When I was released from the hospital I expected a police cruiser to meet me at the front, but there was no cruiser. Instead a large, black van stood idle outside the front exit of the hospital. I thought about making a run for it, but realized that would be a stupid idea considering I still had a massive headache and my friends were in trouble.

A large man rounded the front of the SUV. His tall figure towered over me as I tried to remain stoic, his eyes scanning my own.

It wasn't Agent Chapman, which wasn't a surprise, but his demeanor was similar: an impassive expression and dark eyes that watched me intently. The only difference between him and Chapman was his smooth, brown skin. Was every man that worked for the NIA bald and emotionless? They reminded me of clones.

He opened the passenger door for me. "Get in."

"Chivalrous," I joked, earning me a glare from the nameless agent.

Without any more hesitation I climbed inside, he closed the door and walked around the front. It was odd because I should've been in cuffs and on my way to jail. Yet here I was with a government agent who was about to take me to only God knows where.

It wasn't how I had expected to spend my weekend, but it was better than prison.

"So where are we going?"

"Los Angeles. That's where our branch is located," he answered bluntly.

I looked out the window in disbelief. That was over two hours away from here in San Diego. Would Derik and Willi be there waiting?

Trying not to freak out I leaned my head back, wondering what I had gotten myself into. I played back my conversation with Agent Chapman but couldn't recall him actually saying my friends would be there. For all I knew I could be leaving Derik and Willi behind as I sat in the car with this stranger.

See? This is why I shouldn't be allowed to make decisions.

Before I could open the door and hurl myself to my death we turned into a parking lot, which then turned into a runway.

My heart hammered harder than on the night our bank job went wrong. There was a chopper awaiting us, the blades standing still for the moment. I had never flown in my life, and my first time would be while I was in the hands of our government. Typical.

Bringing the van to a stop my chauffeur ordered, "Come on."

I should've guessed there would be a chopper waiting. It seemed as if these people had no time to waste, and a two-hour drive was like slowly peeling off a band aid. Flying now seemed more reasonable.

I walked behind the tall man, wondering if all of this would eventually be for nothing. What if I did what they wanted and failed? What if I succeeded and I still got thrown in prison? What would happen to Anna then?

My panic was cut short when the door to the chopper opened, and to my utter surprise Willi and Derik were already there. Unlike myself they were in cuffs, but the relief erased all of my fear.

"Lex!" Willi beamed, but his eyes lingered on my bruised forehead.

"Seems like they trusted you enough not to need cuffs," Derik smiled, although I could tell he was extremely uneasy.

Before I could even get a word out my nameless driver addressed us.

"You're here because your agreement to help was unanimous," he stated, those dark eyes connecting with me. "You're loyal to your crew, even when faced with failure, and we need your help."

Willi, Derik and I never allowed our attention to waver.

"Even though you aren't prisoners, cooperation is advised if you want it to stay that way," he finished.

"How can you expect us to cooperate when we don't even know your name, agent?" I challenged him.

My outburst seemed to shock everyone, including myself, but I refused to show fear.

His eyes found mine one more time, "It's Agent Monroe."

And with that we buckled in and readied ourselves for takeoff. Derik and I exchanged a few words about my sister and his wife, Mia, who would remain in the dark about our situation. I didn't know when we would be allowed to speak with them, or if we would even see them again, but at least they were safe. The thought of anything happening to Anna while I was away continued to tear me up inside. At least Derik and Mia resided in the outskirts of Los Angeles, so we wouldn't be far from them. The job gone wrong had been intentionally planned two hours away from our home. Thinking about it now we should've stayed in last night.

Flying over the city lights amazed and terrified me, but it didn't mask the reason we were here. The time spent in the air sent my brain into overdrive, thinking of all the worst possibilities that could happen. Our mistakes at the bank had cost us everything, but if the worst we got was working for the government then I would cautiously oblige. I was willing to do anything I could to get out alive and make it back to my sister.

