The Perks Of Being A Spy (ON HOLD)

Chapter Eight - The ball

"Hey Noah?"

My brother turned towards me.

"Yeah?"

"Shut the fuck up." I ordered, partly pissed but amused.

"Alice Amelia Lancaster, mind your tongue!" my mother barked in her high pitched voice, making us laugh our heads off.

I hated our annual ball, especially because my mother's obsessive compulsive side emerged wanting everything to be perfect. And that everything included Noah and me too.

So there I sat with my terrible long pink dress looking like a poor excuse for a china doll. I hated shiny silky fabric and I didn't much like pink, so you can just imagine my joy. Not once did my mother allow me to wear what I wanted, insisting on the inappropriateness of my choice in clothing. But my mother's was much worse and I wasn't about to let it go.

Noah had been laughing at me for the past hour and I was getting mad, fervently desiring to punch him in the face.

"I'm not exiting this room unless I change." I announced. My mother looked at me, shock painting her face.

"That's final." I added.

"Oh, come on, mother! She can't go out there looking like that!" Noah protested stepping by my side.

"I love a good mutiny!" my father laughed raising his head from the book he was reading.

My mother just scowled. "What on earth is wrong with the dress? It was very much appreciated when I wore it in the eighties." She argued, quite displeased.

"That's what's wrong with it, mother! Times change and so does fashion." I explained.

"Fine." She sighed. "Do whatever you wish."

I barricaded myself in the closet and started changing into the beautiful light blue gown I had bought a couple of years before, but had never worn due to my mother's OCD.

"So, what do you think?" I asked stepping out in the room.

My brother smiled. "You look beautiful."

I faced my mother and expected the worse. Her face was deep in thought and she was studying the dress closely.

"Yes, it's not as bad as I anticipated." she announced with an impassive face.

My brother and I stared at her in shock: she had never approved of my clothing before that moment.

My father shut the book he had in hand and shook his head. "Alice, that is certainly not a good dress to fight into."

"Oh, for Pete's sake, Alfred, why on earth should she have to fight at a ball?" my mother protested as she fixed her blonde hair. "You will get killed if you go on with that stupid hobby of yours, all of you."

Mother had always been slightly disapproving and very much susceptible to the whole spy thing.

"You are absolutely right, darling, I'm sorry." he stepped towards her and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. "Everything's going to be perfect." he reassured her. "And you look beautiful." he kissed her lightly.

"Ew, get a room." Noah protested.

"Shut up, Noah, let's go." I dragged him out of the room.

My brother and I had always been very close, we had always been there for each other, especially when things were at their worst.

"Are you ready?" I asked fixing his tie.

"Are you ever ready for one of mum's balls?" he smiled at me. I had always been jealous of the little dimples that appeared on his cheeks while he laughed or smiled.

I laughed. "Let's rock this party."

He combed his hair with a hand then linked arms with me as we walked into the ballroom.

My mother really had talent for these frivolous events: the ballroom of our villa was magnificent, decorated with white and golden balloons floating in the air, their shiny strings curling towards the floor. The richly painted walls seemed to come alive with the lights of the chandeliers and the soft music played by the small orchestra.

"Alice, dear, you look beautiful." an elderly woman complimented me.

"Thank you very much, countess." I answered shaking her hand. "You look stunning yourself." I lied, trying hard not to laugh.

"Well, thank you! I have started using one of your new facial creams and it's working wonders."

My father's pharmaceutical industry developed so many creams and stuff that it was difficult for me to guess which product she was talking about.

"Alice? May I have a word?" Noah asked, probably guessing by my bored expression that I needed to be saved.

"Of course, if you'll excuse me countess." we walked away before she could stop us.

"Thanks for that."

"No problem, though I did forget to give you this before." he took a folded piece of paper out of his pocket. "It's what you asked for the other day."

I snatched it from his hand.

"Don't open it now, it could be dangerous." he warned me as I burned to read it.

I put it safely in my clutch and nodded.

"Now would be good time for you to go to the ladies room." he suggested as we saw Alex approaching us.

"Yes, I most definitely think it is." I hurried away as he intercepted the bastard.

I locked myself into the bathroom and quickly unfolded the note.

The transcription of the video's dialogue was boring, there were loads of the usual "who are you"s and "what do you want"s, but nothing really caught my attention a part from Sergei's huge ego and the question "where is it?".

I quickly fished for my mobile and played the video. As soon as Sergei asked that question Blauer's lips shut tightly and his face was flooded by terror. Before Noah's note I had purely interpreted that look as fear, but it was much more: he was hiding something. And I needed to find out what it was. In order to do so, I needed to talk to someone close to him ASAP.

I stormed out of the bathroom, deep in thought, and went crashing into someone.

"I'm really sorry..." I started saying but stopped abruptly when I realised who it was.

His blond hair was neatly combed and he has a smile plastered on his face.

"You look beautiful." If only seeing his face made me mad, him complimenting me made me absolutely livid.

"Piss off, I don't want to see you, hear you or breathe the same air as you." I stormed off.

"Hey! I tried to say I was sorry a million times!" Him acting as nothing had happened, as if it was enough to say sorry to make everything okay again just sent me over the edge.

"You saying sorry won't bring Kate back." I observed the expression on his face. He didn't look sorry at all. I despised him.

"I wish you were dead instead of her. You are dead to me."

I walked away, fisting my hands in anger.