Agent (Book 1)

Chapter 5-Lynn

5

Lynn Kramer

Agent: Fifty-three

Mission: Not Applicable

Date: August 23rd

Time: 1100

I can't stand being out of the loop. Obviously.

But there's no way to suppress my pride now, after having evaded the eyes of none other than the Commander herself. Slithering up the hall, slinking into the shadows like nothing more than a burst of air in the dark. Of course, the Commander never intended to tell me. Never to tell anyone else, until situations get so dire, that she's got no other choice. I'd heard her say it herself. And though eavesdropping is a rather sneaky way about things, I'm glad for it this time.

As soon as they'd shut the door, I'd paused around the corner, stepping into the shadows of an unmarked doorway. Cupped my hands, pressed them to the wall. And judging purely on the Commander's tone, the conversation was not something I should have missed.

Supposing everyone else has heard the rumors, I can't say The Kings' arrival really surprises me all that much. Anything as large and orchestrated as the ACA is bound to be a target. Secret corporations can only remain a secret for so long. So no doubt, several know of our existence. It's picking us apart that comes tricky.

My father always used to call me something, when I was very little. Curious. Even a little nosy at times. I used to press my ear to the door in the same way I do now, when he'd be speaking to my mother. It's not that I tried to listen in, but when the walls are thin (Much like the ones surrounding the Commander's office, which I'll chalk up to poor planning) it was too hard to resist. And when my father would walk out, see me standing there with my hand up, he'd frown.

"You don't want to listen to grown up conversations now do you? They're rather boring." I suppose now that's true. Probably about finances or that unpaid balance, and this or that. But to me grown up conversations were interesting too.

Now, however, I have something valuable. Like that boy, Agent Hood (I suppose I'd never cared enough to remember his name before) and why the Commander holds him so close. Why she hesitated for that extra moment, like the idea of assigning him a mission nerved her.

But she can't honestly believe that I'd just sit around and let him steal all the glory.

I can hear his footsteps fading around the corner now, and I press my back to the wall for a cautious moment before pushing away and following. My father thought I was too nosy. But my mother, sometimes I think she believed the sneakiness was good for me. I assume it's one of those parenting things. Not that my mother ever needed any help in that department.

I stop in my tracks for a moment and raise a hand to the wall to steady myself. Instead, I slide to one knee before the corner. One thought of her, and the rest of the images come souring, flying past in such rapid succession, I feel dizzy. And scared. Hopeless, just as I had then.

All those dead days without her, unable to staunch the dryness of my lips, the growling in my belly. The tears, never ending, like a river's current, carrying me deeper and deeper into its depths. Lungs burning, body aching. Screaming, screaming, screaming...

I shake my head once, and then twice to force the thoughts aside. This isn't the time. It's the Kings to watch out for. The ruthless, killing machines. That, and that alone, is all I need to know.

For if the Kings really do have a chance of tackling our security, then the ACAs in for some rocky waters.

All things considered, I probably would've preferred to mull over all of this in peace, but fail to ignore Rey's hand waving me over to his table in the cafeteria. Reluctantly, I slide in to a seat beside him. He's already loaded a tray for me. Eggs, bacon. Greens. The norm.