Grace scanned the report that Will had just sent her. She had gone through field agent training, but she was brand new to field work. So instead of following the suspected terrorists with Will and his team, she sat stuck behind a desk with all these boring, old reports that Peter, one of the agents who worked for DSIS, had begged her to file so he could go on a date. Whoever said the life of a spy was glamorous obviously had never worked on these reports all day.
Her eyes paused on the bottom line of the report where Agent Cooper had signed his name. Irritation surfaced as she remembered his prank. She let out an indignant sigh. Did he really think he could send her flowers and chocolate and everything would be okay again?
"What's the matter, Crowther?" Agent Ryder said, sitting down on the edge of her desk. "That was a very annoyed sound you just made."
Grace shook her head. "Nothing—one of the agents just decided it was funny to lead me on a wild goose chase on my very first day."
"Sounds like you already had a run in with Isaac," Agent Ryder chuckled. "His pranks are pretty harmless for the most part, he just likes messing with people."
Rolling her eyes, Grace slapped the report into the folder in her lap and stood up. "How in the world did a guy like that become a CIA agent anyway?"
"Make no mistake," Ryder said, eyeing Grace closely. "Isaac Cooper may be a goofball, but he's also one of the best agents I've ever met. He has one of the most successful records in the CIA."
Raising her eyebrows, Grace walked over to the filing cabinet in the corner. "Well, you'd think he would have something better to do than play juvenile pranks."
Agent Ryder laughed. "Okay fine, I'll give you that. But seriously, give him a chance. He's my best friend and he's been under a lot of pressure with this assignment. Pranks are his way of blowing off steam."
Grace shook her head. She hadn't ever seen the guy in person, but she wasn't sure she even wanted to. She returned to her computer and opened Agent Cooper's agency profile. Her eyebrows climbed higher and higher on her forehead as she read. Isaac Cooper's record was impressive. Not only had he stopped a terrorist bombing on a flight over the Mediterranean, he had also managed to stop the assassination of the Vice President of the United States. Twice. The list went on and on of all Cooper's impressive feats that it became harder and harder to associate goofball Cooper with successful agent.
The phone next to her computer rang and she picked it up. "This is Crowther."
"Hey, it's Will," a cheerful voice on the other end of the line said. "I need an extra set of eyes on surveillance. Can you meet me in front of the Copenhagen Opera House in twenty minutes? One of our extremists is attending a performance there tonight."
"I can do that," Grace agreed, glancing at her watch. If she hurried, she could still grab dinner before she had to be there.
"Good," Will replied. "Oh and Crowther? Wear something fancy. You're going in as a guest."
Dang. Maybe she would have time to grab a bagel on her way, but first she needed to find a dress. She hadn't realized she would be needing formal wear on this assignment so she hadn't packed any.
"Okay, I'll see you in a few minutes."
She ended the call and grabbed her coat. If she was going to make it to the opera, she'd have to drive like a maniac.
"See ya later, Crowther," Agent Ryder called, giving her a brief wave. Grace smiled. Was it possible that she had just made a new friend? She hoped so. Denmark was really lonely without anyone to talk to.
Driving down the main boulevard, she spotted a dress shop tucked away in a corner and pulled over. A tiny woman with grey hair looked up from what looked like a steamy romance novel and smiled.
"Welcome," she said in Danish. "What can I help you with?"
"I need a dress," Grace panted. She had sprinted into the shop from her parking space and now was out of breath. "I'm supposed to be meeting someone in twenty minutes and I didn't realize I needed formal wear."
The woman sprang into action with speed that impressed Grace. "Of course, dear. I have just the thing for you."
Leading Grace over to a rack, she pulled out a slim, strapless navy blue dress with floaty sheer fabric cascading down to the floor. Grace sucked in a breath—it was gorgeous. She really hoped it would fit.
She quickly tried it on in front of the full length mirror in the dressing room. Amazingly enough, the dress fit like a glove. She quickly ripped the price tag off of it and shoved her clothes into her purse. If she was going to make it, she didn't have time to change again.
"Thank you so much," she said breathlessly, handing the woman the price tag. "I appreciate your help."
"Of course, darling," the woman replied, waving away her praise. "I picked out some shoes and a clutch for you as well that match the dress."
Grace looked at the items she handed her, completely impressed. This little old lady had excellent taste.
"I'll take them," Grace replied, handing over her agency credit card. Since she was buying all this for a mission, she didn't really care how much it cost, Will would more than likely let her write it off as a company expense.
As she slid back into the driver's seat of her car, she quickly stuffed the essentials into the clutch the woman had given her. She debated for a few minutes whether or not she should include her sidearm but decided against it. If it came right down to it, she wasn't sure she could really kill someone anyway.
As she arrived at the Opera House, she smoothed her hair, grateful that she had put some curls in it today. She swept it into a low ponytail off to one side and let it curl softly over her shoulder as she quickly swiped some lipstick on and touched up her makeup. That would just have to do.
She stepped out of her car at the curb and handed the valet the keys. Will stood near the entrance and he held out a hand to her, surveying her approvingly.
"You look fantastic," he said, giving her hand an encouraging squeeze.
"Thanks," Grace smiled. Her breath created a cloud of steam in the frigid air as she joked, "Just so you know, I'm writing this dress off as a work expense."
Will chuckled as he handed the tickets to an usher. "I don't blame you. Sorry I had to ask you last minute. Agent Hansen fell through. She and her husband had something else come up unexpectedly."
"So what's my job here?" Grace asked as Will handed her an earpiece. She shrugged off her coat and draped it over her arm as they made their way to their seats.
Will cast her a sideways glance, a smile playing over his lips as he said, "Our job is to follow Hans Edlund and see who he meets with. He's an extremely dangerous man, we need to figure out what the extremists he's working with are plotting and put a stop to it."
"I thought that was Cooper's job," Grace said, sitting down and flipping through the program she picked up."
"It is," Will agreed. "We're essentially his backup."
Grace swallowed, trying to contain her intense dislike of all things Isaac Cooper. He was a good agent, he was a good agent, he was a good agent... She repeated the words like a mantra over and over again, but it didn't change her opinion of him. Not even a little bit.
"Look there's Edlund now," Will said, handing her a pair of opera glasses so she could get a better look at their target. She recognized the tall, handsome, very Scandinavian man making his way down a row of seats. What she hadn't expected was to recognize the man right behind Edlund.
Speak of the devil...
Isaac Cooper's eyes scanned the crowd warily as he followed behind Hans Edlund. Grace watched him intently. He appeared nothing like what she had expected, even though she had seen his picture before. There was something about the way he held himself that made her think that he was a little scary, even a little dangerous. Not at all like the goofball she had thought he was.
The lights began to dim and the curtains rose, but Grace couldn't take her eyes off Cooper. As though he sensed her gaze on him, he turned to look up at the box she and Will currently occupied. He flashed her a cocky grin when he noticed her staring. Grace frowned, her lips pulling into a thin line. Maybe she was about to meet Isaac Cooper for real. The thought didn't make her feel any better.