Chapter 2
Anna arrived 20 minutes early, wearing a coat and burgundy suit she'd found at a charity shop earlier that year. She worried she didn't look professional enough, but it was the best she could manage with her limited closet.
Standing in front of the giant, imposing building, she looked down at the card, then back up, The Toronto Dominion Bank Tower? Confused, she looked down and up once more. It was so big. So obvious. So very different from all the buildings around it. The rest of Toronto's downtown was old, built during the previous century or at the beginning of this one, but the TD Tower was so modern with its black steel and bronze windows, standing so tall. There was nothing secret about this location.
Still confused, Anna entered the spacious lobby and went straight to the building's directory. There was no WSB listed, no World Security Bureau, no Donely even, she looked at the card again, double checking the address he'd written down the night before.
"Surely he knows where he works!" Anna sighed.
"Pardon?" a man with a French Canadian accent replied.
"Oh, sorry, I was talking to myself."
"I apologize for eavesdropping," he said with a sly grin.
She smiled at his joke.
"Do you need help?" He was tall with dark wavy hair and a mischief in his eyes.
"No… I should be fine."
He started to walk away, and she stopped him, "Wait! Could you point me to reception?"
"Allow me," he said with a smile leading her to a short line before a large marble desk where 4 very glamorous women answered questions and directed traffic, "Here you are. Always happy to help a beautiful woman."
"Thank you," Anna demurred, blushing.
He bowed ever so slightly and went on his way.
When she'd reached the front of the line, Anna approached an amazingly poised blonde woman.
"May I help you?"
"I hope so, I'm not 100% certain I'm in the right place."
"Well, you tell me where you need to be and I'll tell you if you're there."
"My name is Anna Devane. I have a 10 o'clock appointment with Mr. Sean Donely."
The woman broke out in a broad, knowing smile, "Ah, Sean… you are definitely in the right place."
"Oh? Good." Anna said, slightly amused at the receptionist's reaction to Donely's name.
She called up to the office, "Hello, Beatrice, I have Anna Devane for Mr. Donely, should I send her up? Okay... Will do… Would you let him know I had a lovely time at dinner?... Thank you," the receptionist smiled with a slight blush, "He's a very charming man."
"Oh, I know." Anna responded with an understanding nod.
"Do you have any identification?"
Anna handed over the passport she used to come to Canada 4 years earlier.
"You've changed quite a bit!"
"Yeah," Anna said sheepishly.
The woman opened a drawer and removed a laminated badge.
"Please wear this at all times while in the building. Head over to elevator bank A, Beatrice will meet you on the 12th floor."
Anna thanked the woman and made her way to the 12th floor where another exceedingly glamorous woman was waiting for her, tall and slim with a swooping auburn chignon.
"Good morning, Miss Devane. We've been expecting you, please follow me."
Beatrice led Anna down a hallway to a large mahogany door with a keypad lock. Her graceful fingers moved swiftly over keys as the door clicked open with a beep. Behind it was another elevator and waiting there, the man who'd helped her in the lobby.
"Hello again."
"Hello," Anna replied, with a surprised smile.
"Seems you found your way."
"Yes, thank you."
"Agent Mattin Dupré," he said, offering Anna his hand.
"Pleasure to meet you," Anna demurred.
Beatrice observed the interaction as the elevator arrived, and the three stepped into the car.
"Which floor, Agent Dupré?" Beatrice said with a warning tone in her voice.
"46, please," he replied, never taking his eyes off Anna.
Beatrice punched the buttons for the 45th and 46th floors. As the car ascended, Dupré turned on the charm, not knowing just what he was up against.
"So… you are?..."
"Meeting with Mr. Donely."
"Regarding?..."
"I'm not sure that's any of your concern," she replied with an intoxicating smile.
"It's not. I'm just curious."
"Guess that comes with the territory, eh?"
"I guess so," he chuckled.
They rode silently before he spoke again.
"You know, Deputy Director Donely handpicked me for this assignment," he said, his chest puffed out in pride.
"I was under the impression that he handpicked all of the agents for this office?" Anna countered, eyes wide and innocent.
"I… well… yes... " he stammered.
The ladies both smiled as he struggled to regain his confidence. Anna loved that she had this effect on men.
Turning to him she looked up with a gentle smile placing her hand on his lapel, flattening it against his chest, her eyes burning into him.
"I'm sure you're an excellent agent, Mattin, sorry I teased you. Deputy Director Donely must be very proud of the work that you do for the Bureau," she said with a soft smile.
He stood silent, his heart beating hard against Anna's hand. When he opened his mouth to speak as the elevator bell rang and the door opened on the 45th floor.
"Au revoir," she purred, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek before she walked out.
"What's your name!?" he yelled as the doors began to close.
Anna responded with a wave and a smile, Sean there to watch the parting scene.
