^^^SHE'S SO PRETTY!!! ❤️
"Right! My men know nothing about this, and that's how I'd like it to stay, so the three of you are going to help me with tracking her. One, you're on geo locations, Five, you're on activities, and Six, you're on frequencies. We're bound to pick up some irregularities along the way," Franco instructed as we walked into an operations room in his house.
The man takes this seriously.
"And what are you doing?" Aziel asked him.
"I'll be looking through visual surveillance," he replied.
"This could take too long. How are we meant to find her from so much data?" I asked.
"We're starting with the area you were in first. Whoever has her couldn't have gone far in the space of five hours. Once we pick up anything from there, then we can broaden the search on a narrowed database," he explained.
"Sounds sensible enough! What happens if we don't find her in the area though?" Nigel asked.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Franco said, firing up the laptops and screens we'd be using.
I was about to start my search when my phone rang. "What did you find?"
"The body isn't hers, but it does belong to a slightly taller female. I couldn't get a name from the data I stole, but I did manage to get a general picture of what Cypher thinks she looked like," he replied as I put him on speaker.
"And?" Nigel probed.
"She shares similarities to Noelle in everything except that height difference. Whoever put her there wanted to send you some sort of message, but I can't figure out what," Karr responded.
"Either that, or it was just a scare tactic. We need to know who that girl was," Franco commented.
"Is that Franco?" Karr asked.
"Yep!" Aziel replied.
"Well, if you've gone to Franco, then it's safe to say that you know about the cabin not belonging to Cypher anymore. I hacked into the Request Centre at Cypher, and the signature on the request acceptance you received doesn't belong to Margaux. It was forged, which leads me to believe that whoever wants you dead is either on the inside or has people on the inside because every approval has to go through a verification test to ensure that nothing was forged, and clearly your approval didn't go through that," Karr explained.
"I understand the trying to kill me part. I have committed enough sins to have enough people wanting my head on the chopping block. What I don't understand is why they would take Noelle," I said.
"I'm pretty sure everyone knows who she is to you by now. They aren't kidding when they say love makes you stupid. You haven't bothered to hide your relationship with her," Franco pointed out.
"I didn't hide our relationship because she doesn't deserve that. I already lead a double life, and she shouldn't have to go through that," I argued.
"You naive boy! Secrecy in this business isn't about feelings. It's about safety. As romantic as you thought you were probably being, you put her life in danger by exposing your relationship the way you did. Hell, you failed to fool me into believing that she's your prisoner. She loves you, and anyone can tell that from her face," he countered.
"This isn't helping. So, we screwed up with Elle. We should be looking at how we're getting her back," Nigel pointed out.
"How far are you all with surveillance?" Franco asked.
"Haven't picked up anything," Nigel and Aziel replied.
I sighed in frustration. "Neither have I."
"You're not going to pick up anything. Whoever has her messed with satellite frequencies for a good ten minutes, and they made sure that anything that belongs to Cypher or Franco isn't picked up by the surveillance," Karr informed.
"How is that possible?" Franco asked.
"I just decoded the instruction sent to the satellites, and it was done from a place in Poland. That's as far as I can go with detecting the place," he explained.
"I know where that is. It's one of my command houses, which means whoever is behind Elle's abduction, is dragging me into things," Franco said thoughtfully.
"What could you have possibly done to be dragged into this?" Aziel asked.
"You mean besides pissing off dangerous criminals around the world?" Franco replied, deadpan.
I rubbed my face with my hands. "Karr, can you find out the origin of the instructions?"
"I'll get on it, but this thing is like nothing I've ever seen before. Whoever was behind the coding is a fucking genius. I can't remember the last time I was this challenged," he replied before the line went dead.
And this is coming from someone who was coding for NASA at the age of nine.
"Does my son know that Elle's missing?" Franco asked.
"I highly doubt anyone knows. At this point in time, they probably think that Xander and Elle have gone away for their romantic weekend," Nigel replied.
I was about to say something when my phone started ringing. "It's Nick."
"Don't answer it," the three of them told me.
"That's easy to say, except this is Nicholas we're dealing with. He's relentless, especially when it comes to blossom's safety," I pointed out as my phone continued to ring.
"So you answer it and tell him what? That his sister is missing?" Franco asked.
"What other choice do I have? Her father is the Director of the FBI. They're going to find out soon, and with Margaux refusing to help us, I don't see how we'll have any cover," I said.
Franco sighed before typing away at something. "You leave Sergio to me."
"What are you going to do?" I asked him.
"It's better off you don't know," he replied, still typing away.
"So what do we do now that we know that it's pointless to look for her through surveillance?" Aziel asked.
"The three of you are going to head downstairs to the gym, and the two of you are going to fight him. Make sure he gets all his anger out because I need him to be clear headed for the next part of this plan," Franco instructed.
