《AGENTS》


 Chapter 1

    The sounds of sirens could be heard from a distance in the rowdy city. The stars twinkled in the dark canvas of the sky¡ªdispersely enclosing the moon casting its radiant glow over the city


    Pulling out a tracking device from her pocket, she read the data displayed on the device once more to be certain. Her target was close, she could tell__the distance between them was closer than earlier.


    Smirking, she jammed the device back in her pocket. She withdrew from the dark alley and began walking on the sidewalk. According to her tracking device her target was situated in a strange forgotten abandoned warehouse.


    She scoffed, irritated by its location.


    "I hate abandoned warehouses! Why do they always hide there?" She asked no one in particular.


    The lady beside her was startled, staring at her like she was a crazy woman who spoke to spirits. With a fake smile she walked further from her.


    "I need to call Luke and tell him that I have found him". She took out her phone and dialed a number, placing it on her ear__waiting patiently for the call to be picked up.


    "Yo! Agent Beth, how are you doing?" A guy from the other line asked, his voice was deep and masculine.


    "I am good, I have a report to make!"


    "Go on!"


    "I have got the target''s location, Sir!" She informed.


    "Really?" he asked, a bit surprised. There was a bit of ruffling sound that could be perceived from the background.


    "Yeah! I am closing in on his location, an abandoned warehouse!".


    "I knew you could do it!" The tone in his voice was a proud one. "Wait Beth!".


    She groaned, annoyed at the next words he would say. "I will send the coordinates to you!" She stated sharply. From her tone, he could sense her displeasure in the words he wanted to say. However, he did not care. He was her Boss and she had to listen!.


    "Don''t do anything yet, just wait at the warehouse and I will send some backup!" He stated.


    "I am sorry, Sir. . .I can''t do that!" She responded flatly.


    "Beth, don''t even think of facing him alone!" He warned.


    She rolled her eyes, not a muscle in her flinched at his words.


    "Sir, I am not one of the best Agents in the CIA for nothing. I can totally handle him, trust me!" She said simply, exuding confidence and assurance.


    "Beth! Don''t. . .".


    "Sorry Luke! I''m going solo!" She said quickly, interrupting the next phrase he could spew.


    Before he could let out another word, she ended the call¡ªspiking his anger.


    Luke clenched his fist and hit the table angrily, his veins popped as anger reeled within him.


    Why won''t she listen? This wasn''t a mission that can be handled alone. He spotted a shadow passing by and immediately summoned the owner into his office.


    "Yes Sir!" The Agent said, trembling a little. The fear within him was apparent as he avoided the dark, ominous gaze of his Boss. This was the first time he had been called by the Boss, from the stories he heard. He was a frightening man.


    "Tell the other Agents to get ready. . .we have found our target" He ordered, grimly. Staring at his phone, a notification popped on the screen bearing the coordinates of the mutant.


    "Yes Sir!" The agent replied quickly and scurried off.


    "I just hope she will be okay," Luke said softly. His tensed muscles relaxed as the anger ebbed away.


    >>>>Beth increased her pace, arriving at the warehouse quickly was of sheer importance to her she had to be there before the target would take off. If she indeed manages to catch him and pin him down, her goal of becoming one of CIA''s Legends will be actualized.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    This mission was going to increase her credibility, it would elevate her fame to the level of Legends. She was well-known in the Agency, who didn''t know of her famous escapades. . . But with this mission, her goal of being mentioned among the Legends would be accomplished.


    She broke into a run, the wind was in her hair and whistled softly with each pace. The moon was shining at its brightest that night. She enjoyed the adrenaline rush from the job whenever it was time to catch a bad guy. Being an Agent has been her dream since forever and now she was living it__enjoying the thrills, adventures and pleasures that it bore, nothing could get better than this.


    She reduced her pace as she drew closer to the warehouse. Beth took out a tiny spy camera from one of her pockets as she approached the entrance. She halted before the decrepit wooden front door, her eyes vetted the area__it was empty. No one has been there since ages, it was indeed forgotten and gave off an eery feeling.


    ¡®What was the target doing there anyway?¡¯ She pondered.


    The doors and windows made creaking sounds caused by the cold night breeze. She slowly approached the front door, pushing it slightly. She had to be cautious as she motioned in, being ever so careful not to alert her target.


    The light bulbs in the warehouse flickered, trying to maintain their glow, their unsteadiness made it difficult to see. She placed the spy camera on the wall beside her¡ªplacing it a few inches above her.


    "This seems like a good angle!" She said, taking some steps back whilst measuring the angle with her hands. A growling sound reverberated the four walls of the warehouse__startling her.


    There he was! It was her target!. He was a mutated freak of nature. He was her mission¡ªthe one thing standing between her and her goal. Capturing him was all she had to do, a piece of cake, right?.


    He had his back to her, his clothes were shredded due to the mutation. No one knows what or who mutated him? The C.I.A had to find out soon enough before word got out to the people or worse the Whitehouse. The President will not be pleased if it ever got out.


    "Time for me to do my favorite stunt!" She said with a wily smile.


    Quickly, she took three powerful leaps and landed on his shoulders, comfortably. Her moves were swift and difficult to comprehend, it was hard for him to react. Doing a not so perfect back flip, she managed to flip him over, they landed on the concrete floor. His face kissed the hard concrete with a thud.


    She quickly got on her feet, smirking. Pride welled up within her at the success.


    He swiftly stood up and growled at her. Jerking back a bit, she finally saw what he really looked like. He wasn''t human! Not anymore! Fear flickered in her eyes. She gulped, nervously.


    She was nervous! It has been so long since she felt this nerve-racking feeling. The pores on her skin began their work, producing sweat__her suit stuck to her skin due to the enormous amount of it.


    ¡®How was I able to flip him?¡¯ She pondered, she had no time to dwell on that question__staring at the monstrous being she observed him, noting the features she overlooked earlier.


    He was a lot bigger than her, with muscles as big as boulders. His veins were popping out from his thick skin. He mirrored the hulk but his skin looked human, there were huge differences between the two creatures, the hulk didn''t have fangs and he definitely didn''t drool.


    He growled at her again. His eyes were fiery and bloodshot, his pupils dilated!. Some of his saliva spluttered on her.


    "Eww! I just got this leather suit dry cleaned!" She said with disgust, wiping off the slimy substance from her suit.


    She gulped. ¡°Come on Beth! You can do this!¡± She stated, perhaps hoping to bring back the confidence she felt earlier.


    She tried to calm herself but nothing seemed to work.


    "Okay! Let''s go!" She said with little confidence. Taking some steps back she sucked in a breath, charging at him she launched her killer kick, her leg was a few inches from his face.


    He stopped it! He gripped her ankle tightly, she winced at the pain.


    He flung her across the warehouse like a useless item that was no longer needed. Her back hit the wall violently, creating slight cracks.


    "Ow!" She yelped, aching all over.


    He charged at her, In a swift motion she searched herself in need of a weapon. Her hands halted at the familiar weapon resting in its holster.


    "Damn it! Why do I always forget I have a gun?" She whined.


    Beth pulled out her gun, aiming for his left arm__she fired. The blast from her weapon resounded the walls.


    His arm flew out, he took some steps back, the velocity of the bullet unsteadied him.


    She smiled, finally she slowed him down.


    The smile on her face faded as shock etched her once vibrant features__she noticed something odd, it sprouted from the gunshot area, she shook her head a few times. She had to be certain that she wasn''t hallucinating.


    In a matter of minutes a new arm was grown, bearing the same features as it''s predecessor.


    "What the bloody hell! It can regenerate!" she yelled.


    He let out a slight chuckle, amused at her little outburst. One word echoed in his thoughts as he drew closer, kill!.


    With swift moves, he launched at her.


    "This is it! This is where it all ends" She said softly, accepting her terrible fate. A bitter smile slowly creeped on her face as he drew closer with resounding heavy steps.


    The last thing she heard was the sound of her voice screaming, echoing in the silence as he tore her from limb to limb.


    Once his amusement was over, he drew closer to the nearest wall. Angrily, he punched through the wall, it crumbled at his strength. Walking through the rubble, he wandered into the night.

 Chapter 2

    Beep! Beep! Beep!


    The sound of the alarm rang across the bedroom, startling her. A woman in her early twenties sat up grumpily, her brunette hair was messy, few tendrils fell to her shoulders, giving her a terrifying look¡ªshe blinked slowly, her eyes looked around her room with sleep its former companion still wandering in it, it bore the resemblance of frost, its icy essence sent cold shivers to those captive of its gaze. Rays of sunlight filtered the room, basking it''s warm glow on it_ illuminating her olive skin.


    She ran her hands down her face in exasperation, scratching her hair while groaning grumpily.


    "Ugh! I hate mornings" she stated, her voice was parched due to lack of water_ she pulled the tiny strength within her and got up from her tiny heaven.


    Grumpily making her way to the vanity in the room, she let out a groan at the ugly and terrible reflection of her in the mirror.


    "I look terrible" She rubbed her face, the tiredness in her eyes was as visible as a clear day "I need to freshen up".


    Moving towards the bathroom¡ªshe halted in her tracks, her eyes landed on the phone nestled on the bedside cupboard, picking it up she unlocked it.


    "Twenty new messages!" she yelled, shock rippled through her as she quickly scrolled through her messages, reading them one at a time.


    "Agent Ciara, we need you for back up" she read out loud.


    There was a perplexed expression on her face_pondering on what it entailed.


    "Back up! For what?" She scrolled to the last two messages she received and read it out loud.


    "We were too late! Agent Beth is dead!" A gasp escaped from her lips, the phone fell from her hand and landed on the bed.


    Her hands trembled as she ran it through her hair. The color in her face drained as fear slowly made its way within her, drawing her closer to its cold embrace.


    Beth was the toughest agent in the CIA, she was her mentor and one of the best Agents she has ever known, how did she die?.


    A lot of questions flooded through her mind, her eyes were wet with tears. Memories of Beth flashed back in her head, taking over her thoughts.


    "Do you know why I love working alone?" Beth asked her on a faithful day.


    "No ma''am! Why?" .


    Beth smiled at her and clasped her hands behind her back, she stared heavenward¡ªher gaze fixed on the slowly dancing clouds, "It is because, I don''t want to be held back by people, I always love moving forward and having partners or teams_tend to pull someone back and I don''t want that" She stated simply.


    " Oh! That''s deep ma''am " Ciara said, nodding her head, comprehending the words of her mentor.


    Beth chuckled, her gaze rested on her loyal student.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    "I can be sentimental sometimes, I know that" She confessed.


    Ciara shook her head in disagreement.


    "I don''t think so ma''am".


    Beth waved her hands, dismissing her words " Oh please, you don''t have to say that, Ciara".


    "But I mean it, ma''am" She replied defiantly.


    She patted her shoulder, ignoring her words, " Come on, Agent Ciara, I want to teach you a new move I learnt".


    Her knees suddenly felt like jelly and she fell to the ground as hot tears trickled down her cheeks. Who could have killed her? Beth always goes on deadly missions but she never complained, heck! She loved them_ in her words, ¡®They were challenges she can overcome!¡¯.


    ¡®What was she working on that led to her death?¡¯ Ciara pondered deeply on the question.


    A message popped on her screen and brought her back to reality. She wiped her tears with the back of her hand, picked up the phone and read it out loud.


    ¡°Emergency meeting at 8 am!",


    She swiftly got on her feet and headed straight to the bathroom for a quick shower.


    Anger flowed through her, engulfing her in its flame. She was going to find out what or who killed her and show them the same fate they showed Beth.


    * * * * *


    In the warehouse where the horrible incident took place, a group of Agents surrounded it, they vetted the area, searching for clues that were left in the scene just before she died. Two men carried a body bag with Beth''s massacred body in it, exiting the warehouse.


    An Agent¡¯s attention was drawn to a wall¨C he scanned it with a pair of dark glasses, their purpose was detecting heat signatures. They produced a beeping sound as he approached an unusual item attached to it, his brows furrowed as he slowly removed the glasses, spotting a tiny camera. Putting on gloves, he reached for it.


