"Ingenious!" Tyler exclaimed. He still didn't understand how Connor came up with these methods, but he did sort of see how the magnetic field and the electricity could shield the facility from any radar, sonar, and tracking system on the same frequency as their enemies, but would be visible to allied systems. They switched seats again.
"So, now we just need to build the poles controlling the magnetic field and electricity around the facility without the civilians, park rangers, and the rest of Fiji knowing what it is!" Connor said. Tyler sat in his chair and slumped into the seat.
"That's going to present a problem." Tyler observed, looking up at Connor. "What are we going to do about it?"
Connor thought for a moment, then said, "I don't know. Maybe this Brycen guy could figure something out."
"Let's go and see him then." Tyler said.
****************
"So, I assume that Agent Brown informed you of the basics of the mission?" Firoxa said.
"She only told me that it would be dangerous and that it would take place in country 23 in section 67. Where is that?" Ashlynn replied.
"I'll show you on the map right now." She responded. A holograph of the planet appeared in front of Ashlynn. When it zoomed in to show her Denmark, Rebecca suppressed a gasp.
"Isn't that country called Denmark?" she asked innocently.
"Yes. Very good. Now, there aren't very many agencies left in Northern Europe because it's mostly socialist and are provided for by the Reds in Russia. Yes, it's still a Communist country, even though they claim to be something else." Firoxa explained. "Your mission is to find and capture the last agency in Denmark. It's called DANE. The former woman in control of SSAWPS failed to bring them to a.... more powerful organization."
"What could beat the SSAWPS?" Ashlynn asked.
Firoxa laughed. "I am so happy that you've found strength here, but unfortunately, we aren't the most powerful organization in the world. But we will be...soon."
****************************
When Tyler found Brycen, the situation didn’t look very good. The very first thing he saw was Katie sitting in a chair. “Katie? What are you doing here?” he asked.
Katie’s eyes widened as she saw him. “Tyler! Help—”
“Shut up!” came a voice. Tyler turned.
“Brycen?” Tyler questioned, confused. “What is going on?”
“Tyler…” Katie started.
“I said shut up!” Brycen exclaimed.
“Brycen…” Tyler began. Then he noticed Katie was tied to the chair. “Why is Katie tied to the chair?”
“Katie!” Brycen scoffed. “I don’t know any Katie. But I do know this…”--he glared at Katie--“…feline named Kristine,” he snarled.
“What?” Tyler raised his eyebrows at Katie. “What?” he repeated.
Katie gave him a half smile, then turned to Brycen. “I told you, I wasn’t working for the SSAWPS. I work with the HIA!”
“Ha! If I believed that, I wouldn’t be in charge of this organization,” Brycen answered.
“She’s telling the truth. Katie is with us,” Tyler insisted.
Brycen stared at Tyler. “You know her?”
“Of course,” Tyler replied. “We’ve been working together for quite some time.”
Brycen turned around to look at the wall. “Working together…”
“Yes. Whatever she did, I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”
“Not that bad?!” Brycen whirled around. “Almost a year ago, she came here saying she worked with an organization called the ASW and they wished to start registering weaponry with the HIA’s allies. At this point in time we owned a camp facility in Abaca. The SSAWPS came to us, telling us to surrender. If we didn’t, they said they would destroy us. Kristine left, saying she would get reinforcements from allying agencies. Just after she left, there was a weapons malfunction and the whole western division exploded. We were forced to retreat, escaping into the mountains. Then we found this park and began rebuilding our corporation beneath the ground. She never came back until now! You can see why we would never trust her. She was working with the SSAWPS!”
“I can assure you she has nothing to do with that group.” Tyler insisted. “I have been with her for a very long time and I know—”
“Wait!” Brycen interrupted. “You are working with her!”
“Exactly,” Tyler said relieved. “That’s what I have been trying to tell you all along.”
“Guards!” Two robotic men stepped out from the shadows.
“Wait, that’s not what I meant,” Tyler said, holding up his hands in a peaceful gesture. “I meant we both work for the HIA.”
“Liar!” Brycen yelled, as the robots grabbed Tyler’s arms and pulled them behind his back. “I do not know who you work for or why you have come here, but I can assure you,”--he headed towards the exit--“whatever your mission is, you will never be able to complete it.”
