A/N: This wouldn't have been ready to post today if it weren't for Ninkita. Thanks, Eagle Eyes! *waves at Ninkita*
Even though Bella grew up in a small town on the Olympic Peninsula just a few hours from Seattle, she had only been to the city a handful of times during her childhood. Midway through her senior year of high school she was accepted into the University of Washington. However, UW was actually her second choice. When she learned the following week that she had earned a scholarship to cover 80% of her tuition at Dartmouth, she didn't think twice about accepting. She applied for student loans to cover the difference and moved to New England, barely giving a second thought to the city she was leaving behind.
Returning to Seattle gave her an oddly nostalgic feeling. Within minutes of leaving the airport, the Seattle skyline came into view and Bella's heart thumped in her chest. The last time she had seen that view was more than five years ago. She had been traveling to the city with her parents to tour the UW campus. Until that moment, she hadn't paused to consider what this mission would mean to her life outside the FBI. While undercover, she would have few, if any, opportunities to communicate with her parents. When she had originally been accepted into the FBI Academy, they had known times like this would come. They had talked about it more than once. But now, as with so many things she had thought about or attempted to prepare for, the reality unlocked a barrage of complex and unexpected emotions.
Bella toyed with her new phone as they approached the city. The driver exited the freeway north of Boeing Field and they wove their way through the cluttered, industry-heavy South Seattle area until they came to a secure, gated facility. Uniformed guards stopped them and directed them to park alongside the guard shack.
Their driver unloaded Bella's luggage from the trunk, accepted a cash tip from Masen and left them there. In the cramped station, Masen showed his identification and they stood quietly while the Marine Staff Sergeant cross-checked his clipboard and computer screen, then picked up the phone and dialed a number.
"Yes, this is Staff Sergeant Mikaelson out at Station 596. I have an Edward Cullen here to retrieve a vehicle from impound. The attached notes said to call this number upon his arrival. Yes. . . Yes, sir. . . Absolutely. Yes, sir. I can hold. . ."
Bella had to keep reminding herself not to fidget as the minutes dragged on. Masen stood beside her with his jacket open and his hands in his pockets, staring intensely at the Marine Sergeant as if he could inhabit the man's body, look through his eyes and see what he saw. The sergeant kept glancing up at Agent Masen, then back down at his clipboard, obviously uncomfortable, but unwilling to challenge the well-dressed visitor.
Two other Marines sat at the desk and split their attention between monitoring their video feeds, scanning the road and staring at Bella and Masen. Bella didn't have the same need to dominate the room that Agent Masen seemed to. She avoided making eye contact with any of them. Tired of standing in her unfamiliar shoes, she settled into a chair in the corner. The air conditioning was set so high she was almost shivering and couldn't wait to go back outside.
The Sergeant eventually got to speak to whoever he had called for. His facial expressions morphed from confusion to understanding and then to complete bewilderment. Bella couldn't follow the conversation at all. When he got off the phone his demeanor had changed completely. Instead of standoffish suspicion, he greeted Agent Masen by his true name and position. His tone was deferential, or as close to it as a Marine can sound.
"Agent Masen, sir, I've been instructed to give you your choice of the vehicles we have in impound. Here's the list." He handed Masen four pages when the printer spat them out. "The white Mercedes is in excellent condition, very clean. It should do nicely for whatever you need it for. There's a Maserati on the list, too. Gorgeous car. You've really got to love those Italian exotics."
"Hmm. I'll take the Bimmer, number 1473," Masen replied flatly, after a cursory glance at his options.
"Are you sure? It could use a wash. It's been sitting here for almost-"
"23 days. Yes, I know. I'll take the BMW. Do you have the key?"
"Uuuuh, the key? Yes, sir. Right away."
The man looked unnerved and there was sweat beading on his forehead despite the coolness of the room. That made no sense. Masen hadn't said or done anything overtly threatening. She wondered what the individual on the other end of the line had said about their presence or purpose.
Sergeant Mikaelson handed Agent Masen a key fob on a stainless steel ring along with a white envelope. Masen opened the envelope, flipped through the registration and insurance paperwork, nodded his approval and thanked him. He glanced over at one of the younger men. "Private, take the lady's luggage, please."
"Yes, sir," he replied promptly and came around the counter to take Bella's garment bag and suitcase. Bella followed the two men out of the small office, across several rows of vehicles, boats, motorcycles and trailers, to a low, black convertible. The Private loaded her luggage into the trunk, gave Agent Masen a sharp salute, and returned to his post, leaving them alone in the center of the impound yard.
Something was bothering Bella, but it took her a couple seconds for the pieces to click into place. Masen never did anything without a reason. He had padded their supplies and funding list knowing that Mahardy would trim it down. Masen had given a little here and there, but dug his heels in on the high priority items. And he had dug his heels in for the car, too.
She opened the passenger side door, but paused before getting in. "Wait a minute. What's so special about this car?"
