by A M Lopez
Copyright © 2017 Giuliana Evangelista & Alyssa Lopez.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below.
ISBN: 9781729300428 (Paperback)
Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Names, characters, and places are products of the author’s imagination.
Book design by Roddes Valadão.
Contact: [email protected]
For those who believed I could be a giant and conquer the world - you were right.
~ Giuliana Evangelista
To my family, whether by blood or choice, for always helping me overcome my obstacles, especially when I was one of them.
~A.M. Lopez
Chapter One
We aren't killing Connor's father."
Aaron Walker settled into a defensive stance, slamming her rough hands on the steel desk. It shifted causing the pens to jump up and steel eyes met unrelenting stone ones. The Director's tall, bulky frame stood to a towering height as he gripped the sides of his desk and leaned in.
Aaron stood firm as he spoke in her ear, " You will do as I say."
She snapped her head back, going to lash back at him when the frightening sound of a door slamming open rang out in the small room. Eva quickly turned her head to see Connor’s legs running out the door. During the small amount of time the door was open, the noise of agents running around and attempting to calm everyone down after the escape of Connor’s father. Though it was only mere moments ago that he made his showcasing, the whole world seemed to be turned upside down.
“I don’t think you understand the graveness of this situation.” The Director came around the desk, every inch of him lethal. “During his movement to another prison, the aircraft malfunctioned and caused everything inside to mesh together. The only things in there were large amounts of the Polaris elements and Richard Smith. We don’t know how badly he was changed, but his track record proves that any form of him released is dangerous.”
Aaron’s eyes were still throwing daggers at her father, but he did not pay any attention to that.
“Don’t expect me to care for mere feelings,” The Director spat that word out in disgust. “Wwhile dimensions are in danger.” He looked at her, eyes narrowed. “Tell me, who will protect them if we’re not here, child?”
"We will continue this conversation later, father." Aaron threw a cold glare at him, her dark curls whipping around. She strode to the door and tilted her head, motioning for the team to follow. Storm clouds haunted her walk, the physical tension affecting everyone. Eva's eyes widened and the team rushed to follow. They ran through the door, their footsteps silent amongst the chaos around them.
The appearance of Connor's father had caused a disturbance in the Headquarters. People wearing the same navy- blue uniforms ran around them, their uniform shoes tapping against the floor, and a wave of chatter flowing around everyone. Doors slammed open and shut, looks of desperation thrown around.
Eva caught up to Allison, who was closest to her in the rushed line they formed. Allison's blonde hair whipped around as she turned to look at Eva. Her green eyes had traces of worry, and they started to walk faster.
"I don't understand what's happening, why is Connor's dad . . . " Eva waved her hand in the air attempting to formulate a sentence, ". . . a floating crazed man?"
Allison shot a hasty glance at her after looking at Aaron. "We’ll get more information later."
They went through an entrance leading to a hallway surrounded with doors. Aaron ran to the fifth door on the left and opened the door with a surprising delicacy. The steel door opened and a large white room was presented before them. A small, twin-sized bed had been pushed to the far left of the room with blue covers drifting comfortably across the gray pillows. A desk was in the far right corner of the room, Connor’s gun disassembled on its surface. A large white punching bag hung from the ceiling in front of the bed, but the sight beside it was the most attention drawing. A fragile painting of a fallen warrior on his knees, the armor he reassembled every day in shambles, and strength nonexistent. Connor's black athletic pants creased from his position and his hands were covering his face, causing the white shirt he was wearing to rise up. Arthur and Dimitri slowly knelt next to him, the twins casting worried glancesd between them. Aaron squatted in front of him, softly placing a hand on his shoulder.
"It's okay Connor. We can deal with this just as we always did." She rubbed his shoulder. "It's just another stepping stone we have to take."
Connor dropped his head onto her shoulder, his black hair spreading over her tiny frame. Eva took a seat on the metal chair next to his desk and Allison sat on the bed. The twins were silent, allowing Aaron to comfort their fallen brother. The clock was a still photograph portraying time as a block of ice as they waited for their teammate to say anything.
A slow breath in was taken from Connor. He looked up and his eyes met with Eva's, and all the air flew out of her body. His blue eyes swirled different shades of blue as the emotion placed there was as a delicate flower placed in the middle of a silent storm. His eyes beckoned her heart and he stood to his full height, losing the emotional eye contact they shared. His rising made the room seem smaller, compared to the big problem they faced.
"Life was a dream when I was younger." He closed his eyes. "My family was complete with a father, mother, and sister. We were happy."
The twins and Aaron stood, as he took a deep breath.
“I remember my sister and I would always pretend to be secret agents. We wanted to be just like mom and dad. They were both agents here, so we grew up knowing all about it. Their missions were kept from us, but our imaginations filled in the gaps. Every day at five we would get picked up by our parents from daycare. Sometimes they had missions that lasted longer than a day, so only one of them would pick us up. They weren’t on the same team and had met at the medical school. But, that wasn’t the only school my father went to. He also went to the engineering and technology ones.”
