Hidden Tracks | ✓

02 | let the games begin

We spent the entire day reading through our copies of the case files.

Turned out Mason Caldwell and Amélie Beaumont had studied together at Sorbonne University in France, and that's how they knew each other.

Two months ago, Caldwell and Beaumont had met in Paris for a friendly reunion. Besides being an MP, Caldwell also owned a chain of restaurants in and outside England, and so he'd taken Beaumont to dinner in Paris at one of his own eateries.

There, they'd witnessed an unusual incident. Two of his waiters were caught in a separate room, smuggling illegal drugs with some dealers. Once Caldwell and Beaumont witnessed that scene, the druglord threatened Caldwell that there would be severe consequences.

So, out of fear for his own life and that of Amélie, Caldwell covertly arranged for witness protection in London for a few months, till the dealers were caught. Both their publicist teams made up some stories about Caldwell having a family emergency and taking a "break from politics", and Amélie "stepping out of the spotlight to focus on mental health".

So they were placed in witness protection, with strict security and agents guarding them at all times.

And now they were both missing.

In fact, the two waiters who Caldwell had discovered smuggling drugs had also quit their jobs the next day and were missing. It's like they had completely vanished.

And to further hinder the case, there was no camera footage from that night at the restaurant, preventing us from seeing the faces of the dealers. The two traitorous waiters must've messed with the footage.

Moreover, no leads had been found even after checking the restaurant's customer records. The dealers had probably used fake names.

After reading over the case file several times, I decided something just wasn't sitting right with me. I usually had a pretty good instinct when it came to such things, and something told me there was more to this case than what met the eye.

For example, I had questions.

Caldwell was an influential, high-profile person. He was not only an entrepreneur but he'd broken into the political scene in recent years and become an MP in Britain.

So why did he feel so threatened by a mere drug dealer? I mean, getting death threats from drug dealers would probably be scary to an ordinary person, but someone of Caldwell's stature could've easily used his connections to make sure his life was never threatened by such men. He didn't need to go into hiding because of them.

But then again, maybe he feared he would end up as another headline on a newspaper: British MP and Business Tycoon Assassinated at His Own Residence.

Another question which arose in my mind was how the two could've possibly disappeared from such a high-security location. They had two special agents taking care of them and all kinds of sensors, alarms, advanced locks and other security devices which would alert the agents if anyone tried to abduct the two residents of the safe house.

Then how...?

I shook my head. I had no time to ponder over these questions right now, as I needed to start packing a few of my clothes and all my gear for the journey to London. And god knows where else.

Just as I finished packing all my essentials, my phone started ringing.

I glanced over. It was my personal phone, not the authorised one from TIA.

I had no family, or friends (except a few at the Agency). Only one person could call me on this number at 1 in the morning, and now I really regretted giving him my personal contact all those years back.

"What do you want, Soler?"

His deep voice greeted me at the other end. "I figured you'd be awake. Listen, did you read through the case file?"

I rolled my eyes. "Firstly, no I didn't read through the case file. I always go on all my missions completely unaware of the case and what it entails. Secondly-"

"Your sarcasm isn't appreciated."

"-You deserve this sarcasm for asking such a stupid question. Of course I read through the case file. And secondly, how many times have I told you not to call me on this number? I only gave it to you all those years back 'cause my TIA phone was broken at that time."

"You do know, right, that the more you tell me not to call on this number, the more I actually will?"

I physically restrained myself from belting out curse words at him so early in the morning. Or so late at night, however you look at it.

"If that's the only reason you called me, Soler, you can kindly take your ego and shove it up your ass while I hang up and pack my stuff in peace."

"Wait! I actually called to ask if you got Liu's text about the mission plan."

"Yeah I did. She said we'll first inspect the safe house in London and if we find any leads, we'll follow them. If not, we'll go to Paris to inspect Caldwell's restaurant. Sounds like pretty standard procedure to me."

I heard Soler sigh. "Yeah, that's what. I just thought we should also check out Beaumont's business and do some homework on it too."

"Liu's the leader, Soler. If she has a gameplan, we follow it. Of course we'll need to look into everything, including Beaumont's business and the places she frequents. But first we need to stick to the plan."

He sighed again. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

I snorted. "I'm always right."

"Don't push it, Winter."

"Go to hell, Soler."

I hung up and started putting in whatever little bit of the luggage I still had left to pack.

I can't even go through a phone call with Soler without losing my shit. How am I supposed to survive an entire mission?