I stayed up later than I wanted to just so I could finish this chapter and post it for you guys!
I hope you like it. Please let me know your thoughts!
Thanks to those who reviewed. :)
Chapter
6
The hallway was dark and narrow as she edged along the wall, clutching her tranquilizer gun in one hand while using the other to feel her way through the lack of light. She was blind. A sudden noise from up ahead startled her and the grip on her gun tightened when she noticed a closed door with light shining through the bottom, trying to escape into the rest of the surrounding darkness.
She wanted to call out but decided against it and continued forward with caution.
Stopping at the door, she placed her hand on the knob and slowly twisted. The wood creaked, causing her to cringe slightly, as it opened and she peered inside.
"He's got the puck and he's racing for the net!" A loud voice suddenly announced and she realized that she'd been transported to a hockey arena during a game. The crowd was cheering and going wild as one of the players skated across the ice with the puck in his possession towards the opposing team's net. She recognized the number on the player's back and her heart sped up.
"Derek."
"Think again, Casey." A familiar voice spoke and she spun around to see him seated next to her in the bleachers with a grim expression etched onto his face.
"W… What are you doing up here? Aren't you supposed to be down there? You were about to score a goal."
"That goal never happened."
"How come?"
"Because my hockey career is over, and now apparently so is our relationship." He sighed with a shake of his head. "We'll never get a chance to live normal again. Thanks to you, Casey, I have nothing."
"That's not true. You still have me."
"Do I?"
"Of course you do!"
"You're not even you anymore." He said as he stood up with a remorseful look upon his face.
"What do you mean?"
"Goodbye, Casey."
"No, wait, Derek!" She cried and grabbed his arm before he could leave but when she looked around she was back in that doorway, standing in a dimly lit room.
"Derek…?" She breathed out as her eyes began to search desperately for him. He couldn't' be gone. He just couldn't.
"Are you finally going to set me free?" A weak voice spoke up from the corner, startling the secret agent. Her finger tightened on the trigger of the gun in her hand, ready to shoot anybody who would get in the way of her finding Derek.
"Who's there?" Casey asked cautiously, while taking a step forward.
"Please let me go?" The voice begged. It was a woman.
"How did you get here?" She took another few steps forward and could make out a figure seated on a wooden chair. Her hands and feet were bound by duct tape and dark hair hung over her face, shrouding it from Casey's view.
"You're here to kill me now, aren't you?" The woman trembled, refusing to lift her head and meet Casey's gaze.
"I… Why would I do that?"
"You don't want me around."
"Do I know you?"
"Quit playing games and just shoot me already!" The woman suddenly screamed with rage, frightening the confused agent as she took a step back.
"I'm not going to shoot you. This isn't even a real gun." Casey replied as she held up the weapon to show her. A gasp escaped her mouth when she noticed that this wasn't her tranquilizer gun. This one was much heavier and didn't have the blue swan logo on it. It was a real gun.
"I… I don't understand." She breathed out while staring at the weapon in her hand.
"Either get it over with, or let me go." The voice of the woman pleaded.
"Tell me who you are." Casey demanded, pushing her baffled thoughts about the gun to the back of her mind.
The woman began to laugh uncontrollably, which frustrated Casey even more.
"What is so funny?" She questioned with a bitter tone.
"You." The woman answered and continued to laugh. "You really don't know who I am."
"Then show me!" Casey shouted and lunged forward, gripping the woman by the shoulders and forcing her head to look up. Sapphire blue eyes identical to hers met Casey's gaze and she froze.
"I'm you." The woman grinned. "At least a part of you anyway."
"What?"
"And now I see that you'll never have the guts to kill me." She said as she suddenly stood up, the binds around her legs and hands ripping apart like paper. "So I guess I'm in control now."
Before Casey could react, the gun was suddenly taken from her hand and pointed at her chest by the other version of herself.
"It's about time you unlocked that door. Now that Derek's gone, I have free reign." She smirked and then Casey watched herself pull the trigger and fire.
BANG!
