AGENT 23 BLACKOUT (Agent 23 Book 1)

CHAPTER 29

My hand quivers, holding the key to the warehouse's exit door, jittering about as I position it to unlock the deadbolt. As soon as the key clicks into the hole, a thought explodes in my mind—the watch—I need Agent 24's watch. It has the countdown. That way, I'll know how much time I have left.

I leave the key in the door and bolt back to the fallen agent.

He lies there, unmoving, except for the slight up and down of his chest.

Could he be faking? Lying in wait? Waiting for me to approach him, and when I least expect it, he pounces...

No! That can't be it. He wouldn't let me walk out of the warehouse, not without a fight.

Tentatively, I take a knee beside him. My insides quake as I reach over his body to undo the watch.

I lift his arm and find the latch. Next, I pull the band to get it to release, and then the watch slips off into my hands. As I lower his arm, he jerks, and I flinch, but he doesn't open his eyes or lurch up for me.

He just lies there, out cold.

With that task accomplished, I leap to my feet and rush for the door. Before I turn the key, without thinking, I secure the watch to my wrist for safekeeping, and again, mindlessly, I glance at the time left: ten minutes and three seconds remaining to decide the fate of my dad and Kayla.

I turn the key, rip the door open, and sprint down the long hallway. When I arrive at the end of the corridor, behind me, the door slams with a bang. For a second, I think Agent 24 has awakened and came after me, but when I peer back, I realize the warehouse door just slammed shut on its own after swinging on the hydraulic closer.

With a glimpse at my wrist, I see the countdown is less than nine and a half minutes.

At the control room door, I turn the doorknob, wondering if my supposed Aunt Zero has set a trap for me.

It doesn't matter. Time is slipping away, and I have to enter the room.

Thoughts of a double cross flood my mind, but I force them away and proceed.

As the door closes behind me, I survey the open space set before me. The walls and ceiling glimmer with the disinfected and clean whiteness of a laboratory. Stainless steel countertops and work tables sparkle under brilliant fluorescent lighting. A computer station catches my attention. Three flat-screen monitors sit on a portable stand. Each screen displays a unique diagnostic set. On the far left, a dual array of Mind Bender controls, allows for adjustments and monitoring of the machine's output and power. The other screens show infrared images of two human brains. Thick cables run from the computer, over the back of the stand, flowing onto the floor where the lines divide and connect into two reclining chairs that remind me of my last visit to the dentist.

Kayla and my dad occupy the two chairs, leaning back unconscious with electrodes snaking to attachments on their arms and chest and heads. But what gives me pause is the metallic helmets they wear with wires jutting out and disappearing behind them.

To my left, movement draws my gaze.

Zero stands behind a glass door, wagging her head with a grim look of dissatisfaction. Apparently, she didn't expect me to defeat Agent 24. I'm certain she expected me to lose so she could have her way with Kayla and my dad.

A guard appears behind her with an assault rifle. She gestures for him to wait, and then she steps into the control room onto a grated metal platform with a set of stairs at the front.

Zero bites her lower lip and offers me a tight grin. "I see you're following in your father's footsteps." She rolls her eyes. "With your crafty fighting skills and all. I should've known not to underestimate you. Although, I wonder if some of your ability comes from our failed attempt to control your mind? Maybe part of our agent training program downloaded into your brain. Perhaps you absorbed the knowledge and muscle memory reflexes? If so, you could be valuable to The Collective."

"Not a chance," I say.

"Fine." She shrugs. "I figured you would reject the offer, but according to the deal we made earlier, you still have to decide who you're going to save."

I huff. Zero's deal came across as an ultimatum to me. I check the watch on my wrist: seven minutes and nineteen seconds, and counting.

"So," I say, "you're going to honor your end and let me and whoever I choose to walk out of here?"

"That's right, I'm a woman of my word. Simply go wake up one of them. It's that easy. But after you choose, I wouldn't try to wake up the other person. You'll have a fight on your hands, possibly worse than with Agent 24."

I snort.

"You better hurry. Time's running out." Zero's eyes brighten. "Oh, and don't tamper with the computer. Its password protected. You'll never access it." She tilts her head with the same curiosity as when she first approached me in the warehouse. "If you're wondering, I designed this version of the Mind Bender to zap electrical impulses into the brain, driving the information and mind control directives right into the synapses. We have other Benders that are wireless, able to reach great distances. We used one of those machines on you." Her gaze flashes with wonder. "And we have Mind Benders that are capable of an even greater scale of mind control. The future looks so bright. Too bad you don't want to be a part of it."

"What are you planning?" I say.

"You could have been privy to that information, but you turned down my employment offer." This statement comes across as if she's the CEO of a fortune-five-hundred company and I'm a career minded college graduate.

I'm not there yet...

With a disappointed sigh, she turns and leaves with her guard, the glass door shutting behind her.

As she disappears through another doorway, in which bright sunlight shines through, I fix my eyes on Kayla and my dad and begin the deliberation process. I have a tough decision to make, one I'll have to live with for the rest of my life. And I only have a little over five minutes left to make it.