We finally landed on a pad on top of a high-rise building and my anxiety dissolved for just a moment. I followed orders to unstrap myself and follow Agent Monroe towards the door on the far side of the roof. Derik and Willi did the same.

The door had a sign: Restricted Access: National Investigation Agency headquarters. Swallowing nervously, I realized everything we had been told so far was true.

"First is check-in," Monroe stated, leading the three of us into an elevator.

The doors opened back up to what looked to be a business office, but we were cut off by a lobby desk. The woman nodded to Monroe and then looked at me, "Name?"

I tried to sound stern, "Alexa Cortez."

Typing away quickly she proceeded to my friends.

"Derik Vela."

"William Taylor."

I glanced around the office. A clock said it was only eight, and the department seemed to be shut down. But I had a feeling we wouldn't be here alone tonight.

After check-in Agent Monroe led us down a hall, turning and passing what seemed to be a million doors. We eventually stopped, Monroe typed in a code on the door pad and we went inside.

To my surprise the place was living quarters. An apartment with three bedrooms, a bath, and a small living room in the center.

"You are to report to the check-in desk at eight-thirty tomorrow morning."

Derik stepped forward, "What about our families? Will we be able to contact them?"

"Not until you fulfill the reason you're here." With that Monroe closed the door behind him.

For a moment no one moved. Derik waited a few minutes before attempting to open the door, which was surprisingly unlocked. It was lockable from the inside but it was odd to know we could walk out if we pleased. It made my stomach uneasy.

Derik suggested, "I say we leave."

I shook my head, "Derik, think about it. He left it unlocked for a reason. It's probably a test. Besides, you really think we wouldn't trip alarms if we left?"

Our eyes locked and I knew my words resonated with him. None of this made sense because we were uninformed. Making a risky move such as leaving without proper information would get us thrown in prison.

"She's right," Willi agreed. "We have no idea why we're here or why they even chose us in the first place. I say we stick around and find out."

"They want Vic," I admitted, "But they didn't say why."

"Why would they?" Derik countered, "It's likely that if they had given us a reason we wouldn't be here. We'd all be in jail. It's called hope, Alexa."

His tone was bitter but I couldn't blame him. He was worried about Mia and Anna. All the planning and prep time we had done for this job had gone down the drain. The much needed money was gone, and now we were here wondering if we would ever get the chance to see our families again.

Sighing in exhaustion I threw myself down on the couch. "They said they needed Victoria." I remembered how urgent Agent Chapman had sounded in the hospital. "Don't you think it's weird that our country's strongest investigation team can't even track her down?"

"She's beyond capable of diverting attention from herself." Derik sat down opposite of me. "She's hacked into systems that were supposedly unbreakable. I'm convinced there's not a security system that woman can't get into. That kind of knowledge is dangerous, but she knows that. It's why she's so low-key."

Willi paced around the room. "So the NIA is scared of her. Maybe they want to arrest her and need our help doing so."

"Or they really need her help and we were their second choice," I wondered aloud. It would make more sense if the NIA was looking for Victoria for that reason. Arresting her wouldn't benefit anyone, and although I didn't know all the ins-and-outs of Vic, I couldn't believe she was a threat to our country. She was extremely intelligent, but she was a good person.

"Was I the only one who had a bad feeling during our job the other night?" Willi asked.

"I felt it," Derik admitted.

I stood up, feeling restless. There had been something wrong that night. We had all felt it, but during a job you can't overthink. Now we had literally nothing else to do but analyze the events that had happened. "The officer obviously came back after his shift for a reason, but how had Vic missed him driving into the parking lot? There were cameras, right?"

Derik crossed his arms. "They knew we were there so they avoided the cameras."

Willi shook his head, "But how would they have known? We left no traces."

"They could've been watching us," Derik suggested.

The atmosphere in the room turned dark as puzzle pieces began to fall into place. Had the NIA been watching us all along, waiting to see if we would lead them to Victoria? Had this entire job been a setup? Had Victoria known the feds would be there to arrest us?

"You don't think Vic-" Willi began.

"No," Derik defended her, refusing to believe that was the case.

