The next day, Gabby started getting ready at 8am. She wore a low rise hipster in black with a white tank top. She then put a black leather jacket with a close collar. She grabbed her bag and her keys before turning the house alarm on and leaving the house. She’ll be meeting Brendan Lyle at 9am inside the Apollo Hotel by the bar so she figured she’ll just grab a breakfast in there when she arrives. It took her 15minutes to drive to the building and she arrived in the hotel at exactly 9am. Her superior said that to look for a guy wearing a leather jacket with red gloves in his hand. So far she’s the only person inside the bar wearing a leather jacket. She took a sit at the far side of the bar away from the window but also near the exit just in case. She just started eating her breakfast when a man stopped in front of her.

When she looked up, the first thing she saw was the red glove so she guessed he’s her new partner, but first she needs to make sure. She motioned for the guy to sit down in front of her and he obliged.

“Hi, I’m Agent Brendan Lyle. You must be Agent Gabriella Lawson.” He offered his hand to her to shake.

“Call me Gabby” she offered shaking his hand but continued to eat her breakfast. “So how long have you been working for the Black Ops division?”

“I’ve been with them for five years” he answered.

“So you were one of the agents that were sent to Moscow to infiltrate the Russian mafia’s underground chemical operation?”  She asked casually.

“No because first, the Russian mafia’s underground chemical operation was located in Chelyabinsk not in Moscow and second, the underground chemical operation blew up before they could send agents to infiltrate the place” he looked straight at her and she looked back. She knows he knows he’s testing him. The information that she just asked is only accessed by agents who has a level nine clearance and these clearance are only given to agents who have been in Black Ops for more than four years.

“Sorry, I had to check. I mean this is the first time I’ve ever met you” she shrugged. “Are you aware of my situation? Did they explain it to you?” she continued.

“Yes and you don’t have to worry, I know everything”

“Do you have the mission brief then?” she changed the topic. It’s enough for her to know that he knows her situation.

They spent two hours to talk about the mission and on how they would approach it. They constructed a plan that was divided in three phases. They also studied the schematics of the ware house that they’re gonna infiltrate and study the security system of the place. It was already 12pm when they finished. They decided to go to the mall for the afternoon. She showed Brendan or as he asked her to call him Bren, the mall. It was also his first time in Florida. He lived in Philadelphia all his life and now that he was partnered to her, he also moved in Florida.

They also talked about their cover story. They both agreed that they’ll tell them that they’re college friends if someone asks. They spent the rest of the day getting to know each other. Brendan is a genuinely a nice guy not to mention sweet and a gentleman to boot. He opens doors for her and pulls up chairs whenever they had to sit and eat. They had fun strolling around the mall although at one moment, Gabby thought she saw a flash from the corner of her eyes but she couldn’t determine whether it’s from a store light or a camera. She’s hoping it’s a store light; she made a mental check of her appearance. She changed most of it before she arrived in Florida; she made sure her hairstyle is covering most of her face at all times even when she’s not wearing a hat.

“Are you okay?” Brendan asked when he saw her looked around.  

“Yea I thought I saw a flash, no biggie” she shrugged. She doesn’t want to look like an idiot worrying about nothing. “Hey can we go to that store?” Brendan saw her point on the store across them. It was Old Navy.

“Sure” they started walking on the store but before they could reach it, she heard someone calling her name. She wasn’t gonna turn around but she heard that whoever is calling her called her Gabby. She looked at Brendan and she saw the he too was looking around.

When she looked back, she saw Justin and Joey walking towards them avoiding the shoppers along the way.

“Justin? What are you doing here? I thought you have a meeting” she asked him as soon as he was standing in front of him.

“Yea, the meeting is cancelled so we thought we could go shopping” he looked at the guy standing beside her and wondered who he is. Gabby saw him looking at Brendan and she thought it’s time for the introduction.

“This is Brendan my friend from college and this is Justin and Joey. I met them here when I arrive” she pointed to each of the guy as she said their name. Then the guy shook each others hands in greeting.

“What are you guys up to?” Joey asked looking from Gabby to Brendan.

“We were just gonna go to Old navy. What about you guys?”