    "Sir! I have found something" he said, pulling it from the wall, drawing the attention of his superior.


    A man in his late forties approached him with a dominating aura. His black curly hair adorned the crown of his head with dark brown apathetic eyes which bore a hint of sorrow in them, his dark unique skin drew him apart from the rest. He was talking to another Agent as he drew closer to him, the Agent withdrew for him, attending to other matters in the warehouse.


    His hands were clasped behind him as he approached the Agent with the camera.


    "You called me, Agent Mike".


    "Yes Sir! I found this!" He informed and handed the camera to him.


    He took it, examining it closely.


    "Agent Beth must have placed it there when she walked in," He stated.


    "That sounds like something she would do!" He said, his gaze never left the camera "let''s take it back to headquarters". He handed it back to him.


    Mike took out a plastic bag, placing it in as evidence.


    "Are we all done here?" The man in his forties asked the Agents.


    "Yes Sir!" They replied in unison.


    "Alright, let''s go, we have work to do" he looked at his watch, it read seven thirty-five a.m "I have a meeting to attend".


    He looked around and spotted two other Agents, he signaled them to draw closer.


    "You two need to handle the cops and make sure word about this doesn''t spread to the public, especially the media, understood? " he looked at the Agents sternly.


    "Yes Sir!" They replied.


    He dismissed them with a wave of his hand.


    Looking around the warehouse, he sighed. This was bigger than he thought. Beth should have listened to him when he told her to wait for back up.


    Shaking his head_ disappointed at the outcome, he left the warehouse.

 Chapter 3

    CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY;LANGLEY, VIRGINIA.


    Its height outmatched its fellow companions reaching towards the sky. It was tall as it was broad exuding grandeur and dominance over the other tiny buildings. Down below, she ran¡ªrushing into the lobby as if chased by a lurker. She swiftly made her way through the tiny dense crowd in the lobby, bumping into a few as she reached for a free elevator.


    "Sorry!" She shouted without taking a glance.


    "I am so late for the meeting" she said frantically whilst tapping the elevator button, the doors slowly slid open__granting her access to its tiny world. She walked in as the doors closed behind her, taking a deep breath she adjusted her suit, indeed she was late but at least she had to be presentable.


    The doors slowly opened once more for two other Agents, they shot her a glance before walking in.


    "Good morning" she greeted.


    They nodded¡ªacknowledging her greeting whilst the doors closed again.


    "Which floor?" She asked,


    "The last floor," They replied.


    She tapped the fifteenth button and it began its work leading them upward.


    They rode in silence, she tapped her feet quietly as she reached her final destination. It stopped with a light beep, signalling that it has reached her floor¨Cthe doors slid open, she rushed out_hoping deep down that she was not too late.


    Ciara let out a breath, her hand rested on the door knob. Slowly, she thrutched it open, peeking to see The Director addressing her colleagues but to her delight. . . It hasn''t begun. She let out a sigh of relief and walked in, happily.


    Taking her seat, she quietly sat down whilst placing her bag on her laps.


    "Have you heard what happened to Agent Beth?" A female voice asked. Ciara looked up__observing her. Her black hair was pulled back and tied to a ponytail, she bore a sorrowful look as she took a seat beside her.


    "Yeah I did!" She replied simply. The sadness she felt earlier that morning rushed in.


    "It is so sad, and she was among the best Agent in the Agency, who could have done such a thing?".


    "I have no clue of it, Pam" she replied, anger tinged with her voice as she spoke "I just found out this morning".


    "She was your mentor, right?" A man asked from across the table, drawing her attention to him.


    She glanced at his direction, realizing that he was actually talking to her.


    "Yes, she was".


    "It is such a shame, she always loved working alone." He stated, Ciara nodded in response "If she had a partner she might still be alive but what can I say. She didn''t want one because she thought that no one in the agency was good enough to be her partner" He spoke in a mocking tone.


    Ciara felt her blood boil, anger boiled within her as she glared at him. ¡®Who the hell does he think he is, talking about Beth like that?¡¯ She thought.


    "Can you not talk about her since you know nothing?¡± She asked crossly, glaring at him with fiery eyes.


    He jerked back a little, shocked at her tiny display of outburst. He was about to retort, when the door propelled open¡ªHe walked in! The temperature in the room dropped to a few degrees, his aura was commanding and so was his demeanor.


    The room fell in silence as Luke took his seat at the far end of the table, the pressure in the room was palpable, no one dared to speak in his presence.


    "Sorry that I am late, I had to check on something" He stated, the sorrow in his voice was not missed by them.


    "Sir, what are we going to do about the target that got away?" The lady beside him asked the question each of them bore but no one had the courage to.


    "We are still working on it" He sighed, "What we should be worried about is the death of one of our Agents!".This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Ciara felt her eyes get teary again, she sniffed back the tears¡ªnot wanting to bawl in front of them.


    Pam placed her hands on her shoulder, bearing a reassuring smile.


    "We all knew Beth, she was one of the best Agents we had and we lost her yesterday. She died by the hands of a highly genetically enhanced human, a mutated human being, I presume".


    Some agents gasped, Murmurs could be heard across the room at the information. Nothing of that sort, has been heard of since the history of the Agency.


    Ciara furrowed her brows, stunned by the statement. There was a puzzled expression on her face.


    "What does he mean by a mutated human being?" Pam asked bearing a perplexed look.


    "I have no clue!" She replied softly.


    She had a lot of questions, but it seems there weren''t any answers to them.


    "What do you mean by that, Sir?" Pam asked loudly. Some agents nodded in agreement to her question.


    When the murmuring dissipated, he continued "We recovered a video from the scene!".


    He lifted the lid of his laptop and was about to play it but paused.


    "This video might be a bit disturbing! " He warned.


    Everyone in the room stared at him, different expressions were written on their faces, some were overwhelmed with fear, some¡ªconfused while others were plain curious.


    He took a deep breath and pressed play.


    The video was shown on the big screen at the other end of the room. It began with Beth placing the camera on the wall¡ªshe walked further into the warehouse, they heard the growling sound of the mutant. They watched enthusiastically as she fought the mutant.


    Ciara smiled a little when she heard Beth¡¯s words "Eww! I just got this leather suit dry cleaned".


    Beth always had a weird sense of humor.


    She flinched a bit when she saw the mutant fling her across the warehouse and when she landed on the wall with a loud thud.


    "That''s gotta hurt! " Pam whispered, her face squeezed in terror.


    The sound of Beth''s gun shot echoed in the silence.


    They gasped! Shocked as they watched it regenerate its hand. Their faces grew weary, her adversary was indeed monstrous.


    Ciara shot her eyes close, noticing the mutant launch at Beth, tearing her to bits. Her heart hammered as Beth''s screams terrified her to her bones.


    Luke paused the video as the mutant exited the warehouse.


    A blanket of silence covered the entire room after the horrid video was displayed, no one had it in them to speak. That was the most terrified death any of their Agents has ever experienced.


    "So, what are we going to do now, Luke?¡± The Lady beside him asked breaking the silence. She was the only one who dared to call him by name, being his closest friend and companion had its perks.


    Luke sighed and looked around the room, observing the terrified look each bore. They were afraid, even the tough ones were frightened to softness.


    "The management and I have agreed to send a team of four Agents to search for the mutant, discover whoever is responsible for this and stop them before it becomes too late!¡± He stated, "We won''t let Beth''s death be in vain!".


    "Four agents, isn''t that too small?" Someone pointed out, the muttering grew once more as each expressed their dismay by the number.


    "He does make a valid point, Sir!" said a woman .


    "That''s our decision and we are going to stand by it" he replied with a stern tone__shutting off their concerns.


    "We have already selected the Agents we need and they will start the mission A.S.A.P!" the room grew quiet, no one argued with him, "You can all leave!".


    They each stood up from their seats and left the room, one by one. Discussing among themselves as they exited the conference room.


    Ciara got up from her seat when the room was almost empty, she made her way towards the exit.


    "Agent Ciara!" He called.


    She halted in her tracks and turned to him "Yes, Sir?".


    "Come with me to My office!¡± He said simply, getting up he exited the room.


    "Yes, Sir!" She said,


    Pam shot her a questioning look, Ciara shrugged and followed Luke not asking further questions.


    They arrived at the office situated at the far end of the hall, she closed the door as she stepped in. He approached the chair behind the table and took a seat.


    "I will cut to the chase!" He spoke, sternly "You have been chosen to work with three other Agents for the mission I said earlier".


    She gasped. Shocked by his words.


    "Really, Sir?" She was excited and confused all at once.


    "Yes! The other Agents are on their way here as I speak". A knock on the door interrupted him.


    "One of them is already here" He said "Come in!".


    The door was pushed open and a man in his late twenties walked in¡ªHis dark brown hair was cut short and trimmed neatly, his emerald eyes were lovely__tinged with a hint of gold in them¡ªpulling one to its depth and allure. He was extraordinarily handsome. He was light-skinned and mirrored a treasure carved by the Greek gods.


    He beamed as he walked further into the office.


    "You requested to see me, Sir?" He asked.


    Ciara turned to face him¡ª her jaw dropped at the sight of him. A gasp fell from her lips.


    "You!".

 Chapter 4

    "Sir, I just want to know if he is actually part of this mission" she said, skeptically. Her disapproval of him was evident in her face.


    The man slightly chuckled and shoved his hands into his pockets, drawing closer to her with light steps.


    "What is wrong with me being part of this mission?" He asked, his emerald eyes gave off a piercing gaze as he stared at her frosty, icy blue eyes.


    "Do you really wanna know?" She asked, her nostrils flared---not breaking eye contact.


    Luke let out a loud sigh. He had a feeling that something like this would happen but the higher-ups didn''t heed to him. They need a team of Agents that can work together and the two before him hated each other.


    "Can you guys not start this?" He asked, being overwhelmed to jump in to their conversation.


    She shook her head "Sorry, Sir but I can''t work with him. He is a total jerk!" She exclaimed.


    "Really! A jerk?" The agent cocked his brows at her, his eyes twinkled in amusement "Two years ago you would have argued with that statement, Ciara".


    She shot him an irritated look, angered at his statement. " That was because I was so foolish to realize that Aaron!".


    "Oh, really?" He asked, the amusement in his voice wasn''t missed by her. Her brows twitched__furious that he was entertained by their tiny squabble.


    "Yes and you know what...."


    Luke hit his fist on the desk, commanding the room---silence overcame them stunned by his outburst.


    "Enough!" He yelled.


    "Sorry, Sir!" They mumbled--mirroring frightened kittens.


    He ran his hands through his hair, furiously "Can you guys save all this arguing for later? Right now we have a mission to do and all these argument will take us nowhere!" He stated, staring at them, intently.


    "I am sorry Sir, it was my fault" Aaron said whilst Ciara scowled at him.


    Luke wanted to say something but was cut short by the propelling of the door_ a man and woman walked in.


    "I am sorry, did you say come in?" The man asked, looking around the office, the pressure was palpable, he really arrived at the wrong time. He stood at an impressive height with fair skin, his hair was long and slightly trimmed at the edges bearing a tint of two colors_blue and black. His honey colored eyes stared at the three occupants of the room, he could perceive the anger emanating from his Boss.


    Ciara clenched her fist in anger as her gaze landed on the woman with him. The sight of her spiked the already present rage within her.


    "Long time no see! Ciara" the woman said in a sly tone, a mischievous smirk rested peacefully in her lips.


    She was a blonde, her light brown eyes danced with knavery as she returned the glare. She mirrored a fox, being as cunny as they are known for. She is well-known for roguery in the Agency, being annoyingly sly and taking advantage of every situations.


    "Seriously Sir! Her!" Ciara pointed at the lady, disgust written all over her.


    Luke groaned. Not this again! He surely wasn''t ready for round two.


    "I can''t work with her! I can''t work with both of them!" She stated, defiantly. Her blazing eyes shifted from Aaron to the sly woman.


