Cloak and Dagger

chapter nineteen

I took a detour however, since everyone but me, it seemed, had come prepared.

Climbing the stairs in a rush, I reached my room and pushed open the door in record time. I dropped to the floor just a few feet from the bed, reaching underneath until I found the gadgets Kira had given me to use for protection. There was a small pouch of smoke beads – which produced thick clouds of black smoke when set off, a pair of night vision goggles, two vials of healing solution, a bracelet that acted as a lock decoder, and a stun gun. The latter was capable of blasting an enemy backwards while a rush of electrical energy kept them incapacitated for a short period of time, and though its power terrified me slightly, having it strapped to my waist also gave me an extra layer of protection.

With my gaze drawn to the window as I stood, I froze momentarily. Down below, the grounds were filled with agents of the Gemini Clan, and while the numbers appeared to be tilted in our favour, the margin was small. This wasn't surprising. They were invading, and if they wanted to be successful, they'd need more than just a few agents.

My eyes quickly searched the chaos for Finn and Damon, wondering where they'd be positioned in the attack, but when I failed to locate them, a red alert went off in my head.

Of course.

They weren't out there because the fight was just a distraction. The real mission was to secure the weapon hidden within the depths of the building before making a quick getaway. My eyes grew wide at the startling realization. Finn knew these grounds like the back of his hand, and Damon had gotten into the building once before, so if they had figured out the exact spot the weapon was hidden, what was stopping them from going around our defenses to grab it and run?

There was a flicker of indecision as a plan began to form – one that strayed from the instructions I'd been given. It wasn't smart. It wasn't logical. It was dangerous, especially considering I didn't know exactly where the weapon was hidden in the first place.

But I had a guess, and in that moment, it was enough to ignite a fire in my chest and push me forward.

Since most of the action was being contained to the outer grounds, the halls were left relatively empty. Every person I passed was deep in their element – whether that was preparing for a fight or standing guard, and in their preoccupied state, no one thought to pay me a second glance.

Keeping my eyes forward, I didn't dare glance back, worried that if I did, the reality of the situation would consume me. That I was going against everyone I'd come to know here, essentially letting them all down, just to prove to myself that I could step up. That I could handle myself in the field and do what needed to be done in the name of protection.

I was forging my own way.

It was only when I rounded a corner to see Beckett fighting off not one, but two men, that my steps came to a staggering halt. I watched, frozen, as he landed a punch to the stomach of one man, only to turn around a send a round-house kick to the other's jaw. My eyes grew wide before flashing with recognition, noticing that both of his opponents had been there the night I'd been attacked.

One being the man who'd tried his best to follow me home.

There was a brief pang in my chest as I thought back to my old life, but the scene inside my mind was quickly cut off when I saw Beckett flinch backwards after a punch to the jaw.

A horrified gasp left my lips, watching as the other man readied himself for an attack of his own, and before I could stop myself, I screeched his name with horror. "Beckett!"

Beckett didn't glance my way, but at the sound of his name, something clicked inside of him. Before the second man could land another hard shot to his face, Beckett dodged his fist and retaliated. Two punches and a knee to the stomach had the man sprawling to the ground, and if that wasn't enough, Beckett bent over the man, gripping the material of his t-shirt to pull his body off the ground and swung his other fist aggressively into his nose, knocking him unconscious.