Disobey

Chapter 1- Paige Lilia Carroll, the Black Hand

I sat in my office, hands folded on the table while the clock ticked antagonizing on the far wall, to the left of the plain wooden door.

Finally, the small hand moved to the four, signaling that it was four o'clock. The small wooden time piece made a little song, one that wouldn't be completed until midnight.

I breathed in, and then out.

Exactly two years ago, to this day, to this hour, I freed my organizations greatest enemy from execution. Hecate, the queen of the magicians.

It had already been two years but, just like last year, I felt anxious when the day rolled on through.

But they couldn't know, right? If they did, I wouldn't have been promoted to a head commander.

My thumbs twisted around themselves as I took inventory of my office, trying to calm myself.

There was my desk, plain and simple, with a laptop sitting on it along with some papers that I'd been diligently avoiding. There was something of a sitting area, in the far corner, with a sofa and a T.V. The nights I didn't finish until late, that's where I found myself sleeping. Which, in all honesty, was most nights. Especially lately.

On the far wall was a door that lead to the outer halls. And, on my left, another door. This one was made of what looked to be wood, but I knew better. Little engravings proved it to be made of the same materials as silencers, which were used to drain and stop the magic coming from a magician.

I'd heard from one of my co-workers that the younger officers referred to it as Carroll's Wonderland, or just Wonderland.

As a scientist, I'd often kept magicians close to me so I could study their magic and test weapons. At the moment, it was empty.

The last prisoner was a younger girl who I'd released back to the cells after testing a stronger silencer on her.

I mean, I couldn't test it on myself. True, my magic was strong, but there was always a chance that what I made would react to my magic. If that happened, I'd probably be take to the nurses. It was likely they'd find I was a magician rather quickly.

I breathed in and out.

My eyes found their way to the clock, once again.

Five minutes had passed.

"Dammit," I cursed under my breath. Time didn't pass quickly enough.

A knock at my door made me jump.

"Come in."

The door peeked open to reveal a small girl, probably no older than seventeen. She had short blonde hair, cut so short that she didn't need to tie it up. Her features made her look young, but her clothes gave away her position. She wore a red uniform with golden trimming. A commander.

"Can I help you?"

"Paige Lilia Carroll, correct?" She came in, closing the door behind her. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Victoria Prins, at your-"

"What do you need?"

She blinked, seeming to shrink down a little. "Right. Your assistance has been requested by Samuel Jose, ma'am. He asked me to escort you."

Samuel Jose was, like me, a high commander.

"Right." I stood up, pushing the rolling chair out from under me. "Lead the way."

---

The halls of the sector I was assigned to, the one in the City which used to be called New York, before the magicians rebellion, were something like a labyrinth. Of course, it was bigger than the other sectors which were placed across the north continent.

Unlike what you might expect, they weren't exactly bare. Black Hands, for some reason, were attached to decorating their halls with regal looking pictures of past Black Hands. I'd never left my sector but I'd heard that they'd ran out of older Black Hands to commemorate so, in other sectors, they decorated with every officer who died.

I thought that was stupid.

I looked down at the young officer to see her peeking back at me.

"Do you need something?"

She jumped a bit, immediately looking away. "Nothing at all, Ms. Carroll. Um, it's just... I heard you were young but I thought you'd be like twenty-five or something."

"Hmm. I'm nineteen, if that's your way of asking."

Her brown eyes widened a little at the mention of my age. I thought she had something else to say but, instead, she turned to look at a door.

Like the rest, it was made of a simple mahogany wood.

She opened the door, pushing through to quickly hold it for me.

What she'd brought me to was something like an interrogation room.

Samuel was sitting on one side of a desk, while a young man sat on the other. The man was clearly a magician, judging from the silencer tied around his neck and wrists. He looked up at me with bulging eyes.

His cheeks were a ghostly white and his eyes, even as big as they were, were drawn back into his head with large bags making them look even bigger. His dark brown hair, cut decently short was greasy and matted.

I felt no sympathy for the captured magician. It was his own fault for being stupid.

"Ms. Carroll," Samuel said, drawing my attention. He was wearing a uniform that matched mine. A black uniform with red trimming. "Or I guess I should call you Paige, seeing as how were now on equal standing." He turned back to the magician who was glancing between the two of us. "I suppose I should congratulate you on your promotion, even though it was two years ago. The plan you had set to capture Hecate was simply genius for such a young age. It's really no wonder you were promoted."

Lies.

"What did you need me for, Samuel?"

"No politeness from you, huh? Well, you always were a bit on the arrogant side." He signed, leaning back in the plain metal chair. "Chief wanted me to give you the next assignment."

I felt chills creeping up on my spine. Chief, or Eugene Michael Bradly, was the head of the Black Hands. At the age of thirty he'd been given the position when the former head died. Black Hand or no, he was someone to be feared.

"Alright, then what did he need?"

"He's having you relocated for a week. You're going to the Miami sector. Chief says he wants you to inspect it and report on how its doing. They also have some package or something they want you to pick up. I don't know the details."

"And why are you telling me this instead of him?"

"He's a busy man, Paige. Plus, he wanted me to give you something." His eyes went to the escort who's name I'd already forgotten. "You've met Tori, correct? It's come to my understanding that you don't have any subordinates of your own. Well, as of now, Tori's switched over to your jurisdiction. 'Kay, Wonderland?"

I opened my mouth to argue but Samuel had his hand raised to silent me. "Chief's orders. He says it's just until you get back. After that, you can give her back to me."

I breathed in, and then out.

"Understood."