    "Ciara!" Luke said, sighing "We don''t care if you can''t stand them, we personally chose you guys because you guys are the best in the different departments of the CIA--- being good at what you do, we selected you" He said and took a deep breath.


    Ciara had a proud smile on her face. She just got a compliment from the Director of the CIA, her Dad would be so proud.


    The woman let out an irritated chuckle "so you chose us because you wanted to reduce the death rate of The CIA!" She stated, reading a different meaning to the words he said.


    Aaron lowered his gaze, bracing himself for the wrath of his Boss to be unleashed on her. The way she addressed him was not the right way to speak to the Director. He glanced at her__observing her


    He knew a little information about her, she was well-known in the Agency. Selina Johnson, a very shrew agent__has broken a lot of rules but hasn''t been fired due to her capability and skills. As long as he could remember, Ciara and Selina haven''t been on good terms since he knew them. Beth was their mentor, she was the only one who could strengthen them out whenever they got into a fight.


    "So, you guys just want to get rid of us because Beth died doing this mission! Sounds like the CIA is trying to get rid of their dead weight!" She stated, crossly. The pain in her voice was apparent. Beth was the only one that saw her differently, she saw her potentials and treated her like family. Now, she was gone! It hurt her just be thinking of her death.


    "That''s not what we want to do, Selina!" Luke said, calmly.


    "Then why were we given this mission?" The Agent that walked in with her suddenly asked, being more curious to know.


    "We needed Agents capable of handling this mission, so you were all chosen!" He replied, choosing his words carefully---hoping not to spike their anger.


    Trithfully, he indeed wanted to have more agents to the team for the mission. He certainly agree that four was a minute number for the mission. Compared to what they were facing the agents were nothing but ants that could easily be squatched. However, The higher-ups declined, not seeing reason to his suggestion, they had two options; sending a troop and risking losing them all or rather sending a team and reducing the rate of mortality. They chose the lesser of the two evils.


    Luckily, he had a team in mind and chose them due to their skill. Now, the issue at hand was teamwork__ noticing, Ciara''s disapproval on two of her teammates, that was going to be a very difficult goal to achieve. He needed them to learn how to work together as a team and take down whoever was behind the mutation project.


    "See guys, listen" he rubbed his temples and looked at them, his demeanor softened. They stared at him, awaiting one of his ''big speeches'' he usually gives before he embarks agents to their missions.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "This mission is very important to us, if we don''t find out who is behind all this. . .The entire country, not to talk of the world will be in great danger. It doesn''t matter how dangerous the mission is, you are agents for a reason, handling missions like this is what you do" he paused.


    Looking at them, he could detect that they weren''t buying the ''speech'' of his. The look Ciara bore was frightening, her icy eyes were releasing death glares at him.


    Sometimes, Luke thinks that she is scarier than Beth and has the ability to accomplish more than her mentor.


    He sighed, preparing for the finale "Look, what matters now is catching the mutant before he kills more innocent people!" He kept his hand on his chest, as he spoke the next words, "Personally, I know that you guys are more than qualified to take care of this mission, and remember millions of people''s lives are at stake here with this mutant on the loose".


    He stared at them, their facial expressions softened. He smiled.


    Aaron sighed and looked at him intently.


    "So, what do you want us to do, Sir?" He asked.


    Luke smirked as he walked to the center of his office, he motioned for them to sit. They complied, sitting on the couch across from him. He picked up a remote on the table and pressed a button. In a fluid motion, the walls at the other end grew apart, revealing a large screen monitor which was propelled forward in between the separated walls. He pressed another button and it was switched on.


    In a swift motion, a picture of a man appeared on the screen. He was in a casual outfit as he stepped out of a cafe he wore sunglasses and a mask, concealing his facial features. Beside his picture, the data they collected on him popped up on the screen.


    "This is Azar Ahmad---he is an ex-terrorist, wanted in six countries for his terrorist activities. Last year, he escaped from prison and hasn''t been arrested yet, not even Interpol know of his recent whereabouts. Some of our agents have tried to capture him but failed, two of our agents died in the process" He stated, his gaze landed on Ciara. Her eyes welled up with tears.


    "Was he the one who killed my father?" She asked, her eyes were glued to the screen. They were deadlier than ever, bearing so much anger within them. It felt like, she could kill him by just staring at his picture.


    He nodded simply, "He placed a bomb in one of the hotel he lodged in that year. Your Father and his partner, Agent Martin were working on the mission of arresting him. In the process of capturing him, they discovered a bomb and tried to diffuse it but it was too late, they died in the explosion but before they did__they alerted the security guards in the hotel and were able to get every one out on time, they were the only ones who didn''t make it." Sadness tinged in his voice as he retold the tale. Losing an Agent felt like losing a soldier in a war.


    She shut her eyes tightly, preventing the stubborn tears from falling.


    Aaron fought within himself not to reach out to her, to console her. She hated him and it ached his heart knowing that she couldn''t rely on him for comfort.


    She sniffed back the tears and opened her eyes, slowly. The pain of losing him broke her. She felt her life crumble after his death.


    "Sorry for interrupting you, Sir" she stated, wiping her tears with a handkerchief.


    "It is okay!" He replied,


    "So, you think he is the one behind all this?" Selina asked, trying to get them back on the topic.


    "Yes, our Intel says that he has been meeting with this scientist. . ." Luke paused and pressed a button. A picture of another man was displayed on the screen. He wore a gray suit and was about to get in a black car when the picture was taken. He was blonde, wearing thick glasses that concealed the details of his eyes.


    "This is. . ." Luke was cut off by the other male agent.


    "I know him, he is a famous scientist__Dr Raymond Charles, owner of the Genesis laboratory. One of the biggest laboratory in the country, it deals mostly on genetic engineering, biotechnology and DNA mutation, mostly anything that deals with genes" He spoke matter-of-factly, " He made a scientific breakthrough in genetic engineering and was nominated for a Nobel prize" There was a proud smile on his face as he informed them.


    Everyone kept quiet, staring at him like he spoke something foreign---something only nerds and scientists could understand.


    "That''s correct, Agent Jason!" Luke said while trying to recall what he was saying before he got interrupted.


    Jason felt a little self conscious creep in, the looks he got from them reminded him of his big nerdy days. He was skilled in computers and anything in Technology, aiding him to be a level higher than he peers. His skills were unmatched in the Agency but it seems that even with those skills, no one really knew him.


    "As I was saying," Luke broke the silence "Our Intel tells us that Dr Raymond over here. . ." He pointed at the picture on the big screen ". . .has been meeting with Azar. We have a feeling that he is the one that is creating the mutagen which turns a normal human being to a mutant. Well, it is not certain if its permanent yet".


    "So, what do you want us to do, Sir?" Ciara asked, staring at him with a stern expression.


    He smiled, that was exactly the question he loved to hear.


    "There are two things that need to be done!" He said, raising two fingers.


    "Which are?" Selina asked, awaiting a reply.


    "One, capture the mutant and bring him to the headquarters, we need to run some tests on him and find out a reagent, a cure__anything that could be useful to us, the more he roams free the more dangerous it is for us" He continued, "Two, find out what Azar and Raymond''s plans are, so we can stop them before it becomes too late, any questions?".


    Ciara held up her hand, mirroring a small child asking a question during a lesson.


    "Yes, Agent Ciara, what''s your question?".


    "Why didn''t you mention the involvement of Azar and Raymond in Beth''s death during the meeting?" She asked.


    He thought for a while, before responding "Sometimes Agent, it is good to keep the information to a minimum, not everyone has to know everything about the mission. I didn''t want them to panic and also wasn''t sure if it was the right thing to say since the evidence we had wasn''t enough".


    "So, are you indirectly saying that you don''t trust some Agents here, because you think there is a spy among us working for Azar?" Ciara asked again.


    They looked at him, awaiting his response.


    He shrugged, "I am not sure of that, If there was, then we need to be super careful with this mission, we need to sharpen our eyes and ears to those around us just to be safe".


    They looked at each other and nodded in agreement to his words.


    "You all can leave, I will send the files we have on them to your desks later, we will start the mission in earnest!" He dismissed them.


    They got up and headed towards the door, Selina was a few inches from the door when he stopped her.


    "Agent Selina!"


    She turned to face him a bit startled "You called me, Sir?".


    "Yes, but first check if anyone is walking in the hallway" He said in a whisper.


    With a puzzled look she did as she was told, she walked into the hallway and glanced at the two ends of it, the others had already left and it was completely deserted. She stepped back into the office, closing the door behind her.


    "It is empty, Sir!" She informed,


    He sat on his chair, his hands clasped together on his desk, his brows furrowed at her, his expression was grim.


    She stood there quietly, pondering on why he called her. Was it something she did? Nope, she hasn''t broken any of the rules for a while now. ''Is he going to take her off the mission? But why would he do that?'' She thought. Anyway, she was going to find out soon enough.


    "Agent Selina, I have an important mission for you!" He looked at her with a blank expression.


    She sighed. Relief rushed in, she was glad that her fears weren''t a reality. It was just another mission.


    "Just for me, Sir?" She asked to confirm.


    "Yes, You are the only one that is able to pull this off!" He stated.


    She raised her brows at him, what kind of mission does he have in mind?, she pondered more on the question.


    She let out a breath, her face was expressionless as she asked.


    "What is the mission, Sir?".

 Chapter 5

    SOMEWHERE IN THE CITY.


    The mutant grunted¡ªtaking a spot on the cold hard ground. He didn''t know where he was. All he knew was that he was exhausted__hiding and running for days took all the energy he had in him.


    It was the middle of the night, the crickets chirped as the cool night breeze danced in a slow rhythm¡ªhe hasn''t rested in days. For as long as he could remember, he has been on the run, trying to survive, not to get caught__by them. Two weeks ago, He escaped from the Laboratory of unending torment. Memories of the previous weeks ran through his mind¡ªa lot of people died by his hands, people he thought would kill him. He knew no difference from good and bad. Even without the aid of light, he knew how bloody his hands were.


    His memories were disoriented, he couldn¡¯t recall who he was or where he came from¡ªhe doesn''t even have a clue as to how he found himself in the Lab. All he could recall was__the humans in the Lab were not good people, they were terrible! He thought the Lab was a kind of haven, a safe place that could protect him from harm but it did the exact opposite. It wasn''t protecting him. . . The humans were using him as an experiment. Performing several tests on him like he was some kind of lab rat. They cut him open and stitch him back, doing the process over and over again. It was a terrible nightmare, a nightmare that tortured him.


    A few weeks before he escaped, they discovered a phenomenon¡ªhe could regenerate and heal himself!. That alone, worsened his nightmare. After experiments of anguish, they''d leave him to heal. He was frightened! The memory bore a lot of pain, he never wants to return to that hell!


    ¡®Humans were just wicked creatures, all of them!. None can be trusted!¡¯ These were words he told himself, as a reminder of the wickedness of humanity!.


    His eyes grew weary, it was difficult to keep them open. He had to stay alert! He knew they were looking for him but he was too exhausted to fight. A little sleep won''t hurt, right?.


    >>>>He was in a park holding a little girl''s hand, her hands were enclosed with gloves for warmth. She wore a thick, long red fur coat with a hoodie. He looked around them, they were in a park__the entire area was covered in snow. He turned to face her but he couldn''t discern her face. It was a blurry image in his mind.


    "Dad! Look at the swing set!" She said gleefully, pointing at the swing set stationed a few feet from where them.


    "Do you want to swing on it, honey?" He asked cheerfully.


    She nodded and pulled his hand, dragging him as they approached the set.


    She sat on one of the swings whilst he watched her. The gold of her laughter echoed in the park as she went up in the air and down, a little above the ground¡ª her legs dangled on it as she swung.


    He smiled at her. Seeing her happy was the most important thing to him in the entire world, the sight filled him with a euphoria that could not be explained. Was this a memory or a dream?, He was puzzled! He stared at his hands, they were human¡ªglancing at the little girl he noticed that she too was human, even though it was difficult to recognize her. Wait! Was he a human before he became this monster?. He recalled her calling him, Dad! He was a Father. . . Pieces of the puzzle were slowly coming together. He had a family! Where were they? Why weren''t they looking for him?.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    She motioned for him to join her, he walked closer, before he could take a seat. . .The environment changed!.


