Hi everyone! I got the next chapter up, and I hope you enjoy it. Remember, read and review! Thanks! Let the story continue…
Amy groaned as she sat up, her head pounding. It took her a minute to get the energy to open her eyes. Once she did however, she was wide awake.
She was sitting on the floor in a bright white room. The other clue hunters were littered around the room, still sleeping, except Sinead, who was stirring. Amy stood up and carefully made her way over to Sinead.
"Sinead," Amy whispered, shaking her. Sinead didn't respond. "Sinead, wake up." Amy shook her more forcefully. This time, Sinead groaned and covered her face with her hands.
"Amy, I swear, I am not getting up early to do another judo lesson with you. That was a mistake."
"I said I was sorry about that! Anyway, it wasn't my fault," Amy replied.
"Yeah, whatever," Sinead mumbled.
"Anyway, you might want to open your eyes." Sinead removed her hands from her face and squinted into the light.
"Where are we?" she asked, looking around. She propped herself up on her elbows. "Is anyone else awake?"
"Nope," Amy replied. "I don't know what happened."
"How did they get you?" Sinead asked. "You've been training for months. You managed to flip Hamilton last week." Amy bit her lip, trying to forget the moment.
"I was... distracted," Amy responded haltingly, hoping she would just leave it alone. But Sinead was her best friend for a reason.
"Amy, what happened?" Sinead asked sharply. "You can't lie to me."
"I saw Ian with someone else," Amy whispered, feeling tears start to fill her eyes. Again.
"Oh, Amy," Sinead said, reaching to give her a hug. "I'm so sorry." They sat quietly for a moment. "So, how are we going to get back at him?"
"Sinead!" Amy cried out, glaring at her.
"Oh, come on. You're not going to talk to him or do something equally stupid, are you?"
"No. I am going to get us out of here, and if we survive that, then I'll settle with ignoring him."
Sinead groaned. "I knew it! Amy, you're one of the few girls in the world who has the means and the money to take revenge. What about scorpions or bear traps? At least spread red snapper in his bed at a reunion."
"Sinead!" Amy said laughing. "That sounds a little harsh."
"Not at all. Anyway, we can talk later. We should wake everyone up. It's time to get out of here." They stood up and made their way around the room, waking people up. Though most people were sleepy from whatever drug their kidnappers used, everyone woke up fairly quickly. However, the calm was destroyed soon enough.
"No!" Everyone turned at Natalie's scream. "No, not again, I can't be trapped again..."
Amy ran over to her. "Shhh, Natalie, it's ok. We'll get out of here, don't worry." Ian walked over.
"I've got her." Amy's heart wrenched as Ian took Natalie. Their eyes met, and he stepped closer. "Amy, please let me..."
"No Ian. Not now," Amy said shortly. She turned away from him and spoke to the group. "Alright everyone. Circle up." As everyone sat down in a circle, Sinead spoke.
"Let's start with what we know. All we know right now is that we were all taken from the mansion last night and put here," Sinead began. "I believe the only group strong enough would be the Vespers."
"Are you sure?" Ned asked cautiously. "The Vespers aren't stupid. They would have better security than this."
"Maybe it's because we're all kids," Dan offered. "Last time, some adults were captured too."
"I don't think they're dumb enough to believe that we're not threats," Sinead replied. "We need to be ready for the worst possible scenario. For that, we need a leader. I nominate Amy as the team captain for this mission."
"What? I'm not sure about that..." Amy protested. "It should probably be someone more qualified."
"Yes," Hamilton said sarcastically, "you're not qualified. You're only smarter than most Ekats, disguise yourself better than most Janus, lie better than most Lucians and throw most Tomas across the room. It's not like you won a hunt for power and brought together a family with a history of lying, back stabbing and murder with just your little brother and au pair before ascending to become the leader of the Madrigals. Oh wait, you did that too."
"Amy, you're the only one who can do this. Please?" Sinead asked quietly. Amy looked around the circle, and seeing no disagreement, sighed.
"Alright."
"Here's the plan," Amy said briskly. Though she was nervous at first, Sinead had helped her take charge. They had worked on the escape as everyone else looked for exits besides the main door.
"The door will be difficult, but not impossible. Hamilton, Reagan, Madison, your first job is to get that door down. We'll all be waiting to back them up, in case there are guards waiting outside. We don't know their numbers or the layout or anything else really, so this will be a tentative plan. To start we are going to split up into teams of two. Ned and Ted, you're pair one. Alright?"
"Perfect," they said in unison.
"Good. Reagan and Madison, you're pair two. You guys are following Ned and Ted, as one unit. Travel together until you hit a fork, then you can split into the pairs and keep going. Natalie and Hamilton, you're next. You'll be working with Ian and Dan."
"Wait, wait, wait." Dan interrupted. "You're pairing me with the Cobra?" Amy sighed.
"Dan, we've talked about this." Dan snorted.
"Yes, and the Cobra and I are the best of friends now. Why can't he go with you? He is your boyfriend."
"I couldn't agree more," Ian agreed quickly before Amy could protest. "I'll go with Amy, and Daniel can be with Sinead." Amy looked at Sinead who gave her a sympathetic look.
"Fine," she said through gritted teeth. She knew it was best for the team, as Ian and Dan would try to blow each other up the first chance they got. "Anyway," she continued, focusing once more, "Unit one will head left once we meet an intersection and unit two will go right. Ian and I will stay here. If you find anything important, like a command center, an exit or weapons, report back immediately. First priority is to escape, but if you find any information about the kidnappers, it would help. Also, if you come across a group of six or more and they haven't spotted you, don't engage. Come back and Ian and I will come help you out. Sound good?" Everyone nodded.
