Morphine - Sequel to Adrenaline

Chapter 5

Present Day

Alyssa

I awakened comfortably in my bed with a slight headache. It was reminiscent of a hangover, but I couldn't be sure, as I had never had one before. My memories of the moments before blacking out were fuzzy. What had happened to me? Surely I hadn't decided to take a nap while preparing for an away trip. What time was it? I reached over for my phone when a knock at the door preceded Chris' entrance.

"Winters, won't you be late for your flight? It's nearly one."

Anxiety jolted my body upright. My flight left in 30 minutes! "Bring down my suitcases, will you?" I asked, hauling the smaller of the three behind me.

Why would I fall asleep during a time like this? It was so irresponsible, but I didn't even remember having fallen asleep. Then again... my memories were poor these days, if not years since the beginning of my training.

Chris finished loaded my suitcases and placed his hands on my shoulders. Oh gosh, here I went, off to my first mission. Three years into training, and I hadn't killed anyone yet. I was more qualified, yet Chris was more experienced with a solid 52 kills under his belt.

"Good luck Lys. Stay focused and please stay strong." he began. "I know that you always pull through, but you don't always know what he can be capable of."

I smiled lightly. I'd heard that before. In fact everyone always warned me about what he was capable of, but he certainly didn't know of what I was capable. However, I couldn't be cocky.

"Thank you. It's going to be in and out as fast as I can. I want to spend the least amount of time with this guy as possible."

His features saddened with the distant look of nostalgia in his eyes. I got the feeling he wanted to add some type of witty remark, or a heartfelt message to carry me through my mission. Neither of those came. He wrapped me into a brotherly hug and wished me luck once more. I thanked him quietly, reminding myself that this was too big to hinge on luck. It had to be skill, or the IIA would have my head.

My drive to LAX was short, given that my mind was wandering the entire time. There was so much to plan and what was going to be such little time. I maneuvered my three suitcases through the airport lobby on the way to my checkpoint. Anxiety prickled at my skin noticing that my flight was soon to take off, and the line was considerably long. Still, I kept my head, using that time to continue planning. Eventually I met up with Elaine at our gate. She smiled excitedly, sweeping me into a hug. She'd always been the more affectionate one during training. They hadn't beat it out of her yet.

We were flying commercial, to prevent the GFA from tracking a private plane. As we waited, I finally spoke aloud what my intended plan was. Upon landing, we'd settle in as quickly as possible to allow me time to get ready for going out that night. I would run into him alone to establish some type of connection, then Elaine would arrive so we could make our 7 o'clock dinner reservation. From there it would be entirely situational. A woman spoke over the intercom, announcing boarding class A for flight 727. A tingling rush danced along my skin and tugged at my emotions. Did that mean something to me? Maybe just nerves.

I had to say, the IIA was banking on the fact that Agent 9- no - Jason would find me attractive. There could possibly be someone else in his life that he wouldn't dare step out on. I suppose I could just bust in and kill him, but that was last resort. The IIA wanted betrayal to be part of the kill. I'd been given the green light to do whatever I had to, including the assassination of those around him. I believed that to be a bit extreme. Elaine and I tried to relax during the flight, spending time playing games on our phones and discussing the possibility of actually doing something fun while in Mexico. It'd been such a long time since I'd visited. Of course, my family lived in another state, but maybe being on the same country soil would feel like home.