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Chapter 115: Caleb, Evan
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2022-11-24 14:23:06Related chapters
Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 116: Bodhi, Felecia, Evan
Thursday. FBI Holding Facility. Austin, Texas.BODHI DIDN'T LIKE THE sound of how things were going down in there.He and the rear guard were just outside the facility, the getaway trucks idling, waiting for the others. But from the sound of things they weren't going well.He licked his lips and glanced at the road.If he just took off now, would they stop him? Was there enough chaos, enough confusion for him to slip away?"Caleb is dead. I repeat, Caleb is dead," a jumbled voice said.Cold fear wrapped around Bodhi.First Kurt, now Caleb?This couldn't be happening.It couldn't come to this.There had to be another way."Hold the line," he bellowed.Bodhi wasn't going to go out on a failure. Whoever had killed Kurt was in that building, and now Caleb was dead. Bodhi was going to kill them all.***Thursday. FBI Holding Facility. Austin, Texas.FELECIA STOOD WITH HER back to the cold wall, gun in hand. Her shoulders were hunched up around her e
Last Updated : 2022-11-24Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 117: Obran, Evan
Thursday. FBI Holding Facility. Austin, Texas.OBRAN PACED THE ROOM. He'd felt and heard the fight going on outside, but no one had cracked open the door. That meant that whoever had stormed the castle for him hadn't succeeded.He wasn't sure if he should be glad or disappointed.If he had to decide whose prisoner he wanted to be, it wasn't Skilton's.Obran crossed to the door and pounded his fist against it.Still no answer.Was his wife still here? What about his children?Skilton would use any of them given the opportunity.Obran turned on his heel and stalked across the small room. He shoved a hand through his hair and prayed for answers soon.At least the lights were back on now.The digital lock beeped.He whirled and listened as a key scraped the deadbolt aside.His mouth went dry as he waited to find out his fate.The door swung open and the black woman, Zora, stood there with a sack in hand. She took one step inside and placed the sack on the chair
Last Updated : 2022-11-24Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 118: Felecia
Friday. Hospital. Austin, Texas.FELECIA KNEW WHAT A drug induced sleep felt like. She'd been in them enough to know she hadn't done this to herself willingly. Where had her father taken her this time? What were they running from? Would this ever stop?She floated in darkness becoming aware of aches and pains.What had she been doing? Working out too hard?All at once memories flashed. Her ankle and the plan to wear herself raw. The door bursting open and a man with golden hair and blue eyes looking at her.Evan.She wasn't with her father. She should be with Evan.What happened? Where was she?Felecia clawed herself toward wakefulness. Every few moments she could crack her eyes open, but the overwhelming need to sleep pulled her back under. Each time she became aware of her circumstances a bit faster, Evan's name coming to her quicker.He was her touchstone, the thing calling her back.At last she opened her eyes and they stayed open for several moments. The roo
Last Updated : 2022-11-24Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 119: Evan
Friday. Hospital. Austin, Texas.EVAN WATCHED A FAT tear roll down Felecia's cheek. Her dark eyes were tortured.He hadn't meant to tell her that. Oh, he knew how he felt about her. Maybe he'd always known, but hadn't accepted it.Of all the people in all the world, he'd found the one he clicked with. The one who seemed to know him better than anyone."You can't. You can't love me." Her voice cracked as she spoke.He reached over for the cup of ice the nurse had begun switching out when they said she might start to wake up."Here, they won't give you water or food for a while, but you can have ice. Your throat has to hurt.""Evan, you can't love me.""Why not?" He set the ice in an empty paper cup."You just can't." More tears welled up in her eyes. He hated them, but he wasn't going to take his words back."I love you. You can't change that. You don't have to love me back-""Look at what just happened. How many people got hurt because of me?" She shook her hea
Last Updated : 2022-11-24Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 120: Epilogue.
Two weeks later...DIHA BALAKRISHNAN BUSTLED AROUND her lab. There was much to do. Ever since Texas things seemed to be moving too fast for even her to keep up with. She was making progress with the forger's files, which only soothed her rage a tiny bit.They still had no idea who the real mole was.That rankled Diha more than she'd admit to anyone.As far as the team knew, they'd caught the mole responsible for paving the Horsemen's way into the FBI facility in Austin. That had been the work of a fake CPS worker. The woman who'd looked after Jacob for less than twenty-four hours wasn't a state employee at all. Diha could accept that the woman had allowed the Horsemen to crash the main and back-up systems locally, granting them access to the otherwise secure building. What Diha refused to believe was that this was the person who'd been sabotaging them at every turn.But Zora had needed a win, so she'd run with what they could tell everyone else.Maybe this false security
Last Updated : 2022-11-24Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 121: Prologue.
