Bill
"Who're you?" an older lady asked when Cassie took off the uniform jacket.
Bill lingered in the back room behind the reception desk, pretending to keep busy with reading an invoice. Chloe had gone past him a few minutes before and he had just enough time to place the bombs in the cleaning cart before Cassandra came through the back door.
"The new cleaning staff," Cassie said. Bill looked up briefly, not used to her British accent. It was a pretty convincing one though and he wondered if she may have spent some time in the UK after she left Phi. Even if she did, she wouldn't tell him.
"Cleaning staff? First the new waiter, then that handsome lad at the reception desk and now you. Nobody had mentioned anything."
Cassie let out an awkward laugh. "It was all so sudden, they must've forgotten."
The older lady murmured something, putting on her coat and leaving.
Cassie walked out behind the front desk, where Bill was already back to standing and checking in a couple.
"One hour," she whispered just loud enough for him to hear and proceeded to climb the stairs to the first floor.
He checked his watch when the couple departed with their room key-card.
That had been forty-five minutes ago.
He seated himself behind the reception with a sigh and unbuttoned his uniform jacket. A group of French tourists had come to collect their key-card, chatting Bill's ear off. He nodded at them and smiled, pretending to listen to their requests.
"London is so beautiful, but the rain is really, how you say, make me annoy."
"It make me annoy too," Bill murmured, clearing his throat.
They had agreed to go a full hour before any explosives. It would give Cassandra the time to set them up and allow Chloe to gather as much intel as she could and get the drug. But Cassandra should have checked in at the half-hour mark.
Bill was hesitant to find out what Majesty had invented. He had never seen her, never spoken to her, but he had a reason to hate her. Snakehead had sent his brother on a mission, but it was Majesty that killed him. Because she posed a threat, he lost everything.
He looked around, bored. There was no sign of commotion and it was a good thing, but he still wished to take action. His hands and lips ached, wanting a drink. He bounced his leg, tapping his knee. Why had she not checked in?
She probably doesn't care that you're waiting, he thought. Cassandra had disappeared after his brother's mission. She had been a team leader, the very person who had deemed Bill and Chase Xiao incompetent to join the rest of them. And she didn't come back until she needed something.
Ten minutes.
"Hey Peters, imma go have a smoke, mind taking over for five?" Bill called to another receptions.
The young guy nodded, his eyes glued to the table. Anyone looking from the other side would think Peters was a hard worker. Bill watched as he pursed his lips in frustration, restarting the video game and trying to beat his high score for the fifth time that day.
Once in the back room, he put his ear piece in.
"Foxtail, has Cat Eye checked in yet?" he asked, pressing the comm button.
"Not with me, no," Lee replied.
"Right, well, can you check her GPS? I have hunch."
"Sure." There was a pause. "She's down in the—"
The line cut off.
"Down where?" Usually when he tuned into the communication channel, there would be some white nose. There's was nothing.
He checked his watch and ear piece, making sure they weren't scratched. "Foxtail, are you there?"
Deafening silence.
"Agent Cat Eye? Agent Jackson? Artemis?" he called.
Cold sweat washed over him. Six minutes left until he had to set off the bombs and no one was answering him.
He peeked through the door he had left ajar and noticed a man talking to Peters and looking around. Something about his posture and his determined eyes made Bill freeze in his spot.
"Agent Foxtail, I have lost connection to the other teammates," he tried again.
Bill cursed, noticing the man had locked his eyes on the break room door. They know.
He licked his lips, contemplating. He had a vague idea about where his teammates were. He needed to get to the one who was the most exposed. Chloe.
The only thing standing in his way was the guy at the reception desk. He took in a breath, praying Cassandra had managed to set up at least one explosive and get away from it. He was angry with her but didn't want blow her up into pieces.
There were three places in which Cassie should have set up the bombs. A room near the place of the meeting. That one would go off first, allowing Chloe to escape in the commotion. Second, on the top floor, drawing attention upwards while they escaped. And third, in the case someone chased them, the basement. It would blow up the building.
Bill pressed down on the button 4 minutes early.
For half a second, nothing happened. And then, a loud bang caused an uproar in the lobby and people sprung from their seats like they were on fire. Something else no doubt was. He slipped out of the break room as people rushed outside and the man at the reception looked away.
He dashed up the stairs, racing to the meeting rooms and occasionally looking over his shoulder.
Please be there, he prayed, flying into a hallway and noticing someone crouching by a plat pot. It was a woman, her red hair tied into a neat bun. Her back was to Bill as he looked left to the closed doors to the meeting rooms and right where Chloe was. He approached her and grabbed her shoulder.
#
The elevator doors opened into the basement and Bill stepped out first, breathing in filtered, stuffy air. The lights came on one by one as he continued down the hallway. There was no sign of Cassie on the top floor which was both good and bad. Either she was here or they were all going to get caught and she's already dead.
Hearing sounds of commotion, Bill extended his hand to stop Chloe form bypassing him. He gave a hand gesture and Andrew drew his gun, nodding.
Bill pushed the door open and moved out of the entrance and further along the wall of the room to avoid the rain of bullets he expected to come his way. When he got a good look at the scene in front of him, he breathed a sigh of relief.
A man was tied to a chair in the middle of the room, the light above him casting a shade to his face. Cassandra stood with her back turned to the door, her jaw set and her gun already back by her side where it had been before she pointed it at Bill.
"What is going on? Why weren't you answering me? I thought something bad happened."
She didn't reply, her eyes focused on the man.
