Chaper II
CHAPTER II
The moment Lexa stepped off the elevator onto the 8th floor of a luxurious apartment building that is known as the Polis Residences, her second in command, Agent Hosh appeared beside.
“How was your flight commander?” Lincoln asked as they walked down the hall.
Her team had flown to New York from Washington D.C. two days ago to set everything up and meet up with the security detail that they were replacing. Lexa had stayed behind until the last second and flew out to New York the day they were suppose to start their new assignment. “A little bumpy, but it went fine. Is everyone already inside?”
Lincoln nodded and pushed opened a door leading to a spacious loft that occupied the whole floor, directly below the floor that was the penthouse apartment Clarke Griffin is currently residing in. The place has been converted as their command center and headquarters. To the left, a section of the loft has been designed as the ‘work area’ and there are four cubicles place side by side, one for each agent. Each cubicle has a desk, a chair, and a computer. The far right end corner has been enclosed by three glass walls, the floor to ceiling window serving as the fourth one, will served as the office of the Commanding Agent.
As they continued walking, Lexa noticed several video monitors mounted up on the wall next to the cubicles and Agent Monty Green was dutifully typing away on a keyboard at lightning speed while his eyes jumped from monitor to monitor. Slowing down her pace, Lexa looked at the monitors and saw a live-feed of the garage, front entrance, lobby, inside the elevator, the hallway outside Clarke’s apartment, and four more monitors that were scattered around inside the apartment itself. Beside the monitors was a particularly large screen that flashed the whole map of New York City and was giving them data on traffic and police patrol around the area.
Satisfied with their progress so far, Lexa turned her attention to Lincoln. “What’s the agenda for today?”
“Just introductions and briefing with Ms. Griffin at 11. She wished to discuss with you, and you alone, her schedule for the week.”
The commander frown at the information she was just given. “She hasn’t met you yet? You haven’t met her yet?” The dark man shook his head as he started to squirm a little at the intense gaze his commander had aimed on him. “You mean to tell me, that from the time I boarded a plane in D.C. and to the time I walked out of that elevator, not a single soul in this room knows anything about what Ms. Griffin has planned for today?” Lexa’s jaw clenched. “It’s almost 10 in the morning! For all we know she slipped past us and dodged the cameras or used the staircase and exits where we have no surveillance on. For all we know, she’s somewhere across town in the back of a van, being held hostage.”
“Uh, Commander … She’s perfectly safe insider her apartment” They heard Monty say behind them, “As a matter of fact, right now, she’s …” The agent click a few keys and suddenly the nine screens that were showing different views were replaced by a particular enlarged video, filling up the nine screens.
“Cooking?” Lincoln croaked out and he quickly averted his eyes away from the screen.
Monty’s eyes grew as wide as saucers when he saw what he just pulled up and frantically pushed random keys, trying to get rid of the currently video that was showing them Clarke’s kitchen. The blonde woman had her back facing them and was flipping the pancakes she was cooking while dancing along to a song that Lexa guessed the blonde was listening to. It would’ve been a normal thing to see, really; except for the small fact that the said blonde was stark naked like the day she was born, her bare ass was in full display for everyone in the surveillance center to see.
Lexa’s jaw almost hit the floor and her eyes almost popped out of their sockets. She could feel the dryness in her throat and a familiar feeling was starting to swirl in the pits of her stomach and traveling down to her core, causing a light shiver to run down her spine and a particular kind of heat between her legs. In a blink of an eye, the video feed was gone and Lexa shook her head, getting rid of the images that suddenly pushed their way inside her brain. Both Monty and Lincoln shifted uncomfortable, witnessing the flicker of something that was close to lust appear in the eyes of their commander, but disappearing just as fast. Lincoln awkwardly cleared his throat.
“Commander … ?”
Lexa snapped her eyes up. “Right. Does she know about the cameras inside her apartment?”
“No, Commander.” Monty answered.
“I want those four cameras turned off and taken down. I also want cameras in every landing in the two staircases in the building and in every entrance and exit.”
