Fear
Bella's POV
25th May
After going through the same test, with the same objects and conditions, with Hayley, Ruby and Emma, I was eager to meet with Ciara the next morning. She was calm when she was let into my classroom. I watched her eyes rake over my covered desk.
"Good morning, Recruit. Please, take a seat."
She sat just as the others had done, but she gave me a small smile.
"I have to admit, I am very curious about you, Ciara. You aren't like the others. Not entirely. I've seen that you process information differently compared them. And I think that's partly to do with your Father."
Her eyes widened and they became glossy with tears.
"What do you know about my Dad?"
"That he's got a high IQ, OCD and ADHD."
"Have you seen him?"
"Ciara, like you, I'm not allowed out of here. I've only read a file that Victoria gave me. I'll never be free again, neither will you. But I assure you, he's safe."
"He's okay, though?"
"Yes. And he will be as long as you continue cooperating. So we need to get on with today's class. What I am doing with each of the recruits is test them individually. It's just a simple test for me to determine your thinking patterns."
Explaining through the test, I let it carry through just as I had done so with the others. When I tapped my finger against the desk the first time, it didn't appear as though she'd noticed. But after her second answer, her head tilted to the side. She paused for a moment. She was figuring it out. Working through the items, she got half of them correct the first time. On her second attempt, she took more time considering the pairings. All of them were correct, her reasonings slightly out. I allowed it. I'd purposefully made the specific reasonings obscure.
"Test completed. Well done. Dean will be here in a moment to take you back to classes."
"Did I do well?"
"Yes. You did. I'm not surprised though. I expected your response to this test."
"Why?"
"As I had been saying before, each of us inherit traits from both our parents. Your Mother is left brained, and your Father a strong right. Whilst most take traits predominantly from one parent, you are seemingly 50/50. So the creative parts of your brain are equally as strong as the analytical parts. Which is why your observational skills are better than the other recruits."
"So what happens next? Am I going to be sent out on a mission?"
"Not yet. My next job, in regards to you, is to help you learn how to control yourself, and stay calm under pressure. You could be a top Agent one day, Ciara. You just need a little guidance and support first."
"Thank you. I know how difficult…"
The heavy metal door was opened, and she cut her sentence short. But I knew what she was going to say. She understood. She understood how hard this was for me. Dean took her away, leaving me alone in my classroom.
Sitting behind the cleared desk, I started writing out my report. After a few minutes, the door was opened again. I wasn't expecting anyone. But from the time between each footstep, the temperature of the body, and the whiff of testosterone, I knew it was Sebastian. I didn't look up. I didn't care to. He strode into the room, leaving the door open. Standing in front of my desk, he leaned his fists onto it.
"She's ready."
"No, she's not."
"We need them out there."
"Send them out, and they die. Then you're back to square one. You gave me the job of preparing them for missions, you have to trust that I will tell you when they are ready."
Placing my pen down, I folded my hands together and looked up at him. He stared at me, trying to figure me out.
"We have a mission coming up. I trust you'll have one of the recruits ready to take with you."
"When?"
"26 days."
"I'll have them ready. Only when we've run the simulation though."
"It's being arranged for the 17th of June. That will give two days to prepare the winning recruit for the mission."
"Works for me."
He turned to the door, walking over to it. Before he left, he stopped.
"I never thought I'd see the day you'd be one of us. It's good to have you on board, Isabella."
I gave him a smile, showing him I was on side. I may not know when I'm fooling Victoria, but I could easily read Sebastian. And I had him right where I wanted him.
Late in the evening, I had all the recruits gathered in my classroom. They'd each completed the test. Their results were varied. Really varied. I let them all sit in silence for a few minutes, causing their nerves to grow. I had a squeezy ball in my hand, bouncing it against the wall. The loud bangs it made when it hit the floor and wall, put them on edge.
"In less than a month, one of you will be chosen to go on a mission with me. I have to prepare you for that. And I have to say, there is a lot of work to do. The individual testing that I have carried out these last two days has proved that if any of you went out on a mission tomorrow, you would all either be caught, or killed."
I glared along the line of them, needing them to understand the severity of what was going on. They didn't realise how close their first missions were. All they'd heard for the last six years was about becoming Agents. Missions were like myths to them, only talked about, never seen.
"You don't get a second chance when you're out on a mission. You make a mistake, cops could be on you in minutes. If you get caught, you will be eliminated… for good. You won't be arrested; you won't be rescued. You'll be taken out. We can't have any loose cannons. Bodies are quieter than Agents."
They all looked terrified. Good. I can't teach them to control their fear if they aren't scared.
"Summer."
Her eyes widened and her fingers gripped her chair.
"Fourteen minutes, thirty seven seconds, nine attempts."
I watched as some of the others relaxed, knowing they hadn't done the worst in the class.
"Paige. Fourteen minutes, twenty two seconds, ten attempts."
She looked down, hiding her shame.
"Hayley, thirteen minutes, fifty, nine attempts. Sienna, thirteen minutes forty-one, twelve attempts. Caitlin, ten minutes fifty-six, eight attempts. Sophie, ten minutes fifty-three, seven attempts. Ruby, ten minutes thirty-nine, eight attempts. Emma, nine minutes six, five attempts. And Ciara, two minutes three seconds, two attempts."
