Chapter Nine: Over My Head

'W-what?' I stammered, probably not the best reaction judging by Jasper's face.

'Amber or Annie,' he repeated. 'What should I call you?'

Instead of answering, I dropped my gaze from Jasper's face to the tabletop. For almost half a minute, there was complete silence before Jasper lost it. I jumped about a foot in the air as he slammed his fist down onto the table.

'You lied to me,' he shouted. 'I trusted you and you lied to me.'

'No, Jasper, please listen. I can explain -'

He cut me off with a sharp, 'I don't want your lame excuses. After everything...'

'It was my job,' I cried. Why was this hurting so much? Why did I feel like bursting into tears?

Jasper's eyes narrowed. 'Your job?'

While he stared at me, obviously expecting clarification, I realised why he was so upset. He thought I'd sold him out to MI5, not that I was an officer. By saying It was my job, had I made the situation better? Or worse?

'I'm a junior officer at MI5,' I said finally, aware that I was breaking the official secrets act thing I'd signed two years ago. 'I was posted undercover to try and get information about your involvement in drug dealing, human trafficking and terrorism.' Looking at Jasper's face, I could tell he didn't believe me. 'I'm telling the truth, Jasper.'

He snorted. 'The truth? You wouldn't know the truth if it hit you in the face.'

'You think I enjoyed lying to you?' I snapped. 'You think I laughed when I heard I was being pulled from this mission and you were going to be arrested? Jasper, you have no idea what I've been through the past few weeks.'

'Been through?' he echoed, his tone bordering on disbelieving. 'Been through? I've seen two of my best friends die, had to abandon my niece and lost my sister.' He shook his head. 'And Georgia thought you cared about her.'

'I did,' I insisted.

Coming around the table, Jasper stopped next to me and leaned down, whispering, 'I'm actually glad that she isn't alive to see this, to hear about what you've done.'

Lost for words- something that rarely happens with me usually- I stared back at Jasper, pleading with my eyes. His expression changed for a split second from angry to sad, before hardening again as he straightened up.

'We're going for a drive,' he said. The two heavies marched forward and gripped my arms. I didn't even struggle, just limply allowed them to manhandle me out of the lounge room, into the laundry and out the back door. Before I could even decide whether to scream for help or not, I was in the trunk of Jasper's Astra, the door down. I could hear doors opening, the car starting and muffled chatter from the front of the car.

Curled up in that tiny trunk, I finally started to feel panicky. No wonder Hex was claustrophobic; even though I couldn't see anything, every time I moved I could feel the perimeters of the trunk and each time those perimeters felt closer to me. Realising I was starting to lose it, I took a few deepish breaths and closed my eyes. Ahhhh. Relief at once. Open them and I started to panic. Closed... Squeezing my eyes tight so I wouldn't even be tempted to open them the slightest bit, I huddled in a tighter ball, feeling the car start to vibrate underneath me. We were off, but as to our destination... I was literally in the dark.

Li fidgeted, her hands tapping out a staccato rhythm on the desk. 'Why isn't she back yet?' She looked up at Paulo, expecting an answer.

'I don't know. Maybe it took a bit longer.'

'Come on. Rejection takes seconds, not an hour.' Li sighed and stood up, walking around Harry's desk and across the room to stare out the window. 'What if something went wrong?'

'She'll be fine. Harry wouldn't have let her go back if he thought she was in any danger,' Paulo reassured her. Seeing Li was still doubtful, he slipped his mobile out of his pocket and walked across to her. 'Here. Give her a call.'

For a few seconds, Li stared blankly at the phone before gingerly taking it and keying in Amber's mobile number. As the ringing kept on, Li's face became more and more anxious. After a solid minute of continuous ringing, Li cancelled the call.

'She's not picking up,' Li said.

'So-'

Li cut in, her voice high. 'She's in trouble. Amber always answers her phone.'

'Maybe she can't answer it at the moment,' Paulo said.

'Then why didn't she have her voice mail on?'

For a brief moment, the two friends stood still, staring at each other as they mentally ran through all the possible scenarios. It didn't look good.

'We need Harry.' Li broke out of her trance and strode towards her boss' desk. 'We need Alex and Hex. Where are they?'

