Chapter 2
The streets were dark, but the headlights on Zig's car lit them up, giving us a path to guide us. I looked over at this man who I'd just given everything to, this man who has been my friend for so long, this man who told me he loves me, and wonder what the hell is going on. Never have I seen someone witness…whatever the hell that was that just happened and run away like everything is fine.
"Zig?" I asked once we turned onto Queens Street. He turned to me and squeezed my hand that he was still holding.
"Maya, I know you're confused. Give me a chance to explain." He said. I nodded, still shaken by the event that had just occurred.
"Alright, go ahead." I said. He sighed in frustration.
"I can't here."
"What do you mean you can't here? We're alone." I said.
"No, we're probably not alone. In fact, we need to ditch this car ASAP." Zig said as he drove into the Toronto City Airport.
"Zig, you're freaking me out!" I said. I've known Zig since my first day of Grade Nine at Degrassi. We've always been best friends, and he's always been the person I've trusted more than anyone else. But right now, I wasn't sure if I wanted to go with him on an airplane to god-knows where.
"Maya, relax." He said, parking the car and turning it off. We both got out and he came around to my side. "Maya, I've always been in love with you. I know it sounds hard to believe, but it's true. I've always wanted you. I've dated so many girls and they all mean nothing to me compared to you." he said. "Maya, I would never put you in danger, but right now, you just need to trust me so I can keep you safe." He said. I sighed.
"Zig, I've always loved you too…and this is really hard to say, but I need to go home." I told him, overwhelmed and anxious.
"I can't let you do that. The NCTA already knows that you witnessed my mom being…murdered." Zig said under his breath. I gasped and he shushed me, as well as grabbed my hands.
"Maya, I know, it's scary. And I know you're new to this. You've just been thrown into a world not many people get to see. But you're brave and strong and smart…and I believe in you. It's what I love about you. Maya, you can do this. Don't be scared, we'll be right there next to each other, and we'll beat this together." Zig said. "If you go home…they'll just come and get you. You, your parents, Katie…you can't go home right now."
"Zig, what is this? Your mom just got murdered!" I said. He sighed and took me into his arms, hugging me.
"C'mon, we have no time for this." He said, kissing my forehead. "We're going to America."
"So I've heard! Zig, I have class tomorrow." I said. He groaned.
"Maya, I'll explain everything on the plane." He said. Then another car drove past us and he pulled me down to duck behind his car.
"I need to call in." he said, taking out a phone I'd never seen him with before. He pressed a button hidden in the logo on the back and held it to his ear.
"This is Agent 79; I'm in the field at 02:15:37 hours. I have intel on Kathy Novak's murder and NCTA's leader's location. I'm coming to HQ, will arrive by 06:00:00 hours." Zig said. He paused a moment and looked at me in the eyes. His eyes were scared, yet cool, and worried. I took his hand.
"Yes, I am with Maya A. Matlin." He said. "No, she is clean." Then he hung up and pulled me into his arms.
"What was that?" I whispered into his worn All Time Low t-shirt.
"I had to call HQ…Maya, my birth father and I are agents for the CIA. I'll explain later." He promised.
"Zig…" I stammered. He pulled me to him and pressed his lips to mine. He kissed me slowly, then pulled away.
"Maya, let's go. C'mon." he said. I was dizzy; I was so confused that I couldn't even begin to process the information I'd just heard. I wouldn't have believed him if I hadn't heard the gunshots with my own two ears.
We stood and he opened his trunk, then opened a secret compartment in the bottom. He pulled out a hat, which he put on my head. I tucked my hair into it. He then gave me rubber things which he stuck on my fingers tips.
"What is this?" I asked.
"The system will think you're an alias I've created. Your name is Laura Swan and you're my new wife. We're going on our honeymoon." He said.
"Why can't my name be in the system?" I asked, tired and frustrated.
"NCTA has bugs in the system; they'll be looking for us." He answered, putting his own finger tips on. He then gave me contacts, which I put in easily.
"I'm Andrew, your husband. Your madden name is DeVerise."
"Zig this is crazy." I said, hoping he'd be rational and call the police.
"Wear this coat, and slip this onto your finger." He said, handing me a coat and a wedding band. He hadn't even paid any attention to my comment.
He put on a short brown wig and put in his contacts. Then he pressed a passport and an I.D into my hand.
"How'd you get my picture for this I.D to be made? This happened 15 minutes ago!" I asked.
"I've had them made incase anything ever happened. I have one for Tristan, Tori, you get the picture." He said quickly, pulling a bag from the trunk. Then he closed it, locked it, and took my hand.
"C'mon Laura." He said. "We're using our aliases now." He told me. I nodded.
"Like a play." I said. He kissed me quickly.
