A/N: To everyone who has reviewed - a huge thank you, Adri, Daughter of Olorin, and Keeter. Your words mean so much to me.
It's not the end yet. Still a few more chapters to go. Have taken advantage of the fact that I have finished my dissertation (thesis) to just sit and write.
Once more, thank you.
a.
*
The thickness of the smoke was making her eyes water as she crashed blindly through it. She coughed, feeling it creep into her lungs, she threw an arm over her face and hoped she would just get through the smoke, the heat was incredible.
Suddenly the smoke cleared, and she was standing in a clear room.
Facing the raised barrel of a gun.
'No, not you.' Her heart seemed to stop.
There was nothing but coldness in him.
'Please,' she whispered. 'Please don't do this.'
The gun fired, and she was thrown backwards.
The pain was unimaginable.
*
The call had come through during the early hours of the morning. Ashleigh had been waiting for it for nearly twelve hours; she had begun to despair that it would ever happen. But it had, and she knew she had only a short amount of time to get to her destination.
It wasn't what she had expected. The building was an office block on the northern outskirts of the city, and in the early hour of the morning, seemingly deserted. Leaving the safety of her car, she slid along the walls of the building, still shrouded in darkness, the only light coming from the harsh orange streetlights that lined the road. It was just after five am, and she shivered in the cold morning.
The first problem was how she was going to get inside. There was no way she could risk a main exit. Peering around a corner, she found herself facing a narrow alleyway, unguarded, and with a dead end. Half way along was a security camera. Slipping her hand inside her jacket, she found the small canister, and slid along the wall, hoping she was out of sight for the camera. It took only seconds to spray the lens of the camera with a thick black layer of paint. Perfect. Glancing up, she saw the line of narrow windows, just as she had been told. Jumping up, she scrabbled to get a purchase on the narrow sill, digging her toes in between the bricks of the building. The first window revealed a small storeroom, not enough space to get in easily. She also couldn't risk any one walking in looking for cleaning fluids just as she dropped in.
The second window was a much better bet, revealing what looked to be a boiler room. Much better. Shielding her face, she rammed her elbow into the glass. As she had hoped, it cracked; a second blow broke the glass. Picking the glass out of the frame, she clambered through and dropped to the floor below. Immediately she dove into a corner and pulled her gun, listening for any sound that may mean someone heading in her direction.
All was clear. She cracked open the door, noting how quiet it was. That wasn't a good thing. She had to get to the centre of the building, five floors up. Pulling open the door to the service staircase, she started to run up them.
The bullet hit the metal banister next to her. Ducking, she threw herself into the stairs, and waited for the second bullet. None came. Peering up, she only just saw the gunman two flights up before he fired again forcing her back.
She decided to call his bluff, and made a run for it. Reaching the top of the next flight of stairs, she turned and fired blindly, a muffled moan told her she'd hit her target. The gunman was slumped at the top, by the door to the fifth floor. Dropping down next to him, she checked him over for weapons, but he only carried the one gun, and a supply of ammo. She breathed a sigh of relief, and pulled out the small radio she was carrying.
'Delta 5 calling all Delta units,' she hissed into it.
There was a pause, and then a crackle of life. 'Delta 1 receiving you, Delta 5.'
'Delta 5 currently heading to rendezvous point, disabled one marksman.'
'Received. Continue as agreed.'
It had been some time since Ashleigh had been part of this sort of operation, and she was relishing the challenge of working in a team again. Just as she was about to move again, the radio crackled back to life.
'Delta 3 calling all Delta units' even over the crackling radio, the urgency in the voice was clear.
'Delta 5 receiving,' Ashleigh whispered.
'We have a situation here,' the voice was panicked, and female. 'I don't know what to do...'
'Calm down, Delta 3, now tell me, what's happened?'
'Delta 4's been hit.'
'What is your location, Delta 3?'
'Fifth floor, west side of the building.'
'Ok, I'm on my way,'
'Please hurry!' there was a scream down the radio. 'They're shooting again!'
This wasn't good, Ashleigh thought with a cold trickle of sweat trickling down her back. At least she had come in on the west side of the building, she couldn't be too far away. Dashing out of the room, she found herself in a long corridor.
There seemed to be hundreds of doors. But which was the right one?
More shoots were being fired, and dangerously close. Well at least she knew that she was nearing her target. Looking down at the floor, she suddenly saw a trail of blood leading under a door. Hearing footsteps approaching she decided to risk it and stormed through the door.
