Falling For The Assassin

Chapter 2

London (England)

10th Downing Street

5 04 2016

2115 hours

James gets out of Zayn’s BMW fifteen minutes later, and stares at the 10 on the door as he adjusts his suit. There are four policemen in front of the house; two right by the door and two inside a squad car.

“MI6.” Zayn says and flashes his ID at the policemen, before they step aside to let the three of them in. James’s been in here before, after he’d closed a high-profile case, and was asked to go over to the Prime Minister’s office to get a badge and take a photo while they were shaking hands.

The house is painted mostly yellow, with portraits hanging on the walls, and each room is equipped with luxurious furniture from the ceiling to the floor.

There is a guard in every single room, but it’s not a problem to enter the Prime Minister’s office thanks to a short flash of a badge.

The office is just how James remembers, only this time there are papers and big binders laying haphazardly on the desk, and there is a coffee mug that hasn’t been washed in the right corner of it. The computer is on standby and the small Windows flag moves across the black screen as if wanting to mock them.

James grabs a stack of papers from the desk and goes to sit down on the chair, but Louis is already one step ahead of him as he sits down and pulls the keyboard closer.

“What are you doing?” Zayn asks, standing behind Louis’ chair, looking at the screen.

“I’m going to check his emails, recent transactions, or anything that might lead us to the motive of his abduction.”

“It’s password protected.”

Louis doesn’t respond as he right clicks on the mouse and starts typing something that only he understands with the speed of light.

Zayn busies himself with finding clues in other rooms, which leaves Louis and James alone.

“Don’t sit on the desk.” Louis tells James without looking up as soon as he sits down on the corner, one leg still on the ground.

“Why not?”

“You might tamper with possible evidence. Or leave prints.”

“With what? The prints my ass will leave through these pants?”

Louis shakes his head and then smiles at the computer. “Get in.”

“What?”

“I got trough the Firewall.”

James looks at him appreciatively, even though Louis’ bossy know-it-all attitude still gets on his nerves.

He browses through the papers as quick and efficient as possible, and finds nothing but documents from the parliament that still need to be signed, civil rights laws that need validation, and employment forms.

“There’s nothing here.” James sighs after reading through every single paper on the desk twice.

Louis doesn’t look up from the computer. “Well, I got something.”

James circles the bureau and bends over to look at the monitor.

“The last email he read was from the US government” Louis starts, clicking on the mail. “Asking if he’d already sent out the signed papers that were delivered to him a week ago.”

“What papers?”

“That’s what I’m trying to find out.”

Louis searches through further mails from the US government until he finds the one mentioning the documents that were about to be sent out.

“Still doesn’t say what’s in them.” Louis sighs.

“So that’s what whoever kidnapped him was looking for.”

Louis shakes his head. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“Why not?”

Louis turns his head to look at James like he’s the dumbest human being in the world. “Because if they had found the papers, they wouldn’t have bothered with abducting him.”

James’s eyes catch a small dent in the carpet under the desk; so he bends down to lift it up.

“Look at this.” he says as he pulls out two sheets of paper that are stapled together.

“What are those?”

James looks down at the papers. “They’re marked confidential.”

Louis takes them out of James’s hands to skim through them. “They’re nuclear codes. And information about gun powder shipment.”

“So whoever abducted him was looking for information about half a ton of gun powder and nuclear codes that the British government will have access to as of May 1st.” James states, reading over Louis’ shoulder.

“Exactly. Which means that they’re planning on-“

“Using the nuclear weapons and probably make new ones with the gunpowder they stole.”

“I need to make a call.” Louis says and stands up from the chair.

“To whom?”

“I need to know if the gunpowder has arrived where it was supposed to arrive.”

James’s confused. “Who are you even calling?”

Louis pulls out a small book from one of the desk drawers. He searches for a number before he dials it on the phone that’s resting on the desk right next to the computer.

“Hello? This is Tom W. I was hired by Her Majesty and am currently working with MI6. I need to know if a gunpowder shipment with the number…” he stops to look at the paper “241 has arrived yesterday? No problem. Thank you. Goodbye.”

