Gabby Kingston

After unlocking the garage for Scotty to take the helicopter, I headed back towards the top floor, following a hunch.

If Alistair had organised a different location to hold the meeting, it was likely he had booked a flight in order to save time. I slipped into his office as I watched Alistair leave it, gun in hand, and delicately shut the door behind me to begin rummaging through the drawers of his desk.

I came across a few printed photos in one of the drawers and paused. The one topping the pile showed his family; his beautiful wife and fawn-haired daughter when she was still a child. Alistair smiled in the picture, appearing as nothing more than a normal father. The second had me frozen.

In the scene, Alistair presented Amber with a certificate, dated 2010, signifying her acceptance into the agency. Both of them clasped it tightly, Amber proud with Alistair prouder.

I put it back, pushing away my thoughts and continued to search for boarding passes. After a few minutes, I spotted them beneath the picture drawer.

They were returning-flight tickets, dated for early in the morning on the 5th of November. Beneath them was Alistair's passport, as well as a receipt for a hired car that would be available from 10:00AM of the same day. There, it showed the exact address as to where the meeting would be held.

"There it is," I gasped. We had him!

I grabbed the tickets and rushed outside to alert Collins. I burst through the doors, beaming with joy as I found him slouched in a nearby chair.
"Collins!" I exclaimed. "I've got it. We—"

A deafening click rendered me motionless. I frowned at Collins, who let out a sigh. Beneath his platinum fringe, I found his eyes sad, a purple mark forming below the left.

"Sit down, girly," Mika warned. I held up my hands, gulping at the abyss within the pistol's barrel, and lowered into the office chair opposite Collins, mouthing where's Amber?

He shrugged, reaching for his abdomen and wincing at the movement. Collins had been beaten, his soft features bruised, and knotted tie pulled halfway down his chest. My heart sunk at the sight of it – Collins did not deserve such treatment.

"Here comes your boss." All three of us watched Alistair's figure storm through the rooftop doors, a thundercloud following him as he sped through the aisle of the office desks. "Where are they?" Mika asked.
"They escaped," said Alistair, his tone wavering but calm. I shared a subtle smile with Collins – Scotty made it in time.
"Damn," Mika hissed. "Dammit!" He kicked an office chair, rolling it towards and desk to it toppled over, making me jump.
"Will you refrain from damaging any more furniture?" Alistair scolded. "There is no need for this brutish behaviour."
"She got away! She got him away."
"With what evidence?" Alistair replied. "Neither can prosecute us in the next few days. We will be fine."
Mika scowled. "This was not what I was promised. I want Barnes—"
"Dead, I know. But this cause is superior than your petty revenge. You will have him when we are done. They cannot hide forever."

They wouldn't – at least Amber would not hide when she knew she had the power to stop disaster. I did not know Barnes, however; his main goal could have been self-preservation for all I knew.

The Director shook his head at his Second-in-Command.
"I thought you were loyal."
Collins coughed, voice wet with blood, "To my country."
Alistair drew out a long sigh. "You are resilient, Collins, I will give you that. You would have made a great asset."
Collins raised his chin. "I suppose we have both disappointed each other."

Alistair looked away without a word. His fog-like eyes landed on my folded hands.
"What is that?" he said.
"Nothing," I replied, barely hiding my fear.
He lowered his brow, holding out a hand. "Give it to me."

I sunk back into the chair, clutching the paper so hard it crumpled. This was all we had. We would have no other chance to collect evidence after this encounter.

"He said," growled Mika, snatching my arm and dragging me to the floor, "hand it over!"

I hit the floor with a wince, having the documents clawed from my hand. Collins snarled and launched a kick at Mika's shin, fighting back.

Mika's men were on him in a second. Two seized Collins by the shoulder and slammed him into a desk, his skull banging off the wood so hard I screamed.

I tried to stand – to do something – but Mika dug his foot between my shoulder blades, pressing my left cheek further into the carpet so it burned.

"Mika!" Alistair snapped. "There is no need for this."
"Are you getting soft, old man?" he taunted.
Alistair stared him down with cold eyes. "No more needless pain," he said. "You are hurting my agents for sport."

