I knoooooow... It has been almost two years since the last update. I admit, I did decide to stop writing but I've been receiving messages from readers that are still wanting me to finish the story. I don't want to be the type of author that doesn't complete a story and leaves the readers hanging, so here you go. I can't promise they will be quick updates but I can assure you it won't take a year again.

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Chapter 19

The Swan Headquarters
4:23 PM

Ben woke with an alarming headache as he reached up to where Derek had shot him with the tranquilizer dart. At first, it seemed like all a dream, until he felt the puncture mark and glanced around at the hospital wing he was currently in.

"Why, Derek?" He groaned out with a shake of his head. He felt so betrayed by one of his closest friends. How could he just shoot him like that and completely defy his orders? He understood the situation Derek was in, he wanted to protect his stepsister but he was going about it all the wrong way.

A slight moan from behind him caught Ben's attention and he quickly spun around to see his girlfriend, Karma, slowly waking up. She was placed on a gurney just like him, along with a few other Swan agents he suddenly noticed in the room. They must've all been shot by Derek as well.

Anger flared in him as he jumped down from the bed and moved to Karma's side, gently reaching up and removing the blonde hair from her face and caressing her cheek. She opened her eyes and looked up at him with slight confusion and then immediate understanding as her blue-green eyes focused on him.

"Did Derek do this?" Ben seethed through clenched teeth.

She didn't answer right away as she sat up and rubbed her aching head.

"Kar?" Her boyfriend persisted as he forced her gaze to meet his.

"Yes." She replied with a solemn nod. She then glanced around at their surroundings to make sure no one else was awake yet as she leaned forward and whispered softly, "I told him to." She looked up at him a bit guiltily and must've noticed his look of confusion mixed with rage.

"You let him go?" He asked, lowering his voice and leaning towards her as well, placing his hands on either side of her hips.

"I had to." She replied and held on to his arms. Needing him to hear her out and understand. "He was only trying to protect his sister."

"I wouldn't have let them erase her memory, Kar. I was trying to help him and he just shot me."

"It's not just that... He's..." she glanced around again and noticed a couple of agents were starting to move around.

"We can't talk here." She said as she hopped down from the gurney and leaned against Benjamin for support as her legs wobbled a bit from the tranquilizer still leaving her system.

Ben held her close and spoke, "You know we can't just leave. They're going to want to assess us."

Just as he said that, a doctor entered the room noticing that they were awake and sent a quick text on his phone, most likely to Inez.

"Agent Blake, Agent Heston." He greeted. "Please take a seat while I check your vitals."

Karma hesitated a moment, obviously wanting to argue but one look from Ben told her to keep quiet and do as the doctor said.

"How do you feel?" Dr. Burk asked after checking both of their heart beats with his stethoscope and then shining a light in their eyes.

"Other than a headache, I'm fine." Ben replied and Karma said the same.

"How long were we out?" Karma asked, realizing her phone wasn't on her at the moment

"A few hours."

"What's been going on?" Ben questioned with a grim expression.

"All communications have been down and they're trying to figure out how to bypass the security system that that Japanese kid somehow messed up. We've been locked in ever since he and Agent Venturi escaped together."

"Wait... together?" Ben glanced at Karma and saw the look in her eyes telling him that she already knew this bit of information.

"Looks like it." Replied the doctor. "A couple of agents saw them take the elevator just after Venturi shot Agent Heston here."

"What was he thinking?!" Ben growled out as he slammed a fist against the counter beside him, causing the doctor to flinch.

"Can we go now?" Karma asked the doctor as she got to her feet once again.

"Director Inez wants to see you. She told me to report back to her as soon as you two were awake."

Karma sighed, "Of course."

She grabbed her boyfriend's hand and began to lead him out but stopped short when she noticed another Swan Agent slowly beginning to wake from the tranquilizers in his system. Karma scowled down at the Russian man, remembering what Derek had confirmed to her; this man had been the reason he'd been locked up in the cells downstairs and didn't have a chance to say goodbye to Casey. How could anyone, especially a fellow agent do that? Of course, it didn't matter now. With Derek going AWOL and shooting his own friends to escape with Taiki, The Swan Agency could really care less what kind of accusations were thrown at the man in his defence. However, it occurred to Karma that if he woke up and told Inez that she shot him and let Derek leave, then it could compromise everything.

