Lost in Translation

Please read Chapter I and II first, as this is an ongoing story and will make little sense without them.

Chapter III

Esther was silent until they pulled into a parking garage. He drove all the way down to the bottom level. They got out and he led her to an elevator. When the doors had closed he inserted a key into the panel with the buttons. She knew those keys were usually used in hospitals for priority rides or for special access floors in some buildings. He turned the key and punched in a combination of buttons on the panel. She felt like they were moving down instead of upwards. How could that be, when they were already on the lowest level of the building? 'But I guess the CIA has to have secret safe houses hidden where nobody expects them. Wouldn't have thought to search here. But that would be the point.' Esther's head was spinning with information and questions.

The door opened with a bing and they walked into an empty room. Drew walked up to a door opposite the elevator and pressed his hand and eyes to a scanner. The door opened to a hallway. He led her down the hall into a room furnished with a table, two chairs and a computer. On the table was a file.

He motioned her to sit and then picked up the file.

"What exactly is going on here Drew? If that's even you real name!"

"My mission is what I had explained to you this morning, plus some minor details I left out."

"And what would those be?"

"All in its due time. I hereby ask you officially to help the CIA on this mission."

"And why would I do that? What makes me so special that you need me? Don't you have enough agents to this job for you?"

"We need you, because your job makes you unsuspicious, if you were checked no red flags would come up. Second, your abilities with languages and martial arts give you a good basis for agency training. Third, your personal background suggests that you would make a good agent."

"What the hell do you mean by that?"

He flipped open the file and scanned over it. "Esther Christine Hae-Won Wieland, born March 2, 1984 in San Antonio, Texas. Daughter of Colonel Kurt Wieland, German Air Force, former fighter pilot, born in Karl-Marx-Stadt, East-Germany, family fled to the west before the build of the Berlin Wall, and Yun-Hae Wieland, née Park, surgical nurse and housewife, born in Seoul, South Korea, parents fled from the north during the Korean War. One brother, Daniel Wieland. Master in American Literature of the Ludwig-Maximilian-University in Munich, with minors in Economics and Chinese. Moved here 4 years ago to work at Jones & Bartlett Translations International. Speaks 7 languages fluently and is adept in several others. 6th dan Black Belt in Tae-kwon-do. – Quite a feat at your age, impressive. Do you want me to go into further detail?"

"How do you know all that?"

"We know everything we need to know about anyone. Your father's history in the military give you props concerning intelligence work and both your parents fled communist oppression, which is always a good thing. We know how important your family is to you, and how loyal you are to them and your friends. Loyalty and trustworthiness are key in this job.

"With your double citizenship it is easy for you to live in different countries, you can freely move across the EU with your German passport. And your American passport gives you the freedom to live and work in the US. That means it's easier for us to build a cover for you.

"I can't give you anymore details about the mission, save, that this is a weapon that cannot fall into the wrong hands."

"Thanks. No pressure there!" Esther retorted sarcastically.

"Of course there's pressure. But your country is asking for your help. Believe me, we wouldn't ask if it wasn't absolutely necessary."

"Can I think about it?"

"Sorry, but we need an answer ASAP. I can register you while you think, but before I can brief you on any other details, and start your training, you will have to accept." He was trying to sooth her a bit.

"What about tonight? Or is that classified, too?"

He knew she wouldn't overlook that. "I can only say right now, that yes, tonight was part of my assignment to recruit you, " he saw the anger burning in her eyes, so he tried to recover "but I have to admit, I haven't such a good time on an assignment in a long time." Somehow that didn't strike the right cord.

She was silent a little longer, and he feared, that she would flat out refuse. Not that that was really an option. And she knew that.

Esther was seething again. How dare he imply that playing with her emotions was nothing more than a fun game for him? 'I'll show him. I won't let this opportunity pass me by. I'll show him what he missed out on. And when he comes begging for another chance, I'll drop him like the ass he is!' She knew it was mostly anger speaking in her right now. Although she wouldn't admit it, that passion she had felt between them could not have been faked, and could not be turned off just like that. But she would fight that admission every step of the way.

"Where do I sign? ...And can I get a new handler?"

Drew sighed in relief but also in resignation. He hoped that he could save the botched relationship, so that they could continue working together. Somewhere in the back of his mind was also the hope he could revive their romantic relationship but he ignored it. That wasn't priority here.

"I will be your handler for this mission, if you still insist on getting someone else afterwards, I will arrange for that. Right now, I need to register you." He stepped over to the computer and pulled up her registration file.