Seconds later she was flat on her back as a curly haired blonde pointed her gun at her with a trembling hand.
'Don't move!' the blonde cried, in a rather crisp accent.
'It's alright,' Ashleigh whispered, 'It's alright, I'm with you, I'm Delta 5.'
'Really?' The blonde trembled.
'Really,' Ashleigh agreed gently. She recognised the young woman, a relatively new agent, part of this year's intake. She was very, very young, and even more, she was very frightened. 'You're Delta 3 aren't you?'
The blonde nodded, and slowly put her weapon down. Ashleigh finally had a chance to look round. Huddled in the corner, was a young, red haired man who looked more suited to working in the city than as a secret agent. His face was a grimace of pain, and blood was pouring from a gash in his leg.
'Delta 4?' Ashleigh asked briskly, rapidly realising she was the senior agent in the situation. The man nodded. 'What happened?'
'Ambushed when we got to this floor. Took out one man, but was shot in the leg. Think bullet went through, it's only a flesh wound.'
Ashleigh crouched by him, and gently examined his thigh. 'Think you're ok to walk? If we help?'
'Should be. Might hold you up a bit.'
'Not a problem,' Ashleigh reassured him. 'Delta 3, get on the radio, try and contact Delta 1 or 2, and inform them of our situation. They need to know.'
The blonde nodded, and grabbed the radio.
'Did you do this tourniquet?' Ashleigh asked, finding a strip of material tied round Delta 4's thigh. The blonde nodded. 'Good work,' she said with a smile, remembering the team lessons she had learnt over the years, encourage your team, highlight the positive rather than the negative. Unused to being the leader in this sort of situation, she was floundering trying to find her footing.
Delta 3 finished on the radio.
'What did he say?' Ashleigh asked.
'We're to make our way to the centre of the building as planned.'
Delta 3 paused. And then her lip began to tremble. 'I'm not going back out there!' she cried. 'I am not going back out there so I can be shot!'
'They're not going to shoot you,' Ashleigh tried to reassure her, but the blonde Delta 3 started shaking.
'They've shot Mark!' she sobbed, pointing at Delta 4.
'Which is why we need to get him out of here. Why we need to get all of us out of here safely.' Ashleigh grabbed her shoulders, and shook the blonde. 'I am not going to carry you as well as Mark! We have an injured man here, we need to get him out, and you will pull yourself together, and help! There are more lives than yours at stake here!'
The blonde glared up at Ashleigh, and Ashleigh took a sudden step backwards, recalling James's words to her during the last mission outside the research compound. He had told her to pull herself together, and get on with the mission. Much as she now told the blonde. She knew her name, had seen her in the hallowed halls of MI6, a pretty, delicate looking thing, what was her name? She was finding it hard to think.
'Sophie, Sophie, listen to me, ok?' Ashleigh tilted the woman's chin up so she could look into her green eyes. 'You'll be ok, remember, you're trained to do this. This is nothing. Follow the procedures, follow the rules, and all will be ok.'
'Alright,' Sophie seemed to square herself up, and Ashleigh felt relief flood through her, the blonde was obviously stronger than she looked.
'Good. Now help me to get Mark up.'
'What's your name?' Sophie asked quickly.
Ashleigh paused.
'I know it's not normal procedure,' Sophie added quickly, 'but as you know mine and Mark's.'
Ashleigh nodded and conceded. 'Ashleigh. Now give me a hand.'
The two women hoisted Mark up. He moaned, but went willingly. Making sure Sophie had a good grip on Mark, and Mark could use the door frame for support if needs be, Ashleigh slowly opened the door, and peered through. 'Give me a minute,' Ashleigh said quietly and slid out.
She crept along the corridor, then paused, hearing voices.
A figure appeared at the end of the corridor. Ashleigh froze.
'Who's there?' the man called. It was clear he had some sort of automatic weapon.
'Who wants to know?' Ashleigh called back, knowing the man couldn't see her clearly.
'Who are you?' the man shouted, squinting into the dim corridor. He raised his weapon...
The shot was terribly loud, Ashleigh cringed, throwing her hands over her ears and ducking. As the sound died away, Ashleigh saw the figure at the end of the corridor crumple to the floor. Another man stepped into the view, and Ashleigh breathed a huge sigh of relief.
