CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Bomb
When we reached Fiji, we had to hurry. The guards would know that we would have come here because really there is no other place to go. So we had to hide until we found a way out. We got off our skis and entered onto the island. Ships decorated the shore along with other jet skies and boats. Ours would fit right in. We moved farther onto the island. Sean cautiously slipped his hand into mine he still was under the spell that I was the leader and instead of pulling away like I normally would I let him, and we walked further onto the Island until we were under the cover of the trees. “That was an amazing job everyone I am so proud but…” I said drifting off.
“But…” One of them prompted. I took a deep breath.
“But…there is something you should know.” I started nervously rushing through the words. They blinked waiting anxiously for me to continue.
“You have been brainwashed. I know you think that that is impossible…but it isn’t it’s just the truth. That’s why I called Boy 106 Sean that’s his real name. He was brought to the school thinking it was a college level private school. He grew up in a small town on a farm, his father is a millionaire, and he has a older sister who is fourteen years older than him named Nikki, a younger sister who is six years younger named Alice, along with a nephew who was just born. Girl 139 your name is Annie, and you have five brothers and four sisters you lived in Mexico, but your parents wanted you to get a real education so they sent you here on scholarship. Girl 66 your name is Tiffany, you’re an only child and your mother and father got a divorce when you were ten,” I said. I continued around until everyone knew who they were, and watched as they were released from Zenwaler’s brainwashing.
“Why did they want us?” Lilly asked.
“They wanted to make an army of assassins. Celcius Zenwaler wanted power, and would have defeated the CIA first then other agencies and dignitaries. When Sean rescued me, Celcius had just found out that I had been released from the brainwashing, and was trying to stop me. He was going to execute me publicly, to teach all of you a lesson,” I said. There was gasps as they realized what had been in store for them.
“So the CIA really are the good guys?” One boy asked.
“Good is subjective, but yes you could say that,” I said.
“Well then who are you? It was you who was going to lead us and you obviously know all about it so why should we trust you? Why shouldn’t we kill you ourselves?” Sean asked. His face was filled with distrust. I hadn’t expected this.
“I can’t believe this.” I mumbled shocked
“If I were trying to use you, I wouldn’t have broken the brainwashing’s grasp on all of you.” I said.
“To gain our trust you would.” Sean said. There were simultaneous murmurs of agreement from everyone.
“Okay reasons why you shouldn’t kill me. A. Because I am innocent. B. Because that would make you just like them. And finally C. Because I am innocent.
“Prove it. Prove that you are innocent. Say something that will make us believe it.”
“Instead of brainwashing me he used this machine for mind control” I started I winced at the thought.
“What do you mean exactly. Mind control” Asked Sean still suspicious. I took a deep breath I hated to admit it when I was overpowered but I knew it was necessary to get them to believe and trust me.
“When I started to fight back, they used a machine that grabbed my hands and feet. It pulled me over and dropped me onto a stone table where some weird people with white coats strapped me down. They stuck a helmet on my head and a needle with some liquid into my arm. Celcius wore a matching helmet that linked our minds and allowed him to implant his will into my head, and he took my memories of it. The morning after I didn’t remember anything just that I was to call him master and to meet him for breakfast and that I was to lead you.” I was starting to get upset now. “A few days later he wanted me to read your files. So I did and I finished early he said that if I did I was to study some of the books. When I reached for a book, two notes fell out of them they were from my grandparents to the CIA, apparently they were agents too and-” I explained but Sean cut me off.
“What do you mean too?” He asked. I wanted to smack myself. I had officially just blown my cover.
“I am a CIA agent” I confessed. “You lie.” One boy said pulling a knife out and aiming it at me.
“See how she doesn’t make eye contact” The boy said pulling his knife back to throw and three others did the same. I looked up for the first time since I had started to explain. My eyes watered, how did this all happen?
“Look into my eyes, do I look like I am lying? You have been trained, you should know that there are other signs” I said my voice broke towards the end.
“No” the boy said and put the knife back.
“You could be acting, prove it.” Sean said. I sighed.
“Fine then who wants to volunteer for me to beat them up?” I asked.
“How would that help?” Sean asked.
“I was only at that place for a day, there’s no way I would have any training unless I was a CIA operative,” I said.
“I will”. One boy I believe his name was Jake said. His file said he was around sixteen and by the looks of it a tad bit cocky.
“Go ahead attack me.” I said. He looked a little apprehensive that I didn’t take up a fighting stance.
