He replied, "Only a few hours until the sun rises." I'm on tight schedule, Lennon. If you want to live you'll stay out of my way. "You're not tired?" I asked. Give up. Just leave her alone. She's not worth it. "No." At that response, I shut my mouth. I couldn't persuade him. I couldn't stop him. "Take care of everything here, I'm gonna go for a walk," Liam said to me, nodding before pushing himself off the bed and into the restroom. Merely moments after, I didn't turn to see, but I heard the faint click of the door opening, and then closing. He was gone. And you know what? My eyes traveled over to his sleeping best friend and my best friend's baby. They were oblivious to the situation. Deciding in two seconds, I went to the restroom to wash up. I was going to that party. If Liam's going to be there, he's planning to kill Allison tonight. And that defeats my whole mission if he succeeds. I can't stress it enough, but two years. Two years I worked hard to even care to protect this girl, and if it all ends tonight, I might as well kill myself. _

Confused, I picked up the familiar fabric and held it up in front of me so that I could examine it in the mirror. My eyes frowned at the gown. It was the same dark blue dress I saw at the mall. Why was it here? He couldn't have bought it, right? And... for who? As I stared at it, I realized that the dress fit my size. I wasn't going to assume or think anything at the moment. But I'm going to apologize to that someone else that he bought his dress for, because I'm using it tonight. I realized Liam had changed too. His t-shirt and shorts were hung on a rack above the shower. He has a suit on, then, I thought to myself. But that doesn't help much. A lot of the boys from school would wear a suit. Or would they? Is Liam the only one? I'm not even sure if he has his suit on. ... Suit. At that moment a thought clicked into my head. My suit. My mission suit. I rushed out of the bathroom and over to my bag and rummaged through my things quietly and quickly. Soon, my fingers grazed over the cool fabric of my suit. I pulled it out and tiptoed back into the restroom. And I was disappointed. The suit didn't fit anymore. I had grown, no doubt. It was a strange thought. I didn't feel like anything had happened these past few years. Giving up, I put on the elegant dress that Liam bought and transferred some gadgets and small weapons over from my suit to areas underneath my dress, like my ankles and legs, waist and hip. No suit meant no bulletproof protection, but what can I do. I also went the far length to straighten out my wavy hair so that it all laid softly out on my shoulders and down my upper back at the end. Accessories, makeup, posture, I was a master at it. These things were easy. We were trained to disguise quickly and effectively back at the R.U. The dress was perfect as well. I was glad the girl Liam bought the dress for didn't like skin-tight outfits. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to equip my weapons and retrieve them when time calls for them. As for my wound on my upper right arm, it was located high enough for the the slightly sagging sleeves to cover up. No one would notice if it showed anyway. It would be a dimly lit room with loud noises and a handful of other teenagers. I took one last glance at myself in the mirror. Although I was dressed up and beautified, and most certainly in a dress I would've never worn on a daily basis, I knew one thing for sure. Tonight, I was the Jamie Lennon. My old self in disguise. That was the real me. "It's great to be back," I chimed quietly to myself, a side smirk appearing quickly before I turned off all the lights and headed out of the bathroom and soon, Liam's room. _

16 |I warned You

Annnnd he broke my car. I stared at the wheel with all my emotions lost and my eyes losing its glint of fun. Like if your siblings came into your room and drew all over your walls, and you come in ten centuries later and see it and you're just looking at it like, "..........." Yeah, same. Except he left a message in pen on my white steering wheels and it read: "Why don't you ever listen." If that pen doesn't wash up and I end up dying today, I'm coming back to earth as a ghost and haunting his ass. Frustrated, I racked my memory for information I received two years ago from Axel about Allison. I'm sure her address was somewhere in that file. I pulled out my phone moments later and did some uncool hacking around, aka opening apps and secret apps and stuff. Found her address. Looking around at the parking lot behind the school, I decided to use Carlos's car. I went nearer to the silver vehicle and memories starting rushing back, but I forced them away. Now wasn't the time. Actually, it would never be time to remember those anymore anyway. Opening the side door and climbing inside, I sat there for a moment and gazed at the interior of the vehicle. Not only was I familiar with the car's functions, but I also had an identical key to his car. You could say it was for old time's sake.
_ A block from the massive mansion and I had the illusion that I was blasting music within the car. It wasn't me obviously, it came from Allison's party. There were dozens of people standing around outside the lawn as well. Allison was also one of them who was standing outside and talking to Kayla and her group of girls. They were all dressed fancily, as I had expected of Allison. I sighed in relief before catching myself at the end. It was weird. I haven't had this feeling in a while. Scratching my head, I wondered if it was strange to other people that I actually enjoyed feeling anxious again. Shaking my head of meaningless thoughts, I turned off the car and turned it on self-lock mode. You would be surprised at how well a vehicle could defend itself unless you've lived the secret agent life. I waited a moment for Allison and her group to migrate back inside and waited another moment to confirm that she wasn't coming back out before I left the car and started for the house. When I thought people weren't going to pay attention to me, I was dead wrong. Everyone outside snapped their heads towards my direction and tried to make out who I was. I did my best to avoid the stares and kept my face hidden as I entered the mansion. The first thing I noticed was the loud blasting music. It was spouting out inappropriate words and I didn't like it, but I admit it would make for a good action movie. Second, I noticed the "lower rank" of the school. They stuck together in a group. Third, I realized they were being bullied. The anger inside me boiled and I had to keep my cool by reminding myself to tone it down. Five jocks against six defenseless girls. It was nowhere fair, and they were stooping low.

"Hey," I called out sternly, catching the attention of all five jocks. The boys and girls turned to me in confusion before the guys realized what I was trying to do. "Is this loser trying to stand up to us," one of the guys said to his friends, immediately cracking up menacingly. I scoffed. "Excuse you?" Another spat at me. I frowned, "I can't even breathe?" "This little bitch," He commented, getting angry. Good. Get angry. Work it out on me and leave others alone you fucking son of a bitch. "Call me what you want," I shrugged back calmly, "Leave the girls alone." I turned to the girls and told them to go. They stared back at me in awe and nodded, walking briskly away. "HEY," a boy shouted in my face. Then they advanced towards me. It all happened fast. One boy aimed a punch at my face and I ducked, moving forward to grab his arm and twisted it behind his back with a snap. The others swung their arms forcefully at my lower regions. A fist was a split second from making contact with my stomach and I turned to the side away from it, jumped over the boy, and kicked two other boys on my way down. The two other boys behind me managed to grab my arms, however. I was thinking of flipping over and knocking them out, but I remembered I was in a dress. And this was why mission suits stuck to your body so that your underwear doesn't expose. Then again, I wore black shorts underneath so... But there was a technique every agent knew to get their wrists out of someone's grip. I twisted both my arms parallel to their arms, and used it as a lever to pull my wrist free by turning and sliding it out, and after that my elbow jabbed into their arms. I then pushed the both of them forward with my palms against their backs. A few people noticed. Just a few. Darn. I quickly left the scene before the boys could process what happened to them and, even worse, who I was. I had two people to find. I maneuvered through the crowd and resisted the urge to stab my fingers into my ears. Not just because of the music, but because of the... Um... Human... sounds... I'm internally cringing every two seconds as I tried to find Allison. Suddenly, two strong hands wrapped around my shoulders and turned me around. My eyes widened at the boy before me. It soon turned into an irritated frown. "Let go of me," I said, trying to push away. I didn't want to push off of Daniel's chest, because that would mean I had to put my hands on his chest, twice. "You actually showed up," He smiled smugly, looking me up and down, "Look at you." I glared at him, "Allison wouldn't be happy."

"Allison isn't here," Daniel scoffed, "Besides, she's still my girl." Aw. Cute. I looked away and tried to find Liam or Allison, but to no use. When I looked back, I realized Daniel had been talking to me. "Hey, listen," I began, suddenly serious. Daniel stopped and eyed me irritatedly because I had interrupted him. "No, YOU listen-" "Daniel, I'm asking a favor," I restated under my breath. "Why are you talking like that?" He pushed, frowning at me. A friend of his came over and eyed me amused. "Yo, who's this girl?" He asked Daniel, hitting him on the back as a man's way to greet each other. Now was my time to leave. I pushed away and before I left completely, I uttered out to Daniel, "Whatever you do, stick with Allison." Seeing that he seemed unmotivated, I added, "You'll regret it, Ordeon." I left from there. It was up to him to protect his girlfriend right now. If I found Allison first, of course I wouldn't need him. Liam Carter was my target. I was ordered to kill him, not anyone else. "Maybe," I murmured to myself as I looked around the place, "You're upstairs.." I found the stairs towards the back of the main room and had to stop when I saw a couple making out at the bottom. Honestly, I was... scared. I may be knowledgeable in kicking ass, but if this was what being a normal teenager was like, I- I don't... I don't know. Maybe my future would just be working on missions. I don't think relationships would work out. It's already been proven to me once, I hoped I've learned. Snapping back to reality, I walked around the couple to the side of the stair rails and climbed up, jumping over the rails and landing quietly on the stair steps. The couple behind me was oblivious to what just happened and I continued up the steps. I checked every room on the second floor. Some were locked, some were filled with girls, some with boys, some with couples, some empty, some with Liam and a girl, some- I paused. Checking through the door again, I saw Liam talking to another girl with her back to me. She was dressed up in a peach and blue gown, very calming and peaceful. Unlike me. I stopped myself from checking my dress and looked back at the two. They were talking rather intimately. I knew it was Liam, not from his face, but the pen that he had sticking out of his pocket. The girl had black hair that was put up in an elegant bun. I think... she was his girlfriend. Now I allowed myself to look at my dress. It was for her... wasn't it. I was wearing her dress. I don't know why she wasn't wearing it, maybe Liam got the size wrong? Haha... Why do I even think. I have the worst thoughts ever. I didn't know what they were talking about. Was she in on the situation? She probably was. I felt something in my chest and was about to look away. If he wasn't going to hurt Allison right now, I didn't want to stick around and watch him talk to... What am I even saying, I shouldn't care. Just then, the two started moving and Liam looked towards the door, his eyes widening slightly as it met with my equally shocked ones. Damn it. I tried shutting the door before I saw he had thrusted something at me and I ducked and stayed down as I felt a knife pass over where my head used to be. It pierced sharply through the wall opposite of me outside and I froze dead cold. Did he just... I opened the door wider from my squatting position and looked at the boy in the eyes. He wasn't going to let me leave after he saw me. Even I knew that, yet I tried getting away. "Who are you-" the girl started, turning around to look at whatever had gotten Liam's attention. She was beautiful. It hurt to admit for some reason, but she had the looks. She could pass for a normal teenager. A thought from the past suddenly came into my mind: "What about you," I turned on him, "Haven't you ever liked someone? I know girls fly head over heels for you but has it ever been the other way around?" Liam let out a light smirk as his blue eyes stared deeply into mine, "That's a secret." "Jamie," Liam's voice interrupted my thoughts. I snapped my head to him and my body tensed up. The only reason why I ducked that knife was because I needed to get closer to my two guns hidden on either sides of my knees. "You actually went to the party," I stated straightforward to him, "I really hate you." He glared at me. A real glare. He hasn't ever glared at me before. It didn't feel good to receive a glare from him. I quieted down and waited for the man to speak. "Jamie?" The girl next to Liam asked, tugging calmly at his sleeves. Liam looked towards her and nodded slowly. "She's a R.U. agent." Upon those words, I knew there was going to be trouble. Instantly, the girl pulled out a gun and aimed it at my head, to which I boosted myself up and grabbed my two guns at the same time, also aiming it at her. I kept it steady at her head as she did the same to me. Out of the corner of my eye, I could tell Liam was startled with what just happened and made an effort to pull out his own gun. He stopped midway when I moved my right arm swiftly over to him and aimed my right gun at his head. We all froze for a moment as the girl's eyes widened at the fact that I could possibly shoot Liam. "So you have a gun," She commented, frowning at me. Liam watched me silently. "You don't have to state the obvious," I snapped, "We can end this peacefully or with a pile of corpses." "How," She stated, tightening her grip on her gun. "Leave Allison alone," I replied matter-of-factly, "Just let the damn girl live." "Lennon, I warned you," Liam came in irritated, "Why don't you ever listen?" I turned to face the man and moved the gun slightly closer to his body to remind him that I was the powerful one right now. "And I warned you," I answered him with a cold glare, "Leave. Allison. Alone." The last thing I saw was his own annoyed expression before I heard the familiar clicking of a gun's trigger being pulled back. My head snapped to the girl as I swung both my arms at her gun, hitting it to the side. She didn't drop it, but the delay gave me the chance to knee-kick her in the stomach and she backed up with a small grunt. Liam came for me and I fired at him. He managed to dodge to the side and grab my arm. I aimed my left arm towards him that held my other gun. The girl fired at me from behind and I jumped to the side, quickly spinning on my heels and shooting at her chest. It hit alright, but I knew it would take more shots. As I had suspected, they had on bullet-proof suits. I cursed silently to myself as I turned around and freely shot at Liam, who was hit on his side and forearm. The girl and Liam came at me at the same time and I punched her on the shoulder before she too punched me on the side of my face. My lip started bleeding and I was thrown off for a moment, where Liam took his chance to use full force of his elbows to knock me down. I gasped for some air and held back a painful grunt as I pushed myself off the floor with the energy left in me and shot at Liam to preoccupy him. I went for him and the two of us made eye contact as he aimed his gun at my chest and I at his forehead. My breath hitched. The barrel was too close. In that moment, the girl had spun around and pulled the trigger on me. Everyone was breathing hard, and I couldn't tell the distance between me and that bullet. I tried moving, dodging, something. It made contact with my skin and pierced right through my lower back. I choked out blood.

