"Go to the seventeenth floor for the briefing," the Director instructed. "I will join you shortly."
"Yes sir," Ty said, saluting the Director.
I rolled my eyes at Ty, but made my face solemn again when I looked at the Director. "Yes, Director."
Rokmond nodded, motioning to the door. Ty and I exited the training room and went into the hallway outside, heading to the elevator. When we reached the metal doors of the contraption, I pressed the up arrow. My eyes watched the screen that told the floor level of the elevator. One, two, three...
In the corner of my eye, I caught Ty staring at me. I forced myself to refocus my attention on the elevator. Xara wouldn't react to such a thing, so I wouldn't either.
The elevator doors opened, and the two of us stepped inside. I couldn't help but feel my heart beating a little quicker. He'd been acting strangely ever since this recent event with the warehouse.
Ever since I replaced Xara.
Does he suspect that I'm not really Xara? Has he caught? I clasped my hands together to prevent my hand from shaking. If he did know, my whole purpose in life would be ruined.
Unless he was acting weird because something happened before Xara was captured. Maybe the two had a fight. There was approximately a month long space in my memories. Perhaps something happened during the time that I missed.
The memories that I did have of Ty began to flash through my mind. As I recalled various moments―during spy training and on various missions―I realized that Ty did seem to enjoy Xara's company quite a bit. It was almost as if he liked her...
"Xara." I looked up at the elevator. We were just coming to the tenth floor. If I can just hold out to the seventeenth floor...
"Xara." His voice was adamant. He was going to force me to listen to whatever he had to say, whether I wanted to or not. I stared at the numbers on the screen in the elevator, hoping that if I didn't acknowledge him, he'd stop talking to me. Twelve, thirteen, fourteen.
"Xara, l―"
"Not now," I interrupted. "We're about to go to the briefing.
Sixteen, seventeen! I breathed a sigh of relief as we landed on the briefing floor. Now, if we can just get out of this box without anything more happening...
Ty quickly pressed the twenty-fifth floor button. The doors shut, and the elevator began to ascend upward.
GOSH DARN IT!
"Xara, this is serious," Ty said. "All you do is spy work. All the time, you're either working or thinking about working. It's time that we talk about our future."
I was too mad to face him. I stared angrily at the screen in the elevator.
Who was I mad at? Well, to be honest, the Director. Because if he had just told Team Summit who I really was yesterday, I could one-hundred percent guarantee this would not have happened.
I felt Ty's hand gently touch my jaw, forcing me to look into his green eyes. He was looking in a way that made me feel sick. His gaze held too much longing for me.
Why me?! I screamed internally. Maybe I should have stayed locked up in my room. It would have spared me from this.
"Xara, we've worked with each other for more than fifteen years. We've known each other for longer. We've been in danger together, we've..." He swallowed. In a rare turn of events, the ever-so-confident Ty was... nervous. "Don't you... don't you feel anything?"
"Of course not," I declared indignantly. "What on earth would I feel?"
"I don't know... happiness... peace... um..." He trailed off searching for words. "Look, I know it sounds crazy but... I... I was so scared for you. I thought... when WAOIC took you..." He let go of me, thank goodness, and ran his hand through his hair. "Xara... it's... I..." He laughed. "Why is this so hard to say?"
The King of improv was at a loss for words.
At this point, I was unamused. Just spit out, big boy, I know what you're trying to say.
The elevator doors opened on the twenty-fifth floor. Three spies were waiting to enter, wearing black business suits and holding briefcases.
"Oh, hello Agent 24 and 52," they chorused.
They started to enter the elevator, but Ty held up his hand with a nervous grin.
"Sorry, hold up, I―" he quickly pressed the button for the first floor. The doors closed as the spies looked on in bewilderment. The elevator began its descent as I began my descent into insanity.
Why did this have to happen to me?
"Xara, I love you."
That was what I had been dreading.
I barely know you!
I mean, I do know you, but... it's complicated. I'm not the girl you love!
Or am I? I mean, I am the clone of Xara...
But I'm literally eighteen years younger than you! You could be my Father!
I shuddered at the thought of it.
Ty turned to face me. His eyes searched mine for any emotion, any sign that I felt the same way he did.
But lucky for me, there was such a jumble of emotions coursing through me, that I didn't know what I felt. So, my face was devoid of any feeling.
Just like Xara.
Actually, I didn't know how Xara would act in this situation. Did she feel something for Ty? I didn't know, because she never showed it. If she did, it was kept locked away in her heart, meticulously guarded from exposure.
But this is how I would act if someone I didn't love confessed their feeling to me.
Maybe my response meant that I was transforming into Xara, which was a good thing. The only problem―it made this moment significantly more awkward. And it would probably hurt Ty.
