I awkwardly wiggled my way out of the SUV when it became clear we had reached our destination and that I was expected to be in the public eye once more. As I squirmed around on the smooth seats Alistair held open the door, but made no move to undo my handcuffs and he didn't reach out to assist me as I shuffled along, moving like a beached fish more than a person. It almost seemed like he enjoyed watching me struggle, but that only made me grit my teeth harder and attempt to move as gracefully as possible. My resilience didn't last long though. As soon as my feet hit the pavement I teetered forward too much and would've landed flat on my face had it not been for Alistair grabbing my arm and steadying me. Once he was certain I would remain upright he released my arm.

"Thank you." I said automatically, the kind Canadian too deeply embedded in me.

I was given no response, but he pressed his hand firmly into my back and began leading me towards the unmarked building, which was finally beginning to raise concerns in my muddled mind. When I assessed how dingy the building looked and the fact that there were no other cars in the parking lot my heart began to race. This man- who was much larger and stronger than I was- had dragged me out of my home and was now taking me to a secluded building that didn't appear to have any pedestrians milling around, only cars whirring by in the distance. I doubted they would be in range to hear a scream, and the mature trees that bordered the parking lot kept us mostly out of view. No good Samaritan could swoop in and save me if I had no way of alerting them to the danger I was in.

"No." I said, planting my feet as firmly as I could. "I'm not going in there with you. This stupid game of yours has gone on long enough."

"You don't have the right to refuse the orders of a governmental agent, Miss Lopez." One hard shove to my back was all it took for me to stumble forward to keep myself from falling on my face. I wanted to bite back at him, but I worried that the more I pushed the angrier he would get at this point.

With every step we took towards the building my heart rate increased and I had to clench my hands tightly behind my back to keep from screaming out for help, though I wasn't particularly sure if I should've been stopping myself. This man had the authority to turn cops away with the wave of a hand; he could do whatever he wanted to. I know because Josh had been the same way, his government status more important than his actions. Everyone was more than willing to look the other way when he had done something wrong, or worse, they would cover up his tracks for him. I had seen the horrendous and ugly extent of his power. Alistair could be the same and in a private, unmarked building he could have the opportunity to do whatever he wanted, even if it was beyond unlawful.

"I have entertained your foolish actions long enough." I spat, trying to sound furious instead of anxious, "You will take me home immediately."

"I will do no such thing." Alistair hissed. His large hand clasped itself around my small arm and he dragged me along behind him, unbothered by my resistance. The added weight that came from me digging my feet in as hard as I could didn't even slow him down or throw off his gait.

He pulled me along to a beat up door and entered in a code on a pin pad which made the door groan as a lock shifted within it. Looking at the condition of the rest of the building I wondered if the door might simply fall off its hinges when swung open. I felt dizzy with anxiety and panic, terrified on what would happen to me once I was beyond that old door. Alistair didn't seem the slightest bit worried though, he yanked open the heavy door with one hand and strung me along with the other.

But what I was greeted with inside is not what I expected at all. Beautiful hardwood floors covered the ground before me and, the walls were painted a very chic blue toned grey with modern art hanging from them. It was almost the same colour scheme and design as my office. And directly in front of me was a small woman who was typing insanely fast on a very expensive computer grinning broadly at us as we entered. I was startled, this seemed more like a high class law office than an abandoned building with all of the outstanding technology and the well-dressed men having discussions around a water cooler.

"Good evening Agent Kingsley." The receptionist said warmly, her eyes never even flicking towards me.

"Good evening Jill, can you let Agent Smith know I'm here?"

"Already done." She beamed, her fingers still moving furiously. If I hadn't been so awestricken and so worried about my safety all at once I would've demanded that she come and work at my office. Her thousand watt smile and computer skills were enough to impress me immediately. But right now I didn't even know if I was ever going to make it back to my office.

"What is this place?" I breathed, no longer worried he would kill me, but feeling a new wave of worry as I realized exactly what this place was. I just needed Alistair to confirm it because I truly didn't want to believe it. An unmarked building in the middle of the city with ridiculous tech and incredibly chic design. Josh had taken me to them many times before. This was a home base for government workers.

Discrete, but accessible. Underwhelming from the outside, but filled to the bring with tech and high profile people on the inside.

Either Alistair knew I had come to my own conclusions or he didn't care enough to give me a real answer, because he just kept his hand pressed against my back, guiding me through cubicles filled with scowling people who seemed to want to make their monitors- or whatever was on them- disappear. Everyone was busy and frustrated, whirling around each other like a high functioning tornado of chaos and disgruntlement. The polar opposite of what I wanted my office to be. And the severity of the serious and down cast mood in the office- aside from the receptionist- was only making my heart beat faster. If this had ever been a game it wasn't anymore.

"Ah, Alistair." A man said, flashing a perfectly pearly white smile at us. He intercepted us just as we broke free from the maze of cubicles and entered into a stark white hallway with heavy doors lining either side.

I froze the moment I saw him.

Nice, crisp suit that was at the height of the fashion market and probably cost a fortune. Trustworthy blue eyes. Carefully styled blonde hair that looked so careless and so touchable, but so clean and sensible all at once. Intense confidence that could be felt from across the room. Strong arms, a rigid posture.

I knew that it wasn't Josh, but he resembled his basic features so well and existed in the same kind of place that my ex-fiancé had thrived in and it made my heart stop for a brief moment. And apparently, my stride as well, because Alistair let out an agitated sound and pushed me harder until I began moving again. I gave my heart a slight shake, trying to get myself back on track.

I had to find a way to weasel my way out of this situation.

"Good evening Miss Davidson." Agent Smith said warmly.

The fact that he addressed me as my forged name startled me and judging by Alistair's stunned expression, it had the same effect on him.

