chpter 008

A few days passed from the survival training camp & here I am, back to the classroom, behind the cramp desk, doing nothing while Mrs. Low marks a few essays.

Due to the free time, I decided to recap since the (falling-into-Grant's-arm-near-to-doing-God-knows-what) Incident in my head.

1. My ex-boyfriend dumped me for my ex-best friend thanks to hypnotism
   
2. I was stranded on a man-made island with my co-spy for two days
3. Within those two days, I started liking him - as a close friend - & saw the real side of his
4. On the last day, I was about to kiss him (or vice-versa)
5. My boss caught us but was oblivious & sent us to Paris to stop some criminal mastermind from turning the land into cheese
6. Co-spy has been ignoring me till now

It could be worse, I guess. I could've been turned into a bleu cheese statue.

"Ms Hally? Ms Hally!" a voice half-shrieked.
I blinked & saw a frustrated-looking Mrs. Low hovering over me.

I quickly stood up & gulped, "Um, yes?"
I could feel it already - in fact, I can already picture it.

The pink slip that was so thin (& evil) that it could give you a paper cut.

I opened my eyes & saw one on my desk.
"Detention, Ms Hally. Half an hour after school." Mrs Low said as she walked to her desk.

The class gave a hushed snicker.
"Class dismissed."








I spotted Grant at his locker - which was, unfortunately next to Leia's - & rushed to him.
I didn't say a word to him, just hung around until he got his stuff & we walked together to the cafeteria, gathering our lunch.

It's been like that ever since the Incident.
I wasn't quited used to it but I figured that I had no choice.

Just as we sat down with our meals - him with his lasagne & me with my cheese burger - our watches begin to flash like mad.
We looked at each other, rushed to our respective toilets & seconds later, we found ourselves seated on the couch in the Headquarters.

"So, Chief, who's our villainous villain now?" I asked.
"The Snake Snatcher strikes again." The Chief said grimly.

I kept quiet. Normally, this would be where I make a lame pun such as, "Ooh, try saying that five times fast."
But the issue was too serious.

The Snake Snatcher was the most notorious villains of all.
The Headquarter hasn't captured the guy yet because, frankly, nobody knows who he is.

Not one of the authorities - myself included - have managed to unmask the mysterious villain yet.
During my partnership with Grant, which is at least a month, we haven't faced the Snake Snatcher - or Double (As)S, as I call him.
It was kind of suspicious, Double S laying low.

But it was a relief to the whole world.
He was kind of a male version of Carmen Sandiego - whenever the hero arrives, she'd - or in this case, he'd - disappear & head off to their next destination.

Mainly, this guy is a thief - but only for trying to conquer the world.
We've managed to stop him for the time being but he'd always find a new devious plot.

"You will find your gadgets in the compartments. I am certain that the two of you would know how to handle these." The Chief said as he tossed two small bags to Grant, who silently passed one to me.

I stared at the bag with disbelief. The velvet compartment was as big as my fist.

"Are you sure this isn't just one of the gadgets, Chief?" I asked.
The Chief gave me a skeptic look & I quickly remembered that this was, after all, the Headquarter.

Any thing's possible.

"Your first destination is Mawangdui, China." The Chief said.








As we sat in our seats in our exclusive jet (provided by the agency, of course), I asked Grant what Mawangdui is.
"Mawangdui's in China."
"Yes, that's what the Chief said." I said through gritted teeth. "I mean, what's in Mawangdui that the Double (As)S wants?"
"You make it sound like you're saying Double Arse." Grant said amusedly, his British accent censoring the intended word.
"Well..." I stalled, trying to decide whether I should let in about my secret nickname for The Snake Snatcher.

Finally, I gave in & everything came pouring out.
Well, not everything.

But, you know, everything I knew about the Snake Snatcher.

"So, it's true, then? The Snake Snatcher remains unmasked & always leaves mysterious snake figurines?" Grant asked after I finished talking.
"Well, yea." I was a little taken aback when I heard the awe in Grant's voice. He sounded like he was no more than twelve.
Which was kind of...

