Chapter one
Sweat trickled down the side of her face as she kept up her fast pace on the treadmill; dressed only in some black short shorts and a pink sports bra with her long strawberry blonde hair pulled up in a high ponytail, Isabella contentedly ran as she blasted her IPod in her ear. Every now in then, she'd hum along with the chorus of the song she was playing. At last, once the treadmill read that she had completed running 3 miles, she slowed the pace down to a walk to cool off. Then after a few calming minuets of walking, she turned the treadmill off completely before she hopped off the piece of machinery. She immediately bent down and scooped up her ice cold water bottle before popping the cap off and putting the mouthpiece to her full, pink lips; she took a few, deep swigs of the water before the put the cap back on and picked up a small hand towel that she used to wipe the sweat off her face and neck then she took out one of her earphones from her ear to listen incase someone entered the private gym. When an upbeat song came on her IPod, Isabella smiled to herself before she started swinging her hips along to the music. Though her military training had taught her to never be surprised at anything, she almost couldn't help but jump when she heard a low, rumbling laughter coming from across the gym. Instantly, defensively, she spun about; a tall, well built man who looked to be in his early 50's stood leaning up against the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest as he studied Isabella,
"What on earth are you doing, Bella?" he asked with amusement; his brown eyes twinkled with laughter; Isabella grinned sheepishly at her father,
"Training." She answered casually with a soft shrug of her shoulders. Her father cocked an amused eyebrow at her before he stepped into the gym and walked over to where she stood.
"Training?" he repeated, "I was unaware that shaking your fanny like so was considered training in the Marine Corps." He stated as he mockingly started to mimic his daughter's little jig; Isabella burst out laughing. He father looked like he was trying to hoo-la-hoop. She playfully smacked him on his arm,
"Dad, stop it. What would your staff say if they saw you doing THAT?" she pointed out. General Wright stopped his little imitation before he smirked down on his only child,
"Eh good point." He stated before he draped an arm around his daughter's shoulders and steered her towards the gym's exit. "So…."he father began, "…the Marine Corps Birthday Ball is coming up this weekend. I would expect that you would be attending?" he inquired curiously. Isabella gave a soft shrug,
"I was planning on it but what's the theme this year?" she returned.
"Masquerade." He father answered casually.
"Ooh…they're being bold this year." She teased lightly while she gave a soft nudge of her elbow into her father's side. General Wright chuckled,
"Indeed. So is that a yes?"
Isabella nodded her head, "Yeah, why not? They're certainly interesting to be apart of." She answered with a smile.
"Good, good." He father replied with a swift nod of his head.
The two quickly made their way out of the gym and headed up to General Wright's office. Once inside, Isabella walked over to where she had her duffle bag lying neatly on the ground against the side of a wall. She then reached inside and pulled out a large sweatshirt and slipped it over her head, covering her exposed torso before she picked up the strap of her bag and slung it over a shoulder.
"Give me a minuet, Bella. I need to grab a few things." Her father stated as he smoothly marched over to his grand work desk and rummaged around it. Soon he pulled out a thick but carefully stacked pile of flies; then he swiftly tucked them underneath his arm before he walked back over to where Isabella stood, waiting for him. "Alright let's move out." He stated in a jokingly serious manner. Isabella rolled her eyes and smiled at her dad's use of the military term before she led the way out of her dad's office. General Wright stopped for a quick second to turn, close and lock up his room. Then once that task was done, the two Wrights left their work building and were soon outside making their way through the parking lot where their cars were parked. It was already the evening time and the sky was quickly darkening with each minuet, the approaching night's air was cool and slightly chilling to the touch. Finally the Wrights stopped between two cars, the General's which was a neatly, polished black truck and Isabella's, a dark blue sports car. Both Isabella and her father pulled out their keys for their vehicles and unlocked the two cars; while Isabella tossed her duffle bag into the back of her car, she called back over her shoulder to her father who was also placing his own personal effects away in his truck.
"So….General," Isabella teased her dad formally, "What's the plan for tomorrow, sir?" she asked.
"I've got a meeting at the Pentagon at 13:00 hours and while I'm away Lieutenant, I need you to file some paperwork and write a few reports on them." her dad answered. Isabella's face scrunched up in displeasure at her father's words; she absolutely hates working behind a desk all day long. Gracefully, she turned around to face him,
"With all do respect sir, you know I detest that kind of work." She calmly protested. "I'd rather be fighting on the frontline!" she grumbled to herself. Her father heard her words and glanced over his shoulder at her and chuckled,
"Oh Bella, you're always looking for the action." General Wright lightly pointed out. Isabella shrugged both her shoulders,
"I can't help it, I'm a free spirit!" she defensively stated.
