Chapter 21

Manaus, Brazil

12:22 PM

"Leave it to Derek to dump you in a… well… a dump." Benjamin Blake said as he and Karma followed Lizzie into her motel room.

"He's extremely paranoid after what went down with The Swan Agency." Lizzie replied while scanning the parking lot outside to make sure they hadn't been followed and then closed the door and locked it.

"And he has every right to be." Karma nodded as she took a seat on one of the chairs in the corner of the room where a rickety looking wooden table sat with a laptop on top. "The Swan can't be trusted; not anymore."

Ben held up his hands, "Hold on, Kar; just because one trusted agent went rogue doesn't mean the entire Agency is corrupt."

"They were going to erase my memories without my consent." Lizzie frowned at the attractive secret agent whom she had admired for years.

"That doesn't mean they're now the bad guys. They were only doing what they thought was necessary to protect Casey's cover."

"They could have tried talking to me first."

"Maybe they would have if Derek hadn't gone all psycho protective brother and shot his fellow agents before taking you and the one person we swore to protect from The Collective." Ben raised his voice and then realized he needed to calm down as Karma stood and placed her hand on his shoulder, forcing him to sit on the edge of one of the beds in the room. "I wouldn't have let them do it." Ben sighed as he met Lizzie's gaze. "I tried explaining that to Derek but he was too stubbourn to listen to reason and thought shooting his friend was a better option."

"I appreciate the thought, Agent Blake, but Derek was right to get me out of there. You maybe would've tried to keep them from erasing my memories but in the end, The Swan Agency would've succeeded." Lizzie spoke. "Whatever your loyalties are to them, I still don't think it wise to involve The Swan Agency right now. Derek only did what he thought was right. No matter how irrational and reckless he can be at times, my stepbrother has always come through when it comes to family."

"Speaking of…" Karma said while sitting next to her boyfriend and placing her hand in his. "Where do you think Derek and Taiki could be?"

"Well… that is the problem." Lizzie sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. "I lost the signal of their whereabouts last night."

"See!" Benjamin exclaimed as he stood to his feet and started pacing the worn out carpet of the motel room. "This is what I was saying! Derek never thinks clearly, especially when it comes to Casey! I know he loves her but that love also makes him blind to everyone else around him! What was he thinking involving Taiki like this? For all we know, Derek is dead and The Collective now has Taiki!"

"He's not dead!" Lizzie defended as she stood to her feet as well and glared at Ben. "I know my stepbrother can be an idiot at times and this is definitely one of the worse things he's done, but don't underestimate his will to survive, especially if Casey is involved."

"I'm sorry, Liz." Ben apologized sincerely as he looked at her. "Derek is my friend and I don't mean to be so harsh towards him."

"You're still just sore that he shot you." Karma smirked at him as she gave her boyfriend a nudge to lighten the mood a bit.

Lizzie continued to speak, directing the subject back to devising a plan to find her missing stepbrother and whoever else was with him. "Anyway, all I know is that the plane's signal went off somewhere not too far from the abandoned building Casey's team were flown to, so they are still in the rainforest. Now we just need to figure out a way to get there ourselves."

Karma grinned. "Well we fly of course."

"Don't tell me you guys stole a Swan Agency jet too?" Lizzie looked at them with surprise. "I mean, covert spy jets should not be this easy to get away with. We at least had Taiki's mind tech chip thingy…"

Karma shook her head. "We don't have a plane of our own but I know a guy who can fly us out there in the morning."

"In the morning? That's too long of a wait. What if they're dying?"

"I'll talk to him, but the people here are superstitious, especially about that part of the rainforest. They believe it to be haunted, especially at night."

"Tell him we'll pay him extra."

Ben raised a brow at her. "Do you have that kind of money just lying around in this smelly motel room?"

"No, but I grew up with at least one stepbrother that was very good at saving his money. Edwin taught me well. I just need to access my savings account."

"Ok. While you do that, Ben and I will meet up with Roberto. Then we'll meet back here." Karma said as she stood to her feet as well.

"Wait, how do I contact you if we can't trust our phones?" Lizzie asked.

"I'll text you a code."

Lizzie nodded warily. "All right. Just please try to hurry."

