Keepers of The Lost Cities

Chapter 19

How was she going to do it? How was Nala going to put Sophie Elizabeth Foster's folder in the hands of her worst enemy, Fintan? Not only would she be putting Sophie in possible danger, but she was also breaking the most important rule in the Time Watcher community: Never give a file to a non-watcher. But...she needed this. It sounded selfish, yes, but she'd find a way to get away from Fintan as soon as she had what she wanted.

Nala sighed to herself in her bedroom. "I can't believe I'm actually going to go through with this..."

"Go through with what?"

Tam stood in the doorway, a serious expression set on his face. Nala inwardly sighed again, knowing he wouldn't leave without an answer.

"This...ridiculous meeting Anita asked me to attend. I really don't want to go, it's just on some dumb new procedure."

Nala stopped while she was ahead. She didn't want Tam to get too suspicious with the amount of information she was giving up.

Tam eyed her for a bit. "You should probably go. It could be important."

"You're right. I should." Nala attempted to pass him but Tam grabbed her good arm.

"You never agree with anything that easily."

"It's not hard to do when you have a good argument. See you later!"

Nala skipped off in long strides, not giving him the chance to stop her again. Linh tried to talk to her when she came down the stairs, but Nala slipped past her and reached for the door handle.

"Nala, I—"

"Sorry Linh, I can't talk now! I have something really important to do!"

Linh looked like she was going to say something but then shut her mouth, shooting Nala a glare that would've withered a flower.

Nala sighed for the third time in two minutes. "I'm sorry, Linh."

◈▣◈

"Time Watchers Headquarters, can you show some identification?" the robot assistant asked at the front.

"Oh, hey Gladys." Nala flashed her TWHQ card. "I see that they fixed you up."

"They did, Miss Crystal. My system was overheating quite frequently. They needed to update my fan. Your identification has been verified and approved."

Nala's stomach became queasy and if she was smart, she would take it as a sign to not do what she was thinking of doing. But alas, Nala was quite stubborn. She just had to remind herself that the outcome was greater.

Matilda, a petite girl with wavy black hair, sat at her neat desk with everything in place. The very opposite of Anita's. Lucky for Nala, she was the very girl she needed to see.

"Hey Matilda, I need a file key."

Matilda opened a drawer and pulled out a few sheets. "Nala! I'd be happy to lend you a key! To which section though? Of course, you'll need a sign-out sheet and a cabinet number. Also depending on which—"

"The Havenfield section. It's Sophie Foster, cabinet #73," Nala answered, taking the sign-out sheet. "Thanks."

"You know I trust you Nala, but this is Sophie Foster's file. A very important file during this time of crisis. You'll need to give it in by the end of the day. I guess I could let you take it out though, we do need to figure out this whole situation."

Nala squirmed inwardly, wondering why the heads of the HQ trusted a talkative sixteen-year-old with one whole section of the cabinet keys. She couldn't deny that Matilda was incredibly organized and responsible, and that just made Nala feel worse.