by M. Malone
Matthias
Even though this whole thing was my plan, I was starting to have serious second thoughts. Gemma stood in front of Oskar as he helped her put on a lightweight, bullet-resistant vest.
My mind was stuck on the word resistant. We couldn’t put her in full battle gear. She was supposed to look like she was unarmed. But everything inside of me wished that we could cover her in bubble wrap.
The idea of sending her out into the world unprotected made me crazy. Putting myself in danger was one thing, but not her. Never her. A small part of me wondered how I was going to handle her going out on ORUS missions in the future. I wasn’t sexist. I knew there were tons of extremely capable female agents. But that didn’t mean I wanted her to be one of them. What I wanted was for her to be safe.
Good luck with that.
Nothing about our life had ever been safe. From the moment she had shown up with the Family, she’d always been one step ahead of danger. And I had to admit that she found her way out of it on her own for the most part. It was a hard thing to admit that she didn’t really need me. But I wanted her to need me.
I also wanted Oskar to take his hands off her breasts.
“Okay, okay. I can do that,” I grumbled as I knocked his hands away.
He smirked and moved over to the ammunition. I was surprised he didn’t make a smart comment, but all the guys seem to be giving me a wide berth today. Maybe I had been a little crankier than usual, but what guy wouldn’t be when he was sending the love of his life into the lion’s den?
They didn’t know what the Family was like, what they were truly capable of. I did, up close and personal. Reading it in a report wasn’t the same as living it. It was taking everything inside of me to allow her to walk back in there. Especially knowing that the last time we’d both been there, we’d both almost died.
“You remember the plan?”
She nods. “We’ve gone over it a million times.”
“I know.” My hands shook slightly as I adjusted her shirt over the vest. The material was so thin that you couldn’t even tell it was there. Exactly what we wanted. “I’m just worried about you.”
She scoffed. “Worried about me? I’m going to be safe with Diana the whole time. We’ll be in and out before they even know what’s happening. You’re the one we should be worried about. It’s not too late to call this off, you know.”
“I’m not calling it off. Let’s just focus on getting through this.”
The next hour was spent getting ready for the op. Gemma watched as we gathered weapons and went over the plan a final time. The blueprint of the drop-off point was burned into my brain at that point. But Gemma paid close attention, her eyes following as Noah’s fingers moved over the screen of his tablet.
Before I knew what was happening, we were in the car on the way. I wanted to say something to her, but my mind was blank. What did you say to someone when there’s a chance the words might be your last?
“I love you.”
She smiled. “I love you, too. This has to work.”
“The guys are right behind us,” I said, reminding her that Noah and Rafe were on our tail. “Dylan and Ryan went ahead to scout out the location.” I wasn’t sure if the reminders made her feel any better, but they helped me to remember who had my back. The last time I was facing off against the Family, I was a scared teenager with no idea how I would survive in the world and few friends to my name. Now things were different. That was what I had to cling to.
Gemma sighed. “I’m scared.”
“I know. But it’ll all be over soon.” I reached over and grabbed her hand as we drove the rest of the way. Once we approached the drop-off point, I pulled to the side of the road and parked. A black sedan was across the street. The windows were so dark that you couldn’t see inside. After a few minutes the door opened, and someone got out.
“Showtime.” I leaned over and kissed her. I pretended I didn’t feel the moisture against my face.
“I’ll see you soon. Be careful.” Gemma put a soft hand to my cheek and the tender touch was almost my undoing.
“Always.” I climbed out of the car and walked to the middle of the street. It was deserted, but I knew that Noah and Rafe had eyes on me. It should have given me confidence, but something inside of me was blaring a warning. On the surface, everything was going according to plan, but somehow things felt off.
“I’m here. You got what you want. Where’s the girl?”
The man facing me was a little older, with dark hair and a small scar on his forehead. I took in all the details in case I needed them later. Although I wasn’t stupid enough to think they’d sent anyone but a low-level player to retrieve me.
“We’ll take you to the girl. As long as you cooperate.”
Another man climbed out of the car. I resisted the urge to fight back as they pushed me toward the back seat. The second goon produced a zip tie and my hands were bound in front of me. But I really only started second-guessing things when they pulled out the black bag.
“Don’t worry,” Goon Number One said with a smile. “That’s for later.”
I kept my face impassive, but all I was thinking was, Noah, don’t let me down.
16
Gemma
“Once again, I want everyone in the bleachers to hear me. No one’s being a hero today. Alpha team, do you copy?”
I knew Noah was talking to me. He mentioned it to make sure it sank in. I scowled as I slid my gaze to Diana and Rafe, who had the good sense to look elsewhere. Dylan, like an idiot, grinned at me. I just deepened my scowl. “Yes, Alpha team copies. Honestly, you try and rescue a friend one time…”
Rafe’s chuckle was low as he checked his weapons. “Yeah well, I tried to kill people this one time; you’d be amazed how they never let that shit go.”
I had gotten some of the story already, but I hadn’t really gotten the whole thing. Oskar insisted that it needed acting out.
“Beta team, do you copy?”
Oskar and Ryan acknowledged that they copied. And then Noah asked Charlie team.
