The new one in town

((Open to anybody))

Mallas stood in the line, waiting for someone to serve him, wondering when someone would serve him.

Finally, a lady had approached him and he quickly cleared his throat. The lady had worked under the bank for almost five months, yet she had caused numerous of bank failures to happen. She stays in the job, and then moves on when the crash happens.

This time, it brought Mallas all the way out to Miami. He was wearing a salmon pink-coloured shirt and shorts with flip-flops as it was boiling outside. There was a cool breeze that happened occasionally through the bank. It didn't happen often.

"How can I help you, sir?" The lady said, smiling as she approached.

"I'm just looking for some money, is that a hard thing to request?"

The lady, Eliza Critcher, tilted her head at the English accent, guessing that the man wasn't from around here. Another smile crept onto her voice.

"Well, it isn't but as you can see…there are others waiting to do the same thing." Then she leant in to whisper in his ear. "I find your accent really cute."

Mallas scoffed, he had to wait to play the card that he really wanted to. "Flattering. There's one tiny problem…I demolished your house…wait--wrong tense. I am going to demolish your house today."

"Security!!" She yelled.

Kaitlin leaned casually against the wall, reading through old text messages she had yet to clear from her phone. You horrible procrastinator, she silently scolded herself, And you call yourself a Private Investigator? Whipping her sunglasses back off her face to rest them in a hair before snaking her free hand through a section, she glanced up to take another look around. She mindlessly scanned her eyes over everyone in the bank, spotting one man who she'd seen around here for a bit, guessing he was doing what many others were doing on this hot day in Miami. Why else would you be at a bank?

She had turned her attention back to the screen of her phone as she adjusted the position of one the straps to her tank-top when she heard one of the tellers yell "Security!" That was enough to bring her attention fully up from her phone, and, tracking the word back to the source, she frowned a bit when she saw the man with the teller.

Interesting, she thought with another partial frown. Exactly what was going on here? A hot day in Miami, and, not that she was waiting for anything particular in this bank, but something like this? It wasn't your average. It had her interest, to say the least on things.

Security guards approached him, closing in on him. Mallas frowned, this was the last thing he needed. "Hey…hey! Hand's off. I can show myself out thanks." He walked briskly past Elizabeth, with a smirk planted on his face.

He walked back to the carpark, a fair distance from the bank and sat in the rental car but got back out and enjoyed the fading sun. Mallas had a glimpse of the crowd at the bank as they were curious to wonder why the teller had called on security, it was a trick of his. Usually used to see whether there were anymore threats.

Ring! Ring!

"Franklin."

"I've been bloody calling you for ages, tracking you wasn't easy but you do the same things way too often."

"Marshall…I should have known it would been you. What, does the MI6 want me back?" Mallas frowned, shutting the phone.

There was a store nearby and he decided he needed a few extra tools for the little side-project that he had already committed to, whether Elizabeth liked it or not. Going into the toolshop, he meandered around, seeking out anything useful but all he managed to buy were a pair of gloves.

"This job better pay well, I'm short of cash…" He muttered, slipping the gloves into his pocket after he had paid for it.

Mallas sat back in the car, started the engine and began to pull away. The hotel was not too far off from where he was, it was too hot to walk. London right now would be a mild sunny day, around 15 degrees, but nothing compared to a bit of Miami heat.

Curiosity bothered by this, Kaitlin slid her phone into her pocket and slid her glasses easily back over her eyes, watching from a corner the man head back for his car as she pulled her hair back into a decent ponytail before she checked the time on her watch.

Even for her, this Miami weather was a little on the high side. Definitely warm enough for her to be in the water somewhere, most likely nursing a Margarita later. It wasn't like she was on a case right now, and if she was... Well, she would be working. Not out here looking for something to get her into something. And it was starting to look like she'd just found it. In a strange sort of way...

She looked over her shoulder, back into the crowd at the bank before she shook her head and headed across the lot to her car. Maybe she could puzzle out something here. There was definitely something afoot. What it was... She couldn't be quite sure just yet.

Sam was at his favorite bar drinking nothing other than a mojito. Shocking? Not really. Mojitos were Sam's signature drink after all. He hadn't seen Kate in a while since their first official date and he sure enjoyed himself. And why not? Kate was a beautiful girl and Sam liked her a whole lot. But little did he know that she would be in the middle of a confrontation with her friend Mallas Franklin. He wanted to check up on her just to be sure she was fine. "Hey beautiful, I've been thinking a lot about u. That date we had was one of the best I've ever been on in a long time. And it's all thanks to u. So how u doing?" he asked.

After considering it, he had noticed a man sitting, watching the scenery and drinking a mojito. For some reason, he had a feeling that the old man wasn't just a citizen of Miami. That man had a police styled haircut.

Sighing, he got out of the car and headed towards the bar. Mallas nodded at a bartender and took a seat a few tables away from the man, quickly ordering an iced tea.

"Thanks."

Mallas idly flicked around the gloves, watching the sun go down. His eyes scanning the beach, pupil widening slightly. It was his old...school chum, Bailey. Bailey was the sort of guy who you didn't want to mess with, Mallas checked his watch. In an hour the bank would close and he needed to make Elizabeth fearful. He then took another sip, Bailey locked on to him and joined him at the table.

