Briefing

Bella's POV

8th May 2018

I'd been here more than six months. Six months of this torturous life. And in those six months I'd earnt a lot of trust. But not enough to put me back on missions. A part of me was glad. The guilt of my past missions still haunts me. Not going on missions meant staying underground though. Every day is the same thing. Training, Classes, more training and sleep. At least on missions I get to be outside.

The facility wasn't all bad though. And now that I had books and music to keep myself entertained in my room, I had small enjoyments in this life. I'd been pushed hard to give them my observations on the other recruits. In watching them, I'd grown to like Caitlin. I'd never let her know that though. But she reminded me of myself in some ways. Ciara had flourished. The hours of classes I'd had with her allowed me to see the potential Sebastian had seen. She had a natural athletic ability and deep intelligence which allowed her to learn new things quickly. With increased confidence, she had been gaining ground on Caitlin. The rest of the recruits not far behind her.

Most of the time I'd kept my head down. But it was too much fun not to. Every few days I'd use my ability to change things up in classes. I had to be careful. I didn't want the other girls being punished because of me. They caused that all on their own. I needed some fun though. This life is boring otherwise.

Max was escorting me to my daily meeting with Victoria. But we weren't going to her office. Instead, he was leading me down to the briefing rooms. A mission. I guess it's that time again.

"Putting me back out there again, are they? It's about time."

Not responding to me, Max at least looked round at me, smirking. So something was going on. More than just me going back on a mission. He keyed in the code for the door, not bothering to hide it from me. I'd have figured it out just by the sound. The heavy silver door slid open, revealing the briefing room. You'd think it would be an open office space, with cabinets and desks everywhere. It was more like a boutique's parlour. There were two cushy loungers in the middle of the room, a glass table between them. The walls on either side were lined with racks of clothes, one side holding sexy evening outfits, the other more practical clothes. Below each rack was a line of shoes, matching the outfits above. Victoria was stood by the couches, a beige file in hand. Walking into the room, the door slid shut behind me, Max leaving me to it.

"You have a mission for me."

"For us."

Trey appeared from a side door. He'd been gone the last few days. I had assumed on a mission.

"It's a trial. To prove your loyalty. If all goes well, you'll be sent out more regularly."

Having come over to me, Trey pulled me in for a hug, pressing his lips to my forehead.

"I look forward to it."

The three of us sat, Victoria passing the file over to me. I opened it up, my eyes quickly scanning through it.

"We have a high value target. Trent has been laying the groundwork for the assignment these last few days. All we need from you is the final piece. There's a fundraiser that the target shall be attending tomorrow night. You will attend as a couple. At some point in the night you'll separate. Isabella, you will approach the target and find a way of having him invite you back to his room. I'm sure that will be easy enough. He enjoys women's company."

"Natural?"

Flicking through the file, I took most of it in instantly. It didn't seem like it would be difficult. One of those get in, get out sort of ones. With a little fun before.

"Doesn't have to be. Whatever you want to go for will do. Have some fun."

"What if his wife is with him?"

"We've already taken care of that. She'll be at home enjoying the night herself."

"And if he has a woman with him, I will intercede myself. But whilst you are with the target, I will be in the room directly below. I've already set up my computers and tapped into the CCTV. When you get in the elevator, I will loop the footage, so you aren't seen going to the targets room. All I need is footage of you walking along our hallway so that it isn't questioned when you are seen leaving with me."

"So, I'm supposed to scale down from the balcony of 902 to 802."

"Yes. We'll then leave the hotel together and disappear."

"Learn the background and the play. It will be a busy fundraiser so it will mostly be improvised. But there's the basic time frames."

"I'm guessing it's time to get dressed."

"I have a couple choices for you. But ultimately, it is your decision. You are old enough to make your own decisions now."

"You spoil me Victoria."

She stood up and went over to the keypad on the back wall. This was always exciting. The entire wall lifted up, revealing three mannequins and a treasure trove of weapons. The first mannequin had a blood red, off the shoulder dress. It went down just below the knees a slit up the front of the left thigh. It was skin-tight, but I could hide a few weapons underneath it. The next dress was a short-sleeved peach dress. There was a plummeting neckline, showing a lot of cleavage. Its length would reach my ankles, but the long slit up the left side kept it very open. Very different to the first two, the third was a navy blue, long-sleeved, backless dress. It was short, shorter than the first. Being the most revealing, it would show off my long legs and toned thighs. Especially with the matching open stilettos.

