Hidden Motives

Stare

I wasn't sure exactly where we were going. 

Adyline gave me directions and eventually, we ended up at this lonely headquarters-looking building. It would've been impossible to find it without directions. I assumed that this was the Oxford training facility for the FBI. It was hidden extremely well. It blended in with the idea of a normal building but was surrounded by forest and trees. It looked like it was in the middle of nowhere, but nowhere near-abandoned. There was life bustling around in it and no adventure seeker would dare go inside. It didn't look like it had secrets.It just looked normal in a not so normal spot.

"They did good when trying to hide this place. Everything fits perfectly" I said while parking a bit far away. There was no parking lot in this area which made sense. I also was still getting used to this whole driving on the right side thing. 

"Yeah they really did. Impressive masking" Adyline said

"Yeah, umm should we go now?" I asked.

"Probably" Adyline laughed.

We then carefully walked into the building.

Upon walking in noise filled my ears. It was so alive inside. People were everywhere and they all look professional. They ranged from around 5 to around 90 years old. They looked just like normal people. Normal people conditioned to do their dangerous jobs. I was impressed by the beauty of the building. The glass walls were tinted, but the presence of glass made everything feel more open. It was very modern and business-like.

"This way" Adyline said while walking down the closest hallway to an elevator. I followed. Soon we arrived to the 12th floor. 

"This is where all the meeting rooms are. Before we attempt a rescue we have to have a team meeting. Um...Max finished training today so he will be here" Adyline muttered.

"Training" I thought. "That's why he was 'busy'. I guess he is a good agent for not telling me, but boy is it going to be fun to see that look on his face when he sees me here." I smiled.

Adyline stood in front of a door. This is our room for today. Ready?" she asked.

Suddenly I panicked. Was I going to have to tell Max about my true identity? Did he already know?

"Adyline am I going to have to tell Max about who I am? Does he already know?" I asked.

Adyline smiled "No, don't worry about that. He doesn't know and doesn't need to know because he is not on that case. All he knows is that Maddox was an agent. Hopefully, he doesn't make the connection between you two. But he's been preoccupied with training so I don't think he'll notice. You'll be fine. Our focus today is to save Maddox. Max also didn't seem surprised that his best friend was an agent so that was a relief. He seems to understand the system and how it works."

"Oh ok. That's good I guess. I'm....ready to go in now" I stuttered.

"Ok" Adyline mumbled while pushing open the door for me. I walked in and immediately the eyes of Max Payne pierced through me. He was standing in the far corner of the room just looking at me. I could tell he was surprised, but he tried not to show it. I stared back at him not breaking his gaze. If anyone was going to break it, I was going to make sure it was him. He didn't move his stare once. He kept it steady and locked with my eyes. That was until Adyline spoke and he directed his eyes towards her. I had won.