by Emery Hale
Kayson ran a hand through his hair, tugging at the ends, his fingers trembling and then his entire hand.
‘I’ve lost them, Naomi, I’ve lost them and there’s nothing I can do.’
I sighed, trying to think how best to word my reply.
‘Kayson, you’ve done something, you’ve planned this entire thing.’
‘Naomi, I have sat and watched them for seven months. I watched as they trained, I watched as Harkness made Lily shoot a student for sport.’
Sport? What other horrors had Harkness inflicted?
‘Because you were scared,’ I said, putting an end to his list which to him I imaged was endless. ‘It’s alright to feel like that.’
He laughed. ‘Soldiers don’t get scared.’
‘I think they do. Of course they might not show it, but I believe fear comes into it. There’s something about the human mind, Kayson, no matter how much you want to stand up and fight there is always fear. After I saw what happened to Lily I nearly walked out the door, left them to fend for themselves.’
‘That’s what I’ve done.’
‘But look at what you’re doing now. You have a plan, focus on that.’
The tremor in his hand turned violent, but as soon as he noticed my gaze he quickly hid it, tucking it under his jacket.
With everything these people have been through, it was no wonder they acted the way they did. Outbursts were met with torture, while others ended with a bullet between the eyes.
It wasn’t guilt that lurked within Kayson. From what I could see, it was shame.
* * *
After flashing my ID at the guard on the gate, having a nervous breakdown while he had a good old stare at it, then mentally facepalming myself as I clearly needed to calm down, I was back into the Academy.
The night was cold and damp, the chill in the air only making my body shift closer to Kayson as I clung to his arm for dear life. These heels weren’t doing me any favours and neither was the stupid blazer, which wasn’t thermal in the slightest. It was freezing out here!
I couldn’t tell if it was the cold glow of the lamps or the moon but I’d seen Kayson in a different light this evening. He was a man who needed help and wasn’t afraid to admit it. He cared about his friends and wouldn’t let them suffer any longer, and to me, that was everything.
‘You good?’ he asked, but I had a feeling he was talking about the heels rather than the arctic temperature.
‘Fine, can’t feel my toes but we’ll manage.’
‘Who needs toes anyway?’ he joked.
You know what? Next time he could wear the stupid heels, see how he liked it.
Just as I was getting the hang of it, the sound of clicking began to echo, and then it started to lag. Now I wasn’t a major in physics or an expert in sound waves, but I didn’t think heel clicking lagged. Kayson stopped suddenly, but instead of that hard expression I’d come to know, it was soft.
I teetered around slowly to see a woman walking towards us – oh, so that’s where the sound came from. She was dressed in an expensive looking power suit, with jet black curly hair, mocha skin and sporting a classic red lip. Note to self: invest in world-dominating fashion choices.
‘Mr Ashford,’ her voice rich like chocolate. ‘You’re lucky, I was just passing through.’
‘Miss Ramos.’ Kayson let go of my arm to shake the woman’s hand. ‘Naomi, this is Nicola Ramos, the head of James’s division at MI6.’
This was the girlfriend? James was punching! She was a goddess – even in the harsh light her skin glowed. I blinked quickly, holding out my hand for her to shake, which she did.
‘Naomi Jade, nice to meet you,’ I blurted.
Wow she was gorgeous, I wondered what skincare she used.
‘Pleasure,’ she replied, her London accent a little more prominent than I’d expected.
‘Miss Ramos is the one who is going to solve all of our computer problems, she’s a Techie at heart.’
A Technical Support leading an entire division, that was insane! I assumed all the secret services didn’t work in the same way, but whatever she’d trained in must be the equivalent.
‘I’m a little rusty but I’ll see what I can do,’ she said, and there was a knowing look on her face, bordering on disappointment. ‘I’ve seen first-hand what these drugs do to the students. Let’s start the operation to fix that, shall we?’
