When I was twelve, the agency found a new boy. The boy was the same age as me, twelve-year-old.
I was no longer the youngest agent. Now, there was Brandon.
Brandon Haynes.
One of the best male agent the agency ever had. Also the most annoying, arrogant brat I've ever known at the age of twelve. But we trained together. We did everything together.
He protected me. I protected him.
At the age of sixteen, we fell in love secretly, slowly, although we shouldn't. We tried to hide our feelings but it didn't work out so well. Both being two stubborn teenagers, Garry couldn't stop us. He chose not to say a thing, even if our feelings for each other were so obvious.
Everything was great. We loved each other and we were a great team. It was Sophia and Brandon. The two inseparable partners.
And then, at the age of eighteen, everything fell apart.
My boyfriend, my partner, died right in front of me.
I was left alone with my guilt, a broken heart, and... nothing. I was empty.
And now, four years later, it seems that he's not dead.
He's breathing, standing right there in front of us, and he's not alone.
Everyone stays silent. Somehow, I think they're all waiting for me to talk. But I can't. For the first time in years, I'm afraid of what can happen if I open my mouth to talk.
He is alive. Alive.
Alive.
I feel my hands shaking and I cross my arms, keeping my stare on the floor. We're back at the agency and the silence is killing me.
Oh, the irony. What a bitch.
I take a deep breath. I suppose nobody will talk if I do.
Keep control. You're strong, this is gonna be fine.
"This isn't possible," I mutter, my voice so different than usual. "I saw you died. People don't come back from death."
I don't look up so I can't tell if anyone is looking at me.
If he is looking at you. You don't give a shit about the others. Your boyfriend is alive.
Ex-boyfriend, stupid inner voice.
"How is that even possible?" I shake my head, closing my eyes.
I'm not even sure if I want the answer. This is crazy.
My hands shake again. Shit. I can feel everyone's eyes on me now. But the only pair of eyes that matter is his.
"Sophia..."
Brandon said that.
I stiffen, finally opening my eyes to look at him. His blue eyes meet mine and my whole body is in shock. I can't move.
Fuck, I'm looking at a dead person.
But he isn't dead. Surprise!
I glare at him. "Please don't. Don't... say my name. Just—no."
I turn around to regain control, taking deep breaths. Looking at him hurts.
I did not expect this. That's not how I expected my night to go.
"That's a... miracle," Garry finally talks, and I breathe in relief. "I would like to know what happened, Brandon."
"Fine, but what's going on? Who is he?" Andrew asks in a bored tone and I slowly turn my head to look at him.
"Brandon Haynes used to be an agent at the North Agency. Four years ago, he was... killed. But apparently, you're alive," he states at the end for Brandon, smiling slightly. "He was our best agent."
My partner next to me scoffs.
"That good?" he raises an eyebrow.
I close my eyes and tighten my fists.
"That's cute. You won't have time to blink that you'll be dead. So shut up," I say in a hard tone, without thinking.
I couldn't help it but now I kinda regret it.
I don't want to glance at anybody to see their reactions so I keep my gaze on my feet.
"And who are you?" Brandon's hard voice makes me look up.
He's wearing a mask, hiding his emotions. No, not the material one from earlier. He just keeps his true thoughts to himself, building an invisible wall around him, just like I do. I didn't notice it at first.
As he keeps his gaze on Andrew, I finally take time to look at him. It stills trouble me, but now that his eyes are not on me, it helps.
Now that I remember, I always thought that Brandon was a man when we were just eighteen.
I was wrong.
The guy in front of me is a man. He's taller, definitely more muscular, his shoulders broader. His hair is a darker shade of brown than what I can remember. His skin is tanned, and his face is more defined. Everything about him is... different, yet the same.
His blue eyes though, his icy blue eyes hold more darkness than any pair of brown eyes that I've known.
At least, at this moment, with his eyes trained on Andrew.
A muscle pulses in his clenched jaw as he waits for an answer.
"Andrew Drake, Sophia's partner," the guy next to me answers, not bothered by the situation.
I'm not even close to him, but I can tell that Brandon tenses. He turns his gaze towards me and I try not to react.
I massage my painful neck and his eyes follow. I freeze, resting my hand on my side and look down.
"I could have died," he finally says, his voice calm. "I've never thought I would still be alive, honestly. That night..."
When he doesn't continue, I slowly look up. He stares at me. I look away and put a blank expression like I'm used to.
"I did get shot but... I guess I was lucky."
Lucky? You got shot in the head.
For the first time since we arrived, he looks at the woman standing next to him. My eyes follow. The tall, slim woman in a red dress smiles at him, her short black hair straight and her eyes an even brighter blue than Brandon's ones.
