Deadly Interpretations Read online

  Table of Contents

  Deadly Interpretations

  Copyright Information

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Thank you!

  About the Author

  Adventures in World Peace:

  Deadly Interpretations

  Book 1

  By Andie Alexander

  Copyright Information

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of Andie Alexander.

  This book is a work of fiction and all characters exist solely in the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Any references to places, events, or locales are used in a fictitious manner.

  Copyright © 2015 Andie Alexander

  www.andiealexander.com

  All rights reserved.

  References:

  http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2009/09/lost_in_translation.html

  http://www.un.org/depts/DGACM/interpretation.shtml

  http://www.007.com

  NOTE: All James Bond titles are found at http://www.007.com. No harm was intended to the franchise nor to Ian Fleming’s character of James Bond. I have the utmost respect for the entire franchise.

  Dedication

  For my daughter, who would love to be a spy someday. And for my other daughter, who loves learning new languages. May you both prosper in all your endeavors.

  Acknowledgements

  Thanks to the James Bond, 007, franchise (at http://www.007.com), for giving me inspiration. I hope the mention of your titles in my book gives you many more viewers for your movies. :)

  Chapter 1

  Beating someone up was so much easier in slacks. No one touched me without a reason.

  As I dug my high heel into the man’s back and yanked his arms behind him, I forced his face into the dirty United Nations floor. “Look buddy. I’m in no mood for this today. Get out, because I have to work.” He was lucky I didn’t hurt him more.

  “Harley Black.” Even though his face was smooshed against the floor, the man managed to speak. “If you let me stand up, I’ll tell you why I’m here.”

  I leaned closer so he could hear me. “Can I trust you not to touch me again?”

  “Sure.” He moaned. “You win. I just want to talk to you. Honest.”

  Two security guards ran to the door while I let the intruder get to his feet. “Is everything okay?” the taller guard asked.

  I nodded. “Fine. Just letting this guy know who’s boss.”

  “Call us if you need us,” the same man said, and they both walked away.

  My victim looked down and dusted off his dark blue polo shirt and stone-colored pants. “I have to talk to you in private.” He lifted his head. He had big blue eyes framed by dark blond hair and strong cheekbones. In other words, the guy was very handsome, but I wasn’t about to let that change the fact that he wasn’t on my good side.

  I crossed my arms, watching Mr. Good-Looking, who was my eye candy for the day. “You have two minutes,” I said. “What do you want?”

  After he looked toward the long row of glass interpreter cubicles and down at the General Assembly of the United Nations, he grabbed my arm and led me to the back of the small room. He pulled out a badge and held it up to my face, making sure I read the thing.

  However, I wasn’t impressed, so I watched his expression instead. A badge meant nothing to me. Besides, he was something better to look at than plastic and metal.

  The man moved closer to my face. “I’m an agent with DHS,” he whispered. “That stands for the Department of Homeland Security—”

  “And I just kicked your butt? A girl kicked an agent’s butt. How hilarious is that?” I laughed but he wasn’t amused, so I stopped. I wasn’t a cruel person, but it was really funny.

  He smirked. “I used to work for the CIA, but I was demoted because of a small incident with a queen in a different country. She didn’t believe her house was the target of a bomb. We got the bombers before they struck, but she wasn’t happy with me, so I was demoted.”

  “What a shame.” I knew I sounded condescending, but I really didn’t care. “What do you want with me?”

  “I think there’s going to be a threat on your life,” he whispered. “We’re getting chatter from all over and something big is going down. They want to use a U.N. interpreter to talk between the nations.”

  I watched him in indifference, crossing my arms even tighter. “Uh-huh.”

  “You don’t believe me?”

  “Nope. They don’t use U.N. interpreters for things like that, and you never told me your name. How can I believe you?” I pointed toward his hand, still holding his badge. “For all I know, you got that at some discount toy store.”

  “It’s real. I don’t tell people my name right away because they don’t always believe me.”

  This should be good. “What’s your name and I’ll tell you what I think.”

  “I’m sure you will. It’s not every day I’m beaten up by a girl. If I’d known you were good at self-defense, I’d have brought my A-game and not let your good looks mess with me.” He shook his head, studying my face. “Black hair and blue eyes. Very striking. They didn’t tell me about that.”

  I almost laughed in his face. “What’s your name?”

  “Bond. Jim Bond.”

  I started to chuckle. “And you used to work for the CIA? Are you any relation to James—”

  “No.” His expression turned serious. “It’s not funny. I’m no longer CIA, either, remember?”

  “I’ll never forget, just like you should never forget not to touch my shoulder from behind again. You really need to learn some manners.” I considered giving him my full anger, but since I’d just put him on the floor, I decided to be nice. “Now, Mr. Bond, I think it’s time for you to leave so I can do my job.”

