𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 - Mitch Rapp

Chapter One - Compelling Encounters

Ava's body jolted awake to the sound of Cars obnoxiously beeping, causing her to  begrudgingly wipe the sweat from her forehead, unaware she was sweating that badly in her slumber. Irene must have failed to mention how hot Paris gets in the summer.

She glanced at the clock on the bedside table- eight am. Rolling her eyes at the early hour, the brunette pulled her jet lagged physique out of the hotel bed, and headed towards the bathroom. A hot shower ought to refurbish her brain. Ava had a meeting with Irene and some of the cia members today, however, what she didn't know, is that they wouldn't inform her on the details, as trainees don't have the privilege on case knowledge until the very last meeting before it becomes an official Mission.

Once she finished up in the bathroom, the exhausted girl scanned options for work attire in the diminutive wardrobe across from the bed. Finally content with the outfit she chose- black fitted pants with a matching blazer, a white blouse with frilles on the edges, and simple black ankle boots, she grabbed the rest of her things and proceeded to exit the hotel room. Irene had given the address to today's meeting over the phone, so , she made sure to book an Uber before leaving the room. Ava certainly wasn't about to Trott around the city in heeled boots. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. She sounds like a spoiled brat, right? Well, you'd be right. You see, in life, certain people have pretty privilege- and it always comes in handy. Especially when you're dealing with a misogynistic criminal that just can't say no to a pretty face.

However, Ava wasn't always like this. She used to be the shy kid, who never stood up for herself, or raised her voice in a time of need. She would often let people walk right over her, and never put herself first. But not anymore. She does the talking now, and never let's anyone walk over her- No matter who they are. Particularly when it comes to men. But that's a whole other story.

The brunette briefly sat in the hotel lobby until the Uber driver notified her phone of his arrival, then grabbed her black satchel and exited the clammy building. Ava opted for the back seat of the convertible, not wanting to sit too close to the stranger.

"Bonjour, Mon cherie, ça va?", the sallow skinned man spoke once he drove away from the hotel.

" Uh, ça va bien, mercí", she retorted awkwardly, knowing full well her French was awful.

To her relief, he didn't speak another word. The destination distance on the phone said it would take ten minutes to get there, so, having a few minutes to spare to breathe, Ava relaxed against the leather seats, and peered out of the window to take in more of the busy city. The girl was surprised to see a lot of school students out and about on their own. I mean, America wasn't even safe enough to do that, let alone Paris. Keeping herself busy with sporadic thoughts, she failed to realize the car had come to a stop. She peered outside the window to find that the street they were on was quite vacant. It looked as if there was barely anyone around at all, on the other hand, it's expected considering who it is the building is intended for.

"Merçí beaucoup", Ava thanked the driver before he drove off.

The sun was now at its peak as it was nearly midday, instantly making the girl regret her outfit choice. Nevertheless, she proceeded to walk towards the plain grey building , pondering on what her first real case would entail. Then again, the brunette was quite surprised Irene assigned her for this mission. It turns out she wasn't the only one either. Stan Hurley, the pain in the ass trainer, made his opinion clear to Irene when she announced her decision. According to him,the new recruit was no way near ready for an official case, to which, gave the girl a drive to prove him wrong.

You see, before Ava was recruited by Irene, they monitored her every move for the past year. The girl made the stupid mistake of not hiding her IP address when she went onto the dark web in search of scummy men to punish. Ava thought she was going to be arrested when the cia knocked on the front door one afternoon. But instead, they thought she had a lot of potential in regards to finding and dealing with criminals. In her opinion, it was the best decision they ever made.