"We will do our best. Don't forget that Derek and Casey are our best friends, we are worried about them too."

"I know."

Karma stepped towards the younger agent who reminded her so much of her older sister and gave her squeeze. "You are right about Derek. If it involves Casey, he'll do anything to make sure they survive. Don't give up hope. We will see you soon."

Lizzie smiled with a nod, grateful to not be in this alone as Ben gave her a wave with his hand and the two Swan agents walked out the door.

"What happened to you, Derek?" Lizzie wondered aloud with a heavy sigh.

She opened up her laptop once again to check the live feed from Casey's eye tech but it was still black. She not only had her stepbrother to worry about but her sister too. Maybe more so Derek though if they turned out to be together when she woke up. Poor Derek if that's the case.

"He's a dead man…" Lizzie shook her head while closing the laptop again and gathering her things to go find a bank machine to withdraw some money from.

Suddenly the laptop made a noise. It was some kind of alert. She quickly opened it up again and realized there was a new message in her inbox. The message was from Taiki.

"Oh, crap!" Lizzie gasped while reading the message over and over. "This definitely makes things more complicated…"

Brazilian Rainforest

Time Unknown

Derek tried his best to keep his eyes open all night after finally finding a small clearing in the dark that he hoped they would be safe in. He could no longer carry his stepsister's unconscious form through the jungle but was relieved to at least be far enough from the burning plane to not catch fire themselves. Halfway through the night it had begun to pour rain down on the jungle. Derek was irritated and grateful for it at the same time. Being soaking wet while trudging through the forest with a limp body on your shoulders was terrible - especially with his ankle still healing - but at least the rain would be able to put out the fires from the explosion.

As the sun rose in the sky and the many different birds of the rainforest began to chirp and sing, Derek checked Casey's pulse once again. She had been out almost too long now and he was becoming increasingly more worried by the minute.

He sat back against a tall tree and finally managed to get some much-needed sleep, feeling at least slightly more relieved with daylight shining down on them.

It must've been about noon when Derek heard a small groan in his sleepy haze that suddenly caused him to sit up straight.

"Casey?" Derek spoke while eyeing her form that was cradled in his lap.

She groaned again and he noticed her eyes slowly begin to flutter open. She brought a hand up to shield her eyes from the sun's bright rays and glanced around in confusion before her bright blue eyes looked up and locked onto his.

Derek took a deep breath and mentally flinched while gazing back at her knowing any minute the puzzle pieces would land in place and he'd be dead.

Casey's head was buzzing and her whole body ached as she looked around and realized she was still in the jungle, except that it was now day instead of night.

What am I doing here? The secret agent wondered with a groan before she looked up and her eyes met those of her stepbrother's/ex-boyfriend's.

"Derek…?" She spoke aloud in confusion. "What happened?"

He met her confused look with one of deep remorse and Casey immediately sat up from lying in his lap with narrowed eyes.

"Der-ek…" She seethed through clenched teeth. "Why am I still in the jungle… with you? And where is Taiki?" She tried to stand up but was still too faint and fell back to her knees.

"Take it easy, you've been out all night." Derek said as he lunged forward to help her sit back.

Casey pulled her arm from his grasp and glared daggers at him. "WHERE IS TAIKI?!" She snapped this time as all the anger and frustration she felt towards him over the past few months began to bubble to the surface.

Derek instantly hung his head and avoided her eyes. "I… well you see… uh…" He stumbled for the right words to say.

"DER-EK!" Casey yelled as she grabbed him by the shoulders, forcing him to look at her. "Please tell me he did not get captured by The Collective?!"

Derek looked into her panic stricken eyes and let out a sigh. "It… It all happened so fast. I couldn't leave you. I tried making up a story to convince those two assassins that I was on their side but then men with guns began chasing us and we got on the jet but then it crashed. That Australian chick was too suspicious of me and I guess… I just… I panicked, Casey. I couldn't leave you like that, not again. Taiki was right behind me and we almost made it out together but I had to make a choice… I-I chose you."

Suddenly a loud SMACK rang out through the jungle. Casey had hit him across the face with her open palm.

Derek reached up to the burning of his cheek; he had basically expected as much would happen, so it didn't bother him as much as it should. A part of him knew he deserved it.

