A.N.: I am baack~ And happy belated April Fools day. I originally wanted to write an AR story on that day, but mehh, I didn't have time. Maybe I will do one during Easter or something ^ ^
Anyways, onward with the story!
"What's your name, young man?" The man asked as he guided Alex away from the table and toward his office.
"My name is Hawkerson." Alex said as he led the man guided him to the room, "And you must be Mr. Edmonson."
"Yes, that's correct." The man nodded as he walked ahead and opened the door for him, "You have heard of me?"
Like I would totally come to this party by random without knowing his name. Alex nearly snorted, "Of course. Your name is famous and you will soon be the richest man on earth if your cure is successfully administrated on a few more people." Without killing them in the end. Alex felt like adding but reframed himself from it.
"Yes." The man clasped his hands together as he led him into the room, "It took the scientists and me years to find the cure before we were able to deliver it to the world. It was a great success. And we were terribly distressed when our first patient died of an accident." The man talked as if he wasn't behind it at all, "But we hope to cure more patients in the future."
Alex remained silent. Edmonson led him to the table and directed him to a seat, "I hope you don't mind if I close the door. I don't rather like staring crowds"
Alex inwardly tensed but he let a small smile grace his lips, "That's fine."
"And may I ask your bodyguard to stay outside as well?" Bear visibly tensed at that.
"I am sorry, sir. But I was instructed to stay by his side at all time." Bear said stiffly.
"It's alright, Gestral." Alex said, glancing at Bear, "Wait outside."
"But…" Bear frowned.
"I don't need you hovering over me every time. Besides, it's just a card game. I always win." Alex said, smiling slightly. He reached up to his collar as if adjusting it and tapped the mike slightly. It sent a small static down their ear piece and Alex glanced at Bear to see if he got the message.
"Alright. If you need me, I will be outside if you need me." Bear relented, giving Alex a small glance that told him that the message was received, as he went out the door.
Mr. Edmonson closed the door behind him. Alex pretended that he did not hear the small click of the door locking.
"So," Alex laced his fingers together in front of him and placed his chin on it, "Mr. Edmonson. What kind of game would you like to play?"
"The one you were playing with the gentleman." The man said as he dealt the cards, "I must say, I myself is one of the best players around the world."
Oh really? "I am up for your challenge. But I am sure I will still win in the end."
Alex swiped his cards up from the table and gave them a quick glance.
"While we are playing," Mr. Edmonson said as he checked his cards, "why don't we get to know each other better, Hawkerson?"
The way the man emphasized his fake name sent shivers down his spine. Did the man already know about his undercover? He narrowed his eyes slightly.
"What would you like to know?" Alex asked as he raised his bet.
"What is your usual job?"
"I take care of scraps and pieces of my father's new company." Alex shrugged easily.
"Are you sure about that?" The man asked as he chuckled slightly, raising the bet even higher, "You look more like a spy."
"A spy?" Alex laughed, "I wish I am a spy so I don't have to deal with paper works every single day."
Alex lowered his cards slightly, meeting the man's gaze over the rim of his card, "Mr. Edmonson, why would you think that I am a spy?"
"Because," The man grinned slightly, "I have information."
Alex froze. He heard the click of the gun and raised his eyes to find himself facing the black barrel of the gun. Instinctively, he ducked. He sent one of the cards he had in his hand toward the man in a sharp and straight line. Edmonson ducked but the card nicked him slightly on the cheek. Alex rolled onto the floor and under the cover of the table, he dragged himself beneath the table.
"I don't believe that some rich man's brat can turn even poker cards into a weapon." The man said, advancing slowly for he was unsure of Alex's position, "That was some exclusive skills, Mr. Hawkerson."
Alex hid beneath the table, covered by the long table cloth, backing up so that he was always on the opposite side of the man. The table was small and narrow. Alex knew that he had no hopes of staying here without getting noticed.
"My informant never lied to me." The man continued in his soft tone, advancing around the table in even footsteps, "I am sure you are someone from the government."
