Elizabeth Hunter stared at her reflection. Bloodshot eyes and a nearly sickly complexion greeted her in the mirror. This wasn't the image she wanted projected on her first day back at work. At the F.B.I, nonetheless. Her last assignment was still giving her nightmares. She'd killed a man for the first time in her life. The image of crimson liquid seeping from his chest and the life fleeing his eyes were haunting her.
She was still supposed to have a few days of leave so imagine her surprise when she'd received a phone call from Ryan Hardy. She knew of his reputation and also that his current case involved Joe Carroll. To say he'd been brief was generous and curiosity had gotten the best of her.
Dressed in a casual business suit that stated 'don't mess with me', she made her way down the packed hallways of the Bureau, ignoring the looks and whispers headed her way. Her gaze landed on Ryan Hardy's figure and rushed to him.
"Mr. Hardy," she loudly began, catching his attention. He wearily looked her over seemingly confused. "I'm Elizabeth Hunter. You called yesterday and requested that we meet."
His eyes widened slightly as he took in her appearance. She may not like it, but there was a reason why her colleagues called her 'Ice Queen' or 'bitch'. To the man's credit he quickly recovered and motioned for her to follow him. She was aware that he was a man of few words, but this was ridiculous. Did he expect her to just follow him like an obedient puppy? Her mouth started talking before checking with the reasonable side of her brain, like usually.
"I know your reputation and I respect you, but you could at least tell me why you brought me here instead of just showing me to follow you."
Surprised blue orbs turned to study her again and this time the man acknowledged her with a nod. "I have a potential assignment for you. If you are willing to accept it."
Shock overwhelmed her. The best task force of the F.B.I needed her? She knew she was good, but compared to Ryan Hardy? She was rookie. "I..." her words got stuck in her throat when she saw the boards filled with images of Joe Carroll and his followers, she deduced.
A younger man and a woman walked to her. "Agent Hunter, these are agents Mike Weston and Gina Mendez. As you probably assumed, they work with me on the Joe Carroll case."
To say she was speechless was an understatement. Did they want to hand her an assignment related to Joe Carroll or was she jumping to conclusions and they simply wanted her to bring them coffee or something? Catching on to her bewilderment, Ryan continued:
"We have recently pinpointed Emma Hill's whereabouts and we suspect that is where Joe Carroll is heading after the disaster at Lily Gray's compound."
Elizabeth was even more confused. Where was this conversation going?
"It's a cult called Corban, founded a decade ago," continued Ryan.
"That's great. If you know where he is, go arrest him. Still, I don't get what this has to do with me?"
"He's not there yet. At least not according to out intel. Corban is located in a remote location in the middle of a forest. We can't place a surveillance detail without their scouts knowing. That's why we want someone on the inside, who can alert us to Emma's moves or if Joe shows up."
The breath was knocked out of her lungs. They expected her to go undercover in Joe Carroll's cult? Were they insane? She shook her head, ordering her derailing thoughts. "You're completely out of your minds. Joe Carroll is a deranged sociopath who will see straight through my cover. I might take risks from time to time, but I don't have a death wish. Don't you have more experienced agents?"
Gina nodded, a silent way of telling Elizabeth she was right while Ryan and Mike exchanged knowing looks. Mike seemed to accept her choice, but Ryan was known for his resilience. The young woman steeled herself for an attempt to convince her.
"You're right," Ryan finally declared."You were not our first choice. Hell, you were not even our third, but everyone else declined. I've seen your record. You were top of your class and you excel at undercover work. Besides, you're young and were nowhere near the Carroll case so there are practically no chances of him recognizing you."
Nice try, she thought, but not good enough for her to enter the lion's den. "I'm sorry, but I can't do it," she turned on her heels and headed for the door.
"People will die!" a scream laced with desperation made her halt."Tens or hundreds will die because you were afraid. Will you be able to sleep at night knowing that you could have prevented that? Will you just be able to resume your life and merely change the channel when another Joe Carroll murder is on the news?"
Damn, he'd hit her soft spot. She knew she couldn't. Sighing, she turned around. "You know I can't," she fired back at him. If he was going to send her to a safe death, at least she will give him a piece of her temper. "So, tell me, Ryan, how am I supposed to pull off this miracle job of yours?"
