Let me just start off by saying that I know it has been months since my last update and yes I promised to continue the story... I still plan on finishing Clandestine Phoenix, no matter how long it takes, I've just been going through some things that have prevented me from being able to write as much as I love to do. Due to two completely unrelated incidents that caused injuries in my hands/wrists, I found out that I have inflamed tendons -there is a medical term for it but it is a long word that I can't even pronounce, let alone spell. It can be very painful and has limited me from doing a lot of the the things I love including playing the bass guitar and writing. I have been trying to find a solution for it but it hasn't been easy. The pain has been getting a bit better recently though -mainly because I had to stop playing bass, and I started trying fish oil vitamins, which apparently help with inflammation.
Anyway... I've been really missing writing and updating, so here is a new update. Sorry it has taken forever. I sacrificed my hands tonight just to complete this chapter and post it for you. I hope you like it and still want more.
Also, if you pray, please pray for my hands? I can't imagine going the rest of my life with this pain because of continuing to do the things I love.
Chapter
18
Outside The Swan Headquarters
12:37 PM
Agent Elizabeth McDonald had a knack for knowing when something wasn't right. It was like a sixth sense that flared up and kept her on high alert; that sixth sense was buzzing with intensity now as she stood inside a rundown, abandoned parking garage in the middle of nowhere, just outside of Washington, DC.
A part of her felt guilty for placing a tracking device on her stepbrother before they parted ways in Toronto, but another part of her knew it was necessary if she wanted any information on her sister's mysterious whereabouts. That whole phone conversation at the cafe had seemed off and so did Derek. She had a feeling deep down that Casey was in danger -or at least that's what she tried to convince herself of. After their brief encounter where her older sister killed her fellow agents and then knocked her out at a building scheduled for demolition, Lizzie wasn't sure what to think of Casey anymore.
Maybe she'd been brainwashed... Or cloned... Or had an evil twin...?
The R.E.D. agent shook her head with a sigh. Growing up with the Venturi's definitely gave her a wild imagination sometimes, even so the feeling of being watched caused her to pull the hood of her sweater over her head, concealing her face from any hidden security cameras or people in the shadows. In this line of work, it didn't hurt to heed caution to imagination.
"There has to be a simple explanation to this." She spoke aloud while once again staring at the chipped cement wall that apparently led the way to her eldest stepbrother's location.
She'd made sure to track him at a steady pace as she boarded a plane going in the same direction his unknown plane had taken off in, then she got in a cab that took her away from the busy city and out here. She noticed Derek was no longer travelling and his presence had stayed in one particular area, so she stopped the cab about a mile away, so as not to be noticed pulling up and followed the tracking device on her phone the rest of the way on foot.
Her watch had led her straight to a dead end. Derek was nowhere to be seen; yet the device insisted she had arrived and that her stepbrother was fifteen stories below ground and behind this wall.
"What is going on?" Lizzie wondered as she surveyed the rest of the mysterious decaying structure.
The feeling of being watched was increasing as she tightened the hood over her head further down.
Her phone kept buzzing in her pocket but she didn't dare to answer it at the moment. She'd told Colonel Kluess that she needed time off for a personal matter and considering the secret agent hardly took any time off from work, he easily obliged without any questions.
Her partner, however, wasn't convinced and wouldn't stop calling her. A part of her knew she should just tell him what was going on, he was one of her closest friends; but another side of her was convinced that telling him would do her no good. It was better that he not know her sister may have been responsible for half the deaths of their co-workers and friends that night. Plus now the fact that she knew her eldest stepbrother was covering for Casey's missing presence and had disappeared behind a wall and gone underground to who-knows-where.
"When did my family life become more complicated and clandestine than my own life?" She wondered while trying to figure out what to do next. "Derek, where are you?"
[=]
Swan Headquarters
Dormitory wing
1:05 PM
Derek hated having to shoot Ben but he couldn't risk the chance of him alerting Inez before he could get to Lizzie himself. He would do anything to protect his family.
A couple Swan agents suddenly ran past him, still in search of the escaped Japanese man. They paid him no attention as he headed towards the secret elevator and they disappeared down the next hall.
He quietly thanked Taiki for the distraction. If it weren't for him going all stir crazy and trying to leave, getting to Lizzie would've proved a lot more difficult.
He stopped at the wall to his right and waved his hand over the hidden scanner. The security system recognized his fingerprints and the wall opened up to reveal an elevator.
Suddenly a sound from behind caught Derek's attention and he spun around to see Taiki standing there with his hands raised in surrender.
"Where did you come from?" Derek questioned while pointing the tranq gun at him.
"Please don't shoot me. I-I just want to get out of here." The young man pleaded with frightened eyes.
"You're the reason Casey went undercover. If I let you leave, it could jeopardize her mission and put her life more at stake than it already is."
