By the time afternoon rolled around, Zander and I were more than ready to get started. But instead of being antsy and restless like he had been for the last twenty four hours, Zander is collected. His composure is sure and his face is calm. I'm sure, internally he is frantic, but since it was nearing game time - he is ready.
Because we are spies.
It is what we do. And we do it quite well most of the time. I feel adrenaline flowing through my veins and exciting the bones in my body.
My mind may be clear, but my heart remains wild. It is like my heart and its emotions are on a side mission: deciding where to place its loyalty.
But regardless of what I could be thinking about, now was not the time.
I don't remember how long ago it was that Zander and I were sitting in this exact spot, waiting for our signal to enter the same exact building. It feels as if I have lived a few years of my life out since then.
I pick up the cell phone that our team has shared and look at it one last time, prepared for Rylan to call it off at the last minute. I haven't been around him much, so I don't know how far he is usually willing to go for a mission. In my opinion, going on an eighteen hour solo mission would test my patience. For all I know, whoever he found could be testing a lot more than his patience. They could be torturing him for answers, or they could have eliminated him already.
And that is why my hands were shaking.
"Carter, you are fine." Zander says it as if it is fact, even though he knows the opposite is true. I glare at him for a short moment and then breathe in and out deeply. I shake my hands out and stretch out my neck. "You are fine."
I don't glare at him when he says the same words again. I know that if I just believed him, and believed in myself I could be fine. "Why aren't you freaking out?" I ask him defensively.
I see him bite the inside of his mouth. It must hurt, but I doubt he can feel any pain right now due to the adrenaline. "I don't know," he mumbles.
I know how he feels. Sometimes you are feeling too much and can't process a simple fact that your best friend may or may not be dead.
We ditch the conversation and get out of the car. On the ride here, we efficiently decided that we would go in the exact same way. So I run across the street and rest my back against the wall, letting Zander peek in. He opens the door and I follow him in.
I think of how much knowledge we have gained since we did this last, and I am disappointed. It seems as if there is simply nothing to know.
I sweep the room with my eyes, certain to make sure I am aware of myself and my surroundings. Same old, same old. It appears as if nothing has changed. Same fake front. After we decide our examinations are conclusively worthless, Zander types in his BOSS code to the same computer. Standing behind him, I look over his shoulder at the screen. We both stare at the numbers Zander just entered. "Press enter," I say.
"I did," he whispers, annoyed. He does it again, anyway. And again.
Then he slams a fist on the table, creating an echoing sound. "What the h-"
"Shut up," I say as I push a hand against his chest to move him out of my way. I place my fingertips on the keyboard and enter my own code instead. Still, there is no recognition from the computer.
I see Zander constantly looking in every direction, keeping watch. I huff and kneel to the ground to face cupboards with very old paint peeling off of them. I open them and find the hardware. I stare at a mass of wires and pieces.
"What are you doing?" Zander asks in a quiet hush.
"Try to override the security to the door." I fiddle with the system, disconnecting wires and reconnecting them to other ports. "I think if I send all the operating power to the door connection, I can crack it."
I reach for another part and detach it completely. "Decklynn, it's doing something," Zander says hurriedly while he pounds on my shoulder. I rise and view the screen. Binary numbers and encrypted files flash across the screen. "Crap," I draw out the word in frustration.
I allow my fingers to rapidly press keys in an attempt to slow down the information. I filter out the information that isn't important to me and the things that were obviously just meant as a distraction. EBay profiles? I don't think so.
Finally, I am left with four files, that continue to pour new codes onto the screen. This is complex. For a door, this is stupid. Really.
I attempt the first one. Finding the cipher for a code is difficult, I will give myself that. I haven't heard a sound from Zander, so I assume that means he is mesmerized. I type vigorously and stumble over a few mistakes. I let go of the keys and shake out my hands.
I notice a countdown timer appear in the upper right hand corner. One minute to crack four coded files that look as if they are guarding the alarm code to the white house.I swear under my breathe and return to my current job. I press enter, trying one cipher.