Cute.

Woah, woah. Did I just call Grant cute?

"Kathy? Yoo hoo?"
I snapped out of my (shocked) trance & blinked at Grant.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. You were saying?"
"I was informing you about our trip to Mawangdui." he said, irritated.
"Oh. Erm, could you repeat that again please?" I said sheepishly.
"I said..." he sighed wearily, "Mawangdui is an archaeological place. A tourist trap, really. I went there with my fa- Erm, parents."

Was he about to say 'father'?
Why didn't he say it?

"It's nothing." Grant mumbled when I raised an eyebrow.
"So..." It was obvious that he didn't want to say anything else so I might as well change the subject. "The Chief thinks that's where the Double (As)S is going to strike next?"
"Most definitely. There's going to be a display of a new batch of antique vases. It was recently found & is worth more than this private jet we're riding on."

& that's saying something, considering the plasma TV & the professional pilot.

"We're here."






One of the main highlights of being a secret agent is not just the fact that you get to save the world from total peril & evil.
& also besides the fact that we get to kick villainous butt.

No, one of the main highlights of working for a secret agency is that we get a free trip to wherever we get assigned to - which was usually some hot (or cool. Whatever. I mean, slang-wise) destination.
That was what I thought of when I looked around the Andaiman hotel, looking like a tourist with a luggage in my hand.

"Hi, miss. Welcome to Andaiman. How may I help you?" the pretty receptionist said behind the desk.
"Oh, hi." I said, zooming back to planet Earth from my thoughts. I flashed her a smile. "Well, yes. I've already booked a room, you see. Miss-"

The bummer of the glamorous 'jet-setting' spy life I lead is that you'd have to remember the right code name for your mission.
The Headquarter doesn't want anyone to keep track on any certain individuals.

"Miss Catherine." Grant said, saving me from blowing my cover.
I shot him a peeved look when the receptionist wasn't looking. "& you must be her boyfriend, Mr Fence?"

My mouth dropped open. No way was he going to-

"Why, yes, I am."

Those were the words I heard, which sounded like his deep voice, with that muffled British accent.
But I refused to believe that he actually said it.
I mean, come on. I gave him more credit for his intelligence.

I couldn't do anything, such as protest, deny, glare or hit Grant - since that would be suspicious & the number one rule was that spies must never be suspicious.
So all I did was smile at the receptionist, hoping that the message I'm Gonna Kill Him didn't show on my face.

"So, would you like to share a room or...?" The receptionist trailed off, cautious not to offend the supposed 'Couple'.

Hmm... The word 'couple' which equals to 'Grant & I'.
It sounds odd but...

How come I'm not gagging?

"... Sweetie? Dear?" I heard Grant calling - erm, me.
"Hm? Oh, right. Yes?"
"Well, yes or no?"

I can't possibly let him know that I wasn't listening to him because... Well, because...
It's normally the guys who doesn't listen to the girls.

I'd just disgrace my kind by admitting the mistake!
So instead of saying, "Could you repeat that?" like I was supposed to, I said, "Oh. Well, sure, then. If you think it's fine, then I'm fine with me."

I should've known something bad had happened when Grant just gaped at me - which was very un-Grant-like.
Or maybe even when he & the receptionist kept clearing his throat repeatedly, the thought 'Hey, what's wrong with them?' should have entered my brain.

Yet all I did was just stand there, hoping with all my might that Grant didn't realize that I wasn't listening to him.

"Well, if that's your final decision..." the receptionist said, throwing me a hopeful look.
"Yes, yes! Definitely!" I gushed.

I was that desperate to not get Grant all high & mighty.

But as soon as the receptionist said, "Okay then." & began typing furiously on the keyboard, Grant quickly said to me (a little angrily, in my opinion), "Sweetheart. Relax."
He turns to the receptionist & said, "It's okay, miss. I'd rather have seperate rooms."

The receptionist blinked & looked at me then at Grant.
"Is that alright, miss?" the receptionist said to me.

