My alarm alerted me to an incoming video message and I told it to ‘shut the hell up’. I drew my bed covers over my head and tried to block it out, but the incessant high pitched buzz forced me to get up. It was 3am. I threw on my silk dressing gown and as I stumbled into my TAG room I grumbled “This better be good.” I sat down at my computer and accepted the call. The face on screen brought me out of my half-asleep world. It was the director of TAG. I hastily stood to attention and saluted. Mr Smith glared. “I don’t like to be kept waiting agent,” He bellowed. “Yes, sir. Sorry, sir,” I said keeping my stance. He frowned, “At ease, agent.” He said at last. I cautiously lowered my arm and sat down once more, trying to be respectful. “We received your application for an extension,” Mr Smith informed me, “It has been approved and you have been granted a one month extension, providing you complete an extra eradication before the week is out.” I sighed with relief, “Yes, sir, of course. Who’s the target?” He glanced down at something and there was the sound of typing. Then he looked up again and said, “The second target is Martin Pritchard, Information on his background has just been sent to your file. You have one week.” The screen went blank for a moment and then the usual TAG logo appeared. Okay, so now I had to kill Tyler and his father. Fan-bloody-tastic.
“I know,” Tyler said when he opened his bedroom window. I had climbed up the side of his house avoiding cameras and tapped on the glass until he answered. “I got the same task. Kill my dad.” He helped me not so elegantly clamber through his window. My jeans got caught on the latch and when he tugged me free we ended up in a pile on his bed. I righted myself giggling then stopped. This wasn’t the time for laughing. “What are we going to do Ty?” I whispered lying down beside him on his bed. He sighed. “There’s not much we can do Darcey. It’s him or me.” He turned his head to face me across the pillow. In the semi-darkness I could just make out his face. “I think, when it comes down to it, it’s going to be your choice, Darce,” he murmured. I closed my eyes. This was the worst problem in the history of problems. “How can I kill your Dad, Tyler?” I demanded, propping myself up on my elbows, “Or even worse, How am I supposed to kill you?” Tears pricked at my eyes and I angrily blinked them away. Tyler sat up and looked me in the eyes. “Darcey, you need to think objectively. Yeah, you know me, but I never really stood a chance in this world anyway. My Dad’s a crook, so killing him will be like killing any other criminal. If you can’t do it I will.” He wiped a tear from my cheek with his thumb and I tried to pull myself together. “It’s not fair Ty! You shouldn’t have to kill your dad and I shouldn’t have to kill you. If I’d known this would happen when TAG offered me the job I wouldn’t have taken it, because this is too hard,” I said firmly. I collapsed back down on his pillows and he lay beside me. “We have to do it though, Darce,” He whispered, taking my hand, “There’s no point arguing about it.” “But will you hold it against me? There’s no point to any of this if you end up hating me.” “Do what you have to do Darcey. And I could never hate you no matter what you do.” I thought for a moment. “What if I smashed up your fancy computer system?” He chuckled, “Believe it or not, even that wouldn’t make me hate you.” “Liar,” I murmured. He nudged me and I laughed sadly. We just lay there after that, hand in hand, until the sun began to rise and I slipped out the window, tears still falling.
He was there in the morning to take me to school. “The chauffeured car is a bit much don’t you think, Ty?” I said as I slid into the sleek BMW and smoothed my plaid school skirt. “Nah,” He replied as we began to drive, “Got to look the part Darce. Your my girlfriend now remember.” He really played it up as well. The driver pulled up outside the school and Tyler ran round the car to open my door for me. Looks of astonishment was on everyone’s faces as Tyler put his arm around my waist and we walked into class. Tyler’s friends gawped and my friends sat giggling as Tyler pulled a chair out for me to sit down before sitting next to me and holding my hand. “Overkill I think Ty,” I whispered. He leaned over to my ear and murmured “Have to, there are cameras.” I looked behind him and saw the camera he meant. “Yeah,” I smiled, “because that’s the only reason.” I looked him in the eyes and before I could react he kissed me. I didn’t push him away this time and when we finally broke apart there were even more surprised faces. Then his friends whistled and I laughed. “For the cameras?” I asked Tyler. He winked at me. “Of course,” He said innocently. He took my hand again as our teacher walked in and began registration.
“Thanks for telling me D,” Ciara said moodily in maths. “Yeah,” Katherine added, “We’re so grateful that you’d include us in something so major.” I sighed as I finished a question on simultaneous equations. “Look guys,” I said brushing a tendril of my hair out of my eyes, “It was kind of spur of the moment. And it’s not like you didn’t know anything Ciara, you saw us outside the other day.” Ciara opened her mouth, and then shut it again. “That’s not the same as you telling us Darcey,” Katherine complained. I tried to ignore them after that. I was too concerned with the thought of all the cameras and people watching me and Tyler. We had to act all through the school day, but it was confusing. I’d gotten to know Tyler by now and it was getting harder to tell which Tyler was real and which Tyler was fake. Everything he did everything he said felt so natural and I was starting to wonder whether I was just pretending to like him or whether I liked him for real. I didn’t like knowing so little about the situation; it made me anxious, but at least worrying about this stopped me from worrying about TAG.
“Ugh,” I sighed as I collapsed onto my bed, “Do you know how annoying my friends are?” Tyler laughed. As I sat up, it occurred to me that this was the first time he’d ever been in my room. “What about my friends?” He groaned as he sat down next to me. “They said I’m probably blackmailing you or doing your homework for you, because there’s no way I’d get you to be my girlfriend any other way.” I smiled. “At least some people see sense,” I teased. He shoved me and I fell of the bed, landing in a giggling heap. I stood up and blew my hair out of my face. “You were going to show me your TAG room,” Tyler prompted. “Oh right,” I said. I headed over to my wardrobe and typed in the code. The doors slid open and Tyler struggled to hide his awe. Compared to his, My TAG room was extremely impressive. I wasn’t surprised when he bypassed the weapons and went straight to the computer. I took the knife from my thigh and placed it back on its shelf. Tyler raised his eyebrows. “You can never be to prepared,” I said removing the 9mm from my waistband and handing it back up with the rest of my guns. “Don’t tell me you’re not armed,” I continued as I joined him at my computer. “That’s different,” He countered, “I don’t carry a knife in a garter at my thigh.” I snorted. “I have to say, I’m relieved to hear that, Ty.” He typed away at the keyboard, bringing up a page of code. “Hey,” I warned, “No hacking in my house.” “I’m just linking the computer to my house cameras,” He explained. He pressed enter and a siren sounded. Red lights flashed. “I didn’t do it,” He said hurriedly, raising his hands in surrender. I leaned over him and typed in a code. The monitor flashed with surveillance footage. “It’s not you, Ty,” I said through gritted teeth. I grabbed my sniper rifle and loaded the bullets. “What’s wrong then?” Tyler asked as he scanned the screen. “We’ve got company.” I explained, herding him out of the room, “And not the good kind.”