"I need you to distract the doctor for a moment." Kar whispered to Ben.

"Why?" He gave her an incredulous look.

"I'll explain later." She said with pleading in her eyes as she gave his hand a quick squeeze before releasing it.

Ben hung his head in defeat as he turned away from her and approached the doctor once again.

"Hey, Doc; maybe you should check my vision one more time. I think I'm seeing double."

While the doctor had Benjamin sit down and let him be examined again, Kar pulled out her gun and just as Agent Yemchuk opened his eyes to glare at her, Kar smirked and quickly shot a couple more rounds of tranquilizers into his chest, knocking him unconscious once again. She then removed the darts and pocketed them, silently thanking Taiki for the security cameras being on the fritz.

She noticed Ben's wide-eyed gaze on her as he jumped down, thanked the doctor and hurried out the door behind her. The moment they were in the hall of the infirmary, Ben grabbed Karma's arm and led her into an empty room.

"What the hell was that just about? Did you really just shoot Yemchuk, twice might I add?"

"I had no choice. He tried to stop Derek from leaving, he threatened him and his family. He was the reason we'd found Derek locked up in a cell. I'm the one that shot him before but if he woke up and told Inez..."

"I get it," Ben nodded grimly. "But what do you expect us to do now?"

"Derek and Casey need our help. Once the system is back online, we need to find them."

"And how do you propose we do that?"

"I have an idea."

Private Airport in Washington DC
5:17 PM

"For the last time, Derek, I am coming with you. There is no way that I am staying behind while you go on some rescue mission to save MY sister!" Lizzie said with determination as Derek parked the car in a discreet location just outside of the airport.

Immediately after they were sure no one from The Swan had followed them, Lizzie demanded to know what was going on. Since he'd already technically broken the law by going against government authority and let Taiki escape, Derek decided there was no point in hiding the truth from her and told his youngest step sister everything. She was of course completely flabbergasted that both of her siblings were not only secret agents like her but that they had also once worked for R.E.D. as well. Lizzie was also relieved to know that Casey wasn't actually a criminal and had never meant to hurt her; she just couldn't risk her cover being blown, something Lizzie definitely understood. In fact, she probably would've knocked her sister out as well.

What bothered the young secret agent now though was the fact that Casey really could be in danger, especially after what Taiki told them about her sending a hidden message using Morse code. She agreed with Derek that they needed to find Casey and get her out of there before they killed her.

And speaking of Taiki, Lizzie wasn't really sure what to think of the guy just yet. He seemed nice and all but the whole implanted chip thing inside his head was pretty far fetched and she almost didn't believe it... that is until he used his mind to locate a classified file on her and tell her very specific details that no one outside of R.E.D. could know about.
In her opinion, that chip implant was very dangerous and if in the wrong hands really could cause a lot of problems. Even though Taiki was helping them find Casey, the younger McDonald thought Derek was making a huge mistake by taking him away from protective custody, no matter how corrupt The Swan seemed to be.

And Now Derek was trying to convince her to go into hiding until Casey was safe and they had this all under control.
Hell no! Lizzie thought and spoke aloud to her stepbrother instantly.

"Liz, this could be really dangerous. You know nothing about the people we're dealing with." Derek continued to argue as he shut off the engine and turned to look at her.

"I am not the helpless little girl you once knew, Derek." She snapped at him, becoming extremely irate with the way he was treating her. "What makes you and your experience any different than mine? According to your story, you've only been a spy for two and a half years. Well so have I. Just because I don't work for "The Covert Swan Agency"," she air quoted with her fingers, "does not mean I don't know how to handle myself in the field. I have taken down many criminals, some maybe just as bad as the people Casey is dealing with right now. Don't underestimate me, Derek."

Her stepbrother sat in silence for a moment. She could tell what she said was having some kind of affect, she just wasn't sure whether it was good or not.

"I say we bring her." Taiki spoke up from the back. "I've read some of her files now; she really does kick ass."

Lizzie couldn't help but blush at his comment as he grinned back at her.

"Plus, we could use all the help we can get." He added with a wink.

