A/N Hey everyone! Sorry for the late update! I know I promised it a few days ago, but... well... good intentions, really bad follow through. I had a fabulous time in Montana! I didn't die white water rafting. We saw a bear about 30 feet away! Which is really really exciting from the safety of your own vehicle. I thought I was going to cross a few things off my bucket list but I actually ended up adding a bunch of new items. If you ever get a chance to go to North West Montana GO! It was absolutely beautiful. I met a ton of great people and we made some significant changes to the summer program that hired me as a consultant. We kinda saved their summer, that was their words, not mine. We didn't have internet or cell phones for most of the time and although I brought a paper copy of my fanfiction I didn't look at it. And I hardly even thought about it. And that's how it should be, live in the moment, fanfiction is for free time. So now I'm back to the summer of free time and back to writing.
As always thanks for reading, please let me know how I did by reviewing!
I kinda jumped between two events happening simultaneously here... I hope it works, I wanted his reaction built into the chapter.
"The mission is to survey and provide security support for this man, Director Vance Lauriet. He is the CEO of one of the largest banks in Switzerland." Michael spoke with authority to a room of three novice division agents, and Birkhoff. A large photo of a business man flashed on the projector behind him as he handed out tablet computers to the three agents detailing their specific assignments. "Director Lauriet has called us to provide assistance to his already large security detail. He wants extra protection for a summit he is attending in Vienna five days from now. We already have one agent in play, Dominic has been a part of Director Lauriet's private security for the past week. You three will be added to the detail for the night of the summit. Operations will provide an eye into the hotel and I will run operational support from here. You'll find information on your specific assignments in your mission file. Any questions?"
"So there's no target?" one of the agents asked after taking a moment to peruse the file.
"This is simply a surveillance and support mission. We will be ready to engage hostiles if needed. But, if the night goes smoothly no one will have to discharge a weapon. Anyone else?"
The three agents looked at each other. "Alright, report to operations in 72 hours for a final debrief and you'll leave from there. See Amanda for wardrobe and weapons. You're excused." Michael announced and the agents quickly left the room. Birkhoff didn't rise as quickly he waited a moment, continuing to swivel his chair back and forth.
"So, what exactly are we trying to protect? His wallet?" Birkhoff asked Michael as the other agents left the room.
As the last agent left the room and the door clicked shut behind her Michael answered Birkhoff's question. "No, we're protecting a key."
"A key, like a code key?" Birkhoff asked
"No, an actual metal key. He keeps it on his person at all times." Michael explained without looking up from his own computer.
"What does it open?"
"No idea. We're on a need to know basis."
"Right, protect the key, and I suppose his credit cards while we're at it." Birkhoff joked.
"Yea." Michael answers, without displaying any amusement in response to Birkhoff's attempt at a joke.
Dominic shifted from side to side as he waited in the living room of the lavish penthouse suite. He was still fairly new to the agent role but his confidence had been building as his last few missions went well. He had been guarding a CEO of a bank for the past week. It was an easy assignment, there weren't any targets or fire fights expected. He glanced over at the other two members of the director's security detail in the room. They made him uneasy, they didn't speak English, or maybe they did and choose not to speak with him. Either way he felt like they were watching him and making fun of him in their own language, which he thought was german but he wasn't sure. They all had very thick accents that didn't quite fit with what he expected from a native german speaker. He'd passed all his Division language examinations but german was not on the list of required languages. He directed his eyes away from the other security members as the The Director entered the room. He wore a tux and he fiddled with his cufflinks, "Well, how do I look?" he joked, his loud booming voice prominently displayed his thick eastern European accent.
"Wonderful sir." Dominic answered immediately
He laughed, pleased with his answer. "Percy tells me I should be happy with you." He said speaking directly to Dominic for the first time in the assignment. "He says you will be a fine addition to my security detail."
"I won't let you down sir."
"I used his men before you know, I am never disappointed with Percy's men. I am quite fond of the one… zee Michael. Yes Michael. He was most helpful in some… difficult, situations a few years back."
"he is my superior Sir."
"Ah, moving up, out of ze line of fire, Yes?"
"Something like that Sir."
"Sir," The other security member speaks to him quickly german and he hears Birkhoff translate in his ear.
"Um, talking about a girl, running late nothing important." Birkhoff says
"My woman has arrived in ze hotel, she should be up shortly. Then we can go down to the party."
Dominic nodded, and watched out of the corner of his eye as The Director poured himself a drink while the whole room waits in anticipation. A soft knock at the door announces the woman. The door opened and Dominic choose to keep his back turned to the door. He'd met the Director's escort already this week and it continued to bother him that she looked vaguely like his ex girlfriend. The one he dated before he entered division. "I need a visual on the girl, I need to run her through facial recognition." Birkhoff directed annoyed, into Dominic's ear. "What is this mission 101?" he scoffed to someone back in operations, but Dominic heard it. Dominic turned slightly so the camera hidden in his coat button can see the woman. "No," he herd Birkhoff breathe into his ear, then silence.
