Covert Assignment

by Missy Marciassa

  Elle didn’t know what to say to that. What was he trying to say? She knew she and Preston were enjoying a fling, but she couldn’t just walk away from this discussion, as pointless as it was.

  “Come on, Elle, you’re not his type,” Adam said.

  “What- you mean I’m not a Bella clone?” Elle asked. She had never seriously contemplated punching someone, much less Adam, but she could see herself doing it today.

  He seemed to sense he was backing himself into a corner. “You’re smart and funny and nice-”

  “But not pretty or sexy,” she broke in. “Not someone who’s fun to ‘blow off steam’ with. Is that what you’re trying to say?”

  “Look, I’m committed to you,” Adam said, “to being with you. You need that. It’s not like your family…” He shifted on his feet but held her gaze.

  She felt anger rising up inside her like a noxious steam as she stared at him. “So you’re trying to say I’m the plain little mouse who should be grateful for the crumbs you offer because I’m just the unwanted leftovers in my family?”

  Adam shifted, again looking anywhere but at her for a few moments before meeting her eyes again. “You don’t ever have to deal with your parents again with me,” he said.

  “You’ll be there for me,” she said, “so I’m lucky to get your crumbs. Is that it?” Now her voice shook with anger.

  “That’s not what I said!” Adam said.

  “Different words, same bullshit,” Elle replied. She fought to keep her voice steady. “I’ll take my chances.” She would rather end up alone than settle for a cheat.

  Adam sighed, letting his shoulders sag. “Look, we’re both… exploring. But we can’t lose sight of what’s important.”

  “I haven’t lost sight of anything.” Now that she was sampling alternatives, she wasn’t sure if her desire to stay with Adam was because of him- them- or sticking with the stability of her plan.

  “Hey, I got your coffee,” Marni said, walking up with two cups of coffee.

  “Thanks,” Elle said, taking hers. She looked at Adam; his forlorn expression tugged at every guilt string she had, which again infuriated her. Why should she feel badly that he felt badly about cheating on her and destroying their relationship? “I’ll talk to you later,” she told him.

  He looked like he wanted to argue but then nodded and waved as they left.

  Chapter 21

  Elle was still bristling from her run-in with Adam when she reached the lab. Seeing Preston cheered her up, but it was the email she received that really made her light up. “I passed the first part of the evaluation!” she said excitedly. The email was simple:

  Dear Ms. Paquet, We are pleased to inform you that the first part of your application process was successful. We would like to invite you out to visit the Central Intelligence Agency’s main headquarters.

  “Congratulations,” Preston told her. “You’re practically in.”

  “Really?” she asked.

  “The general public isn’t allowed into Langley,” he pointed out. “They’re going to wine and dine and dazzle you. Well, as much as they can on a government budget. Don’t hold the cafeteria food against us.”

  Elle couldn’t believe it. She was on her way to working for the CIA.

  Less than a week later Elle was arriving in Washington, D.C. As soon as she stepped outside to catch a cab, she realized she could take off her coat. Spring had sprung in the capitol. Preston wasn’t with her: he actually had to leave town for somewhere else the same day she left. Elle would have liked to have him with her, but it was exciting nonetheless. She took a cab to a hotel in Langley, Virginia.

  Eating dinner across the street from the hotel, it struck Elle how odd it was to be out eating alone. Had she done much of anything- besides study- without Marni, Tina, or Adam around? These days, if she wasn’t with Marni or Tina, she was with Preston. Eating alone at a restaurant was… weird. It was part of the “real world,” Elle guessed. Friends weren’t always around. She felt a few twinges of uneasiness before pushing them away. It was okay. She was okay. She was more than okay: she was about to embark on a job interview very few people ever got an invitation for!

