It took Brooks three days later to reach out to her.

But before then, Elodie had followed the new routine she'd made up this week: get up early for her run, head over to Mace's, go to the diner, pick up her dinner for the evening, then fall into bed; eat, rinse, repeat.

It'd been mind-numbing, and also had her panicking.

What if Boss decided not to take her back again?

Because, let's face it, while it was good to quit when she was upset and feeling as though her whole world was crumbling, it was a bad idea to leave her job when she and Mace were this close to turning their lives around.

In retrospect, she'd been bruised, battered and assaulted, so maybe her momentary lapse in judgment could be overlooked.

Anyway, Elodie had just gotten back from her morning run that early in the morning, when she found Luke leaning against the wall of her building, toying with his phone.

He'd only told her how it was important that she came with him in that moment or Brooks was going to lose his shit.

She hadn't bothered to shower or change out of her running leggings and tank top, and got into the car Luke brought with him.

If Brooks had a problem with how she chose to appear, then he could blame himself for his impatience.

Elodie didn't encounter any important diginatary this time on her way to Brooks' office, and when she knocked on his door, his assistant, a woman with a severe blonde bun, spared a minute from her call to wave her right in.

Brooks gestured for her to sit, while he recieved a call, nodding tersely as he was yelled at.

Elodie sat tersely looking around the office, pretending not to hear the murmur of angry voice bleeding from the earpiece.

Not that there was a lot to see.

It was bland and minimalist, no personal touches whatsoever, just rows and rows of cabinets with files spilling from it, and a small sofa with a dark glass coffee table.

"Sorry to call you on short notice, Ms. Evans," Brooks said, slamming down the phone.

"Well, I guess I thought I might be of assistance once again."

He folded his arms on the table and considered her. "As it turns out, you could be. This morning, Arcangelo Casieri, bold as brass, approached a CCTV camera in Offshore, and said something into it."

When he didn't elaborate, Elodie had to ask, "What did he say?"

"He saidd your name. He said, Elodie Evans, which is a big turn up for the books, wouldn't you say?"

Elodie blinked in shock.

"Just to give you some background on this, Casieri is a cross-agency priority. Down Under was our cock-up, so BIA is taking the lead, but both arms of the British and American intelligence—MI6 And CIA—are working closely to find and eliminate him with utmost urgency. Casieri represents not only a very serious domestic threat, but also an international one."

Brooks stood up from his place behind the desk, and walked over to one of his overflowing cabinet to bring out a file.

He ploped it down on the desk in front of Elodie with a ball-tipped pen. "Please, sign on the first page before I go any further."

Intrigued, Elodie took the pen, opened the file and slowly perused the content of the single white A4 paper.

It was a form of NDA agreement, which also contained a mild threat (or not) to deal with her and sue her for all she had—no matter how meager— if she disclosed anything discussed to a third party.

She scrawled her loppy signature in the required place space, then returned the file to him.

Brooks returned it to the cabinet, then began to pace in the small room. "We believe that he may be working, or intending to work, with any number of hostile parties. Archangelo Casieri has quiet the reputation, you see. He was—most likely still is—the most wanted man in some parts of Europe and North America. He's also a man who works alone, has worked alone, and rarely picks any woman in any country he visits. You see, he'd never been with a woman twice, no matter how beautiful or famous she is."

Sitting back down, Brooks rested his elbows on the armrests of his ergonomic chair to steeple his fingers." But it also begs the question, why on earth he sought and brought you out—with the utmost respect, an undistinguished part-time waitress moonlighting as an Escort at night— into this situation."

Elodie's eyes lifted to the ceiling, trying to make sense of it, and only one explanation came to mind.

"I'm the only person he trusts."

Brooks' face twisted as though he'd tasted something acerbic. "And why would he do that?"

"Maybe I made an impression on him, maybe I didn't. But, I do know that if I were Casieri right now, in a place where many people are trying to kill me, and in need of a woman, I'd go for someone way down the chain. Someone unambitious, and yes, undistinguished, who I wouldn't consider an immediate threat."

