Double Crossed

Played Like A Violin

My eyes never waver from the woman at the back of the room, surrounded by all her agents, none of whom have moved or even flinched at my revelation. Although my teammates don't stay as calm as Hecate does. All at the same time Derek, Cadwell, Zane, Jade, Sophia, Mel, Bonny, and Jacky point their guns at me. I try not to pay them much attention, but it's hard when the people you've become so close with are pointing guns at your head.

"Whoa, whoa, hang on! Erin, what are you doing?" Jacky yells.

"Don't screw this up, numbskull," Jade responds harshly.

"Put your gun down," Bonny says, her eyes burning holes into the back of my head.

My friends continue to yell, not understanding what I'm doing, but I block them out, this is hard enough without having to listen to my friends threaten me. But despite the raging chaos I've caused, the Hecate agents I'm staring at still have not moved or reacted.

Beside me Ryan stays still, his eyes flicker to me every once and a while but his gun stays firm on Hecate. "What are you doing, Erin?" Ryan whispers to me urgency and pleading in his eyes, "I'm on your side!"

The screams of my teammates only seem to get louder when Kim and Zack come to my aid, pointing their guns back at the others. The chaos multiplies tenfold as Kim and Zack yell back, shouting things like 'back off', 'we're not the enemy', and 'drop your weapons'.

With Kim and Zack standing behind me protecting me from my team, I focus on the Hecate agents in front of me. "Drop your weapons and I won't hurt your mole," I tell them, keeping my face stoic.

Ryan's eyes go wide and his mouth hangs open, shock clear on his face. "Erin, I'm not-"

But I cut him off harshly, malice dripping from my voice, "I don't want to hear it, I know you work for them. There's nothing you can say that will believe me otherwise, not after lying to me for months and playing me like a violin. And let me telling you, you'll be the last." From the look on his face and the way his mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water, I can tell he's shocked. He's speechless, and the silence I get breaks my heart all over again.

"And what makes you think I care whether or not my mole lives?" the woman at the back of the room says challenging me.

"I don't think that. I know I could kill him right now and you wouldn't care one bit," beside me Ryan starts to protest at the thought of me killing him, but I ignore him and keep going, "But I also know you still need him. He has information that he hasn't been able to give you, information that could be vital after you've theoretically killed all of us," I say, motioning to me and the team.

Behind me, the others have stopped arguing and are listening intently to our conversation. I can still feel their guns aimed at me but even if they are starting to think I'm right, they're smart enough not to change their positions, it would reveal too much to the enemy.

A loud, sarcastic laugh fills the room, and my eyes still haven't broken contact with the leader of the Hecate agents who's currently laughing at me. "Honey, you death won't be theoretical," she says cynically. Then she does something I knew she would, she drops her weapon and the other agents wordlessly follow her lead.

But dropping her weapons isn't a sign of resignation, it just a move in the seemingly endless game of chess. Now it's my turn, and though some people may think I'm winning this game, I'm not. In fact my King is in serious jeopardy of being exposed, this was one of the few moves I had left and the only person who can help me right now I'm currently hold a gun to.

It's silent, everyone's waiting for me to make the next move, but something doesn't feel right. This entire mission has been a disaster, with only three months of training it's understandable at the number of mistakes we've made, and I'm determined not to make another one. Although it takes more than determination to not make a mistake.