Field Agents
By: Ethereal Raine
Summary: Joanna is irked when Carrington pairs her with Jonathan for a top- secret mission. At first, anyway.
Rating: PG-13 for some cursing and violence.
Disclaimer: Perfect Dark is the property of Rare, not me, and all affiliates and associates thereof. Joanna Dark, Jonathan, Daniel Carrington, and Grimshaw all belong to them, but the rest of the characters are mine!
Daniel Carrington paced his office, his brow knit and half a cup of coffee (his fifth in the past hour) sitting on his desk. He had been notified just an hour and a half ago that their star agent, Joanna Dark, had been met with more resistance than expected and hadn't been at the transport pick-up point after she had called for an emergency recover. They had found the Camspy, but the accompanying agent was nowhere in sight. Jonathan had already been notified, and only fifteen minutes earlier reported that she had been detained by security. Unfortunately, he had no idea where they had taken her, but he assured Carrington that he would find out. The Institute leader had noted the worry and concern in the seasoned agent's voice, and he hoped for everyone's sake that Joanna would be brought back home safe and sound. As he passed by his desk again, he swiped up his cup of coffee, taking a swig as if it were hard liquor. It was all up to Jonathan now. There was no way anyone else was going to get into Ozmarque.
***
Joanna had admitted to herself long ago that she had a control complex. Carrington Institute's resident psychoanalyst had helped her with that. So being bound to a chair stood as an adversary to her self-control. She again struggled in vain against the restraints and she could see the nearest guard smirk at her for the umpteenth time in the past hour. She studied his brown eyes and angular features, wondering what they would look like after she broke his nose. She let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes, opening them again just a few moments later when she heard someone enter the room. She looked up and immediately recognized the figure from television commercials she had seen dozens of times: Edward McTabbert, fifty-year-old businessman with 2.3 children and an adoring wife. She wondered how much of his money went into the pearly white caps on his teeth as he smiled at her charismatically.
"So, young lady...you thought it convenient to sneak into my establishment and put me in a position to hire about fifteen more security guards. Call me old-fashioned, but," he leaned over the brunette agent, his gray hair even more noticeable in the harsh light, "I don't particularly appreciate that."
Joanne quirked a brow and had to keep herself from chuckling at his display. Instead of making a smart remark, she decided her best course of action would be to be as appeasing as possible. It wasn't a very good day to die...or get maimed or mutilated. She opened her mouth to speak, but Edward cut her off. "You think I don't know who you are? I had my research team look up some old records from my old friend Cassandra's DataDyne office." Joanna looked a little surprised, but her life was like a movie, anyway. There had to be a few plot twists. He seemed upset at the lack of reaction, but continued anyway. "Joanna Dark, highly decorated and revered, etcetera, etcetera. Revered," he repeated sarcastically. "I thought Daniel might have thought up some smarter or at least more effective ways to infiltrate my operation than sending a wet-behind-the- ears newbie." Yeah, that did it. Calling her a newbie? That really pissed Joanna off. After saving the world from intergalactic dominance by an alien race he had the nerve to call her a newbie? Oh, he was gonna get an ass kicking after she figured out how to get out of this. However, she had learned to (somewhat) keep her composure and did so with (almost) the ease of a veteran agent. "I suppose my being a 'newbie,' she spit out the word with malice, "doesn't say much for your security and your organization, does it?" He merely grinned further at her statement, enjoying that he had finally gotten a rise out of her. Just as she was about to do something rash, both she and Edward were startled by a knock on the door. He turned, nodding at the nearest guard, the young man responding by opening the door. Joanna held her breath as the door opened, trying to hide her look of relief as she saw the familiar figure of Jonathan on the other side. The veteran agent saluted Edward and held an important looking file to him. Edward snatched it away and dismissed him. Jonathan didn't look toward Joanna at all, choosing instead to slip out of the door as quickly as possible in order to avoid suspicion. Edward's tired, circled blue eyes surveyed the papers inside the file before returning his gaze to Joanna. "You're lucky I like that fire in you, Ms. Dark. You'll stay here for now. I know Carrington will come to your aid soon enough. And don't worry; we'll certainly be ready for him. Goodnight," he smirked, turning and walking out the door. The guards stood loyally by, keeping watch over Ozmarque's prisoner. Joanna craned her neck, trying to look as if she were stretching, but really trying to catch a little of what the documents said. It looked like a personnel report, she thought. But she couldn't see anything else besides. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, looking around the room. For once, she had no ideas. She was dependent on Daniel to come to her aid for now.and she hated it.
***
Edward retired to his apartment, located on the top floor of the office building. He poured himself a shot of tequila, sitting down on his overstuffed black couch, tipping it back and haphazardly slamming it down on the coffee table. There was no way Daniel Carrington was going to get in his way again. He knew the old Institute leader inside and out, had analyzed his methods, kept watch on his activities. His own agents within the Ozmarque complex had reported to him when he was speaking with Joanna, and it seemed Daniel had played the card he expected. They had brought him the records on one of his low-level security officers, Mr. Geoffrey Blake, a man who had been in his employ for only a few months. Edward laughed inwardly as he thought about it. Carrington must have been running out of good agents to send in someone Edward had seen on many a mission before. He had his spies.
Jonathan was now his card to play.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
What do you think? Please feel free to review it all you want! The more reviews I get, the more quickly I will post additional chapters. Feedback lets me know that people out there would enjoy reading more!