"I'm so, so, so sorry, Case, I…" He tried to apologize but she ignored him as she was finally able to stand to her feet and began to wring her hands through her hair and pace the jungle floor.

"Just when I thought you couldn't disappoint me more, Derek… Then you do this. I told you to leave! I had it under control! Why couldn't you just let me do my job?!"

"Because I wasn't about to risk your life for a stupid mission!"

"Well now everyone's lives are in danger, Derek! The Collective has Taiki and who knows what awful things they have planned with that chip in his head? Why couldn't you just listen to me for once?!"

"You were unconscious and about to be taken away by the villains once again! I couldn't stop it when Haldega took you but I'd be damned if I left you again!" Tears began to form in his eyes as he stared back at her and clenched his fists in frustration. "I tried, Casey… I tried to listen to you but I just couldn't leave you like that, not when I just got you back."

Casey's expression softened a moment as she looked at him and listened to him expressing himself. She had to admit that she did miss him and a small part of her was relieved to see his face when she woke up but another side of her was still furious. First, he left her, then he came back only to mess up the whole mission that she had trained weeks for. Now the whole world was at stake because of him and his idiocy - even if it was done out of his love for her.

"I was unconscious by choice this time!" Casey snapped at her stepbrother. "And like I said, you seemed to have no problem leaving me behind before."

"I came back!" He suddenly shouted so loudly that it caused a flock of birds nearby to fly out of their nest in a panic. "I came back to tell you I was sorry and that I supported you but before I had the chance to see you, I was kidnapped and kept underground in a cell for three days! All because our love for each other would have jeopardized your freaking mission!"

"What?" Casey was taken aback. "Who kidnapped you? What do you mean?"

"It doesn't matter now." He waved it off as he lowered his voice again and stepped towards her, staring into her eyes. "What matters is that I am so sorry for leaving you the first time. I should never have done that. I should've supported my girlfriend even if I didn't wholeheartedly agree with the mission. The truth is that I just didn't like the thought of being away from you for so long. You were on your own with no back-up from your team. I couldn't fathom the thought."

"Derek," Casey tried to speak but he continued over her.

"I've never liked this job, I admit, but I did it for you. I knew you loved it and I didn't want to disappoint you. I at least felt better about you being a spy if I was at least by your side - not to protect you because I know you can fend for yourself, but just to be with you."

Casey sighed. "I accept your apology for before but not now." She looked at him with pain filled eyes as she spoke. "The fact is, Derek, that you have really messed up this time. This is the worst thing you could've done. I understand that you had a choice but choosing me over the world was not the right one to make."

"Casey," Derek reached out to her when he saw the tears in her eyes. "I love you. Doesn't that mean anything anymore?"

She turned to look at him with a shake of her head. "You said it yourself: love requires sacrifice." She said, throwing his own words back at him. "But when it comes to you having to make the sacrifice, it doesn't seem to matter; does it?" She shook her head and then turned away.

Derek watched her walk further into the jungle, knowing she needed to be alone. Her last words cut him to the core. She basically said his love was selfish… and maybe it was… but she WAS his love.

"I can't seem to do anything right!" He growled bitterly as he kicked at a stone and then dropped down to sit against the tree again.

Derek closed his eyes as he brought his knees up to his chest and for the first time the weight of his choice hit him as the faces of his family and friends entered his mind. He'd endangered them all by leaving Taiki. Casey was right.

"I am selfish."

Unknown Location

11:06 AM

Taiki looked up as the metal door to the room he'd been shoved into the previous night opened up and a man with dark hair and piercing hazel eyes stepped inside. He recognized him as one of the people from the hovercraft that had picked them up from the rainforest after Derek abandoned him. The man with the british accent had been furious when the others told him what had happened to "Phoenix". He almost seemed to reconsider leaving and Taiki could tell the large African man felt the same. They cared for Casey. Even as an undercover assassin the woman was able to charm her way into people's hearts and minds.

However, after the truth of who Taiki was was revealed by the young Aussie woman, the British man decided to reluctantly leave Phoenix/Casey behind and head back to wherever The Collective's hideout was.

