By late afternoon of December 27th, Alex and Camryn had arrived in Los Angeles, California. Camryn rented a car and drove to their hotel. The two checked into their room (which had two beds this time).
"So, what do we do now?" Alex asked.
"I have to go to the lab and start working," Cam answered. "You can pretty much do whatever you want."
"Am I allowed into the lab with you?"
"Sure, but you can't take any gadgets with you. You'll be thoroughly searched before entering the lab."
"That's fine."
Alex and Camryn got back in the car and drove to the rundown, gang-infested streets of downtown Los Angeles. Camryn parked by an old brick building that was falling apart. Alex and Camryn went inside. There, Tai, the big, scary guy searched them. Once that was over, the two went down to the basement. Camryn tied her hair back and immediately went to work. Alex followed her lead and helped with some minor tasks. About three and a half hours later, Camryn sat down on the couch in the corner.
"I'm done," she muttered. "I hate how this always takes so long…"
Alex sat next to her and put his arm around her. "Are you okay?" he asked, stroking her hair.
Camryn rested her head on his shoulder. "Yeah, I'm just tired and jet-lagged."
Alex kissed her neck. "We should go back to the hotel and get some sleep."
"You can, but I can't. I have to wait here for Akira. Once the capsules have solidified, we have to head off to Planet Bang for a deal."
"Then I'll stay with you."
"You don't have to."
"I know but I want to. I'd have to be insane to pass up another opportunity to dance with you."
Camryn smiled. "I'm so tired; I don't know if I'm up to dancing tonight."
The door of the basement opened and Akira, Daisuke, and Mahiro walked in. The Asian trio was dressed for a party.
"Done already?" Akira asked.
"Yeah. The pills are solidifying, and the morphine is already in bottles," Camryn answered.
"Good work, Halie. Are you coming to Planet Bang with us, Brian?"
Alex thought quickly of an excuse to get him and Camryn out of going. "I don't know. Halie and I are a little jet-lagged and out of it."
"Ah, take the night off then," Akira said.
"Really?" Camryn asked.
"Sure. You worked hard – you deserve it."
Camryn smiled with relief. "Thanks."
She and Alex left the lab and drove back to the hotel. Camryn flopped onto the bed and fell asleep almost immediately. Alex's stomach growled. He hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. He grabbed his phone and the phonebook and ordered a pizza. About forty minutes later, it was delivered. Alex set the pizza box on the table and took a slice. He sat down and ate. While he ate, he watched Camryn sleep. She looked so peaceful and beautiful. Alex couldn't keep his eyes off her. He smiled to himself. He had to be the luckiest guy on the planet. Alex moved on to a second slice, and then a third. Camryn rolled over on the bed.
"Alex, I smell pizza," she mumbled sleepily, rubbing her face.
"I ordered a pizza. Want some?"
"Yeah…" Camryn got up clumsily and walked over to the table. She took a slice of pizza and started eating.
"How long did I sleep?" Camryn asked between bites.
"Maybe about an hour."
"That's it? Aw man…I'm so tired."
"Well, we have the night off."
"Not really."
"What do you mean?"
"We have to go back to the lab to look for that 'killer' morphine. The sooner we figure this out, the sooner we can go home. Also, the longer we stay involved in this case, the more chance for the CIA to get involved. I don't want to put up with my old superiors again."
Alex sighed. He also wanted to finish this mission as soon as possible, but at the same time, he wanted to spend time with Camryn away from MI6.
Camryn tied her hair up again and stuck some bobby pins in her hair. Then she started rooting through her suitcase. She pulled out a small, metallic pink bottle, which contained a knockout chemical, and tucked it into her pocket.
"Do you still have your sunglasses from last year?" Camryn asked, pulling out her own pair of sunglasses.
"Yeah," Alex replied, pulling them out of his suitcase. Smithers had given each of them a pair of rearview/infrared sunglasses last year for their Scorpia assignment. Alex tucked a handgun into the waistband of his jeans at the small of his back and covered it with his T-shirt.
"Ready?" Alex prompted.
Camryn nodded. They headed down to the car and drove back to the lab. Alex put on his sunglasses and pressed the infrared button. He scanned the building for heat sources.
"There's one person inside," Alex reported.
"That's probably Tai guarding the lab."
Camryn took the spray bottle from her pocket and gave it to Alex. The two got out of the car and snuck around to the back door. Camryn took a bobby pin from her hair and picked the lock. She carefully opened the door, trying not to make any noise. Alex stepped into the building and looked for Tai. He found the big guy standing guard with his back to Alex and Camryn. Alex snuck up behind Tai, clamped his hand over his mouth, and sprayed the knockout chemical into his face. Alex gently lowered the sleeping guard to the floor. He searched him for a key but didn't find one. Camryn began picking the lock to the basement door but had no luck.
"I can't get this, Alex," Camryn sighed, handing Alex the bobby pin.
Alex got down on his knees and began working the pin into the lock. Click. He turned the doorknob, but it was still locked.
"Cam, do you have anymore hair pins?"
Camryn pulled out seven more pins and handed them to Alex. Alex continued working with the lock, careful not to jam or damage it. After manipulating five pins into the lock, the door finally opened. Alex removed the pins and followed Camryn into the basement. Camryn checked all the chemicals and lab supplies, running a few tests if necessary. Alex went to work digging through stacks upon stacks of paper. There were files for everything…chemical recipes, building schematics, profiles of dealers and providers…everything that one would expect a drug dealer to have. After a fruitless two hours, the two MI6 spies gave up.
"They're clean," Camryn muttered with frustration. "Damnit!"
Alex had never heard Camryn curse before. He knew something was really wrong if she was this frustrated. Alex finished looking through the file in his hand – still nothing. He began putting the papers and files back in their original places. A blue folder caught Alex's eye. He hadn't seen it before. He opened the folder and looked at the papers inside. The paper on top had Akira's picture in the top right corner. The rest of the paper was in Japanese. By the format of the paper, even a monkey could tell it was a profile.
"Cam, I think I found something. Can you read Japanese?"
"Yeah." Camryn took the folder from Alex and began scanning over the paper with Akira's picture on it. She laid the folder on a lab table and took out the other papers. There was a paper with a picture for all of the Kawasaki members.
"Alex, let's go."
"Wait, what are those papers?"
Camryn tucked the papers back into the folder and closed the folder. "I'll explain later. We have to go before they come back." With the blue folder in her hand, she opened the basement door. Alex heard the familiar click of a gun.