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CHAPTER

9

TWO DAYS AGO

UNKNOWN LOCATION

8:39 PM

"Where is it?" The woman demanded as she leaned forward menacingly and banged her clenched fist down hard on the metal table sitting between her and a former associate.

"We have searched everywhere. I don't know where it is. It just vanished." The Japanese man said. He sat with his hands and feet clasped to the chair, incapable of escaping. "Just give me one more chance! I promise I will locate it!"

"I have given you multiple chances by now, Mr. Kimiru! You have not only failed me, but you have failed the whole alliance! Do you have any idea what could happen if that information gets into the wrong hands?"

"I do!"

She shook her head with a bitter chuckle, "We entrusted you with one job. ONE blasted job, and what happened?"

"I..."

"We find you and most of your men passed out and the information GONE!"

"You don't understand! These people were trained in combat! They even wore disguises."

"You're an ASSASSIN for crying out loud! You're trained to KILL!"

Kimiru turned his head to the side with fury and shame written all over it. He then looked up at her as a thought entered his mind, "What about the gun my men found? Couldn't you get anything from it concerning who those people work for?"

"All we know is that it was some kind of sophisticated tranquilizer gun. It has the logo of a swan but that could mean anything."

"What about prints?"

"There were none." She seethed through clenched teeth. "Whoever designed it was clever and created some kind of outer shell that prevents fingerprints from being detected, so we still have NOTHING and we're running out of TIME!"

She pressed a button on the wall behind her and the door opened to reveal two armed burly men that looked like they could be football players.

"Take him away." She spoke flippantly with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Wait! What?" Kimiru cried as he struggled against his restraints. "What are you going to do with me?"

"The alliance no longer requires your service."

"No! I can help!"

"We're done here, Mr. Kimiru."

The man continued to shout and scream as he was thrown over the shoulder of one guy, while the other trained a gun on him and carried him out.

The woman sighed and ran her hands through her straight dark hair with blonde highlights. Hitomi Kimiru was an excellent assassin and it was a shame they had to kill him, but that's what happens when you let The Collective down. She was just glad they would be bringing in some new recruits in a couple of days.

"You look rough." A familiar voice spoke from the doorway and she looked up to see her fellow comrade standing there with a sly grin upon his ruggedly handsome features.

"What are we going to do? Our plans will be ruined if we don't retrieve that information. We were so damn close!" She exclaimed and slammed her fist against the table once again, ignoring the flash of pain that jolted through her wrist. She was used to it anyway.

"The plans aren't ruined. We just have a bit of a setback. We'll find it soon enough. Whoever took it, is bound to screw up eventually. They already forgot one of their weapons at the scene," he tried to assure her as he leaned against the doorway and swiped at a loose strand from his jet-black hair. His sky blue eyes bore into her as they gleamed with mischief. "Besides, I have something you may be interested in."

"What?" She raised an intrigued brow and placed her hands on her hips.

"There was a late entry into the system that caught our attention."

She frowned, "You know how I feel about late entries. They're not worth our time."

"This one is." He grinned. "They call her The Phoenix."

"And where is she now?"

"We weren't able to track her directly but we do know that she is on the hunt for a man in New York City, so my best bet is that she'll be there within the next couple of days. I can assure you, this woman is exactly what we've been searching for."

"If she survives the auditions."

"She will." He smirked confidently.

"Fine," she sighed. Not bothering to argue with him, it's never gotten her anywhere in the past. "Bring her in, but she better be worth it."

"You won't be disappointed." He winked and disappeared around the corner as quickly as he'd come.

"I better not be." She spoke under her breath and could feel a headache coming on as she rubbed her temples with her forefingers. "We can't afford anymore set backs if this plan is to succeed."

(=)

Present Time

New York City

9:05 PM

Casey hunkered down in an alleyway, waiting for her "target" to walk by so that she could take him out before anyone else walked by and noticed. She was also on alert for someone from The Collective to show up as she continued to scan the area for anybody lurking in the shadows watching her.

"If they have chosen you, I'm sure they will arrive any minute to recruit you, so just do the job like you were told and act normal." Agent Morvis directed in her ear.

"None of this is normal." She replied, barely above a whisper. "At least not for me."