"Phase one complete," sounds an automated voice throughout the fake ice cream shop.
"Well, you are doing something right," Zander says to me from behind. I can't help a small smile.
I attack the next one. Easy. "Phase two complete. You have one minute and twenty four seconds."
Now the third. Easy. I press enter, but I get no response from the voice. I shake my head and try again. Nope. Again? Yes. "Phase three complete. You have forty seven seconds."
Okay, I can do this. I am fine. I try my best to believe Zander's words from his miniature pep talk. Now the fourth file. I type away on the keyboard and am sure I have this thing figured out.
"You have thirty seconds."
"Decklynn?"
"What?" I snap, not believing he would be interrupting my focus at this point in time.
"You have thirty seconds left."
Duh. "I know that, you idiot!"
"Okay, I wasn't sure if you heard," he mumbles. I know he is just nervous because he can't do anything to help. Actually . . . "Go to the door," I command.
I hear him take his steps towards the door.
Here we go. This has to work, because I have no more time to create another cipher for this code.
I take a deep breathe and look at Zander. With his nod, I turn my attention back to the screen. "Wait!"
My finger stops mid-air, and I look at the timer on the screen. "What now? We have twenty seconds!"
He walks towards me and hands me a gun. A real one. I look from it, and then to his face again. I shake my head. "There is no way we are not going to be walking into a crowd of bad guys with guns. We have no idea who, what, or how. But I need you to either go in shooting or wait behind the door until I'm shot. You basically have no choice."
I take it, realizing the truth in his words and I press enter.
"Phase four complete."
The door slides open and I raise my gun, taking the safety off. Zander is the first to peek around the corner, and he fires a few shots in rapid succession. He leans back into safety. "There was only three guys," he says confused.
He steps through the door out of view, and I follow. The base looks the same, except for the addition of three life-less bodies laying on the cement. Papers are still scattered, and the place is well lit.
I hear the door closing behind me and I turn to face it. Zander does the same, and then we match our gazes. We both realize that that didn't happen last time. My heart amps up its beats and send my mind into overdrive. What if-
"Agents Carter and Brek: I am going to have to ask you to place your weapons on the floor," a resounding male voice fills the space.
Zander immediately drops his on the ground so I do the same. My gun clatters loudly against the hard surface of the floor.
"Thank you very much, kids. It has been fun, yet challenging working with you two. We just have one last thing to accomplish before you are truly free from your mission together. So go ahead and tie yourselves up."
The voice is intimidating and casually cruel, and the echoes creep up my spine like living insects. I close my eyes and allow the shivers to pass.
Wait. He has been working with us? They have one more things for us? At this point, I wonder how far Karina has infiltrated BOSS.
"Don't tie yourself up," Zander whispers. I open my eyes.
"I would strongly advise that you do, indeed, tie yourselves up." The sentence ends in a thundering deep tone.
"Where the hell is Rylan?" Zander booms. Of course, he gets no response. Why would he?
Is he here?
I furrow my eyebrows. What were we supposed to do? I look at Zander who doesn't return my gaze. I walk over to the computer simply because there is nothing more effective to do.
"Do not touch the equipment, Decklynn!" It is so loud I want to cover my ears.
I touch it anyway. When I wake the computer up and the screen saver goes away, I see my face and Zander's. "What the-" I trail. I click on Zander's profile, and many words worth of information appears.
I feel a strong hand wrap around my arm and pull me away. Zander drags me a few feet away from the computer. "Stop it," he says without looking at me.
"Why?" I whisper, noticing that our guardian angel from hell hasn't said anything through the intercom lately.
But then I feel a piercing in the side of my neck and stifle a squeal. I try to say Zander's name, but I don't know if the sounds that came out of my lips fully formed the word. He looks at me frightened. I feel myself falling backwards and see Zander's arms reach out for me. I'm not sure if he caught me or not.
Because I can't see anything and I feel nothing.