Everyone but Daisuke and Camryn got out of the car.
"I'm not hungry," Camryn said.
"Me neither," Daisuke said.
Camryn took one of the laptops and logged into her e-mail. She needed to update MI6 on the mission. Both Camryn and Daisuke said nothing for a long time. The only sound was the clack, clack, clack, of the keys on the keyboard.
"Hey, Halie – I mean, Camryn," Daisuke started.
"Yeah?" Camryn answered, keeping her eyes on the e-mail she was typing to Mr. Blunt and Mrs. Jones.
"Nothing, never mind."
It was silent again.
"Hey, Daisuke, what happened between you and Akira?" Camryn asked. "You two used to be really good friends. Why are you arguing so much all of a sudden?"
"Oh…it's kind of about a girl."
"Oh, that kind of thing. Is it Mahiro?"
"No, it's not like that. You see, there's this girl that I'm crazy about, but Akira doesn't trust her. Ever since Akira found out, he's been on my case about it."
"How long has this been going on?"
"It just started recently."
"How recently?"
"Just a few days ago."
"You've been really quiet lately," Camryn commented, still typing her e-mail. "You used to talk to me all the time. Sometimes, I couldn't get you to be quiet."
"Yeah. Things are a little awkward."
"How so?"
Daisuke sighed. "Well, I haven't seen this girl for about two years now. I've been thinking about her a lot and fantasizing about seeing her again. I did see her again recently. But the thing is, she's fake. Everything I thought I knew about her isn't true. She's someone completely different from what I thought, but I'm still in love with her anyway."
Oh God, please don't be me, Camryn thought. "Wow, that sounds like a tough problem. So what's holding you back? Akira?"
"Of course not. That bastard's so full of himself. You see, there's a problem between this girl and me. The person I thought she was is eighteen, but she's really only sixteen. I'm twenty-four. That's a big age difference."
Crap…Camryn thought.
"She also works for a government agency like I do. We both work for different countries so there's no way it could work out."
Crap, crap, crap, and crap again, Camryn thought.
"So who is this girl you're talking about anyway?" Camryn asked, trying to play dumb.
"I think you already know."
"Do I?"
Daisuke chuckled. "Isn't it obvious, baby?"
Damnit! Camryn swore to herself. She tried to ignore Daisuke and continued typing her long debrief to MI6.
"Camryn, if there's a chance for us, I'll take it immediately."
"I – uh…well…um…I…" How was she going to break the news to him without making him upset? Who am I kidding? she thought. That's impossible. Of course he's going to be upset.
"I have a boyfriend."
"Oh…"
"Sorry."
"No, don't be. I should have guessed. Of course a girl as pretty as you would have a boyfriend."
Camryn blushed and began typing furiously, biting hard on her lip. She was thankful for the car seat separating her from Daisuke. There was complete silence again. Daisuke broke the silence after some time.
"Who's your boyfriend?"
"Why?"
"Just curious."
"That's not something you need to know."
"You don't have a boyfriend, do you? If you don't have feelings for me, just say so. You don't have to-"
"No, I really do have a boyfriend, but who my boyfriend is isn't something that you need to be concerned about."
"Then tell me about him. What's he like?"
"You don't need to know that either."
"Why not? I'm just curious."
"Look, Daisuke, we're working together on an assignment. If I start talking about my boyfriend, I'll start bringing my personal life into this job. Home is home and work is work. The two were never meant to mix."
"Fine," Daisuke grumbled sounding frustrated and disappointed. Camryn couldn't figure out why he was so irked. So what if she didn't want to tell him who her boyfriend was?
"I'm really sorry, but it's one thing I really try to stick to. I've found in the past that mixing home and work can lead to dangerous things. I don't want to make the same mistake again. You understand, right?"
"Sure," Daisuke muttered under his breath.
"No, of course you don't understand. When I was thirteen, someone attempted to murder my father. He was a spy for the CIA. He died in the hospital. His last words to me, besides 'I love you,' were 'home is home and work is work. The two were never meant to mix.' That's when I decided that I wanted to work for the CIA. I was sucked into the job sooner than I wanted. I had just turned only fourteen. I was naïve and unprepared for the work I was expected to do. I made a lot of mistakes."
Daisuke didn't say anything. Camryn really didn't expect him to understand. She didn't expect anyone to understand her exact position – not even Alex who went through the same kind of problem of losing all of his family. Camryn finally sent her long e-mail. Suddenly thinking of Alex, Camryn asked herself, Is Alex a mistake?