The Prince

by Jillian Dodd

  "Then what?"

  "I was bleeding. Someone patched me up. When my dad got there, I told him everything that had happened, minus the necklace part. He hugged me. We stayed at his office. I slept a lot and he worked a lot. We didn't really talk about my mom. Didn't have a funeral. Or a memorial. Forty-eight hours later, we got in his car. He told me we were leaving the country for a while. When he turned the ignition, the car made a weird sputtering sound. He looked scared, told me to get out. Go to Uncle Sam's. I jumped out, the car exploded. I was knocked to the ground and dinged up, but I ran to Uncle Sam's. The same person bandaged me up. I stayed there. A week later, I was at Blackwood."

  "And you've never told anyone about the necklace?"

  "No."

  "Did anyone ask you if your mom gave you anything?"

  "Both my dad and Uncle Sam did, but I told them no. I thought she wanted me to keep it a secret. Like it was meant just for me because it had our picture in it--never once did I think she literally meant top secret, as in classified."

  "Let's take a look."

  "I'm not sure I should let you, Terrance. She may have died for this."

  "You have to trust someone. I have more to show you."

  "You show me yours, I'll show you mine?" I tease.

  He grins at me and leads me into an empty relaxation room, grabbing a bottle of water out of the mini fridge along the way and tossing it to me.

  "I have a hacker friend who is here in Montrovia working on something top secret."

  "Something related to the Prince?"

  "He couldn't tell me. Anyway, he can get into anything--anytime, anywhere. He had never heard of Blackwood Academy either, but he was able to find it and then through a series of sophisticated techniques--"

  "Terrance, I need facts, not how you did it."

  "Well, it was brilliant. Double back door, password, encryption. Anyway, we hacked into Blackwood and found your file. You're a badass, by the way. And they definitely knew you were sneaking out. In fact, they kept making it harder for you. They were testing you."

  "Obviously, I passed. And no offense, but I hacked into my own file. Actually, one of the guys I dated--"

  "Hooked up with?"

  "Whatever--hacked it for me."

  "You only saw what they wanted you to see. Basic notes about your behavior. Your personality profile. Notes from your shrink and teachers. Your grades. Right?"

  "Yes. So what did you find out?"

  "That Blackwood didn't exist before you. I believe it may have been created for you."

  "That makes no sense. The school had been there forever. I was the new kid."

  "It had only been there for a week. For years before that, Blackwood had been an elite boarding school known as the Turnberry Academy, but the school was closed suddenly due to mismanaged funds." He studies me. "Have you ever thought that your parents were training you to be a spy? You speak how many languages? Your passport had more stamps than anyone I know."

  "But why?"

  "That's what I want to know. I also wanted to know about your partner--your brother, Ari--how was he chosen. And why. We were able to access his CIA file, no problem."

  "What did you find out about him?"

  "Army. Special Forces. Commendation. The fact that he was sent to train with the CIA at his age was unusual but not unheard of. But what is surprising is that you have no file."

  I shrug. "I probably don't warrant one yet."

  He shakes his head, disagreeing. "With the way your parents died, there should be something. The CIA is meticulous at recording information. We did find something interesting, though. An encrypted message. Just five words. Sent to an address we couldn't trace."

  "What did it say?"

  "Spy Girl is a go. It went out on Sunday morning at 11:12 a.m. Eastern Standard Time."

  "The Dean called me into his office at 10:30 to give me my mission."

  "I think you are Spy Girl."

  I can't help but smile. "I have a code name?"

  "Yes," he says, punching me in the shoulder. "Don't look so happy. Tell me this, when did you first hear the name Huntley Bond?"

  "A few days ago, when I was given my mission."

  "There are Huntley Bond social media accounts. Well, Huntley Bond-Von Allister now--you recently announced your name change."

  "I what?" He pulls up a profile and scrolls through photos of me over the years. All taken at Blackwood. Me with other students. A cute photo of me and Josh. "I don't understand. These are all my posts. But at Blackwood we weren't allowed on social media. We had our own private intranet they called XBook. It allowed us to post stuff for each other to see and chat with each other after curfew, but was not public."

  "My guess is they allowed you to post on XBook, then some were filtered through to here. Look, a few weeks ago when Ares Von Allister passed, you mentioned a life-changing event. They've been setting up your cover for months. Years. Almost eight years, to be exact."

  He pulls up a post where I mention finding out about my real father and the brother I never knew. Along with a cute selfie. Since then, no posts.

  "Part of me is mad I didn't know about this. Part of me thinks it's brilliant. Have they done this for all the Blackwood students?"

  "I wondered the same thing myself. So I compared the students from the Blackwood intranet to what was out there. They used their real names. And I have a sneaking suspicion that the reclusive Ares Von Allister's death was well-timed."

  "You think he was murdered?"

  "I think we have to consider that possibility. His passing was essential to your cover."

  "That's what doesn't make sense. After today, I won't ever be able to go undercover again. I was photographed with the Queen. Why would they spend eight years of training and cover building to blow it on saving the Prince of one small country?"

