Unbeta'd because I can't stick to a writing schedule to save my life. Thanks for reading!
Bella woke up automatically at 6 am. Unfortunately, she woke up in the wrong time zone. She sat up in the giant bed and looked around for her partner. He had gone to sleep on the pull out couch, as he had implied he would to her dad, but they had left the door open between them.
Through the open doorway, Bella could see his face illuminated by the blue glow of his laptop. Didn't he need rest, too? She lay back down, wishing sleep would return. Despite only getting four hours of sleep, she wasn't tired. Her body hummed with energy from head to toe. Now that the day had arrived, she was ready to begin. Waiting any longer seemed superfluous. She wondered why Agent Masen had chosen 9 am as their departure time. Couldn't they get out of the city sooner? She wanted to be on the road immediately!
Rather than disrupt him while he was working, Bella mulled over the events of the last 24 hours. Almost an hour passed before she heard Masen's laptop close with a metallic click. She listened to the sofa bed creak as he shifted around, then settled down and was quiet. Eventually, the stillness and silence of the room calmed her. She slipped back under and didn't stir again until sunlight filled the room.
Masen sat down on the edge of the bed and clapped his hands. "Wake up, wake up. Breakfast is here."
"Ugh. I was afraid you were going to make me run," Bella groaned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Nope. We can run another time. Right now, we need to eat and get moving on a few things. I'll go over them with you."
Bella shuffled out of the bedroom and sat at the table which was, as he had promised, already loaded down with an assortment of breakfast foods. She went for the coffee first.
"Did you sleep okay?" he asked, watching her intently.
"Small talk? Seriously?"
"Hey, it was a legitimate question."
Bella scowled at him over the rim of her mug before lowering it and replying. "Yes, I slept quite well. Did you?"
"Like a baby."
"After you got off the computer at 4 am."
"It was 7 pm in Hong Kong."
"That's not an answer."
"What was the question?" Masen winked at her and grinned, his mood as cheerfully manic as it had been when SAC Mahardy first signed off on their budget for the mission days earlier.
She looked skeptically down into her half empty mug. "Is this coffee safe to drink?"
"It's a little late to be asking that, don't you think? Finish eating. We have stuff to do."
Despite her misgivings, his energy was contagious. Bella quickly ate her fill then helped him carry the dishes out to the hallway for the maid to collect. He hung the 'Do Not Disturb' sign from the door knob, then shut it and turned the deadbolt. They reassembled the couch, then Bella refilled her mug and sat cross-legged on one end and waited for her partner to lay out the first steps of their plan.
"Your final duties as Mr. Cullen's assistant will be to settle the bill for the room and take his car to be detailed. Here's the address," he said as he handed her a slip of paper. "Pack a change of clothes for Marie. The ones you set out yesterday are perfect."
"And people won't think it's strange that your assistant spent the night with you?"
"You're young and gorgeous. He's wealthy and powerful. They won't ask questions because they think they already know the answer. Now, from the detail shop, it's three blocks to this apartment," he continued, handing her a key ring and a sealed, postmarked envelope with a North Seattle address on it. "You'll find the rest of your instructions in the mustard bottle in the refrigerator."
"The mustard bottle? You're joking, right?"
"Have you ever seen a fridge that didn't have a dozen open condiments stored in it?"
She paused before answering, "No. Not when somebody's living there, at least."
"Invisibility in plain sight."
"That's absurd. There must be dozens of better places to hide my instructions."
"Okay, fine. You're right," he laughed. "I was just curious if you would buy it. Your instructions are taped to the inside of the mailbox in the lobby. Put that envelope in and take your instructions out."
"I need to find a way to turn my 'I'm naive and gullible' look to my advantage," Bella laughed along with him. It was fascinating to see this more light-hearted side of her partner. "So, why am I taking so many precautions? Do you think we're being watched already?"
"I always think I'm being watched. Besides, the apartment is a CIA safehouse, and I don't trust spies."
"Says the pot about the kettle. Why is the CIA helping us out?"
"I know a guy. He owes me a favor from a job we worked on together down in Texas once."
"Anyone I'll ever meet?" Bella was curious. Were Agent Masen's former associates like him? Or was he an original, one-off production?
"Probably not. Hopefully not. Anyway, that's pretty clear, right?"
"Sure. It sounds like your usual inexplicably convoluted manner of doing things. Yeah. I can handle it."
"Great! Mr. Cullen will retrieve Marie from that address at 2 pm."
"Wait. What's in this envelope?"
"Don't worry about it."
It took her a moment to realize her mouth was hanging open again. She shut it with an audible clack of her teeth. "Did you steal it?"
"If I did, somebody needs to give it back," he shrugged. "It seemed like a safe way to give you the address of the safehouse. If somebody finds that, they'll see a piece of misplaced mail and take it to the post office."
"I'm carrying around a piece of stolen mail that was sent to a CIA safehouse and you shrug it off like it's nothing. Couldn't you just tell me the address?"
"You barely remembered a last name that started with your own last name. I'm not going to be there looking out for you today. I was hedging my bets."
Fighting an embarrassed blush, Bella shook her head and went to have a shower. His attitude was mystifying. Actually, everything about him was mystifying. She dressed in her suit from the day before, wearing it over a blouse and underwear from Marie's luggage. Fixing her hair and makeup was already beginning to feel routine. At close to 9 o'clock she started organizing her luggage.