(=)
The Swan Headquarters
Women's Dormitory
5:52 AM
Casey awoke with a gasp and sat up in bed. Her breathing was rapid as she tried to calm it by breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth. She was drenched in her own sweat, which was very unappealing.
"What kind of dream was that?" The disturbed agent spoke aloud to herself while dropping her head into her hands with a sigh.
Knock Knock.
Casey lifted her gaze towards the door at the end of her room and waited for the voice to speak from behind it.
"Casey?" It was Karma. "Can I come in?"
The young agent hurriedly stood up, grabbed a towel hanging on the back of her door and dried herself off before opening the door to her roommate's concerned face.
"Karma, what are you doing up so early?"
"I always wake up at 5:30 to do some extra training exercises in the gym." The petite blonde said while looking her over with a frown. "I was about to head out the door when I heard you screaming."
"I… I wasn't screaming." She avoided staring into her friend's eyes.
"You had another nightmare, didn't you?" Karma persisted as she placed a hand on Casey's arm.
The young agent didn't reply.
"That's the third one this week, Casey. Do you want to talk about it?"
"No." She replied with a shake of her head. "I'm fine."
"You don't seem fine. It's been six days since Derek left and you've hardly said a word. All you do is train and act like you're not tearing apart on the inside, when I know that's not true."
"Kar, I'm serious. I don't want to discuss this."
"Why not?"
"Because I have a mission to prepare for and don't have time to think about anything else!" Casey suddenly snapped angrily in her roommate's face.
Karma took a step back, removing her hand from Casey's arm and replacing it at her side.
The young agent saw the hurt look in her friend's eyes and immediately regretted raising her voice at her. She only cared and wanted to help.
"Kar, I'm sorry." Casey apologized.
Karma shook her head, "Don't apologize. I get it. You're under a lot of stress and I'm just getting in the way." She said and began to turn around to leave.
"Wait," Casey spoke and grabbed her hand. She pulled the young blonde into her arms and hugged her. "I appreciate your concern. It really does mean a lot. I just… I need to deal with this on my own right now. What happened with Derek is my problem. A part of me wants to talk about it, but another part of me knows that I need to focus on this mission. If I mess it up, the whole world could be in trouble. I can't let that happen."
"I understand." Karma smiled reassuringly while pulling away from the hug to look into her eyes. "I admire you, Casey. You would give up everything to save lives, even your own if you had to. This really is where you were meant to be."
"Thanks, Kar." Casey half smiled. "I just wish Derek was more understanding like you are."
"He is."
The young agent decided not to comment and changed the subject.
"Well since I'm up, I might as well start doing some more studying and let you carry on." She said and turned back around to head into her room once again.
"One more thing, Case…" Karma said.
"Yes?"
"You need a shower," the blonde grinned as she pinched her nose. "Your sweat smell is making me queasy."
"Don't make me drop kick you!" Casey warned with a chuckle.
"Bring it!" Karma hollered while laughing as she retreated down the hall towards the front door.
"Don't forget who trained you, Agent Hesston!"
"Exactly, Casey! You trained me, which means I know all of your moves!" The blonde peeked her head around the corner with a wink before disappearing, the sound of the door closing behind her.
Casey shook her head with a smile; thankful for the friendship she had with Karma, as she began to rummage through her drawers for something to change into that wasn't covered in sweat.
"Kar's right," Casey sniffed with a frown, "I do smell." She spoke aloud while pushing thoughts of the dream and Derek to the back of her mind and making her way towards the bathroom to have a warm shower before the rest of her day of constant training and studying would soon begin.
(=)
Training Simulator
3:09 PM
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Casey fired at the targets as they popped out in front of her; she missed one but kept moving, running through the field simulator designed to train her in combat.
"Pick up the pace, McDonald!" Colonel Yemchuk hollered into the earpiece she was wearing. "Your next target is up ahead. Don't hesitate. Just shoot."
Casey swiped at the sweat on her forehead while continuing forward at a faster pace. The lights suddenly dimmed and she slowed her pace, making sure she was aware of her surroundings and checking every shadow that loomed around her.