He started running at me and out of the corner of my eye I notice another boy around fifteen running at me from the side. Ha, a double attack. I turned around my leg swinging up and over hitting Jake knocking him down. Then I greeted the other boy by grabbing his arm and flipping him over. There was a shocked silence.
“Now do you believe me?” I asked them.
“I want to be a CIA agent.” One girl said.
“Yeah” a boy agreed.
“No you don’t.” I said fiercely. I sighed
“Let’s go. I think that it might be best if nobody tells anybody about what has happened I know how hard it is to lie to those you love. I will tell the CIA about what happened then I promise I will leave all of you alone.” I added, starting to walk up the beach.
“Come along we must call your parents, or guardians. Then we will hitch a ride on a plane or something. I won’t be coming with you though there is someone I am waiting for,” I explained.
“You mean the CIA” Sean clarified.
“Yeah the CIA” I said frustrated.
“You don’t like the CIA,” Sean accused. I was about to disagree but I knew he was right. “No I don’t like the CIA.” I admitted. I noticed that the other “students” had wandered off it was just Sean and I.
“Why not, isn’t it like every kid’s dream to be a spy?” he asked.
“I would think that you would have figured it out already, I am not normal.” I said. Sean stood and walked circles around me. “You look pretty normal to me,” he said.
“Oh really!” I said laughter in my voice. I shot my arm out catching his foot then swinging my leg around knocking him off his feet. I then pinned him down, my face close to his.
“How normal am I now?” I asked.
“Normal? I’d say below average,” Sean whispered, sarcastically, out of breath, I rolled off him, and reclined on the beach, keeping watch of the ocean.
“So you being held captive and tortured and the fire thing. That wasn’t a test?” He asked.
“No, It wasn’t. In a way you saved all of us.” I said.
“I thought you were just acting she was really electrocuting you?” he continued.
“Yes. Now can we stop talking about it?” I asked.
“Sure.” He said clearly disturbed.
“Come on, I guess we should go find the others.” I suggested and we walked further on to the island where there were a few shops and phone booths placed along the streets.
“You know I really don’t want to go back home.” Sean said after a pause. We were almost half way up the be
ach by now.
“Why not?” I asked him.
“I just hate how everyone stares at me like I am so special. The black tie party’s are enough to kill, and the stupid dances, and lame private schools,” he said.
“Why isn’t that every normal kid’s dream?” I asked. He didn’t answer.
“And most of all, I would have to leave you, and that means you’d have to go back to the CIA,” Sean added
“I’d have to go back with or without you here. I don’t have any choice,” I said. The sound of water vehicles reached my ears. I looked up. A small army’s worth of CIA agents pulled their vehicles up to the dock and left them idling.
“I have to go.” I said. Sean nodded.
“I’m sorry,”
“Me too,” I said. An agent came towards me, and escorted me to one of the boats.”
“This is Agent Lee, he’s heading the operation,” the agent introduced. I nodded.
“Let’s get to work, shall we boys?” I said.
“Over here” I said to the agents beckoning them to the trap door. I brought my finger to my lips to tell them to be quiet. I took out my travel make up kit and brushed a little blush on to the door then on to my ear.
“The security cameras have been disabled, and the fire in the upstairs bedroom has been put out.” I heard one of Celcius’ guards say.
“Parks?”
“It appears she perished in the fire, sir”
“Send a set of guards down to Fiji, just to be safe. In the mean time, check on the students.” Celcius said.
