August 24, 2023
Princes Park, London
Jordan's cold breath created clouds as she walked into the park. For some, the slight chilliness provided respite from the heatwave, but for others, they dreaded every second. Jordan Doe was 'others'; it showed as she shivered in her baggy trench coat. Despite the big afro on her head, and the scarf around her neck, her cheeks still blushed under the cold London winds. She continued down the cobblestone path, past the tall trees and the metal railings. Jordan was beginning to think he had ghosted her until she saw him sitting on one of the benches - John Paper.
Jordan wanted to punch him.
As she approached John, she grabbed one of the coffees in his hands and took a long draw. Rich liquid from the beverage warmed her stomach and left a lingering taste of sweet cream. It was Milanese, Jordan knew that much.
"Thanks for the coffee." she said, finally relaxing into the bench. "I really hate the cold."
John chuckled. "I guess we're opposites then because I love it when it's chilly. You get to wear nice jumpers, have a hot chocolate and sit next to the fire - Can't do all that when you're sweating your balls off."
"Well you actually can do all those things...You just have to do it with style."
He shook his head and chuckled again.
"It's a good thing that you won't have to do all that."
Jordan looked confused as John began rummaging through his pocket. He pulled out a phone and after a few minutes of tapping and scrolling, he stuck the device in her face.
"Would you say this guy kinda looks like you?" he said.
Jordan examined the image on the screen. It was black man with silver hair and amber eyes. He must have been in his fifties at least.
"Are you pulling my leg John?"
"No, I'm dead serious."
Jordan examined the image again and could see some similarities. They both had the same amber eyes and their noses were pretty similar too. With that in consideration, she could only come to one conclusion.
"Don't tell me you found my real father."
John chuckled for the third time which was starting to get on Jordan's nerves. What is he always laughing for, she thought to herself, they're in a serious line of work.
"This is Jean Cartier." John began. "He used to be a journalist for the French newspaper 'Le Monde' but he passed away last month from a heart attack. For your latest assignment, you're going to be Delphine Dembele. His illegitimate child."
Jordan took a sip of her coffee.
"OK. But why am I doing this?"
A sparkle flashed in his eyes.
"I'm glad you asked! Because you know it would be odd if you pretended to be his illegitimate child for no reas-"
"Get to the point!"
"Right." John said, straightening up. "One of our agency's roles is to keep our eyes on the wealthy and powerful. We all know that money rules the world and these rich people get up to crazy stuff when people aren't looking. So our job is to make sure we don't let them go off the rails. We don't really care if they're smuggling in cocaine for their yacht parties or making their own cults. That's basic stuff. As long as it's contained, we can control their power and keep society in order. Which leads me to Frankie Flammia. You heard of him?"
"No, But the name rings a bell."
"Exactly!" John said. "That's because he's the creative director and owner of the fashion company 'Franklin'. He's also a member of an old Italian noble family but the strange thing is that he's separated from them in everything except name. Another thing, he built his own tech company 'Acumen' with his own funding and then sold that company to start Franklin." -John took a sip of his own drink- "That's one of the reasons we've decided to monitor him. Apart from the interviews and the events he appears at, he's very private, and his decision to sell his old company...It's just too odd to ignore."
Jordan rubbed her forehead trying to process everything.
"Look John, I know I've been asking for an assignment for ages but doesn't this seem too weird?" she asked. "He's just a fashion designer for god sake! How is he a threat to society?"
"We don't really suspect him of anything, we just want to keep an eye on him for now. You may be quite new to this whole field but one thing you must learn is that you can't underestimate anyone. And I mean anyone."
"Oh, like Joaquin?" Jordan asked.
"Joaquin was a bad man who would have done more harm left unchecked-"
"The man was almost at his grave. What are you on about?"
John's expression then went serious.
"Look, the people at the top of the agency, like my uncle, are very smart - Way smarter than you and I!" he began. "Sometimes they give us tasks that look odd but we're not here to question their decisions because they always act from a place of protecting the greater good...Honestly, you should be lucky that you got an assignment so quickly with the stunt you pulled in Barcelona."
Jordan went quiet, staring at the leaves falling from weak branches.
"In the worst case scenario you find nothing about this Frankie dude and you get to have a nice holiday in Italy." John said. "That doesn't sound that bad does it?"
"...I suppose not,"
"Splendid-"
"But what role do I play in..." Before she could finish her question, she already connected all the dots. With the mention of the fashion industry, Frankie, and pretending to be an illegitimate child, there was only one place this was going:
"So you want me to be a model for 'Franklin' , get closer to Frankie so I can become his girlfriend or whatnot and start investigating from there."
John smiled and this time, Jordan was amused by his grin instead of being annoyed by it.
"You hit all the nails on the head as expected from our prodigy! Once again, it's nothing too serious. We just want you to be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary. We'll pull you out before Christmas if you don't find anything valuable." He took another drink out of his cup which to his dismay, was lukewarm from all the talking.
"OK. So I'm meant to investigate Frankie but how am I supposed to become a model?" Jordan asked. "That job is super competitive."
Now that their conversation had wrapped up, they both stood up from the bench and began walking their separate ways. But before she could go, Jordan had one last question for John-
"You're a handsome young lady," he replied. "You're eyes are lovely and your nose is unique enough to grab people's attention. You may have to lose a tincy bit of body fat but that would be the only thing. We'll pull some strings, don't worry!"
"You really know how to flatter a lady don't you." Jordan said.
"I get it from my uncle."
His final words were just that as he headed in the opposite direction. Brown hair swaying in the wind. Jordan was glad she didn't have to be around that fool for at least a month but on the other hand, she wasn't excited for this assignment. Not in the slightest. She may have given the impression that all she wanted was a nice holiday but her true desires were far from that. Jordan didn't want to do just detective work (although she was exceptionally good at it). What she wanted was to inflict as much pain as possible on the scum of this earth.
Hopefully Frankie Flammia was a human trafficker, she thought to herself, as she threw her cup in the recycling and headed out the park.
YOU ARE READING
Fame, Film & Fashion
Mystery / Thriller"He thought that this world was harmless, fanciful, but in reality it was just as sick and twisted as the environment he grew up in. Maybe even worse. At least where he grew up, the bad things didn't try and hide from you. But here, he had realised...