"Long time no see..." Bailey growled. And then came the all too familiar sound of a flick knife unlocking.

Sam turned around to see who that voice was that had said that to him. It sounded familiar but he wasn't sure. "I'm sorry, do I know u?" he asked, sipping his mojito and standing up from his chair to get a better look at the man. "U know, u do look familiar, have we met before? Name's Chuck Finley." he said, not revealing his true name just in case this guy was a spy.

Mallas spread his arms out wide to greet both Bailey and the new man, introducing himself as Chuck Finley. Bailey narrowed his eyes, closed the knife and walked away, keeping his eye contact. Mallas spun back around to face Chuck, trying to hide the fact that he was holding gloves and lowered his arms.

"Nice to meet you. I'm not sure we've met before, probably at some bar…? Sorry, name's Douglas Smith."

Over the years, Mallas had learnt to be careful to whom he had introduced himself to, simply his name could have caused some commotion on the streets of London but here in Miami, he still needed to keep his guard up, just in case Bailey or someone similar to him popped back into his life.

"New to Miami…moved here a few weeks ago and it's a nice place." He quickly glanced over to the bank, Eliza still hadn't finished her shift yet. It was a relief as he guessed that he was going to be here for a while.

Sam nodded, still a bit weary about this "Douglas" guy. "What brings u to my neck of the woods, Douglas? Can I interest u in a mojito? A beer? Cash? Or are u looking for a job with me and my friends over there?" he asked.

Mallas looked over his shoulder and back to Chuck. Shrugging his shoulders, "Well, why the hell not...a beer then, thanks."

He thought about it, Chuck didnt seem to be the gang leader type and definitely drank too much to be a police officer...Mallas also was on the look out for Eliza, she may have gotten out the back, in that case, she wouldn't be going to work tomorrow.

"Just...moved here. But I have a few side errands that I...need to finish off at home. So, if you need anything...give me a call." Mallas said, throwing down a phone number.

He started to get up, he wasn't the type to drink, never seemed to agree with his taste buds. He wanted a job, to get some money but he did earn something off of 'demolition' work.

Off so quickly. That seemed fishy. Sam bought Douglas the beer and sipped at his mojito, knowing something wasn't quite right. He approached his friends and informed them of the suspicious man that had offered him his phone number. "Mike, I need u to run a background check on that guy over there in the suit. He gave me the name Douglas Smith. And he also gave me this phone number. He was asking a bunch of questions. Something's not right about him." he said.

Mallas arrived back at his flat, opening the door quickly and grabbing his toolkit. But something was already sitting upon it, a note. He glared at it, it was signed by Eliza. Mallas frowned, pacing around the toolkit and reading the darn note.

Doubt it would ever blow up now…-E

He threw the note over his shoulder as he changed into a darker set of clothes, topping it off with an old plumbers hat that he used to use. Gloves were on and he was ready to rumble. He hopped back into his car, heading straight for her flat, not too far off from the bank.

"Woah, hold up. Who are you?" Said the security guard.

"Here for a leakage? One of the house owners said that they needed to fix some drainage pipes and wanted some other folk to do it, rather than the one you hire, in which they said was crappy by the way." Mallas said, nodding and heading to the lift.

He pressed a few buttons and headed to flat 405. The bell dinged and he stepped out, covering his face with the hat. Luckily, Eliza was out that night and had a balcony in which he had seen her use for a few times. Mallas knew that it had to be related back to her if he wanted her in jail, but she had just made it personal by breaking into the hotel that he was staying at.

Planting the bomb, he set it to go off in an hour, when he thought Eliza was to return and was going to see it blow up in front of her. Hopefully, the guy at the front desk couldn't remember his face and that he put on a good enough Australian accent to throw anyone off track.

Then he left through the fire exit, back to his car to dump his stuff and head to the bar for a night drink.

Michael nodded as he took the piece of paper Sam handed him that contained Douglas' information. "I'll check it out and see if this is info is legit. Why don't u run back with me to my place and we can run this through my computer, that way no one sees us. My mom should be with Charlie at the park still and they won't be home until later, that way she won't ask questions. I'll get Fi to locate this guy and have Jesse go with her to see who he really is. Did he say anything else to u, Sam?" he asked. Sam shook his head. "Nothing other than he had to run to finish off some errands. That's when he jotted that number down and told me if I needed anything, to give him a call." he said.

After a couple of beers, he decided that he couldn't go back with an empty stomach. So he bought a large burger with a few fries. Never really liked the fries... Mallas thought as the burger was placed in front of him.

He checked his watch. A few more minutes to go before the place went 'BANG!' He tucked into the meal, taking his time. Suddenly, he saw the bright orange cloud and then the explosion was heard. He did what anyone would do and jumped up, looking towards the flaming inferno with a small smile tugging at his lips. People had started to run, but being a safe enough distance away, he sat back down and took another bite.