"Remember," she added, "we can't leave anyone behind." Everyone nodded once again and started preparing to escape. Hamilton grinned as he turned to face the door.
"Let's do this."
It had taken them a while before the door finally broke down. As the Holts finally ripped through the door, everyone surged forward, ready to fight. However, to their surprise, no one was there.
"This is weird," Sinead whispered softly, her voice echoing in the hallway. She looked around. There were no guards running toward them, no alarms blaring.
"Alright, remember the plan," Amy said quietly. "Ian and I will wait here. Anything important, report back immediately. Good luck." The groups departed silently, no one daring to talk. The door was placed in the middle of a hallway, so thankfully, there were only two directions to go. Sinead's group started to the right, with Hamilton in lead and Sinead guarding the back.
They carefully went around the corner, watching for guards. As they turned the corner, Hamilton suddenly stopped and pulled them back.
"There's a room around there. I saw a glimpse of screens. What should we do, sneak past or attack?"
"How many people are in there?" Sinead whispered.
"I don't know. I couldn't see." She bit her lip.
"We could send one person in to quietly investigate and see what it is," Dan proposed. "It might be something important. It should be someone small, stealthy and very intelligent," Dan said. "Why, maybe someone who's like... like a ninja." Dan continued innocently. "But where could we find someone like that?" He asked, looking around, before a big grin lit up his face. "I know who!"
"So do I," Sinead interrupted. She turned to face Natalie. "Think you're up for it?" Natalie nodded as Dan protested.
"But... but," he blustered. Natalie put a hand on his arm.
"It was very sweet of you to say those things about me," she said, smirking. She turned to Hamilton and Sinead. "I'll be right back." She turned and ghosted into the room, leaving a scowling Dan behind her.
"Ian, this is not the time to talk."
"Amy, just listen to me."
"No."
"You can't avoid me forever."
"Watch me."
"Love, it meant nothing..." Amy spun around to face him.
"Don't call me that," she spat. She turned away again in disgust.
"We were dancing, and she asked to go into the hallway to talk. I figured she wanted talk about art, as I may have recently borrowed a painting from the stronghold, so I agreed. We entered the hallway, and before I knew it, she kissed me. I would never hurt you like that," Ian pleaded. Amy didn't look up.
"You already did," she mumbled, tears stinging her eyes. He took her hands in his.
"Love," he began, only to have her pull away.
"Not. Here. Got it? We can't put this mission at risk."
"I can't wait." Ian pulled Amy towards him until they were face to face. "Amy, you changed my life. You trusted me to become a better person, and I changed. Trust me, besides you, I've never begged anybody for forgiveness. I have never been dependent on anybody for anything, until you came along. You have the power to make me do anything, just to make you happy."
"Ian," Amy whispered, tears falling down her face.
"Please Amy. If you truly hate me now, just tell me. I'll leave, and you'll never see me again. But, if you feel how I feel, please, please, please, tell me forgive me. I'll always love you." As he finished, he leaned down and kissed her.
Amy's head spun as their lips met, electric shocks traveling through her body where his hands touched, her heart pounding. She knew that he's broken her heart, in Korea and at the mansion. She knew that he had the same power over her that she had over him. He had manipulated that before. But she did realize he had changed for her. He had been there when she needed him and in that moment, she realized she couldn't be without him. She loved him just as much as he loved her. He pulled back and looked at her.
"I…" she began before turning to see Ned run down towards them. He stopped breathless in front of them.
"I think we've found an exit."
Reagan crouched quietly behind some boxes, watching the guards standing by the door. There were four guards lounging against the door, obviously bored. Though both Holts had wanted to attack, the Starlings were more cautious, and cautioned them to wait. After all, they would only have one shot at escaping. If they couldn't get out, they would be captured or worse. Reagan shuddered thinking about it.
She was so focused on the door however, she didn't realize someone was behind her until she heard a voice in her ear.
"Reagan, we're here." Though Reagan was startled, she resisted the urge to jump, and turned to find Amy and Ian there.
"One by one, we are going to retreat back to the room," she whispered. Everyone strained to hear her, as she made sure that the guards couldn't her them. "Go," she said tapping Madison on the shoulder. Madison quietly retreated, and the others followed one by one. Soon, only Amy and Reagan remained. Amy nodded to Reagan, but before she left she paused.
"What about you?" she asked. She knew Amy was a good agent, but not good enough to take on four agents alone, plus any backup they may have. Amy smiled, touched at her concern.
"I'll be fine. I won't take them on by myself. I'm not crazy." Reagan grinned.
"Like Dan?" Amy's grin grew wider.
"Like Dan. Now, get out of here. I'll be right behind you." Reagan glanced at the men and silently slipped away, leaving Amy crouched by herself.
Hi y'all. I updated again! Twice in one month! Yay! First things first. I read Day of Doom. Is anyone else majorly disappointed about how Cahills vs. Vespers changed the story? I'm sorry but this series has gone downhill from the first ten books. Anyway, if anyone wants to have a ranting session, PM me. I always feel better afterwards.
Anyway, I'm sorry for any confusion the change in this story set up has caused. I'm finishing the story, and I probably have about two or three chapters left, maybe more. We'll see. A major thanks to everyone who reviewed and/or favorite my story. Honestly, you people are my motivation. Though to everyone who didn't bother reviewing, it does mean a lot, and if you could take the time, I'd appreciate it. I still love you all lots, and I hope everyone has a good May. Adios!