Lost in Translation

Please read Chapter I first, because otherwise most of what is going on now is built upon that. Feel free to comment and please vote.

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Esther stood in front of her open closet searching for something to wear. Anything she pulled out just didn't seem right. She checked the time, he would be here in an hour, and she still had to shower and get ready.

Since the rest of her assignments had been cleared, she just finished up some paperwork, filled Max in on what he needed to know and made arrangements with her coworkers to cover her other assignments. She was then able to leave the office early and head home. She made some calls to family and friends, letting them know that she would be out of town on business next week, but left it at that.

And now Esther realized, she didn't have anything to wear! Before she could panic the phone rang. It was Lee, one of her best friends, calling to ask what she thought of throwing an engagement party for Sarah once she was back.

"I think that's a great idea, but I have different problem right now. I've got a date and nothing to wear!" Esther wailed.

"Are you kidding me, Esther? You have more clothes than anyone I know! And who is this date?!"

Esther told the story of the coffee-collision and him coming to her office today, leaving out the part of him being her client. She wasn't sure why she did that, but somehow it didn't feel right to tell anyone about that.

"So you want to impress this guy?" Lee inquired.

"Yes, but I want to look sexy without coming off as slutty or something."

"You don't have anything that looks slutty... well, not obviously slutty. Tell you what, you go head into the shower, and I'll come by and help you pick something out. OK?"

Esther sighed relieved, "Thanks, I wouldn't know what to do without you."

"This guy must be really something, if he's got you riled up like that." Lee stated. "I'll be right there." She hung up, and Esther headed into the bathroom.

Twenty minutes later Esther was blow drying her hair while Lee went through her closet. She pulled out several outfits, calling them out for Esther to decide. "Do you want pants or skirt?"

"I guess skirt would be nice, nothing too short though!"

"Do you know where you're going? How fancy is it going to be?"

"Don't know! I guess we're going out for dinner and drinks." She yelled over the blow dryer.

"How about that little black dress?"

"I think a little too much for a first date!"

"I think I've got it!" Lee yelled the moment Esther turned off the dryer.

Esther grinned at her, "No need to yell, I'm right here."

Lee had to smile at that and held up a dress that Esther hadn't worn in over a year, and totally forgotten about. It was an emerald green one-shouldered satin dress with an oversized slit sleeve. It came down to about two inches above the knees and hugged all the right places without being tight. It was perfect!

"I haven't even thought about that one. You're right, it's perfect."

"Alright. We have another half hour before he gets here. Now finish doing your hair and we'll get started on your make up." Lee loved doing this. It was a like back in college, when she and her roommate helped each other getting ready for dates. "I'll leave ten minutes before he get's here, so I won't disturb you two. So hurry up, or you won't be finished by then!"

Esther finished running a straightening iron through her hair and brushed through it one more time. Her hands shook a little, she hadn't been so nervous for a date in years. And Lee noticed. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah, it's just... I don't know, I like him. Maybe this will actually work out for once."

Lee gave her a hug. She knew Esther's history with men. For some reason she didn't have any luck with them. Not for her lack of trying. She was beautiful: petite 5'3", long dark brown hair that shone with natural golden highlights, almond shaped hazel eyes and a cute button nose, courtesy of her Asian heritage, a nicely toned body, thanks to Tae-kwon-do, with a pair of full breast many women would pay for, from the German side of the family.

Men were usually attracted to her but somehow the relationships never lasted. And Esther couldn't figure out why, she wanted a steady relationship. She wanted to fall in love, marry and have children. But in the last six years, she had been dumped 3 times (!) by men who realized they were still in love with their ex-girlfriends, talk about rebound. Once she ended a relationship because the guy cheated and once it was in mutual agreement, because the chemistry wasn't there.

Lee feared, that subconsciously Esther had put up a wall to not let anyone get too close to hurt her anymore. She was a strong woman: independent, intelligent and stubborn. Together with that protective wall she might push men away instead of letting them in to actually care for her. But she didn't voice those thoughts, hoping, that this time it might be different.

She helped Esther finish getting ready, then gave her another hug. "You look gorgeous. He must be something special to make you this nervous. Don't make yourself crazy with what if's and so on. Just enjoy the evening and have a good time." With that Lee left, and Esther took the last couple of minutes to put on some jewelry and a pair of black high heels. She was checking her purse to make sure she had everything when the door bell rang.