Eva’s brows rose but she stayed silent and turned to Aaron. She was looking at Connor, her face made of stone but her eyes holding concern.
“My sister and I didn’t understand how dangerous our parents’ job wereas until the day our mom came back from a week long mission. Our dad had the day off and was watching us when we heard the door. We rushed over to it, excited to see her after so long, only to stop dead in our tracks. She came in limping with scratches all over her body. Dad ran and helped her onto the couch in the living room. He told us to go upstairs to our rooms but we refused. We attempted to argue with him but he yelled at us, so we ran up the stairs. Instead of going to our rooms though, we stayed just out of his sight but close enough to hear what they were saying. They spoke about a mission my mom was on and how she had almost died to give medical attention to one of her teammates. Talking turned to arguing, which turned to yelling.”
Connor shuddered and squeezed his eyes shut. He took another deep breath.
“After that day, my parents always argued. My sister would pull me out of the room or even the house when it got bad enough. One day when we got back to the house, my mom had a black eye. I rushed to her side to make sure she was okay. She nodded but then my sister asked if dad had done it. Mom sighed
and told her that they were going through some problems but that they would be able to fix it. Suddenly, my sister turned and started walking to our dad’s study. My mom’s eyes widened and she practically lunged for my sister, grabbing her by the arm and telling her to not get involved. My sister gave her a look, escaped her grip, and marched right into his study. After that, the only person who didn’t yell at my dad was me.”
Connor fell into silence and looked off into the distance. Eva stood up and walked toward him. Her movement caught his attention and he slowly looked at her. Whatever Connor saw in her gaze gave him the strength to keep talking.
“Over time, my mom wasn’t the only one with injuries. My sister would leave me playing with blocks and then come back with scratches or other marks. I knew what was happening but I couldn’t do anything. Eventually, my sister was old enough to get tested to see what school she would go to. That day everything changed. My sister was a fit for all of the schools. Our parents’ reactions were very different.
“My mom was so proud of her, but my dad? He was jealous. He lasted a week before he snapped. My sister was supposed to be leaving for her first school the next day. She was so excited that she couldn’t stop talking about it. We were eating dinner when my dad suddenly stood up and slammed his hands on the table. The way he glared at her made my skin crawl. He yelled at her and then started making his way around the table to her since she sat across from him. My mother tried to stop him, but he threatened and pushed past her. Mom grabbed his arm. His head snapped back at her and they held eye contact. My mom didn’t see the punch coming until it was too late to get out of the way.”
Eva watched as Connor’s hands clenched into fists until they turned white. Dimitri tried to gently unfurl Connor’s hands, but he kept speaking.
“My sister grabbed my arm and pushed me into a cabinet near the table while my dad was distracted. She told me to stay there and not move, then closed the door. The dark scared me and I wanted to know what was happening so I immediately cracked the door open. My sister had just turned around and moved enough for both of us to see dad grab mom by the hair. My sister rushed forward picking up a fork from the table and attacked him. My mom and sister ganged up on my dad, but he was faster than both of them. Both sides got hits in, but nothing major until my dad got a hold of a knife from the dining table.
“He had lunged for my sister, but my mom pushed her out of the way and the knife was plunged into her chest. She didn’t scream but she froze looking my dad in the eyes. Then she just...dropped. It was like time had frozen, no one moved or made a sound. We were all looking at my mom and her glassy eyes as her chest stayed still as stone. Then my sister straightened herself. That one movement caused the chaos to start again. My dad ran at her and she dodged his attacks. They chased each other until my dad pushed her to the ground. He turned and grabbed a pan that had held our dinner. My sister reached for the first weapon she could find. She had just pulled a knife from the floor and stood up, when dad hit her over the head with the pan. He didn’t stop hitting her until she no longer moved and her blood was everywhere.”
Connor was gasping for breath at that point. He didn’t notice, but he had slightly flinched away from anyone’s contact. Tears were in his eyes when he began talking again.
“He stood in the middle of the dining room just looking at their bodies when he started looking around the room. He stayed in the same spot but turned around a couple of times before he spoke. He called out my name asking me where I was. I was so scared that he would hurt me next, so I stayed quiet. My dad sighed and told me that he would never hurt me. That only scared me more because it was as if he read my mind. He called for me again but I refused to respond. He then said that he wouldn’t hurt me because I had never done anything against him like my mom and sister had. He told me that he wanted me by his side and, when I didn’t say anything, he sighed and left. I immediately called the hospital from inside the cabinet and begged them to help my sister and mom.
“A medical team came and checked on them. Some began to put my sister on a stretcher while others put a blanket over my mom. Right before they took my sister away, I got out of the cabinet and cried while begging them to let me go with them. They looked shocked to see me but then rushed me into the ambulance with my sister. We got separated at the hospital since she needed emergency surgery. When she came out of surgery, I was allowed to stay with her and the doctor told me that she was in a coma. I thought that everything had to be a nightmare, so I just climbed into the bed with her and stayed there because she would let me sleep with her when I had one. When I woke up, I cried for hours every day until the Director and Aaron came in and asked me if I wanted to become an agent. I said yes. I found out later that my dad had been caught on the streets by a patrol.”