A thin woman with brown bobbed hair sliped gracefully into the room. And Dominic watches in disgust as the Directors hand creeps down the back of her short black dress. She laughs slightly at whatever the Director is whispering in her ear as she slides one of her red stiletto heels up the back of his calf. Her hand grazes along his jaw prominently displaying fashionable rings and a diamond bracelet. Dominic can't help but think to himself that this must be a high priced escort the director has hired. He shifts his weight nervously as the two talk rapidly in another language.
This girl is the Directors flavor of the month from an escort service. She's been over twice since Dominic's assignment began last week, but the other security men tell him that she's usually not around so often. Dominic can't help feel sick to his stomach as he watches the nearly fifty year old director flirt with a stunningly beautiful woman clearly no older than early twenties. If anyone should be romancing this woman it should be him, he thinks jealously. Eventually, the woman untangles herself from his grasp and turns to Dominic who is intently staring at the floor. She says a quick sentence in german that he does not comprehend.
"Ah, my dear, his german is, not so good. Try English." The director instructs
"How would you like to do this?" She asks in the same thick accent that matches The Director.
"What?" Dominic asks bewildered. He hadn't been expecting to be spoken to directly and he certainly hadn't expected an escort to be fluent in more than one language.
"Check me for ze security." She says
"Oh! Yes. Oh ok. Yes, I need your purse." She hands him her beaded clutch and he dumps it out on the dresser, two different shades of lipstick, make-up compact, simple cell phone, and nail file fall out. "I need to take the nail file if that's alright with you." He asks her.
"So thorough" she teases with a sweet smile that momentarily stuns Dominic as he places her things back in her bag. "Where did you get zis one?" She asks the director
"An old friend recommended him."He answers distracted "I have a gift for you my dear, one moment, I will get it, is in ze safe." The Director steps out of the room and Dominic is suddenly aware that he is alone in the room with the escort. The other security guards have left the hotel suite to monitor the route down to the party.
"is zat all?" she asks "ze other security always check me for weapons. Or do you trust me?"
"No, you're right I need to check you for weapons." Dominic answers mechanically. He begins to frisk her for weapons exactly how he was taught in division. She twists his hair around her fingers, as he works.
"You are American?" she asks
"Yes."
"Where in America, I have been twice." She asks as she runs her hand down the side of his face and along his jacket.
"Uh, Florida" He answers after hesitating for a split second, he tells himself that its her beauty that momentarily made him forget his home town, it never occurs to him that its all part of the Division brainwash.
"Yes! I have been! Disney" she laughs, "oh I was so young when I go. I was, hum, nine when I go" She tugs slightly to straighten his jacket when her hand reaches the bottom.
"You're clean." He announces visibly flustered.
"Pull it together Dominic!" Michael shouts angrily in his ear.
Five minutes earlier at Division
"What is this Mission 101?" Birkhoff snapps at Michael who decides not to respond to his ranting. Both men watch the security screen as a visual appears of the escort.
"NO!" Birkhoff breathed, then immediately shut down his com. Claire what the hell are you doing? He thought. He can't breathe and an intense wave of nausea engulfs him. What is she doing in the middle of his mission?
"She looks familiar." Michael said behind him but Birkhoff didn't show any sign of comprehension. Instead he sat paralyzed at his computer watching his screen in horror, watching his girlfriend fall into the arms of another man. Dominic turned and the picture on screen shifted to the other edge of the hotel room. "Does she come up in facial recognition?" Michael asked loudly "Birkhoff!" he snapped, jarring Birkhof out of his trance.
"no, she doesn't." Birkhoff whispered, his mind still blank. He didn't need to check facial recognition, she wouldn't come up. He deleted her from the facial recognition database after the mission in South Africa, mostly to cover his own trail. He doesn't know what to think, part of him can't believe what the he just saw on the screen but the other part of him is angry, hurt, betrayed, and screwed. He also realized he was gripping his chair with his left hand to tightly, it wouldn't take Michael long to notice his reaction. "I'm not feeling well, I'll be right back." He tumbled out of his seat and half rans to the bathroom "Out of my way!" he yelled at a group of recruits in the hall as he made his way back to his office.
Michael didn't let Birkhoff's sudden exit break his concentration. He stared at his two computer monitors, one displayed the video and the other showed the vital stats from all four of his agents in the field. One agent's heart rate increases in accordance with Dominic's proximity to the girl. Unacceptable behavior, Michael thought. "Pull it together Dominic!" he yelled into his communicator.
