Stratagem

by Christina Hagmann

  chapter 33

  My eyes were still closed when I gently squeezed the trigger, like I was taught. The kickback was minimal. The silencer muffled the gunfire, but it still was loud in the room. I clenched my jaw and jumped.

  For not being an assassin, I had deadly aim. My mother dropped instantly and landed with her face towards the ceiling. She didn’t even have time to wipe the smug look off her face or be surprised that her weak daughter was the one who took her life.

  Isi stared at me, still clutching her side wound, as though she wasn’t sure if I was going to fire on her next. When she saw I still had my gun trained on my mother, she lifted herself up, grunting as she moved. Doubled over, she moved towards my mother and reached down, still glancing my way. She checked her pulse, then looked at me again.

  I had killed my mother with one shot. I had killed my own mother to save this trained assassin orphan who I didn’t even know.

  I watched Isi struggle to stand back up, so I went to her side to help her. She looked at me quizzically. “I didn’t think you’d actually do it.”

  I didn’t respond. I didn’t think I would either, but maybe I was more like my mother than I cared to admit. “Bring me to the desk,” Isi groaned, and I did as she asked. I had only been in control for a moment, but now I felt like I was losing my mind. I had gone off script, and I didn’t like it. I wanted someone there telling me what to do. I knew it was a stupid thought. I knew I was better and smarter than that. I knew I had learned a lot over the events in my life and that I should be in control, but I didn’t feel it. Maybe control was only an illusion, and even people who looked in control felt the same way I did.

  I placed Isi in the cushiony chair behind the desk. She grimaced, then spoke through her teeth. “The President is safe,” she said. I looked at her, surprised by her words. “We were able to switch, and during the switch, he was taken to the same location as his wife. That was the plan all along. I wasn’t sure the Opposition could pull it off, considering they barely had enough resources to handle your switch. I guess your boys are helpful.” She eyed me, waiting for a response.

  I looked at her, confused. “So what side are you on?”

  “I’m on no side, Meda.” Isi lifted her bloodied hand for a moment to look at her wound. “I just don’t like being double-crossed.”

  I stared at the blood on her hand. “But you don’t mind being the double-crosser?”

  “Hell no.” She looked back up at me and laughed then winced.

  “Now what?” I asked, unsure of what to do. “Are we staying in place? What do we do with…?” I motioned towards my mother’s body.

  “So here it is. Right now, the Agency doesn’t know Ava is dead. They know I am here with her, ready to step in and take her place if something goes wrong.” I thought about Isi’s words. She couldn’t be sure the Agency wasn’t on to us, but for some reason, I trusted her instinct.

  “Do they know I’m here? Would my mother have alerted them?”

  Isi studied me. “Are you kidding me?” When I didn’t respond, she continued. “No. Your mother’s plan was to kill me, saying that you had done it, kill you, and come out looking like the hero of the Agency, the one who saved the mission from going belly-up. So no, there is no way she alerted anyone to the fact that you were here, and she was too arrogant to suspect anything from me.” I nodded in agreement.

  Isi continued. “And right now, the Opposition doesn’t know if you’ve succeeded or not. They know I helped them hide the President and that I am in place, but they know nothing else. So, there are a few ways we can play this.” I was surprised she said we. She assumed I would go along with her, and though I knew that I shouldn’t trust her, I decided to hear her out.

  “We can both walk out of here right now and go our own ways, being on the run but never being pawns again.” I stared, waiting for option two. “Or we can finish this, with one of us staying in place.” I nodded, still confused. She paused, “Which means one of us needs to be caught.”

  I took a few steps away from her. “What do you mean, caught?”

  “Well, for this entire plan to come crashing down, the Secret Service has to be alerted that something is going down. We have to show them.”

  “I’ll do it.” I said it without even thinking, but I felt like I owed that much to everyone who had sacrificed something.

  Isi laughed and shook her head. “You are an idiot and a terrible liar, and you don’t think things through, do you?” She took a deep breath as I scowled at her. “I will be caught. I’m already shot up.” She held up her bloody hand. “I’m a better liar than you, and the Agency will send someone in to get me anyway after it’s all done.”

  “But you can’t talk. The Agency won’t let you come back if you talk.” My eyebrows creased.

  “Don’t worry about me. I always know exactly what to say. What you need to do now is shift into one of the staff and get the hell out of here. I’ll tell them you got away.”

  “I can’t leave you, Isi. Not after everything.” I moved close to her again.

  She put a hand up, halting me. “Stop. Meda, you are not good at this. How about you follow my lead. I was built for this.” I stared at her, trying to decide if I could trust her. She was a terrific liar and a brilliant assassin, but she was also a young girl who was double-crossed by a woman she thought of as her mother. I could totally relate.

  “Alright. Deal.” I nodded. “What do you need me to do?”

  “Help me up,” Isi said.

  chapter 34

  Isi moved my mother’s body out of sight as I watched. I felt bad, considering Isi had just been shot, but I couldn’t lay a hand on my mother’s body. Isi fluidly shifted into the President, having prepared for it when she took him to the safe house. Her suit was a little ill-fitting, but she was passable. She would still have her wound; just because she shifted didn’t mean that she would heal or the flesh would form fully. That was a common misbelief.