*************
"Stop."
The group followed Laura's orders and relaxed against the walls, thinking that the command was for a break.
"No, someone's ahead of us. Coming towards us." Laura hissed. They tensed up and readied their weapons.
The group waited in silence, when suddenly, a group of women turned around a corner 15 meters away and stopped, surprised to see the group of Danes. They suddenly attacked. Bullets whizzed past Laura's head as the Danes attacked, and hit several women before they could reach them. But before they could shoot again, the women were upon them. They appeared to be agents of the SSAWPS. Laura began to fight a very experienced teen who appeared to be the leader. Kalyia and Imraan tried their best, but were quickly pushed into the back of the Danes by Agent Olsen's orders. Laura and the teen leader were still fighting when the Danes finished off the rest of the agents from SSAWPS twenty minutes later. There was a pause in the fighting where leader looked around, seeing that her group was finished. The Danes waited, watching.
“Surrender,” Laura commanded.
The leader looked around again, and Laura could tell she was gaging her choices. Did this leader really think she could take them all down? The thought distracted Laura for a few seconds, and in that time the leader was able to take out a stun gun and shoot her. The she set off a smoke bomb and escaped.
****************
Connor was patiently waiting for Tyler to return with Brycen when all of a sudden, two robots randomly grabbed and handcuffed him, then led him to a cell where Tyler was.
"Tyler! What's happening?" Connor asked, confused.
"Ummm... There was a.... misunderstanding..." Tyler said awkwardly.
"A...misunderstanding." Connor said slowly. "How?"
"Ummm... They think that Katie and I—and apparently you--work for the SSAWPS." Tyler replied.
"The SSAWPS?" Connor responded. "That's ridiculous! Completely ludicrous! We're GUYS! The SSAWPS would kill us on sight just because of that fact!"
"I know, but for some reason, Brycen thinks that Katie's one of their agents by the name of Kristine. I don't know how Katie's gotten herself into this mess, but now we're part of it too, so we'll just have to deal with this."
"Unbelievable." Connor muttered under his breath.
****************
Rebecca knew where her other recruits were. She just had to keep control of herself. She was just going on a scouting trip in the sewers so that she could take a break of being the leader. They were just exploring a corner before heading back for dinner, when all of a sudden, there they were, the Danes that she had been told to look for. Standing in the front was Laura. Everybody else had charged, so Rebecca had no choice but to attack with them. Suddenly, fourteen SSAWPS agents fell, dead as a doornail, and Rebecca found herself fighting Laura, who had no idea that it was her. She almost regretted making her disguise so realistic. Laura had thought she was her enemy. What would have happened if one of their bullets had found their mark in her chest? The reality of her disguise haunted her thoughts as she realized she had become an enemy to all her friends. She wondered whose idea this was, to toy with their lives this way. If she wasn’t careful, she could end up either having to kill one of her friends or lie dead at their hands.
Rebecca wiped something wet off of her face. Tears or sweat, she didn't know and she didn't care. Rebecca turned around a corner and became Ashlynn.
"Agent Ryans! What did you find? Where are the others?" an agent asked.
"We found the Danes, but unfortunately, I was the only survivor. We must pursue them before they are lost from our reach! Hurry!" Ashlynn commanded. The rest of the fourty-six agents scrambled around before following Ashlynn.
She was the hunter now, and she couldn’t back down. None of them knew her secret, and she had to make sure they would never find out.
****************
“I don’t believe you.”
“Brycen! You have to trust me!” Sarah’s arms were pinned behind her by one of the robotic agents. Their hands felt like skin, but they were cold to the touch, almost like they were dead. Sarah shuddered at the thought and gave Brycen a pleading look. “Come on, you know me.”
Brycen traced the edge of the wooden desk with his fingers. “But how well?”
“What?”
Brycen looked up at the yellow light hanging on the ceiling before turning around. “How well do I know you? You could have been tricking me, lying to me all this time.”
“Brycen.” Sarah’s voice was serious. “Think about it. How long have you known me? We have been good friends for a long time.”