17 | Antoinette, Charles, & Wendy
"Lennon, get up," Liam sneered into my blocked ears, "Stop stalling." I didn't know what he meant. It was getting harder to hear. "..." I tried. I tried saying something. I tried moving something. I was losing conscious. Damn it! Wake up, Jamie. Wake up. I could barely open my eyes, but Liam was holding my form, which was leaning against him, by the shoulders. My face scrunched up in pain as I gasped for air, to which little came to my aid. "Lennon, why-" "Liam, she's bleeding," the girl from behind exclaimed, rushing forward and to his side. Liam frowned and looked back at me, examining my back. No doubt, the bullet hadn't missed its target. He turned back to me and leveled his face with mine, getting my attention as I strained my eyes to keep open. "WHY DON'T YOU HAVE ON A BULLET-PROOF SUIT," he shouted angrily, tightening his grip on my arms so that I could regain balance. It wasn't working. My legs buckled out and I fell to my knees, grunting inaudibly. "W-Why..." I tried, still gasping quietly for air, "are you... so... mad.... for..." I was heaving big breaths to make up for the bullet jammed into my system and destroying my organs. "Isn't this... what you... wanted?" I choked, curling up due to the pain. I couldn't stop the blood myself since it was located on my back. My bloodied mouth stopped forming words and my throat stopped producing sound. I had stopped talking. It was too difficult. It hurt. It hurt a lot. My body was heating up abruptly and I was sweating. All my limbs lost its ability to function, and my eyes gradually began to droop. "Jamie, wake up!" I heard him shout. Why..? Why should I? What happened? My head felt heavy.
_
Beep beep. Beep. Clink. Would everyone be quiet? I'm trying to sleep. A minute of laying there and I realized my head and back hurt. The pain accumulated the more awake I became. What was going on? Jamie, think. I hope that's my name... What happened in the last few hours? Why does my head hurt? Why does my back- I went for him and the two of us made eye contact as he aimed his gun at my chest and I at his forehead. My breath hitched. The barrel was too close. In that moment, the girl had spun around and pulled the trigger on me. Everyone was breathing hard, and I couldn't tell the distance between me and that bullet. I tried moving, dodging, something. It made contact with my skin and pierced right through my lower back. I choked out blood. The memories came rushing back to my head and I instantly felt the urge to throw up. I was not okay. I needed help. But first, where the Bleep am I... Beep beep. Machines..? Technology? Am I in the hospital? My ears began listening to my surroundings and my body became more aware of what I was in contact with. I was chained up. This was no hospital. The metal enclosed around my two wrists and ankles weren't hospital equipments. It didn't smell like the hospital either. "It'll take a minimum of an hour," a deep grunted man spoke into the atmosphere. There was slow-pace walking. "Dad, just do it," A girl's voice snapped, "You've been waiting years haven't you?" "10 to be exact," the man replied, scoffing and then back to checking on the equipments. Hold the Bleep up, who the Bleep are these people. And what does he mean by, 'minimum of an hour?' What are they trying to do? Father and daughter? They are, aren't they? Why would they be waiting for me for years? 10? 10 years? What happened ten years ago? 10... I'm 17. Subtract 10 years. 7? 7 years old? My thoughts were interrupted when the father said, "Allison, you should leave. You shouldn't watch this." Al... Allison?? Wait. No. Please. My head hurt and I let out a quiet moan out of frustration. "Make it quick," Said-Allison replied, "I'll go deal with the others." Wait. No, come back! If she's my Allison... I... She can't be. The door clicked shut and the atmosphere became quiet and weird again. Suddenly, I heard the man speak up. "I know you're awake, Antoinette." How the Bleep does he know my nam- My eyes shot open and I gasped for air as I struggled with the equipments binding my entire body to a table. The room was set up like a lab. Only, the floor and table were wood, and the lab part was set up closer to the walls, which were dimly lit. A large spot of light shined over me and the area around my form. I searched quickly around the entire room and found a figure standing in the corner diagonal from me. "Why," I croaked, suddenly realizing my throat was dry, "Do you know... my name." The man giggled strangely and hushed almost immediately after it began. I was creeped out. Because he didn't answer me, I tried a different question, "What do you want with me?" "She's coming back," sang the man all of a sudden, "She's coming back to me!" Please. I don't do creepy. Please. I'm scared. I hate to admit it, but to be honest with myself, I'm scared. This is a new scenario and a new set of people to deal with. And you know what I do with my fears? I work them out. That's Jamie Lennon. I tried yanking my arms around calmly, but the wound I got from Liam on my right arm prevented me from moving. My back was wet, either from sweat or from blood. Or both. The man stopped making noise all of a sudden and I saw from the side of his face in the dimly lit part of the room that he was smiling. A big creepy ass smile. What is wrong with him? Why is he like that? Did someone make him act like that? He suddenly spun on his heels and came towards me with a large, pointed needle that would inject a liquid in me. No liquid I want inside me should be that color. I squirmed a bit, but I took the opportunity to stare at the man's face. Wild gray hair poked out in every direction. He was wearing a brown trench coat and dark colored shirt and pants. His shoes were home sandals, and he had on clear round glasses that were crooked to the side. I frowned immediately as I took his form in. He looked an awful lot like... He bent over me and placed the needle right next to my skin, ready to pierce. Alcohol. My eyes widened as I realized an ugly truth that I never wanted to know. He... was my father. How else would he have known my name? But why?? Why was he here? Why was he doing this to me?? "-Dad!" I yelled, catching him a bit off guard, "DAD WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? WHAT ARE YOU DOING??" He shook it off and continued with injecting that needle. Well he tried to. I bit his sleeve and snapped my head forcefully to the side, probably breaking several bones, and got him to fall perpendicularly across my body. I quickly thrusted one side of my hip and stomach up to keep pushing him forward and soon he fell on the ground with the amount of movement I just created. His feet dragged down the table and my breath hitched for a split second as my body was going to be smashed onto the ground, but his body was there and I used it to roll off him and land to the side of him. The table was on its side and I was hanging parallel to the ground. My left arm and leg were strained from suddenly having to heave all my weight up. My father regained his balance and started searching for the needle again. I watched him for a split second with confusion and hurt flashing openly across my eyes.

"What the hell are you doing," I tried to tell him, wanting to cry. Did he know he was hurting me? Did he even care? He found the needle and I froze. This wasn't happening. I didn't want this to happen. He grinned and charged forward. "DAD STOP," I shouted, choking on some blood that remained in my mouth. I immediately shut my eyes and my body tensed up. Someone help me... Please.... Please... _ A door bursted opened and in came rapid feet movement and the sound of heavy breathing. Before I could open my eyes, I felt a gush of wind hit my face and suddenly the table I was tied to slid swiftly backwards. Someone had kicked it away. My eyes shot open and more confusion came when I saw the boy I had been fighting earlier in the room, as well as his girlfriend. "Li-," I exclaimed, suddenly shutting my mouth upon choking on my blood that was repositioned in my mouth after the kick against the table. My whole body ached severely, and I wasn't even supposed to be conscious right now with the amount of blood I was losing from that bullet earlier. With the stress I just experienced, I probably did myself no favor by speeding up the bleeding process. I realized the girl was about to shoot my father. I don't know why, but suddenly I was able to talk again. "Don't touch him!" I croaked, gritting my teeth together, "Don't touch someone else's father!" Liam noticed me and he frowned, rushing over. The girl had stopped and instead restrained my father from moving. Liam was kneeling right next to me, trying to break apart the metal clutches. I heard his loud, heavy breathing as it hit my ear. One metal strain off. He wasn't saying anything, just keeping busy with his task at hand, and didn't even bother to look at me. I wouldn't blame him, I didn't want to look at me either. "ANTOINETTE!" exclaimed my father from the other side. He was so angry. I was too. "Antoinette, huh," Liam commented, still working quickly on the strains that held me. Two metal strains off. "What happened," I asked, suddenly feeling exhausted. But I couldn't relax right now. As soon as these strains were off, I had some business with the man I called my father. Three metal strains off. "I'll explain later," Liam stated, continuing to take off the last strain, "Stop talking." I watched him work and a thought came across my mind. Why was he helping me? Why wasn't he killing me? "Why..." I tried uttering a sentence, to which I failed. He suddenly paused and looked me straight in the eyes. I stared at his familiar blue eyes as he said, "Why don't you ever listen, Lennon?" Four metal strains off. I dropped immediately on his lap and let out a muffled grunt. He supported my head with his arms and helped me to sit up. "Don't touch me," I strained, pushing him away. I was grateful for his help deep down, but it was overpowered with hate and hurt. He tried to kill me. Twice. While I barely did. I guess I haven't learned. I was the only one hesitating. "Lennon-" He spoke up, grabbing my arms to help me up. "I don't want your pity," I spat in his face with the energy left in me, "Leave me alone. And tell your girlfriend to back off my father. He's my business." I hoisted myself up and clutched my aching left arm that had been strained before Liam and the girl arrived. The girl saw me and backed away from my father as soon as she saw my expression. She went back to Liam. My father spun around and grabbed the same needle he had been trying to use on me, and turned back to me. I watched him silently as I realized he had no care about his daughter anymore. The moment his eyes met mine and it didn't waver, I struck the needle out of his hands and grabbed his arms, spinning him around and pinning his arms tightly behind his back. I forced him against the wall and waited until he stopped snickering. I could hear my own disorganized breathing as I eyed the man before me. "Explain yourself," I growled into his ear, "Charles Lennon." There was a moment of silence before he started again with his singing, " She's coming back! She's coming back to me!" "Who," I pressed, pinning him harder so that he couldn't wriggle free. I could tell he was constantly trying to kick me or whack me in some way to break away. I was caught off guard when he suddenly stopped making noise and whispered to himself ever so quietly. "Wendy Emerson," he stated. My eyes widened immediately as my expression darkened. That was my mother.

Antoinette. Charles. Wendy. That was the three of us. Except, there was no longer an 'us.' Those three names should never have been together again. Yet here we were, the past jumping out at me in a blink of an eye. Suddenly, the door bursted opened and in came Allison in her white dress and a dozen covered armed men. Allison Frances. 17 years old. Half French, Half Korean. Blood type A. A total chic and playgirl. Currently in a relationship with football team's captain Daniel Ordeon. Current daughter of Charles Lennon, stepsister of Jamie Lennon, daughter to Raelyn Frances. Who was Raelyn Frances you asked? My 7 years old form ran into my room and busted the door open to reveal a beautiful, young woman I've never seen before. She dared to be naked in front of me, in my room, in my house, and for who? My father? "You're not mommy," I said to her startled face, "Get out of my room." "Oh, sweetie, you won't understand," the woman began, trying to smile at me to lighten up my mood, "This is the adult world, and-" "Don't try me," I informed her lowly, "If you think kids are merely nothing more than dumb animals running around with no brain and heart you can poop yourself out the door because you're not ready to be my mother in any way or form." My father left with her. She, was Raelyn Frances. Allison was her daughter. So, Allison was also my stepsister. This doesn't make any fucking sense. So the girl I've been trying to protect, turned out to be trying to capture me? And for my father? A longer thought at it and I realized a possible explanation to my father's actions. He was trying to bring my mother back to him. I guess he'd never let go of her. And because there was only one other person he was close to that had her genes directly, he was out for that person. And it just so happened that I was his daughter. It just so happened that I was Wendy's daughter. It just so happened that my middle name was Antoinette. It just so happened that Allison and I were bound together by my mission, and she by hers. Maybe that was why the R.U. refused to give me further information about this mission. If I had known how deeply connected the girl I was protecting was to me, I would have never accepted it. I would have never met them. I would have never resolved my past. I would have never met Liam or Kai, or resolved things with Axel, Helene, and Carlos. Everything was a mess right now in my head. To others everything was fine, but to me I had to revisit my unwanted past. I was in pain. I wanted to be alone. I wanted to rest. I wanted to stop thinking, stop knowing, stop everything. But life was unfair. And being an agent meant sucking up your complaints and snapping back to reality. So that's exactly what I did.

