Nicole

After Jaden brought us to his dorm after the event of the explosion, I've been on the phone confused, alarmed, and pissed as to what in the hell was going on.

I paced the room, trying to call Simon back again. I needed to know if this was something we needed to handle as another mission or if it was just some feeble-minded son of a bitch who I would have to find and scrape the skin off of for this juvenile prank.

Which I am damn near close to doing right now!

Dani and Jaden watched as I paced back and forth, still waiting for an answer.

"If you're receiving this message, I am not available at the moment. Please leave your-"

"Bullshit!" I angrily hurled my phone at the wall, fed up with hearing​ that voicemail for the one-hundredth time.

Jaden looked at me with wide eyes and Dani only smiled.

"He still isn't answering?" Dani asked as Jaden began to walk to the other end of the room.

"The fuck does it look like?" I snapped. "There's a dick out there who just totaled my car and Simon doesn't even care to pick up the damn phone! On top of that, he puts the whole HQ on lockdown! How the fu-"

Jaden gently placed his hand over my mouth, appearing from behind, "Shh... Just take a deep breath, Nicki." he said handing me my phone back. It had a few cracks but it still worked because the case saved it.

I did as he said and took a deep breath through my nose and laid my head back against the front of his shoulder. That helped me calm down a bit but right this moment, nothing, not even he could vanish the fact that I wanted to hunt and kill the dumbass who wrecked my car.

"How about I just walk you down to his office?" he whispered, removing his hand from over my mouth and resting it on my shoulder.

I glared, "We're on lockdown. We can't go anywhere."

He hunched his shoulders, "We can sneak. I'm sure he isn't taking any calls because of the lockdown but this is vital. We need to see him and the guy needs to understand that."

I smirked at the idea. I liked where this was going.

"You in? You look like you're in." he winked.

I nodded then turned to Dani, "Come on, D. We're going to his office, we need answers."

"On it." She went ahead and began to make her way to the door with Jaden and I following behind.

We quietly headed out of the dorm and tried our best to hide behind the shadows casted from the buildings. It was a little bit of a difficult task because it was still daylight outside and there was a guard in almost every corner but the place is huge with plenty of good hiding places, no one will be able to notice us easily.

A little while later, we snuck in through the back of the building where Simon's office was in and made our way down the lobby, to get there. I quickly put my number in at his door and waited for about 30 seconds before I was denied access.

I tried again.

Denied.

Is he even in there?

I put in the emergency code this time and the door finally opened. We quickly rushed inside and I closed the door with a relieved sigh.

Hopefully, he has an idea as to what is going on.

"Hey, uh... The boss isn't here." Dani said, leaning against the wall.

What?

I scanned the room over and over with an unsettling feeling in my gut. I know damn well that if Simon went out, he would let me know beforehand, "Why isn't he here?" I asked with concern.

Jaden looked at me with worry, "I'm going to try calling him again." he said, going behind his desk and dialing the number on the office phone.

He would never leave just like that... Not without telling me... Not during a lockdown!

A sick feeling grew in the pit of my stomach, raising my body temperature with sheer fear, confusion, anger, and a deranged mixture of scenarios of what could've possibly happened to him during a time like this.

What if the same person who attacked me went after Simon?

What if they plan on killing him?

I clenched my fists, feeling my blood boil with fury.

That wouldn't happen... There has to be another reason for all of this.

I took a deep breath and released it slowly to contain myself before I turned to look at Jaden to see if he's made any progress.

His eyes met mine and he slightly shook his head as he placed the phone back in place, "No answer." He said.

He's really gone...

I moved my eyes away, chills brushing the hairs on the back of my neck. This wasn't like him, something was horribly wrong and I knew that without a doubt. I could feel it piercing me in the gut.

Quickly, I headed over to his desk and made my way next to Jaden to begin shuffling through Simon's things. There had to be something that would hint us about his whereabouts. Anything!

"Try getting into the cameras," I ordered Jaden as I opened the drawer to Simon's desk and began removing useless things from it onto the ground.

"I'll try," Jaden responded as he took a seat on Simon's leather office chair then began clicking away at the computer.

"I could track down his call logs too," Dani added. "We can get a good idea of how long ago he left."

"That'd be perfect," I told her as I skimmed over some of the documents I found. "Whatever it takes to find him..." I uttered to myself as I continued to rummage through his desk, feeling slight trembles in my hands.

Anxiousness never left the pit of my gut but I did my best to stay calm, I had to. I had to if I didn't want to give up hope immediately. But why would Simon leave without informing anyone? It made no sense because he would never do something like that and it scared me. Especially with the events that took place earlier, why would he disappear at a time like this?

