Chapter One
Alex
Laura walked out the door, leaving me with a gaping hole in my heart and the feeling that I'd just lost the best thing that had happened to me in a long while. Standing in the centre of the hallway, I stared at the door, wishing I had a time machine and a little more common sense.
'Yeah, Alex, smart move,' I murmured. 'You can survive in any terrain, in any condition, but you can't survive your clucky girlfriend.' I groaned and rocked forward until my forehead banged into the wall. 'I am so bloody tactful,' I snapped, furious with myself.
The phone rang and for a brief second I thought it was Laura. Then, like a bad dream, the last conversation I'd had with her, just a minute or so ago, came flooding back. She wouldn't be calling me for the next hundred years. At least. I'd blown it big time.
'Hello?' I said, not really paying attention. A small bug crawled across the countertop and disappeared under the half raised chopping board. Lucky bug, I thought, it gets to just crawl and hide when things go bad.
'Is that Alex Craig?' a voice rasped in my ear.
The voice was so unexpected, so alien, that I flinched and dropped the phone. It bounced onto the kitchen bench and I made a clumsy grab for it. My hand bumped into the chopping board and sent it crashing down onto the bug. Guess hiding isn't that great after all.
'Alex Craig?' the voice said again as I stuck the phone to my ear.
'Speaking,' I answered, trying not to shudder. What was wrong with me?
Whoever was on the other end of the line gave a little chuckle. 'Good,' it said. 'Can you give your friend Hex a little message for me?' As though anticipating my next question, it added, 'I can't find his number in the phone book. Must be private.'
I almost dropped the phone again. Definitely not normal. 'Ah...'
'Tell him-' another gurgling laugh '-it's good to keep your loved ones close, but he's doing a shit job on the enemies part. They're the ones you need to watch.'
'Okay...' I'd started to back away, even though the phone was coming with me.
The voice breathed heavily for a second and then, as though they'd just remembered something, added quickly, 'Say hi to... Amber for me.'
There was a click in my ear and I dropped the phone onto the table as if it were glowing red hot. My new single status forgotten, I grabbed my coat and bolted out the door. What had Hex gotten himself into now?
Once I arrived at work, I parked the car and rushed for the lift which was finally working after months of having displayed an "out of order" sign. Some of the officers were still using the stairs as routine, not even bothering to check and see if the lift was working. Harry had joked that the elevator was deliberately staying out of order so that the fitness levels of the officers would increase.
'Come on, come on,' I chanted under my breath. The message for Hex had got me in a panic, though why, I had no idea. Okay, so the person hadn't said who they were, had had a creepy voice and left a weird, almost threatening message for me to pass on, but what grounds did that give me to judge? Hex had his variety of colourful and out-there contacts, some of those from questionable backgrounds, and he was a hacker, obsessed with codes and whatnot, so maybe the person had just given me a coded message. I shook my head and jumped out of the elevator as it arrived on the fourth floor.
'Alex! I was wondering when you'd show up.' Li barrelled along the hall and pulled up just centimetres from me. She winked. 'Not like you to sleep in, hey?'
I swallowed hard and pasted a smile on my face, hoping it didn't look as fake as it felt. 'Yeah. First time for everything.'
'Oh, Alex, what's the matter?' Nothing got past Li. She was by my side in a split second, one hand on my shoulder, her eyes filled with concern. 'Did I say the wrong thing? I'm sorry.'
'No, no, no,' I protested, shaking my head. 'I said the wrong thing, not you.'
'What?' Li was baffled.
I sighed. 'Laura and I had a big argument this morning and she walked out. I am now single again.'
Li made sympathetic noises and squeezed my shoulder. 'She's a complete fool then.' A grin lit up her face. 'Feel better now I've inflated your ego?'
'Kind of.' Smiling back, I tried to seem as sincere as possible. Li was doing her best to make me feel better, but, oddly, it was making me feel worse.
'Don't lie.'
I laughed, genuinely this time. Yep. Nothing got past Li. I said so and she chuckled as well.
'I'm perceptive. Handy skill to have when you've got friends in denial. So,' she added, 'this little argument with Laura. Want to talk about it?'
'Um...'
'No pressure,' she said hurriedly as I hesitated. 'But, if you ever need an ear to bash, I'm here.'
I smiled. 'Thanks, Li. I really appreciate it.'
Paulo breezed towards us, looking amused. 'Watch your backs,' he said as he stopped next to us. 'Hex is coming and-' he shot a quick glance up and down the empty hall and lowered his voice '-he's just been involved in a bit of a disagreement with our lovely boss.'
'Why the secrecy?' Li whispered back.
Shrugging, Paulo answered, ''Cause we can?'
Li rolled her eyes and whacked his arm, making Paulo's smile widen.
'Can't keep her hands off me,' he said to me, then ducked as Li went to hit him again. She could've floored him in seconds, but wouldn't have dreamt of it in a million years. That was real affection.
My mind drifted again as the two of them continued flirting. Where would Hex have gone after his fight with Abigail? Normally the money would have been on Amber, but she was having a day off, so who else was left apart from us?
'I'm going to go see Mara and Neil. Bye guys,' I called over my shoulder. Li and Paulo raised a hand then went back to teasing each other. I rolled my eyes and stepped into the elevator again. Up to level seven and down to office Five-A.
Neil opened the door with a weary expression on his face. 'Alex. Gosh, I haven't seen you in ages. Come on in. We're on our first coffee break.'
'At nine o'clock?' I asked as I followed him in.
Neil dismissed the joking tone in my voice and nodded. 'Abigail's working us so hard, I think we need it.'
Inside the poky office, Mara was half asleep in her chair and Hex was glaring into his cup of coffee. I gulped. Paulo hadn't been exaggerating. Hex was furious.
'Morning,' I said as cheerfully as possible.
Hex grunted and didn't look up but Mara stirred and gave me a warm smile.
'Good morning, Alex. How are you?' she asked, struggling upright.
'I've been better. You?'
'Same. I'm so tired I want to curl up in a ball and die.'
Neil laughed. 'Tad drastic isn't it?'
Looking and sounding completely serious, Mara said, 'When you're working under the female reincarnation of Hitler, nothing is too drastic.'
'Hex! I almost forgot!' I babbled, wanting to steer Mara away from any violent thoughts that might've been creeping up.
His head came up, eyebrows drawn together in an anxious frown. For the first time, I realised just how old Hex looked. And not just Hex. Li, Paulo, Amber, Mara, Neil, me... We were all in our early twenties and yet we could have passed as ten years older. Stress, fatigue and a tonne of emotionally draining times had piled years on us all, years we'd probably never get back if we kept working for MI5, under Abigail.
'Someone rang me this morning, just before I left. Didn't leave a name, but they had a really raspy voice. They said to tell you that it's good to keep your loved ones close, but you're doing a shit job on the enemies part.' I thought hard. There was something else... 'And they said to say hi to Amber for them.'
Hex looked at me, his face thoughtful. I'd expected either panic or recognition so it was a pleasant surprise. 'A prank call? But they knew my name and Amber's, so not likely, although...'
I tuned out as Hex went through numerous possibilities out loud. Neil handed me a cup of coffee and I drank it without tasting it. Finally, Hex stood up, his expression unreadable. He'd been silent for a few minutes so I looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to blow us away with the conclusion he'd come to.
'I need to go see Amber. Cover for me until I get back.' He swept out of the room, leaving Mara snoozing in the chair again and Neil and I clutching our now coffee-free mugs. I had a really bad feeling about the phantom caller and there was nothing I could do except sit and wait.