Derek finally let out a sigh as he looked into Lizzie's eyes and spoke, "Look, Liz; it's not that I don't think you can hold your own out there... I watched you fight your own damn sister and nearly win..."

"But...?"

"But...The truth is that I have a hard enough time watching Casey risk her life every day; I honestly hate this job - I've hated it from the beginning and only agreed to join because I knew it was the only chance to be close to her... and not to mention that my hockey career was over."

He glanced out the window and for the first time Lizzie could see that the Derek Venturi was truly hurting inside. She'd never seen a vulnerable side to him before and wasn't sure exactly how to react.

"Derek..." she started to say but he cut her off.

"I just can't handle watching someone else I care deeply for put their life at risk for a world that maybe isn't worth it. I mean, Casey has been doing this for years now and what does she get? We have to lie everyday to the people we love and we're basically prisoners in that godforsaken place." He seethed as he pounded a fist down against the steering wheel. "I'm so sick of it, Liz. You may think you're living the life and doing the world a favor but what is the point of life if you can't share it with your family?"

Lizzie wasn't sure what to say. Yes, she'd always hated the fact that she had to hide her real profession from everyone close to her and that she no longer saw her family as much, but at the same time she'd always known she was meant for this life. Since her father first signed her up for martial arts classes when she was four, to the day that R.E.D. hired her. It's always been her calling to save the world from evil, despite the repercussions of such a living.

How could she even begin to explain this to him though? Derek didn't understand. His true calling was hockey and the fact that he gave up that career, no matter how slim his chances seemed at continuing it anyway, he still gave it up to be with Casey because he loved her.

When Derek told Her how Casey had reacted after he proposed to her, she felt so angry inside. How could her sister do that to him?

Lizzie reached over and squeezed his hand. "I get it, Derek. This life is crazy and you have a right to worry, but I'm not letting you go after Casey without me."

"I never thought you could be anymore like her but you keep proving me wrong." He said as he shook his head. "You're even stubborn and determined like her."

"We get it from our father." Lizzie smirked at him. She let go of his hand and then let out a sigh, knowing that their "family moment" was officially over.

Derek glanced at her with a reluctant frown, "You're right. I don't know what I'm getting into and could use the help, especially since Kaito here has no useful skills when it comes to actual combat." He said while pointing his thumb back at Taiki with a smirk.

"Don't underestimate me either, Venturi!" The Japanese man grinned back at him and they all laughed.

Now that the mood was switched, Lizzie decided to ask, "Umm... so what exactly is your plan to get Casey back?"

"Well..." Derek cleared his throat. "First off, Taiki will use his magical chip thing to bypass security and then we'll steal an agency jet."

"What about a pilot? You can't tell me you can pilot the plane too?" She turned a skeptical gaze towards the young man in the back.

"I don't have to. Most planes nowadays have an auto-pilot system installed. I just have to give it the coordinates and we're good to go."

"Speaking of... where exactly is it we're going?"

"The Brazilian Rainforest."

Brazilian Rainforest
Time Unknown

The hovercraft flew over the trees in the black of night, the only light was illuminated from the moon above, glowing a soft yellow colour. They needed to remain as stealthy and unseen as possible as they neared the hidden fortress.

"You will need these to locate the tracker." Blaise hollered above the noise of the plane as he handed each Assassin a small devise, no bigger than a pager. It had a screen with a red arrow indicating the direction they needed to go. "It will lead the way but there will be obstacles, so we want each of you flanking in from a different direction."

Casey and the other two nodded as they each pocketed the tracking devices.

"The pilot can't fly blind for long," Blaize spoke again, this time through the communication devices imbedded in the assassin team's earlobes to make sure they were working. Each gave a thumbs up to let him know they could hear.

"Good." He nodded. "You will have a 7 minute window to jump before he leaves you behind."

"How are we supposed to get back?" Ronin shouted over the roar of the engines as the door of the plane began to open and the night air whipped at their faces.

"I'll leave that to you to figure out."

"What do you-" Ronin was cut off as the pilot shouted from the front for them to jump.

Ronin glanced at her teammates with a look of angry bewilderment and Mutawa just shrugged as he placed a hand on Casey's shoulder and said, "See you at the bottom." The large man then jumped from the plane and disappeared into the night.