  "You tell me, Spy Girl." He looks at his watch. "I gotta go, and you need sleep, Huntley Penelope Bond-Von Allister." He hands me the small duffle that he brought in. "There's a phone in here. I added a little technology, so it's untraceable. Destroy the other one and only use this to call me if you need something important. The number is saved. It will route it to a computer, and I will receive the message. Be careful. I have a feeling you're being watched very closely."

  "Because they have high expectations?"

  "That and because I think it's a little too much of a coincidence that Blackwood is now closing its doors."

  "It is?"

  "Yes, and there's something else." He glances nervously around the room, like he's afraid to tell me.

  "What?"

  "A few minutes after we read your file, it was deleted. Actually, all the files were gone. Like Blackwood never existed. Like you never existed."

  I shake my head not even sure how to reply to this information. I just give Terrance a hug. As I do, I hand him the disk from my mom's locket. "This may put you in danger."

  "I can handle it."

  "How do I know you're not part of whatever scheme this is?"

  "You don't, Spy Girl. But you have to trust someone."

  MISSION:DAY SIX

  After my meeting with Terrance, I snuck back into my room and quickly fell asleep. I'm awakened a few hours later by Ari.

  "We need to talk."

  "About what?"

  "Our mission, duh."

  "Oh, sorry. Not really awake yet."

  "This can't be helped. With the Prince constantly at your side, it doesn't give us time to talk. Ellis said you requested information on the cousins and their boyfriends. I have that info and have been over it." He drops a file in my lap. "Read it and destroy it."

  "You want to give me the condensed version? Is there anything you thought was important?"

  "I think it's important we both read it. There may be something you catch that I don't. You read. I'll order breakfast. What sounds good?"

  "Don't laugh, but I'm dying for a cheeseburger. And hash browns."

  "Done," he says, picking u
p the phone and ordering us two, along with a couple fully-caffeinated sodas.

  He sits on my bed, messing around on his phone, while I read.

  "I heard you slept with Allie again."

  "Because she snuck into my bedroom the night they arrived. Last night, I was working on getting close to Clarice."

  "How did that go?"

  "It didn't. But I did get the impression that it might, tonight."

  I keep reading, nothing catching my attention until . . . "Wait, their father was killed six months ago? In a hunting accident that may have been a suicide? Wouldn't he have been in line for the throne after Lorenzo?"

  "Yes, he was."

  "What are you thinking?"

  "Well, here's an interesting little tidbit to go along with that. The accident happened the day before I was pulled out of Special Forces and sent into my training with the CIA, or whoever it is that I'm working for."

  "You don't think we're working for the CIA?" I ask.

  "I'm starting to wonder if it's something more. One of those organizations that is more covert."

  "Like we could be working for the bad guys?"

  "No, but I get the feeling they operate outside of the usual boundaries."

  "Does the CIA have boundaries?"

  "You tell me. You were trained for this too," he says, and I realize he doesn't know about Black X. And it makes me wonder about them--who they are and what they do. I try to remember where I first heard about them. It comes back clear as day. Sitting in the Dean's office--talking about my future--he told me about an agency so covert even the President didn't know of its existence. He told me it was small, elite, and powerful. And that they would understand my need for revenge. It immediately became my goal. My focus. To be good enough for them to want me. Because deep down I knew that the CIA would probably not allow me to go rogue and kill my mother's assassin.

  "You're right. It feels a little different--but I think it may be due to the excess."

  "How is it any different from them buying information in the Middle East after the Gulf Wars? They supposedly had bags full of millions of U.S. dollars. All for info."

  "Maybe this is the new CIA?"

  "Yeah, maybe. So back to the cousins," Ari says. "Do you think they could have killed their own father?"

  "Ophelia is bossy, but I think she's harmless."

  "I'd say the same thing about Viktor."

  "He's part Russian, though. Just like the guy who tried to poison the Prince last night. Do we know anything about him yet?"

  "Mercenary," Ari says. "Works for the highest bidder. Just like the gunmen."

  "None of whom have lived to enjoy the money. Do you think that will mean others will be less likely to try?"

  "I expect the ante to be even higher. Although our government has picked up nothing relating to this."

  "So three dead ends and we're back to where we started."

  "Not really. I think we have to focus our efforts on Clarice."

  "She just seems so sweet. Annoying as hell, but I just don't picture her killing people. She doesn't want animals to die."

  "Maybe she doesn't feel the same way about people? And you can't dismiss the fact that she may want to make the Terra Project come to life here in Montrovia."

  "Which means she'd not only kill her father, her cousin, and her sister, but she'd kill the monarchy, too."

  He nods.

  "What do we know about the cousins' life? About their relationship with their father? And where is their mother? Was she not at the Queen's party?"

  "That's further into the file," Ari states. "Their mother and father were only briefly married. After an ugly divorce, their mother took the girls to live with her in France. They lived comfortably but were not raised with the same affluence as Lorenzo."

