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James sighed and rolled over on his bed.. He didn't want to think about the evening before, but it was all that was in his mind... He turned his alarm clock off and got up. A check with with the bathroom mirror affirmed his fear... He looked pretty bad..
James had slept sparingly, tossing and turning all night. The left side of his face was slightly bruised where both Jennifer and Jessie had punched him the night before. He sighed as he undressed and stepped into the shower hoping the cold water could solve what attempted sleep couldn't.
He felt somewhat better as he dried off and dressed again, although his head still felt like an over inflated balloon.
James sat down on his unmade bed and let himself flop back. As he stared up at the ceiling, a knock came from the door. With great effort he got to his feet to answer it.
Agent Anderson greeted him and let him know that it was his turn to take watch outside of Bergeron's room.. This was probably the number one thing he hated about being a national security agent... The sitting around and waiting..
James nodded and picked up his sidearm, walking over to lean on the wall in front of the Prime Minister's room. As soon as he was sure that Anderson was gone, he slid down the wall to sit on the floor with his knees pulled up in front of him.. He was so tired he was sure if the assassin did show up, he'd be powerless to stop her anyway.. He sighed and leaned his head against his knees.
"Kojiro, what are you doing?
James looked up to see Coswell standing a few feet away.. He definitely was losing it, he hadn't even heard her approach.
"Oh.. I'm supposed to be keeping watch.."
Coswell nodded, and leaned against the wall a couple of feet away from him.
He felt a little surprised, she wasn't behaving at all self consciously.. unless she'd already forgotten the night before.. She was dressed the same as always with her oversized black suit and dark sunglasses. If she was hung over she did a very good job of hiding it.
James stomach growled audibly.. he had no breakfast.
Coswell said nothing, but just stood there motionless.
"I'm going to go downstairs and grab something to eat, can you stay here for a few minutes while I'm gone?"
"I'll be here all day."
James nodded and started walking away, then turned around and asked if Coswell wanted something brought back. She responded that she could use some coffee.
He took the elevator down to the ground floor and headed for the Restaurant that was integrated into the side of the hotel. The usual breakfast lines extended quite a ways and James sighed. The hotel was bustling in the early morning as travelers checked in and out.
He turned back towards the line ahead of himself, which had barely moved. James shoulders slumped momentarily before he jumped from the loud voice coming through his small ear radio.
"James, get outside quick!"
James' eyes were wide open now as he fumbled for his transmitter and walked out of the restaurant.
"What's going on?"
"Get outside and around to the north side of the building, they're kidnapping Bergeron!"
James' quick walk opened into a run as he brushed past people heading in the opposite direction. When he was outside he ran to his immediate right. As he rounded the corner he could see three figures in black several hundred feet ahead carrying Bergeron towards the east side of the Hotel. He immediately pulled out his gun, and the voice rang in his ear, "NO! Don't shoot! You might hit the Prime Minister!"
Without Answering James holstered his weapon and ran after them, but as he reached the east side of the building he witnessed them piling into a large black Mercedes and take off..
"Come on!" Coswell yelled from behind him. She'd climbed down the cord the kidnappers had used to get into Bergeron's room and to the ground with.
James turned around and ran after her. She quickly jumped into her Porsche and fired the engine up, waiting just long enough for James to get in before she took off.
The alley behind the Hotel fed into to main street in front of the hotel, and they saw the Mercedes tearing away towards the east.
"Buckle up!"
James fastened his seat belt as Coswell maneuvered past much slower moving traffic, trying to gain ground on the Mercedes which was pretty far ahead.
"Watch out for that...!"
"I see it!"
She shifted from the left to the middle lane just avoiding the rear end of a slow moving dump truck.
James turned around to look back at the pack of cars they'd just gotten through, but as he turned back towards the front his heart came to his throat. A traffic signal ahead had turned red, and she was pulling into the oncoming traffic lane to get around the cars that blocked their passage.
James closed his eyes and was shocked when he opened them a few moments later, they were still alive. However, several hundred yards ahead James could see a semi pulling a trailer out across the street.
"Coswell, you've got to stop, we won't make it!"
"Yes we will!"
James felt her punch the gas pedal, but he knew they couldn't make it, the truck was already in the way.. He grabbed the emergency brake and pulled it about halfway up before the force of the brakes locking up jerked him forward.