Casey looked at Ronin as she adjusted the parachute on her back and spoke, "We'll worry about a way back when the time comes. Just stick to the plan and the rest will fall into place."

The Aussie girl rolled her eyes as she shoved past Casey and grumbled, "Yes, Ma'am," in mock annoyance before jumping in front of her.

Casey ignored the moody girl's attitude and jumped right after her, just as the plane picked up speed and left them behind to fend for themselves.

The wind whipped at her face as the undercover agent fell through the night sky, the trees below becoming increasingly larger the closer she got. Some kind of flashing light caught her attention briefly as Casey focused on the direction it had come from.

"What was that?" She wondered, hoping their presence hadn't already been compromised.

"Phoenix, pull your chute! You're losing altitude fast." Blaize shouted in her ear, breaking her concentration and pulling her back to the present task at hand.

Casey gasped as she realized how close the forest floor was rapidly approaching and grasped the cord to her chute and gave it a quick tug. Her body was instantly pulled back as the black parachute shot out into the sky and she grabbed the ropes to steer herself to a clearing ahead.

Again, she was thankful for the night vision tech placed in her eyes as she landed on a grassy hilltop with a thud.

"Spitfire, do you read me?" Mutawa's voice spoke in her ear.

"Affirmative. I just hit ground. What is your location?"

"I have spotted the fortress. Six armed men currently guard the rear entrance. I can take them out easily."

"Let me know when you make it inside. I am headed to the east side now." Casey said while taking off the parachute and glancing down at the small tracker.

Ronin's voice spoke next, "I am on the rooftop. There were two men guarding it but I managed to catch them off guard and slit their throats before they could radio for help."

Casey inwardly flinched at the thought of the two men being killed but pushed her concerns aside as she noticed the flashing light in the distance once again.

"Ronin, can you see anyone west of me in the forest from your vantage point?" Casey asked, just in case any guards had seen their hovercraft and were now on to them.

"I see nothing. I am going to enter the building now - unless you have any other ridiculous notions for me to inquire further about." The Aussie woman scoffed with sarcasm.

She ignored her moody teammate and finished packing up her parachute, hiding it in the nearest bush for safe keeping.

"Is something concerning you, Spitfire?" Mutawa's voice asked. He sounded a bit out of breath and she realized he must've been running through the trees towards the fortress.

Casey shook her head, "I'm fine. I heard a noise but it was most likely just an animal." She decided to change the subject to make sure he didn't think she was afraid. "I bet I can find what we're looking for before you." She challenged.

The African man laughed, "You will not win this time."

Before Casey could reply, her communication device began to crackle and make strange noises. Mutawa was speaking but his voice was being overshadowed. Suddenly a deafening feedback sound squealed in her ear and the undercover agent dropped to her knees with her hands over her ears in alarm.

The next thing she knew, someone had a hold of her arms and she was being dragged helplessly through the dark, unable to resist as the sound continued to blast her eardrums.

She wanted to scream, to cry out, but it would only make matters worse considering she was already there on a secret mission for The Collective. If she called out, whoever was kidnapping her would know she wasn't alone and the rest of her team would be compromised.

The siren in her ears finally gave out and whoever was dragging her stopped just short of a flowing river and small waterfall cascading into a pool that was glowing in the moonlight. If the situation wasn't so dire at the moment, she could actually admire the stunning sight before her.

She could just make out the shadows of two people standing above her but couldn't make out their faces in the dark.
Now that the ringing had stopped in her ears, Casey immediately jumped into defensive mode. One of the shadows reached out for her, which was a big mistake as she grabbed their arm and twisted it behind their back, then rammed them into a nearby tree. The other stranger tried to stop her but before they could make contact, she swung out her leg and kicked them in the gut and then knocked them out with a kick to the head.

There was still static filling her ear and Casey thought she heard the man she had pinned against the tree trying to speak but she couldn't make out his words. She finally reached up and tore the faulty communication device from her ear.

"Who are you?!" She demanded while shoving him even harder, causing his face to scrape against the rough bark of the tree. Lucky for him, he wore a dark mask, concealing his identity.

