Invisible || h.s.

26: Mysteries Unraveled

The GIF above shows how James Rowley, aka Hope's father, looks in my mind—a handsome man, but in a rugged kind of way. Christian Bale is just my personal choice, you're free to imagine him however you wish. With that being said, thank you for reading and enjoy!

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Harry

4 years earlier

"I can't believe we're on a mission with the James Rowley. Man's a bloody legend."

With my attention focused solely on the equipment I was making a mental checklist of, I wasn't really in the mood to deal with Niall's unwarranted excitement. Why would I get my panties in a twist over some hotshot who decided to grace us with his presence? Work is work. "S'not like you haven't met him before. Hell, he's trained you."

"Yeah, but it's different than actually working with him," Niall rolled his eyes, clearly not fond of my sarcastic quips. "Don't be such a spoilsport, Harry."

Glancing behind my back at the Irishman, I began to lecture him, "Do not use our real names while we're working—"

"No squabbling, lads," Liam chimed in from his spot against the wall, just in time to stop the small argument from escalating any further. "This is a perfect opportunity to prove to everyone that our team is the most efficient in the entire agency, and you two are not going to ruin this for me, understood?"

Niall muttered a quiet 'fine', while I just gave a small hum of agreement—enough to let Liam know I respected his position as the self-appointed leader of our team, but wasn't about to obey his every command like a puppet.

"Alright, let's go over everything again...." Liam proceeded to describe the plan for the umpteenth time, as if I hadn't got the entire thing memorized for weeks already. Tuning his voice out, I simply gave curt nods when needed, just to make it seem like I had been listening the entire time.

When has work become such a chore to me? I wondered, feeling slightly uneasy knowing just how annoyed the presence of my team members had been making me.

The sound of the bedroom door opening snapped me out of my thoughts, a chill going down my spine as I felt James' icy stare fixed on my face. "Viper," he spoke calmly, "join me for a moment."

"Yes, sir," I answered, springing to my feet in what I hoped was a dignified manner. Vaguely, I registered Niall shooting me an unimpressed glare, but I just shrugged my shoulders at him.

Yes, I may not have been fawning over agent Rowley like he was some goddamn hero, but I still respected his authority and position. The fact that he could easily make my life a living hell if I weren't at my best behaviour did not go unnoticed by me either.

Following the man into his temporary office—a room that was usually off-limits for the rest of us—I couldn't help but feel slightly nervous. Even though I knew I hadn't done anything against the rules, there was still that lingering twinge of fear that I would be getting the talk.

"Well, don't just stand there," James said, making himself comfortable on one end of the table that clearly served the function of his desk, with various documents strewn all over it. Reaching underneath his chair, he produced a bottle of Martini and two small glasses, pouring us both a drink. "Sit down, lad."

"I shouldn't be drinking, sir," I declined politely, purposefully using the word 'I' and not 'we'. There's no way I would lecture James fucking Rowley about drinking on the job, not unless I had a death wish.