I blinked & glanced at Grant. Clearly, he'd kill me if I said the wrong thing.
Might as well follow whatever he just said.

"Yes, I'm fine." I said sheepishly.

She continues typing with alarming speed & said, "Your room is Room 135 & 136. The rooms are both connected... For emergencies, of course."
She gave a smile to me that I usually receive when my mom buys my feminine hygene products.
"& here's the key cards & the spare for each of your rooms." she passed four cards to a very red-looking Grant. "Happy holidays!"
"Thank you." Grant said, his British accent crystal clear.

We walked away & I felt as confused as ever.
After reading the signs, we found the elevator hall & went into an empty elevator.

As we got in, I could feel the empty silence seeping into the atmosphere, so thick that I felt if I didn't say something, I'd suffocate.
"So..." I said, stalling to think. "What did I, you know, nearly agree to?"
He gave me a glare so cold yet filled with hot anger, making me look down.

"You nearly agreed to share a room with me." he said quietly but I can tell that he'd rather shout it.
I could feel my face going beet-red.
God, was that why he quickly went against me? For my - but most likely his - own good?

Okay, that was rather gross. I can't believe I was that stupid! Sharing a room with a co.-spy who probably hates my guts & ironically, has to disguise himself as my boyfriend.
Really. Sometimes I think the Chief has a sick sense of humor.

We remained silent until we reached our floor (it's the first) & went to our respective rooms, which were painfully next to each other.

Great. Just great.
I'm definitely looking forward to this mission.







As I flipped through the channels mindlessly, my watch began flashing like mad.
Oh, it's a message from the Chief.

It read :

Agent Z27,
Source came in. Z27 & ZX12 report at
Caves. Newfound artifacts said
to be target.

I instantly got up, pulled back my hair into a scruffy ponytail, put on a tourist-y type blouse & pants (can't wear skirt for obvious reasons).
Then, I knocked on Grant's door practically a hundred times.
As I raised my fist for the last time - before just kicking the door down - he opened the door & said, "Lets go."









I was still fuming at that guy.
No. At all guys.
How could they pull that macho & cool act, when being so oblivious to what's really going on?

God.

We were at the Caves, one of Mawangdui's famous landscapes.
It was nice & all - if you liked bats hanging above your heads, resembling like upside-down velvet umbrellas.
I mean, I wasn't scared. Much.
I knew those bats (fruit bats) were herbivores.

But those horror movies which feature vampires didn't do me any good, let me tell you.

Grant probably saw the stricken expression on my face, which must be why he said, "Don't worry, 'Catherine',"
Yes, we still had to use code names in public unless you're 100% sure that the coast is clear.
We were trained to do that. "It's only-"
"Herbivorous, I know," I cut him off.

I looked at him & he had the most inscrutable expression I had ever seen on is face - part amused, part irritated & part impatient.

Something caught my eye - it was a colorful mini tour bus with bold Chinese words written on it & small words written beneath it ("Tour Bus of Caves!").
"Lets get up there," I said & dragged Grant to the bus.

We found a spot next to the window & sat there.

Suddenly, a woman's voice boomed in loudly.
"Good evening, ladies & gentlemen! I, Mei Ling, am your tour guide for the day at the Caves. Now, who could tell me why the Caves are so well-known for?" a woman with heavy make up said.

The audience remained their stony silence, causing Mei Ling to drone, "Well, not only is it a habitat for such beautiful creatures, like bats, & that it is 100% rock & minerals, it is also because of our newfound collection of artifacts. Scientists have managed to prove that it is, indeed, a hundred years old."
After that was just a blur of camera flashes & a headache of excited murmurs from the tourists. I couldn't remember much.

Except when Grant gave seats to the elderly & his thigh was practically brushing against mine.
I mean, come on! I may be a spy & all, but I'm not dead.
I am, after all, a healthy, red-blooded American teenage girl who is officially single. Of course I'd be physically aware of an above-average looking guy.

