RAVAGED HEARTS | CHAPTER THREE
"THEY'RE LATE," STERLING remarked in the large, spacious chamber, looking rather displeased. "Very late, in fact."
Sinclair looked bored in his seat. He replied, "Give them some time. They're the Enrique Zevallos siblings, they won't just not show up."
Louis shrugged. "They might have been intercepted by someone and are now making very pleasant conversation. No reason we couldn't do the same."
A nod, then Sterling said. "So. Caershireens. Arecians. Vayanteans. Think I saw Afanasiia Belova earlier, so that's the Kozlov Novokulugans. We're missing... Saians? Lohians?"
Louis said, "The Lohians won't waste resources on this. They know we've got it covered. The Saians' absence is curious, though. Maybe they didn't bother because we'd already be here."
"Too many agents on one mission isn't a good thing either," Sinclair said, every bit the perfect spymaster. "Risks chaos and disorder. Stepping over each other's paths." What they needed was a small and concentrated team of skilled individuals who knew how to work with each other. They could manage that.
Louis snorted. "Don't think I haven't realised most of you came here with other missions just in case that happened. Hell, Sinclair, I haven't seen you leave Arecia for prolonged periods of time for years. Aren't the two of you treating this like a partial honeymoon?"
Sterling smiled. "Maybe."
Louis spread his arms, mouthing, 'I told you so'.
Sinclair scowled, which was fully expected. It seemed a requirement for all of the heads of Arecia's Secret Service to be grumpy. Sinclair wasn't nearly this bad in his youth when they'd first met, but then again, neither had Miss Pang.
The last time he'd seen the woman was a year ago. After that disastrous meeting. He was extremely grateful the Kozlov Novokulugans had not sent Aleksandr Volkov to this mission, but rather Afanasiia Belova, who Louis still had a decent relationship with.
That was all he asked for these days. Decent. As long as the other person wouldn't want to punch him in the face, all was well.
Some people, it seemed, got more genial in age. Others simply become more foul-tempered.
Speak of the devil: the Kozlov agent was the next person to walk in. Her hair was dark as charcoal in the candlelight. Despite her slightly older age than the others in the room, Afanasiia still looked like someone who could be in her mid-twenties. Part of the woman's charm and ability.
She glanced around, dark eyes taking in the three men gathered in the room before releasing a current 'harrumph'. "Our hosts are late."
"And so we've noticed." Sterling gave a quick, mocking bow. "Haven't seen you in a bit, Belova."
"Been trying to enjoy life. I was, until I got dragged out to deal with this shitfest."
"There's enough of us you can slack," Louis pointed out. "If you're willing to, anyways. We have some excellent food and historical sightings here in Vayante."
"War memorials?" Afanasiia waved her hand in the air. "I was present for half those fucking battles. Don't need to see them."
"If I didn't know better, I'd have thought you were my ninety year old grandmother," Sterling said pleasantly.
Sinclair eyed him. "Your grandmother is dead."
Sterling just nodded.
Afanasiia looked at them and shook his head. Louis enjoyed this camaraderie. Missed it, really. He'd been mostly surrounded by diplomats for the past while, people who took to deception and flowery accolades like second nature. Them agents lied and deceived to reach their goal, but when it wasn't time for a mission, they were all tired of it. So they spoke bluntly and truly.
No one more honest than a good spy.
Afanasiia said, "Last I saw, they were busy talking to some diplomat I didn't care to know the name of. I'm being neglectful, yes, I'm bloody aware, no need for you to inform me of so." She took a seat across the room, crossing her legs and raising her chin, arrogant, cold and proud. The signature trait of most Kozlov agents.
Sinclair questioned, "Planning on retiring?"
"Switching the field for something else." Belova shrugged. "Seemed the logical choice. I'm growing older. Not living for the excitement anymore. I just want to live. The last few months have been more enjoyable than I ever expected, thought I might give it a try."
"Everyone's moving on," Louis mused. "Changing careers, retiring, turning to new endeavours. Funny how much the war impacted all of us. We took that on as second nature, and look at all of us now. Struggling to cope with the new normal."
Belova raised her palm. "Speak for yourself, Sanchez. I'm doing just fine."
Louis just shrugged. No point arguing with her.
A knock on the door sounded, and a moment later a dark-skinned girl rushed into the room, clearly out of breath. Her gown, a deep, rich emerald green, almost blended into the wallpaper of the room. Anita Enriques Zevallos had finally decided to show her face.
No apology. Nothing. That was just her style. She grinned, "Hello, folks. It's been a while. I hate that I have to see all of you under this kind of situation, but we don't precisely have much of a choice." She glanced around and frowned. "We're missing a few people."
Most of the countries had probably coordinated with her and her brother over the agents they'd be sending over. It was Vayantean territory, and they all shared the same goal. Better play by the rules, or at least seem to do so.
Sterling asked, "Who's missing?"
Anita pondered upon that for a moment, then said, "Well, there's obviously Sai. They're sending one agent if I recall correctly. Dunner's outside, I think, she's coming in in a second. And there should be more Vayantean agents... not sure where they've all gone. All running a bit late. My brother's probably gathering them right now."