"Hello." I replied tightly, feeling like I had lost my footing completely. I had been ready to scream and yell at someone like an angry toddler until they truly believed that there was no way that I could be Camila Lopez. I wanted them to get so frustrated they threw in the white towel, so annoyed with my intensity and my rage that they decided to let me go. And due to Alistair's stubbornness and demeaning attitude I had been ready for one hell of a war. But perhaps I wouldn't need to fight at all.

"We just have a couple of questions we would like to ask you." Agent Smith explained, casually opening a door to a conference room. It was not one of the cold, bare interrogation rooms I saw on television, instead it was furnished quite nicely and even had a small potted plant tucked away in the corner. He gestured for me to go inside and I followed his instructions willingly. His gentle kindness and easy smile were a relief when considering his partner, even though he reminded me deeply of my ex.

"Alistair, remove the handcuffs, she is not a common criminal, she's a human being." He chided harshly, "We merely brought her in to have a conversation with her, not throw her in a jail cell."

I heard Alistair approach me from behind and the disgruntle noise that came out his mouth indicated that he either hated the thought of taking the handcuffs off me or he loathed being ordered around. My best guess was that his frustration was a result of both, not that it mattered, because the handcuffs were released a moment later. I instinctively pulled my hands away and tried to soothe away the imprints the handcuffs had left on my wrists. But the reality was that being out of the cuffs made no difference because there was absolutely no way that I could physically get out of this room without consent of the two agents who were now between me and the door.

"Sorry about all of this." Agent Smith said with an apologetic grin, cocking his head to one side as he gestured to an empty chair across the table from him. "Alistair is quite young to be in the line of work, we are still trying to get all of the impulsive behavior and gruffness under control."

Alistair stayed by the closed door as I slowly sat down in the plush office chair. The furniture in this room was better quality- and probably came at a higher price tag- than the furnishings in my office space. It emphasized Agent Smith's gentler approach and made me feel like I had never been farther from being a criminal. But agent Smith's easy going attitude was not reflected in stiff way that Alistair was leaning against the wall, his teeth gritted tightly together as he watched both of us.

"I want to know why I was brought in here in the first place if I'm not a criminal." I stated bluntly. My strong arming hadn't worked with Alistair, but maybe it would work with his softer counterpart. "This is very bad for my image, no one will trust me with their business pursuits if they can't trust me as a human being and a whole city's worth of police officers crawling all over my lawn is more than enough to tarnish my reputation."

"We understand that. And like I said before, Alistair is young and impulsive." Alistair's jaw was clenched harder for a moment, but he closed his eyes for a second longer than usual as he calmed himself down. Either these two were the least compatible good-cop-bad-cop team I had seen or they truly hated each other. "But we just wanted to have a conversation with you about some concerning topics, Celeste."

"I would've been more than happy to have a conversation in my office or at least without being escorted around the city like a crook. He had no right to do what he did."

Alistair seemed to hit some kind of breaking point in that moment, his words spewing from his mouth as he lunged forward. "I know that you aren't the innocent runaway everyone thinks you are." I had poked and poked at him during the drive but one sideways comment was all it took to make him snap. But his sudden aggression was not the victory I wanted, it was actually quite terrifying.

"Alistair!" Agent Smith snapped, immediately losing his calm demeanor as those blue eyes shifted to rage and annoyance. Alistair took a step back, still looking furious and guarded, but unable to argue with Smith. "We don't know anything yet." Then his eyes were brought back to mine, cool and collected again. His emotions were on a switch, just like Josh and I clenched my hands together tightly in my lap. "However, we do have some concerns and we had you brought here to be mindful of those concerns and for the public's potential safety. I know it seems ridiculous to you and it seems tedious to me, but it had to be done that way."

"Fine, fine." I grumbled, waving him off in a dismissal. Clearly my attempt to scare him off had not worked, but acting innocent and agitated might. "Ask me the questions so I can go home and try and piece my reputation back together."

Agent Smith nodded and gave me another small smile, "Let's start with what happened the night you disappeared."

"Excuse me?" my stomach clenched tightly and I gripped the supports underneath the table tightly in my hands, feeling like I may faint from the shock. I hadn't truly believed that he wasn't siding with Alistair, but I was hoping we would start this integration with a gentler question, something I could wiggle out of and throw a fit over until they gave up and released me. This question was a punch to the gut before the fight even started and it left me breathless.

"Were you kidnapped that night?" Agent Smith pressed. His hands were clasped together and he was leaning over the table, those eyes curious but not uncompassionate or accusing. If anything I would describe them as worried and thoughtful.

"I'm not this woman that you think I am." I spat, my mind still reeling "My name is Celeste Davidson and I've never been kidnapped. I grew up in Calgary and I moved out here to go to college, but ended up starting a business instead."

Agent Smith let out a little sigh as he reached over the table and opened a small folder I hadn't even noticed until now. It was filled with various documents, many of which had both of my names on them, but he by-passed them without a thought. He retrieved and carefully laid out three glossy photos in front of me. One photo was of me when I graduated high school. Looking lovely in my dress and beaming, one of my parents on either of my arms. A photo of me wrapped in Josh's arms, one of our engagement photos. The smile on my face was massive, but completely invalid. The whole photo-shoot had been awkward and unnatural as I had been anything but thrilled to think of marrying that man, but those photos had been plastered through magazines and newspapers. The third was a picture of me smiling up at Josh the second time we met, my grey eyes showing how completely taken by him I had been. I didn't know what kind of man he was then, too foolish for my own good.

"Your name may be Celeste Davidson, but I know that these are photos of you from California when you were Camila Lopez." Agent Smith met my eyes strongly, no longer smiling, "Now, are you ready to talk?"

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