Ian’s voice came clear on the line. “Charlie team copies.”
I understood what needed to happen. I was going to go in with Diana. She was the one who was going to watch those six and guard them at the end of the hall. Rafe was going to stay at the door to make sure no one else came in and no one else went out. Oskar and Ryan were watching egress routes and Ian’s team was split, half on Matthias, half as cavalry. Obviously, Noah was on comms. This was a good plan, a very good plan. And we were going to get Sabine, which was the part I liked the most.
“Alpha team, move out.” Rafe was the one who handled this hack. He had one of Matthias’s decryption devices programmed for us.
After several seconds, the light bulb turned green and disengaged. Then Diana and I, weapons in hand, were on our way. I led the way with Diana not far behind. As far as missions went, this was the kind of thing I pictured as first mission, not deep cover. I thought I’d be going in for rescues and stuff.
This stuff with the Family, I hated everything about it, but this, this felt more like it. As we moved in a modified formation, we made a sharp turn and moved as silently as ninjas. Our feet barely made any sound. When we reached the end of the main hallway, Dylan tapped Diana on the shoulder, and Diana tapped me. He signaled this was the end of his road, and he was going to watch our backs as we went forward. Luckily, from the blueprints we had been shown of the old warehouse in Walthamstow where Matthias and I had grown up, it hadn’t changed much. Some modernization was made two years ago, but only on the portion that contained the offices and residence of Father.
If that’s where he even lives anymore.
But the rest of the facility remained largely unchanged, including where they normally kept prisoners.
When we reached a blind hallway, we halted when Noah spoke into the comms. “Alpha team hold. Enemy at your two o’clock walking toward a T-junction off your hallway.”
I held my breath, beads
of sweat popping on my brow, forcing myself to remember my training. With each breath I inhaled, I counted to three, held, counted to three, exhaled, counted to three.
As we stood there waiting and listening for any hint of a sound, it seemed that Diana was doing the same thing. Had she been trained? I knew she wasn’t ORUS, but from what I understood, Diana trained with the guys on hand-to-hand and weapons. I had first assumed that she was just Rafe’s fiancée. I never thought that Diana worked for Blake Security as well.
One. Two. Three. In.
One. Two. Three. Out.
In and out, we both timed our breaths, staying as relaxed as possible while poised on the razor edge of a machete.
Finally, Noah’s voice came back over the comms. “All clear. Move forward.”
As if we hadn’t had to cope with standing stock-still for the last three minutes, we sprang into action with the fluidity of a sword master. We moved forward and headed toward that hallway. I held up my left hand, pointing down the hall, signaling toward the window. Diana acknowledged the signal, and then we moved forward, carefully avoiding the window.
It was only when we’d almost passed the room on the left that I saw the lock of blond hair through the corner of my eye. I gave the immediate hold command. When I turned for a better look, I saw Sabine in a chair, with her back to the window and door. Why the hell wasn’t she kept with the rest of the prisoners? No matter.
I signaled for the decryption keypad and placed it on the door. This door had less security than the external doors. In a matter of seconds, the light turned green. Weapon raised, I turned the handle and moved silently inside with Diana on my heels, watching my back.
Sabine didn’t even turn around. Instead she muttered, “Are they dead yet?”
Diana stared, quickly checking for guards, but there was nothing. The room was… comfortable. Sabine was in some kind of armchair, facing the television. On the left was a table with snacks. Next to it was a refrigerator. The floor was carpeted and worn, but most importantly, Sabine wasn’t tied up.
I raised my gun. “Just what the fuck is going on?”
My friend whipped around, blond locks flying, and then sighed when she saw us. “Is this the part where I pretend you rescued me?”
Matthias
Whose bright idea was this again? Oh yeah, mine.
It was killing me to not fight back. But this was for Gemma. I owed her. And I’d made her promises. Ones I intended to keep.
We pulled up in the middle of an unfamiliar area. It could have been basically anywhere in East London, or South London for that matter.
There were warehouses all around. I was dragged out of the car roughly and then shoved out onto the street. “Easy gents. You don’t want to rough up the merchandise,” I mumbled. That only earned me another shove forward.
I had to blink rapidly to adjust to the sunlight, and I tried to rotate my shoulders as much as I could to accommodate for the zip ties on my hands.
“Any one of you fuckwits want to tell me which way we’re going?”
One of the guys, the short, stocky one on the left, shoved me slightly. “Shut it.”
“Sorry, mate. I’m just trying to make conversation.” And also to stall. I didn’t know how much time Gemma was going to need. But from what I’d figured, the longer I could stall the better.
“The only conversation you’ll be having is with Father, so shut your trap.”
“Interesting you should say that. I’ve been looking forward to speaking with him.”
“Well, I doubt you’ll be so happy about it when he gets his hands on you. Do you know how long we’ve been meaning to kill you?”
I chuckled harshly. “It turns out I’m not that easy to kill. He’s tried it once or twice. He’s going to fail this time too.”
It turned out Stocky and Not Too Bright didn’t appreciate that, given he landed a sharp jab to my side. Pain radiated through my kidney as I gritted my teeth, cursing through it.
