OOPS! I'M A SECRET AGENT (Romance)

by Black, De-ann

  And that’s when I think that I genuinely melted into the background, becoming just one of the guests with her eye on a present.

  That’s when they made their mistake.

  The two men who were standing nearby spoke in confiding whispers. No one was near to overhear their conversation. No one except me.

  Just as I’d overheard Alexavier and the others talking about me in the department, I heard these two men talking about something that made me use my eavesdropping prowess to the max. I heard everything they said.

  I picked a gift and walked away from the tree.

  No change in the watermark. The two men didn’t even consider me for a moment. I was invisible and completely forgettable.

  I headed back to my table to look for Montpelier.

  ‘Ah, there you are,’ said Mr Brown. ‘I do believe you promised me a dance.’

  Unable to refuse him without causing ructions, I let him escort me on to the dance floor. We waltzed and chatted and I just wanted the dance to be finished so that I could look for Montpelier, or Alexavier.

  Mr Brown insisted we make another round of the dance floor.

  ‘So what does a lovely young woman like you do?’

  ‘I’m a fashion designer. Nothing grand. Just a small independent designer.’

  ‘Really? What types of things do you design?’

  Damn! He was showing an interest.

  ‘Boutique fashions.’ I didn’t elaborate. I said it confidently as if he was supposed to know what this was.

  ‘Oh well that sounds very interesting.’

  Great. I’d lost him on the boutique. Phew! I glanced around. Where was Montpelier? Had something happened to him?

  Thankfully the music kicked up a level and he didn’t want to continue dancing. We went back to the table.

  I picked up the gift and was tempted to open it.

  ‘Has Santa arrived early?’ said Mr Brown.

  ‘All the ladies at the party are offered the chance to select a gift from under the Christmas tree,’ I explained.

  Mr Brown sipped his drink. ‘That’s a lovely idea. Are you going to open it?’

  ‘She’s going to put it under the tree at home,’ said Montpelier, ‘aren’t you darling?’

  I smiled up at him, relieved he was safe and hadn’t mysteriously disappeared. ‘Definitely.’

  The band began playing a song I wasn’t familiar with.

  Montpelier held out his hand to me. ‘They’re playing our song. We have to dance to that.’

  He swept me away from the table and on to the dance floor.

  ‘I thought you’d disappeared. I was worried something had happened to you.’

  ‘Sorry, Neve. I was liaising with Alexavier.’

  ‘I know who the traitor is.’ I didn’t sugar my words.

  The pale grey eyes sparked with interest. ‘Are you sure? What did you find out? Is it Brown?’

  ‘No. I overheard two men talking when I was choosing a present over at the tree.’ I looked to see where they were. ‘One of them is still standing near the tree, and the other is over at the window.’ They were both chatting to other people, keeping up the facade no doubt.

  Montpelier followed my line of vision as we danced.

  ‘The tall blond man at the window received the information, but the man with the white silk tie near the tree is the traitor.’

  ‘Are you sure?’

  As we danced I relayed the details of the information that had been passed. Details of times and locations, two locations. ‘The blond man said that they would meet again in three days time right in the heart of the city centre. That’s when the last piece of information about private government matters will be exchanged, along with a substantial amount of money. The informant said he’d be there, and that he wasn’t going to give them any more information because he thought that he’d been flagged and was under investigation.’

  ‘We’ll get you out of here to somewhere that you can tell us everything before you forget the details,’ said Montpelier.

  ‘I won’t forget.’

  We smiled and waltzed off the dance floor and out of the party, taking my gift wrapped present with me.

  Outside in the car Montpelier phoned Alexavier who confirmed they’d pick up the man I’d named as the traitor. They appeared to be willing to take me at my word, something I rarely experienced, and certainly never from Rupert. This was a new experience and I liked it.

  ‘Well done,’ Montpelier said. He turned the heater up in the car. ‘Tell me everything you overheard.’

