Angel had memorised the entire list of items being auctioned off that night and was just waiting for an opportunity to do something useful with it. Realising Soryu wasn't going to leave, she decided to take matters into her own hands.
'Soryu, if I'm going to be staying here then I need to go home to get some things I need.' Angel said, rousing him from the book he was concentrating on.
'Humph… What sort of things?' He asked in mild annoyance.
'You know: clothes, make up, toiletries…other lady things.' She said, emphasizing the last part hoping he'd take the hint.
Soryu suddenly looked quite flustered- she knew he would be. Some men just can't handle the idea of lady things. She giggled inwardly at his embarrassment.
'Very well then,' he said gruffly 'You may go home and get the things you require, but if you try to run away or do anything bad-'
'You'll kill me. Yeah, I got the idea. Don't worry, I'm not a total idiot.' She flashed him a brilliant smile, before jumping up and hurrying towards the door.
'Wait.' Soryu called. Angel had her back to him so he couldn't see the smile on her face turn into a terrifying scowl as she was deterred once again from her aim. 'First of all, watch your mouth. Don't talk back to me. Secondly, leave that list here. I don't want it getting into the wrong hands.'
Angel recomposed her face into a meek expression.
'Yes, sir. I'm sorry.' Leaving the list next to him, she turned to leave relaxing when she realised he'd already returned to the book.
'It's already in the wrong hands.' she thought malevolently, 'You just don't know it yet…'
Angel hurried into her apartment, drawing all the blinds down and locking the door behind her so she wouldn't get any surprise visitors. Quickly fishing around, she found a small cell and texted her new back up team in Japan.
Black market auction going down in 3Spades basement. Code: Mad Hatters tea party. Have infiltrated auction sponsors- will b there 2night. Disguise urself as one of the guards. Uniform: all black, t-shirt and cargo army trousers. Knock them out and take their place. Entry through back; southwest- side door.
She sent them the list of items being sold that night, before deleting the texts and call log. There was no information or number left on the phone that would even suggest any ties with Interpol. She hurriedly packed a small suitcase with items she'd need, hiding a few weapons and gadgets in a concealed compartment in the bag. She tucked a small gun into a garter belt on her thigh, and tucked spare magazines on her other thigh. She then changed into the dress Soryu had given her and as she hurried to the mirror to fix her hair and make up, she stopped short in surprise.
The dress became her beautifully. It was a gorgeous deep red, shimmery evening gown that fell to her feet. Although it hugged her curves nicely, it was loose enough at the bottom that the concealed gun didn't bulge out. The neckline plunged, highlighting her clavicle, which stood out deliciously, and the corseted top was tight enough that her assets were quite prominent but not so much that it was provocative or cheap. The dark, devil red suited her mocha skin to perfection and her silky black hair tumbled down her bare shoulders finishing the elegant look.
'I don't look half-bad.' she thought wryly, as she swept some of her hair into a half pony, pinning it behind with an ornate silver hair clip, studded with red stones, which were almost the same colour as the elegant dress.
'Did Soryu pick this out?' She wondered in surprise. 'Nah, probably had one of his lackeys to do it for him- this is far too beautiful for a man with such little knowledge of women to have picked out.' She thought, dismissing the idea.
As she put the final touches of her make up on and gave herself one last self- appraising look, she felt a small sense of pride. So far the boys had only belittled and poked fun at her as a worthless, useless, plain looking maid. Finally, she felt she had a chance to perhaps rise in their eyes. Picking up her suitcase and the delicate, golden mask, she headed back to Tres Spades.
The auction was taking place in a huge room, with a stage up front and a huge electronic board hanging overhead. In the sides of the room were private boxes, from which some of the more prestigious auctioneers could watch the process. It was like a theatre. The entire room was bathed in a blue light, and the dim lighting, combined with the hum that resonated from the quiet chatter of the guests, created a surreal atmosphere. Angel felt as if she'd really fallen down a rabbit hole into a whole new world. As she stood by the edge of the stage, waiting as people began to filter in, she surveyed her surroundings: taking in the heavily armed guards at every exit. She surveyed them all intently until her keen eyesight caught one of them tugging discreetly at his ear. As she watched, his hand moved down to scratch his left wrist, which a blue watch adorned.
'That's him.' She thought recognizing her fellow agent, although it looked like her gaze had passed straight over him.
Even if anyone had been studying her every move they wouldn't have noticed anything amiss.
'What was his name… Taylor?… Tyler?' She wondered as she looked at the items being put up for bid.
In the periphery of her vision every detail of the whole scene was being registered. The agent was a heavyset, intimidating black male, muscles bulging out from underneath his clothes. He was the only mole she recognized (she hadn't had much time to get to know her colleagues before she came to the hotel) and though she knew others had infiltrated the security too, she wasn't sure who. It didn't matter; this operation was strictly surveillance. They'd be able to follow and apprehend far more criminals if they observed and dealt with them each discreetly, than bust one auction and lose the vital information and criminals they could catch if they monitored several auctions.
