Agent X

xx| 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚎𝚗 |xx

Lunchtime had been relatively uneventful. We had dined with Mr. Joao Gomes, the appointed delegate from Brazil, as he was one of our nine major suspects. Throughout our leisurely meal, he had not done anything that would arouse suspicion. He was his normal, quiet but kind self. As a result, Finn and I, who had observed him from beginning to end of the meal, left the dining room with little idea of future investigations into his affairs. But of course, I refused to wipe the diplomat from my mind entirely.

Ty and Dari had had a similar degree of success. The two had dined with Miss Nadya Checklovia of Russia and her escort Gregory Moskal. The always elegant diplomat had exuded her typical reserved and refined demeanor. Nothing of suspicion there—at least so far.

After discussing our lackluster findings after lunch, we resolved to review the files on our suspects so as to refresh our memories of their usual behaviors, which would hopefully equip us to notice more incongruities. And so the four of us—excluding Jax, who still guarded the hallway—spent two hours doing research, trying to commit as much as possible to memory.

It wasn't until a quarter past three p.m. when the abrasive sound of the hotel room's phone rang out. I, who had been reclining on the divan closest to the door, shoved my laptop aside, leapt to my feet, and started towards the phone on the bedside table. In the process, my foot caught on one of Dari's stray boots. I fell forward onto my bed, then proceeded to roll across it. My knees landed on the floor with a thud. Ow! Pain rippled through my bones, but I ignored it and snatched the phone off the hook.

"Hello?" I said casually. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ty staring at me in bewilderment.

"Hello, Miss Oclen?"

"Speaking."

"Xara! This is Sarah Norris, the representative of the UK. It's simply marvelous to speak to you again! It has been far too long. I was just heading out with Miss Omni and Mrs. Jebet to a tea shop down the road. I was wondering if you would like to join us for afternoon tea."

"Yes, of course!" I said, glancing at the time. "I will meet you in the lobby momentarily."

"Wonderful! See you then!"

I hung up the phone. This meeting was simply providential. Mrs. Norris, the representative of the UK, was the last of the main suspects that we needed to speak with. We had yet to speak with Mrs. Chausiku Jebet, the representative from Kenya, on this mission. And this would give me the opportunity to meet Miss Omni from Thailand, the only representative that Xara had never met before. She was definitely someone to watch closely.

I grabbed Xara's favorite, red trench coat from my bags. It had everything I should need—cellphone, euros, and gun. As I pulled the coat around my shoulders, I felt Xara's earthy scent encompass me. It was surprisingly comforting—more so that I would have anticipated. It was like Xara was accompanying me to the tearoom.

I faced the bedroom to address my crew, who was still seated on the two divans.

"I was just invited to go to tea with a few of the lady ambassadors," I announced. "You're okay with staying here while I go, right?"

Dari pretended to pout. "Aw, why wasn't I invited?"

"Maybe because you hate tea parties?" I suggested sarcastically.

"The real Xara doesn't like them either."

"But she's better at hiding her annoyance."

Dari snickered. "Yeah, perhaps all of the times that I was 'clumsy' were on purpose..."

I deadpanned. "Dari, dumping an entire pot of tea on your clothes so you could have an excuse to leave the table is way past being clumsy."

"Whatever, I was annoyed, okay?"