Agent X

xx| 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚢 |xx

Piping-hot coffee scalded my throat as I gulped it down. I recoiled, setting the paper cup down on my bedside table in the hotel room. Energy released inside my body, caffeine kicking in. The mental fog from waking up early in the morning began to clear.

I turned around to look at Dari, seated at a desk in the corner of the room. Her eyes were glued to her laptop. I caught a glimpse of the black-and-white image of the lobby.

"Do you see her yet?" I asked.

Dari shook her head. "Not yet. Granted, it's only seven in the morning."

"But most agents are supposed to get early starts on missions or when returning home from a mission," I said.

It was IIA policy to never waste time on missions. We were to wake up at the crack of dawn and go to bed past nightfall. That way we could complete our work faster. The fact that she wasn't down yet made me a little nervous. What could be causing the holdup? Did we miss her? Did she leave in a disguise?

Or worse, did she know we were watching her and was planning to attack us? She could have been tipped off as to our whereabouts by the double agent.

Dari shrugged. "Maybe WAOIC is more relaxed on their policy. Maybe it's just a 'hey, get here when you can, and we'll find some other mission for you to do' type of thing."

"Really Dari?" I said, raising my eyebrows. "I would be shocked if that's how they operated. It's not nearly as efficient."

Dawn popped her head out from the bathroom, a toothbrush in her mouth.

"Ib myb be mo efficnt."

"What did you say?" I asked. Dari huffed and disappeared into the bathroom. Water ran in the other room. Dawn reappeared in the doorway a moment later.

"I was saying that actually, it may be more efficient if they allow people to sleep in," she said. "People perform better when they aren't half dead to the world."

"Exactly," Dari agreed. "If she's sleeping in, I'm not going to hold it against her."

"I'm not holding anything against her," I said. "I'm just saying that something feels wrong."

"What, do you think they're going to ambush us?" Dari asked. Though she tried to keep her voice light, I could hear some underlying panic. I realized that if I, The Lead, appeared worried, then everyone else would probably be worried, too.

Don't stress everyone out with your concerns. That's not something Xara would have done.

"Not necessarily," I replied slowly. "I mean, anything could happen, but there's no evidence to support that. All I'm saying is that something feels off."

"Well, Finn, Ty, Jef, and Jax will be coming soon. They'll tell us if they saw anything in the hallway."

"Yeah, it's actually a good thing that Agent Fox hasn't left yet," Dawn chimed in. "It gives us a chance to get some breakfast."

I nodded. I had sent the guys out to buy us something to eat while we watched for Fox.

Stop obsessing! Everything is fine. It was good to be alert, but I couldn't let the circumstances get to my head.

Dari began typing on her computer. The rapid, even clacking of the keys seemed to calm me down. I breathed in sync with the letters. Ten clicks in, ten clicks out. I felt my eyes gently close as my body melted into relaxation.

"Umm, X?" I opened a single eye to look at Dari. She was still typing, but her worried eyes were fixed upon me.

"Just keep typing," I said, though I knew that I didn't need to. She could probably type through a tsunami. I allowed my eyelids to shut again. This was what I had needed. Just a few moments to myself to relax, clear my head. How does the real Xara do this?