'Delta 5, I presume?' a gentle mocking voice drifted down the corridor, as a tall, broad shouldered man walked towards her, gun swinging almost casually from his hand.
'You're a sight for sore eyes, Delta 1,' Ashleigh laughed, feeling positive for the first time in ages.
He was indeed. Harry Cohen was a senior ranking agent at MI6, a man in his mid fifties with warm green eyes, thick, sandy blond hair, and a large roman nose. Well spoken, with a rich, honey soaked accent, and a charming manner, he was popular and a good agent. Ashleigh had met him several times before, and always liked the man, she was certainly happy to see him.
'Thought you could use some assistance, Delta 5,' Cohen smiled at the young agent. 'What's your situation?'
'Delta 3 and 4 are with me,' Ashleigh gestured behind her, 'Delta 4 is injured, but we're able to move him. And yours?'
'The terrorists are currently gathered in a large room in the centre of this floor. They have five civilians hostage. I recommend that we head for this room and attempt to disarm the terrorists.'
Ashleigh frowned. 'Surely we should attempt to negotiate for the hostages first...' she put forward.
'Attempts to negotiate have failed, Delta 5,' Cohen snapped. 'We press forward, you will follow my orders.'
Ashleigh paused, shocked by the sudden change in attitude, but Harry Cohen was the senior agent. 'Yes...sir,' she agreed.
A wide grin broke over Harry's face. He hadn't noticed the hesitation in Ashleigh's voice. 'Glad we're agreed. Get the others and follow me.'
Ashleigh turned round, and beckoned the other two agents towards them. Mark was able to move quite freely now, and needed only Sophie's support.
Suddenly, she heard Harry shout. 'Get down! Now!'
As the three of them threw themselves onto the ground, an explosion ripped through the building.
'What the hell was that?' Mark, Delta 4 shouted.
'Bastards have got explosives!' Cohen roared, scrambling to his feet. A huge outpouring of smoke was filling the corridors.
'What now?' Ashleigh asked, as she helped Mark to stand. 'What do we do now?'
'The same as before!' Cohen was already moving. 'Follow me.'
As they fought their way through the smoke, Ashleigh realised they seemed to be heading more and more towards the epicentre of the explosion. The temperature was rising with every step they took, the smoke becoming thicker and thicker.
'Why aren't the sprinkler's coming on?' Sophie asked.
Good question, Ashleigh thought, nor was there the wail of a fire alarm. The enemy had obviously prepared this.
'They must have disabled the emergency system,' Cohen said from where he led.
Ashleigh squinted through the smoke, where was Harry? He had vanished into the thick clouds, and she could no longer make out his reassuring shape. 'We need to move quicker,' she cursed.
Running forward, she sprinted through the open doorway she thought she had seen Harry vanish through.
And stopped.
For a moment, her brain struggled to catch up on the facts. They had broken through into a large room, in the corner, was the five civilian hostages, but Ashleigh didn't see them. She only had eyes for Harry Cohen.
'No,' she whispered. 'Not you.'
There was no warmth in the smile he gave her, instead his thumb moved to the safety of his gun and clicked it off.
'What the hell is going on?'
Ashleigh heard Mark's voice behind her, but didn't dare turn round. Cohen moved so quickly, firing two shots in rapid succession. Ashleigh flinched, knowing that Delta 3 and Delta 4 were dead.
Now the gun turned on her.
'No, please. Please, don't do this,' she whispered.
There was nothing but coldness in his eyes. He fired.
The first shot hit her in the stomach. Her eyes widened in shock. No one had told her it would hurt this much. Already he had fired again, the second and third bullet hitting her high in the chest, flinging her backwards.
She hit the ground hard, and didn't move.
*
'Fuck!' Ashleigh howled.
Sitting up, she fumbled with the front of her jacket until she could remove the bullet proof vest from underneath it. Still swearing, she threw it to the ground next to her, and gripped her head in her hands.
'Oh god,' she moaned.
'Are you alright?' Harry Cohen offered a hand down to her. She eyed it warily, still remembering the coldness in his eyes of moments ago. She took his hand, and let him drag her to her feet.
'I'm fine,' she shrugged. Her chest was sore where the rounds had hit her, the bullets may have been absorbed by the thick vest, but she still ached, and would probably have some bruising coming up in all sorts of interesting colours within hours. She had to change her career to something less dangerous and soon.
Harry nodded, and gestured to the vest. 'Hurts like hell, doesn't it.'
