The Killing Bind

Chapter 30: Help

Atticus Berk had come back to the room where Andrew was only to find him gone. He had an idea of where he might be headed but wasn't sure. He walked around the room for a while checking for things that he might have left behind. There was nothing, and Atticus wasn't surprised.

He kept thinking about what Andrew's handler had told him. They revealed themselves with so much confidence and he can see that the man was not bluffing when he said he would kill Berk.

He had a total of twenty-four hours to make his decision and one hour already passed. Berk went out of the room and saw a woman. She looked beautiful. Her blonde hair fell onto the shoulders. He stared at her with an unintentional smile settling on his face. She walked towards him and stopped a few meters back. She smiled at him, cocking her head to the side. She stood straight and was shorter than him, but he wasn't a good example to use for comparing heights. She had dimples when she smiled, he noticed.

"What are you doing here? She spoke. Her voice came out smooth, but not soft. She had an authoritative posture and speech. "You're supposed to be resting."

"I am?" He spoke.

"Yes, now go to your room and rest up. You have taken a huge blow and the burns pretty either." She spoke.

"What's your name?" He asked.

She stared at him for a while, confusion coming first, then a small smile settling in, "Madelyn Grace, but I liked to be called Grace." With that, she left.

As she walked away, He smiled and walked as well, but not to his room, to Kierston Industries. He got on a bus that was half empty other than two teenage girls with shopping bags in their hands. The bus came to halt a few buildings back from where his designated address was. He got out and walked to the building. He saw the building was very packed. He wondered if it was like this every day. He wondered how they could keep it a secret in this office building. He went into the elevator and pressed the top button. It didn't work. He didn't expect it to work. So, he waited. The elevator door closed and opened a few seconds later, he saw a man entering. He was old, but firm and seemed energetic. It reminded him of Fraser. The man swiped his card on the scanner and pressed the top floor. Berk got lucky. He was just going to knock the man and use his card, but there was no need for it.

The elevator dinged open and they both exited. Atticus Berk followed the man. The man didn't seem to care if someone was behind him. He followed the man through a door that looked to be partitioned. The man walked to the end of the corridor and entered through a door.

"Come in." The man spoke to him as he entered.

Berk didn't show surprise on his face, but he certainly was. He entered and sat down on a chair in front of the table. The man sat behind it. He looked Berk in the eye and breathed out.

"You are a very confident man." The man said. "You followed me here without dropping a sweat."

"Who are you? This place, I know it is a clandestine organization but that doesn't answer my question. Why do you need me?" Berk said.

"Let me introduce myself first." The man said. "I'm Michael Leyland. I'm the director of this Agency. The Private Intelligence Agency, but you must know we are more than intelligence. We have normal agents. Just like you were, and we have people like Andrew. An assassin and intelligence asset."

Atticus listened intently.

"Unfortunately, as Fraser had already told you, we can't disclose it to you unless you agree and I am aware that he gave you a 24-hour window." Leyland continued. "And trust me when I say this, Fraser doesn't give a time when he wants something, but he gave it to you and I trust his decision. We need someone like you for this, strong, smart, confident, and someone who rights their own rules."