DRAKE

I not-so-patiently awaiting Ethan's return. I sit in the back of our van with Felix. Ajax is in the passenger seat, and Tony whistles a tune of some Spanish song from the driver's seat. We have been waiting for at least a half hour for him to reappear with Vanessa by his side.

I can't believe this is really happening. This is a total mistake. I specifically voiced my opinion to everyone about it, but nobody gave a damn. They're making a mistake, and I don't understand why I'm the only one seeing it.

I mutter curse words underneath my breath, Ajax turning around in the passenger seat to send me a look. "We all know you don't like this idea. Your pouting is getting annoying."

I grumble, but I decide to keep quiet. I figure there will be more time for displaying my unhappiness on the plane ride since I have seats right beside Ethan and Vanessa. Ajax, Felix, and Tony are taking another plane ride for safety precautions which they had a lot to say about. They all were upset about not getting first class like Ethan, Vanessa, and I, but they aren't the ones going undercover as rich people, so that's that.

"There they are." Tony's voice pierces the van air. Seconds later, he cackles. "Oh shit, she looks pissed."

"Not as pissed as I am." I mutter, just before the side door of the van swings open. In it's absence, I'm left with the wonderful sight of a furious Vanessa and a nonchalant Ethan.

"Look, I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, but I had to see if you could handle being on the spot and being able to lie." Ethan is in the middle of saying as they both climb into the back of the van, Vanessa lugging a bulky suitcase behind her.

Vanessa has on black jeans, black heels, and a black, bell-sleeved shirt. Her curly dark hair is pulled up in a high bun, wisps cupping her face. "I lied to my mom and passed your test, so I hope you're happy."

"What is that?" Ajax is nearly falling out of the passenger seat as he cranes to see Vanessa. "You don't need a suitcase."

"What?" Vanessa's eyebrows slant as Tony puts the van in drive and lurches is onto the road. "Ethan said we're going undercover in Washington. Last time I checked, walking around naked was illegal."

"It is, but you won't be naked. As soon as you touch down, shopping will have to be done." Ajax explains, waving his hand and turning back to face the front of the vehicle.

"Why?" Vanessa's curiosity is annoying the shit out of me, so I begin explaining the situation.

I tell her all about the criminal who's selling a weapon that we need to get our hands on and how Ethan is going to take care of the situation. I inform her that she is there merely because she has to be and that she should say as few words as she can because she'll be walking beside murderers and rich criminals.

At the end of my explanation, she stares at me blankly. "You're saying that I have to pretend to be Ethan's rich girlfriend for more than a week?"

"Wife." Ethan replies swiftly.

"I know it sucks, Vanessa." Tony says from the front, a huge smile covering his lips. "I asked to be the one going undercover with you, but I was shot down."

Vanessa turns to send Tony a sympathetic look, making me roll my eyes.

In the very back where nobody sits is a pile of black bags, one belonging to each of our crew members with the bear necessities. Felix holds a black box in his hands, and as the van glides down the road, he begins pulling items out.

The first things he takes out are passports, handing me, Ethan, and Vanessa one. "These are your passports under your aliases Ajax made for you. You are now Amber Smith and Ryan Smith."

Vanessa immediately bursts into laughter, her giggling making Ajax turn around. He has a huge smile on his thin lips. "Thank you for getting that joke."

"I don't get it." I mutter, annoyed.

"Mr. and Mrs. Smith?" Vanessa glances over at me, her caramel eyes disbelieving. "You've never seen that movie?"

"No." I respond. I have little time for movies, and I'm sure that movie is a sappy love story.

I didn't realize I said my thoughts out loud until Ajax replies. "Are you kidding me? It's a sexy action packed movie and you'd love it."

"Maybe we could rent it one night when we're in DC." Vanessa suggests, but I just scoff.

"It's not going to be all fun and games. This is serious shit." I tell her, shaking my head. "We won't have time for any movies, and we really shouldn't be wasting time right now. You need to go over you aliases so you aren't caught by the airport security before we even take off."

Vanessa immediately goes silent, her eyes falling to her passport. Ajax grumbles something as he turns back around to face the front, and Ethan glances up from his own passport, sending me a look as if to say, "Play nice."

I don't play nice. Especially with not needed tag-alongs.