'I've had worse,' Ashleigh muttered.
Behind her, Mark and Sophie were getting to their feet. Sophie still looked shaken, Mark, less so. 'I'm sorry,' she apologised helplessly, knowing she had screwed things up.
'It's alright,' Sophie smiled, but gesture looked unsteady.
'Could have happened to any of us,' Mark said, thawing slightly.
But it didn't, Ashleigh thought darkly. It happened to me. Since she had returned, her work had been sloppy, she knew it, her mind unfocused. The whole purpose of this training mission was to see how well she coped under pressure, rather than finding out half way through a real assignment. Ashleigh had managed to get three people killed, including herself. She had so wanted to prove herself on this occasion, but instead she had failed. She sighed and slumped against the wall.
'Kain,' Cohen called over to her. 'They want to take a look at you now.'
Great, Ashleigh thought banging her head back against the wall as she noticed the white coated doctors milling about on the far side of the room. 'No rest for the wicked,' she muttered.
'Breathe in please, Agent Kain,' the young doctor listened through the stethoscope as Ashleigh obediently inhaled. 'Any tenderness?'
'I've just been shot three times.' Defensively, Ashleigh resorted to sarcasm.
'Just be grateful you were wearing a bullet proof vest then, Kain.'
'Sir,' Ashleigh inwardly cringed as M appeared around the curtain.
'You'll be fine, Agent Kain, some bruising from the impact, and you might feel slightly breathless from the smoke inhalation.' The doctor, noticing M's arrival, hurriedly concluded his examination and made a hasty exit.
M picked up Ashleigh's abandoned vest, and examined the rents in it. 'I don't like using these. I don't like trusting my agents' lives to an oversized piece of wadding.'
'Sir?' Ashleigh wasn't quite sure where this conversation was going. She simply waited for M to berate her.
'I asked for you to be a part of this mission for a reason, Ashleigh,' Ashleigh was thrown by the use of her first name. 'To see how you'd cope.'
'Not very well, it seems,' Ashleigh gestured to the vest. She knew that M would have been able to view the entire sequence of events on hidden cameras. There was no point in trying to hide how badly she had done.
'I disagree. I think you did exactly what I wanted you to do.'
'What you wanted me to do? Sir, I'm afraid I don't understand.'
'Where did you think you went wrong?'
Ashleigh dropped her head. 'I should have questioned Agent Cohen's decision to lead a full on attack. But I didn't.'
'Why not?'
Ashleigh looked up, surprised. 'Agent Cohen is my superior. I've known him since I began my training; I had no reason to question his judgement, sir, no reason to ever think he was working for the enemy.'
'So you trusted Agent Cohen, despite your own misgivings about the situation?'
'Yes, sir.' Ashleigh slumped, waiting for M to attack.
'I've been considering your situation since your return, and I've come to a decision. I'm recommending a leave of absence, for an indefinite period of time.'
'What?' At first Ashleigh wasn't sure she heard right. Her mouth dried, as she fought to protest, 'Sir, no, please. I can get through this, today was nothing, a misjudgement. I know I've not been entirely focused, but I can change that, and I will.'
'I know you will. But this is an order, Kain, not a request.'
'Yes, sir.' She was being punished, she knew she was. There was no point in arguing anymore. 'Is this about what happened in St. Peters-'
M cut her off. 'I know what happened in St. Petersburg. I've also seen how those events have affected you since your return, and that's why I'm recommending this leave.' Her pale blue eyes softened. 'Think of it as an opportunity. Or as a well earned rest. Take the time to consider the important matters at hand. When you return, I'll be willing to discuss your application for 00 status.'
It was the trump card that M needed to convince Ashleigh. A spark of hope flickered in the deep brown eyes of the young woman. 'Are you sure, sir?'
'You're a good agent, Ashleigh, and you'll learn from your mistakes. You trusted Cohen today and he betrayed you, but you will learn.'
'Learn what, sir? That I can't trust anyone?' Ashleigh said bitterly.
'No, I wanted you to trust Cohen, that's why I chose an agent that you knew to lead the team. I encouraged you to trust him, because I wanted you to understand something.'
'Sir?' Confusion was clear on Ashleigh's face.
M stood, and smoothed an invisible crease from her tailored skirt. 'That trust isn't everything, Ashleigh. Remember that.'
With that, the older woman left the room, leaving Ashleigh alone. Suddenly exhausted she stared after M, and wondered why she felt M wasn't exactly referring to that day's events.