Suddenly a figure appeared in front of her and Casey pulled the trigger, hitting the target in the chest twice before it went down.
"You're getting better." Yemchuk's voice said as the lights turned on and the simulator faded out.
"Are we finished yet?" Casey asked while taking a breather and making her way out of the simulation room and towards her bottle of water seated on the bench of the training gym.
"We are going to try something a bit more challenging." The Colonel replied with a grim expression.
"Now?" Casey asked after chugging down a few sips of water. She was exhausted and in need of a break. She'd been training with Yemchuk for three hours now, but he still kept pushing her and telling her she wasn't ready yet.
"You have four days before the mission, agent McDonald, but you still haven't convinced me that you're ready."
"What more do I have to prove? I've passed almost every simulation you've given me, I know how to handle a real gun, and my combat has gotten stronger and stealthier."
"I want to see how you handle yourself when faced with a real situation. These people are no joke. If you can't convince them you're a professional, it's all over for you. They will test you again and again."
"How will they test me?"
"You will be asked to kill a random stranger." He deadpanned.
Casey's eyes widened, " But… I won't actually have to, right?"
"Let's hope it doesn't come down to that." A third voice spoke up and Casey turned to see Agent Dominic Morvis enter the gymnasium, followed by three tech guys from the experimental instruments lab. One of them was pushing a cart with a metal case on top.
"What's going on?" Casey asked as Agent Morvis approached her with a grin.
"It's time to step up your training and also test out some latest gadgets that may become useful on your mission."
"How so?"
"Allow the guys to demonstrate." He said gesturing to the men in white lab coats.
One of the men, a short bald man named Denver opened up the case and pulled out what appeared to be a 9mm pistol with a silencer. He held it up and aimed it at Agent Morvis.
"What are you…?" Casey began to say but was cut off as he fired the gun and the bullet hit the Jamaican full force in the chest. She screamed as blood began to form and he dropped to his knees.
"Agent Morvis!" Casey rushed to his side and placed her hand on the wound, but stopped when everyone else began laughing at her.
"What's so funny?" The flustered agent demanded to know. "We need to get him to the medical wing immediately!"
"He's fine, Agent McDonald." Denver smirked.
"What?"
"He said I'm fine." Agent Morvis suddenly said as he looked up at her with a huge grin upon his face. "Your reaction was priceless though."
"What… What is going on? You were shot… You're even bleeding…"
Dominic stood to his feet and touched the blood on his chest.
"It's not real. Neither was the bullet. The gun and the bullets appear to be real but when fired at someone, the bullet explodes before impact and releases a chemical that looks and feels like actual blood. That way, the bad guys won't become suspicious when a target is shot and not bleeding. We will also be adding a sleeping agent to it as well, that will knock the victim out for twelve hours. It's much stronger than the tranquilizer darts we use and will slow down the heart enough that it will be impossible to find an actual pulse if they check."
"Whoa…" Casey's eyes widened. She then remembered that they had tricked her with the weapon and became angry. "You couldn't have just told me this in the first place?"
"We thought it'd be more fun the other way." Agent Morvis shrugged. "And we were right."
"Well it wasn't fun for me! Men are such insolent assholes sometimes, you know that?" The young agent huffed as she turned to leave.
"Where are you going, Agent McDonald? Your training isn't finished yet!" Yemchuk hollered.
"Screw all of you! I'm going on a break!" Casey yelled and stormed out of the gym while some of the guys still continued to laugh from behind her.
Casey hurried down the hall towards the elevators and pressed the up button multiple times, even though she knew it didn't make it arrive any faster.
"Whoa, Bluebird, what's the hurry?" Ben's voice spoke from behind her.
Casey groaned and turned to glare at her partner as the elevator came to a stop and dinged open.
"Umm… I'm guessing I caught you at a bad time…" Ben speculated while Casey got into the elevator and waited for him to follow.
"Are you getting in or not?" The young agent snapped, getting impatient with the man still standing in the hall staring at her.
"I think I'll catch the next one…"
"Just get in, Benjamin!"
