Undercover
By theladyknight
Disclaimer: Digimon—not mine!
A/N: UPDATE....12.18.08 Yes, I am alive. Yes, I am working on the final chapter. Yes, I'm going to sit myself down to work on it. I'm currently going back through and reading what I've written so far to give myself some more ideas for the final chapters, as well as getting rid of the obscenely large number of grammatical errors I had in this. Oye.
Chapter 2: Mission Accepted
"No!" Sora shouted. "Absolutely not! Why can't someone else do it?"
"Sora, you were chosen because of your skills and training." Chief McCarthy explained, somehow managing to stay calm. I knew she would react like this.
"Like hell I was! You guys only chose me for this because I'm a GIRL!"
"Wow, who would have ever thought you were a girl?" Agent Ishida remarked sarcastically.
"Here comes the rant." Tai whispered to Izzy and Joe.
Sora stood up and walked in front of the blond. "First of all, just because I don't wear tight little clothes and spend hours of time on hair and makeup doesn't mean I'm not a girl! Second, you males have no idea how much harder we women have it…"
"Sora, please sit back down!" Agent Jones demanded. The room grew silent, and Sora complied. "Sora, I will give you an ultimatum: either accept the mission and after it's over, join the FBI or don't join the team and don't join the FBI. It's up to you."
Damn it! I should have known he had something like this up his sleeve. As much as I don't want to compromise my beliefs and views about feminism, I've been waiting forever to be asked to join the FBI. This will be fulfilling my dream. And I don't want that cocky Ishida to think he's gotten the better of me. "Fine. I accept."
Tai's mouth dropped. "You're going to do it?"
"Yes," Sora answered, staring straight ahead at Agent Ishida, "I'm not going to let anything stand in my way of joining the FBI."
Agent Jones flashed a rare smile, and Chief McCarty let out a sigh of relief. He would definitely miss Sora on the NYPD, but knew she'd be a tremendous asset to the FBI. Meanwhile, still in shock, Tai and Izzy both handed Joe twenty dollar bills, apparently losing some sort of bet.
Agent Ishida watched the ruby-haired girl with a smirk plastered on his face. I had a feeling she would say that. I think I'm going to be enjoying this mission.
"Now that we're all on the same page, I will explain the details of this operation. In two weeks time, the Miss America Pageant will be taking place in San Antonio, Texas. Sora will be posing as Miss New York and through the combined efforts of the rest of you, we will catch the Beauty Queen Killer before something happens."
"How exactly are you going to get me in as a contestant? Doesn't New York already have one?"
Chief McCarthy took the floor. "Agent Jones asked us to run a background check on her, looking for something that would disqualify her from the pageant. Had we not found something, we would have run searches on the rest of the contestants. However it seems Miss New York had appeared in a couple of adult movies and has given up her crown. You are now Miss New York."
Joe raised a hand. "Are you going to be giving Sora an alias because this Beauty Queen Killer could do some digging."
Agent Ishida pulled out a set of documents and set them down in front of the redhead. "You are no longer Sora Takenouchi." She glared at him. "Say hello to Sora Lynn Rodgers."
"Sora Lynn?" She raised her eyebrows. "That's the best you could come up with?"
"Like it or not, sugar, that's the way it goes."
Sora stood up again so she and Agent Ishida were looking at each other almost face to face. "If we're going to be working together, I think we should establish a few grounds rules, like, I don't know, don't ever call me sugar. If you do, you will regret it."
"Are you threatening me?"
She smirked. "It's not a threat…it's a promise."
He gave her a sly smile in return. "Whatever you say."
Agent Jones pounded a fist on the table. "Now that you two are done flirting, we'll move on. We have a lot to cover."
"I wasn't flirting with him! He was flirting with me!" Sora defended before turning to the blond. "And please do yourself a favor and stop. If you're trying to impress me, you're not doing a very good job."
"We'll just see if you think that later." He murmured for only her to hear.
"As I was saying," Agent Jones was not in a good mood, "tonight you will fly out to San Antonio. Tai, Izzy, and Joe, you will be flying out of LaGuardia Airport while Sora, you and Matt will be flying out of Newark."
"Why's there a difference?" the lone female asked, cursing her luck for getting stuck with the man.