"Yeah I know, must've gotten it from your mother." He father lovingly teased causing Isabella to smirk proudly,
"Naturally." She stated with a soft laugh. Isabella's mother was a highly trained Navy doctor and Isabella was made in her very image: same eyes, face shape, smiling mouth, the strong womanly independence burning deep within them; the only few things that Isabella had that resembled her father was her hair color and of course her keen skills with military strategy. Her father then turned away from his truck to face his only child,
"So, can I count on you to file the paperwork and complete those reports?" Her father asked. Isabella straightened up, stood at attention before raising a hand up to her temple in a respectful salute,
"Yes, sir." She firmly answered. General Wright smiled and returned the salute before adding softly,
"That's my girl." He said with approval. Isabella smiled,
"Is there anything exciting you might be able to throw in for me once I'm done with that task?" she asked hopefully; her father smirked and shook his head before he turned around and reached back into his truck,
"Always on the job, aren't you Bella?" he father teased, calling back over his shoulder.
"Yup!" she called back. When her father turned back around he held three red folders in his hand;
"Well since you're looking for a challenge, perhaps you could help me with these." Her father stated as he handed the files over to Isabella who took them with careful hands. On the top of one of the files read the word 'Classified.' "These are the blueprints to some new, highly developed weapons of war. As you can see already they are strictly classified but you've already been exposed to stuff like this so you know the drill. Now what I need you to do is to carefully go through each file and read over what is written. You're known for your professional observations which why I'm entrusting you with this. Some other Generals, including myself aren't sure how to feel about these ideas and you'll see why for yourself, so when you have the time, take notes on all the things you notice about these plans, good or bad." He father explained. Isabella nodded her head in understanding,
"It will be done." She answered as she hugged the files close to her chest.
"Great. Well then, get some sleep tonight because it looks like you'll be quite busy for the next 48 hours." He father stated as he walked over and gave his daughter a parting embrace which she naturally returned,
"Night, dad, give mom my love!." She murmured,
"Goodnight sweetheart and I will." He replied.
When the two pulled away, they turned from each other and each climbed into their own car. Once both vehicles were running, they drove off in opposite directions. Though the two Wrights were close in both father/daughter relationship and work, Isabella no longer lived with her father or mother since she was 23 years old and could afford her own small apartment on the outskirts of the military base they worked on. It was about a 20 minuet drive to her apartment and once she had parked her car out in front of her building, she turned off the car's engine, grabbed the red files and climbed out of the driver's seat. She swiftly grabbed her duffle bag from the backseat before she walked up to her front door and unlocked it. She nudged the door open with her shoulder and shut it with a firm kick from her foot; inside she carried her belongings through her small apartment and into her bedroom before dropping the files on her bed and setting her bag down on the floor beside it. Her back felt a bit stiff from work but she knew a nice hot bubble bath would fix that right up. After she went into the bathroom to get the hot water going in the tub of hers, she made a quick trip to the kitchen and made herself a peanut butter sandwich with raspberry jelly. By the time she got back into her bedroom, half of the sandwich was already gone and it wasn't long after that the other half disappeared as well. Once her food was done, she waltzed back into her bathroom which was filling up with steam and the sweet smell of roses from bubbles. Once the tub was filled, she closed her bathroom door for some privacy and turned the faucet off. Isabella stripped off her clothes and slowly stepped into the tub. At first the hot bath water made her hiss slightly but her body soon welcomed its heat as she sank down into the mass of scented bubbles that covered her bare breasts and enveloped her entire body. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes before letting out a soft sigh of pleasure. Her moment of peace was quickly interrupted when she faintly heard the tune of 'Bad Romance' by Lady Gaga coming from somewhere in her bedroom, her duffle bag to be exact. Her turquoise eyes snapped open,
"Ah shit!" she swore under her breath as she quickly forced herself to rise up from the tub and climb out; she snatched a white, fluffy towel from the towel rack and wrapped it around her torso before she threw her bathroom door open and ran for her phone. After digging it out of the bottom of her duffle bag, she pressed the talk button and put her cell phone to her ear,
"Lieutenant Colonel Wright speaking." She expertly spoke into the phone,
"Lieutenant," came a serious but familiar voice; Isabella knew at once who had called,
"General Speice." She acknowledged respectfully before waiting for him to continue,
"We have a problem."