  Isi picked up the phone and dialed 0, which called out to staff members. When she hung up the phone, she stared at me. “Um, First Lady?” she questioned.

  “Oh,” I said. I felt the familiar prickles as I shifted back into the First Lady. We waited only a few moments before a woman entered.

  I remembered my research. This woman was a newer staff member. Isi, in her best presidential voice, introduced the woman to me. The woman was so excited to meet the First Lady. We shook hands.

  Then, Isi told the woman that we were celebrating a special occasion and to go to the kitchen to help with some food. She listed off a bunch of food items she wanted and sent her on her way.

  “That should keep her busy enough that you can sneak out as her. You’ll use the entrance you came in.” I nodded.

  Isi went back to the phone and called for a cleaning crew from the Agency. I didn’t know how they would get clearance or how they were going to remove a body from the White House, and I didn’t want to know. I didn’t need to know anymore. I quickly shifted into the new staffer.

  I walked towards the door, steeling myself to put on a show. Isi cleared her throat. “Meda?” she called. I turned around. “There is one thing I want you to know.”

  I stared at Isi wearing the face of the President. I was worried about what was going to come out of her mouth. A double-cross? Maybe she’d pull out a gun and shoot me.

  “There was no John at the Agency.” I continued to stare, not sure what it meant. “I was confused when you told me that you talked to a John and that he told you about me. But there is no John. That means someone shifted and posed as your security.”

  “But that doesn’t make sense. John was kind to me. He talked to me. He brought me books. Who would do that?” My eyes traveled to where my mother’s body had been. I looked up at Isi, who shook her head.

  “No way it was Ava, and it certainly wasn’t me.” But that only left one other mimic. My father. Chayton.

  I tried to breathe, but questions caught in my throat. Why wo
uld he come see me? Why would he pretend to be someone else? What did he want from me? Did he want to know me? I had to stop myself. Hope was building, and I knew that was dangerous, like the dangerous hope that had bloomed when I saw my mother again. I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could say anything, Isi cut me off.

  “We don’t have time. You can leave out the servants’ exit. If anyone sees you, don’t talk to them. Just keep your head down. There should be someone waiting for you there. Someone you recognize.”

  And there was. As I exited, I squinted at the black sedan that was parked down the driveway. Brody was behind the wheel, and my heart murmured at the sight of him. Security stood next to him. “I’m sorry you aren’t feeling well, Monique,” the security guard said to me. “Your son is here to pick you up.”

  “Thank you,” I said, putting my hand to my mouth to muffle my voice. I didn’t know enough about the woman I had changed into to accurately pretend to be her. I hoped that any oddities the security guard noticed would be chalked up as illness.

  He helped me into the vehicle, and when I was situated, closed the door for me. I kept my head down, not wanting to reveal that anything was amiss. Brody eased down the driveway, not saying a word. It was as though he felt the tenuous line might snap if we broke the silence. I held my breath as the sedan glided through the gate, then I looked back. No one was chasing us. No one was shooting at us. I turned back around. There was nothing in front of us. I raised my head, looking at Brody.

  He was looking at me, his eyes awash with questions. I knew he didn’t know anything that had gone on behind that gate. I didn’t even know where to begin or how much I wanted to tell him. So, I kept it simple.

  “We did it,” I said, and he reached out and grabbed my hand. Tears ran down my face as Brody squeezed my hand. The tears weren’t exactly tears of happiness. I had killed my mother, the mother who had never loved me. I had possibly met my real father, and I didn’t even know how to feel about it. Also, I didn’t know what was going to happen to Isi, and even though we were far from friends, I felt like because we were both stuck in something we hadn’t signed up for, there was a bond. I didn’t know how strong it was, and I didn’t know what would happen when I saw her next, but I felt connected nonetheless.

  It turned out that Isi did her job and she did it well, which was to be expected. She played President for a little while, but when one of the staff members saw her blood, they reported it to the Secret Service. I’m not sure what she had to say to the Agency, but even they couldn’t expect her to maintain her cover when she was full of bullet holes. Plus, Ava’s betrayal proved there was something wrong with the inner workings of the Agency, misdirecting all suspicions so that Isi was looked on as the hero.

  I learned all this in a meeting I was invited to attend with Isi and Smith. As we sat in Smith’s office, Isi gave all the details of what happened. Smith applauded her for being loyal to the Opposition.

  Isi sat next to me, hands folded in her lap. “What you need to know about me is that I’m going to take the best deal. You have to understand that I don’t have feelings like others do.”

  I tried to hide my smile. Isi did have feelings, which is why she turned on my mother. She felt the sting of betrayal, but to her, feelings were a sign of weakness, so I would keep her secret for her. And for a moment, I felt like she could be my younger sister. In fact, I might have felt closer to her than my own sisters, but then I remembered what Isi was, a trained assassin, and I pushed that hope away. We would see what happened.