The playful grin returned to Kayson’s face as he motioned to the dorm house behind us. Nicola nodded, crossing her arms, and with that Kayson shot off. He knocked the door a couple times before barging right in, leaving it open – so that was our entrance plan.
Literally, walk through the front door.
When I took a couple of steps forward a sharp spasm shot through my ankle, jerking me to the left. I threw my hands out to get my balance, but it was like trying to walk a tightrope.
As I teetered to Nicola, I was met with a teasing smirk rather than a judgemental glower.
‘Why on earth are you wearing those heels?’ she asked, ‘you can’t even walk in them.’
‘Kayson chose them.’
She rolled her eyes with a tut. ‘Men.’
Nicola took off towards the house, slipping her heels from her feet and clutching them to her chest as she approached the front door. Welp, here we go again.
The heels were off my feet faster than my mother at the Boxing Day sales. Then, just for good measure, I chucked them in the bin. No one should have to wear those torture devices.
When I got to the door Nicola was already halfway up the stairs, the cold light from the hallway pouring onto the front steps. Before, it was inviting, but now the place was so cold and stale that it made my skin crawl. The once-luxurious wallpaper now dull and the gold accents aged. It was like I was stepping into a different building, the sweet floral scent that usually filled the hall replaced with sterile bleach. I wondered if the floor would light up if I shone a UV light.
Suddenly, Kayson’s voice sounded from behind the closed kitchen door. ‘What are you talking about?’ he asked. ‘That doesn’t make any sense.’
Even though I wanted to know more, there was a job to do. Kayson could fill me in later.
I quietly tiptoed up the stairs, following Nicola to the next floor. The whole house was absent of laughter, of Lily’s fiery comments.
As we reached the next floor I took the lead towards Quinn’s room then stopped, leaning against the door. I listened for any movement or clacking of a keyboard, but there was nothing. Good, that meant she was downstairs. I opened the door gently, letting Nicola inside before closing it, pressing my back against it in relief.
That went smoother than I’d expected, but wasn’t any less stress-inducing than before.
‘I wouldn’t celebrate yet,’ Nicola told me. ‘Getting in is the easy bit, it’s getting out that’s the challenge.’
OK Nicola, don’t know if you know the script here but I’m a civilian! I would take all the small victories I could get.
She made her way over to the computer and loaded it up, sitting down at the desk. Anyone could tell she was an expert by the way she immediately went to work on the keyboard and analysed the monitor. Then there was me, armed with a USB hidden in a lipstick tube.
Nicola’s fingers flew across the keys as she hacked into the computer, while I kept guard at the door. Kayson said he’d start yelling to warn us if anyone headed this way. Though we had Nicola, and I presumed she could pull rank.
‘So tell me, how did a civilian like you end up in a place like this?’ Nicola asked, snapping me from my thoughts.
‘I knew the Team Lead in high school, she was acting strange and I wanted to know more,’ I told her.
‘Jessica-Grace, she’s a difficult one.’
‘You can say that again,’ I muttered.
Jessica could be a double agent – she never told anyone the truth, and even if she did it was vague. Her brother wasn’t here anymore so I presumed as soon as the op went sideways
he was thrown out. If Lily had joined the dots, the superiors at MI6 probably did the same.
‘She cares about her friends a lot.’
I almost snorted. ‘Yeah . . . ’
Nicola stopped typing and turned to face me. ‘What was that for?’
I sighed. ‘It’s just with Jess there are a lot of rumours about her family. Lily, the Runner of the team, told me they have connections with Russia.’
‘Do you believe them?’ she asked. ‘The rumours, or what she tells you?’
‘Jess never told me anything, I practically had to force it out of her.’
‘Don’t you think there might be a reason for that?’ she asked, but then turned her attention to the monitor, beckoning me forward. ‘I need you to check the footage, make sure it’s all there.’
