Double Agent

Chapter 13: Reina

"Wait!" Reina called. "I'm not sure that you should be running with a hurt leg!"

Allie slowed her pace to a slow jog. "Is this good?" she asked irritably. When Reina nodded, Allie turned her back and kept going. Why is she angry at me? Reina wondered. She'd been fine two seconds ago...

She realized that Allie was way ahead of her now, so she picked up the pace. In no time, she caught up to Allie. "So, you're allowed to run, but I'm not?" she muttered. "I was just trying to catch up to you," Reina said defensively. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"Seriously, what's wrong?"

Allie sighed. "You're not going to let me avoid the question, are you?"

"No."

"Fine!" Allie relented. "It's just that... I started thinking about how much pressure I should be feeling. I mean, if we fail this, I'm probably going to be thrown in jail, no matter WHERE I go."

"Why?" Reina inquired. "If you go back to the Air--" "I'll be sentenced for helping a UA spy," Allie finished.

"Well, if you go Underground--" "You think the UA can't sniff out an ASO agent? I got caught within days, Reina! Days!"

"You're not going to have to worry about that," Reina assured her. "We'll get that remote. We can control those robots, and we already have the whistle for the genetically engineered ones! Then we'll be heroes, not criminals." Allie threw her hands up in exasperation. "Why do you think I was rushing!?"

"We still probably have a lot of time," Reina argued.

"Probably. You want to rest the fate of your world on probably?" Allie fumed. "If you want to rest and wait, you can. But I'm not stopping now. If Mr. Sancoy is truly trying to take over both worlds, I can stop him. But we're doing it NOW. And then the pressure will be off! I can't live with it anymore! So, if you're going to overprepare, go ahead... just know that if you plan to include me in the "critical thinking", forget it."

"Fine. Let's go," Reina said, but she was really thinking, Critical thinking is important!

Allie moved quicker than thought possible, so Reina was having trouble keeping pace with her. She ran far into the distance, towards some old stage building. She then darted into a door built into the side. Reina tried to call to her to be cautious, but it was unlikely that it would work, and she'd already expended most of her energy.

Reina finally reached the door. She collapsed against it, breathing hard, then tried to wrench it open... and failed.

Reina stared at the door in confusion. Did it get jammed after Allie used it? Or was it something else?

Then, she peered through the dust-covered window, pushing aside cobwebs, and saw it: a bunch of bricks blocking the entrance. Along with them was a note.

Dear Reina,

I don't want you to get in trouble. Just go back Underground. I shouldn't be helping you. You know what? I'm NOT helping you. This is to eliminate any possible threats of the ASO. Go back and plan or something, but LEAVE. I don't want you to get hurt--or to get all the glory.

-Allie

Beside the note was a piece of charcoal, which Allie must have used to write the message.

Reina laughed out loud. If Allie thought that a bunch of discarded bricks was going to stop her, she was wrong. It was sweet that Allie was concerned, but she was also doing this for recognition. And if anybody could maybe stop her from taking unnecessary risks, it was Reina.

With a single kick, the old bricks crumbled and the door fell down. Then Reina cautiously followed the trail of footprints that Allie had unwittingly left.

It was confusing to navigate the backstage hallways, especially since it was getting harder to see Allie's footprints in the dark. Every sound of groaning pipes and cheap stage equipment falling made Reina jump. Still, despite her fright, she kept listening for the click of a remote--or the voice of a certain Air girl.

She mustered her courage. "Allie, are you there?" she called, to no reply. It was pitch-dark in the building now. Reina's senses told her that the UA would be having nighttime right now. Oh, how she wished for a soft bed!

"Reina?"

Allie's voice came from her left side. "I told you not to follow me," she whispered, and Reina could tell that she was rolling her eyes. "Also, shh. I think Theo and Jessica--" "Kat," Reina corrected--"are having a rendezvous here. Because they know we're here." Allie then yanked Reina behind what felt like a crate.

A couple minutes passed. Nothing happened. Reina dusted off her shirt and said to Allie, "They're not coming." And then they did.

"Theo? You there?" Kat asked. A lone lightbulb flickered on. Now, instead of being impossible to see anything, it was only almost-impossible-to-see-anything. Theo emerged from one of the room's two doors. "I'm here," he replied. "And I have a plan."