The woman was agitated. The lights of the golden chandelier hanging from the steepled ceiling twinkled down at the large mass of people milling about in the even larger foyer. The cream-white dress she was wearing complimented her dark skin, along with the matching headwrap. Adhering to the “strongly encouraged” black tie dress code while doing her best to remain inconspicuous. The cornerstone of her job. Her head swiveled back and forth as she continued to take a preliminary scan of the crowd. Her gaze was piercing while her expression remained neutral. She made note of each VIP in attendance – those who bothered to show up. She had a pretty accurate guess of who would be sending a gift basket in their stead. She was looking for someone in particular though. And the more their presence evaded her, the more bothered she became. Her date was none the wiser. Tall, dark, and bland; his face gave nothing else but surprised adulation and simple curiosity at every face and their attached reputation he recognized. 

“Oh my gosh! Can you believe the Chancellor of REDACTED, the REDACTED‘s President, and the Ambassador to REDACTED are in the same room?! Are they even legally allowed to speak to each other? Are we at the start of an international affair? Are we going to have to have ‘Plausible Deniability’ as they say?” Each passing comment he made seemed to irritate her even more while she continued to search. His genuine shock and giddiness of their surroundings made her cover that much more believable.

 Finally spotting her intended target, her eyes shone with wicked delight. A playful smirk danced across her face before she gained control once again. She turned to her companion. “I need to go powder my nose.” Without even looking back at her he responded, “Okay, I’ll save your seat for you”, continuing to be enamored with everything and everyone that he saw. “Thanks, I won’t be too long.” As she leaned up to kiss his cheek, her eyes met another pair a bit to her right over his shoulder. All she could see at this angle were his head and shoulders and she knew he was making his way toward her. She gave a subtle shake of her head and glanced to her left (his right) towards a hall, down which she knew were the restrooms. The head replied with a subtle nod and his shoulders started walking in that direction. Waiting for a few beats Cee walked after Jay down the hallway. It was not empty; the doors to the dining room had not yet been opened. So she saw a few people milling about, trying to not appear nosy as they gawked and admired the intricate décor. The golden sconces on the wall cast a cozy yet elegant light throughout the corridor. She was trying to seem as intrigued as the others, whilst she searched for him; which she didn’t have to do for long before she felt her arm being gripped as she was pulled from behind into a utility closet at the end of the hallway.

It was pitch dark inside, she could see nothing but the warm glow of the sconces from under the door. From that, she could tell that he was facing her both of their shoes catching some of the light. His black polish shined, and her silver heels sparkled. “You wanna tell me exactly what you’re doing here? Did Supe call you in without informing me? Am I being babysat?!” The deep bass in his voice cracked at that last word, making Cee chuckle at his indignation despite herself. “So this is funny to you then?” She could picture his annoyance without needing the light for confirmation. She remained silent. She heard his posture go from defense to defeat as he slouched back against the opposite wall. Whatever was hanging up behind, clanked against the wall and he sighed. She pictured his arms being crossed now. “Just tell me this is NOT because of the Nigerian incident. I did what I had to do. How was I to know camels could swim?” She crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall behind her; something that felt like the sharp corner of a metal box dug into her shoulder. Must be the fuse box. “No Jay, it has nothing to do with the Nigerian incident. And I don’t fault you for your lack of knowledge of desert animals.” She held back another laugh. “I’m here as insurance. And frankly, I don’t know why you’re so surprised after that crap you pulled in Paris.” Surprise infused his response, “You heard about that?”

“Yes, Jay. Everyone heard about that.” She rolled her eyes, knowing he’d hear it in her response. “And it’s because of that I am here instead of where I want to be.”

“And where exactly is that?” Black shoes stepped closer to silver ones. Interest peaked.

“Nothing that concerns you at the moment.”

“Aww come on Cee, don’t be like that.” He brought his hand up to where he thought her chin was, instead he held her earlobe between his forefinger and thumb. He played with her large dangly earring; knowing it would annoy her.

“I saw you with ‘Mr. Handsome’ so I know you can’t be having that bad of a time.” She was glad she only had to hear his smirk, rather than see it.

“You mean TDB? No, we’re not anything. He’s just someone I picked up for my cover to work.”

“TDB??”

“Tall, Dark, and Bland. Not my type.”

“And what would be your type?” Relinquishing her ear, he took a step back to where his original position was in the middle of the tiny closet. Shaking her head slowly, she also returned to her original place in the middle of the small room. “My type is a man who knows how to do his job efficiently and without a fuss. Which means bad news for you, I’m afraid.”

“Which implies that I was once in your realm of possibilities at some point.” He chuckled and she could smell one of the shrimp hors d’oeuvres on his breath. “It means that I want to get this done as quietly and officially as possible. Do you think you can handle that or am I going to have to go solo on this one? Again?” She could tell her words found their target in the silence that followed. She was grateful for the darkness as regret flashed across her face. They had fun. They volleyed banter and clever quips back and forth. It’s what they were good at; what they were comfortable with. Now and again someone would tiptoe over the unspoken boundaries that had been drawn through trial and error. They would pretend like everything was fine; the boundary-breaking never occurred. As if the words were never spoken, the action was never committed. And eventually, they would go back to flinging sand. Professionally of course. It was a routine that they have practiced hundreds of times since their tentative friendship began so many years ago at The Facility. But this? This felt different. Not a tiptoe, but a stomp. When he finally spoke, his words were more reserved than she’d ever heard them. 

“I can handle it. Just make sure you’re there when the time comes.” The bass in his voice no longer had that playful tone he so enjoyed using with her. She didn’t realize how much she also liked it, until it was nowhere to be found. Tonight is shaping up to be one for the books. She thought as she left him behind in the dark.