Made sense. The two siblings were generally known for working together with each other, making quite a wondrous team.
Sterling asked, raising one brow, "Who did the Saian send? They didn't say anything ahead of time, those old bastards."
"Really just one old bastard," Belova stated.
"The Duke of Shui Xiang is one of those people who the ending of the war has thrust into less prominence, though," Louis shrugged, "these days I feel as if all the attention is on his daughter. He's not complaining."
"Honour on the family," Anita gave a quick grin. "I can assure you though, it's not the duke or his dearest daughter here. You'd know if they were them—the officials would be tripping over their own feet right now."
"I think we all realised that." Sinclair grimaced, straightening himself. "Can we get this meeting started already? We could get through this quite quickly, and the sooner we find those kids, the better."
The carefree atmosphere that had filled the room almost immediately shattered. Back to business, then. Anita said quickly, "I could go and fetch everyone now if you want."
Sinclair raised a brow and said nothing. Fucking bastard. Anita and Celinos were young, probably the youngest among them all. The two siblings couldn't be older than twenty-three, and they'd only started working in this line around two years ago. In this career, they might as well be infants in the first blush of youth. Though Louis couldn't precisely blame Sinclair for being a bit irritated. Tardiness always grinded on people's nerves.
Anita bit her lip, and after a split second of thinking, bolted out the door.
Once she was out of earshot, Afanasiia barked out a laugh. "Was that really necessary, Sinclair? You're scaring the girl shitless. It's not even all her fault."
"Doesn't hurt," Sinclair replied, placing his hands on his lap. "And I'm just trying to ensure that when she inevitably picks which of us are going to be doing this rescue mission, it won't be me."
"Pick?"
Louis glanced at Belova. "What, you wanted all of us to go on this mission together? You. Dunner. Sinclair. Sterling. Me. Anita and Celinos. Whoever the Saians send, and the other Vayantean agents. At least eight people. This isn't the bloody Black Camellia we're hunting down. A few of us are enough."
Belova raised a finger. "I was present for the hunting and execution of the Black Camellia."
"As was I, and Sinclair." Sterling shrugged. "Don't see your point, Belova."
The woman threw her head back and grimaced.
Louis said, "We're comparing brownie points now?"
The door swung open, and a moment later Anita and Celinos walked in, tailed by Natasha Dunner and Constanza Castrillo. Castrillo had been working for the Saians until recently, when she decided to come and aid with Vayantean rebuilding instead. One of Daneira Pang's proteges.
She hated him. Was she here in representation of Sai or Vayante, though, or both?
Sinclair voiced his thoughts. "Is Castrillo supposed to be the Saian, or is there someone we're still missing?"
Castrillo shook her dark hair aside, shaking her head. "I'm here for Vayante. Is the Saian agent still not yet here? I'd have thought they were one of the most crucial parts of this, really. And the most worried over this."
"They didn't tell you anything?"
She shook her head. "Nothing. To be fair, I didn't feel the need to ask." She stopped working for the Saians a while ago. If she was clever enough, she'd know not to advertise her close past association with them. That was just asking for trouble.
Dunner waved her hand in the air. "Let's just start. We can fill them in later."
Celinos nodded. "I haven't seen the Saian agent here yet. Maybe she'd met some unexpected situation."
Belova frowned. "Why all the bloody mystery?"
"Because it's me, of course. I'm quite a celebrity, don't you know?"
Louis felt himself freeze up before he could do anything to clamp his shock back down. It was the voice of his dreams and his nightmares. The dry, mocking tone that had been trailing him for the past seven years, except now there was a hint of... emptiness within it all. He turned almost immediately.
He'd caught glances of her over the years. In the ballrooms they frequented, sometimes on the field. But always from a distance as if he was too scared to approach her. Maybe he was. No, he knew he was. Was scared to deal with her contempt and hatred.
She wore a gown of raven black, the colour striking against her pale skin, the dress covering just enough to not be scandalous. Her long hair was tied back in an elegant chignon, her lips painted a rosy red. Her eyes flickered around the room and landed for him for a split second before moving away. Maybe if Louis hadn't been looking so closely, he wouldn't have noticed.
Iolanthe Mi raised her chin. "Apologies for my tardiness. I was engaged in a dance, and had to quite tactfully eject myself from it." She took a step into the room, shutting the door behind her.
Sterling smiled. "Hello, Io."
She nodded. "Myung-Dae Sterling. Why, you look positively ancient now. Sinclair, grumpy bastard as always. Belova. Dunner. Anita. Celinos. Constanza." Then she turned to him. "And Sanchez. What a crowd." Her eyes remained disinterested through the whole thing, not betraying an inch of what she was feeling. She didn't used to be so good at that.
Sinclair seemed to have gotten over his initial shock, if there had been any in the first place. He stole a quick, accusing look at his paramour, then cleared his throat and said, "Mi."
Anita either didn't sense the tension in the room, or chose to ignore it. "And there you have it. The Saians sent the Swan. It's been a while since anyone last saw you, Miss Mi."
