Espionage / Mileven AU/

VI. Mardi Gras

Mike's POV

I leaned against the brick wall. It was 4am. I was planning on meeting Jane. She said it was urgent.

I saw her walk up in sunglasses and a dark hoodie.

"Uh, what's up-"
"Shhh. Don't speak to me. Don't make eye contact with me. Just follow me once I get to the stop sign," she said, not looking at me.

Strange.

I did as she said, and followed her to what appeared to be a 24 hour fast food place. We both ordered some coffee and sat down at a table.

"What was that about? Can I talk to you now?"
"Yes."
"Aren't you going to take those sunglasses off?"
"No."
"Are you alright?"

There was a long pause.

"Jane?"
"Look, I've never been one to show any signs of weakness before..." Her voice broke a little when she paused in the middle of the sentence.
"Well, you are one of the bravest people I know, and one of the toughest rivals."
A faint smile crossed her face.
"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but, I'm scared. I think someone is after me."
"What?"
"I got a note from The Raven..."
"How do they know who you are?"
"My point exactly."
"Well, speaking of which, I think I've found a way to get back into the game."
I passed her a flyer.
"Mardi Gras? Look, shouldn't we be focusing on the case rather than fun?"
"I was able to find out that Troy is meeting someone there, by the bay. We can go and, since it's Mardi Gras, no one will be able to find out it's us."
"But how are we supposed to find Troy. That's like finding a needle in a haystack!"
"I put a tracker on him."
"What, wait, when, how?!-"
"That day I saved you from the explosion. That was my mission. Well, part of it anyways."
"Okay, well, I guess we have ourselves a plan."

~~~~~~~
Jane's POV

It was Mardi Gras. Mike and I were sitting in the back of the van that Dustin drove. Will and Lucas sat this mission out. Mike and I both wore masks.

"So, any ideas on who could possibly be the mastermind behind this whole scheme?" I asked.
"Honestly, I don't know. It's hard to believe it has to be a mole."
"Yeah, me too."
"Okay, guys, I'm going to drop you off here. You should walk the rest of the way. Here is a gadget to use to track Troy. Lucas made it."

Mike took it and we both exited the vehicle. We carried along to the festival. Mardi Gras is such a cool event, and has such an amazing story behind it. The event was really fun.

Mike and I were sharing some kettle corn as we walked.
"Enjoying yourself?"
"Yes, actually."
"Have you ever been to Mardi Gras before?"
"Nope."
"Seriously? I go every year with my sister, Nancy."
"Wait, Nancy? As in, the Nancy who is head of your corporation?"
"Yeah, haha, I thought you knew she was my sister."

Suddenly, I saw Troy making his way to the pier.
"Mike! Look, there goes Troy! And, it looks as if he is meeting someone."
"That's the guy in the fedora! He beat me up!"

We stealthily hustled over, climbing over the rocks on the pier. Waves brushed up against the side of the rocks. As we got farther up, the water started hitting us. I slipped a few tines but quickly caught my balance.

They saw us coming.
As we got closer, the fedora guy pulled out a gun.
"Stop! Don't take a step closer!"

We were ready for anything. I did a flip and kicked the gun out of his hand. Mike came up and grabbed Troy.

The fedora guy hid his face, but I could tell he was flustered.

"We win! Now, you listen to us!" Mike hollered over the sound of the waves.

Troy bit Mike's hand. He hollered in pain as he stumbled backwards. Troy started running. Mike was about to fall into the ocean, when the fedora guy leaped and grabbed him by the arm.

He pulled Mike onto the pier, and then he dove into the ocean.

"WAIT!" Mike shouted.
But he was already off swimming back to shore.

"Mike, are you alright?"
"It's Johnathan!"
"What?"
"He was on Will's file! That's his brother! He's the mastermind behind this whole thing!"
"What?! Are you sure?"
"Positive."
I helped Mike up. I couldn't believe it. The mole was one of my spies.

"Why attack you though? Then save you next time?"
"Maybe he wanted Will's file so we wouldn't figure it out?"
"Yeah, and now I know how he knew me all along. But, it doesn't explain why he and Troy need Max for their plan?"
"Yeah."
"Wait, this has been on my mind for a bit."
"Yes?"
"Why destroy my file? Out of all of them, why mine? Is it because I'm the leader?"
Mike did something I'd never seen him do before. He stuttered, and he got really nervous.  He was always so confident and cocky.
"Uh, um, yeah, no, maybe, YES! Haha, something like that. What, no? Yeah, that's why. I think...?"
"Mike..."
"Look, I think we did a great job today, partner! Let's celebrate tomorrow!"
"Great idea! I'll invite the rest of the team-"
"Please dont..."
"Why not? I don't get it? They did just as good of a job as we did?"
"Look, Jane, I don't know how else to explain this, but, I'm trying to ask you out on a date."
"Oh, uh. Okay, tomorrow night at that new restaurant? I really want to check it out, but haven't had the time."
Mike gave a nervous smile.
"Ok cool."

He liked me...