Connor’s breath hitched.
“But the damage was already done. I lost everything. I thought it was because I didn’t do anything. I thought it was because I was too weak. When I found out my school, I was determined to become strong, to never let something like that ever happen again. Now, I don’t know if I have what it takes. I might just lose everything to him again because I’m not strong enough to stop it.”
Connor fell to his knees once more and curled in on himself. Arthur and Dimitri were immediately crouching and hugging him. Allison threw herself into the hug. Eva and Aaron slowly joined in too. No more words were said, none were needed. The team stayed there, mourning their broken brother.
Chapter Two
A metallic clang rang around the room, causing Eva to quickly move her eyes toward the source. On a red sofa chair, Allison had been using her tools when she dropped a wrench. Allison closed her eyes and took a deep breath, bending down to pick the fallen wrench up and place it back on the table. Eva, now interrupted from her own thoughts, dragged her attention around the Conference Room. Allison worked on a project with her legs thrown over one arm of the chair while her back rested on the other, lazily putting parts together. At the head of the table, a curly head was looking down, using a tablet, and whispering things under her breath. Dimitri, at the end of the table, opened a robotic first aid kit and refilled it with new materials. Next to him, Arthur had sprawled out on a chair, typing on his grey laptop. He quickly looked up, his neon eyes meeting her’s and cocked an eyebrow. Eva shrugged and he looked back down. Connor was sitting on a chair near the wall, a good distance away from the others. His leg bounced up and down as he used the tablet in his hands.
Eva let out a quiet sigh and shifted her position, laying back on the wall opposite of Connor’s. She let her eyes wander over the book in her hands. However, her gaze remained heavily on Connor. The team was waiting for news from one of Connor’s associates, who was near the last sighting of his dad. The atmosphere was dead silent and tense as they waited.
An ear splitting noise arose suddenly, and Eva winced, bringing up a hand to her ear. She looked around just in time to see Arthur’s chair fall back. He laid back in the fallen chair, defeatedly, holding his laptop high above his head. Dimitri immediately left the robotic first aid kit on the table and bent down next to his brother.
“I’m fine. Save my laptop.”
Dimitri’s face dropped and he sighed.
“I don’t know why I even try.”
“Me neither. However, I can’t hold it up for much longer so it’s going to fall on my face.”
Dimitri tensed and quickly grabbed the laptop from Arthur’s hands. Arthur let out a sigh while his brother helped him stand up.
“Is your arm okay?”
The mention of Arthur’s injury caused everyone to tense. He had gotten hurt when a mission required him to be in the field. Arthur had connected his laptop to the mainframe of a building to access its cameras so he could keep the team updated on Richard’s movements. He could usually do this from his room in Dawn, but there had been something preventing him from doing so. The only way to access the cameras would be a direct connection to the building’s system, leadi
ng him to camp out in the main server room. At one point in the chase, Connor’s dad disappeared from the cameras. When Arthur relayed that to the team, they had decided to head towards his location and regroup.
Astrolabe started running when Arthur screamed into the coms, desperation running through their veins. No matter what they said, there was no response. When they got to him, Arthur was slumped against the wall of the room, unconscious, and had a deep cut on his arm. A robotic first aid kit had already disinfected his wound and began to wrap it up. Dimitri had stiffened before he turned to Arthur’s laptop, disconnecting and closing it. He put the laptop in Arthur’s brown leather messenger bag, putting the strap over his shoulder. Connor helped him lift Arthur up, running the whole way to the medbay. Arthur ended up needing stitches.
Standing on both feet now, Arthur shrugged. “It’s okay. A little sore, but otherwise fine.”
Dimitri stared at him in disbelief. Just as he was about to say something, a ping went off from Connor’s tablet, alerting a notification. Everyone rushed to his side. When all were gathered around him, Connor opened the notification. The team immediately froze.
A small, holographic person popped up from the screen, but Astrolabe’s startled reaction had been caused by the man’s face, one that haunted their minds.
“Hello, son. I see you have been trying to find me. You could have been with me already, if you had pledged your loyalty. Honestly, why you stayed and became an agent will never make sense to me. However, I doubt you are looking for me so we can play catch. Instead, we are playing a game of cat and mouse. Yet, who is which? I guess we will have to wait and see. Be prepared for things to get interesting. Love, Richard.”
Before anyone could say anything, the tablet’s screen flickered and went dark. Connor desperately tried to turn the tablet back on but it was no use. Arthur slowly took the tablet so as not to trigger Connor’s anger, the furious male in question had his eyes closed and was about to throw the tablet across the room. Once it was safely in his hands, Arthur immediately tried to fix the tablet but nothing worked. He rushed back to where his laptop sat on the table and pulled a cord out of a panel on the tablet. He connected the cord to his laptop and it immediately blasted alarms. Arthur mumbled and his hands began to fly across the keys.