The masked man suddenly broke her hold and before she knew it, he had her pinned down on the forest floor, straddling her midsection with his face millimetres from hers.

"Casey, it's me." The man spoke, removing the mask from his head and Derek's smirking face was illuminated by the glow of moonlight above her.

Manaus, Brazil

2:34 AM

Lizzie sat in the stuffy motel Derek had paid with cash for them to hold out in. It wasn't the nicest place to stay but it at least kept them out of The Swan Agency's radar for the time being. She was still furious about her stepbrother forcing her to stay back even though she was more than capable of helping rescue her sister as well.

"We need someone here just in case things go wrong. We can't all be captured by these people." Derek told her just hours before walking out the door.

"Taiki is the one that most definitely should stay behind, Derek!" She argued fiercely. "You said so yourself that he's the one these people are after!"

"Yes, but I can't get near Casey without him. She's most likely being tracked by The Collective and has some kind of communication device to reach them; Taiki can jam their signals so that I can retrieve her without them knowing. I need him there, Liz."

"You need back up as well and I can provide it!"

"You're not coming. End of story. If Casey finds out I let you anywhere near this mission, she'll have my head. You're lucky I even let you join us at all."

"And how exactly do you think she'll react when she sees that you brought Mr. Computer Chip here?!" She shouted, pointing towards the young Japanese man that decided to busy himself with packing the essential gear and tech they needed -gear and tech that they'd stolen from the hijacked Swan Agency jet plane. Lucky those things came fully stocked.

Taiki finally decided to pipe up though as he placed the last piece of spyware in the black duffle he was using and zipped it up. "Liz -uh, can I call you Liz?" He said while taking a step towards the disgruntled step siblings. "I honestly don't like this idea anymore than you do. The last thing I want is to be back in the hands of those lunatics, but if we're to rescue Casey successfully and with little resistance as possible, then this is the only way. I need to be close enough to her in order to change the frequency of their signal."

Lizzie sighed as she glanced from Taiki and back to her stepbrother. "I just... I have a bad feeling about this. Isn't there anyone else we could get in touch with that could help? I was taught to never go into any situation without back-up in check. You must have someone else we can call just in case." She looked at Derek pleading with her eyes, the same sapphire blue eyes of her sister.

Derek rubbed the back of his neck in deep thought, obviously struggling with an idea. He finally grabbed a piece of paper and pen and jotted down a name and number before handing it to her.

"This is the only other person I trust right now within the spy world. If anyone is to have my back, it's her." He spoke firmly.

"Karma Heston." Lizzie read the name written down.

"Don't contact her unless it's absolutely necessary, and be discreet in what you say over the phone. I feel like The Swan has eyes and ears everywhere."

"Got it." Lizzie nodded. "Now please just go over your plan with me one more time."

Taiki took this as his queue to speak up again and opened the small laptop in his hands to show a live video feed of the inside of a plane cockpit. The interior was dimly lit and it showed two people dressing up in parachutes packs and goggles.

One was a large black man with a serious posture and the other was a smaller but still tall young blonde woman who seemed to be favouring her right arm slightly, as if she'd been recently injured.

"You are now seeing through the eyes of Casey McDonald." Taiki said, gesturing to the screen.

"I still can't believe your tech team created such a thing." Lizzie marveled. "A camera that can be used as permanent contact lenses. Genius."

"Without it, Casey could've been lost to us completely." Derek nodded and then scoffed. "At least that corrupted Agency did something right."

"Anyway," Taiki continued, "I made sure to remember the IP address and codes in order to hack into Casey's live video feed from The Swan and with it we can still know exactly where Casey is."

"Which is where exactly?"

"I mapped out the coordinates of the blueprints she was studying and found out that it's an abandoned building in the middle of the rainforest. The locals have believed it to be haunted for years and no one goes near it, which of course would be the perfect place to hide out for any evil genius types that don't want attention."

"Or it really could be haunted and The Collective, it turns out, is forming a ghostbusters team to go in and rid the place of the evil spirits roaming the grounds." Derek smirked.

"Be serious." Lizzie rolled her eyes.

