Opposites attract in normal situations but not in situations where lives could potentially be in danger. Two spies. Cases upon cases. Life or death situations daily.
Calliope "Callie" Andino never had it easy. Between proving herself to her family...
After changing back into my outfit, I met Alex at my desk, where he made himself comfortable in my chair. He had adjusted it to his height and liking, which will be frustrating to readjust. His feet were crossed and he, while whistling, looked through the files on my desk.
I walked to the desk and pushed his shoes off my once well-organized desk. "Do I come at your desk and put my feet up?" I asked him.
"No, but I'd really like you to," he countered with a smile.
"Ughh," I sighed, bringing Gaia's chair closer to my desk and sitting down.
Together, until lunch, we looked over and commented on our new cases. We worked out strategies and plans, and I got to know a side of him I never saw before. He was very organized and detail oriented, in planning that is. It is a quality in people that I truly admire, at least with those who have it.
"So I think that we should investigate the bank and the tech companies first. With the evidence we have here and a little of our own investigations, it should be fairly simple enough to get through in the next couple days," he summed up.
"Yeah. I agree," I commented. "This other case will take some time though," I said, opening the last case file on the desk.
"Why? It's just a normal-" he cut himself off as he glanced at the file. "Woah. What's this?"
"What's what?"
"This case file. Where's the rest of it?" he said lifting up the thin file and resting it back on the desk, looking for more papers.
"That's all they gave unfortunately," I said, looking at the first page. "It only says here the alias of the guys were supposed to have a protection detail around and their age ranges. Usual biological aspects, but not too revealing about who they are exactly." I flipped to the rest of the pages, "I guess we're going in blind again, huh."
"I really hate this," he commented.
"Yeah. You would think the police and the other first responders would find more on this-"
"Not that," he said, looking down at the desk.
"What?" I inquired. After a couple moments of silence and me looking at him,, I elaborated, trailing off at the end, "You okay? You know after..."
"Would you be?" he asked, looking at me.
I took a minute to ponder the question. Would I be? "No, not really. It was a stupid question to ask. I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It wasn't a stupid question," he trailed off. After a few seconds, he smirked, "I mean, after all, it shows that you do care about me."
I sigh and roll my eyes, "And the moment of sympathy is gone."
He laughs, inciting a giggle from me as it prolonged.
After the laughter died down, we got back to work for the rest of the day. We stopped for lunch when Gaia and Chara brought something for all of us from a nearby restaurant. We ate and chatted, and got back to work afterwards. When the end of the day drew near, Alex took me home and then drove off to wherever he pleased.
It was a little after five when I had arrived, and I quickly decided to have a relaxing afternoon. I did not even get to fully recover from my trip and together with my experiences these last few days, things are beginning to take its toll on me.
I decided on my favourite things to do when I needed to wind down - a relaxing bubble bath, comfort food, a good book or a movie, in that order.
*****
The next day, we got to work. Field work that is. I packed some outfits that I might need for the day, if anything developed with our cases and I needed to play a part. I colour-coordinated each outfit with the same scheme as the clothes I wore, in order to match my make-up for the day.
Since it was almost the end of the week, I decided with a light brown suit with a long-sleeved white shirt. Of course, matching accessories completed the look, along with my straightened hair in a ponytail and simple make-up.
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When Alex came to my house, he and I went for breakfast at one of my favourite little bistros in town before work. As with our new norm with our partnership, he picked me up in one of his luxury cars - a silver Rolls Royce.
"So what are we getting?" he asked as we picked a table in the corner of the bistro.
"I'll order a tea when I get up there," I responded. "You go ahead, I'll catch up to you." I had wanted to check my phone before ordering. Some important emails and messages.
"Okay," he said, leaving me at our booth and going to join the short line at the register.
I made a couple calls. My parents had sent a message to me asking if I was okay. Their overprotective nature always bothered me when I was younger, being their youngest and only girl out of four children. But now, as an agent, seeing what could happen to people, it is a wonderful feeling knowing that I have family member who care for me, even though they can be overbearing.
"Hey mom," I said as she answered the phone.
"Hey sweetie," my mom relied. I could hear my dad in the background asking if it was me. "Is everything alright over there? Do we need to come over?" This is how their calls usually start off - her, my dad, or one of my older brothers asking if I was okay, if everything was fine.
I guess since I move away a couple years ago, they still do not know the reason for my moving or what I was doing now. Back then, I was too afraid to tell everyone that I wanted to become an agent. I just told them that I wanted to figure out who I am and I needed to travel to do so.
"Mama, I am fine. Just like a couple of days ago when you called, I was fine then too," I replied lightly.
"You sure, honey," she further inquired with a worried tone. I even heard my dad in the background, "Is she okay? Do I need to get the boys and go over there?"
I could feel a growing migraine as I put my head on my palm, "Mama, Dad, I am fine. How are you guys?"
"We're fine. Getting by as we usually do. Are you making it over there?"
"I'm fine here," I stretched.
"How is that photography job treating you?" my dad asked.
"It's fun actually," I say. I had told them a few months ago that I had gotten a job at a popular bridal shop taking pictures at exclusive weddings and events. My real job was really fun, so it wasn't technically a lie. "It's what I always wanted to do."
"Okay, honey," they replied.
We chatted for a few minutes before I saw Alex coming to the table. I ended the call with pleasantries and best wishes to my family, and then answered a few brief emails.
"I did not know what you wanted so I got you these," I heard Alex say. I looked up to see him holding a tray with two cups and some pastries. He sat down and placed everything on the table, showing what he had bought.
We ate and talked, about work and everything else. A decent way to start the day.
