Under Their Eyes

Chapter 3

I felt my shoulder being pushed, causing my head to shoot up off of my arms.

"Wake up, sleepy head," I heard Brandon tease behind me.

I turn to glare at him, and as we made eye contact, he bursts into laughter.

"Did you look in a mirror before you left the house this morning?" he chuckled, shaking his head and taking the seat in front of me.

I groan and roll my eyes.

"I had a long night. You should be glad I'm even here."

I already knew that my hair looked crazy; loose strands sticking out of my bun all over the place. The dark circles under my eyes, and my pale, blotchy skin was a definite indicator of my less than three-hour sleep.

I jumped as I heard the door slam open.

"Aspen, Easton, good morning," the captain greeted, sinking into his chair at the head of the table. Brandon and I both sat up straighter.

"Sir," I greeted in response, Brandon simply nodding in response.

The captain raised an eyebrow at my appearance, but I ignored it, folding my hands on top of the table.

"I trust that you both read the case file."

Brandon and I nodded.

"Very good. It's time to assign you."

I felt excitement bubble up within me as the captain dug in his bag, pulling out two manila folders. He slid them to Brandon and I, signaling us to open them.

I flip open the file, scanning the beginning of the contents inside.

Agent: 0342

Aspen, Piper, H.

Case File: 226

CLASSIFIED

Alias Information:

Alias: Jayda Battle

Age: 22

Place of Origin: Winchester, VA

Parents: Deceased

DOB: 4/26/1993

Mission: Infiltrate __________, gather intelligence. You are going to be working alongside __________, as a technology specialist. You will be housed-

"Aspen, are you up for the assignment?"

I lifted my head up to see two sets of eyes on me.

"Of course," I said with a smirk.

Brandon shook his head at my response, but a grin was evident on his face as well.

The captain leaned back in his chair, straightening his suit jacket and staring at both of us with amusement in his expression.

"Good. You both start next week. Let's try to keep this as clean as possible."

Brandon and I shared a smile.

There is nothing clean about the work we do.

___________________________

"Business trip? Why do you have to go?" Chanelle whined as I dug my suitcases out from the back of my closet.

I toss them to the side and look at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Because they know I'm extremely competent and I'm the best for the job."