    The park was gone! The snow was gone! Even the little girl was gone! It was dark, not even a flicker of light could be seen, he looked around him but . . .he was alone. Suddenly, he found himself in the Lab he escaped from. He was chained to a cold vertical metal bed. Leather belts strapped around him, pinning him to the cold metal. He struggled, trying to break free from the chains that restrained his arms and the belts! Through the glass wall before him, he saw his reflection. He wasn''t human anymore, he was the terrifying monster. He heard voices from the other room. A man walked in through the open door, holding a scalpel, a wicked grin adorned his face. . .it was time to have fun!.


    He wore goggles and a lab coat__he was the scientist responsible for all the experiments and tests. He knew what the scientist planned to do, it wasn''t his first time¡ªhe had to break free!.


    The sound of his grunting woke him up.


    He blinked severally as the warm rays of sunlight rested on his face. He could hear the voices of little children, they were like little whispers of joy as the voices drew nearer.


    "What is that?" One of them asked, pointing at him.


    He sat up and stared at them¡ªstartled by them, they moved back a little as they observed how huge he was. He looked around him, he was in a demolished building. ¡®Where did these children come from?¡¯ he wondered.


    They looked at him like he was a strange alien, he snarled at them. They ran away screaming¡ªfrightened by him. . . all except, one little girl.


    He was taken aback__she reminded him of the little girl from his dream. She had a fixed expression on her face, her hands were filled with peaches. Taking little steps at a time, she walked closer to him.


    He growled at her like a savage beast ready to devour it''s prey¡ªtrying to frighten her, she turned her face from him, ¡®That ought to scare her off!'' He thought but instead. . . few seconds later, she turned to him. Her expression was different. . . She was smiling at him, giggling as she placed the peaches on the ground next to him. He shifted back surprised at the quick change of her behavior.


    "These are for you" she pointed to the peaches "you have to eat!".


    He glanced at the peaches and gazed at her, she smiled at him again mirroring a little angel from the heavens.


    "Don''t worry they are not poisonous, I can guarantee that" she suddenly glanced back.


    "I have got to go, Mom might be looking for me" she said, her gaze still fixed behind her.


    She turned to him__grinning, "Don''t worry if you are still around tomorrow, I will get more peaches" She spoke, exuding confidence.


    She kicked the peaches on the ground closer to him then turned and left.


    A minute later, he picked one of the peaches and looked it over. His stomach grumbled, reminding him that it hasn''t worked for a while. He placed the entire fruit in his mouth, chewing it, slowly. A few minutes later, he spat out its pits.


    He liked the fruit__he picked another and ate it. He needed to leave this place before they figured out where he was.

 Chapter 6

    BACK IN THE HEADQUARTERS


    "Have you gotten anything?" Ciara asked Jason. His gaze was fixed on the screen of his laptop whilst his fingers made furious tapping noises on the keyboard.


    "Nope!" He replied without shooting her a glance "I have checked all the security cameras from when he left the warehouse and there is nothing!" The tone in his voice was tinged with a stark of anger.


    Ciara settled beside him and picked up a file from the table. Two days has passed since the mission was given to them, yet the mutant hasn''t been spotted in their radar. They all gathered in Jason''s little office in the building.


    He was situated in the Intelligence department, while the rest of them were under Operations . Ciara was in awe at his technical speed with Computers. . .It surprised her more at how fast he was in hacking some hidden information on Dr Raymond Charles and Azar Ahmad¡ªhe mirrored an internet speedster, being ever so quick like the Flash!.


    She skimmed through the files of Azar Ahmad, for someone that was wanted in six countries, they information in their possession was really limited as to how thin and little the file was. A recent discovery was made of his daughter, but¡ªshe was diagnosed with cancer and died shortly afterwards. The only person they had data on was his ex-wife but due to his illegal activities she abandoned him a year after they tied the knot. The woman didn''t fit for a useful tool in their mission but that didn''t exclude her from their radar.


    "In 2009, he was involved in a bomb explosion in a small village in Afghanistan" she read out loud "Fifty people died!". The number left her stunned.


    She looked up as the door was pushed open and he walked in__with a tray of coffee in his hands.


    "You are back!" Selina exclaimed, picking yet another file on the table, Dr Raymond Charles was inscribed on the front cover.


    "How was it?" Ciara asked.


    He placed the tray on the table and sighed. His demeanor bore the result of her question.


    "She hasn''t seen him since the death of their daughter!" He replied, grabbing a cup of coffee. The only liquid he has drank for the past forty-eight hours.


    "That was a long time ago since their daughter died in 2013" Ciara stated, her forehead creased as she thought.


    "Do you think she was possibly lying?" Selina''s eyes narrowed at him.


    He shrugged, settling beside her.


    "She didn''t look interested in anything that has to do with him. She told me that she was tired of being interrogated by the police, CIA and the press because of her ex-husband" he paused, furrowing his brows "It was hard to tell though, but just to be sure, I placed some tiny spy cameras in her living room, just in case" he added grinning widely.


    Selina patted his back with a smile "Good job, Agent!".


    He waved it off, his gaze rested on Ciara¡ªthe file she had held her captive, her eyes trailed from one edge to another absorbing the information it had. He shifted his gaze to Jason, he too was engrossed in his laptop__ paying no attention to whatever occured around him.


    A thought flashed through his mind as an idea struck him. His eyes gleamed as he asked,


    " Jason, have you checked the police files for a report of a missing person or persons?".


    They paused what they were doing and stared at him, each bearing the same expression. Jason thought for a moment and stared at him puzzled.


    "Why would he have to check the police files?" Ciara asked, equally confused at his expression.


    He let out a breath__ he had to break it down for their slow brains to catch up to his words.


    ¡°According to the files we have on it, it was seen by a couple two weeks ago during their date and they filed a police report, then the Inspector called the CIA and told us about him. Luke stated that he is a mutant according to what the First Agents they sent reported!" he paused, taking a sip of his coffee and continued "What if someone was reported to be missing at the exact time or maybe days before it was spotted? What if the missing person might be the mutant?" He beamed as he explained "If we have the information on the missing person, we might be. . .".


    ". . .we might be able to find its location!" Ciara cut him off, her eyes glinting at his idea. At last, she understood!.


    "Jason!" He called out.


    Jason was fast to act, he proceeded quickly¡ªhacking into the Police files for reports of missing person, "I am already on it, Aaron!".


    "Aaron, you are a genius!" Selina smacked his shoulder, grinning at him "Why didn''t we think of this?".


    He nodded his head while he took another sip of the coffee. He was a genius, alright!.


    "What if he has a family and he is trying to get back to them?" Ciara asked straight-faced. Her brows furrowed as more questions hovered in her head.


    "You''re right! He might be on his way there as we speak!" Aaron said smiling at her,


    They stared at each other for a brief moment. . .neither broke the eye contact, a little spark! A connection could be spotted between them. Selina had a strange smile on her face as she looked at them.


    "Guys! I have got the police report!" Jason stated, turning his laptop for them to see "Two guys were reported missing three weeks ago, a Mr Elliot and another guy named Harry".Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    They looked at the pictures of the men on the screen, Mr Elliot bore a resemblance to the mutant that was on the run¡ªthey had the same color of hair and eyes while Harry had no resemblance at all.


    "Are you guys noticing the resemblance of Mr Elliot and the mutant?" Ciara asked, staring at them.


    "You think he is our guy?" Jason asked.


    She shrugged "Maybe he is!".


    " Jason could you. . ."


    "I am already on it, I am checking the address of his family" he cut Selina off, he turned the laptop to his direction as he tapped the keys.


    " I have got the address!" He said, a few minutes later.


    "Where is it?" Ciara asked, she scooted close to him, her face was inches away from the screen.


    Suddenly he got a notification. She moved back a little, giving him space to do his thing.


    Jason clicked on the notification. A video clip from one of the hacked security cameras was displayed on the screen.


    Peering into the screen, he let out a gasp.


    "Guys! I have found him!",


    "Where?" Selina asked. Shock etched their features as they exchanged glances. . .too baffled to speak.


    "He is in a demolished building close to a construction site!" He said whilst zooming in on the video to get a clearer view.


    "Is it close to where he lives?" Selina asked, getting on her feet.


    "Nope! It is very far from it" he replied, his eyes never left the screen.


    "Come on, let''s go get that mutant!" Ciara stood up, heading for the door. She exited the room with Selina on her trail.


    "You go ahead, I need to get something from the research Lab," Aaron stated.


    Jason lifted his brows at him. A tad curious, why he had to go to the Lab.


    "Okay, but come quickly!" He said, leaving the office.


    Aaron exited the office and headed for the elevator.


    He tapped a button it heeded to his command, he stepped in and the doors closed behind him. Pressing the third floor button, it slowly obeyed the law of gravity, drawing him closer to his destination. With a ''ding'' sound, the doors separated and he ran out of it, heading for the Research Lab.


    "I need some sedatives!" He said to one of the scientists he spotted as he walked in.


    The lady sized him up and studied him. . .not saying a word.


    "It is for a mission!" He said quickly, the suspicious look on her face didn''t go unnoticed by him.


    "How many do you need?" She asked, approaching the thick glass desk before her. With a slight touch of her palm on the glass, a pin code appeared on it. She tapped in the required code¡ªone quarter of the desk split open, with a puff of white smoke, a tiny briefcase was driven upwards as the desk closed shut.


    "All of it!" He tapped his hands impatiently on the desk.


    She had a quizzical look written on her face. . . She didn''t say much but her suspicious look said it all.


    "I really need it!"


    Sighing, she pushed the briefcase to him.


    He winked at her and walked away. Her cheeks reddened slightly as he walked away, smitten by the sudden handsome Agent.


    He was cute!.


    >>>>Down at the basement parking lot, they waited anxiously for Aaron beside a black van with tinted windows.


    "Where the hell is he?" Ciara asked no one in particular.


    "I am right here!" He yelled. She turned to face him, her eyes narrowed at the briefcase he held.


    "What took you so long?" Selina asked, approaching him.


    "I just needed to get this!" He lifted the briefcase.


    "What''s that?" Ciara asked, staring at it .


    "I got a couple of sedatives in it" They exchanged bewildered looks, their gaze rested at him for a quick lecture.


    He sighed. "In case the mutant goes savage, we can slow it down with the tranquilizers!".


    "Oh! Good thinking, Aaron!" Selina said "Come on, let''s go".


    Jason was stationed at the back of the van¡ªbooting up the monitors and monitoring the mutant''s location on his laptop whilst they climbed in the van.


    Aaron sat on the driver''s seat, Ciara sat on the passenger''s seat while Selina made herself comfortable in the back with Jason.


    "I have already typed in the location on the GPS!" Jason informed Aaron as he turned on the ignition. The van lightly vibrated to life.


    "Nice!" He replied and drove off from the parking lot.


    Ciara checked the time on her watch, it read eight forty-five pm.


    "I am gonna call the Director and tell him that we have found the location of the mutant, " she stated.


    "Okay!".


    "Sure!".


    "Do it!".


    She plugged in her earbuds, a ringing sound reverberated from it.


    Luke was about to leave his office, being a few feet from the door, his phone rang__drawing his attention.


    Switching it over to the plugged buds in his ear, he answered it.


    "Good evening Sir, I just wanted to let you know that we have found the location of the target!" Ciara stated from the other line.


    He stopped in his tracks, baffled at the information. His eyes flickered¡ªshocked.


    "Already?"


    "Yes Sir, we are on our way to its location as we speak!" She replied.


    He didn''t say a word, the wheels in his head spun as he thought carefully. One thing was certain ¡®They needed to be careful!¡¯


    "Sir?" Her voice drew him back.


    He let out a breath "Call me if you need any backup!" he said. The concern in his voice was evident. They finally had to face the mutant¡ªhe can''t afford to lose more Agents, they had to come back alive! He would make sure of it.


    "Yes Sir!".