The party went slowly and Dominic was growing increasingly tired of trailing the director and his date. The conversation took place in many different languages he didn't understand and when the director met someone who did speak English the conversation was too boring to hold his attention. He was relieved when the Director started to head back to the room just after midnight.
Dominic was tired and he was finding it difficult to be as vigilant as he knew he should be. But as the group approached the hotel room he was pulled back into the mission when he saw a small black duffle bag sitting at the doorway. "Wait!" he told the Director and his date, he approached the bag carefully and pulled out his cell phone, which thanks to Birkhoff, also doubled as an explosive detector.
"It's clean." Birkhoff announced into his ear. As he reached for the bag the escort suddenly spoke.
"no, no, I can't. He's a nice man to play a mean trick on. Ze bag is for me, or for him." She smiled mischeviously at the director and he laughed loudly. She bounded forward and picked up the bag. She wasn't quite as graceful as earlier in the night. The wine and champagne had caused her to lose her polished gait. "tricks of ze trade?" she said with a smile as she pulled the bag from Dominic's hands. "if you want to check ze bag, you can, of course. But I don't want to embarrass you."
Dominic stood frozen in the middle of the hallway. "You don't need to check ze bag Dominic. I actually prefer if you don't. I won't tell Michael." The Director reached for the bag and gently lifted it out of Anna's hands.
"Let it go." Birkhoff directed into Dominic's ear piece, mostly for his own reprieve. He didn't want to see what kinds of toys, his girlfriendbrought for her john.
"Ok, with your permission I won't search the bag." Dominic turned and unlocked the room door. The two security guards and the director entered the room. He stopped the girl by grabbing her wrist gently. "Thank you for saving me from embarrassment," He said. He couldn't imagine opening a bag like that for Birkhoff and Michael to see. He was sure Birkhoff would never let him live it down. Dominic noticed that the girls head was down, she didn't look up to meet his eyes with the same confidence she had earlier in the night. She nodded once in acknowledgement then pulled her hand out of his grasp and followed the Director into the bedroom.
"We're clear on our end." Michael announced to the operation room. "I want reports from all sections by morning."
"Debrief, at fifteen hundred tomorrow." He said into his radio, then changed the frequency. "Dominic, we're clear, contact if anything develops overnight."
Michael removed his headset and the operations agents slowly began to file out of the room. "That girl looks familiar, run her through facial recognition manually, and send me the report." He told Birkhoff, "And make sure you run her through all the security feed you have for the museum bombing last month." Birkhoff nodded once as Michael turned and left Operations. Birkhoff removed his headset, and ran his fingers through his unkempt hair before he got up and returned to his office.
His office was dark, he left the lights off and collapsed on the couch. She was playing him he thought. She really had been playing him the entire time. It had occurred to him early on that she might be, he had to consider it, but he'd decided against it. Then it hit him, of course she had been a spy, she'd wanted to be with him, and any true nerd knew that if she wanted to be with him, then there must be something wrong with her. But he had chosen to trust her, and although the evidence against her was on the screen there was a very small part of him that wanted to believe in her. He decided to silence that part, what he thought they had never existed.
He dragged himself off the couch and typed in the address to his private network, he opened the live feed from Dominic's camera. He needed to see the betrayal first hand.
Dominic sat down in the living room. He sent one of the guards to keep watch near the elevator and the other took a break and went to lie down in a side room. He flipped on the television, his training told him not to. His training told him to keep the room quiet so he could hear anyone approaching, but the human part of him told him he didn't want to hear any sounds coming from the bedroom. They had been locked in there for almost an hour. He didn't want to think about it.
Soon, he heard a noise at the bedroom door. The girl stepped out of the darkened room, she now had a black night gown on but had a bright pink silk robe wrapped around her shoulders.
"Can't sleep." Dominic asked with a sarcastic edge to his voice.
"No." She answered quietly. "May I?" she guestured toward the couch. Dominic moved his legs from where he had been stretched out comfortably. She stepped over to the table next to him and poured a drink, she took a sip then handed it to him. "This is excellent scotch, the director only wants the very best in his room." He took a small sip then handed it back to her, "No, you keep that, I'll pour my own." He watched as she stole another glass of the Director's scotch for herself. After she finished pouring her own she sat down on the couch right next to him. He inhaled sharply as he felt her press against his right arm and leg.
"I'm really not supposed to drink while I'm working." He said but the drink was burning in his hand. He had a sudden desire to drink the entire thing down in one gulp.
"I won't tell." She whispered as she slowly sipped hers.
"He might notice we've gotten into his bar." Dominic said as he tried to come up with another excuse not to drink the glass dry.
"He won't notice." She said softly and Dominic decided that Michael wasn't watching anymore and the most he would get would be a slap on the wrist for unsanctioned drinking on a mission. He tipped the glass back and finished the drink.
"What is your name?" she asked.