“What did they say?” James asks, looking away from Louis.

“They say it never arrived.”

James stands up and stretches his legs. “How can they give you this information? It’s supposed to be classified.”

“They will run my name through the database probably. And I used the Prime Minister’s office number.”

James nods, and then looks around the room for anything else that might be a clue leading them to the abductors.

“We’re done here.” Louis announces.

“How can you be sure?” James asks, annoyed. Who is Louis aka ‘Tom W’ to say that they’re ‘done here’?

This guy is a bit too bossy and controlling than he should be

“We came here to look for a motive, and we found it. We have to get back to headquarters in time to catch the plane.”

James watches him as he takes a photo of the two sheets of paper with the small camera, before he pockets it.

“Let’s go.”

“I really do not appreciate you talking like you’re the boss around here and like you know everything.” James says as they walk side by side in a fast pace.

Zayn is already waiting for them outside with a cigarette between his lips as he types something on his phone. He looks up when he sees the two of them approaching, already pulling out his keys to unlock the car.

They drop Louis off at headquarters before they head home to pack. James doesn’t even have to pack anymore, because he has everything he needs in the suitcase he brought from Miami, so he just waits for Zayn to come downstairs before they’re on the road again.

They enter the lab fifteen minutes before they’re supposed to, and for once Liam doesn’t say anything about them being late.

Louis is already there, talking to Nick about something in a low voice, gripping into a suitcase.

“The jet is ready to leave any time now. I’d like to ask you to get some sleep on the plane as well as at the hotel so you can be rested for the gala. Use my last name to get in, and try to be as discrete as possible. You already know the drill.”

James nods. Liam then proceeds to walk them to the car that would take them to the private airport where the jet was located.

“What are they talking about?” Louis asks when both him and James are in the car, waiting for Zayn and Liam to finish talking.

“They’re flirting, I don’t know. They’re both weird about each other.”

“Are they dating?”

James shakes his head. “God no.”

“Liam likes him.”

“You think?”

Louis’ eyes settle on the two men outside. “Definitely. Judging by his stance and the way he’s looking at Zayn.”

“You should tell Zayn that.”

“I’m not getting involved in anything, I don’t really care for it.”

James rolls his eyes. Of course Louis wouldn’t.

“You might want to stop doing that, or you’re going to develop a serious case of hypertropia.”

“Great, then we’ll finally look alike.”

Louis shakes his head at the lame comeback; meanwhile all James can do is bite his lip and slap himself in his head.

***

They touch down in New York at 3am local time, and a car is there to drive them to the hotel as soon as they step off the plane.

They all got separate suites at the Mandarin Oriental, and as soon as James places his suitcase on the bed, he feels like he needs a drink. He knows he’s not allowed to drink on the job, but his actual ‘job’ doesn’t start for another seventeen hours, so a few drinks at the hotel bar won’t hurt anyone.

He thinks about inviting Zayn to join him, but his partner has probably gone to sleep already, like he usually does.

The bar is nearly deserted when he sits down on a stool and orders a Whiskey and Coke. He pulls out his BlackBerry to check his mail, just in case Nick or Liam have sent him some new info about the case while he was on the plane. There’s no new mail, so he locks his phone and concentrates on the drink placed in front of him.

James’s so engrossed with the contents of his drink and the way his throat burns from the Whiskey, that he doesn’t even notice when someone takes a seat right next to him.

“A Scotch on the rocks.” A familiar voice says, which causes James to finally turn his head.

None other that Louis is sitting right next to him, checking his watch and then straightening out his blazer.

“I thought you must’ve already been asleep.” Louis says, but doesn’t look in James’s direction.

James makes a face. “Why would you think about that?”

Louis doesn’t answer, and that really gets on James’s nerves. He hates it when people pretend not to hear him, or just blatantly refuse to answer a question. But his slight irritation with Louis is no secret.

“So, James Edward Smith from Cheshire, tell me, how’s your sister Jade?” Louis speaks, finally looking at him.

