The 6 Greatest Errors of All Time | ?

XXIV. queen's waltz

My face remained unfazed. "It's in the catalog for my selection."

"Yes, but it's merely for the pamphlet's design and not an actual opt-"

"What's going on over here? Are you refusing her requests?" K2 had appeared at the sides and he walked closer to us. When he got here, Fiona stood up and lowered her head at him.

"Not quite, sir." She rose her head. "She wants to wear... well, that." She pointed calmly to the picture that I had previously pointed to.

The older man examined my selection before he let out an unexpected, soft chuckle. "You should have known better, Fiona. She hasn't changed then, she won't change now. Drop the act."

To my surprise, his subordinate broke into a small smile as she looked back at me. "My apologies, miss. It was a small test."

I arched my brows with my arms folded. "Did I pass?"

"Exceeded." She smirked bitterly before K2 intervened.

"While our whole branch knows of your past selves and your preferences, some of them still want to be sure." K2 reassured me. "But unfortunately, the style you like stands out too much for the event. The women all attending there will be adorned head to toe in accessories that compliment their customized gowns. We want you to blend in. Your identity doesn't wear anything short of a fitted dress."

"Bummer," I smiled sarcastically, already knowing the outcome of this banter. "We love adhering to 19th century gender roles."

Osias gave me a sympathetic sly smile as he glanced at K2. "Who's going to break it to Ryder? He was the one that suggested we persuade her before she came downstairs—"

"CODY!" I suddenly bellowed in my spot. The others covered their ears and flinched away.

There was an echoing silence that rang across the penthouse before a male's voice from upstairs groaned and muttered, "You losers had one job."

Rubbing my forehead, I glanced back up at them and sighed out in defeat, "Just pick whatever you people want then."

"Fiona, go send for the suit pronto. We'll put it on her for the flight."

My eyes widened slightly as I saw the woman bow and walk briskly away to go order the tabooed attire. The older man called three other guards closest to our area and beckoned them over with a single finger. They leaned in for the rest of the team's outfit requirements before they were dismissed on tight schedule to get everything ready in an hour.

K2 brought his wrist up to check the time. "6:00am," He glanced back up at me and Osias. "Your team needs to be ready for an 11 hour plane ride across the North Atlantic at 7. That'd give us the appropriate time to reach Versailles, France in time for the event."

"Just for clarification," Osias jutted in. "What ever happened to the people whose identity we're impersonating...?"

K2 rubbed his chin silently. "I sent them to a better place."

"What?" I blurted out.

"They're in the Caribbeans. Or, will be. Maybe they'll appreciate a little beach and tan once they've figured out there's no way to override the flight's new destination."

Asao sighed out in relief on the other side of the couch before he lowered the lid of his laptop and set the appliance on the glass-topped table. Osias rose out of the sofa and he walked away with K2 to help finish unpacking. I walked over next to the boy as he typed something on his phone and showed it to me.

They've received answers from the interrogation. The organization's next target is on a flight.

I frowned as he lowered the phone and we locked eyes. "They keep following us. I still don't understand how. None of our devices are track-able. And the objects on us that are are monitored by K2."