He knew not to mess with that tone and quickly hopped onto the elevator as the doors closed.
He noticed Casey press the top level and then she looked at him expectantly, "Where are you going?"
"I… uhh… Same as you." He lied. He was really headed towards the cafeteria to meet Karma for a late lunch but his gut was telling him that Casey needed a friend right now, so he pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to his girlfriend that he wouldn't be able to make it and placed it back in his pocket.
"So… Do you want to talk about it?" Ben asked as they continued to ascend.
"Talk about what?"
"Whatever's got you so pissed off right now…"
"I'm fine."
"You don't seem it."
The elevator stopped and the doors opened to a small rectangular room. Both agents approached the keypad located on the far wall and entered in their access codes.
A beep sounded and the door slid open, letting in the fresh air of the outside world as the two agents stepped into the deserted parking garage and the door closed back up to look like a regular cement wall.
"Do you actually have a reason for going top level, or are you just following me?" Casey asked when they began walking towards the exit.
"What's your reason for going top level?"
"I asked you first."
"Maybe I just wanted to get some fresh air." Ben argued.
"Don't we all." Casey sighed.
The duo stepped out into a clearing and breathed in the air surrounding them. Neither of them had stepped outside in almost two weeks. It felt good.
"Why are men such imbeciles most of the time?" Casey suddenly voiced her thoughts aloud, catching Ben off guard.
"Excuse me?"
Casey groaned as she kicked a rock across the open dirt field and stuffed her hands inside her pockets, "Never mind."
"Are you talking about all guys, or one in particular?" Ben raised a questioning brow at her.
The young agent sighed, "Some of the guys played a stupid trick on me in the gym and I just lost it on them. I called them names and stormed out, not caring about finishing my training session. Honestly though, I could really care less about their stupid prank… it's just the fact that it reminded me of Derek…"
Ben nodded in understanding.
"Why hasn't he contacted me?" She asked rhetorically, forcing the tears back as she stared at the ground. "I can't even find him on the search grid. He even turned off his GPS tracker."
"The Agency probably did that. Derek basically quit when he walked out that door. I wouldn't be surprised if they even took him in for questioning and to sign legal documents about not breathing a word of this place to anyone."
"What if they erased his memory like they did to everyone at R.E.D.?" Casey's eyes went wide with worry.
"Olivia wouldn't let that happen."
"What if it was out of her control?"
"She would tell you, Casey."
"Not if it jeopardizes the mission."
"Look, let's not jump to conclusions just yet. I'm sure Derek just needs time to sort out everything right now. Let the guy be alone for a while. He'll come around."
Casey turned and looked up to meet her partner's eyes and spoke, "Be honest with me, Ben. If the roles were reversed and Karma was the one going undercover, would you react the same way Derek did?"
Ben averted her gaze and let out a sigh as he brought up his hand to rub his stubbled chin in thought.
"Well… Considering Kar isn't as experienced as you…"
"No. Think of her having the same amount of experience as me. Would you still allow it?"
"I wouldn't be thrilled about it," he paused with a shake of his head. He then met her gaze once again. "But if she was anything like the spy I know you are, I'd have faith in her and let her do her job because I know she's capable and determined."
Casey smiled warmly and pulled Ben into an embrace as she rested her cheek against his broad chest, "Thank you." The young agent breathed out as a tear fell from her eye.
"You have what it takes, Bluebird. I know you can do this. Being a spy is in your nature. If you can do this job, then I'm sure you can pull off being a badass assassin as well." Ben spoke softly while returning the hug.
Casey finally pulled away and wiped at her misted eyes, "I guess we better get back inside. I'm already going to get a lecture from Colonel Yemchuk about walking out the way I did. He's probably going to make me stay extra longer for training."
"Don't over exhort yourself, Casey. I'm actually proud that you told them off and took a break. You don't get enough with how hard they've been pushing you."
"I don't really have a choice. We're trying to cram years of training into two weeks. I don't really blame them for being so severe."
