Call it What You Want

19 - Same Mistakes

September 2017

Taylor's POV

At precisely 5:15 PM, I watched Natalie stroll casually out of SIS headquarters through the same door she had used for the past three days in a row. I carefully watched her every move over the past week to see when I could get an uninterrupted moment with her. Even I, as an agent and a celebrity, knew to change my routine more frequently than she did. Routines, as comforting as they are, make people easy targets.

As per usual, Natalie picked up her pace as she walked down the street toward her flat. She held her purse close like she thought someone may run by and steal it. When she rounded the corner, I hopped out of my vehicle to follow her.

I haven't had to pursue a source like this in years. Most of the time, my meetings with sources were prearranged. This I suppose was like a sneak attack. My trailing skills were rusty, so I maintained a safe distance behind her. I kept checking behind me, nervous that I would be followed as well. With every step, I felt the weight of my gun in my pocket. I definitely did not want to use it, but I never went on an operation unarmed.

My heart pounded faster the closer I got to her flat. I knew that what I was about to do was highly unethical if not illegal. To say I had never done illegal things on the job would be a lie, but this would probably be the worst thing I've done.

I waited around on the street corner across the flat for Natalie to enter her home. Natalie looked around and behind her before punching in the code to unlock the door to her flat. Then, she disappeared inside. After watching her for a few days, I knew that she left the door unlocked until her boyfriend got home. She also had security cameras covering the doorstep and the street. Earlier in the day, I accessed those remotely and set them to loop a long video feed from while she was at work.

I checked my surroundings one more time before making my way across the street. Although I didn't want to, I pulled my gun out and held it close as I turned the handle to the front door. I pushed it open only as far as I needed to slip through.

Once inside, I let out a quite but big sigh of relief. I made it this far. I hardly had to take a step when Natalie appeared from the hallway.

"You're home early babe," she said walking toward me with her head down looking at her phone. I still had my gun out and trained on her. As soon as she looked up she froze in her tracks. Then, without warning she lunged forward at me. She slammed her side into my chest, knocking me back into the door. My head made contact with the door which did not feel great, but it didn't stop me from returning a knee to her stomach. With that blow, she folded in half and grabbed her stomach in pain.

When she regained her posture, she had an intense almost crazed look in her eyes. We were both trained to kill in situations like these. That wasn't what I came here for, but she didn't know that. I realized that I still held my gun which probably didn't scream "I'm here to talk." Just as I started to lower my weapon, she quickly reached for the stand in the hallway, yanked open a drawer, and pulled out a gun. We stood facing each other, breathing heavily, and ready to shoot at the other's head.

"Who are you?" Natalie demanded. Her voice did not waver in fear. It was strong and cold.

"Natalie, it's Taylor. Joe's girlfriend." I guess in all fairness, I did not look like the woman most people saw on stage or in paparazzi photos. I had no makeup on, and my natural hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

She stared at me with a confused look. I could see it in her face when she knew she recognized me. "What the fuck?" was the next question she asked.

"I know. I'm sorry for coming to you like this," I apologized. Yeah, this was not ideal. "I'm going to lower my gun. I hope you do the same." I maintained eye contact with her as I brought down my gun. She didn't lower hers, so I continued talking in a calm voice. "I came to talk to you. Well, to warn you and ask for a favor."