  But Isi did listen to my next plan, and then laughed in my face and walked out of the office. For her, doing things for purely redemptive purposes was ridiculous, but I would do it anyway, with or without her.

  chapter 35

  I wasn’t nervous, even though this was one of the most important assignments I would have. This time, the assignment was mine. It was my choice. Isi had laughed at it, Smith said that it wasn’t worth it, but to me it was. It was the beginning of my new life. A life in which I could choose.

  Brody stood next to me. “Are you sure about this, Meda?” A few suited men stood around us, but none of them were listening.

  “I’m positive. I finally feel like I’m doing the right thing for once.” I straightened out my suit, then reached up and touched my face, which wasn’t really my face. I was wearing the face of a middle-aged, redheaded woman. I looked down at my hands where wrinkles were starting to develop.

  Aaron stepped forward, and I looked up at him. I was happy he was here. I wanted him to see what I was about to do. He might not ever be at peace with all that happened to him and his family, but maybe this would help ease some of his pain.

  “Meda,” Aaron spoke quietly. “Really. This isn’t necessary. I know the truth, and we know the truth, that’s all that matters.” He stood, cracking his knuckles and shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. He looked awkward dressed in a suit, but I wasn’t sure that was what was making him uncomfortable.

  “No.” I reached out, placing my hand on his shoulder. “It’s not, Aaron, and you know that.” His gaze hovered on my face for a moment, but then he looked down. I remembered that he wasn’t seeing my face anyway.

  “Ms. Collins?” A Secret Service officer asked me. “We’re ready for you.” He directed me towards the platform.

  I didn’t think I would be back at the White House so soon. And as I took my place behind the podium at the front of the Press Briefing Room, my hands started to shake and I gripped the edges of the podium to steady myself. Cameras flashed, and a room full of faces stared at me without really seeing me. They thought I was here to talk about the recent assassination attempts on the lives of the President and the First Lady. But I had my own agenda.

  I cleared my throat and began to speak. “Good morning. I’m here today to talk about the recent assassination attempt on the life of our President. But before I give you a detailed brief on the event, I’d like to begin by saying our President is an honorable man. But even honorable men can be led astray by the people closest to them.” I paused.

  There was a subtle shift in the room. Before there was an atmosphere of business-as-usual with a tinge of apathy, but after I spoke those words, a hush came over the room. I had everyone’s attention.

  “We have looked into the death of one of the men who once worked closely with the Vice President. The man’s name was Reginald Monroe, but many knew him as Reg. He was a family man, which is why it came as a surprise when he allegedly killed his family and committed suicide himself. After reopening the case . . .”

  I lied. No one was looking into the case now, but after this they would. “After reopening the case, we have found evidence of foul play, and in Reginald’s own files, we have found implications of our Vice President working with groups to aid terrorism on United States’ soil.”

  I paused as a buzz rippled through the room. The Secret Service to the sides of me looked like they wanted to tackle me. They were talking in their earpieces, trying to decide what to do.

  “If you look into the regulation changes of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth, you’ll see the Vice President has been lobbying for changes to make the plant unsafe. He was planning to cause a failure at the plant.” I continued sharing much of the information that the Opposition had gathered over the last year against the Agency and the VP. I left out any part about mimics; I wasn’t going to divulge that information and put a target on my own back. If they figured that out on their own, well, good for them.

  When I finished, people were calling out questions, and the Secret Service was crawling around the room. I stepped off to the side, but I knew they wouldn’t just let me go. Two men with suits and earpieces came up on either side of me and gripped me by the arms. I let them take me, not daring to make a scene.

  “You’ll have to come with us,” the agents said. I let them lead me out of the room and tried to fight the smile of satisfaction that threatened to break through. Behind the scenes, I wa
s surrounded by complete chaos. I could hear the press yelling out questions from the Press Room. People were running around barking orders and whispering behind nervous hands. The agent to the left of me squeezed my arm tight enough to get my attention. I glanced at him. “That was ballsy,” he whispered, and with a flash of his face, I saw Isi.

  I tried to hide my smile and turned slightly so that she could hear me. “I thought you didn’t agree with this.”

  She let out a dry laugh. “I don’t agree with pretty much anything you do. But it is in the best interest of both parties involved that you don’t get busted.”

  “So, are you here for the Agency?” I asked quietly so no one else could hear me.

  “Yes, believe it or not, they still think you are an asset to them.” She shook her head. We continued to walk down the hallway, people still rushing around on all sides of us. They were trying to get a look at me but didn’t want me to see them looking.

  “Even after I just revealed everything? They don’t want me dead?” That came as a surprise. I thought I might be target number one.

  “Stratagem,” Isi whispered to me.

  I turned to look at her to make sure I heard correctly. “Stratagem? What do you mean?”

  “Stratagem. Schemes. Subterfuge. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. Sun Tzu said that in The Art of War. He also said, ‘He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.’”

  “I never pegged you as a reader.” Isi stared at me. I hoped she wasn’t my enemy, but then again, there was so much I didn’t know about her.

  chapter 36

  After the meeting, it was just Brody and me. We got in the car to visit my father and sisters. The Opposition had set them up with a new life. They also got rid of Beth and the Agency’s hold on them…for now. The Agency had bigger fish to fry in the fallout of their failures.