Undercover| Book 1

The Attack

Chapter: 14

Kylee burst into tears as soon as she closed the door of the office behind her. Wyatt had been standing only three yards away and came rushing towards her.

“What’s wrong?” he asked when he approached her. Kylee said nothing; she just buried her face in his chest, crying out her heart. He understood that she didn’t want to talk about it so he didn’t push her further. He embraced her, putting his arms around her and resting his chin on top of her head. His fingers stroke through her hair, helping her relax. Kylee’s hand was at his chest, grabbing a handful of his shirt. His warmth was welcoming as she sobbed.

“Kylee, what happened?” She heard Stella’s voice, followed by several pairs of footsteps. She calmed herself down, wiping away her tears. She pulled away from Wyatt, giving him a sincere smile, and looked at the others.

“Nothing, I just…” Kylee started and then sighed. “It was nothing.”

“What did he say about your mom?” Zack asked carefully. Kylee pressed her lips in a thin line.

“She’s um…” she bit her lip. “She used to be an agent here. But now, she’s part of the opposition.” It took her everything she had left in her to say that. She wasn’t ready to discuss the whole matter in detail and she was thankful that her friends didn’t push her to do so.

“I think you should go home,” Miles said softly. Kylee asked herself the question she had so often before: What did I do to deserve them?

Kylee nodded, feeling he was right. Just when she took one step forward though, there was a loud gunshot. Alerted, they all ran in the direction the sound came from. There were more gunshots and Kylee knew that wasn’t any ordinary revolver or pistol. It was either a shotgun or a rifle. From behind them, Mr. Brown also came out confused and followed the teens.

Chaos had abrupted in all the stations. There were screams from students and instructors. Kylee heard Otis’s panicked barks behind her and guessed that he was looking for Quinn. The gunshots didn’t stop.

Kylee couldn’t stop herself from panicking. Not because she was scared that one of the guns may be aimed at her but because she didn’t know what was happening. They all ran until they reached the entrance of the agency where the elevator was. Kylee froze.

In front of her, stood a middle-aged woman with dark brown hair and hazel eyes. Her hair curled, falling around the frame of her face, outlining her features. She had wrinkles but only a few and wore a black frock coat that covered her clothing and boots that went up to her knees. She looked at them with a smirk at first but when her eyes fell on Kylee, she paled.

Kylee stared at her. Aside from the wrinkles, there was nothing changed about her. She was as tall as she was ten years ago, as slim as she was ten years ago, and as much of Kylee’s mother as she was ten years ago.

“My, my,” she said and her voice pierced Kylee’s heart like an arrow. “Looks like you finally found yourself some agents, Brown. Although I think I hold enough right to ask what the hell my daughter is doing here.”

Mr. Brown stepped forward and looked at Flora, “Call off your men so we can talk without shedding any innocent blood.” Flora considered it for a moment and then tapped on her wristwatch. The gunshots suddenly stopped and the chaos subsided. “What brings you here?”

“Didn’t you get my message? I came here to visit,” Flora said, looking at all of them. Then, her eyes landed on Quinn, “Oh, you have grown. And rather beautifully, might I say.” Out of the corner of her eye, Kylee saw Quinn tense up and avoid Flora’s gaze. “You didn’t find anyone else for this mess other than my daughter, did you, Brown?”

“Kylee chose to be an agent and so did her friends,” Mr. Brown told Flora. “Now, tell me why you’re really here?”

“Come on, Brown, really? Is that what you call a best friend reunion?” Flora asked. “Or a mother-daughter reunion?” she added to Kylee who tried to keep her expression neutral. “I saw you yesterday, Kylee, with uh… your boyfriend.” Kylee inhaled sharply.

“Flora,” Mr. Brown’s voice held a warning.

“Oh, alright. I came to visit, that is true. I also came to tell you that I have recognized your undercover agent. Cole Thomas, I believe,” Mr. Brown’s eyes widened and he paled. But, to Kylee’s surprise, it was Quinn who reacted.

“If you hurt him—” she strode forward but Mr. Brown held out his arm to stop.

“Quinn,” he said warningly. Quinn inhaled sharply but backed away.

Flora chuckled, “Worried about your friend? Relax. I am the only one who knows. That boy truly handles his cover well. He agreed to some very nasty things about you very casually, Brown. It doesn’t surprise me how long it took me to find him.”

“What do you want, Flora?” Mr. Brown said through gritted teeth. His fists were clenched at his sides and Kylee realized that that was the first time she had seen him angry.

“Brown, you know I have never been one of you or one of them. Telling them about Thomas would give me no advantage. However, I could use this piece of information. I need something from you. Give it to me and I won’t tell anyone of Thomas. Those are the terms. Do you agree?” Flora asked.

“What do you want?” it was Kylee who spoke, surprising herself. Flora smiled although she was probably unaware of it.

“I want one of your genius agents to make a serum,” Flora said with a quirked smile. “A serum that lets me control whoever is injected with it.”

“I cannot do that,” Mr. Brown said, straightforwardly.

Flora shrugged, “Well, then say goodbye to Thomas.” Kylee saw Quinn inhale sharply and make a sudden movement as if she was planning to reach out to her but held herself back. Mr. Brown paled.

“Flora, my job is to protect people and I cannot give you something that will hurt them,” he stated.

“The serum for Cole Thomas, Brown,” Flora said with clarity. Silence fell over them after that. The only thing Kylee heard was her heartbeat echoing in her ears. She felt a strange mixture of emotions. Longing and anger. She cursed her mother for leaving her and Casey but at the same time, she wanted to reach out to her, hug her, and cry her heart out on her shoulder.

“I need time to think about it,” Mr. Brown finally said.

“You got a week, Brown. I will come to visit again on Sunday at midnight. I’ll be expecting the serum ready,” Flora said and turned to walk away but then she stopped and looked at Kylee. “I know I left you but I can’t say I didn’t miss you.” With that, she turned and stepped into the elevator. Her companions emerged from different directions and followed her. Before the elevator doors closed, she winked at Kylee, leaving her to struggle with her emotions.