By: Ethereal Raine
Summary: Joanna is irked when Carrington pairs her with Jonathan for a top- secret mission. At first, anyway.
Rating: PG-13 for some cursing and violence.
Disclaimer: Perfect Dark is the property of Rare, not me, and all affiliates and associates thereof. Joanna Dark, Jonathan, Daniel Carrington, and Grimshaw all belong to them, but the rest of the characters are mine!
Daniel Carrington paced his office, his brow knit and half a cup of coffee (his fifth in the past hour) sitting on his desk. He had been notified just an hour and a half ago that their star agent, Joanna Dark, had been met with more resistance than expected and hadn't been at the transport pick-up point after she had called for an emergency recover. They had found the Camspy, but the accompanying agent was nowhere in sight. Jonathan had already been notified, and only fifteen minutes earlier reported that she had been detained by security. Unfortunately, he had no idea where they had taken her, but he assured Carrington that he would find out. The Institute leader had noted the worry and concern in the seasoned agent's voice, and he hoped for everyone's sake that Joanna would be brought back home safe and sound. As he passed by his desk again, he swiped up his cup of coffee, taking a swig as if it were hard liquor. It was all up to Jonathan now. There was no way anyone else was going to get into Ozmarque.
***
Joanna had admitted to herself long ago that she had a control complex. Carrington Institute's resident psychoanalyst had helped her with that. So being bound to a chair stood as an adversary to her self-control. She again struggled in vain against the restraints and she could see the nearest guard smirk at her for the umpteenth time in the past hour. She studied his brown eyes and angular features, wondering what they would look like after she broke his nose. She let out a deep sigh and closed her eyes, opening them again just a few moments later when she heard someone enter the room. She looked up and immediately recognized the figure from television commercials she had seen dozens of times: Edward McTabbert, fifty-year-old businessman with 2.3 children and an adoring wife. She wondered how much of his money went into the pearly white caps on his teeth as he smiled at her charismatically.
"So, young lady...you thought it convenient to sneak into my establishment and put me in a position to hire about fifteen more security guards. Call me old-fashioned, but," he leaned over the brunette agent, his gray hair even more noticeable in the harsh light, "I don't particularly appreciate that."
Joanne quirked a brow and had to keep herself from chuckling at his display. Instead of making a smart remark, she decided her best course of action would be to be as appeasing as possible. It wasn't a very good day to die...or get maimed or mutilated. She opened her mouth to speak, but Edward cut her off. "You think I don't know who you are? I had my research team look up some old records from my old friend Cassandra's DataDyne office." Joanna looked a little surprised, but her life was like a movie, anyway. There had to be a few plot twists. He seemed upset at the lack of reaction, but continued anyway. "Joanna Dark, highly decorated and revered, etcetera, etcetera. Revered," he repeated sarcastically. "I thought Daniel might have thought up some smarter or at least more effective ways to infiltrate my operation than sending a wet-behind-the- ears newbie." Yeah, that did it. Calling her a newbie? That really pissed Joanna off. After saving the world from intergalactic dominance by an alien race he had the nerve to call her a newbie? Oh, he was gonna get an ass kicking after she figured out how to get out of this. However, she had learned to (somewhat) keep her composure and did so with (almost) the ease of a veteran agent. "I suppose my being a 'newbie,' she spit out the word with malice, "doesn't say much for your security and your organization, does it?" He merely grinned further at her statement, enjoying that he had finally gotten a rise out of her. Just as she was about to do something rash, both she and Edward were startled by a knock on the door. He turned, nodding at the nearest guard, the young man responding by opening the door. Joanna held her breath as the door opened, trying to hide her look of relief as she saw the familiar figure of Jonathan on the other side. The veteran agent saluted Edward and held an important looking file to him. Edward snatched it away and dismissed him. Jonathan didn't look toward Joanna at all, choosing instead to slip out of the door as quickly as possible in order to avoid suspicion. Edward's tired, circled blue eyes surveyed the papers inside the file before returning his gaze to Joanna. "You're lucky I like that fire in you, Ms. Dark. You'll stay here for now. I know Carrington will come to your aid soon enough. And don't worry; we'll certainly be ready for him. Goodnight," he smirked, turning and walking out the door. The guards stood loyally by, keeping watch over Ozmarque's prisoner. Joanna craned her neck, trying to look as if she were stretching, but really trying to catch a little of what the documents said. It looked like a personnel report, she thought. But she couldn't see anything else besides. She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, looking around the room. For once, she had no ideas. She was dependent on Daniel to come to her aid for now.and she hated it.
***
Edward retired to his apartment, located on the top floor of the office building. He poured himself a shot of tequila, sitting down on his overstuffed black couch, tipping it back and haphazardly slamming it down on the coffee table. There was no way Daniel Carrington was going to get in his way again. He knew the old Institute leader inside and out, had analyzed his methods, kept watch on his activities. His own agents within the Ozmarque complex had reported to him when he was speaking with Joanna, and it seemed Daniel had played the card he expected. They had brought him the records on one of his low-level security officers, Mr. Geoffrey Blake, a man who had been in his employ for only a few months. Edward laughed inwardly as he thought about it. Carrington must have been running out of good agents to send in someone Edward had seen on many a mission before. He had his spies.
Jonathan was now his card to play.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
What do you think? Please feel free to review it all you want! The more reviews I get, the more quickly I will post additional chapters. Feedback lets me know that people out there would enjoy reading more!