Agent 9

Chapter 4: The Friendship Deal

He looks down at me, his eyes flicker, amused.

I've been in a situation like this before. Where it's down to me quite literally fighting for my life. My eyes track down and follow the contours of the Rugar Blackhawk he has pointed at me.

But something in his face suggests that he doesn't want to kill me.

"Hey," He greets me in a friendly matter.

Now I'm really confused.

I swallow and decide it's probably best if I play at his friendly angle.

"Hello," I say and smile.

"I wasn't really expectin' a guest." He lowers the gun and takes off the tattered old baseball cap he wears. His gray hair is slicked back with sweat. He runs his hands through his mane and flicks the transudation off his fingers. "Usually, I like to look a little more put together."

I don't respond. Instead, I watch his movements. His gun is on safety but not put away. He holds it tightly in his large work-worn hands.

"I'm sorry for barging in," I apologize.

"It's alright," He replies kindly and takes off his jacket, throwing it on a hook and exposing a brown flannel. He rolls up the sleeves and turns back around.

"Archer Burns," He holds out his free hand and I shake it tentatively.

I don't say my name because my mind is too fogged up to remember it. But I do remember that I shouldn't tell him my real name.

He's looking at me expectantly.

"Bella Nelson," I finally say. I try to hide my rapid and irregular breathing but it's nearly impossible.

"Nice to meet ya, Bella."

His voice is starting to become so irritating. Mostly because I know the kind of person he is. Why is he trying so hard to play this friendly angle?

"Well, I think we could be pretty good friends." He says and smiles out of the corner of his mouth.

"Fat chance," Ephriam says this so suddenly that I almost jump. But to do so would be uncalled for and expose my true intentions.

"Yeah," I reply as calmly as I can. "I think that would be best."

Archer nods and puts the gun back in its holster. I sigh in relief.

We stand in silence for a minute. My eyes flit to the door. Archer catches it and closes the door leaving me trapped and my only means of escape are the window. The pane's already cracked. I could break it so fast.

I stand confined in his room. It'd be so easy for him to kill me right now. He could kill me and bury my body somewhere on this property where no one would ever find it.

"I don't know about you," Archer clutches the chair from his desk and turns it backward. He sits and rests his chin on the backrest. "But I know that friends don't keep secrets from each other."

There it is. He knows. He knows that I'm here for the azidoazide azide.

"I don't have any secrets." I lie through my teeth. He shakes his head in disappointment and takes out his gun again, pointing it right at me. I take a deep breath.