Disclaimer: None of this belongs to me.
Chapter 8-Break In, Break Out
A cool breeze blew by, making both Jonny and Jessie more alert from their positions on top of the museum. They had been perched on the roof for four hours now, neither speaking to the other. Down below they could hear a pair of drunken men singing on the top of their lungs in Spanish, as well as a car honking its horn to avoid the drunkards.
Jessie allowed a small smile to grace her lips as she listened to the song, mouthing the words to herself. This was one of the things she loved about Mexico City—it was lively. Beside her Jonny was running a hand through his hair, cursing his luck. Of all the people to get partnered with for this evening's stake out, it had to be the one person who hadn't spoken a single word to him in over a week.
After the disastrous kiss Jonny and Jessie had learned that the stone was being moved from London to Mexico City…and that someone was looking to steal it after the grand display opened in the new museum. The information had come from Jade, of course, but the C.I.A. was inclined to believe it considering the fact that Surd's underling, Lorenzo, was now in Mexico.
Stretching, Jessie glanced through the skylight of the museum, down at the case holding the Immortal Stone. "Jonny," she hissed suddenly, "I think he's finally striking!"
Jonny glanced to where Jessie was pointing and grinned. Sure enough Lorenzo was inside the museum, lifting the lid of the case off. "Is he stupid or what? What makes him think he can pick up the damn thing and get out in one piece?"
"Well, considering he managed to not set off any alarms, I'd say he probably thinks he has a good chance of getting out of here alive. Come on, let's crash his little party so I can go back to the hotel and get some sleep."
"Let me inform Race and Corbin first." Jonny grabbed his walky-talky, pressing down to speak. "Hey guys, Lorenzo's already in the museum. Jess and I are gonna rain on his parade—so meet us inside."
Jonny tossed the walky-talky aside as Jessie opened the sky light and secured a long rope around the metal frame. Positioning herself precariously on the edge of the skylight Jessie slowly began to lower the rope and herself through the roof window. Within seconds she was on the ground, directly behind Lorenzo who was busy inspecting the stone. His face was beaded with sweat, his sole attention on the gem in front of win. Jessie stifled a giggle and motioned for Jonny to join her.
As Jonny climbed down the rope, Jessie reached over and tapped Lorenzo on the shoulder. The man froze, jumped, and then turned around, his eyes wide in fear. Jessie winked and brought her fist into his face, knocking him out cold.
"You gotta love when they fall like that," murmured Jonny with a shake of his head as he bent over the unconscious man.
Jessie shrugged. "It does wonders for my ego."
"Freeze!" The shout caught Jessie and Jonny's attention to the opening of the display room. The C.I.A. agent lowered his gun upon seeing the two teens standing over Lorenzo. "Man, you ever think about joining the team one day?" he asked.
"It's a possibility," replied Jessie with a grin. "But I'm not sure I want to spend all my time making sure you boys don't screw up. It gets old after a while."
"Gee," remarked Jonny, "no need to be modest here."
"Good job, Ponchita. You knocked him down just like I taught you," said Race with a proud look on his face. Jessie rolled her eyes at the remark.
Meanwhile, Jonny pulled a piece of paper out of the man's pocket and chuckled. "Hey, it looks like Lorenzo was a little nervous about this gig—he has directions on how to get to the museum from his hotel. Talk about a loser."
Corbin entered the room and quickly took the paper out of Jonny's hands. "We better take a look at his room and see if there's anything important lying around."
"We should probably check back into the hotel," agreed Race. "It's been a long night just hanging around here all evening. I don't know how the man got in man, but I'd rather get some shut eye and think about it tomorrow."
Jessie snorted. "Twenty bucks says the guy hotwired the alarm system."
Jonny shook his head. "I think he just hid out until closing time, and was waiting until the streets were quieter. He's probably been here the whole time."
"Well, whatever he did, we won't find out about it now—the guy ain't talkin' 'til tomorrow." Race placed a hand on Jonny and Jessie's shoulders, leading them towards the exit. "Now let's go get some sleep."
The Next Day
Jessie was awake bright and early the next morning despite only getting four hours of sleep. She was on a mission. Her eyes narrowed as Jade entered the dining room of the hotel, followed by Race, but she quickly turned her attention back to her plate of fruit. Behind Race and Jade came Jonny, who was glaring at Race's back. Hadji, Benton, and Grace were already seated at the table with Jessie.
