The Adventure Begins
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Chapter 5
The five-plus hours of flight from Dulles International to Mexico City went without a hitch. Sitting in the airplane, Amanda had to force herself not to pat the money belt that was tightly strapped around her torso. Whatever she does, she must NOT lose the ID pictures. The Agency and some international civilians' lives were depending on her.
When she landed in Mexico City, it was barely noon. She immediately hailed a taxi and gave the driver her destination. Looking out the window of the taxi, her first impressions of the city was one of liveliness. There were people everywhere; in cantinas, open marketplaces and shops. The bustling downtown area exhibited the capital's explosive growth, from its mosaic cobbled roads, old-time cafes and mile-long shantytowns, to its modern, contemporary art-deco buildings.
Perhaps after she had met Agent Ramos and freshened up a bit, she would have some free time to explore the sights and colors of this exciting town later in the afternoon. But for now, she must concentrate on the mission.
After she checked in at the desk of the La Casa Real, she walked up to Ramos' room number of 15 and knocked.
A deep male's voice was gruffly heard asking, "WHO IS IT?!"
"It's Mrs. K-," she began and then immediately corrected herself, "It's Amanda, your half-cousin!"
The door opened and Amanda came face to face with Rex Ramos.
And he looked as unhappy to see her as he sounded.
If Agent Ramos didn't have such a stern expression spread across his face, he might have been considered classically good looking with his dark wavy hair, straight nose, and startling blue eyes. Too bad his good looks were overshadowed by his dark demeanor.
Amanda, however, was determined to be nice.
"Hello!" she cheerfully greeted him with a smile.
He coolly assessed her and then brusquely stated, "You're late! Get in here!"
Ignoring his rudeness, she walked in with her one suitcase, as he shut the door.
"The flight was late, not me," Amanda immediately explained, "and I have no control over that, so you don't have to be so grumpy about it!"
He did not deny being in a foul mood, "Fine then! So, do you have the ID packet with you or not?"
Not even a greeting or a 'how was your flight?' type of nicety, Amanda glumly thought.
"I do..." she responded in carefully measured words.
"Good!" He held out an opened hand, "Hand it over to me!"
She blinked at his bossiness, "What?"
"Do you having a hearing problem?" he asked peering over at her ear, as if trying to detect a hearing aid, "I said, hand the packet over to me!"
Amanda hadn't expected that she would be turning it over so quickly. She thought she'd be holding onto it the entire mission. Perhaps it was a wise thing she had hidden the packet in her money belt.
"You don't have your own set of ID photos from the F-I-A?" she wondered.
Ramos rolled his eyes, "Doesn't the Agency tell their agents anything? Only one physical ID set was made so that there would be less chance of it falling into the wrong hands! Unfortunately for me, it was decided beforehand that the Agency would be responsible for the safety of the packet. But now it's F-I-A's turn, and I plan to take ownership of the packet!"
Amanda felt suddenly possessive, "Why should I hand it over to you?" she reasoned, "I was given the responsibility of holding onto it!"
She watched as Ramos' eyes narrowed. It was obvious he didn't like her response, "Nooo, you were responsible for holding onto it until it was delivered to ME, so I am here and you need to hand it over!"
"That's not the way the mission was explained to me, Agent Ramos," Amanda respectfully stated back to him, "I was given responsibility for the packet for what I thought was the entire mission, so, therefore, I think I'll just keep it safe with me, if you don't mind..."
It was obvious Ramos was fighting to keep his anger in check. His voice shook with irritation, "You, Mrs. King, are being impossible!"
"Like I haven't heard that one before!" she honestly answered.
"Such insolence!" he hotly stated as his index finger shook with frustration at her, "Why, I should just..." then he paused and took a calming breath to stabilize himself, "Never mind!...I... need a drink!" he proclaimed as he went over to the makeshift minibar (which consisted of two bottles of booze on a wooden plank) and poured himself a half a glass of whiskey.
She watched as he finished his drink in one gulp, taking note that he never asked HER if she needed a drink.
What was it with male agents and their rudeness?
And instantly an image of Lee flashed before her. No, she will NOT think of him! He is NOT part of her mission!
She attempted to busy herself by looking around the room. Her eyes stopped when she noticed the opened closet door. It was devoid of any clothing. Then her eyes wandered over to Agent Ramos' suitcase, which was situated at the foot of the bed. It was fully packed.
A realization entered her mind.
"Oh my gosh!" Amanda concluded, as she turned back to him with accusing eyes, "You, tricky trickster, you!"
He was too busy pouring another glass for himself to care about her adolescent indignation.
"What is it now?" he asked in a bored tone.
"You arrived here yesterday and you are completely packed up again!" she vexed, "That means you had NEVER planned for us to work together, had you? You were just going to take the packet and run out on me!"
Ramos gulped down the second drink. There was a scowl on his face as he contemplated what to do next.
He had to admit, this annoying woman was smarter than he gave her credit for.
