Chapter 2

Aneisha fidgeted in the too-big glasses and nervously straightened her scarf as she eyed-up the imposing building in front of her – Delicious headquarters. Normally she loved dressing up and going undercover; it was amazing how a different wardrobe and a change of attitude could transform you, at least in the eyes of others, into an entirely different person. But the seriousness of this mission kept playing on her mind: all that had happened to Taya the last time these people were involved made her feel sick. She couldn't bear to imagine anything like that happening to their team: for all the issues they'd had along the way and all the close calls, they had always made it through in one piece. To be reminded that things didn't always work out was a frightening glimpse of a possible reality. Aneisha brushed these thoughts aside. Focus on the mission. Act confident. Pouting her lips and tossing her hair, she sauntered up the front door, where a black-jumpered security guard pulled it open for her. She strode over to the reception desk and presented an invitation card to the smiling receptionist.

"Hi, I'm here for the prize-winners open day?" she said confidently.

The receptionist took her card and examined it before handing it back to her.

"Thank you, Miss Bright," he said, "if you'd just like to take a seat with the other prize winners over there, your hostess will be with you shortly."

Aneisha flashed a wide smile at him and went over to join the other prize winners. There were five of them – three girls and two boys – aged between 12 and 16, who had won some competition to design a new fragrance or something. A couple of them had brought along a friend or sibling as a plus-one. The winner she had taken the place of, 15 year old Abigail Bright, had been told the event had been postponed due to a minor illness of their host – Maria Constantala – and that it would be rescheduled at a later date. Aneisha hoped the girl wouldn't be too disappointed that she was missing out on her prize but she was sure MI9 would compensate her in some other way.

She sat down next to a girl in a red shirt to wait for their hostess. The other teenagers seemed to be either shy, bored or stuck up and had no interest in conversation, saving Aneisha the trouble of making up stories about her alias. A couple of minutes later, Maria Constantala swept into the reception area. She wore a long coat which fanned out behind her as she walked. Everything about her came across as impressive. Her blonde hair was scraped back into a tight bun while her make-up naturally accented her high cheekbones and arched eyebrows above bright blue eyes. Aneisha knew she must be well into her forties and yet she must have used every age-prevention product going as she looked no more than thirty.

"So you're our competition winners?" she drawled, shaking the teenagers' hands. "Fantastic! I'd like to welcome you all to the Delicious headquarters. Now if you'd all like to follow me, we'll get the tour underway."

She turned on her high-heel and strode back through the doors she came from, beckoning the group to follow her.

Aneisha lagged behind a little, pretending to tie her shoelace. Checking no one was watching her, she quickly pressed a tiny button on the side of her glasses. They were actually fitted with a tiny camera in the frame and Tom, back at base, could see and hear everything she could.

"I'm in," she told Tom at the other end of the line. "And it's Constantala leading the tour."

"Good," came his voice from an invisible speaker in her ear. "That means her office will be empty. I'll give you a shout when you're nearby and you can sneak off."

Standing up again, Aneisha hurried after the rest of the tour group.

"… and in here, we have our scent room," Maria said as the teenagers gathered around in a large, white-walled lab. "This is where we experiment with different smells and chose the scents for our perfumes," she gestured to the shelves which housed bottles and jars of flowers, spices and fruits. "And you'll be returning here later, as part of your trip, to have a go at making your own personalised fragrance."

Constantala seemed to be genuinely enjoying giving a tour of her facilities. Maybe she just liked the attention, Aneisha mused as she watched a couple of the girls ask excited questions. That or she's a good actress. I could learn some tips from her to feign interest in one of Flatley's classes.

They left from a door on the opposite side of the room and into a corridor.

Tom's voice spoke in her ear.

"Right, her office is along this corridor," he said. Aneisha hung back, pretending to search her pockets for a tissue as the group followed Constantala down the corridor and into another room.

"Which one?" She whispered to Tom.

"Third on the left."

She hurried along the passage, stopping outside the door. The door was locked and needed a swipe card to enter. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled the security card she had nabbed from the guard at the entrance and swiped it through the slot. The light flashed green and she pushed the door open.

"And we're in," Tom said cheerfully. Aneisha could imagine him sitting back in his chair in front of the computer, munching on biscuits whilst watching her progress on the screen, as though she was part of a computer game.

"Right, what're we looking for?" Aneisha asked as she took in her surroundings. The room was brightly painted with a desk and computer in the centre; shelves and a filing cabinet lined one wall and there was a large window with Venetian blinds opposite the door.

"We want anything that might connect Constantala to the theft of the virus, or anything that might tell us where it is now."

Sitting down in the swivel chair in front of the desk, Aneisha plugged a small device that could have been mistaken for a USB memory drive into the computer, giving Tom remote access to trawl through Constantala's files.