    "And Ciara?".


    "Yeah?"


    With a heavy sigh, he said "Y¡¯all should be careful out there!"


    "We will, Sir!" She replied, ending the call.


    He closed the door behind him, it made a tiny ''beep'' sound notifying that it was locked.


    He exhaled and looked at the ceiling, contemplating on two decisions__ should he go for the meeting?, or order backup for Ciara and her team. After a moment of thinking a decision was made.


    He dialed a number on his phone waiting whilst it rang.


    The person on the other end finally picked up.


    "Hey Todd, I need backup for a group of Agents" he said,


    ¡°Alright, Luke!".


    "I will send you the location soon!" He ended the call and headed for the elevator, glad at his decision.

 Chapter 7

    "Okay, let''s do a comm. check!" Jason said plugging an earbud in his ear.


    "Selina!" He called out.


    "Check" she replied loading their guns with the sedatives.


    "Ciara!"


    "Check"


    "Aaron!"


    "Check".


    Aaron pulled over at the construction site as Selina distributed their guns to them, preparing them for battle.


    "Is he still in the building?" Ciara asked, getting out of the car.


    "Yes!" He replied, checking the footage¡ªthe mutant stood a few feet from the unfinished exit of the building, "We have to hurry, he is leaving!" He notified.


    "What!" Selina exclaimed "Already?" She swiftly turned¡ªscanning the footage of the mutant almost leaving the building.


    Aaron and Ciara glanced at each other, wide-eyed.


    "Let''s go!" Aaron said, tightening his hold on his gun.


    "Remember guys, failure is not an option!" Selina said firmly__casting a look at each if her teammates. Her voice held a steely edge as she glanced over at Jason. "You sure you¡¯re good in here?"


    Jason flashed a quick smile. ¡°All set.¡±


    With a nod, Selina hopped out of the van, closing the door with a soft click. The team moved quickly, gliding across the shadows as they entered the construction site. The smell of metal and construction blocks filled the air around them as the drew closer to their target.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the target?¡± Ciara whispered into her comm, pressing herself against the cold concrete wall.


    ¡°He¡¯s just ahead¡ªinside the building, about five meters in front of you,¡± Jason''s voice crackled softly in her ear. The faint blue glow of her earpiece pulsed in time with his words.


    Selina and Aaron exchanged a glance. Nodding, they crept closer to Ciara, their movements synchronized like clockwork.


    Through the aid of the cool rays of moonlight, they could discern the mutant''s body; he was indeed huge, bearing features from the video.


    "I will attack first" Selina whispered "Ciara, you need to have my back, okay?". She left not waiting for a reply, drawing closer to the mutant.


    "What?" Ciara wanted to protest, her forehead creased, annoyed. Aaron grabbed her arm, holding her back. He shook his head__disapproving whatever move she might make.


    Grunting, she pulled her arm away from his grip. Her eyes were fixed on her annoying teammate.


    ''Okay, let''s see what you can do, Selina'' she thought.


    "Hey! Big guy" Selina yelled__grabbing his attention. He turned to her, growling. His fangs looked as sharp as the blades of an edged sword under the moonlight.


    Selina stood her ground, terrified at his might. She had to maintain her calm nature, the last thing she wanted was to show how frightened she was.


    She took out a small black rubber stick from her waistband, pressing a button located on the side¡ªsuddenly, it grew longer, attaining a height above hers.


    "Sorry, big guy but you ain''t gonna see your family anytime soon" she stated inching closer to him.


    Spinning the long stick between her fingers as she stepped closer, she hit one end of the stick on the ground, using it as a boost she landed a kick on him in mid-air.


    He lurched backwards¡ªbewildered by the strength of her kick. Seeing that as an opening, Aaron ran forward, firing the tranquilizers at him.


    A little smile adorned his features¡ªit slowly ebbed away as shock rippled through him. It didn''t work! The mutant pulled it off from his skin like an insect, he smashed it in his hands_the particles fell to the ground. He walked closer to him with steps that commanded death.


    The back swing of his hands sent Aaron flying across the building. His head hit the wall with a sound that echoed through the wall. His eyes slowly close shut as his head hung__the darkness gradually drew in. Ciara dashed forward noticing the defeat of one of her colleagues. She released several hits and punches on the mutant''s face, perhaps. . .hoping that they might do some damage__instead, they caused no harm to him but left her bleeding knuckles.


    He reached out to grab her, Selina was quick to act, using the stick she tripped him. He fell but swiftly got on his feet. Seeing that Selina had his attention, Ciara ran to the unconscious Aaron trying to wake him.


    ¡°Aaron! Come on wake up!¡± She said softly, she placed two fingers on his neck, checking for a pulse. Luckily, she felt it. It was light! She let out a sigh, relieved that he was still alive.


    Identifying the blonde as the most annoying, the mutant decided to deal with her first.


    Selina moved backwards, creating a distance between them, her eyes widened as fear took hold of her. She tried using the stick to hit him but. . . he pulled it from her grasp without much effort, breaking it into two medium-sized sticks.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Beads of sweat formed on her forehead as she drew backwards, the mutant motioned closer to her, his eyes were dark and apathetic, with every step he made her heart skipped a beat! She gulped. The fear she tried to conceal made itself known---etching her features.


    Not paying much attention behind her, she fell to the ground as her legs grew weak engulfed by terror, she began crawling away from him.


    "Ciara!" She shrieked "Help me!".


    Ciara quickly got on her feet hearing the cry for help, swiftly she pulled out her gun. Her finger was nestled on the trigger, ready to release the tranquilizer bullet. Flashes of Beth''s death painted the canvas of her mind, it terrified her! Her screams, the scared look she bore before her death became clearly distinct__elevating the terror.


    She wheezed slowly, her chest rose and fell with each heavy breaths . . .She felt like the building was closing in on her, preparing to squeeze her life away. She breathed heavily as her finger trembled on the trigger.


    "Ciara! Please help me!" Selina yelled again, still crawling on the floor.


    She shook her head severally, trying to fight off the screams. the fear. the terror. Instead, they didn''t heed to her command, the screams got louder and tears filled her eyes, blurring her vision, everything around her was going in circles.


    "Ciara! I need your help!" Her voice called out once more¡ªaching with terror, the mutant was a few inches before her. . . preparing to kill!.


    "Stop it! " Ciara screamed, covering her ears with her trembling hands.


    "Ciara. . ."


    A gunshot blast rendered the air. . . the mutant fell to the ground, unconscious .


    Selina looked up to see her savior. Aaron held his gun in his hand, a mist of smoke emitted from it. A thick red viscous liquid trickled down his face as he smiled weakly at her.


    Ciara was still screaming when he approached her.


    "Ciara! Ciara!" He said softly,


    She stopped suddenly as the silence became still, she wiped her tears quickly. She looked around her¡ªthe mutant laid on the floor, unconscious and before her was an angry looking Selina, glaring at her.


    "Thanks for having my back, Ciara," she said sarcastically, glowering at her.


    "Selina, I. . ."


    "Save it!" She cut her off, harshly. "I am going to get something from the van to restrain it, you guys should watch the mutant, at least you can be of some use, Ciara!¡± She said, crossly.


    She turned on her heel and walked off, leaving the building.


    Aaron walked closer to the mutant, studying it, he placed a tiny tracker on its neck as a precaution and walked back to the terrified Lady.


    "Are you okay, Ciara?" He asked, he had a haunted look on his face as he studied her.


    She scoffed "Like you care?".


    He ran his hands through his hair, frustrated. It was difficult talking to this woman.


    "Yes I do, you had a nervous breakdown earlier!" He replied, defiantly.


    "I am okay now, not that it matters to you anyway!" She replied, crossly.


    "Ciara, I care about you!" He said with a concerned expression.


    "Oh please!" She wasn''t swayed by his words "You have never ever cared about anyone but yourself".


    "Yes I have!" He retorted, "You!".


    She let out an irritated chuckle "You are such a liar!"


    "I am not lying, Ciara!".


    "Really?" She asked, looking intently at him "when I needed you most, where were you, Aaron?" She pointed her finger forcefully at him.


    He kept mute, no response came forth.


    "When my Dad died and I needed a shoulder to cry on, where were you?" She asked, her voice shook as the pain from the past reeled in.


    He looked away from her, avoiding her piercing gaze "Ciara, I . . ."


    The mutant groaned, dizziness coursed through every fiber of his muscles, he must have been shot with a sedatives. He pulled off the syringes from his skin, he felt weak as the sedatives were still in effect. He was too fatigued for round two. As they bickered being too preoccupied in their argument, he slipped out from the building__unnoticed by them.


    >>>> Back in the van, Selina found a good pair of handcuffs and a rope she could use as a restraint for the mutant.


    "Are you okay?" Jason asked her, watching her as she tried to loosen the rope.


    She nodded "Yeah, I am".


    "That must have been really terrifying," he said, still watching her.


    "It was, but luckily Aaron shot him before he could kill me" she looked at the monitor in front of him and was bug-eyed noticing the footage of the demolished building they fought the mutant in, she could spot Aaron and Ciara.


    "You watched the fight?" She asked him, baffled.


    "Yeah! Aaron placed a camera so I could see what was going on?" He explained.


    "That''s smart!" she replied with a smile. Staring at the screen, Aaron and Ciara were arguing. No surprise there being used to their bickering for a while.


    She peered closer to the screen and noticed something unusual. . . The mutant was not in sight!.


    "Dang it!" She dropped the rope and stormed out of it angrily.


    ¡®Those two are gonna get it from me!¡¯ She thought, furiously.


    "Selina, what. . ." He paused, peering at the screen. His eyes searched the footage, being curious to why she stormed out of the van like a raging bull.


    Smacking his hand on the table, he found his answer.


    "Damn it!" He yelled.


    Speaking through a microphone, he informed them, "Guys, we have a situation!".


    "Not now, Jason!" Ciara and Aaron both yelled.


    "You dumped me two days after his funeral, Aaron" Ciara yelled, raising two angry fingers to his face "Two days!".


    "Ciara, I. . ." She interrupted him.


    "You dumped me through a text". She pulled out her phone, unlocked it and scrolled through her messages until she found it.


    "I am so sorry to do this but I don''t think it is going to work out between us, it was nice dating you!" She read out loud.


    Aaron was stunned, beyond shocked that she still had that particular message.


    "You still have that message in your phone?"


    "Yes, I still have it as a reminder of what a total jerk you are!" She barked.


    "I sent that message a year ago!" He stated still in shock.


    "l know and I. . ."


    "Guys!" Selina yelled, her voice shook the building¡ªinterrupting her.


    "What?" They both shouted, turning to her.


    "The mutant is gone!".


    Ciara shook her head in disbelief "That''s impossible, he is right he. . .".


    The words trailed off, her eyes grew wide as saucer, realizing that he no longer laid on the ground.


    "Oh no!" Aaron said beneath his breath. The color drained from his face, discovering that she was indeed right.


    The mutant was gone. Aaron and Ciara¡¯s faces went pale as they scanned the empty ground where he had fallen just moments ago. Selina¡¯s glare could have cut through stone. They were all back at square one¡ªand the mutant was on the loose

 Chapter 8

    "What are we going to do?" Ciara asked, fear shadowed her features.


    "This is all your fault Ciara!" Selina glared at her, her eyes blazed with fury. "All you had to do was to make sure he wouldn''t escape!".


    Her shoulders heaved in anger, prepared to pounce on her but Aaron came in between them with spread out arms.


    "Let''s not do this right now!" He said, calmly "fighting won''t solve anything!".


    She tore away from his gaze, squeezing her eyes shut. She slowly opened them whilst taking a deep breath, the anger swirled within as she tried to control it.


    Jason got out of the van and approached them. From his demeanor, they could perceive that he had no good news to tell.


    "Guys, the Director is on his way!" He looked agitated.


    "What are we going to tell him?" Ciara asked, staring at them nervously. They screwed up! It was her fault! ¡®Why did I let my emotions get the best of me?¡¯ she thought, nervously.


