Sorry it has been almost a month since my last update. Life just gets in the way sometimes.

Thanks for those that have reviewed and left comments or theories. It means a lot.

Here is chapter 5. Please let me know your thoughts in a Review. Thanks!

Chapter

5

The Swan Headquarters

Medical Wing

11:34 AM

Before beginning her training, Casey stopped in to see how Taiki was doing. Dr. Shepherd and a few other curious scientists that worked for the agency in the medical lab were currently examining the young man.

"Hey, Casey!" Taiki exclaimed with a smile when he saw her enter the room.

He was sitting in that dentist's chair again as the tech from the ceiling scanned his brain with a blue beam circling his head and the doctor made notes.

"How's it going so far?" The young agent asked, hoping she wasn't disturbing their work too much.

"They're still trying to figure out what the chip does." Taiki replied. "All they know so far is that it's the reason why I'm so smart and my brain can sometimes download certain information."

"We have also detected some kind of inscription on the back of the chip but are still trying to make out what it says." Dr. Shepherd said, causing Casey to swoon at his accent like always.

"How did you see that when the chip is still in his head?"

"The computer scanned it, providing us with an exact replica displayed on the image reader to study."

"That's amazing." The young agent marveled as the doctor indicated the holographic image before them.

The see-through screen showed a purple rectangular device with the etchings of what appeared to be another language on it's surface, but it was still too small to make out.

"Does this zoom in?"

"We are working on it right now. One of the circuits malfunctioned on us."

"This is interesting." Casey said while leaning closer for a better look.

Dr. Shepherd nodded, "I've never seen anything like it before. Whoever created it was a genius."

"Oh yeah, they were a real genius placing a chip inside a three-year-old kid's head," Taiki scoffed with sarcasm. "Who knows what else this thing could do."

Casey placed a hand on his shoulder, sensing his discomfort about the whole subject.

"If there was any way to remove it without harming you, we would." She smiled sympathetically at the troubled young man.

"I know. I'd give anything to have a normal brain." He sighed with a shake of his head. He then looked up at her with a new topic in mind. "I heard about your assignment."

The young agent looked at him in confusion, "How? It was basically just given."

"Ms. Inez told me. She wants my help getting you into The Collective."

"How will you do that?"

"I have some information that may help get you in."

"What is it?"

"I'm not supposed to say yet until your boss is sure we're going to use it."

"That's understandable."

"Are you nervous at all?"

"About what?"

"The assignment. Have you ever gone undercover as a criminal before?"

Casey shook her head, "No… Well a little…" She half smiled at him. "To be honest, Taiki, this will be my first official deep undercover assignment, so I will definitely be under a lot of pressure, but with the proper training and motivation, I know I'll be fine."

"That's great to hear."

"Speaking of training, I better get going. It's going to be a long two weeks."

"Hold on there, Agent McDonald." Dr. Shepherd said. "We got the system working again. You might want to see this."

The doctor averted her attention to the holographic screen and zoomed in on the purple chip in Taiki's brain. A Japanese symbol was etched into the middle of the tiny square.

"I'm afraid I don't know much Japanese," Dr. Shepherd apologized as they inspected it. "Do you know what it says?"

"I think it means eternity…" Casey guessed while trying to remember the symbols she'd studied in her languages training class at R.E.D.

"You're close," Taiki spoke with a grim expression. "It means infinity."

"Infinity? What does that have to do with a chip?"

He shook his head, "I'm not sure."

"We better inform Ms. Inez." Dr. Shepherd said as he pulled out his phone and began to dial.

"I should really get going before I'm late. Colonel Yemchuk seems tough and I'd rather not disappoint him on my first day." Casey grimaced and headed for the exit.

"Thanks for stopping by, Casey. I'll see you soon, right?" Taiki asked.

"Hopefully." The young agent waved goodbye before hurrying to her first training session.

(=)

Office Wing

9:41 PM

"What do you make of these equations and codes?" Karma asked her boyfriend as the two sat in Ben's office going over the file Taiki had given them. She handed him the paper she'd been reading with a sigh of frustration. "It's like another language. I can't figure this stuff out."

"I think we need a break. We've been going at this since noon." Ben replied as he leaned back in his chair and stretched out his arms with a yawn. "My brain can't take in anymore information without combusting all over this desk."

"We can't stop until we have something that will benefit Casey's mission."

"I know, I know." Ben grumbled while taking the paper she handed him and began looking it over.

Karma placed her hand over his, forcing him to look into her eyes as she spoke softly, "It's killing you that she was asked to go alone, isn't it?"

He ran a hand over his stubbled face and breathed out deeply through his nose, "I just… I've always been right there with her. We've been partners for six years, Kar. How does Inez expect me to just sit back while Casey goes in there alone? It'll be like surrendering an innocent lamb to a pack of vicious wolves."