“But the chief of sta—”
“I don’t care what the chief of staff said. I don’t care if the president himself ordered for those cameras to be place inside the apartment. The only thing I care about, and my only concern, is the safety of Ms. Griffin and to make sure that her privacy is not violated.” Lexa said as she walked towards the direction of her office. “God forbid this woman went through enough of that during the past years. If Ms. Griffin was parading around her apartment butt naked, that means that’s the only place she feels like she can be herself. It’s the only place where there are no prying eyes and it’s our job to keep it that way.” The Commanding Agent paused at the opening of her office and turned around, looking at her agent’s faces. “Understood?”
Four heads nodded.
“Good. I want everyone in the conference room in 15 minutes.” As soon as the door to the commander’s office closed shut, the four agents sprang into action and resumed their work.
For over an hour, the whole team has been inside the conference room and Commanding Agent Alexandria Woods listened to whatever concerns the agents in her team had, she answered their questions and asked some of her own, she gave orders and directive, and discussed the best course of action in a certain situation should it happen.
“So let me summarize everything you’ve all told me,” Lexa stood up from her chair and walked towards the table where there was a pot of coffee at the ready. She poured herself a cup as she continued speaking, “Ms. Griffin hates our presence. She hates our intrusion and constant prodding and shadowing her every move. She resents us and for her, our job is to prevent her from having fun and going out. She sees us as an overprotective parent, and treats us as such; to the point where she pulls all these stunts to throw us off balance in the hopes that we’ll lose sight of her and she can escape our watch. And I, for one, don’t blame her.” She turned around and gave a small shrug of her shoulders as she saw the expressions written on the agent’s faces. “I know I would be.” She took a sip of her coffee and took her seat again. The side of her mouth curling up in a small smile as she felt the familiar pump of adrenaline coursing through her veins caused by doing something that she loves.
“Ms. Griffin has decided to turn this into a game; a game that she had years and years of practice with. She’s a pro and we’re the newbies that are still learning how to paddle. We can’t expect her to make this easy for us; we can’t expect her to cooperate with us when she clearly despises us. We can’t call foul when she doesn’t play by the rules; remember that this is her game that we were asked to participate in.” Lexa grinned as her voice grew in confidence, “She may be the game maker and she may create all the rules, but I’m the one in charge here and I plan on beating her at her own game.”
“How are we going to do that, Commander?” Agent Lawrence asked.
“We’re going to blend in.”
“Blend in?”
Lexa nodded and leaned back, “If she can’t see us, it’ll be harder for her to lose us. Tell me, Agent Lawrence, why do you think Ms. Griffin easily disappears from the sight of her security detail?”
When Lexa has been informed that their subject liked to play hide ‘n seek, she knew following the standard protective surveillance protocols and methods wouldn’t work on Clarke Griffin. The woman was smart, observant, and meticulous on putting her schemes into action. If Clarke Griffin doesn’t play by the rules, then Lexa wouldn’t either.
“We, and by “we” I meant us and all the other agents out there assigned to protect a certain subject, stand out like a sore thumb; tailored suits, rigid posture, scanning the perimeter every 5 seconds, while the people around us are dressed up in jeans and t-shirts and their eyes are glued on their cell phones.”
The agents around her leaned forward clearly intrigued on what their commander is saying.
“I assume Marcus Kane told you that I was an agent in the Secret Service Investigative Division?” The four agents nodded. “We do undercover jobs to try and exploit money laundering business here in U.S. soil. We try to blend in and look like the people we’re investigation to avoid suspicions.”
“You’re suggesting we go … undercover?” Agent Miller asked.
