The Greatest Pretenders

01.1

Malibu (USA)

Beach house

4 04 2016

0830 hours

Poe Rousseau is sitting on a chair by the pool in the backyard of his temporary rented Malibu beach house, sipping away at his Mojito. Despite the fact that it's barely half past eight in the morning, there are already a bunch of people out on the beach, either trying to catch a tan in the early morning hours when the sun isn't too hot, or doing a last minute jog before it gets too crowded.

His joints have gone numb from doing nothing but lounging by the pool and sitting on the couch for the past ten days. He hasn't heard anything from his boss, or his handler. Nothing.

After he closed a case last month and caught one of MI6's top ten fugitives, his supervisor, Benedict Alleline had told him to take some time off until further notice. Poe assumed that 'until further notice' meant a couple of days, a week at most, but apparently he was wrong.

Besides the people he's pulled when he actually decides to go out (there weren't that many-maybe three, or four?), he's had no one else to keep him company. Sometimes he gets lonely, but he reminds himself that it's part of the job, and that getting close to someone would put their life in jeopardy, so he's better off with one night stands and sometimes (only when he's too lazy to get out of the house) prostitutes.

It's not like Poe doesn't like his job, because he does. He gets to see new countries and meet new people (even though they're temporary), and put bad guys behind bars. Not to mention the thrill he gets every time Alleline congratulates him for a good job, or the parties that come after closing a big case.

Being an MI6 agent has been Poe's life for the past three years, ever since he got recruited during his last year at the Police Academy, and he wouldn't have it any other way. That's also why he's currently wishing that he could just get back to his job, pursue any lead in any mission, just do something instead of sitting on a wooden chair and staring at the ocean all day long.

When he finally notices that his glass is empty and the cigarette he'd been smoking to occupy himself is burnt out in the ashtray, he walks back inside to fix himself something for breakfast.

One thing he doesn't miss is the constant training and healthy dieting Alleline is persuading him to do on a daily basis when he's at headquarters.

He pours some cereal and milk in a bowl before he sits down in front of the TV and turns it on. There's nothing interesting at this hour in the morning, so he leaves the channel on CNN and digs back into his bowl.

He leans back into the comfortable couch cushions when he's done, and watches the news while moving his right leg impatiently. Two more days and he's going to lose his mind.

When video footage from a car crash starts playing on the TV, Poe grabs the remote to change the channel, but stops when the words BREAKING NEWS appear on the screen.

The familiar old white man appears on the screen and starts talking, just as Poe's eyes fall to the headline at the bottom of the screen.

BREAKING NEWS:

Bombing at Palace of Westminster

Poe sits up straight on the couch and leans forward, turning the volume all the way up to make sure he doesn't miss anything.

"There's been an explosion at the Palace of Westminster in London around half past four in the afternoon while the Prime Minster, all members of the Cabinet, as well as several other politicians were holding a meeting on the second floor, where the bomb went off. There is no information on the suspects or the victims, as firemen are trying to rescue people from the burning floor and policemen-"