No. Bad Kathleen.
No thinking of boys.

"You are on a mission," I reminded myself.
"A mission to do what, dearie?" an old lady beside me wheezed with a smile.

Shoot! I looked back at Grant to check whether he heard me.
No, he didn't. He's deeply engrossed in some conversation with this cute 5 year old girl.
Good.

"Um, I said I was on a mission-"
Not good. I felt Grant turn around.
"-for some... Serious souvenir shopping!" I said enthusiastically.

The old woman believed me as her smile grew even wider.
I mean, what's not to believe? Me having time (much less care) to souvenir shopping or going on a 'mission' to buy little clay pots for the Chief & my brother?

Then, the nice lady leaned in & whispered, "Is that one yours?"
She must be referring to Grant & not the cute little 5 year old. I hope.

I linked my arm with his & nodded.
Grant, oblivious to the whisper conversation, tried to cover up for me. "Darling, you shouldn't be on a mission for anything."

Excuse me, buster! I already covered myself up, thanks.
Geesh. He really could be like Dave sometimes.

"Yes, but your uncle asked for a new teapot for his collection, remember?"
I felt him shaking - well, I just hope that he's laughing. He should know that I was referring to the Chief.

The bus stopped & the lady patted me on the knee. "Well, goodbye, dearie. Come on, LeAnn. We must leave."
She grabbed LeAnn, the five year old who Grant was talking to, & left.
But as she passed me, she whispered, "He's a keeper."

As soon as the bus moved once more, I heard Grant say, "Catherine," I'm betting he came to his senses to apologize for treating me like I was 8. "Is it me or have you gone perpetually daft?"
I know. A girl could dream.
"It's you," I said.
"OK, you're back to normal."

I shot him a glance (which he ignored).

"What did the woman say just now?" he asked.
"Nothing," I said, feigning ignorance.
"Catherine-"

But before he could nag me like an old woman (which I'm starting to think that he really is one. An old woman, I mean), Mei Ling interrupted him.
"& here is our latest exhibition, the New Age Artifacts," she said proudly. "Follow me & please mind your step."

The hordes of tourists followed her lead, leaving Grant & I way at the back.

The place where Mei Ling led us to was, apparently, at the edge of a cliff with fences bordering around it. The exhibition was also further up.
All in all, a pretty normal tourist spot. Definitely homey - the bats-above-our-heads thing along with all the exhibitions being held at the peak of a cliff & the thousands of security guards armed with friendly-looking weapons covering them.
Beside me, Grant squinted his eyes for a better view of the exhibit. Giving up, he took out his velvet compartment from his jeans' pocket & searched for something.
It was so weird to see a guy ransacking a fist-sized bag, as if it was his luggage bag or something!

I know I should get used to this stuff (being a spy & watching one too many shows of Kim Possible with my little cousins) but I'm not, OK?
So sue me.

Finally, he took out a camera.
Imagine my disappointment. I mean, hello Headquarters?
You could do better than that! A camera. Please. We could just stop by a gadget shop for that.

Anyway, I focused back on Mei Ling, who was gesturing at the rocky pedestal in the northern direction, "So here they are, the awaited-"
But before she could finish her sentence, the lights went out & havoc broke out.

My ears were banging thanks to the thousands of tourists screaming & the security guards yelling, "Code Red! Code Red!"
It also helped that we were in a cave - meaning that all the sounds just bounced off the rocky walls & echoed.

Suddenly, someone gripped my upper arm. Before I could even scream (not that anyone could hear me), Grant said in my ear, "Grab your goggles."
I dug inside my fist-sized(!) bag & put on a pair of tortoise shell sunglasses.
Deciding best not to be such a skeptic, I put it on & realized that it was tinted for night vision.

Never knew that the Chief had such humor - first the deserting-me-on-an-unknown-island-with-my-partner thing.
Now night-vision sunglasses.

Everything was clearer, sharper now. I could see that nice lady yelling her head off & LeAnn crying hard & a lot more.
Including a certain co-spy running to the edge of the cliff with his camera (which was already turned into a grappling hook from the lens).