Victoria unzipped the red dress and held it out to me.

"We'll wait."

Taking it from her, I stepped behind the white folding screen. Stripping naked, I pulled the dress on. It felt good. I might hate what I've had to do with my body, but I know how to appreciate what I've got. And damn I was sexy. Stepping out from behind the screen, I lifted my ponytail. Victoria came over, zipping up the back of my dress.

"You're not a little girl anymore Isabella."

"Like you ever thought I was."

I looked over to Trey, who was leaning back on the lounger, one ankle lifted onto his other knee. He was staring down at my legs. Coughing obviously, he caught my eyes.

"Up here Trey."

"What can I say, Issy? You're sexy."

Victoria handed me a pair of red heels. Holding onto her arm, I slipped them on, growing in height. I then took the clutch bag from her hand. Giving them a twirl, I laughed at Trey's expression.

"You look like you've never seen a woman before, Trey."

"If you hadn't noticed, there aren't many around here, Issy."

"If possible, you'll need to have a gun of sorts on your body. A knife would do if it has to."

"Nah, I could get a little pistol strapped to my thigh."

Lifting one of the holster bands, I tied it around my thigh, pulling it up as high as it could go. I picked out the smallest gun on the shelf, slipping it in. After pushing the dress back down my legs, I held my hands out, my legs pressed together.

"Good. Now for my favourite."

She lifted down what looked to be a metal nail file. Holding between my fingers, I marvelled at it. Due to its thinness it was extremely light in weight. Anyone who looked at it would assume it a high-end nail file, but one edge was sharp as anything. It could slice through human skin in an instance.

"Keep it in your bag. Just in case."

I slipped it into the silver clutch, tucking it away safely.

"Let's try the blue dress."

Going through the same process with the other two dresses, I was getting a little excited. Before, I'd always been told what I was going to wear. Now I get to enjoy choosing. Just as Victoria had put the gun back on the shelf, her pager buzzed.

"I will be back in a few minutes. Get dressed again Isabella. You'll go for a training session with Trent when we're done here."

She left the room, leaving Trey and I alone. He hadn't moved from the lounger yet, still in the same position as earlier. I turned around, trying to reach the hidden zipper. I heard the shift in the couch before sensing Trey behind me. His hands touched my slim waist causing me to suck in a deep breath. Slowly, his fingers trailed up my sides before finding the zipper. He leaned his head down, his lips brushing against my ear.

"You are beautiful, Issy."

Breathing heavily as he pulled the zipper down, I then quickly moved behind the screen.

"So, what's the target done? Why are they getting us to go after him?"

"An investor has hired us."

"The investors are back?"

Fear ran through me. I pulled my uniform back on quickly and stepped back out from the screen.

"They never really left. They just hired me before. But now that you're ready to go back on missions, they're hiring you too. Eventually, they will be turned to hire the other recruits."

"The investors have been hiring you all these years?"

"Mostly, yes."

"Did Mrs Crothers ever hire you?"

"No, why?"

"No reason."

"Is…"

Before he could say anymore, Victoria came back in the door.

"The file will be left in your room when you've finished training. You won't be attending classes until you've been debriefed after completing the mission. Trent, you'd best get moving."

I followed Trey down to the combat room. The walk was awkwardly silent. I knew why. Trey and I… we'd never been complicated before. He had Ani. But she's gone now. And these last seven months had been just us. There were no others. No one to talk to that understood. It was just us. I knew that we'd have to pretend to be engaged for the mission. That was a given. But why did he have to make it awkward between us?

During the combat session, I let my frustration out. I punched harder, I kicked harder, I threw him further across the room. I could see Trey's confusion in his eyes. He didn't understand. Of course he wouldn't. He hadn't lived a normal life for four years. I'd had everything any of us had dreamed of. I'd had two parents, yes not together, but two parents that loved me. I had an amazing second family who treated me like their own. I had a best friend who didn't care what had happened to me, he never pushed me for answers to the questions I knew he had. And because of Edward, I could never let myself be with anyone else.