"Casey can handle herself."

"I know, but I'd still feel a lot better at her side."

"Just think how Derek feels."

"Speaking of Derek; the guy still hasn't shown his face around here since last night."

"Do you think he's okay?"

"After what Casey told us…" Ben shook his head with a frown. "The poor guy finally got up the nerve to propose only to get slapped in the face by this mission. He's taking it hard, and I really can't blame him."

"Casey's not exactly composed about this either. She only puts on a façade for the Agency, but I can tell she's about to crumble, especially if Derek doesn't return and support her."

Ben nodded and once again stared down at the sheet of equations and codes that Taiki had written out for them from his mind. His eyes widened when he suddenly understood what they meant as he turned to his girlfriend and spoke hurriedly, "We need to call Inez up here immediately!"

"What's wrong?"

"Whatever The Collective is planning, it's going to involve a mass genocide."

"This mission just got a whole lot worse."

(=)

Women's Dormitory Wing

10:25 PM

Casey could hardly keep her eyes from closing as she shoved open the door to her place and collapsed on the couch in the living room, not bothering to even take off her shoes. She hadn't trained this hard in a long time and it was draining.

First, Colonel Yemchuk had her show him some of her combat moves while he ran a simulator for her in the training room. He said her moves were impressive but she lacked brutality and had her do the same course over and over.

"You will be a lean, mean, killing machine after I'm finished with you." Yemchuk quoted with a grin while instructing her in the simulation process.

Then, she'd met with Mela, who insisted on taking snap shots of her head, hair, eyes, and body, so that she could determine the best way to transform her image to that of a vicious assassin.

"You're not going to shave my head or anything too drastic, are you?" Casey asked the woman nervously. "I mean… not that the style doesn't look good on you or anything…"

Mela laughed as she messed with Casey's hair and took another picture, "It's alright, sweetie. I don't think the shaved look would suit you anyway. We want you going in there as not only fierce and intimidating but also sexy as hell. You're a gorgeous woman, but after I'm finished with you, you'll be turning heads left and right in this agency."

Casey blushed and let her continue taking pictures, not sure how to respond to that.

After she'd eaten a quick dinner and fallen asleep at the table, the young agent was sent to meet with Agent Morvis. Apparently he'd been a spy at The Swan for thirteen years and done numerous undercover assignments. He was one of the best and that was why Olivia requested his expertise to teach Casey.

"One of the most important things to remember is to never break character." Agent Morvis said as he stood with his hands behind his back and a solemn expression on his face. "When you go in there, you are no longer Agent Casey McDonald. That girl is gone. You will become your new identity. You will be an assassin. Am I clear?"

Casey nodded her head.

"It will be tough and they will try to break you if they get even the slightest hint that you aren't who you say you are. I learnt from experience on my first undercover mission." He said and pointed to the X shaped scar on his neck. "They almost broke me down, but I managed to convince them in the end."

The young agent shivered at the thought of what the enemy had done to him and avoided staring at the scar for fear of the thoughts beginning to form in her mind of returning with ones of her own.

Agent Morvis continued to brief her on the knowledge she needed to attain and what it required. He even gave her books, files, and videos to study and learn from, which was what Casey did best, so she happily accepted.

A sudden knock at the door startled the exhausted agent from her thoughts as she sat up with a groan and walked towards the entrance. She knew Karma wouldn't be back till even later because she and Ben were working hard on digging deep into the file Taiki had supplied them with, plus she wouldn't knock on her own door.

She twisted the handle and was surprised to see the one person she couldn't get out of her mind all day.

"Derek." Casey breathed out with wide eyes.

"You're finally home." He breathed out with a sigh. "Can I come in?"

She nodded silently and stepped aside for him to enter, then closed the door behind him. He looked rough. He was still dressed in the same clothes from yesterday, he smelt like beer and cigarette smoke, and he had huge dark circles under his eyes.

"Why haven't you answered my calls?" She asked with her hands on her hips.

He shrugged, "I wasn't in the talking mood."

"But you are now?" She raised a brow and folded her arms across her chest.

"I was earlier when I tried finding you but your training is obviously more important."

Casey rolled her eyes. "Don't start that crap, Derek. Where have you been? Ben said you never came home last night and you wreak like you spent the night in a bar."

"That's exactly what I did."

"Der-ek!" She raised her voice and smacked him on the shoulder. "Anything could've happened to you! I've been worried sick!"

He glared at her, his brown eyes penetrating her blues, "You've got to be kidding me right now, Case. How do you think I'll feel when you take this assignment?"

Casey shook her head and looked away from him, "I already told you, I'm doing this whether you agree or not."

"There are so many other agents here fully capable of going. Ones that don't have a boyfriend or girlfriend that will be constantly on edge and thinking about them every second that they're gone." Derek said as he began pacing the room.