"If you take one step closer," I exclaimed, frowning dully at Allison and the men behind her, "I will kill him." "You wouldn't kill your own-" She began in a different tone then I was used with. I scoffed silently and a tired smile appeared, "So you knew this whole time, didn't you Allison?" She frowned at me and crossed her arms firmly as she stated, "Sure." The man I was pinning down managed to kick up a random needle with an unknown liquid already inside and catch it. He started giggling and at that moment I knew something was wrong. He twisted his hands so that the needle injected something into my left forearm. I felt something rushing into my blood and instantly pushed him away. "Would you stop for one fucking moment!" I shouted in frustration, suddenly deciding to take matters into my own hand. I found his pressure point and knocked against it firmly, causing him to fall to the ground stunned. Suddenly, five men were knocked down after a series of shots were fired. Everyone's head snapped towards the door. "Kai," I said under my breath. "Kai!" Liam and the girl both said in unison. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS PLACE," Kai's familiar voice rang throughout the air. "We're in her basement," Liam replied after Kai entered the room, "I was examining the area just now with Isla." Isla. Good to know. "What is Jamie doing here?" Kai asked, frowning at me. "I should be asking all of you..." I let out tiredly. Allison motioned for the men to start fighting and Kai, Liam, and Isla all charged forward to combat. I started forward too, but Liam stopped midway and turned back to me, grabbing my arms and leveling his face with mine for a split second just to say, "Stay still and stop moving." "I don't want to," I countered back. "If you keep being stubborn that'll be your fate whether you like it or not." he growled angrily. He meant death. I stopped talking and looked at him in the eyes. Seeing that I had given up on disobeying him, he released me and went back to the brutal scene happening before me. They were all fighting, shots and punches being heard every second. I stayed still alright, but if one of those men came towards me, I did my best to ward them off with my own fighting abilities. It was then I realized I was still in my dark blue dress. After knocking two men out, I looked back to all the agents I knew and realized everyone was still in their formal clothes. I was getting tired, my mouth was dry, my dress was torn, and my wounds were agitated. It took everything in me, and I kid you not when I meant everything, to keep my body upright and conscious. I was strong-willed, even I acknowledged that, but there was a limit to my strength. I should be knocked out right now. I had no energy left. Before I knew it, a strong hand wrapped securely around my right wrist and started pulling me for the door. Even though I didn't know who it was, I had a faint idea upon the warm feeing that came to my mind upon contact. I ran. I ran with all my might. I ran until my lungs hurt, and kept running. I ran until my legs buckled out, but I picked myself up and kept moving forward. We ran up the stairs and around the back of the house. The music blasted through my ears and I resisted the urge to block it off. I saw some people who looked our way. We must look like lunatics running so fast. I'm sure everyone was smart enough to hide their weapons upon reaching this floor. Soon, we were all out the door and running across the lawn. The music had stopped blasting so hard and I was dragged closer and closer into a car. It was Kai's car. Kai sat at the driver's seat, Isla next to him, I behind Kai, and Liam next to me. He started the car quickly and began driving down the road. I caught a glimpse of the sky before my head arched back into the car. It was pitch black outside. The atmosphere soon became quiet with no one uttering a sound except for our now steady breathing. "Auto-drive mode, initiate," I whispered weakly into the band around my left wrist. It was a command for Carlos's car to self-drive itself back to I.O. Academy. I heard Liam do the same for his car. Breathing harder and faster than everyone else, I caught everyone's attention. "What's wrong with her," Kai finally spoke up. "She was shot," Isla replied indifferently, "I shot her." "Why?" Kai pushed, turning a corner. "She's our enemy," Isla snapped, suddenly raising her tone a slight bit, "I don't know why we're doing this at all. Who cares about her?" Thanks, Isla. I agree with you. "Why are you doing this," I came in, moaning at a sudden pain that erupted from my left forearm. I let out a gasp of air and quickly became alert again, glancing down at my left arm. It had turned a strange color of orange and purple. "Is this poison..." I muttered to myself, acting fast. I began sucking out the poison dangerously with my mouth, and spitting it to the side in the crack of the seat nearest to the car door. "Poison..." Liam commented, confusion taking over, "That needle had poison in it?" "Apparently," Isla replied back. "I have a wound on my upper right arm," I began again and everyone hushed, "a bullet through my back, aching wrists and ankles, bruises all over my body and head, broken bones in my neck, and poison injected into my left forearm... when are we going to reach the hospital?" I asked softly. I was losing it. The situation before had taken my mind mildly off of the pain that was inflicted onto my body. Now that there was nothing to do but pay attention to it, I don't think I could stay awake any longer. There was a moment of tensed silence before Kai replied back, "10 minutes. We'll be there in 10 minutes, Jamie." "I'm so tired," I let out quietly, finding it hard to breathe, "... I want to sleep." "No," Liam finally spoke to me, "Jamie, stay awake." "Why do you even care," I croaked out, straining my eyes to look at him, "It's better if I just die." He didn't reply. It was my last straw. I fell into a deep sleep, not knowing when I would wake up again- If I would wake up again.

19 | I was No Angel
There were tubes and wires hanging all over my body. It was injecting air into my system. They had changed me into a hospital gown. My eyes gradually fluttered open and looked to the side. My reflection reflected off of the surface of one of the medical equipments and I saw just how weak I looked. I lost color in my skin and lips, and my eyes no longer held its fighting spirit. My body laid limply on the creaking bed the hospitals provided as the doctors and nurses rushed in and out to check on my heart beat and condition. Soon, they were chatting quickly with one another, in a language I couldn't understand in my state. It annoyed me. I just wanted peace and quiet. "Can you all... leave the room," I let out weakly. They didn't hear me. They kept talking about something. They kept panicking about something. They kept arguing about something. "Please," I tried again, raising my voice, "Pl- "Please leave." I was quiet when I heard that voice. My eyes traveled to the man standing at the door that had gotten the doctors' and nurses' attention. "You know we can't do that," A nurse replied, "And you're not allowed to be in here." "What relation do you have with this young lady?" The doctor closest to me asked. "I'm a friend." Liar. "That's too vague," He said back to Liam, "Please be understanding and exit-" "I'm her boyfriend," Liam tried dully. Psh. Liar. There was a moment of silence as everyone tried to figure out what to do. "Her condition's stable right now," a nurse finally chimed in, "She's been okay for the past five minutes. How about we give her some space?" Yes. Thank you. "Alright then," came the same doctor after a short sigh, "Just a few minutes," he said to Liam. Every doctor and nurse began making their way out. Wait. I take it back. Don't leave me alone with him. The door closed and silence took over. Damn it. "Jamie," Liam called to me, coming closer to the bed I was laying on. I pretended to sleep. "Jamie," He tried again, standing right before me. One eye peeked open. "..." I stared at him and his slightly messy hair. It was fine though, he still looked good. Like always. "What," I replied. "You feeling okay?" I stayed silent. Was I feeling okay? "No," I responded, "I'm feeling awful. Thanks for asking." "Jamie," he trailed off, watching me deal with my thoughts. Everything that had happened in the last 24 hours came rushing through my mind and I replayed each of them vividly in my head. "If I said I didn't panicked, or felt lost and tired, I'd be lying," I managed. There were so many things I wanted to say. There were so many things I wanted to rant about. And there were so many things I wanted answers to. But I stopped myself when I felt his arms wrap gently around me and pull me into his warm chest.

"Stop," I protested, "Go away. You're making everything worse for me." He didn't move. He just held me. "Why don't you listen to me?" I said, getting irritated and annoyed. "Because," he finally spoke, pulling me away and looking down so that our eyes were fixed on each other, " You don't listen." "Why are you doing this," I asked him now that we had each other's attention, "Why didn't you let me die? Why did you come?" "I still had a mission, Lennon," He answered firmly to me, "It was always to kill Allison." Allison. "She's my stepsister," I said to him quietly, still not believing it, "That piece of... she's my..." "I know," Liam replied, "I saw everything." I glared at him. "What," he tested, a teasing eyebrow-raise forming. "I don't know if I should hate you or be thankful for my life," I let out honestly, "... I should just hate you." "You're being real stubborn, Lennon," he replied, running a hand through his hair. Suddenly, the door opened and Isla and Kai walked in. I shut my mouth. Liam saw my change in expression and turned around to see his two teammates. "She doing okay?" Kai asked, coming over to me to check my condition. "I'm still alive," I said to which I earned a quick smile from him. Isla came over too and kept her gaze on me, her expression emotionless. "Who are you," I asked, taking her in, "Why are you here? Last thing I remembered, you said I shouldn't be cared about." Isla scoffed quietly and rolled her eyes, "I still hate you." "I didn't ask for your love anyway," I replied dully, looking away. "Isla," Liam stated firmly, shutting her up. She wanted to protest but another look from Kai and her mouth remained shut. "What happened to Allison?" I asked into the air, "Did you guys kill her?" "No," Kai answered, "She was calling her mother. We left before anymore people found out about us." My step-mother. "Damn it," I said out of frustration. It was to nothing specific, but instead to everything that had happened. I was angry at everything, and at everyone. I also understood now that Allison was probably the one that bombed my room that day when I was in detention with her boyfriend. "Kai," I addressed him suddenly. The blonde haired boy looked up at me. "Did you... just leave the baby alone?" I asked randomly. Even after everything that had happened, there was still a baby I was in charge of that was still at the academy.

"Uh," Kai began, suddenly realizing he probably did. Isla's eyebrows twitched and she sat up a little straighter, "What baby?" I glanced at her and was satisfied to see her so jumpy. Sorry, I wasn't a perfect angel. Sometimes, I liked it that other people were confused and in misery. "You said you didn't care," I said in the air to her. "I said I didn't care about you," she shot back, "Kai's my teammate." "But it's my baby," I dully stated back, enjoying being the calm one while she was in an opposite state. "It's not what it seems," Liam announced calmly, turning on me with a frown, "Lennon-" "What do you mean, Carter," I said his name for the first time since this all happened, "You were supposed to look after her too, but you took off to the party and told me to 'take care of everything.' What kind of father are you?" I was referring to the comment that one time when we both entered the room with Cherish and Kai had addressed us as 'mom' and 'dad.' But of course, Isla wouldn't know that. "Lennon-" Liam came at me, done with me and my comments. I cracked a weak smirk. This was fun. "What?" Isla exclaimed, pointing at Liam, "Why does she talk like you all live together or something?" Haha... Silence fell upon the room as Kai looked down at his hands, Liam with his hand rubbing his neck, and I outside the dark window. The night sky was beautiful. Cough cough. "YOU LIVE WITH HER?" Isla yelled, hands on Liam's shoulders as she forced him to look at her. Hey hey hey. Woman. I'm supposed to be having this lecture with Axel only. I don't need you to lecture then him to lecture. No thank you. "Not exactly," Kai came in, "At least I don't..." Isla looked back and forth at her two teammates in disbelief and came charging at me instead. "I swear to god," I started, scaring the shit out of her advancing body as I popped up from my laying position into a sitting position, "If you touch, hurt, mess with, look at, or breathe in my bubble, I will kill you." It was a friendly warning for her to back off of me. Just because I was held back by hospital tubes and wires that supplied my life source right now, it doesn't mean I was spiritually weak. "Did she just-" Isla started, turning to Kai and Liam to defend her. To her surprise, none of the boys said anything. "What," she tried again, taking a deep breath to calm herself down, "is the relationship between you three?" "You mean me, Carter, and Kai?" I stated, looking over at her, "enemies?" She frowned all of a sudden, "I also noticed, why do you and Liam call each other by last names? And only you two?" I wanted to laugh. It wasn't even that big of a deal. "Yeah, we call each other by our surnames and have a love- hate relationship, jealous?" I teased, stopping myself when I saw Liam's disapproving stare. I'm sorry, did I mention I wasn't an angel? "It's an old habit," I decided to answer truthfully, but was surprised when Liam had said the exact thing I said at the same time I did as well. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and all of our heads turned to it. The same doctors and nurses that had been here minutes earlier filed back in. "How are you feeling?" A doctor came towards me and asked. "My throat's dry and I think the gauze wrapping needs to be changed," I replied, "Also please reposition the oxygen mask and bring me a cup of water. Also," I started after some nurses had started moving, "Can you take these tubes off of me?" Kai watched me amused and glanced at Liam with light eyes as they both watched me take the doctors off guard. "Right," the doctor replied, rushing the nurses to carry out their tasks, "And no, we can't take the tubes off of you." "Darn," I said under my breath. "Lennon," Liam lectured. "It was worth a try, Carter," I defended, the both of us rolling our eyes at each other. Isla looked at the two of us and gave up, taking a seat next to Kai. "Would you guys please leave?" A nurse said to Liam, Kai, and Isla. "Yes," I chimed, nodding at the perplexed doctors, "I agree. Please leave." Kai and Liam looked at each other and then at me for a second before they gestured to Isla to leave with them. I stayed there throughout the rest of the night. The duration of it was me falling into a deep sleep. I'm sure Kai and Liam took turns checking up on me throughout the night. I wasn't to be discharged for another week though. Although I didn't show it around the others, my wounds were extremely severe and I still didn't have the energy to do anything. I was going to be okay, however. I needed to rest and get better because after this I needed answers. I needed my energetic self back to carry out my new mission. It was no longer to protect Allison. If anything I needed to kill her, but that's jumping a bit ahead. _