Could there be a reason? If it was about protecting me then that was just stupid. Was she afraid to admit something? There was always the possibility that she could have murdered her brother, but something told me there had to be more to the story. Where was the motive?
I slowly inched towards the screen, barely looking at it as Nicola flicked through the different clips. I just nodded every time I saw something familiar.
‘Everyone’s family has secrets, Jessica’s especially, but they aren’t for a malicious reason.’ Nicola told me, her eyes drawing mine down. ‘I know James, he didn’t send you on that mission to die. You should have seen him pacing the room at Thames House. We sent helicopters in and a rescue team as soon as the comms went down, but for some reason we couldn’t get a response until you’d fled the scene. He didn’t conjure this up.’
‘Why would you think we’re blaming him for this?’ I asked. How could she have known about our theories?
‘I know people,’ she said. ‘James’s family have been under scrutiny their whole lives. Personally, I don’t think people should blamed for their parents’ sins.’
What, so Jessica’s parents were involved in this? Did Nicola know how this looked? It was her job to manage people, after all.
Just as I was about to rethink my theory, my fingers ran over a drawer handle and it slid right open. I jerked back, startled. Seriously! Inside was filled with stationery, organised meticulously. That’s why the crumpled bit of paper that sat at an angle to everything else stood out like a sore thumb.
I wasn’t paying attention to what Nicola was scrolling through on the monitor as I unravelled the thing.
Don’t trust Jessica, her mother works for the Pyramid Delegates.
She’s a monster, a murderer.
What the hell?
‘You were saying?’ I asked, holding up the paper for Nicola.
Quinn had showed me some of her ex-lover’s stuff and let me tell you, it was Willow’s handwriting alright.
‘These are the words of a dead girl,’ I stated.
‘Are you saying the dead don’t lie?’ she asked, plucking the USB from my hands and slotting it into the side of the computer. ‘Because they do. Why do you trust Willow?’
‘She hasn’t given me a reason not to.’
‘Have you ever actually met her?’
‘No.’
‘So, you’re trusting the word of a dead girl you’ve never met over someone you’re obviously close to?’
Was that what I was doing? Why would Willow write this if she didn’t mean it? What reason did she have to lie?
‘It’s not just that, Lily doesn’t trust her.’
‘There’s a little wobble in the ranks so you decide to cave?’ she asked.
‘Why are you making me out to be the bad guy here?’
‘I’m just saying, you’re not looking at all the facts.’
What facts?
I crossed my arms over my chest trying to look anywhere but Nicola’s face. Maybe she did have a point. Jessica lied about her family who had prominent connections with Russia, apparently, and she trained with the Pyramid Delegates before coming here, while her brother was a possible Trojan agent.
Nicola was dating James but I had a feeling she’d leave him if she found out he was with Trojan. It was clear she wasn’t one to tolerate lies. It gave me hope, because if James truly didn’t know what was going on, then perhaps Jessica didn’t either.
There were too many variables with little to no evidence behind them, and the theories were endless, as if I was spinning around in the same circle: who was Jessica-Grace Winters?
I almost jumped out of my skin when a bleeping noise blared next to me – even Nicola seemed startled. She pulled out a black box from her pocket, springing up from the chair, and it was then I noticed the engagement ring on her finger . . . oh.
‘You’re gonna have to deal with this,’ she said, pointing to the USB, her mind abruptly elsewhere.
Suddenly the thunder of feet outside the window and smacking of shoes bounced around the complex. I looked out the window to see the backs of Lily and Quinn, both sprinting towards the Academy.
‘Me?’ I asked, backing away. Every time I took out a USB it told me it wasn’t ejected safely. ‘What’s happened?’
She shook her head, not even looking me in the eye.
‘Deal with this and get out as fast as you can, find Kayson.’ Nicola ordered before she took off out the room.
What the hell was all that about? Why were Quinn and Lily leaving in such a hurry? Had they gotten the same message as Nicola? She was the manager of a high division in MI6 so whatever had happened must have been an emergency.