Brooks pressed his fingers together.
"Go on."

"Angelo knows you're actively searching for him, must have known that you brought me here the other day, and he probably knows I have nothing much to give you beyond what I did. He has something of an obsession for me, which I know would  continue to eat him up until he's back for me again." Elodie sighed."But you know all this."

Brooks gazed at her for a long moment. "Okay, Ms. Evans, we'll bring him in, and you're going to help us do it."

"If the intention is to kill him, I want nothing to do it. I won't be a party to someone's demise."

He shook his head. "The higher ups ups wouldn't go for that. You have no idea of the level of threat we're dealing with here."

"I need you to guarantee his safety."

"Even if I could give it to you, and the last time I checked you were just a civvi without the authority to ask him for Jack all, my guarantee wouldn't be worth the paper it's written on."

"I don't know you, Mr. Brooks, but I've been in your company long enough to know that you're an irritable bully and an arrogant tosspot."

"You do not know me, Ms. Evans."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "I bet that they call you obnoxious bully behind your back at work, Mr. Brooks."

Brooks pressed a finger under his glasses to rub his his eye. "Flattery will get you everywhere."

"But you are also someone who'd do right by his people, no matter how hard it'll be for you."

"Casieri isn't 'my people', and would never be."

She looked at him steadily, and he sighed.

"Okay, Elodie Evans, I'll speak to the higher ups about getting the kill order...temporarily suspended. But first I should tell you what this is about, so you understand just what we're dealing with here. We'll also set you up with the necessary equipment for when you finally get back with Casieri."

"And then what?"

"And then you go home." When she looked aghast, he added, "Because there's no way in hell Arcangelo Casieri is going to get in contact with you if he discovers you've been in contact with us."

*

Elodie finished her shift earlier than she expected at the diner, and went back home, then ordered a box of pizza—which would take forever to get to her place, because no place in Aqualine Shore sold good pizza.

All she wanted to do was enjoy a cup of tea, change her clothes and then wait for Angelo to make contact.

But the leaky kitchen sink was cluttered with plates, glasses and plastic plates; washing-up was piled in the sink. A tower of clothes had been dumped on the floor by her waste basket.

Household work would at least be a distraction from what Brooks had told her about Angelo Casieri.

Elodie didn't condone the plans to kill the man, but she understood now the reasoning behind the extraordinary decision. If there was even a small chance that Casieri was working with hostile forces, the repercussions would be catastrophic.

Brooks had given her strict warning to carry on with her days as usual, and to try to forget that she was about to be contacted by a lethal Mafia boss.

She'd finished washing the dirty dishes and was folding her clothes, when a knock came on her door.

Thinking that it must be the pizza she ordered, Elodie grabbed her purse and went to answer the door.

"You got here..." She trailed off at the sight of the person on her doorstep.

They were definitely not the pizza guy.

"Angel E," Boss said, shrewd eyes roaming all over her figure, then shifting to somewhere over her head.

Boss looked so out of place in the dull and draby hallway with peeling paints in her stretchy, viridian-green jumpsuit, peep-toed stilletoe, and expensive Chanel no.3 perfume.

Just behind her, typing furiously on her MacBook was her assistant, whose name Elodie had never gotten around to learning.

"...Boss," She finished lamely, hanging in the doorway, heart thumping as she thought of the reasons why her boss could be here.

The woman had never ventured anyway outside of Bayview, Elodie was sure of it, so coming to this seedy part of town raised red-flags.

Prehaps, she'd learned of Elodie's plans to work with the BIA to bring in her most valued client, and was here to deliver swift punishment.

"What-what are you doing here?" Elodie asked, when it seemed Boss didn't have anything else to say beyond what she already had.

Boss's gaze strayed back to her. "Is there anywhere we can sit to talk?"

Aside from here, was implied, although not spoken out loud.

Face-flaming, Elodie stepped out, and shut the door behind her. "Yes."

