THE FACES OF ABBY- CHAPTER I
Its 7 am in the city of Brussels. It’s the morning after the last football match of the Euro Cup; the silence is finally here. The people are walking home hungover wandering the typical European streets and some are running after public transport, trying to make it to work.
I live in a very elegant penthouse. Long white curtains hang over the shining pearl floors. There is a skyline view of the city that I look at through the most amazing windows. The furniture is impeccable; everything belongs to a businessman, who happens to be my husband. We met a couple of years ago while I was on a mission. Yes, I was on a mission; although he doesn’t even know what I do for work.
I guess now you want to know, too.. What kind of mission was I on?
Well, I’m a secret not-so-secret agent. I work for an international independent organization. We work with other agencies around the world, not like what you see in the movies. You could say my life is a bit boring. Well except for my private, very private, life…
I’m the person they call when someone is wandering in a city without real motives. Even though they don’t pose a threat, they call me so they don’t have to alert the local authorities. I take care of it to avoid disappearances, to avoid international scandals.
A couple of years ago, I got a call to look for Obama’s pilots. I found them seduced by prostitutes and alcohol at 2 am. Finding them wasn’t the tricky part. I found them in less than an hour. The challenge was to get to them sober and ready to fly in a few hours. You could say that finding them saved the day and that I was a hero. Do you know how much I got for that little work? An easy ten thousand euros.
But what can you do with that money? Well… It all depends where you save it. Since is a secret, it’s sort of dirty money. Sometimes, it gets a little complicated; we have people to deal with these issues… we all have the right friends if we need them. 😉
I usually start my day at 4 am. This way I can always be alert and easily available to go at a moments notice. You know, they gave me a special, untraceable phone with 8 different numbers. Technology nowadays… Crazy right? One of those numbers is for the agency and another for my regular life. I have a direct line to the White House, that can only be used from the Oval. And well, the other numbers are just in case.
I go to yoga because I need the maintain the trophy wife appearance, but come to think of it, it also relaxes me. I do the normal, mundane things like eating breakfast and I preparing myself for “work”.
So as I said, my husband doesn’t know what I do. I got some temporary jobs for a while to justify some of my spending habits. Sometimes I spent money on stupid things… I spend my money easily, and what can I say, I like buying books.
My maiden is Abigail Mountbatten, but now my name is Abigail Louis. When I got married, I took my husband’s last name. I turned 30 today. That also marks more than a decade as a secret agent. My agent name is very simple; A7.
As an agent, I had to develop some skills for the job that would differentiate myself from other people, especially from other women.
Are you wondering yet, how I became an agent?
To be continued…
LIDIA AVILES 