James’s heart falls in his pants, and he feels like all the air has run out of his lungs, like someone just punched him in the gut and cut off his breathing. A fucking assassin, someone who kills for a living, just told him the classified information about James’s life that he’s been trying to hide in order to keep his loved ones safe.

“How…how do you know that? How do you know my name and my…what the fuck?” James exclaims, turning around with his entire body, almost falling off his chair.

“That’s because you haven’t changed your last name in your MI6 file.”

“Excuse me? How did you even get access to them? You know, you’re going to be in deep shite-“

Louis raises a hand in order to stop him from speaking any further, which infuriates James even more. He just wants to grip into Louis’ fucking dainty hand and rip his fingers off.

“I’ve got my ways. If you want, I can recite your national insurance number my heart, and your SSN.”

“You’re bonkers. Does Hicks know about this?”

Louis shrugs. “Liam can know, for all I care. He’s not my boss.”

“He-“

“I work for Her Majesty.”

James rolls his eyes and takes a long sip of his drink. “I didn’t ask for that information. Actually, is there any point for this conversation?”

“Yes. I told you this for your own good. If we want to complete this mission, we have to be completely untouchable, which means that no one should be able to obtain any confidential information about us. Your friend Zayn has himself covered. You, on the other hand…you’re like a bull in a china shop.”

James is absolutely baffled about the situation unfolding right in front of his own eyes.

“Excuse me?”

“Stop apologizing and start taking action.” Louis says, and then downs the last remains of his awfully strong drink in one quick go. He gets off the stool and hands the bartender a twenty-dollar bill.

He looks at James once again. “You need to call your boss, supervisor, or whatever Hicks is, and tell him to change your last name and give you a new identity you can use on this case, otherwise this entire mission is compromised because you’re probably going to be a little crybaby when you’ll find out that your mother has been found dead in her own home next to her husband.”

Louis’ words are hard to process, because they’re too much at once, and even though he’s an SIS agent, James’s never met someone as direct and brutally honest as Louis.

He really, really hates him.

“Why would I even listen to you?”

“Because I have killed people like you before.” Louis tells him.

James watches him walk away until Louis is out of his line of vision. He’s downright speechless, and also ragingly fuming.

***

Manhattan, New York (USA)

Mandarin Oriental

6 04 2016

1945 hours

James just finished tying his tie when someone knocks on the door.

“We’re leaving.” Zayn’s voice comes from the other side.

James walks over to the table by the window to retrieve his flash drive watch and the camera. “Just a second.”

He places the watch around his wrist and pockets the camera, before he puts the earpiece in.

Zayn is leaning against the wall next to his room when James exits, closing the door behind him. “Where’s Louis?”

“Already in the lobby, waiting for us.”

Louis is indeed propped into one of the giant chairs in the middle of the lobby, sipping on a cocktail while scrolling through his phone.

He lifts his eyes when he hears the two of them approaching and pockets his phone. “About time.” Louis mutters and stands up. He leads them out through the double doors, before he turns right towards the private parking lot.

James watches as Louis pulls a car key out of his blazer and clicks it. There’s a sound coming from the back, and they immediately spot the red Alpha Romeo C4 Liam was talking about.

“I’m driving.” Louis says as he starts walking towards the car.

“Didn’t you just have a drink?” James questions, and almost screams when Louis waves it off like it’s nothing.

Much to James’s dismay, he ends up in the back, almost squished and certainly uncomfortable.

What James learns on their drive to 1009 Fifth Avenue, is that Louis drives like a madman. He doesn’t seem to be paying much attention to the street signs or the pedestrians as he speeds through the streets of Manhattan, just so they can be at Vogel’s residence on time.

James turns on his watch, and Nick is immediately in his ear, greeting him.

“Agent 09, finally.” Nick says and James can hear how tired he is in his voice.

“What time ‘s it in London?” he asks once the earpiece is also on.

“One in the morning.”

James doesn’t say anything else, because Louis pulls up in front of 1009 Fifth Avenue, and they get out of the car one by one. Louis hands the car key to the valet that’s standing by the door, and then tells the bodyguard right by the door that they’ve got three seats under Liam Hicks’s name.

