The Rogue Agent

by Shiloh White

  “You have to drop her.” Chug said. I wanted to shove my elbow into the little brat's throat. I couldn't believe what he wanted me to do.

  “Dart literally just dropped back there, from your stupid game. Now you want me to get rid of Halsey too?” I shook my head at him. “Not happening.”

  “We're not going to be able to get away with her on your back,” Chug explained, panting as we ran. “Besides,” he said, “Didn't he say they'd catch up? Those goons will let them go once they figure out your friends are Officers.” Dart's words echoed in my head...

  “Scott and Chloe don't have time to wait...Halsey and I'll meet up with you back at HQ.”

  Was that what Dart meant? Would those two guys chasing us really let them go? I wasn't completely sure. And yet, I found myself setting Halsey down a little further away from where Dart fell. I was pretty sure at this point that Chug couldn't be telling the truth about the two guys letting, but I hoped Dart was.

  “Look up ahead! I see something!” the woodsman guy said somewhere behind us. I quickly propped Halsey up against a wall so her head was elevated.

  “That something's a someone, man!” the surfer guy exclaimed. My heart skipped a beat. There was no way they were at Dart already, so then how—

  “They must have reached Takao.” Chug said, as if he could read my mind.

  I felt like I was running with a handful of stones in my stomach. If Chug was right, then Dart probably dropped him while we running. He must've been lying about how long he was lasting. That bullet was already shutting down his body then. We should've just hid from these guys or something—

  “Let's go!” Chug pulled on my arm. There was hesitation in his voice, though. I knew he didn't want to leave Takao behind, but he knew escaping was all we could do. My heart played tug-of-war in my chest as I looked down at Halsey lying unconscious; Dart behind us, going insane; Takao being taken. I didn't want to leave them either...

  But what were we going to do?

  Dart told me to run. He also said he'd come back. Not to mention, I had to get back to save Scott. He couldn't have much time left before that Waspish Syndrome took full effect.

  That thought was enough to force myself to turn and keep running.

  ✽✽✽

  Despite Dart's leading, we must have ended up on a different alleyway back to Mr. Reggie's.

  On the way back, we found a couple stacks of old crates and boxes. Chug stopped and tried to push it over. I caught up to him, and helped him shove into the middle of the alleyway. I mean, they were probably gonna jump over it judging by how tall they sounded, but who knows? It could buy us a few seconds.

  “What was that?” the surfer guy asked, just paces behind us. That or, these guys just talked really loud. Either way, I found myself turning the corner and leaning silently against the wall to hide and catch my breath.

  “Forget it,” the woodsman said. “There's two more over here.”

  “You think any of these dudes are the ones who broke the window?” The surfer guy asked.

  “Forget the window, genius!” the woodsman growled. “We want the ones the boss is looking for, remember?”

  They weren't here for Chug? That meant they were here for me and my friends...what for?

  “I'm confused,” the surfer guy said, sounding hopelessly confused. “Why all the yelling for the window thing, then?”

  I heard the loudest sigh of irritation come out of who I figured was the woodsman. “It drew these three out, didn't it?” he said convincingly.

  “We need to run if we're going to get out of here alive,” a voice whispered next to me and I instinctively threw a punch, but when I realized it was just Chug, I turned the punch into a hand over his mouth.

  “You need to be quiet if you want your friend to get out alive,” I whispered to him. He looked at me like he was gonna bite my hand, but he nodded. I removed my hand which was now warm from Chug's breath. Eww.

  “Anyway,” the woodsman said, “you don't have to understand. Just help pick 'em up. The boss will want to see all of them. You know that.” They were going to take them away. I wasn't sure who this boss fellow was, but whatever he wanted to do with us, I wanted no part in.

  But those goons were going to get away with my friends if I ran. And I had no clue where they were taking them.

  “Where else did you break windows?” I whispered to Chug. “Besides the restaurant?” he asked. I nodded. He looked down at the ground, thinking for a moment.

  “An apartment complex, and some bad-smelling club. I can't remember what it was called...”