"So, Mr. Kaito, it is a pleasure to finally meet you - officially that is." The British man grinned at him as Taiki remained seated against the wall. "My name is Blaize. I have been waiting a long time to study that brilliant mind of yours."

"It is not brilliant. It is a curse." Taiki muttered with disdain.

"I beg to differ." He said while taking a seat on the floor across from him. "My little Australian friend told me that you were able to mess with the frequency of their comms, as well as fly an entire jet - all with your mind. I'm impressed. I can't wait to see what else that mind of yours can do."

Taiki frowned bitterly at him and Blaize just chuckled.

"You may have noticed that the chip doesn't work so well in this room."

"I don't mind. I actually prefer it." Taiki replied while staring at the floor.

"Yeah, well it won't be like that for long." Blaize said as two large men entered the room, followed by a woman dressed in a lab coat with long dark hair pulled back and thick cat-eye glasses framing her pretty face.

"The lab is ready." The woman stated with a smirk directed at Taiki. "I can't wait to dissect that mind of his."

Blaize instructed the young man to stand to his feet as the two large men took a hold of each of his arms and began to lead him out of the room and into a dimly lit hall with the woman and Blaize following behind.

They soon entered another room, this one a well stocked laboratory with computer screens and other gadgets Taiki didn't know the exact purpose of. He was immediately strapped down into a chair, not unlike the one he spent a lot of time in while at the Swan Agency, and a blinding blue light was suddenly flashed in his eyes multiple times.

"Once Dr. Leigh is done with some tests, I want to have a chat with you." Blaize said while grinning down at Taiki. "You are going to tell me who Derek is and why he would risk saving a known assassin over you."

"And if I choose not to speak?" Taiki snapped back.

"Oh, trust me," the man laughed, "you will speak. I have quite the reputation for getting much-needed information out of unwilling victims. Besides, we may need what is inside your brain, but the rest of your body is fair trade." He winked before walking from the room and leaving the doctor to begin her various tests that Taiki was no doubt dreading.

A part of him was furious with Derek for letting this happen but another part just hoped that he and Casey had made it out safely and that the message he'd sent to Lizzie before being taken had made it to her in one piece.

There were so many emotions flooding her system at once as Casey stormed away from her stepbrother and finally stopped a hundred yards from where he'd been. She knew it wouldn't be smart to drift too far away, even if she was angry with him, they were still lost in a jungle with only each other to rely on.

I can't rely on Derek though. Casey thought as she let out a deep breath and the tears began to flow. Because of him my cover is most likely blown and now The Collective has Taiki.

She thought back to the way it felt to be near him again and couldn't help the sigh that escaped her lips. Despite her furious state towards him, Casey still had to admit that she missed Derek more than anything and it felt so good to see him again, to know that he still loved her and always had.

When she really thought about it and put herself in his shoes, Casey wondered if she would've been able to make the sacrifice that she berated him for not making himself. She hadn't been there - well awake anyway - so she didn't know what exactly happened, and it wasn't like she had really given him much of a chance to explain.

As she stared up at the blue sky peeking through the jungle tree tops, Casey wished more than ever that things could just go back to the way they used to be. Two years ago, they were happy but then they joined The Swan and everything just got so complicated.

In a way, Casey blamed herself for the whole mess they were in. She had treated Derek so terribly before she left for her uncover mission. He asked her to marry him and she said no. She put her career before him. She honestly couldn't blame him for leaving the way he did. She broke his heart.

A sob broke free from her chest as Casey thought back to that night. Derek loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her but her own stubbornness tore them apart.

She thought she wanted this job but she never imagined it to become what it had. And doing it without her team - her real team - without Derek… She hated it.

Despite her feelings, Casey knew she needed to fix Derek's mistake. They needed to get Taiki back. They had to.

Suddenly a sound came from the sky, startling her as Casey looked up to see a helicopter flying over the jungle. The chopper didn't appear to belong to The Collective but she couldn't be sure without getting a closer look.

"Casey!" Derek's voice rang out over the noise in the sky as he burst through the trees with panic-stricken eyes. "It's headed towards the plane! We need to get out of here!"

Casey shook her head. "No! There is no way I am running further into the jungle! We need to see who it is. Maybe they can help."

"And what if it's The Collective come back to finish us off?" He tried to grab her arm but she pulled away.