"Let see what you've got then," Tom muttered and began his search.

Meanwhile, Aneisha examined the rest of the room. A diary sat on one side of the desk and she opened it up to the previous week.

"Here, on the 7th, she's got initials pencilled in. Everyone else she's written down as a full name or at least a surname. 'V. M.' - who d'you think that is? There's no one with those initials in her address book either," she said, skimming through the pages.

"Not sure… Could be relevant," Tom murmured, intent on his work. "Hold on, I'm going to bring up her phone records, too."

Aneisha carried on her search, going through the desk draws and flicking through the filing cabinet but there were very few documents in it and most were catalogues from the company and its suppliers.

"Ooh," Tom said in her ear, "looks like she took a call from someone close to where the convoy was stolen – and at a similar time. But it only lasted a couple of seconds."

"Still, could be something," Aneisha conceded.

"There's nothing much here," she sighed. "Are you nearly done? I've got to get back before anyone notices I've gone."

"Yep, just transferring some emails," Tom said.

Aneisha hovered by the computer, waiting to take the device out. She glanced at the photo frame. It looked like a model photo shoot.

"Hey, she used to be a model, right? This picture looks like her."

"I can't say I'd know," Tom muttered. "There, done."

Aneisha yanked the device out of the computer and checked everything in the office was straight.

"Bit odd though, don't you think? I mean, who has a photo of themselves on their desk?"

"Vain, evil master-criminals do," Tom said. "Now wait a second, there's someone passing down the corridor, wait 'til they've gone."

"How can you tell?" Aneisha hissed.

"Infrared setting on the camera," he explained. "Senses body heat. Okay, coast is clear."

Quickly, Aneisha opened the door and slipped back out into the corridor.

Breathing a sigh of relief that she was out, she took a couple of steps before a voice stopped her.

"Oi!"

Horrified, she turned, trying to look innocent. A guard stood frowning at her.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Um, I'm with the competition tour?" Aneisha said nervously. "I was trying to find the loo…"

"Oh." The guard replied. "Well it's not down here. Come with me, I'll show you."

"Actually, I'm not feeling well. I think I might go home."

"Right." The guard looked a little apprehensive, as though she was going to throw up on him. "Well, I'll show you out."

Meekly, Aneisha followed him back to the reception area where he showed her out of the building.

Dan watched the man through the mirrored glass. He was sat at the table slowly drumming his fingers on the wood with a very bored look on his face, as though he could think of a hundred other places he'd rather be than waiting in a white-walled, windowless prison interrogation room for a conversation in which he would have very little to say. He wore grey tracksuit bottoms and a plain white t-shirt. His dark hair matched his eyes and Dan thought back to the picture he'd been shown by Frank. And he couldn't help thinking of Taya. This man was the reason for her friend's deaths and the torment she had obviously gone through. Dan narrowed his eyes. He would get some answers and do what he could to make things better for Taya.

Dan slid a photo across the table.

"This is your sister." He stated. The man sat across from him didn't glance at it. He was keeping his eyes on Dan, unblinkingly. Trying to unnerve him. But Dan was well trained and he didn't let it bother him. He slid another photo across the table.

"This," he said, "is a case containing the smallpox virus that you stole and attempted to sell six months ago."

"Might be." Constantala said after a pause, again not bothering to look.

Dan sighed. "Now, look. I don't really care about you or your feeble plans. But I do have some questions about your sister."

The man didn't say anything so Dan continued.

"We know she played a part in your plans to steal and sell the virus but fortunately for her, there was insufficient evidence to tie her down. However, we believe she was involved with the recent disappearance of the very same virus. So; what can you tell us about her motives for stealing it this time?

The man sat silently.

"Y'know, it would be a whole lot easier to have this conversation if you actually said something," said Dan, raising his eyebrows.

"What makes you think I have anything to say at all?" Antonio said. "Even if I was in the mood for sharing, I've been locked up for six months; I've no idea what my sister's up to.

"So you wouldn't care if she was doing something you didn't agree with?"

Antonio shrugged.

"My sister may be an idiot, but she's still my sister," Constantala glared at him.

Dan raised an eyebrow. "A sister who broke into a military convoy to steal a deadly virus but, despite all her resources, and a clear disregard for the law, hasn't even tried to break you out of prison?" Dan countered.

Constantala's lips thinned.

"She always did hold a grudge," he said with a snort. He leant back in his chair, putting his hands behind his head in a comfortable manner. "I suppose I might be able to remember one or two things about her that might be useful," he said merrily, "if you make it worth my time."

A/N. There will be a bit more action next chapter... promise! Please leave a review!