  Bad-smelling club? I knelt down and crawled around the corner, using the boxes and crates as a hiding spot to see the two guys. They were built like bodybuilders; tall, but hunched over with a bunch of heavy muscles. One of them had Takao and Halsey, and started going back the way he came. I watched the one facing me lug Dart over his shoulder, and I gasped. After a second, I realized I'd done it out loud. I wasn't sure if they'd heard me, but I crawled back around the corner as fast as I could.

  “I recognize him from the Club Insanis,” I told Chug, trying my hardest to whisper. “He's the one who threw me out.”

  “The Club Insanis—that's it. That's gotta be it.” Chug said.

  A shiver tremored through my whole body. If Chug was as sure as he sounded; if these goons were going to the Club Insanis, that meant the boss they were talking about...it had to be Damian.

  “Go back to Mr. Reggie's—the restaurant with the window you broke, and apologize.” I told Chug.

  “Why should I—wait,” Chug said, pointing a finger at me, “what are you going to do?”

  “Something stupid,” I answered. “And I'd better not see you here when I get back. Get to the restaurant.” That looming thought of if I get back floated around in my head. I used the rush of adrenaline to force it down.

  “How do you know I won't run off?” Chug stammered.

  I really wished he would stop asking questions. I was losing the adrenaline rush quicker than it showed up. I needed to go now.

  “It's because after your future gang friends ditched you, you still tried to save Takao. There's good in there somewhere. Probably behind the part that infuriates people. Don't lose that.” I told him, looking straight into his eyes. For some reason, it felt like my point got across better that way. “Now get going.” I said to both him and myself.

  Then I turned and ran back around the corner, jumping over the boxes and crates to catch up to those goons and my friends.

  34. I Crash The Wrong Meeting

  I made it back to the two bouncers in time to tail them to the club, keeping my distance as I followed. I was close enough to hear every loud word of theirs, however, and I quickly found out they loved to talk.

  So far, from just their conversation, I found out the one with the woodsman voice who'd kicked me out was named Tyrese. He was carrying Halsey in one arm and Takao in the other.

  The other one, who carried Dart over his shoulder, I remembered as the guy who wanted me to get him a drink from the club. Although, his surfer voice was a lot less raspy and nasty than it was the other night. Throughout their conversation, he insisted his name was James, but Tyrese only addressed him as Jimmy Boy.

  “Why do you do that, dude?” Jimmy Boy said for the umpteenth time. “It's not my name, so why do you call me Jimmy Boy?”

  “Seniority rights,” Tyrese answered with an air of pride. “I can call you whatever I want. Plus,” he added, “I'm carrying more people.” He chuckled to himself with that comment. Tyrese definitely got a kick out of pushing Jimmy Boy around.

  “That second one's invalid; mine weighs more than both of yours combined.” Jimmy Boy griped.

  “Tough luck,” Tyrese said with a laugh. “The boss wants them all, so it don't matter how much they weigh, Jimmy Boy.”

  Their conversations repeated pretty much exactly like this all the way to the club. After going through it a few times, I focused on trying to figure out
what Damian wanted with Dart and Halsey. Or Takao. Or all of them.

  Yeah, I didn't get anywhere. Plus, I was a little distracted with his warning—and Lieutenant Hollister's—not to come back here. Why was I doing this again?

  Before I could find the answer to that, I realized the alleyways had let out into the street, and across it was the Club Insanis. But it was much different this time; a lot darker. The big neon sign on the side of the building was off, as were the lights were off at the front door. As I took a closer look, sure enough, one of the windows in the door was shattered.

  Between the lights off and the sun already setting, I was squinting to see the two bouncers still in front of me as they ran over to the restaurant. They walked around the building to a side entrance, dimly lit from a nearby streetlamp. I followed them, watching from around the corner. Jimmy Boy pulled out a set of keys and began to fumble with it to find the right key.

  “Hurry up, Jimmy Boy,” Tyrese teased, snickering to himself.

  “I'm goin' as fast as I can,” Jimmy Boy assured him, shifting Dart's weight as he opened the door. “See?”