Lexa nodded, “If you want to put it that way, yes. I’d like for all of you to blend in, act like a regular civilian casually walking down a street. That means looking like a civilian.” She saw shoulders stiffen and eyebrows furrowed together as they realized what their commanding agent is telling them. Lexa fought the urge to roll her eyes at their reactions. She knew these agents were trained to protect, she knew they were comfortable wearing these suits to work and took pride in the way they look in their “uniform”, as they called it. But it was also the primary reason why Clarke Griffin can easily disappear even though the woman is only 10 feet in front of them. “If we’re going to follow her around town, then we have to fit in where she goes. Never forget that she’s an uncooperative subject, so it’s up to us to adjust.” She finished her coffee and stood up, gathering the papers in front of her and neatly placing them inside a folder. “Starting tomorrow, I don’t want to see any suits, or ties, or skirt, or any formal clothing when you walk through those doors. We only wear the suits when Wanheda has to appear in a public function or during public events.” Lexa continued as she started to make her way towards the door of the conference room, “Oh, I almost forgot.” She turned around and looked at Agent Hosh, “Agent Hosh, have Agent Green help you with this one. Do a little search. I want a list of every club, bar, and restaurant Ms. Griffin frequently goes to. I want to know everything about those places; types of clients, business hours, the fastest route to get there, etc. Also, I want a list of names of her closest friends and the people she interact with regularly. I expect it on my desk before the day ends. Get to know your subject better and you just scored yourself the first point.”
At exactly 11 o’clock, Lexa stepped out of the elevator on the floor above their headquarters. The hallway was similar except for the large double doors that were made out of oak. The agent rang the door bell outside Clarke Griffin’s penthouse apartment and waited.
Two minutes and three door bells later, the door was ripped open by a blonde that was clad in only a red silk robe that was loosely tied and barely reached her knees. The top of the robe was open enough for Lexa to see a good amount of the blonde’s cleavage and she knew the woman was naked underneath; if her bare legs and straining hard nipples are anything to go by. The wind around them carried a faint hint of lavender and jasmine and the agent couldn’t help but gulped a lungful of the smell. Jesus, does she really have to smell this good? Lexa carefully kept her gaze at eye level and her tone neutral as she addressed the almost naked woman standing in front of her.
“Ms. Griffin, I’m Commander Woods. I’m the new Commanding Agent assigned to lead your new security detail. I can come back later when you’re ready. Just give us a call down at hea—”
Clarke waved a hand to stop the agent and interrupted her, “I don’t have time later.” She openly stared at the Agent in front of her. She’s not going to lie; this one intrigued her and it baffled her because there was nothing extraordinary about her. Other than the fact that she’s extremely hot. She wore the same suit like every other agent, but this one looked like the suit was tailored specifically for her. The jacket was opened and showed a crisp white linen shirt that fitted her like a glove. Clarke unconsciously licked her lips at thought of what’s underneath it. The shirt was tucked inside a belted pair of black trousers that hugged the agent’s legs perfectly. She never liked women in suits, well, that is, until now. The commander was insanely attractive and Clarke was intrigued about her. She wasn’t sure if either the commander was a straight woman who just knows how to rock a suit, or that she’s exactly what she appeared to be – a power lesbian who knows how utterly good she looks in a suit and knows how to rock it. Clarke made a silent vow in that moment to make it her goal to find out which.
“It’s either now or next week. Your choice, Commander.” Clarke said, enjoying her power over the situation.
“Now would be fine.” Lexa answered smoothly, refusing to show the effect of hearing her title roll off the blonde’s lips.
Clarke smiled and stepped aside, gesturing Lexa to come inside. Her smile only grew wider when Lexa slowly, but carefully, avoided brushing against her as she walked inside.
All business, I see. Clarke smirked as she thought to herself.
The blonde crossed the living room to reach the kitchen area, Lexa followed behind. A kitchen island with tall stools separated the kitchen from the spacious living room. Leaning down, Clarke pulled out two cups from a shelf under the island. She was fully aware that the movement caused the robe to fall off a bit, offering a clear view of her breasts. “Do you have a first name, Commander Woods?” She asked as she poured coffee in the cups.
The agent kept her face expressionless as she saw Clarke leaned down and the robe shifted. Despite her best efforts, her eyes snapped a picture of the view in front of her and the image of the blonde’s body and erect pink nipples was permanently tattooed in her memory. “Alexandria.” Lexa managed to say without choking. The blonde was teasing her; that much was clear from the advances she was making. And Lexa thinks whatever the reason why the blonde was doing it, she was being successful in it. But the agent wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of letting her know just how much this was affecting her.