Who was the informant? Alex wondered as he backed up slowly. The man walked closer. Alex reached for his gun, fumbling for the holster. He swore as he realized that his holster was not there. Bloody Agent Belworth, not giving him a gu… His thoughts trailed off as a realization hit him. Agent Belworth. He must have been the informant. But…why?
"Come on out quietly, and I won't shoot you." Edmonson said, "I know that you're under the table." This time, Alex swore out loud.
Instantly, the man fired beneath the table through the white table covers. Alex jerked back, nearly spraining his wrist as he felt the bullet sizzled past him. He rolled out from under the table as the man fired consecutive shots through the cloth. There were numerous holes in the cloth and the carpet floor beneath the table was now riddled with black holes that were still steaming slightly by the impact.
"There you are." The man grinned as he pointed the gun at Alex, who barely managed to roll out before the next round of bullets hit the table, "I was wondering if you're going to show yourself or not."
"If you kill me, Father will sent men to hunt you down." Alex said as calmly as he could. All the while, his hands fumbled around, trying to find a weapon that he could defend himself with. Anything. As long as he get out the door, he could get the gun from Bear and defend himself. But Edmonson, as if sensing his intention, was standing right in front of the door.
"I am not in the mood to play your little liar game right now." Edmonson said as he advanced slowly, "Hands above your head and stay quiet. I will consider not shooting you if you do as I say."
"Your informant." Alex said as his hands found the keys, "is Agent Belworth, right?"
The man seemed to pause slightly as if confused then he burst out laughing, "Agent Belworth? No, of course not. He worked for me before, but not anymore."
It was not Agent Belworth? Alex frowned. Then who? He was sure that Agent Belworth was the informant. There was something missing in this puzzle. A piece, just a small piece. He recalled reading something that seemed to be contradicting what is happening but he couldn't remember.
"I have something that you might want." In one final desperate try, Alex tried as he spoke up.
"You have nothing that I want."
"Or rather," Alex said, not letting the despair crept up to his tone, "Something that Agent Belworth might want." He gave it his best shot. Presuming that he was correct. If Agent Belworth was the informant that Edmonson mentioned, then they would be in constant communication. Agent Belworth would definitely be listening in.
Edmonson looked as if he was listening to someone and Alex felt a small touch of satisfaction.
"What is it?" The man's tone clearly said that he was not interested but he still asked anyways. That confirmed it. Agent Belworth really was working with the man.
Alex reached into his pocket and pulled out the sets of keys. They jingled slightly in the air against each other, "These."
There was silence. Then the man started laughing, "Keys? Why would anyone be interested in a few keys?"
Alex remained silent. The question wasn't directed at the man. In fact, it was directed toward the agent who was undoubtedly listening in.
The man faltered slightly then he growled, "You want me to put you on speaker? Are those keys that important to you?"
Alex paused then he realized that the man was talking into a small mike by his mouth. He felt himself relaxed slightly. So the keys really were important. He glanced at them. What were they for?
"Give me back the keys." Agent Belworth's voice suddenly issued through the room. Alex turned toward the man. He was holding a small speaker in his hand, looking a little irritated.
"Why should I?"
"He will kill you instantly if you refuse and I can still take back my keys."
"What are they for?" Alex asked as he juggled the keys lightly, "You can always make replicas."
"They are mine to begin with." The agent refused to answer the question.
"You know," Alex said casually, "I met with Mrs. Jones before I was sent here."
Neither men spoke, knowing that there was more to it.
"She gave me something that was from Smithers. I remembered her saying that it was explosive. Not too much, just a little, but it destroyed almost everything within its radius. Including metal. Like keys." He added the last two words as if he had just considered the possibilities.
Alex fished out the small peppermint, wrapped in a white package, and held it up to light, "I wonder how explosive this thing would be? Should I test it out on your keys?"
"Don't you dare." The agent snarled slightly.
"Oh, I remembered her telling me something else as well." Alex smiled slightly, "If it was dropped from any distance higher than ten centimeters, it will explode automatically."
None of them were true, Alex knew. He was making them up. But he had no doubt that the mint was a gadget from Smithers, or at least he hoped so. Agent Belworth, being one of the agents in MI6, definitely knew about Smithers and the gadgets he invented.