I scowled. "Why do I need to be clear headed?"
He raised an eyebrow at me. "You ask a lot of questions. When the hell did that start?"
"Blossom," I mumbled.
"Just go and do what I've said. I'll catch you up when I'm done devising a plan here," he dismissed.
His dismissal only added to my bubbling anger. I do not do well with orders in case you haven't noticed. That's why it works better when I'm in charge, though I'll admit that I trust Nigel to lead me when necessary.
We reached the gym, and much like the gyms that Cypher provides, this was exactly the same. I guess despite being away from the organization, Franco still likes the perks they have to offer. We took off our shoes and shirts before stepping onto the mat.
"We already know that this fight isn't going to be a fair one since Elle is probably the only other person who knows how we fight. However, don't hold back since Franco's right. You need to be level headed if we're going to be successful in finding Elle, and this calm thing you've got going on can only mean that you're bottling everything up. Let it out," Aziel told me.
"I'm not bottling anyth-"
I was stopped by the unexpected kick to my jaw.
"Stop lying and fucking deal with your anger Xander," my best friend told me.
"Fine!"
If that's how he wants to do this, then we can tango.
I don't know how long we were at it for, but it was clear that they were right about my rage. I wasn't just angry about my girlfriend's disappearance. I was angry at myself for letting it happen. I am supposed to be the best agent at Cypher, and yet I failed to realize an assassination attempt on my life.
And now the love of my life was paying for it.
"Go take a shower. We're leaving," Franco announced as he walked into the room.
"Where are we going?" Nigel asked as we all grabbed a towel.
"I haven't found her, but I figured that figuring out who's trying to kill Six might be the answer to finding her, so we're going to see Sergio about this," Franco informed.
I laughed humourlessly. "For a second I was so sure you said we were going to see my girlfriend's father about her disappearance."
"That is exactly what I just said. He's going to want to kill you, but then again, who doesn't want to?" Franco said with a smirk.
I rolled my eyes. "Funny."
"I've already called him, so you have an hour to prepare the eulogy you'd like Five to deliver at your funeral," he said as he left the room.
"I'd forgotten what an asshole Franco could be," Nigel commented.
"As long as he's helping, he could be the greatest asshole for all I care. We just need to find blossom," I sighed.
"And we will. This is us we're talking about," Aziel reminded.
Fuck yeah, this is us we're talking about!
The three of us got showered and changed as instructed by Franco, but all I could think about was my blossom. I have never in my life had anything or anyone consume my thoughts the way that she had.
*FLASHBACK*
"Just so we're clear, you are a very creepy person," she commented.
"I don't see how that is relevant to you doing a push up," I replied.
She huffed. "I'm injured. I think you need to get your hearing and eyesight checked out. I've told you this so many times and my hand is wrapped up for heaven sakes, and yet here you are, forcing me to do the impossible. What is wrong with you?"
I could see the rage in her eyes, but I know it well enough to know that it wasn't directed at me. She's got pent up anger, which is probably why I was so strangely attracted to her. I've never met a person who hides their anger as much as I do.
"What's your story exactly?" she asked as she did one push up. I didn't think she would with how much complaining she'd done since I'd asked her to kick the bottle.
"I don't have one," I lied.
She scoffed. "Oh? So creeping into girls' rooms and demanding that they come with you so that you can make them workout is not something worth sharing?"
"That's rich coming from the girl who left with a guy she didn't know."
***
My attraction to Noelle isn't just a physical one. She's the most beautiful girl to me, without a doubt, but it's the way that she carries herself that drew me to her. On the surface, you can easily profile her as a sweetheart, but I know better.
I've been trained to pick up better.
"What the fuck is he doing here?" I asked when my eyes landed on the turd in the room.
He smirked. "Hello Six."
"Before you shoot him, he's part of my plan, so you can kill him all you want once we've found Elle," Franco warned.
"I refuse to work with him. Hell, he works for Genesis," I spat.
"Do you, or do you not want to find Noelle?" Franco asked me.
"I agree with Six on this. What the hell does Silo's involvement achieve exactly?" Aziel asked.
"I'm here to help, and that's all you need to know," Silo replied.
"And we're supposed to trust this just because you say so? You tried to kill us just two weeks ago!" Nigel snapped.
He almost died two weeks ago.
"I know what I did, and I'll admit that I acted impulsively, especially since I found out just how wrong I had been about my reasoning for trying to kill you. The point here is that I'm genuinely here to help, so if you would all stop glaring at me, that would be great," the idiot responded.
"Look, as much as I adore Noelle, I have other things to attend to, so the quicker we find her, the better," Franco said impatiently.
"My, my, this Noelle must be quite the gem if even Franco wants to help in finding her," Silo commented.
"He works for the enemy Franco. How the fuck do you expect me to keep a level head about this?" I asked him.
