The Assignment

Amanda’s heart raced the car reached its destination. She had trained months for this infiltration mission. Daily sessions at the gym, daily personnel dossiers to study, weekly mission scenario briefings, and lots of computer decoding, had dominated the last year of her life. While she was always intrigued with joining the world of spies and espionage, she had often forgotten the level of physical and mental training they had to endure.

The car turned the corner, and began to slow down as it crept towards its destination. Amanda ran through her mental checklist and her plan of how to proceed. She had been added to the guest list of one North America’s leading art dealers, and her cover as an expert curator of Van Gogh made sure she would fit right in. Van Gogh had always been a bit of a passing interest to her since years ago in Amsterdam. It had been years since she toured that museum, but her knowledge on the subject was enough to make her cover legitimate.

Her target, Mr. Kellner, was one of the leading art collectors in the world, and resided in Los Angeles, when he wasn’t in Zurich, Hong Kong, or one of the other many residences he owned around the world. He had become extravagantly rich through the collection and sale of art and sculpture, but recently, the intelligence agencies of the world began to take a closer look at him. First of all, there was the question of legitimacy concerning his obtaining of certain works, especially those thought of as lost or appropriated by the Nazi’s in World War II. Art and possessions confiscated from Jewish families were ordered to be returned to their rightful owners, or their descendents, post war. There have been many pieces that have passed through Kellner’s hands, with him making a tidy profit in the mean time, which had circumspect origins. Secondly, there was the ‘foundation’ that he had created “Future Canvas” that fostered suspicions. The foundation was supposed to sponsor young and emerging artists, but many intelligence organizations felt it had connections to human trafficking and work with illegal substances. Whatever the case, Amanda was determined to find out what was going on in Kellner’s mansion.

Amanda took stock of her equipment. While her essential gear had been secreted into the estate by an agent who had already infiltrated the grounds months earlier, she still had a few essentials on her person. She looked at her small red handbag and opened it. Inside there was her earpiece communicator, a small bottle of mace, three small vials of tear gas, three vials of smoke screen, a palm-sized taser, and of course lipstick, eye shadow, blush and a small spray of perfume. Placing the bag down on the car floor in front of her, she decided to continue her ‘inventory’. Her eyes admired the glossy red patent leather stiletto heels she wore. They had been quite a find, and she wore them with pride. As she glanced up from her bare ankle to the start of her smooth shin, she caught the hem of her red satin dress she wore. As her gaze climbed upward, she smiled giddily, as the dress hugged the curve of her thighs and hips perfectly. The long slit along the right side of her lower body began open at her ankle and gradually tapered to a close at mid-thigh. She knew that would get attention. The dress curved in with her waist, and then blossomed outward to contain her ample breasts. She had made sure to give ‘the girls’ plenty of exposure, with the dress coaxing them closer to create some amazing cleavage. The satin material came up over her breasts and over her shoulders, tapering into thinner straps. The straps crisscrossed behind her neck, and ran down to meet her waist. The back of the dress was essentially open, and dipped low in the back, again creating an attention-grabbing view. The thinness of the material gave hints of the garments underneath her dress, but was still quite tasteful, and her dark hair was drawn up in an elegant ponytail. Her driver took notice of her final check and said ‘don’t worry, you’re a knockout’. Amanda appreciated the compliment. She had worked very hard for her body, and had finally begun to feel confident with it. She needed to exude that confident and sexuality to make sure she could get close to Kellner or one of his aides.

The car pulled to a stop outside of an opulent estate. The house, if you could call it that, occupied a large portion of the grounds, and around five-hundred meters from the road. A large gateway secured the grounds. As Amanda’s partner drove up to the gate, a guard signaled for him to roll down the window. The guard peered into the car, and asked for the invitation. Amanda reached into the glove box and pulled out a decorative card, and then leaned forward to give it to the guard. She not only gave her driver a fine glimpse of her cleavage, but the guard as well. She saw the faint smile come to his face as she told him “My name is Amanda Ruggi, and I should be on the list.” The guard smiled at her again and said “Go right in Ms. Ruggi, and enjoy the evening.” And with that, the car rolled onto the estate and pulled into the roundabout by the front door.

“You know, I can find a way to come in with you,” Amanda’s driver said. “I don’t think that would be a good idea. First off am the only name on the invitation,” Amanda replied, “and secondly, I need to appear available so that I can get close to Kellner, I need to go in alone.” Her driver nodded his head reluctantly. She had known John only for a few months. He had been in some training classes with her, but had been doing most of his field work in Central Europe. His expertise with languages made him a perfect operative for European missions, and besides, his cover as an opera singer was legitimately believable…he was pretty good! “I can wait in the car here,” John insisted. “You’ll only draw suspicion as all of the other drivers are only dropping off,” Amanda retorted. “I am just concerned for my partner, that is all,” John replied. Amanda knew how he must feel, having lost his partner a few years ago, and working solo in recent years. This was his first mission back with a partner, and his genuine concern was evident. “Listen,” Amanda said, “You know I have been prepping this infiltration for a while now, and you also know that there is already one agent on the premises who has infiltrated the compound. She has my gear in place, and has intimate knowledge of the mansion layout, and can get me into any hidden of confidential areas. You have to trust me, partner,” she said giving him a smile. She looked at her, smiled back, and nodded. “Be careful, and call for me to back you up if you need, and also,” he glanced her up and down and whistled softly, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Amanda retorted, “Oh please, I’ve read some of your European mission reports.” And with that, she opened the car door, slid out her legs, and pushed herself up.

She closed the door, and caught John’s eyes once more before he drove around and out the gateway. She stood still for a short moment, almost losing herself in thought as the summer breeze toyed with the open hem of her dress. “Miss,” she heard the doorman say as her spell broke, “Please, this way”. He kindly opened the door, and motioned for her to enter. She confidently walked up the steps, thanked the doorman, and entered the mansion.