Once Again

Chapter One

May 22, 1964 - London, England - MI6 headquarters

As I walked inside the MI6 headquarters the smell of coffee and fresh ink greeted me. Every morning I went through the same routine. I stopped at my desk, dropped of my things, and went to get a cup of coffee from the fresh pot. That morning, however, was rather unusual.

"Good morning, Miss Blackbourne." Rebecca, our new secretary, greeted me as I walked inside the building. "It is a lovely day isn't it."

"I must say it really is." I told her. "I do hope you have a nice day yourself." I smiled and nodded at her as she opened the door to the main office for me.

"I will try." I strode inside the room and made my way to my desk. As I set down my things I noticed a peculiar note on my desk. The penmanship made it clear that it was written in haste. I picked it up and read quickly: Meet me this evening at Westminster Bridge at 6:27. Don't be late.

I looked up from the note and at the other people in the room around me. There were only two others in the vicinity. Agent Grisham, who was half asleep, and Agent Crawford, who was much too uptight to do anything out of the ordinary. I decided to tuck the note away in the waistband of my skirt and continue on with my day as normally as possible.

*****

As the day continued I still couldn't get the thought of the note out of my head. I kept discretely looking around the office to see if I could pinpoint a specific person who might've left me this note, but to no avail. Everyone there at the time was either too by the book or too lazy to do something of this sort.

Later that day I glanced down at my watch. It read 5:55. I drummed my fingers on the desk and thought for a moment. I had no idea who this mystery person was, but they had piqued my interest. I decided to call it a day and gathered my things. I gave Rebecca a curt wave goodbye as I left the building. While I waited for a taxi I looked down at my watch again. It read 6 o'clock on the dot. I looked back up and called over a taxi as soon as I saw an open one.

I arrived at the bridge at 6:24 and looked around. There weren't too many people around and those that were didn't look all too peculiar. I looked at the note one more time. Sighing, I folded it back up and put it in my bag. It was almost 6:27 and I was getting a little skittish. But if someone were trying to set me up I doubted they'd do it in a public place like this.

Just as my thoughts drifted off I was snapped back to reality by someone addressing me. "Miss Blackboure, I presume." I looked over my shoulder and saw a man walking towards me. He didn't look at all familiar to me. "I'm Alexander Waverly. I'm glad you received my note." He held out his hand for me to shake and I took it.

"I'm not entirely sure whether I should be glad or concerned." I replied.

"I believe it should be a little bit of both." I must have looked incredibly concerned because Mr. Waverly chuckled and continued. "Given your status in your line of work I think you'll do just fine though. Now, if you'd please follow me, I'd like to talk to you about a few things." He began walking towards the parliament building and I followed tentatively.

The sun had just begun to set as we arrived at the bottom of Big Ben. Mr. Waverly turned towards me and pulled an envelope from the inside breast pocket of his suit jacket. "You probably haven't heard of us but I've recently formed a new agency with the help of a few others. The United Network Command for Law and Enforcement. Or, as I prefer to call it, U.N.C.L.E. We think you'd make an extremely valuable addition to our team." I raised an eyebrow at him inquisitively and he continued further. "We've recently been tasked with a new mission which entails us shipping off to Italy. If your at all interested, take this information and read through it. If you decided to join us there is a fully paid for plane ticket tucked nicely inside that envelope. You'd be expected at the airport no later than 10 o'clock tomorrow morning. And don't worry about MI6. We've already informed them of this possibility."

Hesitantly I reached forward and took the package from his hand. It was clearly much denser than it appeared as he had held it earlier. "Smashing. I'll hope to see you tomorrow morning." He turned the opposite way and began walking. "Oh, and Miss Blackbourne, your punctuality is much appreciated. I expect it to be a regular thing."

Mr. Waverly continued walking and disappeared around a corner. I stood on the sidewalk for a moment, my eyes roving over the package in my hands and repeatedly turning it over. I resisted the urge to open it then and there, deciding it was probably best to do it in the privacy of my own flat. I put the package into my bag and looked for a taxi to take me back home.

*****

When I finally arrived back home I was absolutely starved. I decided that opening the package would have to wait so I set my bag down on my sofa and made my way into the kitchen. Turning on the radio, I began making myself a quick meal. After I finished I sat down at the table and broke open the envelope. There were several files and a few pictures inside, along with the promised plane ticket for the next day.

I sorted through them and picked out as much information as I could. There was an included note that  said I'd be fully debriefed upon arrival in Italy. The whole mission seemed very intriguing. 

I put all the information back into the package, leaving out the plane ticket, and continued eating. After cleaning everything up I made my way back to my room to start packing. Not knowing how long we'd be there I decided to pack everything that seemed appropriate for this time of year, making sure not to forget all the spy gear that would most likely be needed for the job and the information package as well.

It had been quite some time since I'd been out in the field, but a job opportunity like this was irresistible.