ColorBlind (Book #2 of S.H.A.D.E.) ✔

Negotiations

Next chapter is the last in this story! I hope you enjoy what's to come! Can Ebony and Copper survive S.H.A.D.E.? We shall see...

28.

The door closes behind me and the office is consumed in a deafening silence as Gold and I stare each other down.

"You seem tense," Gold says, moving to a little trolley that is stocked with glasses and alcohol, "how about a drink while we speak?"

Even when offering a drink, there is something sinister about this woman's voice. It is deeper for a woman's, but very smooth and deliberate, ennunicating each word with precision.

"No thank you," I say, remaining by the door.

She smiles at me in a way that makes me want to hit her before shrugging elegantly and pouring herself a dainty glass of wine. She moves around her massive mahogany desk to have a seat, crossing her legs and skewering me with a superior look as she takes a long sip of her wine. She gestures at the seat in front of her, "Please."

I walk over cautiously, keeping my gaze on hers. I sit.

"Well," she grins, leaning back in her chair in a casual fashion, twirling the golden beverage around in her glass, "what brings the great beheader to the very core of S.H.A.D.E.?"

I glare at her. "I think you know. My friends and I have been hunted ever since I escaped almost being murdered by your organization."

"Oh yes," she nods, studying the way the sunlight hits her glass, "the hit I placed on your Swatch. You see, we could not allow for a Necro Proxy agent to breech our system. That would be... inconvenient."

I grip the arms of my chair, trying to steady myself in my anger. "I am not a Necro Proxy agent. Neither were any members of my Swatch."

She looks up at me, hearing the aggression in my tone. Her stare is a mixture of amusement and askance. "Yes, well, one can never be too sure. Measures must be taken."

I lean forward and speak through clenched teeth, "Your measures killed my entire Swatch unjustly, and they lead to my having to fight for my life. I have lost friends because of your mistake."

"What mistake?" she laughs, "I don't make mistakes. It's never a mistake to be careful, and I have no regrets over doing everything I can to stop the Demons. Yes, unfortunately that means that a few innocents may be sacrificed at present, but in the long run, S.H.A.D.E. protects millions of lives from a Demon uprising. You're just a girl, you have no concept of the bigger picture."

"What bigger picture?"

She tilts her head at me. "I bet you don't believe in Gods, do you? Ghosts, even?"

I try to keep the cynicism out of my tone. "I don't dwell on things like that. I am a human being, and for now, I am alive and living on this earth. Matters after that don't concern me."

She shakes her head, continuing to smile. "You don't know that Gods and Ghosts should matter to you now. That Earth's very survival depends on humans coming to believe again, to remember that there is more than this world."

I tap my fingers impatiently. I didn't come here for this. "Look, the fact is that S.H.A.D.E. hurts people, same as the Necro Proxy. They have hurt people I care about. Your establishment has threatened the lives of my family, of Copper's as well. I don't want to be hunted by you anymore, and I want you to leave those I care about alone."

"You are the best Ebony we have had in a long, long while. You have proven to be an excellent method of destruction. Copper is hands down the best Red we have ever had in our ranks. Why would I let either of you slip through my fingers?"