Forever Fighting | ✔️ | [previously Espionage: double-cross]

Chapter 10

"Where the hell are we?"

The pair stood surrounded by rundown warehouses covered in graffiti. The walls were covered in rust from years of weathering and the passing of time. "So this is where the great Auxilium group hides? Name still sounds pretentious by the way."

After an entire car ride left with only her thoughts, Alex wasn't in the most pleasant of moods. Funnily enough, her thoughts weren't quite as interesting as she thought they were.

So now she was here, exhausted and longing for the lie-in so cruelly snatched from her while a pretty big part of her was internally cursing Julie for bringing her to this place, one that looked so abandoned, in such disrepair she doubted it had seen human activity in the past decade. Her grip on her bags tightened infinitesimally but tightened nonetheless. 

"Don't judge a book by its cover, Alex."

Alex scowled. "Don't be so cliché Julie," she mocked in return. 

Julie smiled at that. Though she would never let anyone else talk to her like that, she couldn't bring herself to reprimand Alex. It would be a shock to her, however, when she saw how she was treated within the agency, especially when she heard of her position. The thought of Alex's baffled expression lead to a smirk replacing the soft smile on her face.

"But seriously dude, this is it?"

"Not quite," replied Julie, smirk still firmly in place. 

Rather than explaining further, Julie decided it was easier to show her, with a little twist of course; impatience shouldn't be rewarded of course. And anyway, actions spoke louder than words, much louder.

Alex watched Julie walk over to on of the warehouses further away from the road, grey and rust orange warehouse covered in white graffiti. She followed and the moment she turned, she missed the car they had driven in for the past few hours sink into the ground, leaving no trace on the outside world. 

By the time Alex caught up to the face pace Julie had set, she was already moving in a well learned pattern, seeming to be feeling around the corrugated iron walls for something, something small. 

The movement was slight, subtle and hard to catch but Alex saw it, the gentle tug revealed by the minuscule movement of her arms. Alex didn't get a glimpse of what it was, a switch maybe - a notion that made the most sense -  but she had no time to dwell on it further for in milliseconds a small passageway, just big enough for Alex and Julie, opened before them. 

Alex couldn't see anything inside, the darkness overwhelming anything that would give a hint as to what lay further on. Without hesitation, Julie stepped inside, sure-footed and her gait held a hint of arrogance. Not knowing what to do, Alex followed, dearly wishing she had brought a torch, some matches even. 

As soon as she stepped inside, the door behind her closed with a horrible clunk, the kind you know wouldn't open with a mere push. Alex spun around in fear, checking she was really trapped before letting her mind scatter in fear. She automatically reached for her phone, checking her back pocket only to find her device gone. She knew she couldn't have dropped it, not with pockets that zipped up. Now she thought about it, she could no longer feel the wright of her bags on her shoulders, the feeling lost in the chaos of entering the dark room from hell.

Julie.

After making sure the only visible way out remained shut so she turned back around, only to find her mentor had disappeared. 

"Julie? Julie! Where are you? Seriously, this is not funny." She looked around more desperately, as if her emotions would bring forth the irritating she-demon. When that attempt yielded no results, Alex tried something else. "I swear to god if I die in here I will come back and haunt you as a ghost and will make your life miserable!"