It's not the end yet. Still a few more chapters to go. Have taken advantage of the fact that I have finished my dissertation (thesis) to just sit and write.
Once more, thank you.
a.
*
The thickness of the smoke was making her eyes water as she crashed blindly through it. She coughed, feeling it creep into her lungs, she threw an arm over her face and hoped she would just get through the smoke, the heat was incredible.
Suddenly the smoke cleared, and she was standing in a clear room.
Facing the raised barrel of a gun.
'No, not you.' Her heart seemed to stop.
There was nothing but coldness in him.
'Please,' she whispered. 'Please don't do this.'
The gun fired, and she was thrown backwards.
The pain was unimaginable.
*
The call had come through during the early hours of the morning. Ashleigh had been waiting for it for nearly twelve hours; she had begun to despair that it would ever happen. But it had, and she knew she had only a short amount of time to get to her destination.
It wasn't what she had expected. The building was an office block on the northern outskirts of the city, and in the early hour of the morning, seemingly deserted. Leaving the safety of her car, she slid along the walls of the building, still shrouded in darkness, the only light coming from the harsh orange streetlights that lined the road. It was just after five am, and she shivered in the cold morning.
The first problem was how she was going to get inside. There was no way she could risk a main exit. Peering around a corner, she found herself facing a narrow alleyway, unguarded, and with a dead end. Half way along was a security camera. Slipping her hand inside her jacket, she found the small canister, and slid along the wall, hoping she was out of sight for the camera. It took only seconds to spray the lens of the camera with a thick black layer of paint. Perfect. Glancing up, she saw the line of narrow windows, just as she had been told. Jumping up, she scrabbled to get a purchase on the narrow sill, digging her toes in between the bricks of the building. The first window revealed a small storeroom, not enough space to get in easily. She also couldn't risk any one walking in looking for cleaning fluids just as she dropped in.
The second window was a much better bet, revealing what looked to be a boiler room. Much better. Shielding her face, she rammed her elbow into the glass. As she had hoped, it cracked; a second blow broke the glass. Picking the glass out of the frame, she clambered through and dropped to the floor below. Immediately she dove into a corner and pulled her gun, listening for any sound that may mean someone heading in her direction.
All was clear. She cracked open the door, noting how quiet it was. That wasn't a good thing. She had to get to the centre of the building, five floors up. Pulling open the door to the service staircase, she started to run up them.
The bullet hit the metal banister next to her. Ducking, she threw herself into the stairs, and waited for the second bullet. None came. Peering up, she only just saw the gunman two flights up before he fired again forcing her back.
She decided to call his bluff, and made a run for it. Reaching the top of the next flight of stairs, she turned and fired blindly, a muffled moan told her she'd hit her target. The gunman was slumped at the top, by the door to the fifth floor. Dropping down next to him, she checked him over for weapons, but he only carried the one gun, and a supply of ammo. She breathed a sigh of relief, and pulled out the small radio she was carrying.
'Delta 5 calling all Delta units,' she hissed into it.
There was a pause, and then a crackle of life. 'Delta 1 receiving you, Delta 5.'
'Delta 5 currently heading to rendezvous point, disabled one marksman.'
'Received. Continue as agreed.'
It had been some time since Ashleigh had been part of this sort of operation, and she was relishing the challenge of working in a team again. Just as she was about to move again, the radio crackled back to life.
'Delta 3 calling all Delta units' even over the crackling radio, the urgency in the voice was clear.
'Delta 5 receiving,' Ashleigh whispered.
'We have a situation here,' the voice was panicked, and female. 'I don't know what to do...'
'Calm down, Delta 3, now tell me, what's happened?'
'Delta 4's been hit.'
'What is your location, Delta 3?'
'Fifth floor, west side of the building.'
'Ok, I'm on my way,'
'Please hurry!' there was a scream down the radio. 'They're shooting again!'
This wasn't good, Ashleigh thought with a cold trickle of sweat trickling down her back. At least she had come in on the west side of the building, she couldn't be too far away. Dashing out of the room, she found herself in a long corridor.
There seemed to be hundreds of doors. But which was the right one?
More shoots were being fired, and dangerously close. Well at least she knew that she was nearing her target. Looking down at the floor, she suddenly saw a trail of blood leading under a door. Hearing footsteps approaching she decided to risk it and stormed through the door.