  After giving him every detail, we started to drive back to our hotel.

  Everything was fine, until I noticed Montpelier glancing in the rear view mirror.

  ‘Is someone following us?’ I said. The traffic was busy and it was difficult for me to see if one particular car had us in their sights.

  ‘A car has been tailing us. Hold steady. I’ll have to deal with them.’

  I gulped. A high speed car chase?

  Montpelier’s method didn’t involve racing through the city streets. No, his way was more subtle. He accelerated, darted through a gap in the traffic, parked fast, flicked the headlamps off and let the car tailing us drive on. Once they were further ahead, he slipped back into the traffic and headed in another direction, taking a different route back to our hotel.

  ‘Who was following us?’ I said.

  ‘The traitor usually works alone, though he may have hired back–up for this evening. Or...it’s the others. Trouble attracts trouble. There have been rumours of large sums of money being exchanged for information. Whenever money is involved, we fall prey to the vultures who hope to muscle in and get a share of it. Because this assignment has been ongoing for months and we’ve attracted all sorts of trouble.’

  ‘It sounds complicated.’

  ‘Assignments are never clean. In real life, they’re messy, and we often have to deal with outside issues as well as the task we’re assigned to. I’ve already had a couple of run–ins with money grubbers who have no loyalty to anyone or anything except whatever money they can get their hands on. Our intelligence information confirmed that one or two of them were at the party tonight. But the traitor was our objective and we hoped to deal with the others if necessary.’

  The flakes of snow from earlier had increased. A light layer covered the streets. He parked at our hotel and as we walked inside I looked up at the snow falling around us. I had the urge to take a walk in it, to breathe, to think about what had happened. I think that’s what I needed more than anything. Everything had happened in a whirlwind since I’d left London.

  ‘Are you okay?’ Montpelier’s tone contained genuine concern.

  ‘Sort of.’

  We stopped and stood outside while the snow fluttered down.

  Montpelier’s expression was intense. ‘I’m going to say something that’s just between us. If this work ever gets too much for you, walk away, Neve, just walk away.’

  I nodded, and we went into the hotel.

  We went into our room together, giving the right impression for a couple, then Montpelier went through to the adjoining room to sleep.

  ‘Goodnight,’ I called to him.

  ‘You did well this evening,’ he called back.

  I snuggled into the sumptuous bed and gazed out the window at the snow. Rupert crossed my mind. I remembered our first Christmas together. London was snowed under. People were making snow angels in their front lawns. For three days we lived in a winter wonderland and it was marvellous. We had snowball fights, and ate lots of Christmas cake and mince pies and watched television and snuggled on the sofa in front of the fire. Extraordinary memories from ordinary times.

  I pushed Rupert from my thoughts, and watched the snow turn the dark silhouettes of the city’s tall buildings sparkling white.

  Tonight would be one I’d never forget. Extraordinary memories from extraordinary times.

  I imagined what it would be like to be in a relationship and come
home after a busy day in the spying business, and my man would say, ‘What was your day like? What did you get up to?’

  And I’d say, ‘Oh nothing special. I sussed out a traitor, danced with a spy, narrowly avoided the clutches of a really bad guy, danced with another spy, and got a present from Santa that I haven’t even opened yet.’

  Hmm? I wondered what was in the parcel. It sat on the dresser. I climbed out of bed and unwrapped it. The light coming in through the window lit up the room in a pale glow.

  Wow. It was an electronic notepad. I loved it. How handy. And then I remembered. What could I note down that didn’t reveal who I was and what I did for a living? Nothing. My life was now a secret.

  A knock on my door in the middle of the night woke me up.

  ‘Neve, open up.’

  I recognised Alexavier’s voice and hurried over to unlock the door.

  As soon as I opened it, he stepped inside and closed it shut again quickly.

  Although the bedside lamp was off, there was enough light shining in through the window to illuminate the room.