Andrew and Chloe entered the room, keeping closer to the walls and observing. Cassandra gripped a gun in her hand, her knuckles white and hand shaking. She was shaking all over.. She stared at the man like he was the most interesting creature she'd ever seen. Her wig was on the floor, hair white hair falling around her shoulder and face in waves. She had a bruise forming on her cheek, and red marks on her wrist from what he assumed was the aftermath of the fight.
"What's going on Cassandra?" Bill asked. "There's Majesty's people everywhere, we need to go."
"How are you alive?" The question was meant for the guy in the chair, but the tone of Cassie's voice sent chills down Bill's spine. There was no girl who'd taught them a lesson the week before or the one who calculated the plan in a way nobody got hurt. There was something dangerous about Cassie and Bill was scared of her.
The guy smirked. "Does that really matter?"
"I jabbed a screwdriver in your neck. I watched you bleed to death. You died on top of me."
Bill's eyes widened as Chloe's hand flew to her mouth. He looked at Cassie again. What happened to her while she was gone?
The man snorted. "Now, I remember. You were the crying brat with a big mouth. On top of you isn't really the right wording. You're giving the wrong idea to your friends. Besides, I don't seem to be dead."
Cassandra threw a punch at the guy, making his head move to the side.
"She doesn't remember you if that's what you want to know."
"Where's Majesty hiding?"
The guy shrugged.
Cassandra hit him again. "Where's her base?"
"Even if I knew I wouldn't tell you," the guy was grinning like a maniac. "Boh Adesso."
Cassandra took a step back like she'd been slapped. Her chest were rising up and down, beads of sweat forming on her forehead. Her face hardened and her eyes filled with tears as she spoke. "Tell me or I'll repeat what you did to me in your play room and make sure you don't survive."
The guy leaned closer, the muscles on his arms tightening."No."
Cassandra pointed a gun at his head.
"Go ahead," the guy said.
"This isn't part of the plan," Bill said, taking a step forward. "We're not supposed to kill their people without a reason."
"Oh, I have a reason."
"If you shoot, they'll know someone's here. You'll blow it up for us."
"They already know. Bill." Cassandra turned to him. "Someone hacked our comms and turned them off. They wanted to take us out as silently as possible. He followed me here." She motioned at the guy. "He—"
"That's what I'm trying to avoid," Bill cut in. "It's—"
"Watch it!" Andrew yelled.
Before Bill could react, the guy jumped out of his chair, the ropes falling to the ground and reached for Cassandra.
A gun fired.
The man stopped, his mouth opening and dropped to his knees.
Bill and Cassandra exchanged glances. "I didn't—" she began.
Whimpering made them look to the side. Chloe was hyperventilating, her hands shaking as she lowered the gun. It slipped out of her hands and fell to the ground.
"We need to go," Cassie said.
Bill crossed the room and gently took Chloe by the forearm. She didn't protest as he ushered her outside. He looked back at Cassie that hadn't moved yet and caught her staring down at the man. Then, Bill's eyes met hers and he could see pain in them, much like the one he had felt for years. It was gone as fast as it came and like she never wavered, Cassie shot past him and rushed down the hall after Andrew.
"They'll be waiting in the lobby," Bill told Cassandra who had stopped by the elevator.
"Not all of them will if you blow up the roof," she said.
Bill took the detonator out of his pocket and set off the second set of bomb, while Cassie pressed the elevator button. They readied themselves for a fight, but the elevator was empty.
"I'll take the briefcase," she told Andrew when the doors closed.
Bill held his thumb and index finger on his waistband guiding Chloe with his other hand. While they rushed up the stairs she tripped, using her hands to balance. He could see her holding back the tears. "Take those stilts off, you risk breaking your neck. And get it together."
He couldn't protect the two of them. She couldn't fall apart now.
She obeyed, holding the heels in her hands.
"Now, if anyone attacks us, you throw those shoes at them and aim good. You've only got two."
The strain from Chloe's face was gone for a moment, the joke snapping her back to reality.
"Wait," she said, as Cassie was about to call the elevator. "I think I can get Diana on the comms. We had a separate channel."
She popped her ear piece into her ear. "Di, can you hear me?"
Her face changed from blank to relief. "Cassandra says they hacked the comms. Can you meet us at—"
"Two blocks east from where's at," Bill added. They still needed to get Lee before leaving.
"Two blocks east from where you are now," Chloe repeated. "Okay."
They emerged into the lobby in time to hear the remaining guards yell "Grenade" and jump for cover.
Chloe and he made a mad dash for the back room behind the reception. Bill saw someone hiding under the reception desk and stopped when he recognized a head of blond hair. "Come on," he told Peters, hauling him up to his feet and dragging him along.
When they emerged into the alley, the guy wiggled from Bill's grip. "Ungrateful," Bill murmured.
Diana met them by the side entrance to their hotel. She didn't ask why Chloe was carrying her shoes or why Cassandra's wig was gone. All she said was "I came here before you."
Bill appreciated the subtle humor from the girl in the wheelchair but Cassandra didn't notice it. She waited until everyone entered, staring Bill down as he went in.
"What?" he asked.
"Nothing. Hurry up, we need to go."
_____________
So, this didn't exactly go as planned for Squad 6, but they managed to get out alive and well. Or did they?
Find out next week. ;)
In the meantime, tell me your thoughts on the characters in the comments below. Who's your favorite character? Why?
I hope all of you are doing well in school and outside of school. I start back on the 4th of September and will be posting if I am unable to update on my profile so make sure you follow me so you wouldn't miss anything.
Have a wonderful Friday.
Happy writing,
Sara