"You can make more keys after this." Edmonson seemed to have a different perspective on saving the keys than Agent Belworth, "You follow my orders o-"
Suddenly, the man's eyes bulged and he crumpled to the ground. Alex froze then turned around sharply. He didn't hear any shots being fired. Cautiously, he made his way toward the man and kneeled down. Was he dead? The man's eyes were still open and they had a look of horror in them as if he was seeing something horribly terrible. Alex reached out and felt for a pulse from the man's wrist. Suddenly, the man's fingers twitched. Alex jerked back in realization. It was too late. He felt someone pressing a gun against the back of his head. It clicked behind him and Alex froze.
"Goodnight, Coyote." Agent Belworth whispered as he fired. Alex cursed himself for not hearing the man's arrival.
A sharp pain. Blood. Then…nothing.
Bear was getting a little agitated over the wait. Were card games always passed in silence? He could hear nothing from Coyote's end. What if he ran into some trouble? Coyote told him to listen in through the ear piece, but there was nothing.
"Leopard, Ferret, this is Bear." He said softly into the mike.
"What's it?" Ferret responded after a pause.
"What is your position?"
"We are currently following the agent. There is an underground passage beneath. It will take us right beneath his office." The reply was soft as if they were in a really quiet area and any sound would immediately reverberate back loudly.
"Anything suspicious?"
"Yes." The response made Bear faltered, "The agent. He is not Agent Belworth, Bear."
"What do you mean?"
"Agent Belworth, as stated in the information sheet the Mrs. Jones gave us as well as the photo, has blue eyes. But as Coyote stated back in the house, this Belworth has brown eyes."
"He could have been wearing contacts that change the color of his eyes."
"But why would he do so? He should have told us about it instead of asking Coyote if he saw it on his briefing sheet."
"That's true. But we can't just mark him suspicious just by that."
"There's something fishy about him." Ferret continued, "I-"
There was a long pause.
"Ferret?" Bear frowned at the sudden stop, "Are you still there?"
No response. Did something happen to Leopard and Ferret? Shit. He glanced back at the closed door. Coyote was inside. Leopard and Ferret were following Agent Belworth whom Ferret suspect was not the real deal. He was the only one out there.
"Coyote." He called into his mike, "Are you there?"
No response. What was happening?
"Report if you copy." Bear tried again, this time, directing it toward the three of them together.
No response. He was alone. Was the equipment malfunctioning? Gritting his teeth, he set his mind. There was no use anymore to wait out here for something that was probably not going to happen. He didn't know where Leopard or Ferret was but he knew where Coyote was. He would check on him.
Bear knocked on the door, "Mr. Edmonson? Julius?"
There was no response. A moment later, the door opened, "Mr. Gestral?"
"Yes." Bear nodded at Mr. Edmonson, "May I talk to Ju-Mr. Hawkerson for a moment?"
"Of course." Mr. Edmonson nodded as he opened the door a little wider.
Bear stepped inside a little tentatively, "Mr. Hawkerson?"
There was no one in the room. Bear finally noticed the bullet-riddled table cloth. He swung around, his hands reaching for his gun. He was late.
"My my, your reaction is slower than Mr. Hawkerson's, Mr. Gestral." Mr. Edmonson said slyly as he pointed the gun at Bear's hand and closed the door with his foot. Or should I say, Bear?"
"What did you do to Coyote?" Bear growled as he let his arms fall to his side, staring at the man.
"Are you looking for him?" Agent Belworth's voice said from behind him.
Bear turned. Then he stumbled back as he saw Coyote, lying face down, in a pool of blood. Agent Belworth placed his boot casually on Coyote's back, and leaned forward, pressing his weight on him. Coyote didn't stir.
"Coyote!" He gave a small choked-out shout.
"He can't hear you." Agent Belworth commented with a small grin.
"You bastard!" Bear yelled, ignoring the gun pointed at his back, "What did you do to him?"
"Language." The agent said as he pointed the gun at him, "Why don't you come with me? I will show you where the rest of your unit are."
