A/N: Sooooo Sorry.
I pressed my forehead to the window of the plane as we flew to London. All I can think about is the last time I was here. Not a very happy time. And again, back on not so happy terms. What does this city have against me? I began to nod off.
"Isaac, you know how important this next meeting is right?" Joe asked.
"Mmhm." I responded sleepily.
"You need to focus. This entire flight your mind has been somewhere other than on this mission. You need to pay more attention."
"What am I paying attention to?" I asked, turning my head toward him.
"The facts, Isaac. We know that there has been Circle activity in England. The Circle does not have a location on Cameron Morgan. What else did we get from the meeting?"
"Not much," I replied, "I bet that this was just a meeting to clarify what they know, and to set up for the big meeting in England."
Joe nodded, and looked at the seat in front of him. He was obviously thinking something through.
I took this chance to take a short nap before we needed to get off the plane.
I felt a gentle hand shaking me awake.
"We're about to land," Joe informed me.
I sat up in my seat. What adventures does London hold for us? Will we have to swim out of England across the English Channel? Will there be an intense fight with the Circle? Only time will tell.
Going through the airport I felt like I was being watched. It is not a good feeling for a spy, so I began to watch people carefully. There is a man in a blue button-down shirt and tie who I swear I saw just a few moments ago, a young lady in a red hat, a little girl wearing a pink dress, a woman with a crying baby. I think I'm just paranoid. Joe and I continued through the airport to baggage claim. There's a guy in a black vest, with a white shirt underneath, but he wasn't wearing that before. I remember him wearing a blue button-down shirt and tie. Three times I've seen him. He's a tail!
I pulled out my cell phone, as if someone was calling me. "Hi Guys! Oh, I was just wondering if you saw the dog at that show. It was in the middle of the pack, a bit to the right. It was white with black patches. I believe it had a fairly long tail. In other words, we have a tail.
Joe glanced in the direction I said. He looked back at me, and we proceeded to get our luggage while Jonas and the team were probably figuring out what we should do.
This is some of the first real action I've seen in a while, but I don't know if I like it. What if someone sees that I'm not who I say I am? What happens then? No. That won't happen. I'm sure of it, because I won't let it.
I started to run through all the possibilities that I learned how to deal with a tail, but none of them were exactly great for a crowded airport with this much security. I looked at Joe again. He seemed to have an idea. He pulled out his cell phone.
"Hey Isaac! Yeah sure, I'll meet you down by the London Eye later, let me just get settled in, and I'll be right on my way. So see you there at one-thirty." He put away his phone, and headed for the escalator leading to the doors.
Ok, I have some time to kill. Well, an hour anyway. When you talk in code like that, you always say a half hour before you want to meet, just to throw the tail off of your scent. I walked out of the airport, and waved down a taxi. I thought back to when I studied the map of London last year. I thought of the closest hotel to the left of the airport, and told the driver where I wanted to go.
After I was in the taxi, I looked back at the airport, seeing if the tail followed me, or if he followed Joe. It was a fairly long taxi ride, and we're not even supposed to be at a hotel, we're supposed to go to MI6. It may be a bit difficult to maneuver this, but I can handle it. I like improvisation. It makes life interesting.
As I exited the taxi, I looked around again. I haven't seen the tail in a while, but that doesn't mean he didn't follow me. If I had a choice between following me, or Joe Solomon, I'd follow me. I'm much easier to follow than he is. With all of the training he has, it's almost positive that you won't be following him for long.
I walked through the front doors, trying to make a plan. I have no reservations, and I have to get rid of this luggage. There are many people around me, and it would be easy to get lost in them, if I didn't have the possibility of a tail who would know exactly what I look like. I can handle it though. Cammie is not the only one who can disappear. She may be the Chameleon of Gallagher, but they didn't call me Houdini for nothing. And look at me now. I disappeared already. Sure, there wasn't anyone watching me, but I still disappeared.
I noticed a restroom and went toward it. I checked over my shoulder a few times, but I can't be positive that he's not there, or that there isn't another tail following me too. I'm glad to see that in a nice hotel like this, they have stalls that the door goes all the way to the floor. I went into one, and brought my suitcase with me. It's a tight fit, but I think that I can figure this out. I have some clothes that make me look a little different, but I'll need to do something to change my appearance, and for that I will need to get into a room.
I changed into a nice suit and tie ensemble to look like one of the clientele that would be seen here. I could pass for the son of some rich American Business man, couldn't I? That is definitely a role that I would like to play. I left my suitcase hidden by a tall plant and headed to the registration desk, looking around once I got in line. There he was, now in a blue shirt and suit jacket ensemble.
He followed me instead of Joe. It was to be expected, everyone in the Circle knows about Joe Solomon. They all know he should be dead so many times over. He is one of the best. Scratch that, the best.