Still holding onto Paulo's phone, Li keyed Harry's number in and waited for him to pick up. Once again, only ringing. The same happened for Alex and Hex's mobiles.

'Why doesn't anyone answer their bloody phones?' Li cried.

Paulo tried to calm Li down. 'Try Amber's again. Be patient. I'm sure it's nothing.'

The car was stopping. Yippee! We'd reached our destination. My enthusiasm was forced and internal only. My face stayed neutral as the trunk was opened and sunlight streamed in. What was the time? Couldn't have been very early, but then I doubted it was past noon.

Sitting up in the trunk, I resisted the urge to straighten out my arms and legs; the heavies eyeballed me: move one inch, girlie, one inch, and we'll take you down. Jasper appeared from around the side of the car, holding something small and flat out to me. My phone.

'H-how did you get that?' I stammered, an image of my backpack tucked safely behind the fern flitting into my mind.

Jasper smiled and for a split second it was like everything was normal again. Then one of the heavies cleared their throat and I was jolted back to my present situation. Damn.

'I happen to be quite a good pickpocket,' he admitted. He passed me the phone, adding at my puzzled expression, 'Someone keeps trying to ring you. It's quite annoying.'

I looked at the display screen, looked at the number flashing. Wow. Five missed calls. The latest two were from Paulo's phone, the first three from Hex's.

'Better give one of them a ring and explain that you're a bit busy at the moment,' Jasper said. His tone was light, joking almost, but I knew better than to argue.

I hesitated. Who should I call? My automatic reaction would have been to call Hex, but I found myself hitting Paulo's number. The reason Jasper wanted me to call was to ease any anxiety over my sudden disappearance again. That much was more than clear. Hex knew me too well and would be able to pick up on the tension in my voice, even if I tried to hide it. Not a good idea to have anyone trying to come and find me until I had a plan. Paulo it was.

'Hey, Paulo,' I said quickly as soon as the phone was answered. Maybe a little too quickly if the frowns from the heavies were anything to go by.

'Are you ok?' Hmm. Not Paulo at all.

'Yeah, Li. I'm fine. I've just had a really stressful couple of weeks and thought I'd take a little break.'

'A little break?' Li echoed. She didn't believe me. The amount of times I'd heard that tone.

'Yeah. Look,' I reassured her, 'I promise you I'm totally fine. Harry gave me the all clear for a few days R&R. That alright with you?'

'Amber-'

'I'll be back in three, four days maximum.'

'Ok. Just as long as you're alright.' She paused for a moment before adding softly, 'We all love you, Amber. Please remember that.'

The dial tone trilled in my ear and I hung up, feeling sick. Handing the phone to Jasper, I swallowed the lump in my throat. If I had felt terrible at deceiving Jasper, I felt even worse at lying to my best friends. Li thought I was lying to her. I'd have put money on her thinking I was on my way to the airport with Jasper, ready to fly away and start afresh somewhere out of the way. There was nothing more in the world I wanted to do more than ring Li back and tell her everything. No chance of that.

Jasper put his hand out and cleared his throat. Acting on autopilot, I pressed the phone into his palm.

'Can I get out?' I asked, raising my eyebrows.

Jasper opened his mouth, closed it again, frowned thoughtfully, then shrugged. 'Whatever. Just don't go anywhere.'

I struggled out of the trunk, stretching my arms and legs with bliss. For the first time I actually took a proper look at my surroundings. Derelict industrial sheds were packed tightly together. My first thought was that they were all abandoned, but then five guys swaggered out of the nearest shed, one of them carrying a toolbox, one rolling a tyre, two supporting a long plank of wood on their shoulders. Friend or foe?

'Yo, Price, my man!' The only guy not occupied with anything spotted Jasper and raised a hand. Dreadlocks bouncing, he jogged across to us, a huge smile plastered on his face. I instantly disliked him.

'Robbie,' Jasper said. He shot me and the heavies a quick glance before grabbing Robbie's arm and steering him away, muttering in undertones.

'So...' I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. 'Where am I going?'

Instead of answering, the heavies shared a look, gripped my arms again and marched me towards the nearest industrial block. The joys of being a captive.

Five minutes later I was in a small office, tied firmly to a chair and very much alone. I tried wriggling out of my bonds but only succeeded in getting rope burn. Wincing, I sat still and closed my eyes. The lovely calm feeling descended over me again.

