Inglorious Exchange

Chapter 1 : Shady dealings

Paris, France

The Eiffel Tower illuminates the night skies of the Paris, known as the City of Lights while the River Seine churns quietly, the waters gleaming under the lights of the buildings next to the river. Boats churn by, carrying groups of tourists or lovebirds who craved for some time alone to spend with each other by the river. At both sides of the bank people walked side by side as they passed through shops, restaurants, museums and attractions such as the Notre Dame Cathedral. Not far from the Arc de Triomphe, in a quiet cafe, a man sat quietly at a table overlooking the Arc even though a pane of glass window separates the view. To the untrained eye he is none other than a simple Parisian or a foreigner but he wasn't just a foreigner. A copy of Le Parisien laid across his table along side with a cup of steaming espresso and a plate of freshly baked croissant. 

The sound of the wind chimes sounding against the entrance signals the entry of a new customer had the man's head snapped up. A woman entered the cafe but instead of looking around for an empty table her eyes is searching for someone. A pair of Chanel sunglasses shielded her eyes to prevent anyone from seeing through her true identity which she doesn't want to be revealed. She slowly turned to her left and saw the man who, is watching her when she entered. Instead of reacting in a way normal women would to a potential creep she smiled at the man and walked towards his table. Dressed in a professional pant suit she stood out among most of the patrons due to the nature of the location. Smiling she asks for permission to occupy the seat opposite him and he simply nodded. "How is the weather today?" she asked, in English but with a heavy French accent. 

The man studied her for a while, searching something to reply her. "Gloomy, at it's best. Not too high, not too low." hearing the answer she sketched a brow but says nothing. "... Are you Carmen Sophia?"

"... Do I know you?" she asked. He said nothing but slid the copy of the newspaper towards her and she stared at the paper. "Ah." she said, addressing the man. "Who are we waiting for?"

"Not here." he said plainly. Standing up he slipped a few Francs underneath the cup and leaves the cafe, the woman following him. Together they walked down the streets towards the nearby subway entrance but they kept close. A slender young man out of nowhere followed them in silence, all the way from the cafe to the subway platform. His black eyes constantly scanned the people around him while keeping his eye on the man and woman. "Someone's following us." he hissed. 

"We have to shake him off then." she hissed.

They quickly moved away from the crowd and headed towards another exit, more secluded from the crowd. But the loud clap of the thunder halted their intentions to move to a more secure place and the young man closed in on them. "You both are a hard couple to be tracked down." the young man said, in a British accent. 

"You're James Duncan?" the man asked him back.

"I am." he said. "But that's not my real name." Instead of fighting they shook hands and the woman looked at him in the eye. 

"Do you have the information?" she asked softly. 

"I have." the man replied. Unzipping the leather bag he had brought along he took out a folder, labelled 'Confidential Intelligence', and handed to them. 

"Hmm... this intel sells a lot of money." the man replied, scanning through the documents. 

"Are you honoring your agreement Jefferson Wallace?" Duncan looked at him. "Are you?" he turned to Carmen. 

"Of course." she said, retrieving a folder from her laptop backpack Carmen silently handed her information to Duncan and Wallace did the same. "The deal is done." she said.

London, United Kingdom

In the headquarter building of MI6 Roland Churchill sat against the chair of his as the windows behind his chair are misty due to the rain. His eyes are focused in front of his laptop, worry crossing his expression. The table to his left, in line of his eyesight, sat his chief of staff Bill Tanner, too working on his laptop but trying his best to check on his boss' emotions. They both looked tense as just a few hours ago Tanner received the news of the murder of a British agent within his organization. And now, Churchill is looking at the profile of the murdered agent, Mary Walker, better known as her alias, Martina Rodriguez, who is on a covert mission to spy on African rebels in the Middle East. The information on her whereabouts are strictly confidential and under guard, whoever leaks this... is definitely someone in MI6 but his theory about who did it has already jumped to the possibility of a traitor in the organization. 

A light but firm knock sounded at the door of his office when he looked up from the screen. "Come in." he said. The door then opened and a slim man in his thirties walked into the office, carrying a laptop. 

"Sir." the man said politely. 

"What do you have on the laptop?" he said. 

"Yes, um, I have managed to decrypt Agent Walker's cellphone and laptop but I have no info about who betrayed her whereabouts to the rebel group."

"Any other information?" he asked, his brows already knitting. 

"No sir, she doesn't keep her information on the laptop. But she has been in contact with the FBI whom we know that she has partnered with at your behest."

"This is a joint operation Q." Roland remarked. "The Americans know about this op as much as we do."

"Should we contact the Americans?" Tanner asked.

"Hold that thought, I'll ask the PM for a permission to leave the UK. And the both of you are coming with me on this."

"Where?"

"We're going to America." Roland said. "I know someone who can help us."