Teen Spy: The Observer

Chapter 12

She turns towards the voice. Ryan leaves his group of friends and walks towards her. Taking hold of a bucket full of patience and niceness, she waits for him and notices that his friends are in close enough to hear their conversation. Apprehension rises in her.

"Hey," Kiara says when he is near enough.

"Hey Kiara" Ryan says and puts his arm on her shoulder in a side hug, leaving it there.

This immediately makes Kiara alert. She gently brushes his arm off, fighting the impulse to just slap it. She places herself in front of him with a perfect view of his friends in the background.

"The guys and I were talking about tomorrow's party."

"Okay...?"

"I was wondering if you would like to go with me?" Ryan asks looking straight at her and giving her his most charming smile.

Something is off in this situation.

"Why the sudden interest in me?" She asks innocently with a smile of her own.

"Well now that I am single again, I can act on my feelings for you." Ryan says seriously.

Kiara glances at his friends. They avoid her glance, but she hears someone snicker. She turns back to Ryan. There is also a flicker in his eyes. It passes by fast, but Kiara catches it. He is trying to contain his amusement. His smile seems more forced as she stays silent.

"You like me?" She says with an exited and shocked tone, playing along. "Since when?" Taking a step forward, closer to Ryan and lowering her eyelashes in a flirtatious way.

Ryan swallows hard. "For a while"

"Really, and what about Julie?" His smile is gone. This is all a game for him.

Kiara rolls her eyes and shakes her head. When Ryan tries to play dumb, she finally cuts the act, steps back and calmly says: "How much did you bet on my answer?"

Ryan looks shocked, but she can see the truth in his eyes. Kiara immediately shakes her head.

"Actually, I do not want to know, and my answer is no."

She walks away but stops when she hears the laughs of Ryan's friends. Kiara's anger rises, her fists ball into fists. Turning back, she stares at them until they finally notice she isn't gone. They stop laughing uncomfortable underneath Kiara's scrutiny.

"You should all feel ashamed." Kiara starts to lecture them, even though she knows it will fall on deaf ears. "Treating someone as an object you can bet on is NOT okay."

The afternoon activities have finished by now and they are starting to gather a crowd. Among this crowd stands Sasha watching intently the discussion. Their looks cross and hold. Ryan sees that Kiara is staring at something to his right. When he glances over and sees Sasha, he quickly adverts his eyes.

Kiara breaks eye contact with Sasha and in a low voice, so only Ryan can hear, says: "You should specially feel ashamed, considering your behavior towards them."

With that, Kiara walks away pushing through the crowd. She can hear comments and jokes about Ryan and some about her. But she keeps her head high and ignores it. In a few days it will be old news. Granted, it won't be easy to turn a deaf ear and not give them a piece of her mind.

She exits school grounds. She walks a block and waits in the bus stop. She watches a few cars pass, before a black SUV approaches. It stops in front of her. She stands up and crisscrosses her bag, ready to flee or fight if needed. When the window rolls down, Agent Adams greets her, and she relaxes her stiff posture.

"Agent Knight has requested your presence." He says and unlocks the door.

Kiara looks around to check that nobody is watching and climbs in.

"He waits for you in his office" he adds once Kiara sits and puts the seatbelt on.

"Why so formal the invitation?" Kiara asks. When her question is meet with silence, she concludes "It must be something important, right?"

Agent Adams shrugs.

The rest of the ride to ISS Headquarters is silent. Though Kiara's mind isn't. A part of her is worried she did something wrong and they're going to kick her out. Another part is excited because it could be something good. When they arrive, Kiara exits the vehicle and as she walks through the reception, she greets Hailey, the lady behind the reception desk.

She takes the elevator to the top floor and when she arrives at his office door, Agent Knight gives her a sign to enter while he finishes a phone call.

"Good evening Agent Starling" He says to her once he concludes the call.

"Good evening Agent Knight" She replies matching his formal tone. "Agent Adams told me you wanted to see me."

"That is correct." He says. "ISS France has requested a team of agents from the Young Division to help out on a mission. I have been informed that next week you will go on a trip there and given your results in the simulations and during training hours, you have been assigned to this team."

As Agent Knight talks, Kiara's eyes grow bigger and bigger with excitement. "I've been activated for a mission?"

"If you decide to accept, yes."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Kiara jumps in excitement, but when she sees the amused look in Agent Knights face, she settles down. After clearing her voice, "I mean... I accept the mission." She says with all the seriousness that she can muster.

Agent Knight nods.

"You will find that your laptop contains all the information concerning your new teammates and the instruction you must follow once you arrive in France."

"How did you put the file in my computer?" Kiara asks incredulously.

"We have our ways" He looks at her with a mysterious smirk.

"You already know the password for accessing the file. Read it carefully and memorize it. It will delete itself once you reach the end."

"Memorize it. Got it." She gives him two thumbs up.

Kiara repeats the instructions in her head, storing it in her memory.

"Thank you, I won't let you down." She promises.

"I know you will not." He tells her confidently. "Now, head to the Simulation Room and finish your training for today."

"Any piece of advice you could share with me?" Kiara says as she stands from her seat.

"You have the tools and abilities to complete the mission, do not doubt that. Trust your instincts and your team members, it can mean the difference between life and death."

Mulling over what he said, Kiara turns around and heads to the training facilities.