[atrb=border, 0, true][atrb=style, background: #e1e1e1; width: 400px; border-left: crimson 12px solid; border-right: crimson 12px solid; margin: 10px;][style=width: 400px; ][style=margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 10px; float: left; overflow: auto; ][/style][style=background: #e8e8e8; padding: 0px 10px 10px 10px; margin: 10px; line-height: 11px; text-align: justify; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0.75px; color: #000000;] Isabel was in a mood. The usually upbeat and outgoing woman had been fuming for the last two days. Ever since a very unpleasant and entirely too cryptic phone conversation with her father the other day. He needed her to do something for him and he would only give her a bare minimum of information. Normally she would have just told him 'no', but this involved a person that she had been pursuing to become one of her own clients. Because of that she did feel a sense of opportunity as well as obligation to her father. Some of her best clients had started as contacts she made through her father. What information she did get was that it was something very valuable. It was stored in a safe deposit box here in Monte Carlo. He had already sent her the key and pertinent information on how to access the box, which she had received this morning. Part of the deal was that she would deliver the item personally. Her father suggested that she hire someone to escort her. Initially she scoffed at the idea, this was something she had done many times for clients before after all. She didn't need help in delivering a valuable package. However, the tone in his voice had her taking him seriously. He was legitimately afraid for her and her father didn't scare easily. Still, he refused to tell her anything more which irritated her to no end. In the end she had agreed she would hire someone. She even took a name that her father recommended and had given him a call. One Jason Porter. Her father had said he came highly recommended. Once she delivered the package it would be done and over with her father promised her. And if she gained a new client out of the deal, then it was worth her while as well. All of this though was why she was in rare form. A bit grumpy and aggravated because she was doing something she normally wouldn't do. She had to trust her father though. He would never put her into anything that was going to put her in serious harms way. Would he? She was pondering this as she stepped out of the car and found herself a seat at one of the outdoor tables of the cafe. This is where she was supposed to meet Mr. Porter. She looked at her watch, she was a bit early. Not much though, he should be along anytime she thought. While she was waiting the waiter appeared at her table. She ordered an espresso and indicated that someone would be joining her. Any further ordering would wait until he arrived. The waiter nodded and quickly disappeared back inside. After a short wait, he came back out and set the drink down on the table in front of her. She thanked him and he advised he would be back when the rest of her party was present. Sipping on the hot rich coffee, she nodded as the waiter wandered off again. Then she waited. [style=border-top: 2px crimson solid; padding-top: 5px; text-align: center; letter-spacing: 1px;]tag: Jason Porter notes: Hope it works [/style] [/style][/style]

♥

"Mr. Porter, I have a job for you. I'm sending you the information in the mail, so you should receive it shortly." came the voice over the phone as Jason placed it to his ear. That was almost a week ago and he was signing consent to accept the envelope. Opening it and looking over the contents, he saw what the job was. It was to drive around his clients Daughter with very important item(s). Inside was a picture and her name as well as a phone number on how to reach her. Payment was to be given by his daughter after the job was complete. He didn't know Mr. Alexander very well, but he didn't know many of his clients as well as maybe he should. He had done a few small jobs for the man, but it wasn't like they got together every weekend to have a brewsky or anything. He always dealt with the man by mail or delivery service, so meeting him was never something that actually happened. The jobs were always simple pick up and drop off, with payment at the drop off location. Never once did he have an issue with the man, but he did find it a little odd that he couldn't face Porter face to face. What was he hiding? or what was he in that required so much secrecy? It always made Porter wonder, especially if it had anything to do with his reason for being here in Monaco or technically working for the DSS. The other thing that made things difficult was that he couldn't just call in to get information on his clientele because he didn't know who was watching, listening, or peeking at information in the DSS. So everything he was doing was either on his own or through headquarters on whatever intel they could give him without it being leaked. He did know one thing though, Mr. Alexander had his hands dipping into political things which made getting info from the CIA almost impossible. He also knew that Mr. Alexander was currently living in New York, but had dealings in D.C. The file that Porter could pull up had an address and a name, being Walter Alexander, age 54 and divorced, with his wife deceased around ten years ago and never remarried. Whether this was true or not was the question since he did however find out that Walter dealt with some government contracts. His file could be secret as well if he knew or paid all the right people within the system. So the file Porter had, could very well be nothing but lies like his was. He couldn't tell for sure. What was true however, and he just found out, was that the man did indeed have a daughter by the name of Isabel which he was instructed he would be contacted shortly after receiving the information in the mail.

