Keep Your Enemies Closer | a Bars and Melody Story [COMPLETED]

Chapter Seven

The sun was just starting to rise on the horizon when Charlotte woke up. Leo was gone, and the only sound was the birds singing in the distance. The air was filled with the smell of burnt wood. Charlotte pushed herself to her feet and started to walk towards the ruins of her mother's safe house. She didn't make it very far though, because for the second time the ground fell away beneath her feet and she hurtled towards the dark depths below. She braced for impact, the solid stone floor rushing up to meet her. There was a sickening crunch as her shoulder hit the concrete but there wasn't much time to worry about that. Charlotte knew where she was this time, she'd been there just 24 hours before. But the secret basement beneath her mother's safe house looked different. Maybe it was the light swinging over head, casting shadows over the dark shallow space as she got to her feet. Maybe it was the smell of smoke, or the guns that lined the left wall. There was a stack of folders to her right but she didn't dare reach for them, she knew she didn't have the clearance. Charlotte didn't run or shout, she somehow knew she wasn't alone. Maybe it was spy instincts, but she didn't jump when two hands grabbed her from behind and blind folded her. She kicked out, but her attacker just dragged her across the floor. She followed, waiting for her training to kick in as she was pushed into a room and the door was locked.

She didn't scream or bang on the door, she didn't demand her attackers let her out. Charlotte just simply reached for the blindfold that covered her eyes and pulled it free. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dark space of the room, but eventually she could see. There was just a table and a chair in the centre, nothing else. No torture weapons, no guns. No guards and no agents. Charlotte glanced up at the high ceilings above her and noted that there were three visible security cameras and god knows how many sensors around the door. Interrogation. She was going to get interrogated. Charlotte wanted to yell and shout, tell whoever was sitting behind those cameras that they had the wrong person. She wanted to know why they had her locked in that underground room and not Charlie. Not Leo. But her, that was all within 20 minutes of arriving. She had no idea how long they would make her wait.

It took 3 hours, but eventually the darkened glass dividing off half the room slid across. Charlotte raised her head from the table and watched as the woman strolled in, heels clanking on stone floor. She pulled back the chair opposite Charlotte and sat down. She had long blonde hair and startling green eyes. She drummed her nails on the metal table and laughed, it echoed in the small stone space. Charlotte just stared at her, fighting the urge to back away from that evil smile. The woman had carried a stack of papers with her and she shuffled them now, separating the piles into groups of four. "Hello." She said, her English bore an Italian accent. "Charlotte, yes?" She read from one of the piles, before looking up at the girl in front of her. Charlotte swallowed hard, nodded. "Can you speak please, for the tape?" The woman asked, gesturing to the small device recording the interview. Charlotte summoned her inner spy. "Yes, I'm Charlotte." The woman smiled at her. "You know why your here, no?" Charlotte shook her head, before adding. "Actually I don't." She tried to keep her pulse steady as she spoke. The woman laughed again, "such a shame." She shuffled the papers. "I'm sure your friend, Leondre would tell you." That was when Charlotte realised there was four piles. One for her, one for Leo, one for Charlie and one Renée. Fear filled her eyes, she knew the woman sensed it. "Don't be afraid." She said, smiling, but it wasn't at all comforting. Charlotte wanted to stand, to fight but she felt paralysed. "You do know Leondre Devries, don't you?" The woman asked, tilting her head. But Charlotte didn't answer, she didn't have time to, because the next thing she knew the metal door was being kicked in and she was being pulled from the chair. She heard a gun shot and she knew the woman was dead, Leo gripped her hand and Charlie ran behind them. "What are you doing?" She yelled, over the pulsing sirens and shouting guards. Leo dragged her into a small corridor, turning to her and saying, "rescuing you."

"I don't need rescuing!" Charlotte snapped and pushed Leo away, Charlie had caught up with them by now. "Put your ego aside for two seconds." He snapped at her, she stared at him, weighing out whether or not she should knock him out or not. She decided not too, especially when there was footsteps in the corridor behind them and he was the one who had the gun. Charlotte let Leo grab her hand once more and drag her outside. It had turned dark, Charlotte wondered exactly how long she'd been inside that locked room but she didn't let her mind dwell for too long. She knew Charlie was at her back, and despite everything she knew about him, it was a comforting thought. They kept running into the forest, into the cover of the trees. Guards swarmed the outer perimeter of the safe house and the underground facility Charlotte had been locked in. "Was it always there?" Charlotte had to ask. "What?" Leo said. "The guards, the interrogation rooms. Did you know they were under mum's safe house?" Leo looked like he didn't know what to say. "No." Charlie answered for him. "Their here especially for us." But she couldn't help but feel she was caught up in some elaborate lie. The moon cast shadows on the forest floor as they walked, leaves and bark crunching beneath their feet. None of them said a word so they walked in silence until Leo said "We're here." Charlotte stared at the space, they had reached a clearing in the forest and there was an old stone building. "Is it safe?" Leo smirked. "It had better be, it was your mum's." Charlotte stared at the tiny building, it was no bigger than a shed. The door was steel and no doubt bulletproof, there were no windows. Charlotte shivered, Leo was inching closer but she grabbed his arm. "Don't." She said, her stared at her. Charlie might have laughed. "I'm serious." Charlotte laughed. "Mum rigged everything. There'll be sensors and alarms, bombs." She trailed off as she let them register the words. "It won't trust us." Charlie raised his eyebrows, it was his turn not to trust her. "Not even you?" He asked, skeptically. "Not even me." Charlotte said.

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I hope you enjoyed!

I n s t a g r a m: pengmendes

- Naomi x