However, despite the tension that was knotting her stomach, Angel maintained a cool veneer. The only emotion she allowed to show was her fascination by the extraordinary scene before her. There were high profile people of all colours, nationalities and professions here. The masks, drinks and laughter made it seem like a sort of masquerade ball or opera theatre. The auctioneer was dressed as the Mad Hatter and he looked fantastic with the dramatic make up and costume: exactly how Angel had imagined the Mad Hatter when she'd read the book. As she stood near the door, she could hear familiar voices behind her.
'Where has that woman got to now? I'll kill her if she's late.' Came a grumpy voice.
'Calm down Soryu, I'm sure she'll be here.' Said a light voice, which she recognized as Ota's dulcet tones.
'I can't believe you let her go. I don't expect her to come back.' Came Mamoru's dry voice.
'No, she fears for hers and her family's lives too much to just disappear.' Someone said confidently.
'Probably Eisuke,' Angel thought dryly. 'He's the only one that could sound that arrogant.'
'Hmm… somehow I don't think she's as pathetic as you think she is, Eisuke. I sense a fighter in her.' Soryu mused, lost in thought.
'OOOOH! Soryu's got a crush!' Squealed Ota in delight.
Angel could imagine the smouldering scowl Soryu must be sending him, behind her.
Finally she turned around to face them.
'You need not fear,' she said coolly 'I wasn't planning on running away. I couldn't possibly leave when the company's this good.' Her voice was dripping with sarcasm but all she was met by were 5 stunned faces.
She couldn't help a small smile at their reactions. She'd never really been that bothered about her looks- she worked in a dirty and dangerous career so it was completely pointless. Regardless, it felt good to know that she was capable of making even these arrogant, womanizing boys speechless, even if momentarily.
'Cat got your tongue, boys?'
'B-but how?...' Ota trailed off, rendered speechless by the confident, radiant woman standing before him.
He couldn't believe this was the same tiny, meek and plain maid that they'd bought, trembling, from the auction the previous day.
'My God! Such a pretty lady. It's not fair you get to keep her all to yourself Soryu.' Baba said smoothly, recovering quickly back to his flirtatious old self. 'If you ever feel like Soryu isn't treating you right, you're more than welcome to come to my room. I'll show you how a gorgeous lady like you should be treated.' Baba said suggestively, flashing her a dazzling white smile.
'Riiight… I'll keep that in mind thanks.' She said awkwardly.
She turned to face Soryu, for some reason keen to know his reaction.
'Why?' She wondered to herself, stomach churning. 'Why do I care what he thinks of me? I don't care what any of these other criminals think so why do I find myself wanting his approval?'
Soryu stood in a sort of stunned silence. The tiny, plain, helpless little girl he'd threatened earlier had been replaced by a gorgeous woman, who was unconsciously exuding the sort of confidence that came with knowing you looked good. And she did look good. He was painfully aware of her curvy, luscious figure and while he'd noticed that she was attractive before, he was absolutely enchanted now. Her dark skin stood out in their little group and he knew that he couldn't ignore her even if he wanted to.
'Oooh, looks like Soru's crush just turned into a full blown love affair.' Baba joked.
'You just can't take your eyes off her now can you Mr I-don't-like-women-'cos-their-stinky-and-awful!' Ota teased, hooting with laughter.
Angel blushed and looked steadfastly at the ground, suddenly fascinated by the swirls in the black marble. Soryu realised he'd been staring and forced himself to look away.
'What, I'm just surprised she managed to look somewhat decent. After the wreck she was yesterday, this is just an improvement. It would take a miracle to make her look attractive.' He said sourly, rubbing his neck.
Angel's head snapped up at his scathing comment. His friends, used to his surly attitude, just continued to tease him, but Angel was unused to such coldness from strangers. She'd been perfectly polite to him the entire time and was surprised by his biting remark. Although her emotionless mask remained unaffected, as she regarded Soryu with her warm brown eyes, he could discern the hurt behind them and instantly regretted his thoughtless remark.
'Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats. The Mad Hatter's party shall begin shortly.' The auctioneer announced and Angel turned wordlessly on her heel and ascended the steps to the stage, looking a vision in red.
'Who was I kidding? Me and beautiful? The very idea is ridiculous.' She thought self-deprecatingly. 'I know where my skills lie and I should stick to what I'm good at. I know nobody can beat me in espionage. What am I playing at, trying to be the glamorous lady all eyes are turned by? Whatever, it doesn't matter.' Angel tried to dismiss the thoughts, but a nagging feeling still remained in the back of her mind.
She put on her mask to hide her glittering eyes as tears began to prick dangerously. Why was such an insignificant comment having such an effect on her self-esteem? Had it been anyone else she'd have told them where to get off and not thought about it anymore, but for some reason she couldn't let go of this. Why was she craving Soryu's approval? It didn't matter to her what he thought about her, she didn't care about him at all. Did she…?