder to deal with."
Getting my hands on James was proving to be harder than we had thought. I did have a good idea how he thought, but the years apart had dulled my senses when it came to him. We had been great partners once, could read each other. Now he was a stalker using what he knew to get to me. It was not easy to get a fix on anything he was doing in Seattle. Jacob had ordered lunch for us as we worked. Just as the lunch had been delivered Edward said he had a meeting to get too and left us to the task at hand.
"Jacob, I need you to try and pull all the phone records for James. His last calls before he dropped off the map might help me."
I reached for a container of the delivery chinese Jacob had ordered. As I took a bite of chicken I felt eyes on me. I looked up to see a very familiar face standing in my doorway. A smile spread across my face as I stood to hug my visitor.
"Oh my god, Laurent, what are you doing here?"
He returned my hug and smiled back at me, "Can't I come see an old friend?"
I perked a brow and motioned for him to sit as I made my way back to my chair. I knew better then to believe he was there to just see me. Laurent never made appearances unless something was wrong. I was sure someone had gone off The Company's radar, and they needed my help.
"You and I both know you don't make social calls on anyone, ever."
"You know be far too well, Isabella. You are right. I am not here as a friend. I am here to warn you. James went off our radar and from what we could gather he is coming for you."
I nodded, "Tell me something I don't already know. He has made contact twice now. Last night he was openly aggressive with me."
"I see. Well then you should know that before he left The Company we made him see a therapist. She determined he has paranoid delusions. He kept bring you up as well. He thinks he loves you. He only knows how to be aggressive, Isabella."
I frowned, "Did he last employers know this?"
Laurent perked a brow at me. I assumed they knew he was working for some firm. Laurent's phone rang before I could tell him about James' last employers. His face grew serious as he spoke. I didn't catch the conversation, but he ended the call quickly.
"Isabella, were you hired to get the secrets about the Cullen family?"
Shock was not the word I would've used to describe how I was feeling when he asked that. I just nodded at him. I had no idea how to respond to him. How had they known?
"I see. Perhaps you need to tell your employers that you can't complete that job."
I snorted, "I tried that already. They are not taking no for an answer. Things changed when I was saved by one of my targets last night."
He stood up, "As soon as I get a lead on James I will let you know."
As he left my office Jacob walked in. He had a file full of information for me. James had been very busy the weeks that led up to him going off mission. His phone records were full of calls to the firm he had been working for. The week before he went off mission his records changed. He started placing calls to a number in Seattle. He called it three times a day. I looked at Jacob.
"It is a cell number. The records show it is one of those prepaid ones. I figured you would want to call it."
He was right. He grabbed a container of food and sat down as I dialed the number. Out on the floor I heard a cell phone ring. Jacob was up and by the door when Victoria, the new girl, answered it.
"Victoria, would you please come into my office."
She looked from the phone to my office. She had that deer in the headlights look as she stood. Jacob was on her before she had the chance to run. He dragged her into my office and shut the door. She was a pretty woman, red hair the color of fire. He shoved her into a chair.
"Why is it your cell phone's number shows up on this phone record?" she frowned as I shoved the phone records at her, "How do you know James?"
She opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. She closed her mouth and just sat there. I was betting they had not thought I would catch her in the office with me.
"Victoria, I hired you around the time James went off the radar. He is in some serious trouble with both his employers and The Company. The more you help us the better it will be for you."
The cell phone rang before she could say anything, and I grabbed it before she could answer it.
"James, so nice of you to call."
I could hear the silence on the other end. He was surprised to hear my voice. That was always good.
"Victoria was just about to tell us how you two know each other. Would you like to tell me yourself?"
I was sure he was trying to come up with something quickly. Lying was never something James did well when was talking to me. Lucky for me, I never had that problem when I was talking to him.
"Oh Bella, she is just there to let me know what you are doing. She is my eyes and ears and very expendable."
I snorted, "Well then you won't mind if I turn her over to Laurent. He paid me a visit today, told me you had been seeing a therapist."
He went quiet on the other end. He didn't know they were looking for him too. He was being hunted by three different groups at that point; I was sure he had not foreseen that coming.
"Would you like me to tell Laurent anything when I call him?"
James hung up on me then. I laughed and handed Victoria the phone. Her face was pale. He had just turned her over to us. I was sure he had told her something to keep her with him.
"What did he promise you Victoria? Did he tell you that he was on some mission for the C.I.A.? Or was he working for a firm that needed to have information about me? I hope he was worth it."
As I watched her she regained her composure, "He didn't have to promise me anything. We are in love. I offered to help him. I didn't ask him about any of it."
I heard Jacob laugh, and I narrowed my eyes at her, "Did he tell you he loved you? Not too long ago he was telling a therapist he was in love with me. Maybe you should have asked him about his job, because you are going down with him now."
Before she could even answer me I had my phone in my hand dialing a number. I really had not wanted an answer to my question. She had let him player her for a fool. She was no longer my problem though. I was going to let Laurent have her.
"Laurent, it's Isabella. I have a present for you. Apparently James has a friend here in my office. I don't think she expected him to abandon her the way he did. She claims to be here, working for him willingly."
I hung up after he said he would be right over. He had not gotten far from the office and would come get her. He was escorting her out of my office when Edward returned. He looked form them to me. I could see all the questions on his face as he sat down in my office. I walked Laurent out, and then joined Edward and Jacob in my office. Jacob had filled Edward in for me.
"I missed all the short lived fun."
I laughed, "Well, Mr. Cullen, I doubt that will be the last time I get to call in the C.I.A. to pick someone up."
He perked a brow, "This happens a lot?"
I shook my head and took a bite of the cold chinese food in front of me. I huffed and pushed it away. We spent the rest of the afternoon going over James' phone records, but they led nowhere. Jacob left us around seven that night. Edward and I had been trying to pin point where we thought James would be hiding. I had made a list of past places we had used in the city for different jobs. People always seemed so surprised when they found out the C.I.A. spied on people in its own country.
We had a list of eight possible places that could have been James' hiding places. It wasn't long after Jacob left that I decided it was time for me to go home too. The night before was still wearing on me, and I needed sleep. Edward walked me to my car and said he would be in the office in the morning so we could go check those locations out together. I told him he didn't need to, but he insisted. I am sure my employers would have loved to know I was working with the man they wanted me to spy on.
This one is coming a long a bit slowly for me.
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