Teen Spy: The Observer

Chapter 41

Kiara's elation comes crashing down, though she isn't too surprised. She knew from the beginning that they would have an earful once everything settled down.

She follows the ISS Agents outside through the front door of the museum. By that time, the museum is already closed but there are a lot of bystanders and news reporters on the street. The police have barricaded the zone with yellow tape. Ambulances and police cars block their view of the front row, blocking the reporters view of those exiting the museum.

Kiara spots a paramedic and gets checked. Luckily, her ribs and lungs are fine, though they'll be sore for a few days and a nasty bruise is already starting to appear. Her wrist will also have a noticeable bruise from where one of the guards grabbed her.

Kiara immediately thinks about how this will look to her friends and family. I'll definitely conceal it and take it easy. This means no bikinis for her for a few weeks and makeup in her wrist for some days.

Kiara thanks the paramedic and steps away from the ambulance. She starts searching the crowd looking for either Will or Sasha. Sasha approaches from the side.

"Are you alright?" Sasha says concerned.

"Yeah, just some bruises and sore ribs." Kiara says.

"Good."

Sasha and Kiara laps into silence, both wanting to say something but not knowing what.

"This is a bit weird" Sasha admits.

Kiara laughs. If someone would've told her two weeks ago that Sasha was going to be all concerned about her, she wouldn't have believed it for a second. It's going to take some time to get used to.

"Yes" Kiara says, but then sighs. "Look, I get that you had good intentions, but you went at it completely wrong. You hurt us, me, a lot."

"I'm sorry" Sasha says wholeheartedly.

"I know. I appreciate it." Kiara says. "And I forgive you, but it is going to take some time to get our footing back. I may trust you as a team member, but not as a friend, yet."

"I know." Sasha says her eyes express her regret and sadness, but then determination enters. "I'll earn your trust back. But..." she hesitates, biting her lip. "I'll have to keep my cover at school"

Sasha looks apologetic. Kiara stares at her for a few seconds.

"Fine, yeah. I get it." Kiara finally says resigned. "Just tone it down. Maybe just glare but keep the comments out and the shoving."

Sasha considers her proposal and then slowly nods.

"I'll have to ease into it, though. So, I apologize for the next few days and now that I've never meant any of it."

Kiara is not happy about it, but she guessed she survived this long. A few more days of Sasha's comments and snide won't hurt much.

"You have our stuff, right?" Kiara changes the subject, considering this matter closed.

"Yeah." Sasha says relieved. She hands Kiara back her phone, which she left earlier at the security room. "I already sent Carville the photos we took."

"Thank you." Kiara tucks her phone on her pocket and looks around for their missing team member. She feels a presence behind her.

"You were looking for me?" Will whispers in her ear.

"Me? Nah. I was just looking for the bathroom." Kiara grins at him.

"Sure." He plays along and pulls her into a hug, shocking Kiara for a moment.

"Too much?" Will asks embarrassed as he starts pulling away.

"No" Kiara quickly replies and hugs him back.

"You were excellent out there. Both of you." Will compliments.

"Couldn't have done it without your instructions." Kiara shrugs.

Kiara finally relaxes for what seems like months. Will's hug is warm and comforting. It makes her body tingle in a good way. She doesn't want it to end as all the nerves and stress leave her alone. However, Sasha clears her throat bringing Kiara back to reality. Her cheeks turn light pink as they pull apart.

"We should find Carville." Sasha tells them. "He didn't seem happy when I gave him the memory disk."

Will and Kiara nod. They start looking for him in the crowd.

"Did you get all the information?" Kiara asks as they continue to search.

"Yes, though it was more complicated than I anticipated." Will says.

"Why?"

"It had many firewalls of protection, and someone was trying to kick me out."

"Should we be worried about whomever that was?" Sasha says.

"Hopefully not, but I'll tell Carville anyway." Will assures them.

"Uh, over there." Kiara spots him and points.

Carville is near a black SUV talking with Antoine. When they're done, Antoine approaches Kiara, and Will and Sasha move closer to Carville to let them talk.

"How are you?" Kiara asks him.

Helping them imprisoned his father must have cost him a lot.

"Actually, I feel I can finally breath." He admits. "He's the reason my biological parents are dead. It's not like I owe him anything. Thankfully he never officially adopted me so this shouldn't affect me in the future."

"And he told you this?" Kiara asks concerned and surprised.

"No, I found out accidently over a year ago. Around the same time, I figured out what he was doing here."

"Why didn't you say anything about it?"

"He had too much power. If I had tried to tell the police, he would just have bought his way out."

"Well, for what's worth we couldn't have finished this without your help." Kiara thanks him. "What are you going to do now?"

"I'm now the owner and CEO of Berte Wines." He says scratching his neck.

"Really?" she says surprise. "Looks like Berte wanted you to follow in his footsteps even if he never officially adopted you."

"Yeah, but don't worry. I'm going to cut all connections with whomever Berte was working for, starting by shutting down this lab."

"Good but be careful. If you ever need any help with that, I think ISS could give you a hand."

"Thanks" he says. "I was wondering... you never told me your names"