Seconds later she was flat on her back as a curly haired blonde pointed her gun at her with a trembling hand.
'Don't move!' the blonde cried, in a rather crisp accent.
'It's alright,' Ashleigh whispered, 'It's alright, I'm with you, I'm Delta 5.'
'Really?' The blonde trembled.
'Really,' Ashleigh agreed gently. She recognised the young woman, a relatively new agent, part of this year's intake. She was very, very young, and even more, she was very frightened. 'You're Delta 3 aren't you?'
The blonde nodded, and slowly put her weapon down. Ashleigh finally had a chance to look round. Huddled in the corner, was a young, red haired man who looked more suited to working in the city than as a secret agent. His face was a grimace of pain, and blood was pouring from a gash in his leg.
'Delta 4?' Ashleigh asked briskly, rapidly realising she was the senior agent in the situation. The man nodded. 'What happened?'
'Ambushed when we got to this floor. Took out one man, but was shot in the leg. Think bullet went through, it's only a flesh wound.'
Ashleigh crouched by him, and gently examined his thigh. 'Think you're ok to walk? If we help?'
'Should be. Might hold you up a bit.'
'Not a problem,' Ashleigh reassured him. 'Delta 3, get on the radio, try and contact Delta 1 or 2, and inform them of our situation. They need to know.'
The blonde nodded, and grabbed the radio.
'Did you do this tourniquet?' Ashleigh asked, finding a strip of material tied round Delta 4's thigh. The blonde nodded. 'Good work,' she said with a smile, remembering the team lessons she had learnt over the years, encourage your team, highlight the positive rather than the negative. Unused to being the leader in this sort of situation, she was floundering trying to find her footing.
Delta 3 finished on the radio.
'What did he say?' Ashleigh asked.
'We're to make our way to the centre of the building as planned.'
Delta 3 paused. And then her lip began to tremble. 'I'm not going back out there!' she cried. 'I am not going back out there so I can be shot!'
'They're not going to shoot you,' Ashleigh tried to reassure her, but the blonde Delta 3 started shaking.
'They've shot Mark!' she sobbed, pointing at Delta 4.
'Which is why we need to get him out of here. Why we need to get all of us out of here safely.' Ashleigh grabbed her shoulders, and shook the blonde. 'I am not going to carry you as well as Mark! We have an injured man here, we need to get him out, and you will pull yourself together, and help! There are more lives than yours at stake here!'
The blonde glared up at Ashleigh, and Ashleigh took a sudden step backwards, recalling James's words to her during the last mission outside the research compound. He had told her to pull herself together, and get on with the mission. Much as she now told the blonde. She knew her name, had seen her in the hallowed halls of MI6, a pretty, delicate looking thing, what was her name? She was finding it hard to think.
'Sophie, Sophie, listen to me, ok?' Ashleigh tilted the woman's chin up so she could look into her green eyes. 'You'll be ok, remember, you're trained to do this. This is nothing. Follow the procedures, follow the rules, and all will be ok.'
'Alright,' Sophie seemed to square herself up, and Ashleigh felt relief flood through her, the blonde was obviously stronger than she looked.
'Good. Now help me to get Mark up.'
'What's your name?' Sophie asked quickly.
Ashleigh paused.
'I know it's not normal procedure,' Sophie added quickly, 'but as you know mine and Mark's.'
Ashleigh nodded and conceded. 'Ashleigh. Now give me a hand.'
The two women hoisted Mark up. He moaned, but went willingly. Making sure Sophie had a good grip on Mark, and Mark could use the door frame for support if needs be, Ashleigh slowly opened the door, and peered through. 'Give me a minute,' Ashleigh said quietly and slid out.
She crept along the corridor, then paused, hearing voices.
A figure appeared at the end of the corridor. Ashleigh froze.
'Who's there?' the man called. It was clear he had some sort of automatic weapon.
'Who wants to know?' Ashleigh called back, knowing the man couldn't see her clearly.
'Who are you?' the man shouted, squinting into the dim corridor. He raised his weapon...
The shot was terribly loud, Ashleigh cringed, throwing her hands over her ears and ducking. As the sound died away, Ashleigh saw the figure at the end of the corridor crumple to the floor. Another man stepped into the view, and Ashleigh breathed a huge sigh of relief.
'Delta 5, I presume?' a gentle mocking voice drifted down the corridor, as a tall, broad shouldered man walked towards her, gun swinging almost casually from his hand.
