Not If I Save You First

twenty-three | plaintext

"How'd I not see it?" Archer asked in a quiet and timid voice.

"They didn't want you to see it," I explained. "They didn't want you to worry about them, but your parents aren't naïve. They knew that what they were doing could have consequences. They connected your life to mine in the hopes that I'd be able to help."

"The Hawthorne's could've been keeping an eye on Seven for years. Knowing that she went into the family business," Grayson said.

I took a minute to think about all the evidence that connects Archer and me. Our lives have been intertwined since before we were born. Maybe my parents wanted me to be a spy. A hardened secret agent in order to protect the Hawthorne's in the future. Maybe they didn't care about me saving the world, but saving their friends.

"If I had to guess, I'd say that your parents wrote you that note within the last ten years. After my parents were killed that's when I started training to be a secret agent. If my parents didn't die, then I probably wouldn't be able to help," I explained.

For the first time, Grayson stood up. He quietly made his way over to the boards. The letter that Archer found from his parents was pinned up on the board. He read it through in his head. Everyone's eyes watched the board.

Seven and Nine are people.

Eight and Three are numbers.

These four numbers are of significance.

Keeping my feet moving, kept my brain stimulated. It was the only way that I could focus on all of this information.

We started working through the latest developments this afternoon. Celia, Thea, and Grayson ditched their real jobs today in order to help. Little Dean and Archer are prisoners in our apartment, because I need to keep them safe. I don't trust Little Dean running around the city with his father here. He may be behind bars, but I don't have faith in Little Dean not to get himself killed.

"How can this lead us to finding my parents?" Archer asked.

I'm going to be perfectly honest, I've barely looked Archer in the eyes all day. Normally, I'm focused on his face because I need to study him. Whenever we discuss something involving the mission, I need to note any body language changes.

However, I can't even look at him.

After last night, looking at Archer makes my heart ache. He is Subject 1031. My heart may have thumped in my chest like the bass pounding on speakers when my lips touch Archer's, but I can't let this change the course of my mission. I need to complete my mission.

Archer looks at me like there's something in me worth looking at. Like I'm worth something, other than being a merciless secret agent.

"The more information we have will get a lead on where they were taken," I explained. "If Donovan Halstead is Thomas and the word elegance means temporary, then we can conclude that he wants the pills. He wants another dosage that he wasn't able to get from your parents."

"If they weren't going to give it to him, then he's going to take what he wants," Little Dean added.

Once the Hawthorne's agree to give me what I deserve, then I'll let them continue living.

That's what Donovan Halstead had said to me when he kidnapped me. I've come to the conclusion that he covered his face and altered his voice in order for me to not recognize him. I didn't recognize him.

The Hawthorne's must've stated that they weren't going to or couldn't give Donovan Halstead a second dose of the technology.

I'll do whatever is necessary to guarantee that I get what's meant to be mine. I've waited long enough to get my hands on what's mine again.

Again.

He wants it again.

"New theory," I stated, trying to make the theory concise in my head. "Donovan Halstead went after our parents to confirm his theory that the pills' effects don't last forever. They were already long into retirement by this point, so they probably didn't want to think about the past. When the polite approach didn't work, he murdered our parents, then Donovan Halstead went after the Hawthorne's."

"Maybe the polite approach to the Hawthorne's didn't work either. If he couldn't get his hands on the actual pills, then maybe stealing the files was his way of getting the process of creating it for himself," Grayson said, taking over from where I left off.

Donovan Halstead claimed that when the Hawthorne's agree to give him what he wants, then he'd let them live. Why wouldn't they just give it to him? He was given the pills once in the past, what's wrong with giving it to him now? He's a convicted criminal. He's a homicidal psychopath with no remorse. These are accurate.

I aggressively rubbed my eyes, before running my fingers through my hair. Thinking through every possible theory and idea is causing me to have a migraine. If I look at another sheet of paper, then I might start seeing stars in my line of vision. The words might become distorted on the page.

Grayson and I started working through this theory in our heads. Our minds were insync enough to know the timeline and work through the possible events that took place. We don't need to speak when it comes to confirming or denying a theory. Timelines created by Grayson sat on four of the monitors.

One timeline followed the life of my parents when they came out of retirement. They were reinstated by the organization as secret agents less than a week before they were killed.

A second timeline tracked the movements of Donovan Halstead during this same time period.

A third timeline tracked the movements of Maya Hawthorne after my parents were killed.

A fourth timeline tracked the movements of William Hawthorne after my parents were killed.

After Archer went to see Donovan Halstead, he said that he saw Archer on the day of my parents' fake memorial service. The memorial service claimed that the two were in a car accident. If Archer went to that memorial service, then it can be concluded that his parents went as well. The fake memorial service took place two months after their actual death. 

"Do we get naptime at some point during this?" Celia asked, breaking the silence. Grayson and I glared in her direction for disrupting our concentration. She sunk down into my bed, resting her head on a pillow. "I'll take that as a no."

"Should we start looking into the meaning of the numbers?" Grayson suggested.

I looked at everyone in the room. Grayson and I were ready to work. Celia was struggling to keep her eyes open. She usually takes an afternoon nap in her office when she's working. She claims that being well-rested helps fuel her anger towards the people that work for her. Little Dean was focused on the tasks at hand. He was trying to pull himself out of the gutter. He also was trying to compensate for his father. Little Dean wants no association with that man, so he's trying his best to help me accomplish my mission. Archer looked overwhelmed and confused, but he was overall focused on trying to help.

Out the window the day had left.

"I'll put on a pot of coffee," I sighed.

We're going to be here for a while.