Sure enough, he was but he kept the conversation simple and short, letting her know they would meet in person. If he was supposed to escort her to her client, he wanted to know and see who he was dealing with and not just from a supposed picture. He also wanted more details, so when she said who she was, he cut her off and told her they would meet in person and not to say anymore over the phone. He asked her to meet him at the Cafe ala Chatue in downtown Monte Carlo at precisely noon and for her to take a table outside.

Naturally, Porter was fifteen minutes early  and already sitting at a table with a newspaper. He sat quietly with his face behind the paper and watched, looking barely over the top of it to see her walk up and take a seat. She ordered an espresso and sent the waiter off. While holding the paper up with one hand, he looked at his Rolex on the other. He had one more minute to observe, but as fast as time flew, he counted that last minute in his head, waiting for the countdown from ten to begin. Setting his paper down and counting backwards from ten, he made his way to her table just as the church bells rang off in the distance announcing the time to be exactly noon.

"Miss Alexander." he said lending out his hand to shake, "Jason Porter and I'll be your driver. Could I trouble you to come with me however. You never know who is listening." he said as he now pulled his hand back and folded them in front of him at waist level. "Your Father was the one who asked you to contact me." he spoke as if trying to convince her that he was who he said he was and not someone else. He even laid down a few bills to pay for her coffee and a tip.

[atrb=border, 0, true][atrb=style, background: #e1e1e1; width: 400px; border-left: crimson 12px solid; border-right: crimson 12px solid; margin: 10px;][style=width: 400px; ][style=margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 10px; float: left; overflow: auto; ][/style][style=background: #e8e8e8; padding: 0px 10px 10px 10px; margin: 10px; line-height: 11px; text-align: justify; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 0.75px; color: #000000;] Quietly sitting and sipping her espresso she waited for this Jason person to show up. Thoughts running through her mind if this was really a good idea or even necessary. The truth of the matter, hiring someone to escort her would probably draw more attention to the whole transaction than if she just handled it herself. All it required was to go to the bank, pick up what was in the box, take it to the client, hand it over, have a little chat with him, hopefully gain their trust for future transactions and then be on her way. Maybe she would just tell this guy it was a mistake to call him. She could do it on her own. She was lifting the cup to her lips again when there was the shifting of someone moving behind her. On instinct she turned her head to see a man coming toward her table. Her eyes followed him as he came right up to her and stopped, just as the bells started ringing in the hour. Blinking at the man as he introduced himself she held out her hand and shook his, laughing a bit. "Yes, I'm Isabel Alexander. Did you just... were you watching me? Then time your approach to exactly the minute? I'm not sure if I should be impressed or think you're some kind of weird psychopath." She was still shaking her head when he continued on. Her eyes looked him over then locked onto his eyes in a steady, unshaking gaze. Isabel dealt with people with big egos and who thought they were intimidating on a regular basis. She had long ago learned to stand her ground with them. Not letting his odd approach or words rattle her she continued drinking her coffee. "Your Father was the one who asked you to contact me." She raised both her eyebrows in an expression of both question and amusement. Who the hell was this guy? James Bond or something? She let out a sigh and set her cup down on the table. Frowning a bit still looking him in the eyes. "Are you asking me or telling me?" Not getting up from her seat yet she sat back and folded her arms across her chest. Now this seemed fairly typical of her father. He had asked her to make the call to this man to hire him, to make it seem like she had a choice. Really he had already called the guy himself. This thought started to push her back into that foul mood that she thought she was finally letting go. She didn't like being pushed or backed into a corner. "I guess it doesn't matter anyway. Apparently you've already spoken to him." She paused for a moment. Trying to figure out what was going on here. She didn't like it one little bit. Someone needed to fill her in or there was going to be a problem. In essence she was doing a favor for her father. All this bullshit she didn't need. "I don't think we've discussed whether you are my driver or not yet. Isn't that what this meeting was for? Unless you have some other agreement with my father? If that's the case, then I certainly hope he's the one that will be paying you. And who on earth would be listening or even care about us talking anyway?" Again she paused. Wanting to see if he would volunteer any information. Yes, she was being stubborn in a way but, she didn't like being treated like this. As if what she wants to do or what she thinks doesn't matter. She let out another breath. "Look, I'm sorry. I don't mean to be... difficult. I just don't know what the hell is going on here. My father didn't tell me anything. I call you to set up a meeting to discuss hiring you to escort me and a package to a potential client. Then you swoop in here like Batman or something and tell me to come with you because people might be listening to us. Excuse me if I'm a little reluctant to just go off with you. Right now being outside in this public place with all these nice witnesses around seems like a pretty good idea." [style=border-top: 2px crimson solid; padding-top: 5px; text-align: center; letter-spacing: 1px;]tag: Jason Porter notes: Hope it works [/style] [/style][/style]