'You're a sight for sore eyes, Delta 1,' Ashleigh laughed, feeling positive for the first time in ages.
He was indeed. Harry Cohen was a senior ranking agent at MI6, a man in his mid fifties with warm green eyes, thick, sandy blond hair, and a large roman nose. Well spoken, with a rich, honey soaked accent, and a charming manner, he was popular and a good agent. Ashleigh had met him several times before, and always liked the man, she was certainly happy to see him.
'Thought you could use some assistance, Delta 5,' Cohen smiled at the young agent. 'What's your situation?'
'Delta 3 and 4 are with me,' Ashleigh gestured behind her, 'Delta 4 is injured, but we're able to move him. And yours?'
'The terrorists are currently gathered in a large room in the centre of this floor. They have five civilians hostage. I recommend that we head for this room and attempt to disarm the terrorists.'
Ashleigh frowned. 'Surely we should attempt to negotiate for the hostages first...' she put forward.
'Attempts to negotiate have failed, Delta 5,' Cohen snapped. 'We press forward, you will follow my orders.'
Ashleigh paused, shocked by the sudden change in attitude, but Harry Cohen was the senior agent. 'Yes...sir,' she agreed.
A wide grin broke over Harry's face. He hadn't noticed the hesitation in Ashleigh's voice. 'Glad we're agreed. Get the others and follow me.'
Ashleigh turned round, and beckoned the other two agents towards them. Mark was able to move quite freely now, and needed only Sophie's support.
Suddenly, she heard Harry shout. 'Get down! Now!'
As the three of them threw themselves onto the ground, an explosion ripped through the building.
'What the hell was that?' Mark, Delta 4 shouted.
'Bastards have got explosives!' Cohen roared, scrambling to his feet. A huge outpouring of smoke was filling the corridors.
'What now?' Ashleigh asked, as she helped Mark to stand. 'What do we do now?'
'The same as before!' Cohen was already moving. 'Follow me.'
As they fought their way through the smoke, Ashleigh realised they seemed to be heading more and more towards the epicentre of the explosion. The temperature was rising with every step they took, the smoke becoming thicker and thicker.
'Why aren't the sprinkler's coming on?' Sophie asked.
Good question, Ashleigh thought, nor was there the wail of a fire alarm. The enemy had obviously prepared this.
'They must have disabled the emergency system,' Cohen said from where he led.
Ashleigh squinted through the smoke, where was Harry? He had vanished into the thick clouds, and she could no longer make out his reassuring shape. 'We need to move quicker,' she cursed.
Running forward, she sprinted through the open doorway she thought she had seen Harry vanish through.
And stopped.
For a moment, her brain struggled to catch up on the facts. They had broken through into a large room, in the corner, was the five civilian hostages, but Ashleigh didn't see them. She only had eyes for Harry Cohen.
'No,' she whispered. 'Not you.'
There was no warmth in the smile he gave her, instead his thumb moved to the safety of his gun and clicked it off.
'What the hell is going on?'
Ashleigh heard Mark's voice behind her, but didn't dare turn round. Cohen moved so quickly, firing two shots in rapid succession. Ashleigh flinched, knowing that Delta 3 and Delta 4 were dead.
Now the gun turned on her.
'No, please. Please, don't do this,' she whispered.
There was nothing but coldness in his eyes. He fired.
The first shot hit her in the stomach. Her eyes widened in shock. No one had told her it would hurt this much. Already he had fired again, the second and third bullet hitting her high in the chest, flinging her backwards.
She hit the ground hard, and didn't move.
*
'Fuck!' Ashleigh howled.
Sitting up, she fumbled with the front of her jacket until she could remove the bullet proof vest from underneath it. Still swearing, she threw it to the ground next to her, and gripped her head in her hands.
'Oh god,' she moaned.
'Are you alright?' Harry Cohen offered a hand down to her. She eyed it warily, still remembering the coldness in his eyes of moments ago. She took his hand, and let him drag her to her feet.
'I'm fine,' she shrugged. Her chest was sore where the rounds had hit her, the bullets may have been absorbed by the thick vest, but she still ached, and would probably have some bruising coming up in all sorts of interesting colours within hours. She had to change her career to something less dangerous and soon.
Harry nodded, and gestured to the vest. 'Hurts like hell, doesn't it.'
'I've had worse,' Ashleigh muttered.
