by C. C. Bolick
“Yeah, he needs to work on his people skills. The fact he’s number one on the list isn’t helping things.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s only twenty-one. Most of these agents have been on the job since before he was born. The fact he tells people what he really thinks has many on edge. Not a good situation for him or anyone else.”
“Wasn’t he raised here?”
She nodded. “By Sylvia. Some agents argue that she shows him favoritism.”
“Does she?”
“She practically raised him after his father disappeared. It would be hard not to favor him in some ways.”
His father who had once been Dad’s partner. Travis insisted Dad knew more about his father’s disappearance, but Dad still refused to give him any hints. After six weeks, the two remained at a stalemate, and I’d reached the point where I no longer brought up anything that could lead to a conversation about Travis’s dad. “Who are we meeting?”
“An agent named Hannah. She’s worked for the agency over thirty years.” Angel stopped at a door labeled ‘Walking Track.’ “This is where many of the agents exercise.”
“I thought you were trying to avoid people.”
She scanned her badge next to the door. “Most agents aren’t out walking at three-thirty in the morning. Hannah’s an early riser. This is the time of the morning when we usually discuss the state of the agency.” The door opened but she put an arm in my path. “Don’t tell Sylvia I introduced you to Hannah, okay?”
“Do they hate each other?”
“Hannah doesn’t always agree with the agency’s politics. She’s tried to leave the agency several times but can’t exist in the outside world. People fear her.”
“What about you?”
“She helped me,” Angel said. “When I was at my lowest point, she gave me the shove I needed to get moving and figure out my power. I saved others because of her.”
“I hear a huge ‘but’ in that sentence.”
“Let Hannah help you. Listen to her advice but don’t trust her. Always remember, if she gets the chance to bust out of here, she will. You don’t want to be in her way.”
“Anything else?”
“Her power allows her to ‘borrow’ other powers. If she touches your skin, she can use your power.” Angel lowered her arm and I followed her to a table covered with silver shoes. “Pick your size.”
I glanced at the empty track that circled the room. The room’s size reminded me of the school gym back in Florida. Glowing white lines divided the purple floor into lanes like the track behind the gym. Sliding off my shoes, I put on a pair of the silver shoes and shoved mine in a sectioned box under the table. “What’s with the cleats? I used to play soccer with a pair of shoes like this.”
“Maximum friction. This room was designed to capture energy and harness it to help power the base. The purple surface is a special material that amplifies the friction and converts it into usable energy. As we walk around the track to get exercise, the base gets a sustainable power source.”
Before I could ask more questions, the door opened and a woman stepped inside. Her long silver hair flowed down her back. Like most women, she was shorter than Angel. The deep wrinkles of her face told me she was probably in her sixties like Sylvia.
“Tired of my company?” She approached the table and changed her shoes. “My knee is being difficult today.”
Angel reached for her hand. “Rena was up early and I invited her to join us.”
“Finally, I meet Rosanna’s daughter.” Hannah closed her eyes and smiled as if enjoying herself. “I heard you diffused a bomb yesterday.”
“Two, actually.”
She opened her eyes and released Angel’s hand. “Thanks for the boost.”
“Boost?” I asked.
“Hannah is borrowing my healing power.” Angel pulled my arm until we walked along the purple track.
“How long does that last?”
“Not long enough.” Hannah took the spot to my left. “I heard you’ve struggled with using your power.”
I tried to make out Hannah’s accent. She reminded me of a teacher who had moved to Florida from China. “She never told me about her powers, about the agency, or any of the people I’ve met since arriving here.”
“What do you know about your mother’s powers?”
“Just what was in her file.”
“I knew your mother while she was here,” Hannah said. “Maybe I can help you.”
I held out a hand, but Hannah didn’t move to touch me. “You can borrow power.”
Hannah looked at Angel and then back at me. “I can but I have no use for diffusing a bomb. Actually, I’d rather you stay at least two feet away at all times.”
“You’re scared of me?” I asked with shock. “You’re not scared of Angel and most people here run the other way when she walks down the hall.”
Hannah laughed. “You even talk like her. It’s as if Rosanna has returned to us.”
“Were the two of you friends?”
The laughter died. “She confided in me and I tried to help her find peace. Affecting a nuclear bomb is not an easy power to live with. Being caught between the love of two men doesn’t help either. The best advice I can give is don’t ever let your feelings get mixed up in this agent business. Consider this a job and nothing else.”
“Did you know Rosanna was alive?” Angel asked.
Hannah shook her head. “No one knew but Donald. Otherwise, the agency would have come after her. There’s always a call for someone who can stop a nuclear bomb.”
“I think Sylvia might have known,” I said.
“Sylvia can keep a secret,” Hannah said. “That’s why the agency pays her the big bucks.”
I looked at the empty room. We’d made it halfway around the track and my little toe burned like it was on fire. “These shoes hurt my feet.”
“Maybe you’re not wearing the right size,” Hannah said. “With everything in life, you have a choice. Don’t let anyone here convince you otherwise.”
