Octagon Project 3: Zachary McHall

~-10-~

Zack sat on the couch in their apartment living room with his elbows on his knees and chin in his hands as he stared numbly at the strangely patterned wallpaper.

"I hope you're tipsy enough to give me some answers." Mel said as she leaned against the entry way to the living room and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Not quite." Zack responded as he switched his posture to take another sip of the beer that was on the coffee table in front of him.

"Who is she?" Mel asked again. Zack turned his head to look at her with a lethal yet empty gaze. His bloodshot eyes made him look like he'd been crying and the dark circles that seemed to have spontaneously formed under his eyes made it seem like he hadn't slept in months. Mel nearly held her breath upon seeing his state directly. Turning to gaze at the wall again, Zack took another drink of his beer almost robotically. Releasing a heavy breath, she turned around to walk back into her room.

"Her name is Grace." Zack then spoke. Mel froze where she was, unwilling to turn around to look into his pained eyes again. She'd never seem him look so deranged. Not even when she faked her death. "She was a part of my Division when we were sent into a trap. We were only on the third floor when the building exploded and I tried to shield her from the ceiling as it collapsed. We fell two stories and I broke my spine in three places. That's what it cost to get her out of the Octagon."

"If you chose to shield her and you knew it was to get her out of the Octagon, then why are you beating yourself up for seeing her again?" Mel pressed, still refusing to turn around.

"Because she didn't want out." Zack grumbled, taking another swig of the alcohol in his fist. Mel squeezed her eyes shut for a long moment as her stomach flipped. Shrugging on his leather jacket, Zack shoved his phone into his pocket and brushed past Mel to the front door.

"Where are you going?" Mel about shrieked.

"For a walk. I need some fresh air."

"It's one in the morning, Zack!"

"Am I supposed to care?" He asked as he glanced back at her one last time before shutting the door behind him. Glancing down at the text on his phone once more, he hopped down the steps, walked briskly across the parking lot, and turned a corner onto the sidewalk where he waited for his phone to buzz.

"She's moving out. Good work, Kai." A female voice spoke.

"I hope you keep your promises." Zack growled.

"We will, don't worry. Your contact is waiting for you three blocks down. Try to lose Ms. Halloway. We can't risk her getting involved." With that, they hung up and Zack peaked into the open parking lot again where Mel was walking across in his direction. Continuing straight at a fast pace, Zack took a turn down an alley way and cut onto the street on the other side before making his way back onto the same side walk he'd been on previously. He glanced back and couldn't see Mel since he'd lost her at the alley, then, crossed the street and walked until he was behind a coffee shop two blocks from the apartment where a black escalade waited for him.

"Thanks for coming, agent Kai." A woman said as the car door opened and Zack slipped in grimly. "Do you have it?" Zack held up a small black flash drive for the woman to take as he continued to stare out of the darkly tinted window.

"How will I keep in contact once it's done?" He asked firmly.

"We'll have our agent reach out to you." She answered as she handed the flash drive to the man in the passenger seat and he plugged it in to a laptop he had open.

"Am I supposed to know who they'll be?" Zack questioned.

"You'll know."

"How?"