"Exactly." He replied. Then his phone beeped. "Shit."
"What is it?"
"They're here." He muttered, pulling my hand and running with me into the airport.
"So Laura, I've decided to surprise you about where we're going for our honeymoon." Zig said. I nodded.
"Andrew, that sounds wonderful." I replied. He nodded in approval.
We walked up to the ticket counter and Zig slid a credit card I didn't recognize across the counter to the tired woman.
"Two tickets for Charlottesville, Virginia." he said. She nodded.
"The next flight leaves in ten minutes. Looks like you two just made it." She commented. A large man in a leather jacket moved next to me and I saw a gun in his pocket from the corner of my eye. At first, I freaked out in my head. But then I realized that I'd probably be putting myself in even more danger (if that was possible) by drawing attention to me and Zig.
"We're on our honeymoon." I said, taking Zig's hand. He pulled me into his arms and I giggled.
"Well, have a nice trip." She said, smiling. I giggled again.
"Oh we will." I replied, pecking his lips. We took our tickets from the counter and Zig collected his credit card and I.D. He picked up the small bag and took my hand, walking quickly through the airport.
The line for security was surprisingly short and we made it through quickly. They didn't question my Laura Swan identity or Zig's name of Andrew. We made it to the gate in less than seven minutes and boarded quickly, claiming we were in a rush to get started on our honeymoon.
Taking our seats, Zig asked the flight attendant for a bag of peanuts. He opened them and popped one into his mouth coolly, chewing slowly. His phone beeped again, sending shutters up my spine and onto my neck.
"We're clear." He muttered after glancing at the phone. "Are you okay Maya?" he asked. I sighed and shook my head, leaning into him. "No." he said, saying my silent answer out loud.
"I'm scared." I whispered. He put his arm around me.
"My father and I are both agents of the CIA in America. It's why I came to Toronto in middle school; my birth father was under cover, investigating NCTA and their leader. He got close to the leader, befriended him. But their leader went after my mom, and she left my father for him. The leader is my step-dad." He said.
"Eric is the leader of the NCTA? What's the NCTA?" I asked.
"The National Canadian Terrorist Association." He said. "They're Canada based, but have started doing more in America, so the CIA is after them and has been since I was 12." He said. "When my mom left my dad and Eric moved into our house, the CIA came to my dad and said they needed me to be an agent. I was put into training at age 12, then finished the summer before eighth grade. I'm Agent 79, and I was supposed to keep an eye on Eric. I've been gathering intel since I was 14, and finally have enough to bring him to the ground once and for all. Problem is, I told my mom who I really was. She never knew my dad or I were agents, and by telling her, I put her in danger. Eric must've had the kitchen bugged because he found out. Now he knows my identity and the CIA is gonna try to revoke my clearance level. That's why we need to stop them before the CIA finds me. I'm taking you to the under cover group I've been working with since I was 14. They're so secluded that the CIA doesn't even know about them. Questions?" he asked. I was speechless, truly dumbfounded.
"No, I hear things like that everyday." I muttered, closing my eyes.
"Maya, I know it's a lot." He said calmly. "But it's important that you let me do all the work. Maya, you can't compromise yourself or the mission-" he said. I cut him off.
"There was a guy." I said suddenly, opening my eyes and sitting up. "He was standing next to me in the airport. He had a gun." Zig casually popped another peanut into his mouth and looked back in the cabin.
"Bald? Leather jacket?" he asked quietly.
"Yes." I whispered.
"He's about ten rows behind us." Zig said, turning back to me.
"He's a bad guy?" I asked. He didn't move.
"Laugh." He whispered.
"What?"
"Pretend I said something funny." He returned quickly, leaning toward me. I let my friendliest laugh ring and leaned on Zig for support.
"Good. Now kiss me." I moved and kissed him, letting my hand trail down his chest.
"Perfect Maya." He whispered against my lips. Then bald guy passed us on his was to the bathroom.
"I thought it was clear." I muttered.
"It is…he's not with NCTA…" Zig said, tapping his hand on the arm rest.
"Who is he?" I asked dumbly.
"I don't know yet." Zig returned.
I slumped back in my chair and looked out the window, wishing I could just be asleep in his bed with him, intimate with him.
I let the memory of our sex take me over. I remembered every detail. Every kiss, every touch, every sound…not to be gross, but it was amazing. I let sleep over take me and drifted into sweet slumber.
"Sleep Laura, I'll be here." Zig murmured, kissing my head. That's all I remember before my dreams began.
"Maya, we're here." Zig said, shaking me awake. I opened my eyes and awakened to find that I was in a different aircraft. I rubbed them and cleared my throat, sitting up slowly. Zig patted my back.
"Where are we?" I asked, looking around the small jet. We were the only ones that were in the cabin.