“My dad wants me to use my power to help people. Travis says—”
“I heard you’ve grown attached to Agent Payne.”
“Attached?” I asked. “Are people saying that?”
“People here like to talk,” Angel said. “If Travis hears anything about you, he shuts them up.”
“Your mother would be proud,” Hannah said with an edge of sarcasm.
I stopped and turned to her. “Agent Dallas made a comment like that. She said I should know better than to chase after an agent.”
“You should, but some lessons must be learned by you alone.”
“I’m not chasing after him. Travis helped me find my power.”
“Has he told you about his father?”
“Hannah,” Angel said. “It’s not your place to tell her.”
“Tell me what?” I asked.
Angel and Hannah glared at each other for a long moment. Hannah was the first to look away. She laughed as she waved for me to follow at her side. “What else has Agent Payne told you? Did he mention his partner?”
“He told me about Tyler. He’s Skip’s older brother.”
“Tyler betrayed the agency by stealing a shipment of gold. His reasons were sound even if his delivery suffered.”
I remembered what Angel said about Hannah’s issue with the agency’s politics. “I’m sure not everyone agrees about Tyler’s reasons. He’s not here.”
“During the gold heist, Travis was hurt.”
“He almost died,” Angel said.
“But he didn’t,” Hannah said. “You shouldn’t forget that Agent Payne survived because of you.”
I turned to Angel. “You saved him?”
She shrugged. “He was in a coma and we were told he’d never wake up. My blood has healing properties. One sip cured all of his injuries.”
“Another perk of being a vampire?” When she didn’t answer, I looked at Hannah. “Where is Tyle
r now?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Agent Payne didn’t tell you?”
I shook my head. “Travis doesn’t tell me everything.”
“How cute,” Hannah said. “Agent Payne is protecting you.”
“From what?” I stopped walking and reached for Hannah’s arm. She ducked away from me. “What do I need him to protect me from?”
She smiled. “Yourself, of course. Being fearless isn’t a virtue around here. Eventually you’ll piss someone off, and it’s either you or them.”
“Me or them for what?”
Angel pulled both of us off the walking track. “Lower your voices. Someone might think you’re scheming and Rena doesn’t need to be on Sylvia’s bad side right now.”
“Scheming?” I whispered. “I just want someone to be honest.”
“No one is honest here,” Hannah said. “Like it’s not in your DNA to fear, it’s not in any agent’s nature to embrace the truth. Secrecy justifies the existence of this agency.”
“As it should have justified your removal,” Travis said.
I tripped and Angel caught my arm. Travis stood next to the table with shoes. He’d dressed in his agent suit, including the black sunglasses.
“Couldn’t sleep?” he asked as I reached him.
“How did you know I was here?”
He shrugged. “We’re in a secure base. What do you want me to say?”
“Are you mad?” His face showed no emotion, which made me angry. Since I never heard the door, he must have teleported in here. “Are you spying on me now?”
“I’m here to take you to breakfast and then your debriefing on yesterday’s events.” He turned to Hannah. “Stay away from her. Rena has enough problems without taking on any of yours.”
* * * * *
Travis didn’t say anything on our walk to the elevator or the restaurant. An entire floor of the base offered foods from around the world, but only one restaurant stayed open all night—a grill that served everything from fried eggs to chili-cheeseburgers.
He found us a table in the back near the kitchen entrance. The restaurant was almost empty and no one sat close enough to hear our conversation. “Worried about people talking?” I asked.
“I’d rather eat without hearing whispers around us. Plus, our server won’t have to walk so far.”
“Thoughtful,” I said.
Travis didn’t say another word to me until after we’d ordered and received our drinks. He took off his sunglasses and tossed them on the table. “Hannah is not the kind of company you need right now.”
“How much did you hear?”
“I slipped in when Hannah mentioned the gold heist.” Travis lifted his drink and swore under his breath. “Angel knows better than to take you anywhere near that woman.”
“I couldn’t sleep. Were you watching me?”
He took a long drink and sat the glass on the table. “I’ve been keeping tabs on you all night.”
“You didn’t sleep?”
“I couldn’t. After what happened yesterday… I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
I gritted my teeth. “It’s nice of you to look after me, but please don’t sneak up on me again.”
“Rena, you’ve got to figure out who can’t help you and stay away from those people. You’ve got to play politics in this place.”
“Maybe you should teach me how to ‘play politics.’ You do such an awesome job.”
He frowned. “I’ll have a talk with Angel. Meanwhile, you stay away from that woman.”
“What did she do to you?”
“Hannah betrayed us all. I’m not sure why Angel can forgive her, but I can’t. She lost her agent status after conspiring with a senator over a secret nuclear deal.”
“Why is she still here?”
“Because it’s safer for the world if she stays here.” He leaned close. “Never let her touch you. Hannah can borrow your powers and she’s the last person who needs access to a nuke.”