There's something about her that I don't like.
Will you shut up? She hasn't even opened her mouth yet.
Yeah, but she would have killed you earlier.
I clench my jaw.
"The East Agency saved my life," Brandon continues, and we all frown.
"The East Agency?" Garry repeats, confusion filling his voice.
"Yes," Brandon nods, looking at all of us. "They saved me in time. Like I said, I got lucky. Then, they brought me to the agency and... I've been a part of it."
"Why didn't you contact us? To let us know you were alive?" Garry asks, voicing my thoughts.
I keep my gaze on the woman next to Brandon.
"I couldn't. The East Agency thought it would a bad idea to try contacting anyone. They thought I would be in danger if the man that killed me would find out I was still alive."
He pauses a moment, letting his words fill our minds.
"Plus, when I... recovered, I was already dead and buried for all of you."
I close my eyes and take a deep breath.
When I open them again, I look at the woman.
"Who are you?" I ask, and her eyes meet mine.
For a moment, I think she narrows them. But then she smiles slightly, taking a step towards me and shows her hand.
"Nova Miller," she says and when I just stare at her, not taking her hand to shake, she steps back and clenches her jaw.
I smile. She continues,
"I'm Brandon's girlfriend."
I blink.
My eyes fall on their sudden intertwined hands.
She is his girlfriend.
Someone coughs awkwardly when there's a sudden silence and I finally look away.
I taste blood and I realize I've been biting my lip so hard it opened the cut I already have.
The pain helps to forget another form of pain that is not exactly physical.
1.
Close your eyes, take a deep breath, clench your fists.
2.
Forget about it, let the wall gets bigger, do not let them see your emotions.
3.
Open your eyes. Blank. You feel empty again. There you go.
"What are you going to do now, Brandon?" Mr. Neil asks, breaking the silence. "Will you go back to your new agency?"
Say yes.
"I was thinking I could come back here, now that you all know I'm... alive," Brandon answers, rubbing his neck.
Garry nods, smiling. "And you, Miss Miller?"
"If he wants to stay here, I'm willing to follow him. One agency or another, what is the difference?" Nova finishes, winking at Brandon next to her.
I can't look at them. I can't look at her.
Say it. You want to murder her.
Suddenly, someone walks in the big area and we all turn to look at Britt.
Her eyes suddenly widen when she looks at all of us, and when she glances at Brandon, her jaw meets the floor. Yeah, almost.
"Holy... shit!" she lets out, not bothered by the look Garry gives her.
Her eyes can't get any bigger. She opens her mouth, then closes it. She blinks at Brandon.
"Aren't you, like, you know... dead?" she asks unsure, giving me a look like she suddenly thinks she's seeing ghosts.
Once she notices my expression, her eyes fall back on Brandon.
He smiles sheepishly. "Guess not."
Silence.
"That's... wow! Damn, okay! Let me hug you!" she exclaims, not caring about Nova next to him who still has his hand in hers.
Britt practically shoves her to the side.
Nova glares at her when she hugs him. Brandon only lets out a low chuckle, and the sound makes me shiver.
Fucking shit.
I turn towards Mr. Neil.
"Sir, can I please talk to you a minute?" I ask calmly and he nods.
Once we're out of sight, he turns towards me. It seems he only realizes now the gravity of the situation and his eyes fill with a sudden concern he doesn't normally show to others.
"How are you feeling, Sophia?" he asks, giving me a small smile.
I nod. "I'm fine."
After a minute of staring at me, he sighs and rubs his temples.
"Did you know about this Est Agency?" I finally ask.
He shakes his head, frowning. "No. I've never heard about it."
"And don't you think it's weird? All of this situation... I don't trust this," I shake my head.
"Brandon is back, Sophia. We thought we'd lost our best agent."
"Yeah but he's not back alone," I state, frowning.
"Is it what bothers you the most?" Garry asks calmly and I stare blankly at him.
"How can we know they are trustworthy?" I continue, crossing my arms. "We don't know if Brandon tells the truth. We don't know anything about Nova Miller or the East Agency."
"You know I will never let them stay here if they aren't trustworthy. I'll ask Andrew to do some researches about that agency. And Miss Miller."
I nod, feeling slightly reassured.
"But there's something else I would like to do, too," he adds.
I already know what he's thinking.
"I agree," I say.
*
I close the door behind me. I changed in some more comfortable clothes since the dress and the heels bothered me.
All I want to do is take a long shower and sleep, but not now. Not before we do this.
Nova, sitting in the chair before the table, glances at me.