  They walked inside and the door started to close quickly behind them. I spent the next two seconds staring at it before I realized I needed to get inside too.

  ✽✽✽

  I dashed around the corner, grabbing the door just inches before it closed.

  All the strobe and party lights were off inside too, thank God. From what I could see, the room's only lighting was the pile of dim glow sticks that littered the floor. There were a lot though, so they did a pretty good job of helping me to see what was where.

  I snuck inside, and realized I was at the far end of the room, near Damian's office. On my left was the corner end of the bar counter, with one of those walkways where you pull up the wooden block to get through. As the two bouncers walked into the room, I took my chance to sneak underneath the bar walkway, and I hid there.

  “Hey, Boss!” Jimmy Boy called out loud enough for the whole block to hear. “We made it back with the ones who broke the window!”

  Tyrese kicked Jimmy Boy in the foot.

  “Ow, what was that for?” Jimmy Boy complained.

  “Idiot,” Tyrese muttered. Then he turned and spoke to the dark and empty room.

  “These actually might be the ones we were sent to grab, Boss.”

  “Right,” Jimmy Boy agreed, “and they also might be the ones who broke the window—ow!” Tyrese kicked him in the foot again. At this moment, it occurred to me that I was watching all this happen through the bar counter; it was made of glass. I could see right out—and I was sure they could see in.

  I knelt down slowly until I was lying on my stomach, and used my hands and elbows to prop myself up enough to see out without being seen. I hoped the dim lighting of the room would help keep attention away from me, too.

  I peeked out of the window, keeping my eyes open for Damian, and noticed something I didn't see before. Across from me was a lounge area, complete with what looked like two rows of bright red comfy chairs, and in between them, two long black tables. Two of the red chairs on the farther side of the tables were occupied by figures I couldn't make out in the dark. One of the figures stood up, and my heart skipped a beat. I could easily recognize him from that long hood he had on—the rogue Agent.

  He said to the bouncers, “Set them down over here.” His voice drove me crazy with how much I recognized it, but couldn't place it. For now, I marked it up to stress. My heart was beating faster than the music was the last time I was here. I wouldn't be able to place that voice right now.

  Jimmy Boy walked over to the chairs and stubbed his toe on the nearest table, almost dropping Dart in the process. “Can't we turn on a few lights?” he asked, wincing in pain, “I can barely see anything in here.”

  A cold chuckle came from the second figure, still sitting in his chair. “You don't have to look with your eyes to see.” he said. Surprisingly, I didn't have any trouble placing that one. It was Damian. Or at least, one of the voices Damian used—the creepy one that sent chills down my spine. The only thing that was creepier was wondering why he and the rogue Agent were here together.

  “See without eyes?” Jimmy Boy asked, finally finding a chair to set Dart down in. “What does that mean?”

  Tyrese walked past him to the chairs, muttering to him, “The more you think about it, the more confusing it'll get.” Only, he was loud enough for me to hear him. I was sure Damian could hear him too. But he said nothing as Tyrese sat Halsey and Takao down in chairs next to Dart.

  “You'll get used to it the longer you work inside.” Tyrese continued as the two of them backed out of the rogue Agent's way.

  He sauntered around the table and over to the chair closest to me, where Halsey sat.

  I clenched my fist as he bent down and grabbed a handful of her hair out of her face. What the heck did he want with her? I'd only known Halsey a short time, but she'd been kind to me the whole time. For Dust's sake, I was still wearing her jacket. I wanted to jump out and shove him away from her. Corner him; ask him why he threatened me to leave; why he knew Chloe. But that would get me nowhere but caught like the rest of them, so I just waited.

  “She doesn't matter,” the rogue Agent said, letting go of Halsey's hair, “It's not her.” I asked myself what he meant by that, but my thoughts didn't get far. I found myself getting distracted by his voice, just like the last time I ran into him. My heart felt about three times heavier in my chest and my head ached. Why did his voice do this?

