"We should head to breakfast before our friends start wondering where we are." Will finally speaks after clearing his throat.
Kiara notices he does that when he is uncomfortable.
"About that..." Kiara suddenly remembers her conversation with Jessy and fights a blush. She explains her friend's suspicions and how Kiara encouraged her believe the conclusion she arrived at.
"I told her we only talked, nothing else happened..." Kiara rushes to reassure him, mortified by his reaction. "I didn't know what else to say and thought it was better to let her believe that than trying to come up with something else."
"Okay." Will says calmly after thinking for a few seconds.
"Okay?" Kiara says anxiously. "You're not mad?"
He laughs. "No. It actually is a good cover for both of us. I hope you don't mind if I use it with my friends."
"Umm, yeah... no prob." Kiara tries to play it cool, but she is not sure how to interpret his reaction. "I bet this has been your most dramatic mission." Kiara comments as they head to eat breakfast.
"So far yes." Will chuckles good naturally. "Hopefully, Sasha will get over it and the next time won't be as dramatic."
"I wouldn't bet on it." Kiara replies. "Are we always going to do mission together? The three of us, I mean."
"Unless you ask for a change of partners. Yes." Will says.
"I can do that?" Kiara perks up as she considers her constant clashes with Sasha.
"Yes, although it is a long process. It could take a few weeks, even months." Will explains.
Kiara's excitement diminishes a little.
"Keep in mind that they study all of us to see who we will work better with."
"Well, they clearly made some sort of mistake with Sasha and me" Kiara says bitterly.
"You two work well together, banter aside." Will states and Kiara scuffs. "Look, I can imagine that it would be hard, but give it another shot. Maybe by our next mission, she will cool off."
Kiara studies Will's profile, finding Will's insistence weird.
Well, I suppose he doesn't want to change teammates again, but... Her impression is that he must have discussed something this with Sasha and knows something she doesn't. However, Kiara does not want to duel on it and decides for once to not follow her curiosity.
"I've giving her thousands of opportunities. I don't know if I'm willing to give her another. But... I'll think about it."
This response amuses Will for some reason, but he tries to cover it up.
"Is that what happened to your last team?" Kiara asks curiously, changing the subject. "Did you ask for a change?"
"Not exactly."
By then, they have arrived at the Breakfast and Dinner Area. Will pulls the door open to let Kiara pass.
"One of my ex-teammates is no longer in our division. And I'm moving to the US, so I needed another team."
"You're moving to L.A.?" Kiara states more than asks, getting used to ISS's methods.
Will nods smiling at her. Kiara is slightly awestruck by his smile, and she feels thrilled by the news, though she tries to not show it. Instead, she returns his smile and focuses on surveying the cafeteria until she spots her friends. She catches their eyes, waves at them to let them know she is here and moves to the buffet to grab food. Will also signals his friends as they enter the restaurant. They move behind them on the line.
"Hunter, aren't you going to introduce us to your lovely friend?" One of his two friends says with a charming smile.
He is tall, with fair skin, light brown hair, and hazel eyes. Kiara raises her eyebrow, amused by him.
"Kiara this charmer is Edward." Will says dripping with sarcasm.
Kiara is amazed by how fast he relaxes, and a smirk appears.
"But call me Ed." Edward says.
"And this is Sean." Will ignores Ed and presents his other friend, who is the shortest of the three and has dark skin with chocolate-colored eyes and black hair.
"Don't let this wanker's charm fool you." Sean says to her.
She is not sure what he means with wanker, but she gets the impression that is not a good adjective, although he is using it in a friendly term.
"Guys this is Kiara." Will finally finishes, also ignoring Sean's interruption.
"Thanks for the warning and nice to meet you." Kiara says playing along.
From the corner of her eye, she spots Ney looking at her intently. She doesn't need telepathy to know exactly what her cousin wants her to do.
"My friends are over there." She points at her friends. "Would you like to join us?"
Ed and Sean look back at the table were Ney, Jessy and Zoey are discreetly-not- looking at them. This makes Kiara smile. They are probably discussing her current company.
"Absolutly", Ed immediately responds.
After filling their plates with food, they join tables and eat breakfast together. Kiara introduces her friends and in no time, they're already laughing and sharing stories.
When they finish eating, they head to the sports court to play a volleyball match. Though they must wait a few minutes for the guys that are playing to finish. In the meantime, they sit in the shaded area of the stands and continue talking.
At some point, Kiara takes out her phone to show them some photo she took. She starts swiping around and finds the information she researched on Berte's map a few nights ago.
Out of curiosity, she starts reading and her eyes go wide. She quickly hides her surprise, puts her phone away and gives Will a we-need-to-talk look. When the court is finally theirs for the next hour, Kiara and Will walk slower than the rest as they make their way from the stands to the field.
"What's with the mysterious look you gave me." Will whispers to Kiara.
Kiara grabs Will's arm so he faces her. "I think I know where Berte's lab is."
YOU ARE READING
Teen Spy: The Observer
General FictionA few months ago, Kiara Starling started feeling that someone was following her, watching her. Despite it being downplayed by her family and friends, her intuition is proven right when, on her seventeenth birthday, she is kidnapped, and it leads to...