♥

"Yes, I'm Isabel Alexander. Did you just... were you watching me? Then time your approach to exactly the minute? I'm not sure if I should be impressed or think you're some kind of weird psychopath."

So far he wasn't impressed with this little rendezvous with this woman and he was already getting the feeling that if the daughter was like this, it was only fair that daddy was as well. Maybe he didn't want to meet the man after all.  Children mostly grew up like their parents and Porter was almost a spitting image of his father and had his attitude as well. But he wasn't ......ok, yes maybe he could be a little intimidating, but he wasn't trying to be. Honestly he wasn't. He told her noon, so why be early and ruin her moments of peace before it had to happen? He was trying to respect her space but perhaps that was a little creepy. Maybe he should have been late or maybe wait down the street. Either way, sitting and watching her for a moment was perhaps the wrong thing to do, but then again, in his line of work, he had to be cautious of everyone, even women. Who was to say her father wasn't sending her to kill him or to set up a trap of some sort. He had to be sure before his approach.

"With all due respect, ma'am I do apologize."

"Are you asking me or telling me?.....I guess it doesn't matter anyway. Apparently you've already spoken to him."

What could he say to that. It was apparent from her hesitation that her father did not tell her that he was sending some information his way to warn him. it may have been nice to get some information on Miss Isabel as well. She seemed as though she was going to be a spit fire and spitfire's always were trouble. They ran at the mouth, were bossy, and stubborn to some degree liking things their way. Apparently, her father didn't warn her of the dangers that could be posed here or Porter wouldn't have been called in the first place. Porter wasn't called for just small jobs that meant nothing. He was highly recommended and called for when things could go terribly bad at any given moment. If this job was going to be that easy, She could have driven herself or had someone else do it. 

"I don't think we've discussed whether you are my driver or not yet. Isn't that what this meeting was for? Unless you have some other agreement with my father? If that's the case, then I certainly hope he's the one that will be paying you. And who on earth would be listening or even care about us talking anyway?"

Alright, he could see how she was going to play this. This wasn't the definite job that her father had told him about. From the way she was talking, she was the one paying him for this job and she wasn't even sure she wanted to do this. Otherwise this would not have turned into such a fiasco already. So since things were not going as smoothly as he'd hoped already, he decided to take the seat across from her. "Again, I do apologize. I'm only doing my job but you're right. This is only an interview, I'm technically not getting paid yet, so we can do things your way."

"Look, I'm sorry. I don't mean to be... difficult. I just don't know what the hell is going on here. My father didn't tell me anything. I call you to set up a meeting to discuss hiring you to escort me and a package to a potential client. Then you swoop in here like Batman or something and tell me to come with you because people might be listening to us. Excuse me if I'm a little reluctant to just go off with you. Right now being outside in this public place with all these nice witnesses around seems like a pretty good idea."

He shook an open hand at her, "No, no, you're quite right. I have a tendency to take my job too serious, Miss Alexander. To be honest, I have not spoken to your father except for him telling me that he had a job for me and the information was in the mail. He sent a picture of you so I knew who I was meeting and that payment would be given when the job was completed. I was under the impression that the job was definite so that is my mistake for assuming. However, I will let you in on a little secret that maybe your father didn't explain to you. My services are not called on for mere deliveries and simple driving. If your father recommended me, there is serious potential for danger. With that being said, I am a bit worried about people listening but as you said, this is just an interview so my opinion doesn't matter." he said smiling. 

At this time the waiter had returned with a menu and placing it down in front of Porter. 

"Can I get you something to drink?"

"I'll take a spring water please." he said looking up to the man and handing him the menu. "And I won't be needing this." He then looked to Miss Alexander as the waiter walked away. "And with all due respect ma'am, but if something does happen, I would like it to go on record that THIS IS just an interview and I am not responsible for your safety until the moment I am hired." he said confirming things so that she was on the same page as he. "So how did you want to start this interview, Ma'am? I guess I'm at your disposal."