& about three things happened by then.

1. I was about to yell, "Are you crazy?" for not waiting for me. That's what partners are for.
2. But before I could do that, the lights went back on
3. Causing people to stare at us like mad.

I mean, they really ought to. He & I had Ray-Bans on in the dark.
Plus, he was standing on the iron fence with his camera (he already put back the grappling hook), aiming at the ceiling.

"OK, dear! You can take pictures of bats down here," I said, nodding at him to get his butt on the floor.
(Thank God) he listened & obeyed, returning by my side sheepishly.

As if the whole scenario didn't happen, everyone remained calm except for the security guards who were now calling for 'Back-up' (um, we're right here).
Mei Ling cleared her throat & made a crack about bats & cable wires.
Then, she continued her sentence. "As I was saying before, behold! The latest exhibition to the Caves!"
"Um, what artifacts?" a man yelled.

Normally, the people in charge would either call for security or smack the guy for being rude or... Well, something.
Anything besides what Mei Ling did - which was laugh hysterically at the guy, as if he was telling a very cute foreign joke.

"Why, it is right..." Her voice trailed off as she (finally) realized that the man was not joking.
A whole minute passed until she faced us with a composure I had to admire, "Well, it seems that we are facing...." she paused for the right word. "Minor difficulties. Now, if you move on to there..."

The tourists accepted her somewhat lame excuse & followed her once more except for Grant & I.
Grant was still staring at the rocky pedestal.
"'Minor difficulties'," he murmured to himself.

I get what he meant.

"Understatement of the year," I told him.
"We better report this to the Chief," he said & focused all his attention on his watch.

I turned around & scanned the scene.
It seemed weird - I mean, asides the whole Harry Potter wannabe scene (like in the Half-Blood Prince where Dumbledore had to drink that poison water thing to retrieve the Horcrux?) & the spooky bats.
There were no signs of intrusion. No one (& I do mean no one) could pass those security guards, even with a bulldozer.

But that wasn't it. Something was out of place... Something I just couldn't put my finger on...

"Grant," I said, still staring at the New Age exhibition.
"Hm?" he said, still typing furiously on his watch.
"Isn't this place 100% rock & minerals?"

This was when he tore his eyes off of his watch & gave me a look, which clearly read, "Yes, oh insane one. It is a cave, isn't it?"
But since he was too polite (pompous ass, though he may be), the British gentleman that he was, he said, "Yes...?"
"Then why does that spot have a marble floor?" I asked.

Grant raised an eyebrow. Wordlessly, he took out the camera from the fist-sized compartment (!) & muttered to himself, "Hmm... Interesting..."
"Um, what's interesting?" I asked politely, to point out that he's not alone in this.
"Oh, right. What do you see?" he asked me as he handed me the camera.

I zoomed in & saw what I could see without the camera.
"What I'm seeing right now," I told him.
"You haven't zoomed it in!" he laughed.
"I did! Look? It's at the max, see?" I showed him at the corner of a screen which read, 150%.

He got closer. Grant was practically breathing down my neck.
I was tempted to say "Hey, give me some room here!" but a bigger part of me didn't want to.

OK, too weird.
Never mind. I've got to focus.

He gave me a sardonic look & said quietly, "Oh naive Catherine, this isn't an ordinary camera."
I shrugged. "Oh naive," I paused & decided, hey, the coast is clear. "Grant, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck & quacks like a duck, then it's a duck."

Grant smiled & said, "You're using animal philosophy to contradict me?"
Now it was my turn to give him the Glare.

"Just zoom in," he said, still smiling.
I muttered something about where he could 'zoom in' but I did it anyway.

Surprisingly, it actually did zoom in - it zoomed in till 250% yet the image was clearer than ever.
"Look at the floor," Grant urged. I tried not to flush when I felt his breath on my neck.

I pressed the 'down' button & noticed something. Not only was it marble but there was a border line right around the pedestal.
Meaning it could only be...