The more I thought about it the more I agreed with him. "Victoria wouldn't do that, besides, she had no idea. She could've left us blind while we were in the bank but she warned us about the guard. She knew the response time if the alarm was tripped, and she told us everything we needed to know to get out in time. The police were already there whenever the alarm went off. They were waiting for us to run out the front."

"Damn! The whole thing was a setup to arrest us." Derik was fuming.

The realization settled like gloom overhead. We could be wrong, but the assumption sounded pretty right. It was the only thing that made sense.

"Well, this is one giant mess," Willi remained seated, his head shaking in disgust. "All that money... gone. We almost made it."

"There was no making it." Derik sighed, "Even if we would've left the money, they were already there. They probably weren't expecting us to run the way we did but..."

I gazed out the window and took in the city below. The money we had lost would've benefited us all greatly. Willie the most, in my opinion considering his son's medical bills seemed to be eating him alive. Derik's cut was going to Mia's family to help them financially gain citizenship to come to the states. As for me, I had planned to make Anna a college fund and get us out of Derik's house.

Sitting here now I couldn't help but wonder if we would even get the chance to see our families again.

"You think we'll make it out of this one?" I asked Derik, hoping to hear some optimism or reassurance.

Standing, he shook his head, "I have no idea," and then disappeared into one of the rooms.

I had seen Derik distressed many times, but never this bad. I totally understood why, but shutting us out and being bitter wasn't going to help.

"Don't take it personal, Lex," Willi sighed, standing as well, "He's just acting like that because he thought he had lost you."

I looked up into the tired eyes of my friend.

"We thought you were dead."

My eyes fell to the floor, pain lacing around my heart. It meant a lot to hear they cared. I'd never doubted it, but Derik never showed much emotion. Besides Anna, Derik and Willi were the only kind of family I had left. I didn't want to think about my parents right now.

I tried to joke off the pain. "The lucky vest saved me."

"That damn vest is cursed and you know it," Willi laughed.

"See you bright and early."

"Try and get some rest, Alexa."

Then he disappeared into his own room.

Sleep is what we all needed but I knew there would be no relief, not while I was here worrying about tomorrow. Everything that had happened in the past forty-eight hours left me with more questions than answers, and my mind was far from settled. I had no idea what would be asked of us, but I knew it wasn't going to be safe nor easy. I didn't know anything, and it terrified me.

Enclosing myself in my own room I walked to my bed, removing my shoes and jacket in the same movement. Overthinking would be useless, especially now that I was already here in the NIA headquarters.There was nothing left for me to do but try and sleep off the hours between now and tomorrow.

* * *

The next morning Agent Monroe wasted no time bringing us to Chapman. To say I was nervous was an understatement. By the time we made it to the office I was barely able to stand upright. Derik had suggested we make a break for it about three times and Willi had to keep both of us calm enough to look civil.

It wasn't until we were standing in front of Agent Chapman that I felt the pit of nerves in my stomach threaten to burst.

With the door closing it was just us four in the spacious office. Chapman's eyes darting between all three of us as he contemplated a greeting.

"This is a unique group of individuals, I'll say that."

I couldn't help but agree considering our group consisted of myself, a twenty-one-year-old Arizonian native; Derik, a thirty-five-year-old who had been across the world but had miraculously met me and could almost pass for my father; and Willi, a fifty-four-year-old that reminded me of a bald lumberjack. I just didn't see the time appropriate for the joke.

Chapman's dark eyes finally connected with my own as he leaned back into his desk, crossing his arms in the process. His suit was fitted, shoes polished and tie ironed straight. I couldn't help but assume he was more than just an agent by his demeanor, and my assumptions were proven right by the plaque on his desk: Assistant Director: Kent Chapman.

"You're not just an agent."

He just smiled, "We don't have much time to brief you, so let' get to it."

He walked behind his desk before glaring back at us. The fear I had felt just seconds before seeing him was gone, replaced by anger. I was sure my irritation was tangible. Not once had he given us a reason as to why he had chosen us. The only thing he had told me was that he really wanted Victoria, but that wasn't good enough, and I had a feeling it was mutual for Derik and Willi.