Mika scoffed, Alistair ignoring his defiance as he skimmed over the documents. His brow deepened as he looked between Collins and I, evidently shocked we would have the gall – or desperation – to look through his personal belongings.
"Take them to the cells," he said. "I will deal with them when we return in a few days' time."
"What do I tell the guards?"
Alistair pondered the question, features unwavering. "Tell them there's been a security breach. That we are questioning figures with suspicion."
"And Agent Knight? She's a known individual around here, like you said. There'll be questions as to why she's missing."
My lips parted as an emotion resembling hurt crossed the Director's face. "Tell them the truth," he said.
"Which is?" Mika frowned.
Alistair swallowed, shoulders dropping as if the weight of the world was holding him down. "That Agent Knight has gone rogue."

Collins tried fighting but it only took a second for him to realise it was pointless. I remained obedient, following the guard that escorted me to the cells, running scenarios through my mind as to how we could get a message to the only three people who could help us. On the way out, I caught a glimpse of my grandmother's frame on my desk and smiled, knowing we were fighting for the right cause.

If I died doing that, although afraid, I would be content.

Amber Knight

I groaned for the eight time as Scotty turned away from me, bumbling with fear. The two men – if they could be called that – had been trying to cut out my tracker for almost five minutes, arguing over who was best suited to do it, eventually settling on Scotty cutting it out while Derek held my arm in place. Jade cowered in the corner, too squeamish to even look at the knife ready to pierce my skin.

"Just do the damn thing!" Derek snapped. "You're putting us all on edge."

He was almost, if not more, stressed than I was. Initially, his grip on my arm was so tight I had become convinced the blood had stopped flowing there, but now he had grown so fed up of Scotty's messing around that he was barely cradling my wrist.
"It's stressful! I don't want to hurt her," Scotty exclaimed.
"That's touching Scotty, really, but if you don't cut it out then I will be tracked down and shot, if not tortured, by Mika and his thugs. What would you rather?
"I know I said I would do it, but..." He sighed. "Barnes. You do it."

Barnes jumped to his feet, swapping places with Scotty. He gripped the knife and held out my arm, pressing the blade so close that it barely grazed the fine hairs on my skin.

Then he pulled back.
My jaw dropped. "What are you doing?"
"He's right. This is actually quite hard." I rolled my eyes.
"See!" said Scotty.
"Give it to me," I snapped, standing up as I snatched the knife.

I dug the blade into the top of my wrist, close to the joint, and felt around for the tracker, biting the inside of my cheek to hold back the pain. I caught it quickly, and twisted the knife to pop it out, gritting my teeth harder. I tossed the tiny device to the floor, crushing it with my boot.

I handed Scotty the bloody knife, ignoring his paling face, and went to look for the first aid kit.
"That wasn't so hard, was it?" I said as I found the antiseptic alcohol and bandages.

I looked over my shoulder, lip quirking at Derek's open mouth.
"Problem, Barnes?" I teased.
He snorted. "No-one likes a show-off."

After a dark thought crossed his mind, he turned to Scotty, grinning.
"Now for your turn."
"Mine's out," Scotty explained. "After the crash, a chunk of Stacey—" He choked up. "—fell off and hit me in the arm, cutting it open. The tracker was just hanging there so I pulled it out."
Jade gagged and Derek's face fell. "I can't cut yours out."
"You seem too upset by this," I added. Derek shrugged as I wrapped a bandage tightly around my arm.

Scotty shot him a glare from his seat back in the cockpit.
"You don't have to be here, you know?" he sat. "I could just toss you out the door and our lives would be made so much easier."
"What?" Jade cried, jumping to her feet. I groaned and rubbed my eyes, already tired of this.
Derek huffed. "I was only joking but if you really want to do this..."
"Oh, I was to do this." Scotty slammed his hand down and jumped up. "Because everything you do seems to get on every last one of my bloody nerves."
"Come on then, Scotty-boy,"Derek challenged, taking a deadly step towards the cockpit. "Have a go and see what happens." Jade went to follow but I waved my hand to stop her.
"Stay out of it," I said softly.
"You think I'm scared of you, is that right?" Scotty snarled.
He charged out the cockpit, stopping in front of Derek. He tilted his head upwards to size him up, almost toppling backwards at the taller and more defined figure in front of him. I had no doubt nothing would happen, but if a physical fight came to pass, I would have been stuck trying to pry Scotty away so he didn't get himself killed.
Scotty crossed his arms. "Not afraid!"
Derek groaned. "Look Scotty, I know that you really, really don't like me—"
"That's an understatement."
Derek sighed, losing patience. "But like it or not, if you're going to stop Alistair you are going to need my help. One field agent and a pilot won't get you far."
"One field agent would not make much of a difference," Scotty argued. "Maybe that's a chance we should be taking."

