Mystery ~ MV1

020. Betrayed by a Shadow

[Agent A]

The hallway seems to hold its breath with me. The still air silent enough that I can hear the ticking sound in my brain as I count out my breaths, each one a second I wait before I follow Tavi out.

One breath....

Second breath....

Third breath...

My fingertips brush the sharp metal ridges behind my dress, the velvet concealing the familiar weapon strapped to a holster on my thigh, the edges of the slit tucked into the leather holster to keep it hidden within the midnight fabric.

The coolness of the metal seeps past the velvet, grounding me as it reminds me of who I am— who I'll always be.

The weight of my mistake bares down on my shoulders, pulsing in my muscles as I'm reminded of the way I was played like a fiddle. Weak against the way Tavi struck each cord in her tune, distracting me while Vega slipped through poorly guarded gates.

It was an amateur move.

It was sloppy.

And the war of drums that beat beneath my ribs told me someone would pay for it. That I would pay for it. I refuse to let Max take a hit for my stupidity.

When I finally move, it's with the practiced grace of a predator, each step a calculated choreography that blended with the symphony of the crowd moving around me. The crowd seemed to part subconsciously for me, I floated past with an elegant stride— eyes never leaving Tavi's back as she moved just as easily through the sea of people like smoke; beautiful, toxic, impossible to grasp.

That's when I saw him.

Vega.

Like a perfected routine, he seemed to appear from the shadows themself at Tavi's side. They weaved through the crowd with the subtly of a slithering serpent, tongues out as they tasted the air for fear they could exploit.

My heart beat kept in tune with the classical piece floating through the air, steady and calm despite the adrenaline that leaked into my blood stream with each smooth step.

My pace slows, letting space grow enough between us that I can still see them but they gain a sense of security. Barely looking over their shoulders as they turn a corner into a dark park of the building, slipping away from the party before they slip through large oak doors that practically blend into the walls.

Theres a small crack in the ancient looming doors, a crack small enough to stick the point of my heel into as I slowly wedge my foot inbetween the space— opening it enough to peak through and into the smaller room.

Vega swiftly takes a phone from a man's hand, holding it close enough that the blue light of the screen illuminates his facial features but far enough to show it's on speaker.

Tavi looks bored as the phone starts to ring, a gentle vibrate that almost gets swallowed the instruments outside the room, she twirls a piece of blonde hair between her fingertips.

The phone picks up.

An automated voice cracks before it starts to speak, sending a river of frozen water through my blood stream. "We got lucky in Miami with the bomb going off on time, but I can feel their eyes, i can hear the whispers..."