"We'll create a fake identity for you to use to infiltrate the cult as a regular member. The cult isolates its members from the outside world, but we will try to sneak a phone in your luggage. If they confiscate it, I can bet my life that Emma has a phone so you will have to use that one if there is any vital information to be conveyed."
"So basically, you've told me a bunch of variables and I'm supposed to simply figure everything out along the way. While trying not to get killed."
"I'm sorry," spoke Mike for the same time. Gina was content to just give her a small smile.
"Save it," she snapped."Apologies won't keep me alive. Let's work on creating my cover since that might," her tone allowing no more further discussion.
Hours later, they'd come up with what they thought was a perfect new identity. She'd wished to stay as close as possible to the truth so she'd be more believable. Now, she was Katherine Alexander, a 31 year old woman who strived to be a writer. She was a bit of a loner with no real friends and whose parents had died. She worked as a waitress, but had resigned because her long term boyfriend had ended their engagement. It stayed as humanly possible to her real life, but offered enough drama for her decision to join Corban to seem legitimate.
She took the file to study Katherine better and bid goodbye to the three agents she'd just met. They wished her luck and the hope in their eyes was reassuring that she was doing the right thing.
"I think you can do it," Ryan's raspy voice whispered in her ear and, surprisingly, it helped ease some of the nerves that had built up.
A week later, she was leaving Katherine's small one bedroom apartment and getting in the car with one of Corban's members, a blonde woman called Tilda whose soulless eyes sent shivers down her back. A dense forest led to a remote campus with a larger building, in which Elizabeth assumed were the leaders, and smaller ones for the members. As expected, she and her luggage were searched and her phone was taken away from her.
Tilda proceeded to guide her to the mansion where a man and a woman greeted her. "I'm Micah and this is Julia, my wife." He hugged her and the blonde followed her husband's lead. They were trying to earn her trust, she concluded.
A series of questions followed, but she answered them without blinking, her new identity familiar enough to make it believable. A white robe and mask were handed to her and with them the orders to never take them off in public until she passed the initiation.
"It's an honour to have you join us and share our beliefs," they finally declared and Melanie barely suppressed a sigh of relief. She'd accomplished the first step.
"It's an honour for me to be welcomed here," she answered meekly as expected of the weak woman she was portraying.
"Tilda will take you to your room," Micah commanded at the same time dismissing them. That's when a slender blonde with short cropped hair burst into the chamber.
"Joe's coming," she announced, her voice beaming with pride and happiness at the news she was delivering. Elizabeth immediately recognized Emma Hill and couldn't help but stare at the woman. She didn't seem threatening, but there was an edge to her voice and posture. Probably feeling another pair of eyes burning a hole into her, Emma turned.
"Who the hell are you?" she demanded.
Remembering her place, Elizabeth lowered her brown eyes. "I'm Katherine," she murmured.
"She's the newest addition to our cult," dismissed Micah, jerking his head in Tilda's way, ordering her to take Elizabeth away.
Emma narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but Elizabeth remained silent and showed her obedient character by following Tilda. This is what was expected of a follower so she would deliver. It would keep her alive.
"Who was that?" she feigned ignorance.
"Emma Hill."
Elizabeth could swear she heard disdain hidden behind her voice, but her gut told her not to challenge the bigger woman.
"What about Joe?"
"You'll see," dodged again Tilda.
"When is he coming?"
It seemed that she'd pushed too hard because Tilda abruptly turned around. "What's with all the questions?"
Panicking on the inside, she faked a smile. "I'm just curious."
"Well, don't be," she stopped in front of a grim looking building"This is where you'll be staying. You have your own room and bathroom. Last door on the left."
With that, she left. Elizabeth pushed the doorknob with a trembling hand, and only allowed emotions to surface once she was safely in her small chamber. What had she gotten herself into? Why was Joe here so fast and how could she alert Ryan without meeting her end? All the questions were weighing on her tired brain so she plopped on the uncomfortable bed to try and get some sleep.
Despite the restless nature of slumber, it was still comforting although cut short by a woman practically breaking down her door. She was flushed and her face expressed joy and a small amount of fear.
"Come down to the stage. He's here."
Without further explanations, she ran down her hallway. Her disoriented mind needed a few seconds to realize the implications of the woman's voice, but once it did there was no doubt.
Joe Carroll had arrived.