"Wait, leave those here," Masen interrupted her, pointing to the bags she had brought on the plane as Abigail Swanson.
Bella stopped what she was doing and cocked her head to one side. "I have stuff for four different people. You're gonna have to help me straighten out what is what."
"You're right. Okay. Ditch Bella Swan and the college kid. Keep the suit, purse and jewelry you're wearing right now. I'll take care of them this afternoon. We can put Marie's jewelry case in your suitcase with your toiletries. There. Perfect. Now you just need to call down to the front desk and they'll send somebody to pick it all up."
"What about you?" she asked. Her head was swimming.
"I'll be out of here in a few minutes."
"And I'll see you at 2?"
"That's right. Any other questions?"
Bella took a deep breath then let it out and shook her head. The next few steps were simple enough. At least he was easing her into her role. Sort of. Agent Masen disappeared into the bathroom while she called down for help with the luggage. When she heard the knock at the door a few minutes later, she put on her best no-nonsense expression, showed the bellhop which items to load onto his cart and left the suite without looking back. The fact was, she was going to miss Masen, even if he did drive her crazy. Her breakfast sat heavy in her stomach. 2 o'clock was going to come way too fast.
Settling the bill at the front desk went smoothly up until she had to sign the payment authorization. She came close to signing her own name, but caught herself just in time. With a firmer than normal grip on the pen, she wrote 'Abigail Swanson', pressing hard and emphasizing the downward strokes to disguise her normally rounded script.
Carrying her purse with the envelope and keys Masen had given her inside, she exited the lobby and waited for the valet to bring the car around. She tipped the younger man from the stack of twenties in her wallet and slid behind the wheel of the convertible. She took several moments to adjust the seat and mirrors, trying to get comfortable while the hotel employee loaded her luggage into the trunk.
Bella squeaked in alarm the first time her foot tapped the gas and the car lurched forward. The valet smirked knowingly. Her cheeks were burning with embarrassment as she gently depressed the gas peddle and eased into traffic. She was used to a vehicle with about one fourth the horsepower. It took some getting used to.
She followed the route she had memorized to the custom auto detailing shop and suppressed a smile when two employees stopped what they were doing to whistle appreciatively at the car.
"That's some ride," one commented when she climbed out from behind the wheel.
"It'll be even nicer when you're through with it, right?"
"We'll take real good care of it. Give us a day and you'll be able to touch up your lipstick using the quarter panel as a mirror."
"You have until 1:45 today," she responded briskly and pulled the remaining cash from her wallet. It was almost $300 and she just hoped that was all Masen intended her to spend the money on. She didn't know if the credit cards were just for show or if they actually had accessible funds on them.
"That's a tight turn around. I dunno, ma'am. I'd love to help you but. . ." his voice tapered off and he looked over at his partner.
"That's $280. Cash. Take it or leave it." Bella added a bit of steel to her voice, staring him down until he shrugged and agreed.
"Excellent. My boss will be collecting it. It better be perfect."
"Let me just get the paperwork start-"
"No need. Just get it done," she cut him off. She popped the trunk, grabbed her suitcase and garment bag and extended the handle to wheel the luggage behind her.
"Alright. Alright. We gotcha. Do you need a ride anywhere?" he asked.
"I'd rather not. I wouldn't want to keep you from your work." She set off at a brisk walk in the opposite direction from her destination. One block later, she turned right and kept going, eventually doubling back toward the apartment building where she was supposed to complete her transformation.
Her feet hurt from walking so far in the high heeled shoes. The temptation to look around and behind her was almost too powerful to resist. Bella wondered what kind impression she was making on random passers by. If it weren't for the luggage she would look like any number of local professionals. With the garment bag and suitcase, people were sure to remember her if anybody asked. A nondescript gray sedan slowed down a few houses in front of her as if the driver was considering offering her a ride. She kept her eyes fixed on a point in the distance and willed them to keep driving. A few seconds later they accelerated back to a normal speed and she whispered a silent thank you to whoever might be listening.
When she reached the apartment building she was so relieved. She let herself into the air conditioned lobby and breathed a little easier. There was a bank of brass doors along one wall, the mail slots labeled with unit numbers. She peeked into her purse to verify the address. When she found the correct door she glanced around the empty lobby before inserting the key and opening the door.
At first she thought Agent Masen had been mistaken, or perhaps he was making another joke at her expense. The small enclosure was completely empty. She felt around the top of the box and found a slip of paper hanging down about a quarter of an inch from one corner. Careful not to destroy her manicure, she pinched the loose flap between her fingertips and peeled away the folded paper that had been affixed to the top of the metal compartment.
"Yes," she whisper-shouted with a grin of triumph. She dropped the message into her purse without looking at it, eager to get to the safety and privacy of the apartment upstairs. She was about to close and lock the door when she remembered the envelope Masen had given to her. She dug it out of her purse, stuffed it in the mailbox and was swinging the door shut when a strong, olive-skinned hand closed around her wrist.
The man spoke, his voice a low and seductive hum behind her right ear. "What do we have here?"
Cat, meet mouse
mouse, meet house
round and round we weave the spell
where we land
we cannot dwell
-Rebadams7
Cruel and unusual. . . or maybe just unusually cruel. In any case, I do apologize. *Winks*
Thanks, Rebadams7, for the poetic interpretation of this chapter. I love your words!