I glance down at my own passport. "I'm Rick Collins. Wow. Can't get any whiter than that."

"Just shut up if you're going to keep complaining." Ajax mutters from the front seat, making my stomach boil. I don't reply because I'd only be complaining more while Ajax continues. "Now, as soon as you three touch down, expect eyes on you from Fitch's men. I put your aliases on the exchange's guest list, so they'll probably want to check you guys out to make sure you're the real deal. Shopping is the first thing you all should do because," Ajax turns slightly to eye Ethan and Vanessa. "Those clothes aren't going to cut it."

Vanessa shrugs. "Fair enough."

"Since Sunday is when the exchange will occur, you need to go shopping, go out on dates, and pretend like you like each other for the days before and probably the days after." Ajax says, telling me things I already know. "While Drake is your bodyguard the whole time."

"Wait..." Vanessa's voice trails off as her eyebrows slant together in thought. "You said, when we touch down. What about you guys?"

"We're taking another route for safety precautions." Felix explains softly, taking more items out of the black box he grips. He hands Vanessa a wallet, and she immediately opens it up to find her ID and other personal items of her alias.

Her eyebrows peak as if she is impressed, but I'm sure I'll be seeing a lot of that on this trip. She's probably never flown first class or gone to the high end mall we're going to visit. She probably has never even seen the type of car we're going to be renting for Sunday night. 

"We're here." Tony says as he drives into the busy drop-off area at the airport. He picks a secluded, shady area and pulls over, letting Ethan, Vanessa, and I out.

Felix finishes handing us items, emptying the box. He hands Vanessa a simple white watch with a gold face which he explains has an emergency button underneath just in case anything were to happen. He hands over a few more of his famous inventions that are mostly made to track our locations, but he says more items will be in DC since he shipped a few boxes to the safe house he, Tony, and Ajax will be staying at.

"You guys be safe." Tony explains to the three of us as he hands my bag over and Ethan's. Vanessa awkwardly stands in between us, a place where I'm not too fond of her being, yet after Tony shuts the van door and faces us, he gives only Vanessa a hug.

Vanessa hugs him back with a smile as if the two have been friends since forever. I choke on air and glance over at Ethan just to make sure I'm not the only one in shock. Ethan looks just as bewildered, with his gray eyes narrowed and his mouth ajar, but he covers his confused state when Vanessa pulls away.

"Thanks. We will be safe." Vanessa gazes at Ethan. "Right?"

A smile tugs at Ethan's lips, though nothing is really funny to me. "Right."

Vanessa exhales. She fortunately brought along a purse and is able to put all her new information in it. She leaves behind her old wallet, and she begins to shove her phone in the purse but I lean down and grab her wrist.

Her head snaps up to look at me as I take the phone from her. "You won't need this. We will buy phones when we touch down."

Vanessa watches as I hand the iPhone over to Tony. The first thing Tony does is check to see if it has a passcode, and when he easily unlocks it with a swipe, Tony snickers. "Ooh, no passcode. Bold."

Vanessa smiles. "I've got nothing to hide, Tony."

Tony hesitates, but then he frowns. "Damn. Nothing?"

Vanessa shakes her head and chuckles, but I'm getting bored of this flirty exchange. Vanessa shouldn't be calling Tony by his nickname, and he shouldn't be hugging her goodbye. This is all wrong.

My hands ball into fists as I say, "Tony, thanks for the ride. We'll get in contact when we touch down."

"Got it." Tony senses my dismissive tone and salutes. "See you guys later."

Tony leaves us, rounding his van to hop inside. As soon as he pushes down on the gas, I am heading in the opposite direction, hating the fact that Vanessa is on my heel. Ethan is walking beside her, and I swear I'm going to lose my marbles. He should be walking by me, his best friend, the one who cares about him a lot more than that bitch does.

I can hear what he says as they talk. "Okay. Let's go over our identities. What's your full name?"

"Amber Livingston Smith." Vanessa's hesitant voice makes my stomach roll. She's going to get us caught.

"Daughter of?" Ethan's voice is so quiet I can barely hear it, but I pick it up as we get in line to get our boarding passes.

"Uh... Where did it say that at?" Is Vanessa's response.

