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Hello peeps!

I know, it has been forever... Please forgive me, the fates have  been kicking me a lot lately and I'm trying hard to recover...

On a positive note, you can get the full version of The One, it is widely available now. ( check my contact details)

I will continue to post chapters here, as I am now...

I also have 2 new stories I am working on, and I am posting them now, so I hope all this reading material will make you forgive me for disappearing!

Enjoy!




Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.


 

Julian

7 days. 7 fucking days. 6 long restless nights. Over 150 hours and counting...

To say Julian was pissed was an understatement.

“Fuck Marcus! Are you sure about this?“ He almost screamed into his blackberry.

“Jay, you've got to calm down...I swear. The man is reliable. I've used him in the past and he always delivers...” he heard his friend sigh heavily.

“How much am I paying this asshole?” He spouted in an angry tone.

“5k...5k/day plus incidentals.” Marcus asserted as calmly as he could.

Julian exhaled loudly and retorted angrily, “And for that kind of cash, the prick can't even answer his goddamn phone?!?!! For all I know, he's getting tanned on a fucking beach in Baja on my dime!”

“Look, there must be a reason he's not answering. Let me try to see what I can dig out from Mercy Inc., and I'll call you back, ok? In the meantime man, pull yourself together, we've got a board members’ meeting this arvo, and you must attend.” Marcus stated.

Julian threw the phone against the wall.

Where the fuck was she? What was going on here?!

People didn't just vanish into thin air!

The first 2 days after she left had been awful, no matter what he tried to distract his thoughts from her would only keep him afloat for a few instants.

He swam, tried to focus on some work as he had tons of business reports and scripts to read, watched mindless TV, but to no avail; he couldn't focus more than a few minutes at a time.

On the 3rd day he called Marcus and Todd, almost begging them to come to the Malibu house.

The day had gone great; well, much better than the previous anyway, and by the evening he was feeling a bit more like himself, more in control. For the first time since she had left him, he was able to sleep through the night without waking up every few hours.

On day 4, he was determined to chalk up the whole thing as an unfortunate event and felt blessed to be the man he was, Julian McCarty, God's gift to women, ruthless businessman, and idol to the masses; and it would be a cold day in hell before any woman could make him grovel for her attention.

Who the hell was she? Just some bitch he had a moment of weakness with.

On day 5, He had his bearings back. He could go home in the Hills, and resume his life.

Yeah, just one more day at the beach house, just to be sure.

On day 6, it was time to go home. He was back in control. He was ready, indeed.

Victoryn who? He thought with a grin.

Locking the door of the Malibu house he headed for his car. He would be home in an hour, and all would be fine.

She'd only be a memory. A distant one. A Lemony Snicket.

He chuckled. He was over her. Definitely.

Already relaxed in his car, whistling, as he was driving home, his phone rang. He put it on speaker and said, “Hello?”

“Hey Jul!” said a chirpy voice.

“Hey Mel!” he smiled.

“So what's up little bro? Are we feeling better? Did you find her?” She asked in a singing tone.

He felt his hands tighten on the steering wheel.

“No,” he said flatly.

“No what? You're not feeling better? Or No, you didn't find her?” she asked, puzzled.

“I didn't find her.” he replied in a cold voice.

“Really? Didn't your guy come up with anything at all? It's been a week, that's odd!” She added.

“Mel, I know exactly how long it has been, but it doesn't matter anyway, I don't care if he finds her or not,” said his icy voice.

Melissa knew this coldness could only mean one thing.

She hesitated but said, “Jul?”

“Yes?” he said curtly.

“Don't...” she started.

“Don't what?” He asked.

“Shut down...” she finished.

“I'm not shutting down. I’m driving home, and I'm just fine,” He replied in a clipped tone.

“Julian...” she said, irritated.

“What?” he shouted, a pout on his lips.

“I know you. This has happened before. Do I need to remind you how you acted after the Belinda episode?”

“Don't fucking dare to compare that bitch to Vi...” he uttered, anger rising

There was a long silent pause until he whispered, contrite, “I'm sorry.“

“I know,” she said softly, adding, “You'll find her, you know...”

He cleared his throat and said with a sad voice, “I know. I just don't know how much longer I can wait...”

“Well, the day isn't over, maybe you'll get news tonight!” his sister replied in a cheerful tone.

“Sure,” he said, realizing that James hadn't rang him back in the past 5 days. He was already thinking about ripping the man a new one.