  “What do you mean, dude?” Jimmy Boy asked in his oblivious surfer voice. “I thought they all mattered.” he said, looking to Tyrese for reassurance. The rogue Agent lashed out, yelling “No! Only she matters! Only she matters to him!” he waved his arms around Halsey, like he was pushing her away.

  “Who is this “him”?” Jimmy Boy asked. The rogue Agent started to pace, not answering Jimmy Boy. “They refer to “him” as an old friend most of the time.” Tyrese whispered a little too loudly. He definitely needed to work on an indoor voice, but for now I didn't mind how loud he was.

  “A very old and close friend,” Damian elaborated, chuckling to himself.

  “Focus, Damian.” The rogue Agent said. His voice was calm, but it wavered, like he was trying to rein in his anger.

  “I apologize,” Damian said with a polite half-bow. “You know how much I like to bring him up.”

  “Well, if you ever want to see him instead of talking about him, then we can't waste any more time on failed plans like this one.” The rogue Agent pointed to my unconscious friends and Takao in the red chairs. That must have been a low blow to Damian. He turned to his goons, who stood rather awkwardly in the middle of the room now, and asked them to wait outside. I appreciated them leaving the room, though, since their legs were blocking some of my view.

  “My plans haven't failed.” Damian said, although he sounded like he was more trying to convince himself.

  “Since you planted your mole,” the rogue Agent said as he started pacing the room again, “he found who I need only to poison the wrong person, and now given us a tip that she was in the area again, only for it not to be her, but this Depression Force Officer!” he exclaimed, gesturing to Halsey. “I would consider that failing.” he added. Damian glanced at her and then back at the rogue Agent.

  Poisoning the wrong person...were they talking about Scott? I thought about when Scott said he'd been poked with a needle; that must have been their mole injecting him. But if that was true, then the poison could only have been meant for me.

  My heart beat even faster. That couldn't be true, could it? Was I the “she” the rogue Agent was after? What could he want with me? And if he wanted anything, why didn't he just take me back in my second Zone?

  “These aren't failures,” Damian said, “but pieces, in a larger plan. And might I remind you that you, a rogue Depression Agent, asked me for my assistance in your piece of the plan? Not just any club owner, but the Depression Agent
of De Mentoria itself.”

  I bit my tongue to keep from freaking out and making noise. He was way more than just an eccentric bigshot like Lieutenant Hollister said. He must have been a literal lunatic to have dealt with this place inside his head long enough for it to become an Anchor Zone. The rogue Agent, who cornered me in my own Depression Zone, asked this crazy guy for help. And I expected to save my friends?

  I was in way over my head now. I should've listened to Dart and ran. At least then I would have had someone to help me right now. Scott couldn't have more than an hour or two left at this point.

  “You give yourself this title, but it would help if you started to live up to It.” the rogue Agent said, pacing the room faster. He looked like he was going to hurt someone.

  “Just trust me here. We'll get Lucy before you know it—then you'll have no reason to doubt your decision.” Damian said.

  “I already doubt my decision,” the rogue Agent said angrily, “but we're running out of time. So it's up to you to get her, or else—AUGH!” All of a sudden, the rogue Agent doubled over. He fell to his knees and clutched his head, going crazy and screaming. Damian ran over to him, and I swore I saw him grin for a second before helping the Agent up. “He must be trying to contact you again,” Damian said, putting the rogue Agent's arm over his shoulder. “It's important that you heed his call.” he said.

  Damian walked the rogue Agent past the lounge area, and into his office, where the two of them disappeared.

  I still had no idea who “he” was, but he provided my opening. If I was going to help my friends, now was the time. I got up into a crouching position and crept underneath the bar walkway, past Takao and Halsey, and over to where Dart was propped up in his chair.

  “Come on, Dart. I need some help here.” I said, trying to shake him awake. “Anytime you want to wake up would be nice.” I told him convincingly. No dice. He was out. But he didn't knock himself unconscious like the other two, so I wasn't sure how long he'd be out. I hoped it would be on the shorter side, banking on the familiarity with these bullets he talked about during our escape...okay, failed escape.