Espionage

Led Down the Wrong Path with the Right Promise

"We need to go! You need to get me out of here." I choked out, my throat feeling like it was closing up. I kept looking behind me and I didn't see anyone. "The Circle. They're here. Please, they're coming for me. We need to leave. Please." His face turned to stone before turning back to the class.

"Ok everyone on the bus, now. Some of you go find the other. Immediately. We have to go." He yelled at the crowd of girls. Half of them filled onto the bus and half of them went to find the others. I got onto the bus sitting in the back as my friends came around me. Dozens of questions were being thrown at me. It felt just like this morning, as if my head was underwater and every sound was muffled. Agent Kingsley stepped in with a "Stop it!" His voice shocked me out of my trance. "The girl is in shock! No more talking until we get back to school." He did a final head count before turning back to me. "You, up front with me. I'm not taking my eyes off of you." I could barely move and he helped carry me up to the front of the bus with him before demanding the bus driver to start driving. Everything after that was a whirl.

Agent Kingsley whipped out a tissue and held it out to me. I looked down at it before looking back up at him. "They're after me, Theo. They're really after me. And they're going to kill him to get to me." My throat felt shredded as I spoke. Kingsley's face softened as he looked at me.

"Ela, I'll be damned if those fuckers try to get to you again. You're safe. I promise." He whispered, using the tissue to wipe my face for me. "Besides, your sister would rip my heart out with her bare hands and feed it to me if I let anything happen to you." I smiled up at him before slipping the tissue away from him.

We got back to the school and, as ordered by Headmistress Morgan, Kingsley carted me off to her office. Everything happened so quickly I haven't had the chance to process anything. I sat in the chair while she and Agent Kingsley looked at me.

"So, what happened?" She asked, leaning towards me. My chest compressed, reliving what just happened to me.

"I finished my mission and I saw Mr. Solomon. Or I saw someone who looked exactly like him and I just wanted to check. So I followed him. I ended up in this equipment shack where they kept spare parts for the rides." I started, before being cut off.

"Why did you follow him?" She asked.

"I wanted answers. I wanted to know why he left us. I wanted to know... I just wanted to talk to him. I deserved answers. So after we... talked, he heard them coming and he told me to hide. So I did. Then they came in and they were telling him to tell them where I was. He refused. Then they went after him and came looking for me. I escaped out a floor vent. I started running. They followed. I got to Agent Kingsley before they got to me." I finished looking up at her. Kingsley and her shared a look.

"That's all that happened?" She asked.

"Yes." I nodded.

"Did you recognize any of them?" She asked

"Well the leader was the same leader as when I got attacked earlier in the summer." I explained, and Kingsley's face went pale. I kept my eyes locked on him as Headmistress Morgan spoke.

"Ok. That's good. So now we know it's someone in the inner circle." She replied mostly towards Agent Kingsley. Kingsley looked physically repulsed.

"Good? Are you taking the piss right now? This is just bloody brilliant. That means that she's top priority. You remember the last time someone was the Circle's top priority." He spat at her, his eyes darkening. He was clearly furious. She snapped her head towards him.

"Theodore..." She started before I cut in.

"What? What happened?" I asked, looking at both of them. Kingsley opened his mouth to answer before Headmistress Morgan stopped him.