Illusive | Tim Bradford

twenty three •

When I met Jake. I couldn't help but giggle. It was best described as Tim Bradford in at alternate universe. Same person different font.

Tim, Lopez, Chen, Harper and I were all looking through the glass of the observation room. Seeing Jake Butler, who sat waiting in the interrogation room.

"Maybe you were seperate at birth." Chen expressed in thought. I nod my head in agreement.

Tim shakes his head, "he's a year older than me. And he was born in Florida. Plus, ah, he really doesn't look that much like me." Tim denies.

"Mm. The hell he doesn't." Harper speaks with a laugh.

"Not the brightest bulb, though." I express, Lopez agreeing with me.

"Oh. Oh, my God. It's -- It's Tim... and Dim." Chen realised, causing all of us to laugh other than Tim.

After that, my entertainment for the day was fulfilled so I proceeded with my normal task. Until Lopez found me, leading me towards the observation room.

"So, I had Dim's girlfriend picked up." She admitted.

"Okay. Wait. Why are you being weird?" I asked, partially worried.

"It's easier to show you." Lopez informs.

As we enter the observation room. I see Harper and Bradford waiting. I look into the interrogation room, seeing a girl who looked just like me but different. In the same way Tim and Dim were the same.

"That is extremely disturbing." I express.

"Guess we know who's going undercover with Dim." Lopez informs.

The next morning, I attempted to brush off the fact that in an alternate universe, Tim and I had doppelgängers who were in love. As I arrived at work, I found Tim waiting to talk to me.

"Hey." He greets.

I offer him a small smile, attempting to push away any feelings I have for him. This mission needed to be seamless. "Hey. Uh...any contact from Hajek?" I ask.

"No. Not yet. Listen, about --" he begins.

"Don't worry about it. I-I just wanted to say... ...we need more work on our back story. Give it more depth. Key moments, you know?" I told him.

After Hajek called, Tim and I headed to the Whittier Air Strip during the day. But we were now Jake and Sava. We entered the hangar, Tim in character complimenting the plane.

"You're late." Lyon expressed

I quickly attempt to bounce into action to stop our cover from being blown. I place my head on Bradford's chest, looking up at him, "yeah, well, our quickie wasn't so quick. Where's Dayvion?" I ask.

"Flaked." Lyon scoffs.

"Hajek's pissed. We had to scramble to get a replacement. That's Sway." Lyon introduces.

"Hi, sexy. I'm Sava." I express in character.

"What's up? Jake. We got a lot of gear." Tim introduced his individual.

Inside the plane, I found myself seated on Tim's lap. His arm was wrapped around me, placed on my upper thigh. My breath hitched every time he even moved his thumb to caress my skin.

"Yo, y'all gonna tell us what this gig is or what?" Tim asks Lyon.

"You know who Roman Krupka is?" Lyon asks.

Tim shakes his head, "Nope."

"He imports H for the Monarch Cartel." Lyon explains. Before he continues, "something like that. Krupka's paranoid, doesn't trust computers, never keeps a written record. The details of his operation exist in one place -- "The Brain." A man named Leonard Madris."

"Ain't that a little dangerous -- making one man the center of your whole operation?" Tim asks.

"Yeah, it is. That's why Madris is kept under heavy guard. Barely leaves Krupka's compound. But we received a solid tip that he's headed to Vegas this weekend." Lyon agrees.

Shaken from my thoughts as Lyon says "look at this."

Then Wisco looks shocked, saying "no way."

"What?" Tim asks.

"There's some kidnapper, he kidnapped a detective awhile back. Held her hostage for 3 months. He's striked again. But he killed a federal agent." Lyon informs.

I felt my stomach tie itself up in knots. That was me that had been kidnapped. Now he was back. He'd gone off the radar after me. Now, he has the confidence to begin again. He could come after me.

"How long till we land?" Tim asks.

"15 minutes." Lyon asks.

"Plenty of time." Tim says with a smug smirk.

"For what?" Wisco follows up.

"Mile high club, baby." Tim speaks, leading me to the bathroom.

As soon as we enter the bathroom, my eyes show my full emotions. My panic. "How could this happen? Why would he come back? Why would he start again?" I ramble in a panic.

"I don't know. But every law enforcement agency is on it, okay? He won't be doing this much longer." Tim reassured me, concern present in his features.

I looked up at him, eyes teary. "But how haven't they been able to find him if he hadn't fled? That body was found in the same town he took me to." I continued to ramble.

Tim shook his head, placing his hand on my shoulder. "Stop, okay? Stop. We can't worry about that right now. If your head is not 100% in the game, it'll get you killed." He told me.

I admitted he was right with a nod, "it's okay I'm okay." I reassured, attempting to maintain a straight face.

Tim raised his eyebrows, concern etched over his features. "No. No, you're not. I'm pulling the plug as soon as we land." He told me.

I shook my head, knowing we couldn't pull the plug until we got somewhere with the crew. "Uh... No. Look, the stakes are too high. This is our one chance at Madris. The news threw me for a second, but I'm... I'm fine. I can do this." I told him.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, "yo, finish up. We're landing." Wisco informed.

Tim looks at me, his expression stern but also extremely concerned. "Okay. Maddy, if you change your mind, you just say the word." He tells me.

"I will. Okay?" I reassured.

"Let's go" Tim instructs, reaching for the door knob.

My thoughts suddenly kick back into undercover mode, "wait." I tell him, "we're supposed to be hooking up in here."

I pulled his jacket partially off his shoulder, before I kissed him, leaving Tim in shock. But he kissed me back. I then pulled away, smudging my lipstick even more on him.

We then returned back to our seats on the airplane.

Later on, we were in the hotel room. I'd showered and now I was dressed and walking out to see what Tim was doing.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Tim suddenly asks, catching me off guard.

"About what?" I ask, evidently confused.

Tim stands up, raising his eyebrows at my cluelessness. "The airplane bathroom. Your apartment. Look, I-I don't know. Call me crazy, but it just doesn't feel like pretend." Tim admits.

He was with Ashley. I had to remind myself of that. I couldn't let him pull me down this rabbit hole again.

"Uh... It's an intimate act. I mean, we'd have to be dead inside for it to not trigger something, right? It -- It's basic biology." I told him.

Tim's expression looked a little hurt, "okay, so... So you're saying it's not a big deal? Doesn't mean anything?" He checks.

"Right? I..." I express. Then his phone rings.

Lopez is checking in with us about the undercover progress. Then, Tim asks her about the federal agents death. Lopez tells him it's a waiting game, as they have no leads.

They're not sure when he'll strike again. That makes me even more worried.