SECRET AGENT DAWSON
Chapter Sixteen

“Attention! All personnel, please report to your station.” An alert ran through Jack’s mind. Now that they knew that Vincent was in with them, he feared the worst was about to come.

“Jack, did you hear me?” Rose shook him.

“Sorry, honey. What?” He was preoccupied.

“What’s your favorite color?” she asked.

“Uh…blue.” He liked blue. It matched his eyes.

“Okay.” Rose was writing down a Christmas list, and since this would be their first Christmas together, she needed it to be something very memorable.

“Some day, cara mia. I will show you my true self.” Jack had never meant to have so many secrets. But living alone all those years had put him in that position.

“Did you say something, Jack?” She looked up from her list.

“Nah.” He got up off the chair and went over to Rose. “What are you doing?” He was suddenly interested in what she was doing.

“Nothing.” She pulled the list closer to her.

“Come on, Rose, can’t I see?” he pleaded with her.

“No, Jack. You have to wait, like all the good little boys.”

“Rose, as you may have noticed, I am a man,” he pointed out to her.

“Yes, I have noticed, Jack,” she teased.

“So, why won’t you let me see, then?” he asked.

“Because it’s a surprise.” She put the list into her pocket.

“All right. I will behave. Does anything on that list have to do with you being wrapped in bows?” he teased her.

“Sorry, no,” she lied.

“Aw…come on.” Jack played like a little kid.

“Where are we going, Jack?” She made fun of him.

“You’re gonna pay,” he told her.

“How, and in which way?” Rose asked.

“You shall see, my love. All in good time,” he said, with an evil grin. “Honey, would you get mad if I told you that I had another woman?” He looked at her breasts.

“What?” She had taken him seriously.

“I just thought you weren’t listening. Never mind.” He got up and walked around, restless.

“Did you know that agents like you have more secrets than they can count?” Rose joked with him.

“Never noticed. But I guess it’s true, because I know almost all the weapons I have, and can assemble them in two seconds. Plus, I know about ten different languages,” he suddenly told her.

“You have weapons?” Rose had never seen a weapon, other than the ones he carried.

“Of course, my dear. Doesn’t every secret agent?” Jack walked up to her.

“I guess so. Never dated any.” Rose felt clueless.

“Well, Rose, do you want me to show you how to be an agent?” He was willing to teach her everything he knew.

“Me? Jack, you’re kidding. Me, an agent? Yeah, right. I can’t even balance my checkbook.” She laughed.

“Come on.” He took her hand.

She followed him down to the elevator in the closet. The secrets just kept getting deeper and deeper.

When they got there, they went through the surveillance. Everything checked through fine. Behind a bookcase, Jack pulled his favorite book, The Old Man and the Sea. The bookcase started to open into another room.

“Jack, just how many places do you have down here?” She was curious.

“Well, I could give you the grand tour. At least this time, you won’t fall asleep.” He was willing to let everything that he knew come to light.

“All right,” she said.

“All right. You know what I showed you yesterday? Well, over here, behind this bookcase, is a firing range and my weapons locker.” He directed her like a person who would sell a house. “See over there, behind the cabinet? There’s a small space where it will lead you outside, but far away from here, sort of like a slide.

And over here, past the water fountain, is the self-destruct button. This whole room will fill up with water and implode.”

“Wow. So many things. Maybe I should be an agent after all. We are married, and it would be fun.” Rose was starting to like all the mechanisms.

“First thing to learn is to trust no one. Well, except for your husband.” Jack smiled.

“Should I trust you?” she asked, playing around with him.

“Rose?” He frowned. He continued. “Sometimes, you have to use your body to get something you want. For example…” He changed his personality. “Hello, miss. May I sit by you?” Rose was impressed at his acting. “I have to say that the dress you are wearing is rather tight.” He placed his hand on the table near hers, and looked into her eyes.

Rose could feel something in her body telling her to take this man and hurt him bad.

“Thank you, sir,” she acted, following his lead.

He put his hand on her shoulder. Touching her ever so lightly.

She noticed that he always kept eye contact with her.

He pulled away.

“Well?” he asked.

“Well, what?” She hadn’t noticed anything at all.

“Do you notice something missing?” he asked.

Rose looked. Everything was there except her wedding ring.

“You pick-pocketed me. How come I didn’t notice?” she asked him.

“Because, Rose, you were mesmerized by my appearance,” he said.

“Wow. I have to learn that.” Rose was intrigued by the mystery of it all.

“Next, it’s communication. Not just with your body, but with your mind as well.” He started speaking German. Rose had no idea what the hell he had said.

“Jack, I never took the time to notice all that you had. But I really am a lucky girl.” She hugged him.

“And I am a lucky guy.” He kissed her.

“Jack, what’s that red button over there that’s blinking?” She had noticed it blinking when she hugged him.

“What?” He got up and turned on the communication phone.

“Jack, it’s red alert. They’ve got me. Don’t bother saving me,” Kevin said.

This all felt like a bad dream to Jack.

“Kevin!” he yelled.

He wouldn’t let them kill his brother. No chance in hell would they stop him from saving him.

Jack pushed a blue button and told Rose to come with him.

"But, Jack, the house is not locked up."

"It is now. The blue button locked and sealed everything, and also put on a security alarm. Rose, come with me. I am taking you to a very safe place. No doubt they will be coming for all of us, including you. You go first, darling.” Jack took her to the small space.