Few minutes later, they were seated in a twenty-four hour café; Elodie nursing a cup of hot-americano, and Boss a double expresso, while her assistant sat a respectable distance away still working on her computer.

Elodie didn't envy the other woman.

Boss was ruthless when it came to work, and there was even speculation among the Angels if the woman slept at all.

It was illegal to look so put together by this time of the day, but Boss had never been caught unfresh before.

"Elodie," Boss started, "how's your leave been?"

The question, while unexpected, didn't surprise Elodie in the least.

Boss was the type who made mundane talks at first, then went for the jugular when you were relaxed.

"Fine," she replied, pursing her lips to blow over her coffee.

"Still want to quit?"

Elodie didn't answer outright, took her time sipping her coffee.

The other woman could wait for a bit.

There was something she wasn't saying just yet, and there was no way she'd come all the way from uptown to downtown just too check up on one of her angels.

Which could only mean one thing: Angelo was back...or she had another client willing to pay the big bucks for Elodie for the next four days.

"It was a lapse in judgement," she answered, after two beat. "I was hurting at the time because what I got wasn't what I was expecting, and I made a hasty decision to quit."

Boss hummed. "How's your brother doing?"

"Better than yesterday."

"Looking at where you live, I can guess that you've been funneling all the money you make into ensuring he is doing well." It was a statement of fact. One that was obvious if anyone knew where to look. "But, for how long are you going to keep this up?"

Elodie's gaze darted to the other occupants of the café: late night owls were on their laptops, working furiously while sipping from their brew, there were two couples seated diagonally from each other conversing loudly, and a boy with a spurt of beard growth was face-timing  an equally pimple-faced teenager with braces that was visible to the people in Mars.

"Mace isn't a burden to me," she said quietly. So, please don't make it sound as though he is holding me back."

"Noted."

Elodie sighed, meeting her Boss's  undiscernable expression. "I know this isn't a social call Boss. So, tell me why you're really here."

"Very well." She snapped her finger, and her assistant scrambled to her feet, shaking like a tree in the wind, and hurried over to their table. "Show her."

Elodie's heart began to gallop as different scenarios ran through her head.

Oh God, I've done it now. I've really done it.

"What?" The question slipped past her lips, unbidden, gaze roaming over the file on the screen. "What is this?"

All she could see were numbers, four of which after tally, had a total figure of over three million dollars.

"Mr. C paid for your services for the next two weeks," Boss said. "And that's the total of what you would make in a week if you agree."

Unless she wanted to lie, aside from the fact that she was now some type of undercover—Agent? Service? Force?—hearing and seeing that amount of money made her heart pound.

She could do alot with that money.

Three million dollars would help her settle parents debts at once, and the other three million would help in moving Mace to a better care facility.

But, she couldn't look too eager.

"Make it five million," she told Boss, folding her arms and leaning into the back of her chair.

Boss raised an immaculate brow. "That's bold of you."

Elodie's shoulders rose and fell. "If he is as important as you say, and if I have to endure him for two weeks, then I believe it's worth it."

For a minute, no one said anything, even the assistant stood stock-still, eyes as wide as saucepans.

Then, Boss's lips lifted up at the corners briefly. "I like a woman who knows how too bargain."

"So, that's a yes?"

Boss pushed to her feet, and dropped enough to cover their drinks. "A car will pick you up tomorrow evening, so be ready."

Elodie also got to her feet. "Thanks."

"Oh, by the way, Elodie," Boss said over her shoulders. "I'm sorry for what happened. Mr. C has promised that it won't repeat itself, and would pay you for whatever inconvenience he caused."

Elodie was left gaping at the woman's retreating back.

A/N:

This week's update is coming late, my apologies to y'all.

But, thank God I made it!

Thoughts on new chapters?

Was Elodie right to have taken the BIA's offer?

Do you think Angelo knows of her involvement with the law?

What do you think of Boss's apology?

Should Elodie have recieved the offer?

Let me know your thoughts in the comment section.

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