by Bella Juarez
“I don’t know,” the MI-6 agent answered.
“Your security people would know,” Shaq responded.
“If you have redundant backups restore them, all of them. I need to see them all,” Dan said.
“What’s up, governor? What do you think happened here?” the MI-6 agent asked.
“Yeah, Dan, enlighten the rest of us,” Cobra said.
“Are you thinking this was hacked? Like before?” Shaq asked.
“This sounds familiar, doesn’t it?” Dan asked Shaq.
“We had an incident at our group’s headquarters in Texas. When we went to review the video, we found out it had been hacked. Even some of the redundant backups had been hacked. In that case, the hackers had inside information. If I were you, I’d start vetting all the people who work for you, again. There’s a good chance you’ll find a mole,” Dan said.
“Bloody hell!” the MI-6 agent said, sitting back.
The room was silent for some time. “We ain’t getting this done by sitting on our asses. Shaq, get with MI-6 security in that building and get the video and the copies. Dan, break out your computer and do your magic,” Cobra ordered.
Dan was shown to a small office he could use. Within an hour he had all the copies of the video. He watched the primary one straight through for two hours before and two after the security breach. His trained eye couldn’t see any sudden changes and he wasn’t expecting to see anything so obvious. Shaq joined him for a short time until Cobra called him about meeting with Alex around lunchtime.
Dan re-ran the video, this time frame by frame, and recalled the subtle difference when he’d seen video hacked before. As he ran through it, he came to the time of the incident without noticing anything he hadn’t seen before. He continued running through the video until two hours after. He backed up the video frames to three hours and went through it frame by frame again.
After six hours, Dan stood and walked around. Can I be wrong? Maybe this wasn’t hacked. Something gnawing at Dan told him he was right because it was too implausible that someone just knew how to avoid the cameras. It was doable, but the lab had cameras from every angle in multiple places. There were too many cameras that needed to be avoided. It would take someone who knew the exact location of every single camera in the hallways, labs, and outside the building. Who the fuck has that kind of information?
“Shit!” Dan swore as he rushed for the computer.
Dan used his access to the MI-6 database and looked up what he needed. He found out who handled security at the lab. He saw it was a private security firm. He started digging into the company and found it was a German company. After two hours of looking he’d come up empty.
He opened the surveillance video file up again and started going through it frame by frame once more. On his third pass, he was at the end of a four-hour time frame when he saw it. He zoomed in on what looked like the little blip. It was so subtle that he thought he was seeing things, or at least wishing he were seeing things. There was a slight change in quality. He looked at the time frame and wrote it down and then backed up to the front side of the same time frame and looked a little closer. He saw nothing so he backed up a few seconds more and stopped.
“Found you!” Dan exclaimed.
This had been a smart hack. Usually insertion of a file was exact because of the size, but in this case the hackers had managed to throw off the file size of the hack, making it virtually undetectable. Dan called Shaq and asked him to come and pick him up. He needed to get to that hallway and see what was different, if anything. Had the image just been planted or was it real? Was it just the same image looping to make it look like someone was walking down the hallway?
“Was it a fake?” Shaq asked as he walked inside.
Dan was packing up his computer. Just in case, he’d uploaded the image to a remote storage facility and had encrypted and changed the file so it wouldn’t launch a virus or someone couldn’t easily open it. Handing Shaq some stills he’d printed out, Dan pointed out some subtleties that they needed to be on the lookout for.
“I think so. I need to get to the lab and look at the hallway and the outside of the building,” Dan said.
* * * *
Alex was reading the last results of the test the ECDC had run. He still thought there was a link between the two pathogens. He just couldn’t find it in test results so far and remembered the results of some tests on the children of the Kush Valley and made a note to check into them, digging a little deeper. He logged off the computer and dipped another strawberry into the chocolate fondue that he’d made himself after he and Izzy had arrived home. She was still pouting about something. He took a bite. He needed to think, not eat. Isabel stood and looked at him and he noticed she had some papers in her hands.
Alex wanted to wrap his arms around her and kiss her. Isabel was a little hesitant as she walked toward him. She’d been angry and refused to talk to him the entire day and it had been a busy day. He and the guys went out to dinner to talk, but Isabel pouted and waited at home, saying she would eat whatever was in the fridge. He thought about the conversation that sent her into her current mood. Alex winced slightly. He could have said what he did a little more gently. He knew better with Isabel.
Isabel had been through so much in such a short time. He understood what he and Friday had talked with her about earlier had scared her. He understood her anxiety but not until he thought about it. He’d been afraid of this very situation. He was on a mission and when it came to work, he treated her like one of the guys. He expected from her what he expected from them and that was a problem because she wasn’t one of them.
“I think I found it,” Isabel said.
“Where?” Alex asked as he looked at the papers she was holding.
“Right here, the chemistry is slightly different,” Isabel said as she pointed to the molecule structure on the page. “See the chain…” she said, tracing a line with her finger. It was a slight variation of the same familiar pathogen. The variant was a slight dip in the chain of molecules. “If you notice, our pathogen’s molecular chain and now look at the new one.”
