Life As A Spy

Chapter 22

{Isaac's Pov}

I've had fun today. No infiltrating buildings, taking out terrorists, the usual stuff, just relaxing. It's actually really nice. We don't get vacations, so this is the closet thing I've had since I joined.

Sage is just...wow. She's irresistible. Her slow romantic style dancing in Paris and then her sexy dancing last night. She has curves and can kick butt when she wants to. How could anyone not be intoxicated by her?

Sage's face glows in the sun's rays. The haunting effect left from murdering people for a living is hidden by a smile and laugh lines. Why is she so complicated? Why are women so complicated in general? First, we're childhood friends for years. Next, she's off doing her own thing all the time. Then, she gets mad when I'm not around her. Now, we're stuck here after growing up apart from each other. Everything was so easy when we were kids.

Why do I even bother? She'll be gone after the mission. After the last drop of crimson blood, she'll float away like a memory.

I shouldn't be this attached to her. It's been years since we had a civil conversation with each other before Paris.

Her phone starts to ring as we finish our food. She gives me an apologetic look, whispering that it's Ms. Melody.

What does she want? The mission is pretty easy. As the director of TSA, doesn't she have anything better to do?

Soon, Sage puts her phone away and says, "I have to go on an extra assignment. Retrieving some nuclear codes from an idiot that's here. Apparently, he's hosting a yacht party tonight to sell them that I have to attend."

Another assignment?

"Why couldn't they get another agent to do it?" I ask, annoyed.

"I'm the only one cleared that's close enough to make it," she sighs. "There's a car and clothes waiting for me at the hotel."

"Is it the whole group?" I ask.

"Just me. Unless you want to be my date/backup," she looks at me questioningly.

"Sure, why not? It's too quiet around here," I reply. There goes my vacation.

"We get to make up new identities and the invitations," Sage takes my hand and leads me to the hotel.

We find the car waiting for us close to the entrance of the garage used for the hotel. It's a flashy black sports car. I'm so driving this.