    Four black vans drove into the site__ startling them. CIA agents trooped out of the vans, holding weapons and surrounded them, prepared for an attack. A van door was pushed opened and Luke stepped out, a proud smile plastered on his face. He shoved his hands into his pockets as he motioned towards them.


    "So where is the mutant?" He asked, his eyes glistened. The gladness he felt was written all over him.


    Aaron moved closer to him with a forced smile, "We have something to tell you, Sir!" He stated underneath his breath.


    The smile on Luke''s face slowly faded, his expression darkened sending shivers down their frightened spines.


    * * * * *


    "You guys had one job!" He yelled, raising his finger "One job!".


    He paced around, anger poured out from him, staring at them with a piercing gaze that could rip out their souls.


    Aaron held his hand up " Actually Sir, it was more than one!"He pointed out.


    He glared at him, he snapped his mouth shut, realizing that he spiked the anger of his Boss. He wished to be in someplace farther from the site.


    "How did you lose sight of him for a minute? " his veins popped out in his head as he lashed out on them.


    "Sir, it is all my fault!" Ciara stated, her head hung avoiding his glare.


    "Yes Sir, it is!" Selina scowled at her.


    "Selina, this isn''t the time to point fingers at her," He said¡ª not ready to settle an argument between them.


    He exhaled "I am sorry to say this but you guys are off the mission!".


    "What!" They shouted, shocked by the words he said.


    "You can''t pull us out of the mission, sir!" Selina protested.


    "I can and I will, Selina!" He said defiantly. Turning on his heel, he approached the nearest van.


    "Sir! I have tracked down the mutant''s location" Jason said, quickly.


    Luke halted and titled his head at him, shock flickered in his eyes.


    "He is a bit far from here but we can capture him if you give us another chance," he stated.


    Luke turned to face them, his gaze shifted from one Agent to another, their eyes pleaded for a second chance.


    He ran his hand down his face in exasperation as he thought. Letting out a breath, he made his decision.


    "Fine! But this is your last chance!" he warned.


    "Thank you so much, Sir!" Ciara said, glad for the second chance. For a second there, she thought he would pull them from the mission.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    "But you are not going to catch him quickly, in that" He pointed at their van, their eyes followed his finger to the van.


    "A chopper is on its way!" He stated with a smile. "Don''t screw this up! Or you''re fired" He added. A fellow agent held the van door for him and he climbed in.


    Selina laughed forcefully.


    "Nice joke, Sir!" She yelled.


    "I am not joking!" He replied.


    "Oh!"


    The Agent closed the van door as the headlights were turned on, the van roared to life, it peeled off from the site whilst the Agents trooped into their vans and followed its trail.


    The rotor noise of a helicopter resonated in the silence of the night, hovered above them__drawing their attention.


    The noise increased as it landed on the site.


    "Come on, let''s go!" Aaron said, walking towards it.


    Jason took out a picture from his pocket and handed it to Ciara as they made their way towards the helicopter.


    She took it and gave it a once-over. A little girl giggled in the picture as it was taken__ judging from her young features, she mirrored a seven year old. Her brows furrowed at it.


    "Who is she?" She yelled through the rotor noise, the wind rustled in her ear.


    "That''s Mr Elliot''s daughter, the picture might be useful to us" he yelled back.


    "Okay!".


    They got into the chopper and were handed a set of headsets as they prepared to launch into the air. The blades of the chopper cut through the air and spun quickly, a cloud of dust surrounded it as it lifted up into the night sky.


    "Where are we going?" The pilot inquired.


    "Make a little sharp turn to your right and head straight!" Jason directed him.


    The pilot nodded, he pushed the right pedal, decreasing the pitch of the tail rotor and turned the chopper to the right.


    "Okay, here is the plan!" Ciara said, grabbing their attention.


    "I will distract the mutant with a picture of his daughter, while you guys will zap him with this" She picked up a rubber stick close to her and pressed a button situated on the side__ a charge of electricity was emitted between the two electrodes on one end of it.


    "So we are gonna zap it with a taser?" Selina asked, dryly.


    "Yeah!" Ciara shrugged.


    "Well, if it doesn''t work at least he will kill first!" She said with a wily smile.


    Ciara rolled her eyes at her "Do you have a better plan?".


    Selina shook her head "Nope! I am good with that, for the fact that I ain''t gonna be the one to die first" she leaned back on the seat and stared out the window. The city painted below her with its lights adorning the night.


    Aaron looked down the window, he spotted the miniature mutant below them. He ran on the highway, frightening people. His presence created a massive traffic as people left their cars and ran the opposite direction, some screamed at the sight of him, others hid themselves in their cars, hoping not to be seen by him.


    "Guys, I see him!" He yelled. "He is right below us!".


    The pilot halted the chopper mid-air at his words.


    "I will give you guys a signal for you to zap it," she said.


    The pilot flew the helicopter a few feets closer to the ground as they prepared for round two. The gang apart from Jason with the aid of some ropes they found, climbed down from the chopper. Once they landed on the highway, it flew to a higher altitude, avoiding being seen by the mutant.


    Ciara landed lightly on the ground, she ran quickly to where the frightened creature was.


    He growled at her. Breathing heavily as he fought an internal battle within against the tranquilizers.


    "Mr Elliot!" She said, calmly, approaching him one step at a time, "I am not here to hurt you!".


    He snarled at her, she stepped back a little¡ª trying not to agitate him.


    "I have something for you" she slowly took out the picture of the little girl from her pocket. She kept it gradually on the ground, a few feet from him whilst creating a distance between them.


    He hesitated to look at the picture, but he indeed was curious at what it entailed.


    "Go on!" She said, softly "It is a picture of your daughter!"


    Hearing the word ''daughter'' piqued his curiosity, at a slow pace he walked closer to it. In a soft motion, he picked it up, his eyes searched the picture. . .bearing a look of longing as he stared at it.


    "We are going to reunite you with your family, Mr Elliot" she said whilst relaying a signal to Aaron and Selina to do the needful.


    The little girl in the picture had dark brown hair and pale blue eyes, she mirrored the little girl from his dreams. Even though, he couldn''t discern her face. . .the color of her eyes were imprinted in his memory. He looked at Ciara, she had a reassuring smile on her face.


    "Don''t worry Sir, we will turn you back to normal" She spoke in an assuring tone, a warm smile adorned her lips.


    He glanced at the picture again. . . forgetting that she was not alone, as he paid no heed to his surroundings___Aaron and Selina zapped him with the tasers. He let out a painful growl, falling flat on the ground as the electricity coursed through him, paralyzing his limbs.


    Black vans drove to the scene as quickly as he was down. Agents filed out of the vans rushing to where he laid. They placed a large electronic handcuff on his hands¡ªwhich could only be removed by a passcode. As an added restraint a collar was placed on his neck.


    Pulling him up, he was dragged to one of the van. The mutant was subconscious, his head hung and his eyes were droopy as they pushed him into the van.


    He glanced at Ciara as the doors closed slowly, a look of betrayal etched his eyes.


    Ciara couldn''t help but feel a pang of guilt, as the van drove away. The look he had ached her and she pondered why.

 Chapter 9

    Luke stepped down from one of the vans, clapping his hands__approaching them with a proud smile.


    "That was amazing teamwork, Agents!" He said.


    "Thank you, Sir!" Selina replied.


    He let out a nod, his forehead creased noticing the sadness that etched Ciara''s face.


    "What''s wrong Ciara?" He asked.


    "Is he going to be okay?" She asked "The mutant!".


    He let out a heavy sigh, his brows furrowed¡ªpondering on the correct response for it.


    "I am not sure, we hope to find an antidote or a cure for him!" He replied.


    "I just hope he will be alright!" She said, her voice was tinged with cancern.


    Selina scoffed.


    "Oh please! Your mutant crush will be alright, don''t worry about him, he will be fine".


    Ciara was taken aback at what she said "What the hell are you talking about?".


    "I saw how you were staring at him with loving eyes" she batted her eyelashes at her, playfully " It is so obvious you like him" she paused for a minute, pondering on something ". . .but he is a married man, so you have to think of a way to get rid of his wife first, you know. . . get her out of the picture" she ran her thumb across her neck whilst clicking her tongue, showing what she meant.


    Aaron laughed, he never saw the comedy side of her. Ciara blinked slowly, puzzled by her words.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Now, you are playing dumb!¡± Selina replied.


    ¡°No, I am not!¡±


    ¡°Yes, you are!¡±


    They bickered playfully for a while. As Ciara tried to understand her words Selina made some jokes about the mutant.


    Luke walked back to the van, grinning. They were beginning to get along with each other. ¡®It seems that choosing them wasn''t such a bad idea, after all!¡¯ he thought.


    Ciara couldn''t help but laugh at her humor. She hasn''t done that in a while.


    * * * * *


    In a black car not far away from them, he watched everything that took place on the highway. A scar ran across his left eye decorating his face__giving him a scary appearance. His expression was impassive, his eyes were dark and sinister. Dailing a number on his phone, he waited patiently as it began to ring.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    He placed the phone next to his ear as the person on the other line answered.


    "I have got bad news, Doctor!" his voice was deep and coarse.


    "What''s the bad news?" The person asked.


    "The CIA got him!".


    "We have to tell the boss" the man replied, groaning softly "he won''t be too happy about it!"


    "I know!" He ended the call, his piercing gaze never left the chattering Agents.


    Another Agent walked towards them, joining the conversation. He had his back at him, he couldn''t figure out his full features like the rest.


    He turned on his ignition, reversing his car, with a light screeching noise. He drove the opposite direction of the highway.


    ¡®Now wasn''t the right time to encounter them. Surely, they would meet in the nearest future!¡¯ he thought.


    >>>>A blue Lexus pulled over at a cemetery, she stepped out of it. It was a clear afternoon, the sun released its hot rays elevating the temperature of the atmosphere. She opened the back door and took out a bouquet of flowers.


    She closed the doors and walked into the cemetery, walking past a lot of headstones. She halted at a familiar head stone. ¡®Bethany Trainer, 1986-2022¡¯ was written on it. She placed the flowers on the headstone as tears trickled down her cheeks.


    She was preoccupied with her mourning, not realizing the company that approached her. A pair of black men''s shoes caught her attention, she slowly raised her head and gasped when she realized who it was.


    "Todd! What are you doing here?" Shock etched her face.


    Todd was an Agent in the CIA, he was the Deputy Director of Operations. His aquamarine eyes were filled with sorrow as he stared at the headstone, his blonde hair was tousled and short, a few strands fell framing his squarely chiseled face. Seeing him visit her grave was a bit of a surprise to Ciara.


    "I came to visit!" He said, his hands were filled with bouquet of flowers.


    "Oh!"


    "I can''t believe she is gone!" He kept the bouquets of flowers beside hers.


    He looked doleful, his eyes were sunken.


    "Do you still care about her?" She stared at him, tears shimmered in her eyes.


    "Yeah" he shot her a weak smile, "Even though she broke up with me, I still cared about her" he chuckled bitterly, "did you know, I wanted to get back together with her, give her a reason for us to date again?".


    "Really?" her eyes widened.


    "Yes, I even bought a necklace" he took out a small box from his pocket and opened it.


    There was a golden necklace nestled in it, a star encrusted crystal rested in the middle of the necklace, Beth''s name was inscribed on it.


    Ciara gasped.


    "Aww! It''s beautiful!" She cooed "she would have loved it!".


    He closed the box and kept it back in his pocket.


    "Yeah, she would have!" He let out a heavy sigh "I heard you were given her mission".


    She nodded. "Yeah I was!".


    He bore a grave mien as he spoke his next words, "find out whoever created that monster, no matter who it is and bring him to justice for Beth!".


    "Of course, I will" she replied, her expression darkened. His words spiked her anger.


    With a pat on his back, she walked away, leaving the cemetery and returning to her car.

 Chapter 10

    She walked steadily, her black heels clacked the tarred ground with every rushing steps. The sky grew darker as every second flew by whilst the moon slowly revealed itself with its tiny glimmering counterparts appearing in their number. ¡®Dealing with High school students is not an easy job!¡¯ She tells herself everyday.


