Agent Rogue

Chapter 3

After a short safety-check and stock-up of parachutes and first aid equipment, we boarded to leave London and begin the journey to the Alps.

Having had no sleep while in the coffee shop, I took my couple hours of pause from the action to doze for a short while, putting my earphones in to drown out the roar of the engine.

While approaching the final half hour of the journey, I started to wake. I still kept my eyes closed, however, desperate to snatch as much sleep as possible, but even over the blasting music coming from my earphones, I could still hear Scotty's uncontrollable laughter.

"What is it?" I asked, suddenly realising I was shouting as I ripped out the earphones by the wires. I hadn't heard him so amused to the brink of tears in a long time and could feel my cheek muscles tightening at his contagious laughter.
"He, he, he!"he giggled, hiccupping before letting out a cackle. "L-look at this!"

He leaned over, pressing play on a clip of downloaded security footage from the cruise ship. I furrowed my brows for a moment, jaw dropping as I recognised the moment Barnes had slammed the billiard room door in my face. Scotty had looped to clip, making the door repeatedly smack me. I wanted to be mad but struggled to retain my laughter.

"Dick," I snapped. Scotty frowned.
"No need to bring my birth name into this!"
"I can bring that back to the office, if you'd like."
"We managed to convince nearly every single agent that 'Scotty' is my real name. Let's stick with that."

I snorted. One wrong move and the birth certificate of Richard 'Scotty' Williams would circle the Senior Level office. The 'Dick' nickname would return within a week.

Even with that threat, he still replayed the video.

A thought struck me. "Hang on, I thought the cameras were—"
"I managed to get them back up just as he pinned you down on the pool table," he replied. "You can only imagine the shock of what I thought was going—"
"Alright! You don't have to elaborate," I exclaimed with a wince. That wasn't an image I was keen on having. He chuckled, knowing more than anyone how uncomfortable that subject was for me.

I leaned back in the co-pilot's chair, watching the clouds drift by as mountain peaks started sprouting into view. On our first few missions as partners, I despised flying. Having no control made me nauseous and we had more than a few arguments over who was in charge in the aircraft. However, after getting to know the quirky pilot, I learned to love it. In fact, I looked forward to the few moments of salvageable peace before missions.

Scotty, on the other hand, lived to soar through the skies. It took a lot of work for him to get to the position he was in, even if he did plan on a military career initially. Alistair had an eye for talent, many had said, and the Director hand-picked the pilot fresh from flight school around the same time I completed my own training.

When I really thought about it, most of the Senior-Level Office – Alistair's closest agents with the best jobs, the best pay and the best training – were all hand-picked by the Director. Some were given more straightforward promotions, but even Gabby, the Director's secretary, had been chosen by Alistair himself. Perhaps that was why the office was so cohesive; each of us served a purpose that promoted the ideals of the agency and, consequentially, Alistair.

"We're approaching the landing pad outside of the ski village. You'll have to drive from there," said Scotty.
"With what?" I asked, standing up with a stretch.
He shrugged, handing me the earpiece I was to use on the mission. "You're a spy."
"Well spotted," I replied, frowning as I put it in.
"And what do spies have?"
I tilted my head. "An annoying pilot that makes no sense." Scotty scowled. "Or is that just my divine luck?"
Scotty shook his head, scoffing in disapproval. "No. This."