I glanced at Ty, realizing that I had been silent this entire time. He stared at me, his eyes pleading, but his posture had fallen significantly. The elevator dinged and opened up, landing on this first floor. This time, I reached over and pressed the button to shut the doors, then pressed the seventeenth floor. The elevator began to ascend.
"I don't love you," I said, keeping my face straight and my tone even. I looked straight ahead at the closed elevator doors, refusing to face Ty. But I didn't have to see his face to know that he was hurt.
"I guess I could have figured about as much," Ty sniffed. He forced a nervous laugh. "You were always something else, Xara. You... you're in a league of your own. I could... I could never be enough for you." I forced myself to remain somber, so stare at the rising floor number in the elevator.
Seven, eight, nine.
"I hope that you are happy being single," Ty continued. "I genuinely do." He paused for a moment, building up the courage to say the next words. "And if you find someone who's more worthy of your love then me, then I wish you all the happiness in the world."
My fingernails dug into my palm. Fifteen, sixteen, seventeen!
Finally the doors opened, and I numbly walked into the hallway and began to walk to the right―where Team Summit's briefing room was. Ty grasped my arm, holding me back. He spun me around, forcing me to look into his tear-filled eyes.
"I won't hold onto you Xara, I'll let you go if you want. But you must remember that I am always here for you." He released me, and we began to walk to the meeting. I felt like I had accidentally stepped into a cheesy Romance movie. Actually, a Romance movie would have been far better than this. At least then it wouldn't have been real.
The silence between us was filled with my screaming thoughts.
Why me? Out of all the people in this world, why me? Heck, I'm not even a person! I'm a clone. I'm not Xara! It's my second day out in the world, and already the fates are against me!
Unless... this was a test set up by Director Rokmond. As much as I would resent him for doing such a thing to me, I would have been relieved that this was only staged. Well, I'd find out in a moment.
We came to the shiny, beige door that had a cursive 'S' painted on it in red. I opened the door before any more time passed and hurried into the meeting room. Unsurprisingly, everyone else―including the Director―was waiting for us to arrive. Rokmond, noting Ty's puffy eyes, raised an eyebrow at the two of us. Dari and Finn exchanged a glance, their brows furrowed.
"Um, X, what's..." Dari began to ask.
The Director cleared his throat. "Agent 52, Agent 24, please take a seat."
Around the rectangular meeting table, there were two seats left―two seats that were right next to each other. I took the chair to the right of the Director―across from Xara's brother, Finn. Ty took the chair in between me and Jax―across from Dari.
The Director remotely turned on the projector behind him, and the screen displayed the phrase 'Mission WLM500.'
"There are several important details that we must go over before you leave for Brussels tomorrow. On the itinerary are the main operation strategy and the file that we retrieved a few days ago. However, there is an even more pressing matter to be discussed. This is CUD information, not to be disclosed under any circumstances."
The acronym 'CUD' stood for Classified Under Death, meaning that whatever we were told was never to be revealed to anyone, a secret that would go to the grave with us. My pulse began to beat a little quicker. I felt like I knew what was coming.
As I shifted my hands slightly, I realized that my palms were sweating. Why am I nervous? I have no reason to be nervous! None whatsoever!
"As you all know," The Director began. "Agent 24 was captured a few days ago. We told you that we pulled a secret operation in order to rescue her from prison. However, that is not the case. The real Agent 24 is still in enemy hands, so for the time being, we shall only refer to her as Agent 24 sub zero." I glanced behind me to see the crew's reaction. Finn and Dari's jaws were slack, Jax's pupils had consumed his eyes, and Ty was red―bright, fire-engine red.
"Then who is she?" Ty whispered.
I bit my tongue to keep from laughing.
"This is Agent 24 sub one, now referred to as Agent 24, as she will be replacing Agent 24 sub zero for this mission."
"But who is she?" Dari pressed. She turned to Finn. "Does your sister have a twin?"
"Not that I know of," Finn said, equally baffled.
The four members of Team Summit stared at me, brows knit together.
"It's not a matter of who she is," the Director said, "But rather what she is."
"Which is...?" Dari prompted. Rokmond nodded to me.
"A clone," I announced. The two words echoed throughout the room. Everyone sat rigidly still. After a moment, I realized that I was holding my breath.
"A clone?" Ty finally said. His eyes met mine with a look that I could only assume was complete and utter humiliation.
"Yes," Rokmond said. "We would have informed the four of you sooner, but we wanted to see how convincing Agent 24 was as the replacement of her predecessor."
"Certainly convinced me," Ty muttered.
"But how?" Dari blurted out. "How did you do it?"