Castrillo had already gotten on her feet, running towards Io. The two girls were tastefully contrasting—Io was slim, skin and bones while Castrillo had never quite lost that childhood plumpness; one's skin was so pale it almost seemed translucent, while the other's was a rich shade of brown, almost glowing in the soft candlelight. One seemed alive. The other seemed dead.
The last few years haven't been treating you well, has it?
"I've been busy." She leaned against the wall. "So. How are we going about this?"
Celinos glanced around. "So, let's start simply. There's far too many of us. Let's make a team of four or five to deal with this, the rest of you can do what you want. Or supervise from a distance. But we don't want too many people involved in this. Volunteers?"
Io's hand went up. Louis' instinctively followed. Dunner and Castrillo's hands went up too.
Dunner glanced around and reluctantly lowered hers, not looking very pleased about that. But among the four, her credentials were the lowest. Castrillo was less experienced, but she was Meliquean and had been working in Vayante for a while.
Celinos looked at Sinclair and Sterling, looking a bit surprised at their lack of movement. "No?"
Sinclair, with a deadpan expression, replied, "We have better things to do."
Io's responding snort utterly shattered the serious atmosphere. Within seconds, Castrillo was giggling too, though the woman's eyes remained on Io.
If Louis wanted to talk to Io... well, most likely he'd have to battle Castrillo for the opportunity. Seems like he wasn't the only one Io hadn't spoken to for a while or owed answers to. Though one could argue she didn't owe him anything. Quite the opposite, really. He owed her a lot more than he should. He was completely and utterly indebted to her.
So maybe Lady Asteria and Miss Pang hadn't been hiding her location from him. Maybe they truly did not know. But where did Io find the ruthlessness to leave them all like that? When they'd been friends, she'd always cared so much. She loved and she hated and she felt.
Maybe she had changed. Maybe she had changed a lot. Maybe he wouldn't recognise her anymore.
He didn't care. She was still the same person, and until he could pay for what he'd done to her those years ago, he wasn't going to stop.
-♡-
THE MEETING ENDED after a brief discussion and the promise of more in the future. Unlike the rest of them, who filed back into the ballroom unnoticed as if they'd never left, Io snuck down the opposite end of the corridor. Louis watched from the corner of his eyes as Constanza Castrillo spun around, only to find the woman missing. Castrillo's lips twitched downwards, the only sign of her displeasure, but she seemed resigned to the fact that Io had already vanished.
Once everyone had turned and left, Louis hurried in Io's direction. She hadn't gone too far, her steps relatively slow. It was curious.
Did she want someone to approach her? Was it him? Or Castrillo? Or maybe Sterling, whom she'd always been close with. Who he was certain was the reason for her appearance in the first place.
"Io."
Her words came back crisp and clear, throwing him completely off guard. He'd been expecting her to ignore him. "It's been a while. Seven years?"
"We were both kids."
She seemed amused by that as she turned around. Her eyes seemed to glimmer like hot coals with something he couldn't quite identify–anger? hatred? regret?—as she fixed her gaze upon him.
He suddenly felt incredibly vulnerable, as if she'd stripped him bare and put him on display for analysis. As if she was carving out bits of him and placing it under a microscope. It was a feeling Io had never given him before. Around her, he'd used to feel comfortable. At home. As if he would not be judged for anything he did. She was someone he confided her deepest, darkest secrets in.
It's been seven years since we've last stood so close.
"That's what you came here to say?" She still possessed that wry humour. But what used to be amusing was now chilling. That girl had been tough and strong, but she'd possessed a soft sound Louis always had access to. He thought they were friends. He'd expected her to change, of course, but not like this. This woman was cold and distant and mocking.
Did I do this to her?
He shook his head, trying to recollect himself. He asked, "Where did you go? I looked everywhere for you. Not even your friends knew where you'd gone. Nine months, Io, you vanished for nine months."
"Clearly, you didn't look everywhere. Or you didn't look careful enough." She gave a quick shrug. "Doesn't matter. I'm back now. And it seems we'll be working together on this operation."
No sign of whether she was pleased or horrified by this turn of events. She might as well have been thinking about something else altogether. Back then, she hadn't been this good at hiding her emotions. A sliver of what she truly felt always snuck through. Now, the facade she'd built up was flawless. A stone mask that could not be broken or seen through.
But no person could change so completely and utterly. A part of her, deep down, was still the Io he'd known, the Io he'd care for. He'll find her again.
"Any clues on where they might be? Who's taken them?"
"That is why we're here, Mr Sanchez. I'm sure we'll be figuring all that out soon enough."
"Io."
"Mr Sanchez."
"What happened?" he asked, a stricken note in his tone as he stared at her dark figure.
A small, rueful smile arched her lips upwards. "Men are always so blind. It does not matter. It has nothing to do with you, Mr Sanchez. Our paths separated long ago. Let's quickly complete this mission so that we could both enjoy some time on our own. Now, if you'll excuse me, I had to rush here. I still have some business to handle." She gave a quick bop of her head before turning, continuing down the corridor.
Louis didn't follow. He knew when he had to stop. He just stood there and stared, thousand thoughts carousing around his head. He failed to grasp onto any of them.