"Found anything?" I asked Jaden as I kept my eyes focused on the desk as I emptied it out.

"Not yet." He told me, his eyes glued to the computer screen.

I stressfully rubbed a hand over my face then headed to the other end of the office where the filing cabinets were. Simon is one to hold on to receipts and most of his mail. If I find the most recently dated piece of document, that could help us narrow down the time frame in which he left.

I got down on my knees and opened the bottom drawer to begin my search.

There has to be something useful.

"Why are you guys in here?"

We all turned our heads to the door, seeing Rebecca standing at the doorway.

"You know we're not allowed in the lobby during a lockdown. Especially, not in the boss's office." she narrowed her eyes at us as she walked in.

"Then why are you here?" Dani asked.

Rebecca picked up one of the picture frames up off of the floor and set it on the desk, "Most likely the same reason you all are here."

"You're trying to find Simon too?" I asked her.

Her smile faded, "Uh... No... Nevermind, not the same reason." she giggled. "Moving on, if you're looking for Simon he's not going to be in here. Didn't he tell you? He's taking a trip."

I gazed at her with concern, "And he told you this?"

She shook her head with a snicker, "No. I saw him leaving and his secretary just told me what to do. That was a dinger that Simon wasn't going to be back in a few days."

"How long ago did he leave?" I asked, watching her as she headed over to Simon's desk.

She leaned over the desk and turned her attention away to watch Jaden work on the computer with a small shrug, "About an hour or so."

"An hour, huh?" Jaden repeated to himself in a low tone.

"Yes, sir..." Rebecca went around the desk and put her hands on the back of Jaden's chair.

I watched as he quickly typed on the computer with his eyes focused on the screen. He then looked up at Rebecca after a moment and asked, "He just left alone?"

She smiled at him and massaged his shoulders, "I don't remember. I don't think so... Why are you stressing over it? He'll be back." she then leaned down to whisper something to him but I didn't catch it.

A small sneer twitched on my lips and I began to stand to my feet now, trying to inch closer so I could eavesdrop but she bounced back up and laughed, leaving Jaden with this little smirk on his face. He chuckled and turned to look back at her, "So you really were listening when I said that."

I cocked my head to the side a bit.

Said what?

Was he still hanging out with her?

After I warned him of the consequences?

"Of course. I was tired, but not enough to zone you out." She told him. "And lucky for you, I'm not busy this Friday."

I raised an eyebrow with a small nod to myself. It was clear that he really has been ignoring my advice. Enough for them to have already developed some type of connection.

I didn't like what I was seeing but I didn't interfere either. Jaden should be able to reject her easily. Especially since I'm standing right here! If he really meant everything he's told me back when we were talking at the pool, it should be easy for him to do that.

Rebecca narrowed her eyes at the computer screen then wrapped her arms around Jaden from behind his chair, "Are you hacking the cameras? You'd get in trouble."

Jaden stopped clicking and looked at her hands then his eyes moved up to meet hers, "I'm not hacking, just... Investigating."

I crossed my arms, watching. My palms itching to yank her off of him by the hair since Jaden was clearly not going to do anything about this...

I know Jaden is a nice guy but he needs to grow some balls to tell people when to back off. He's too damn friendly.

I looked away to keep myself from getting angry and moved to continue shuffling through the things that were in the filing cabinet.

I could care less about Jaden and that fire-headed hoe right now. I'm not going to let myself get upset over a guy like I was some needy teenager. My number one priority was finding Simon at the moment...

Huh?

With the corner of my eye, I noticed a small torn piece of notebook paper sticking to the clip of one of Simon's pens sitting on the ground, in the pile of things I emptied from his desk. My heart skipped a beat as I snapped my head to look over at it, catching a glimpse of his name signed at the bottom.

Simon!

I quickly crawled over to it and tightly held it in both of my hands as if it would run away if I didn't. Just as I was about to read it, the sound of Rebecca's giggling caught my attention.

Why is Jaden just letting her touch him like that?

As I slightly turned my head to watch them over my shoulder, I could hear Rebecca making plans to meet up with Jaden afterward. I couldn't tell what Jaden's expression was from here. All I know is that she'd better run in three seconds if she keeps this up.

Jaden stopped typing and, with a sigh, dropped his head for a moment. He then gently pushed her hands off, turning his chair around to find me, "Hey babe, come over here for a sec." he said, gesturing me over and getting out of his chair.