"As I was saying..." Taiki interjected once again. "Once we reach the place and hide the plane, we'll stay hidden until Casey jumps from The Collective aircraft. Then we'll lure her away from the others, jam her signal and bring her to safety."

"You really think it's going to end so well?" Lizzie raised a sceptical brow at them as she sat down on the motel bed and stared back at the live feed still broadcasting from the small laptop.

"Have some faith, Lizard." Derek said with a hand on her shoulder.

"Unfortunately, the plane didn't have any two-way radios or any form of communication that we can use to reach you..." Taiki was saying until Derek interrupted.

"But, I promise to call you as soon as we're out of the jungle and safe WITH Casey."

"You better, Derek."

"Don't worry. We'll have Casey back safe and sound before you know it. Then the two of you can reminisce about the time you thought Casey had turned evil and killed a bunch of people before knocking you out." Derek grinned at her with a wink.

"My head still aches from that, thank you very much." Lizzie frowned while rubbing the sensitive area on her scalp.

She still had a bad feeling about the whole "rescue Casey" mission but knew there was no talking Derek down after he had it all planned out. She just hoped they didn't end up seriously regretting it in the end and made sure to tuck the phone number of Karma Heston in her pocket for safe keeping, knowing she'd most likely need to use it before the night was over.

Brazilian Rainforest

Casey thought her mind must be playing tricks on her. It couldn't be him. It just couldn't.

"Derek..." Casey's breath caught in her throat as she stared up into her ex-boyfriend's familiar face, unsure she was really seeing him. "H-how...?" She reached up to touch him, placing her palm on his stubbled cheek, needing to know this wasn't some kind of hallucination or dream.

Derek was also having a hard time breathing as her skin made contact with his, realizing just how much he'd missed having her near.

"It's so good to see you." Derek finally spoke while placing his palm over hers and staring into her eyes.

Reality suddenly hit her like a freight train to the chest and the secret agent broke the contact as she instantly bolted upright, knocking her stepbrother off of her and glanced around nervously.

"Does The Swan know you're here?"

"Not... exactly..." He spoke while rubbing the back of his neck and stood to his feet also. "We... We sort of escaped..."

"Wait... We?" Then it hit her that someone else had been with him. She searched the ground for the shadow she'd kicked, hoping she hadn't just knocked out Ben or Karma.

"I'm over here," a male voice groaned out in pain. "Finally you remembered I exist." He said and Casey hurried over to his side instantly.

"Taiki!" She exclaimed in surprise.

"That was quite the kick." The young Japanese man commented while rubbing the bump forming on his head. "Luckily, it didn't knock me completely unconscious."

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize..." Casey started to say but then she whirled on her stepbrother in anger. "What the hell is Taiki doing out of protective custody?!"

"It wasn't Derek's fault," Taiki jumped to Derek's defence. "I left on my own accord. I was sick of being locked up and tested on day and night with no real results or conclusions. I couldn't take it anymore." He frowned bitterly.

"But you're in danger, Taiki! The Collective wants you! You're their main target!" She yelled and then quickly lowered her voice when reminded of where she was. "How could you two be so idiotic?!" The secret agent growled out in a hushed tone as she backed her stepbrother into the tree behind him.

Casey was glaring daggers at Derek and he knew he better explain himself quick before she murdered him.

"Just hear us out, Case." He pleaded, desperately while raising his hands in front of him to ward off any surprise attacks.

"I don't have time!" Casey raised her voice once again. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm on a mission! My team is probably wondering where I am right now!"

"They're not your real team!" Derek couldn't help but snap back angrily.

"And neither are you, remember?" She snapped right back with a finger pointed in his face. "You left! Do you really think you deserve any sympathy from me right now?" She ran her hands through her dark straight hair, tugging at it in frustration. "All you've managed to do is make things worse!"

"They're going to kill you, Casey!" Derek growled out as he grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to look into his frantic eyes. "We came to rescue you."

She pulled away from his grasp with a scowl upon her face, "I don't need rescuing. Get away from me and take Taiki back to The Swan where they can keep him safe."

"And what about your safety?"

"I don't want to return in hiding!" Taiki shouted angrily, trying to intervene for his sake. "I want to help! I want to fight!"