He asked Esther to stand in the corner of the room. A panel slid to the side and revealed a hand and eye scanner. Her biometrics were registered and the scanner slid back out of view. Then two milk-glassed walls came out around her, virtually boxing her in, leaving only a small space open so she could easily step out of the confines.

"We will do a full-body scan now, taking all your measurements. Please remove your dress, shoes and all jewelry. You can leave on your undergarments."

Esther looked at him skeptically, but then shrugged and did as he asked. She stepped back into the boxed in area and held still as the scanner went up and down her body on all sides. Drew hadn't peeked at her when she undressed, but when her measurements came up on the screen he couldn't resist a glance.

His mouth went dry. She was wearing a matching set of black silk panties and bra with a green lace trim along the edges. One of the bra straps went diagonally across her chest leaving one shoulder bare. He had wondered how she had supported those 36D breasts in that sexy one-shouldered dress.

He realized he was staring when she cleared her throat and glared back at him. He blushed and busied himself at the computer. He felt a bit embarrassed at being caught, but didn't know why. Usually he brushed such things off or made a sexy remark to wrap a woman around his finger. He was behaving like a school boy with his first crush. What the hell was the matter with him?

When she had dressed she sat down at the table again and waited for him to finish whatever it was he was doing on the computer. Suddenly the door opened and a man stepped in. Esther realized that it was the thief who had snatched her purse in front of the club. At first she was surprised but then glared at Drew's back. "Care to explain?"

Drew turned, back in agent-mode, and coolly made introductions: "Esther this is Agent James Walker. He is part of my team. All of the guys you had to deal with tonight are. It was their job to test how you would react in the field. I gather you handled yourself quite well."

Agent Walker grinned and handed Esther her purse. "You gave the guys quite a beating. Schwarz is nursing a broken wrist and Hunter a broken nose. I hadn't seen that one coming. You seem to have come away almost unscathed. Not bad at all."

Esther beamed at that. "What about the guy I kicked in the face?"

"O'Malley is sporting a black eye. You left them with a strong first impression! I'm just glad I wasn't at the receiving end." He laughed. He sobered immediately, when Drew cleared his throat and glowered at him. "Report is on your desk, Carrow. The team is getting patched up in the infirmary. If that is all, I will be on my way."

"See you in the briefing room at 1400. Good job out there tonight Walker."

"Thanks. I'll let the team know. Good night. Esther." Walker gave her an encouraging nod and left.

Drew gathered the file from the table and headed for the door. "I'll take you home, it's late. I would like to get started on your training in the morning."

Esther was tired; she had barely noticed that until then. It had been an interesting night and she was curious of the day that would follow.

* * * * *

Drew picked her up at 9 in the morning. He had dropped her off at home around 2.30 a.m. and Esther had only had a few hours of sleep, but she felt ready and fit for the day.

As he had said he wanted to start training, she had decided on wearing a pair of sweat pants and a simple black tank top. This was not the time to be high maintenance. She had packed clothes to change into her gym bag.

They were back at the 'fortress', as the safe house was called, and he led her into a gym area with exercise mats, a climbing wall and a weight room. Mounted on a wall was a collection of weapons, everything except for firearms. Esther was knew how to use a few, such as long staff, nunchaku and sais. She had also had some sword training.

They took their places in the center of the mats and did some sparring practice. Then they went through some of the weapons on the wall, including some she hadn't trained in before.

Drew felt like he was in heaven and hell at the same time. Esther was good and he was very impressed with her skills, but every time they came in skin contact he felt little bolts of heat zinging through his body. Whenever one of them had the other in a hold he wanted to stay like that and enjoy the 'embrace'. More than once he had to suppress the urge to pin her down and kiss her senseless.

He wasn't sure why he reacted so strongly to her. He had female partners before, and sometimes had more than working relationships with them, but this was the first time it actually affected him during his work time as well. If he couldn't get his libido in check, he was in for trouble.

He was lusting after her, but she would probably let hell freeze over before she would let him do something about it. He knew that at some point he needed to get her out of his system, but right now was not the time.

Esther used the training to expel her frustration over him. It felt good to just let it all out, and at the right target for that matter. She wasn't sure why it hurt so much. It's not like they had had a relationship or anything. It was one date, and she felt almost like her world had come crashing down around her. She had liked him, a lot actually, but that was no reason to be so angry with him.

'He should have just told me what he wanted from the beginning, and not played with my emotions like that.' With that thought she hit him square on the chest with a satisfying side kick, sending him sprawling to the floor.

As he got up he checked the time and decided to wrap it up for the time being.