20 | It Was For You

"Hey," Tired. I'm tired. Let me sleep. "Kitten, wake up." ... Kai? My eyes slowly fluttered open and I saw the blonde haired and blue eyed man stand in front of me. "Kai?" I let out quietly, trying to wake myself up. "You're discharged," he said back to me, "I'm here to take you back." "Where?" I asked, although I knew where it was. "I.O. Academy." I groaned. I really didn't want to. The school had no meaning to me anymore. Allison hasn't returned to school since the incident, or says the boys. "I want to go back to the R.U." I let out all of a sudden. Kai looked at me with an unreadable expression. He placed his hands inside his pant pockets and returned his gaze back on me. "Do you?" he commented, raising his eyebrows slightly. I nodded, "I need to report back anyway. The mission's taken a turn for the worst. The goal isn't the same anymore, and I've just reconnected with someone from my past. I need time to think about what I want to do, who I want to do it with, and who I need to look into. After a week of laying here with nothing to do but think about my next move, I've made up my mind." Kai listened to me silently and nodded, gesturing for me to come. I was being discharged. With a final talk with some doctors, Kai dealt with some papers and soon took me out of the building. _ We entered the same school we've been attending and walked into the boys' dorm. Soon, we were right outside of Liam's door. Kai typed in the passcode and the door swung slightly open. We entered and I closed the door behind us. I looked around Liam's room. It was still the same as I had remembered it. "What class is he in right now?" I asked, going to check up on the baby. Cherish was fine and healthy. She was currently sleeping in her bed. "Uh, Social Studies?" Kai answered, going to the bed and plopping himself down. He crossed his legs and looked back up to watch me. "Lunch is next, then," I commented, trying to figure out his schedule. "We could meet him on the roof," Kai stated, "Is that what you're suggesting?" I turned to the man and smiled, "Yeah." I went to wash up and decided to change into some comfortable clothing. Then I realized I had none. "Kai..." I said carefully as I peeked my head out of the door. "What," he dully replied, closing his eyes as he tried to rest on the bed. "Do you know where Liam puts his clothes..." I asked bluntly, holding my breath. It was a weird question, and pretty awkward at that too. "Why," Kai stated, opening his eyes and looking at me suspiciously. "No no it's not like that," I reassured him, "I just don't have clothes." "Oh," Kai answered, suddenly going back to his sleeping position. Wait. Help me you jerk. Before I was about to give up, I heard him say, "Cabinet, open drawer four, that's all of your clothes." I frowned at his comment. What does he mean by 'all of your clothes.' I didn't have any clothes. Still puzzled, I followed his directions and opened that drawer.
My eyes widened a bit at some new clothes I found. This definitely wasn't here before. Did they... buy it for me? My eyes found the edge of my neatly folded dark blue gown that I had worn a week ago and I took it out, frowning. These weren't my clothes, then. "Kai, I think you remembered it wrong," I murmured unsure, turning to look at him from my squatting position. After he opened his eyes to look at what I meant, I held up the dress and stood up, walking towards him. "This is Isla's," I stated, looking at it. The dress was now freshly washed and fixed at the rims. It looked just as new. Kai raised his eyebrows amusingly at me, "Is that so?" I tilted my head slightly at him, unsure of his tone and expression, "Yes?" He chuckled, throwing me off guard. "What," I pressed, a hint of a whine in my tone. I didn't like it when he knew something that I didn't. "Last time I checked," Kai explained, placing his hands behind his head, "Isla doesn't live here." "But," I started, getting confused. Wait, is the dress... for me? Liam bought it for me? But how? It was the dress that had gotten my attention at the mall, which he wasn't there at first. Also... "Hold up, how does he know my size?" I let out, suddenly addressing the uncertain truth. "He saw the size on your sweater when he replaced it with his clothes for you to change into the first night you were here," Kai responded, "Or so I guess." Ah. That makes sense. "Why would he buy this for me though?" I asked more to myself than the man in the room with me, "He didn't want me to go to the party." Kai sighed, "We all know you don't listen." I pursed my lips together and quieted down. It's not that I don't listen... it's just I had a mission. Which makes me not listen... okay I guess he was right. Kai checked the time on his watch and he announced to me, "You should hurry and change if that's what you plan to do. His class's almost up." I nodded quickly as I snapped out of my thoughts and grabbed a pair of clothes. I rushed into the bathroom and changed into something comfortable. Kai took one look at me and nodded an okay, the both of us getting ready to leave. "Do we need to feed Cherish," he asked abruptly as he placed one hand on the door knob. I cracked a smile as I pushed the man forward and closed the door behind us, "I'll feed her her baby formula when we get back. She's still sleeping." _ I had texted Helene and Carlos on the way to come meet us on the school's rooftop at lunch. They needed to know what happened, and help me if that was possible. Even though I wasn't as close to them as my enemies, Helene and Carlos were still on my team. And if I was to go back to the R.U. like I had planned, they were to follow me. We made it to the roof after carefully maneuvering though the crowded cafeteria. I passed the milk carton crate and hesitated a bit before grabbing one strawberry milk and going to catch up to Kai. "Seriously?" Kai quirked at me once we were up and had found a place to settle. I pushed away from the edge and looked down at the man who was leaning on the wall at my feet. "What? I'm hungry," I mumbled back, continuing to drink my strawberry milk, "You're just jealous you didn't grab one on your way up too." Kai quietly scoffed and told me to shut up. Before I could argue back, I heard footsteps climbing up to the roof. Kai and I shared a quick glance before we turned our attention to the person arriving. "Bennet, you know I have to write a ten page essay on the history of plants?" Liam complained, tossing his book bag up and skillfully landing on the roof. "And it's all due tomo-" he stopped when he saw that Kai wasn't the only one on the roof. Our eyes stayed on each other for a moment before he regained his breath and slowly came over. "So you're back," his voice hits my ear as he passed me and leaned on the rails as well. I stayed still for a moment before I too turned around and faced the streets and cars below. "Yeah," I piped. "How long have you two been back?" Liam asked Kai as he leaned back and looked at his friend. Kai shrugged, "Couple of minutes before you were let out. I took her back to the room to change." At the mention of changing, Liam raised his eyebrows at Kai and eyed him with a hint of suspicion. "Bro, I'm not like you okay," Kai remarked back, slightly smirking as he closed his eyes. Liam sighed and turned back to look at me, "You're wearing the clothes I bought you," he pointed out. "About that," I started, shifting a bit in my position, "Thanks for getting them for me." Liam smirked lightly, "The Jamie I know doesn't stop there." I returned his cheeky smile, "You're right. Anyway, about that blue dress I found in your bathroom..." He watched me talk and ran a hand through his black hair, "What about it?" "You seriously bought that for me?" I asked, turning to face him, "Be honest." He chuckled, "Is it that hard to believe?" "I'm just confused why," I stated truthfully, "Kai gave me a reason but I want to hear it from you." "Annnd she doesn't listen to me," Kai muttered to himself silently on the ground. I ignored his comment.
"Didn't you want it," he teased lightly, looking me straight in the eyes. I frowned slightly, "Well it's nice, but I couldn't afford it." I wanted to know. He was being strange. He was doing things for me, even though he shouldn't be. He was making everything harder on me... "Just accept it as a gift," he shrugged, looking away, "You looked nice in it." At that I raised my eyebrows, "What did you just say?" "Nothing." Before I knew it, a small smile had appeared on my face. "You just complimented me," I let out. "Never did." "Carter." "You have hearing problems." I hit him on his shoulders and he let out a soft grunt, causing the both of us to laugh. I haven't laughed in a long time. It felt nice. "Hey," I started, "... I need to ask a few questions before you have to go back to clas-" Suddenly, we heard several footsteps climbing up to the roof and the three of us turned our heads towards it. You could never be too careful. We didn't want some random student climbing up here for their free time and overhearing our conversations. Helene's face popped up and then Carlos followed after her. "What's going on here?" Helene asked, looking at Liam, Kai, and I just standing around being comfortable with each other. "You were saying?" Liam teased, smirking at me to continue. I rolled my eyes at him, "You know what, I'll just continue when the whole crew's here." It felt weird to say that. Two weeks ago, I was a lone agent working on a two-year long mission. Two weeks later, I had a crew that I talked to, fought with, and fought against. "Who contacted Isla?" I asked, being nice to include her as well since the people who provided my sleeping space were acquaintances with her. "Were we... supposed to?" Kai mumbled slowly, reaching for his phone. Liam raised his eyebrows, "She should be coming. She comes everyday." At that I felt a strange feeling that ran through my body, making me feel a bit uncomfortable. My chest tightened unconsciously and I felt cold. I was always the one that came on the roof. But since I've been away for a week, Isla had quickly taken my place. My head unconsciously tilted away from everyone and I instead faced the bustling scene below. Liam felt me shift around and turned to me, looking down at my silent form, "What's wrong?" I snapped out of my thoughts and looked up at him, "N- nothing..." He raised his eyebrows at me. "I said nothing," I pressed, avoiding his stare. Isla came after this and when she got up to the top, she eyed Helene and Carlos suspiciously. "Who are these people?" She asked and turned to Liam. "Who is she?" Helene asked me. Liam, Kai, and I took a quiet glance at each other before mentally preparing ourselves for what was about to come. It was story time. _ "The moment you lost conscious the door bursted open and Allison came in," Liam explained. We were all sitting on the roof with our legs crossed in a circle. "Isla and I saw a dozen men dressed in black coming to charge at us," he continued. "We were outnumbered and they managed to knock us out," Isla came in, "When we woke up we were in some sort of cell. I happened to be a good lock picker and got us out." "We heard screaming coming from down the hall," Liam came in, glancing briefly at me. "So that's what happened," I commented quietly, "I can tell the rest from here." I told Helene and Carlos about the scene where I came in. Everything from seeing my father to Allison to piecing it together with my past. Then the escape and the car ride to the hospital. "No wonder you were out so many days," Helene came in, "Liam and Kai wouldn't tell me anything besides, 'I fed your baby, she's sleeping.'" I held back a chuckle. It was nice of them to care for the child even though they had no relation to it. "And now," I summed up, looking at everyone, "I want to go back." "Back?" Carlos asked. I nodded, "Back. I need to go back to the R.U. You guys in?" I was talking to Helene and Carlos. It didn't matter to me much if they came along or not, but considering there was no point for them to be here, I figured they might as well. "You're going back?" Liam questioned, suddenly staring at me. My eyebrows arched a bit as I returned his gaze, "Yeah. This mission is far from over, but I need to finalize some things with the R.U." I stopped talking for a moment and let my eyes linger on the man before me for a while, "I guess this is goodbye." There was a change in the atmosphere as things got quiet between all of us. Everyone was looking at everyone, but no one was looking at anyone. We were all lost in thought in some form or way. Suddenly, the academy's bell rang loudly from below and inside the building. Lunch was over. Isla began sitting up, but she paused when she saw that Liam had not moved. My eyes landed on the man, "Carter, the bell..." "I know," he replied, eyeing the way back down from the roof dully, "I'm not going. I'm not a student at this school. None of us are. Allison had always been our target, and now that she doesn't show up, we have no purpose here." I stayed quiet upon his words. He was right. I was glad he understood the situation as well as we all did. It really was time to move on from this place. "We're leaving too," Kai spoke up distantly, getting up from the hard concrete. Liam followed him and so did Isla. Helene and Carlos got up as well, and I followed suit. We all took one final glance at each other and I finally found some words to say one last time. "I... hope we never see each other again." The wind blew swiftly against our expressionless faces and I avoided everyone's eyes. I meant what I had said. If we did see each other again, we were enemies once more. Everything that happened at I.O. would've been a past mission that we all shouldn't care about anymore. They were out to find Allison. We were out to find Allison. I hoped we never crossed paths again. How bloody would it be. Because if Liam and I had met each other under different circumstances, one of us would've definitely been long gone. _ Thanks for reading 20 chapters I hope you enjoyed it