No, it wasn't. With a fed-up huff, I stood and moved to wedge myself between the two of them.
"Derek, sit down," I ordered.
His brown eyes widened. "He started it!"
"You're calling him Derek, now?" Scotty's voice broke.
"I'm finishing it," I replied to Derek. "Now sit down."

He pouted and grumbled, but did as he was told, making Scotty laugh.
"Back to the cockpit for you," I added. "You're not innocent, either."
"But I—!"
"Pilot's seat. Now," I growled, narrowing my eyes.
Scotty scoffed, giving me an attitude with his eye roll, but plonked in the seat. "Yes, mother."

I sat myself down as well, shaking my head as I caught Jade's eyes. She exhaled deeply, resting her head against the back of the seat as though relieved nothing serious had sprouted from the confrontation. Scotty could mouth off better than anyone else I knew, but violence was not particularly his style. He would threaten it, of course, but would he ever live up to those threats? I did not believe so. Derek was more of a mystery to me. As an ex-field-agent, he was taught how to win fights, but also how to avoid them.

They could be arses. Both of them.

***

After enduring the tense air for almost an hour, slipping in and out of consciousness, Scotty tapped me awake.
"We're almost there."
I stretched out my arms, unknotting my muscles. "Are you still sticking with Jade?"
"Yeah," he replied. "I'll take care of her until we have a lead to stop Alistair. Then I'll come get you and that thing right away."
I nodded. Only a week ago I thought I had lost him forever after sticking together for years. Now we were to be separated again. I told myself it was for the best. "It's only for a few days."
"Exactly. Besides, I need to hold myself back for an extravagant entrance."
I snorted. "In true Scotty fashion."
"I just want to see the look on Alistair's face when I do something dramatic and say: 'surprise bitch, I'm not dead!'"
Even Derek laughed at that.

I hushed my voice so the others could not hear. "Just don't die," I said, half-joking.
"I'll do my best," he replied, tossing me my jacket. "Same goes for you."

Leaving Scotty to prepare for landing, I joined Derek in the hangar, forcing a smile in return for the one he gave me.
"So a cruise again," he said.
I nodded. "Another cruise."
"Fancy a trip to the casino for the memories?" He laughed as I cocked my head. "Joking!"

"I'll hover over the deck," said Scotty. "You can jump and land there. Barnes can drown, if he fancies."
"Just make sure Jade gets home," Derek said, sending him a warning glare.
"It's you I dislike – not her," Scotty clarified.
Derek shrugged his shoulders. "Can't argue with that."

Jade dragged herself up, keeping her arms folded.
"I should be with you," she said to her brother.
Derek sighed. "You're safer away from me."
Jade's shoulders slumped. "It's been months since I've seen you," she said. "Even on my sixteenth birthday I got nothing more than a text."
"I was working for your birthday, remember? I wanted to see you I just... couldn't."
"And look at what happened," her voice croaked. "I was away from you for months and those thugs still took me."

With a short glance towards Scotty and I, Derek ushered his sister towards the other end of the hangar so we were out of earshot, nodding to tell me he would only be a moment.

"Ambi," said Scotty, "what about Marcus?"
I turned so cold I folded my arms. "What about him?"
"Alistair said he had his location... that he's starting everything up again."
"I know." I sighed. "Leaving Alistair... it means we might lose him so we have to find another way – without the agency. Or Alistair, at least."
His throat bobbed. "Aren't you angry? This was a chance to finally bring him to justice. After what he did to you—"
"Others had it worse than me," I assured him. "I just saw everything."
A noise escaped his mouth, changing his mind on what he was about to say. "After all this time spent waiting, after all you've lost... you're just going to let him go?"
I threw on my jacket, letting out a lengthy sigh. Marcus was too much of a danger to just 'let go' but there was no other option. Without Alistair or the agency's resources, I was powerless. "One mess at a time."

He nodded as I secured my phone and gun. He saw the frustration on me – maybe even felt some himself – but kept his thoughts private.

The siblings returned, Derek's face blank while a shine glazed over Jade's eyes.
"Sorted?" I said.
"Yeah," Jade replied.
I gestured to Derek. "Then let's go."

