Double Crossed

Prologue

I fix my black tie that contrasts greatly with the white shirt underneath. I smooth out my black suit jacket, put on the formfitting black sunglasses, and push open the door that stands before me. As soon as I enter the room, the first thing I see is a mahogany desk sitting in the middle of the room, collecting light from the wall of windows behind it. The majestic looking room would have left me feeling shocked or in awe if I wasn't used to seeing this most days. However, the way the light flooding in from windows illuminates the small, salt water fish tank in the corner never gets old. The brown carpet spread on the floor speckled with flakes of gold really stands out against the beige bookshelf on the wall beside the desk.

Sitting behind the mahogany desk is a man, fifty-two years old, but with muscles on top of his muscles and the super fitness of his body, his appearance is only about mid-thirties. With the ginger hair on his head and the hazel eyes focused on the computer screen in front of him, he appears to be hard at work. I clear my throat and he looks up.

"Ah, Mr. Cadwell, just the interruption I was hoping for! What news do you bring?" He asked. His voice is pleasantly surprised; something I imagine will quickly dissipate when I tell him of my message.

"Mr. Mann, Sir, Hecate stole more information." As I predicted, the previously joyful, tone drops, morphing into something darker and more defined as those words leave my mouth.

"That's not what I was hoping to hear Agent," he says lowly.

I take a deep breath, steeling my resolve to relay the rest of my information. "I'm afraid it gets worse, sir. The information they stole was from the backup-" This catches Mr. Mann's attention quickly, because he cuts me off before I have the chance to continue.

"Backup to what, Agent?" His voice drops further, becoming a dark sound that lingers within my ears.

"The main frame," I say quickly. "They didn't have access to it for long; our hackers were able to defend our most important information while our guys took out the Hecate agents that managed to get inside our base." I pause to let it sink in, but I notice the grim look on Mr. Mann's face. "There's more bad news, sir. From the information they did get, they got our plans for the hostage situation in Canada." My eyes blink beneath my glasses as he hits the desk with his fist. He is mad.

"This is troubling agent; Hecate has stolen far too much information and has gotten the upper hand to many times. I'm tired of doing nothing. Prevent Hecate from doing any more damage with the hostage situation, and cancel the plans for the rescue mission, for now. I'm starting the Emergency Plan."

Hearing this, my eyes widen, this can't happen, it's too soon! "But sir, the emergency plan is too risky; you have an entire agency at your disposal. If you launch the Emergency Plan too soon and Hecate hits harder than this, what will we have to fall back on? What are nine more kids going to do?"

"Your concerns have been noted, agent, but this is not up for debate. The moment Hecate decided to be so bold as to try and break into our main frame is the moment they have gone too far. And those nine kids, Cadwell, are very important, do not underestimate them. Are we clear?" At this point Mr. Mann is standing up with his hands behind his back.

Knowing that there is nothing I can say to change his mind, I murmur, "Yes, Sir."

He smiles at me acerbically. "Good, now, I want you, Red, and Volant to go and get the five high school kids. I will send another team out to get the four older kids. I want to see the nine kids in my office by lunch tomorrow. Understood?"

"Understood, sir."

"Good," Mr. Mann pauses for a moment to sit back in this chair, "It's been a long day, Cadwell. Go home and get some rest."

"Thank you, sir. Have a good night." He nods his head and smiles at me before returning to his computer. I turn around and walk out of the office, I should not have said anything about the Emergency Plan, I was going against a direct order, and no amount of groveling I could do would change that. All I did is making him angrier, on top of his already stressful job. Pulling out my phone, I dial Red's number, then Volant's, I just have a few lose ends to tie up before dinner.