Smithers ruffled Alex's hair and clapped him on the back. "How have you been, my boy?"
"Pretty well, and yourself?"
"Oh, fantastic. You'll love what I've got for you." Smithers put his briefcase on the table. The first thing he took out was a tube of white cream. He tossed it to Alex. A knowing grin spread across Alex's face.
"I believe you know how to use that," Smithers said.
Camryn raised an eyebrow at Alex. "Zit cream?"
"It can eat through metal," Alex explained briefly.
Smithers handed Alex and Camryn each an iPod. "This is a normal MP3 player until you do something to it. It can be used as a communication device to talk to us. There's also a transmitter in it so we can track where you are in case we can't triangulate the signal from you phones. If you take out the earphones, it becomes a grenade. You'll have five seconds before it explodes."
"Sweet," Alex said with satisfaction.
"Okay, now we have to change Alex's appearance," Mrs. Jones said.
Alex began to worry. "What are you going to do to me?" he asked cautiously.
"We're going to pierce your ear again and give you a haircut."
"What?! No! Not again! I refuse to have my ear pierced again!"
"Now, Alex, be reasonable."
"No! You be reasonable! I put my life on the line for you people all the time and not because I want to. You force me to do this. Isn't it enough that you pretty much took away my life?!"
"Alex-"
"Alright, here's the deal," Camryn interrupted. "If you lay a finger on Alex, I'm out of this mission."
"Camryn!" Mrs. Jones scolded.
"Look, Mom, I don't want my boyfriend looking like a complete junkie. I can walk out on MI6 and there's nothing you can do about it."
Mrs. Jones sighed. "Fine."
"Good. If there's nothing else to talk about, we're leaving."
No one said anything so Camryn and Alex left headquarters. Camryn drove back to the apartment. When they arrived, she started to her room.
"I have to meet with Kawasaki in about half an hour," Camryn said. "I just need to change, then we'll head out to Vertigo."
She went into her room and came out fifteen minutes later. With just one look, Alex swore he died and went to heaven. Camryn was wearing faded jeans that were low cut – really LOW-cut. The knees were ripped and the bottoms were frayed. She wore a black halter-top that showed off a good bit of skin. On her left wrist was a thin, black wristband studded with metal stars. Her silver eyes were lined with black. Her chestnut brown hair, which had been straight, was now a tangle of waves.
Alex opened his mouth to compliment on her looks, but nothing came out. Camryn was hot, and Alex wasn't sure that he could handle it. Camryn tapped his chin and kissed him playfully.
"You're drooling, Romeo," she said. "Come on, let's go."
Camryn threw on a black jacket and picked up her keys again. They went down to the car again and headed off to Club Vertigo. When they arrived, it was about 8:30. Loud, fast dance music was pumping from the club into the dark, snowy streets. Once the two were admitted into the club, Camryn pulled Alex aside.
"Alex, remember our profiles. We can't afford any slips. These people already know me."
Alex nodded, then followed Camryn to a table in the back corner where she left her jacket. Alex took off his and left beside Camryn's.
"So what are we going to do for now?" Alex asked, taking hopeful glances at the dance floor.
Camryn shot him a grin that made him want to drool again. "Do you want to dance?"
"Sure." How could he resist. She was hot! Camryn took Alex's hand and led him into the mass of raving and partying teens. A fast song with a loud, techno beat started playing. A wolfish grin pulled at Alex's lips in recognition. He had heard Camryn listen to "Bad Boy" a few times. The song always gave him thoughts that a sixteen-year-old boy shouldn't have floating around in his mind. Camryn began moving her body to the beat. It didn't take long to put Alex into a trance. Watching Camryn dance was mesmerizing. Soon enough, Alex lost himself to the beat of the music, and the feeling of dancing so close to his girlfriend overwhelmed him. He put his hands on her waist and pulled her against him. In Alex's mind, there was no better feeling than Camryn's body moving seductively against his. Those dirty thoughts continued to pile up in his head. The two danced for a few more songs, then Camryn pulled Alex off the dance floor.
"Wait, Cam! Just one more song!" Alex pleaded.
Camryn chuckled and then kissed him. "No, that's enough dancing for you. It's getting a little dangerous."
"Well, you only live once."
"We have to go anyway. Kawasaki is here." Camryn led the way over to a table of Asian guys who were in their early to mid-twenties. One of them with a black cap looked up. His face lit up immediately.
"Hey, guys, how's it going?" Camryn greeted.
"Halie, you're looking sexy as ever," Black Cap said. "You single?"
"Nope. This is my boyfriend, Brian. Isn't he gorgeous?"
Alex took the cue and pulled Camryn close. "Aren't you going to introduce me, babe?"
Camryn gestured to Black Cap. "That's Daisuke." She went counterclockwise around the table. "Tai, Hikaru, Akira – he's the leader of Kawasaki, Bakura, Yahiko, and Mahiro."
Tai was a big guy – one of those scary-looking bodyguard types. Hikaru was a shrimp – a little guy with attitude. Akira definitely seemed the leader type – proud, somewhat arrogant, and good-looking. Bakura was…high – that's the only word to describe him. Yahiko was probably the youngest of the group. Mahiro was the only girl at the table. Alex hadn't seen her since she was so small. Alex gave the table an acknowledging nod.
"So you're coming back to the trade?" Akira confirmed.
"Yeah. Dealing pot is boring the hell outta me," Camryn said.
"So tell me, Halie, what are you doing in London?"
"You remember I got caught by the police in L.A.? I escaped, ran away to London because my uncle lives here. I was planning to come back to L.A. to find you guess, but I…well, let's just say I got distracted."
"Distracted?" Akira pried.
"Yeah, I met this bad boy, and I couldn't leave."
"Ah, I see. Is he coming with you?"
"Of course. He's been my partner in crime for the past two years."
"If Halie trusts him, he's good," Mahiro chimed in.
"Dude…why are the hippos dancing…?" Bakura mumbled with a slight giggle in his voice.
Yahiko slapped the stoner. "Fag…"
"Remember the good old days in L.A.?" Daisuke sighed. "Man, those were good times. We got so much money out of it – all thanks to Halie's genius in the lab."
"Yeah, like that one night at Planet Bang," Hikaru said. "Damn, the place was so fed on morphine. Everyone was so fing high. It was fing beautiful."
Alex tried to hide his disgust. Good Lord, please protect my virgin ears, Alex prayed silently.
"So how's business been lately?" Camryn asked.
"It's been okay. It's better than what it used to be, but not as good as it was when you were around," Akira replied. "We're heading back to L.A. tomorrow night, but we're stopping into Tokyo for a while to stock up on opium for the lab. We want you to come with us."
"Okay, cool."
"Do you still know how to make those morphine pills?"
"Yeah, of course."
"Good, because once you were arrested, no one could figure out how to make them. And the pills were really popular. Alright, meet us by Big Ben tomorrow at five-thirty."