“Hmm, Alexandria.” Clarke said in a husky voice. There was something in the way Clarke said her name that cause a slight flutter in her stomach. “That’s a nice name. You can call me, Clarke.”
Ignoring the blonde’s comment, Lexa stuffed her hands inside the pockets of her trousers and faced the blonde. “Ms. Griffin, if we could now discuss and review your plans for this week, I can leave you to your own devices for the day.”
Clarke snorted and shook her head, “We both know you’re not leaving me alone anytime soon.” Anger flashed across blue eyes and a scowl present on the artist’s face.
“I didn’t mean to offend you. Forgive me, Ms. Griffin. I know I can’t exactly leave you alone but I can promise to make my presence, and that of my team, will be as unobtrusive and less intrusive as possible.”
Usually, Clarke would responded with a snarky remark and yell at the agent to get the hell out and the agent would try and bully her with empty threats of reporting her to her father or at times they’d promise her privacy while tightening the leash around her neck. She had absolutely no reason to believe this woman; she heard that promise over and over for the past 15 years of her life. But somehow, this felt different. Clarke heard the sincerity in Lexa’s voice and when she looked up and stared at the green eyes that were staring back at her, she almost gasped at the intensity of the gaze. The agent’s eyes were soft, and open, and Clarke felt that if she could just reach in deeper, get to know this intriguing woman better, she would be able to decipher the whirlwind of emotions that were present in those green eyes. Clarke huffed in annoyance when she caught herself thinking about getting to know this woman. She can’t, she wouldn’t. Commanding Agent Alexandria Woods is nothing more but her private bodyguard. But hey, a little fun wouldn’t hurt anyone, would it?
Clarke picked up the cups and walked around the island until she was standing right next to the agent. She purposely reached forward and placed the cups on the counter, brushing her body against Lexa’s.
Lexa didn’t flinch at the contact; she kept her breathing in regular patterns, light and steady, as she felt the slight press of Clarke’s breasts against her side. She mentally kicked herself for the spark of arousal she felt at the contact. Her eyes flickered up towards a corner of the ceiling where she guessed a small hidden camera was placed. I fucking knew Clarke was aware of the cameras. She’s doing this on purpose for my team to see. Clarke smiled sweetly and leaned against the counter, not bothering to hide the fact that she was practically undressing the agent with her eyes. Lexa wasn’t stupid, she can see that Clarke Griffin is a very attractive woman, and if it weren’t for her job or her past, she would probably let her interest be known.
How could you even think about looking at another woman that way, Lexa? Was Costia that easy to forget? Was her love not enough? She heard a small nagging voice inside her head and she pushed it down and tried her best to ignore it.
Just then, she felt Clarke press even closer and she felt the heat radiating from the woman’s body. She allowed the contact to linger for a moment and long enough for Clarke to know that she was aware and clearly unaffected by it. Since Costia’s death, she hadn’t been able to look at another woman for months, she couldn’t. She felt she was cheating on the memory of her ex-fiancée. But then Anya had dragged her to go out and Lexa had gotten quite good at ignoring and turning down women who showed interest in her. She just couldn’t be with anyone else, not after she lost half of her heart, at least not yet; maybe someday when the wounds have healed.
Clearing her throat, she slowly stepped away and reached inside her jacket, pulling out a tablet. “The schedule, Ms. Griffin?”
Clarke gaped at her, not quite believing that she has just been rejected, albeit subtly, but the commander had clearly turned down her advances. Rejection from women—and men—is a foreign concept to her. She had never been rejected by someone she’s pursuing, as a matter of fact, it doesn’t take much work until the woman or man she had her eyes on for the night was practically begging her to fuck them. But this woman, this alluring, mysterious, compelling, and intriguing woman, just gave Clarke Griffin her first taste of rejection.
“Right. Let’s get this over with so you can disappear from my sight.” the blonde responded, irritation was evident in her voice and she was clenching her jaw trying to keep her anger from spilling over. She grabbed her cup of coffee and moved to the living room.