    Her phone buzzed in her purse as she approached her parked car. With an angry grunt, she searched her purse for it. If it was another angry obnoxious parent, she wasn''t in the mood to get yelled at because of his or her kid.


    The anger subsided a bit realizing the annoying caller was her husband.


    "Hey Sweetie!" She answered whilst trying to balance her phone between her ear and shoulder.


    "Honey, are you on your way home?" He asked as sounds of screaming kids could be heard from the background.


    "Yeah I am, what happened?" She asked. Finally unlocking the car, swiftly she got in whilst slamming the door. Her purse was placed on the passenger seat as the ignition was turned on.


    It roared quietly, finally awoken from its long slumber.


    "Don''t be mad!" he said, in a calm soothing voice.


    She groaned, whenever those words were heard she gets enraged.


    "I tried making dinner but um. . ." He paused for a minute, thinking of a better way to ease in the news" . . . it might have burned in the process ".


    "Daddy! Is it Mommy on the phone?" A tiny voice yelled from behind him.


    "Yes sweetie, she is on her way home!" He said, speaking in a voice worse than a screaming child.


    "Mommy! Come home quickly! Daddy destroyed the kitchen!" It yelled again.


    Giggles left her lips, hearing its voice "don''t worry baby! Mommy is coming!".


    "Okay, Alan that''s enough, go play with your sisters" He stated, sending him off.


    "So, you want me to buy dinner from MacDonald''s?" She asked after awkward minutes of silence.


    "Yes, please!" He replied, slowly.


    "Okay, I will!"


    "Love you!".


    "I Love you too!" She replied, ending the call.


    She stepped on the accelerator and drove off from the parking lot.


    * * * * *


    "Your order is ready ma''am!" The guy behind the counter said, wearing a MacDonald shirt and a red cap with the logo inscribed on it.


    "Thanks!" she took the paper bag from the counter whilst handing the bill "keep the change!".


    He smiled, "Have a wonderful night!" He replied.


    She walked out the door heading back to her car. A man in a black jacket abruptly walked before her. His presence was startling, he wore a black cap_his facial features not visible to her.


    "Excuse me Sir, you are in my way" she stated in an irritated tone. He said nothing, not heeding to her words.


    Not in the mood for an argument, she turned to her right but. . .there stood another creep in a black jacket, blocking her path.


    She groaned. ''What is going on here?'' She thought.


    "Fine! I will walk to my car through the back!" She said, the tone in her voice was an annoying one.


    She turned around but before the next step could be taken, the third creep stood behind her.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    "What the hell is going on here!" She yelled, being annoyingly surrounded.


    In a swift motion, the first guy pulled out a white handkerchief from his pocket and placed it on her face, holding her firmly.


    She struggled. . . trying to break free from his hold. She felt suffocated, the strange scent the handkerchief bore choked her, filling up her nostrils with its odd scent. Her eyes felt droopy, slowly closing shut. After some minutes, the struggles stopped. The food she held fell from her hand landing on the ground.


    They carried her with not much effort to the nearest black car, the driver was already seated, prepared to take off.


    As soon as the car doors were slammed shut, he drove off with a lightning speed not looking back.


    * * * * *


    "We''ve got you a new test subject!" The scarred man stated.


    He pushed his glasses closer to the bridge of his nose. His brows furrowed as he concentrated on the task at hand. He inserted the needle of a syringe into a tiny bottle with a green liquid inside.


    Slowly, he aspirated the liquid¡ª attaining the required dose, he paused and examined the syringe. He pushed the other end of it, sending some of the green liquid to the ground.


    "Make sure she doesn''t escape!" The scarred man warned.


    "I won''t!" He said whilst making his way to the unconscious Lady.


    Her hands were cuffed to a metal bed. Pushing up the sleeves of her shirt, he inserted the needle intravenously on her arm, pushing the end of the syringe until there was no green liquid left.


    She grunted, her face writhed in pain as if she was trying to fight off the mutagen. A few minutes, she stopped bearing a feature of the dead.


    The scarred man walked closer to the bed, his brows creased.


    "What''s the matter? Why isn''t there a transformation?" He asked, staring at her.


    "Give it time!" Dr Raymond replied simply, approaching his work station in the room.


    He began mixing some chemicals in tubes whilst the scarred man stared at the unconscious Allison awaiting a transformation.


    * * * * *


    Mr Grayson Page waited patiently for his wife. Tapping his fingers on the windowsill as the chill night breeze passed by. Hours had passed and she hasn''t returned.


    Earlier; Thirty minutes after the call, he ordered pizza for dinner. The incessant complaints of the tiny creatures he had to take care of pushed him to. He put the kids to bed and waited for his wife. The suspense of seeing her was killing him.


    ''Maybe she has been held up by traffic!'' he thought.


    Glancing at the clock in the living room, it read Ten o''clock and she wasn''t home yet. She hasn''t been returning his calls.


    He couldn''t wait anymore, he had to go find her. He grabbed a jacket hanging on the coat rack, wearing it whilst opening the front door.


    The temperature outside mirrored that of winter. He shivered as a gust of wind swept through, shivers ran down his spine.


    Closing the door behind him, he walked across his lawn to the house beside his.


    He left knocks on the door whilst waiting for a response from his neighbor. The door was pulled open, an elderly woman in glasses walked out of the house, shocked to see him.


    "Sorry for disturbing you, Nancy!" He apologized.


    She waved it off "Nah, it''s nothing, what do you want, Grayson?".


    "Can you help me watch the kids? Allison isn''t home yet and I wanna go get her".


    "Sure!" She said,


    "Thanks a lot!" He said.


    He ran back to his house, opened the door and took the pair of keys that laid on the table in the living room. Nancy slowly walked behind him, taking tiny steps at a time.


    He walked to the driveway approaching the car whilst unlocking it with a slight push of the unlock button of the keys. A light sound notified him that it heeded to his command. He got in and turned on the ignition, the headlights flickered as the car brimmed to life. In a swift motion, he peeled off from the driveway in search for her.


    The first place on his list was their favorite MacDonald cafe. He parked the car in the parking lot and ran inside the cafe.


    "Have you seen this woman?" He asked, approaching the guy behind the counter. A picture of her was displayed on his phone screen.


    He peered closer to the screen and smiled.


    "Yeah I have" he said "she bought some burgers and drinks a few hours ago!".


    ¡°Do you know where she could be by chance?¡±


    He shrugged ¡°Sorry, Sir but I have got no clue!¡±.


    ¡°Right!¡± He replied saddened.


    He left the cafe, sadness etched his eyes.


    "Then, where is she?" He asked.


    He stopped in his tracks_ a paper bag with the MacDonald logo on it caught his attention.


    ''Someone must have dropped it!'' he thought.


    Pushing out the thoughts from his mind, he walked back to the parking lot. A familiar car stood out among the bunch, grabbing his attention. Quickly, he approached it. . . fear evident in his eyes.


    Cleaning the window to have a clearer view, he peered to look inside. His heart sank¡ªher phone sat neatly on the driver''s seat but she was nowhere close to her car.


    In a haste, he brought out his phone from his pocket and dialed 911.


    "911! What''s your emergency?" The woman on the other line asked.


    "I have a report to make. . ." He paused. ¡°My wife''s missing!¡±.

 Chapter 11

    The reverberating sounds of the door bell rang through the apartment. Aaron got up from the couch in the living room and moved towards the front door. Built into the wall by his left¡ªa tiny screen displayed images from the door cam in the hallway, he peeked at the screen. His brows raised a bit at the image of her on the screen.


    A smile rested on his lips, she bore a serious expression as she pressed the doorbell once more.


    With folded arms and a smile, he stared at her from the monitor¡ªcaptivated by her. Within him, he knew that the feelings for her never wavered, never flickered. . . His heart always belonged to her, yearning for her¡ªeven with the tiny squabble they had once in a while, it never changed that fact.


    He watched her from the tiny monitor, the way she fidgeted, her slight irritation at waiting, and his heart raced. Even now, a year later, the sight of her stirred up emotions he struggled to contain.


    She hated him and he knew the reason why she did. If only he was given a chance, he would in a heartbeat right the wrongs of the past.


    He held the doorknob and finally let her in. A second more, he would have lost a door.


    "Am I late or too early?" She asked him.


    "The latter" he replied, "Come in".


    He stepped back from the door and she walked in whilst he closed the door.


    She walked slowly approaching the living room situated at the right of the hallway¡ª taking note of the things around her. Everything was exactly the way it has always been, not a slight thing was out of place.


    Pictures of them together were arranged neatly on the fireplace. Shock rippled through her, he still kept their pictures even after they broke up.


    He walked behind her quietly, admiring the moves she made as she observed his living room.


    "You haven''t changed a thing" She said softly, picking up one of the framed pictures from the fireplace.


    She held the picture, a bittersweet smile tugging at her lips.


    Aaron¡¯s breath hitched. It was his favorite photo¡ªone he¡¯d nearly put away, too afraid it might hurt her to see it. But he couldn''t let go.


    "You still have this picture?" She looked at him, pointing at the picture in her hand.


    He closed the gap between them and inched closer to her. A smile appeared on his lips staring at the picture she held.


    It was a selfie they took beside an unconscious bad guy. They made goofy faces as the selfie was taken.


    "Yeah! That''s my favorite picture" He stated, nervously rubbing the back of his neck.


    "Oh!" That was her only reply.


    He felt a sharp pain in his chest. He wanted something more than a word, he shouldn''t have let his hopes up that she would be impressed.


    Who was he kidding? It would take more than just a picture for her to warm up to him.


    * * * * *


    TWO YEARS AGO


    They were given a mission together working as partners. Their mission involved stopping a group of drug dealer dealing with marketing an illegal drug known to ruin a lot of people''s lives.


    The drug was ''Substance K'', once taken creates an unquenchable thirst for more of it. It acts on the muscles, increasing the strength of its users. It was powerful, creating an effect that was so addictive but yet its side effects ruins the nervous system¡ªaffecting the user''s mental state. The more it was consumed the more damage it did to the brain.


    Substance K was in high demand in the black market. Its use made people crave for more of it. It was produced from a rare mineral discovered years ago. Scientists were still researching its chemical components.


    ¨¢lvaro Basilio, a Spanish mafia boss was the man behind its distribution world wide. His goal was expansion of his empire to America. He began with selling the drug to major leaders of the black market who sold it to the youths of the streets.


    During their first attempt to stop them. They were an inch closer to stopping the operation, being closer to their main base. They weren''t notified of their enemies preparation¡ªShe noticed a man on a rooftop, his gun was directed at Aaron, who was oblivious to him. Quickly, without much thinking¡ª she did the first thing that came to mind. As the bullet was fired, she pushed him out of harm''s way before it could hit him. . .She barely felt the impact before her vision blurred.


    A sharp, burning pain radiated up her arm, and she staggered, gasping as her legs buckled. Aaron¡¯s arms were there, catching her. She saw worry flash in his emerald eyes, heard his voice through a fog. . .


    Ciara groaned¡ªthe rays of the morning sun filtered through the windows. Their warm glow rested on her face. Her lashes fluttered as she regained consciousness. She looked around her with furrowed brows at the unfamiliarity of the odd room she was in.


    "Are you okay?" A familiar voice asked suddenly.


    She turned swiftly to her side, Aaron stood at the entrance of the room¡ªholding a coffee cup. He leaned by the door, his sleeves were rolled up to his elbow¡ªrevealing sculpted muscles hardened by intense workouts.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    She gulped! Mesmerized by her partner. As he approached her, she noticed how ripped he was. The first two buttons of his shirts were undone, she could vividly trace the contour of his chest muscle with her eyes.


    His hair was tousled, some locks fell to his face a few inches from his trimmed eyebrows. His emerald eyes looked intently at her filled with concern, she was hypnotized and lost all at once.


    "Are you okay?" He asked again, placing the cup on the bedside cupboard.


    She shook her head back to reality, breaking herself free from his captivating charm.


    "Yeah, I am fine" She replied, slowly.


