MED: Minor Extremely Dangerous (The Stone Chronicles: Book 2)

Chapter 12

Location Classified. August 5th, 2015. 0030 Hours.

Alex

"You need to do something about this." She said hastily, "This is not Emily. It can't be. Something is seriously wrong."

"What the hell am I supposed to do about it?"

"Dear Lord, you two are supposed to be partners! What the hell is wrong with y'all?!" She yelled, her slight southern drawl coming out with her anger. "It's like you've iced each other out or somethin'. Haven't you noticed at least some kind of change?"

"I guess something." I admitted quietly.

"You need to talk to her." She insisted, "If this keeps going, she's going to wind up killing innocents."

"She's an assassin, Max." I said dully, "I have to admit, I don't think something like that would seriously affect her."

"That's what I'm afraid of." She hissed, "Killing's one thing, and that's hard enough. Innocents are a whole 'nother story. There are two outcomes from that: either she falls apart, or she gets over it. I don't like either of those outcomes."

"I get it." I sighed, "I'll try to talk to her."

"You better." She said, "If she breaks, in either way, we're all doomed."

I had to admit, I was afraid we already were.

"About time you joined us." I heard as I stepped into the room in our not-so-safe-but-oh-well house. I wasn't sure who said it. Emily was slumped back in her chair, arms crossed and back arched in an obviously uncomfortable way, but her scowl told me she wasn't going to admit it. Agents Dillard and Bostick sat motionlessly in the corner, like robots on a charging station. M was on the giant screen in front of us, his scowl seeming to mirror Emily's almost perfectly.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." I responded sarcastically as I plopped myself down in the chair next to Emily, "Didn't realize this was time sensitive considering we're not even expected to resume operations until morning."

M raised his eyebrows, "I can tell somebody's got a bone to pick."

"A bone?" Emily spat, "That's not even the half of it! Media analyst, M? Media analyst?!"

"Yeah," I added, "What happened to 'Research is never wrong'?"

"As long as I've been here, it hasn't been."

Emily snorted, "Bullshit."

"This is the first time I've seen a problem." M explained calmly, "We're making sure it doesn't happen again."

"And what about Moses?" Emily asked, "I don't even care about Research; you mean to tell me you've never come across him in your entire career?"

M shrugged, to which I scoffed, "The guy's a legend over here. You have to have heard of him at some point."

"Well I haven't." M barked, "And I suggest you two stop meddling in places you don't belong."

I saw Emily's grip on her armrest tighten as she sat up in her chair, brows furrowed. "What's the status on the new ops?" She asked through gritted teeth.

"Not much different." He answered, "We're setting up the likely route as we speak. We'll have you stationed in an abandoned area on the route. Rifles. Long distance to avoid unnecessary complications."

Emily looked to me, her lips pierced and eyes squinting in thought. I frowned in response, and she turned back saying, "Sir, are we certain that's a good idea?"

His eyes narrowed, "Excuse me?"

Her knuckles went white as she explained, "Our intel shows that Moses and Ross were on vacation before Boggs and Winslow showed up. And from what we can tell, they only came because of us."

"What's your point, Stone?"

"My point is these people were not and still aren't posing an immediate threat to national security." She glanced at me, then back at the screen, "It may be better for us if we bring them in instead of taking them out."

"Agent Stone," M growled, "This is a hit mission. Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, sir, but-"

"Good." M interrupted, "You have your orders. Now follow them. Agent Dean will keep you posted if anything changes."

"M!"

The screen went black as the transmission ended. Dillard and Bostick came to life, unplugging the equipment like programmed bots as if nothing had just happened.

Suddenly, Emily jumped out of her chair, smacking a can of pens off the table and letting out a frustrated scream. Then, just as suddenly, she unclenched her hands and walked out of the room without a word, slamming the door behind her.

I sat still, not sure how to comprehend my situation. She was still different, still obedient. But something had clicked.

I saw a sliver of the real Emily Stone that night. It wasn't much, but at least she was still there.

If nothing else, it gave me hope.

Author's Note

Yes, it is Monday. And it is also late so I'm gonna get to the point.

It's summer (YAY!), so I think I'm gonna start doing updates twice a week (Monday and Friday) from now on. It all depends on if I can keep up. If I can, I will, and if I can't, I'll go back to weekend updates. So yay, more updates for everyone!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you think of the book so far in the comments and show your support through votes! I notice them all!

Thanks and lots of love!

~ Maddie 😘