"Did you...do it for a reason? Because that's the first time I've ever heard of that one...""Actually, I can't tell you that.""And why not?""It would blow my cover."

Chapter 4

There. I hadn't told him, but he knew, so now, he wouldn't think I was some weird nutcase. I saw his jaw dropping, and heard the whoosh of surprised breath come out of his mouth. "Aha," I exclaimed. "One gun down. Now if I could just get...that...second...Yes! There we go and..Whoa. Relax big guy, the aliens aren't here to take you just yet. Um, would you mind closing your mouth? I think you're drooling." He tilted his head up at me. "Untie me," he growled. "I promise I won't look, okay? Seriously."I thought for a minute. That was probably true, considering that people were generally terrified of agents. Or, at the very least, wouldn't care if they were wearing just a bra and some jeans, as long as they did their job. I leaned forward and undid the knot that was holding the T-shirt in place. Then I took a small, sharp knife from my pocket -the only thing left of my dad- and cut the heavy rope that had been keeping his hands tied behind his back. When I went over to untie his feet, he was staring at me, though. What can I say? My abs are irresistible. But I glared at him anyway, since we had an agreement. He looked away. Then he got up and stretched while I was thinking of a way to tell him I was going to have to beat him up. Or, he had to at least scream really loudly somehow and get a black eye somewhere in the process. All of a sudden, I heard the door knob being jiggled, and then a key being shoved into it. Quickly, I slid behind Brent and angled my body so that no part of me was in plain view, but instead, my legs hiding behind his legs. I was pressed up against the wall, and I could feel my stomach pressing tightly against his back. Um. That was basically all that would come to mind. My arms were raised and pressed tightly against his back also, a gun in each hand, poised and ready to be fired as soon as someone made the mistake of coming too close. "Why you untied? It's that girl! Where is she?" Before the burly man who had just ruined my careful planning got any further -and louder- I fired one shot right into his groin, then stepped away from Brent as the Mask went on his knees, sputtering. I punched him in the nose before the pain eased up enough for him to start screaming, knocking him clean out."J," I heard a voice say. "You okay? Hang on, I'm coming!"Crap. There wasn't going to be enough time for me to put my shirt back on. I couldn't believe this. Of all days...I put a finger up to my lips, my knuckles throbbing from the punch, and motioned with my other hand for Brent to stay where he was. He was staring again, most likely wondering how the hell I got to be that strong. Tell me something I don't know, I thought to myself, barely refraining from snorting. I started to slide forward, my back pressed firmly against the wall. I felt sharper than ever, and my senses were completely aware. I was completely hidden from view from whoever would come in, and they wouldn't see me until it was too late. I almost grinned. About ten seconds later, a stocky man came into view, and then walked right past me and into the bathroom. He managed to get out a squeak before I had silently come up behind him and covered his mouth with my hand.

"If I were you," I began in a soothing voice. "I would not move an inch." He looked sideways, and I knew that he could now make out the shape of what was now pointing straight to his head. He knew it was a gun. I sighed, then braced myself, bunching up all the muscles in my hand in order to knock him out with the gun I held in my hand. There was no need to, however, since he fainted as soon as he saw the gun approaching. I let him drop right to the floor.

"Must have been new," I murmured to myself.

Then I took a fairly larger piece of rope that had been binding Brent's arms before and tied his with it. I then found a second piece of rope, and pulled it tight around his mouth. He didn't stir. I couldn't help myself. I leaned over and checked to make sure he was alive, and after finding a steady heartbeat and deep breathing, I motioned for Brent to follow me.

"Wait," Brent called breathlessly after me. I turned around.

"What?"

"I, um, just wanted to know who you are. I mean, you were pretty incredible out there."

He was getting nervous. I could tell by the small quivering in his voice and by the way his shoulder's seemed to stiffen. I knew what he was doing. He wanted to thank me. Okay, let me rephrase that. He felt obliged to thank me, but didn't want to. After all, I was an agent. Can I just say that I absolutely love what I do, and that I wouldn't give it up for all the money in the world? Because it's true, it really is. It's just that sometimes, I would like it if people didn't cringe away from me, whether in fear or…whatever it was. I mean, once, I'd like for someone to genuinely thank me for what I'd done, and not because they felt they had to. Just putting it out there, eh, God? Well, I didn't have time for this, so I shook my arguments and thoughts away and returned to the conversation at hand.

"Agent 66," I said brusquely. "And that's all you need to know."

The words rolled off my tongue, as if rehearsed in front of a mirror and whispered occasionally once in a while, just for practice. Which, in truth, they were.