"So what are the plans for today?" asked Jonny as he took a seat beside Hadji.
Race chuckled. "Whatever you kids want to do. The two fine doctors are going to be working on the stone…I'm gonna be interrogating Lorenzo…and Jade is going sightseeing."
"I'm all for relaxing in the comfort of my room," said Jessie quickly. "It's too hot outside—I'll hang by the pool later. I need to call mom and catch up with her anyway."
"I wouldn't mind seeing the sights," murmured Jonny glancing over at Jade with a bashful smile. "If it's alright with Jade."
"I would be honored," replied Jade with a bright grin. Jessie rolled her eyes.
Hadji cleared his throat. "I think I shall stay behind as well. I do not feel up to traversing this magnificent city today…perhaps tomorrow."
Benton nodded in agreement. "Well, then I guess that settles it. Jonny, Jessie—be on the lookout for suspicious characters. Surd and Rage probably have men following both of you."
"We'll be fine, dad," remarked Jonny.
An Hour Later
The Hotel
Jessie glanced up and down the hallway carefully, breathing in relief when she found it empty. She quickly slipped out of her room and walked over to the door directly across from her. She looked around once more as she inserted a pick into the lock.
"Buenísimo," she murmured to herself as the door clicked open. Jessie stepped into the room, shutting the door softly behind her before locking it. Treading on the carpet carefully, Jessie walked over to the closet and pulled it open. Inside was Jade's suitcase. Jessie pulled out the black bag and swiftly rifled through its many pockets. She frowned upon finding nothing out of the ordinary. After replacing the suitcase in the closet, Jessie made her way over to the dresser and pulled drawer after drawer open. Still, she found nothing.
"How many other places can that bitch hide things?" swore Jessie under her breath as she stopped in the middle of the room, placed her hands on her hips and took a quick survey of the room. Her eyes caught sight of the bedside table. Jessie went and sat on the side of the bed and pulled the drawer open. Inside was a bible. With a small grin Jessie picked up the bible and flipped through the pages. Moments later she found a piece of paper.
"Perfecto." Jessie put the bible back in the drawer and closed it before opening the piece of paper up. On the white sheet were a series of numbers that Jessie recognized as the security codes for the museum. "Maldita." Jessie stuffed the paper in her pants pocket and got to her feet—only to hear a key in the lock.
With wide eyes Jessie scrambled over to the sliding door, opened it, and slid outside onto the balcony. Jessie glanced over the balcony railing, cursing as the door to the room opened up.
Jade entered the room, and headed straight for the restroom. She washed her hands and dried them before entering the main part of her room. Her eyes shifted around expertly, taking note of the condition of her room. To the untrained eye it was neat and tidy, but Jade was a thief—and she could tell someone had been messing with her stuff. With a shake of her head Jade walked over to the sliding door and stepped out onto the balcony. Both sides were empty. She snorted and turned on her heel to leave. Yawning, the dark haired woman left the room.
As soon as Jessie heard the door shut she pulled herself back onto the balcony. Hanging off the bottom edge was not her favorite hideout…but it had prevented Jade from catching her. Jessie glanced around the room one last time before leaving. There was nothing to find in Jade's room.
Instead, Jessie slipped out of Jade's room and made her way down the hall and into the front lobby. She smiled winsomely at the desk clerk and waited for the man to give her his full attention.
"Buenos días, señorita," said the man.
"Buenos días, Señor. Yo necesito una lista de todos los números de teléfonos la señorita Jade llamó para su cuarto."
"Si, señorita, un momento." The man smiled back at Jessie and turned to his computer, quickly typing away as Jessie waited. Minutes later the printer could be heard whirring away. The man took the printed sheet and handed it to Jessie with another smile. "Estas son todos los números de teléfonos ella llamé."
"Gracias." Jessie took the paper and turned to go back upstairs. She took the steps two at a time, studying the paper in her hands. Gritting her teeth Jessie made her way over to a single door and pounded on it.
Hadji blinked in surprise as Jessie shoved a piece of paper in his hands and made her way into the room. "What is this?" he asked closing the door behind her. He glanced at the paper and frowned at seeing a list of telephone numbers.
"A list of numbers that Jade has called since being here," answered Jessie simply.
"Who do these numbers belong to?"
