Tais-Toi

Chapter Forty-Four

Ryan escorts me to the cafeteria, which is completely deserted except for a few agents that are waiting in a strict line for Ryan to introduce them to me.

"So, the first agent isn't here. That's agent Inga Mestoeva. She's the agent inside Visioned." She? It's a woman? "You'll contact her through a very complicated program on a computer." He briefly mentions while walking towards the first person in line. "This is agent Dean Peters. You might already know him." Of course I do. He's the nerd-guy from the computer lab. I just never knew his name. "He's a technician here in the CIA and a black box engineer. He was originally a Visioned agent, but joined us instead."

He's a rogue agent? How trustworthy is he?

"He has proven his loyalty on multiple occasions. He's one of the good guys." Ryan reassures me.

But what if Visioned is playing the same game as the CIA? I ask, afraid that there's a mole in here too.

"Well, I can tell you that I'm standing right here and that I'm not a mole." Agent Peters assures me. "Visioned believed I was a mole in their system and tortured me. Luckily, the CIA saved me. I'm here to help and return the favour. Visioned must pay!" He says full of hatred. He means it, that's sure. Or he's a very good actor that deserves an Oscar.

"Easy, Dean." Ryan calms him down. "This is not a kill mission. One day we'll burn them to the ground." I give him a nod, wondering what he did to deserve to be on this mission. A mission that has no value. That's like a punishment for real agents. "Next, we have agent Thomas Andrews. Also a rogue agent. He joined us after Visioned killed his girlfriend because of the relationship-rule." Another rogue agent? And what am I supposed to do with them? What if they turn against me?

No relationships allowed in Visioned.

"Indeed. I believe that everyone deserves a chance at love. You can't just kill people because they're in love." Agent Andrews explains.

"He was a guardian." Is he kidding me? A guardian? One of those guys that protect a black box? One of those guys that had special training and are stronger than any other agent? This will be one hell of a team. In a negative way.

That's why the CIA knows so much about the black boxes, isn't it? You have an engineer and a guardian. Ryan nods, glad I noticed.

"Then we have Dr. Isabella Satori. She's a psychologist. She works with rogue agents like these guys." Ryan points to agent Andrews and agent Peters. Great... a supervisor. "Like you know, they were brainwashed when they joined Visioned. Agent Satori helps them see reality again." I look up to the tall, brown haired woman in front of me. She would look friendly, if she smiled. I give her a friendly wave, but her eyes pierce inside mine and I have to look away. "And last, we have agent Alexander Talin." I hear his name and hold my breath. I hadn't even noticed him. He's standing last in the line of four. I have been so focused on the other agents that I didn't notice the last person. He's grinning, as always. Smug. I try not to show any emotion. "Of course you know him. He... He gets a second chance, to prove to you that he can be nice too." His grin disappears and our eyes met. Now I'm the one with the grin.

This mission will be hell. This team will be hell. Two rogue, maybe untrustworthy agents, a doctor who can't even smile and agent Talin, who only thinks about himself. Great.