"The Miss America Pageant officials have made it clear that they will be requesting FBI backup. We are assuming that the Beauty Queen Killer keeps up with the news and either he, she, or a group of helpers will be looking for any person associated with the FBI. We want you guys to appear to be nothing more than tourists. That's the reason we split you up," Chief McCarthy explained.
"A jet with supplies has already taken off to a secure site and will be arriving shortly. You will be responsible for finding your own transportation and lodgings for the night because the San Antonio force is not expecting you. They'll have everything set up and places for you to stay every night after that. I could call them and make arrangements for you, but I would like you to get familiar with the city. When you arrive at the secure base, you will receive more instructions on everything. Good luck. Chief McCarthy and I will be monitoring your progress from here."
"What time do we leave?" Tai asked. "And what all do we need to bring?"
Agent Jones stood up. "I'm glad you asked. Tai, here are the tickets for your group. Give them to someone reliable to keep." Tai immediately handed the tickets to Joe, knowing he would lose them if he kept them himself. "Everything is listed on the tickets. Keep in mind that you'll need to change your watches when you arrive because Texas is one hour earlier than us. As for what to bring, all weapons, computer material and such has already been brought down. Bring what you would if you be heading on any other trip."
Chief McCarthy also stood up. "I think that should be everything. You four," he said pointing to his four employees, "are free to go. Go home and get your things ready. I have a feeling this will be quite an interesting mission. Good luck to all of you." Especially to you Sora.
Sora walked out the room and followed her three friends toward the door. She could hear them merrily talking and laughing as they made their way outside. They had all already teased her about the arrangements.
"Can't wait to see you in a dress." Tai joked.
Izzy had nodded. "Yeah, and high heals; that should be interesting."
"Don't forget her special talent." Joe added, making them all laugh.
"Oh," Tai added, an evil smirk grazing his lips, "and have fun with Agent Ishida. And Sora, please try to behave yourself, in more than one way." Sora caught what he was getting at and kicked him, hard. "Ouch! Damn, let's get out of here before she breaks my leg! See you in San Antonio!"
"Dumb asses." The redhead murmured. As she was opening the door, someone tapped her on the shoulder.
"Here."
She turned around and glared. "Yes?"
"Here's your ticket. You might just want it if you're actually going to go through with this."
Sora put her hands on her hips. "What makes you think I'm not going to?"
"You just don't seem like a beauty pageant kind of girl to me. Something tells me you're going to crack under the pressure."
"You don't know anything about me, Ishida."
"Well, I have a feeling I'm going to be learning lots about you over the next few weeks. See you at the airport, Sora Lynn."
"Bite me, blondie." She scowled.
He raised his eyebrows and with a wave, pushed around her and left…
Sora rushed through the Newark Airport realizing she was running late. Damn subway…I knew I should have gotten here earlier. Clutching her ticket, her eyes scanned all around, looking for the right gate. It entered her line of vision along with another sight.
Sora walked over and stared at the blond. "You do realize you could have gone on without me. It's not like I need someone to make sure I get on by myself."
He handed his ticket to the attendant and shook his head while they headed toward the plane. "Come now, you're the most important part of the mission. It might be kind of bad if you didn't leave."
Sora rolled her eyes and kept walking. She boarded the plane and found her seat but ran into a little problem. "I get the window seat." Matt called, setting his carry-on bag down.
"No, I get it. My ticket says that's my seat."
"Fine, because I'm such a nice guy, I'll let you have the seat."
"I don't know about the whole nice guy thing." She responded, taking the coveted seat. Matt grumbled a response but nonetheless took his seat. The flight attendant went through the preflight procedures, and the pilot took off.
The flight itself was pretty uneventful. Neither Sora nor Matt, no matter how interesting they found one another, but wouldn't admit it, said much. Matt was listening to his iPod and had his eyes closed while Sora was reading a book.
Near the end of the flight, Sora had to use the bathroom. And she faced a big problem. "Ishida," she whispered nudging the man who appeared to be sleeping. "Ishida please let me out."
Matt appeared not to hear her. She fumed and was very close to shaking him awake but then realized the other passengers would stare at her if she did.
"I guess I'll have to do this the hard way." Sora murmured and began climbing over Matt's outstretched legs. As she began climbing over him and had one leg successfully in the aisle, a woman darted past her, looking very green in the face, obviously heading to the bathroom. The woman nearly tripped on Sora's foot but managed not to. Sora on the other hand lost her balance.