Bringgggggggggg. Bringgggggggggg.

'Holy cow!' I gasped, my eyes flying wide open. I craned my head around, searching for the source of the ringing. Oh. A cell phone sitting frustrating close on the edge of the desk. Dream on, Amber. There is no way in fresh hell that you are going to be able to pick the phone up and call for help with your hands tied behind your back and your feet tied to the chair legs. The ringing continued for a while before stopping. The screen flashed: one missed call.

Sighing, I closed my eyes again and tilted my head back. Time to think.

It was late afternoon before Hex made an appearance.

'Where have you been?' snapped Li as he hurried through the door. She scowled at him from behind Harry's desk, looking tiny and pale.

'Doing stuff,' Hex replied vaguely, his mind clearly on other things. 'What's been happening around here?'

'Alex and Harry have apparently disappeared off the face of the planet, while Amber and Jasper are eloping in an undisclosed location.' Li raised an eyebrow. 'Exciting stuff.'

Hex's face was unreadable as he answered: 'Really? Interesting.'

Rolling his eyes, Paulo intervened before Li got too carried away. 'Not exactly. We haven't been able to reach Alex or Harry, but then again we couldn't reach you either and here you are. Amber rang hours ago and announced she was taking a few days off for R&R.'

At this, Hex frowned. 'R&R?' he echoed. 'Strange.'

'Not really,' Li said. 'She sounded kinda stressed on the phone, but that's understandable, I s'pose.'

Still unconvinced, Hex chewed his lower lip and started pacing. 'Come on, Li. You don't really believe that, do you? Amber taking a break voluntarily?' He shook his head, not seeing Li open her mouth to respond, not noticing Paulo's warning glance thrown in her direction. 'Something isn't right about this. Why wouldn't she answer any of my calls, or yours, and then suddenly ring back explaining she's jetting off for a relaxing vacation?'

'Well-' Li started, shifting nervously in Harry's chair.

Hex suddenly spun around, his expression a combination of fury and concern. 'Bloody hell,' he hissed.

'What?' Li and Paulo said in unison, not liking the look on their friend's face.

Instead of answering, Hex pulled his mobile out of his pocket, checked the screen before tucking it back away and rushed out of the room. The office door banged shut behind him, leaving an incredibly confused Li and Paulo behind.

I woke up with a jolt. The room was completely dark. What the heck? I was disorientated, confused and annoyed. Last thing I remembered, sunlight had been streaming in through the window and the heavies were standing in front of me holding- Ah. That explained it. I'd been drugged. Nice, very nice. Thanks to them, I'd lost half the day and many hours of possible plan making time.

The door creaked open and Jasper peered around.

'Awake?' he asked.

I faked a yawn. 'Yes, thank you. I feel very refreshed.' I dropped the happy tone. 'What do you want?'

'We have to go somewhere,' Jasper muttered. The heavies appeared behind him, knives in hand, made their way over to me and slashed through the ropes holding me to the chair with a smooth flick of the wrist. I stood up, rubbing my wrists, and glared suspiciously at the three of them.

'Where are we going?'

The stretch of the Thames about five minutes drive from the industrial buildings was dark and mysterious looking. I gathered that I hadn't just been brought down here for the view.

Jasper looked at me for a long moment. I stared back, trying to keep my expression neutral. Eventually he sighed, leaned forward and kissed my cheek, his lips as cold as ice. I flinched and took a step back, then regretted it as his eyes narrowed.

'I'm so sorry things had to end this way, Annie.' He'd obviously decided, without my input, on what to call me.

'So am I,' I said softly, meaning every single word. Jasper looked at me again, gave a small, farewell smile and was gone, slipping into the shadows.

The two ex-wrestler-type men that had been with Jasper this whole time grabbed my arms and marched me down towards the Thames. From the way the water was moving, I knew this section was fairly shallow in comparison to the rest of the Thames. Forget the current, I scolded myself. You're about to die.

Drowning had obviously been decided as the way to go and I couldn't help but feel really ticked off that I hadn't been part of the voting party. Expecting to be held underwater by the ex-wrestlers- something that would give me a possible, albeit very slim one, chance to escape- I was more than a little shocked when two lengths of rope were tied around my ankles.