I jumped in before he could speak. "We want answers first."

His mouth shut, a shocked expression crossing his features. A thick tension seemed to seep in through the air vents and surround us. I stood my ground, watching Chapman lean back into his leather chair while staring at me.

"Why don't we have this talk after you fulfill the agreement you made me, Alexa."

It was a statement not a suggestion, and my quick bravery vanished. His eyes were an endless abyss of black. I didn't know what had come over me. My anger had always seemed to get me into trouble, so that obviously hadn't changed. Out on the street I could be confident, but in here I was defenseless. I had a feeling Chapman wouldn't hesitate to remind me of that.

"Fine," I muttered.

Leaning on his desk he continued, "As I was saying, we don't have a lot of time to get you informed. We plan to initiate tonight, and there are things you and your friends will need to get done before then."

Had he said tonight? He was planning on having us perform the task not even twenty-four hours after being here? The urgency of this situation dramatically increased.

"Since you all have refused to lead us to Victoria we've decided for the second best option. To use her crew."

We all waited for more.

"We need you all to break into the Global Intelligence Bureau."

My heart stuttered to a halt. That's why we were here. Breaking into the headquarters of our international intelligence agency was a crime no one wanted to be caught for. But we were disposable.

Willi jumped in. "That's impossible. We'll be caught. No one can get in there!"

"Not necessarily," Chapman countered. "See, our techs can get you access all the way up to the informatics department. That's where they store the data on every event, person, and place the United States government has ever been involved with. The only problem is the security system is different for that one department, and we can't get into it without tripping an alarm."

Chapman continued, "But there's a return air duct that can be broken into right outside the door of the department. You all would need to get there, remove the ventilation gate, send someone inside the storage unit, retrieve the files we need, and get out without being detected."

"And that's the only option of entry we have?" I asked.

"It is without your friend Victoria," Chapman informed.

"You think she'd be able to hack us through the informatics security system?"

Chapman just nodded.

Derik exhaled heavily behind me, which meant he was contemplating something. Turning around, I saw him and Willi looking at each other with expressions I didn't like. I shook my head, whispering, "We're not bringing Victoria here."

Willi leaned forward, "But she could make this easier."

"We don't even know their motives yet. We're not putting her in danger," I argued.

Derik's dark brown eyes switched between us as we argued. The entire reason we were here was to protect Victoria, knowing we couldn't drag her into something like this. But refusing the offer to help Chapman would land us in prison. We all knew that, which was why we had no choice but to accept his insane proposal.

I turned around, "So, what files are we going in there for?"

"His name is Edward Welsh," Chapman said, leaning back in his chair. "He had been working for the GIB when he came to us. Sort of a double agent, but something happened to him overseas before he could get back with needed information. The GIB deleted his identity and we believe he's in hiding somewhere. His files will tell us where he is."

"So all we need to do is steal the files?" I asked.

"That's your thing, isn't it?" Chapman replied sarcastically, a smug expression on his face.

"We'll do it," Derik broke in, sensing the tension. "Anything else?"

Chapman stood, "You'll need a fourth person, and considering the mistrust between you and the people of the NIA I'm allowing you to choose them."

I turned back to Derik and Willi, wondering what our options were. There weren't many people we knew that would willingly break into the GIB headquarters for kicks. No one around here owed me any favors, but maybe one of the guys had a person in mind.

"I know someone," Willi announced, "Her names Melissa Reese. Maybe I can get her for this job."

Chapman nodded, "I'll have Agent Monroe escort you. If she doesn't agree you'll have to settle for one of mine."

As if on cue Monroe's massive figure showed up in the doorway, probably ready to bring us back to our room. I had no idea who this woman Willi mentioned was or if she could be trusted, but I would try my best. It's not like we had a lot of options to begin with.

After leaving Chapman's office I asked, "So this Melissa girl, how do you know her?"