I bite my tongue, but by the way Ethan is talking to her, I can tell he has a lot more patience than I do. "Felix gave you a paper with your wallet. It is like a bio of Amber's life from since she was born until now. We're going to have to go over it on the plane."

"You need to know you birth date for sure." I tell her. It looks like the words itself ignite fear in her caramel eyes.

"It says it on your passport. Take it out. Memorize it." Ethan orders. She listens, shuffling around in her bag until she pulls out her passport.

"Okay. I was born on July 12th, 1994." Vanessa explains. She closes her eyes afterwards, repeating the same information over and over again under her breath.

"Is she serious?" I ask Ethan with a scowl covering my expression.

Ethan crosses his arms over his chest. "She's just trying to remember her alias. Do you remember every detail of yours?"

"Yep." I reply. Vanessa opens her eyes to peer at me, and I proudly puff my chest as I tell them about my alias. "I'm Rick J. Collins, son of Howard and Andrea Collins. I have a brother and a sister, Devin the personal trainer and Lilian the firefighter. I'm the oldest and the most successful, earning up to 80,000 dollars a year by protecting the Smiths, who I have been working with for over six years."

I open my mouth to continue, but Vanessa jumps in. "You're quick."

I smirk, and Ethan smiles at me. "You've always been good at that."

"Do you remember yours?" I ask, lifting a challenging eyebrow Ethan's way.

He nods. "I'm Ryan Clark Smith. I head a huge smuggling ring on the East Coast. My wife, Amber, handles the money while I keep my men in line and travel for investments. I'm wanted by the CIA, committing over two dozen murders and smuggling more than three million dollars worth of weapons, drugs, and people in and out of the country."

"Shut up." Vanessa's jaw drops. "We're that bad?"

"Are you kidding me?" I stare at one hell of a clueless lady. "You'll be walking beside mass murderers, sex traffickers, drug lords, terrorists, and more. If that doesn't make you want to shit your pants, this will: if you get caught your blood will be smeared down the walls of someone's expensive bathroom."

Vanessa glances down at her passport before tucking it away in her purse. She grips her purse strap as she says, "Thanks for that image. Now, excuse me while I go barf."

Vanessa walks past me, making sure to jab her shoulder into mine. She apologizes to others as she reaches the end of the line and heads toward the bathroom of the busy airport.

Ethan nudges me. "Are you serious?"

"She needed to know the severity of this mission." I whisper to Ethan, angry that he's even defending her. "Now, she does."

"Oh, I'm sure she'll thank you when she returns." Ethan shakes his head, glaring at me frustratedly. "She just learned of the mission today. Her first mission, ever."

"And her last one." I mutter.

Ethan stares at me a second too long, and I swear he might murder me. Thankfully, he doesn't and just says, "Cut her some slack."

"She's not growing on you, is she?" I ask, narrowing my blue eyes.

Ethan shakes his head and tells me the truth. "No. She's not, but being just outright rude is not going to fly with me."

I pause while I stare into my friend's gray eyes. He's being sincere, and I feel slightly guilty for making him get so irritated. "Fine. I'll just keep my mouth shut whenever my comments aren't needed."

"Good." Ethan lets out a sigh of relief. "Maybe the plane ride won't be too bad, then. Right, Rick?"

I groan on the inside at the sound of the name, but I'm going to have to get used to it. "Right, Ryan."

••

Keeping my mouth shut didn't seem like that tough of a task, but the way Vanessa reacts to the first class area of the plane makes me nearly lose it.

There's fancy little bar area that we pass to get to our seats, and Vanessa takes a glass of wine from the lady behind the counter. Vanessa's caramel eyes are so wide they could stretch across the Grand Canyon.

"This is awesome." She says breathlessly as we walk down the aisles. Each aisle has seats with dividers around them, much fancier than the rest of the plain. Each chair lies back and owns a TV, as well as a compartment full of snacks.

I find my seat, which is right beside Ethan's, thank God. We talk for a moment while everyone else takes their seats. Vanessa is in the middle of staring at her seat with huge eyes and a dropped jaw. "This is the life."

I roll my eyes and take a seat. "This is going to be a long ride."

Ethan eyes me, and I gladly ignore him as I turn my private Tv on and pretend like Vanessa isn't there. That makes the plane ride a whole lot better.