"Remember, you are not you anymore."

"I know, I know." She blew out a breath.

"Now get ready. He'll be coming around the corner any minute. Put on a good show because I'm sure they're watching."

"Got it."

During the ride to New York, Casey mentally prepared herself for the mission. She tried to keep thoughts of Derek from her mind but of course they kept coming back. When you've thought of someone for so long, they won't easily exit your thoughts. Every few minutes his face or a memory would flash into her mind, causing the hurt and anger inside to boil up once again.

It's okay to feel angry. He betrayed your trust. She convinced herself. He promised he'd always be there for you, but he's not. He lied. He couldn't even show up to say goodbye. He is a despicable human being.

Casey saw her target enter the alleyway and quickly got to her feet. She hovered on top of a fire escape stairwell as he walked below her. The minute he was right beneath her, she dropped down the ladder, held on to the bottom step and swung a leg out, kicking him in the chest. The man fell back against the adjacent wall with a shout of surprise and clutched at his bruised abdomen, although unbeknownst to the observing eye, the agent she was fighting wore a vest for protection.

He lunged at her and swung a fist but she grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back, eliciting a cry of pain from the man as she shoved him to the wet graveled ground and aimed her gun at his head.

"Danny says goodbye." She spoke the line Dominic had instructed her to say before she pulled the trigger and the red liquid began to form on his head, making it appear as though a bullet had gone through his skull. The man was unconscious but dead to everyone else.

She quickly got to work by retrieving a cardboard box from a near garbage can, unfolding it and putting it on the ground against the building wall. She then pulled his body to lie on top of it and placed a hat on his head to make it look like he was a sleeping vagrant.

"Good job at covering it up. Someone will be by to collect Agent Gilles in a few hours." Ben spoke into her ear.

Casey smiled, proud of her accomplishment and began to make her way out of the alley when she was suddenly stopped by a dark figure blocking the exit.

"That was quite the show." A deep male voice spoke from the stranger.

What would Phoenix say?

"I've done better." She smirked. "Who are you?"

"That's need to know information."

"You know I won't hesitate to shoot you, right?" She stated and aimed the gun at him.

"I know. But I'm not your enemy, Phoenix."

"Get him to step out of the shadows. We need to see his face." Agent Morvis directed in her ear.

"Why don't you come closer so that I can see who you are?" Casey requested.

"Oh, you'll see me soon enough. That is, if you pass the test." He said before turning around and exiting the alley.

Casey was about to go after him when her vision was suddenly clouded over as someone threw a bag over her eyes. She then felt a sting in her neck and before she could react, a deep sleep succumbed her.

(=)

Five Hours Later

The Swan Headquarters

2:14 AM

"Where did she go? Get her back online now!" Olivia Inez hollered at the room of secret agents and computer technicians that had been working for hours trying to trace their missing undercover agent.

"We can't locate her anywhere. Something is blocking our signal. Even her GPS is out of sight." Ben replied while clicking buttons on the computer and staring at the screen nervously. He ran his hands through his short-cropped hair for the hundredth time since his best friend had gone missing. He was worried for Casey. What had they gotten her into?

"Keep trying!"

"We have been trying for hours now! She's just disappeared!" Ben snapped harshly and stood from his seat. He glared at his boss. "This is your fault! You said this plan would work! The mission has barely begun and we've already lost her!"

Karma quickly went to his side and placed her hand on his arm to calm him down, but he shrugged her off and stepped forward.

"Watch yourself, Agent Blake." Olivia warned with a frown. "I will not tolerate being addressed so sharply again. I didn't know they would just kidnap her like that and take her to an unknown location. The technology should be working, but my guess is that they've built some kind of signal to block out any foreign broadcasting."

"We should've taken that into consideration before sending her out there."

"If we had taken every option that these people could use against us into consideration, this mission wouldn't have been possible."

"I should never have let you send her alone." He took a step closer and lowered his voice. "If anything happens to Casey, you'll wish you'd never hired me." He said and stormed out of the room with Karma on his heel.

"Ben!" Karma called after her boyfriend of two years. He ignored her and kept walking down the narrow hallway. "Benjamin!" The young blonde snapped fiercely, not liking being ignored.