"Really? I don't this is so necessary," she declares, before she looks at Mr. Neil, too.
I walk closer to her.
"Why? Are you afraid?" I raise an eyebrow. She meets my eyes and takes a deep breath. I shrug. "You're not hiding something, are you?"
She rolls her eyes. "No."
"Okay," I nod before I glance at Garry, who's getting ready for the lie detector.
"Why do you act like you're the boss here?" she asks and when she sees my serious look, she shrugs a shoulder. "Just asking, really. What's your position here?"
I smile sweetly, leaning towards her. "You'll only find out if you stay."
Brandon stands in the corner of the room with his arms crossed, watching us silently. I notice he took off his suit jacket, only wearing his white shirt with the first two buttons unbuttoned, and he loosened his tie.
I shouldn't notice things like that but I do.
He catches me staring. We hold gaze for a moment until I look away.
"We will start with simple questions, Miss Miller," Garry says and she nods, smiling.
This smile seems fake.
I lean against the wall and cross my arms. She gives me a look before she focuses on Garry again.
"Is your name Nova Anna Miller?"
"How do you already know my middle name?"
Garry forces a smile. "Just answer the question, please."
A pause.
"Yes," she says, sighing.
"Are you an agent at the East Agency?"
"Yes."
A pause. I glance at Garry. He nods.
"Are you twenty-three-year old?"
Now, she lets out a chuckle.
"A lady should never reveal her age," she tsks.
"Just answer the damn question," I interject, sighing.
Nova glares not so subtly at me before she turns towards Mr. Neil again.
Oh, she's gonna be my new best friend, for sure.
"Yes, I am," she finally says.
"How long have you been an agent, Miss Miller?"
There's a silence like she's thinking. She finally says,
"Thirteen years."
Garry pauses, then continues. I can't tell what he's thinking.
"How did you become an agent?"
"Seriously?" she clenches her jaw and shakes her head.
Garry stays silent, watching her.
Nova sighs, glances at Brandon for a second before she finally answers.
"I was raised to be an agent, all right?" she says in an annoyed tone and I frown.
"Let's talk about that night," Garry continues calmly, looking at Nova. "Did you save Brandon?"
Now, she smiles and looks at Brandon. He gives her a small smile.
"Yes."
Garry frowns and he looks at me.
Nova notices.
"What?" she says before she exclaims,"I mean, my agency saved him! Not me, but still."
After a moment, Garry slowly nods, glancing at Brandon and back at Nova.
A couple of questions later, Garry tells her he's done.
I glance at Brandon.
"It's your turn," I say calmly.
He raises his eyebrows. "Me? Really?"
"What were you expecting?"
He stares at me for a few seconds, his jaw clenched.
"A little bit more trust," he mutters and before I can react, he turns towards Garry. "All right, I'll do it."
When I notice Nova stays still in the room, I shake my head.
"You can leave now," I say, motioning towards the door.
She blinks at me and I resist the urge to roll my eyes and instead, grit my teeth.
"What? Why?"
"I think you can survive without your boyfriend five minutes, honey," I fake a smile and she gives me a cold glare, her blue eyes turning like ice.
Just like Brandon.
I didn't want to see Brandon's expression, but I still look at him. He doesn't let anything showing on his face and it bothers me.
Nova looks shocked and she turns towards Mr. Neil. When he doesn't object, she finally turns around and walks away.
She makes sure to bump into my shoulder when she leaves and I almost, almost, take out my knife to—
Calm down, Sophia.
When Nova closes the door, I take a deep breath and look at Brandon.
He holds my gaze.
"Sit," I order.
He does, not taking his eyes off me.
I clench my fists.
I walk towards him. His eyes never leave mine. I can't tell what he's thinking. He was always good to hide his feelings, but now it seems he's a master.
But so am I. I became good.
I realize that my hands suddenly tremble and I tighten my jaw. Keep control.
I didn't want to be close to him. I didn't want to have to touch him again. I never thought I would have to.
"Raise your arms," I ask quietly, not looking at him.
He does. I start installing the pneumographs.
"You've changed," his voice is barely a whisper close to my neck and I take a breath.
I ignore him.
"Sophia."
This time, I tense.
"What? What are you expecting now?" I say coldly, raising an eyebrow. "An answer? I'm not the one giving answers tonight. You are."
"Look at me," he orders quietly and I flinch.
When I do, I automatically regret it. The intensity of his gaze makes me wish none of this is true. He still died that night and I will continue doing what I do the best. I will continue surviving by myself.
If he's here, I won't be able to do that anymore.
