Chapter 3: Day By Day
TUESDAY
Ada awoke in their king-sized bed with a cat pressed up on each side of her waist, providing her some warmth as she watched their little feline chests rise and fall in deep slumber. She gingerly ran her fingers down their backs and both stretched their limbs before eliciting happy purrs.
She stayed with them for a few minutes before sliding out of bed to get ready for work. Her husband's aftershave still lingered faintly in the bathroom and she managed to shut down any emotions that threatened to surface.
The ex-spy just thought of the scent as something environmental and got on with her morning.
Breakfast was simple, consisting of fruit and a slice of buttered toast. There was no point dirtying the cookware for a single serving of bacon and scrambled eggs.
Like clockwork, she left the house on the dot after washing the dishes and joined the rush hour traffic. With the radio turned on in the background, she focused on the road and her schedule for the day. There was a report she had to review and several appointments ranging from weaponry to mutations.
Without thinking too much about it, she had arrived in the parking lot. Ada got out and went past the security gantry, taking the lift to the office, and getting comfortable at her desk.
It was a fairly ordinary day.
Work had been hectic as usual. Hunnigan was swamped but somewhere in the back of her mind she kept reminding herself to check her personal cellphone for messages from Leon or his wife. It slipped through the cracks, between breaking in a replacement secretary and continuing talks with the private backers, she forgot about her own needs.
But she did remember to put in a request on Leon's whereabouts which would normally return a result immediately… Her query remained "pending" for the rest of the day.
WEDNESDAY
There was a two-day biowarfare symposium in town that required volunteers at the last minute. The BSAA decided to send its non-frontline staff to help out. Unfortunately for Ada, she was one of them.
Volunteering usually meant grunt work like ushering, registration, and other menial tasks. That was something Ada found to be a waste of her time. You could get college students to do that. She would rather stay at HQ to get her work done.
But she was no longer an independent agent who had the luxury to be picky nor was she high up the ladder to be able to say no. With a resigned sigh, she trudged over to the meeting room with her fellow co-workers for a briefing and to collect her uniform; a navy blue polo shirt with the BSAA logo emblazoned above her heart along with some plain black pants. It was surprising that they managed to get the right sizes for everyone.
They were ferried by a chartered bus to the venue and based on the chatter, her colleagues were excited to skip two days of work. Ada decided to put on her best customer service oriented persona. Might as well enjoy herself if she had to do this.
Ingrid sent a reminder to Leon to attend a 3pm briefing for the meeting on Friday. It mostly consisted of the code of conduct DSO employees had to display and to remind them that they were not allowed to make any promises of purchase.
She also informed the replacement secretary to alert her if and when Leon arrived at work. Should he call her through the in-house line, he was to be put directly through. He never called.
No matter, Hunnigan managed to get a response for her query on Leon's whereabouts. Apparently, he was attending a security conference. That was highly unusual since the content would be way too similar to the meeting with the private backers on Friday.
Something was up and she would definitely get to the bottom of it.
THURSDAY
The symposium wasn't so bad. Given Ada's experience of being out on the field, her supervisor assigned her a role that was different from the others. She was to welcome and screen for potential recruits at the BSAA booth.
Talking with others to get desired results was something she excelled in and she relished the challenge.
There were numerous fresh graduates who were more than eager to prove themselves and ate up the general idea of making the world a better place. Even though they were the easiest to convince, Ada still had to ensure they were good candidates.
Some of them were too gung-ho to see combat and she had to steer them towards applying for supporting roles. Ada had to persuade them that there were other ways to help without holding a gun. The BSAA had to be careful ever since Edonia. Too many bright youthful souls were lost that day and it took some careful PR to get back into the public's good graces again.
Not only was the BSAA looking for young blood, they needed people with experience too.
"I'm too old for the field," said a dark blonde woman who was walking by the booth and she waved her hand dismissively before she could be given a brochure.
Ada smiled gently, "No worries, I just joined the BSAA and I'm not in a combat-facing role. We need accomplished personnel in advisory or trainer positions too."
The other woman regarded her carefully as Ada remained quiet and continued to exude a genial presence. The ex-spy could tell this potential candidate had battle experience based on how she carried herself. The only giveaway was the slight stiffness in her knee when she moved after standing still.
The blonde must have completed sizing her up as she eagerly took the brochure and stepped into the booth, directing some questions to Ada.