20 | It Was For You

"Hey," Tired. I'm tired. Let me sleep. "Kitten, wake up." ... Kai? My eyes slowly fluttered open and I saw the blonde haired and blue eyed man stand in front of me. "Kai?" I let out quietly, trying to wake myself up. "You're discharged," he said back to me, "I'm here to take you back." "Where?" I asked, although I knew where it was. "I.O. Academy." I groaned. I really didn't want to. The school had no meaning to me anymore. Allison hasn't returned to school since the incident, or says the boys. "I want to go back to the R.U." I let out all of a sudden. Kai looked at me with an unreadable expression. He placed his hands inside his pant pockets and returned his gaze back on me. "Do you?" he commented, raising his eyebrows slightly. I nodded, "I need to report back anyway. The mission's taken a turn for the worst. The goal isn't the same anymore, and I've just reconnected with someone from my past. I need time to think about what I want to do, who I want to do it with, and who I need to look into. After a week of laying here with nothing to do but think about my next move, I've made up my mind." Kai listened to me silently and nodded, gesturing for me to come. I was being discharged. With a final talk with some doctors, Kai dealt with some papers and soon took me out of the building. _ We entered the same school we've been attending and walked into the boys' dorm. Soon, we were right outside of Liam's door. Kai typed in the passcode and the door swung slightly open. We entered and I closed the door behind us. I looked around Liam's room. It was still the same as I had remembered it. "What class is he in right now?" I asked, going to check up on the baby. Cherish was fine and healthy. She was currently sleeping in her bed. "Uh, Social Studies?" Kai answered, going to the bed and plopping himself down. He crossed his legs and looked back up to watch me. "Lunch is next, then," I commented, trying to figure out his schedule. "We could meet him on the roof," Kai stated, "Is that what you're suggesting?" I turned to the man and smiled, "Yeah." I went to wash up and decided to change into some comfortable clothing. Then I realized I had none. "Kai..." I said carefully as I peeked my head out of the door. "What," he dully replied, closing his eyes as he tried to rest on the bed. "Do you know where Liam puts his clothes..." I asked bluntly, holding my breath. It was a weird question, and pretty awkward at that too. "Why," Kai stated, opening his eyes and looking at me suspiciously. "No no it's not like that," I reassured him, "I just don't have clothes." "Oh," Kai answered, suddenly going back to his sleeping position. Wait. Help me you jerk. Before I was about to give up, I heard him say, "Cabinet, open drawer four, that's all of your clothes." I frowned at his comment. What does he mean by 'all of your clothes.' I didn't have any clothes. Still puzzled, I followed his directions and opened that drawer.
My eyes widened a bit at some new clothes I found. This definitely wasn't here before. Did they... buy it for me? My eyes found the edge of my neatly folded dark blue gown that I had worn a week ago and I took it out, frowning. These weren't my clothes, then. "Kai, I think you remembered it wrong," I murmured unsure, turning to look at him from my squatting position. After he opened his eyes to look at what I meant, I held up the dress and stood up, walking towards him. "This is Isla's," I stated, looking at it. The dress was now freshly washed and fixed at the rims. It looked just as new. Kai raised his eyebrows amusingly at me, "Is that so?" I tilted my head slightly at him, unsure of his tone and expression, "Yes?" He chuckled, throwing me off guard. "What," I pressed, a hint of a whine in my tone. I didn't like it when he knew something that I didn't. "Last time I checked," Kai explained, placing his hands behind his head, "Isla doesn't live here." "But," I started, getting confused. Wait, is the dress... for me? Liam bought it for me? But how? It was the dress that had gotten my attention at the mall, which he wasn't there at first. Also... "Hold up, how does he know my size?" I let out, suddenly addressing the uncertain truth. "He saw the size on your sweater when he replaced it with his clothes for you to change into the first night you were here," Kai responded, "Or so I guess." Ah. That makes sense. "Why would he buy this for me though?" I asked more to myself than the man in the room with me, "He didn't want me to go to the party." Kai sighed, "We all know you don't listen." I pursed my lips together and quieted down. It's not that I don't listen... it's just I had a mission. Which makes me not listen... okay I guess he was right. Kai checked the time on his watch and he announced to me, "You should hurry and change if that's what you plan to do. His class's almost up." I nodded quickly as I snapped out of my thoughts and grabbed a pair of clothes. I rushed into the bathroom and changed into something comfortable. Kai took one look at me and nodded an okay, the both of us getting ready to leave. "Do we need to feed Cherish," he asked abruptly as he placed one hand on the door knob. I cracked a smile as I pushed the man forward and closed the door behind us, "I'll feed her her baby formula when we get back. She's still sleeping." _ I had texted Helene and Carlos on the way to come meet us on the school's rooftop at lunch. They needed to know what happened, and help me if that was possible. Even though I wasn't as close to them as my enemies, Helene and Carlos were still on my team. And if I was to go back to the R.U. like I had planned, they were to follow me. We made it to the roof after carefully maneuvering though the crowded cafeteria. I passed the milk carton crate and hesitated a bit before grabbing one strawberry milk and going to catch up to Kai. "Seriously?" Kai quirked at me once we were up and had found a place to settle. I pushed away from the edge and looked down at the man who was leaning on the wall at my feet. "What? I'm hungry," I mumbled back, continuing to drink my strawberry milk, "You're just jealous you didn't grab one on your way up too." Kai quietly scoffed and told me to shut up. Before I could argue back, I heard footsteps climbing up to the roof. Kai and I shared a quick glance before we turned our attention to the person arriving. "Bennet, you know I have to write a ten page essay on the history of plants?" Liam complained, tossing his book bag up and skillfully landing on the roof. "And it's all due tomo-" he stopped when he saw that Kai wasn't the only one on the roof. Our eyes stayed on each other for a moment before he regained his breath and slowly came over. "So you're back," his voice hits my ear as he passed me and leaned on the rails as well. I stayed still for a moment before I too turned around and faced the streets and cars below. "Yeah," I piped. "How long have you two been back?" Liam asked Kai as he leaned back and looked at his friend. Kai shrugged, "Couple of minutes before you were let out. I took her back to the room to change." At the mention of changing, Liam raised his eyebrows at Kai and eyed him with a hint of suspicion. "Bro, I'm not like you okay," Kai remarked back, slightly smirking as he closed his eyes. Liam sighed and turned back to look at me, "You're wearing the clothes I bought you," he pointed out. "About that," I started, shifting a bit in my position, "Thanks for getting them for me." Liam smirked lightly, "The Jamie I know doesn't stop there." I returned his cheeky smile, "You're right. Anyway, about that blue dress I found in your bathroom..." He watched me talk and ran a hand through his black hair, "What about it?" "You seriously bought that for me?" I asked, turning to face him, "Be honest." He chuckled, "Is it that hard to believe?" "I'm just confused why," I stated truthfully, "Kai gave me a reason but I want to hear it from you." "Annnd she doesn't listen to me," Kai muttered to himself silently on the ground. I ignored his comment.
"Didn't you want it," he teased lightly, looking me straight in the eyes. I frowned slightly, "Well it's nice, but I couldn't afford it." I wanted to know. He was being strange. He was doing things for me, even though he shouldn't be. He was making everything harder on me... "Just accept it as a gift," he shrugged, looking away, "You looked nice in it." At that I raised my eyebrows, "What did you just say?" "Nothing." Before I knew it, a small smile had appeared on my face. "You just complimented me," I let out. "Never did." "Carter." "You have hearing problems." I hit him on his shoulders and he let out a soft grunt, causing the both of us to laugh. I haven't laughed in a long time. It felt nice. "Hey," I started, "... I need to ask a few questions before you have to go back to clas-" Suddenly, we heard several footsteps climbing up to the roof and the three of us turned our heads towards it. You could never be too careful. We didn't want some random student climbing up here for their free time and overhearing our conversations. Helene's face popped up and then Carlos followed after her. "What's going on here?" Helene asked, looking at Liam, Kai, and I just standing around being comfortable with each other. "You were saying?" Liam teased, smirking at me to continue. I rolled my eyes at him, "You know what, I'll just continue when the whole crew's here." It felt weird to say that. Two weeks ago, I was a lone agent working on a two-year long mission. Two weeks later, I had a crew that I talked to, fought with, and fought against. "Who contacted Isla?" I asked, being nice to include her as well since the people who provided my sleeping space were acquaintances with her. "Were we... supposed to?" Kai mumbled slowly, reaching for his phone. Liam raised his eyebrows, "She should be coming. She comes everyday." At that I felt a strange feeling that ran through my body, making me feel a bit uncomfortable. My chest tightened unconsciously and I felt cold. I was always the one that came on the roof. But since I've been away for a week, Isla had quickly taken my place. My head unconsciously tilted away from everyone and I instead faced the bustling scene below. Liam felt me shift around and turned to me, looking down at my silent form, "What's wrong?" I snapped out of my thoughts and looked up at him, "N- nothing..." He raised his eyebrows at me. "I said nothing," I pressed, avoiding his stare. Isla came after this and when she got up to the top, she eyed Helene and Carlos suspiciously. "Who are these people?" She asked and turned to Liam. "Who is she?" Helene asked me. Liam, Kai, and I took a quiet glance at each other before mentally preparing ourselves for what was about to come. It was story time. _ "The moment you lost conscious the door bursted open and Allison came in," Liam explained. We were all sitting on the roof with our legs crossed in a circle. "Isla and I saw a dozen men dressed in black coming to charge at us," he continued. "We were outnumbered and they managed to knock us out," Isla came in, "When we woke up we were in some sort of cell. I happened to be a good lock picker and got us out." "We heard screaming coming from down the hall," Liam came in, glancing briefly at me. "So that's what happened," I commented quietly, "I can tell the rest from here." I told Helene and Carlos about the scene where I came in. Everything from seeing my father to Allison to piecing it together with my past. Then the escape and the car ride to the hospital. "No wonder you were out so many days," Helene came in, "Liam and Kai wouldn't tell me anything besides, 'I fed your baby, she's sleeping.'" I held back a chuckle. It was nice of them to care for the child even though they had no relation to it. "And now," I summed up, looking at everyone, "I want to go back." "Back?" Carlos asked. I nodded, "Back. I need to go back to the R.U. You guys in?" I was talking to Helene and Carlos. It didn't matter to me much if they came along or not, but considering there was no point for them to be here, I figured they might as well. "You're going back?" Liam questioned, suddenly staring at me. My eyebrows arched a bit as I returned his gaze, "Yeah. This mission is far from over, but I need to finalize some things with the R.U." I stopped talking for a moment and let my eyes linger on the man before me for a while, "I guess this is goodbye." There was a change in the atmosphere as things got quiet between all of us. Everyone was looking at everyone, but no one was looking at anyone. We were all lost in thought in some form or way. Suddenly, the academy's bell rang loudly from below and inside the building. Lunch was over. Isla began sitting up, but she paused when she saw that Liam had not moved. My eyes landed on the man, "Carter, the bell..." "I know," he replied, eyeing the way back down from the roof dully, "I'm not going. I'm not a student at this school. None of us are. Allison had always been our target, and now that she doesn't show up, we have no purpose here." I stayed quiet upon his words. He was right. I was glad he understood the situation as well as we all did. It really was time to move on from this place. "We're leaving too," Kai spoke up distantly, getting up from the hard concrete. Liam followed him and so did Isla. Helene and Carlos got up as well, and I followed suit. We all took one final glance at each other and I finally found some words to say one last time. "I... hope we never see each other again." The wind blew swiftly against our expressionless faces and I avoided everyone's eyes. I meant what I had said. If we did see each other again, we were enemies once more. Everything that happened at I.O. would've been a past mission that we all shouldn't care about anymore. They were out to find Allison. We were out to find Allison. I hoped we never crossed paths again. How bloody would it be. Because if Liam and I had met each other under different circumstances, one of us would've definitely been long gone. _ Thanks for reading 20 chapters I hope you enjoyed it

