Costa Crew 3: Make or Break

Chapter 8 - Eyes Everywhere

Lisa stepped off the plane and headed for the nearest diner. She was a mess - she hadn't eaten, washed or slept since the word "Guilty". She'd just gone home, packed, paid the last of her rent and got on the first flight to Australia.

After all, her career in Britain was over, her best friends had abandoned her and she had betrayed one of the most dangerous OCG leaders of all time. There was no reason for her to stick around.

Of course, she'd told Rebecca that she was leaving. She wanted out of her unending war with Amelia, but she didn't want Rebecca and her friends to waste time looking for her - though she had been adamant that under no circumstances should they contact her.

She settled in a seat in the corner and the reality of her situation began to settle. She had no home, no contacts, and no job available. She was free, but she didn't feel free. She just felt tired.

As her eyelids began to close over, a tall blonde waitress who looked to be Lisa's age approached. "Hey, how can I help?" she asked in an Australian accent.

"You can fix my life," Lisa muttered sleepily. Then realising what she had said, she hastily added, "Sorry, ignore me, I don't know what I'm saying."

"That's chill," the waitress replied. "Hey, you look exhausted. Jetlag?"

Lisa smiled. "Yeah. Could I just have some hot buttered toast, please? And a water?"

"No worries," the waitress replied.

A silence fell as the waitress left, and was only broken by her returning with Lisa's order. "Thanks."

"No worries," the waitress replied again. "So, where'd you fly in from?"

"London," replied Lisa. "Well, I'm from Glasgow, but I've worked in London for the past few years. Needed a fresh start though."

"Well, welcome to Australia," the waitress said. "Name's Maya."

"I'm Lisa," Lisa replied. Then, after a moment's hesitation, she added, "Nice to meet you, Maya."

***

"You come to a forked path," Alex read as medieval music played in the background. "The left fork leads deeper into the forest, and probably towards the Elven village. The right leads to a run down cottage, in the middle of nowhere. What do you do?"

Maya hesitated. "I...take the right path and go to investigate the cottage further."

Alex smiled. "Roll investigation."

Maya grabbed the 20-sided die in front of her and rolled. "Nat 1," she groaned.

Alex knew that what they were about to do next had happened before, but last time it had been far funnier than anyone had expected and they were curious to see how it played out. "You stare blankly at the ground, then pick up a stick."

"A stick?" Maya asked quizzically. "Um, does it have any sort of carvings on it?"

Alex shrugged. "Roll perception."

Maya rolled again and grinned. "Nat 20!"

Alex laughed. "You are holding the stick in your hand when it lights up and a collection of ancient elven symbols appear. You...Maya, get down!"

Alex grabbed Maya and launched themself at the ground, taking her with them. After a few seconds, they both looked up tentatively and Maya gasped at the sight of a bullet hole in the wall.

"Well that was rude," muttered Alex. "Some of us are trying to play DnD."

They glanced at Maya, who looked incredibly shaken. "You okay?" they asked.

Maya shook her head. "If this is what's happening to us, what about Lisa?"

Alex hesitated. They had been ordered by John Goodman to make sure that Lisa and Maya did not communicate, in case the overseas call was traced. But clearly someone knew that Lisa hadn't returned home as ordered. "I'll call Mr Goodman," they decided. "Stay down for just now."

Maya nodded, still panting, and lay face first on the ground as Alex pulled out their phone. Calling Goodman, they put it on speaker and placed it on the ground in front of them. "Agent Anderson, we have a problem," Goodman announced. "Wait, what's that music?"

"Yeah, tell me about it," replied Alex. "And ignore that, we were just playing some Dungeons and Dragons."

"Amelia Murphy is alive."

Alex buried their head in their hands. "Well that's just peachy. And it makes sense. Maya and I are currently lying on the floor of her apartment because a sniper came for her."

In the background of the call, Alex could hear Charlotte say, "someone call Lisa!"

"She's okay," continued Alex, "for the most part, anyway. But sir, I don't think even Australia is safe for Maya. I think it might be better if I brought her to your safehouse."

"Agent Anderson, I don't think anywhere is safe for Maya," Goodman said solemnly.

Alex sighed. "I know. But if we're over there we can work together to stop Amelia one last time. Here we're just sitting ducks."

"I'd feel a lot calmer if I could be closer to Lisa," Maya added. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Goodman confirmed. "Very well, I'll send in an extraction team. Until then, don't move. Don't even get up to pack. It's too risky."

"Yes, sir," replied Alex.

"You ever meet her?" asked Maya. "Amelia, I mean."

Alex nodded. "She was in the orchestra with Becky and Paul. They all played violin, I played clarinet."

"No way!" exclaimed Maya. "I play cello!"

Alex grinned. "We should duet when this is over."

"If we're still alive," Maya muttered.

Alex frowned. "We will be. I heard the way Lisa talks about you, there's nothing she wouldn't do to protect you. And Becky and the others will do everything in their power to keep you safe."

***

"I knew this would happen," Lisa muttered, pacing back and forth. "You can't trick her!"

Ted glanced at her anxiously. "Paul, I think we need to make our move," he said. "Bring in Erica or even Drake. Get to the bottom of Curt's murder and Amelia's fake out."

Paul wasn't convinced. "Hannah's on her way to see Joanne right now. Hold off and see what she says then talk to Erica if we have to. But we should probably do it through Samantha and Ben, to keep up your cover."

Ted sighed. "All right. Talk to you later."

"You of all people should know how it feels," Lisa stated as Ted hung up. "Looking over your shoulder every few seconds, waiting for someone to put a bullet in your back. Never wanting to leave the love of your life alone because you want to protect them, but with a feeling that you're putting them in more danger by being close to them."

"If anything happened to Bruce I'd lose it," Ted confessed. "I'd want to kill whoever hurt him, praying that it would make me feel better, but just feeling empty. And I hope you know I'm truly sorry for what's happening here. We should never have involved you in this in the first place."

Lisa shrugged, not making eye contact with Ted. "Well, you have now. And there's no going back. So you'd better keep Maya safe or you'll have me to answer to."