“We’re gonna grab something to eat. Do you guys wanna join us?” Justin asked.

“We just ate but if you’re still here after your done give me a call and we could meet up” she told him instead. They went in to their separate ways with Justin and Joey going to find something to eat and Gabby and Brendan going inside the old navy store.

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Justin and Joey sat at the back room of the restaurant that they picked. The waitress came a minute later and they both ordered their food.

“So who do you think is that guy with Gabby?” Joey started. He can clearly see that Justin likes Gabby and he wanted to see how he’s going to react when Gabby is with another guy.

“I don’t know. Why would I care?” As expected, Joey saw him with an uncomfortable look in his eyes. “Look, I’ve known you for so long that even now I know what’s going on through your mind” he took a pause before continuing. “It’s only been a few days when you met her but I know you like her, just admit it”

“Fine! Yes I like her; she’s a mystery to me. When I met her I know she knows who I am but she didn’t even bat an eyelash. Not to mention she’s interesting” he was turning red a bit when he said these things to Joey.

Joey laughed when he saw his friend acting like this. It’s been so long since he acted this way and it’s quite amusing but he’s also happy that the old Justin is back and he’s happy. “Damn you got it bad. But I think she likes you too it’s just that I think this girl has a lot of baggage so just be careful. You don’t know her that well” he cautioned him.

“Don’t worry I won’t jump the gun and I’ll take it slow” the waitress brought their food and they started eating. They agreed that they’d meet Gabby and his friend after they eat then they could go buy some shoes.

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“You know that, that was Justin Timberlake right?” Brendan asked her as soon as Joey and Justin were out of ear shot.

“Yea, I met him in the plane and he leaves like a block away from mine” she explained while looking at a few tops on the clothes rack near the door.

“Okay, I’ll say something just for the sake of someone saying it. You know that getting involved with him and his friends would be a bad idea, right?” he looked at her closely when he said this. He wants to make sure that she understands the repercussion of being friends with Justin. He wants her to be happy. After all of the things he heard about her before even meeting her, she deserves to be happy.

Gabby took time to think about what he said but one thing she’s determine of is getting her life back and that it includes being friends with Justin and his friends.

“I know that. I thought about it in the beginning but I’m tired of not getting close to people because of someone that might scare them away or endanger their lives if they’re connected to me”

“What happens when he or his friends find out who you really are or what you do for a living? Do you think they’d take it so easily?” Gabby didn’t say anything. She knows he has a point and that what he’s saying is one scenario that would happen.

“I’ll deal with it when that happens” she told him after a few minutes.

“I sure hope you know what you’re doing. I want you to be happy after every thing that happened to you in the past. But please be careful” she smiled at him when he said this. She subconsciously thanks God that she has another friend that she could count on. They continue with their shopping with Gabby buying a few tops that she saw along the way and Brendan buying a couple of shirts that he saw in the men’s section of the store. She told him about the fight in the alley from the night before. And it confirmed that he would be shock to hear that Justin was so close to finding out about her last night.

“So he didn’t recognise you?” he asked astonished at what he heard.

“No, I had a red scarf around my head. He couldn’t even tell whether my hair is long or short”

“What about your clothes? Didn’t you say you came from his house? He must’ve notice it”

“I don’t think so. I had jeans on and I put a jacket on before getting in to my car” he told him.

“You should really be careful. If you didn’t have that scarf, Justin would’ve find out it was you not to mention it could go back to the people who’s looking for you”

“I know, that’s why I’m always going to carry my red scarf in my bag now and my clean cruiser leather jacket. I’ll leave them in the car just in case I need it but I won’t wear it on a daily basis so that no one recognises it when I do wear it”

“So they’re in the car right now?” he asked her

“No, they’re here. See in my bag. The leather jacket is thin and small that I could put it at the bottom of my bag without making it too bulky with the scarf as well” she opened her bag and showed it to Brendan.

“Good. Always carry it with you because I think you could make that as your disguise when dealing with our work”

“Speaking of work what time are we meeting on Wednesday and where?” she ask him.

