Agent Moonlark

Chapter Eighteen

Keefe smiled, so different from his usual smirk. "I'm touched, Foster." And he wasn't joking. He was being sincere. Agent Forkle thought he was a good guy.

For years, Keefe had been afraid that he was like his parents - or on his way there. Some days, he woke up and stared at the ceiling for a long time, trying to find the difference between him and his mother. Between him and his father. Between him and every other member of the Neverseen. He was terrified that one day he wouldn't have an answer. That there was no difference. He looked in the mirror and saw his mother in his ice blue eyes. He saw his father in his blond hair and set jaw. He saw Ruy and Fintan when he looked at his cloak. And he saw everyone when he looked at the symbol of the Neverseen. He hated it.

Every day, he'd wake up to the harsh reality of who he was and where he was. He was Keefe Sencen, son of Gisela Sencen and Cassius Sencen, two jerk parents. Keefe Sencen, heir to the Neverseen, Agent Lodestar. Keefe Sencen, who lived in the Neverseen's hideout.

He kept on telling himself that he was here to help the Black Swan. But maybe, he just wanted to escape from his life. Although, admittedly, it wasn't as if he'd had much of a choice.

"Sophie, talk to me."

Sophie's eyebrows shot up. "What?"

"I'm bored, so I'm rethinking my whole life. Saveeee meeeeeeeee."

Sophie snorted. "Well, um, I'm adopted."

"Oh. Do you know who your real parents were?" He didn't want to be rude, but he didn't know what else to say.

Sophie shrugged, not taking her eyes off the car in front of her. "It happened when I was two. My sister, Amy, had just been born. Then, all three of them, my parents and Amy, were in a car accident. I was too little to remember any of them. I'm not one of those people who spends their whole lives trying to find out more about their family. Yes, I wish I knew more about them. I do miss them."

"Maybe if they hadn't died...I wouldn't be the Moonlark. I don't regret saying yes to Agent Forkle. But sometimes...I stop to say, 'What if?'"

Keefe nodded. "I sometimes think about how it would have been if my mom wasn't the leader of the Neverseen. But then, I'd hit a dead end. My dad would still be a jerk, and my mom would still be using me. So then, I'd think about what it would be like if I had different parents. Right after, though, I'd realize that I don't know what parents should be like. All I have to go off of are books." He mock-bowed, though that was hard to do while sitting in the car. "And Ta-daaaa! Thank you for listening to the story of my life!"

Sophie spared him an amused glance. "If you want, I could tell you about my new parents, Grady and Edaline."

Keefe smirked. "Well, then, tell me!" On the inside, however, he was eager to hear what she had to say.

"Well, Grady is my super over-protective dad, and Edaline is the sweetest person you'll meet - well, there's Linh..."

The two talked for a long time, making Keefe forget about being bored and carsick.

Agent Forkle

"Sophie's gone?" Out of all the things, he never would've expected that.

He knew a lot more than he let on. Yes, everyone expected him to, but they also had secrets they kept from him. Yet he knew the large majority of them. Like how Keefe was actually Agent Lodestar (Hello, New Author here the original author got this from @Saramd126. They hadn't even thought Agent Forkle knowing before you commented that. XD. Thanks for commenting on the past book!) But he never told the rest of the Collective.

"We found this note," Biana said gloomily. She gave him a post-it note.

Agent Forkle read it carefully. Sophie's handwriting was sloppier than usual, so she must have been in a rush.

Agent Forkle, you'll most likely end up reading this. I'm sorry to leave without much of an explanation, but I'll let you know that I have not been kidnapped. I've gone to find the cure. I know where and what it is. P. S. Keefe found out and made me let him come.

Agent Forkle smiled fondly. He was sure Mr. Sencen (god, it was weird calling him Mr. Sencen, but this is in Agent Forkle's P.O.V., so...) had insisted that he should go with her.

"What do we do?," Dex asked. "Sophie's gone!"

"Granite! Blur! Wraith! Squall!," Agent Forkle shouted.

The four came immediately.

"What's wrong?," Squall demanded.

"Sophie's gone to find a cure."

Agent Granite groaned. "I should have known."

"She took the Sencen boy with her."

"Why am I not surprised?"

Agent Forkle lowered his hood. "Because we've known Miss Foster for over ten years. And that is why I installed a tracker on her clothes."

"I almost forgot about those!," Squall said.

"Wait," Dex interrupted, "does this mean we, Linh, Biana, Fitz, Tam, and I, have trackers on our clothes, too?!"

The Collective looked anywhere but at him.

"Maybe," Agent Blur said.

"We should probably focus more on Sophie right now, shouldn't we?," Squall pointed out, chuckling nervously.

Dex only sighed and muttered something about taking those trackers off first chance he got.

"Ms. Song, Ms. Vacker, Mr. Dizznee," Agent Forkle said, turning to each in turn, "your concern for your friend is valid. However-" he took out the device linked to the trackers "-it seems that Sophie is moving. If she stops for longer than two hours, we raise the alarm. Is that clear?"

The three nodded. "Crystal," added Dex.

Biana

Biana glanced over her shoulder, making sure no one was following her. Agent Forkle had sent them back to their rooms after they shared their discovery.

Biana snuck into the infirmary. Physic was supposed to be meeting with Tinker, right now.

Tam was on a bed isolated from the rest. His face was shiny with sweat. Biana could only imagine how hard this was for him.

Fitz was reading on his cot. He was sitting upright, his legs criss-crossed. Luckily, he was too engrossed in his story to see Biana.

Biana didn't want him to see her. No one except Physic was allowed to come in. They didn't know if the sickness was contagious. But Biana couldn't help it.

She dropped down and crawled to Tam's cot, making sure she was out of her brother's line of sight. She popped back up on the side of the cot. Thankfully, Fitz couldn't see her here.

She reached out her hand and gently brushed his silky bangs out of his face. She almost jumped when Tam smiled and looked peaceful for a second. Maybe it was Biana's imagination, but he seemed to relax slightly.

She stroked his hair softly. A smile slowly grew on her own face. Maybe they would get through this, after all.

Tam

He felt a soft, cool hand push the bangs out of his face. He relished the touch. Somehow, he knew this was Biana.

He could barely do it, but he smiled. Then, he felt Biana caressing his hair. All the tenseness left his body. Her touch brought him new strength.

He did the impossible, then. He moved a shaky hand towards Biana. It was a long, agonizing journey, but it was worth it when his hand clasped around Biana's.

A/N: Yayyyyyy, I updated! It sounds like I didn't update in months when in reality, it's only been a few weeks XD. I think. Oh, and I'm dedicating this chapter to people who read this far...because I feel like it. And thank you!