Simon

In my private jet, I sat at the section in the very back and listened quietly to the gentle roar of the plane soaring through the sky. I watched as we began to fly closer to the clouds in the sky and farther away from the ground below. My hometown slowly shrinking smaller with each tick of the clock, feeling further from my fingertips as time went by.

Nobody was on board but me and my pilot, leaving my surroundings tranquil and extremely lonely. I'm usually used to having at least one guard travel around with me, and when it wasn't a guard, it was Nicole.

I feel terrible for leaving her like that but I know she'll understand after reading my note. Even if she didn't find the one in my office, she should be able to come across the note I left in the limo. I hope she's taking good care of herself back home, keeping up with training, attending those therapy sessions, staying out of sight as I told her... I know she will.

I sighed.

I couldn't risk any more of my agents, dealing with something only I can fix. Sylvia is a madwoman who has very bad intentions. I have to find the right words to say without accidentally slipping up something that'll make her want to kill me.

All of this could've been prevented if I hadn't sent anyone to the circus mission but I had to do it. It was a hard decision, but it was the right thing to do. Besides, I couldn't risk the hesitation because I didn't know for a fact that it truly was Sylvia behind these crimes at the time... Based on the evidence collected by investigators, I knew she was on the hunt for her "new child" to replace her lost kid which is why I designed the mission after I found out she was the suspect. As soon as I realized it was, in fact, the Sylvia I was familiar with, I had to make a quick decision. It was either risk hundreds of young, innocent lives or risk the peace in mine... And I chose to risk my peace. I couldn't cancel the mission at last minute because that would've been very selfish but the more I figure out the logic in her plan, the more I've realized how much of a mistake that actually was.

See, I've arrested Sylvia in the past and I realized that now that I've seen her face moments before the mission. It took a ton of digging around to find the files she's erased from her records but as soon as I laid eyes on her photo, I just knew it was her.

I knew her... A lot... And I mean, on a very personal level. I met her at one of her shows way before my business became successful and we became closely attached to each other shortly after. She wasn't always crazy, in fact, I have never seen her act with such sick intentions.

The Sylvia I knew was the Sylvia I almost fell in love with but that all changed when I caught her with another man who fathered her child whom I never knew about and later, she mysteriously left with my money and almost all of what I had in the small house I lived in at the time.

I ended up finding and having her arrested for theft and that was when I found out that it was her first act of recorded criminal activity. Over the years, though, I found out that she was a bigger criminal than I could have ever imagined her to be but the recorded proof of that has been "mysteriously" lost in the cloud. The truth was that she manipulated the system to make herself seem a lot more innocent than she actually is.

I remember talking to her from her jail cell... She cried, telling me that she loved me, that she did all of that nonsense just to get my attention from all the work I had been busy with. I knew I could never love her after what she did to me and what I found out about her.

She was later bonded out by a family member and was never seen again... Not until I met Nicole. After Nicole became a big part of my life, Sylvia was slowly making her way back into it. She was obsessed with little Nicole without even meeting her. She didn't have to, apparently.

Sylvia has been begging me to take her back since then, even when she was with her husband and had a child of her own, but she didn't cause any real problems at the time. I basically deleted her from my life years ago, blocking her numbers, emails, anything that can be a way of her getting in contact with me.

As Nicole grew up, I forgot all about Sylvia and all my attention was only on my job and my daughter. Well, it was until I noticed suspicious activity involving Sylvia and her husband.

She was jealous of Nicole. She wanted a child just like her after hers went missing and disappeared. It was only recently that I found out that she used her shows as a way to easily kidnap children and do who knows what else with them in an attempt to find her child.

When I sent Nicole and the others on that mission... That's when she recognized my daughter's voice and the company she worked for... As of right now, I still can't put a finger on why she's suddenly become so obsessed with us, the only explanation I could come up with is that she was probably interested in all the wealth I've gained without including her in the picture. I guess me having a daughter with no mother figure around made it seem as if she could easily fill that position in our family in order for her to get closer to us.

I sighed to myself as I rested my head back to relax a bit.

I can't change anything that has already happened but I could get rid of the problem.

Nicole could never know about this story... Not until I fully handle the situation and when I feel that it's the right time to tell her.

* * * * *

Nicole

The night sky looked breathtaking tonight. A gorgeous ombre of black to blue and a hint of purple in the distance painted the large canvas that stretched out over our heads. The crescent moon grinned at the stars and the twinkle of those stars winked back flirtatiously.