Casey turned on him with a fierce glare, "You are the missing ingredient The Collective needs for their plan of massive casualties to succeed! If you get caught, again, they will win! I refuse to let that happen! You can't fight, you need to stay hidden until I figure this out."

"I'm not as useless as you think!"

She was shocked to see the young man defending himself so harshly against her and managed to soften her tone a fraction when she knew she'd hit a nerve within him, "I don't think you're useless, Taiki. It's the exact opposite. You're too important to this mission that we can't risk being careless. You need to be kept safe, away from danger until I can figure out exactly what The Collective has planned."

"I get that this thing in my head is what they want, but I can help you, Casey." Taiki argued. "I'm the one that caused your communications to fail just now and the one that has been helping your teammates communicate with you."

"It doesn't matter." The secret agent shook her head. "If they catch you, not only will my cover be blown but the whole world could be at risk."

"Who cares about your freaking cover, Casey!" Derek yelled angrily. "I'm so tired of everything being about your job. These people can't be trusted. They could already know who you are and are just playing along until they get what they want."

"Well if that's the case, then you've just let that plan succeed by bringing Taiki with you on this absurd mission of yours!"

She glared back fiercely. All feelings of relief at seeing him alive were immediately replaced with rage. How dare he come here, in the middle of a mission, and bring the one person that The Collective wants the most! How stupid could Derek get?

"You were the one that sent us the coordinates to this place!"

"Yeah, so that The Swan could intervene after we got what we came for. Plus to collect the bodies I take out."

"Look, Case," Derek sighed as he took a cautious step towards her. "There is more to this mission than you know and you can't do it alone. Let us at least help you. Taiki is capable of more than we give him credit for."

"I have The Swan helping me, Derek!"

"Screw The Swan, Casey! They're more corrupt than you know!"

"How can you even say that? After everything we've been through there?"

"We were basically prisoners in that place and not everyone in that agency is who they say they are."

"You're still just sore about being suspended." She rolled her eyes. "Grow up, Derek."

The little resolve that Derek had left was gone as he grabbed her by the arms and glared into her eyes, "They tried to erase your sister's memories!"

Casey was taken aback, "W-what do you mean? When? Why?"

"Lizzie realized who you were, Casey; ever since your encounter at the abandoned warehouse! I tried to cover it up but she was asking too many questions. She's just like you, even down to being a freaking spy!"

There were so many questions Casey wanted to ask but she knew she needed to get back to the mission before someone came looking for her and Taiki was discovered.

"She's at least safe, right?" She finally asked.

"No thanks to Taiki and me." Derek scoffed.

"But... what about Benjamin and Karma?"

"That doesn't matter right now, Case. What matters is getting you out of here before you are killed."

Derek went to grab her hand but Casey pulled back.

"I told you that I'm not going anywhere. I can't just run away and let innocent lives be lost."

"If they don't have Taiki then their plan will be useless anyway."

"They will find another way, Derek. I've spent time with these people and I've seen what they're capable of. There's more to the picture than they've let on. You and Taiki need to leave here now. I've been gone too long." She placed the communication device back in her ear and could hear the voices of her assassin teammates asking where she was.

"I'm not leaving here without you." Derek stood his ground defiantly.

The undercover agent suddenly grabbed him by the collar and glared into his eyes, "If you don't get out of here now, then all of us will be caught and captured. Besides, you left me once, so it can't be too hard to leave me again." She snapped coldly.

Pain and regret flashed in Derek's eyes but before he could speak, there was a sound off to the right.

"Spitfire? Is that you?" Mutawa's deep voice called out from beyond the trees.

"Shoot me, Derek!" Casey whispered harshly, indicating towards his gun.

"Are you insane? I'm not going to tranq you!"

"Do it now!"

Before Derek could say another word, Taiki ran up, grabbed Derek's gun and shot a dart into her thigh.

"Go!" Casey ordered as she pulled the dart from her leg and tossed it into a nearby bush. The drug began to take effect and she fell to the grassy slope, Praying to God that they got away before being discovered.

I hope it was at least a little worth the wait. Please don't be too angry with me... At least I returned. Haha!

Please let me know your thoughts.

Thanks for your extreme patience!

The next chapter is basically finished but still needs some editing. I will post it next week.