Inside is a box of clothes. A dress for Sage and a suit for me, which kind of freaks me out. How did she know I would be going?
We quickly go up to our room and change. Sage has to do her hair and makeup, so I make our new identities and invitations.
Our names are Scarlett and Jeremy Johnson. They are rich actors and newlyweds looking for a good investment. The invitations are easy enough. I just have to hack a computer system to find the exact place.
When I'm done with that, I do some research on our target. The only thing I can find is that his name is Nathan Walt, and he's been on TSA's radar for a while.
"Hey, Sage. What do you know about our target? Walt is his name?" I ask turning to look at her.
"Well, he's a rich idiot who just can't help but get himself into trouble that I've had the pleasure of personally meeting on multiple occasions," she says putting on mascara. I don't see how girls do it. You could poke your eye out with that thing!
"So he's not a threat?" I question.
"Depends. He's smart, but drunk half the time. I've had him so close multiple times, but due to there being hostages, I made the decision to save them and let him get away. Tonight it should be simple, but that's never guaranteed. We just have to get him alone."
"Sounds easy enough," I reply checking my watch. "You ready?"
She looks in the mirror finishing putting on her earrings. She looks gorgeous as always. She's in a nice black dress that is tight at the top and flows toward the bottom with a slit in the skirt up to her thigh.
"Yep, let's go," she says after strapping her gun to the holster under her dress, and I offer her my arm. She takes it and we walk back to the garage.
"I'm guessing you really want to drive, don't you?" She smiles biting her lip.
"If you insist," I reply quickly opening her door and then running over to the driver's seat making her laugh. She slides into her seat and I drive to the marina.
"What are our new names?" Sage asks on our way.
"Well, we're still married, so they are Jeremy and Scarlett Johnson. We're rich actors that are looking for an investment," I explain while speeding down the roads. I'm surprised we haven't been pulled over yet.
"Scarlett Johnson. It has a nice ring to it. Okay, there's the marina, and it's dock five," she says looking at the invitation.
I park close to the dock. There's a giant yacht attached to the dock with a red carpet leading guests up to the boat.
"Ready?" I ask.
"Let's go kick his ass!" she says excitedly.
I chuckle and help her get out. She's wearing three inch heels, so she's as tall as I am. I don't know how she walks in them. I would kill myself.
We walk to the start of the red carpet where two security guards are checking IDs and people for weapons. Men are patted down, but women only have to have their purses checked. I don't have any weapons except a knife, while Sage has a gun and a couple of knives.
I show the guard our IDs, and he nods.
We walk onto the boat. There are a lot of people here, but it's easy to spot our target. He's surrounded by girls half his age and men who look like they own a whole continent. He is not bad looking, but has that look that says trouble.
Music starts playing and couples start dancing.
"Would you care to dance, Scarlett?" I ask offering my hand.
"I'd love to," she takes it and I lead her to the middle of the floor, which is the best place to keep an eye on Walt.
I take one of her hands in mine while the other is resting on the small of her back. It seems almost real, but I know it's not.
"It's gorgeous," she sighs.
"The boat's pretty nice," I admit.
She turns to look at me. "I meant the sunset, but the boat is nice."
It is beautiful. The sun is almost below the water's edge with orange, red, and pink surrounding it, all against a royal blue sky with a few twinkling stars.
"Scarlett, I just want to say I'm sorry for last night," I apologize. I wish I could use her real name. I wish we could talk about this out loud without barriers. I wish we could be adults and just say what we mean. But we can't. Agents don't get the luxury of a normal life or a normal love life.
"It's okay. It's not a big deal, and tell Garrett he needs to get better disguises next time." She waves it off, looking off into the crowd.
I'm surprised at that. I was expecting a murdering spree which included Garrick, Brandon, and I.
"How did you know they were Garrett's? I never told you," I realize.
She grins, "You all had your comm units on. Plus, you're disguises were pitiful, and I'm TSA's best spy."
I look down in shame. "Wow, we're really great agents aren't we?"
"It depends on who you ask." She giggles, glancing at Walt.
Suddenly, the moment I've been waiting for has arrived.
Fireworks in all colors start going off right above us, and Sage pulls away to look.
Let's hope it works. It's not specifically for this little assignment Sage dragged me on, but it doesn't mean we can't use the distraction to our benefit. They spell out "Will You Be My Girlfriend..." The biggest one says, "Morgan" in green, since it's her favorite color.
Everyone looks up. Some smile and take pictures, probably to show off to their significant other. Walt turns to go up a staircase.
"Hey, your turn," I whisper to her as she nods and hands me her ring.
I take her hand, and we quickly whisk through the crowd. At the edge, I spin her, and she bumps into Walt, who is about to go down a dark hallway.
Through her comm unit, I can hear her say, "Oh, I am so sorry. I guess I've had one glass too many tonight. Are you the host of this fabulous party? I'm Scarlett Johnson." She offers her hand for a shake.
Instead, he kisses it formally and asks, "Would you like to see the private top deck? It has an amazing view."
She giggles, and he leads her away. I don't like not being able to see them. Sage can take care of herself, but who knows what that bastard has planned.
He's unfortunately attractive, sharp jawline, scruffy face, green eyes, tall. I hate that. Sage said he's charming too, which means that Sage alone with him is literally my worst nightmare.
I can hear him flirting with her while they walk up to the top deck. It makes me want to knock his teeth out, but I'll get my chance soon enough.
After a few minutes, I can't hear them talking anymore. I ask for a signal or anything for reassurance that she's okay. Nothing. Another minute goes by and radio silence. The comm unit is gone, probably smashed.
Time to go in. I know I'm supposed to wait for Sage to signal that it's clear to snoop through an office on the bottom deck, but I'm going. If I get to punch Walt'z teeth in, even better.
Forgetting the girl I'm dancing with, I slip through the crowd and climb up the steps Sage and Walt used before they disappeared.
I stay in the shadows, avoiding security and a few other guests that look loaded and potentially dangerous. Well, some of them look like they're one baked potato away from a heart attack, but I guess riches come with age.
I reach the top deck to find nothing. No one's there. Weird. Maybe they went below. They have been gone for twenty minutes, so they could be anywhere on the boat by now.
I head down a different set of stairs that lead to a hallway with three doors. No security detail is around any of them. I guess they figured no one would make it passed the main ones posted closer to the festivities.
Sage said the office should be on the lowest level.