When she realized she was falling, the ruby haired girl had shut her eyes, preparing to hit the hard floor. Instead, she felt a pair of strong arms grab her and pull her up. She opened her orbs and found herself staring into a pair of brilliant blue eyes.
Enjoying a peaceful sleep, Matt was rudely awaken when he felt something, rather, someone bump him. He opened his eyes just in time to see the motion sick woman hit Sora's leg and Sora begin to fall. Instinct told her to catch her, and Matt Ishida was always one to follow his instincts.
Sora tore her gaze away from the eyes and realized she was straddling Matt's lap and facing him. Wow, up close he's even hotter than I thought. She studied his outfit. He was wearing a pair of faded blue jeans and a long sleeved black shirt with the sleeves rolled up. And I thought he looked good in a suit…
"Are you checking me out?" the blond asked, realizing she had been staring at him.
She scowled but felt her cheeks heat up again. "This would have never happened if you would have just woken up." Sora got up off his lap as though nothing had happened and made her way to the bathroom.
"But it was so much more fun this way." Matt answered to her retreating back.
Sora walked into the bathroom and thankfully found it free. She looked into the mirror and splashed water onto her face, completely forgetting the reason she had wanted to come in here. God, he's so irritating! But at the same time, I'm just waiting for his comments and flirtations so I can respond to him. He's the kind of guy, the arrogant, self-centered, chauvinistic kind, I never would have found myself attracted to…but there's something about him that just kind of draws me to him. Looks aren't everything…I think there's something under that mask he puts on. It could be interesting trying to figure it out. But I'm always up for a good challenge.
With that, she decided to leave the bathroom. Sora returned to her seat and noticed the blond had moved over next to the window. Guess I don't have to climb over him this time.
She glanced at him, and he gave her a sly smile in return. "What?"
"Nothing." Matt answered, smiling again.
"You're up to something, aren't you?" he said nothing and continued to grin. "Do I have something on my face? Have I grown another set of arms?"
"No, is it against the law for me to look at someone?" She folded her arms and sat down. "You just weren't the kind of girl I expected."
"What kind did you expect me to be? The slutty kind?"
He shook his head. "Of course not. You're like the best investigator on the NYPD. I didn't expect you to be any kind of pushover or anything, which you aren't. I just didn't assume you'd be able to match me wit for wit. We may have a few battles in the coming weeks."
She registered what he had said. "Yes, it'll be interesting to see who cracks first."
Matt gave one last grin as the pilot announced they would soon be landing. There was silence between the two for the remaining time and, as the plane landed and they checked their bags, something dawned on the blond.
"Where are we staying at for the night?"
Sora looked at him in shock. "Shit, they didn't book hotels for us, did they?"
"Glad to know you were listening."
"You shouldn't be talking," Sora retorted.
Matt checked his watch, now set to the new time zone. "It's nine thirty here. How about we just find a taxi and a place to crash for the night?"
"Sounds good I guess. Leave the taxi to me." She answered as they walked outside. Sora stuck up her hand and after living in New York City all her life, had no problem hailing them a cab.
"Where to?" the driver asked in his southern accent.
Matt and Sora looked at each other. "A hotel."
The driver raised an eyebrow. "Any hotel?"
"Yeah." Matt answered. "Do you have a problem with that?"
"Naw, I can get y'all there no problem. But, any hotel? You two not make reservations?"
"Something like that." Sora responded.
"I've gotta say that wasn't too smart."
The cabbie pulled out and drove around through the night traffic, stopping at a place called, La Mansion del Rio. Sora handed him his money and Matt picked up their luggage.
"Have a good time here in San Antonio. Now normally I don't do this, but if ya need anything at all, give me a call at this number. My name's Lucas and you two look like you might need some help finding things around the city." The cabbie said, giving Matt a sheet of paper with his phone number.
"Thanks." Sora answered. "We might just take you up on that offer."
With a wave, the cabbie drove off. They walked into the hotel and approached the front desk. "Do you have any rooms available?" Sora asked the woman.
She typed onto the computer. "No reservations?" Matt shook his head. "On short notice, you'll be very lucky." She scanned the listings. "No…it doesn't appear there are any." Matt and Sora's faces fell. "Wait! There is one."
"We'll take it!" the answered in unison. "No matter what the cost. Where is it?"
"It's the highest room up in the hotel, the Honeymoon Suite…"
A/N: Please review!