“Ok, well, keep me posted. And Julian?” Melissa asked tentatively.

“Hmm?” he murmured.

“I love you.” she said with conviction.

“I love you too.” he replied tenderly, grateful for his sister’s existence.

He finally pulled in his front of his house. Inhaling, he opened the door and was greeted by his dogs. He went to the kitchen and stopped at the island. Caressing it, he couldn't help but think of her.

He went upstairs.

His maid has come, changed linen and made the bed in the guest room erasing any trace of her that was left.

He couldn't bear it.

He rang James Marshall, left yet another icy message and started to wait.

Once again, he was unravelling.

Waking up on day 7 at 7 am without having heard back from James, Julian was getting angrier by the hour as he left a message every hour until 11.30 am came and he had yet to hear anything from the investigator.

So, he rang Marcus, and unleashed his sour mood on him.

Who the hell did James Marshall think he was?!

((~~!~~))

James

I had been waiting in her corridor for hours. Finding her had been a fluke, really. It was clear the woman was hiding something.

With the little data Julian gave him the day prior, namely a physical description, a first name, a surname, and a phone area code, he had started to make some calls within the hour to gather information. Taxi companies and airlines produced nothing, which was odd in itself, so he called on one of his contact at LAX and asked if he could get the airport security tapes-against compensation of course- for the day Julian picked her up. Bingo! He had her! She had flown in with Cathay from Hong Kong.

From then on, getting one of his hackers to peruse the passenger’s manifests of every single flight arriving from that day to narrow the number of potential candidates had been a breeze. He was still stuck with 73 women's names, but it was progress.

The McGregor name was none of them, neither was the first name Victoryn, but he felt in his guts, her name, real name was in one of these manifests.

Lucky for him, since 9/11 he knew everyone entering the country had their name and contact details in the US sent out to the Homeland Security and ICE before being allowed entrance on US soil. An invasion of privacy if he ever saw one, but this was a blessing for people in his line of work.

He called one of his contacts in DC, and within 45 minutes, he had addresses and digits for the 73 women.

He eliminated 31 that were only transiting through LAX, and confirmed they had boarded other flights.

He was left with 42. He checked the phone numbers on the list and only 11 had the 415 area code.

During the next hours, he called every single one of them. She was #7 on the list and the only one whose phone was on voicemail. She didn’t state any name on her recording. He didn't leave a message as the voice requested, but upon hearing it, he knew, it was hers. She had a sensual radio voice, and he felt his groin area stir.

At 1 am, picture in hand, address and phone number confirmed, he was certain she was the woman he was looking for.

He drove to the building in Santa Monica and seeing there were 3 different entrances to it, he cursed, as he realized he simply couldn't watch them all to catch her when she would eventually come out. He went in, gave 3 C-notes to the doorman to confirm the woman was indeed living there, and currently present in the building. The man took the money eagerly corroborating that indeed Ms McGregor was home.

So, again with the McGregor name James thought. She entered the country under a different name; her fingerprints were taken; yet, she was known as Ms McGregor in this building?

More phone calls to DC would be needed.

James was intrigued.

Did she pull the passport swap trick? And if so, who trained her? And more importantly, why?

With the apartment number now in mind, he made himself comfortable in one of the lobby seats and waited.

He started to think.

Less than 24 hours in, he had found her; by chance, he now realized this.

It was clear this was no ordinary woman. She hadn't used a taxi to leave Julian's property, so nothing could be traced back, and if Julian hadn't seen the name and number on her luggage tag, no one could have found her, including him!

James was impressed.

Why would a woman use several identities? Use a phone number with an area code she did not live in, and apparently travel the world as often as this one did?

These questions needed answers, so James didn't call his client to report in, as he would usually have. McCarty would have to wait. There was more to his disappearing fling that met the eye. 

He had a black and white photo printout of the security tape, and her face was haunting him. She was a beautiful woman, but she seemed quite vulnerable upon looking up straight at the cameras while passing through customs. He wanted to know why before handing her over to Julian McCarty.

At 7 am, the doorman came to wake him as he had fallen asleep, and the man was going home at the end of his night shift, but he confirmed she hadn't left the building.

James gave 2 additional c-notes to the man for his good help, and decided to go upstairs and wait for her there.

Staring at her door, he asked himself once more:

Who the hell is she?

 

 






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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.