  The next day, a car arrived to pick her up to drive her out to the CIA headquarters. The driver wasn’t terribly talkative, so Elle rode mostly in silence, enjoying the sunshine and sight of grass. She tried to ignore the tightness of her suit. It fit fine: she was just too used to jeans and sweatshirts. When she stepped inside the CIA headquarters, she nearly froze on the spot. The blue and gray checked floor, the large CIA seal on the floor: it was just like it appeared in the movies and on TV. Elle looked around and noticed someone sitting at a desk, so she made her way over there.

  “Hi, I’m here to see Henry Smith,” Elle said, smiling at the woman.

  The woman didn’t smile back. “Name?” The archness of her tone couldn’t mean anything. Elle couldn’t have done anything wrong already!

  “Elle- Eleanor Paquet,” she said.

  The woman typed something into the computer and then opened a drawer. She pulled out a nametag that read: VISITOR: Eleanor Paquet and gave it to Elle.

  “Wear your nametag at all times while you are on the Agency’s grounds,” she told Elle. “You are to return it to this desk before you leave the premises.”

  Elle nodded and carefully pinned it to the front of her blazer. Clearly visible.

  The woman said, “Mr. Williamson will meet you in room 212. You can reach it using those elevators.” She gestured to elevators across the lobby.

  And Elle was off.

  The first thing that struck Elle was the number of men walking around in suits. The suits were all either black, navy blue, with a sprinkling of gray here and there. There weren’t anywhere near as many women. No one strolled here: everyone strode to where they were going. And everyone was laden down with briefcases and laptop cases. No backpacks.

  Henry greeted Elle with a smile. “Welcome to headquarters,” he told her.

  “Thank you- thank you for inviting me,” she said. She’d never been so happy to see a friendly smile and return one, well, ever.

  Henry took Elle on a tour of the CIA headquarters. He showed her the OHB Cornerstone, the CIA Memorial Wall, the Directors’ Portrait Gallery, even the Memorial Garden and the Kryptos Sculpture. As Henry talked to her about the history of the CIA, Elle was struck by the sense of history and mission that drove the organization and everyone in it. The sense of gravitas was like a living presence that pervaded the grounds. Work was done here that wouldn’t be seen or known about anywhere else in the world, and the goal of it was to keep their country safe. Henry periodically referred to the “intelligence community,” and she now understood what he meant. Just being a part of this agency meant you were a part of something… grand.

  Wrapping up the tour, he told her, “I saved the best for last.” He took Elle to the CIA library. She got to meet the library staff. That library probably held some of the most amazing documents in the history of the United States. Although Elle focused on informatics, she had an appreciation for historical collections as well.

  Then Henry took her to lunch in the on-site cafeteria. “Are there other applicants?” she asked.

  He nodded. “Yes, but you don’t meet each other until employee orientation,” he said, “after we’ve made the final selection for the new associates.”

  At first Elle wondered why, and then understanding struck. Until she was officially offered a position and accepted, she couldn’t know the identity of other CIA staff. It was yet another reminder of who she was applying to work for. Secrecy was the order of the day. She wondered if she could ask what it was like, having all of your work be secret. Maybe the Agency would begin to question her ability to maintain confidentiality if she asked about it. She’d better save that question for Preston.

  “Obviously we’re unique,” Henry said, “in the sense that everything we do is classified. We can’t go home and talk about something bugging u
s from work.” He smiled. “Well, we can’t talk about work that’s bugging us. An annoying co-worker: that’s fair game.”

  They both laughed.

  “But it does mean your co-workers become like a family in a sense. Just like there are certain things you only share with your family: there are certain things we can only share with each other. It creates a bond. Not that there aren’t personality conflicts,” he added. “We really are like a family in that way.”

  Elle knew that deal. In a sense. Unlike in her family, where other units formed and tolerated her presence, however, she would be a part of the unit here, serving the country, doing high level data analysis and informatics.

  After lunch Henry took her to tour where the analysts worked. Several stopped, introduced themselves, and complimented Elle on her work. Damn. There really were people who knew what she was doing. Elle wrapped up the day with a couple more interviews with people who were managers in the Analysis Division. They seemed to go well.