Knock!Knock!
Gone was the scowl as his eyes and senses sharpened, suddenly becoming alert.
In a flash, his gun was out as he yelled out, "WHO IS IT?!"
"The bellhop, Señor Ramos," was the response yelled through the door.
Ramos looked at Amanda and handed her his gun, "Here, take this while I answer the door. Use it if you have to."
Amanda looked distastefully at the weapon as if it was emitting an unusual odor, "I will NOT take it!"
"Why not?" he huffed out.
"I don't..." she timidly began, and then proudly lifted her head to announce, "I don't know how to shoot one! Yet."
"What? Useless!" Ramos grumbled under his breath as he hid his gun in his waist before opening the door.
A young bellhop was smiling at him, "Señor Ramos," he announced with a slight accent, "we have your car out front, so if you like, I can take your bag now."
Amanda was seeping with anger as she whispered behind Ramos, "So you WERE planning to leave without me!"
Ramos turned and whispered back to her, 'Sssh, not in front of the help!' Then he faced the bellboy, "Sorry, Boy. My cousin here, she wanted to stay longer at this dump, but I wish to leave! She is being QUITE stubborn, so I will leave without her. Yes, take my suitcase and be sure NOT to bang it around! I will be down in ten minutes!"
The bellboy gave Amanda an apologetic expression before he went over to pick up Ramos' suitcase and then he was gone.
"Now, I will ask one more time," Ramos stated when they were alone again, "Will you hand over the packet of photos to me?"
Amanda now realized the ID packet was her only bargaining chip. If she handed the photos to him, he would be gone, glad to be rid of her.
And THAT was never going to happen!
She stubbornly held her head up high, "No!"
It was hard for Ramos to control his temper as he tried to reason with her, "Why are you being so stubborn? You were only to be the delivery person! Your part of the mission was over the minute you stepped into this room! I have no intention of dragging you along with me! This is MY mission!"
"It's MY mission as well, Agent Ramos!" Amanda challenged, "And I intend to make sure the informants have been correctly identified!"
"You offer nothing for me!" Ramos snapped. He looked like he was ready to pop a vein, "You know nothing of this country, cannot speak its language and are useless with a weapon. In other words, you are totally lacking as an agent for this mission...SO, hand over the packet of photos and I will be off!"
By now, Amanda was simmering with hurt and anger.
"Believe me, Agent Ramos, your rudeness and arrogance does NOT deter me in the least!" she countered, "I've dealt with your type of stubbornness before! This isn't my first rodeo, Buster! In fact, the agent I previously worked with had declared to the high heavens that no way would I ever be a partner to him! But I persisted and we have managed to complete quite a few successful missions together! So as I've stated before, I was given a mission and I plan to finish it!"
Ramos was getting tired of dealing with her, "Do you always talk so much?"
"No," she answered honestly, "I usually talk more!"
He didn't say anything as his eyes pensively surveyed not her, but her suitcase and then her purse. She knew exactly what he was thinking. He was imagining himself searching through her items to find the ID packet.
She self-consciously drew up her purse and suitcase closer to her body, letting him know that there was no way she was giving up the ID packet. His eyes flashed when he realized the hopelessness of his situation.
"Fine!" he gruffly decided at last, "we will do it your way! We will do this mission together!"
"Fine." Amanda calmly acknowledged.
He got down to business, "The car is out front. So come on, let's get going!"
Amanda looked surprised, "Now?"
"Yes, NOW!" he commanded, "You've got a problem with that?"
She imagined her own plans going down the drain, "No, I mean, yes, I do...I just got in from a long flight and I thought we were going to spend one night here before leaving! I wanted some time to explore the city this afternoon!"
"We are not on vacation here, Mrs. King!" he pointedly stated, "Are you ready to go or not?" It was as if he were asking: Are you a real agent or not?
Amanda sighed, "Alright! Just give me ten minutes to freshen up!"
He thinned his lips, "Of course you must waste my time! I feel sorry for your last partner! You cannot be reasoned with!"
She truthfully responded with, "You don't know the half of it!"
"TEN minutes and don't be late again!" he warned her before he left, slamming the door behind him.
Ooooo! Amanda frustratingly mumbled, It was like dealing with an irritable Lee during their first mission, all over again! But at least, even then, she could tell that Lee had a heart inside of him!
There she was, thinking about Lee again! Grrrrr!
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After exiting the bathroom, Amanda removed her money belt and retrieved the first picture from the packet to study it. It was a photo of the first informant they needed to identify, Miguel Esteban. She intently studied Miguel's face, taking in the shape of it, the curve of his jawline, his nose, the size of his eyes and the thickness of his brow.
His image needed to be embedded into her memory, since she knew she would not be showing any of the pictures to Rex Ramos! No way! Then she turned the photo around and memorized Miguel's location and occupation.
Once she was sure of her memory and the money belt was once again secured on her body, she hurried out to the lobby to meet up with Agent Grumps.
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