A Spy's Home---Book 3: A Friend I've Never Met

Chapter 30

The next night...

Erie, Pennsylvania; almost where this whole thing began. I don't know whether I was happy or upset that I was back in this state.

Rory had found us a motel to stay in, though he didn't know how long we would be staying. As he went to the bathroom to clean his wounds he gained from the beating he took at the facility building, because he hadn't had time to clean them until now, I was left to unpack my clothes.

"So, I have a plan. Maybe tomorrow we can start looking around. Maybe find some Academy related cases." Rory called from the bathroom. I looked over my shoulder, and saw he was dabbing a wet rag on a bruise on his face, wincing at his own touch.

A chill went down my spine as my mind went back to what the Boss had said about signalling his cadets to attack the families he had shown me if he saw me rescuing another kid.

I stopped un-packing as my breath caught in my throat and my chest tightened. "Zyl?" Rory's voice snapped me back to reality, and when I looked over at him he had set the rag down on the sink and was giving me a "protective older brother look."

I quickly turned away from him, and stuttered, "Ma..Maybe we should lay low for a little bit." Crap, that was a stupid thing to suggest.

I heard Rory put his hand on the sink's countertop, before saying, "Are you going to tell me who the heck was in the room with you, or am I going to have to interrogate all older brother style?"

I turned my whole body around, to face him, and leaned against the bed. "The boss." was all I could muster out of my mouth.

Rory pushed himself off the sink, and his eyes slowly went wide in disbelief. "W...What?" he stuttered, scoffing a little, like I was pulling his leg; unfortunately, I was not in the matter.

I looked at him with eyes that said, "You heard me." I watched as Rory finally came to the realization, and looked away from me with narrowed eyes.

"What did he tell you?" he sighed, without looking up.

My muscles tensed, and my hands balled up into fists, as I tried to find the right words to say. "That my parents are dead, he even showed me photos."

Rory's eyes squeezed shut, and his fists went lost their color as they were clenched tighter. This lasted for several long moments, before I saw him relax and turn to me with now-open eyes.

"What about the experiment you were a part of?" he asked, walking closer to me. I shrugged my shoulders.

"I was the first enhanced agent; A quick-learner, not taking damage as easily, smarter, more agile basically." I explained to him, however I still couldn't look him directly in the eye as I told him these things.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rory purse his lips and nod his head. "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you." he muttered.

"Rory, maybe we should lay low." I tried suggesting it again. I didn't lift my eyes from the floor.

I felt Rory place his hand on my shoulder, and heard him say, "We can't. There are kids out there that need our help."

"But for every kid we save, another ten disappear. We're not making a difference." I argued back, getting to my feet.

Rory mimicked my movements and got to his feet, his eyes still narrowed. "We are making a difference. Yes, it may not be much, but we need to keep doing this!" he exclaimed.

I shook my head, and responded, "You don't understand Rory, t...the boss has eyes on everyone we know; the families we've saved, your....parents."

Rory's eyes went wide when I mentioned his parents. "He told me he had agents waiting to attack all of them if we don't back down." I continued to explain to him. The tears were on the brim of pouring out, and I found my voice quieting.

"We will make sure that nothing happens to my parents or the families we've saved. We'll take down the Academy, and bring the Boss to justice." Rory told me, placing his hand on my shoulder once more.

"Here's the plan, we'll take a small break, maybe for a week, like we did after you got back from Princeton, but after things calm down we get back to beating the Academy's butt." he continued. This is when I looked up at him with my green eyes.

"Little Z, we're not going to let the Academy scare us, not now, not ever. It's us against an entire school of highly trained agents; I believe we'll come out on top." Rory let a smirk creep on his face at the last part, but I didn't say anything in return.

"Alright get some sleep." he told me, patting my shoulder one last time before turning and going back to the bathroom to finish cleaning his wounds.

Sighing, I turned back to my bag; I looked at the clothes I had set out before quietly setting them back in. The only clothes I set out were my sleeping clothes, and the one I planned to wear for tomorrow.

I looked over my shoulder to glance at Rory, and mentally I muttered, "I'm sorry, but I can't risk your parents and the families we fought so hard to put back together."

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Rory's Point of View

Beep!

Beep!

Be-

I slammed my hand down on the alarm clock until the irritating beeping ceased. I rubbed my tired eyes, and sighed deeply. The words Zylina had said still shook me, but I was determined to clear all this up.

I turned towards Zylina's bed to see if she was awake, but she wasn't there! I sat up, and scanned the motel room; I jumped out of bed when I saw the bathroom door was closed.

"Zylina!" I shouted, as I knocked on the wooden door, hoping for some sort of answer; nothing.

That's when I really started to panic; the bed was neatly made and there were no signs of a struggle, so I knew she wasn't taken, but that didn't bring down my panic level as I saw her bag was gone.

There was a folded piece of paper lying on top of the pillow on Zyl's bed. Quickly, I picked it up, and unfolded it to read.

Rory, if you're reading this, I'm probably long gone. I need time to think, and to mentally recover from the news that my parents are dead; I also can't risk the lives of the families we helped put back together. I don't know when I'll be ready to come back, but until then, please take care of yourself.

After reading the note, I re-read it once, then twice, then finally a third time. Zylina had left; she let the Academy get to her, and ran off in the night.

"Z...Zylina....No..." I stuttered to myself, as the note fell to my feet. The tears welled up in my eyes, as I slowly slumped down on the bed; if I stayed standing much longer, I would probably have fallen.

I sat there in shock for a couple of moments, before snatching out my phone from the side table, and dialing Luke's number.

"Hey Rory, what's up?" I heard Luke ask on the other side of the device. I had to calm my breathing before I answered.

"Luke, it's Zylina.....she ran away."

 To Be Continued....

Where did Zylina go? Will Rory find her before the Academy does? Read the Next book to find out; A Spy's Home---Book 4: Enhanced Equals Dangerous?