Chapter 18

September 20 was an unforgettable day for Kiana. It started like any other day, with a few hours of classes. History was dreadfully boring and she kept nodding off and almost fell asleep twice. Math wasn’t much better. But things took a drastic change for the better during her lunch break when she received a text message from Beckman.

“Report to my office ASAP.”

The message was immediately followed by a call from Michael.

“I just wanted to make certain you got Beckman’s message. She needs to see us immediately.”

“Why? Is it a mission?”

“She wouldn’t say over the phone but usually, when she calls, it is.”

Kiana was so excited she grabbed her book bag off of the cafeteria table and ran as fast as she could to her car in the school’s parking lot. She could hardly believe it, but finally, after all of the months of training and after all of the sweat and hard work, she was going to get to do something real. Something important. Something that would finally let her say she was an agent.

Michael was already in Beckman’s office when she arrived and he was seated directly across the desk from her. They were looking at some paperwork spread out on the desk in front of them and both looked up the minute she entered the room.

“Kiana,” Beckman said. “Good to see you again. Please have a seat.”

Kiana wasted no time doing as told.

“I called you two here today because I have an assignment for you. It’s a simple one, a simple pickup, but I need you on it pronto. You’re to meet this man at 6:00 pm tonight at the Starbucks in downtown Bellingham. His name is Hubert Jones and he’s one of our contacts in Vancouver, British Columbia. He used to be an agent in the CIA but left several years ago to do freelance work.”

She showed them a picture of a man in his mid forties with short, blonde hair and brown eyes. He had a mustache and a long, curved nose that appeared, to Kiana, to be much too big for his face.

“He will have a file for you,” Beckman continued. “Its contents are confidential so I cannot reveal them to you, but they’re quite valuable. As such it’s of paramount importance they be delivered to this office as soon as possible.”

“Sounds simple enough,” Michael said. “Any potential complications?”

“None that I know of. But I want you to be careful when dealing with Jones. He’s notoriously paranoid and jumpy and we’ve had some issues with him in the past. Do not do anything to upset or anger him. Just get the file and bring it here. Understood?”

“Understood,” Michael said.

“What’s my role?” Kiana asked.

“Backup,” Beckman said. “Your father will handle the main transaction. You will do whatever he needs.”

Kiana was a little disappointed but not much. She had hoped for something a little more extensive but at the same time was happy to have an assignment, even a simple one.

Beckman dismissed them and off they went. Bellingham was a city in western Washington about two hours north of Seattle and about twenty minutes south of the Canadian border. They took Michael’s car and the drive there was nice (except for one stretch at a city named Mount Vernon where they hit some traffic), but the closer they got, the more anxious Kiana got. She could hardly sit still in her seat.

Michael smiled. “Excited?”

She tried to sound calm and collected, like it was no big deal, but at the same time she had to be honest. “A little.”

He chuckled. “I remember my first mission. I was excited, too. It was really similar to this, really nothing more than a courier job. It was back when I worked for the CIA, back before they formed the USIA.”

“Did anything exciting happen?”

“No, nothing at all. But it seemed exciting anyway. Maybe an agent’s first mission is always exciting, no matter what happens. Regardless, for today, I want you to stay at my side at all times. Follow my lead and do whatever I say, whenever I say. And most importantly, stay aware. While I’m handling Jones, you monitor the surrounding area. Watch for anything unusual or suspicious.”

“Like what?”

“Like accomplices. In my experience, someone like this Jones, who has a record of being paranoid and unstable, would never come to an exchange like this alone.”

They arrived in Bellingham ten minutes later and their GPS led them to their destination, which was a Starbucks in the city’s downtown area. Like most Starbucks, it was small and nice, with the usual assortment of coffee, chocolate, and other caffeinated goodies. Kiana was tempted to grab a mocha (white chocolate was her favorite) but remembered they were on an assignment and decided she would need to wait.

Jones was already there when they arrived. He was seated in one of the chairs near the front of the store. To Kiana, he looked a lot older than in the photo Beckman had shown them. He had long wrinkles under both eyes and his nose looked even bigger in person. He was dressed in jeans and a striped polo shirt and he had a manila folder in one hand.

“Jones?” Michael asked. “I’m agent Cruise. This is my associate, Kiana.”

It was all Kiana could do to stay calm. She couldn’t believe it, but her first assignment was officially underway.

“What took you so long?” Jones asked. “You’re late.”

Kiana looked at her watch. It was 6:02 pm. As such, technically he was correct, they were indeed late, but only by two minutes.

“I apologize,” Michael said. “We hit some traffic coming through Mount Vernon. Do you have the file?”

“What do you think this is?” Jones said, waving it in front of him. “I’ve got it right here.”

“Very good. We’ll take it and be on our way.”

“I want some money.”

Michael raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“I want some money. I didn’t drive all the way down here from Vancouver for nothing. You know how long I was stuck at that border crossing?”

“We were told you had already been paid. This was supposed to be a pickup, not an exchange.”

“I have been paid. But I want some more.”

“I’m not authorized to give you any more. Nor do I have any on me. I was sent to pick up the file, nothing more.”

“Then you’re not getting it.”

“You don’t want to do this, Jones. You’re asking for trouble. You were an agent once. You know what will happen if you renege on a deal with us. There will be consequences.”

“Don’t try to intimidate me, Cruise. It won’t work. I’m not afraid of you and your stupid agency. It’s not like you’re going to send someone to break my kneecaps.”

It was at that point Kiana first noticed something interesting. She had been listening to their conversation closely, but also, like Michael had instructed, she had been watching the room carefully. Sitting at a table directly across from them was a man wearing a navy sport coat. As soon as Jones said the word ‘intimidate’ the man put down the newspaper he had been reading, stood up, and started to walk toward the store’s front door, which was directly behind them. As he got near, and as he was walking just to Kiana’s right, he reached into his sport coat and pulled a small, silver pistol from within. At the angle he was approaching, there was no way for Michael to see it (the man had chosen his path wisely, clearly to use Kiana as a shield from Michael who he perceived to be the real threat), but Kiana could see the gun as clear as day and the sight of it made her heart race.

At first, she didn’t know what to do. Should she say something, to alert Michael to the danger? But if she did, would he have enough time to do anything? The man already had his gun out, so even with a warning there was probably no way Michael could draw his weapon in time. And the same was true for her. She had her gun in her holster, but she would never be able to draw it before the man shot them both.

So she did the only thing possible, and she did it without thinking. As fast as lightning, she kicked the gun out of his hand. And then, once he was disarmed (his gun flew across the store and hit a shelf loaded with bags of espresso beans), she kicked him again, this time in the stomach, and when he bent forward from the force of the blow, she kicked him a third time, this time right in the face. She hit him so hard he flipped completely over in midair and crashed back to the floor, taking out a nearby shelf of glass mugs as he did. He grimaced loudly as his head hit the floor and he was knocked completely unconscious.

In the meantime, Michael sprang to action and took out Jones with a single punch that sent him sprawling over the back of the chair he was sitting in.

“I’ll have these two detained until I get further instructions from Beckman. Did you get the folder?”

Jones had dropped it the second he had hit the ground, and Kiana had retrieved it while Michael had been busy binding him.

“Right here,” she said.

“Very good, young lady. Very good indeed.”

At that, Kiana’s first assignment came to a quick and successful end.

And as you can probably imagine, she was nothing but smiles the whole drive home.