Call it What You Want

8 - Walking with His Head Down

June 2017

Joe's POV

"I'll be in meetings, so I won't be able to take any calls. You can always text my parents if you need anything." Taylor picked up her keys and purse from the counter. "I'll see you for dinner," she told me before leaning in for a kiss.

I followed her toward the doorway. "Okay, I'll see you tonight. I might pick up take away for dinner. Hopefully I won't get too lost in the city." As soon as the door closed softly behind her, I pulled out my phone to check the time. It was ten o'clock. I had the rest of the day to explore Nashville while Taylor was out. She gave me a list of places to visit, and I wanted to see as many as I could. 

I hoped that people wouldn't recognize me while I was out because of the earlier incident with the paparazzi. I threw on a ball cap just in case. There were probably still some paparazzi and perhaps fans waiting at the entrance of the apartment building. To avoid running into them, I directed an Uber to pick me up in the parking garage.

Centennial park was the first place I chose to visit. It wasn't a far drive from her apartment. Taylor told me that she used to come here to write songs or read. I imagined her sitting on the grass with her guitar in front of the Parthenon as I walked the path around the park. Nobody gave me more than a glance on my stroll which was comforting. The park was busy with tourists and locals. Musicians sat on the grass playing their guitars. Some people had blankets out to read books. Others played frisbee. I watched as people ran by me on the walkway with their dogs. Everyone seemed so relaxed.

In contrast, I felt tense. This morning's paparazzi coverage had me creeped out. I couldn't believe that people would sit and stare at us through high powered lenses waiting for us to move like animals in a zoo. On top of that, I was carrying some extremely valuable intelligence in my pocket that Natalie passed me this morning. It's the kind of information, more like secrets, that someone would kill for. So yes, I was anxious carrying it around with me. This afternoon, I had instructions to deliver it to Natalie's source.

I left the park to grab lunch at Hattie B's. Taylor insisted that I try Nashville hot chicken and southern barbecue food. It sounded interesting; I'm always willing to try new food. After ordering, I sat down at a table and checked my phone to see if Natalie had any updates for me.

One notification flashed on my screen. Location change: meet inside. I let out a sigh. I was originally supposed to pass by the source outside and deliver the package. Someone must have caught wind of our drop because Natalie would never move inside if she had a choice. While there was more coverage inside, it would be harder to escape if something went wrong.

Thinking that this operation might end poorly instantly made me think of my relationship with Taylor and reflect on how I got into this situation. Our relationship was founded on lies.  

At first, I didn't even see my cover as lying. I just saw it as a part of my job. Then, it became my way of protecting Taylor from the shameful truth and people who want to hurt her. I am truly surprised that she still hasn't discovered my identity. Despite my years of training, I know that my acting skills are only so good. Taylor is a great asset for the CIA, but her weak spot for love and relationships makes her an easy target. That's where I came in.

I, like Taylor, had been groomed to become an agent from a young age. MI6 approached me while I was acting with the National Youth Theatre to see if I would be interested in a pilot development program they were launching. They thought acting students would make great undercover field agents. I was told that if I accepted a spot in the program, I would be serving my country and in exchange MI6 would help get me in front of people who could make my acting dream a reality. As a young, shy and aspiring actor, I couldn't resist the offer.

Soon enough, I was whisked into the world of government intelligence. I flourished in the pilot program. I successfully completed the physical training, intelligence training, field experience and got my professional start in acting. Natalie and I both went through the program together. At the end, we are assigned to be partners.

As undercover agents, partners entailed much more than sharing an office. Let's just say that our work and personal lives became entangled and almost inseparable. We spent a little over four years working together, developing sources, and building our covers. Neither of us were expecting the moment when the agency reassigned us to different cases. In the agent world, Natalie and I had become a power team. The agency claimed that the separation was because of our skill, they wanted us to work with other agents and sources. We kept in touch, meeting up every once in a while. Our latest assignments brought us back together.

In the spring of last year, I got my latest and current assignment: Taylor. It was no accident that we both attended the Met Gala. Each year both of our agencies have people go. Before the event, I studied Taylor's life. She was the most important source I would have developed in my career. I learned about her personal life and her career as a singer songwriter. I learned about her squad and her bad blood with other artists. She had quite an impressive history. I carefully planned out how I would meet her that evening. It turned out that she met me that night instead.

I wouldn't say that we hit it off when we first met. She seemed preoccupied and disinterested. I wasn't offended though because with her status, I'm sure she meets hundreds of people who want something from her. When she left with Tom, I knew that I hadn't made an impression. MI6 also told me that the CIA was trying to develop more British sources. Maybe he was one of her sources. That's one of the main reasons they wanted me to work with Taylor.

I was in no rush to get to Taylor, so I let that relationship run its course. I didn't have to wait long. The next time we met was at the Bowery Hotel for a Kings of Leon concert. Newly single, I knew that Taylor would be cautious about dating but also vulnerable. We ended up spending the whole evening together after the show.

At first, I reported back to MI6 like a good agent. She even unknowingly met with some other MI6 agents when I took her out for drinks with some friends in London. When I got to know Taylor and witness the trouble she would go through to protect her secret and her family, I began to fall in love. My reports to MI6 became less frequent. Taylor was trying her best to make her singing careet work with the hard place she bound herself in with the CIA. She didn't need me sharing all her secrets with my government. I felt bad that I knew the one secret she tried so desperately to hide from me, but she doesn't know mine.

MI6 brought Taylor and I together. But it was also the reason why our relationship was bound to fail from the start. I patted the device in my pocket to check and make sure it was still there. The information on this device would either liberate our relationship or destroy it. In a few hours, we would see which it would be.

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Finally some more insight about Joe! The next chapter will take me a little while to write, but I hope the wait will be worth it. Thanks for sticking with this story so far!!