Chapter nine

The Agent

Sam had set them three breaks that night. He walked along, quietly, trying to wrap his mind around everything that happened. Snitch Gravel hadn't known they were there, they'd been drinking water ridden with toxic waste, Ron was Snitch Gravel's man... Jerry had pistol-whipped Von Crooken. It was that last thought that confused him the most.

He'd tried to find a pattern regarding the spoiled water's effect. He'd become incredibly angry and paranoid and totally, totally selfish. So, all of the defects he held in had poured out. His self-restraint had flown out the window. But what did that say about Jerry? Or Kyle who had turned into a walking vegetable?

He'd refused to take another sip of water, even if his throat burned. He lied to himself, thought he'd only have to last one more second without it. The seconds turned into minutes, the minutes into hours, and the burn finally subsided a little and was bearable.

For the first time, he noticed that William had also changed. Gone was what seemed to be a hyperactive four-year-old. He now stood quiet, sometimes looked around as though the setting seemed familiar, then lowered his eyes. Sam hoped this was a sign that William might be of some use to them after all.

Once the sun rose, Sam stopped. They probably had another hour or two to go until they reached the forest, but he wasn't forcing anyone to rough it up. Not anymore.

The others, however, bypassed him and walked on and Sam followed, smiling weakly. He hadn't heard any of the others talking and he had a feeling they were doing it out of solidarity. The thought cheered him up considerably.

They walked for another hour until they reached the forest. Sam stopped in front of the first tree. It wasn't as hot anymore and the trees would provide much needed shelter. Except it also provided shelter to Snitch Gravel's men.

"Are you all right, kid?" Kyle asked.

Sam jumped and almost toppled over. "I like it when you call me kid. It was weird when Jerry said it."

Kyle smiled, but it was obvious that he still wanted an answer.

Sam turned to the group, thinking feverishly. "I... I'm sorry. About being awful, about trusting Ron so much even after Billy warned me against him. It's just... Snitch Gravel has pulled this trick so many times already. I honestly thought he was bored with it by now."

"But what if Ron was telling the truth?" Jerry asked cautiously. "What if he really is another agent?"

"No, think about it. It would've been the first thing he had to say to gain my trust. I don't believe he randomly kept that piece of information hidden. He could have killed us in our sleep."

"Stop blaming yourself. We all thought he was harmless. Well, except Billy," Jimmy said adding the last part after catching Billy's eye.

"You said he was a traitor to Snitch Gravel," Jerry said warily. "Did you really mean that?"

Sam rubbed his chin, pondering on the answer. It was the one thing he'd avoided thinking about, because it got his hopes up. When he'd said it, he'd believed it, but he wasn't sure. "I don't know. I think he might be, but I don't have any objective reason. Just a gut feeling."

"Your gut feelings are usually pretty accurate," Jimmy pointed out.

Sam smiled and looked at the tree behind him. Once in the forest, the last semblance of safety would disappear. Snitch Gravel's men were probably crawling through the bushes, and now Ron was in there on God knew whose side. But the edge of the forest was the worst place to be, so Sam nodded his head and they entered the forest.

The temperature instantly dropped and Sam let out a relieved breath. Even the air seemed much cleaner, much easier to breathe. If only he could drink some clean water as well.

"This is unbelievable," Jerry whispered, looking at the carpet of dead leaves at his feet. "It looks as if we've stepped into another dimension."

"I think we should set up camp and rest for a few hours," Sam said looking around, but the trees and bushes were so tightly packed, he could only see a blurry mass of green and brown. "We should switch our day-night schedule again."

He knew it wasn't safe to sleep, but they had to, at least for a few hours. No one stood guard, so Sam was very grateful when he woke up four hours later and they were all still alive. As they ate, he told the rest of the group about Snitch Gravel and Von Crooken's argument and Snitch Gravel's strange behavior.

"This is getting a bit freaky," Kyle said meditatively, his eyes once again falling on William. "Snitch Gravel acting strange is a solvable mystery. Apparently Von Crooken conveniently forgot to filter his water."

"Do you think he was really trying to poison Snitch Gravel?" Billy asked, a note of hope in his voice.

Sam chewed on his bottom lip. "I... I'm not sure. I don't know how close Von Crooken and Snitch Gravel are. Von Crooken did seem regretful of his mistake."

"I wonder why Snitch Gravel sent Von Crooken here on his own and only arrived now," Jimmy said frowning. "Where was he? When he left the jungle in a hurry, we all assumed he came here."

"Not to mention that he had no idea what was going on, that we were even here when Von Crooken knew since day one," Tom said.

"Their inner politics is somehow fascinating and terrifying at the same time," Jerry said.

"I have a bad feeling about this forest and everything in it," Sam mumbled. "I think we should hurry up and try to finish this quest as fast as possible, before more weird crap happens."

"Okay then, let's set out," Billy said getting to his feet.

"Before we go, I have to warn you that the forest might be crawling with Snitch Gravel's men," Sam said getting up, too.