"Dominic." He answered without hesitation, in truth he had wanted to tell her his name since the moment she walked through the door. He wanted her to know who he was. He didn't know her but he wanted to.
He nodded slowly and then without warning she smoothly moved over him so that her legs were on either side of him and she sat on his knees facing him. Dominic felt his heart begin to beat faster and every muscle in his body tense. He forced his hands to stay tightly on the arm of the couch and clinging the cushion on the other side. His breathing was erratic and he was visibly flustered. "The Director" he croaked out.
"Is fast asleep after too much drink." She said with a coy smile as she ran her fingers through his hair and let it rest on the back of his neck. The other hand moved slowly down his jacket and unbuttoned it, she used her ring to effortlessly remove the button that held the camera. Dominic didn't notice. He leaned forward, pulled her close and kissed her.
Almost as soon as it began it ended. She felt one hand loosen its grip and slip down her stomach, the other hand clumsily fell down her back. She felt his body relax beneath her. When she lifted her face she saw that his eyes had lost focus. She hadn't forgotten she'd given him the tranquilizer but she had forgotten how quickly it worked. He blinked twice and his jaw relaxed. She watched as his head fell back against the couch cushions and his eyes gently closed.
She lept off him and lifted his legs back up on the couch so that he was resting in the same position as when she entered the room. She shook his shoulders slightly to make sure the tranquilizer had taken hold. He didn't move and his eyes didn't open at her touch. She grabbed both glasses off the table and rinsed them as fast as she could in the bathroom. Then ran into the bedroom, and pulled a pair of leggings under her nightgown, a simple pale pink sweater over top. She slipped an earpiece into her ear, pulled the bobby pins out of her hair, and let her long brown hair fall down her back. She grabbed the small black duffle bag and ran toward the door.
"Where are we at?" She hissed into the com, as she got to the door of the suite.
"I need 15 seconds till video black out." She heard in her ear
She opened the door half way to the spare room and shot a tranquilizer dart into the sleeping guard. She looked back at the couch in the living room where she had left Dominic, he looked like any other man asleep on the couch with a rerun of a football game playing in the background and the remote laying on the floor where he had dropped it.
"Ok, blackout. You have at least six minutes till they sort this out."
She opened the door and ran for the elevator, she shot the second guard with another dart before he saw her. She slid inside and pressed the floor for the lobby.
Her heels clicked loudly along the marble floor of the lobby, giving the concierge full warning that she was approaching. "I left a jewelry box in your safe this evening. I would like it back."
"Certainly," the concierge answered and disappeared into the backroom. After a moment he returned holding a small necklace box. "Here you are Ms. Dayton. Have a pleasant evening."
She clobbered back across the hotel lobby. On the elevator she removes a chain with a small key attached to it, from beneath her sweater she pulls an identical key and switches it with the one in the jewelry box.
When the elevator doors open she drew her weapon again, the first of the directors security guards is still unconscious. She cautiously opened the door to the suite and again checked to make sure the security guard and Dominic had not woken up. She quietly slipped into the Director's bedroom where she replaced the chain around the Directors neck. She gathered her bag, and her coat and turned her back on the room.
"Ten seconds" her headset announced as she crossed the vast marble lobby. She picked up her pace, but before she reached the doors she heard "That's it, cameras are back online." Just before she stepped out into the dark street.
Birkhoff watched in horror as his girlfriend straddled the division agent. He corrected himself in his head, his ex-girlfriend, no that still wasn't right, he couldn't come up with a label for her. But he knew he couldn't use anything resembling girlfriend. There hadn't been a real relationship there. He cursed her over and over, but didn't move from the feed. Then it disappeared. The feed was gone.
"What the…"
He typed furiously on his computer, the connection was broken in Vienna, not on his end. Somehow she'd found and destroyed the camera. He couldn't get the video back online. He decided to move on, the camera feed was lost but that didn't mean the rest of the hotel security was gone. In a matter of seconds he had the hotel's closed circuit security cameras back online. At first glance nothing was out of the ordinary. He opened a new window and brought up the security camera's from outside the hotel. He watched as a man and his date stumbled along the sidewalk then stepped into the front door of the hotel. He brought up the hotel's feed, he backed it up to the exact time when the couple should have entered the hotel. The hotel's feed didn't show them coming in. The feed was looped.
He picked up his phone to sound the alarm. This was Claire's mission, whatever she was doing right now was her purpose at the summit that night. Whatever her objective was, she was fulfilling it right now. He typed in the first three numbers to Michael's extension, but he stopped just before hitting the fourth. He swore loudly as he slammed the phone back down. He knew what would happen if he sounded the alarm, they'd catch her. And if they caught her, she'd give him up. He would be cancelled. He cursed her again. All of division would hunt her, and it would all lead back to him. He had to protect himself. He had to serve himself first and foremost, everything and everyone came later. He had to handle this himself.
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