Call it What You Want

27 - Holdin' My Breath

September 2017

Taylor's POV

Most artists with an album dropping in less than two months would be preparing for the release. I, on the other hand, was locked in a secret meeting room in London waiting to be interrogated by the U.S government. James had returned with Rebecca moments after giving me his warning in the stairwell. They confiscated everything I had on me including my phone, ID badge, and car keys before locking me in this room. 

Memories of my agent training days surfaced. I felt vulnerable again. Sitting alone with nothing to look at beside four blank walls, I had ample time to think about how I ended up in this situation. Really, the answer was simple: I signed one bad contract when I was young which sent my life spiraling. However, when I thought about why I was here in this specific situation, I realized that for once the contract wasn't the root of my problem. It was love. Love for a man who was supposed to be my enemy got me in trouble. Do I regret falling in love with Joe? Not at all. I wondered if he felt the same.

Rebecca soon burst through the door, interrupting my thoughts. She carried a file under her arm.

"Let's talk," she said which sounded more like a command than an invitation. Keeping a safe distance from me told me that Rebecca felt threatened by me. I wasn't surprised considering today's earlier events.

"You are a hard agent to figure out," she began. She tossed the file onto the table so that I could see it. A small picture of me was paper clipped to the top corner of the documents. "Go ahead, take a look through them," Rebecca encouraged.

I skimmed the pages as I flipped through. These were all reports I had previously filed.

"Okay?" I was unsure why she showed me these.

"In how many of these reports did you lie?" she asked stepping forward.

"What?"

Rebecca repeated the question. She must not have cared about the answer because she didn't wait for me to reply. Instead, she said, "falsifying reports is a federal crime."

I rolled my eyes. What did she want from me?

"I know that you and Joe have been seeing each other for months. You conveniently leave out your involvement with your target in these reports."

"Are you wanting to read about my sex life or what?" I joked.

"No! All progress with targets must be disclosed. We would have sent in another agent to make up for your incompetence. You helped blackmail the agency and then lied about it in your reports. If word gets out, you will have destroyed the agency's credibility. You will be held responsible for your actions."

"How exactly are you going to prove that I falsified reports?" I challenged her.

Rebecca lost her temper and began yelling at me like she yelled at Natalie earlier. I tuned her out knowing that her words carried little weight at this point. This certainly wasn't the interrogation I expected. A knock on the door interrupted Rebecca's rant.

"What?!" Rebecca shouted over her shoulder toward the door.

"It's me," James said poking his head through the door cautiously. "We've got visitors."

"Who the hell would be visiting?" She wondered.

"People from HQ," James replied.

Rebecca's demeanor changed from raging demon to a member of the welcoming committee in a matter of seconds. She put on an embarrassingly fake smile before stepping into the hallway to greet the new guests.

Alone again, I let out a sigh of relief. I had a good feeling that James made a break through with MI6. I rocked side to side in my chair both to stay warm and calm my nerves.

A few minutes later, a man whom I had never met entered the room. His face looked familiar, but I couldn't place it.

"Ms. Swift," he said. His accent wasn't British, so he couldn't have been British Intelligence. He pulled out the chair across from me and took a seat. "I'm director Bishop. It's nice to finally meet you."

Well, that's how I knew him. Bishop was the director of the entire agency. His picture hung at the entrance of headquarters. That must be why he looked familiar.

"Nice to meet you too sir," I replied.

"You have quite an impressive history with the CIA," he told me.

"Thank you sir."

"Can you fill me in on the details of this particular operation and the events surrounding it?" he asked.

I wondered if he had heard Rebecca's side of the story yet. Anyway, I dove into a lengthy description of the operation. While I talked, director Bishop gave an occasional head nod to show he was listening and processing.

"Well, this is a very unusual operation," he stated when I finished. "There is a lot at stake for both agencies. Agent Swift, I want to thank you for your hard work on this. You have been a great help to the agency. I see no reason to hold you here. You are free to go, but we will call you back if necessary."

I let out a huge sigh of relief. There was certainly possible that the CIA could still discover my involvement with Joe and Natalie. However, that seemed highly unlikely now.

"Sir?" I spoke up before he left. "I realize that I am not in the best position to negotiate, but I would like to ask a favor."

The director seemed surprised by my boldness. "Go ahead," he said.

"I would like to terminate my contract after this operation closes. I want to return to civilian life," I told him exactly what I wanted. The worst he could say is no.

"I'll see what I can do," he replied.

If the director of the CIA couldn't help me now, I don't know who could.