  "So how do they feel about him?"

  "Maybe that's something you should ask them. When Clarice turned eighteen, both girls moved into their father's Montrovian mansion."

  "What do we know about the boyfriend?"

  "Well, if we're right about her father's death being connected, the fact that she met him only a few weeks ago rules him out, right?"

  "I suppose, but I still don't like him. Something about him makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up."

  "He's from France. Mother is French. Father from Albania. He was arrested for protesting at a global climate conference once, but other than that his record is clean."

  "Did they know each other before they started dating?"

  "He told me they only recently met."

  "Here's a theoretical question. What happens if Clarice were to succeed in becoming Queen? If she tried to change the country dramatically, wouldn't the military protest? The people protest?"

  "I suspect all would be done for the good of the country and before they knew it things would be very different in Montrovia."

  "But I thought that Montrovia is geographically important because of all the oil transported on its waters? I thought that was why our government is worried. Even the Saudis are worried based on what Lorenzo said. I mean, that's the real reason we are here, right? Because our country and our allies don't want the Strait to fall into the wrong hands."

  "Think about it. If Clarice succeeds, there will be no military. Based on her comments about green living and fossil fuels, I'm thinking stopping the flow of oil through her country's waters might be one of the first things she would do."

  Our conversation is interrupted by our breakfast being brought to my room. Ellis follows the server in and hands me the local morning newspaper.

  "I'm on the front page?" I ask in shock.

  "You're on page six, as well. There are numerous photos on the internet of you and Prince Lorenzo together. You're famous, my dear," Ellis states.

  After the server gets our breakfast set up and leaves, I hand Ellis the file Ari gave me and ask him to destroy it. Along with the newspaper.

  If this keeps up, I may have no choice but to become a princess.

  I decide to spend the rest of the morning shopping. Specifically for something spectacular to wear tonight. Yes, the Kates sent some beautiful dresses and basics, but I'm looking for something sinfully short, sexy, and sparkly.

  I find it at the second store I visit. The staff is extremely helpful, possibly due to the fact that I was on the front page this morning.

  But as I move from store to store, I realize that I'm being followed by a man wearing a ball cap. I use a few simple evasion tactics without being obvious, not to lose him, but just to verify that he is, in fact, following me. I try one more technique. One a little more advanced, but the man is not tricked. When I come out of the alley, I stop to look in a store window, which allows me to see that he's still behind me.

  And I know instantly that this man is either an agent or an assassin. So why is he following me? Does he think I'm going to meet the Prince? Or is he interested in me?

  I pop into a store to see if he will follow me and make myself look at a few evening bags. I'm trying to decide if I should buy a pricey clutch for tonight when he enters the store, walks straight up to me, and says, "You should have that."

  The fact that he's this close has me on edge. I back up a little so I have more space to maneuver should he pull out a weapon.

  "You think?" I ask, playing dumb, putting the skinny chain on my shoulder and studying myself in the mirror, while discreetly tapping my heel to expose the blade. "I can't decide if I should get it."

  "I think you should." He takes off his ball cap and holds out his hand. "I'm William Gallagher."

  Holy shit balls!

  It can't be.

  I don't know what this man's real name is--no one does--but I certainly know his code name, Intrepid. He's a British spy. A freaking legend. I should know. I studied his body of work for my senior dissertation. We were given old case studies and classified files to work with. I saw a few grainy photos of him and was smitten. The combination of his expertise and his classic good looks make
him my ultimate spy crush. Meeting him is like a fantasy, and I'm dying to ask him if the accounts I read are true. Like did he really jump out of a van traveling fifty miles per hour and onto the car of a rogue agent--who was going to sell a flash drive with a list of all the undercover British Intelligence agents on it--and then shot him through the roof? And what about the time he supposedly hung from the base of a helicopter while it was flying and managed to board it, take control, and defuse the bomb they were about to drop onto Buckingham Palace? I also want to ask if he really retired. It seemed odd that he did, since he's only in his early forties.

  Did I mention he's extremely handsome? If they were to cast my perfect spy in a movie, it would be this guy. I can picture him buying a dress for a beautiful girl and then taking her to the casino and always having time for sex, even though he's in the middle of a mission. It's probably the reason why he is an expert at recruiting people to help his cause. I know the key to his success is charm combined with deadliness. Compassionate eyes that hide a cold killer. A body made for long hours of sinful sex, and a face that belongs on a statue.

  I'm so enthralled by his presence, I can't do anything other than smile at him. It's not like I can go all fan girl and tell him I admire his work. Particularly, the job he did in Northern Ireland, where he alone killed seventeen men who were working in a farmhouse creating a car bomb that they planned to detonate at the Summer Olympics.

  "Do you have a name?" he finally asks, making me feel like a moron.

  "Oh, yeah. I'm, uh, Huntley. Huntley Bond. I mean, Huntley Von Allister."

  "I saw you with Prince Lorenzo last night at the fashion show. And with the Vice President's son at the Smithsonian gala. You run with a pretty influential crowd."