We held onto the railing as Scotty circled the landing site: a patch of tarmac for emergency aircraft. The helicopter wobbled in the wind, swaying Derek and I back and forth as it lowered. He opened the door before landing, with Scotty shouting a vulgar insult that made Jade crack up.
Derek shook his head, looking to me for support. "Why does he hate me, again?" he yelled. The beating of the propellers muffled his voice.
"Do you want me to write you an essay?"
"Nope. I'm sure he'll remind me at some point, anyway."
"Wait!" called Jade. Derek opened his mouth in protest as she ran for him, careless by the open door, and jumped into a hug. "Be careful," she muttered into his jacket. "Please."
He smiled but she could not see it. "I'm always careful." Liar.

Scotty spun around in his seat, smiling as he sent a salute my way. Derek had a well-crafted glare.
"One hand on her and I will personally drop you in the middle of the sea." His accent cut through the helicopters roars when he raised his voice, making me bite my lip in amusement.
"Wouldn't dare!" Derek called back. He waved to his sister and hopped off the aircraft, me landing on the tarmac behind him.

The wind picked up as the helicopter rose, hair whipping my face and twisting in on itself.

When clear of the violent gusts, I brushed my hair back to see Derek wandering the area, looking for an easy entrance.

Then it hit me.

We were alone.

The last time that happened was in the elevator before I handed him over to Alistair. It was unexpected, and the two of us ended up closer than I imagined. We had not had a moment of peace together since it happened – no time to reflect, to discuss, or... I was unsure.

We were no longer bound as enemies, no longer running at a constant pace. We were hiding, of course, but everything had slowed down. And we were together.

Alone.

"Hey."

Startled at the sound of his voice, my hand touched my stomach, feeling it flip. He had touched my arm to pull me from my daze, his figure dangerously close.

A callous smirk. "Your hair's a mess."

I laughed through my relieved sigh. My mind was an overactive mess, and somehow Derek Barnes managed to make it a thousand times worse.

***

We hopped over the balcony of a desolate deck; a gaming room, its walls built of darkened slot machines. In the few times I had seen these machines, all had been switched on to fill the room with eclectic sounds and lights, but nothing filled the silence between Derek and myself.

"I thought these things were open all night," I said.
"It's almost four," he explained. "They usually close at one."

I nodded, Derek strolling carelessly ahead of me. His slouched shoulders, raised chin and pocketed hands suggested he was aware of where he was going, but I knew better. We were in a mechanical maze, working with trial and error but his confidence was unconditional. I smiled.

I passed a window, stepping through the ribbons of pale blue light the glass allowed inside to illuminate the slot machines.

But it was not the slot machines I was looking at. I came to a halt, following the blue light with my gaze, and marvelled at what they reached.

The light caressed his features the way stars stroked water, all edges of him defined but softened in a radiant silver highlight. He stood still, tilting his head to the side with his dark brows lured together in wonder, his lips pursed, kissed by the serene moon.

Panic flooded my chest and I blushed, turning away to hide the change in shade, saying a silent prayer he did not notice through the shadows at my corner.

"This place is like a maze," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Yeah," I mumbled, my voice coming out a higher pitch than expected.
He turned to look at me, head back with his usual smile. "Are you alright, agent?"
I could have cursed. "Can you really call me that anymore?" It was an attempt to sidestep the question. Thankfully, it worked.
He shrugged as I caught up with him. "You're a better agent than Alistair."
I snorted. "I disobeyed orders and ditched the agency. How is that better?"
"It's better because what Alistair is doing is self-serving and morally wrong. The agency is more than following orders and listening to your superiors – if it wasn't, I can promise you that I wouldn't have been hired in the first place." I bit back a laugh. "You have listened to your instincts and took initiative. No-one can ask for better qualities in an agent for their country."
"But what good are we here?" I sighed. "I just feel... useless."
Derek shook his head, taking a step towards me. "You are not useless, believe me. We're here because we're useful. If we throw ourselves at Alistair and demand he turns nice, then we'll be useless." Because we would be dead. It tore me up inside thinking of leaving Collins and Gabby behind, and sending Scotty elsewhere, but we each had a role. Derek's and my own was reserved for the most opportune time.
"Fair enough," I said, the corners of my lips twitching. "Thank you."
His lips parted. "W-what?"
"I said thank you," I repeated. "Do you need a dictionary?"
"No! I just—" He swallowed then took a long breath. "You're welcome."

