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Catherine watched the green prairies passing by in a blur, as the small but lavishly decorated jet sped onto the runway. As the nose turned upwards, she felt a rush of weight press upon her body. Her stomach churned, the giddiness in her legs turning to a paralyzing fear as the plane ascended. Catherine unfortunately got sick of moving machinery: car sick, bus sick, bike sick and she certainly counted herself amongst those few who believed man was never to defy the laws of physics, especially gravity. She gripped her chair tight, her knuckles white. 4
In a moment, the green fields were no where to be seen, and all around the plane was a yellow backdrop of the afternoon sky. From the moment the CIA agents had turned up at her door, to this, Catherine found herself unsure what had entirely happened. Everything was an estrange dream. 5
Only it was not. 6
The tall man sat in a seat in front of her, frequently looking back on her as if she would suddenly turn berserk. The stocky one sat behind her, occasionally sneezing and sniffing, obviously distressed by a cold. 7
As for Catherine, she was not going to turn berserk. She was still in a state of shock to do much of anything except think the last thing she wanted to do. Obviously, they've made a mistake. Yakov a President - of Russia! She had never heard anything more bizarre. Suddenly, Catherine cracked up laughing at the whole situation, her mouth opening in mirth. In her excitement she toppled out of the seat, cackling loudly. The tall man looked behind with an odd expression. 8
"Miss?"9
"No, everything is fine, just oh, oh - you know how stupid this is, right?" Catherine asked from the floor, still shaking with laughter. 10
"Miss, I believe our sources to be very reliable. The CIA has been working on this for six months."11
"Oh Mr - Mr -"12
"Dominic -"13
"Well, Mr. Dominic, please don't tell me you believe that a President, would be sitting on MatchMake.com!"14
"We all have quirks, Miss."15
"This is all some giant mistake -"16
"I can assure, the CIA makes no mistakes -"17
"Oh, shut up!" Catherine quickly picked herself up and sat down, huffing.18
Dominic turned around, mouth twitching, obviously affronted. Catherine was a very polite person, always courteous and mannered, but there were times when she just let her temper fly. 19
After a little while, she asked: "Where are we going?"20
"The Chief Executive of the CIA wants to meet you personally."21
Oh, darn it! 22
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Langley, Virginia seemed to promise nothing but a sour evening. The sky was laced with thin clouds, spread in disarray, like white cotton puffs over a gray backdrop. The sun was settling in the west, coloring the gray with multiple hues of mingling yellow and pink and blue. Harold Walker sat in his office with a grim face, knowing this would be a difficult assignment. Harold Walker was a proud man, and despite his fifty-six years, he did not show. His face was clever, with brown eyes still sharp and curious and a mouth that could twist a truth out of a hardliner solider. Harold had not become Chief Executive of the CIA in one day. No. It had taken years of struggle. Years of quick-minded and cunning work. He had literally put his life on the line for this agency. But as the Chief Executive, he was not reaping fruit. Rather, he had found his work had doubled by the hour. What with counter-terrorism, growing threat from the booming Chinese markets, the Mexican drug wars and internal American politics, he could hardly find a good night's rest. 27
Today would be no exception. 28
At almost 7 PM, his personal assistant Sherry called him. Finally, thought Harold. 29
"Sir, I have Agents Dominic and Roy here."30
"Yes, send them in."31
"Right away, Sir."32
The two men strode inside followed by a young, curvaceous woman. She had a darling face, slightly plump cheeks that were awfully pink and large, almond-shaped eyes. She walked with wariness and took a seat in front of him. She put shaking hands on the table, but retrieved them immediately, dismayed by their betrayal of her anxiety. 33
"Agents 35 and 57, I'll call you in a while," Harold told the two agents. 34
He turned to the young woman. "Miss Jane, I believe?"35
"Yes, though you can call me Catherine."36
"Well, thank you for joining me, Catherine."37
"My pleasure."38
"Really?"39
"Okay, no, not entirely. If truth be told, I am very confused ... and and " 40
"Understandable ... understandable. Catherine, I have the reports here ... uh ... yes, here we are ... you have been in contact with a coolguy09?"41
"Yes."42
"We believe that this identity belongs to President -"43
"Yakov Esimova Nitkin of Russia, the agents told me on the plane -"44
"Very good, so you understand where we are leading with this?"45
"Of course, not! I have absolutely no idea!"46
"Catherine, the Russian Federation has always been and will always be a primary threat to the national interest of the United States. Thus, it is pertinent that we have sufficient intelligence of their current actions and ... affairs. Your friendship with President Yakov borders on a keen interest ... of ... well, love -"47
Catherine reddened considerably. "Love! There is no such thing between us - we are friends! That is all there is to it!"48
"We have been monitoring your messages; there is considerable evidence of an ... affectionate affair between both of you -"49
"I have had enough of this Mr. Chief Executive of CIA. I have rights in this country, and you cannot force me to do anything!"50
"Miss Jane, I was hoping it would not come to this. I done everything I can for this country for the people of this country. I can detain you and even imprison as a suspect spy on behalf of the Russian Federation!"51
"What! I cannot believe this!"52
"Miss Jane, you must co-operate with us!"53
This is absurd you cant do this to me. I am a primary school teacher and I I have contacts with the Principal even she knows my name! Im in her good books, if you think I will take this lying down
A Principal youre threatening us with a Principal?54
Catherine took a moment to calm down. She swept a hand through her thick, black hair and then finally said: "What do you want from me?"55
"We want to use you as a spy -"56
"A spy! What makes you think, that if I loved this man, I would spy on him!"57
"So you admit, you are lovers -"58
"Oh, you ack we have a wonderful relationship and I will not take advantage of an innocent man -"59
"Not even for the sake of your country!"60
Catherine was silent. "This is wrong."61
"It is for the greater good!"62
She bit her lip. "I know nothing about spying."63
"You need not know a lot. Our sources inside the Russian government tell us that this week the President will be signing very important documents on the establishment of Russia's two new nuclear bases. We need you to get us copies of those documents - I know that we cannot use as a spy indefinitely. That would be a ... hassle. But these documents are very important and using you is a clean cut way -"64
"Fine."65
"You'll do it?"66
"You leave me no choice - uh - what about my cat?"67
"We - we can take care of that."68
"Then we have a deal."69
"Well, well, thank you very much Catherine. Or should I say, Agent uh -"70
"Poe - I'd like to be Agent Poe."71
Catherine smiled at him across the table. 72
What an odd piece of work.73
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