AGENT 23 BLACKOUT (Agent 23 Book 1)

CHAPTER 14

My dad walks past Kayla and I, his eyes trained on mine as he moves with a smoothness that only a legendary agent can do. He repositions himself on the other side of the worktable that occupies the center of the room. As his hands come to rest on the tabletop, his gaze lingers on me with an apologetic air and a solemness that makes me want to glance away. I do for a second, but pride forces me to look him in the eye. He's the one who left my mom and I. He's the one who walked away—for whatever reason—it doesn't matter to me. He abandoned our family.

I harden my brow and clench my jaws, projecting fortitude. Resistance. Resilience. It's a facade I can't hold for long, so I turn my attention to Kayla, doing my best to continue my portrayal of mental toughness.

I stare at her pleading eyes and get the feeling the target is someone close to her. Despite the bitterness I feel toward my father, I'm willing to help her, because after all, she risked her life to help me.

Then my thoughts return to my dad.

If he'd only been around, maybe my mom wouldn't have died? But I shake it off. I can't dwell on that now. We have someone to save, but before we get to that, I have some questions.

"Who did you call when you were on your cell phone up in the basement? Really?" I ask Kayla. I think I know the answer, but I ask anyway. "Were you calling my dad?"

Her eyes travel to the other side of the table, to the man known as Agent 1, or to the rest of the world as Everett Zane Quick. We have the same middle name, the name my dad goes by.

"Question number two: Why did you try to keep me from entering this room?"

"I didn't know he was your father, Aiden? He didn't share that information."

"I believe you. Now answer the question."

"He didn't want me to let you in," Kayla replies. "Especially without him being here. He was afraid the room and the weapons might trigger something in your head and activate Agent 23. I didn't want that to happen, either. At the bistro table earlier, you wanted to study with me. Who knows what you'd want to do with me if you went full-on secret agent? Kill me?" Her eyes drill into mine for a few intense seconds and then fall away. "Or maybe something else? And I don't know if I'm ready for that something else."

My brow arches and heat rushes to my face. I swallow a lump, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I'm waiting for her to finish the sentence with the word 'yet'. "Not sure what you're referring to, Kayla." I play dumb as my hands slap the tabletop. I've seen a few spy movies in my sixteen years. It's not a leap of my imagination to know what she's thinking about.

"Any more questions?" my dad asks.

"Yes, I have two more," I say. "One for each of you."

I forge ahead as this time; my dad swallows a lump. "Why did you leave us, Dad?"

"I left for obvious reasons, Aiden." He drums a finger on the tabletop. "The Collective's form of mind control was in its infant stage. It worked for a while, years actually. But the gravity of taking human lives took its toll on me. Eventually, the weight of shedding blood crept its way into my conscious mind. I had visions of things, horrible things. When I realized those visions were memories, I broke and confronted the leader of The Collective, a person known only as Zero, someone I've never met, but from whom I've received plenty of text messages.

"Zero started the shadowy government organization. Of course, in the realm of public knowledge, the dark org doesn't exist. It's off the record, paid for by various charity and non-profit funds, that congress passes each year with little objection. They think they're giving money to help orphans and feed the hungry, but they're really donating to a group that opposes free thinking, wants to control the masses, even kill said congress members if they speak out too loudly or hinder their secret agenda."

"What's their secret agenda?"

"I just told you." My dad's forehead scrunches into serious wrinkles. "To silence those who stand in their way, like the target who's going to die, either by your hand or the hand of Agent 24."

I turn to Kayla. "So, you mentioned The Collective has a way to control minds? How does it work? Did they give me an implant? Something in my head they activate me with from a distance?"

"According to your father, it's a brainwave technology. Ever heard of D.A.R.P.A.? No?" She reads my blank face. "It stands for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. They create advanced technology for the military. The leader of The Collective, this person codenamed Zero, this person is the mastermind behind the brainwave tech. When Zero conceived and invented it, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest-ranking member of the Armed Forces, who is the chief advisor to the President, this four-star general decided it was a good idea to steal away this technology and use it for dark purposes. He labeled the mind control tech as extremely top secret, and The Collective was born."

"Problem is," my dad cuts in, "the group fell away into the dark crevices of government oversight. I'm not sure the current chairman of the Joint Chiefs or the President even knows the group exists anymore. It's altogether possible that Zero operates completely on his or her own. If that's the case, they've shut down the official project, only to have it survive in the shadows with the benefit of blind government funding. I know most of this because I was on the inside at its inception. Also, because I've been secretly monitoring the organization from afar. I left because I thought it would protect you and your mother... I was wrong. Zero ordered your mother's assassination by Agent 13. I killed that agent shortly thereafter. Then, as I continued to hinder their efforts, they targeted you to be one of their assassins, or agents as they like to refer to them. Agents of death are more like it. Anyway, that forced me to intervene. And if you're wondering," he gestures around the room, "this is my secret lair. There are many such rooms across the country and around the world, designed and built by The Collective."

"If they know about this room, why haven't they raided it yet?" I ask.

"Because I hacked into their network and deleted the record of its existence. Of course, I also downloaded the list of the other secret rooms and their locations. In case I ever need to commandeer one." My dad grins for the first time since he entered the room. The memory of the last time I saw a smile on his face strikes me. I was a preteen. Twelve years old. He came into my room to tell me goodnight. After that smile and pat on the cheek, I never saw him again. Until now.

"Another question for you, Dad," I say. "If The Collective doesn't know about this room anymore, how did I? If most of the things I'm experiencing come from them, how did I know the passcode to get in here? How did I know about any of it?"

"Because I gave you security clearance. When you got close to the room, the system gave you a mind-drop. Sort of like a Bluetooth AirDrop on your phone. The mind-drop gave you access."

"Interesting." My last question burns in the back of my mind. "So, who's the target?"

Kayla exhales an anxious breath. "It's my father, the mayor of Coastal City."

"Your father is the mayor?"

"Unfortunately. I don't broadcast it because I don't want the attention." She shrugs. "I guess he's been saying and doing things The Collective doesn't like, so he's next on their hit list."

"That brings us to the plan," my dad says. "It will take all three of us. Likely, it will involve taking on The Collective head on. It will not be easy. I want you to know that upfront. It's going to get sticky, and of course, it will be highly illegal."