I smiled with just my eyes but kept my face solemn as I approached him. That was a start for him. He met me halfway and gently grabbed my hand, beginning to whisper to me, "Nicki, you know I-"

"Stop." I said raising my hand, "I see what's going​ on and it's not... Completely your fault."

He smiled and led me to the desk, pulling out the chair for me and standing close behind it. Rebecca's face was in shock from the way Jaden swerved around her which made me a little glad inside. Maybe she'll stay back. She stared at us speechlessly with her mouth gaped slightly open but we both ignored her and went back to work.

"Look at this," Jaden said, rewinding the footage. "He didn't leave with any of his guards and he took his normal car instead of the limo."

I watched as Simon walked to the jeep, looked back at headquarters then quickly hopped inside, speeding off into the streets.

"Did he not want anyone knowing he was leaving?" I asked.

He shrugged, "That's what it looks like..."

I looked down at the paper I found earlier and unfolded it, revealing a written letter inside. It was definitely Simon's handwriting.

It's like he's right at my fingertips.

I ran my thumbs over the writing then glanced at Jaden for a moment as he watched the security footage. I almost asked if he'd read it to me but I didn't want Dani or Rebecca knowing about my difficulties with the skill.

You can do this, remember what Jaden taught you...

I gazed over the words written, realizing that the majority of them were common words I was already familiar with.

Just sound out all the hard ones.

I began to read it slowly in my head, faintly hearing the echo of Simon's voice as I did.

Hey, Soldier. I knew you'd break into my office and find this in my desk trying to look for me but please, don't. Don't go looking for me, instead, get out of headquarters and head straight home. I don't mean to worry you but, I have to go handle a little business. I'll be back before you know it and I'll even take you to that old fish place we used to go to. But please, for now, just stay out of plain sight, stay home for me and don't worry about a thing.
-Simon

My heart dropped into my stomach and my head strained as tears began to form in my eyes.

Simon was in trouble... The only person who means the world to me was in grave danger and I couldn't even help him.

The tear fell down my cheek unwillingly and dropped onto the paper as I shook my head in disbelief.

He knew something was wrong... He knew I would want to get involved but he wasn't going to let me help him. He wasn't going to let anyone help. That's why he left on his own. That's why he didn't leave any information about what the hell was going on. Does he know more about the attack than we thought? Does he know who's responsible?

What made him think going alone was a good idea?

Jaden frowned when he noticed my expression. His eyes moved to the note in my hand before he asked, "Is that from Simon? What does it say?"

I handed it to him and walked away from the desk to keep the others from seeing my tears. I made my way out of the office and put my back against the wall, near the door, sliding down to the floor as I let out a deep breath.

I was not going to go home and just wait for a 50/50 chance of Simon returning back to me. I had to do something. I need to do something.

The question is how? How would I be able to help him when he left without leaving any information? Why did he feel the need to handle whatever this was on his own?

What are you hiding from me, Simon...?

The door opened and Dani appeared from behind it, kneeling down to my level, "You okay?" she asked quietly.

I shook my head, "He's in trouble. I want to find him but where the hell do I start?"

She sat crisscrossed and pursed her lips, "Well... There's still some hope."

"Like what." I snapped.

She scratched the short half of her hair, "We can always ask William, his Secretary. He was the last person to see him, according to the tapes. Maybe he knows a thing or two about where he ran off to."

"Or we can go to Egypt and ask Fire Catcher."

We looked up and saw Rebecca leaning against the door, flipping her hair proudly.

I eyed her as I began to stand up, "What does Fire Catcher have to do with any of this...?"

She laughed, "I don't get a thank you?"

I crossed my arms at her and glared, "Speak, Red."

She giggled again, "Fire Catcher called him, saying some things... You know, blah blah explosion, blah blah come see me, blah blah Egypt."

"How do you know this?" Dani raised an eyebrow.

I had the same suspicious look on my face as I listened.

Rebecca twirled a lock of her hair, "I'm a spy. Hacking is my specialty..." she walked over to me and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear and whispered, "You can thank me later by staying away from my boyfriend."

She smiled and whipped around, "So. Who wants to go listen to that phone call?"

Dani smiled, "That... Is really smart of you."

I glared at Rebecca after what she had told me but I contained my anger in me, "Yeah. Impressive..."

Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse.

She went ahead and strutted into the office, making her way next to Jaden's side.

He listened to the call with his hand on his chin and his eyes narrowed, deep in thought. As we were walking in, he looked up and nodded us over. The look on his face made me get small chills as I stood next to the phone with Dani on my side.