Bear's blood suddenly ran cold, "You bloody bastard. How the fuck did MI6 employ you?"
"Getting colorful are we?" The agent smirked slightly, "Besides, you got something wrong. MI6 did not employ me. I never worked for them. I am not Agent Belworth. In fact, if you need a name, you may call me Pine."
The man reached under his chin and pulled off the thin layer of the face mask. It ripped under his tear and the man tossed it away.
"You're not the agent." Bear said in horror and realization, "You never were."
"That was exactly what I said." The man smiled. He was probably in his mid-thirties. He stubs of beard alongside his jawline. His brown eyes seemed to be sneering at him. There was a small scar that adorned his right cheek.
"Now, if you will kindly take your comrade and follow me."
As soon as the man moved away from Coyote, Bear rushed toward the soldier, kneeling down beside him and felt for a pause, "Fuck, Coyote. Please be alive."
He was rewarded with a pulse. Weak, but beating, and full of wills to live. Bear turned Coyote over and searched for a wound. He was shot on the side. Bear glanced at his hand. It was dyed red after contact. He grabbed Coyote and wrapped an arm around his waist, careful not to aggravate the wound. Coyote wasn't heavy and Bear easily pulled him upright. He was unconscious and his feet were dragging on the floor but Bear could not carry him without worsening his wound or tearing it even further.
"I am going to kill you." Bear snarled at the agent, no, the man that deceived them, Pine.
"Oh, do try," Pine said casually, giving him a glance over his shoulder.
Pine stopped the wall and pressed on a button. The door slid open, revealing a set of staircases, "Watch your feet and don't trip. I don't want to kill you because you entered my personal space while rolling down the stairs."
Bear growled as he shifted his hold on Coyote and descended the stairs. What hit him immediately was the light and the warm air. He glanced slightly sideways at Coyote. His face was getting unnaturally pale because of the blood loss. He had to get him out of here soon, or he would die.
There was one window on the right and Bear glanced out. They were on the first floor. The corridor was lit up brightly by candles and the floor was carpeted with red and golden linings. There were no one in sight. At the end of the corridor was a room. Pine pushed open the room and let them in first before entering himself, followed by Edmonson.
"Bear? Coyote?" Bear was not expecting to see Leopard and Ferret.
"Reunion time with your fellow unit members." Pine said as he stood beside the door, "As you have all guessed, I am not Agent Belworth. You may call me Pine if you wish to. I am sure you want to get out of here as soon as possible so I am giving you a chance. The real Agent Belworth is in this room with you. He has been quite naughty, refusing to give us the location of the thing that he stole. If you can get the information out of him, I will let you all go for free, well, of course, minus the agent because he has been quite stubborn."
"Why would we want to do something like that, to betray our employer?" Ferret asked as Leopard pulled Bear toward them.
"Because," Pine said as he gestured toward Coyote, "Your teammate over there is not looking so good."
Ferret and Leopard turned toward Coyote and took in the wound and the blood for the first time, "You bastard! What did you do to him?"
"He was a little smarter than the rest of you." Pine said, "Therefore, it became necessary to put him to a nice little nap for a while. Don't worry, he is not dead yet. But he will be soon if you don't hurry."
"You…" Bear gritted his teeth.
Pine and Edmonson headed out the door, "The agent is by the corner and he is near death as well. So get it out of him or you all die. Good luck."
The door swung shut.
Leopard immediately went to check on the wound. He applied pressure on the wound before wrapping the torn-off strips of cloth around Coyote's waist. It didn't stop the bleeding. He needed immediate medical attention. In that moment, Bear felt desperate.
"…Leop..?" Coyote's voice made him look up.
"Coyote." Leopard nodded, "How are you feeling?"
"Like I've been shot." Coyote stated as he struggled to sit up, gasping slightly as he did, "And came back from hell."
"You've been shot on the side." Leopard informed him, "You probably shouldn't move around too much."
"You get shot simply by playing a card game." Bear said, "That was pathetic."
"Actually, we had a long talk before he decided to shoot me," Coyote said, staggering slightly as he stood up and leaned against the nearest wall.