“Right away, sir.” The guard said. I heard the door shut. We didn’t have much time but we could manage. I put out my fingers out behind me. One…Two…Three… I threw open the trap door and stepped out of the way as the agents rushed past me and into the room. I entered in after them. Celcius was nowhere to be seen. I watched them scatter to look for him. I knew that was the first priority, and that they wouldn’t let me go with them so I stayed in his office and poked around. His office reminded me of a warm ski lodge the office was freezing almost but there was a fireplace in the room. I figured it was so he could actually use the fireplace. I sighed. What a waste of air conditioning. His desk was a large mahogany L shaped masterpiece. The pieces seemed almost hand carved, in fact I wouldn’t be surprised if they were. There were stacks, and stacks of papers that littered his tall grand mahogany desk scattered along it carelessly but just not carelessly enough. It seemed like the mess of papers were telling a story, a story of quick haste to cover up something... I brushed aside the papers where it was thickest assuming this was where it’s hiding place was, if it were a hiding place, but for what? The Desk wasn’t large enough to hide anyone. Yet, maybe it was? It seemed like it was all solid wood though. I moved the papers aside. Underneath was a built in calendar box, where you could lift up the glass lid and pull the calendar out to mark, and tear out the pages as the months past. There was a slight indent where the calendar was placed so it seemed like the calendar was seamlessly attached to the wood and built into the desk. I lifted up the calendar wondering if something was under it. There was a small peephole underneath it barely the size for an adult’s finger to slip in. I slipped my index finger through. I found a latch. I pushed on it and the peephole was popped up and revealed a secret….Well… hole it seemed. The question was not what it was for, but how you get down into it without looking like a monkey by climbing all over the desk. That question was soon answered. With a slight groan, the desk seemed to sink down into the floor. I looked closer and realized that the room was the one rising. I was now level with the opening. I had left my flashlight in the tunnel. I pulled out the compact mirror and used the side that would be a flashlight. I shinned it through the hole and realized that there was a staircase leading down into it. I stepped into it. Ugh more cinder block I thought, as I descended down into the black hole that seemed to be swallowing me up with every step I took further in. It was like I was walking into a big black monsters grasp. The flashlight although helpful didn’t shine very far. It barely illuminated a few steps in front of me. At last, I reached the bottom. By the way my steps echoed I could tell the room was monstrously huge. I shined the flashlight against the walls and found just what I was looking for, a switch. I turned it on and a beam of light burst in from the ceiling. I was right the room was huge, but that wasn’t what had stopped me in my tracks. I’d been here before. The room was fashioned similar to a dungeon. There were stone walls all around me. The room had been split into two expansive rooms and a hallway. I guessed that it expanded the length and width of the mansion. There were thousands of metal doors with padlocks on them dug into the floor in a manner of rows. It was organized by a plate of numbers underneath them all. At the far end of this section were old barred prison cells. Suddenly it accrued to me why I thought I had been here before. I had been taken and held hostage in one of these mini cellars I guess you could call them. I had gone through this very hallway lead by Celcius to be subjected to that mind control machine. For a second I had a longing to look for my holding cell or cellar. Instead I refrained. I went down a hallway, and found a corridor that I assumed lead to the other half of the basement. I entered into the other room and gasped. It was a lab. Tables lined the walls bottles and machinery placed on them. That wasn’t what had made me gasp though. There was Celcius Zenwaler strapping himself to what seemed to be a monstrously huge bomb. Large countdown letters on the front, stated that there were only three minutes until it detonated.
“You took them. You stole them away! The army, All my plans, down the drain. Well you didn’t expect this did you my dear?” he said, a wicked grin terrorizing his face. “ho-ho! I, think, not.” He said giddily. Although I don’t know what he was giddy about the man was strapping himself to a time bomb for crying out loud. “Why do you hate the CIA so much?” I asked.
“E. Johnson took from me my biggest dream, all my goals in life. I wanted to be at the head of the CIA. I knew that I had what it took. I was the best of the best. E made some calls. He wanted the position for himself, and they turned me down. I decided that day, that I would end them. They didn’t know what they were losing, so I would show them. So I made a plan. I took my technology, and my money, and decided to create an army of assassins, my own little CIA. I wasn’t actually going to take over the world. How juvenile. No, I’m a simple man by nature. I was going to turn all of you loose, you’d go rogue and try to end the CIA, and I could kill you all and show that I could do what E. Johnson couldn’t and get rid of the menaces I had created. Then the CIA sent you! Ha they had played right into my hands. They had sealed their fate with their very own secret weapon. Then you went and ruined everything the very night before we were going to set out to war, but no I still won’t let the CIA get me in their grasp. I have done all I can, and I would rather die than be taken by them!” Celcius said, looking up at the timer. 60…59…58 I had let him distract me. There was no time left. I pressed the button on the ear piece the CIA had given me. “Evacuate. He has a bomb, you have fifty seconds!” I screamed into the mini microphone. I ran to the bomb, and began to dismantle it.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Did I mention, that this bomb also happens to be connected to another one planted below the ground in Fiji? Enough to wipe out the whole city in fact. If this bomb doesn’t go off, that one does. It’s what I call, death insurance,” he said. My hands froze. “No? Oops,” he said. I had no choice. It was either me, or the city of Fiji.
“We are out, all of us are out, we are sending a team for you. Give us your location agent.”
“No, I am safe,” I said.
“What a pretty little lie, for such a pretty little-” With only thirty seconds left on the clock, I ran.
Operation You've Got To Be Kidding Me Page 27