“Well that trading would take place at Opium in South Beach at 9:45pm. So we got to be scouting the place by half 7. They’re going to place at least eighth officers in the area but we’re both leading the team so they’ll wait for our signals and instructions. I’ll bring over the standard equipment if you want” he offered her.

“Not tomorrow, I’m going to Disney world with the guys. You could come if you want” she said shyly to him. “I could meet you at 7 in the corner of Collin Ave.” she offered.

“Okay. I’ll give you a call when I’m on my way” they left the store with Gabby carrying at least two bags. Brendan excused himself to go to the men’s room and she told him that he’d go to the store across it. Before she could enter the store, her cell phone started ringing.

“Hello?” she answered.

“Hey it’s Justin. Where are you at?”

“I’m in Victoria Secret store I could meet you in a min-“she broke off before she could continue. She heard Joey’s quick intake of breath and sure enough when she turn around there he is looking at the skimpy underwear on display.

“You are such a guy” she approached him after hanging her phone. She saw Justin smiling just behind Joey.  “Careful Joey you’re drooling” she joked.

“So what are you buying?” Joey asked with a big smile on his face making Gabby roll her eyes at him.

“I’m beginning to think, you’re nosy Joey” she turned her back on her and went to the rack where they hang the camise. She picked a red and baby blue ones that made Justin stare. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow in question and a small smile and the good thing is he had the decency to look embarrassed.

After a few minutes, Brendan came back from the men’s room so they decided to hang out in the arcade with Joey’s suggestion of course. Brendan and Justin are playing the mini basketball game and Gabby played Tekken five with Joey and he is such a sore loser. By their third round he was swearing obscenities to the machine and it was actually quite funny to watch. They just finished their fifth round when they heard a commotion from outside the arcade. When they looked around they saw a few people in a hurry going towards the exit. Justin and Brendan came over beside them but still looking outside.

“What’s going on?” Brendan asks them when he stood beside Joey.

“I don’t know. I’ll go check it out” she volunteered. She went outside the arcade and tried to talk to a person but she didn’t get any luck until she asked a fourth person passing her.

“What’s going on? Where is everyone going?” she stopped the guy in his late 30s.

“There’s a crazy guy in that store with a remote detonator for a bomb. He said he hid the bomb and will detonate it if they don’t bring his daughter to him now” the guy said pointing at the Gap store where a lot of people are pouring out of the store in a rush. Gabby looked at the store the guy was pointing at and tried to think of what she’s going to do next. The guy she was talking was already gone so she started looking around. She saw a ladies room just past the arcade and she started walking towards it with her bag.

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“Where did Gabby go?” Joey asked abandoning the game that he was playing.

“Maybe she’s just…” Justin trailed off when she saw something just outside the arcade door. “Hey it’s that person with a red scarf in the head” he pointed out seeing that same person run past the arcade store making Brendan and Joey look out.

“A person with a red scarf?” Joey asked Justin, confusion clearly written in his face. Justin turns towards him and start telling him the story about the first time he encountered the girl with a red scarf around her head.

Brendan on the other hand knows who the girl in the red scarf and now he’s worried. Clearly something bad is happening outside for her to do this. A few moments later before he could do anything else her phone started ringing.

“Hello”

“Hey it’s me, possible K-43 in the Gap store. I’ll do everything I can to stop this but keep Justin and Joey with you at all time” she hung up without waiting for an answer.

“Should we go now?”  Joey asked when he ran out of his quarter.

“NO!” Brendan burst out. “I mean we should wait for Gabby to come back” he corrected. Joey shrugged and went to the coin counter to get more coins for the game while Brendan and Justin waited beside the car racing game. Before Joey could come back, they heard shouts from the entrance of the arcade. The next thing they knew was they are being told to go on the side and keep quiet or he’ll blow the place up. Then the guy was followed by the girl with a red scarf who appears to be out of breath.

When the guy with the remote saw this he grabbed the nearest person to him which happens to be Justin. This made Gabby stop dead in her tracks before she could do anything else. She looked at Brendan for a sign on what to do but she saw that he was also shocked at what’s happening.

“You stop right there or I’ll break his neck” the guy threatened the girl with the red scarf.

