Espion | Book One

Thirty Six.

"What do you mean she went after him?" Roger's only physical response was a subtle click in his cheek as his eyes trained steadily on the road. Sitting strongly behind the wheel of his Jaguar, he looked like a man of power, a man in control of all that went on around him. The bloody scene of dead NPA agents hadn't tainted his air, nor did the frightened teenagers that had loaded into his car. He was poised as always, even though he felt a glimmer of fear rush through him at the thought of Anna tackling this on her own.

Jessi was sitting in the passenger seat, trying to hide the pain he felt from his opening wood. He was sweating, his hands shaking but his mouth moved rapid and sure, doling out all the reasons why he thought Roger should whip the car around right this instant and go after Anna. Dan and Mina sat in the back seat, Mina wedged in the middle. They interjected at some points, compounding Jessi's arguments with statements of their own. The only one not speaking was the blond girl directly behind his seat.

She was new to him. Her hair was a tangled mess, glowing brightly with each pass of a city light. She was staring out the window, blue eyes lost, not speaking a single word. Around her shoulders, Roger's jacket was draped to cover the dance wear she donned. She had murmured a soft thank you to him but after that, she didn't say anything else.

Roger glanced at her once more. She stayed in the same position, never moving to join the conversation, not even shifting her eyes. "She told me to take you guys to safety," Roger said, looking away from Angela.

"I know what she said," Jessi sighed. "But I can't rest easily knowing she might not even come back."

"So what? You want to go there and confirm the ending with your own two eyes?"

"We want to help!" said Dan.

"What help would you three be?"

"She gave us guns," Mina spoke up.

"Yeah, for protection. Have you even shot a gun before? Did you shoot one today?" Silence greeted his words. Roger nodded in confirmation. "Annabelle is trained to do things like this. She doesn't need to worry about you guys while she's taking out the bad guy. Just sit tight and let her do her work."

Out of the corner of his eye, Roger saw Jessi rear up, ready to start arguing again. He prepared himself for it, but what he heard next wasn't Jessi's voice. It was a pretty voice, soft yet commanding. His eyes flew to the rear view mirror to see that it was the blond girl, Angela, who had spoken. "What was that?"

"How do we know we can trust you?" Although her voice was barely over a whisper, her eyes bore hard into him. "You work for the NPA, don't you?"

Roger felt his lip quirk upwards. "I'm Anna's friend."

"So? That doesn't mean you'll go against your own organization for her." Roger smiled even more when her eyes narrowed at the back of his chair. "Are you in love with her or something?"

He choked a surprised laugh. "If I was, does it mean I can betray my organization then?"

"I would think so, considering that's exactly what Anna is doing for Jessi right now."

"You make a good point."

"You still haven't answered my question. How do we know we can trust you?"

This girl is interesting. "You want to know why you can trust me? Let me tell you something. Listen up, babe, because I don't normally reveal so much about myself to strangers. Takes away the mystery, you know?"

"Just get on with it," Angela said with a roll of her eyes.

Nonetheless, Roger smiled. "Right. You see, I didn't only join the NPA because it was something I was good at and because the money as good. Don't get me wrong, I love the money. Got me this awesome Jaguar. But, that doesn't mean I'm going to do anything they tell me if I know it's wrong."