“I offered her my hand and she refused to touch me. She said she knew my mother and wanted no part of my power.”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
“Please stop spying on me. It’s weird.”
His eyes darkened. “My job is to look after you.”
“Since when?”
“Since I promised your father I’d take care of you.”
“You and my father aren’t on speaking terms.”
“He’s keeping secrets about my dad, but our issues have nothing to do with keeping you safe.”
My plate of scrambled eggs arrived and I shoved a slice of toast into my mouth. “You said something about a debriefing.”
“Agent Dallas wants to talk to each of us before the morning meeting.”
Sylvia’s infamous morning meeting with the senior agents. I’d never been invited and at this rate probably never would. “What should I tell her?”
Travis paused as he lifted a bite of hash browns. “The truth.”
* * * * *
Recounting the day wasn’t easy, especially the parts about the woman from the warehouse. Repeating what she said about Louis and being a former agent confused me. Who was this woman? Agent Dallas offered no comments as I spoke. I felt a light tingling along my palms and shoved my hands beneath the table. No one was allowed in that room with snot-green walls except for me and Agent Dallas.
“I’m glad you found your power,” she said when the interrogation was over. “I had my doubts.”
“Me too.” My hands shook as she read over my account. “Are we finished?”
A smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “What did you finally find to fear, Miss Mason?”
“Not being able to save everyone.”
She closed the folder in front of her. “As an agent, you’ll learn that we can’t always save everyone. It comes with the job.”
As an agent? She thought I might actually get the job of an agent? “But I can’t fail. If so, I—”
“Everyone fails and most learn from their failures. By those statistics, you will fail so be prepared. It’s what you do next that counts.”
“Only if everyone doesn’t die first.”
* * * * *
I waited for Travis outside of the meeting room. The overstuffed chair looked like one I could sink into, but after trying, I realized the chair wasn’t there to encourage anyone to hang around. I watched through the glass as Sylvia stood and spoke to the room. Although I couldn’t hear her voice, the way she pointed at various agents made me pity them.
When the doors opened, most agents wasted no time in heading for the elevator. Some looked at me and whispered to whoever stood close enough to listen. Dad frowned when he stepped out and noticed me. Agent Lockhart stopped by his side.
“Go ahead, Jon,” Dad said. “I’ll be packed in thirty minutes.”
“Packed?” I asked.
Agent Lockhart nodded and walked to the elevator. “Our transportation will be ready.”
“Agent Lockhart and I have a mission,” Dad said. “We’ll be out of town for the next two days.”
I stood. “Out of town or out of the country?”
“How about checking on Alfie later?”
“Why do you have to go? Is this about Louis?”
“This is about my job as an agent.” Dad glanced around and lowered his voice. “Jon and I are going into a hostage situation. My job is to clear the building with no casualties.”
“This mission is dangerous?”
“Only for anyone brave enough to stare down the barrel of my gun.”
I watched his eyes, hardened from years of doing this job. “You plan to kill people.”
“If that’s what it takes to save innocent lives.”
“I always thought you had a conscience.”
He smiled. “Like your mother, you thought wrong.” With a quick hug, Dad turned to leave. “Take care of Alfie, no matter what happens.”
“I always have.”
The smile faded. “
Don’t leave the base. Not one foot above ground.”
“But—”
“You’re protected down here. Louis can’t get to you.”
“What if he makes another bomb?”
“The only person who tells you to leave is Sylvia. Agreed?”
Reluctantly, I nodded.
He looked up as Travis walked out of the meeting. “That’s my cue.” Before I could say another word, he started for the elevator.
“Dad’s leaving for a secret mission,” I said.
Travis looked at the far wall. “Yeah.”
“You know where they’re going, don’t you?”
He glanced back at the conference room door. Only Sylvia and Angel sat at the table. “This isn’t something I’m allowed to discuss.”
I took a deep breath and exhaled. “Do you have a mission today?”
“I’ve got to follow up on a lead on Louis.”
“Does the agency think he’s still in the U.S.?”
“No one knows. He might have gone back to Spain. He might be anywhere around the world, including down the street having coffee.”
“If you find him, say hi for me.”
His eyes met mine. “Rena, this is my job. I know how to do it.”
My throat burned. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. If I find him, you’ll know. I promise.”
“Be careful.”
The elevator opened and a man in a dark gray suit that screamed dollar signs stepped out. Though not as tall as Travis, he walked with authority and held his head as if he looked down on everyone. He entered the conference room without looking our way.
“Who is that?” I asked.
Travis tensed as his eyes followed the man in the suit. “Senator McCall.”
“As in a U.S. senator?”
“He’s from New York. Senator McCall makes sure this agency gets funding from the government.”
“Does he know about my powers?”
“He knows about all of our powers. That man probably knows more about what goes on at this agency than most of Congress.”
A moment later, Sylvia walked out of the conference room and stopped in front of Travis. “Glad you’re still here. I want you in this meeting.”
“You know I have nothing for that man,” Travis said. “He doesn’t deserve—”