Somewhere, an owl howled. Somewhere, a cricket responded with gentle chirps. They created a sweet melody for the fireflies to dance to, a melody that could put a bear to sleep. Ask me to describe it all in one word and I'll say, "Perfect."

"This place is beautiful..." Rebecca whispered, admiring the sight.

I've decided to invite just a few of our agents to the little beach behind my place to talk plans but we ended up just hanging out and enjoying each other's company for a few hours instead. I didn't want them in my house so I took them all out here but it was still a nice experience. One that I've never had with other people in my past. We all laid and sat on a large blanket stretched out on the sand, watching the twinkling light show being performed by the stars above us.

Dani pointed out at the sky, "I see Big Dipper."

Tyler squinted and tilted his head, "I don't see anything but a bunch of dots."

We all laughed at that.

He chuckled, "I'm serious... I never understood how stargazers see pictures in the sky. To me, the sky is just a big ol' compass."

"A compass?" Jaden asked with a small chuckle.

"Yeah... I don't see the constellations as mystical people or animals as everyone else does, instead, I see them as unique shapes that help us find our way around this gigantic world. I never got the chance to learn the names of 'em but it's like, if I look at it... I just know where I'm looking... See what I'm saying?"

"Yeah, I think I understand..." Jaden nodded as he gazed up at the sky. "That's an interesting way of looking at it."

Coach Jackson twirled my shoestring while my legs were resting on his knees, "This is a really nice place, Nick... How long have you been living here?"

I shrugged, getting my head comfortable on Jaden's shoulder, "Not long. I just moved in a few weeks ago."

"Sparkling lemonade?" Maria said with her thick French accent. She held out a tray with 5 cups in it, offering for us to grab one.

Jaden reached out first, "Merci beaucoup." (Thank you so much.)

She giggled, "De rien." (You're welcome.)

Jaden looked at me with his eyes lighting up with pride, "She understood me!"

I chuckled, "Your french is getting a little better. Nice job."

I noticed Tyler checking the maid out with a smirk as he grabbed a glass, "Hey... She's kinda cute."

I chuckled, "Hold it in your pants, Ty. She's 34."

His eyes widened in disbelief, "What?! She looks, at least, 24..."

Dani laughed and took a glass as well, "Maybe Coach should grab those digits. She's closer to his age anyway."

As Jackson grabbed his glass, he pulled out his wallet and tipped her with a "Thank you", making her smile brightly. He then smiled at Dani's comment, "Nah, I wouldn't... I have my eye on a different set of digits..."

Maria handed Rebecca the last cup before walking back to the house with a sweet grin.

"Ooh, Coach..." Rebecca sang, nudging him. "Who's this hottie you're thinking of?"

He took a sip to hide his smile, "I'm talking about the digits on my next paycheck." He laughed.

She rolled her eyes at that and took a sip as well before she commented, "This is really good... It must be nice living large like this. How are you so rich?" Rebecca giggled.

I just chuckled, "Here's a lesson to all of you children. Managing your money well can take you further than your wildest dreams." truth is, this was all the works of Simon but only Jaden knew about that. I'd never tell anyone about my personal life, I don't even plan on telling anyone about Jaden and me.

"Interesting..." Dani whispered. "I like where your head is, Greene. But I'm sure it takes a lot more than just managing your money well..." Dani smirked as she gazed out at the water.

I narrowed my eyes at her but then just chuckled, "Well, there's hard work too."

She half-nodded then laid down on her back. After a long silent moment, she quietly said, "That applies to more than just getting a nice place to sleep. Our team is strong... Hard work is all we know."

I looked at her, seeing the certainty in her eyes as she gazed at the night sky. "That's right... It's in our blood." I almost whispered.

"That, and determination," Rebecca added. "We're going to find Simon... If it wasn't for him, none of us will be sitting here together right now."

Those words made me smile a little but then the thought of Simon being so far away quickly snatched that away. Why would he blindly put himself in such a dangerous situation? It still made zero sense to me.

Coach and Tyler noticed my expression then looked at each other. Coach Jackson rubbed my ankle sympathetically, "We don't need Simon to create a full proof plan. Like what Rebecca said, we have determination. I know we can do this. I have faith in you and every one of our members here."

Tyler stretched and yawned, "Yeah, Fire Catcher and her squad don't stand a chance. This is our time to show out how far all these years of training and completing other missions can take us." he stood up and dusted himself off, "It's getting late, I think I'm gonna head home. Thanks for bringing us here, Nicole."

I nodded.

