AGENT 23 BLACKOUT (Agent 23 Book 1)

CHAPTER 19

A gloom hangs in the air, haunting my thoughts, giving me a sober perspective of what my dad is about to do. It began with the abduction of Kayla's father, but it goes way back. I know my dad walked out on my mom and I. He left so long ago, and I still believe if he hadn't left, she might still be alive. I also remind myself that he didn't choose to be a part of The Collective. They forced their way into his life, and he had to deal with it. I was blind to these facts because of the whirlwind I had been through—everyone had been through. These truths curl around me like a boa constrictor, squeezing me ever tighter, making it difficult to breathe. Difficult to think. Difficult to go forward with our meeting with Agent 24, a meeting that will take place in twenty-four hours. A reality that brings gooseflesh to my arms.

Seconds after I receive the ominous text message, my dad takes a hammer from a closet and bashes my phone to pieces. I gasp, but I know it's necessary. He says we don't need the map pin the assassin dropped us because he knows the location of the old fort on the coast, south of the city. He knows the route by heart. The fort is a sore spot since it was where my dad made his first hit as Agent 1. He says we should have destroyed the phone before we came to the safe-house. Agent 24 could use it to track our whereabouts, but contrary to this logic, we needed the device because we had to wait for the text message. Truth be told, the map pin itself can trace us. The assassin may already know where we are, so we need to move. Now.

We drive off in the Jeep Gladiator at three minutes after twelve. That fast. We don't waste any time.

Two hours later, we arrive at my dad's secret cabin, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and an evergreen forest as vast as the eye can see. Through breaks in the clouds, moonlight illuminates a river in a valley that runs through the middle of it all. As we climb down from the Jeep to enter the cabin for some sleep, the water roars and echoes up the mountainside, giving me a clear understanding of how remote our hideout is. After I close my eyes on a leather reclining chair—for what seems like a few minutes—my dad grips my shoulder and shakes me awake. My eyes spring open and my heart bursts into my throat. It's time to prepare and plan, because now we have eighteen hours until midnight and our meeting with Agent 24.

But then Kayla tells me something that troubles me.

With my phone destroyed, I don't have to worry about talking to my grandparents again until Sunday, but her mom has left a ton of voicemails and text messages on her phone. Now she knows her husband is missing, and she's called around and knows Kayla isn't at any of her friend's houses. She wants Kayla to come home, but my dad tells her to send her mom a text and tell her that everything is okay, not to worry. Kayla does, and then he smashes her phone the same way he did mine. Now she doesn't have to worry about dealing with her mom until all this is over. Problem solved.

Not really.

After a light breakfast of scrambled eggs and coffee, we venture outside to make our preparations. I'm not sure what my dad has in mind, but I'll find out soon enough. With our breath fogging in the morning air, we remove the black duffel bag with the weapons from the back of the Jeep. My dad sets it on a tree stump, unzips it, reaches in and pulls out the SIG Sauer P226 handgun. With knowledge given to me by The Collective, I know what he's doing as he handles the pistol. I watch and listen as he explains and shows the basics.

"First, to make sure the weapon won't fire accidentally, push down on the decocking lever. This is important. The last thing you want to do is blow your own head off. Or Kayla's. Or mine."

I nod, my teeth chattering while Kayla and I observe. "I'm not sure how I feel about guns."

"You'll do fine. The decocking lever disengages the firing mechanism. Next, pull the slide back to make sure there's not a round in the chamber. Then press the magazine catch and eject the magazine. Since it's already loaded, insert the magazine into the butt of the handle and make sure it's secure. Release the slide to chamber a round and you're ready to go."