She looked at Justin and she could see that he’s confused and clearly scared. She needs to do something quick. She assessed her surroundings and took note of where the people are and the suspect itself. After that, she looked at Justin again and this time she caught his eyes. She inch forward a little towards them without breaking her eye contact with Justin and she knows she couldn’t send any complicated signal because there’s a big chance that he wouldn’t understand it so she keep looking down hoping he gets ‘get down’ signal. After about twenty times she looked down, Justin finally got the idea and gave a slight nod to Gabby. She casually counted three times and showing it to Justin to give him the opportunity to dodge. As soon as he did, Gabby kicked the suspects hand where his holding the remote detonator.

It flew from the suspect’s hand and Brendan dove for it. She followed her kick with an uppercut knocking the guy down.

“Where’s the bomb?” she whispered to his ear making sure she can’t be heard by Justin who is still sitting on the floor looking at them. She took the suspects hand and twists it behind his back for emphasis.

“I’m not telling you. This place is gonna blow up in a few minutes and you can’t do anything about it” he shouted in her direction.

“Wrong answer” she held one of his fingers and breaks it. She could clearly see Justin’s eyes go wide from the corner of her eyes but she didn’t turn around. The guy screamed when she broke his finger. “I could do that to all your fingers and then I’ll start breaking major bones. Now where is the bomb?” she made a motion to grab another finger.

“It’s under that machine” he pointed to the machine where she and Joey played earlier on. She looked at Brendan and without a word he came over and held the guy down. Then she went straight to the machine the suspect pointed out to her. She took a tool out of her pocket and started opening the machine and as soon as she did she saw at least five sticks of dynamite bunch up together attached to different wires and then attached to a digital clock. The good news is, the clock isn’t on and the bad news is even though the clock isn’t on; touching the dynamites without disengaging the wires would be suicidal.

After securing the suspect, Brendan went to tell the people to go and to get out of the arcade. They went one by one with the exception of Joey and Justin since he’s still on the floor watching Gabby’s every move. After a few minutes the bomb was defused and Gabby can breathe again. The first thing she looked at was Justin on the floor looking back at her. But before she could do anything or even move from her spot, Brendan came back and she took that opportunity to leave.

“Hey wait-“Justin snapped out of it and started chasing after her but she turned on his way once and never stopped. Brendan approached him before he could follow the girl out.

“Hey man, are you okay?” he asked him.

“Yeah, it’s just … never mind” he told the guy instead but he didn’t look away from the doorway the mystery girl disappeared to. “Where’s Gabby?” he asked Brendan instead.

“Oh she probably called the police or something” he pretended to look around just to avoid looking straight at Justin. “Oh here she is” They saw Gabby coming in the arcade out of breath.

“Are you guys okay?” she asked the guys when she reached them. “When the bomber came in here, the cops wouldn’t let me back in” she watched as the cops came running inside the arcade towards where the bomb is.

“Yea we’re good” Brendan answered her. She looked at Justin wondering why he’s quiet. Maybe he’s still shook up from what happen.

“Are you ok Justin?” she asked him he still have that look of shock on his face.

“Yea, someone helped us. A girl with a red scarf wrapped around her head” he informed her. She didn’t make any comment though. She just looked at Brendan without saying a word.

“Any, we should go. I had enough excitement for one day” they started walking towards the car park. But Justin is still thinking of the girl.

They all separate in the car park, with Justin and Joey getting in to Justin’s car and Gabby went to her SUV with Brendan following her behind. He wanted to see where she leaves so she invited him for an hour or two. Justin told her that she would call her to talk about what time they’re meeting tomorrow.

Brendan stayed at the house for an hour and half checking her place out and just talking in general. By 4pm she had nothing to do so she decided to go for a jog to get rid some of her energy. While jogging, she thought of what happened today at the mall. That was close. She knows that something like that could happen in the long run but never really thought that it would happen less than a week that she’s here. She gotta be more careful especially when she’s with Justin. Justin. She shouldn’t really be thinking about him like this. Besides relationship would complicate thinks even further than they are now. She’s also not good in relationship. She tends to get people hurt.