Police sirens were heard in the distance, rushing to the scene. It wasn't a big, big explosion. Mallas had measured out the amount that he needed to blow the place and not affect the whole building. The process was hard but this was all worth it, he would have spooked Eliza into running but unfortunately, not fleeing her job.

RING!

"Yep. Mallas."

"You naughty boy…I thought you wouldn't blow my place up."

"That was a thought I had…until you broke into my room and left me a lovely note." Mallas started to raise his voice.

The phone call ended. He sighed, leaning on the rails and glaring off into the distance. Eliza must have known that it would have taken place. But now, Bailey would be hired to make her move against him. There wasn't much time, Mallas got back up after finishing his meal and left a tip on the table, heading back to his car to get back to his hotel.

"Gracias!" Mallas called behind him.

Michael and his friends went back to his loft to see if Haney could find out more info about their Douglas character. "Sam, what did this guy look like? Was he tall, medium height, short?" he asked. Sam shook his head. "Medium height, probably about 5'11", he had dark brown hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a suit. Why, what did u find out?" he asked, walking over to Michael. "This guy's real name is Mallas Franklin, he's an MI6 worker. He's from Australia, New South Wales. I'm gonna call this number and see if he picks up." he said, quickly pulling out his phone to dial the number Douglas had given to Sam.

Mallas looked at his pocket, it was his phone. It was an unknown number, so instead of being stupid and revealing his name, he simply said, "Hello? Douglas's number." He waited for a response, entering his room and taking off his jacket. "Who's this?"

If it was the MI6, it was too late to get back into the program me, they had kicked him out, just before he had planned to leave. But he could hear in the background that there were other people shuffling around. "If this is some sort of joke, I'm hanging up right now…"

He searched through the toolkit, he had everything that he needed. Eliza would be in her new location but most likely be returning back to work. That would be where he would meet her.

"Mallas Franklin. That's your real name isn't it? Not Douglas Smith. That's right. I looked into the info u gave to my friend Sam Axe here. There's no one by that name. U work as an MI6, you're from New South Wales? I may be just a spy, but I'm smart ok? I used to work in the CIA, so tracking down phony people like yourself isn't something I take lightly. Now u will answer me one question. What did u want with my friend? Better yet, why did u give him your phone number, Mallas?" Michael asked.

"Just being friendly." Mallas shrugged. "Meet me at the pub. You heard the explosion? I'm sure you have, it was just the fact that I was dealing with a bank manager, who manages to shut down banks in weeks."

Mallas then changed the jacket he was wearing and headed to the balcony. "Yeah, everything you searched up about me is correct. But I don't work for MI6 now. Set up my own little thing." The thing about calling him a phony was lingering in his mind. He wanted to ask about help, he needed the help. But right now, he still had the job of scaring Eliza out of the job.

"I want to meet. The beach near the bank."

"How do we know this isn't a trap, Mallas? How can we know for sure we're not gonna be harmed if we do decide to meet u at that beach by the bank?" Michael asked.

"I keep my promises." Mallas said, heading out the door. "I don't have a gun, don't own one."

Michael handed Sam his cell phone. "I have an extra one I can bring to u if u need it. It's best u carry, that way your cover won't be blown and no one will ask questions. Trust me on this one. We'll meet u in say, ten minutes. Is that enough time or u need to meet sooner?" he asked.

"Fine. Thanks, mate." Mallas said. "Ten minutes is fine, tell Chuck, I owe him a mojito." Mallas thought that it'd be best if he walked to the bank, getting some fresh air and keeping fit. People moved around him, looking at him as he passed.

The fire trucks were still around, he ducked into a side alley. Police were investigating the crowd that were waiting and the security guard was being spoken to, luckily, he wasn't spotted. Mallas sighed, leaning against a wall, hood covering his features as he lit a cigarette, which he wasn't going to smoke.

Sam nodded and he handed Michael his cell phone. "We need to move now. We don't need the cops asking Mallas questions, he's unarmed, he's new in town, and he's gonna be flagged as a newbie." he said. Michael nodded. "The beach by the bank. Could he be talking about Miami Dade Bank, Sam?" he asked, prepping his gun and C4 in case they needed it. Sam nodded. "That's the only one I can think of that's by a beach. Also happens to be a bar nearby so I think that's the one. Guess we'll find out." he said.

Mallas was still leaning against the wall, many of the gangs had come out, asking what the fuss was all about. He simply told him that something had gone boom and police had come running. They left him in peace, unfortunately, Eliza was on the prowl behind the crowd, looking out for him. He simply pulled his hood further down. In this disguise, he looked like a teenager, he moved himself closer to the front of the bank and messed his hair up slightly.

Most of his training wasn't all lost by coming to the new town. There was more police officers coming in and the building was almost finished being hosed down.

"Ah, there you are Chuck! Gonna introduce me to your buddies here?" Mallas lowered the hood slightly, looking for Eliza.

Sam stepped out of the vehicle. "Yeah except my name is Sam Axe. I only use Chuck Finley when I really need to, like when I'm in trouble? Anywho, this nice man here is my best friend Michael Westen, and that over there is Jesse Porter. Here's the gun I promised u, I even brought u an extra clip and bullets. Best to be prepared." he said.