Chapter Fifteen is divisible by 5, marks this fanfic's late one-year anniversary and incidentally is the first chapter of 2015. I'm gonna use this as an excuse to say thank-you to everyone who's faved and followed this story. I know it sounds really clichéd, but I love you all and I really couldn't have got this far without knowing that you cared!

Mary woke up smothered in the muggy feeling usually associated with spending too much time inside. She rolled to one side and reached for her iPod to check the time: 8:37 BST. She flopped out of bed and went searching for her watch, which had ended up on top of her suitcase on the other side of the room. She placed it on her bed and searched for something to wear. Eventually selecting heliotrope-purple shorts and a pink and yellow check shirt, Mary headed to the en-suite for a brisk shower.

###

Rex was woken by the sound of water gurgling through the pipes in the walls of his room. For a moment he thought he was back home, but then he opened his eyes. It took him a panicked few seconds to remember where he was. Then he slumped back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. He could hear someone singing, the sound muffled by the walls.

###

Tessa had woken up at 5:30 – a habit her training had drilled into her – but as she'd checked her messages for any new updates on the situation, only accessible using the computer in her room for security purposes, she had found her eyelids drooping. The stressful past few weeks had taken their toll on her, and when she opened her eyes again and checked the time, it was 8:45. She cursed herself angrily; falling asleep like that – and with her messages open, no less – was an incredibly stupid thing to do. Anyone could have entered her room and read them over her shoulder and though her training would have woken her up, there was no guarantee that an intruder couldn't escape with valuable information. It had been a horrible breach in security.

Starting a new message, Tessa typed a few lines and clicked send. She hadn't wanted to do this – Tessa by far preferred doing things on her own – but she had to; she couldn't carry on with a skeleton crew. This operation needed more agents. She knew Scarlett would approve and it rankled with her to do something the way her rival would, but she wasn't about to risk her job for some petty vendetta. She didn't know what it would mean for Rex, but she had no choice.

###

Scarlett also had woken up at 5:30, in her case with a bad headache and blurred vision courtesy of her stress levels. After assessing the situation, she had decided that her body – and mind – needed more rest and that there was no earthly reason for her to stay awake. Setting her phone alarm for 7:00, she had then rolled over and gone back to sleep. At 7:00, she had discovered that her headache had abated somewhat, and so she had sat up and started browsing through the news sites she had bookmarked, which was why when Tessa walked into the room, she found Scarlett sitting up in bed, tentacles tucked up around her, the screen of her phone about two inches from her face.

###

Tessa cleared her throat. Scarlett looked up from her phone. "Yes?"

"I sent Garrastazu a message. We need more agents."

Scarlett's eyes narrowed. "You mean you need more agents. Why do you think I'm here?"

"Look, I'm tired, I'm worn out, and I fell asleep with my messages open this morning; we need to up security!"

"You what?! How incompetent are you?" Scarlett spluttered. "How could you just fall asleep? No, don't answer that. The point is, we don't need more agents. I don't need more agents. In fact, if you really did fall asleep, then I could probably do with less agents! If you would just quit then we'd be fine!" She half fell out of bed in an effort to grab her laptop. "I'm going to message Garrastazu right now and tell her you were wrong."

As Tessa left, she couldn't help but feel perplexed; Scarlett's reaction was not what she'd expected at all. She'd expected her to gloat over Tessa's decision, not disagree with it so vehemently. She felt as if she should feel smug – she hadn't made a decision that Scarlett liked after all – but all she really felt was an odd sense of bewilderment; opposing caution like that was not like Scarlett at all. Scarlett loved caution and Tessa couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, there was something wrong.

###

Scarlett hit send perhaps more ferociously than was absolutely necessary. How could Tessa have gone behind her back like that? They were, after all, supposed to be a team, vendetta or no. And, more importantly, what would Garrastazu think of her? She'd already messed up once, and now Garrastazu would think she'd done so again.

###

Mary heard raised voices as she towel-dried her hair. Scarlett and Tessa again. She decided to shrug it off; she hadn't known Scarlett long, but she had known her for long enough to work out how much she and Tessa hated each other.

###

Randall stirred sleepily in his bed. The night before, he had been led to a room with a narrow, arrow-slit window, which was where he was now. They didn't trust him, obviously, but that was only to be expected. He had been told that they would send someone to speak to him in the morning, but he hadn't been told at what time. He knew why; the Invisible Hand was using tactics designed to disorient and confuse him, which was the best way to keep their secrets safe. He could only hope that he could persuade them to trust him.

###

A few hours later, Scarlett, sitting at the camera feed and checking her messages every few minutes, gave a start when her laptop bleeped. She had a message back from Garrastazu. Finally.

I'm withholding sending more agents for now.

Don't make me regret my decision.

She breathed a sigh of relief. She had got through.