They’re allowed in, and Nick tells him to turn off his earpiece and watch until they get through the security gate.

“Turn off your earpieces and watches.” James instructs the other two.

After they get through the security gate with no problem whatsoever, they turn the devices back on and head towards the elevators.

“Wasn’t this that eighty million dollar mansion that was impossible to sell a few years ago?” Zayn asks as they’re waiting for the elevator.

Louis nods. “It belonged to Benjamin Newton Duke, and Vogel apparently bought it.” he says like it’s something they should all know.

James resists the urge to roll his eyes, because here goes Louis again, acting like he’s the smartest guy on the planet, and that they’re all peasants compared to him.

The gala is taking place in the giant ballroom on the third floor.

“How are we supposed to get inside Vogel’s office when there’s security around every corner?” James asks as soon as they pass the two guards by the door.

“I pulled up a map of the building. His office is on the fourth floor, right by the stairs that lead to the attic. A distraction should do the trick.” Nick informs him.

“Alright, I’ll tell the others.”

“Already got that, thank you.” Zayn says before James can even open his mouth.

They sit down at their table in the back, and start talking strategies.

“I’ll make sure to act like I’ve had a bit too much to drink, maybe cop a feel and get aggressive with his wife, or Vogel personally if I must. Meanwhile the two of you can get inside of his office while the security is busy escorting me out.”

Louis and James agree to Zayn’s strategy, and so does Nick, who sends James a virtual map of the building that he can view on his watch.

“I’m going to get something to drink so it won’t seem suspicious if I act drunk but don’t smell like alcohol.” Zayn announces and gets up, leaving the two of them alone.

“How come I always end up with you?” James asks, looking down at his glass of water.

“Because I make sure you don’t get killed.”

“I can take care of myself.”

Louis raises an eyebrow. “Is that so? Look me in the eye and tell me that you would shoot someone in the head.”

James doesn’t answer for a couple of seconds. “I don’t want to kill people, so I shoot them in the leg or the arm to put them off for a while.”

“And that’s why I need to accompany you on this mission. We’re dealing with really bad people here, unlike you’ve seen before.”

“Oh, thank God for you then.” James sarcastically says and looks around the room for Zayn, who’s currently at the bar, getting something strong that will kick in soon enough.

It’s almost ten when Zayn finally decides to take action.

James watches him waltzing over to Vogel’s table with a nonchalant attitude and saying something to the married couple. Chaos breaks loose as soon as Zayn starts screaming about how Marie (apparently that’s Vogels’ wife’s name) cheating on him with Marco, and how their kids missed her.

It’s pretty funny, watching it all unfold, but James remembers that he’s got much more important things to attend.

Zayn seems to be putting up a pretty good fight against the guards that try to tear him away from the table.

“This is outrageous! I am in LOVE with this woman!” is the last thing James hears before Louis and him run out of the room.

Thankfully, no one pays them any attention, and about twenty security guards rush past them to get to the ballroom without even looking twice.

“Up the stairs and then right ahead.” James says and Louis is quick to follow him.

There’s a giant double door right at the end of the hallway that’s been left unsupervised.

“It’s fucking locked.” James says into his watch when the door doesn’t open.

“Does it need a card or something?” Nick asks.

“A key.”

“Shit. Try to-“

“Move over.” Louis says and kneels down as he pulls out a lock picking set.

“Louis is trying to pick the lock.”

“Is he succeeding?”

“Yeah.” James mutters when Louis pushes the door open and stands up.

They enter the office and Louis walks right over to the desk so he can break into Vogel’s computer and fax the employee list over to the MI6 lab.

Meanwhile, James looks through his binders and the papers he finds on the desk, trying to find papers that prove any recent transactions, calls, and deals he’s made in the past four months.

He barely even notices when Louis prints out something and then faxes it to the lab.

“I got the list with the employers just now.” Nick says into James’s ear, startling him. “Try to find out about his closed and ongoing deals, and his recent purchases.”

