Espion | Book One

Ten.

If Fredrick Garner peed his pants right now, he wouldn't even be ashamed of it. It would be the normal reaction to the situation he was in at the moment. Any human being – any normal human being – should be able to understand why his legs were literally quaking in his boots, and why his pit stains stretched so far, they almost kissed the bottom of his shirt. Anyone should be able to identify with why he was so anxiously fiddling with his fingers, and why his eyes couldn't stop darting back and forth. The darkness that surrounded them and the creepy setting they were a part of made him feel no better.

"Calm down, type," the man closest to him said. His eyes darted to him, saw the man was staring at him like he was slowly becoming mad and barked a harsh laugh, spit flying from his mouth.

"Calm down? You think it's possible to calm down right now? I'll calm down when your man arrives!"

"He said he's coming, type. Trust us."

This laugh sounded more like a scoff to his ears. Trust them? He knew he couldn't trust them as far as he could throw them. Still, he didn't say anything. He shifted the briefcase back and forth in his hands, fearing any moment it might slip from his sweaty fingers and his backup plan backfired on him.

Someone else approached him, another one of his 'partners'. "You gotta keep calm, monsieur. He'll be here soon so you don't have to worry. No one even knows that you're here."

To this very moment he still couldn't believe their naiveté. "You think they don't already know I'm here? You think they don't already know that I'm trying to get away and that I got help? This is the NP freaking A we're talking about. These people are ruthless. They'll kill me trying to get these documents back – damn it! Where is he?"

"Hey, will you shut him up before I do it myself?"

Fredrick whirled on the voice, trying to spot who had spoken amongst the shadowy silhouettes all around him. "Don't tell me to shut up! I have what you want so if I want to talk and freak out then I can damn well do so if I please."

Suddenly he stopped, clutching his chest. "Oh, God I think I'm having a heart attack."

One of the men grabbed him, the one who called him monsieur, the one obviously in charge. "Calm down, monsieur, before you kill yourself."

"He needs to get here, now!" he wheezed.

"He will, he wi – see here he comes right now!"

Joy, pure sweet unadulterated joy leapt into his heart and Fredrick felt some of the fear float away. But he didn't let his guard down. He knew he will never be safe until he was miles and miles away from this place.

"I don't think you guys are going anywhere."

The voice had him freezing to the spot. Oh, God. It couldn't be. They couldn't have found them again this fast, could they? Even as the question bounced around in his head, he knew the answer. They could. They could and they did. And now he was dead.

Anna watched the man tense up at the sound of her voice. He was the only one, the only one out of the six of them, that didn't turn and she immediately knew him to be Fredrick Garner: her new target.

She thought back to what she had read up on the mission. Sera had been able to take out three out of the eight bodyguards Fredrick hired for himself, but the other five got away, escaping to the harbour. They planned on leaving by boat, and it would have worked too. They probably would have gotten out if it hadn't been for the briefcase Fredrick held in his hands. That simple object was what made his life null and void as of this moment.