Pull Me Under

Chapter Thirteen - Unknown

I was in front of Kelly, just out of reach of her. I knew I needed to catch her off guard and get behind her, I needed the upper hand. I pretended to trip, I lunged forward and let myself hit the floor with a sick thud. Kelly laughed and continued to walk.

"Get the fuck up." She warned as she walked past me. I leapt up and walked behind her. Before she could gauge what was happening I was on her back, using the handcuffs to restrict her breathing enough to incapacitate her.

"In future, if you're going to handcuff someone, do it behind their back so this doesn't happen, sunshine." I mused as I jumped off her back, I ran forward, hitting her head into the concrete wall to our left. Instantly she slumped down to the ground, I'd knocked her out. Quickly I fumbled in her pocket for the keys to the handcuffs. Once I had removed them, I put them on her and dragged her down the corridor a little further. It got darker, I could hear low rumblings, human communication, but muted and barely there. Sleep talking, grunting... a mixture of the two. My stomach dropped the further I moved down the corridor, the smell of urine and dirt engulfed my nostrils. I looked behind the bars and my stomach turned in horror at the sight before me. Hundreds of women, barely alive, clearly drugged lined the floors. They were trafficking women, I wanted knock Kelly out again, anger was rushing through my veins. I closed my eyes and recentred myself. I had a job to do, this situation would be over for them if I managed to do it right. Although I knew it wouldn't be the end of their trauma. I removed one of the cuffs, and connected it to the cell bar. I took one last look and bit my lip. I had to succeed, there was no other option.

"Help is on its way. I promise." I whispered, pulling one of the bugs from my pocket. I slapped it to the wall and Sucked in a deep breath. "There's a fly on the wall." I murmured the safe word and ran as fast as I could back the way Kelly had led me through. Once I was close to the main HQ, I tiptoed.

"You thought you could save the day huh!" Kelly's father exclaimed. His voice was filled with sick pleasure, like the cat that got the cream. I hid around a corner, but peaked out to see who he was talking to. My stomach dropped and it took everything I had not to run out.

Somehow, Noah was in front of him, on his knees, with a gun pointed directly at his head. My throat was dry, my heart raced and my eyes couldn't process what I was seeing. How had everything changed in a matter of a few days, How had I gone from not feeling alive, to feeling alive and in love? I loved Noah, real love, feelings so strong I couldn't let it end like this. The agents would be here soon. But not soon enough for Noah. I had to do something.

I gulped, this was really happening. I was the only one who would stop it. I looked again, the man closest to me had an assault rifle. It was no paintball gun, and this was no game. But maybe my beginner's luck was more than that. I snuck around the corner and elbowed the back of the henchman's neck, before he could turn to face me I pulled the gun from his grip and empty two bullets into him. In quick succession I unloaded the gun, eight more times, and each time a henchman fell. I had no time to contemplate or process the fact I'd quite possibly taken 9 lives, because Kelly's father was still pointing his gun at Noah.

"Ah... so my daughter was right about you. Agent scum." He cackled.

"I'm not an agent." I replied. "But you burned my house down, so I had a score to settle... I needed.... Retribution."

He laughed and shook his head.

"She's got a smart mouth. I can't wait to show her what I do to smart mouths."

Noah grunted. Now I was closer I could see the gag in his mouth and his cable tied hands.

"Let him go or I'll shoot you." I replied dead pan, this had gone on too long.

He laughed. He cocked his gun at me instead of Noah and pulled back the trigger, I looked at Noah and then shouted duck before pressing my own trigger. I got the shot off first. I closed my eyes and looked at Noah, he was on the ground, so was Kelly's father.

I ran over, my stomach swirled. Terrified I'd just killed Noah. He groaned though, sitting up. I looked beside him, At Kelly's dad. A sick man whose name I hadn't cared to learn. I'd shot him in the stomach, he was still breathing, but he wasn't going anywhere. I yanked the gag from Noah's mouth.

"I told you it wasn't beginner's luck." he grunted.

"Shut up." I murmured, I leaned forward and kissed Noah because right then, in that moment I needed something good to make me forget the carnage surrounding me.

A few seconds later the base was filled with agents. Noah and I were wrapped in blankets and packed into a van before being returned to the spy base.

We were led into a room together, one like the sleeping quarters I'd been in earlier. I walked to the bed and sat down on the edge.

"Well." I murmured. "That was something."

Noah hadn't said anything since we'd left behind the carnage. He sat down beside me, I saw him turn to face me out the corner of my eyes, he sighed and then looked down at the ground.

"I should have given you more credit." He said finally. "Listened to you. You fought like a trained agent in there Vi, and you're green.

I smiled and let my hand out from under the blanket that still engulfed me. I placed it on Noah's leg and bit my lip.

"The fact he had a gun to your head might be part of the reason why I was able to channel my inner assassin." I murmured. "I couldn't lose you Noah."

Noah's hand slipped over mine.

"Thanks to you, I'm right here."

"How long were you under cover there?" I whispered. "Being there, seeing what I saw. It was too much even for as long as I was there."

"I never got to the HQ." He replied softly. "My MO was clear, gain a job as a lackey with little intel. Seduce kellie and gain promotion. I pretended to be interested, said all the right words. I met with her father, and the job was mine. It was supposed to be seamless. I should have been able to close the deal, or think of a better way to keep putting sex off. All I could think about was that I knew they were running this human trafficking ring and it sickened me."

Noah's hand retreated and balled into a fist.

"So I'm talking to myself, telling myself to get my shit together. When her phone rings and she points a gun at me two seconds later. I disarmed her and hightailed it. I'm still not sure how they knew, but I must have slipped up, because she didn't question whoever was on the phone."

I frowned and shook my head.

"I don't understand." I whispered. "Wait, how'd you know where the HQ was. How'd you know I was there? Agent 100 didn't want you to know. She was against it."

Noah looked at me, he stood up and shrugged the blanket off.

"Zach, agent 89..., he was one of the guys from the interrogation, he called me and told me. Said that Agent 100 was off her head and had sent you in alone and where you were. I absconded the HQ and drove to you. Killed the guards outside and broke in, they'd been expecting me though, and once I was inside I was tied up and gagged." He sat back down and pulled me into a hug.

"How'd he know where I was." I replied, without too much thought.

"What do you mean?"

"You'd never been to the HQ. No one else knew where it was Noah and I didn't bug the place with GPS wire until I'd knocked Kellie out in the cells. You would have already been there by then." My stomach turned and the hair on my arms stood up. "How the fuck did he know where to send you?"