Hunted

Chapter 3

I bolted upright, dagger in hand at the sound of my alarm clock. Groaning, I slammed my fist down on the clock, silencing the damn thing. Tucking the weapon under my pillow again, I stared around the room. It was exactly how I left it two weeks ago. Small, like the house, my bedroom was filled with a white, queen sized bed and a slim bedside table. On the largest wall, an inbuilt bookcase filled the space, loaded with works of all kinds, from classic literature to modern crime novels. It was the most outstanding feature, making the beautiful walk-in robe and modern en-suite seem bland in comparison.

I turned back to see my cursed alarm clock displaying '10:02'. Rolling my eyes, I pushed myself upright and shuffled to the kitchen. As  I entered, I heard a small buzzing sound. There, on the bench, was my phone dancing around on the wooden bench top. Upon answering, I was greeted with the reassuring, and amused voice of Chester.

"I assume you were up late, seeing as you're not in yet."

"I thought our meeting was at 12?"

"Yes, I just thought you'd be in early to work through the file."

I groaned. "Don't remind me. I went through it all, inside and out, but it makes no sense." Upon second thought, I added, "I probably couldn't think, I'm still exhausted."

After a few seconds of silence, he replied, "well, down some coffee and we'll discuss it later. Take care Maya."

"You too"

Thoughts raced through my head like a highway. The evidence Chester gave me yesterday wasn't quite right. There's holes in different recounts of events that a truck could drive through.

Suspicion has been growing inside me over the past few months, small things leaving me uneasy. This was the tipping point. Things don't add up because there's things being hidden, for one reason or another. The entire agency has been tensing up slowly, less agents being brought in, people wanted gone for seemingly small crimes.

The worst part is, I have to watch my tongue if I want to stay alive. I've had to kill many for letting things slip out, and half the time it's only a couple of words to the wrong person.

Sighing, I put the juice back in the fridge and grabbed the milk instead for my coffee.

What was I going to do?

*****

"No! No way! How do you expect me to complete this, what was it you said, 'very dangerous mission that fifteen of the best agents have died trying', with this astronomical distraction! I will not!"

Fuming, I stomped my foot in frustration, causing the blade at my heel to expose itself. I hastily returned it to it's home inside my heeled boots. I snapped upright to find Chester sitting on his chaotic desk, head in his slightly shaking heads. My glare instantly softened at the sight.

Sighing, I strategically eased myself into a chair. It was easy to forget how hard it was for him, me being at constant risk. I cursed under my breath. Time for a different approach.

The minutes trickled by, the ear piercing silence gaining intensity. I watched Chester as he calmed himself down, the shaking of his hands becoming less and less obvious. I looked away just as his stressed face emerged from his hands. I turned back to find him giving me a strained smile and eyes that glinted slightly with fear.

"I'm sorry, I know this is a difficult situation, being a precarious task and all. I just kinda freaked out at the thought of having to deal with another person. I want to minimise the risk as much as possible and this revelation set off alarm bells," I blurted out suddenly, causing him to jump so violently I thought he would have a heart attack. He stared at the floor, absentmindedly nodding.

"Look, I want this curveball just as much as you do, but this is well out of my control. I tried but they insisted," he spoke surprisingly firmly, quickly adding, "But, they know what they're doing, so we just have to go with it."

At that moment, a timid knock on the glass door caused us both to jump about an inch. I spun around in my seat, and what was standing in the doorway was enough to cause my jaw to drop to the floor.

I swung around to Chester and raised both my eyebrows so high that they almost disappeared. He chuckled slightly and grinned.

"Maya, meet your new partner in crime," Chester beamed as he spoke, clearly all too excited by her arrival. "I actually haven't had the privilege of meeting you," he said as he turned his attention to the gorgeous young girl in the doorway.

Taking a gentle step forward into the room, she smiled, "The pleasure is mine."

I peered at her curiously as I asked, "What's your name?"

Eyes flickering to the floor for a second, she made eye contact with me as she calmly spoke.

"Jolene."