"I can help you get her back."
"You and what army, Kaito?"
Taiki rolled his eyes and took a cautious step forward, "Derek, you've seen what I can do with this thing inside my head."
"You can locate GPS trackers and turn on broken audio frequencies. Big deal." Derek snorted. "How will any of that get Casey back?"
"I can do more!" The young man snapped angrily and Derek noticed the light overhead begin to flicker.
"No need to get angry, man." Derek tried to console him. "I just don't understand how you expect the two of us to save Casey from The Collective."
"I know where she is headed next. Get me out of here and I promise to help you."
"I thought you couldn't locate her?"
"I can't, but she told me where she is. While everyone was running around trying to find me, I found a video feed of her still working and she was sending a message through Morse code, tapping her fingers discreetly. She also believes they know who she is."
Derek raised an eyebrow with sudden intrigue, "How did you-?"
Taiki cut him off with urgency in his voice, "Derek, let me help you. I care about Casey too and I'm sick of being cooped up down here. I have these... abilities, or whatever you want to call it, and I just... I just want to use them to help. I need to."
"Where is Casey going to be?"
"Get me out of here and I'll tell you."
The former hockey star let out a sigh. He was already in deep water for shooting Ben and letting Lizzie track him to the building, plus the fact that he was now going to get Liz away from The Swan before they tried to erase her memory... But allowing the kid with a dangerous chip inside his head that The Collective wanted escape might be taking it a little too far...
He was about to speak when a familiar voice suddenly growled from behind, "Don't even think about it, Venturi!" The owner of the voice stepped out of the shadows and the sight sent shivers down Derek's spine and anger to flare within.
"Yemchuk." He ground out through clenched teeth as the Russian agent pointed a tranquilizer gun at him.
"I told you I'd be watching you." The man sneered. "There is no way I am letting you or this freak leave the building, so you might as well surrender now."
Derek noticed Taiki's fists begin to clench and another light overhead began to flicker.
"I don't want any trouble, Yemchuk." Derek spoke to the older man.
"You're too late for that." The Russian agent sneered. "Once I have the two of you in custody, I'm going to go and retrieve your nosy younger sister as well. Her memory needs to be erased once and for all before she ruins the mission too."
"I won't let you!"
"You remember what I told you before?" Yemchuk grinned maliciously.
"My threat still stands, Venturi. I will not let you jeopardize this mission, even if it means hurting your loved ones."
Before Derek could say anything, a tranquilizer dart suddenly shot out from behind Yemchuk and pierced his chest. Agent Karma Hesston appeared with a deep frown upon her face as the man fell to the ground unconscious.
"You won't be hurting anyone if I have anything to do with it." The young woman spoke. She then looked at Derek and glanced at Taiki.
"Now tell me what's going on."
Derek stared wide-eyed at the unconscious Yemchuk and back up at his friend who happened to show up at the right time. "I'm leaving, Kar. They want to kidnap Lizzie and erase her memory. I can't allow it. I won't."
"And I'm going with him." Taiki added.
Karma shook her head. "You know I can't let you do that." She said to Taiki.
"I didn't ask for permission." The Japanese man snapped back. "I'm done with this place."
"What happened, Taiki? I can help..." Karma took a step towards him with concerned eyes but he backed up with a hard expression.
"I don't want your help."
"Kar, we really don't have time for this." Derek interjected. "The kid says he can locate Casey. I need to get her back before they figure out her true identity. She could be in danger."
"What if you get caught? Do you have any idea what The Collective could do with that chip inside his head?"
"We won't get caught."
"Derek-"
"I don't want to shoot you too, Kar!" Derek raised his voice as he pointed his gun at her.
"What... What do you mean? Who else did you shoot?"
Derek shook his head, ignoring her question. "Just trust me on this. I need you to trust me."
"Derek, we have to go now. More agents are coming!" Taiki said as he grabbed Derek's arm to pull him towards the elevator.
"Just shoot me, Derek." Karma said. "It's the only way they'll believe you escaped anyway."
"What about Yemchuk?"
"He's the one that locked you up, isn't he?" Karma asked, putting the pieces together.
Derek nodded.
"I'll make sure Inez knows and I'll keep your family safe. Now shoot me."
Derek hesitated a moment before pulling the trigger and shooting her in the leg.
Karma fell towards the ground with a grunt.
"I do trust you, Derek. Get Casey back." She whispered before the drug took affect and she fell asleep.
Derek and Taiki both hurried inside the elevator just as four Swan agents appeared around the corner. Before they could shoot, the doors closed.
"Now what?" Derek groaned. "They'll be on the next elevator or up the escape hatches as we speak. I really didn't think this through."
"I have an idea." Taiki grinned as he placed a hand on the elevator and closed his eyes.