    "How is your arm?" He asked, settling beside her on the bed.


    Confusion filled her eyes as she stared at him, "What''s wrong with my arm?".


    "You took a shot for me!" He pointed out.


    "Oh! Yeah I did, I did" She said slowly as the painful memory flashed back. She stared at her bandaged arm. "It''s okay".


    "Why did you do that?" He asked with a worried but stern tone.


    She shrugged "It is because you are my partner" She smiled "And I have always got your back!".


    He was stunned by her swift and simple reply. A smile made its way to his lips.


    "Since you''re my partner, I have got your back too!" He replied.


    She smiled and looked around¡ªnoticing a bunch of boxes on the different corners of the room.


    "Did you just move in?"


    His eyes followed her, landing on the boxes.


    "Yeah I did, I haven''t got time to arrange the place!" His voice held a hint of bashfulness making Ciara smile.


    "Oh, Can I help? I am good at organizing" she said cheerfully.


    "Sure!".


    A couple of weeks later, an opportunity made its way to their doorstep. A drug deal of Substance K was about to go down in a part of the City. Their goal was to stop the deal. It wasn''t easy to accomplish, the Mafia boss, ¨¢lvaro Basilio happened to be a part of the deal.


    The death of the Mafia boss was not part of their mission but he was unfortunately caught up in the chaos that ensued and was shot in the chest by a stray bullet. As the chaos settled, they wrapped up the unconscious men and set the warehouse to explode with ¨¢lvaro Basilio''s dead body and the illegal drugs in it. As the building burned down, exploding in flames¡ªthey walked out of it as time seemed to slow down with every booming step they made, wearing glasses mirroring stars from an action movie.


    "You got all of it?" Ciara asked the only conscious man they''d caught. They made him shoot a video of them stepping out of the exploded warehouse.


    "Yeah, it was dope!" He replied with a broad smile, handing her the phone "So, are you going to keep the end of the bargain of not taking me to jail?".


    He looked at them, his eyes pleaded for mercy.


    They glanced at each other and burst out laughing at the confused idiot before them.


    "That was so funny!" Aaron stated and cuffed the man, flashing him a mischievous grin.


    ¡°Wait¡ªso, n-no d-deal?¡± the dealer stammered, disbelief etched on his face.


    Ciara chuckled, ¡°Oh, honey, did you really believe us?¡±.


    Police sirens wailed in the distance, they grew louder as minutes flew by. They patted his shoulder whilst his face scrunched up as anger bubbled within him. With a wink and a wave they turned around and left, abandoning him to his fate.


    Two months after, Aaron summoned the courage to ask Ciara for a date, which she wholeheartedly agreed to in a heartbeat.


    A few more dates after, they realized their feelings for each other and took the next step of becoming a couple, being one of the best decision Ciara ever made or so she thought. . .


    BACK TO THE PRESENT.


    "Okay, here is the plan!" Aaron tapped the button underneath the table in the living room.


    A holographic picture of a huge mansion emerged before them.


    Jason and Selina were stunned by the mansion.


    "That''s Dr Raymond''s mansion!" Ciara informed "Every year, he holds a charity ball and the ball this year is in a week from now".


    "We have to infiltrate the ball" Aaron stated "Ciara and I will be in a disguise as a couple while Selina will be dressed as one of the waitress for the evening" He looked at her expecting a contradiction to her role, Selina was mute not saying a word to it.


    He continued, noticing that she didn''t mind it "Jason, you will be in the van and take care of the security cameras".


    "I can handle that," Jason replied with a satisfied smile.


    Using his fingers, Aaron zoomed in on the holographic mansion, the first floor and the basement was in a clearer view to everyone.


    "Down in the basement is his research lab" Jason stated, taking over from him "It might be a possibility that we may find some traces of the mutagen in the lab".


    "That means one of us has to get in" Selina said, staring at them intently.


    "Exactly! But there is one problem" Aaron informed.


    "What is it?" Ciara asked, intrigued.


    "The door to the lab would be highly guarded and it can only be unlocked by Dr Raymond''s thumbprint and a retinal scan of his eyes!" Jason replied.


    "We can handle the guards and get the thumbprint that would be a piece of cake but a retinal scan would be tricky" Selina said, stroking her chin thoughtfully.


    "Luckily, we have a solution!" Jason picked up a black box from the floor and placed it on the table. ¡°The research department back in headquarters just invented these!¡± He informed.


    He lifted the lid of the box, revealing its content. Within the box, four pairs of contact lenses and a small flat screen device were neatly placed.


    "A pair of these contact lens can scan any eye type in the world just by looking at it. It can scan the color, the size of the pupil and any other essential details needed. It''s user would have the exact replica of the eyes it scans" He stated, they were amazed by the uniqueness of the lenses.


    He pointed at the other device in the box ". . . While this device it''s like a messenger, it sends the necessary information to the other pair of the lens!".


    "That means one of us has to stare directly into Dr Raymond''s eyes and scan it wearing the contact lens. . ." Ciara paused.


    ". . .While Jason will use the lens messenger device and send the needed information to the other person to unlock the door to the lab who also happens to wear the other lens" Aaron finished her sentence.


    Selina frowned, eyeing the contact lenses. ¡°You sure these things are reliable? One glitch, and it¡¯s over.¡±


    Jason chuckled, masking his own nerves. ¡°Relax, HQ tested them. We¡¯ve got this.¡±


    Ciara looked over at Aaron, a silent understanding passing between them.


    ¡°The plan might just actually work if nothing bad happens that night!¡± Selina stated, sighed heavily.


    This mission is indeed the most complex missions any of them had ever encountered in their lifetime as an Agent.


    "Let''s hope nothing goes wrong this time around or we are so screwed!" Ciara pointed out, solemnly.

 Chapter 12

    The car halted with a light screech in front of the police station. He bore a bleak, gloomy mien as he stepped down from his car, heading towards the front entrance. A couple of dressed officers rushed in and out of the station, the hustle and bustle of the job evident in their steps. Grayson strode into the station. The loneliness and pain he felt about his missing wife was written all over him. It has been a sad couple of days without her, he yearns to see her again.


    "I need to see the detectives in charge of my wife''s case" He spoke to the woman behind the desk.


    "What''s your name, Sir?" She inquired, staring at the monitor in front of her.


    "The name is Grayson Paige. I reported my wife was missing a few days ago" He replied, tapping his fingers on the desk, impatiently


    "Oh, the detectives were called in for backups, for a kidnapping case. . ."


    "They have found my wife!" he cut her off, his face was suddenly filled with ecstasy.


    "Not exactly Sir. . .¡± She said slowly, his face gradually drew dark ¡°. . .They found a certain Mr Elliot who was reported missing a few weeks ago. The hideout of his kidnappers was just discovered and people were sent there as backups_just in case things got messy".


    His fist hit the table, as rage poured in. Frustrated, Grayson ran his hand through his hair. He bore a hostile look on his face, the woman was frightened for a moment.


    "So, they haven''t discovered her whereabouts? " he asked, looking at her intently.


    She shook her head, ". . .But t-they are doing e-everything t-they can, Sir" she stuttered "You just have to be patient, Sir!".


    She spoke the last statement in a slow tone, trying to calm him down.


    He let out a breath and walked out of the station in a state of fury.


    * * * * *


    She was staring through a thick glass wall at the mutant. He was kept in a confinement, it was small with a bed, a table and a big bowl of fruits at a corner. The mutant was dressed in a big gray jumpsuit that fitted him perfectly. She could notice how clean his hands were, no blood stains, no dirt. He was more refreshed than ever. Being better than how he was, when he first came to the lab.


    A few days ago, the researchers in the CIA needed samples of his blood to run some tests, it wasn''t an easy feat getting it from him. Agents were called, twenty of them to restrain him.


    They surrounded him like he was some kind of wild beast. Throwing knots of tied ropes on him, hoping to pin him down. They had an issue restraining him as he was a strong foe. The moment he showed a sign of weakness, they jumped at the opportunity. Pinning him to the ground, as the samples were taken. It would be a day to remember for a very long time in the CIA.


    The first few days he arrived was a wreck. He growled and destroyed half the lab. The scientists were quick to act before more damage would be created by him. As he growled and threw things and furnitures around, being preoccupied to care about the frightened tiny beings at the other side of the lab. . . The room got suddenly filled with a powerful sedative gas, coming through a vent in the ceiling. After thirty minutes of growling, barking and snarling, it finally reached the appropriate sites to act in his system, making him weak and pulling him to sleep.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    For the past few days, he seemed to get better. He was less aggressive and more calm. He had a strange addiction to peaches since it was the only fruit he ate from the big bowl. Noting that, a lot of peaches were brought for him.


    She has tried to get some information from him but nothing seemed to work. The scientists believe the mutation may have disoriented his memory. ¡°It might return due to a form of shock or with the help of the antidote¡± They said at her first inquiry.


    As time flew by, the chances of it returning proved to be quite slim. With his memory gone, he was like a child¡ªa big overgrown man-child, a mutated man-child.


    Yesterday, she made an effort of buying him a chessboard with the thought of it curing his boredom. . . It surprised her that he was eager about it and happened to like it. She showed him the ropes of how to play chess and was quite shocked at how fast he learned. Weird! She never thought that she would ever get close to the monster that killed Beth. She was meant to be loathing his existence. Was it because he wasn''t as bad as she thought he was? Maybe, he killed Beth out of fear, thinking that she was working for the people who turned him into the monster he was.


    She scoffed. She could not believe of the thoughts and theories she had about the entire situation. She could not possibly be having a soft spot for the monster.


    Right now, he was playing against himself, a battle most people fail to accomplish. He bore a serious look as he thought of the next step to take. Watching him play, reminded her of someone she missed, someone long gone, Her Dad!.


    Her eyes widened at the thought. She hasn''t thought of him ever since she was given Beth''s mission. The pain she felt at his loss rushed back to her.


    Every afternoon when she was little, they had a great match of chess. They both had the eagerness to win. Whenever she looked up at him, he had a serious look¡ªan expression she has become all too familiar with. His brows drew together, a thin line formed above them, seriousness etched in his eyes. Two of his fingers rubbed his temples as he thought of ways to defeat his smart daughter. She smiled as she watched him think of new strategies to win.


    She remembered the look he bore, the first time she won him. The surprised expression he had made her tickle. Winning her old man in a game of chess always made her smile.


    She reminisced the happy days they had together. A smile made a way to her lips.


    If her Dad was still alive, she was certain that he would have gotten along well with the mutant. She could see him now, he''d be playing with the mutant. Bearing, a familiar serious look¡ªrubbing his temples as he thinks of ways to defeat his mighty foe. Tears ran down her cheeks at the thought of him. She missed him badly.


    "Ciara!" A familiar voice called out.


    She quickly wiped the tears with the back of her hand and turned to the direction of the voice. Jason approached her, bearing a solemn look. She could tell, something was out of place.


    "Jason, what''s wrong?" She asked, stunned to see him that serious.


    "We have a problem!".


    "What''s the problem?" asked Ciara, inching closer to him.


    "Okay, I was going through the police files again to know more about Mr Elliot!" He glanced at her, She appeared to be listening "I just found out that they have found him!".


    She chuckled goofily at the statement, " That''s impossible, he is right here!" She pointed at the mutant.


    "No, he is not!¡± He said defiantly ¡°He was kidnapped and they recently discovered his kidnapper''s location. He was rescued earlier today!¡±.


    She blinked severally allowing his words to sink in.


    "Maybe the mutant is Harry, the other missing guy!" She said slowly, masking the fear that was creeping in.


    "That''s what I thought too. . . but, Harry''s dead body was found in his car which was seen close to a junkyard in the city and the cops are investigating his case!" He looked at her.


    She staggered a little and placed her hand on the glass wall to prevent herself from falling.


    Slowly turning her head to face the mutant, she asked the dreadful question.


    "If Mr Elliot was found and Harry is dead then who is the mutant?".


    Jason was staring at the serious looking mutant. He sighed as he shook his head.


    "I have no idea!" He replied.