𝕄𝕀𝕊𝕋ℝ𝔼𝕊𝕊(es)* Ⓢⓔⓐⓢⓞⓝ ①

Ep. 15b: Sky and the Spy

Ariana turned a dial on her earpiece to shift frequencies, then made sure Skyler was a good distance away before speaking. The boy was casually leaning against a tree, watching her closely, so she turned away in case he could read her lips.

"Nest? Come in, Nest. This is field agent Vasquez checking in, please respond."

A smooth, confident male's voice slipped through the coms, "Ah, Vasquez. Good to hear from you. You have the boy secured?"

"Hello, Sir." Ariana nodded instinctively, "I have Withers, but we need to cut Agent fording's communications. Bonnie's been compromised."

There was a small growl of frustration over the line as the man on the other end did as she said, then spoke again, "Damn those enchantresses. We can't keep losing good agents to them. We can launch a counterattack to get her back after we deal with the boy. You said you did have him?"

"Yes, sir, but the witches knew we were coming. We barely got away, and now they're hunting us down."

"Copy that," the boss told her, "That means things in the area are about to get hot. We can try to send in backup to help, but I need you to get a more clear location. Your tracker is acting up wherever you are."

Ariana cursed and looked around, "I'm somewhere in the woods behind Withers' apartment. I'll do my best to find somewhere in town."

"Perfect. is there anything else I need to know about?"

Ariana pursed her lips, "I had to wake Skyler from his trance. The hypno-disk scrambled him good, and he was moving too slow. He seems compliant so far, though."

There was silence for a moment that made Ariana nervous. Finally, her boss spoke, "Copy that. How much does he know."

"Not much." Ariana told him, "Only that we're in trouble, and need to move quickly."

"Try to keep it that way for now. If he knows what's fully going on, that compliance might change. If he shows even a hint of doubt, you drop him once again, understood?"

"Copy that, Sir." Ariana nodded.

"Oh, and Agent Vasquez?" the boss added sternly, "Do not let yourself get attached to him. Even if you have Eros suppressed that doesn't mean the boy himself can't deceive you. Remember your training, and don't lose focus. Understood?"

"Of course, sir. I'm always focused." Ariana said proudly.

"Glad to hear. Now get moving, and do it fast. There's a lot on the line here, Vasquez. If you managed to get away this time, then the Enchantresses aren't going to let it happen again should they catch you. It's now or never to secure this boy and take care of Eros once and for all."

"You can count on me, sir," Ariana said, determinedly looking at Skyler before removing her hand from her earpiece. She moved back a little closer to Skyler before stopping halfway and huffing in frustration. "I suppose they've already seen me in this. It's no good anymore." The girl spoke aloud to the clearing before kicking her shoes off and letting the rubber soles of her jumpsuit take over.

Skyler turned to the girl, realizing she was finished with her mysterious call, "What was all that about? Are you going to finally tell me what's—Whooaaaaaaa!" The boy said, turning bright red as he watched the spy grab the waist of her skirt and whip it off. He went to quickly avert his gaze, but his eyes teased back as he caught a glimpse of her out of his peripheral. She wasn't naked beneath like he'd thought. In fact, she was quite the opposite as she snapped loose the buttons on her coffee-stained shirt and let it fall to the ground too. "Whoa..." Skyler gasped, more in amazement this time than shock.