Chapter 43
Clack. Clack. Clack.
My fingers flew across the keyboard of my laptop (which has a Hello Kitty skin, obviously). I felt like one of those hackers in the movies. You know, the ones who wear sunglasses indoors and say things like, "I'm in."
I narrowed my eyes at the screen.
I typed furiously in Microsoft Word. I even used the "Secret Agent" font (okay, it was Comic Sans, but I made it bold!).
I clicked "Insert Image."
Click.
I dragged a photo of Chad I found on Facebook. He was holding a basketball and winking. Eww.
I resized it so it fit perfectly next to the word VILLAIN which I typed in red letters.
Mwehehehe.
"I am a genius," I whispered to myself. "I am a spy. I am Agent Pink."
I looked around the university library. It was quiet. People were studying for midterms, stressing over biology and calculus. But me? I was conducting an investigation!
I hit Ctrl + P.
"Print, my pretty paper, print!"
I packed up my laptop, shoving it into my bag next to my glitter pens and the emergency snack (a granola bar). I marched to the printer station.
The paper slid out, warm and fresh.
I grabbed it. I held it up to the light like Simba in The Lion King.
"This is it," I declared. "The Dossier. The key to taking down the enemy."
I folded it carefully—not too small, just once—and held it against my chest.
It was Monday. The sun was shining (mostly). The birds were chirping. And I was about to unravel Chad's secrets and put him in jail! Or at least... delete his folder! Which is basically digital jail!
I skipped out of the library.
Hop. Skip. Jump.
I navigated the campus like a ninja in a plaid skirt. I dodged the slow walkers. I maneuvered around the frisbee players.
I reached the university gates.
"Okay, Agent Aleesha," I told myself. "Phase One complete. Phase Two: Infiltration!"
I took a step onto the sidewalk outside the university.
And then...
WHOOSH.
A gust of wind! A sudden, rude, violent gust of wind!
"AAACK!" I yelped.
My grip loosened for just a micro-second.
The paper! The Dossier!
It slipped from my fingers. It caught the air like a kite. It soared! It flew!
"NO! WAAAAHHH!" I screamed, chasing after it. "Come back!"
The paper danced in the air, mocking me. It swirled left. It swirled right.
And then...
SPLAT.
It landed face-up in a shallow, brown, yucky puddle of mud right near the curb.
"Ewww!" I skidded to a stop.
Chad's face was now covered in mud. Huhu. Which, honestly, he deserves, but I needed that paper!
I stomped towards the puddle.
"Stupid wind! Stupid mud!"
I looked down at the paper.
And then I noticed something.
Right next to the puddle... right at the edge of the mud... was a pair of shoes.
Black shoes. Shiny shoes. Leather shoes that probably cost more than my entire tuition.
I blinked.
My gaze traveled up.
Past the pristine shoes. Up the black, tailored slacks that fit perfectly. Up... to a red polo shirt?
Red?
I blinked again.
Since when does Gabriel wear colors? He usually wears black, dark grey, or midnight blue. But this was red! Like... wine red! Maroon! It hugged his chest and his biceps so tightly I thought the buttons might pop off and injure someone.
My gaze went up to his neck... the serpent tattoo peeking out from the collar... the sharp jawline... the sunglasses... the dark, obsidian eyes staring down at me.
"G-Gabby?!" I squeaked.
WAAAAAAHHH!
Why is he here?! Why is he standing on the sidewalk like a model for a Mafia Catalog?!
And why is he looking at the muddy paper?!
Gabriel looked down. He looked at the puddle. He looked at the paper floating in the muck.
He read it. I saw his eyes move! He definitely read it!
Then he looked back at me.
His face was blank. Unreadable. But the air around him got suddenly colder, even though the sun was shining.
"I..." I stammered. I tried to cover the paper with my foot, but that just got my white sneaker muddy. Huhu.
"Hi, Honey!" I chirped, flashing my biggest, cutest, most innocent smile. "What a surprise! Are you... are you picking me up? Did you miss me? Is that a new shirt? You look like a spicy pepper! So hot!"
I laughed nervously. Hehehehe.
Gabriel didn't smile. He didn't say, "Yes, wife, I missed you."
He just stared.
He looked at the paper again. Then at me.
Silence.
Awkward, heavy silence.
I scratched my nose. Scritch scritch. I scratched my forehead. Scritch scritch.
"So!" I clapped my hands. "Funny story! The teacher dismissed us early! Because... um... bees! Yes! There were bees in the classroom! So we had to run! And now I am hungry! Starving! I want pizza! The cheesy kind!"
I grabbed his arm. It was hard as a rock.
"Let's go! Pizza time! Go, go, go!"
I pushed him. I literally tried to push Gabriel Muratori, the human wall, toward his car parked at the curb (the black SUV today, scary!).
He didn't budge at first. He took one last, long look at the muddy face of Chad Herons.
Then, he turned.
He opened the passenger door for me.
I hopped inside. Safety!
Gabriel walked around the hood. He got in. He started the engine. Vroom.
He drove.
Silence again.
Usually, I fill the silence! I talk about squirrels or rainbows or my socks! But today, the silence felt heavy. Like a blanket made of lead.
I peeked at him. He was staring straight ahead, his jaw clenched tight. The red polo made him look extra dangerous. Like a warning sign.
Does he think Chad is my boyfriend?!
Does he think I'm cheating?!
No! Waaaaahhh!
Finally, after five agonizing minutes, Gabriel broke the silence.
"Who is Chad?"
His voice was smooth. Deep. Hot. But also... vibrating with something that sounded a lot like "I will murder someone."
I gulped.
