What They Don't See

Chapter 5 - "God help the man that tries to go against her."

Later that night, Kate finished making herself a packet of instant noodles and sat down to eat while she thought over the day's events. She had passed through the front lobby on her way out and gotten spotted as planned. Then she came home and showered. Now here she sat, staring at her bowl of noodles and thinking about what she did wrong tonight.

It was a trick Papa taught her a long time ago.

We determine what we did wrong, so we can do better when the next opportunity arises. Never give up Ma chère.

From her analysis, Kate could see the mistake she made was going in with indifference. It gave Logan room to charm her into letting her guard down. Next time, she would go in with hostility. Keep him either on the defensive, or retaliation, so that he had no room or time to bring down her walls.

Sometimes the best defense is attack Ma chère. Her Papa's voice seemed to echo in the room.

With a decisive nod, Kate picked up her spoon and began to eat. Normally, Kate would not be at home at this hour. She was the current party queen of New York after all. But tonight felt different to Kate. She told herself that she just didn't want to risk getting recognized, but deep down, Kate knew that a certain blue-eyed pretty boy was also part of the reason she didn't want to risk ending up in a stranger's bed tonight. But Kate had always been stubborn, closed off, and distant when it came to new people in her life. Some would say it was an occupational hazard of the life she was born into, but Kate was just afraid of getting hurt. She was unwilling to gamble with her heart. Not after what happened last time.

Before her mind could drift into those painful memories again, Kate turned her focus to the food in front of her. She quickly finished the bowl and headed off to bed, praying for a dreamless, peaceful sleep.

~

The next day Kate acted like nothing had changed. She taught her classes and spent the afternoon with her acquaintances exploring the city. But as she headed home to get ready for the next part of her day, visiting Logan, Kate couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. All her life, Kate had been taught to trust her instincts and let her natural reflexes protect her. This time, her instincts told her that this observer might not be a threat, and her reflex was to investigate. Fishing out her cell phone from her bag, Kate made quick work of dialing Marcos's number.

"Bonjour. Qui a eu l'idée de me faire surveiller?"(Hello. Who's idea was it to have me watched?) She asked once he picked up. There was a soft chuckle on the other side.

"C'était l'appel de ton père. Il a pensé que vous pourriez utiliser une sauvegarde juste au cas où." Marcos replied.

(It was your father's call. He thought you could use some backup just in case.)

"Je vois. Eh bien, dites à vos gars de faire mieux. Ils ne se fondent pas dans la foule ici. Personne n'est aussi détendu à New York." she told him, before abruptly hanging up.

(I see. Well then, tell your guys to do better. They aren't blending in with the crowd here. No one is that relaxed in New York.)

~

Back in France, Marcos chuckled to himself as he realized she had hung up before he even gave a response. Like father like daughter he thought to himself as he put his cell phone down on the steel table that sat in the corner of the training room.

"Kate?" said father asked from his spot on the spurring mat. Marcos nodded.

"Oui. She spotted the men the moment they began to trail her. She just called to tell me they were doing a terrible job trying to blend in with the crowd," he explained, as he picked up his phone to send a quick text to his right-hand man, then proceeded to pick up his gloves.

Jacob Delaquor chuckled. His daughter never stopped proving that she was the right person to take his place. He had dedicated nearly half of his life to making sure she was ready for the role. He couldn't be more proud of his princess. Even when she begged for a freedom period and got herself stuck in this little mess of hers. She handled it like a true supérieur.

"You know she hung up on me as soon as she had said what needed to be said? It seems like you're passing down some bad habits Jacob," Marcos told Mr. Delaquor with a chuckle as he stepped back onto the spurring mat.

"No no. Those are good habits. Time management," Jacob replied with a chuckle of his own. He paused to give Marcos a quick peck on his lips before getting into his favorite fighting stance.

"Do you think we should have told her the real reason why we sent her extra bodyguards despite this still being part of her freedom period?" Marcos asked as he also got into position for the grapple attack they were practicing.

"Probably. She'll figure it out either way. But let's at least wait until we have more information," Jacob replied.

"Mhm, You're probably right. And Katie is very much capable of taking care of herself. I made sure of that a long time ago," Marcos stated a confident gleam in his eye.

"God help the man that tries to go against her."

~

Meanwhile, back in New York, Kate finished getting ready and made her way to Logan's apartment. Today, she dressed to catch attention, just enough to be remembered. When asked, the staff of the building needed to be able to tell reporters where they had seen her go - Logan's apartment.

Kate smirked. A lot of Marshall's plan depended on her ability to dress appropriately, and he should be very grateful that she knew just how to dress for any occasion.

Tonight, she wore an off-shoulder white crop top and black three-quarter cargo pants. She finished off the outfit with a silver sparkly flat cap and matching heeled boots. The idea was to create an early 2000s Disney star look- something everyone would notice.

Before she left her apartment, Kate had taken a few mirror selfies and posted them on her Instagram story.

Before she began her break period, Kate didn't have an account. But she had started one the day after she left. She wanted to document her travels. She called it KatesAdventures, and it had no connection to her life back in France. Now, the fast-growing account was being used as part of Maxwell's scheme. Yet another reason to despise the lot of them.

As Kate walked, she could feel the presence of her father's men as they followed at a safe distance. Her thoughts went back to the conversation she had with Marcos earlier. She wasn't stupid. She knew the men weren't just a precaution. Something was wrong. But for whatever reason, her father had chosen not to inform her, which meant they were uncertain of the threat. She had been a part of the Council long enough to know that until a threat is confirmed, information is not disclosed. The best way to avoid useless unease.

Whatever the reason for the men, Kate would admit that they helped, if only to ease her mind a little. Kate knew all of her father's men. She had grown up with them, and trained side by side with many of them. She knew that all of them would willingly die for her. And while they would never allow her to die for them, she would always fight for them. That was just how it worked.

Kate stepped in through the side door to the main hallway. She didn't stop to talk to the receptionist at the front desk but walked straight to the elevators. As intended, she drew attention. Even after she stepped out of the elevator, the people within watched on in awe as she walked out and towards the other elevator that only had one destination. A place where no woman that wasn't a relative or employee had ever been seen entering. Logan Shawn's apartment.