"We were not trained to run, Derek! Even if it is The Collective, I will not back down! They have our friend and we need to get him back before whatever is in his head can be used against the world!"

Derek looked into her eyes, knowing he would not convince her to change her mind. Casey never changed her mind once it was set, especially when it came to matters like this. Besides, she was right. Taiki was in this mess because of him.

"You're right." Derek nodded solemnly.

Casey was surprised. She was expecting him to continue arguing, not to admit she was right. Derek Venturi admitting Casey McDonald was right was almost impossible.

"I shouldn't have risked Taiki's life for my own selfish reasons. We need to get him back. I owe him and I owe the world." Derek said as he walked past her and began making his way towards the crashed plane.

Casey decided not to reply and silently followed behind her ex, thinking maybe it wasn't too late for Derek to become right in her eyes again. She knew that he wasn't all to blame for the current state of their relationship. She played a part too.

However, thoughts of their relationship still needed to be put on the back-burner, that is until the rest of the world could be safe again.

Soon enough the ex couple happened upon the crashed plane and it's burnt debris. A part of Casey was frustrated that her team with The Collective would just leave her to die. It was true that she wasn't who she said she was but they still didn't know that. All they had were the crazy ramblings of Derek, a complete stranger in their eyes. They even tried to blow her up!

She and Derek crouched low behind some trees as the unknown helicopter landed in the field beyond the plane.

"Can you see anything?" Derek asked, trying to peer over the burnt fuselage.

"Not yet, but stay down just in case." She said while grabbing his hand and pulling him down beside her.

"If it's The Collective, you'll be killed on the spot."

"Do you really think they would return? They got what they wanted, Case."

Casey furrowed her brow and ignored him. Was it wrong that a small part of her hoped that they had returned for her? She could clean up the mess Derek made, get back on their good (or I guess evil) side and work out a plan to save not only Taiki but the rest of the world. She could complete her mission."

"Derek?" A familiar female voice suddenly called out.

Derek and Casey both glanced at each other with wide eyes and Casey realized she still held his hand in hers as his tightened around her fingers and suddenly pulled her forward, away from their cover in the trees.

"Karma?" Derek called out immediately as the two raced towards the helicopter, trying their best to avoid the plane debri littering the jungle floor.

Soon enough a familiar blonde woman was seen running towards them. Casey's heart jumped at the sight and she realized how much she missed her friends - her real teammates.

She dropped Derek's hand and allowed Karma's eager arms to wrap around her form and hold her close.

"Casey! You're alive!" Karma squealed with joy as tears ran down her cheeks.

"Hi, Kar." Casey breathed out with a tired smile while embracing the smaller woman.

"Derek is alive too, in case you didn't see me standing here." Her stepbrother said with a wave towards their friend.

Karma pulled away from her embrace with Casey and smiled at Derek. "It's good to see you alive too, Der." She then glanced around as she wiped at her tears and exclaimed. "Now, will someone please tell me what in the hell happened last night?"

"I was unconscious, so I can't really say." Casey replied. "But what I do know is that this isn't over yet. We have a lot of work to do."

"I know." Karma nodded.

"You do?"

The woman nodded as she began to lead them back towards the helicopter.

"We have much to discuss once we're out of this jungle. Ben and Liz are waiting for us."

"You found Lizzie?" Derek breathed out with relief. "Thank god she called you."

"That was smart of you to leave her my number." Karma winked at him as they boarded the copter and she got into the front next to a handsome brazilian pilot while Casey and Derek both buckled into the seats in the back.

"We have to find Taiki." Casey shouted to Karma. "The Collective has him."

"We know." Karma glanced back at her. "He contacted Liz. She and Ben are working on tracking down his whereabouts now.

"Yes!" Derek shouted with a fist pump. "Those Collective S.O.B.'s are going down!"

Then the helicopter slowly started to lift into the sky.

Casey held her breath as she stared out the window, hoping what Derek said was true, but knowing it wasn't going to be as easy as they all hoped. They were in for the fight of their lives once they figured out how to locate Taiki. She knew The Collective, especially Crymson, wouldn't give up that chip so easily. They had something big planned and Casey was worried that they were already too late.