Black Rose

Chapter 27

Kate

I awoke to the sound of birds chirping and the sun shining through the windows.

At first, everything seemed normal. Then the events from last night came crashing back in full force: discovering the perfectly straight lines of dead bodies in the abandoned warehouse, backup arriving and investigating the scene of the crime, the dispatcher's radio with the words 'new recruit.'

I knew this mission was not going to get easier, but I wish I could take a break from solving it.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed, my bare feet making contact with the cold ground. I trudged over to my dresser and changed into a black and white shirt and denim high-waisted shorts.

I exited my room and headed towards the cafeteria for breakfast. The smell of sizzling bacon made me walk a little faster.

Upon arriving at the cafeteria, I spotted Bethany sitting alone at a table in the corner. I grabbed a plate of bacon and eggs and walked up to her table.

She looked exhausted. Her puffy eyes were drooping shut as she looked down at her untouched plate of bacon.

"Are you going to eat that?" I joked, setting my tray down and taking a seat across from her.

She looked up at me and yawned. "No, it is all yours," Bethany said, sliding her plate over.

I grabbed the bacon slices greedily and dumped them on my plate. After the events from last night, I did not know why I had such a large appetite. "Are you okay?" I asked. Bethany was practically falling asleep.

"I'm just tired. Well, exhausted is more like it. I did not sleep at all last night. I pulled an all-nighter trying to look for clues on my computer," Bethany said sleepily.

"You know you didn't have to do that," I offered lightly. Gosh, no wonder the girl was falling asleep.

"I know. But we need to figure out this mission," Bethany muttered.

Suddenly, Caitlin walked up to our table. She looked less tired, but her eyes bore dark circles underneath.

"Hey. Did I miss anything important?" she asked.

"No. Bethany is just exhausted," I answered, pointing at Bethany, who now had her head down.

"Well, I came over here because Susan has some news on the case. She wants us to meet in her office," Caitlin explained.

"Can I skip it? I'm so tired, I don't think I can even walk over there," Bethany groaned.

Caitlin and I laughed. "Sure. I'll let Susan know. In the meantime, we should probably head over there," Caitlin told me. I finished my last piece of bacon and followed her out of the cafeteria.

We walked into Susan's office and took a seat. Susan closed the door behind us and smiled. "I'm glad you can make it. Where's Bethany?"

"She pulled an all-nighter gathering some information for our mission," I told Susan. Susan nodded, as if that were a sufficient answer.

"Well, I wanted to let you know that there has been a breakthrough in our case. The detectives examined the bodies found in the warehouse, better known as the Rule Breakers, and they found one person's fingerprints on all of the bodies," Susan explained.

She glanced at her computer screen and turned it around to face us. The screen showed a profile of a heavy set man who looked to be in his fifties. He had dark brown eyes and hair that was balding in the middle.

"This is Ryan Quinn, the man whose fingerprints were identified on the Rule Breakers. With further inspection, we were able to conclude that he works for SLF. We were able to track down his last known location, which for some reason was at an old office building. I need you girls, and Bethany of course, to go there and report your findings back to me," Susan continued.

Susan quickly printed out the address and handed it to me. "Is that all? We should probably go check on Bethany and tell her the news," I asked.

Susan nodded. "Yes, that's all."

We walked out of her office and headed up to Bethany's room. When we reached the door, we knocked lightly. There was only silence. "You think she's sleeping?" Caitlin whispered.

"Probably," I whispered back, knocking with a bit more force. When I was greeted by silence again, I turned to Caitlin. "What about if she's missing?" I asked worriedly.

Caitlin shook her head. "Of course she's not missing! Why do you think that?"

I shrugged. "Never mind. It was just a lame thought."

In reality, I was a bit paranoid. After all, the last time one of my friends went missing, they went all haywire on me by betraying my trust and joining a rival spy organization.

"Let's head back to our rooms. Maybe we can get some sleep ourselves. I know I need it," Caitlin suggested.

I nodded, resigning. I would have to contain my wandering thoughts for now.

I walked back into my room and lay on my bed. I thought about Ryan Quinn, the man who had arranged all those bodies in the warehouse. That was repulsive. He also did not look like he could be a spy. Then again, neither had I until I texted my life away to Black Rose.

I closed my eyes, and before I knew it, I was fast asleep.

∆

"Kate, wake up!"

I woke up to Caitlin shaking me. When she noticed I was awake, she took a step back. I rubbed my eyes and asked her what was going on.

"It's Bethany. She's missing!" Caitlin said frantically. Her voice was laced with panic.

I scrambled out of bed and slipped on my shoes. I had not changed before I went to bed because of how tired I had been.

"Follow me," Caitlin said hurriedly, leading me to Bethany's room. She opened the door to reveal Bethany's room in disarray. The bedsheets were strewn off the bed, the drawers were open and emptied, and the desk was bare.

"Someone must have come in here and taken Bethany," Caitlin cried. She rushed to the bed and sat down, her head in her hands.

"Wait, what's that?" I asked, noticing a piece of paper on the desk. It looked like a note had been scrawled on a ripped piece of paper and then left there without thought.

I grabbed it and read it out loud: 'pleaSe don't come Looking For me.' I found it odd how certain letters were capitalized, until I realized it was a hidden message. When put together, the letters spelled out an acronym.

SLF.