“Already on it.” Louis announces when James tells him exactly just that. “He’s only closed two deals this year; one with a real estate company and one with BIA.”

“What’s that?”

“British Immigration Association.”

“Fax that to Nick and let’s go. There’s voices down the hallway and I’m pretty sure they’re headed in our direction.”

“Hold on a fucking moment!” Louis snaps and types something on the computer. “I’m trying to find his transactions but I can’t.”

James wants to scream at how stubborn Louis is being. “You need his bank statements and you can’t figure it out unless you know his bank account, card number and everything.”

“Hold on.”

There is noise coming from outside, so James’s starting to get a bit uneasy. “Louis.”

Louis isn’t paying him any attention though, because he’s taking a picture of the monitor, then pulling out the flash drive James never even noticed was inserted, and then shuts everything off.

“Alright, let’s go.”

“Where?” James asks, on the verge of yelling. “There are people outside the door.”

“Follow me and shut the fuck up.”

Louis walks over to the window and opens it, before he steps out on the ledge of the building.

“Are you insane?” James asks but follows suit, not really thinking about the consequences.

“Just stay close to the wall and don’t look down.” Louis instructs as he slowly moves to the right.

“Are you planning on us jumping off or what?”

“No. We’re going to jump towards this other building and use the fire escape.”

James’s mouth falls open. “You’re crazy.”

“Do you have a better option?”

When James doesn’t answer, Louis grips into the brick building’s creases; steps back, and then jumps towards the fire escape that’s a few feet away. He grips into it and climbs over until he’s safe, and then looks at James expectantly.

James doesn’t even bother to look down as he follows Louis’ steps, but his life flashes before his eyes when he nearly misses the railing. Louis grips into his suit and pulls him up, even though James’s got a good grip on the bar.

“I’ve got it.” James mutters after he climbs over and dusts off his pants.

“You looked like you were about to start crying, so I panicked.” Louis tells him, shaking his head.

James decides to ignore him for the rest of their journey down the fire escape, and even after, when they look for Zayn in the private parking lot.

Zayn’s already in the car, waiting for them as he talks on his phone.

“Finally!” he exclaims when James opens the door to the driver’s side.

“I’m driving because you’ve had to drink.”

Zayn gets out of the car with no protests whatsoever, and gets in the back before Louis sits down next to James in the passenger seat.

“Did you get everything we need?”

James nods as he starts the car and pulls out of the parking lot. “Except of his recent transactions. We need to break into his bank account for that.”

“Shit, that’s always the hard part.” Zayn mumbles and rests his cheek against the back of Louis’ headrest.

“Not really. I have ninety percent of everything we need on my flash drive.” Louis informs him.

Zayn smiles and pats him on the shoulder. “You’re a genius.”

James rolls his eyes and Louis sees him, because he snorts. “You can’t always be the hero Agent 09.”

“Oh, go fuck yourself.”

When they get back to the hotel, Liam calls everyone individually and tells them to get some rest because their jet leaves at 8am local time the next morning.

James doesn’t even say goodnight to Louis before he enters his room and slams the door a bit too hard for it not to be interpreted as childish.

He collapses on the bed after undressing down to his briefs, and is out in less than ten minutes.

***

Liam is pacing around his office when the three of them enter his office twenty-four hours later.

“I thought I was going to have a stroke if I had to wait one more minute!” Liam dramatically tells them and walks out of the room, obviously expecting them to do the same.

“What’s the rush?” Zayn questions when they all pile into the elevator and James presses the L button, which stands for ‘lab’.

“Nick’s got a new lead from Louis’ handler, and he insisted that we go to him as soon as you get here. That’s the rush.”

James raises his brows as he stares straight ahead at the door. It’s the first time Liam’s ever snapped at Zayn (he’s called James out numerous times before, but only him), which means that matters are extremely serious.

Liam almost breaks his keycard in half when he slides it so the doors can open, and then rushes over to Nick who’s already looking at them.

“Let’s hear it.” James says and bends over to look at the screen.

Nick opens a folder on his computer and clicks an image with a lot of names and large amounts of money.