"Logistics can be discussed another day," Rokmond said. "Right now, we must prioritize the mission at hand." He flipped to the next slide with the words 'Operation Poseur.'
"Tomorrow, June twenty-second, you must all be ready and waiting on the roof of the IIA to board a private jet at five a.m. We are anticipating a seven hour flight, so we should arrive by noon."
I recalled from Xara's memories that Director Rokmond used to say that the jet waited for no one, and if someone decided to sleep in, he or she would be left behind. He no longer did, however, since we were all too vital for the mission to be omitted from the team. It was simply expected that we handle our business to ensure that we didn't hold up the travel plans.
"Which jet are we taking?" Finn inquired.
"The Torpedo," Rokmond said.
"Sick, dude."
Rokmond ignored Finn's unprofessionalism. As long as he behaved on the mission, Finn could goof around the IIA.
"After checking into the hotel, you will begin to observe your suspects. Remember, you will only have eight days to observe the representatives from each country and arrest the imposter. In order to narrow down your work, we have compiled a list of chief suspects based on various data observations over the past few months, such as extended periods of absence and abnormal behaviors."
The Director handed us each a manila folder. As I lifted the side, I saw the list of ten individuals to pay closest attention to.
"What did we learn from the file we got from Xara?" Dari asked.
"Considering the loss incurred from the operation, remarkably little," Rokmond told her. Dari sighed. "However, if our information is accurate, we did learn the expected arrival time for the enemy agents."
"Woah, woah, woah, what do you mean by 'if?'" Ty demanded.
"There's no way to know if the information is wholly accurate. After the fiasco with Agent 24 sub zero, I wouldn't put it past WAOIC to have set up the whole charade to give us a fake file of information.
"However, we should still be cautious. The file stated that the imposter would arrive tomorrow, thus the four of you must arrive then, as well, to see which representatives you should be watching in addition to our suspect list."
"Was there any other information in the file?" I asked.
"You can see the file for yourself," Director Rokmond stated, handing the document to me.
I slipped it inside my own case file for safe keeping. I would be sure to go over the document with a fine tooth comb. If it wasn't from WAOIC, it may contain valuable information. But if it was from our opponent, it may still be of use. Whatever information was put inside the file was carefully selected, since they would be trying to throw us off the scent of their agent. In that case, the file would merely be a psychological game of determining whether the information was inaccurate to throw us off, or accurate so that if we suspected that the file was inaccurate, we would blatantly disregard clues that would lead us to the enemy agent.
"Once you arrive at the hotel, you must watch all of the representatives like hawks, as WAOIC may decide to perform the swap right before the convention. At every moment of every day, one of you must be accompanying at least one representative. It's unrealistic to think that we can watch all thirty delegates all the time, but we can increase our surveillance by being with as many representatives as possible for as much of time as possible.
"But most importantly, watch out for enemy agents. There is a very high chance that there will be significant opposition to your efforts. WAOIC may try to capture another one or two of you, or they could try to kill you. Take no unnecessary risks." Rokmond glanced at Ty and Finn pointedly.
"What?" they asked in unison.
"You both have a history of making... interesting choices at times. Pay attention to your assignment, think twice before you act, and listen to The Lead."
All eyes turned to me. I was now The Lead. There was a moment of uncomfortable silence before I realized what they were waiting for.
"Oh, I will create backup operations. I started that last night. I will give each of you a copy for you to memorize on the plane."
They nodded, satisfied with my response. I exhaled slowly. I would have to spend the rest of my day figuring out operation strategies.
"That's all that we must discuss in person," The Director said. "All of the fine details are located within your files. Memorize every last word within those files before you exit the plane in Brussels. Not even a fraction can be forgotten. Are there any questions?"
We all shook our heads 'no.'
"In that case, you are dismissed. Remember to get lots of sleep, drink lots of water, and eat enough food. You must be in the best possible condition when you come in contact with WAOIC."
The Director turned the projector off, signaling that the meeting had officially ended. I stood, eager to get back to my room. My thoughts buzzed with all of the things that could go wrong―and what to do to combat those problems.
"So you're really a clone?" Dari asked, walking around the table to stand in front of me. I sighed internally. I supposed I'd have to wait to get back to my room.
"Yes," I answered.
"Wow, I'd have never guessed," Finn said. "You're so much like my sister."
I smiled slightly. "Practice makes perfect."
"Yeah, I guess so," Finn laughed. "Ty what do you think?"
"You certainly convinced me," Ty said. The usual lightness in his eyes had returned, much to my relief. I supposed that he was grateful to not be rejected by his love.
"So what's your name?" Dari asked.
"Um, Xara," I responded slowly. Why on Earth would she ask me that?
Dari frowned. "No, I mean your real name."