Close to him like that, I can notice the small cuts, the blue of his eyes, the stubble of his jaw, his lips, everything.
I step back and turn around.
Garry was silently watching us and once he sees everything is ready, he clears his throat and looks at Brandon.
Brandon sighs, leaning his arms on the table.
"I swear Mr. Neil that if I could have, I would have come back. But I couldn't and things got complicated," he pauses and looks down a second. "You guys were my family."
Were.
"I know, son," Garry says sadly, although he tries to smile at Brandon. "But I can't just let you come back like that. Things got complicated for us too. We thought you were dead. It affected everyone here."
I suddenly feel a pair of eyes on me and I don't look up.
"Again, I'll ask you to answer a few simple questions. Is your name Brandon John Haynes?"
He nods. "Yes."
"Are you twenty-two-year old?"
"Yes."
"Are you in a relationship with Nova Miller?"
I look up in shock when I hear Garry. Did he ask that question?
There's a long silence that makes me want to punch something. I don't want to look at him when he answers. I can tell he stares at me. Why? Only God knows.
And finally, "Yes."
I want to deny it, but it does hurt. A little bit. I want to scream, but I keep quiet.
You don't feel anything.
I don't look at Brandon or Mr. Neil anymore. I just want to run as quickly as possible out of this suffocating room.
"Tell me what happened the night of May, 3rd," Garry asks calmly after that silence.
Oh God, not again. I close my eyes.
"May I?"
I open my eyes suddenly, my intuition telling me he's talking to me. I'm right. Brandon looks at me expectedly, concern filling his eyes.
Why do you care?
"He asked you a question, just answer it," I reply more bitterly that I intended.
After a moment, he sighs and looks down.
"The mission was to bring back the diamond that Vincent Alvarado stole from a healthy family. It was going to be presented the day after at their mansion for some sort of event. Anyway, Sophia and I went to the old building where the diamond was hidden. I think it was around midnight—"
"12:29 AM," I mutter under my breath.
A silence.
"Right. So Sophia was the one assigned to climb in the old elevator and I was the one who would make sure the cameras were off and that everything would go fine."
Brandon pauses, clearing his throat. He rubs his temples and mutters under his breath, "it obviously didn't go as planned."
"Sophia got trouble with her rope and... I couldn't just let her there, so I went to help. But I didn't notice the men."
He pauses, glancing at me. "I wasn't focused. And before I could do anything... We lost time and..."
He takes a deep breath and clenches his jaw. The images of what follows are still clear in my mind, even four years later.
"I got shot."
Blood. Screams.
My screams.
Tears. Fight. Gun.
More blood.
Light off.
Blinking, I don't hear what Brandon says after this.
"And you said the East Agency found you in time and saved you?" Garry continues, doubt and stupefaction in his voice.
Brandon nods slowly as if he can't believe it either.
"I woke up in an unfamiliar bed, alive. I didn't know what to think about it." He pauses and looks at me. I swallow. "I didn't know what happened to you."
I look away.
"It took a while to remember exactly the past events. I mean, I did get shot in the head, too."
A long silence settles and I feel myself having a headache. Even after this, I feel like I didn't get answers. Actual answers.
"All right, I think we'll stop here," Mr. Neil finally declares, glancing at me before at Brandon. "This was a long night, wasn't it?"
"Wait," I finally say, looking up at Brandon. "I have one last question. Why did your agency wanted you and Nova to kill Mr. Hudson tonight?"
Brandon shrugs. "This was my mission, I honestly don't know much about it. Maybe you could ask Nova, she probably knows more about it. I just had to go there and I did."
Asking Nova?
Nope, I'll pass.
The fact he doesn't even know why he did his missions really confuse me. But like Mr. Neil said, this was a damn long night.
Maybe if I go to sleep, everything that happened would just be a bad dream when I wake up tomorrow?
You're fucked up, Sophia.
"Are you staying at the agency for tonight, Montgomery?" Garry asks when I turn around.
I tense, glance back at him.
"I don't think so," I say, ignoring Brandon's gaze on me.
He nods, straightening his posture.
When I turn to leave the room again, another voice stops me.
"Sophia, wait."
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath before I look at Brandon, my face blank of emotions. He opens his mouth to talk but before he can, I cut him off.
"Welcome back to the North Agency, Agent Haynes," I declare blankly, walking away with a sigh of relief.
Brandon Haynes is alive.
*
He is, Sophia. He is.
Hello! I hope you enjoyed this chapter :)
Again, sorry for mistakes and all. I try my best to edit as I write but still, I know I still need to improve. #whenyoutfirstlanguageisnotEnglish *sigh*
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