The others all turned to stare at her, shocked by how well she'd done compared to them.
"My job isn't to test your intelligence, it's to prepare you for missions. I thought I'd spent enough time telling you all how important the power of observation is. You didn't listen. I all but gave each of you the answers. Only Ciara figured out how. Every time each of you made a pairing, I tapped a finger. If I tapped my right index finger against the desk, you were incorrect. If I tapped my left, you were correct. All of you were too focused on the test that you didn't notice. When you are given a target you have to be focused on it. But you need to be observant too. CCTV cameras, security, staff. You need to know everything in a split second. There are too many factors to be in control off when going into a mission. You will be prepared for as much as possible, but when it comes down to it, you are on your own. I will continue to test you throughout the next three weeks. If I don't think you are keeping up, you will be dropped from this class, and put on hold as Agents."
Bouncing the ball, I turned away from them.
"Figure out how much you want this. I'll give all of you the skills you need to be great Agents. You just need to use them."
I pressed the call button on my desk.
"It's in your best interests to step it up."
The heavy door opened and two of the guards came in, escorting the girls away. As they left, Trey came in. He closed the door behind him.
"You're doing the right thing, Is."
"I know. They'll be good Agents one day, they just need a little more help getting there."
I perched on the side of my desk. He stood in front of me, placing his hands to my knees.
"Once you've got them out there, we'll be going out together again. Sebastian is making us into the dynamic duo."
"Sounds fun."
He tapped the side of my knee and held his hand out to me.
"Come on. I have to take you back to your room."
Sighing, I ran my hand through my hair.
"I was hoping to run for a bit."
"Sorry Is, I've been told to take you to your room. We can run tomorrow."
"Fine."
Taking his hand, I hopped down from my desk. My hand stayed pressed against his as we walked through the facility to my isolated room. He opened my door to let me in. Unusually, he came in and closed the door behind us.
"Issy, we need to talk about how it's got to be. What happened on our last mission, we may have got away with it, but we can't have this tension between us."
"I know, Trey. And I'm sorry. I just needed time."
I stood in front of him and placed my hand to his chest.
"We're a good team, Trey. And you get me. You know what it's like to be us. That mission, I wasn't in the right headspace. I was adjusting back to this way of life. I was angry at you for not telling me about Dr Cullen. I needed time to figure out what I wanted. And you were right, you know. I do love you."
He grinned down at me, his hand sliding onto my cheek. We stared at each other for a few moments. Slowly leaning up, I pressed my lips to his. He stayed calm at first, letting me control the kiss. But his hands came up to my waist, pulling me into his chest. Running my fingers into his hair, I moaned softly. I let my hands grab at him, telling him exactly what I wanted.
He lifted me up, walking over to the metal slab of a bed. Laying me back on it, he pulled at his shirt, throwing it onto the floor. Climbing over me, his hands grabbed my thighs, holding them open around his hips. I shifted my shoulders, pulling my top and sports bra over my head. His lips were suddenly on my breasts, kissing my soft skin. Moaning, I pulled at his hair. My legs squeezed around his hips and I slid my hands down his back. His lips moved up to my neck, sucking on it as his hands pushed my shorts down my legs. I was naked underneath him. Kissing under my jaw, he pressed his body down against mine, him naked now too. My fingers curled into his back, trying to pull him up. He got the idea. One of his large hands held my thigh in a tight grip, the other running up and down my body. He thrust up into me, grunting into my neck. I moaned loudly, digging my nails into his back. Rocking into me, he groaned. Trailing his lips down my body, he pulled my nipple between his teeth. My back arched, my head tilting to the side. With my mouth wide open, I continued moaning. I could feel myself nearing the verge of pleasure. Lifting my knees around his hips, I tangled my fingers into his hair.
He was good at this, really good, but all I could imagine was Edward. He was the only one I wanted to be with.
Trey's mouth widened around my breast, grunting as his hips moved faster. Closing my eyes tighter, I let out one long moan as I came heavily around him. He moved faster, breathing heavily over my chest before he sank his length deep inside of me, exploding.
He held himself above me, staring down at me. I lifted my head, pecking his lips. He kissed me again before sitting up, pulling his clothes back on.
"We should have done that a long time ago, Issy."
"Sorry."
Sitting up, I pressed my chest into his back and touched my lips to his neck.
"At least we've done it now. We can have more fun in the future."
"I look forward to that. But I have to go. They'll notice if I haven't left soon."
"I know."
"When we're on missions together, we won't have to be so careful. Until then, we have to be discreet."
He twisted round, pecking my lips.
"Sleep. We have a lot of training to do tomorrow."
"Sure."
Grinning, he stood up and walked out of the room, the heavy door closing and locking behind him.
Third Person
Victoria and Sebastian were waiting for Trent to join them. He made his way through the dark hallways, pushing open the door of Sebastian's office.
"She fell for it."
Grinning across at him, Sebastian slammed his hand on the table.
"We have her right where we want her."
"She's come around to our cause."
"Do you trust her?"
"Issy could fool you, but she couldn't fool me. She's with us."