The Last Order

An old friend an unexpected meeting

It wasn't meant to be a long shower. I washed quickly before stepping out on to the cold tiles. I didn't even bother drying myself off, the water would help if it came to a grappling match. If there was someone who had broken into my home they weren't here to kill me, or they knew I had been watching the mirror the entire time I had been in the shower. I walked into my room and slid on a pair of briefs before grabbing my pistol from the nightstand. I peered around the corner of the bedroom and down the dark hallway. 

"If this is a robbery I assure you, you've picked the wrong house," I said firmly hoping for footsteps that would give me some direction on where my assailant could be.

This is where things got interesting. A normal robber wouldn't have the patience to sit still for this long after being found out. I decided to take my chances and head left first towards the empty bedrooms listening for anything that might help me identify who else was in the house. I pushed the first door open and looked in the empty bedroom. The gun sweeping the room my eyes moving to the darkest corners and crevices first. As an agent, you're trained a certain way so that an assailant can't take your weapon from you. Keep your weight on your back foot and your grip heavy on the gun with your finger away from the trigger. All it takes for a broken finger is a twist of the pistol and that's no fun for any agent. I headed out of the first guest bedroom and stopped at the second one before pushing the door open.

"Bang, gotcha," a voice whispered in an amused tone, before laughing softly.

I rolled my eyes letting the gun hand fall from my side.

"Isabella what the hell," I said exhaling my body relaxing slightly. "Don't you know how to use a phone?" I finished.

"Well what's the fun in that?" she said, before turning on the light. "I heard you the third floorboard from the right side of the wall creaks slightly."

"Of course it does. Remind me to fire my carpenter." I said before turning to give her my full attention. 

She was just as beautiful as I remembered her.

"What are you doing here Bella?" I asked softly setting the gun down on the hall table.

I studied her while she exhaled as her demeanor changed from playful to serious. 

"I'm in trouble. I found out something a couple of weeks ago that I wasn't supposed to know...that no one was supposed to know and now the agency wants me dead for it. I would have called you, but it's safer to be in person." She told me, as she walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed as she crossed her legs.

I nodded. I knew better than to talk about anything "business" anywhere but the office.

"Hang on," I said softly before motioning her to follow. 

I stopped in my room to grab a pair of slacks before heading down to the study. I pulled the pants on and hit a button on my desk, no telecommunication device would work from this room we were completely alone. I motioned to one of the chairs before sitting.  

"Alright, what did you get yourself into?" I asked.

I watched her take a seat as she chuckled. 

"That's the thing I didn't do anything. It was more or less wrong place wrong time. Given there shouldn't be that inside of the agency. I came back to one of the safe houses for a late-night briefing, just another day in paradise ya know. Well turns out they weren't expecting anyone in that location because Lincoln was there. You know, the very same Lincoln that never shows his face? But I was already screwed from the moment I opened the door. The cameras. I overheard them talking about the Pentagon, about a rogue mission..a rogue agent. And then I realized why Lincoln never showed his face. He was the rogue agent..working with the agency. Whatever they have going on with Lincoln and the Pentagon..it was enough for them to want me dead. So I've been moving around, never staying in one spot for the past two weeks. I need out, but a proper discharge isn't in order anymore." She explained

I sighed nodding I knew that the agency was into some dicey things but going against our own country. Lincoln was good at taking out multiple targets at once.

"So you walked in on treason? That's pretty deep. Did anyone notice you or follow you here?" I asked as the last thing I needed was Lincoln blowing up my house. "Who's funding this mission? They're gonna need someone with a serious bank account and even then I doubt that they know what their money is going for."

"I have no clue who's doing what. But if Lincoln is there and I saw his face. He's gonna want me dead. In fact, they all will. No one followed me, but I know they all saw me..because of the cameras. It's not a situation I can win." She shook her head. But no one followed me here, I made sure of that because I had been planning on coming to see you right after it happened I just had to," she finished with a sigh.

"You can stay here until I find a way to clear this up. I'm not sure what's going on but I'll try to do what I can in the morning. I'll make some calls to see just how many friends I have left," I said as I left the cell blocker on. You have two rooms to pick from I said before holding out my hand to help her up.

"Oh stop your gentleman act Jamey boy," she raised her brows as she stood. "Just let me know what's going on or if you hear anything about Lincoln..which I can already know will be nothing since no one ever hears anything about him." she finished with a roll of her eyes. 

"At least spend the night...so I know your safe?" I asked. I still cared about her even if I wasn't prepared to tell her.

"Oh, no one said I was leaving. That Motel 6 can rot in hell." She chuckled. "Thank you though honestly, I wasn't going to bother you with this but...I trust you which is far few in between with people I know." She gave a genuine smile, before walking out of the room. "Oh and don't worry I destroyed the cellphone so I couldn't be traced." She finished before making her way down the hall to one of the empty bedrooms.

I smiled. There weren't too many people I'd be trapped in a foxhole with, Isabella always had my back so it only made sense that I had hers, not just out of obligation, but because she really did hold part of my heart. It was like clockwork as soon as I turned off the jammer my landline rang. I picked up the phone hearing his voice for the first time in two years.

"James we need you to come in there might be a leak in the department and you might be the only one equipped to help." spoke a familiar voice, the voice of my old handler Bradly.

That didn't take long I thought.

"It's late and I'm not looking into any travel plans, let me meet you tomorrow for coffee?" I offered.

"Don't be late" Bradly responded before hanging up on me.

He didn't exactly need to give me a time, as these meetings usually took place at eight am. I put the phone back on the hook before walking past her room. 

"Goodnight Bella, let me know if you need anything." I would tell her about my meeting tomorrow after the fact.

"Night Conroy." She said through the closed door.

I shook my head, I hated my last name but she was the only one that got away with saying it. I grabbed my gun off the hall table and headed back into my room leaving the door closed over but cracked as I usually did. I replaced the gun under the drawer and took off my slacks before climbing into bed. It only took me a few minutes before I was asleep.