Jessie grinned as she plopped down on Hadji's bed and picked up the telephone. "That's what we're gonna find out. Gimme the paper." Jessie took the paper and quickly dialed in the first number on the list as Hadji took a seat on the other bed. He could sense his afternoon nap would be out of the question now.
Meanwhile
Jade watched with a plastered smile on her face as Jonny tried to negotiate a sale with an old Mexican man. They were bargaining over a bracelet. For Jessie. Jade had bit her tongue when Jonny had first lain eyes on the damn bracelet, because the first words out of his mouth had been how it would look great on Jessie.
The bracelet wasn't anything special. Just a simple gold chain with charms on it. A teddy bear, a moon, a car, a flower…the usual little charms one could find on such a bracelet. Personally, Jade thought it was a tacky bracelet…but because Jonny was buying it she could see Jessie accepting it without question.
By the time Jonny finally managed to buy the bracelet and stuff it in his pocket, Jade was boiling with anger inside. On the outside, however, she was sickly sweet. She cooed over the bracelet, telling Jonny how wonderful he was to think of his best friend despite the fact that she wasn't speaking to him, and peppering him with kisses as they walked on down the sidewalk arm in arm.
But Jade was pissed. Thoughts of killing Jessie swirled away in her mind along with thoughts of having Jonny watch before she turned around and killed him.
Jonny on the other hand was babbling away without really hearing himself. He was too busy trying to come up with a good excuse to catch Jessie alone and give her the bracelet—and get away with anything but a black eye.
But as Jade tightened her grip on his arm, Jonny felt all thoughts of Jessie flee his mind.
Later
Race rubbed his forehead wearily as he walked down the hotel hallway. He blinked in surprise at seeing Jessie seated in front of his door with a book in her hands. It looked as though she had been sitting there for a while.
"Hey Ponchita, what's up?" he asked as Jessie finally glanced up at him.
Jessie shrugged and got to her feet. "Just wanted to talk to you. How'd the interrogation go?"
"Lorenzo clammed up. He won't say a damn word." Race unlocked his door and entered with Jessie right behind him. He sank down onto the bed and watched as Jessie closed the door and then pulled two pieces of paper out of her pants pocket. "So whaddya want to talk about?"
"These." Jessie handed him the two papers and watched carefully as Race studied them.
"What about them?"
"Those phone numbers are ones Jade called. She called Lorenzo's room over at his hotel a lot, dad…and the other paper—that one has the security alarm system code for the museum where the stone is."
Race sighed and handed the papers back to Jessie. "Honey, I know you're going out of your way to find things linking Jade back to the bad guys, but I kind of expected it. Jade has shady connections. How else did she know about the museum break in?"
"Dad, that was when the stone was still in London!"
"She said Surd was getting ready to steal the stone, sweetie, she just wasn't sure where that would take place. So what if she was in contact with Lorenzo? That connection helped us nab him before he got away with the stone."
Jessie rolled her eyes. "He couldn't have touched the stone, daddy. The thing has its own security system. Only a virgin can touch it. Fine, Jade has shady connections, but what about the code?"
"All of us have the damn code written down, Jess. That way we could get in without setting off the alarm and talking with the fine Mexican police," replied Race. "You're trying too hard to incriminate her. Why can't you just ease off and try to get to know her, huh?"
"Dad, that woman is the spawn of the devil. I want nothing to do with her. And if you even think about marrying her, I will never speak to you again," growled Jessie tossing the papers to the ground.
"All I'm asking of you right now is to have dinner with me and Jade tonight…give her a chance. Get to know her—and try not to kill her, huh? She's an asset to the team."
"Asset my ass," grumbled Jessie scowling. "I'd rather jump off a cliff than have dinner with her."
"If you don't go to dinner you'll never see your license again."
"Fine, but remember I'm agreeing to this against my will." With that Jessie turned on her heels and strode out of the room, leaving Race behind to shake his head at her temper.
"Takes after her damn mother," he sighed.
That Night
"Hey, Hadj, you wanna go do somethin'?" asked Jonny turning to face his other best friend.
Hadji yawned. "I was looking forward to a much needed nap, my friend. Why don't you ask Jessie to hang out with you?"
"Well, one, she's still pissed at me, and two, she's having dinner with Race and Jade tonight."
"It seems everyone is having dinner tonight. Your father and Dr. Lin are also eating out this evening. Perhaps it is the atmosphere of the city. I for one am still recovering from jet lag."