  His grin covered his face. He glanced down at my cleavage before returning his gaze to my eyes. “Unlike your dossier, you do have a nice attitude underneath that tough exterior. You’ll do fine.” He grabbed my arm and pulled me to him, kissing me hard while his tongue penetrated my lips. He backed away after a few seconds, slightly out of breath, his eyes just inches from mine. “Welcome to my world, Harley Black. You’ve just become a member.”

  Even though his kiss was brief, it was very sexy, stunning me. I had to catch my breath before I could answer. “What did I do?”

  “You’re tough, beautiful, and exactly what I need to foil an evil plot. Plus, you’re going to date me, so get used to th
is.” He kissed me again, and it was amazing, to say the least.

  He backed away as I took a big breath and opened my eyes.

  “I still have it,” he whispered.

  I had to teach him a few lessons to soften his inflated ego, so I hauled off and slapped his face with a loud smack of my hand. “Keep dreaming, egotist. I’m not easy and don’t appreciate being assaulted.”

  I returned to my desk and sat down. Just as I removed my lipstick and mirror from my purse, my co-worker, Elizabeth, got back from lunch. She was very pretty, with blue eyes and wavy blonde hair that brushed her shoulders.

  “Sorry I’m late,” she said. “The foot traffic—” She stared at Jim, who was holding onto his red cheek, looking very puzzled. “Who’s this?”

  I kept touching up my lipstick. “His name’s Jim—”

  “Manford,” he said. “I’m Harley’s new boyfriend…I think.” He moved his jaw while I hoped he was still in pain. No man treated me like that and lived to tell about it. I should have him arrested for a drive-by kiss.

  Elizabeth looked at me, then at Jim, her mouth hanging down. She was from the United Kingdom with a beautiful British accent and upper class demeanor. But from the look on her face, she couldn’t believe her eyes, or stay in character for being upper class.

  “What happened to Billy?” she asked me.

  “He’s busy tonight.” I put away my lipstick and mirror. “He’s jerking my chain, so I figured I’d play the field.” I turned toward Jim. “Billy told me that right before lunch.”

  Jim nodded. “So that’s why you’re so crabby?”

  “No, she’s also PMSing,” Elizabeth said in a matter-of-fact tone. “Bad day for her, and we all know it.” She turned back to me while pointing at Jim. “How did you meet this guy?”

  “Uh—”

  “On the street after lunch,” Jim said. “We were both reading the paper at a newsstand. One thing led to another and we ended up making out on a park bench. It was really hot, too.”

  I narrowed my eyes at him, wanting to slap his other cheek to get rid of the smirk on his face.

  “So why is the side of your face all red?” Elizabeth asked.

  “I think I made a mistake.” He moved his jaw again. “I guess I shouldn’t have asked her which side of the bed is her favorite yet.”

  “Bad question,” Elizabeth whispered. “Billy asks her the same thing all the time, but never follows through.”

  “Got it.”

  Jim didn’t look innocent. From his subtle grin, he or his agency must’ve been spying on me for a while to know that information. I wondered what else he knew about me.

  I batted my eyelashes at the creep. “Well, honey, I have to work, so don’t you need to go elsewhere?” My voice was so saccharin-sweet that I wanted to hurl.

  He pulled up a chair and sat down beside me. “Nope. Have the day off, actually.” He picked up my hand and kissed the back of it. “I just want to spend the day with my sweetheart.” His smile looked so stupid; I could’ve sworn hearts danced in his eyes.

  “But honeybunch,” I said. “I have to work. I can’t be distracted.”

  Elizabeth looked down at the floor of the United Nations. “They’re ready to start.”

  She and I picked up earphones and I moved closer to the microphone. We were both taking turns interpreting the spoken word from one of the main languages into English. Everything at the U.N. was interpreted into English, then from English to the language that the interpreter, or oral translator, was assigned, if the interpreter didn’t know the other language. The languages used were English, Spanish, French, Russian, Chinese, and Arabic. I spoke everything they needed except for Arabic, which I was learning in my spare time—what little I had. It took a lot of training and testing to be an interpreter. We had many substitutes, in the event of someone being ill, but we were considered the best.

  Since I was doing the interpretations first, I was busy, nonstop. We did simultaneous interpretation, which meant there was no delay between their sentences where they waited for us to translate. Even though some of their speeches were online to help us interpret, we still had to listen to what they were saying on the floor, in case they deviated from the script. It was much tougher than consecutive interpretations, which allowed time between sentences. When I ran out of steam, it would be Elizabeth’s turn. That was usually every twenty minutes.

  I was talking non-stop about some peace treaty, when Jim leaned up and looked into the next room. He picked up a headset, plugged it into the jack on the desk, and pulled the thing onto his head.

  The Arabic Ambassador began to speak, which meant Ali, from next door, was interpreting into English. They interpreted into English as well as Arabic in their section.

  “He’s not saying it right,” Jim said.

  I gave him a dirty look.