Lexa trailed behind, noticing a large work space in the far corner of the loft directly facing the large floor to ceiling windows. Easels in different heights and forms were aligned by the wall; some with blank canvases on them, some with half-finished paintings, and some finished. Other works were neatly placed at one side, and on a bench, Lexa caught a glimpse of different drawings and sketches. From the quick glance, she can see why Clarke Griffin and her art are quickly becoming known in the industry. They were that good. Lexa took a seat across from Clarke, as the blonde gracefully settled down as well. She had her legs tucked underneath her and was leaning back; she almost looked peaceful like this, when the blonde wasn’t so guarded and wasn’t using her sexual prowess to lure in her prey. Clarke looked beautiful in unconscious moments like this, and with the sunlight pouring in from the large windows; her blonde hair seemed to glow like a golden halo around her. Before she gets caught, Lexa focused on the matter at hand and tucked away the majestic image of the blonde at the back of her mind.
“Tomorrow evening you have a gallery opening to attendthen by Tuesday, it’s the opening of the new children’s ward at Ark General Hospital in D.C. and you’re the guest of honor.” Lexa read from her tablet and looked up at Clarke for confirmation.
“That seems to be it.”
Lexa nodded. “And what about your personal plans?” She asked, keeping her eyes on Clarke’s face. She saw the blonde clenched her jaw again and her fists curled, she knew Clarke hated this, but she wouldn’t apologize for doing her job. Lexa was going to make sure that Clarke’s safety will not be in jeopardy simply because of her dislike for the whole situation.
“I don’t have anything planned.” Clarke said through gritted teeth.
Closing the tablet and stuffing it back inside her jacket, the commander smiled faintly at the blonde. “No dinner plans with someone? A drink with a friend? A night out? I need to know if you have planned anything so my team and I can be ready. If nothing has come up yet, you can give us a call down at the center and we’ll—”
“I get it, Commander Woods. I know how this works.” There was a bite in the blonde’s tone.
“Yes, you do. But you’re not fond of the routine.”
“Would you?”
“That’s not the point, Ms. Griffin” Lexa said as she stood up from her seat, buttoning up her jacket, “Please let us just do what we’re here to do; to protect you. I promise we’ll be as discreet as possible.
Clarke narrowed her eyes at the agent, “Do you also expect me to inform you when I plan on getting fucked or when I plan to fuck someone?” she asked bluntly.
The agent merely shrugged. “No. That’s none of my business. All I ask is that you inform me when you plan on going out and if you’re going to spend the night elsewhere other than here, for example. What happens during the night is none of my concern as long as you’re not in danger.”
“And what if I don’t know where I’ll be spending the night?”
Lexa knew that Clarke was trying to push her buttons and waiting if she’s going to back off.
“I’ll improvise.” Lexa answered smoothly and confidently.
Clarke raised an eyebrow at her answer. “Well, you’re a lot more direct and blunt than the ones before you. Aren’t you a tad bit concern I’ll complain about this new approach of yours and they’ll have you reassign to some arrogant foreign diplomat touring around Washington D.C.?” She studied Lexa with guarded respect. The new commander was starting to really pick at her curiosity. The woman was impossible to shock, not easily intimidated, and apparently immune to her sexual advances. It’s a refreshing change from those egotistical men before her, but proved to be much more of a challenge for the blonde.
Lexa laughed softly, “I would but it’s a good thing I don’t work for the government anymore for them to stick me up with a babysitting assignment.
“Isn’t this also a babysitting assignment, Commander?” Clarke challenged.
Lexa started to walk towards the door, refusing to be provoked further. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Ms. Griffin. Please don’t hesitate to call me anytime if there is something you’d wish to discuss with me. Please let the command center know if you’ve decide to go out.”
“Oh, yes, of course. Absolutely.” Clarke winked at the agent and smiled; her tone suggestion that she would exactly do the opposite of what Lexa had asked her. She remained seated at the couch as Lexa left the room. She stared at the doors long after the agent was gone, thinking about what would it be like to see the commander's body underneath that suit.