Look At Me Now

Chapter 5

Chapter Five

            “You need to listen to me, Angel. If anything even looks like it’s about to go wrong, leave. Take the car and drive. Don’t stick around. I want you to stay in the car unless you absolutely can’t. If someone tries to grab you out of this car hurt them. Understand?”

            “I got it, Gabriel,” I smiled. “It’ll be fine. I’m excited to see this.”

            Gabriel pulled over and put the car in park on the side of the highway. He grasped my wrist and met my eyes. “I need you to be on high alert. Expect something to go wrong. Be ready to handle any situation. If you think you might get hurt then leave. Go somewhere safe and I’ll find you afterwards. Don’t try to help me. Worry about yourself. Don’t be stupid.”

            “I know you’ve told me this a hundred times today—“

            “Avia.” That made me stop. It was the first time he’d called me by my real name since the first day I was here. “This is very important.”

            I put my hand on his. “I know, Gabriel. I hear you. I understand. I promise.”

            He nodded and pulled away. He started to drive again. I was nervous. My stomach was in knots and my hands were shaking. I did my best to hide it from Gabriel because I didn’t want him to think I was scared. This was the first time I’d ever see him do any of this. This is the first time I would ever see any of this in general. And in eleven months I would be doing this on my own. The thought of that make me more nervous than anything. I had to kill people. Actual people.

            The agency does all of the investigative work while the agents are meant to track down the criminal and kill them. Not arrest them. Kill them. That’s what we are recruited to do. Kill. Occasionally these things take more time. Undercover work and then a kill after gaining the trust. It would be a while before I would be allowed to do one of those though, at least that’s what I was told. That’s what most of the agents actually did, the ones that were away all the time. A few agents will be coming back tomorrow. I’m excited to meet them.

            “Okay,” Gabriel said as he put the car in park a block down from the warehouse that his target was in. It was dark and run down—it looked abandoned. Looking at it gave me goose bumps. “You stay here. Lock the doors until I get back and keep your head down. Keep hidden. If anyone that isn’t me tries to get into this car then get the hell out of here.” He pushed the car keys into my hand. “Get into the driver’s seat and put your head down. I’ll be back soon.” He was about to get out but something made him turn back to me. He pulled me against his chest and hugged me tightly. “Angel…please keep yourself safe.”

            “You too.” My reply was muffled against his jacket but I knew he’d heard me. 

           

            Thirty minutes. That’s how long I’d been sitting here alone. My back was starting to get stiff and hurt from the leaned over position I was in, with my head against my knees. Every now and then I peeked up for a second to check my surroundings but for the most part I was like this.

            There was a knock on the window that made me jump. I looked up and my breath caught in my throat. That was not Gabriel. The man was big. He was leaning against the window smiling down at me. “You’ve been spotted little girl,” he teased. “Come out, come out and play.” My lip trembled as I tried to collect my thoughts. What was I supposed to do? Drive! I slipped the key into the ignition. “Don’t do it, little pretty. You want to get your boyfriend back, don’t ya? That dark haired boy with them weird eyes. We’re gonna kill him. Don’t you want to save him?” I paused. Gabriel was in trouble. They’d caught him. “We’ve got him locked up in there. Don’t you want to say goodbye? We’ll let you go.” I bit my lip and fought tears. “Gabriel told you to leave him,” I told myself. I cranked up the car feeling a twinge in my heart. “Don’t you do it, girl!” The man slammed his fist down on the window leaving a spider web crack in it. A scream left my mouth and I hit the gas. I sped off that street and drove into a safer area of the town before parking the car. I tugged open the glove compartment and pulled out the cell phone Gabriel had hidden in it. I scrolled through the contacts until I found the number for the agency. It was listed under the name Grim Porter.