“Shut it.”
“Okay, okay. I hear you. You’re too daft to have a challenging conversation with anyway. I’ll wait till I’m in the room with the real top dogs. What’s it like knowing that you’re nothing but a shitty little errand boy?”
Goddamn, another jab. Stocky and Not Too Bright shoved me forward, and around the corner there was another car idling.
What the fuck? This was not the plan. “Oi! What the fuck is this? You’re supposed to be taking me to Father now.”
“Oh, you’ll get to Father.” Short and Stocky leaned in and I figured I’d have to add in dragon breath as part of the nickname, too. “He just wants you going on a bit more of an adventure first.”
And then it came out. The one thing I’d been hoping they wouldn’t do: the bag, right over the head.
I only struggled a little. I hated these things. I’d always hated them. Every time I had to work with some new, cagey agent from another agency, I’d end up with one of these over my head. They never smelled good. Dank, dark, and it reminded me too much of my childhood.
Before they shoved me in the car, they did another sweep for weapons. Up and down one leg, up and down the other, a proper pat down at the back, front, under the arms—all standard stuff. None of the idiots had figured that my belt buckle concealed a knife. And that was lucky for me, because when shit went wrong, and it was bound to at some point, I’d feel at least a little bit better with one of my knives on me.
Of course, I had my smaller comm unit still in. No one had thought to sweep me for bugs. At least it was concealed.
Next thing I knew, my head was being grabbed and I was shoved in the back seat of the second car. Once we were moving, I tried to pay attention and track our route. But it was difficult since we’d stopped amongst all those warehouses. I had no idea where we were. All I could do was trust that my team had an eye on me.
The car was mostly silent as we drove. While I might not have known where we were going, I knew approximately how long we’d been driving. In just short of ten minutes, the driver slammed on the brakes, and I was jostled so far, I nearly went flying into the front seat. All I heard was my comm going off. “Shit, we have trouble.”
The only thought I had before I calmly unlocked the gate that contained my monster was… Gemma.
17
Gemma
“Sabine, what the hell are you doing?”
Sabine seemed like she was in no kind of hurry. No sense of urgency. No worry. No fear. “Gemma, I wish I could say I was happy or even surprised to see you, but I’m neither.”
Diana tapped on the doorframe. “We gotta get a move on.”
I signaled her for one more minute, then turned back to Sabine. “Okay, just get your stuff. Let’s go.”
“Are you daft?” The venom rolled off Sabine in waves. “When are you going to get it? I’m not coming with you. As a matter of fact, I’m the bait.”
My brows drew down. “What are you talking about? I came back for you. You were hurt.”
Sabine rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t hurt. I tripped on purpose once I realized your man was going to get away. Father only wanted you because he knew it would bring him in. He said you went and fell in love with the mark. Not too bright, are you?”
As the seconds ticked by, realization dawned. Sabine wasn’t bound; she wasn’t gagged; she wasn’t afraid. She was no prisoner. She was the bait.
The problem was the moment it sunk in, one of the guards came barreling into the room. He and Diana started fighting over his gun, and he knocked her down. I jumped in and an uppercut sent his head snapping back, his big body staggering back a couple of steps.
I took full advantage and locked on him, digging my left hand into his hair, making a fist with my right, and punching him in the throat. Then I jumped off. He choked and staggered back, flailing, trying to get a foothold. First lesson in fighting: if you couldn’t breathe, you couldn’t fight. Then I went for the base of his stance. I grabbed him by the ears and pulled his big body forward,
right onto my knee. The resounding crunch made my stomach roil, but I didn’t even blink. Then I turned, ready to drag Sabine by her hair if I had to, and suddenly, my stomach pitched.
Sabine had a gun to Diana’s head. “I really wish you hadn’t done that. Now they’ll blame me. Why do you always have to do this, act like a goddamn hero?”
“I’m not acting like a hero. I thought you were my friend. I wanted to help you.”
“I don’t need your help.”
I shook my head. How had I gotten this all wrong? “Was any of this real? Or did Father know all along that I worked for ORUS?”
Sabine tilted her head up, finger on the trigger. Diana, however, stayed nice and calm, hands up where Sabine could see them, appearing to be no threat.
I knew after seeing Diana in action that she could handle herself just fine. But she wasn’t taking any stupid chances.
“Don’t look at me like that. You don’t know what it’s like. You escaped. Some of us didn’t get to escape. Some of us were sold and returned. Sold again. Returned. That’s a life that we can’t get back. You ran.” She spat out those words with venom.
“I was trying to get back to you. Yes, I was assigned to come back here, and I never wanted to, but I had unique knowledge that could help me infiltrate better. Imagine how sick I was to find the same people that I’d left behind were still here, that there were people who never found their way out. And before you start thinking how lucky I was to have escaped, you don’t know how I escaped. Those people threw me into the Thames and left me for dead.”
Sabine’s face fell, her bravado replaced by sadness and sorrow. Her eyes went soft and her mouth turned down, smoothing some of the hard edge. “There is no normal. This is all there is, survival. You’re a fool if you’ve never learned that. You’re stupid if after all these years away you thought you could change anything about this place.”