"I don't understand," he replied innocently, looking at her over the black fabric top.
"This car. This particular car. You wanted it. I think you've wanted it all along. Those guys in there would have given you your choice of dozens of cars, some of them worth way more than this, but you are dead set on this one. Why?"
He looked over at the guard shack, then slid his eyes back to her, a slow crooked smile forming on his lips. "I must be the luckiest guy in the world."
"Code. I don't like it. English works just fine."
"Hold my phone and briefcase for me, please," he said, walking around the front of the car and handing her both.
She stood to the side and watched as he climbed behind the wheel and started the engine. The V8 hummed like a giant cat, warm and languid as it basked in the evening sun. She smiled involuntarily. He was grinning up at her through the open door.
"Gorgeous, huh?"
"Yeah. It is. So, you just really like this car. That's all there is to it?"
"Not exactly. Take a couple steps back, please." He waited while she shuffled back a few feet. "This car is unique. It has a few special features. Like this one. . ." he said as he held down a small silver button on the steering column.
There was a strange humming sound that escalated to a high pitched whine then cut off suddenly. Bella looked around, then back at Masen. Apart from the odd sound, she didn't see that pushing the button had done anything noteworthy.
"Okay. . . what was that?"
"A convenient little security measure. One that will be very useful for us."
"Way to not answer the question. Thanks."
"Hop in, Ms. Swan. We have somewhere to be."
Bella walked around to the passenger side, stowed the briefcase and her purse behind her seat and climbed in. She had never been in such a luxurious car before. It felt like stepping into another world. She shut the door, fastened her seatbelt and waited for her partner to elaborate on the next step of their plan. The phone in her hand vibrated with an incoming call and she held it out to Masen.
"Ah, predictable as always," he gloated. He put the phone in speaker mode with his finger to his lips. "Rick, how are you?" Bella rolled her eyes and listened to their conversation.
"Agent Masen, I'm just checking in. Did you and Agent Swan get to the impound lot okay?"
"Yes we did. Thanks for arranging everything."
"And you have the car? Is everything working okay?"
"Like a dream, Rick."
"Masen. . ."
"Yes?"
"About communication from here on-"
"No bugs, Rick. No trackers, no bugs, no sensors of any kind."
"Now, see here-"
"No. This is not a negotiable point," he said, managing to sound tired, bored and annoyed simultaneously.
"Do you really expect me to-"
"Yes."
"Goddamn you, Masen." Mahardy was seething.
"He already has. Don't worry, boss. I'll check in periodically, just as I said I would. But until you hear from me, stay the hell out of my way."
"One of these days I'm gonna-"
"Nice chatting with you. Gotta run. Thanks for the car!"
One of the uniformed Marines waved them through the open gate and they pulled into traffic. Bella shook her head and looked out of the window at the passing buildings while Masen hung up and set his phone on the center console.
"Security measures. . ."
"Yep."
"Aha. And Mahardy called because. . ."
"I swept the car and he lost the feed."
"Excuse me?"
"Electronic sweep. That's why I had you stand back with the computer and phone. Wouldn't want to kill them by accident."
"How come I've never heard of this before?"
"It's experimental technology. It would never work in a stock vehicle. The internal computer and wiring would be fried. This car was modified by its previous owner with high gauge wiring, fuses and surge protectors to insulate critical components. The electrical pulse it creates is strong enough to fry the transmitter/receiver on most communication devices within a ten foot radius."
"So how do you know about it then?"
"A few months back I was tasked with gathering evidence to build a case against the former owner of this car. Every time I managed to plant a bug anywhere on him or his vehicle, it died within a couple days. It was driving me crazy. I decided to step things up. Instead of bugs, I installed cameras around his home, office and car. Sure enough, the next day the one in his car got fried, but not before I saw how he did it. That tiny silver button caused me so much inconvenience, but it's going to be a very nice little wild card for us, I think."
"Did SAC Mahardy know it existed?"
"Of course not. But he knows me well enough to realize that if I wanted this car, I wanted it for a reason. That's probably why those boys back at the lot tried to talk me out of it. They wanted time to figure it out."
"It's times like this I'm glad you're on my side."
"Times like this? I thought you were always glad to have me on your side."
"Well, sure. Except when we're running. Or when you're freaking me out with your multiple personalities. Or when you're trying to stab me. Or-"
"Enough, enough. I hear you loud and clear," he cut her off with a light laugh. "I should have quit while I was ahead. . ." They drove in companionable silence for a few moments before he added, "I'm glad you're on my side, too."
A/N: Disclaimer: No Marines were injured in the writing of this chapter.
All joking aside, I have the highest respect for the Marines. Every one I've ever met is a total badass including my brother-in-law. I just like to think that Masen's badassness out-badasses even the Marines. Okay. I'm done destroying the Queen's English. Until next time. . . . Thanks for reading!