"A trapdoor!" I said.
"Exactly," Grant said.

So. That was how Double Ass got in.
Wait. So if he got in, that means there's always the snake.

"Should we get it?" I asked Grant.
"Get what?"
"The snake."
"Oh."
"For fingerprints."
"Oh."
"Well? Should we?"
"Um. Well. I don't think it's a good idea. Too much security, too much eye-witnesses."
"We could just say what we really are... What we are."

He raised an eyebrow at me but I could see the hesitation.
What's up with that?

"It's just.... Too risky." he concluded.
I decided that this conversation was going nowhere & we were wasting time so I had no choice but to side with him on this.
"Fine." I said.
"Let's call it a night."
"Night?"
"Well, five in the evening is already what you call a night, Catherine."
"Fine."






We went back to our respective rooms quietly.
I had a swell time in China - I did had to catch up on bad TV.
There was that Ellen Degenneras show, when she interviewed T.R. Knight & right after that was Grey's Anatomy (It's the episode where Meredith had those dates between McVet & McDreamy. In the end, she just told them that she wanted a normal date, one of them trying to feel her up).
Well, don't blame me. I mean, Dave's been hogging it since forever.

Until 8p.m., I literally thought that my head would explode from all those movies like Ocean's Eleven & even Nanny McPhee (OK, those twins from Oceans Eleven did not even bear a single resemblance! & how can someone's warts go away from other people's good deeds? The mind boggles)!
Which was why I bought a few junkie food from the convenience store downstairs & thought I'd go to Grant's room for a while - you known, just for a girl chat. No big.

But I stopped short when I heard voices.
No, not in my head. In Grant's room.
There were two of them in there : Grant &... A girl?

From what I can hear, she sounds like a really... Well, a girl you'd expect Grant to be with if you get my drift.
I couldn't hear what they were saying exactly but they were hushed.

It was all against my morales for eavesdropping which was why I turned around to my room.
Hah!

Not until I could hear at least what they were talking about.
I put my ear to the door but all I heard was this :

Grant : Stop it.
Girl : Why?
Grant : (something something) like it.
Girl : (purrs something)

Me : (gagging)

Girl : Do you hear that?
Grant : (something something)
Girl : Ooooh! I always love a man who knows how to use his words.
Grant : (groaning)

Suddenly, the conversation was just, as Leia always say, TMI - Too Much Information.
I stood up but being the graceful athlete I always dreamt of being, I may have hit the neighbors' tray of the past morning's breakfast.
The door clicked.

I quickly ran back in my room but stood at my door, suspicious.
After being stranded on an island with that guy, I knew that he couldn't be that bad.

I mean, Grant was... So not the pompous ass I thought of him to be.
So what's up with the hooker?

The curiosity getting even more intense, I looked into the peephole.
Instantly I regretted it. I just knew that the image would scar my brain for the rest of my life.
& maybe even my heart.

God! No! What am I saying?
'Even my heart'?
OK, too much bad TV. Too much of those "Pick me. Choose me. Love me." lines (even though those were probably the greatest lines ever written on TV Drama).
I don't even like the guy.

No no no no no no no.
You, Kathy, are not that type of girl who falls in love with her co-spy.
No no no no no no no.
You, Kathy, would never ever fall in love with a pompous ass.
'But he wasn't such a pompous ass at the island...' a voice said at the back of my brain.
No no no no no no no.
Maybe, I thought back. But he's being one right now, kissing some stripper... Right in front of my door.

Yea. That's right.
That's better. You, Kathy, do not fall in love with a guy who hooks up with tramps.
I should feel better.

So why were the tears still streaming?












I woke up in the morning, finding a soggy pillow beneath my head - or face, to be more precise.
I felt like hell. I probably sound like hell. But I'm positive that I look like hell.

Suddenly, something in me just snapped.
What was I doing, moping around in my room because my co-spy had a stripper in his room?
I'm Kathleen Hally, Agent Z27 of the Headquarter. I was on a mission.