"Good morning, Anna," he said with a chuckle, "What happened there?"
Anna responded with a big bright smile and mischief in her eyes, "Agent Dupré and I were just getting to know one another."
"From that farewell, it seems you learned more about him than he did about you?"
"That's for sure," replied Beatrice, with an eye roll.
"Perhaps I should reevaluate his security clearance level," Sean said with a laugh and a shake of his head.
Anna just smiled. This girl was a natural. All he needed was to prove it to her and everyone else.
"May I take your coat, Miss Devane?" Beatrice asked, getting back to the job at hand.
She left Sean and Anna alone in the large marble foyer, her heels clicking on the travertine floors.
"You look nice."
Anna looked down, then up again with a slight blush to her cheek, "Thanks," she said knowing it was the only suit she owned.
"Welcome to the World Security Bureau's Toronto field office. State of the art, and the first of its kind, but not the last if I have my way."
Sean waved a card in front of a sensor near the elevator and a door she thought was a wall slid open. Anna couldn't suppress a small gasp of surprise. She looked at the large open space filled with desks and people buzzing around. A glass box filled the center of the room with computers and their operators. She'd never seen anything like this in the real world, in movies, sure, but not in reality, yet here it was, and here she was in it.
She was awash in confusion, "How is this here? How are YOU here? Does the bank know about everything that's going on!?"
Sean chuckled at the rapid fire of questions, "Well... These floors were designed and built especially for us by Mies van der Rohe when they were building the Tower in '69. We helped the head of the bank through some, let's just say, complications with his daughter and he was so thankful that, given the opportunity, he was happy to help and Ludwig was excited to address the Bureau's unique architectural concerns. The space was ready shortly after the building opened, but it took the Bureau a few years to outfit the office with the latest technology. I've been campaigning for a while to build a field office from scratch and this is my first opportunity. What do you think?"
"It certainly looks impressive, but I'm still not sure why I'm here."
Sean talked as they walked through the open space to his office.
"I've finally gotten the chance to build my ideal field office, now I want to build my ideal agent," he said as he led her through the door, "Please. Have a seat."
Sean motioned to a leather and steel chair opposite his desk. Anna sat as he continued...
"Throughout its history, the Bureau has been rather conservative in its recruitment techniques. People from elite schools, Ivy League, Oxbridge, the Sorbonne, those with advanced degrees, lawyers, doctors... People with previous intelligence experience, law enforcement and the armed forces… This is great and all, but it means that the average cadet is in their mid twenties when they leave the academy, and, honestly, that limits us. A decade ago, we found out our rivals, the DVX, had literally been breeding agents for years. Matching elite men and women and raising the children in a training academy. Obviously, this is morally dubious, at best, but we must find a way to compete and you might be the answer."
Anna blinked, stymied by everything Sean was saying, what did he expect from her?
"How old are you, Anna?"
She was silent for a moment and seriously considered lying. She'd been lying about her age for the last few years, and this really did seem like a good moment for a good lie, but something told her that she needed to tell him the truth. Anna gazed into his eyes with sudden resolve.
"16," she said, worried he'd show her the door.
Sean smiled, so gifted, so young, "I'd like to take advantage of your youth."
"You wouldn't be the first," she said with a laugh.
Sean chuckled, her wit would come in handy.
"So, what do you say Devane, are you interested? You could continue on as you have been, but where are you going? It's only a matter of time before some angry drunk catches you in the act, or maybe a cop... if you're lucky. Or some older man offers you a lot of money for your time… you were almost there with me… I'm offering you a way out. It won't be easy, far from it. It'll be the most difficult thing you've ever done, and dangerous too, but the rewards are vast. You'll literally be making the world better. So, Anna Devane, do you want to make the world a better place?"
Anna swallowed hard thinking about all of the possible dead ends on her current path. She took a deep breath.
"Okay… I'm in."
"Great! I don't want you going into this blind. I want you to understand everything you're signing up for, Anna," he said as he handed her a large stack of files and papers, "I'd like you to read over this material. Obviously these can't leave the building, but I have a room set aside where you can read and learn. Please, take your time with this information. When you're done, I'd love to take you to dinner."
Anna blinked at the stack.
"You want me to read all of this today?"
"You can skim, if you want."
Anna laughed. "Okay. So I read and then what?"
"After dinner?"
"Yes. After dinner."
"Well, you come back tomorrow, 8 am and begin several rounds of tests to assess your physical and mental fitness for the job. We'll give you IQ and aptitude tests, test your strength and stamina. It'll be a long day. Bring workout clothes."
"Fun," Anna said, sarcastically.
"No. Not at all, but necessary," he said with a smile.
Sean ushered Anna and her stack of files to a small room with a table and chair and a large window that looked over the Toronto skyline.
"Do you need anything?"