“These are Vogel’s transactions over the past few months.” He starts and highlights three rows. “The first three are houses he bought in Miami, Scotland, and France. These five however, have been sent to the BIA.”

“What’s he doing with the BIA?” Zayn asks, pointing at the random names on the screen.

“He’s been illegally buying immigrants to work for him at his firearms factory in Berlin.”

James’s confused. “Why from the BIA though? Why not from another country?”

“He’s using the immigrants that came to England I guess.” Nick shrugs. “All his transfers have been made through Robert Adams, BIA’s CEO, except for one.”

Nick types something on his computer until two photos and profiles show up on the screen. “This is Ivan Kozlov, a forty year old Russian mogul who used to be the marshal of the Russian Federation until 2014 when Stalin fired him for unknown reasons. He’s now living in Germany and helps Russian immigrants to obtain their german, English, and french citizenship.”

Nick clicks on the second profile. “The other guy is Nikita Romanov, also known as Kozlov’s right hand man. He was also fired and moved to England, but is now working for Vogel. He’s the only one out of Vogel’s immigrants who has a criminal background, so I think it’s worth checking him out and focusing our attention on him. “

When he’s done talking, Nick turns around in his chair to look at them. “So?”

“I think you’ve done a very good job, Hemsworth.” Liam praises and pats him on the back. Then he turns to James, Zayn, and Louis. “You will be boarding a jet in two hours that will fly you over to Berlin. Kozlov is Germany at his Halsenburg villa, which means you’ll have no trouble in finding out where Romanov is.”

“I know him.” Louis says out of a sudden.

Liam turns his head. “Know who?”

“Kozlov. He hired me a year ago.”

“To do what exactly?”

“That’s confidential.”

James huffs. “Well, are you on good terms with him?”

“Eh…let’s say so.” Louis says, hesitating a bit. “He’ll come around.”

Liam shakes his head and changes the subject. “I need you guys in back in two hours at 1500 hours sharp at the airport. Take a shower, get some quick rest, and then meet me there. Don’t be late!”

“We never are.” Zayn replies and they say goodbye to Nick before they head out.

***

Zayn and James are five minutes late to the airport because Zayn couldn’t find one of his fucking hair straighteners; but it’s fine. Because apparently ‘being a spy isn’t only about being brave and having balls, it’s also about looking good’-as Zayn had put it.

Liam doesn’t even bother to say anything this time; he just shoves two folders into their hands and almost pushes them up the stairs and into the plane.

James’s not even surprised to see Louis already in one of the seats, sipping on a glass of champagne while scrolling through his BlackBerry.

“You’re late.” He observes, eyes still trained on the screen.

“And you’re pointing out irrelevant things.” James lamely replies as he sits on the seat on the opposite aisle across from him. Louis’ lack of response makes him even angrier, but he tries to compose himself by asking for a glass of champagne as soon as the jet is in the air.

“Shouldn’t drink on the job.” Louis points out when James takes his first sip.

James turns his head to look at Zayn, who’s already sound asleep in the chair next to his, across from Louis.

“You’re drinking too, but don’t see me bitchin’ about it.”

Louis looks up this time. “My job starts when your life is put in danger. Until then, as far as I’m concerned, I’m on vacation.”

“You really like stepping on my nerves, don’t you?” James spits.

Louis smirks. It’s that fucking unbearable ‘know-it-all’ smirk that James absolutely despises and would wish to wipe off with a punch. “Me? Oh no darling. I have much more important things to do that pay you attention. Like playing Brick Breaker on my phone.”

James’s about to scream. Louis Tatcher is officially the most annoying person to walk the earth.

“Dear Lord, it’s barely five minutes into a three hour flight and I already feel the urge to strangle you to death.”

“Tsk tsk. May I remind you that my death toll is higher that your age and IQ put together?” Louis smiles and then holds his glass up as if he’s about to propose a toast. “So I suggest you don’t make me angry.”

James laughs it off, but he’s only trying to hide the fact that he’s lowkey a bit terrified, and at the same time turned on.