"Do you actually think we didn't figure that much out on our own?" Tom asked not looking at Sam and hurrying to pack his stuff.

Even if everyone had gone back to normal, more or less, the tension between Sam and Tom was still there. They talked, but with a slight edge to their voices.

This time, Sam decided to act as though Tom had said nothing and went to pack his stuff.

They started off with Sam in the lead and Jimmy in the back for protection, while Kyle was somewhere in the middle. Sam had pulled William next to him, hoping he'd remember something and tell them how to get to the lab faster. But William walked in silence, not even looking around.

As the minutes passed, Sam started getting more frustrated with him. He tried to control the feeling, but if William turned out to be nothing but a capture hazard, he was abandoning him in the forest.

Just as Sam finished the thought, William came to an abrupt halt.

"Kathy, where's Kathy?" he asked, looking around desperately.

"Kathy?" Sam asked frowning. "Who the—?" He was interrupted when Kyle shoved him aside unceremoniously and posted himself in front of William.

"What about Kathy?" he asked, sitting William on a nearby rock and squatting in front of him.

"Who the hell is Kathy?" Sam asked pissed off, but Kyle ignored him.

"Where is she?" William asked looking straight through Kyle.

"She's not here. She's safe at home," Kyle answered.

William frowned slightly as if something bothered him and his eyes actually focused on Kyle. "I know you. You're that dreadful boy she wasn't supposed to be seeing. You brought her home on a motorcycle." He pulled away from Kyle, a scowl on his face. "What have you done to her?"

"I haven't done anything to her," Kyle snapped, getting to his feet and towering over William. A bubble of frost seemed to surround him.

William glared at Kyle. "It's your fault Kathy's in the agency."

"My fault?" Kyle asked, raising his eyebrows.

"My fault," William mumbled, clutching his head. "My fault, my fault..."

"Oh, screw this!" Sam pushed Kyle aside and grabbed William's shoulders. "Listen William, can you remember how to get inside the labs?"

"Who are you?" William asked, his narrowed eyes resting on Sam. "How come you know so much?"

"I'm Sam, we're on a mission and we have to break into the labs to rescue someone," Sam answered quickly, a wave of hope washing over him.

"Who are you? How come you know so much?" William answered.

The wave crashed, leaving behind bitter disappointment.

"What's wrong with him? Is his brain stuck?" Tom asked coming next to Sam and Kyle since William kept repeating the same phrase.

"Who is this Kathy you two were going on about?" Sam asked instead, turning to Kyle.

"Kay." Kyle flinched and wanted to turn away, but Sam stopped him.

"Why does he call her Kathy?"

"Because that's her name. Kay's full name is Katherine," Kyle answered with a sigh that showed he didn't want to discuss this anymore.

"Then why do you call her Kay?" Sam insisted.

"Because I didn't pay attention when she told me her name. And she liked it." Kyle gave him a warning look that clearly said he didn't want to talk about Kay anymore. "This is no time for stories. For all we know, while we've been wasting time, Snitch Gravel's men might have surrounded us."

"Oh, now you're just being paranoid," Billy said waving Kyle away.

An eerie silence seemed to fill the forest after Billy's statement. Then, a bush behind Kyle started rustling. Sam's eyes widened, but before he could open his mouth, four men rushed out of the vegetation and piled over Kyle.

"Attack!" Eye Patch yelled from somewhere to Sam's right.

Men kept popping out from bushed and from behind trees. After making sure Kyle was immobilized, they surrounded Jimmy.

They're going for the strongest first. The thought nudged Sam into action. He glanced around, but all the bodies made it hard to tell who was friend or foe.

"Get William out of here!" he called out and sprung between two men towards the safety of the trees. As much as he hated running, someone had to escape and bust the others out.

Sam charged through the vegetation, changing direction as often as possible without losing balance. The sounds of the struggle were now dim and it seemed like he'd left the worst behind. Still running, he chanced a look over his shoulder. No one was following him.

Before he could turn back, he bumped headfirst into something. Into someone. Ron grinned broadly in his face and grabbed his arm. Three men joined them and positioned themselves around Sam.

"You shouldn't have turned your back on me," Ron said shoving Sam towards the men. "Let's head out."

Sam didn't fight the men dragging him back to the fight scene. There was no point. Kyle and Jimmy were already tied up tightly together and threatened by guns while Billy and Jim were piled up on the ground. Tom, Jerry and William were nowhere in sight. At least there was someone out there who could rescue them.

"This was easy," Ron said to Eye Patch, shoving Sam over Billy and Jim.

"Only because we were well organized and got these two under control," Eye Patch said nodding towards Kyle and Jimmy. "If we hadn't, they would've all escaped. They're trouble, they are."

"That much trouble?" Ron asked looking at them interested.

"How about untying us and we'll show you just how much?" Jimmy said pleasantly.

"Nah, don't think so." Ron turned away from them. "Load them up."