"I don't care how you do it. Just make sure he's alive until we find Noelle," Franco replied.
"And how do we know that they don't have her?" Aziel asked.
"Because to be honest, Genesis knows nothing about her. Despite what you Cypher agents would like to believe, our organization doesn't revolve around you. We were recently attacked so greatly that we had to move all our eyes and ears to that incident, which means even the team watching over Six was taken away from their job. We haven't kept up with him, and I've only learnt about this Noelle person because Franco needs my help," Silo explained.
"And why are you so eager to help him?" I asked him.
He shrugged. "He saved my life and I owe him."
"I can't believe I'm doing this but look Six, Silo is the only person who can help us right now, and I need you to trust me on this," Franco told me.
"Fine, but one wrong move and I kill him," I warned.
The son of a bitch smirked. "I'll even hand you the gun."
We left Franco's house and headed to the Solano household. I've said it before and I'll gladly say it again- Mr Solano scares me. The thought of having to face him to tell him that his daughter is missing because of me had me more terrified than I've been in eight years.
"We've got your back," Nigel told me as we arrived at her house. It was early in the evening.
"And who's got yours?" I asked him.
The gate opened slowly, and once it was fully open, we drove up the driveway. We left the car and headed towards the door, with Franco being the one to ring the doorbell. Mrs Solano was the one to answer the door.
"Six?" she asked in confusion.
"Evening Mrs Solano. We're here to talk to Mr Solano," I informed her.
"Oh! I wasn't aware that he was expecting you. He's in his office, but where's Elle?" she asked.
"That's what we're here to see him about," I sighed.
"Is she ok?" she panicked.
"Mrs Solano, I'm sorry to say this but you're wasting our time. We need to talk to Sergio right now," Franco told her.
"Is my daughter alright or not?" she asked, not standing down.
"Vi, let it go. Noelle is safe," Mr Solano lied as he walked into the room.
"That's all I wanted to know," Mrs Solano said before walking towards the kitchen.
"Follow me," Mr Solano said.
We followed him to his office, where he then headed to a door and inserted a password which revealed a secret room. He indicated for us to head inside, and we were met by what looked like a standard operations room.
Mr Solano sat at the chair behind the huge desk before speaking. "Before you ask, I was gifted this room because I apparently can't have people finding out things they shouldn't by simply walking into my office. Now, I believe you've lost my daughter. Start from the beginning."
I got straight into it. "We left to celebrate our six month anniversary, and I'd received the go ahead from Headquarters at Cypher to use one of the cabins that belongs to them, except I was misled since the cabin no longer belongs to Cypher. I received a call which got me out of the cabin in time before it blew up. I'd left Noelle in the cabin when it blew up since I didn't have any reception the closer I was to it. However, her body hasn't been found at the scene, so we have reason to believe that she may still be alive, but that she's been abducted."
Mr Solano wasn't saying anything, and neither was his face giving anything away. He sat, void of any emotion while he listened to Franco add more details to what I had just started, and for the first time since I've known him and his daughter, I could see just how alike they really are.
*FLASHBACK*
"Can't you just accept that you're the only one for me and you're adorable when you're pouting?" I sighed.
She narrowed her eyes at me. "You make it sound like I'm asking you to tell me the hardest thing in the world."
"I just don't see why this is necessary blossom. What good will come from you getting the answer you want?" I asked.
"You already know about my relationship history. Why can't I know about yours?" she asked.
"Because yours is simple, and mine is complex. You're my first ever girlfriend, but the amount of flings I've had in the name of my job are too many to count," I sighed.
"At least tell me how much of those flings were borderline serious," she bargained.
"Three," I replied.
"What were their names and what went wrong?" she asked.
***
I knew that there was no way that she would let this go, so I told her. The look that she'd given me then was the same one her father had on right now. It's safe to say that she wasn't happy with anything I told her that day, but after a day of not talking to me, she got over it.
He was quiet for the longest time before he turned to me. "Did you just say Cypher Headquarters?"
"Yes," I said with a nod. I'd told him what I do, but not who I actually work for.
"Is the Director perhaps a woman by the name of Margaux?" he asked.
"How do you know that? Cypher is a secret organization," Franco pointed out.
"A woman by the name of Margaux was here three days ago to oversee the installation of this very room. I found it strange that the FBI would award me such an unnecessarily lavish room, but I'm beginning to think that wasn't the case," Mr Solano explained.
"What is she playing at? Do you think she has this room bugged?" Aziel asked.
"That's a high probability, but why? What does she gain from keeping watch on Sergio? What could you possibly have or do, that requires her to watch you?" Franco asked him.
"Unless if her intent involves stealing FBI information, there's nothing she could possibly need from me," Mr Solano replied.
"What if she has something to do with Elle's disappearance?" Nigel asked.
"I can assure you that it's nothing of the sort."