He played the call back and we all fell silent to listen.

"Hello...?" Fire Catcher's voice answered with satisfaction in her tone.

"What do you want with me and my team, Fire?" I gasped slightly at the sound of Simon's voice. I missed him.

She giggled, "Oh, Simon... Lovely hearing from you again. How's the USSCI?"

"I don't have time for this... Why did you attack our HQ in China? Along with one of our agents!"

She laughed a little louder, "Your pesky, so-called daughter of yours? How come you've kept this from me? We would've been happy together, Simon. I guess I have to play it dirty, huh? Just like how you played me dirty."

My eyes widened. She's the one who detonated my car! I kept quiet and kept listening.

Simon groaned, "Just stay away from her. Whatever you want, I'll provide just stay away from her and my headquarters."

"But I don't need you to provide for me... I need something else," she said, suspiciously.

"If it's money you want, I can-"

She laughed at him, "I don't want your money! I want you to come see me... Now!" her tone shifted to a harsh demand then she hung the phone up before he could say anything else to her.

We all stared at the phone in silence. My heart began to gradually pick up its pace as anger started to build up inside my veins.

I know Simon wouldn't be that stupid to actually go and see this psycho.

Rebecca's voice broke the silence, "Wait. Simon has a daughter? That... Works here?"

Jaden bit his lip nervously and turned back to the phone. I noticed that Dani was eyeing me and studying my face but I refused to look directly at her. I could feel the suspicion that she smelled on me and I wasn't planning on feeding that.

"There's another one," Jaden said, playing the call. "This was about an hour after the first call. Rebecca found a way to trace this to his cell phone."

This time, Fire Catcher called Simon.

"What." Simon's voice was tired and angry, almost to a grumble. I barely recognized him by how pissed he was.

"Darling... How long will you be? I'm lonely."

I winced at the horny sound of her voice.

Simon sighed deeply, groaning, "I am on the jet, Ms. Sylvia... I won't be getting to Egypt in at least two days." he said slowly to dumb it down for her.

She giggled softly, "Darling. Don't call me 'Ms. Sylvia'. Call me something sweet."

His end was silent.

"Simon!" she snapped, making us wince. Who does she think she is talking to him like this?

"Yes... Dear...?" he said shamefully.

What I didn't understand was why Fire Catcher is flirting with Simon when she's married to Freak Show and why Simon was submitting to her as if he were helpless. This whole thing just filled my head with questions.

"Oh Simon..." her voice full of lust. "You're such a sweetheart. You are worth the wait but I need you to hurry for me, okay?"

His voice was so quiet that it was almost inaudible, "I'm coming, honey."

The call ended and Jaden shook his head, "Wow... If I could describe the level of cringe that was on." He hissed, "Yikes..."

"Tell me about it." Dani raked the curly side of her hair with her fingers.

"Oh my gosh, ew. What if Fire Catcher just wants Simon for sex?" Rebecca cringed.

I glared, "I think not! She has a husband."

"I don't know, Nicki... She could have a point." Jaden scratched his head with concern. "I mean, think about it... She talks to him as if they have some type of history together. She knows something which is why he didn't argue with her."

I had that suspicion too but I just didn't want to believe it. Now that I'm hearing it out loud, I had no choice but to accept it.

"You're right..." I mumbled as I headed behind the desk.

I grabbed the intercom mic and turned to the others, "We're not going to sit here and let this happen... I have a plan and you guys have to help me."

"What plan...?" Rebecca narrowed her eyes. "Because I'm not getting arrested because of you."

Dani walked around and put her hand on my shoulder with a grin, "I don't care what happens. I'm willing to help Nicole with this one... A team should fight together and win together. I don't mind getting arrested as long as we succeed. Who's in?" she stretched her arm out in front of her.

"You already know my answer." Jaden put his hand on top of Dani's.

Rebecca shook her head, "You people are crazy... But you know what?" she rolled her eyes then put her hand in, "This'll be the start of our healing friendship."

They looked at me, waiting.

I smiled and slapped my hand on top, "Let's do this." I turned the mic on and heard the beep sound from the intercom and echo throughout headquarters.

I tapped the mic then announced, "Attention all agents, spies, nurses, and coaches of the United Secret Services for Criminal Investigation, please report to the gym for an important announcement, I repeat, report to the gym for an important announcement. We need everyone to cooperate for this concerns our next and most urgent assignment so head out ASAP."

I turned the mic off and dropped my hands to my side with a smile, "Well. Let's go."

They all nodded and we quickly rushed out of the office and made our way to the gym.