21 | Trackers |*Special Chapter*| ___________________________________
| Quick Talk |
• There's going to be FOUR parts to this chapter
• Each part has around- or should eventually average out to- a little less than TEN pages!
• Hopefully this makes up for my hiatus? ^-^b *crosses fingers* _____________________________________
3 years later.
___PART I___
Present time _ The clock ticks it's large hand 'round one complete rotation. An hour had subconsciously passed and my lower abdominal region was gradually beginning to numb out, my fingers crisping as they contract and tense around the pistol grip of my sniper rifle. I kept my breath steady and reserved my heat the best I could, frequently eyeing the area below every 3 seconds or so. We stationed ourselves in Beta Formation, a name for something our team leader assigned us to. Beta Formation consisted of 4 positions: FL, SV, BU, and SS. FL- Front Line SV- Safe View BU- Back Up SS- Surveillance Spotting FL was Chestin. The man was from the Special Force Assault Division, SFAD, and did the dirty work for us without complaining. SV was Axel. He's always positioned in a separate building, away from the soon-to-come chaos, and exposes our enemy's weakness. BU was Helene and little Kora. Kora was a junior in training, and this would be the first mission she was assigned to test her teamwork abilities. And SS was me, the girl who'd been punishing her body for the last 3,600 seconds. Speaking of formations and my team, the suckers had been too quiet these past 15 minutes. "... Y'all aren't sleeping on me are you," I breathed out silently, diverting my attention away from the scope for a moment to watch my own breath condense in the chilly air. "It's been an hour," Chestin's voice broke through our earpiece, "they haven't come yet." "Helene, status check," I murmured, repositioning my earpiece a bit after staying stationary for an hour. "The two we killed earlier were dragged away," she responded after a series of crackling from the earpiece were heard as she connected, "The blood dried up a bit here. It won't be noticeable in the dark." "And Axel?" I questioned. "Here James," His deep voice chimed in and sent warm shivers throughout my frozen body, "Keep warm, you're the only one so high up." I smiled and reached up to my earpiece to disconnect it with the others. I reconnected it to the R.U.'s channel, more specifically our team leader's communication system. "Agent W," My team leader's voice came after a few seconds, "Is something wrong?" I frowned as I surveyed the buildings 8 stories below and mentally envisioned where my teammates hid waiting. "More like nothing's wrong," I replied matter-of-factly, "Can you check the movement of the Trackers? It's been a little over an hour and there hasn't been any signs or sightings of them. You don't think we've been mislead right?" "Send an agent in the building," he said, "Try to find-" There was a cackling noise that surprised me momentarily before Helene's voice broke through our connection. "Chestin left his station," she informed us. I heard her staggered breathing and quiet footsteps through the earpiece, "He didn't answer when I connected to him either." "I guess our conversation cuts short here," I bid goodbye to our team leader, "See you back at the quarter, Jay." I disconnected from the agency and focused back on the current situation. Connecting my own earpiece to Chestin's, I began speaking as soon as I heard the soft connection spark. "Chestin, come in." Silence. Suddenly, from the corners of my vision, I saw shadows shifting on the ground. It gradually became more noticeable when I took up my former position and readied myself.
"Trackers."
They were here and they were on the move. The others heard me inform them on our enemy and they shifted in alert. "It's too obvious in the front," I murmured. I was letting the others know where our enemy would enter. Helene came in afterwards, "The back as well." "There's a security camera hanging on the roof in the east alley," Axel chimed in, "'Course I have access to it now." "I'm in-" A deafening bullet shot through the air and pierced right through an oblivious male figure lurking in the West alley. I'd say I at least struck the abdominal region, if not the heart, and any miss-shot would be due to my numb fingers. "Chestin," Helene cried through the earpiece at the person who had just spoken up earlier, "Where have you-" I heard a series of punches and a snap of a neck bone, "- been." "They- [spark... crackle] Kora- [crack]" came Chestin's voice again. "Goddamn Axel!" I whisper-yelled, "Fix his damn connection." Chestin's urgent voice kept trying to reach our pieces, "- They... [spark]" We heard our technician silently curse for the first time today due to some issues. "They got into my system," Axel mumbled, "One moment." I saw Helene appear from around the corner, walking into the dark alley lit up only partially by a worn down street lamp that was years old. She was on alert and held her handgun in front of her cautiously. A woman snuck up behind her and held behind her small frame a much larger, deadly gun which she aimed at Helene's head. Two men crept around behind a crate on either sides of the alley. "Helene," I warned calmly, putting my right eye back on the scope. A moment later I heard her little "tsk" and took that as a sign to begin counting down. "3... 2... 1... now."

She spun around at the speed of light and jumped to the side, pulling the trigger at the woman behind. The woman was cut off guard and shot her own weapon without aim, getting hit in the waist from Helene's bullet. I heard groans and swift movement as my team member reloaded and guessed the precise location of one man on the side and swung her fists to the side to knock him out. The other one came for her fast from behind and held a large dagger behind her neck, hissing in her ear. "Hey pretty lady," the voice cooed and breathed out steadily, "What's a woman like you doing here at a place like this? How about we put down that gun, and do something better, huh?" "Don't move," I warned in a murmur. A split second later my snipping skills went into action and I aimed the bullet at the blade of the dagger, violently knocking it out of the man's hand. His split moment of confusion was just enough for Helene to jab him in the stomach and place a lethal punch against his strong jaw. The woman from before managed to push herself up into a standing position. I raised my eyebrows when she tried to aim her gun at me, although there was no way she could see me even with perfect vision. My location was known, that was one downside to sniping. It gave away the location of the sniper if the target was not taken care of that instant, and the enemy knew, as so we, that I couldn't just pack up my stuff and reposition in a matter of seconds. "Got it," Axel came back in, just in time for our missing team member to inform us for the 186th time, " They've got Kora." My breath hitched and I hesitated a bit before finishing my business, pulling that damn trigger on the damn woman before she even attempted to shoot me, which she couldn't. Her gun was no match for a sniping gun when it came to distance. By the time her bullet reached me, if it could reach me, I would've gone on a picnic and came back by Spring. I had held back from asking Helene any questions earlier when she was being cornered by three Trackers, but now I was free to question, "Helene, why wasn't Kora with you?" "She said she'd seen Chestin and ran off," Helene breathed out unsteadily and I heard her start jogging to a new location," I ordered her back but our guests came." "Axel," Chestin's voice came in clearer for the first time today, "Who on their team was wearing a green logo on their black suit? There was five in all, and one of them took Kora while I was preoccupied." "Elite group?" Axel came in, "Does it matter? They're heading to the third floor, as expected. Helene." "On it," she informed him. I watched her tiny figure silently move into the building as I kept watch on the area below. Anyone that came to the West Alley was taken care of, Chestin and Helene held their grounds below and were dealing with the intruders inside the cursed building. If they hurt Kora, I was going to take up the assault division position and throw some punches. Let's hope it doesn't get to that. _

___PART II___
My attention was caught when a flashing green light began to beep somewhere from below. I stared at its faint glow and wondered if it was just my eye fatigue that was causing the illusion, or- "Jamie," Axel called from the earpiece. "Yeah?" "They're planning to release a bomb." I frowned, "A bomb? Who would-" Silence fell over me as my attention snapped back to the green light. It wasn't green no more. It was bright, sickening red, rapidly pulsing like a heartbeat. "Shit, I think I found him," I murmured as my eyes glared daggers into the dead man. "What?" Axel asked. "The guy Helene fought earlier, he's a suicide bomber," I informed everyone, "It's been flashing for a while now I suggest y'all climb that building fast and find Kora." There wasn't any talking from Chestin or Helene. I was getting a little worried, although I keep assuming they were busy. "The shock's going to only affect the areas around the main building," I continued trying to inform my team even if they weren't listening, "As long as you get up high enough, you'll manage somehow if the building does happen to collapse. Keep your suits close-"
BOOM!
The heat reached even my location and I had to cover my face with my suit sleeve. Thousands of broken metal, dust, steel, paper, anything at all, it all expanded and exploded. The impact was violent to the point where I saw every dead body spring up like dandelions from below, and the building seemed to have swayed a bit. It was damaged alright. Our connection became weaker and all I could hear was a loud static that irritated my ears. My eyes widened when the smell of... smoke... rose up to greet me. The heat. It didn't create a fire did it? I leaned forward from the edge of the building I was on and my expression turned dark. "Shit." No one knew there was a fire, but it was spreading fast and ruthlessly, entering the building whose structure had been holed and punched. My team didn't know there was a fire, and no matter how much I tried for the connections to spark up, it simply just didn't. "AXEL," I yelled, "AXEL!" "I'm getting the security footage," he came in shortly, "What's going on? Why are you so panicked?" "There's a fire and all three of them are inside that damned building," I shouted in frustration, "I'm leaving SS Beta formation. New plans." "Wait Jamie," Axel exclaimed, "Jamie, come in!" I pushed myself up and used the time that I was adjusting to stand up to pull out a rather long zip-line and threw it with all my might across to the main building. With the help of technology, it did manage to clasp onto the roof top of the burning building and I took a moment to load my hand guns. Taking a look at my sniping gun and backpack, I concluded that I was going to have to destroy them. Evidence was evidence. I didn't need them doing some freaky shit with my fingerprints or DNA. I kicked my equipments into the far corner of the top of the building, stood far opposite of it, and loaded my primary gun. Moments later I shot and destroyed my sniping gun, along with my bag and the debris fell off the building. It was time to join the action below. _

___Part III___
Everything became quiet for a while after I punched in the number five for the fifth floor. Assuming the fire reached the second or third floor already, the fourth floor, if anyone was still there, they would've tried evacuating, so the fifth floor would be an accurate guess of where lifeforms would be. "Your arm," Chestin's voice breaks through my train of thought, "Let me see it." I looked sideways at the man and shook my head firmly. "There's nothing you can do. I'm afraid trying to take it out will leave me with no energy. Just leave it." "Jamie." "..." I couldn't fight him. If there was one other person I could not argue with when it came to orders besides our team leader Jay, it was my partner Chestin. I hated listening to him, because that would've meant I lost- something about my pride made me annoyed- but overall I knew Chestin was assigned my partner these past three years for a reason. "I'm pulling it out," the man declared all of a sudden. My eyes widened in terror, "No." "Three... two..." "Jesus fucking Christ why does no one ever listen to me-" "-one." The inside of my mouth was probably bleeding as well due to the about of force I had to apply to it to keep my mouth shut. The pain was overwhelming and I resorted to clenching my teeth tightly against each other. Only a groan escaped my lips, but for the most part it was a struggle with myself to keep the noise down. "You okay," my partner asked, tossing the metal piece to the corner firmly. "Great," I sneered forcibly, "Just wonderful." "Deal with it a little longer," Chestin reassured, "You're strong, Jamie. A little blood lost won't knock you out." He ripped a section of his shirt and used it to wrap my arm to slow down the bleeding. "I don't know if I should be thankful for the praises," I started, keeping my breath steady, "or knock you out for not listening to me, partner.". "Geez," he commented lightly, running a hand through his dirty blonde hair. I watched my partner in silence, a frown forming on my face out of view. That... reminded me of something- the gesture- but, what? Before I could think more of it, the elevator stopped. The both of us stood still and waited, both of our heads tilted at the sliding doors. "Um Chestin..." "Yeah." "It's not opening." "I can see that, Jamie." Chestin walked forward and tried to figure out how to pry the doors open, jabbing buttons and using his own strength at the elevator doors. Meanwhile, I took a sight-gazing trip all by myself inside the compact area we were both forced into. I called out the man's name after I found a possible way for us to escape. Chestin looked back at me just as I pointed silently to the roof, and his eyes followed my guide. "The hatch," he stated when he saw the escape plan. I nodded, "Help me up first. I can't support you, but I can try to pull you up once I'm up." Chestin gave me arched brows and commented slyly, "I'm going to have back problems after this." "Then retire," I teased, "I'll come visit you in your apartment occasionally." I carefully made sure Chestin's grip was secure around my foot before I launched up and used my gun to shoot off the hatch attached to the roof of the elevator. With my perfectly fine arm, I used it to jab the grip of the gun into the metal top to completely remove the hatch, giving way for an opening to escape. The elevator hung suspended on a few, thick wires and ropes that haven't been checked in years. I looked down at Chestin and gave him the signal to give me that extra push from the bottom, and I used my strength to push my body up.