We all turned to the huge screen that had suddenly switched on, before Margaux appeared. She was sitting done, and from the background, I knew that she was responding from her office back at Headquarters.
"Please, do explain yourself," Mr Solano requested.
"We at Cypher, would like to believe that whoever has your daughter, is either coming after you or after Six. Given Six's skills, we are obviously confident that he can protect himself. With you however, the danger multiplies because of your job. I meant it when I said that you could use this room to hide your FBI work, simply because we believe it will keep you safe. We have no other plan going on here," she said.
"And keeping an eye on him isn't Cypher's way of getting information?" I asked.
"We have no interest in what the FBI knows or has. Sergio Solano is an asset that is under threat, and that's all that matters to us. After this call, we will no longer have access to this room, but he may reach us if need be," she replied.
"The emergency guide," Mr Solano commented.
"The very one. I know that you already don't trust me, so I will not bother trying to make you see reason. I can only hope that you believe that we only have the Solano's safety to think about," she said before the screen went blank.
"I don't trust her," Aziel, Nigel and I said.
"Neither do I, especially because she didn't say anything about our being here," Franco said, pointing to himself and Silo.
"Is it possible that it was a video and not a call?" I asked Franco.
"With some tweaking, it's possible, but that only means that whoever's behind this has been watching Margaux, and they know a whole lot more than we think," Franco replied.
"But what about Margaux's actual presence here?" Mr Solano asked.
"Digital face mask," Nigel and I replied.
"This is both an inside job and an outside job," Silo commented.
"What?" we asked him.
He turned to me. "Someone on the outside wants you dead, that much is fact. However, they clearly have multiple links in your organization."
"How are you certain it's multiple?" Aziel asked.
"No one person can have access to so much. There's probably a whole team dedicated to infiltrating Cypher to take you down," Silo explained.
"We need to get you out of here," I told Mr Solano.
He glared at me. "What you need to do is find my daughter."
"And I promise that I'm doing all that I can to. However, you're clearly not safe here," I pointed out.
"You do realize that getting him out of here means exposing the truth to Viola and Nicholas?" Franco asked me.
"It's worth it. I'd rather have blossom come back to a safe and alive family," I replied.
"Nick will be home in ten minutes. You'd better get yourself prepared," Mr Solano told me.
I could only nod and we left the room. Mrs Solano was preparing dinner by the looks of things and Mr Solano led us to the lounge. I could remember the day Noelle called her mum and how happy she was, especially because she hadn't expected it, and it was the first time blossom told her that she loves her.
*FLASHBACK*
"Oh for the love of all things! I can't find my shoes!" blossom huffed. She'd basically taken her wardrobe apart.
"I still don't understand what is so special about these shoes," I said as I lifted the empty boxes from the floor.
"It's a pair of shoes that my mum got me for my sixteenth birthday, but she never got to give them to me," she said sadly.
"What colour are they again?" I asked, trying to get her away from the sad memory.
She sent me a small smile. "Purple."
"And when did you last see them?" I asked.
"When I moved in here," she replied.
I raised an eyebrow. "Have you tried asking Viola or Nick? They helped you move in right?"
"Yeah, but why would they know?" she asked in confusion.
"Just go ask," I sighed.
She got up and we headed downstairs where Viola was sitting. "Hey mum, have you seen my shoes?"
"Which shoes?" Viola asked, unaware of what blossom had just called her.
"My purple glitter heels," blossom replied.
"Oh! I put them in a special case for you at the top of your wardrobe. I didn't think you would want them ruined," Viola replied.
Tears filled blossom's eyes, which went unnoticed by her stepmom. "Really?"
"Yes really. I know just how important they are to you," Viola said with a smile.
Blossom ran up to her and hugged her just as the first tear left. "I love you mum."
"What?" Viola asked as she paled.
"I love you mum," blossom repeated, pulling away to look at her.
We were met with silence for a good minute before Viola squealed and pulled blossom back into another hug. "I love you too mija, so much."
***
The situation with Viola had been weighing on blossom's heart for a long while before that day. She'd confessed to me that she felt that she was betraying her mother's memory by trusting Viola as quickly as she did. I told her that she should just go with her heart and that her mother would be proud of whichever decision she makes.
"What's going on?" Nick asked when he found us sitting in the lounge.
"We're waiting for your mother to get here," Mr Solano replied.
"Where's Ellie?" Nick continued to ask.
"Sit down Nicholas," Mr Solano instructed strictly.
Nick was about to sit down when the doorbell went. He went to answer the door, and there was silence before we heard his shocked voice. "Ellie?"
I got up and rushed to the door, and I swear I felt all the blood leave me. My girlfriend was swaying on the doorstep, covered in blood. I couldn't even see where she was injured exactly. She had dark marks on her arms, legs and her face and her eyes were blank.
She reached out and gave me a note before whispering, "Black."
Nick caught her just as she went down.