We lingered in the same spot for a moment longer than necessary, both of us inhaling to speak but lacking the words to fill the silence. A strand of hair fell to his forehead. It was by the spur of the moment that I reached to comb it back, and fear that I retreated and looked away as his breath swept my forehead.

"We should find a way out," I suggested. "It's getting chilly in here." It was true that I had shivered, but I worried it was not entirely the draft that had caused it.
He nodded, forcing a smile. "Okay. Now to find the exit..."

***

We manoeuvred our way out eventually, finding the vacant room Scotty had referenced. It was nothing quite so regal as the suites I passed on the cruise ship I met Derek on, but the simplicity of it all was comforting. It reminded me of home, and did not ridicule nor isolate me in the way the rest of the deck had with its expensive wall decorations and designer shops that had been closed for the night. The walls were a modest ivory, the bedsheets pure white satin to match the opaque curtains swaying in the gentle breeze by the balcony. The morning sun had revealed its first hint of rising in the East, its orange glow saturating into the navy ocean and pouring into the blank canvas of the room.

"What a night," said Derek. I rubbed my eyes, as if I only now felt the true weight of it all; Alistair's betrayal, Scotty's return, leaving the agency... it was a lot to carry. Yet at the same time I felt empty. All ties had been cut and I was falling.

"I'll take the sofa," said Derek, brushing my arm as he moved.
"Sorry?" I said.
He gestured to the navy, quilted sofa sprawled at the opposite end of the room. "To sleep."
"Are you sure?" I said, eyeing up the bed. It looked comfortable but if he needed it...
"I'm sure."

That was all I needed. I sat on the edge of the mattress and began to untie my laces, Derek doing the same from his perch on the sofa.

"Did you get much fuss from Mika?" he asked. "I heard he went to your flat."
I kicked off the second boot. "Nothing I couldn't handle."
"That doesn't narrow it down much."
My lips tugged in a smile as I unzipped my jacket. "He shot at my wall but that can be fixed." I just hoped that Samson had not seen the damage. Or if he had, that he at least locked the door behind him.
"Good to hear it," he said.

His smile locked on me for a moment before it stretched into a wide yawn. He leaned back, sprawling himself across the sofa.
"If you don't mind," he said, "I am absolutely drained."
"You're not alone," I replied, slotting my legs beneath the quilt. I spotted a folded deep blue blanket at the bottom of the bed and tossed it to Derek, followed by a pair of pillows. "Catch."
He almost fell as the pillows landed on his stomach, the blanket dropping to the floor beside him. "Much appreciated," he said, putting the pillows behind him. "Now I can not freeze to death."
I rolled my eyes. "And I call Scotty dramatic."

With a few shuffles, we settled down. I plumped up the stuffed, satin pillows and suspired as I sunk into them, letting my eyes flutter to a close.
"I feel like I've been waiting to shut my eyes for forever," I admitted.
"You and me both," Derek replied. "Maybe we'll wake up later and this will all be a bad dream."
A cliché fantasy that made me chuckle. "Maybe."
After a short pause, "Goodnight, Amber," he said.
I tried not to show any reaction to it. "Goodnight, Derek."

It only took a minute for movement to come from the sofa. I rolled onto my left side, the gentle draft from the balcony stroking my cheek, and opened my eyes. Derek had sat up and lifted his shirt over his head, the orange glow of sunlight contouring his torso. Suddenly twitchy, I stiffened then adjusted to roll back, only to stop as a dark patch centring his ribcage caught my attention.

I swallowed and opened my mouth to ask who had done it; whether Mika or Alistair had resorted to hurting him for their unjust cause. I was aware the Director used less-than-conventional tactics for interrogations – as many agents did – but seeing the pain his revenge inflicted on those who were innocent struck me in the gut with nausea. This would only get worse if Alistair succeeded. I covered my mouth, feeling it water for a moment before it settled, and laid back down.

I couldn't look at him any longer so I turned over, only for the sight of the dark door to make me shiver and lie on my back. Derek's sudden heavy breathing made me shift my gaze from the plain ceiling to his sleeping face – not the marks on his body – and I relaxed.

With a deep breath, I gathered the left corner of the quilt and held it close, hugging it as I shut my eyes and pushed the darkness away for another day.