"She grew up in the house next to mine. Her dad was in the military and got killed overseas. I ended up looking after his wife and Melissa for a while. The mom just recently sold the house and travels with her new boyfriend. And Melissa... well, she left home a few years ago when she turned eighteen. But I ran into her recently at the shooting range and ended up helping her escape after stealing a handgun."

"And you think she's fit for a job like this?" Derik asked.

"She had a dad in the military, Derik. She knows a few things. Besides, I don't believe we have many choices." Willi turned to Monroe, "We can leave now."

Monroe nodded, but I disagreed, "How do you know she'll be home?"

Willi shrugged. "She'll be there, Lex."

Agent Monroe wasted no time retrieving the black van. Willi directed him, and I figured she lived on the outskirts of Los Angeles just like the rest of us. For criminals we didn't pick our dwelling places far from the city, which was odd, but we all liked the hiding-in-plain-sight kind of thing.

Obviously that hadn't worked out so well.

So we drove for about half-an-hour, making it well out of the city limits. The whole time I stared out the window and tried to make sense of what we were about to do. They wanted us to break into our Global Intelligence headquarters, a highly restricted area operated by our government. But that wasn't the hardest part. The hardest part was getting into the classified section of the building without getting caught.

The only thing I could conclude was that they needed Victoria to hack into the security system, but we weren't cooperating. The files were one thing that would soon lead to something much bigger than us, but hopefully we wouldn't be around to see it. With any luck after we succeeded we would be released. But that still seemed unlikely.

Failure would result in us getting arrested, imprisoned for the rest of our lives. If we succeeded, the NIA would most likely use us again until we outlived our worth, or got killed. Whichever came first. Right now it seemed like a losing situation, but I've been wrong before.

We finally pulled up in front of a brown house with metal bars on the windows. I checked out the neighborhood, a few onlookers on the street observed us from afar. It was unsettling knowing all eyes were on us because if they found out we were with feds the outcome wouldn't be good.

We followed Willi out of the van while Monroe stayed at the end of the driveway. For a split second the thought of running crossed my mind again, but I realized there would be no escaping. If we ran now, there would be no chance of being let off the hook. This was our second chance, and screwing it up could not happen.

The California heat was oppressive. Considering we hadn't been home since the bank job, the only clothes we had were dark, which didn't mix well with the July weather.

Willi knocked exactly four times, recoiling his hand back after and waiting patiently. All I could think was that if this woman didn't show up we had wasted most of the afternoon. I would rather just go with us three. But if Chapman thought we needed four then who was I to argue? He knew more about this than I did.

When we heard movement behind the door relief flooded Willi's face. I heard the chain lock fall as the door knob slowly twisted. A crack in the door revealed a pair of steel gray eyes that softened when they spied Willi.

"Willi? You..." her sentence trailed off when she noticed he wasn't alone.

Our friend tried to smile, "Melissa, I wish I could've called, but we don't have a lot of time."

"Come in." She opened her door as she scanned us one by one. Her angular face and strong features were attractive, and I couldn't help but find beauty in her sternness. Her metallic eyes were captivating, but the dark circles indicated that she hadn't slept in days. To my knowledge she had moved back to Los Angeles recently, but I found myself wondering why.

Once we'd all crowded into her tiny living room she planted her fists on her hips. "Okay, so what's going on?"

"Something's come up and we need your help. Now." Willi said with a grimace.

"Why do I have a feeling this isn't normal job offer?"

"Because it's not," he admitted.

At this she was taken back, "And you thought of me first?"

"You're the only one I could think of that would be willing to help us on such short notice."

Watching the exchange was interesting because Melissa's demeanor loosened up around Willi. When she'd answered the door she had remained stoic. But Willi brought something out of her. A lightness she probably didn't experience often.

Melissa studied him a long moment. "Okay, so what's going on?"

Willi hesitated, as if he was afraid to reveal the truth. I, on the other hand, was growing impatient because honestly I felt like we were wasting our time. No one in their right mind would willingly involve themselves in this kind of danger without some kind of reward.

