Agent Chetiri

Chapter 27

This is how heavy a secret can become. It can make blood flow easier than ink.

-Patrick Rothfuss

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"Hello, Katja. Let's have a little heart to heart, shall we?"

Alexa stared at Katja calmly, as if she was anything but afraid of the woman standing before her. Katja, who looked taken aback by her serenity, strode up to Alexa with a sneer on her lips.

"Of course you would. You've got a lot of bones to pick with me, don't you?" Katja said.

"That's putting it lightly," Alexa muttered. She watched Katja as she circled around the room, grabbing a knife off the table and spinning it around her fingers.

"It seems you brought along a friend with you," she said, motioning to James.

"That's right, but I'd rather that you let him go. Your fight is with me, not him," she said, her voice dangerously controlled. She gave James a look that more or less told him not to intervene and he stood silently, ready to spring into action at any given moment.

"I'm afraid that's not possible, Alexa. He works with you, so therefore he gets some of the blame as well," Katja said, grinning wickedly at her. She strode past the men and made her way towards Alexa.

"You've been a wicked girl indeed, Alexa," she said. "You've got a lot of blood on your hands, and for what?"

Alexa was silent for a moment and Katja slapped her across the face, the sound echoing through the concrete walls. "Answer me," she hissed, placing the knife against Alexa's neck. "Why are you doing this?

"To stop people like you from exploiting children who could be useful to you," Alexa said, glaring at her.

"There has to be more to it than that," she said, returning Alexa's forceful stare. This can't just be a simple kamikaze run for justice. You have to have some bigger reason to be going against a force of our caliber."

"You've got the files on me. Figure it out," Alexa said with a roll of her eyes. Katja studied her momentarily before glancing back to James. James looked back at her with a raised brow but remained silent, knowing that this was Alexa's fight, not his. Katja's eyes lit up as she looked at him and a smirk spread across her face.

"Ah, I remember. You've got friends now," she said. "You've become involved, and we're both aware of the dangers of becoming involved."

"Things like this happen because of it," Alexa said, sounding almost bored with her. Katja nodded and folded her arms across her chest.

"The lives of other people are at risk because of you," she said. "Especially his."

"His?" Alexa echoed blankly.

"Him," she said, pointing at James. "You also have that other boy you seem to be so fond of. He's the lesser one of the famed Holmes boys, I believe."

"He isn't the lesser one of the Holmes brothers. He's just as talented as each of them," Alexa said, her tone as cold as ice.

"You must love him that much then, if you're willing to defend him even when you're bloodied and bruised," Katja sneered. "You see, this is why we never taught love to the prospective Chetiri agents. It forces you to do things you would never do to chase a foolish and volatile fantasy. Only fools fall in love, and you seem to be one of them."

"I'd rather die a lovesick fool than die a heartless robot like they raised us to be," Alexa said firmly. Katja stared at her in surprise and let out a laugh.