"Nice place they've given you Kid." James ruffled my hair as we stepped onto the street looking up towards my new apartment.
Nothing about the brick-faced building stood out to me with its little pedestrian and vehicle traffic, not far from the Pentagon, it was an apartment owned by DIA for some of their agents but was given to me for now. We quickly walked to the third floor and down a hallway sprinkled with old carpet stale cigarettes, and walls painted an off-white that had yellowed over, and reached the last apartment door.
The lock was a bit stiff before it creaked open, the space was bare, a small kitchenette hugged one wall, its appliances outdated but looked freshly cleaned with a white enamel stove, a half-sized refrigerator, and a single cabinet that opened to stocked coffee and canned goods. The kitchen was divided by a counter and then opened into the living area consisting of a second-hand couch, a quaint wooden table, and a single bookshelf, containing a Washington Post from the day before and a directory of local phone numbers.
Down a corridor it led to a simple bathroom with shower and toilet that smelled strongly of bleach, I opened the window before continuing down the hall and reached the bedroom with a twin-sized bed with stiff sheets, and a wooden nightstand with a government-issued rotary phone. Against the wall a wardrobe, filled with some fresh clothing all neatly put away, in neutral colours, and clearly bought in bulk from a department store.
Like the window in the living room, a single window looked out onto the street below, where people went about their lives unaware of me.
"Hey, not a bad place," Robert said as he stepped into the bedroom while I heard James rummaging around in the kitchen. "It should do you well before you can get your own place."
"I think so too, definitely better than what I have had before."
Robert did not react as he too looked around the room opening the wardrobe and rummaging around as James finished with the kitchen and came to the bedroom.
"All right Kid, this place is good enough for what you need. We'll get out of your way and let you settle in. We'll be back tomorrow morning to pick you up and then we can finally start our first mission." James started eagerly rubbing his hands as he smiled.
Robert secretly smiled before dropping it. "You need to do some shopping for yourself Cooper, you need more clothes, and you need to get this place sorted out before work starts. You should have gotten plenty from the General, make yourself at home."
"Yeah, the kitchen is a bit bare, I don't know how often you will be here but it's always nice to return to a warm, comfortable home after work."
Eventually, James and Robert left before I unpacked my merger belongings and put everything away whilst also checking that I had everything I needed. I checked the hidden compartment in my jacket even though I already knew it held what it was supposed to.
Now that I was no longer being watched or observed I moved onto the only other thing I needed to do now that I was on US soil. I wrote some information on some paper before I spent some time working out the bus routes, asking some very nice people for some help, and made my way in the direction of the white house. Once close by I headed north following my pre-given directions and started looking for a nice family-owned doughnut coffee shop called The Morning Cup, it took a while but down a side street off a more popular street, I found it.
The door rang as I stepped into the open room streaming with natural light, casting a warm glow on the polished mahogany tables and leather-upholstered chairs. It smelt peaceful with freshly ground coffee and buttery pastries, blending with the low murmur of conversation from well-dressed patrons escaping the city's chaos.
A gleaming brass espresso machine sat behind the marble-topped counter, where a barista served a smooth cappuccino, and a rich-looking pastry, to some giggleing patrons before they sat down to listen to the soft jazz playing from a corner radio by the wall, lined with dark wood panelling and oddly framed artwork.
The elderly man smiled at me. "Good afternoon Mr. What can I get you?"
I tapped the on the counter as I looked at his board. "My friends recommended this place and told me that it has the best coffee around, said to ask for Eric's best."
"Your friends are well informed; you can't beat fresh produce made locally. I'd recommend the black coffee with a lemon cake; they complement each other well."
I smiled. "If you're recommending them then I can't say no."
He smiled back. "I knew you looked like a man of good taste. Make yourself comfortable and I will be right with you."
There were not many people in at the moment so I had free rein and took a seat in the corner. Snuggling into the cozy chairs, smiling, and taking a big breath of aroma. It was disturbed by Edric coming back.
"For the Sir, the best of both worlds. Sweet and bitter." He smiled placing my items on the table before leaving to serve someone else. I drank the coffee and recoiled a bit, I did not like it but forced it down, before shuddering slightly, dreading eating the lemon cake, however, it turned out good and cleansed the disgusting taste of coffee from my mouth. I wiped my mouth with the napkin before slipping my paper between the napkins, it held coded information on my progress of joining a US agency and where I had ended up, it would find its way to the Soviet embassy and the needed people.
"How was the coffee and cake, Sir," Eric said as he was walking past me.
"It was lovely, the split between the two tastes was delightful. I'll be sure to return." I smiled. "How much will it be."
"That will be $1.25." I quickly paid the bill and watched as Eric took everything away, trusting that I did everything correctly despite my knowing perfectly well I had.
I soon went back home and did some shopping for kitchenware, food, clothes, and a second-hand bookstore before passing the day reading some of the books, bouncing my knee before tossing and turning the night away.
I woke early the next day, dressed in a button-down white shirt, slim-cut trousers, oxfords, and sports coat before meeting James and Robert outside.
James rolled down the window. "Looking good Kid, you clean up well. Now get in we've got secrets to find."
"Thank you, Sir." I hopped in, moving some finished coffee cups, before James sped us down the road towards the airport.
James looked serious for once. "You're getting thrown into the deep end here kid, but you are just going to have to deal with it and learn on the fly. The General wants this to succeed and so do we."
Robert looked in the car mirror towards me. "You will learn quickly, and we'll teach you everything you need to know. First, here." He reached into the car glovebox and brought out a Colt 1911 in a holster. "Your first gun. Rules are only ever point it at something you want to shoot, the rest you'll pick up."
I had been given some basic weapons training back home by my father and a bit when I became a spy, but I did not feel comfortable hitting who I was supposed to.
James smiled through the mirror. "Haha, relax kid, we'll give you some more tips and show you later, just put it on and listen up. We're off to New York, it's a bed for the black market and the Soviets. If our mystery seller is going to find anyone wanting to buy it, it would be there."
Robert shrugged. "And if not, someone there will have the info we want, just got to find the right person in the right knowhow and you follow the trail."
"Simple stuff kid, just follow our lead and you'll pick it up quick, you're a smart kid so don't sweat it."
This felt like it was moving too quickly. "Um, yes Sir. I'll try my best and learn all that I can from you two."
"Haha, that's what we like to see."
It didn't take us long to get to the airport before we boarded a plane and made our way towards New York, on our way to catch a traitor get back stolen technology, and unfortunately for me, find some way to appease my unknown handler with information that pleases them and the state on the other side of the world, information that would most certainly get me killed if the US found out.
I watched as James and Robert calmly sat in their seat unaware of my thoughts.