Double Agent

○ fourteen ○

"So genius, which way?"

I completely ignore him, forcing myself forward to study the tunnels. They look exactly the same, same dusty walls, off-put bricks, and weedy cracks.

Wordlessly, he walks away, and I grit my teeth in frustration. There's no way I'm letting him win. I scan every detail, analysing things I didn't even bother looking at before, and my eyes land on the floor. The gears in my head turn, and I kick the sand of the right tunnel. The ground remains solid and rock hard. I purse my lips as I make my way to the left tunnel, watching the loose sand fly around after I kick it in a similar way.

"Hey asshole!" My voice bounces through the tunnels.

The footsteps stop.

"It's the left one."

"You guessing now, princess?"

"How bout you come back so I can prove it to you?" I throw back.

His head peers over my shoulder in no time. I point to the left tunnel.

"Loose sand. There have been more footsteps on this path."

"Well you better be fucking right."

"I'm never wrong."

"Careful, or your head will get stuck up your ass."

I look at him coolly, "You seem to be projecting."

"Fucking walk. You're pissing me off."

"I'd like to actually see the bark behind the bite," I square up to him.

He moves faster than I can blink, his hand wrapping around my throat and pressing me against the wall. He squeezes lightly, stepping closer so we are nose to nose.

I pry at his hands around my throat, but his grip is so strong that I can't get it off, so I relax against the wall, alleviating the pressure on my neck.

His finger finds its way down the column of my throat, pausing to press at a sensitive point.

"Feel that?"

"No."

"That's your jugular."

"Interesting. Did you know that this is an elbow?" I point to my elbow.

"I have no hesitation in killing you. Absolutely none," he presses against the vein harder, "This is my job, and quite literally, you would be dead if I didn't save your arse. Don't fucking test me."

"Are you done?"

"No."

"Good, because in that time I stole a knife, your watch and your belt."

He blinks, his eyes dropping to his empty left hand and then to his black pants. He rummages through a pocket, but stops when it turns out to be empty.

His eyes drop accusingly to the hand that holds his possessions.

He backs off of me, twisting my hand behind me so that his stuff falls at his feet and presses my front against the wall.

"I fucking hate you," he seethes.

"You just can't stand the fact that I can beat you."

"Don't flatter yourself. You're amateur at best."

"For what it's worth, I despise you as much as you despise me, so get your hands off of me so we can do this job."

He lets me go roughly, and I rub the cheek that has been pressing into the wall. He infiltrates the tunnel and I follow closely behind him, letting the yellow light be my guide.