The hard part was pulling him up as well. One of my arm was barely functional, so I was afraid to let my partner down. "Jamie," Chestin called, reaching up and getting ready to leap up. "Why is being an agent so hard," I whined to myself, "I just want to go eat." "And find Kora." "That too." Chestin gave the count-down and I had to exert the remaining strength I had left in my system to pull the man up to the top of the elevator. I wouldn't be lying if I had said from the corner of my eyes, the cloth that wrapped around my left arm turned six shades of red darker in the span of 10 seconds. "We need to talk to Jay about firing you temporarily," Chestin stated, his gaze lingering on my arm. He meant asking Jay for a few days off, but for some reason the man couldn't speak his mind freely with me. "That's great," I groaned, getting help from Chestin to stand up. "God, we gotta climb up to the fifth floor from here." "And... define 'here?'" "Fourth floor." "Just one floor," I concluded, looking up, "We can manage." Chestin turned to look me in the eyes. "Can you manage?" He was worried. I understood the feeling of having to look after your partner. But I couldn't drag him down, I have to toughen up and hold in my complaints. "I," I started hesitantly, "have to manage. Let's go. That faster we get up the faster we end this." "That's the Jamie Lennon I know." "You sound like Axel," I let out our last comment before the conversation died down and the next 10 minutes consisted of hard work and sweat in the dark. _

___Part IV___
We climbed up to the fifth floor and had to act fast to avoid a bullet that was aimed for our heads. Catching our guard, Chestin reacted fast by pulling out his own gun and shooting one Tracker in the chest, knocking him down for good. It wasn't the time to be proud of my partner, although I could never say I ever wasn't, but I made my way around, shooting two other Trackers, before seeing the center. Kora, who had been missing all night, was reunited with us with the sight of a gun being held against her temple, the trigger already pulled back. Helene was knocked out on the ground. She had ash all over her face and body, and I assumed the high temperature had gotten to her. Otherwise, the woman did extremely well taking out 12 Trackers on her own, their dead bodies lying around her unconscious one. "GET KORA," Chestin yelled across the room. "I can't-" I tried to tell him, covering my mouth and eyes from the extreme level of smoke in the room, "She's being held at gunpoint." My eyes met with a guy's that looked relatively decent, although his demeanor was suspicious and wicked. He smirked at me and emphasized the gun at Kora's temple. I glared at the man and held my own weapon up. "Release her," I stated firmly, " Now." Although I couldn't hear a single thing besides the flames whipping around, I could mentally hear the man scoffing. He had a green logo on his suit like Chestin had described earlier. "You're.." I said under my breath. Thinking about more important things at the moment, I snarled afterwards, "What do you want with the girl? She's only 7." "You underestimate what a 7 year old can do," I faintly heard the man opposite of me speak for the first time. Now it was my turn to scoff. "You don't know a thing about me. If you had done some proper research, you'd know that I started my role in the agency at her age." "Oh I know everything," the man responded calmly, smiling creepily at me. "Agent W." Well shit. My code name. How did he know? Only R.U. members knew the code names. Or, people who knew the R.U. members, maybe past enemies, through missions knew the code names as well. That got my brain thinking alright. Chestin had pulled out his dagger and threw it precisely at the man in the chest. He dodged it, but his attention away from me gave me the chance to advance with one shot and a violent whack against the head with both of my fists balled up together That took care of all of the Trackers for today. I ran towards Kora and ripped the cloth they stuffed in her mouth. She gasped hugely in large breaths as she tried to regain her breath, at the same time avoiding the smoke. "Chestin," I coughed up debris that suspended in the air, "Chestin... get us out." My arm ached after the power-swing to the Elite Tracker's face, and the heat was starting to get to my conciousness. "I got Helene," his voice reached me after a few seconds delay, "Follow my outline and Kora-" He too let out a quick, deep cough before continuing his sentence. "-stick close." The little girl nodded and I held onto her hand as the three of us- plus one unconscious being- somehow managed to make it out of the building, thanks to Chestin. _ Axel drove us all home on an empty stomach in his midnight blue car. The air once again turned chilly and I had to make sure most of the blanket in the back went towards covering little Kora, who was fast asleep, and Helene, who had woken up with a strong headache and was advised by us to just nap out the pain. Chestin sat up front with Axel and was preoccupied with refreshing himself with Gatorade and a flash drive that Kora managed to steal from the man holding her at gunpoint. Of course, we praised her for it and she was able to sleep soundly. "Jamie, give me your phone," Chestin announced all of a sudden, reaching his hand back and calmly waiting for me to hand over my phone. I was sweating despite not having a blanket to conserve my heat because of my loss of blood, but it was nothing major. I just needed medical attention asap and some rest. Still, I managed to eye my partner's hand with a weird look. "My... phone?" "It has data in there that Axel transferred over as backup copies from today. He's using his phone as a GPS right now, mine's dead, Helene's is unlockable considering she changes the password every five days, and Kora doesn't have a phone." He always had to be right, didn't he. "Alright," I gave up, handing over my pre-unlocked phone. I was starting to get tired. It wouldn't hurt to take a quick nap would it? The boys could wake me up when they reached the cooperation. I needed to rest my eyes a bit. Oddly, the last thing I heard from the boys, more specifically Chestin with my phone, was... "You... still have his contact?"

What a long chapter ~

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Thanks for the update sir.

21 Returning to the R.U

"James," came a voice I knew all too well, "Wake up, Jamie." I groaned and opened my tired brown eyes to meet Axel's grayish blue ones. The car had come to a stop and the sky outside the vehicle's window was completely dark to coordinate with the present time. I quickly glanced at the time at the front just before Chestin pulled out the keys and turned off the car: 3:13am. Chestin opened the door on my left side where Kora and Helene sat. He glanced up at Axel and I as we all stayed in silence for a moment. I quickly stretched and yawned loudly as I smacked my head back down into a pillow to muffle the noise. Axel and Chestin shared a chuckle before they went to work. I carefully turned by body slightly towards little Kora, who had her head resting gently against my left shoulder. Wincing a bit at taking away the pressure applied to my deep puncture, I slid her head to my chest and used my non-hurt right arm to slide them under the girl's legs, picking her up bridal style as I quickly backed out of the car. The weight did aggravate my wound, but two looks from Axel and Chestin, who were checking up on my condition, got me to signal to them that I was okay with a simple nod. Besides, a small part of me remembered that I had experienced worst. Three years ago. Helene was carried by slightly buff-man Axel and Chestin did a double check of the inside of the car before closing and locking all doors. The three of us headed silently back into the R.U. Cooperation. - Every team in the R.U. had a dorm set up for them, and there were training rooms, and the commons area for chit- chat. Also, the R.U. official conference rooms for team leaders. I imagined our team leader, Jay, just inside, either being lectured or hearing others be lectured. It wasn't fun, or so he had let it slip out to us one time when we were alone as a team. No figure. All agents basically lived at the cooperation. It was too risky to have all 2,000 of us continuously drive to this location every morning for 'work.' "Welcome back Agent O," came the newbie female teenager at the front desk. Axel glanced at her and smiled, giving her a quick nod. "and Agent L," to which Chestin walked past and patted the girl on the shoulder as would a senior in the business to a rookie. The two men walked forward, not before quickly turning back around to look at me with an amused shake of their heads. The girl before me seemed to go back to attending her nails before I cleared my throat. She looked up at me with a confused expression. "Yes?" My eyebrows arched. "Where's your manners, student?" She was supposed to greet every senior agent that returned back to the cooperation. "Um, hello, then?" She asked me with an attitude, going back to her nails. Axel made a 'yikes' expression to Chestin, who had crossed his free arms across his chest to watch the scene unfold. "Interesting," I commented, glancing at her name tag, "Diana. Diana Greenwood?" The girl seemed to be started that I knew her last name, for her name tag only listed her first name in engraved gold. "You're an intern student being assigned to different tasks in the cooperation," I began, "Obviously you take classes, Diana. Advanced SS?" I glanced at the binder set on a bottom shelf of the front desk in the back, "That's sniping and spotting. See you in class tomorrow morning, Greenwood.

The look on her face turned less confident every passing millisecond as she processed my words. Her eyes flashed a couple of emotions, from regret to being scared for her life. I let out a small sigh at her careless mistake. Truthfully, any student could have a bad moment and accidentally spit out words they don't mean. Exactly why I didn't break out the teacher-student lecture I should've given to her. Because I just came back to my daily life, I was being lenient to her. Her behavior was unacceptable, however. Any other teacher, take for example Axel and Chestin, would have fried her with a ten-hour talk. I joined the boys and we all walked down the hall into the gold-designed elevator (much nicer than the one Chestin and I were stuck in earlier might I add, although that was obvious), but not before we heard the young intern from afar yell out " WELCOME BACK, AGENT W!" Once inside and settled, Chestin pressed number 11 and we waited to be taken to our floor. The three of us looked at each other and I saw the boys eyeing me with a smirk. "Unbelievable," Axel remarked, shaking his head slightly, "Causing trouble right when you come back." "What bad timing too," Chestin chimed in, "If it was us two like usual, she wouldn't have gotten in trouble." He nudged Axel and the man nodded in agreement. I rolled my eyes. "Oh please. Your lectures are long as f. You'd finish by the time the girl turned 45." "Whaat?" Axel mocked, "Mee? Never." I kicked him in the shin and he let out a quiet groan. "Since I'm back there'll be four of us again," I continued, "Axel, Chestin, Helene, and I. We're like a pack. A team. A family. Four owls-" Chestin cut in with, "Owls?" "You never realized our code names spelled 'owls?'" I retorted, laughing at him and glad that I could stop sounding so cringy. Axel mouthed quietly to himself. "O," he points to himself. "W," he points to me. "L," he points to Chestin. "S," his finger slides down to Helene in his arms. "You're right," he sang out, amused. The elevator door came to a stop at floor 5 and both Chestin and I snapped our heads up to the ceiling before realizing someone was just getting in. Axel managed to mouth to us, 'what the Bleep is wrong with you two?' before we let our gazes relax from the hatch on the ceiling. Another agent entered into the crammed space and glanced at us in acknowledgement, before seeing my existence and making secret ogling stares my way. He was handsome too, and it would've stayed a secret if the two men in there with me hadn't completely shuffled somehow where they blocked all view from my line of vision. The man seemed irritated and dropped his gaze to my legs instead. That's when I started feeling uncomfortable. "Woan," Chestin greeted the agent with his last name, succeeding in getting his attention. "Hall," he snaps out of his trance and nods towards Chestin. "Damond," he then addressed Axel. My eyes met with the man I didn't know and he gestured towards me. "And you are?" I hesitated. I mean, I might as well. He was a fellow agent. "Len-" I began.