Ben's phone began buzzing and he pulled it out of his pocket to answer it, "Hey." Pause. "She's with me." Pause. "Just needed some fresh air." Pause. "Yeah, we'll be down right away. Love you too." He said and hung up.
"What's up?" Casey asked curiously.
"That was Kar. Inez is looking for you. She's called a meeting and apparently it's very important."
"Uh oh…" The young agent's eyes widened. "Am I in trouble?"
"Nah. I doubt the Colonel would actually tattle on you to the boss. It's probably to do with the mission, so we better hurry down there." Ben said as they both began sprinting towards the entrance back into their secret underground facility.
(=)
Meeting Room
4:37 PM
"We have your Alias and your way into The Collective." Olivia Inez announced from the head of the large glass table and slid a manila file folder Casey's way. The young agent caught it and held it in her hands while glancing around at the rest of the table's occupants, which consisted of: Agent Blake, Agent Hesston, Agent Morvis, Colonel Yemchuk, Mela, Dr. Shepherd and Taiki.
"How am I getting in?" Casey asked while gripping the folder and refusing to acknowledge its existence at the moment.
"Through a source that would prefer to remain anonymous, we have discovered that The Collective is looking to recruit some new members to their secret alliance. Apparently they will be holding some kind of auditions that will require you to use your skills in any way they deem necessary. You're basically being tested."
"But what if I fail?"
"You won't. We'll be with you every step of the way."
"How?"
"Our tech team has created a new pair of colored contacts you will be wearing with your new identity. They aren't just contacts though, they will remain in your eyes and never get dry or itchy, and they will provide us with a video feed of your every encounter while undercover. We will see what you see."
"What about if she's going to the bathroom or showering?" Ben asked with a raised brow, basically voicing Casey's exact thoughts.
"All you have to do is touch the inside lobe of your right ear whenever you wish to have some privacy, however, we request you never leave it off for more than an hour at a time."
"And how will I hear you? They will no doubt be searching for listening devices imbedded in my ears."
"Not if we inject it."
Casey's eyes widened, "You're not serious, are you?"
"It's the only way we can stay in contact with you."
"I'm going to have you speaking in my ear 24/7?"
"No. You will be able to control it by pinching your left earlobe."
"Right is Eyes, left is ears." The young agent repeated a couple of times to herself with a nod.
"We will be able to guide you during the audition in any way we can. Most of it will depend on you though, Agent McDonald."
"I understand."
Her hands shook as she looked down at the folder in her hand, knowing everyone was eagerly waiting for her to open it and read it's contents, but the young agent couldn't help hesitating.
"Go ahead and take a look." Ben urged her with a gentle nudge from the seat next to her. "Karma and I assisted in putting it together."
Casey raised a surprised brow at him, "You came up with my alias?" She couldn't believe they hadn't mentioned it to her.
"A part of it." He caught on to her thoughts and continued to speak. "The only reason we didn't tell you was because we didn't want to distract you from your training and everything else going on until it was ready. You've had enough to worry about this past week as it is."
She nodded, understanding his reasons and let her eyes settle back on the folder being gripped tightly in her hands. Once she opened it, there was no going back. She would have a new identity, the identity of an assassin.
What if Derek is right? She wondered. What if I am in way over my head this time and it kills me?
"I know you've had a lot to deal with and it hasn't been an easy week, Agent McDonald," Inez spoke up, sensing Casey's hesitance, "but I have no doubt in my mind that you are the agent for this job. We all believe in you."
But the one person I truly need to believe in me doesn't… She thought with a frown.
"Derek believes in you too, Casey," Ben leaned in and whispered in her ear while placing his hand over hers with encouragement, "Don't believe the lies that tell you otherwise."
The young agent took in a deep breath and let it out with a sigh as she slowly opened the file and began reading it over.
So this chapter involved some feel-good moments between Casey and her best friends. It was sweet.
You also got introduced to some pretty awesome gadgets. It'll be great when Casey can use them herself.
Please leave a review and let me know what you liked, disliked, if you have any theories or suggestions... Anything! I love hearing from you!
Thanks for reading!