"Tea would be great, Earl Grey, if you have it, milk, no sugar... perhaps a pastry?"
"Tea and pastry. Done."
"Thank you."
Anna opened up the first file, learning all about Sean's plans for her future.
Hours passed as Anna read and absorbed the history and work of the WSB. Arms dealers stopped in Tangier, Soviet defectors saved in Berlin, drug dealers thwarted in Hong Kong. Every so often Sean or Beatrice would check in with tea, water, or food. Anna was enraptured by what she read, the escapades and intrigue, like reading a le Carré novel or Ian Fleming, but this was real. The mysteries and capers, all of it happened. It was fantastical, but not fictional. That Sean saw this in her was exhilarating. She wanted to be this person. Wanted to be this new spy. Sean's new spy. She would do anything, sacrifice everything to make this happen, to make him proud of her.
Day turned into dusk and Anna finally made her way through the files. She walked over to the window, stretched her sore muscles and admired the Toronto skyline as the lights started to flicker to life. She had a clear idea of what she was getting herself into, but still couldn't quite believe this was happening to her. There was so much confusion in her, but there was one thing that was certain, this was an opportunity she could not turn down.
Anna sipped ice cold tea as Sean opened the door. She looked tired, her hair wild, she'd taken off her jacket and rolled up her sleeves, but her face was alive with excitement.
"So... are you still in?"
"I am," she said beaming.
"Are you hungry?"
"Famished."
"Good. Let's talk and eat."
Sean took her to a small bistro, cozy and candle lit. He was greeted like family and spoke enthusiastically in French with the owners, it was clear he was much beloved.
"How often do you eat here?" Anna asked with a curious grin.
"At least twice a week and always on Sunday."
He ordered without looking at the menu, salad to start, roast chicken with bread stuffing, potato galette, haricot vert, and chocolate pot de crème for dessert. And wine. Wine with everything.
"You're going to love this meal, Anna. It's simple and beautiful and absolutely perfect."
He was so happy and at peace in this moment, she wondered if this was normal or a respite from a chaotic life. The waiter came with water, wine, and bread. Sean took a long drink, looking deep into Anna's eyes.
"So, Anna, who are you? Where do you come from?"
She blinked at his bluntness.
"Who are you?"
"Where do you come from?"
Such simple questions with such complicated answers… or maybe they weren't complicated at all, just hard for Anna to address.
"Oh... God, where do I start?"
"You obviously weren't born here..."
"No! No, I was born in London, raised there, and from what I remember, it was lovely. My parents died when I was 8. It was unexpected, an accident, my sister and I were sent to relations in the Lake District. We lived there a few years, relatively happy, but then she was taken from me as well," Anna was silent for a moment, before she continued, "I suppose after that I became a bit of a handful. Within 3 years I'd lost my parents and my sister... it has its effect on a girl. I became hard to manage, acting out in class, defying rules at home, I'd started stealing… not that I was ever caught… and the money from my parent's estate was drying up, so there was no reason to keep me around. When I was 12 they found some relations in Canada, my mother's cousin and his wife, who were willing to take me in, so they sent me here... It wasn't smooth. They'd never had children and an angry, lonely orphan was, I'm sure, overwhelming. I wasn't like them. They were outdoorsy, I am very much not. They did try, I'll give them that, but they couldn't understand me and I didn't want to understand them. We battled and butted heads and eventually, well... I had to go, so when I turned 15 I came to the city. And... well, that's where you found me."
"Why did you come here?" Sean asked, curiously.
"To dance. That's been my one constant, ever since I was 3, and the National Ballet School here is world renown. So I did whatever I needed to support my training."
Sean perked up, "You're a dancer?"
"Yes."
"A ballet dancer?"
"Yes," Anna said again, wondering why he was suddenly so excited.
"En pointe?"
"Yes, of course," she said with a giggle.
"Oh… that's an excellent revelation…"
She smiled a wide, confused smile, "Why?"
"It's always good for a field agent to have other skills that can help when undercover," Sean paused before he continued, "and men love a ballerina…" he said with a sly smile.
"Men love a ballerina."
Those words sank into Anna. That was why she was here, at the core of it, she was here to seduce.
Men love a pretty girl.
Men love a young girl.
Men love a ballerina.
If she followed this path, that was her job. Was she okay with it? Yes. She was. She'd been doing as much for almost 2 years. Now, at least, it was for a good cause and she'd have the training to protect and defend herself if things went wrong.
The rest of the evening she smiled and laughed at Sean's stories, feasting on beautiful food, and drinking wonderful wine. She could get used to this life, as hard as the WSB might be, she couldn't imagine it being picking pockets and dancing on your toes hard. Sean was entertaining and absolutely mesmerizing, she wanted to be everything he saw in her and more.
She wanted this life.
She wanted this world.
She wanted to be his agent.