After showering and changing they went to a small kitchen where he pulled a couple of sandwiches and bottled water out of the refrigerator. All morning they had kept their conversation strictly about the training and Esther was fine with that. It was good that the exercise had powered her out, because else she would have probably yelled her frustration out at him.

"Do you remember what you said to me when I asked you out?" Drew suddenly asked.

Esther shook her head in surprise. She hadn't expected him to broach the subject of their date. "You said that if this date doesn't work you would still expect me to be professional until this assignment is over. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, but we have to work together on this, so let's just keep it professional. You can hate me all you want in your free time and after, but for now, let's try to be civil."

Her emotions were still in a jumble, but he was right. She had expected it from him, and she expected it from herself. Petty behavior would not help. "You're right. Let's just leave whatever happened behind us and move on. So, what's next on the schedule?"

"Briefing is at 2, there I will introduce you to the rest of the team and get you up to speed on everything concerning our mission. And later I would like to see how well you handle yourself on the shooting range."

* * * * *

At the briefing she was formally introduced to the rest of Drew's team. Walker she had met the night before, and Schwarz, Hunter and O'Malley were carrying the signs of their meeting with her for all to see. She found out that Schwarz and Hunter were only temporarily assigned to the team to help recruit her as an asset. As they were not part of the mission itself, they left after names and greetings were exchanged.

"You owe us a rematch when you're back from your assignment." Hunter joked as he walked out of the door of the briefing room.

O'Malley was the computer specialist of the team, Walker handled weapon supplies. The team was rounded off with Dr. Pike, a tall, pretty woman about the same age as Esther. She wore her red hair in pigtails and had slim, black rimmed glasses perched on her nose. She was introduced as the medical officer and psychologist of the team.

"Call me Liz. I had to patch the boys up last night... my highest respect for the job you've done on them." Liz approached Esther with a broad smile and shook her hand in welcome.

Esther immediately felt comfortable with Liz. Maybe she had found a friend.

Drew didn't let her dwell on that thought for long and pressed on with the briefing. He pulled up pictures and reports on a smart board.

"This is Chen Wei, CEO of Chen-Corp. He's been under suspicion of illegal activities including human trafficking, drug and weapon trade. But nothing has ever been able to stick. Plus, he has friends in high places in the Chinese government, rendering him virtually untouchable. He has been put in connection with supplying terrorists with weapons and money. He's a scumbag of the first order!

"Our informants have let us know that he's developed a new bio-weapon which he will be auctioning off next week, using the prototype invitational as a cover. If this weapon falls into the wrong hands, it could mean death to millions of people.

"Our job is to make sure the deal never goes down, and secure the weapon. If we happen to eliminate Chen in the process it would be an added bonus."

Drew made a pause to let all the information sink in. Esther thought about what she had just learned. She was a bit flabbergasted that men like Chen actually existed, he sounded like a villain out of a James Bond movie.

"What do you mean by 'secure the weapon'? Shouldn't we try to destroy it, something so dangerous shouldn't exist!" she questioned.

"The CIA wants to secure it for research purposes. We don't question our orders, Esther. We do our jobs, even if we do not agree with all of it." Drew answered harshly.

"Now you and I will go in as representatives of Marley Electronics, part of the prototype invitational. We will make the acquaintance of Mr. Chen and then I will let shine through that I also have connections to the white supremacist scene and am searching for some new merchandise. Now Esther, it will be obvious that you have no part in this, as you are of mixed racial decent. That will give us an air of inconspicuousness. I will rely heavily on you to charm the man out of any and all favors you can get. I will occasionally act a bit condescending toward you to keep up the façade. That will give you some excuse to go mingle with the other interpreters. I will brief you on who will most likely be present for the auction, and you will try to find an in with their interpreters."

Drew went on about their support system, namely their team, with whom they would stay in contact in case of an emergency extraction. They would travel to China separately, two days ahead of them to set up base. After that he wrapped up the briefing.

As the others left Liz stayed behind with Drew and Esther. "Esther? I hope you have some time for me now, I need to give you a full physical before we can send you out into the field."

Drew opened his mouth to explain that he already had planned out the rest of the afternoon, but Liz gave him a pointed look and he remained still. He realized that this was about more than just a medical exam. Esther looked a bit overwhelmed with the information she was just given, and he guessed that Liz wanted to give her an outlet to process it all. She needed to talk with someone whom she didn't despise at the moment.

He gave his nod of approval and left the girls to their own devices.

* * * * *

I hope you like where this story is going. I sometimes get a little carried away with the details so feel free to comment and critique, and let me know what you think. Don't forget to vote.

I can only get better if you let me know what you don't like.