"What are you-?"
"Shhh! I need to focus."
Whatever he was doing, Derek hoped it would work, or else they were both screwed, Lizzie included. The elevator finally stopped and Taiki opened his eyes with a triumphant smile on his face.
"What did you do?" Derek asked hesitantly, not sure he wanted an answer, the whole "magical chip" thing kind of weirded him out.
"Once we get out, the elevators will all shut down and any access codes to doors will be scrambled."
"What? How?"
"Once I had your security clearance, I could access all the exits in the building using my mind. I don't know how... But it at least buys us more time."
"Let's just get Liz and get out of here."
Taiki stopped what he was doing and looked up at Derek with confusion. "Wait... Who is Liz?"
"She's my sister... Or Casey's sister. My other stepsister."
Taiki's eyes widened in surprise, "Whoa! Then that means that you and Casey...?"
"Yes, Kaito; Casey and I are stepsiblings." Derek rolled his eyes.
"But you were dating...?" He narrowed his eyes in deep thought, wondering if he'd been mistaken about their relationship.
"Look, it's a long story. Let's just get out of here before we waste anymore time." Derek demanded before grabbing the perplexed Japanese man and hauling him out of the elevator.
[=]
Outside Swan Headquarters
1:16 PM
Lizzie ran her hand along the cement wall, hoping she could find some kind of secret lever or control panel, but nothing popped out.
Her stomach let out a low rumble and she realized that it was just after noon. She knew she couldn't just stand in this abandoned parking garage forever, especially on an empty stomach. Lizzie was about to turn around and retreat, hoping to come up with a better plan after she ate some food, when the wall suddenly began to open on its own.
The secret agent hurried to hide behind a nearby pillar and watched from the shadows as two figures stepped out and the wall closed behind them.
"Lizzie?" Derek called out. "Liz! I know you're there."
She took a deep breath in, pulled the gun from its holster at her side and stepped out from behind the pillar.
"Where is Casey, Derek?" Lizzie stepped towards him, catching him off guard by aiming her gun at him.
"Whoa, Liz! I can explain everything. There's no need to shoot." He said while placing his hands above his head in surrender.
A Japanese man that appeared to be about her age was standing next to him with wide, terrified eyes. He kept glancing around like he was expecting someone else to jump out at them.
"Then explain. Where is my sister and why are you covering for her?"
"Not now. We have to leave." He said as he lowered his hands and glanced around.
"What do you mean?"
Phewt!
Lizzie glanced to the right and realized that a tranquilizer dart just pierced the wall beside her. She looked back at Derek in accusation and confusion when he suddenly yelled for her to run. She watched in what felt like slow motion as her stepbrother suddenly pulled out a gun and shot back at the three men and two women that appeared out of nowhere in pursuit of them. He took one out instantly and the man fell to the ground unconscious... Or dead... She couldn't tell if Derek's gun had real bullets or not.
"Derek, what is going on?" Lizzie shouted in shock as he grabbed her hand and they took off towards another part of the parking garage.
"Agent Venturi! Stop!" One of the people shooting at them hollered from behind.
"Agent?!" Lizzie guffawed.
Her stepbrother ignored her look of surprise as he spoke to the Japanese guy. "I thought you made sure nobody could access the exits, Taiki?"
"I did! They must've already been waiting on the upper level in case I did escape!" The young man, Taiki, shouted back at her stepbrother while avoiding being shot by tranquilizer darts.
They stopped at a dead end and Lizzie cursed while glancing around for another way out. She suddenly remembered her own gun and quickly took it out in case she needed to use it against the mysterious attackers.
Derek let go of her hand as he ran to the side of the wall and swiped his hand across it. A green light flashed out of nowhere.
"Once we're inside, you need to block access for anyone else." Her stepbrother said to Taiki and the young man nodded.
"How is he going to do that?" Lizzie questioned.
They could hear their pursuers coming around the corner; Derek grabbed her hand once again and before she could protest, he'd pulled her through the wall, which apparently wasn't a solid wall but only a projection of one.
"That was pretty cool." Taiki grinned after stepping through after them. He then touched the wall and closed his eyes briefly before opening them again with a thumbs up to Derek.
"It's done."
"Good. Now let's get a car and get out of here."
Lizzie realized that they were standing in another part of the parking garage, only this one was a lot newer and clean looking. It had rows upon rows of different coloured cars that all looked like they cost a fortune. R.E.D. didn't even supply cars like these.
A logo on one of the walls showed a circle with a blue swan on it. Somehow that symbol seemed familiar to her but she couldn't figure out where'd seen it.
Derek ran down the isles of cars until he stopped at a shiny black car and immediately pulled open the door.
"Both of you get in now!" He hollered while climbing into the drivers seat.
