Octagon Project 3: Zachary McHall

~-22-~

"Amber," Zack said blankly from the hall, jerking his head in the direction behind him. In hearing his voice, everyone looked over at him- half expecting to still see him covered in blood. Well, everyone except Justin and Kaylee looked over at him as they screamed explicits from their one-on-one battle on the TV. Getting up gracefully from her spot in the kitchen, Amber followed Zack into his room and shut the door.

"Did you find anything out?" She quickly asked, crossing her arms anticipatingly.

"The spy I tortured today was my payment into seeing Leah," Zack told her. "How successful I would be in getting information from him determined if I got to see her."

"Successful? Don't you think McHall is underestimating you there? Of course he knew you'd be successful." Amber's face grew contorted with confusion.

"He let me beat him to death." Zack sighed. "After I got the information out of him, the camera in the room turned off. No one came in to stop me and the clean-up crew was waiting outside when I left."

"You're kidding," Amber muttered as she slowly sat down on the bed next to Zack. He shook his head. "Could it have anything to do with your headspace?" She questioned.

"My... Headspace?" He asked.

"Yeah, you're normally pretty mellow for a few days after you beat someone into a pound of dead meat."

"Thanks for that description..." He grumbled, looking away.

"I'm not kidding. You're pretty relaxed after going all out. Perhaps that's why he let you. He doesn't want to risk the chances of you lashing out on him or something."

"Well, he's definitely underestimated me there." Zack's voice deepened as he folded his hands under his chin and rested his elbows on his knees- staring ahead of himself in thought.

"Don't tell me you're actually going to!" Amber cried, "the last time you tried to kill him half the building came down and you-"

"I know. I was desperate and reckless then. It doesn't help that McHall has the CAPF rigged to a heartline detonator... He backed me into a corner..."

"The... CAPF?" Amber cocked her head slightly to one side in confusion before her eyes widened and she held her hands over her mouth. "You don't mean-"

"Yeah."

"So McHall's actually found your trigger, huh?"

"I let myself slip too easily. Now if I kill him the whole place will explode."

"That's plan X, isn't it? You and Rex are going to try and save them all, aren't you?"

"I first have to find out where they're keeping Leah. If my guess is right, it's in the CAPF lab holding room until they can get her under control."

"Zack, don't you think you're playing right into McHall's hands?" Amber asked softly, staring down at her hands that rested limply in her lap.

"What?" Zack finally turned to look at her and noticed how worried she suddenly seemed.

"I mean, letting you back into the Agency with nothing more but an explosive tracking device in your shoulder, giving you a top priority mission like ambushing the British so soon after you got back, allowing you to torture that spy to death, and now letting you into the CAPF? It sounds like he has you exactly where he wants you."

"Hey," Zack rested a hand softly against Amber's cheek, surprising her, "McHall knows very well what I can do to him and teases me with it every day. If he thinks that bringing me back down there will only put me right back into submission, then he couldn't be more wrong."