So I followed my instincts.

After cleaning up, I took a pair of cute blue sneakers from the fist-sized compartment & went outside the room. I quickly hid behind a pole when I heard a quiet click of the door.

I looked around & saw Grant quietly sneaking out to the lift.
Something was up.

I followed Grant all the way, until we ended up at the outside of the Caves.

'What is he doing?' was my first thought.

Being the top spy, I did expect him to cover his tracks first. He kept looking around casually, checking out the scene & he stopped walking every ten seconds, to hear whether anyone was trailing him.
But he forgot one thing.

I'm a top spy, too.

I dodged his every precaution - hiding somewhere the minute Grant's breathing started to get faster. I stopped walking when he squared his (broad) shoulders.

Oh, God.

No no no no no. I could not just admire the guy's shoulders just then.

Then, I realized we weren't at the Caves.
We were at the Caves' area, but not the Caves.

Grant peered around & when he finally decided that the coast was clear, he tapped his foot against a huge stone, which was covering the entrance to a cave.
Suddenly, the stone moved sideways, giving a clear entrance.
Grant walked in as he was greeted by some bald, stocky man.

Things had gone from 'suspicious' to 'sneaky & freaky'.

But the stone - or door. Or whatever - was slowly sliding back into place so I quickly sneaked inside, squeezing in.

My sweater was a sacrifice but I guess it was okay. The thread was coming loose anyway.

It was like a warehouse on the inside. There were crates & cranes everywhere but only a few men were there - some big & bulky, some tall & lanky... Only the bald guy was the odd one out.

I heard some grunting noises so instead of standing there, gaping, I quickly hid behind the stack of boxes closest to Grant & Baldie.

They stopped walking & were right in the middle of the warehouse cave. Grant was saying something that must've been pretty urgent by the look on his face.
Only Baldie didn't think it was urgent - he looked like he was having a fun time. Like he made one of his opponents on Monopoly have a bankruptcy.
Like a cat who just ate a canary.

(I know. Too much of those 40s swing movies - I blame it on Moulin Rouge.)

I couldn't hear a word Grant & Baldie were saying. I quickly went over the pros & cons to sneaking maybe a few crates ahead.

Suddenly, before I could even move a muscle, someone grabbed me from behind.

Hard.

I screamed as loud as my lungs could but it was useless - I'm in the middle of the baddies' lair, right in their plan.

Only... What was Grant doing?

All the men in the warehouse cave stopped what they were doing & stared at me.

In my hopeless & naive moment of being the damsel in distress, I actually thought that... Well, you know, one of those warehouse guys would turn a new leaf & save me.

Once again, I blame it on the movies because the next thing I knew, the men started chuckling.

Yea, that's right. Chuckling.
Like having a screaming girl (who was bound to get laryngitis the next few days) captured is a joke.

The only person who didn't think it was funny - asides me, of course - was Grant.
It was so weird. He didn't put on that arrogant face or anything that I'm so used to.
No. It was a mix of anger & frustration but his face was just pale like a sheet.

The Baldie laughed along with his little cronies but after a while, the humor seemed to evaporate & they realized that things weren't funny as it seemed.
He turned around & started yelling at Grant, so loudly that I could hear him.

"What is this? You had promise to secrecy!" Ouch. Some grammar. Mrs. Low would be appalled. "You says that you no back-up! Is this trap? We have been tricked!" That was what he yelled at his cronies.
They all cheered - or hissed? - aloud & started chanting, "Traitors are venom. But venom returns. Venom brings death. Death brings venom.

"Let the girl go," Grant said in a tone of voice that clearly said he wasn't fooling around.
But I saw. He put his arms behind his back & slyly clicked a little red button on his watch.

Baldie laughed & said at his crew, "We have the boy's little girlfriend!"
This was when everyone found amusing including the guy holding me.

I decided to take advantage of the opportunity. In a split second, I twisted his wrist, causing his right arm to loosen his grip on me.