'What're they for?' I asked, feeling more than a little anxious and as if I'd just swallowed a bag of quick set cement. The men didn't answer, simply picked me up and put me in a little boat.

When we were a couple of metres from the shore, ex-wrestler one attached two concrete blocks to the ropes and then knotted the ropes around my ankles. I understood where this was heading.

Before I had time to cry out, ex-wrestler two pushed me backwards and I hit the freezing water with a splash. For a split second I bobbed on the surface, drawing air into my lungs frantically, before there were two more splashes- one on each side of me- and I was dragged down.

Never in my life had I been so glad for my lungs. I figured I had just over a minute, a minute and a half perhaps, though that time could be considerably lessened if I panicked or I sunk too far. Tilting my head up, I couldn't make out the shape of a boat above me, so I guessed the ex-wrestlers had skedaddled.

The water was absolutely freezing. I felt my muscles constricting and my hands seizing up. Desperately, I reached downward and tried to undo the knots around my ankles. It was no use. The knots were too tight and I was too weak, the cold sapping my strength. Another factor I hadn't counted on for my breath holding time was the water's temperature. Everything ached, but mostly my chest.

As my vision swam and I held onto the last wisps of air in my tortured lungs, I heard a splash. Black spots danced in front of my eyes as something, someone, dove down next to me. I felt a hand gripping my ankle and then suddenly that leg was free. My other leg was released in a similar fashion and I shot to the surface like a cork, coughing, spluttering and shaking.

I bobbed on the surface, slipping under the water and then clawing my way back up. Water flowed into my mouth and I kicked back to the surface again. coughing came from beside me and the same person who has cut me free grabbed my arms and started towing me to shore.

'Hang on, Amber. Don't worry about swimming, just focus on keeping your head up.'

I must have blacked out then because next thing I knew I was on all fours, on dry land, vomiting up river water.

'Ew,' I groaned, sitting back so I was resting on my legs folded beneath me.

Hex knelt down in front of me, making sure to avoid the vomit, and grabbed my shoulders. The worry was more than evident in his voice as he said, 'Are you ok?'

'F-fine,' I chattered, shivering uncontrollably.

Hex grinned, even though he was shivering himself. 'You saved me from drowning. Thought it was time to repay back that debt.'

I tried to smile, but my teeth clacked together and I could barely feel my lips.

'You're freezing,' Hex muttered, pulling me against him and wrapping his arms around me. I circled my arms around his waist and hugged him close.

'You're not that warm yourself,' I said, my voice slightly muffled.

'We need to get to my car,' Hex announced. 'I have blankets and, believe it or not, the heater actually works.'

'W-where's you car?'

Hex helped me to my feet and we staggered towards a small copse of trees. Tucked in behind a bush was Hex's little crapmobile. While the cramped seating conditions and whining engine usually made me sigh, I collapsed inside the small car with genuine relief. Never had I felt such affection towards a machine. Or, more accurately, one of its features.

'Full blast,' I ordered as Hex got into the driver's seat. He handed me two blankets that I quickly wrapped around myself and then cranked the heating up as high as it would go. The car clanked and gave a shudder, but before long a toasty warmth had started to seep out of the vents and into my frozen body.

'Ahhhhhhh,' I sighed, wriggling further under the blankets.

'Better?' Hex asked, looking sideways at me.

'Much.' My fingertips were still chilly so I dragged them out and went to hold the in front of the heating vent. As I looked up, a shape flickered across my line of vision. I paused, frowning.

Hex was oblivious to my confusion. Huddled under his own blanket, he peered out at me and said, 'Can I ask you something?'

I was still focussing on defrosting my fingers and the weird shadow. 'You just did.'

'What are you... Oh. Right. Very funny. But I've been trying to find the right-' Hex stopped abruptly, seeming to realise my lack of concentration. 'What is it?'

'I don't know,' I said slowly. I turned to peer out my window. 'I thought I saw- SHIT!' One of the ex-wrestlers was hovering outside my window, staring at me in bewilderment. Hex looked up as I cussed, saw the man and turned the key in the ignition, eyes huge.

'Drive!' I shrieked, whacking down the lock on my door.

'Move it you pile of trash!' Hex bawled as the car squealed and shot forwards.