She slipped inside, afraid of the great unknown.

She went sliding down the dark hole; Jack was right behind her.

They slid down so long that she thought that she might be in China. When they came out, it was in a garage with a car.

Jack got up and got into the car, with Rose in the passenger seat.

He drove them over to an empty shack located in the desert. Rose wondered how everyone would make it there. When they got there, no one was there. Jack walked up to a cactus and pushed a button. The car he had driven began to descend into the ground. And inside the shack was an elevator.

When they reached the bottom, it opened, and everyone was there. Lisa, Paola, Jen, Tobey, Bill--they were all there.

“Bill, what’s the word on my brother?” He walked in.

“They took him to a place south of here. He’s still alive. I think they got Vincent, as well.” Bill had on his headphones.

“What about Cassie?” Jack asked.

“She’s on her way down here,” Tobey informed Jack.

“You think we can trust her?” he asked him.

“I told her to go to a different location, that one of us would pick her up.” Tobey put on Jack’s microphone.

“All right. I guess I’d better do that,” Jack said.

“It’s fine, Jack. I will do it,” Tommy said, from behind him.

Rose walked around, having nothing to do and feeling useless.

Lisa pulled Rose over.

“Rose, are you okay?” Lisa asked.

“Yeah, Lisa. I just have nothing to do.” She was bored.

“Wanna help me?” Lisa asked.

“What do you do?” Rose was curious.

“I’m calling every agent we have so that we can be ready when the shit hits the fan,” Lisa told her.

“All right. I could do that. But is there some secret password that we gotta say to them before we talk or something?” Rose had worked with phones before. She had had a job before as a telemarketer.

“Here’s what you say.” She wrote it down for Rose. Lisa handed her the little paper.

“Agent 1 is down. Charlie Alpha Omega,” Rose read.

Lisa handed her a list to call. She couldn’t believe all the names she saw, at least five pages filled with names. She dialed her first victim, Agent Watson.

The phone rang.

“Hello,” a man answered.

“Hello, Agent Watson. There’s a message for you.” Rose acted as if she were an agent.

“All right. What is it?” the man asked.

“Agent 1 is down. Charlie Alpha Omega,” she told him.

“Affirmative.” He rang off.

Rose started calling the next few names on the list until she was finished. When she was down to the last name, she walked up to Lisa.

“Hey, Lisa. You busy? Rose asked, as she walked by and sat down near Lisa’s desk.

“Not really. Why?” Lisa was sitting back, waiting for more work to come her way.

“I have a question. What does Charlie Alpha Omega mean?” Rose was becoming very interested in Jack’s work.

“Charlie Alpha Omega is our code name for man down need assistance, meet at the specified location to the nearest headquarters, and be on alert.”

“Wow. No wonder you use that code name. Any other things I can do?” Rose asked her.

“Well, Rose, I think you can. But I have to talk to Jack first, since he is the highest in command,” she said.

Lisa walked up to Jack, discussing their next move.

“So, Jack, you think she could handle something like that?” she asked him.

“I know Rose, and if she were an actress, she’d win an Academy Award for it.” He had faith in his wife, and he believed that she could pull off this mission.

“So, it’s a go?” Lisa waited for his answer.

“Yes. I will send her with Tobey.” Jack had given her the okay.

Lisa walked back to Rose.

“Rose, it’s a go,” she told her.

“Okay. What is it?” Rose asked.

“I am putting you on a temporary assignment. You must act like an art museum gallery owner. Jack said you knew your paintings, and that you would be great for this.” She confirmed Jack’s story, not that she needed to. She trusted Jack’s command.

“All right. When do I start?” She was anxious to start her mission.

“Now,” Lisa said.

“I guess it’s just you and me, kid.” Tobey walked up to Rose.

Tobey led her into the changing room, where there were many outfits to choose from, and in all sizes.

Rose picked out a white dress. It had a lovely lace décor. The whole outfit and a little jacket went with it. It was just her size.

When she was ready, she met up with Tobey.

They got into the car and headed to the main office of the people who were holding Kevin. They would act like they were interested in buying paintings while surveying the premises, looking for any clues as to where Kevin was.

Rose walked in with Tobey as her assistant. She walked to the counter where the receptionist was.

“Excuse me. Hello, I am Elizabeth Peters, and I am here to look at some paintings,” she interrupted the lady.

“All right, miss.” She rang the manager.

The manager met up with Rose.

“Hello, Ms. Peters. What can I do for you?” He was dressed in an Italian style suit that was very expensive.

“Well, you see, I’ve got a dilemma. I need the finest oil paintings I can find. I have a dinner to set up for some very important clients, and I would like the scenery to match the table setting.”

“I see,” the man said.

“Oh, how rude of me. This is my assistant, Jean Pierre,” Rose said.

“How do you do?” Tobey spoke in a French accent, taking the cue from Rose, as she had said a French name.

“Fine. Thank you, Mr. Pierre.” He shook his hand.

They followed him upstairs. Tobey took everything into consideration. He knew his surroundings and could probably find a needle in a haystack, so to speak.

“These are the latest oils we have. Are you sure you’re not interested in canvas?” the man asked her.

“Uh…no. You see, oils have a rather glowing texture, and I want them to stand out.” She, personally, loved oil paintings.

“Yes. You are right,” he said.

Tobey was amazed at how she pulled it off.

Chapter Seventeen
Stories