"Chad?" I squeaked. "Chad is... a boy."
"I can see that," Gabriel said dryly. "Why do you have a dossier on him? Why is his face printed on paper? Why is he labeled 'Villain'?"
He glanced at me.
"Is he bothering you?"
"No!" I shouted too quickly.
Think, Aleesha! Think! You can't tell him about Stephie's video! That's Stephie's secret! It's embarrassing!
"He is... um..." I looked out the window. "He is a fictional character!"
Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "Fictional."
"Yes!" I nodded enthusiastically. "From a book! I am writing a book! A novel! About... spies! And Chad is the bad guy! I printed his picture for... inspiration! Visual aid! Yes!"
I smiled widely. Mwehehehe. Nailed it.
Gabriel sighed.
"You are a terrible liar, Aleesha," he said flatly. "Your left eye twitches when you lie. And you are sweating."
Huhu. My treacherous body!
"I am not!" I wiped my forehead. Okay, maybe a little sweat.
"Tell me the truth," Gabriel commanded. He turned a corner smoothly. "If this boy is harassing you... if he is the reason you are researching him... I need to know. So I can handle it."
"Handle it?" I whispered. "Like... logistics?"
"Like removal," he said darkly.
"NO!" I grabbed his arm. "Don't remove him! I mean... okay, fine! Truth time!"
I slumped in my seat. I felt guilty. I hate lying to Gabby. He buys me lollipops and fixes roofs. He deserves the truth.
"It's not about me," I confessed, twiddling my thumbs. "It's about Stephie."
Gabriel's grip on the wheel loosened slightly. "Stephanie?"
"Yes," I sniffled. "Chad is her ex-boyfriend. The one who cheated. But... he's worse than a cheater, Gabby. He's a monster."
I looked at Gabriel, my eyes filling with angry tears.
"He took a video," I whispered. "A private video. Of them... doing the deed. And now he's blackmailing her! He says if she leaves him or tells anyone, he'll leak it to the whole school! He kept it in a secret folder on his phone!"
Gabriel's expression darkened. His eyes narrowed.
"Blackmail," he murmured. "Leverage."
"Yes!" I cried. "So I have a mission! Operation: Delete Chad! I was researching him so I can find out where he lives and... and steal his phone! And delete the folder!"
Gabriel stared at the road. He was quiet for a moment. He seemed to be processing the information.
Then, he sighed again. A long, weary sigh.
"Aleesha," he said. "You cannot simply steal a phone and hit 'delete'."
"Why not?"
"Because," he explained, "data is rarely stored in a single location. If he is smart enough to use leverage, he is likely smart enough to have a backup. The cloud. A hard drive. A laptop. A USB stick hidden in his sock drawer."
My mouth fell open.
"What?!" I gasped. "Backups?! The Cloud?! You mean... deleting it from the phone isn't enough?"
"No," Gabriel shook his head. "If you take the phone, he will simply access the backup and release it out of spite. And then you will be arrested for theft."
"WAAAAAHHH!" I covered my face. I felt tears prickling my eyes. I just wanted to help my friend!
I felt the car slow down.
Gabriel reached over. His large hand covered my knee. His thumb rubbed the fabric of my plaid skirt.
"Stop wailing," he said gently.
"But it's hopeless!" I sniffled.
"It is not hopeless," he said. "It is simply... inefficient for an amateur."
He glanced at me.
"I know someone," he said.
I blinked. "You do?"
"Yes," Gabriel nodded. "I have... an associate. In IT. He specializes in data retrieval and... permanent deletion. Scrubbing."
"Scrubbing?" I asked. "Like cleaning?"
"Digital cleaning," Gabriel corrected. "He can access the phone remotely. He can find every copy of that file—on the cloud, on the laptop, on the server—and destroy it. Irrevocably. It will be as if the file never existed."
My eyes went wide.
"Really?!" I squealed. "Like magic?!"
"Like superior technology," Gabriel said. "He can do it tonight. Without stealing phones. Without you getting arrested."
"Oh my gosh!" I beamed. The sun came out again!
"Gabby! You are the best!" I unbuckled my seatbelt (the car was stopped at a red light, don't worry!) and threw myself across the console to hug him.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, burying my face in the crook of his neck (right near the serpent tattoo). He smelled like expensive cologne.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I kissed his cheek loudly. MWAH!
"You are my hero! You are Stephie's hero! You are the King of Logistics and IT!"
Gabriel stiffened for a second, then his arm came around my waist, holding me steady.
"Sit down, Aleesha," he muttered, though he didn't sound angry. "The light is green."
I plopped back into my seat, grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"I'm so happy!" I kicked my feet. "Operation: Delete Chad is back on! And this time, we have professional help!"
Gabriel drove the car toward the pizza parlor.
"I will handle it," he promised. "Give me his full name and the phone number if you have it."
"I have it all in the muddy dossier!" I laughed. "But I remember it! Chad Herons!"
We pulled up to the pizza place. It smelled like cheese and pepperoni and happiness.
I turned to Gabriel.
"Gabby," I said seriously. "Since you are helping me do my job... and since you are saving the day..."
I puffed out my chest.
"I will pay for the pizza!"
Gabriel looked at me. He looked at my small, pink purse. He knows my allowance comes directly from his bank account.
He smirked. A tiny, rare, devastating smirk.
"Very generous of you," he said.
"I know right?" I winked. "Come on, partner! Let's go get some cheesy goodness!"
I hopped out of the car, grabbing his hand as he stepped out.
I am the luckiest spy in the world. I have a handsome husband, a red polo shirt to look at, and a secret IT guy to destroy my enemies.
Life is good.