Jay’s table was directly to the left of Cee, at her 9 o’clock. He’d been trying not to look her way for the past hour. He was failing. Did she really think that he was incapable of doing a simple “Sit’n’switch”? That was what they gave agents when they first got out of The Village, and it’s the assignment they gave Senior Agents to babysit the Newbies. Was he now considered a Newbie by Management? Did he screw up so badly they had to call in his FORMER PARTNER? Did they really lose faith in him that quickly? He closed his eyes to take a few short breaths. He gripped the edges of the table and focused on the noise around him, trying to bring himself back to the present; back to the assignment at hand.

Objective: Retrieve the Secretary’s briefcase – See what he knows – Return said briefcase before he realizes – Report back to HQ. Simple. Quick. Efficient. That’s all you have to do. That’s all you have to focus on right now.

He opened his eyes and took a sip of water from the glass in front of him. He grimaced. EUGGH Sparkling?! He quietly coughed into his napkin and looked up at the stage in the front of the room. There was a VIP speaking about some charity or another. Jay rolled his eyes at the fake sincerity as he perused the room for the Secretary. There he was, three rows up, two tables over. Directly in the center of the room, just one row from the stage. Perfect. He turned to Cee, she’d spotted the Secretary too. It was the responsibility of the Senior Agent to provide both cover and an escape route for the Newbie on these types of missions. Locking eyes with Jay for just a moment, she turned back to the conversation at her table and laughed at something that was said, gracefully placing her hand on her chest feigning as though she needed to catch her breath. Four fingers were visible in her action.

In four minutes, Jay would make his move.

8 minutes later

Jay was hunched over the briefcase on the floor of the utility closet, using the overhead lighting this time. He had been trying to open the darn thing for the past three minutes. He’d known about the four-digit code locking mechanism; what was proving to be more difficult was the fingerprint lock. He couldn’t waste any more time, he didn’t know how long Cee could hold the room. She was able to add just a few drops of sunflower oil extract to one of the drinks of a VIP. They weren’t “deathly allergic” but they were not having a fun time right now. He knew she could control the situation for another ten minutes tops but any longer and they’d have to make a quiet-quick exit without anything to show for it. Jay had already gotten the number-lock open; he just needed to figure out how to extract a fingerprint from the Secretary, without anyone (including the Secretary) noticing. Easy peasy!

He stashed the briefcase behind some industrial-sized wires and exited the closet. Outside in the hallway he saw a few people who left the chaos of the ballroom. Wanting to keep a low profile and not have anyone question him, Jay stumbled forward; catching himself on the wall and holding onto it for dear life. “whuhhh aaaa par-y hUh?! u doo nah w’na go n der. gess I bedder go fine m’wife” Jay moved forward, both hands along the wall, making sure he’s stumbling all the way down the hallway until he turned the corner. Upright once again, he started speed-walking towards the ballroom. He’d seen the beginnings of the chaos before he’d left with the briefcase, but now he can hear the disorder before he even enters the room. People were shouting, accusations flying, and so many phone calls were being made. Opening the double doors he took in the scene. Cee was, of course, in the middle of everything. Holding the head of the assaulted VIP in her lap as she sat on the floor with them. Their body shakes violently in hopes of being rid of the aforementioned sunflower oil. She was the “eye of the storm” as she was handing out orders to those closest and most willing to listen. Mostly the Attachés and PAs of the dignitaries who seem to be actually thriving in the chaos. They were the ones calling the ambulance, looking for the EpiPen, and doing their best to keep their bosses calm.

Cee noticed Jay by the door, they lock eyes once again. He didn’t raise his hand, but he glances at where it hangs by his thigh, and he wiggles his fingers. She minutely nodded and looked over her left shoulder, towards the back corner. He followed her gaze and saw where the Secretary had sat down surrounded by his entourage and was clutching the fake briefcase that Jay had switched during the beginning of the excitement. Jay immediately took off his suit jacket and placed it on a chair, leaving him in just a black bowtie and white shirt. He grabbed the abandoned serving tray of wine glasses that was on the table, calmly walking amongst the flustered rich, he made his way to the Secretary. “Excuse me, sir. I see that you may be in need of a drink.” Jay bent down to be level with him.

“I do believe you are right there, young man. I see you’re still making some sense. Everyone else seems to be running around like their heads are chopped off.” He chuckled to himself as he grabbed for the glass closest to him on the tray.

He took a sip and then promptly spat it back out. Scowling. “What is this!?”

“Red wine sir.”

“That is the foulest ‘red wine’ I’ve ever laid my lips upon.” He slammed the glass back on the tray and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth.

“Go back to the kitchen and get me a proper glass!”

“Right away, sir. My sincerest apologies, I will make your grievance known to our in-house Sommelier”

“See that you do.” He dismissively waved Jay off and went back to enjoying the unfolding distress before him. 

Jay turned around and rolled his eyes as he walked away. Entitled jerk!

He returned to the table where he’d left his jacket, and picked up the glass the Secretary had touched. Jay held it by the stem, so as to not smudge the prints that were left there. Easy Peasy! As he walked by Cee on the floor, he discreetly placed three fingers on his leg. He knew she’d give him an extra minute. He internally rolled his eyes and refused to make eye contact so he didn’t have to see her knowing smirk and he left the dining hall. Thankfully there was no one left in the side hallway, so he didn’t have to do his routine once again. He made it to the utility closet and got to work. He had a fingerprint-lifting kit with him at all times, he never knew when he’d need it. He heard the click, did a smug smile, and lifted the top open.

His face fell.