Undercover Cops

Chapter 2

I arrived at our secret basement fifteen minutes late. Everyone was sitting near the roundtable of the office, and observed my entree with straight faces, except for Joe's usual smirk.

"Did something happen?" I hesitantly queried, taking a seat on the couch.

"Cole called Code Red," casually responded Miley like it was no big deal.

I tensed up vividly because Code Red was extremely rare and meant urgent emergencies that usually involve danger and risks.

"We'll contact Cole right now," decided Nick sternly. Stressed, he took our professional computer and called our boss. Soon, Cole's serious face appeared on the clear screen.

"Good afternoon, folks!" he greeted. "A new mission is coming."

"Shocker," mumbled Joe rudely before receiving one of Cole's coldest glare.

"This is serious," our boss warned. "Your March break will be all concentrated on this mission which will start tomorrow, and you will take the necessary time to finish it."

"Who's the criminal?" blurted out Selena with her usual confidence.

Cole sighed deeply, looking like he wanted to avoid this question but couldn't. "Zachary Efron kidnapped a 15-year-old teenager named Bea Miller and is holding her as a hostage," he finally said after a while. 

We all shivered at the mention of Zac, a long-term enemy and brutal murderer. He killed countless innocent lives like a wild criminal who should be burnt in hell. Selena threw me an assertive look while Miley just sat there with no expression.

"But... No one knows where Zac is," I stuttered. "How can this mission be assigned to us?"

Cole shrugged his shoulders negligently and sighed another time. "I know you're not all ready for this step, but it's an order from the police department. You must complete the mission."

"All right," Nick caved in, leaning back on his seat with frowned eyebrows. "Do we have any clue at all?"

"They are somewhere in the United States, but we know nothing more. Zac must have a pseudonym or something alike. You'll figure out the rest on your own. I know I can always count on you."

Joe groaned as we all half-giggled nervously. My palms were sweating since I wasn't sure if I was ready for this.

"Thank you, Cole, we'll keep you updated," Nick concluded with a small smile. Our boss glanced at our leader and nodded, satisfied. "Alright, it's settled. Keep an eye on yourselves and don't get harmed. Don't forget that security always comes first." We all nodded obediently, watching Cole's face disappear from the laptop.

"Demi isn't ready for this," complained Joe right away.

"Why me?!" I gasped, offended. "I think your brain isn't ready for that at all. Did I say it out loud? Oops."

"At least, I have one! Unlike you!" Joe argued, smirking cockily.

Miley threw her hands in the air in a sign of despair. "Here we go again!" She whined, uptight. "We'll be on a mission tomorrow, so please bond! Really, you two act like an old married couple sometimes!"

Selena laughed silently before patting my shoulder in a friendly way.

"We should start our daily exercise," I suggested trying to contain myself from ripping off Miley's head after her irrelevant comment.

Nick enthusiastically stood up and clapped to get our attention. "Let's start! Miley, 20 laps of running! Selena, to the machines to earn yourself some muscle! Demi and Joe, you could practice together with your aim! I'll be in the office."

"Practice together?!" I chocked. "I bet Joe can't even shoot a garbage can!"

"Wanna bet?" He smirked arrogantly. "I can test it on you anytime because that's exactly what you are!"

"At least, I don't have an ego as big as my stupidity!" I replied back, pissed off.

"It's because you're past the stage of stupidity for a long time, sweetie," he grinned.

"Idiot!" I brutally insulted before bumping his shoulder and storming out of the office. Our fights almost always ended this hard way.

After twenty minutes, I let out a groan of frustration. I unfortunately still couldn't reach the target, no matter how hard I tried. I wanted to, but I just couldn't concentrate. Thoughts about the tough case were still running down my head like they were chasing an invisible hourglass.

"Did you just notice that you're an abominable shooter?"

I jumped, hearing a deep and amused voice which I recognized straight away. It wasn't a surprise when I faced the new smirking intruder, who was no other than Joe.

"What do you want?" I roared, lashing out at him.

"Woah, no need to attack me!" He raised his hands in the air in his defense. "I just thought that you could use some professional help. After all, I still have to teach you."

"You're not better than me!" I snapped, bitter. "Leave me alone before I bite you!"

"Oh, is this an invitation for some little fun?" He winked, approaching dangerously from my fuming body.

"Disgusting pig!" I snarled, but before I could finish my sentence, he wrapped his arms around my waist in a teasing way. I screamed loudly, swam away from his grip, and slapped him on the cheek as hard as I could. He deserved some lessons about respecting women!

"Damn it!" He cursed. "Where did you get those fighting skills, woman? What was that for?!"

"Touching me!" I yelled back before stomping on his foot. "Next time, think about your actions or you'll regret it!"

Mad and crazily furious, I stormed out of the training room away from him for the second time of the night. I just couldn't handle him! Why couldn't he leave the team and never come back? Stupid Joe.

----

Hey, thank you for reading/voting/commenting on my story! I'm actually impressed.

Nancy xox