Thanks for agreeing to help out.

Rebecca stood up and smiled at him, "You're right... Do you mind dropping me off at my place? I don't have a ride."

"Sure, no problem... You coming, Jay?"

Jaden shook his head, "You guys can go ahead, I have a ride."

Tyler nodded and began to walk back, pulling out his keys as Rebecca followed after him.

Coach stood up as well, "I'm with Tyler. It is getting pretty late. See ya Nick." he ruffled my hair and walked off.

I quickly sat up, "Hey!" he looked back. "Make sure you have some important information for tomorrow. Anything helps."

He nodded and said, "Will do." before walking off with the guard escorting him.

I silently turned back to look out at the beach. I couldn't help but to keep thinking of this challenge we'll have to tackle on mission day. One wrong move could cost us more than just Simon's life.

"Greene..." Dani said, breaking the silence. When I looked at her, she kept her eyes on the stars and said, "Usually I wouldn't let someone who isn't handing me my paycheck tell me what to do but, I trust you... I've seen your potential and dedication to the team, if you need anything at any time, you know where to find me." she smirked before standing to leave.

I nodded in appreciation, "Of course." I whispered and watched as she stood up with a wink before she headed out with the last guard escorting her.

After she was out of sight, I slowly turned to face the beach in front of me with a sigh. I raked my hair back, pulling the hair tie out and tossing it aside, letting my hair fall messily to my shoulders. I felt a little more confident knowing the whole agency was willing to help even though most of them didn't really understand what the exact problem was. I would have to explain it fully tomorrow but, right now, I was so relieved... Relieved enough to even smile a little.

Jaden's touch caught my attention as he put his arm around me and laced his fingers with mine, "We're finally alone." he said, kissing my cheek. "Do you know how hard it is to keep my hands away from you for a whole day?"

"Mhm..." I nodded as he lifted my chin up and kissed my lips gently.

I moved my hand up to his face, deepening our kiss and pulling him closer because I kind of felt the same way. After a moment, he pulled back and his grey-brown eyes gazed at me sweetly, "Let's go inside." he said, standing and holding his hand out.

I took his hand and put his arm back around me as we walked back to the mansion.

The guard moved aside and opened the door, allowing us to walk inside. In the kitchen, I spotted Maria and the other maid, Betty working on the dishes and saw the night shift guards still in position near the doors and a few pacing upstairs.

I slowed my walking to a stop as I realized how long this mission's process might take. I couldn't handle keeping them here for that long.

Jaden noticed my face and looked at slightly confused, "What's wrong?"

I frowned and brushed his arm off of my shoulder then made my way to Simon's room, hearing Jaden follow behind.

"I have to let them go..." I told him as I opened Simon's drawer.

"Who?"

I took the checkbook out and found a pen clipped to it, "The guards and maids... I don't have money to keep paying them when Simon will be away for who knows how long. I'll just write them a check under Simon's name and they can go home until Simon is back where he needs to be."

He watched as I wrote the checks for their week's pay, "Are you sure you want to do this now? We might find him before time."

I scoffed, "That's impossible, Jay. It'll take us more than a week just to plan our next step. This isn't something we can just rush into, Fire Catcher is dangerous and we don't know how big her team of criminals are. I wouldn't want to keep them here knowing that they won't be seeing another check for about a month."

I finished the last check and stacked them on top of each other, hearing Jaden say, "You're right... I guess it only makes sense..." he watched as I walked towards the door. He then followed as I went to find the staff.

I started upstairs and handed those guards their checks, "You two can go home until further notice. Mr. Ortez won't be back in time to sign your next check."

They looked at each other then thanked me. One of them stopped before walking off, "Do you want us to finish this shift for you, Ms. Greene?"

I shook my head, "You're free to go. Thank you for your service."

They both said a quick goodbye and made their way down as I searched for everyone and handed each of them their checks.

I gave Maria and Betty their pay, "You two can go home now, thank you for everything... And, uh, Maria. Vous êtes libre d'aller, merci pour votre service." (You're free to go. Thank you for your service)

I handed the check out to her but she only gazed at it, gently biting her nail. She then refused the check, pushing it back to me, "Ah non, non, non!"

I slightly gaped my mouth open, "Mais... Je n'ai pas-" (But... I don't have-)

She grabbed both of my hands and smiled, "Je resterai pour toi. Ne vous inquiétez pas de l'argent. I love you, okay?" (I'll stay for you, don't worry about the money.)