"We're above Highway 64 in Virginia." Zig answered. I noted the fact that he looked to be very well rested. The windows were blackened, so I couldn't see what time of day it was.
"How did we switch planes?" I asked, now a bit freaked out.
"I carried you, claiming you passed out and needed medical attention. I got three hours of sleep." He said. He made it seem that three hours of sleep was a lot for him. "This is a STUO privet jet. We're safe here."
"What the hell is STUO?" I questioned, stretching my legs.
"Specially Trained Undercover Operatives. It's that secluded organization I work for. We catch bad guys like Eric all around the world." He told me. I nodded in understanding; this was all starting to come together.
"So what air port are we landing in?" I asked. He hesitated before telling me the truth.
"We're not landing in any airport." He said. I tensed up, now nervous for my life.
"Uh…Zig? You're not gonna, like, kill me are you?" I asked, inching away from him in my seat. He sighed.
"Of course not! We're gonna be fine." He assured me, standing up. "Maya, put on these." He said, handing me a light blue I LOVE VIRGINIA t-shirt.
"What? Why?" I asked. "It'll make me look like a tourist."
"You're undercover as a tourist." He said. I nodded and slipped the shirt on over my tank top. It was the first time I noticed that I was no longer wearing my disguise.
"You dressed me?" I asked. Zig shrugged. He'd taken off his too.
"Sure." He told me. I gave him a look but he made a sign for me to hurry up.
"So why is there no airport?" I asked.
"Uh…we're doing something a little different." He said. He led me to a closet, which he opened to reveal sky-diving gear.
"Hell no!" I said, backing up.
"Maya, c'mon! You have to!" he said, zipping up his jumpsuit. He handed one to me.
"No way in hell Zig! I'm not jumping out of this plane!" I declared.
"At least put the suit on." He said. I sighed and zipped the suit up over my tight fitting tourist tee and my arms jacket.
"Happy?" I asked. He handed me a helmet and some goggles, which we both proceeded to put on.
"You look cute." He said.
"I feel like a traffic cone." I muttered, referring to the orange outfit I was wearing.
"Agent 79, you have ten seconds." A voice came from a speaker in the ceiling. Zig tied his parachute around his waist and slipped the backpack onto his shoulders.
"Ready." He replied. Then a large door slid open, revealing bright white clouds and blue sky. It was daytime.
"Wanna go first?" he asked, offering me a backpack. I hit it out of his hand and it flew across the floor and out the open door. He gave me a look. "I'm not humored Maya." He said.
"Now I can't jump." I said, standing next to him. He rolled his eyes and grabbed me, my back to his chest. "What are you doing?" I asked.
"Sorry about this, Maya." He muttered, jumping out of the door.
I was freefalling through the sky with no parachute. I could vaguely see the colorful bag breaking through clouds below me. So this is what birds feel like. If I wasn't scared out of my mind, I'd probably be loving the idea of flying. I was soaring through the clouds, completely free. Except for the tiny fact that I was scared out of my mind.
"Zig!" I yelled.
"You're doing great." He yelled over the wind.
"Holy shit!" I screamed. He tightened his grip on me and turned so that we were pointing head-first at the ground below. "Are you insane?" I screamed. He ignored me.
"One…two…three!" he yelled, pulling the release on his parachute. We swiftly turned back upright and floated to a field below. His feet touched the ground first and he caught me in his arms, the parachute flattening out behind us.
"You did great." He said, releasing me and unclipping the hook that kept my jumpsuit connected to his.
"You're an asshole!" I yelled, throwing off the helmet and goggles and hitting him. I pounded my fists into his chest, grunting with every swing I took. But my punches didn't cause him pain. No, he looked almost amused by the way I was acting.
"Zig! What the hell is your problem?" I yelled. He sighed and removed his equipment as well.
"Maya, I knew you could do it. That's why I didn't let you stay on the plane." He told me. I stared at him, my mouth hanging open.
"You're insane." I decided.
"Maya, I've done that hundreds of times." He told me, collecting all of the gear and stuffing it into a hollowed out tree log.
"Zig, I was so scared." I said, recovering from the shock of freefalling through the sky.
"No you weren't. Admit it Maya, you loved that." He told me.
"Maybe a little." I said, following him into the deep woods.
"See? I know you Maya."
"Twelve hours ago you didn't know me at all." I muttered. He rolled his eyes.
"I've known you since we were in grade 9. We've always been best friends. I know you better than anyone. I know the real you." he said, turning to me.
"I gave you my virginity and I didn't even know the real you!" I said, now rather frustrated with the situation, not the boy trying to save my life.
"Maya, I'd love to fight right now. Really, I would. But we need to get going if we're gonna make the tour." He said, turning around and walking once again.