A guard stands in front of the door on the left, while the one on the right, further down the hallway stands unguarded. I don't have any weapons on me. Sage has them all. It's so unfair that women don't have to be checked for weapons. Like why does sexism work in their favor for that?
What's Sage always say? "Make it work for you." Well, she did, and now I'm left defenseless. Is there anything that could knock out a 6'4 probably 230 lbs. trained guard around here?
All I've got is a small half table, holding a vase. It'll have to do. I quietly lay it down and break off one of the legs. It seems sturdy enough. I creep back to the corner of the hallway and ready myself. After a breath, I jump out beside the guard and connect his jaw with the table leg, breaking the leg. The guard crumples to the ground out cold. Easy. I hope Director Song sees this effort for a high risk mission and promotes me. I deserve it. After all, who else could get in and out this easily?
Definitely not that Agent James everyone at GSAA loves for some reason. Oh, Agent James, we need you for this important mission. Agent James, I need help with this technique. Agent James, will you test out this new technology? Agent James, you've been promoted. He doesn't deserve it! He literally has everything handed to him. Just once, I'd like to get the credit I deserve.
The office is, luckily, empty. I expected it to be. Everyone's at the party, or they should be.
The office is small. I guess there's no need for a large one while at sea. Everything in the room is worth millions. The hand crafted desk, ancient books, precious stones globe, I could go on.
The desk reveals nothing after a few minutes of search. No codes. Maybe his computer has something. It doesn't even have a password. And sage says I'm arrogant. At least I have a password on my computer to protect it from hackers, mostly just Brandon and Garrick though.
All his files seem clean. Illegal but free of launch codes. I download the files onto a flash drive that Sage provided. An icon on the desktop flashes as I'm about to head back to the deck. It's live security footage from the ship's cameras. It's mostly just random people drunkenly dancing or making out, but one angle catches my eye. It's Sage and Walt. They're in a room with a large window overlooking the ocean, instead of the port.
Walt stands in front of Sage, holding a champagne glass.
"I should be going." She attempts to walk toward the door, but Walt takes her hand.
"Not yet."
"Really, I have a shoot tomorrow—"
"Oh, I know all about your shooting techniques, Sage."
He knows. He knows it's her. He's going to kill her.
"I wondered how long it would take."
"A red wig can't hide you from me. We were partners. I know everything about you."
"Not everything."
"How much can change in a year? Let me guess. You still haven't told your new partner, what's his name?"
"It doesn't matter."
"So you haven't told him. I'm guessing you also didn't him the real plan for tonight?"
"What's the real plan for tonight?"
"You get me alone. He goes to my office and tries to get those nuclear codes you told him I had. Nice touch, by the way."
"I had to get him out of the way somehow. He doesn't make it easy."
"He seems quite taken with you."
"It's just a job."
"I thought we agreed not to lie to each other anymore, Sage."
"I think we broke that pact when you jumped ship in Austria. I thought you were dead."
"I gave you a chance to come with me. A chance for a new start, a new life. Luxury, private islands, yachts, parties, diamonds."
"I won't abandon the entire agency for a chance to play billionaire."
"You have money. You don't know what's it's like to be poor, scrounging for leftovers and pennies. I was offered a new life. Don't blame me for having the guts to take something I wanted when you can't do the same."
"What do you want? There's a reason you set this up to lure me here."
"Can't I just be happy to see you?" "Fine, I have...an anonymous benefactor who would like to see your new partner disappear."
He wants...me? Why? I mean I know I know a lot of GSAA secrets and international stuff, but they want my head? Wouldn't they go for Sage first? No offense to her, but she's gotten into a lot more trouble with dangerous people of the world than I have.
"You want Frost? Really? He's hardly worth anything to you. Low-level agent, arrogant, isn't trusted with agency secrets."
Okay, that hurt. It's not even true...mostly. The agency trusts me with secrets! I know where they hide their frozen yogurt machine from the lower-level agents and where the best weapons for sparring are hidden...that sounds pathetic.
"My sources say he's got somewhat of a crush on you." Walt avoids the question, pacing around her.
"We're just working together on this mission. Nothing else." Wow, that hurt too. They're just taking shots at me left and right.
"Don't lie to me! I know who he is and what you used to be!"
"Don't do this, Drew."
Drew? His real name is Drew? She knew this and didn't tell me? What else is she not telling me? You know besides being partners with Walt and sending me off on a wild goose chase for nuclear codes.
"It's too late for that, darling. It's already begun."
She's disarmed within seconds. It's impressive. I've never seen her beaten in anything, much less combat.
She kicks the gun he knocked out of her hand away, out of reach of them both. He attempts to grab her arm and twist, but she kicks the back of his knee, forcing him down in pain. She takes a second to breathe and knees him in the face. He flinches back but immediately recovers and grabs her arms, slamming her into wall. Her mouth opens like she's crying out in pain. She blinks dazed, probably due to a concussion. He backs off for a moment, letting her get to her feet. He wants a fight, not a beating.
As he's about to say something, she runs at him, suddenly clear from the dizzy look in her eyes, and hooks her legs around his throat. The classic death by thighs. I still have a bruise on my neck from when she did it on me. The boys unfortunately thought it was a hickey. Walt, though, recovers smashing them both in an antique grandfather clock with Sage taking most of the force and broken glass into her back. So there is a way to defend against that move.
"Nice try. I was there when Serena taught you that."
"All for old time's sake." She drops off his shoulders, letting go of his neck with her legs, landing behind him.
He whirls around with a direct fury, grabbing her neck and forcing her back. A look I've never seen in Sage's eyes appear. Fear.
Walt stops when her back hits the wall. The room isn't huge, so she had nowhere to run, nothing to do. He pins her to the wall with an arm pressed against her chest.
"You don't even want me. You know where your target is. Let me go."
"But I do want you, Sage. I want him out of the picture and I want you."
"I'm government property. You know that." She looks directly in his eyes with a mix of fear and fury. A dangerous mix in a woman, much more in her.
"I thought you might say that. Just remember, I offered." He waves in a guard, holding a thick rope. Walt smiles. It's sickening. It's worse than sickening. It's Black Plague bad. The guard sets up a chair, but neither Walt nor the guard moves to tie Sage up.
Instead, Walt looks to Sage.
"Now, I need to have something to show lover boy when he's caught." He rubs the thumb of the hand not pinning her down over her bottom lip.
He swoops down in a fluid motion and kisses her. That bastard! How dare he abuse her like that! I can't watch. This is disgusting. Sage, I'm coming to save the day.
I fling open the door and find a shadow looking over me.