"Xara," I repeated.
Dari looked at the Director. "You named her Xara?"
"Yes," The Director stated, packing up various files into his briefcase.
"Why?"
"Because that's who she is. She's Xara."
"But... she's not Xara. She's a clone. Shouldn't she have her own name?" Dari's eyes shifted to me for a second. "No offense," she added.
"None taken," I assured her.
Rokmond sighed. "She's a clone of Xara, which means that she is Xara."
"That doesn't make any sense."
"I'm not going to argue with you over this. Xara, the clone Xara, was formed from the real Xara's DNA. She is a living, breathing copy. Sure, she has a different body. But their essence is the same, and always will be the same. Thus, they are both called Xara." The Director was unyielding. He wasn't going to allow a person half his age debate him on this. The U.L. had made their decision eighteen years ago, and it was far too late to change it.
"So how old are you? Are you thirty-five, like Xara?" Finn asked, changing the subject.
"No, I'm seventeen."
Four jaws dropped.
"You're not even an adult?" Ty gasped.
I shook my head. Ty closed his eyes and clutched his forehead.
"How?" Dari questioned.
"When Xara was eighteen, they extracted her DNA. After doing some chemical development in a test tube, I was put in an incubator. Nine months later, I was born."
"That's crazy," Dari said. She paused for a moment. "Well, since we haven't had a chance to formally introduce ourselves, let's do that now." She smiled and waved at me, like we were meeting for the first time. "Hi, I'm Dari."
"Hi Dari," Ty and Finn droned. Dari elbowed Finn.
"I'm the Hacker," Dari stated.
She elbowed Finn again, but softer this time.
"Oh, I'm Finn. I'm your brother... that feels so wrong to say. I mean, to introduce myself to you as your brother. I mean..."
"It's weird that you have to tell me that I'm your brother since I should already know that," I said, helping him out.
"Exactly!" Finn paused, turning to the Director. "Rokmond, what is my relation to Xara? I mean, this Xara, not the real Xara." He glanced back at me and added, "No offense, but it's just easier to say 'the real Xara' when I'm referring to the real Xara. Not to say that you aren't real too, it's just..."
"It's fine," I said, stifling a laugh. This was getting far more complicated than I would have ever anticipated.
"She's your sister," Rokmond said.
"But she's a..."
"But she is Xara," Rokmond interrupted. "If Xara is your sister, then the clone Xara is also your sister."
Dari frowned. "But that logic doesn't entirely flow, Director. I mean, if the real Xara is thirty-five, and this Xara is the same as the old Xara, then this Xara also must be thirty-five. But she isn't, this Xara is seventeen. This Xara is clearly not the same as the other Xara, so how can you keep insisting that they are the same?"
"Enough of this nonsense," Rokmond barked. "All of your 'this Xaras' and 'that Xaras' are giving me a terrible headache. There is one Xara in two different bodies. One body is older than the other, but the essence, skillset, and DNA is the same. But for our purposes, the other Xara, who is captured, doesn't exist. Remember, the cloning project is a CUD, so do not discuss this with anyone other than those in this room. Understood?"
We nodded emphatically.
"Good." Director Rokmond opened the door to the meeting room and motioned for us to leave. We exited, heading to the elevator.
"So are you going back to the top floor?" Dari whispered.
"Yes, that's where I live."
"We're going back to our rooms which are downstairs. We'll catch up more tomorrow." I nodded.
"I'll walk Xara back to her room," Ty told the others. Finn and Dari exchanged a glance.
"Uh, okay, I guess," Dari said, a smile stretching across her lips. "But don't start falling for the clone. What would Xara say?"
"Which one?" Ty said with an equally mischievous grin.
Dari rolled her eyes. "Come on, Finn and Jax."
One elevator opened, and the three of them stepped inside, leaving Ty and me in silence. After a few awkward moments, the second elevator arrived.
"After you," Ty said, bow slightly. I chuckled, stepping inside. I pressed the button for the top floor.
"Look, um, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for acting all weird," Ty began.
"I'm sorry too. I wasn't sure what to do, and I guess I was worried that it was some sort of test set up by the Director to see if I really could be like Xara."
"That makes sense," Ty agreed. "Besides, you didn't want to lead me on."
"That too."
"Well, anyways, that's all. Just wanted to clear the air. Otherwise, things might have been awkward on the mission."
"Yeah, it's all good."
I glanced at the floor number. Twenty-eight, twenty-nine.
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow on the mission," Ty said.
"Yup." The doors opened and I stepped out.
As I walked to my room, I couldn't help but feel a weight lifted off my chest. It was wonderful to no longer be forced to lie to my closest friends.
That is, not having to lie to Xara's closest friends.