When she opened the door all she saw was bouquet of white roses. She gasped at their beauty. The bouquet lowered to reveal a pair of smiling blue eyes. They traveled down her body and Drew's face shone with admiration. "You look beautiful! Um... these are for you." He handed her the flowers as she let him into her apartment.

"Thank you. The flowers are wonderful. How did you know white roses were my favorite?" She leaned forward to let him kiss her cheek in greeting and then turned towards the kitchen in search of a vase.

"I have ways and means." He answered mysteriously. "You have a nice place. The view you have from your balcony is great."

Small talk. He kicked himself inwardly. How come he couldn't find anything intelligent to say around her? Women didn't make him nervous; at least they haven't ever before. But somehow when it came to a regular conversation with her he didn't know what to say.

He had also dressed with care for tonight: he wore a grey suit, which looked impeccable on his 6'2" frame, with a light blue button up shirt, open at the collar.

She returned from the kitchen with the roses in a vase and set them on the living room table. "Yes, the view is nice, especially at night. Um... I'm ready to go if you want to."

"Yeah, um... sure. Let's go." He cringed inwardly at his awkward behavior.

They drove toward the city center in silence. Esther fidgeted slightly in her seat, not sure how to start a conversation. Then she remembered what Lee told her and decided to calm down. The date would be a disaster if they couldn't find a comfortable subject to talk about. Maybe they could find a way out of small talk, once they got talking "So, where are we going?"

Drew looked a bit relieved that she had broken the silence, "I hope you like Japanese food. There's this great restaurant where they cook at the table and also have some of the best Sushi in town."

"I love Japanese. Have you ever been there? You haven't had real Sushi unless you've had it in this place in Ginza, Tokyo. It's some of the best there is."

That broke the ice, and they started talking about places they've traveled to, foods they like to eat. They had lively conversation throughout dinner, entertaining each other with anecdotes and travel trivia.

After dinner Drew took her to a Jazz club. They had drinks and danced a little. She was surprised to find that he was a good dancer and she liked the way he held her close while moving across the small dance floor. They kept the conversation going, talking about music and other things. Throughout the evening they both avoided the subject of their jobs.

After the band stopped paying around midnight they decided to leave. Outside the club Drew handed the valet his ticket. While they waited, they stood quietly holding hands looking into each others eyes.

This had been a wonderful evening. She hadn't had such a great time on a date in years, Esther admitted to herself. He was made her laugh, and gave her the feeling of being protected.

She shivered a bit in the cool night air. Drew noticed and shrugged out of his jacket and draped it around her shoulders. She smiled appreciatively up at him.

Even in her high heels she only reached to shoulder. He couldn't remember when he had this much fun on a date. And now she looked at him so trustingly that he couldn't help himself. He pulled her closer, leaned down and kissed her.

It was a very soft kiss at first, but then she responded by pressing closer to him and opening her lips. He felt the passion between them heat up. He buried his hand in her hair, the other wrapped around her hips and he almost lifted her off her feet holding her to him.

Then they heard a discreet cough and they broke apart. Esther blushed. What had gotten into her, she usually didn't get this carried away from a simple kiss. Drew was catching his breath, smiling boyishly down at her. He too was surprised at his lack of control just then.

The valet coughed again and Drew turned around. The young man looked guiltily to the ground and explained that he couldn't find their car.

"Excuse me? What do you mean, can't find my car?"

"Sir, I'm sorry. I have the keys right here, but I couldn't find the car on our lot!"

"Are you sure you remember where you parked it?"

"Sir, we parked over fifty cars throughout the night, I don't remember every one of them. But we always write down the license plate, model and color. Maybe I overlooked it on the lot, but I double checked. If you want, you can come and see for yourself."

Drew shook his head in frustration. Than looked apologetically at Esther. "I guess I'll have to go and check it out. Why don't you wait here? I'll be right back."

Esther nodded, "It's alright. I'll just have a seat on the bench over there."

He squeezed her hand before letting go and followed the valet around the building to the parking lot. Esther slowly walked across the empty sidewalk toward a bench on the side of the building. She wasn't really paying attention to her surroundings, lost in her thoughts about the kiss. So she was shocked out of her reverie when somebody almost tackled her and ripped her purse off her arm. She stumbled and caught the edge of the bench to regain her balance. The thief ran off with her purse across the street and down an alley.

