AllFreeNovel
Share Us
DADA
I’ve been undercover as a nun for approximately two hours and have already lost my ability to lie convincingly. A problem, considering lying is a basic job requirement for spies, especially those not authorized by any government.
Standing inside the convent’s brick-lined, plant-heavy courtyard, I try to take back my statement. “Perdoname, Sister Angelica, I... I…” Stupendous—how do a black habit and a white tunic suddenly make me Maria fromThe Sound of Music? “I didn’t mean to suggest these habits aren’t the highest of fashion—”
Thehighest of fashion? Aren’t they designed to be the exactoppositeof fashion? What’s happening to me?
Could this be the disguise that ruins ten years of doing covert operations for The Guild?
Impossible. I’ve taken on dozens of false identities: wealthy Nigerian heiress, international model, security guard, translator, Special Envoy to the UN, to name a few. Leaving behind my real identity as Dada Parish and assuming a new one is as easy as putting on a coat—orhadbeen before I came to Mexico and gazed into Sister Angelica’s serious blue eyes, framed by those demanding black-rimmed glasses.
Honestly, this woman could be my polar opposite. She’s short—under five feet—with silver curls peeking from beneath her habit, and skin as white as talcum powder. The only thing about us that matches is our outfits.
And maybe our temperaments.
Palm resting on her cane, Sister Angelica fans her fingers. “No apology necessary. If I took affront at every little thing, Sister Dee, I’d be a piss-poor servant of God. Besides, I agree; these habitsdobelong in a musical.”
Piss-poor? Definitelynota nun thing to bark laughter when being introduced to my new abbess.
Holding on to my trademark calm, I smile. “Gracias, Sister Angelica.”
The abbess shakes off the thanks. “Stop the men trafficking women through Mexico. That, more than the money your mother donated, will be thanks enough.”
Keeping my face placid despite the fact that this woman spoke the truth about my reconnaissance mission aloudandthe fact that my mother—wealthy founder and head of the Spy Makers Guild—is funding it, should earn me top honors.
I maintain eye contact with her and the slight flush of her lined cheeks is the sign I’m looking for that she understands her mistake, and not a moment too soon as raised voices funnel through the corridor.
A bevy of nuns, as diverse as my adopted family, flows into the courtyard and surrounds us, greeting me with a mixture of curiosity, eagerness, and various Spanish accents.
“Hermana Dee, estás aquí.”
“Not a moment too soon.”
“Serendipity.”
“You should come with us.”
“Yes, come,” the final nun says with the directness of someone who has lived beyond forty.
I blink at her round, reddish-tan face and gap-toothed smile.
“I’m Lupe.” Grabbing me by the arm, Lupe spins me toward the door and says, “If we don’t hurry, we won’t be ready for the lunch crowd.”
“Lunch crowd?” I say as the morning sun heats my face and I realize I’ve been unceremoniously dragged back onto the streets of Oaxaca with its tightly lined, colorful buildings.
Sister Angelica closes the door with a gentle, “I’ll see your bag gets to your room.”
Stupendous. Nuns, it turns out, are a little bossy.
* * *
Ten minutesafter walking into the Benedictine abbey that serves as my cover, I find myself standing behind the counter of a soup kitchen, doling out arroz con pollo y frijoles to a line of hungry people. Ah, the glamorous life of a spy.
Clouds of heat waft up from the steel food well and moisture slides from under my habit and along my face. Even with my shorn hair, I’m sweating.
Despite my discomfort, I offer ready smiles and warm greetings to the numerous refugees filing along the open-air cafeteria. As well I should, because these people have it a lot worse than me.
Thanks to my heritage, I have few problems communicating with the mostly Spanish speakers making their way north from Central and South America. I can even change my Puerto Rican accent to mirror that of Mexico. The five languages I speak are part of what makes me a good undercover agent.