When the car had finally skidded to a stop a few feet in front of the semi Coswell growled at him.
"First off, never touch my car again... second off, we would have made it..."
"Fine, but we wouldn't have made it... If it weren't for me your beautiful little car would be totaled right now..."
"What about the Prime Minister?"
"Look, I don't know about you, but it's blatantly obvious to me that they kidnapped him for a reason.. if they wanted to kill him they could have done it by now, right?"
Coswell looked at him for a moment, then disengaged the parking break and spun out in a U turn, heading back the way they'd come..
James sighed. He and Coswell were back in Foster's office trying to explain to him the details of the morning.. James knew in the back of his mind that their problems today were directly related to the night before, but he didn't mention that, he knew it'd get Coswell into big trouble..
"It was my fault.. I went down to get some breakfast.. I should have stayed at my post and sent someone else to get it.."
"Kojiro.. Coswell always told me what a superb job you've done.. I'm a little shocked that this happened on your watch.."
James looked at Coswell in the seat on his left. Her eyes were fixed towards the floor in front of her as she bit her lip.
"That's all for you, Kojiro.. You can wait outside, I need to talk to Coswell for a moment.."
James stood up and nodded to Foster as he walked out of the office. As he closed the door he turned around to see both of them looking after him.
A few minutes later she walked out of Foster's office.
"What was that about?"
"Our assassins.."
"What's the word?"
"The Prime minister is alive, and they say he'll be returned on one condition."
"Which is?"
"That they get me in exchange.."
The hotel had been abandoned as the base of operations since the Prime Minister had been kidnapped, and Coswell was heading back home..
Coswell had softened up quite a bit since the previous day, she was even letting him visit her home.. James figured she couldn't help but do so after the previous night, however, she seemed to show no signs of embarrassment about it..
She lived in a small brick house on the south side of town. James followed her up to the door and inside. Things were pretty standard.. a sofa and a chair in the den, and a small table in the kitchen.
"Have a seat.. would you like a drink?"
"No thanks.." James said as he leaned back on the sofa.
She came back a few minutes later with a glass and sat down on the chair.
"That doesn't happen to be alcohol, does it?"
"Maybe it is, why?"
James sighed. "Because it's no good for you.."
"Well what is good for me? Running around chasing murderers?"
"You've got to keep your mind sharp.. alcohol dulls your senses."
Coswell sighed. "Why'd you start on this?"
"I'm sorry.. just after last night."
"What about last night?"
"Nothing."
"I'm sorry it all came out like that.. I just.." She rested her head on her fist. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a decent guy? Then when you do find one.. you're already too late."
James caught her hand as she reached for the glass on the small coffee table in front of them.
"I don't know what it's like, it's true, but I know that you're a much warmer kinder person than you hide under your sunglasses.."
James looked up at her. She didn't try to slap his hand away from the glass this time. She just slowly leaned forward her eyes closed, hoping.. but she only felt James hand on her chest holding her back.
Coswell sighed as she withdrew. James continued to just look at her..
"But, Jessie said I could have you.." she muttered to herself
James sighed too, "she can't just pass me off.."
Coswell whimpered slightly and leaned back in her chair.
"When was the last time you did something just for fun?
"Like what?"
"Like anything."
"I don't do fun..."
"Come on then, this might be my last chance to show you how to enjoy yourself."
James got up and extended his hand to her, she looked at it for a few moments, then took it.
Coswell's toes wiggled as she sat next to him.
The last signs of the sun slowly faded on the horizon, as the pastel clouds reflected off the Thames river.
James started to stand up.
"No.. just wait a little longer.."
James sunk back to his sitting position.. It'd been difficult to convince her she could even have fun, now she didn't seem to want to leave.
Coswell sighed, her head was leaning on James shoulder.
"Come on Jen, we'll go do something else now that the sun's gone down."
"No... Lets just stay here on this dock.."
"Ok.. but there's other more fun things we could be doing.."
"Not as fun to me.."
James sighed and they sat there awhile longer.
"Excuse me, you two.."
James looked up and saw a young chinese woman grinning down at him.
His eyes widened as he recognized her and his hand went to his hip. He saw her hand come down, and everything went dark.