Mission Impossible

Chapter 54 ~ Familiar Faces

HARRY'S POV

  I sat in my car outside of the abandoned house, waiting for the forensic team to come out and tell me about their findings. I bounced my leg in anticipation, having already lost track of time. I saw an agent exit the house, so I hopped out of my car and jogged out to met him.

  "Did you find anything?" I asked him.

  "We've found some stuff, but we need to send it out to the lab for testing before we know anything for sure," he told me.

  "When will you know?" I asked him.

  "That depends. A day or two most likely," he told me. I thanked him and got back in my car, letting out a sigh. I dialed up Rain to tell her the news, and ask what my next move should be.

  "Agent Styles," she greeted. "How is the forensic team doing?"

  "Good afternoon Director Rain," I got formalities out of the way. "The team won't know anything for a couple of days, but we've got more than we did before." I could not see her, but I imagined her giving me a curt nod.

  "I appreciate your optimism," she said. "In the mean time, we could use you on another mission." Normally, I would be ecstatic to be on a mission. I loved my job, and I was good at it. But at the moment, the thought of doing anything other than finding Clara did not appeal to me. I didn't want anything to take my focus away from finding my partner. My friend. My...

  "What's the mission?" I asked, knowing that sitting around for the next two days wouldn't do anyone any good.

  "We have a young agent at The School, in Clara's class, who is heading out towards you for a mission. Katie Vanderbilt," she told me. Although Katie was a common name, I couldn't help but ask:

  "Katie? Like the girl whose nose-," I started to ask.

  "Whose nose Clara broke, yes," Rain confirmed. The memory gave me a small smile before it was tipped away quickly.

  "I don't need a new partner, Director," I told her. "I already have one."

  "This isn't permanent, Agent Styles. But I run a school, and these girls need real field experience. That being said, Agent Vanderbilt is not ready for a solo mission. The General has approved me using you as the secondary on this case," she explained to me.

  "I understand," I agreed. "When does the mission start?"

  "As soon as you pick her up from the airport. The same one you've been using. She's waiting on you, now. Good luck, Agent Styles," she finished.

  "Wait, Director-" I started to say.

  "I'll contact you as soon as the forensic team finds anything," she reassured me, knowing what I was asking. "Goodbye, Agent Styles," she said before hanging up. With another sigh, I turned the key in the ignition and put the car in reverse, driving towards the airport to pick up a girl I didn't think I liked very much, and a girl I knew Clara didn't like.

  Not that that mattered. Clara probably wouldn't care anyways, and if she did, what could she say about it? She's working with Zayn after all. I think. I hoped.

  As long as she was working with Zayn, she was alive, and not burnt up in a house in Holmes Chapel. And I could live with that.

---------------

  I pulled up to airport's Kiss and Drive, and stuck my hand out of the window to signal to Katie, who I saw sitting on a bench, decked out in black clothes, with sunglasses resting on her face. All she was missing was the newspaper.