"Olivia choseme, Derek. She chose me. Do you have any idea what that means? I've been going crazy with the lack of missions over the past two years due to extra training. I've been waiting for something like this to happen, needing it. This is my chance to prove what I can do."

Derek suddenly grabbed her by the arms and forced her to look at him, "I can't lose you, Casey! I can't do it again!"

A look of understanding washed over her features as she lifted her hand to caress his face and softened her tone, "What happened in Germany and in Russia was not your fault. You need to forgive yourself and move on. It's been two years, Derek."

"I don't want to ever feel like that again." He closed his eyes, forcing the tears back and refusing to cry in front of her. "Watching that helicopter lift into the air with your unconscious body onboard was the hardest thing I've ever had to face. I didn't think I would ever see you again."

"But you did."

"That's not the point."

"Yes it is. You did see me again, Derek. You didn't give up, you managed to help save me and the entire world in the process." She folded her arms across her chest as she narrowed her eyes at him and spoke. "Your problem is that you lack faith."

"Apparently I lack anything to do with this freaking job." He growled bitterly and stepped back. He ran his hands through his already messed up hair and let out a sigh, "I don't want to do this anymore."

Casey's breath caught in her throat at the pained look in his eyes, wondering what he meant by this.

"You're breaking up with me?" She whispered as tears began to mist in her eyes.

"No, Case." He threw up his hands in frustration. "I don't want to live this life anymore. I'm tired of living in secret and never seeing our family. Don't you miss them?"

"Of course I do, but I do this because of them. When we first got together, I asked you if you could handle this kind of life and you said yes. Now you suddenly change your mind?"

"I would've agreed to anything just to be with you! That's what love is! It's about making sacrifices, and I paid the ultimate one. I gave up my career for you!"

"So now you're suddenly just taking it all back?"

"Not without you. Can't we both just turn away and start a new life together? Let's move back to London and spend time with our family. Our little brother barely knows who we are anymore because we only see him maybe once a year. Marti is a teenager now, a freaking teenager, Casey. Soon she's going to get so fed up with waiting for us to call or visit and is going to start rebelling against our parents and hating us."

"You're over-exaggerating."

"No I'm not!" He snapped with clenched fists at his sides.

Casey hung her head, hating to see him act this way, but what she hated even more was what she needed to say, "Derek, I love you too, more than anything, but… I can't just walk away. This job is a part of who I am and if I… If I leave, I'm afraid I'll lose a part of myself."

"Maybe it's time you make a sacrifice for me."

"Maybe it's time that you actually believe in me."

"I do believe in you, Case, but I just… I can't let you do this. I don't feel right about it."

"I don't need your permission."

"Casey…"

"I'm done with this conversation, Derek. If you can't stand by me, then I don't want you here."

"You don't mean that."

"If you miss our family so much, then go see them and let me do my job."

"Your job is going to kill you!" He suddenly exclaimed loudly with a red face.

Casey just stared at him for a moment as a pained expression crossed her features in the deafening silence that surrounded them. There was no changing his mind. She knew what she had to do, even though the thought caused her stomach to wrench in pain.

"If you can't support me… Then I don't want to be in this relationship anymore." She said with all the strength she could muster as she fought to hold back the tears threatening to fall.

Derek's face was expressionless as he shook his head and began to walk towards the door, "Fine. Have it your way, Case. This wasn't much of a relationship anymore anyway."

He was about to twist the handle when the door unexpectedly swung open on it's own.

"Oh, hey, Derek!" Karma said as she entered the dormitory. "Ben's been worried about you." She suddenly felt the tension in the room as she looked back and forth between her friends and frowned. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt…"

"We're done here anyway." Derek deadpanned. He turned back towards Casey with a cold hard stare and spoke, "If I don't see you in six months… I guess I'll know why."

"Derek?" Karma asked as he walked out the door.

Derek looked at the young blonde remorsefully and ground out through clenched teeth, "See you around, Kar," before he was gone, the door slamming shut behind him.

"Casey…?" Karma looked at her roommate and friend with utter confusion and immediately rushed to her side when Casey suddenly dropped to her knees with her head in her hands as tears began streaming down her face.

"What did I just do?" The young agent sobbed into her roommate's arms.

"What happened?"

"I ended it. I told him to leave. I had to do it, Kar. I had to. The world needs me." She cried into her roommate's shoulder.

Karma had never seen Casey break down like this and wasn't exactly sure how to handle it as she smoothed back her friend's hair and rubbed her back while trying to calm her with a reply, "Sshh. It's going to be okay, Casey. He'll be back."

"But I'll be gone."

Thanks fro reading! I hope you're not too upset with me... I promise it will get better... eventually... ;)

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God Bless!