I approached the front of the line, thinking of the best ways to get rid of the slight annoyance that just happened to be following me. It was a young girl at the registration desk. She looked around twenty. Nice, I can work with this. I walked up to the desk, acting as debonair as I could ever hope to be. I glanced down at the check in list.
"Excuse me for bothering you miss, but my father has my key, and he has already left for a meeting and I need to get into our room."
The girl smiled. "Well sir, I will need your name and your father's name please. "
I checked the list quickly once more just to be sure. "I'm Alexander Mason, son of Edward Mason."
She typed the name into the computer. "All right then, Mr. Mason, can you show me some I.D."
Great, I didn't expect that. How to get myself out of this one?
"I'm sorry miss, but my wallet is in the room."
"Well, then I'm not sure what we can do for you then."
It's time to turn on the charm. "Isn't there any way you could get me a key?" I asked, putting on my best "you-can't-resist-this-face" smile. I noticed a poster for an opera that was playing this week. "I'm supposed to go see the opera with a friend of mine, but I'm not nearly ready. This suit isn't nearly nice enough, and I'm already running late."
The girl looked ready to swoon. "Well, I don't know, it's against the rules to give anybody a key without identification."
"Oh, okay," I said disappointedly, with my sad puppy dog face, "I'll just have to tell my friend to go without me. I wouldn't want to damage his reputation." I started to turn.
"Wait, Mr. Mason, I might just be able to get you a key, give me just one moment please," The girl said quickly, typing something on her keyboard.
I looked at her nametag. "Thank you ever so much, Angela," I said with appreciation, "you have saved me from a great deal of ridicule."
She smiled sweetly. "I'm glad I could help you Mr. Mason, just make sure that I have that key back be tomorrow." She was clearly love-struck.
"I hope to see you again soon," I said as she handed me the key card, "and I thank you again for your great consideration."
I walked back to the plant, which was conveniently by the elevators and grabbed my suitcase just as I entered the elevator, as to not be overly suspicious if Angela might have been watching me. The room number was 912.
I arrived at the ninth floor, and exited the elevator. I watched for anything useful as I walked down the hall to the room. There's nothing all that useful, just a bunch of plants that could be used for hiding behind.
When I entered the room, I tried to be as scarce as possible. Leave no trace behind, that's a lesson a spy learns from the very beginning. I go into the bathroom. If there is any place that will help me change my appearance, it is the bathroom.
I open my suitcase on the floor, and get out a black shirt and a white tie. I set those to the side, and look for the supplies I brought that would change my appearance. Ok, I have my blonde hair dye, a root touch up kit, colored contacts and a makeup kit. I know, a makeup kit doesn't sound great for a guy to have, but in situations like these, it can be very useful. Here we go again, a new look. I did this once, but it was much easier with being able to change my hair color. I should invest in some washable dye for these situations.
In just a mere ten minutes, I look as different as I can manage. The colored contacts help a lot. My eyes are one of the features that make me easily identifiable. I touch up the color of my hair, and usee the makeup to help alter little things like the color tone of my isn't much, but I sure hope this works.
I made it out of the hotel effortlessly, the tail is nowhere to be seen, which I hope is a good thing. I was still incredibly careful as I started my journey to the London Eye. First, I ask a cab to take me to the airport. I pulled out my cell phone, and told the team where I hid it. Now I must get to the London Eye. Another ride in a cab, and I'm there.
I look around for any sign of the tail. I think I lost him, but a spy can never be sure. Okay, easy going now. I walk to a bench and sit for a minute to assess my surroundings. I look for anyone who might be a tail, and for Joe. I spotted Joe, but when I got up I didn't head for him. I made my way around, wandering, looking at the Eye, acting as if I was waiting for someone else to arrive, normal things for a place like this. Then I made it over to him.
"I haven't seen you in a while, you look good Jack." I said when I walked up behind him. Jack was an easy safe name that we had come up with for him when we planned for situations when we needed to be casual without giving away information like names.
"Good to see you, Ian," Joe said, "how's your family doing?"
"Very well, thank you." Small talk always helps get a tail off of you if you sound innocent enough.
"If you're ready, Zach is waiting with the car," Joe said.
Zach? Why Zach? We didn't have anyone with a codename of Zach. Does he suspect something? "Okay," I replied.
I walked along with him to a black Mercedes. He opened the door and got in. I took one last look around before doing the same. As I buckled my seatbelt I noticed that it was Grant driving.
"Joe, I don't remember clarifying anything about Zach being Grant's code name," I mentioned.
"I know. I just made it up on the spot first name that came to mind," Joe explained. That is interesting. First name that comes to his mind is my real one. Very interesting.
"Your suitcases are in the trunk," Grant said.
"Thanks," Joe and I replied at the same time.
With that, we headed to M16 headquarters.
I know that it may not be very good in some parts, but I have had a lack of inspiration, and time.