  Alexavier wore only black trousers and shoes.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ I said, feeling the need to whisper, and trying not to stare at the gleaming contours of his bare chest. His hair wasn’t as sleek as it usually was, and I got the impression he’d been sleeping and got up, thrown on a minimum of clothes and dashed straight to my room.

  ‘Where is the gift you got tonight at the party?’

  ‘The electronic notepad? It’s over on the dresser.’

  He grabbed the device and held it up to the light shining in the window.

  ‘Do you want me to put the light on?’

  ‘No,’ he said, ‘keep the lights off and keep your voice down.’

  Adrenalin was pumping through my system. ‘What’s happened?’

  ‘This isn’t the gift you chose from under the tree.’

  ‘It is. I put it on the dinner table. It was there when I went back. I took it with me when we left the party.’

  ‘No, it was changed.’

  ‘It looks the same. The same wrapping paper.’

  ‘All the gifts were wrapped in silver or gold paper. You were duped into thinking it was the same.’

  I went over and looked at the device. ‘But it looked exactly the same. The same size and everything.’

  ‘It wouldn’t have been difficult to exchange the original gift for a fake. You didn’t open the parcel, did you?’

  ‘Well, no, but —’

  ‘And you left it lying on the table while you were dancing?’

  ‘Yes...’ I pictured the gift on the table. ‘I’d left it to dance with Mr Brown. I hadn’t paid a lot of attention to it when we’d finished dancing because I was wondering where Montpelier was.’

  ‘Then you left it again?’

  ‘Yes, to dance with Montpelier. I told him what I’d overheard. I wasn’t thinking about the parcel. I thought it was part of the party event.’

  ‘The original was, but someone changed it for this.’

  He took a knife from his trouser pocket — a flick knife, and prised the back of the gadget open.

  ‘It’s been tampered with. We’ll have a closer look at the department’s facility but...’ He pulled a small device from under the wires.

  My heart sank.

  ‘They know where we are. Where you are. It’s a tracker device. Our location has been compromised. Get dressed quickly. We have to leave now. I’ll alert Montpelier.’

  My hands were shaking very slightly and my stomach felt as if it was shivering from the shock awakening and the realisation that someone had done this.

  I grabbed one of my suitcases and tried to release the catches but my hands were trembling. Alexavier saw the state I was in and came over to me.

  ‘I’m sorry I’m shaking,’ I said. ‘I think I just got a bit of a shock. I’ll be fine once I’m dressed.’

  I didn’t want him to think that I was weak.

  ‘It’s the adrenalin. You’ll be okay. Your reaction is normal.’

  I nodded shakily.

  He moved closer and I saw his sinewy torso and arms that were whipcord strong gleam in the pale light. He was gorgeous. Maybe he was partly responsible for my condition? Okay, so that wasn’t true, but he did look so masculine and honed to tempting perfection.

  He put his arms around me and hugged me close. I could feel his heart beat strong and steady.

  ‘I won’t let anything bad happen to you,’ he whispered. He brushed strands of my hair back from my troubled brow. ‘Trust me. Everything will be okay.’

  I savoured the hug, acknowledged and welcomed his strength, tried to draw some of it to make myself stronger, and thanked him.

  He let me go and said quietly, ‘Pack everything up. Dress warm, for comfort and for running.’

  ‘Running?’ A shot of panic darted through me.

  ‘Just in case we have to move quicker than planned.’

  I hurried to pack my bags while he alerted Montpelier.

  The three of us were packed and ready to go. Alexavier looked around the bedroom, checking everything, a final sweep before we left as if we’d never been there.

  ‘Let’s go,’ said Alexavier, leading the way along the corridor and down an emergency stair exit.

  I was going to ask why we couldn’t leave by the front reception, but I bit my lip. Did I even want to know the answer? Because we’ve been compromised? Because we’re being hunted? Or I was being hunted? Nope, I think that question was better left behind my buttoned lips.

  ‘Keep close to me and move fast. Get in the back seat of the car without any hesitation. We’re making a quick exit,’ said Montpelier.

