Princess

Hacking into Sean Fuller’s computer (where I’d learnt from the short insider stint was where he’d kept all his information, saved with encryption codes and passwords of course) was a lot easier than I’d anticipated, probably because of the Agency’s experts, who had passed me a thumbdrive full of codes and stuff I didn’t fully understand that helped me get in.

Without reading the documents, I clicked on all the files I saw and copied them immediately. There were a lot of files, but it could be done within 10 minutes, which gave me just enough time to get out.

While the documents were being saved, I scanned the room for any signs of extra cameras or security, but there really wasn’t anything.

Strange... I’d thought that it would be a lot harder to get in and out of the Fuller mansion. It had been that way when I came here before.

Oh wait. What was I thinking? Of course this wasn’t the full force of Sean Fuller’s men. There were a few of them probably guarding the top secret plan and so security here was more lax than usual. This was probably why it was easy for me.

Whenever you think things like that, plans would always go awry because suddenly, footsteps (which were tried to be masked) padded up the stairs.

My eyes darted to the computer screen, there were a few minutes left before the documents were loaded. There was no point only getting half of the files when I didn’t know which half was important and I knew that there would be no more chances like these.

So I took a risk.

I grabbed the computer from the desk and tucked myself, along with it underneath the table. If it wasn’t Sean Fuller that entered the room (and from the light footsteps, I doubted that it was the heavyset head), its absence wouldn’t be so glaring.

Whoever it was opened the door and light flooded the room.

I blinked furiously, trying to clear my vision, still trying to go by the book even though my heart was beating quickly, like a hummingbird’s. Evening my breathing until it was barely noticeable, I curled my feet underneath my body and listened.

“Is there someone here?” asked the person. It was a female and sounded familiar but...it couldn’t be. It just couldn’t.

“That’s strange; I really thought I heard something.”

A sudden urge to give myself away just to see Jeanne Ingrid’s face upon realising that I was here surged through me but it passed once the logical side of me realised what I was thinking. It would be foolish to surrender my position just for the satisfaction of seeing my old friend’s shock, just to see her hurt the way I had when she’d betrayed me.

So I sat there, waiting for her to leave.

And she did; a few moments after, muttering under her breath about the strange noises she thought she heard and nasty comments about the intruder they caught downstairs.
***
Tossing the thumbdrive carelessly on her table, I said, “I’ve gotten the job done.”

Calloway glanced up from the large stack of paperwork on her table before setting it aside completely. I couldn’t help but feel a strange pride for finally being able to command her undivided attention when I never had before.

She gazes at the thumbdrive passively for a few moments before a small, genuine smile played on her lips. “Well, this was a lot sooner than I expected. Well done, Kristen. I heard from Owen that you were...a little preoccupied with the Fuller son.” Her smile dimmed slightly before regaining wattage. “But I always knew you had it in you to put aside your personal feelings and work for our nation’s and people’s benefits. Putting Sean Fuller behind bars would cripple the Mafia in ways we never had before and nobody would ever have to fear their wrath again.”

For Calloway to gift you with praise and smiles were unheard of and so, I knew that I had pleased her immensely. It made me uncomfortable to consider why exactly Calloway was so pleased and that I had never considered that before, having been too caught up with my own personal benefits. “Thanks. I took everything that I found since I wasn’t sure what it was that we were looking for.”

“No matter, I’m sure we would find out what it is that he is planning.” She got up from her seat and walked to me. Then Calloway patted me on the shoulder. “I can tell that you’ve grown from this experience. You would make an excellent agent one day.”

I tried to fight back the panic that threatened to surface but couldn’t quite control it, despite wanting to. “Yeah, but you’re letting me go, aren’t you? That was part of the deal.”

She purses her lips. “Ah, yes. I almost forgot about that detail.”

What did she mean by that? It was impossible that she would, which meant that either she was trying to spook me or that she had an agenda of her own. But if she refused to let me go, there really was nada I could do about it.

Had I been tricked?

“But...I am a woman of my words; I will let you go since you have finished up the Mafia for us.” She spoke deliberately, as though I was a small child. I could tell that she had chosen these words for a specific reason but didn’t understand why.

I supposed I never would get Calloway. But that I could deal with. “Thank you. What does the termination of my contract come into effect?”

“By mid-day tomorrow,” replied Calloway, her eyes returning to the thumbdrive like it was a prized gem. Perhaps to her, a workaholic, it was as precious to her as this Agency was. “You can see yourself out.”

“Oh and please don’t forget, though you may have gotten the information for us, as long as we haven’t arrested Sean Fuller, you will still remain at the school and you will still be the Fuller son’s girlfriend, just to keep up pretenses. I don't want you to come under suspicion before we've nabbed him. Understood?”

I nodded though I didn’t want to. I hadn’t thought about this implication and what it meant-that I had to stick by Dylan even after turning his family in or how I was going to handle this part.

And now that I was forced to think about it, I had to admit, I was totally not equipped to do it.
***
Owen pounced on me immediately after I closed the door. Even though it was nearly dawn, he looked awake and alert. “How did it go?”

“It was fine.” I kept my answer vague. I couldn’t fully trust Owen Harrison, though whether it was because he had dated and dumped me on the orders of the Agency or because he could be a double agent, I couldn’t say. Probably Calloway could’ve cleared up the latter for me if I had asked earlier but I had forgotten. “Did you manage to distract Dylan and Luke?”

“They were too easy.” His gaze swept across my face, as if looking for signs of how my mission really went. He evidently found the answer he sought because a smile grew on his face. “You did it.”

I shrugged. Why was it that both Owen and Calloway seemed overjoyed at the prospect of nabbing the Fullers while I remained so detached from it?

“We should celebrate.” Owen grabbed my arm as I turned away from him. “And you really shouldn’t look like a grieving wife.”

Flinching at what he was implying, I replied, tersely, “Let go of my arm.”

“If that’s what you want.” He released his hold on me. I didn’t dare to see what expression he wore but instead, I laid down on my bed and closed my eyes, already dreaming of my life ahead.
***
“Did you and Dylan fight over what Luke said the last time?” asked Tia, her brown eyes large and concerned. “’Cos you two haven’t been speaking for a really long time.”

“No...” I had been avoiding him in the past week as much as possible and even if I saw him, I would talk about the mundane before quickly making my escape. I didn’t want to think about how much I wanted to kiss him or how much I wanted to play Bullshit again. “I’m just a little busy.”

Her disbelief was all over her face but she said nothing about it. Sometimes Tia was too nice. Her phone rang loudly and she rummaged around her bag before finding it and answering. “Hello?”

I stopped paying attention then and instead looked around the campus. It was a pretty, summer’s day and one of the last few I would spend here. Calloway had informed me, via the handy screen in my room, that they had sufficient evidence to prove that Sean Fuller and the Mafia had a major operation that was set to take place, plus the fact that the files also contained all their illegal business deals. It looked like I was going to lead my own life now.

Yet, I still couldn’t muster up much happiness over it. Maybe it was because it seemed like a distant dream—nice to think about occasionally, but not ever materialising.

Tia sniffed loudly and I looked back at her, surprised to find that without me noticing, she had started to cry. “What’s wrong?”

She wiped at her face but the tears kept coming. “Godfather...he...he’s been arrested."