MED: Minor Extremely Dangerous (The Stone Chronicles: Book 2)

Chapter 16

Somewhere over the Atlantic. August 5th, 2015. 1930 Hours (NY Time).

Alex

I grabbed at the wall desperately and braced myself as we hit yet another patch of alarming turbulence. Metal toolboxes shuddered violently against metal shelves, and I heard a loud clatter as one broke free and splattered onto the ground. I winced and knelt to the ground to hopefully avoid an inevitably nasty fall.

It was obvious that this thing wasn't built to carry passengers. Other than the cockpit, there was only one compartment fit for housing people, and the haphazardness of the room made it clear that even that was a last minute edition. To make matters worse, the pilot and the rest of the small crew were unwaveringly silent, refusing to answer any question I asked and blatantly ignoring my presence. It was quite rude.

It got me wondering: If these guys aren't CIA, who the hell was Max involved with?

As the clatter stopped and the ground leveled out, I slowly stood and regained my balance, then all but sprinted to the haphazard room where Emily and I were basically being kept.

Shelves full of electronic equipment and toolboxes were shoved into the corner of the compartment to make room for the variety of reject chairs that even thrift shops didn't want. A pathetic plastic coffee table rested in the center, and the single Edison bulb dangling from a wire above it was the only source of light.

Emily was slouched back in a raggedy, bright green beach chair with her feet propped up on the coffee table. A Hot-Can hot chocolate sat in the cup holder with a bright blue bendystraw sticking out of it, and I could barely make out the bag of starburst candy corn she was hiding in the zipper on the side. She barely noticed me when I walked in, her eyes basically glazed over as she typed expertly on the tiny laptop Max had lent her.

I tiptoed over and lowered myself gingerly into the beat up, neon pink lounging chair next to her. I propped the leg rest up and leaned back as far as I could; from there, I could easily read what was on her computer screen. I knew she knew I could see it, so it surprised me when she didn't close it out or move the screen. I guess that's what a little 'trust' earns you, right? I managed to read through the message she'd typed before she shut the laptop:

CO:

I'm in a code red situation. Allah Akbhar lives. Proceed with scenario A17.

I'll try to keep you posted once I'm clear, but it'll probably be a while. Stay safe.

- Stone

As she placed the laptop on the coffee table and took a sip of her hot cocoa, I asked, "So who's Covert Oddity?"

She looked at me with a curious expression, "Is this your idea of rebuilding trust? Indirectly admitting you snooped through my email?"

I shrugged, "Gotta start somewhere, right?"

She smiled amusedly, "I don't know. They approached me. Found out I was investigating Allah Akbhar and wanted me to keep it on the down low. Started sending me information to help develop the investigation."

"Without pay?" I noted, "Did you ever wonder about their motive?"

"They never really said anything; I'd always assumed they'd just lost someone like I did."

I frowned, "What do you mean? You saved Ella."

She stared forward as all movement in the room seemed to cease. Her expression deepened as she set her cocoa in the cup holder next to her. I bit my lip; there was something she hadn't told me. Maybe she hadn't told anyone.

"Ems?" I muttered worriedly, "I trust you."

She turned her head slowly, her eyebrows lowering slightly as she frowned at my remarks, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that while you may have spent your entire life surrounded by spies," I explained, "I'm not one of them. I trust you. Wholeheartedly. And even if you've never trusted anyone before, you can trust me."

What happened next scared me more than a bullet ever could. A single drop of water, a tear no bigger than a raindrop, fell from Emily's eye. She whispered, "I- I found something... In the raid after we took Kosar into custody."

She reached into the zipper on the side of her chair, past the bag of candy corn, and pulled out a small slip of paper. I read over it quickly as she continued to explain, "The 7/7 bombings: the ones that killed my parents and Hunt and Jones and... and Nadine? They were planned by Allah Akbhar. All of them."

I felt my hand clench around the small slip of evidence she'd handed me, "This Tarantula guy? He's the top, isn't he? The head."

She nodded, "With the info I was able to scrounge and the stuff I got from Covert, I figured out a lot of it. Alex, I-" Her breath caught in her throat, "MI6 has a mole on the inside. That's why they wanted me dead. They knew I was getting close."

Before I knew what was happening, I was kneeling next to her chair and had wrapped her between my arms. She grasped around my neck and buried her face into my shoulder. I felt it grow wet as she finally let loose her tears: tears that she'd been holding in for years. I heard her murmur between the sobs, "What am I gonna do?"

It was the scariest moment of my life. I had an assassin expressing emotions while I hugged her. Not normal.

So this is what trust feels like? To watch the most ruthless person you've ever known bawl as hard as she could? It felt strange. It felt... right.

Her entire world had come crashing down. She devoted more than half of her still short life to an organization that now wanted her dead because a terrorist had told them so. She had nothing left. And she'd admitted it to me.

So as the plane shook through another patch of turbulence, I let the emotionless assassin cry in my arms.

Author's Note

Sorry this is late guys! I've basically been wiped since I got back from Leadership. I HAVE A FANCY SILVER CORD! 😄

I gotta admit, I loved writing this chapter. I feel like you really get to see the characters. It was a nice change. Let me know what y'all thought in the comments, and PLEASE don't be afraid of that vote button. It doesn't bite, I promise.

Next update will be from the very location it's based in: LONDON! I finally leave for my Europe trip on Thursday! YAHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! 🇬🇧🇫🇷🇪🇸

I will see you all on Friday! I love you lovelies!

XOXO ~ Maddie 😘😘