  Afterwards, Henry walked her back down to the lobby, shaking her hand. “I’m not sure about the timetable for final decisions,” he told her. “We still have applicants coming out to visit, but as soon as there’s a decision, you’ll hear from us.”

  Elle thanked him, turned in her nametag, and left in the waiting car. Her flight left that evening.

  Chapter 22

  “They’re here!” Marni greeted Elle as soon as she opened the door, pulling her suitcase behind her. She practically skipped to Elle, waving two envelopes in her hand. One, Elle could see, was already opened. She handed the other one to Elle.

  “Go ahead,” Marni told Elle. “Let’s make it official so we can go out and celebrate!”

  Elle laughed. She could see the Virginia logo on the outside and knew the decision letters had arrived. Sure enough, just as her father had told her, she had been accepted. Marni handed her several other envelopes, all bearing one school’s logo or another.

  “Christmas in spring!” Marni laughed. “I know you want to unpack, so hurry up with that so we can go get shitfaced. I’ve already called Tina.”

  “You know me well,” Elle told her friend as she headed towards her bedroom. “Congratulations, by the way.”

  Marni followed her into her bedroom. “I’ve already looked at some apartments near campus,” she said. “The rates seem reasonable. They advise first year law students to live in the dorm, but I say to hell with that.”

  Elle realized she couldn’t put off talking to Marni any longer. She didn’t have an official answer from the agency, nor did she have a clear timetable about when a final decision would be made. Maybe she should accept Virginia’s offer, just to be on the safe side? It seemed like the sensible thing to do, but it didn’t sit well with her, especially if it left Marni hanging at the last minute, not to mention her father’s maneuvers.

  “Do you want to live in the dorms?” Marni asked.

  The question brought Elle back to her room. “What?” she asked.

  “The dorms: do you want to live in the dorms our first year?” When Elle continued to give her a blank look, Marni elaborated. “You don’t seem all that excited about the idea of getting an apartment off campus.”

  “Oh! Hell no, I don’t want to go back to the dorms,” she said. Marni looked relieved, but that just made Elle’s stomach twist tighter as she took out the few things she had packed.

  “Let’s go get drunk,” Marni said, seeing Elle finish emptying her suitcase.

  They met Tina at Bubba’s Bar. Tina said it was the closest to Elle and Marni’s apartment, so she would have an easier time getting them home afterwards. Marni went straight with shots while Elle chose a margarita. Tina, who wasn’t a big drinker, stuck with a virgin daiquiri.

  Once Elle had screwed up enough liquid courage, she said, “Listen, there’s something I need to tell you, Marni.”

  Marni managed to focus her eyes on Elle. Barely. “Whassup?”

  “It’s about going to Virgina,” Elle said.

  Marni and Tina looked at her expectantly. Shit, this was hard.

  “I- I may not go there.”

  “What? What the hell do you mean?” Marni demanded.

  Tina looked equally surprised. “Where else would you go? You’ve been talking about going to Virginia since freshman year.”

  “Well, I may not go to grad school,” Elle said.

  They both stared at her.

  “I’ll get a master’s degree in Information Science this spring,” she said. “I enjoy doing it, and I really don’t need a law or business degree for it.”

  “Have you talked to your father about this?” Tina asked.

  At the same time, Marni said, “This is about Preston, isn’t it?”

  Both questions threw Elle off-guard. “This isn’t about my father or Preston,” she said. “It’s about what I want to do professionally.”

  “Have you been on the job market?” Tina asked.

  Elle nodded. She felt a little sick having to lie. “When I went out to Anderson, a job was offered.” They thought she had traveled to Anderson Advertising for something related to her thesis.

  “You want to work for an advertising agency?” Marni asked in a tone that suggested Elle had agreed to work for organized crime or a fast food chain or something.

  Elle blinked, surprised at the disdain in her friend’s voice. If only she knew who Anderson was connected with… “I enjoy the work,” she said, “they have a lot of different opportunities-”

  “You’re following Preston, aren’t you?” Marni interrupted. “Jesus, Elle- you’ve lost your perspective on this fling.”