  “Who?” Elizabeth asked.

  Jim nodded toward Ali. “The Arabic guy. He’s changed the whole meaning. He’s going to start a war with what he’s saying.”

  The people on the main floor began to get agitated. I knew it sounded nasty, but I just figured the guy from Egypt wanted to start a fight. It wasn’t unusual for him to do that, because he’d done it before.

  Or had he?

  Jim got up from his seat and headed over to the next cubicle. Hassam was sitting beside Ali, waiting for his turn. Ali had finished speaking and had turned off his microphone. It was now my turn to interpret the Russian into English. The Arabic and Chinese booths usually had three interpreters, but the third guy in the Arabic section was on break. However, he always seemed to be on break.

  “Be careful how you interpret their words,” Jim said to Ali. “You’re going to start an international incident.”

  Ali turned toward Jim. “No, I’m not. It’s what the guy was saying.”

  “No, it wasn’t. I’m fluent in Arabic and you’re wrong. Now be careful or I’m going to call the section chief.”

  I kept one ear on what Jim was saying while still doing my job, listening to the Russians speak. It wasn’t easy, but when Ali’s and Jim’s voices rose and security came running, everyone was given a five-minute break. Even the big boss, Kent, was in that cubicle.

  “He wasn’t doing it right,” Jim said to Kent. “He was telling the other nations that if they didn’t straighten up, the Arabic Alliance would bomb them in their sleep and rape their women. That’s not what the guy said down on the floor at all.” He pointed down to the General Assembly and seemed very agitated.

  “Is that true?” Kent asked Ali.

  “Not at all.” Ali pointed at Jim. “He hates me because I’m from Saudi Arabia.”

  “Not true,” Jim said. “He’s doing it wrong.”

  I headed into the next room just as Ali stood up and threw his earphones onto the desk. “I quit,” he said.

  Kent scoffed. “You can’t just quit.”

  “Yes, I can,” he said to Kent. “I have another job offer and I’m taking it. It’s more money anyway.” He walked out of the room and no one stopped him.

  Kent pulled out his cell phone and dialed, putting it to his ear. “I need to find Jafar.” He listened for a moment. “Then get me a substitute for the Arabic section.” He sighed after a moment. “They can’t all be at that meeting.” He glanced over at Jim. “Never mind. I know what I’ll do.” He ended the call and stared right at Jim. “I need someone to sit in for Jafar. Since you know so much, you do it.”

  Jim looked confused. “But I’m not trained—”

  “Tough. We’ll get someone in here as soon as we can, but for now, you’re it.” He glanced at Hassam. “Keep him in line. We’re going to test him out and make him go first.” He pushed Jim into the chair. “Now, let’s get going.” Kent turned toward all the onlookers. “Back to work, people. We have to create world peace here.”

  I stepped closer to Jim and leaned down to his ear. “Are you sure you can do this? It usually takes years to become an interpreter, along with many tests.”r />
  “But you did it in less than a year.”

  So he did know a lot about me. “I have a photographic memory and learned languages fast, starting in the fifth grade. I’m the exception.” I couldn’t think the administration would let him just waltz in like that. Kent was usually a stickler for the rules. “You can’t do this.””

  “Sure I can.” He smiled. “Piece of cake. I was in the Middle East for six months and knew the languages backward and forward before I even went. Arabic is an easy one for me.”

  “What will your boss think?” I asked.

  He leaned closer, looking down my top. I knelt beside him and held my blouse closed at the top so he couldn’t see anything, making him chuckle.

  “My job is to watch you and this is the perfect cover,” he said. “I’m going to ask if I can do this full-time.”

  I nodded. Lucky me.

  I returned to my room and sat in my chair, trying to figure out what had just happened.

  Elizabeth leaned over to me. “Cute one, huh?”

  “Yeah. I’m trying to break him in.”

  “Good luck with that. He looks chivalrous and smart, so that might be his downfall.”

  I leaned back and talked louder so Jim could hear me. “I bet he’s a sucker for tears, too.”

  “I heard that,” Jim said.

  We all got back to work, keeping world peace for the day. As soon as the session ended at five, I stood up and opened my desk drawer, removing my purse.

  Jim moved to my side. “Ready to go? I’ll call a cab.”

  “A cab? They’re pricey. No, I’ll just take my bike. See ya tomorrow.” He must be a rich DHS agent or something. It would be faster on my bike, too.

  He grabbed my arm, forcing me to look at him. “A bicycle? At five in the evening?”

  Elizabeth laughed and headed toward the door. “See you tomorrow.”

  “Have a good one.” She left the room and I looked up at Jim’s eyes. “Not a bicycle.” I reached down and pulled out my helmet. “Motorcycle.”

  He raked his eyes over me for about the third time since he’d met me. It was getting annoying. “You drive a motorcycle?”

  “It goes with my name.” I turned to walk away, but he held on tight.