✏️ The Littlest Spy

5. The Brief

"I can't do that," Isadora whispered, after what seemed like an eternity.

"You're quitting already?" Brock snapped, and the venom in his voice was just as unexpected as the seriousness in his unblinking stare. "We have to prove ourselves, and we pass or fail together. Understand? You can throw your own career away, but you're not keeping me from doing my duty. I'll make it easy for you. If we need to be a couple to get close to the target, you can stay home like a good little housewife and I'll do it myself. Is that what you want?" He seemed almost angry there, and that was finally enough to snap Isadora out of the fear that had paralysed her. She might not have experience in the field, but she wasn't going to let a womaniser like Brock criticise her dedication to the job.

"I'm not an Operative, but I'm field trained," she barked. "There is no way I'm backing down from the job. I am not a child, and I'm not afraid. I do this job because I want to do my bit and take down the most abhorrent members of the human race. But I'll tell you now... this assignment is just degrading. You think anyone would want to be your wife?"

Of course they would, she mentally chided herself. It seemed like half the admin staff were lining up to throw themselves at Brock, even if his reputation hinted that they might be a little too boring for his tastes. But she knew what she meant; this job was beneath her. And there was no way she was going to be some kind of toy for an agent who wouldn't respect her. She wanted to actually investigate and to take down the bandits, not be a gift to get an Operative with a bad reputation back to work.

She didn't know how she expected him to react, but she certainly hadn't thought that he would laugh at our indignation. And after a few seconds, he caught his breath and then gave her a reply.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I kind of... My first impression of you might have been a little off. There's been quite a few young women from admin, crypto, and similar who go for field training because they have an unhealthy obsession with an Operative. And Kane's tried to put me with one of those before. Girls who think it's going to be all glamorous and sexy like in the movies. Not sure why, I kind of pegged you for one of them to start with, but I think there's something more. You actually want to make a difference to the world, don't you? Well, I can appreciate that. And if you can keep your mind on the job, I don't have a problem with you tagging along. Think you couldn't play my wife well enough to fool the target?"

"No, I..." Isadora stammered, but then she thought about it and realised that those worries were lurking somewhere at the back of her mind. Alongside the suspicion that Brock would just expect her to act like a dutiful wife was the worry that if she didn't, they wouldn't be able to fool the people they were supposed to be getting close to.

"It's okay. Roles are built around the Operatives, and nothing's set in stone. I don't know details about this Arrencani guy, but from what Kane said I'm imagining some kind of posh gated community. Want to approach him as a neighbour, we need to fit in. But in a place like that, I'd guess my legend will be pretty wealthy. So, may as well make it an arranged marriage. I'm some businessman, you're the trophy wife. Pushed into it by a family who owes me money, or whatever. Means you can hate me all you want, and it's not suspicious. Also means you've got a built in excuse if you're caught somewhere you're not supposed to be, though I'd hope that won't be necessary. Look, I can coach you to some degree in the field. First mission, after all, and I'll do what I can to find a role you can play more easily. But I am not going to give up so quickly."

"Wow, I..." Isadora mumbled. Everything Brock was saying made so much sense, and she found it hard to see anything to be angry about. But she still couldn't trust him. After everything she had heard, she knew that she couldn't trust him to be such a gentleman once they were away from Millennium House. But she had to hope that she would work out how to deal with him at some point down the line. He was saying all the right things now, acting like he cared about the job. And even after everything, after having her dreams of a career with Brown had been shattered, she was surprised to find that she really did want to stop the bad guys. If Brock could keep his libido in check for long enough to get the job done, it would hopefully give her enough time to prove herself to her superiors. "That makes a lot of sense. It's not just about the role, it's just... Whatever, we can do this. He said trafficking, and I'm not going to let anyone get away with that. We can do this."