^^Matt

Matt said that he was in town and wondering if I wanted to meet for dinner. Instinctively, I was about to ask Lara if she had any plans for later, but remembered that she would be having meetings for a few days straight. I texted Matt back for the details and he replied with the location and time. I noted the hour and recognized that I had a bit of time before dinner, so I went to do some work. Lara's desk will be tackled another day.

As I was walking down the hall, I spotted Hugo (the boy who gave me the vr headset). All thoughts of work left my mind. I waved him over and forced him to play FIFA. It didn't take much convincing for the boy to play with me. He went with the French national team while I kicked his ass with the Italian.

X

I attached my earrings while assessing my makeup. It sucked that this was the first time in a while that I was getting dressed up for... and it wasn't for Lara. I sighed before making sure I liked my outfit. I had taken a liking to Hugo, so he would be driving me to the location. I was supposed to have multiple guards travel with me, but I didn't want that kind of heat. They wanted to get Lara's permission, but I used my hierarchy to get them to comply. Plus, Lara was really busy and I didn't want her stressing about something else.

Hugo gladly pulled up to the expensive restaurant. I thanked him and told him that my friend would drop me back off. Hugo was hesitant to leave, but I assured him everything would be alright. I then entered the restaurant to find it empty, except for one table. Matt's back was to me, but I could see him reaching for his wine glass and bring it to his lips.

"Wow. Someone doesn't like company." I joked as I approached him.

Matt smiled and stood to greet me. We exchanged hugs before sitting back down. Matt then poured my glass with red wine and held his glass up. I smiled before clinking our glasses together.

"You look lovely, Mia. How are you?"

"Thank you and I've been better. Just a little fed up with the lack of progress on something, but that's... fine. I'm doing fine." I chuckled.

"Was the move to France everything you wanted and more?" He chuckled.

"Exceeded expectations." I laughed. "Much better to be honest. Thought I'd feel more hostile energy, but that's not the case. And everyone is respectful to me even if they don't like my species. Very refined and-"

"Classy." Matt concluded, causing me to nod. "Vampires are extraordinarily well mannered." He paused. "How's Lara adjusted to being Queen?"

"She's a natural." I beamed. "I knew she was well trained and brought up where she'd one day take over, but she's far better than I ever imagined."

"That's nice." He smiled at the waiter placing our meals before us.

"Didn't realize you ordered already. I must've been late." I arched a brow.

"Filet is still your favorite, correct?" He ate his ribeye while I muttered something incoherent. "So I assume Lara is quite occupied." I nodded and continued eating. "So that leaves you quite bored."

"Is this an interrogation, Matt?" I stopped eating.

"No, but an opportunity." He placed his utensils down and opened his bag. Matt placed a folder on the table. "I just figured if you're so incredibly bored, then you maybe able to help us. You know... find the time." He sipped his wine while I took the folder.

"I'm retired." I flipped through the papers. "What's this about?"

"Trafficking of women." I raised my eyes to look at him. "We've reached multiple dead ends and haven't gotten any leads. Zayn and Jade are on the case, but they haven't found a breakthrough. It's becoming increasingly problematic with more girls being abducted."

"Any similarities?" I flipped through the pages of the victims.

"None. Just that they're women. I was hoping that you'd be able to help." I sighed at his words. "Look. I know you're retired, but you're the best agent I've ever met. Far superior than the ones they idolize at the agency. I need your help and we need to stop any further abductions."

"Okay." I placed the folder down. "But I'd have to be reinstated-" I stopped when I observed Matt sit back. "What?"

"This is an off the record-" I scoffed at his words. "No one knows that I'm reaching out to you and I'd like to keep it that way. This is a highly classified case and it needs to stay confidential. That means that Zayn and Jade can't even know." That shocked me. "I'll be your point person. Any new leads you find, you come to me. No accessing anyone else."

"You're setting me up for failure."

"No, I'm forcing you to be better." He ate his steak. "You have all the capabilities, so put your experience to work and find a connection." Matt picked up his glasses. "To stopping the abductions."

"To stopping the abductions." I clinked my glass with his before taking a long sip.

X

Matt essentially gave me nothing to work with. I just had the victims profiles and that was it. Like Matt said, they were all women. And only cisgender women, which was rare. The women were also young, like in the age range of 15-28. It was hard to find a connection since they were incredibly diverse, like no racist abductors here.

I went on the computer and hacked into their medical records to find a common underlying illness. Nothing. There was absolutely nothing wrong with these girls. I paused and stared at the 58 faces staring back at me. What do you girls have in common? I then glanced at the computer and back to the faces.

My eyes widened and I began to research a few more of the girls. All of them had perfect medical records. No underlying illnesses or chronic cases. Everyone was healthy. So only healthy girls are being taken. I did more research into their familial background to see if they had run away or were homeless. Typically, it's the more vulnerable people that are targeted.

I held my forehead as I stared at the information being displayed back to me. Some came from broken homes, but not all. That means their home life isn't a contributing factor. Some of the women were married, others single, a few had roommates, and the rest lived at home.

"Here, your highness." I smiled as Hugo poured me tea. "Any luck?"

"Not really." I subtly hid the main mission report from Hugo. "How are you, Hugo?"

"Can't complain." He smiled. "Are you enjoying yourself here?"

"Indeed, I am. How long have you been here?"

"Umm... about 15 years. I was hired under His majesty, Alexandre." I nodded at his words. "A lot of people were released from their duties, which led to a lot of disgruntled workers. The ones released were loyal to the former king and King Alexandre didn't want that in his reign."

"Do you like it here?" He excitedly nodded at me. "What are your thoughts on Lara?" I chuckled at his flustered face. "No need to be alarmed. I'm not tattle tailing on you. You helped me sneak out, remember?" I playfully nudged him.

"Very much." He chuckled as he sat across from me. "This is the first time I'm working in such close proximity to her. She's intimidating." He shivered while I chuckled. It's true because Lara has just been in work mode since we've been here and her work face can be fierce. "But she's a marvelous ruler. In under a day, she controlled the riots going on in Prague. I believe she may be a better ruler than her brother."

"I kind of agree with that too." I sighed, causing Hugo to eye me weirdly. "After experiencing life under Lara, how open would you be for Alec to regain his authority here?" Hugo sat back and thought about my question. "Honest, please."

"I... it'd be an adjustment to go back to his ways. They're far less severe than her majesty, but her ways are more effective. And she has quick and effective results. I think it'd be hard shoes to fill."

"I assume others would hold your same opinions." I muttered. "So if it was up to you, she'd continue to reign?" He nodded, making me bite my lip. Damn, this got a lot more complicated.