Footsteps bounded down the corridor but they were heavy enough that I knew they belonged to Kayson, who stopped short at the door.
The look of sheer dread didn’t leave his face, not for a second.
‘There’s been an accident.’
CHAPTER 29
Fuilech
Valiant in battle.
JESSICA-GRACE WINTERS
I couldn’t leave my team – if they wanted me that bad they’d have to drag me. I didn’t care about MI6 orders, I was where I belonged. James didn’t understand the good work we were doing here.
Of course I was grateful for the food he brought my team but he shouldn’t have, the Academy cut supplies for a reason and we weren’t in a position to question them.
Then, from the quiet, came a stampede.
Ames, Thompson and Dr McKay barrelled down the corridor ahead of me, shoving their way into one of the command rooms. I’d never seen anything like it before.
Heels lightly clicked from behind, it was Lennox, in her usual pristine attire, but then she grabbed my hand.
‘You and me dear, we need to have a little chat in my office,’ she said, trying to pull me in the opposite direction to the command room.
‘I don’t need a psychiatrist.’ I said, pulling my hand from hers.
Faint shouts sounded from behind the closed doors – what was going on?
‘You’re to follow me,’ Lennox demanded.
Something pricked in my stomach, a gut feeling, a notion that something was going terribly wrong. What was this? I had to follow orders, Lennox was a member of staff – but what was happening in the command room?
‘I need to see what’s going on in the command room.’
‘What you need to do is come with me.’ Her voice harsher this time.
I was meant to follow orders without question but this was too random. I’ve barely ever visited Lennox and now she just shows up out of the blue?
A wave of nausea ran up my throat, the warmth and sting of sick rising. Lennox started muttering under her breath as she grabbed my arms but I only pushed away. What time was it? Was I late taking my meds?
‘Come on dear, let’s get you back to my office. You’re not well.’
I wasn’t? I thought I was in perfect health.
Lennox grabbed for me again, but that was when the bubble of sick popped in my throat – I was gonna throw up. With a swift elbow into Lennox’s side I fell against the wall, trying to breathe through the nausea, but it didn’t stop there. It felt l
ike someone was drilling an ice-pick into my eye and lights flared in my vision, everything becoming fuzzy.
What was happening?
Lennox’s cold hands wrapped around my shoulders as she tried to guide me away, but then I heard it.
‘Laurent, report!’
James? What was he doing out in the field? Why hadn’t he told me? Why hadn’t I seen him?
‘Jessica dear, let’s go to my office.’ Lennox’s voice, sickly sweet.
There was reassurance on her face but I knew something else grew in her heart. Wasn’t she the one who’d introduced the new drugs?
‘No.’
I pushed her away as hard as I could, stumbling towards the command room. Her nails scratched at my skin but I was too far away for her to grab me.
‘Jessica!’ she called after me, but I didn’t look back.
I had to run.
Questions flooded my head, with possibilities I would never dream of. Then at the end of the corridor I saw the woman who was practically my sister.
‘Nicola!’ I shouted.
Something clicked in her and she broke into a smile, pulling me into an embrace. I hadn’t seen her in months – hadn’t I seen her today?
‘You’re you, right?’ she asked.
‘I think so.’ I shrugged, pain spiking behind my eyes, but I screwed them shut trying to remember why I was so frantic in the first place, then it hit me. ‘Why is James in the field?’
If anyone knew the answer it would be her – she was his boss after all.
I stared at the solid doors, knowing I needed a glimpse inside. If Harkness was in there and I stormed through he’d have me removed, but I needed to know why. Why was everyone running? Why was Nicola?
‘He and a small team undertook the Black Scorpion operation.’ Her voice was quiet but that didn’t make the words any less powerful.
‘Black Scorpion was meant for us,’ I told her, trying to remember Duke’s briefing from yesterday. ‘It was given to the Academy.’