"What?" He snapped and spun around angrily. "Are you seriously going to chastise me for snapping at Inez like that? I don't care if she's my boss, Kar. Casey could be dead for all we know! It was too big of a risk to send her in so soon!"

Karma took a step towards him and gently placed her hands upon his face, forcing him to look into her eyes, "I'm not mad at you. You care for Casey and you had every right to get angry in there. I was actually about to lose it myself, to be honest." She half smiled.

Ben let out a sigh and pulled her into a hug.

"I'm sorry, babe. I didn't mean to snap at you. This whole mission is just killing me. Derek was right. We should never have let her go."

"She would have gone no matter what you or Derek said. Casey's a fighter and I know deep down she will get through this, with or without our help."

"You're right." He sighed. "But something still isn't sitting well with my stomach. We need to find Derek."

The young blonde frowned, "He didn't care to show up to say goodbye to Casey, so why bother? He left us, remember?"

"I know Derek. He loves Casey more than anything and I know he would've been there if he could. Something must've happened to prevent him from showing up."

"Like what?"

"I don't know..."

"How do you propose we find him anyway? The Swan removed his GPS locator the minute he quit."

"I'm sure they've still been keeping tabs on him though. Someone must know something about his whereabouts."

"Look, you head back inside and try to get Casey back online, and remain civil with our boss, while I dig up some info on where Derek could be hiding." She said and leaned up to kiss him lightly on the lips.

"Have I told you lately how much I love you?" He grinned down at her.

"Everyday." She smiled back with a blush as they parted ways to track down both their friends and missing teammates.

(=)

The Swan Headquarters

Holding Cell Level

2:11 AM

Something was wrong.

Derek jolted up from where he'd fallen asleep against the cell door that was keeping him prisoner. He had been banging on the steel door non-stop since Colonel Yemchuk had locked him in, until his fists began to bruise and bleed and he grew weary. Exhaustion finally succumbed him and he couldn't even make it to the bed in the corner, so he just leaned his head against the door and closed his eyes.

Now, as he glanced around the dimly lit room, he knew something had happened.

Casey.

His gut wrenched, not only from the lack of nutrition in the past fourteen hours, but from the dreadful feeling that the woman he loved was in danger.

A tear escaped his eye as the distraught man began yelling and screaming once again, "Let me out! I have to find Casey! Let me out of here!"

He could no longer bang on the door with his fists, so he lay back on the floor and began to beat on the steel contraption with his feet.

He had to get out. They couldn't keep him locked up in here forever. Colonel Yemchuk was a bastard, that was for sure, but he wasn't a murderer. He would return. He had to.

Casey, I will find you! I promise! I won't lose you again! I can't!

(=)

Unknown Location

3:37 AM

Casey's eyes shot open. Her vision blurred as she sat up and tried to take in her surroundings and gather her wits. It was dark and she realized she was lying on a cold cement floor. The night vision tech in her eyes turned on and she was able to see a couple more bodies placed on the floor a few feet away.

"Ben?" The young agent whispered as she listened for a response in her ear. Something wasn't right. They were too quiet. "Agent Morvis?" Nobody answered. She could hear voices and bodies stirring around her. The other people were beginning to awake.

"Guys, where are you? Can you hear me? What happened?" She spoke under her breath while keeping a wary eye out. Still no response.

Great. It looks like I'm on my own.

The young agent let out a sigh and forced herself to focus on the situation that faced her.

A bright light suddenly illuminated the area and she brought up a hand to shield her eyes as she tried to see what was going on. Casey realized that she was inside a giant arena. It seemed to be underground and encased with cement. Colored graffiti covered most of the walls and floor and she noticed six exits leading out into tunnels around the large space.

Where am I...?

Everyone else was obviously thinking the same thing as they surveyed the enclosure they'd been brought to. Casey counted forty-two people in total, including her. They varied from age, gender and race. Every one of them had a cold, hard look in their eyes and Casey could tell that each one was a natural born killer. These were the assassins she was going to have to take down in order to get into The Collective, and now she was going to have to do it all on her own.

God, help me. The young agent gulped.

Oh man... things are getting Intense!

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