In another life, perhaps she could have excelled as a recruiter. Her supervisor seemed satisfied by the number of applications.
Much to Ada's surprise, she was approached by other organizations too during her break time. She simply took the pamphlets and politely told them she would need some time to look over the information.
She did notice a DSO staff making a beeline towards her and she thought she could use the opportunity to ask about Leon's whereabouts. Before he was halfway to her, he was stopped by a bespectacled middle-aged man who placed a hand on his shoulder and redirected him elsewhere, gesturing animatedly with his hand.
Ada never saw any DSO personnel in her radius for the rest of the day. That was odd. The encounter lingered in the back of her mind for the rest of the afternoon.
Ingrid arrived at work earlier than usual. At oh- six-hundred hours she was standing inside Leon's office. It was definitely an upgrade from the drab little broom closet he had previously. A desk, a computer that she was often repairing and outfitting for him, numerous framed certificates of exemplary service and extensive training on the wall, a couple of chairs, and several filing cabinets that seemed bursting to the brim.
It looked just like any other office space and the only personal touch was a framed photo of his wedding day. Ingrid didn't think she ever saw either of them smiling so widely before but it did suit them on such a momentous occasion.
She had logged into his computer, everyone was provided a temporary username and password and he had never bothered to change his and even if he had, she would have been able to let herself in. There were emails accumulating in his inbox, hundreds unread and several from herself noting that he had a meeting on Friday after he had missed yesterday's briefing.
Hunnigan idly clicked around but found nothing to indicate he had been there since late Monday afternoon. She took out her cellphone and crafted another message below the previous one that was still unanswered.
[txt] If you are avoiding me you can stop now. I am verging on worrying about you, Leon.
The brunette hit send and left his office with a sigh.
FRIDAY
The end of the work week approached and there was still no word from Leon or any sign that he would be coming home. Ada had to reach out to her DSO contact since Hunnigan had not given her an update.
The contact said that according to the official records, Leon was attending a conference.
Ada did not believe it at all. Leaving behind his personal artefacts and taking his gear to a conference was quite a stretch. Plus, the symposium ended yesterday, how many more biosecurity events were there?
She would have taken matters into her own hands if she didn't have to catch up with assignments that had piled up while she was away. Furthermore, her inbox was inundated with emails from strangers she met at the symposium. All were full of gratitude for her in helping them get one step closer to their dream job.
Under normal circumstances, she would have accepted the praise but everything felt like a hollowed victory. Her supervisor mentioned she might expand Ada's job scope to screening recruits too, given how successful she was at the booth.
Work kept her preoccupied for the rest of the day and her husband was not on her mind until she reached home. Their two cats greeted her boisterously as always but she missed having Leon to talk to. They could have conversations about anything under the Sun without judgement, something she could not do with her co-workers to maintain professionalism.
Upon eyeing the calendar that was by the fridge, Ada pursed her lips in thought. They had volunteered for a pet adoption event during the weekend. It would not be right to pull out at the last minute after they had promised to go. Having one less person would still be manageable but two would make things difficult. She would have to make up an excuse for his lack of attendance.
Her search for Leon would have to wait. He was a resourceful genius in getting himself out of impossible situations, after all. Ada could only keep her fingers crossed that Lady Luck would be with him always.
The meeting had been a series of small disasters. Leon had never missed a meeting when it was important - at least not without informing her that he would be. Ingrid had been crystal clear in her emails to him that it was imperative that he attend this meeting.
Without him there, she had to call in another senior agent and guide him through the business deal. The backers were edgy at first, continuing to ask about Agent Kennedy's absence. She tried her best to iron out the wrinkles and console the sponsors that he was attending to other matters and would be personally contacting them soon since this project was close to his heart.
They seemed to buy it. It was a lie she sold them but her worries became deeper. A trickle working through rock, a stream. Which could become a raging river if left uncontrolled.
If she didn't already have an upcoming weekend trip that was planned months ago, she would have hunkered down at her desk for the rest of Friday night and searched for Leon with every resource at her disposal.
No news was good news, right?
Author's Note: I know most people would assume Ada would drop everything to search for Leon but let's face it, she has a proper job and life with responsibilities now. There is accountability. Plus, it makes for drama from a writer's perspective. No Leon for this chapter for now... I'm sure he's doing fine. =P
To BlackRain00: Glad you are enjoying this story so far! :)