"Dad's eating out with Grace? Why didn't he tell me?"
"Perhaps because he knew you would not approve." Hadji sat up and glanced over at the blonde teen. "Jonny, your father seems to care about Dr. Lin. Why must you protest their friendship?"
Jonny growled. "Because it ain't friendship she wants—she wants to date him, and no one dates my dad without my permission." Jonny got to his feet and strode out of the hotel room, leaving Hadji behind to shake his head in sorrow.
Half running, half walking, Jonny made his way to the hotel restaurant. He walked in and glanced around. The room was only half full. On one side he spotted Race, Jade, and Jessie. Jonny smiled appreciatively at seeing Jessie in a skirt, but quickly diverted his attention to search for his father. Within seconds Jonny had spotted Benton and Grace. The pair was dining at a small table on the other side of the restaurant.
Jonny ran a hand through his hair and headed over to his father and Grace. Without speaking Jonny pulled up a third chair and grinned as the couple blinked at him in surprise. "So what are we eating tonight? I'm starved."
Benton frowned. "I thought you were up with Hadji."
"He's still recovering from jet lag…and I think he's tired of hearing me and Jess complaining about each other, so he's probably trying to stay away from us on purpose. Ooh, the lobster sounds good. What are you guys eating?"
Grace chuckled. "Calamari."
"What?" Jonny looked up with a disgusted look on his face. "Man, that stuff reeks. Jessie likes it…I don't know why either."
"Son, Grace and I were kind of having a private dinner…" Benton trailed off as he locked eyes with Jonny.
"It's alright, Benton," said Grace quickly, "Jonny's more than welcome to join us. It'd be nice to get to know him some more."
"See dad, I am welcome." Jonny grinned at his father and settled back in his seat triumphantly.
Grace nodded. "So, Jonny, why don't you tell me about your self? I hardly know you."
"What's to know? I'm practically eighteen and in college. I spend a lot of my time in detention. I'm bad with girls—Jessie hates my guts at the moment. My best friend runs his own country…I have a dog, who's too old to travel anymore. All in all, I'm not much of a great guy. I take after my dad. You'll be glad to get rid of us soon, believe me." Jonny grabbed a glass of water off the tray of a passing waiter and raised it to Grace before slurping it down. Benton closed his eyes with a shake of his head while Grace frowned. This wasn't one of Jonny's finer moments, and all three knew it.
On the other side of the restaurant Jessie was poking at her food with her fork, duly ignoring her father and Jade sitting directly across from her in the booth. Jade was being extra attentive to Race and Jessie was about ready to scream. Jessie glanced up as Jade giggled. Race was on his feet, taking his cell phone out of his pocket. Apparently it had buzzed.
"If you fine ladies will excuse me, I have to take this." Race smiled brightly before disappearing out of the restaurant, the phone at his ear.
Jade's smile fell the moment Race wasn't looking, and she turned to glower at the red headed teen in front of her. "Listen up, you little brat, I know you were in my room today, and it would be in your best interests to leave me the hell alone. You don't know who you're messing with!"
"Neither do you, lady. I will do whatever it takes to protect my father and Jonny from the likes of you. Hurt them and you'll wish you had never been born," shot back Jessie in a low whisper.
"I'm not afraid of you kid, you're nothing but an angry teenage girl. You don't stand a chance against me."
"I'm gonna expose you for what you really are, Jade, just you wait and see. You won't even know what hit you!"
The two women glared at one another, breaking eye contact as Race returned. The older man eyed Jade suspiciously as he slid back into his seat beside her, casting a concerned glance at his daughter, but Jessie was back to stabbing her plate.
"Who was on the phone?" asked Jade sweetly.
Race smiled brightly, shaking the unease out of his mind. "Just Corbin—he didn't have much to say. Just wanted to inform me the…hotel is under tight scrutiny," lied Race. Jade nodded along and turned her attention back to her own plate, ignoring the dark looks Jessie gave her.
With a small breath Race picked up his fork and stared down at his own dinner. He didn't have the heart to eat anymore…not after what Corbin had confirmed. But Race had to put up a front so no one would be any wiser. Such was life in the C.I.A.
A/N—I know, I know, it's been a long while since I've updated, and I apologize. I didn't plan on taking so long…summer's coming, along with finals next week and I've been busy beyond reason. I'm already working on the next chapter.