The Fifth Agent

Chapter Sixteen

"Jeremy?!"

I dropped my head and covered my eyes with my hands, mumbling to myself. "I'm hallucinating. That's it. That has to be it. Because Jeremy's dead. He died on live T.V.." I gingerly removed my hands, then slapped them back into place. "I'm hallucinating." I hate this place. 

The hallucination sighed. "Agent 5, you're not hallucinating."

I jerked my head up. He knew my name. Standing up, I narrowed my eyes. "Look here, hallucination-that-looks-like-Jeremy. I am having a really bad day. First, I am stuck in this psychological hell, and now my friend, who I thought was killed, is standing in front of me?"

He blinked. "I'm your friend?"

My shoulders drooped. "I think he was." I tapped my fingers against my thigh as I pondered. "He didn't judge me, you know? He accepted the fact that I was different and rolled with it."

The hallucination groaned. "Agent 5, I'm not dead! I'm standing right here, talking to you!"

I crossed my arms over my chest, narrowing my eyes. "But I saw you die."

He ran a hand through his hair. "I was 'killed,'" he curled his fingers in to emphasize the word killed, "because my directors wanted to get a leg up on the scientists, you know, make them believe that they were in the lead because they had successfully killed someone close to you."

I tilted my head. "But if they think they killed you, then why didn't the person they sent actually kill you?"

"An agent intercepted them, and took their place to "kill" me." He sat down on a bed similar to the one I had in my own cell.

I nodded my head slowly. "Okay..." A smile crept onto my face. "Welcome back from the dead, Jeremy."

Jeremy chuckled and laid down on his bed, resting his hands under his head. "It's good to be back." 

And then it hit me. You know that noise that comes when the D.J. turns the disc the other way? That was what would have sounded if my life were a movie. But it's not, so I just had to imagine it in my head. "Wait, why are you down in detainment?"

Jeremy raised his brows, looking at me incredulously. "Your supposed to be the smart one." At my glare, he sighed. "They don't want any of the other agents to see me. Loose lips, and all that." He waved his hand in the air.

"Sure," I leaned against the wall, crossing my ankles. "Gotcha." My eyes widened as another thought popped into my head. "Wait, what about your-"

The door to the entrance of the detainment room clanged open, and I pushed myself off of the wall, snapping my gaze to the door. Across from me, Jeremy did the same. He just didn't take up a defensive stance. 

Footsteps could be heard slapping against the concrete, and Lydia's face appeared. I relaxed from my position, slumping in relief. Maybe I was finally getting out of here. 

Lydia's gaze went straight to me, and she brought her hand to her mouth in horror. "There you are! I can't believe they put you in here. Jake wouldn't tell me where Mia placed you, and neither would Mia. Hang on, and I'll get you out of there." Approaching the door, she typed a quick password in, and placed her fingerprint on the panel. A green light flared, and the door unlocked, revealing my freedom.

I hurriedly walked out, wanting to be far away from that room. Following Lydia back into the locker room, I turned to Jeremy. "Bye, Jeremy. I'll visit soon, okay?" 

Surprise lit up his features, but he nodded. "Okay. And Agent 5," I faced him fully, "thank you."

What he was thanking my for, I had no idea, but I accepted it anything. "No problem, Jeremy." I was about to walk into the locker room, when I whipped back around again, a smile playing on my lips. "And call me Ben."