The Agency

Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

Renn’s POV:

I watch as Fin takes off down the corridor towards Jax and I turn and drag my feet to the side of his bed, before I collapse onto it. I lie on my back and gaze up at the blank ceiling, taking one deep breath after another to soothe my frazzled nerves. I couldn’t afford to be off my guard for very long in this place, so my brief moments of solitude were to be savoured. Not fifteen minutes have gone by and I can hear four pairs of fast, heavy footsteps coming towards my room. I immediately leap out of bed, determined not to take another beating. I skip over to the door and turn and press my back into the wall beside the door frame; if they came in, they wouldn’t be able to see me immediately. Sure enough, I hear the footsteps come to a staggered halt just outside the door, and I mentally prepare to defend myself; but I relax slightly at the sound of Fin’s voice:

“Anne? Anne, I’m coming in, I don’t mean you any harm, we just wanted to check on you…”

I can’t help but feel that this is a trick, some part of me challenges his kindness as false, so I strengthen my stance; I’m ready for anything. I see a foot being placed cautiously next to where I stand, quickly followed by Fin’s entire form as he fills up the door frame; I tense for action. I watch as his eyes seek me out in the dark room, frown lines draw themselves into his forehead; he has no idea where I am. He curses,

“Fuck, guys!”

“She’s not in there, brilliant.”

“Nice going, Fin, you’ve killed us all.”

“Calm the fuck down, guys, she could have gone to the toilet or something…” I hear a few sighs and then their footsteps as they traipse away towards the toilets. I relax my stance slightly and go to sit on the bed, not knowing if they’d come back anytime soon; hopefully not.

Fins POV:

I take a cautious step inside the bathroom and suddenly remember Anne’s clothes that I was supposed to have taken care of; they’re still lying haphazardly on the wet tiles. I relax,

“She’s not in here, guys, she would have taken her clothes otherwise.” I pick up her clothes and toss them over to Mark who stands there and looks at me like he just caught a grenade. “Mark, could you take those to be washed please? And whilst you’re at it, could you get in touch with Eleanor about some spare women’s clothing around…” I delve into my memory and bring up an image of Anne, “I’d say…size ten please? As for shoes, get a size six or seven; she’ll fit one of the two.” Mark nods and disappears down the corridor towards the laundry room, holding Anne’s clothes as far from his body as possible. I turn back towards the others.

“So where is she, Fin?” One of the twins pipes up; I’d noticed they’d been getting more confident to speak up recently.

“I don’t think she’ll try anything to be honest.”

“Why wouldn’t she?!”

“Cos she must know better than that by now. Let’s go back and check the room again, okay?”

“What’s the bother? She’s not going to be there!”

“Geez, Seb­—”

“—It’s Chris!”

“Have a little faith, will you, Chris?!” I start to stroll purposefully back towards my room and spontaneously decide to simply walk in there with no warning. To my own unexpected surprise, Anne stands boldly in the centre of the room, as if she’d been waiting for me.

“So are we going to get on with this interrogation or what?”

Renn’s POV:

I sit in a chair in my familiar cell, but this time there are no restraints and no drugs; I could kill Fin in a matter of seconds. He sits across from me, maintaining eye contact for longer than necessary; he doesn’t keep his distance either.

“As I said before, Anne, I want to help you, so answer my questions honestly and we’ll do just fine.” I nod; I intend to answer honestly if it doesn’t implicate me. “Right, let’s start with a big topic, what is it that you’re company do, what is their purpose?”

“It’s not a company.” He smiles a fake smile.

“That’s not the question I asked.”

“But it’s the answer I’m giving, take it or leave it.” His smile turns genuine, some part of me suspects he enjoys a pursuit.

“Very well, so what is it, if it’s not a company?”

“It’s an agency.”

“Meaning that they are suppliers?”

“Yes.”

“So it’s a job agency?”

“Yes and no.”

“Explain.”

“As I said before, they take people like me and give us a place to stay, an education and a job in the ranks of the organisation, depending on our talents or…lack thereof.” I think of Han and the consequences of her gentle nature in cut-throat competition.

“Ok…and why is it not a job agency?”

“We are the international suppliers for the world’s most powerful companies. We do not supply for jobs, we supply for a purpose.”

“What do you supply? And don’t lie to me; I know it has something to do with those prisoners.”

“Of course it has something to do with them, but I can’t tell you; I’m as dead as you are if I do…”

“Do you sell them as slaves?” I refuse to answer him, and I can see his face growing redder and redder with rage.

“Do you cut them up and put them in household pet food???” I stare at the blank wall opposite me, noticing non-existent patterns and textures in its grain as I concentrate on blocking him out. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, I feel his lips crash against mine.

Fin’s POV:

It was a crazy idea but I decide to go with it, at the very least it would catch her off-guard. I swing down and capture her mouth with my own and attempt to draw an answer out of her unyielding lips. My hands come up to cradle her face, I’m surprised she doesn’t attempt to dominate the kiss, but I banish the thought; she doesn’t want to be in control. She seems to be in shock or something, as she’s not responding the way I’d anticipated, or hoped. I withdraw my passionate assault and retreat back a few steps, watching her face cautiously as I do so, but she gives nothing away. Her face is completely expressionless, as if she were sleeping with her eyes open, she stares blankly at the wall behind me. I feel a tiny stab in my heart as I notice that something has gone from her eyes, a spark, perhaps the last one that was keeping her fighting. I stride forward and reach out to cradle her face, turning it in my hands so that perhaps her vacant eyes would land on mine. She looks up at me and I search her eyes, two orb-like voids, reeling me in but letting nothing escape. I’ve been so fixated with what just happened that I haven’t noticed her body beginning to shake, I grip her shoulders firmly and attempt to understand what is happening.

“Anne?! It’s ok, nothing’s gonna hurt you, it’s just me, it’s just me...” But my attempts to sooth her have no effect, and it is only now that I realise that she is no longer there; her body is a shell, her mind is elsewhere. This is my breakthrough.