I stared at her in shock for a moment then a smile grew on my face as I pulled her in for a hug, "Merci..." I whispered, still shocked.

She squeezed my hands with a smile then quickly returned back to the kitchen to finish the dishes herself because Betty had already left.

"What did she say?" Jaden asked, eyeing her check in my hand.

"She... She said she'll stay... For free."

Jaden looked over at her as she stacked the dishes in place with her back turned to us. He chuckled softly, "That's really cool of her. You must mean a lot to her."

"She treats me like family."

There was a sudden tearing sound coming from behind me. I quickly turned around and found my most protective guard, Jerry, tearing his check. He crumbled it in his hand and adjusted his belt, "I'm not leaving either. Simon is a good friend of mine, I would never forgive myself if I left his daughter unprotected."

"Jerry, you don't have to-"

"I want to... Simon will owe me later but right now, you are what's important. I know about the mission, you need all the protection you can get."

"I... I really appreciate that, thank you." I knew I'd be able to protect myself from any harm but the extra help was needed. Jerry is a huge guy, he could be useful for our mission if he's willing. I'll ask about that later.

He nodded, "No problem and speaking of protection..." he walked over to Jaden and shook his hand firmly then leaned in to whisper, "I once killed a man with my bare hands. Don't make me hear some unpleasing news, son, or you'll be next." he then walked away, giving one more acknowledging nod and leaving Jaden with a confused look on his face. Jaden looked down at his hand and quickly placed whatever he was holding in his pocket.

"What was that?" I chuckled.

"N- nothing." he kissed my hair before turning back to look at Jerry as he walked in the other direction. A slight, dubious eyebrow raise flinching upward on his expression before his eyes moved to me. "Go ahead and get some rest, I'll be up in a minute."

I gave him a small nod before I briefly turned my head to look at the back door Jerry had left through. The words he uttered to Jaden making their way back to my mind only to make me snicker. "Are you scared of him?" I asked with genuine curiosity.

"No." He answered with a soft, breathy laugh. "I just need to talk to him for a moment. I won't keep you waiting."

"I won't be waiting regardless. I'll be asleep." I told him. "Whatever you two are gonna discuss, just make it quick. If you don't rest now, you'll be begging for it later."

"Got it." He told me before I began to make my way to the elevator.

As I headed there, I listened as Jaden's footsteps traveled the opposite direction. My mind began to wonder what they would possibly be discussing since they have never spoken before.

Not that I'm aware of, at least.

I hit the button for the doors to slide open only to hold off on actually entering inside as I began to faintly hear Jaden's voice speak with Jerry right on the other side of the back door.

"Should I be concerned?" I heard him chuckle which made me turn my head to the direction of his voice to listen.

"Nah... No need to take it too seriously." Jerry replied. "Only if you plan on hurting her."

My eyebrows creased my forehead for a short moment before I took a few steps closer to the door they went out of, noticing that Jaden had left it slightly cracked open. I curiously tried to look through the crack and listen in.

"You should know by now that I have no intention of doing that," Jaden told him.

I watched as Jerry lit himself a cigar before telling him, "Good. Because she's Simon's one and only child and Simon is one of my most loyal friends."

Jaden crossed his arms, "I'm aware of that."

"So you know there's an equation. A pattern, if you will." Jerry told him with a hand on Jaden's shoulder. "You hurt Greene, you hurt Simon. You hurt Simon, you face me. You face me, well... You know the rest."

I cracked a small smirk as I watched Jaden's eyes move to Jerry's huge hand resting on his shoulder. He only nodded at it before turning his eyes back to Jerry's, "That's fair. But what makes you think I'll hurt her?"

"Never said you would. Just know that it isn't the first time I've heard your name being uttered by folks around the agency when I've been there, including Simon himself."

He isn't wrong about that.

I shook my head before moving to begin my way back to the elevator, leaving them to finish their conversation.

Despite the unpleasant impressions Jaden has left on some of the people on the team, it doesn't change that there was definitely something special about him. Something special that I've only been able to see.

I hit the button on the inside of the lift to take me to my floor then tiredly leaned against the wall as I watched the doors slide shut.

It's true that I have my doubts about him, in fact, I've been so close to giving up on him many times but there was always something that pulled me right back into him. I don't know what it was but there's this feeling I have the feels the need to keep giving him chances after chances. There was always a reason to. A reason deeper than the simple fact that I had a secret, tender spot for him in my heart, right next to Simon...

Simon...

I shook my head with an ache in my chest at the thought of him.

God, I miss him.