"I'm gonna kill you if you don't stop with these cliffhangers!" I called after him. The only response I got was a humored chuckle.
He pulled a well-hidden door that was in a huge tree open and pulled out a motorcycle.
"You've got to be kidding me. How is that even possible?" I asked. He threw me a helmet and pulled the bike back through the woods and into the clearing.
"When you're a CIA agent, anything's possible." He said. I shook my head. "Speaking of agents, my director gave me this for you." He said, handing me something heavy. I looked down to see a hand gun sitting in the palm of my hand.
"You're giving me a gun?" I asked, shock pouring into my tone.
"You need to protect yourself." He told me. "And I know you know how to use that gun."
"My Uncle Charlie is a cop. That doesn't mean I know how to shoot a gun." I said. He gave me a look.
"You brag about it to Tori all the time. How he used to take you to the shooting range." Zig reminded me. I groaned, shoving the gun into my belt so my shirt and jacket was hiding it.
"Where's the road?" I asked, changing the subject.
"The highway is right on the other side of those trees." He said, pointing to a thin row of trees.
"Who was that guy on the plane?" I asked as Zig started the bike.
"I never found out. STUO is doing a search on him, but there's nothing yet." He told me.
"Oh." I replied. "So we're riding that thing?" I asked. He nodded.
"You afraid Matlin?"
"Shut up Zig." I muttered as I climbed on behind him and hugged him.
"We'll be there soon." He told me before he started riding toward the highway.
As we rode up the twisted, discrete road, I wasn't panicked. I was free. I was riding on the back of a motorcycle with Zig, the love of my life. I didn't feel like I was in danger, I felt alive. I was excited to be there, with Zig.
When he pulled into the Monticello Visitor's Center parking lot, I didn't question. I might have only been in the world of spies and secret agents and enemy groups with confusing acronyms for twelve hours, but I'd learned not to question Zig or his motives. He pulled into a parking space and turned off the bike, putting down the kickstand and taking out the key.
"Do I even want to know why we're here?" I asked as we walked up the gravel pathway with Zig. He slipped his hand into mine.
"Probably not," Zig said. He pressed the button on his iphone and called in.
"Agent 79 approaching the premises. Please evaluate." He said.
"Negative safety. Advance slowly with extreme precaution." The robot voice said back.
Zig was confused; he'd thought this place would be safe. But a second later, he turned around on his heel to find someone staring at us. It was the man from the plane. And he looked angry.
"Hello Agent 79." He said. "Nice to see you again."
"Look, whoever you are, don't jump into something you're gonna regret." Zig said calmly.
"Where's your partner?" he asked smugly.
"How do you know about Sean?" Zig asked.
"I've been tracking your group for years." He said. "I know you have no back up. But I do."
"No you don't. You're too good for backup. You work alone." Zig said. The guy smirked. That sent shutters up my spine.
"You're clever, like your father. Maybe I won't kill you." said the bald guy. "No, I think I will. After I get the information I want."
"I will never tell you anything." Zig said. Bald guy took a step closer and Zig pushed me off to the side.
"No sense in protecting her, she's next." He told Zig. Zig clenched his fists. "Fine. Guess we'll do this the hard way." He said right before he lunged at Zig.
I'd never seen Zig react so quickly to anything. He dodged the blow and hit the man on his shoulder. The man and Zig went into a fight so intense that I'd only ever seen moves like that in movies. There were jumps and kicks and back flips and punches and slaps. I thought Zig would surely win the battle; he'd been fighting easily while the older, less coordinated man was struggling a bit. However, Zig made one stupid move and the guy knocked him to his feet. He grabbed Zig's neck with one huge hand and pointed a shot gun at his temple with the other.
"Maya!" Zig chocked. "Run!"
"No need, I'll catch her." The guy laughed darkly. Zig tried to break free, but the guy was too strong. I was frozen by fear.
"Aww, the little boy wants me to let him go."
"What do you want?" Zig chocked.
"I want to take down NCTA myself. I've worked for Eric for years, and now he cuts me out of the circle because of you!" He growled.
"ME?" Zig managed to ask.
"You, Agent 79, witnessed Kathy's murder. I was supposed to get you that night, but you and little bow peep over here were a bit busy." He growled. "I blew the mission! Now I want revenge on Eric and you!" He said. "So now I'll kill you, I'll kill blondie over there, and I'll take down STOU." The bald man said. He was about to shoot Zig!
My mixed thoughts went back to the gun in my belt. He'd said he had no backup…I quickly reached for the gun.
"Say goodbye to the world, 79!" The guy shouted. His finger reached for the trigger just as I pulled the black device out of my belt loop. There was a blood-curdling BANG that sent shutters up my spine.