"Look we don't have a lot of time," I interrupted, "We need your help breaking into the Global Intelligence headquarters. Are you in or not?"

I had expected some shock at my audacity, but it never came. Had she not heard me correctly? Did she even know what the GIB was?

She turned away from me and back to Willi. "What did you do?"

"It's a long story that I promise to tell you, but Alexa's right. We don't have a lot of time."

Her eyes found me again but now there was a distasteful glare, as if she disagreed with my approach. She wasn't the one whose freedom was on the line. Besides, I figured she wouldn't come anyway. She would be stupid to get involved with this. Coming out here was a waste of time.

"What exactly are we going in there for?" She asked.

Derik included himself in the conversation. "Information on a guy, Edward Welsh. Apparently he was working with the NIA and GIB simultaneously before disappearing."

I could see Melissa deciding as she weighted the risks. It would be extremely dangerous, and if I was in her position I sure wouldn't agree to it. I figured she was smart enough to decline.

"I owe you for saving my ass the other day," she confessed, looking at Willi. "So... I'm in. But you gotta give me some answers."

Willi grinned. "Deal."

"I need a few minutes to gather my things. I shouldn't be long." Her eyes locked with mine. "Is that okay with you, Alexa?"

Her sarcasm was a low blow, but I knew it was a response to my sharpness earlier. I shrugged, "Fine."

The three of us headed out of her door to wait.

"I can't believe she agreed," Derik admitted.

"She's brave," Willi stated. "And maybe she feels obligated. She's a lot like her father in that sense."

After delivering the news to Monroe he called Chapman up on his cellphone to relay the message. To me it seemed odd that Melissa had accepted so willingly. But I didn't know her like Willi did. If Willi had known her since she was young maybe she felt comfortable. Besides, she had to be pretty brave to steal a gun from a gun shop, where her life could've been ended in a heartbeat.

I guess she wasn't so different than the rest of us.

Soon enough she emerged from the house to join us in the van. We quickly made our way back to the NIA headquarters as Willi filled her in on the past forty-eight hours. Melissa listened intently while I studied her reactions. I hadn't been aware of my staring until we made it back to the building and I had snapped out of my trance.

"You four go eat," Monroe ordered, "I'll retrieve you all in a few hours."

Then he was gone.

"Well, they sure don't treat you like prisoners," Melissa observed.

"Because they claim we're not," I answered, but deep down I knew we weren't necessarily free.

The next few hours we ate, talked, and somehow filled the time between us and the reason we were here. I found it odd that Derik wasn't wary of Melissa when there was a feeling in my gut preventing me from trusting her. I wanted to but I had always been overly cautious with strangers. Plus, who's to say Melissa was the same girl Willi watched grow up? He hadn't seen her for years. For all we knew she could be a completely different girl.

Derik always said I over analyzed everything, but I had my reasons.

Analyzing every in and out of a situation had saved my life more than once. It was instinctual after twenty-one years.

Then again, maybe I was being paranoid. But you couldn't blame me. I had cheated death and avoided prison for life within the past two days.

It didn't take us long to end up back in our rooms. Willi and Melissa caught up since the gun-theft mishap, but I took no interest in the conversation. It wasn't that I hated her, I just didn't trust her. Derik seemed to notice my distance now that she was here.

"What's going on?" he asked, sitting next to me.

I shook my head. "Nothing, just thinking about Anna."

He knew I wasn't telling the truth but prying was never Derik's thing. He leaned back on the couch and patted my shoulder.

"Mia's taking care of her. Don't worry."

"What if I never see her again?" My voice shook despite my effort to sound strong.

"You can't think like that," he ordered.

"You think we're on the right side of the fight?"

He just nodded.

"We're gonna see our families again, Lex. We just have to make it through tonight."

Something in his voice strengthened me, which only he could do. I loved that about Derik. He was the father I had always wanted but never had. I trusted him more than anyone, and if he had a good feeling maybe I should ignore my own for the sake of the team.

So instead of worrying myself to death I decided to mentally prepare, because failing wasn't an option. No matter what.