“That’s just it!” Brycen exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air, then dropping them. He turned away from her, then whirled around, this time with more force. He jabbed his finger in her direction. “It sickens me when I think that you could have possibly been playing me all this time. And the invasion proves the fact that you have been.”
“What invasion? Brycen, what are you talking about?”
“Don’t play coy with me! Don’t pretend you don’t know about what is happening.”
“I don’t! And I swear I will help you with whatever this is,” Sarah said resolutely.
“Your tricks won’t work on me anymore,” Brycen answered, just as sternly. He gave a half smile for a split second, then glared at her. “Your secret has been uncovered. Now you will join your friends.”
****************
Laura. What was she doing here? She was causing all sorts of problems for Rebecca. Did she not know about Rebecca’s mission? Rebecca sighed and rubbed her forehead. Of course not. This was probably another one of Rian’s stupid adventures, and Rebecca had agreed to go with it. She realized her mistake, but there was no going back. She had to play the part of Ashlynn. She had to be an SSAWPS agent.
“Agent Ryans,” came a voice. Ashlynn turned around.
“Yes?”
“We found something.” A brown-haired girl held up a cover for a dagger. Inside, Rebecca face-palmed herself. What was Laura doing? She needed to be more careful. Laura had never been this lax before, and she needed to step it up or else she and everybody she was with would get killed.
“Where?” Ashlynn demanded.
“Follow me,” the girl answered. Ashlynn followed her to a two-way path. “This way.” The girl gestured to the left, then started walking that way. Ashlynn followed her into the tunnel until the girl stopped. “Here.” She pointed down the tunnel. “We believe they went that way.”
“Alright. Report to the others and lead them here,” Ashlynn commanded. “We will head that way.”
****************
The robotic agents turned and left the room. Sarah flinched as the doors slammed behind them, and sighed at the sound of the bar dropping, locking her in. “Well, this is great,” she said, slumping against a wall. She pushed away from the wall, staring at the bunk bed in the corner. “Katie?” There was a creaking sound as Katie stood up from the bed.
“What are you doing here?” Katie asked.
“I would ask you the same thing,” Sarah answered, putting her hands on her hips.
“Oh no, they locked you up, too. This is all my fault.”
“What did you do? And why are you here?” Sarah questioned. “You were supposed to be with Armaan.”
“It was a mission,” Katie said, turning away. “I was with Janaya, a while back. She asked me to help her out. She knew the Protection Organization of Abaca Fiji (POAF) was having issues with attacks from the SSAWPS, but she had to go on a reconnaissance mission in Ohrid, Macedonia. So she asked me to act as an intermediary between the ASW and the POAF for new weaponry. Everything was going smoothly until the SSAWPS began their siege attack. They demanded the POAF surrender to them, but you know how stubborn Fijians are, and the POAF has always been a good asset to allied forces by hiding agents and organizing aliases. Of course, they wouldn’t surrender and the SSAWPS knew they wouldn’t. There was a transfer of the weapons the week before, when they transported the weapons to the western division to test their quality. Just as the POAF announced that they would never surrender, there was a weapons malfunction and the western division went up in smoke.”
“You must have had an alias when on this mission,” Sarah said. “Janaya would have given you one.”
“She did,” Katie replied. “I went by the name of Kristine Hopkins. I wore a disguise, but somehow Bryan figured out who I really was and found my real picture.” She sighed. “And here I thought I was Google-proof.”
“So Brycen assumed that you were an agent of SSAWPS and now he believes I was in on it, also.”
Katie nodded. “Tyler, too.”
“What?” Sarah asked, confused. “That doesn’t make any sense. Tyler couldn’t possibly be an agent of SSAWPS.”
“Brycen said that SSAWPS has been doing all kinds of odd things lately,” Katie said, shaking her head. “He thinks that the SSAWPS is allying itself with other agencies. Agencies with men.”
Sarah groaned. If Brycen thought the SSAWPS was working with men, he wasn’t as smart as she thought. But that’s not what she was worried about. If Tyler had been caught, then so had Conner. And if both of them were in a cell somewhere, then nobody was figuring out the shielding for the POAF facility. And if nobody was doing that, then POAF was a sitting duck for any agency that felt like taking advantage of it.
That reminded her of something.
“What happened to Armann?”
*****************