I swung & kicked him. Yes, you know where.
In a southerly direction men would find painful.

He yelped in pain, which caught the other men's attention.
"Get her!" the men yelled all at once.

Uh-oh.

But as soon as the men started heading towards me, I heard a big smack!
Everyone - including me - turned around & saw Grant standing triumphantly on top of Baldie.
"Who's next?" he said, smiling.

I swear that's what he said! You could just tell that he watched that James' Bond re-run (Die Another Day).

So half of the angry men mob went to him & the other half came to me.
& I was all ready.

A guy lunged at me. I ducked, causing the man to hit the guy behind me.
Then they started playing dirty.

I was surrounded. Out of frustration, I clicked my shoes together & suddenly, I bounced over those guys' heads & next to Grant.

If I had a camera, I would capture that moment - Grant looking so brave even though he was defenseless, his broad shoulders & height intimidating others while we're being surrounded by a mob of gangsters in China.

Later, it was just a blur of us kicking the bad guys' butts. I did a roundhouse as Grant carried me back to back, knocking probably two-thirds of the people.

Suddenly, a helicopter burst inside the cave right after the bald guy laughed while running away.

"Let him go, Kat," Grant said as he gripped my elbow to stop me from chasing him.
"B-but-" I stuttered.
"Agent ZX12 is right. We shall catch the fiend another day" the Chief said as he came by my side.
"Thanks for coming, Chief." Grant said.
"Your welcome. It was quick thinking for doing so. Another fine job, Agent ZX12 & Z27," the Chief said & with a nod, he left us to surround one of the knocked-out guys.

Leaving me with Grant.

Alone.

"Kathleen," Grant said as he turned around to face me.
Uh-oh. That didn't sound so promising - he never called me Kathleen. & there's that tone of voice which was telling me that he'd like to kill me.

"Kathleen," he said again to get my attention.
I gulped.
"Just what," I couldn't believe that his voice was this low & gravelly. "-in hell did you think you were doing?"

It felt like he was yelling at me. But he wasn't. He was speaking so softly, that it could've been a whisper.
Yet I was still scared of him. Just at that passing moment, I was not only afraid of him, but I realized that I respected him &...

Loved him.

It was so weird to have that realization strike you when the object of your affections was yelling-whispering at you.

But that was what happened.
& I did nothing but gape at the thought.

I loved Grant? Grant Fend?
Pompous, British ass who was a big know-it-all Grant Fend?

"Kathleen, are you even listening to me?" he said, his breathing uneven.
I blinked. That wasn't a good sign. He didn't sound all that happy.

"Um. No?" I said.
I might as well not lie. I was about to get it anyway.

He stomped his foot hard & ran his fingers through his hair. I found myself wondering what it'd be like if I ran my fingers through his hair...

"You are the most- Damn it, Kat! You could've gotten yourself killed! What were you thinking? Do you know- I-" he kept sputtering & finally, after taking in a deep breath, he said in that same gravelly tone, "I am going to talk to the Chief & make sure that you will be on probation."

That got my attention. I stiffened & said, "Excuse me?"
"You heard me. Probation. Until you can prove yourself worthy of being responsible."

I felt my blood temperature rising. "Since when were you this pompous?"
He crossed the line. Grant was really pushing it. If he knew that I just realized my feelings for the guy, he's got another think coming.

"When I fell in love with you!" he practically roared.
The whole cave was, by then, already deserted.

The Chief had the agents to wait outside while he made a few calls.

"What?" I said, blinking.
"It would be the death of me but yes. I love you. So don't you ever dare to try-"
He didn't get to say a word for a while after that. I was walking - no, running - on Cloud Nine that I forgot about everything - the stripper, Grant meeting up with some foreign Mafia...

I was way up there.

Because the guy who I happened to love loves me back. So who could blame me when I just swung my arms around his neck & kissed him like there was no tomorrow?

So that was my first kiss with Grant Fend - in a cave at China. He was surprised at first but he got over it because by then, he was kissing me back.

& I'm never going to forget that moment.