  I felt my ankle length boots crunch through the snow as we hurried to the car. We threw our bags in the boot and a couple in the back seat and then I jumped in to the rear seat as I’d been told. Montpelier got in the driver’s side. Alexavier sat in the front passenger seat.

  Montpelier drove the car with great control through the snow covered streets. The gritting lorries had been out dealing with the conditions, and some of the main roads through the centre of the city had been cleared of snow or it had turned to slush worn down from the traffic.

  It was still snowing. I looked out the window at the Christmas lights in the streets. It had felt like Christmas earlier but now I felt only the cold shudder of trouble in our wake.

  ‘We’ve got a couple of our people going over security footage of the party,’ Alexavier said to Montpelier. ‘We’ll soon see who is responsible for changing the parcel.’

  ‘What happened to the traitor?’ I said. They hadn’t told me his name and gave me no hint that they intended revealing any further details about him.

  Alexavier and Montpelier were silent.

  ‘You caught him, didn’t you?’ I said, sensing he’d given them the slip.

  ‘He almost killed one of our agents, then he managed to merge with the catering staff. By the time we realised, he was gone,’ said Montpelier. ‘But we’ll pick him up soon. We’ve already handed over the other man who received the information to the appropriate people.’

  ‘So if you catch the traitor then the assignment would be over?’ I said.

  ‘Yes,’ said Montpelier.

  That didn’t seem too bad. One man down and the other would be captured.

  But maybe I spoke too soon.

  ‘We’re being followed from the hotel,’ said Montpelier.

  Alexavier looked round at me. ‘Are you wearing your seatbelt?’

  ‘Yes,’ I said, thinking he was checking before we set off on a high speed chase.

  ‘Unclip the belt,’ said Alexavier, ‘and get ready to exit the car when I tell you.’

  I clicked the belt off.

  Montpelier drove the car through the sparse traffic. At almost 2 a.m. the streets were reasonably quiet. We pulled into a darkened recess.

  ‘Grab your bag and let’s go,’ said Alexavier.

  He jum
ped out of the passenger seat and I got out of the back. We both slammed the doors shut and watched Montpelier drive back into the street. Whoever was following didn’t see us leave the vehicle.

  ‘Will he be okay?’ I said, concerned about Montpelier.

  ‘The question is...will they?’ he said.

  With the bolstering thought that Montpelier could take care of the situation, Alexavier and I hurried through the snow in a different direction.

  I’d worn sensible boots, trousers, jumper and my warm black coat. I shrugged my bag across my shoulders and kept pace with Alexavier who was dressed in black trousers and a black winter jacket.

  The air was fresh and bitterly cold, but I welcomed being outside and feeling that we were safer on the move away from whoever had been chasing us.

  But then I felt the all too familiar sense across my back.

  I didn’t need to tell Alexavier that we were being watched. He’d grabbed my hand and increased his pace. I kept up with him, and soon we were running along the street, darting in and out of the shadows in the snow covered city.

  ‘Why can’t we go back to the department?’ I said, seeing my breath in the cold night air.

  ‘Because we cannot risk compromising its location. We will go back, but not until whoever is tailing us is gone.’

  ‘I know a route through the back streets near here,’ I said. ‘Though it may have changed since the last time I was there. I used to live in the city centre and played around this area.’

  ‘You lead, I’ll follow.’

  Again, trust had been put in me. I’d been taken at my word, not questioned or made to feel silly or inadequate.

  As we hurried towards the entrance of a darkened alleyway I remembered what Montpelier had said to me. ‘If this work ever gets too much for you, walk away, Neve, just walk away.’

  Right now I had no intention of walking away from my job at the department. Tonight I ran as fast as I could through the alleyways I hadn’t ventured into in years.

  We paused in a darkened doorway, pressing ourselves into the shadows, listening and watching for whoever was following us. No one was in the alleyway. We listened. Nothing.