Alex studied the chain of molecules. It was the slight variation in the bacteria was that led them to study the molecular components of the pathogens. They needed to figure out why one of them seemed to be weaker than the other. Izzy had a detailed eye for these things. It was part of what made her such a good surgeon. The test results for fatty acids and antigens as well as DNA identification were still being run. This information was necessary because one of the pathogens seemed to be invoking an immune response while the other was destructive and so quickly invasive to the body.
“I see it, Izzy. We need to wait for DNA identification. I’m interested in the metabolism of this thing. I think there’s a difference and I think this one is weaker. I’d like to see what it does when it’s mixed with the other one,” Alex said as he walked over to the table and dipped another strawberry. He took a bite and discarded the top. “Want one?” he asked Isabel as he dipped another one.
“No, I need to do some documentation work. I just thought you’d want to see what I found,” Isabel said.
“I think you’re on to something,” Alex said as he brought the strawberry to her. He knew she was a bit of a chocoholic like him. “Take a bite, angel.”
Isabel took a bite and Alex watched her full lips wrap around the strawberry as she bit. Alex had to keep a groan from escaping as she chewed. He looked away as he discarded the green top.
“Angel, that conversation this morning didn’t—” Alex started.
“You made yourself clear. And you’re right. I should go home and we don’t know what will happen once you get home. Like you said, you’re in the military and I’m not sure I can do this, Alex,” Isabel said, cutting him off.
“Angel, you need to think about this, but as far as I’m concerned, nothing has changed. I still love you and I’ll wait for you. Talk to me, I know we can work this out,” Alex said.
Isabel hesitated before saying anything and he knew she was learning how to communicate without being so confrontational.
“Alex, I don’t belong here. I’m a surgeon. I belong in a hospital. It really freaks me out that someone is watching us. I feel like I’m being stalked. How can you stand it? Is this what life will be like with you?” Isabel asked.
“Izzy, I’ll always be honest with you, even if it’s bad news. For now, yes, this is what life is like with me. Unfortunately we’re working on shutting down the bad guys and right now, because of what you’ve seen, you’re in the middle of it with me. I hope our life isn’t like this. I don’t think I could stand it. That’s why I suggested you go home.” Isabel started to say something. Alex silenced her by holding up his hand. “Suggested that you go, not you need to go. I can tell this makes you anxious and the work you’re doing is not your specialty. So I understand why you’re feeling so stressed. I promise I’ll always make sure you’re safe,” Alex said.
Isabel sighed and wrapped her arms around his waist. Alex wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.
“Now do you see why I hate this damn war?” Isabel asked.
“No one hates it more than me, angel.”
“I can’t wait until you get home and you’re trapped in a hospital,” Isabel said.
Alex smiled. “Can I make it up to you with another strawberry?”
Isabel smiled despite herself. Alex knew she was really stressed out with all the tension of the cat-and-mouse game they were playing with this enemy. He released her and dipped another strawberry and offered it to her. She took it as before.
“I really should just heat myself some dinner,” Isabel said as she finished the strawberry.
“Did you eat earlier, angel?” Alex asked.
“I wasn’t hungry most of today. Until now,” Isabel said, picking up a strawberry.
“Do you want to go out to dinner? I’ll treat,” Alex offered.
Isabel shrugged. “It’s late. I can make myself something.”
Alex knew she was no cook. He did the cooking and that was fine by him. He liked taking care of her and part of that was feeding her.
“I guess, but there’s a really awesome bistro me and Shaq found today. It’s just around the corner,” Alex said.
“What about the strawberries?” Isabel asked, taking another one.
Alex wanted to get Isabel out of the flat before he slammed her down and fucked her until he was blind. He’d missed her while he was recovering and with the hours they were working it was even worse. He was so tired at the end of day he passed out. The aggressive sex they had the other night was eating way at him and he wanted more of it and even rougher. That fucking Dom inside was clawing to get free as she dipped a strawberry and ate it. Resistance was futile. The best he could hope for was to not scare the hell out of her. He walked to the bowl and dipped his finger inside and traced the chocolate over her bottom lip.
Alex leaned down and sucked in Isabel’s chocolate-covered lip and then licked off the rest. He took his finger and dipped it again. This time he took a handful of her loose hair and pulled her head back. He ran his finger over the center of her throat and licked the chocolate trail he made leading to her cleavage. Alex sucked and nibbled gently as he cleaned the rest of the sweet treat off her. Even though his actions had taken her by surprise, she struggled slightly. He loved to feel her struggle and laughed lowly as he pulled both her hands behind her and kissed her.
“You taste good dipped in chocolate, angel. You’re right. We should stay in for dinner,” Alex said.
“I thought you didn’t want me anymore,” Isabel said, struggling a little more.
“I didn’t say that.”
“Let me go.”
“No, you might not come back,” Alex said, loosening his grip. “Promise me you won’t leave.”
“I won’t leave,” Isabel whispered.
Alex knew that look on her face. She was his once again, so he let her hands go. He needed to keep reminding himself that Isabel wasn’t his plaything. She was brand new at sex in general and Alex was setting her expectations of what a relationship was like. He needed to keep repeating to himself that he didn’t want to go back to the way things were before he decided to walk away as a Dom. The last thing in the world he wanted was to send her home because he never wanted to wake up without her again, but she had to make that choice. Alex backed her into the table and took her face into his hands.
