Chapter 55: Little Ellie?

Ellie did not change before she arrived at her destination. In true special ops fashion, she entered the home through an unlocked second story window. Once inside, she casually walked around surveying her environment. She had only been to this place once, and her memory of it was not great. Stopping in front of two huge double doors, she pushed them open to reveal a giant study room. Unlike her brother's study, this one was set up to host and receive guests, it was not like a second bedroom. She glanced over some of the documents scattered on the desk and picked up a folder containing the resume of Mina Harlow.

In the headshot attached to the resume, the girl looked cheerful and sunny. Ellies original impression of the girl was that she was indeed beautiful, but now seeing this picture of her in a healthy state, she could not help but to notice how far she had fallen. Her radiant sun kissed skin was now pale and bluish. Her amber eyes had become dark and devoid of life. She appeared fragile and innocent in the photo, but now she was weak and sickly.

Ellie shook her head as she placed the information back on the desk in its original position. If a girl like Mina had entered any sort of spy camp, it was highly likely that she would have been sold to the highest bidder. Soft and pretty girls like that did not last awfully long, and the only reason why Ellie was able to complete her training was because she entered in through a well-known channel. If she had taken any backdoors, she might have met a much different fate.

Ellie's ears perked up at the sound of footsteps. She calmly moved to sit on the desk when she heard the delicate click of a safety release. Without turning around, she lifted her hands in the air.

With his gun pointed at the woman in front of him Zane slowly walked into his study. He had been showering when the motion sensors in his office were triggered. He knew his mother would never enter his personal workspace, so he threw on clothes, grabbed his gun, and came to inspect the situation. He arrived just in time to see the person place a document back on his desk without so much as a sound. The woman seemed to be oblivious to his arrival and started to walk deeper into his office before he cocked his gun. She surrendered without a fight.

"Keep your hands where they are and turn around slowly," Zane said. The blonde headed woman before him complied. "Who are you?" he asked. The woman laughed before answering.

"Does blonde hair really make me look so different?" she asked. Ellie carefully moved her hands looking at Zane for his approval. He did not take his eyes off her as she pulled at her hair and her blonde wig came off. Black wavy hair cascaded down her shoulders and she shook out her beautiful locks.

"Little Ellie?" Zane said with a shock.

The last time Zane saw Ellie was maybe three years ago, right before she entered her special ops training. At that time, she was only sixteen or seventeen and still looked like a child, but things had obviously changed. Running his eyes over her body, Zane felt conflicted. She had become so beautiful in the time she was gone that he questioned whether she went for military training or if she had gone to have cosmetic surgery. Her body proportions were perfect. She had seductive curves and the perky chest of a young woman. When Ellie was a child, she was mischievous to a fault. There was a constant glint of recklessness in her eyes and now as an adult, that look had intensified. Only now, it was alluring. Zane forced himself to stop looking at her and realized he had not put his gun away.

When Ellie saw Zane put away his weapon she relaxed. His gaze a while ago made her uneasy and she was afraid that he did not fully recognize her. She cutely used the tips of her fingers to push at her cheeks as she asked him if she had changed a lot. Zane swallowed hard, before he answered.

"You look like you, but different." Satisfied with his answer Ellie smiled. Her smiling face made Zane's heart palpitate, but he showed no reaction.

Taking his eyes off the woman in front of him he walked behind his desk and sat down. Ellie promptly sat in the chair in front of his desk.

"Have you investigated your brother?" he asked without looking up. Ellie was a little put off. In the past, he was always kind to her. Currently his mannerisms and speech pattern were cold. He clearly was treating this as a business matter and not a reunion of friends. Following his lead, Ellie answered.

"My brother is in trouble, as to what sort of trouble, I haven't figured it out yet." Zane picked up Mina's picture and tossed it in Ellies direction.

"And that woman? Have you figured out who she is yet?" Ellie shook her head.

"I found her, but she isn't in a place where she can be easily reached. Tell me what you know about her and I will fill you in with what I know," she offered. Ellie and Zane began to discuss what they knew about Mina.

----

While CEO Zane was investigating the lost resumés, he attempted to build a timeline of when the resumes were submitted. For this he entered the security room and used the company's facial recognition features to find out exactly when each person entered the office. When the security guard helping him picked up Mina's photo, he did not need to search the footage to find her. He remembered her face from a few months back. The security guard told CEO Zane that President Lee had already asked them to retrieve the footage of this woman and he had them send it to his personal device. He told the CEO that the woman in the footage was exceptionally beautiful, so she stood out in his mind even now. The security guard quickly retrieved the footage and clicked to play it. A crooked smile played on Zane's face, he remembered that day clearly. Ian had asked him about a woman in a tan skirt. That woman was Mina Harlow, but he did not know what significance she had to his friend.