Lizzie glanced at the Japanese man with an arched brow before marching towards the car and stopping at the driver side door. She opened it up with a fierce glare on her face and pulled Derek back out of the car with a tight grip on his shirt.
"I am not going anywhere until you explain what the hell is going on! What is this place? Why were those people chasing us? Who is this guy? And why were they calling you 'Agent Venturi'?"
"Liz, now is really not the time to talk." Derek said as he wrenched his shirt from her grasp. "Just get in the car before they figure out a way to bypass the security clearance that Taiki messed up for them."
"At least answer me one question." She said while looking into his eyes. "Are you in trouble with the law?"
Derek chuckled bitterly, "I wouldn't really classify protecting my sister from having her memory erased and held captive the 'law'." He replied.
"What do you mean?"
"You only said one question. I've answered it, so now do as I say!"
Lizzie let out a huff of frustration as she glared at him before rounding the car and getting into the passenger seat. Taiki followed suit while climbing into the back. She watched Derek hurriedly start up the car and speed out of the parking garage, hoping she would get some answers soon because right now her head was spinning from all the confusion she'd just been dealt with.
[=]
Location Unknown
Crymson scowled while watching the woman who referred to herself as Phoenix study the map they'd given them of their next mission. She stared at the woman through the video feed they had set up in her bedroom. There was something not right about this woman. She could feel it.
"You think they're ready for this one?" A voice suddenly spoke from behind her and she turned to see Blaize leaning in the doorframe as per usual.
"That Aussie woman is pretty weak with her injury. We should've just finished her off." Crymson replied with a shrug while allowing her eyes to glance over the screen that showed Ronin changing the bandage on her cut.
"Nah. She's pretty feisty. Plus we need three of them in order for this to work." Blaize said as he entered the room and came to stand along side her, also letting his gaze fall onto the video screens on the wall.
She glanced at him out of her peripheral and noticed his eyes lingering on Phoenix's screen.
"I don't trust her." Crymson spoke with distaste as she folded her arms across her chest.
"Phoenix?" The man asked, knowing he'd been caught staring and didn't care.
"Yes. She's not who she says she is."
Blaize shrugged indifferently. "Nobody is these days. You don't even go by your real name."
"I'm not just talking about the name. There is something off about that woman. I've felt it since the beginning."
"Or maybe you feel threatened because she's good at what she does." Blaize smirked at her with a gleam in his eye.
She scoffed at him, "I've noticed the way you look at her and speak to her. Just because she's attractive does not mean she can be trusted."
"So you're jealous?" The English man raised a brow at her with a cocky grin on his smug face.
She clenched her fists at her sides as she turned to glower at him. "This has nothing to do with jealousy! Haven't you noticed how easy this all seems to her? She hardly bats an eye when presented with a challenge! And today, when I showed them the people we have locked up, there was a moment of concern on her face when she glanced down at them."
Blaize shook his head with a condescending chuckle, "You're reading too much into this. Phoenix has done nothing but prove her skill and loyalty to The Collective. She's the best one out there. We need her if this plan is ever to succeed."
"Just keep an eye on her, and not just because you want to get in her pants!" Crymson snapped angrily at him and shoved him aside as she began to walk out the door. She paused in her anger to shout one more command at him. "They have two more hours and then I want them on a plane and ready to leave. If this mission somehow fails, it's your head that will be gift wrapped and sent to the elders of The Collective. You hear me?"
"Loud and clear, sweetheart." Blaize replied with a clipped tone and a grim expression before she was finally gone.
He glanced up at the screen again showing Phoenix lying on her stomach on the bed while memorizing the map. His eyes roved over her figure with appreciation before he stopped and noticed she seemed to be absentmindedly tapping her finger against the map in front of her.
"That's odd." He spoke aloud while taking a closer look.
The camera was situated in the corner of her room, adjacent from her bed and the door, so unfortunately he couldn't see her face or get a good look at what exactly she was doing.
Was she trying to send him some kind of message? He shook his head at the thought. That was absurd. Maybe she's just doing it as a way to help her study... Tapping out coordinates and directions in her mind as some kind of pattern to follow and remember... Everyone has their own way of studying and memorizing.
What Crymson said suddenly had him thinking though. Despite the woman's good looks and skill, he really didn't know much about her. Her sense of compassion did baffle him at times, like when she risked her life to save the Aussie girl from the bomb instead of saving her own. What kind of trained killer put others before themselves?
Blaize quickly shook his head of the thought. Phoenix was one of them. There was no mistake. He wasn't going to let Crymson's obvious jealousy and suspicions win him over. He'd made the right choice in vouching for the woman and had faith that Phoenix was the key to their plan finally coming together. She would prove her devotion to The Collective and to Crymson, he'd make sure of it.
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