"At least ask if he was okay," Leopard said as he looked at Bear.
"He looks okay," Bear said as he jerked his head toward Coyote.
"At least show some concern." Ferret said, snapping a little.
Bear was a little surprised. Ferret was never the one to get angered or frustrated. He himself was usually the one getting angered by Ferret.
"Stop being an ungrateful dumbass, Bear." Ferret continued.
"What should I feel grateful for?" Bear narrowed his eyes.
"Him being there for you." Ferret replied with heat in his tone, "God, you can be such a fucking idiot sometimes, Bear. You don't treasure people when they're alive and only take notice of them only when they're dead."
"And you know so much about it?" Bear snapped back, "Don't talk like you understand me."
"Oh yeah?" Ferret walked closer, "I'm not the one who was so flippantly hung up on Jay and Panther. You never tried to get close to Jay before he turned. You were a complete bastard to him before. Pushing him, tripping him, and ignoring him because he was weaker than us. I understand if you are pushing him to his limits, but you went over the line with that. I wouldn't exactly blame him if he turned because of that."
"You!" Bear lunged toward Ferret as Leopard pulled him back. Ferret leapt backward, out of his reach.
"Yet you talk as if Jay's betrayal was totally unexpected as if you were so kind to him and simply couldn't understand why he turned." Ferret crossed his arms, "Bear, you were a bastard to him."
Bear growled. How dare he?
"As for Panther's case," Ferret said, glancing at him, "he was your brother, and that was why you treated him better. But I knew what you were feeling when the sergeant praised your brother instead of you. You were envious and jealous of him. I'm sure you only felt remorse and guilt after his death. Why don't you fucking clear your head, Bear?"
"Ferret, that's enough," Leopard said quietly.
"Coyote tolerated you." Ferret continued as if Leopard had not spoken, "even when you weren't the nicest toward him in the beginning. Does it honestly take a death for you to understand a person's value?"
"Shut up!" The three of them were surprised to hear it from Coyote.
Coyote's eyes were glazed over and a little unfocused but Bear could see the anger and frustration in them, "I don't care if you accept me or not. My job, right now, is not to make you accept me. My job is to get us out of here. I'm not the leader, but if none of you are willing to lead and get your head out of your arguments, I will take the lead."
"Coyote…" Leopard started.
Coyote bent over and Bear felt the first surge of fear as he watched Coyote coughed out blood. It splattered across his hand and onto the carpeted floor, blending into the red.
"Some part of your lung must have been ruptured." Leopard said as he hurried toward Coyote, easing him back onto the floor gently, "Stay still and don't talk too much. We will find a way out of this."
Coyote nodded gratefully as he leaned his head against the wall.
"Are you…the backup team?" A weak voice from the corner grabbed their attention.
"Yes. You must be Agent Belworth?" Bear asked.
"The real one, yes." The man had a sense of humor at odd times.
Bear leaned down closer toward the man, "The information. Do you have it?"
"I'm not going to give it to them, if that's what you are asking." The agent said from where he was seated. There were dry blood coated on his clothes and his hands. He looked exhausted but his lips quirked up in a small smile.
"We're not going to give it to him," Bear said confidently.
"But your unit member," The agent said, glancing at Coyote, "He's going to die without immediate attention."
"What about you?" Bear said, indicating the blood.
"Got stab in the back, literally of course," The agent said, "They bandaged me up slightly, don't want me to die before giving them the information. As long as none of us budges, they won't kill us. I need to send this to the head if they are going to execute us because of our refusals."
"Do you have any plan of getting out of here?" Coyote spoke up.
The agent glanced at him then smiled slightly, "I couldn't do it by myself. I need your help as well."
Bear and the rest of J-Unit exchanged a glance, "What's the plan?"
Thank you for taking your time to drop a review or to give this story a follow or favorite. It really meant a lot to me~
Okay, I wanted to write a next chapter preview here, but I don't think a single excerpt on the chapter is going to explain much. So, um, I will do it a little differently.
Four words to describe the next chapter: you might hate me