"Hey, come back here!" Without thinking about it, Esther followed. Although running in high heels wasn't easy, she had some practice, wearing them almost daily. She saw as the thief panicked and headed into another side street. She followed and saw him climb over a chain link fence. She kicked off her shoes as she approached the fence intending to follow. As she set one foot into the fence and pulled herself up, somebody grabbed her shoulder from behind and thrust her to the ground.

"Look what we have here... Isn't she a pretty one?" The man leered at her. She felt dirty just from him looking at her. She looked around for an escape route and found she was backed against the fence by three guys. She got to her feet and immediately got into a defensive position.

"Stay away from me! If you come any closer, you'll regret it!" The men laughed at that.

"That's fresh! Pretty little thing like you making threats." The first one said.

"No need to be afraid, little lady. We just want to play:" The second one laughed at his own witty comment.

"If you're nice to us, then maybe we'll be nice too. If not... well, we'll still have our fun!" The others laughed at number three's words.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Esther whispered. She took another step back, but only to gain a bit more space to move. For her attackers it looked like a form of retreat. Again, they laughed.

Then number two lunged forward, wanting to push her full against the fence. But she reacted quickly twisting out of the way, using his own momentum to crash him into it head first. Number one then tried to grab her arm, aiming for her face with his other hand. She blocked the blow to her head and twisted under the hold on her arm while kicking the man in the stomach. He released her as he bent over from the pain. Number three than cam at her from behind, wrapping his arms around her torso. By then two had recovered and was coming at her from the front. She pushed herself off the ground using three as a lever and kicked two in the face, at the same time pulling her head back and hitting three square on the nose. He let her go just in time for her to fend off number one. She succeeded in placing several good blows before blocking another blow to her head, catching his wrist in the act, twisting and breaking it in one motion. Her attacker howled in pain. And with all three of them down she fled. On her way out of the alley she spotted her shoes where she had kicked them off and swiftly retrieved them before running back to the club.

In the middle of the street stood Drew, anxiously looking around for her. When he spotted her coming out of the alley, disheveled and bruise, he ran to her quickly folding her into his arms. "What happened? Where were you?" In front of the club entrance stood his car, apparently he had found it. He maneuvered her into the passenger seat and squatted in front of her.

"When you left, this thief snatched my purse and took off with it. I tried to catch him and followed him into an alley." She indicated the direction she had come from. She then recounted what had happened with the three guys that tried to attack her.

"So you were able to fend all of them off. Are you all right, I mean did you hurt yourself?"

"No I'm fine. Just a bit shaken. I guess those guys are worse off than me. I think it would be best if we called the cops."

He nodded slowly, then leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead. "I'm glad you're OK." He gazed at her, which made her blush. Then suddenly he spoke, "Yes, we're coming in."

"Coming in where? What are you talking about?" Esther was confused at his matter-of-fact tone and his suddenly cold demeanor. He got up, closed her door, and got in on his side.

"What's going on? Why aren't you calling the cops?"

He started the car and headed in the direction of the business district "Esther, I don't work for Marley Electronics. I work for the government, and this country needs your help. I'm an agent for the CIA, sent to develop you as an asset for my upcoming mission to China. All of your questions will be answered. Right now I'm taking you to safe house where you will be briefed." He said all that so matter-of-factly that she was stunned when he suddenly looked at her and added softly with apologetic eyes, "I'm sorry."

Sorry for what? Leading her on? Turning a wonderful evening into nothing more than a job assignment? Kissing her like he meant it? Acting as if he cared? Esther was seething. She kept quiet, knowing, that if she spoke now she would lose her temper and maybe say things she could regret.

She hated him at that moment. She had had hopes for this date, especially after that kiss. She had never felt such passion for someone, had never felt so comfortable with someone in such a short amount of time. And now it turns out it was all a lie. He was just playing her for an assignment. She would never forgive him that.

But the practical side of her mind went through what he had just told her. The CIA wanted her. Why her, what made her so special? She wondered what that assignment in China was really about. And she had to admit, that she was a bit excited by the notion of becoming a real spy.