Behind her, Mark and Sophie were getting to their feet. Sophie still looked shaken, Mark, less so. 'I'm sorry,' she apologised helplessly, knowing she had screwed things up.
'It's alright,' Sophie smiled, but gesture looked unsteady.
'Could have happened to any of us,' Mark said, thawing slightly.
But it didn't, Ashleigh thought darkly. It happened to me. Since she had returned, her work had been sloppy, she knew it, her mind unfocused. The whole purpose of this training mission was to see how well she coped under pressure, rather than finding out half way through a real assignment. Ashleigh had managed to get three people killed, including herself. She had so wanted to prove herself on this occasion, but instead she had failed. She sighed and slumped against the wall.
'Kain,' Cohen called over to her. 'They want to take a look at you now.'
Great, Ashleigh thought banging her head back against the wall as she noticed the white coated doctors milling about on the far side of the room. 'No rest for the wicked,' she muttered.
'Breathe in please, Agent Kain,' the young doctor listened through the stethoscope as Ashleigh obediently inhaled. 'Any tenderness?'
'I've just been shot three times.' Defensively, Ashleigh resorted to sarcasm.
'Just be grateful you were wearing a bullet proof vest then, Kain.'
'Sir,' Ashleigh inwardly cringed as M appeared around the curtain.
'You'll be fine, Agent Kain, some bruising from the impact, and you might feel slightly breathless from the smoke inhalation.' The doctor, noticing M's arrival, hurriedly concluded his examination and made a hasty exit.
M picked up Ashleigh's abandoned vest, and examined the rents in it. 'I don't like using these. I don't like trusting my agents' lives to an oversized piece of wadding.'
'Sir?' Ashleigh wasn't quite sure where this conversation was going. She simply waited for M to berate her.
'I asked for you to be a part of this mission for a reason, Ashleigh,' Ashleigh was thrown by the use of her first name. 'To see how you'd cope.'
'Not very well, it seems,' Ashleigh gestured to the vest. She knew that M would have been able to view the entire sequence of events on hidden cameras. There was no point in trying to hide how badly she had done.
'I disagree. I think you did exactly what I wanted you to do.'
'What you wanted me to do? Sir, I'm afraid I don't understand.'
'Where did you think you went wrong?'
Ashleigh dropped her head. 'I should have questioned Agent Cohen's decision to lead a full on attack. But I didn't.'
'Why not?'
Ashleigh looked up, surprised. 'Agent Cohen is my superior. I've known him since I began my training; I had no reason to question his judgement, sir, no reason to ever think he was working for the enemy.'
'So you trusted Agent Cohen, despite your own misgivings about the situation?'
'Yes, sir.' Ashleigh slumped, waiting for M to attack.
'I've been considering your situation since your return, and I've come to a decision. I'm recommending a leave of absence, for an indefinite period of time.'
'What?' At first Ashleigh wasn't sure she heard right. Her mouth dried, as she fought to protest, 'Sir, no, please. I can get through this, today was nothing, a misjudgement. I know I've not been entirely focused, but I can change that, and I will.'
'I know you will. But this is an order, Kain, not a request.'
'Yes, sir.' She was being punished, she knew she was. There was no point in arguing anymore. 'Is this about what happened in St. Peters-'
M cut her off. 'I know what happened in St. Petersburg. I've also seen how those events have affected you since your return, and that's why I'm recommending this leave.' Her pale blue eyes softened. 'Think of it as an opportunity. Or as a well earned rest. Take the time to consider the important matters at hand. When you return, I'll be willing to discuss your application for 00 status.'
It was the trump card that M needed to convince Ashleigh. A spark of hope flickered in the deep brown eyes of the young woman. 'Are you sure, sir?'
'You're a good agent, Ashleigh, and you'll learn from your mistakes. You trusted Cohen today and he betrayed you, but you will learn.'
'Learn what, sir? That I can't trust anyone?' Ashleigh said bitterly.
'No, I wanted you to trust Cohen, that's why I chose an agent that you knew to lead the team. I encouraged you to trust him, because I wanted you to understand something.'
'Sir?' Confusion was clear on Ashleigh's face.
M stood, and smoothed an invisible crease from her tailored skirt. 'That trust isn't everything, Ashleigh. Remember that.'
With that, the older woman left the room, leaving Ashleigh alone. Suddenly exhausted she stared after M, and wondered why she felt M wasn't exactly referring to that day's events.