Presidents, Spies, and Boys, Oh My!

Chapter 31

Chapter 31

At exactly twelve thirty in the afternoon, the McGallen private jet took off. I sat back into the white leather upholstery of my chair and sighed. I love flying in private jets. Hell, I love flying period. In my line of work, I travel a lot. I popped in my earbuds and flipped to a Maroon 5 song, drowning out Ariana's excited squealing (which has surfaced again as soon as the plane took off) and the McGallens usual family chatter. I closed my eyes and let the music overcome my thoughts until I fell into a little cat nap.

~Joshua~

I glanced at Ember, who had fallen asleep listening to music. I smiled a small smile, locking my iPad. She looked so peaceful. Calm. I knew that, even as she slept, she kept her guard up. I suspected that years of spy training had drilled that into her. I always imagined her as a female James Bond. Or like Angelina Jolie in Mr. and Mrs. Smith. She's calm around the McGallens, as if she were a relative of my family, but guarded. She's fun when she wants to be and serious when necessary. I'm not sure what attracted me more. Her guarded, dangerous spy side or her gorgeous looks. Her hair, long and a rich shade of auburn. Her eyes, a beautiful bright green. Her face, a gentle heart shaped thing. 

 I tried to erase what happened last night from my brain as hard as I could. But it never worked. Ember's guard went way down last night. She never does that for anyone. I could see how much she wanted me in her eyes. Truthfully, I wanted her just as much. I'm not mad at her. I could never be-

"Joshua?" a familiar voice piped in.

I turned to face the boy sitting next to me. Preston watched me with an expectant look, as if he had just asked a question. Then I realized he was watching me because he had asked a question.

"I'm sorry, Preston, I didn't hear you. Run that by me again?" 

Preston smiled.

"You like Ember, don't you?" he asked.

Joshua chuckled. Did he like Ember? Hell yeah he did. 

"How'd you know?" he asked Preston in a low tone.

"The way you look at her. She's very pretty." Preston said.

Joshua nodded.

"Yes she is, Preston. Yes she is." 

~Ember~

I was jostled awake by someone gently shaking my shoulder. Stretching, I opened my eyes and searched for the face. Sitting in the seat next to mine, smiling at me, was President McGallen. I sat up, stretching my legs and shaking myself from my groggy state. I pulled out my earbuds, which had long since stopped playing music. 

"I'm so sorry, sir." I said.

President McGallen waved his hand aimlessly, as if brushing away the apology.

"Ember, if I've told you once, I've told you a million times. There's no need to apologize." 

He cleared his throat.

"Anyway, I received a message from Jonathan. I thought you might want to hear it. It has further instructions about what you're going to do when we reach London." he said, handing me his phone.

I took it and checked my own screen. Indeed, I had seven missed messages all from Jonathan's number. Dammit. Opening the message, I put the phone up to my ear. President McGallen walked over to where Margaret was sitting and started talking to her about something.

"This section of the message is for Ember and Ember only."

Half the message had already gone by.

"Ember, once you reach London you are to look for Garret. He and another agent from MI6 will be waiting at the airport. Don't worry about the McGallens. MI6 will be lending us one of their young agents to protect them. More information will be shared to you once you reach MI6. I apologize for sending you all this information in bits and pieces. We don't want to risk exposure. Good day." 

I pulled the phone away from my ear and clicked the red END button. Placing the phone in my lap, I went over what he said. Look for Garret, who will be with an MI6 agent, and then go with them to MI6 headquarters. Easy enough.