"-How's Sarah doing?" Chestin asked the man, checking the elevator floor number, "She must feel burdened with not knowing what kind of job you do behind her back. But, top secret right?" Ooo. I see, I seee. I understood what was going on now. He must've had a girlfriend outside of work. Then again, no agent ever had a relationship within the R.U. It was a strict policy. The few who did either kept it a secret until they were well respected within the cooperation, or suffered the consequences. There was a pretty scandalous case in the past, and the two agents involved were reprimanded heavily. No one spoke of the top agent that resigned from the R.U. It was a taboo to speak her code name, and agents now don't even know who she was or where she is. The most recent dare devils were from three years ago. Helene and Carlos. They were put on probation for three long years, before Carlos was permanently fired and Helene returned with low status recognition. The only reason why she attended the mission with us tonight was because my previous spotter, I heard, had suffered a lethal bullet wound a year ago and died. It took both Axel, Chestin, and I to beg Jay to even consider taking her. However, although she was reduced to a lower rank, in reality she had the skills that rivaled top agents from time to time. His lips shut silently and the man left once we reached floor 8. The moment the doors slid shut, I couldn't hold back a "pfft." Axel and Chestin shared a glance with one another and then directed their glares at me, so I pursed my lips shut and kept quiet till we reached our floor. _ We walked into our spaced-out dorm and the air conditioning hit my face like a train moving at high speeds. It felt so refreshing that I went towards the couch and laid Kora down, before slouching lazily down next to her small body with my head tilted back and my eyes closed. From my right I heard Axel exchange Helene to Chestin, who took responsibility in taking the woman to her room for the night. Axel stood there for a while before spotting my lifeless form and plopping down on the couch as well, arms ready to wrap over me. My eyes fluttered open and I playfully smacked him for making such movements on the couch that could possibly awaken Kora, but otherwise his arms wrapped around my shoulders and I laid tiredly against his protective arms. Axel has always been there for me, I loved him like a family. He was more important to me than anyone in this cooperation and line of business. To be back to my normal life where I could make sure my family was close and safe, that's all I could ask for. "What are you thinking?" Axel asks as he studied my dazed expression. I looked up at him and shook my head slowly. "Just, glad you're here. Glad to be back." The man scoffed silently at me being cheesy before leaning down to kiss the top of my head, brutally ruffling it afterwards so that I looked a little something like the great Albert Einstein. "Time to slee-" Axel announced. "Uh, sleep?" cuts in Chestin who had just exited the room and closed Helene's bedroom door. Both Axel and I sat up and spun around on the couch, leaning against the back upright slat like kids. "What are you suggesting?" I piped suspiciously, "it's like four in the morning."

Chestin smiled cheekily at me, "We drink of course." As if that was the most reasonable thing to do at this time. As if I should've known they drank at four in the morning. There's something about drinking that always tips me off. "I'll go get Jamie her glass of water before we begin," Axel sighed teasingly, pushing off the couch and heading for the kitchen. "No, I want to too," I protested loud enough for both men to hear, "Why not? Why can't I?" "How old are you Jamie?" My partner raised his eyebrows. "It is rude to ask a lady her age," I joked, refusing to answer him. Chestin smirked, "An underage lady." "By one year," I tried. Axel walked back into the living room and handed me my glass of water. "Still underage," he winked at me, receiving a glare before he settled down on the couch, getting ready to bring Kora into her bedroom before the big men did big boy things. I was in the process of sending Chestin death glares, to which he dismissed with scoffs, before a grungy voice from the hallways rang throughout the childish tense air. "Anne?" sixteen-year-old Sammy, nephew of Jay, grumbled, stretching his gradually forming muscles and rubbing at his crystal green eyes. I turned to the boy and laughed at his messy bed hair and poor appearance to greet my return. Although I had to admit, he grew up well under Axel and Chestin's care, and had the same handsome features that Jay had. "Haven't heard that name in a while," Axel chimed with a side grin before going back to preparing his and Chestin's drinks. I couldn't help but let out a melted smile as well. When Sammy was first introduced to me by Jay, he had been determined to call me Anne, which was short for my middle name that I barely remembered, Antoinette. He commented that 'Jamie' was a guy's name, and that calling me Anne sounded more feminine and sweet. Whatever made the kid sleep better at night, I let him have his own free will. Besides, at this point who even knows who I am. Jamie? James? Lennon? Antoinette? Anne? Wendy? Agent W? (Princess?) (Kitten?) (Bitch?) (Nerd?) (Loser?) Instructor? (A/N- kudos to whoever can make references to all of these nicknames/ names/ titles!) Other than my parents, I was only called my full middle name once in my life. "Sam-my-man," I greeted the boy before I walked over and gave him a death squeeze. He grew up so much over the last few years that I felt like crying. From his eyes, to his chin, shoulders, and thighs, everything was now defined and sharp. Sammy didn't particularly mind me ruffling his hair afterwards since it already looked like a big pile of fur-ball string, but he did push me away when he thought that he smelled bad from napping. I rolled my eyes and continued to examine his wondrous growth change, imagining any stories that could have been worth experiencing when I wasn't home at the R.U. "Stop creeping the kid out," Chestin remarked a moment later as he and Axel watched us reunite, popping the beer bottle. "Please," I countered back sarcastically, "What's creepy is how well you took care of this kid all by yourself. I'm impressed." Sammy stood there half-asleep with his head slightly tilted down, probably not even realizing that I was ruffling his hair at this point. "What 'you mean, James?" Axel's voice slurred playfully. I could hear the two men over at the counter getting busy with clinking glass cups and pouring the sizzling alcohol that only adults had access too. Which was no fair. I turned to them and my mood dropped five flights of steps as I remembered the memories of when I was under their care. We were all relatively in the same age group, but I was the youngest, and female, and let me just tell you I did not feel like a princess. Then again, when was 'Jamie James Wendy Agent W Anne Antoinette Lennon' ever a princess? The name doesn't even ring well.

23 So we drink

— Flashback —
"COME OVER HERE," his bellowing voice threatened to strangle my small neck. "Uhhh... new phone number who's this?" My voice squeaked, dashing around the parking lot. "JAMIE," Axel roared, sliding across a car and picking up his pace until we're only a few feet apart. "Wait Axel," I whined out in staggered breaths, "Wait- I'm not as young as I used to be-" "'Not as young' my ass, get your 'bout-to-be-spanked' butt over here," he growled in a low tone, grabbing my wrist and yanking it closer to him so that my body twirled abruptly against his broad chest. Now in movies that shit was romantic. My nonexistent chest hitting his solid rock one was something humanity never wanted to happen. "Ax- Axel, ple- ease please- Wait Axel!" I cried out as he grabbed my chin and surprisingly gently pulled it up to his face so that our two eyes were forced to make eye contact. "Now," he tried to catch his breath, all the while trapping me in this 'very much too close' position, "Explain... to me again what happened?" I was sweating, and I was proud to say it wasn't the sun cooking our faces this time. "Aren't you just glad I'm back?" I piped carefully, my eyes wavering from his. It was interesting to note that Helene and Carlos were standing right there with me. All three of us had stalled at a hotel and ate out at fast food restaurants before returning to the R.U. It had been two years since I stepped foot in there, and I should've looked forward to it. Correction. I looked forward to seeing one person, but I also dreaded seeing him the most. "I..." I started, gulping a little. He's making me lose my cool, luckily no other agent was outside being chased in the parking lot and then locked tightly against each other. "I slept with... him." "Now why in heaven's word did you do that, Jamie?" He raised his eyebrows, sarcastically amused to the point where I wanted to lasso the sun and hurdle it at him. "I texted you already about it," That was it. My eyes fell to some trees in the background because I honestly didn't have any good reason. He tightened his grip, making me let out a quick tsk before returning back to drilling a hole in his eyeballs. "YOU SLEPT WITH HIM," Axel reminded me, making me flinch for real, "That wasn't on the to-do list, Agent W." I pursed my lips quietly as I heard my code name being called. No doubt I was getting in trouble. "I'm sorry," I emphasized for like the twentieth time this afternoon, "I said I'm sorry!" Axel shook his head, not taking the damn apology. "Did you think this through?" No. "What would happen if he SHOT you or something?" ... Oh did I leave that part out too? Yikes...

"What if he took advantage of you?" Axel pushed, frowning at me and my stupid decisions. Alright, it was stupid. I should've trusted the R.U. and my team, not some assassin. It was just hard to rely on someone again, I had been alone for quite some time. I was used to being independent. "He didn't, Axel," My voice softened as I tried to get through to him. He was just worried. Imagine finding out your sister not only stayed at the same school with an assassin but also voluntarily chose to sleep with him. Even though I wasn't his sister, the situation was damn right similar. "Hey hey," I continued with my gentle tone, seeming that it toned down his anger a bit, "I'm alright. I'm not called the best sniper for no reason. I'm still here, right? I'm grown- up, you don't have to treat me like a child anymore." "You are a child," Axel snapped as his eyes turned dull and emotionless. I rolled my eyes, "Maybe I am. But I've experienced way too much to be dumb. Yes, maybe a moment or two I could've taken a different route and it would've been safer for me. But you know me Axel, I do what's necessary at the moment." That got him to frown at me, so I quickly continued to my next point. "In the end things will work out," I concluded, "I'm not going to die." That was what he wanted to hear. That last sentence was what he was afraid of happening the most. "You are the most handful stubborn woman fighting machine I have ever met," Axel breathed out in defeat, leaning away from me so that we could comfortably stare at each other. "That's what makes Jamie Lennon, Jamie Lennon," I commented, giving him a huge hug now that that situation was over. — End of Flashback — - "Sammy," I let out gently as I snapped out of my trance to the past. The boy angled his head towards my direction and met my eyes. "Go back to sleep, bud. You have classes tomorrow." I began walking into the kitchen towards the high cabinets for some medical tools. My left arm was throbbing every few seconds, but my mind was preoccupied with my team. Sammy groaned and scratched his head slowly. "Same-old same-old. With or without sleep I'm always shot at everyday." At the comment me, Axel, and Chestin laughed harder than we intended too, and the poor sane boy watched us adults break. "I'm already planning to be a little lenient tomorrow," I managed to let out after straining my mouth muscles. I ripped out the layer of suit that I had on with a knife and applied medicine and gauze wrappings to the wound after cleaning it. All of that took great effort too, considering I was using one arm for everything, still being in my mentally tired state, and engaging in the unadult-like laughing fit I just had earlier. And at that, Sammy was wide awake. "Wait- what?" He recited, finding his stance and walking towards me. The boy got a little side-tracked and his mischievous side sprung to surface, sliding his hand underneath a slightly drunken Axel, who had his head tilted down a bit to wait out the alcohol, and grabbing probably the man's 10th shot by now. If only I had remembered alcohol poisoning in middle school. I would be able to save him, or Chestin, if they really were going overboard. I doubt it though. From what I remember, it takes intense drinking to even be in the risk of dying, and that may still not be enough. Plus, I was sure Axel and Chestin grew some tolerance of alcohol when there were just the two of them. That's what it felt like being the third-wheel. I sighed to myself, before it was replaced with a disapproving-amused look towards Sammy, who had managed to snatch himself a shot glass and was glancing at me for permission. Before I could say anything however, Axel's head abruptly popped up from the kitchen counter, which made Sammy take a defensive step back. Chestin seemed to only care about pouring the alcohol glass after glass and poured Axel another cup of 'Jamie's forbidden drink.' He regained himself a bit before saying, "She's teaching class tomorrow." "You're lying," Sammy quickly refuted back, forced to place the drink back when Axel slapped his hand. "She's like an ancient myth. Top sniper but too busy to teach. That's what makes everyone anticipate seeing her. But since she's been away for 2 years, and the last three years she's been on so many missions, I doubt anyone remembers what she looks like. And now she's teaching class? You're all lying just to get me to sleep aren't you?" He was such a child, I loved him. Axel had choked on his drink once he heard 'ancient myth' and was now constantly laughing, in an unusually dark tone might I add, while looking down. "Stop staring at your crotch and laughing you creep," I jeered playfully at the drunken grown-man. Axel told me to ' shuddupp' and resumed back to whatever the hell kept his humor system up. "Yeah I'm being fired from work currently," I turned back to Sammy as I put the medical kit away, "I need sleep too. Whether or not you're at your best tomorrow I'll shoot like crazy, so I expect you to avoid them, kiddo." Sammy smirked and I immediately thought that whoever would be his future girlfriend, would be lucky to see his expressions. He was darn adorable and I was partially proud of him for pursuing such a dangerous career like Jay. Chestin suddenly spoke up, "I have some things to discuss with Jamie, Sam. Go to sleep, bud." I turned my head to my partner and was surprised at the fact that he sounded so stable after all of that drinking. He must be the stronger of the two- him and Axel. Axel was already knocked out. "Sleep well then, Anne, see ya," The dirty-blonde haired boy dismissed himself after waving his hand in the air and went off into the dark hallways. I watched the boy disappear into the shadows and had forgotten about something before I realized a shot glass was placed on the counter, as a way of saying, " Hey." My body turned around and Chestin had pushed away from the counter. My heart skipped a beat when he stared straight into my tired eyes before I immediately frowned. "Chestin, what's wrong?" From the way he was moving, the way he was looking at me, and the way he had spoken earlier... He had been sober this whole time. My frown deepened as the man took steps towards me, his form growing larger and larger. I took a step back, but I doubt he noticed. It almost seemed like he planned to have us alone again... There was something he wanted off his chest. I was just afraid to get started.