  Elle didn’t try to temper her raised voice. “This has nothing to do with Preston. It’s about what I want to do-”

  “I know breaking up with Adam screwed up your plan and everything,” Marni went on, “but throwing away your future to chase this-”

  “You’re not helping,” Tina finally broke in, all but getting up to physically hold Marni back as if she was about to lunge across the table. Marni went silent. Tina turned her attention back to Elle. “It just seems… odd that you’re giving up something you’ve talked about for the last three and a half years to go work for the same company the guy you’re dating works for. You’ve never had an interest in advertising.”

  Elle never expected this response. What really sucked, however, was that she couldn’t explain it fully to them. She wasn’t following Preston (right?), she was pursuing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work for an organization that very few people even got an invite to join. Yet even during her visit to the CIA, Henry had made it clear: she still should not discuss her application to work for “the Agency.” Elle knew her friends’ confusion was understandable, given what they knew.

  “Whatever happened to ‘be willing to deviate from the plan’?” Elle asked.

  Marni and Tina exchanged glances.

  “And you both know I’ve always loved working with data. It’s lucrative. I wouldn’t be doing advertising campaigns at Anderson Advertising: I’d be working with data, just like I am now. This is not about Preston. He’s a fling: I know that. The truth of the matter is I have no interest in going corporate. That’s what my father does and where the law and business degrees would be helpful.” Looking between their faces, Elle thought it seemed to be making sense to them.

  Tina finally shook her head. “You’ve gotten kissed and gone wild,” she said with a laugh.

  “You’ve left me hanging,” Marni said, “but I get it.”

  “I may decide to go to Virginia,” Elle told them. “It’s just that- I’m leaning against it. I wanted you to know.”

  Marni nodded and put on an exaggerated pout. “I’ll hold off on apartment hunting just yet.” She eyed all of their empty glasses. “Time for another round!”

  Elle’s phone went off. Picking it up, she saw it was Preston, and answered.

  “Elle, I need to see you now.” Preston cut straight to the chase. She had never heard him sound
so serious.

  “What? What’s going on?”

  “We can’t discuss this by phone,” he said. “Are you at your apartment?”

  Elle shook her head, trying to clear it. She was halfway through her second margarita. “Um, no- I’m at Bubba’s. Bubba’s Bar.”

  There was a pause before Preston asked, “On East Street?” He must’ve GPS’ed her location.

  “Yeah,” Elle said.

  “Stay there,” he ordered. “I’ll be by to pick you up in five minutes. I’ll let you know when I’m outside.” He hung up.

  Elle again had to face Tina and Marni’s questioning faces. “That was Preston.” She shook her head again, reaching for her glass of water. “I have to go. He’s coming here to pick me up.”

  They stared at her. Marni finally said, “You’ve been summoned?”

  Why was everyone going loopy? Elle didn’t bother to hide her irritation. “Something’s going on.”

  “At ten-thirty at night?” Marni asked. “Sounds like a booty call.”

  Elle shook her head. “No, it’s not-”

  “You’re ditching our celebration for a booty call,” Marni said.

  “This is not a booty call!” Elle hissed. She lowered her voice when a few people looked over and leaned in closer. “It’s-”

  “What could you guys possibly have to work on at this hour?” Tina asked.

  Dammit, sometimes Tina’s level-headedness was infuriating. The question was reasonable. Elle just couldn’t answer it. What the hell was urgent in the world of advertising, especially when it came to metadata? Elle got her wallet out, pulling out two twenty dollar bills.

  “Here, this should cover my drinks and some of yours.” Her phone went off again. It was Preston. “I’m really sorry, guys, but I’ve gotta go.”

  “We need to seriously discuss the definition of a fling,” Marni told her, not bothering to hide her annoyance. “The guy’s not supposed to have you on a leash.”

  Elle decided it was better not to respond to that comment and hurried out the door.