“Do you want to leave? Or do you want to stay with me?”
“I wanted to get something to eat.”
“That’s not what I asked you. Do you want to leave me? Tell me now,” Alex said.
“No,” Isabel whispered.
“No what?” Alex asked.
“No, I don’t want to leave you.”
“All right, angel. I promise I’ll take care of you. You promise you’ll talk to me no matter how difficult it is,” he said, running his hands down to her waist.
“Okay.”
Alex could tell Isabel was conflicted because his sudden change from loving to aggressive always stunned her and threw her off balance. Her scent combined with the smell and taste of the chocolate was making him lose his mind. He started to undress Isabel slowly, letting his hands roam her bare skin and taking in how soft and supple she was. He leaned forward and tasted her belly and moved his mouth upward underneath her breasts as he slid her jeans down her legs. As Izzy kicked off her shoes and stepped out of her jeans, Alex reached behind her with one hand and unhooked her bra, tossing it aside. He slid his fingers slowly up her back and to her shoulders and kissed her rib cage, taking the time to lick each one of her ribs. He lifted her suddenly and sat her on the table.
“What are you doing?” she asked as she squirmed on the table.
“Shush. Relax. I’m sure you’ll like this, angel,” Alex said, silencing her protest with a kiss as he eased her onto the table.
Alex took one of the strawberries and dipped it into the chocolate and ran a line from her breastbone to her belly button. He slowly licked and sucked the chocolate trail off her body. He wanted to throw that small pot of the sweet liquid all over her delicious skin. Izzy threw back her head and cried out as only she could.
He fed the strawberry in his hand to her before dipping his finger into the chocolate and drizzling the sauce all over her chest. He dipped his fingers a few more times, paying special attention to coating her nipples and other erogenous places.
“You’re all ready to devour now, angel.”
* * * *
Isabel screamed in pleasure when Alex’s warm, wet mouth attached to her nipple. He knew just the right spot to tease with his teeth and tongue. His tongue felt like fire, leaving a hot trail as he licked and nibbled at her chocolate-covered body. The anticipation of his movements was wrenching and at times made her quiver with need. He moved his mouth to the center of her chest and ate at her breastbone. His tongue guided him to the other nipple as he gently bit down and licked away the slight twinge he’d caused.
Alex kissed away his little torment and moved one of his hands in between her legs. She screamed and fell back onto the table at the sensation of his finger lightly brushing her clit. The touch slammed through her body like a shockwave after a blast. His sense of control was maddening as he played her like a marionette on a string. With the lightest touch she would jerk or quiver in delight or anticipation.
“Do like this, Izzy?” His hot breath whispered against her skin.
Isabel opened her eyes and swallowed hard as she looked into those sapphire pools that threatened to drown her in her own lust. She wanted to fight because she was still angry. The thought of him sending her away hurt and instead of giving in she wanted to slap him and walk out the door.
“Angel, I’m waiting,” Alex’s hypnotic voice commanded. The battle with her pride and anger were lost. There was no way she could leave him even if every fiber in her body were screaming at her to do so. “Yes!
”
Izzy realized she was lying on the table in the open space of their flat and she was laid out before him, naked. Alex ran his eyes slowly up and down her, inspecting every inch. It was agonizing, intimidating, irritating, and arousing. Her pussy gushed in anticipation of what was to come, eventually, when he was ready to release her from this sweet torment he was causing.
Alex kept his clothes on and it was intimidating the way he crawled over her and came nose to nose with her. She waited for him to take off his clothes and come skin to skin with her because she wanted so urgently to see and touch that perfect body of his. He took her hand and lifted it to his lips and kissed it. He took her fingers and licked them one at a time. He paid special attention to her middle finger and sucked it into his mouth before he released it and smiled at her.
“Tell me something, angel,” Alex said as he ran his hand over her body. Isabel closed her eyes at the soft touch. He leaned close and kissed her cheek. “Do you ever play with yourself?”
Isabel’s breath caught in her throat. Why would he ask something like that? Her eyes flew open and she saw he was waiting for answer.
“Um…everyone does,” Izzy said as he moved his finger in a slow circle around her nipple. She tried to control her breathing as she shivered.
“I’m not asking about everyone. I’m asking about you,” Alex said, kissing her jugular and biting lightly. Isabel shook at the tweak because he was making her crazy. “Tell me, Izzy. Do you play with your pussy when you’re alone?”
“Yes! Sometimes!” she cried out as he bit again.
“Who do you think about when you do that? And don’t lie to me, angel. I’ll know the right answer when I hear it,” Alex warned.
Isabel wanted to die. There was no way she would tell Alex he’d been the object of all her fantasies since she’d seen him. How would he know? How could he know? His damn ego was big enough and he didn’t need that kind of information. Even now after being so intimate, he was all she ever thought about. Alex was all she craved because no one had ever drawn sensuality from her the way he could with just his voice. He was the reason she seemed to breathe at times. Isabel contemplated lying, but he always seemed to know when she was less than honest with him.