Malice

Chapter Three

"It's her again isn't it? Aleysha." Gray said rubbing his temples as Seraphina paced the room. "She was probably told to leave no trace. How are you so sure it's her?" Seraphina asked them. Leander was replaying the same footage over and over again. "Lee stop." Nicholas said and put an arm on his shoulder "Sera you're right. As of now we're not one hundred per cent sure but we will be when Ivan and Alec get back. After all they are the only ones who know the Aleysha from before the resistance." Leander frowned slightly.

Nicholas looked at him and said "What is it Lee?" Leander's frown deepened. "There's one thing I don't understand. Even if she isn't the Aleysha we know, why did she get caught on camera? All of us know that Aleysha could disappear without a trace should she wish, so why be visible? There are plenty of blind spots for our security cams so why purposefully avoid all of them and get caught on tape?"

Nicholas said "You've got a point but nothing will get clear until Ivan gets back. Let's just hope he knows the reasons for her behavior."

"That's definitely Aleysha." said Alec the second he saw the video. Gray told Ivan about Leander's worries.

Ivan said, "Just give me a moment. All of this hasn't sunk in yet." He took a deep breath and continued "Do you guys mind if I stay in my room for two days?"

Seraphina stared at him "Why—" "You can take as much time as you want Ivan" Nicholas interrupted. After Ivan left, he whirled on Seraphina. "Look Sera, no matter how much Aleysha's betrayal hurt all of us, it must have hit him the hardest. He's probably hurting a lot right now and I think we should give him some space."

...(POV change)

That smart idiot. Aleysha wasn't randomly appearing on camera. There was a pattern. A pattern only I could understand, being her brother. I walked straight to Boss' room. "Tell me exactly what happened on that day." I demanded.

The boss turned towards me "Looks like both of you Aldrich siblings have a knack for barging in unannounced and disrupting my meetings." Well we were siblings who were inseparable when we were together. Boss sighed and said "Wait outside Ivan. I'll see you in an hour."

"She said more than just that nonsensical message to Leander didn't she?" I said resting my palms on the desk in front of Boss. Boss ran a hand through his already tousled hair and said "I don't know what you're talking about Ivan. She defected that's all there is to it."

"Look I don't believe for one second that Aleysha is the kind of person who would miss your heart at point blank range. She's also not the type of person who would casually stroll under a few specific cameras of ours. And she's certainly not the kind of person who would willingly join those bastards, after all that she's seen and done, and would continue to work for them. So cut the horseshit and tell me this, did she tell you any sort of plan or anything about her intentions?"

Boss looked really uncomfortable. He was hiding something and I'd bet that it had something to do with my sister's actions "I'm afraid that's all there is to tell. Now if you would please leave, I have a lot of paperwork to finish." He gestured towards the huge stack of papers on his desk. I left, albeit grudgingly. She planned this out too intricately for it to fall apart at a single shove from my side. I grinned, a twin to my sister's. If that's the way she wanted to play it, it was on. I'd get my answers. By hook or crook.

The past few weeks, Aleysha was busy destroying buildings and wrecking establishments with connections to the rebellion. I took note of her every movement and the number of lives she took. They were staggering. I doubted my gut feeling for the nth time that day. I did a complete background check on her from what I could access on the government's database. The person described there was a completely different person from the Aleysha I knew and cared about. She was sadistic, cruel and had a heart of ice. She followed the director, Zane, without question and answered to no one else. She was blood and death and disaster, a far cry from the gentle person who stroked my hair on many nights. Yet something still didn't fit.

I knew that she worked with the guv before but her character seemed even more sadistic than usual. There is the fact that I didn't know her other side well since she never showed that side of her whenever she was around me and the gang. There were times when a bit of her dark aura oozed out, and gave us all the shivers, but she suppressed it almost immediately. I still don't understand why it's her who has to go through all of that. She volunteered in order to keep me out of that mess.

The next day, while I was in the archives, the Boss called me. I entered the room and, to no amount of surprise, found the rest of our group there. Boss laced his long fingers together and said "Now that you're all here, I have some news."

"It's about Aleysha isn't it?" Dagen said with a sigh.

"Yes it is Mr. Radford. Our source tells us that she will be appearing in the Consulate Ball under the guise of Anna Lesley, the childhood sweetheart of Keir Zane. It's funny how the name she bears has the same last name as Irene here."

Leander's expression darkened. "So are we supposed to apprehend her?" I still feel bad for him. She didn't have to cut ties with him so abruptly. Even if she ever did come back, I wonder if they can get along again. He's one of the few people I may accept as her boyfriend.

"You are not to touch her. I'm sending one of you to observe her from afar. The government already knows Leander, Nicholas, Ivan, Gray and Seraphina. This is why we'll be sending Alec, Dagen or Irene for this. Since she is claiming to have no memories of the past two years, it's better if we don't send Alec since she is his childhood friend. Dagen can go under the guise of a cook so I think that it's prudent if we send him. And since he's going as a chef, he will not need a cover and can observe her from afar while blending with the crowd." Boss said.

"So Dagen is going to the Ball then." Nicholas stated.

"Yes. He is. Dagen you are under no circumstances permitted to have any contact with her. If engaged, talk your way out of it. Am I understood?" Boss said.

Dagen saluted and said "Yes sir!"

I wonder what will happen at this Consulate ball.