Kristen knocked on the door with hesitation, being called into the SAC's office after official duty hours was normally not a good thing.
"Come in!" Isobel's voice rang out.
Opening the door, she blinked in surprise. She expected to see Isobel, but Jubal sitting in one of the chairs that flanked her desk was unexpected. He inclined his head in her direction, but said nothing, which made her even more nervous.
Isobel gestured to the only other unoccupied chair, "Have a seat, please."
Kristen decided to rip the band-aid off, "Is something wrong?"
"No, no." Isobel rushed to assure her, "Nothing's wrong, I assume you've been keeping an eye on the investigation into Senator Marshall's murder." It sounded like a question, but Kristen knew it was more of a statement.
"Of course." It was a big story when a sitting senator was found shot to death last week. Ever since then, the FBI had been working overtime to try and find out who did it, but thus far had come up with no viable suspects.
"Well, we found a lead we can hopefully chase down." Jubal spoke up.
"That's great!" Kristen cheered, "Do you need me to analyze something?"
Isobel shook her head, "Not exactly."
"I don't understand."
"Senator Marshall was found to have been a frequent visitor of a particular club." Isobel explained. "Which ordinarily wouldn't be a big deal, but we've also been able to link three prior assaults that happened there within the last month." She slid a file over to Kristen, "Those cases were closed without being given their proper due, and we think there may have been more that were covered up."
Kristen's look of confusion vanished as she perused the file, the list of names that frequented the club read like a who's who of New York's elite. There were Congressmen, Judges, and even high-ranking members of the FBI on the list. No wonder they had been unable to gain any traction in the investigation.
"So, I guess trying to secure a search warrant has been futile." Kristen guessed.
"We've been stonewalled at every turn." Isobel agreed, she exchanged a look with Jubal. "Which is why I want to attack this a different way. I want to put a few agents in there undercover to see if that gets us a little closer to finding the killer."
"Okay, yeah. That sounds smart." Kristen nodded, "Did you want me to compile a list of names? I'm assuming I'll be doing this on the low because of the sensitive nature of the op."
"Not exactly." For the first time, Isobel looked a little unsure.
"Kris, they want to put me under, with you as my…..partner." Jubal revealed. "The club caters to a specific dynamic, older more established men with younger women."
"Like a Sugar Daddy kind of thing?"
"That would be correct." Jubal confirmed.
"Oh." She breathed out. She would be lying if she said she wasn't interested. Ever since her return to duty she's been mostly stuck in the JOC, all the while itching to get back to field work.
Her chance was staring her right in the face, not only was this an opportunity to redeem herself, but to get more experience in the field.
Not to mention, you get a chance to play pretend with someone who's normally totally off limits. Her traitorous mind whispered. Kristen tamped down on that thought with a vengeance. A man was dead, there were assault victims that were owed justice, there was no need to bring her personal thoughts into this.
"I'll do it." She closed the file with a snap.
Things moved pretty fast after she said yes.
Within a week they had temporarily suspended all of her social media, and set up fake profiles in their place. Kristen scoured Instagram for inspiration and tips on how to cultivate her new identity. She would still be required to come into work, so her day to day look wouldn't change too much. But her outfits for nights and weekends needed to say something to the effect of "I like to be taken care of by wealthy older men."
"So, what look are you going for?" Emily asked as they browsed Instagram for ideas.
"I'm thinking professional by day, Instagram baddie with a Lori Harvey spin by night?" Kristen showed her the looks she had already pulled and saved.
"Damn, Kristen." The other agent whistled in appreciation, "You are definitely not playing around, I like."
"You don't think it's too much?" Kristen bit her lip.
"Hell no. Jubal is going to lose his damn mind." Emily snickered to herself.
Kristen frowned, "In a bad way?"
"No, not in a bad way at all. Why do you think you two were chosen?" Emily's phone rang, and she had to leave before Kristen could ask what she meant by that statement.
Realistically, Kristen knew there would be some PDA involved, they wouldn't have a shot in hell of convincing people they were a couple without appearing close. They already were pretty tactile with each other, neither ever hesitated in getting in the others personal space. But for some reason, now that they needed to be handsy, it was proving to be a roadblock for Kristen.
Since this was her first long term undercover assignment, and Jubal had been out of the field for a while, they were assigned a coach to help them get prepared. Agent Micheals was a 15 year veteran, and had done numerous undercover ops.
"Can you not look like you're going to jump out of your skin every time he touches you?" Their undercover coach asked, looking at the two in exasperation. "And you-" she turned to Jubal, "you're hesitating! Why are you both so tentative with each other?"
"I'm sorry." Kristen fiddled with her fingers. She was a naturally reserved person, not used to performing for an audience. Not to mention, she had spent years down playing her feelings for Jubal, so having to undo all that work was wreaking havoc on her emotions. "Let's try it again."
"Maybe we should assign someone else." Agent Michaels suggested. "No offense Agent Chazal, but this is a high profile case, and we need an agent that can deliver. Perhaps we can recall Agent Bell, or Agent Ryder?"
"Maybe you need to ease up a little, Lillian." Jubal interjected, coming to stand so close to Kristen that she could feel the heat of him at her back. "It's only been a few days, we'll get it right."
Agent Michaels merely raised an eyebrow, "If you say so."
Jubal nudged Kristen, prompting her to turn and face him. "Don't worry about it, you're doing great." As he spoke, he ran his hands up and down her arms. "It's the extra people in the room, right?" She nodded. "Okay, pretend they're not even here, it's just you and me." As he spoke, he brought his hands to rest on the sides of her neck. "Do you want this?"
"Of course."
"Then show them."
Kristen closed her eyes and took a deep breath. To hell with it, she'd deal with the repercussions later. She loosened the tightly held reins on her emotions and opened her eyes to meet his gaze. She slid her arms around his waist, not bothering to hide her pleased smile when she felt him jump a little at her touch. "Hi."
"Hi back." His answering smile matched hers as his thumb brushed over the pulse point in her neck.
"Well, I'm uncomfortable, so good job guys." Stuart's dry voice cut through the silence in the room and brought them back to reality.
Agent Michaels was watching them with a speculative look. "I stand corrected."
Kristen had assumed that she would be staying in her own apartment for the duration, but apparently the FBI were dead set on going all out on their cover. One night after work while they were still in the planning phase,Jubal handed her a list of potential places for them to stay in for the duration and asked her to pick her were high rise penthouses, stately homes, and everything in between.
"How am I supposed to choose a place? They're all gorgeous." Kristen exclaimed as she sifted through the photos. She was almost at the end of the list when she spotted one that made her stop in her tracks. She went online to find additional pictures and was not disappointed. It was a condo that boasted five bedrooms, four bathrooms, floor to ceiling windows, and a killer kitchen with an outside patio area.
But what put it over the edge was the bathroom in the master suite. It was big and spacious, with a large soaking tub that Kristen ached to try out immediately.
She pointed out a picture of the bathroom, "Hi. I live here now."
Jubal chuckled as he leaned over her shoulder, "Okay, looks like we have a winner, good choice. I was eyeing that one myself, I like the outdoor grill."
"You grill?" Kristen asked.
He shrugged, "Pretty much the only thing I can do successfully. I can get by in the kitchen, but grilling is my thing."
"You know I'm going to need proof." She teased.
"Challenge accepted." He shot her a grin as he walked away to speak with the realtor.
Kristen thought back to the previous week while glancing at the pictures of the condo again, and felt herself getting excited. She was about to embark on her very first undercover assignment, she just hoped she hadn't taken on more than she could handle.