Volume 3: Technical Risk Wednesday. George Bush Center for Intelligence, Langley, Virginia.DIHA BALAKRISHNAN SLID LOWER in her ergonomic desk chair and hoped the group returning from lunch couldn't see her.The cluster of next generation good old boys laughed as they strolled in from wherever they'd gone to eat. They never invited her. During her first year here, that had crushed her. She'd thought she was entering a fellowship of people who shared her burning desire. Instead, it felt like she was back in high school. The nerdy girl pushed into a corner and forgotten about.She had her dream job. She worked for the CIA, where she was doing important things. Like resetting passwords for people who got locked out of their fancy phones.Inwardly, she groaned.College had given her an inflated vision of what she'd be doing. Everyone had said that she was smart for angling at the new Cyber Security degrees. With her GPA and experience from her internships, she'd have her
Last Updated : 2022-11-24Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 122: Miles
Eighteen Months Later. Monday. Thames House Security Service Headquarters. London, United Kingdom.MILES GREEN STARED STRAIGHT ahead at his reflection, arms pumping at his side while guitars shredded his ear drums. It would take about fifty miles or so to run his anger out. He was committed to the task. It wasn't like there was anything else he could do. Until the internal review was done, he was effectively sidelined from doing anything meaningful.Once more he cursed his past self. If he'd just looked away. If he hadn't noticed the woman's tears. If he hadn't gone by the book.He'd never been able to handle a woman crying. It was his weakness. He didn't know where it came from. The only thing that made sense was that there hadn't been many tears in their household growing up. He didn't know how to handle them. Logically, it was a load of bull, but it was the only answer he made.If he went back, he'd have made the same damn call because it was the right thing to do. And he
Last Updated : 2022-11-24Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 123: Diha
Monday. Thames House Security Service Headquarters. London, United Kingdom.DIHA BALAKRISHNAN SMOOTHED HER hand down the long, blue kurta she'd worn today. It was her favorite gift from her more fashionable sister. The short sleeved garment was a rich, shimmering navy blue with a cascade of gold embroidered leaves clinging to one shoulder and falling in a pile down her left side with a few dotting the hem swirling around her calves. She'd paired the garment with yellow leggings and her brand new red ankle boots. It was flashy for Diha, who was not normally one to call attention to herself."Say it with me." Cat, Diha's lab assistant and friend, hooked her arm in Diha's. "You are a badass and you kick ass."Diha peered sideways at Cat as they waited for the crosswalk sign. "That's a lot of, well...""Ass?" Cat grinned at her."I should never have let you talk me into this." Diha pressed a cool hand to her heated cheeks. It was September in London and while it wasn't cold, i
Last Updated : 2022-11-24
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Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 374: Quentin, Epilogue
A week later...QUENTIN WISHED HE COULD savor this moment. He slapped the cuffs on the pint-sized asshole who'd had Candi's life in the palm of his hand that fateful night. Was it just a week ago?This should be more satisfying.It was, in a way.Eleven perfectly timed arrests effectively cut off all the heads of Metis. According to Nadine's notes, there was still one unknown head of the organization out there. But they were not alone. Metis itself wouldn't be ordering the death of anyone else. But it didn't bring Nadine back. It didn't restore the time Quentin had lost with Candi. It did make the world a little better, and in the end that's what mattered. Nadine's final acts were all about sacrifice and justice.Quentin stepped back as the FBI agents continued doing their job.He'd been granted permission to be here. As CIA, he had no jurisdiction nor the ability to make an arrest. Still, putting those cuffs on the little asshole felt good.Nadine would be pleased.
Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 373: Candi
Sunday. Clementine Baker's Home, Washington, DC.CANDI CLUTCHED Q'S HAND in both of hers. "Is this it?""Yeah," he whispered.They stared at the moderate sized home in a DC suburb. Now and wind pelted them. Her teeth chattered. And yet, it felt good. The bone chilling cold reminded her that she was alive."Are we going to knock?" she asked."No. Come on. The FBI lookouts know why we're here."Q led her through the yard and a side gate. A uniformed police officer sat at the first-floor window watching them. Q nodded. Candi lifted a hand, but let it drop to her side without actually waving."This way."Solar lights chased away the shadows, making it less ominous. In a few hours, the world would wake up to a blanket of new snow. A clean slate.Candi didn't know how to feel right now.On one hand, they'd found Nadine. They'd done what they'd set out to do.But, Nadine was dead. Her final act had been to save Q and give them the means with which to combat two threat
Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 372: Quentin
Small hands shoved Quentin sideways a second before bullets erupted into the night.Quentin yelled. It was mixed rage and fear. He staggered sideways, only for Nadine to shove at him again."Move, damn it," she barked.They dove behind the shelter of a single boulder. This side of the creek the ground was rockier.Quentin yanked his sidearm out of his holster and sucked down air.Unlike the men at their back, Quentin didn't have unlimited ammunition. Not unless he took theirs."Give me a gun," Nadine hissed.He still couldn't trust her. "No.""Damn you," she growled."Come out and it'll be quick," a voice called out.Nadine laid a finger across her lips and stared him down.He opened his mouth, but she spoke first."You can't think I'm that stupid," she said. With her other hand she pointed back down the way they'd come.She wanted him to go to the creek?"I think you know what your options are," the man called out.Quentin's head knew he couldn't trust Na
Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 371: Quentin
Saturday. Harper's Ferry, VA.QUENTIN KEPT AN ARM right around Nadine and held to the broken stub of a branch. The ground beneath them had started to crumble. He wasn't convinced that they'd keep their perch if he let go.Damn it.Every time they made a move someone was in their path. And it wasn't always the same pair.Were all six circling him and Nadine? Did that mean they'd captured Candi? Or had she gotten away?He'd heard a couple of shots off in the distance. Could it be...?No.He had to keep his mind here and now.Quentin strained to hear anything. A leaf on the wind. The crunch of a boot. Something.To Nadine's credit, even her breathing was soundless.Could he trust her to not turn on him?He didn't think so.She leaned toward him until she could whisper ever so faintly in his ear. "Now."He understood her meaning. They were both watching and waiting for an opening. Words were unnecessary risks.One thing was certain, he could trust Nadine to h
Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 370: Candi
Candi's heart raced as she watched the man kneel by the bag and yank the zipper.She lunged left, behind a tree and drew her weapon.Overhead, there was no mistaking the whining whirl of helicopter blades. It might not be anyone friendly, but DC was about a half hour away by air. They'd called Q's contacts about forty-five minutes ago.Could that be help? More enemies? Something else?She didn't know, but she had to hope. She had to believe this wasn't how it was going to end."Hey!" the man barked. "Get back out here.""Keep the cash and let me go, no one has to know." She clicked the safety off the gun.Candi had mostly blocked out the fact that she'd shot and killed someone after being kidnapped. Now, it was on repeat in her mind.Could she do it again?If she got to tell Q she loved him-again-she'd pull the trigger.Her hands shook.The leaves rustled underfoot, allowing her to track the man's movements. She shifted around the tree, keeping it between them.
Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 369: Candi
Saturday. Harper's Ferry, VA.CANDI CROUCHED BETWEEN THE rotted out remnants of a tree and a dense holly bush. This was as close as she could get to the house without being seen.Where had Q and Nadine gotten to?Candi had run out of the house, unable to hear anything beyond the blood pumping in her ears. She'd pushed ahead, convinced those men were right behind her. The only thought in her head was that she couldn't lag behind or else Q would have to leave her.Only, it had happened the other way around.She didn't know when or how Q got separated from her, but when she'd paused to turn around and look, he was gone.Her teeth chattered together. Had something been on the news about a cold front? The winter had been awfully mild so far. It would be their luck for snow to settle in today.Please, no...Where were they?She cautiously peered out through the branches.All but one of the men who'd arrived at the house had gone into the woods.Was this a bad idea?
Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 368: Nadine
Friday. Harper's Ferry, VA.THIS WAS A DISASTER of her making.The stitch in Nadine's side felt like a knife was being plunged into her. That, or her scar tissue was warning her about the turning weather. The warm spell was most certainly over."This way," Quentin whispered.Her heart twinged.This was her fault.She was going to get this boy killed. And for what?Over the years, she'd lost her focus. She'd become a leaf, being blown about with no respite. She'd done things to stay afloat, things she regretted.Like involving Quentin.He didn't know it yet, but she wasn't leaving this forest alive."Shit," Quentin muttered."What-?"She never got the question out. Her foot slipped on the underbrush then she tripped on a root. Only, the ground wasn't where she thought it should be. She pitched forward and just kept going. Her shoulder hit the steep incline first, then the rest of her. Limbs tore at her clothing. Rocks scraped her skin. Something rubbery smacke
Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 367: Quentin
Friday. Safe House, Unknown, VA.QUENTIN HELD TIGHT TO Candi's hand. He kept glancing at her to make sure she was really there and he hadn't imagined her dramatic return. He had the urge to leave Nadine here and run away with Candi, somewhere it would be just the two of them forever.Instead, he secured the front door then stood in the entry staring at her."And here I thought you'd finally grown a brain," Nadine said dryly.Candi held up her other hand, extending just her middle finger in Nadine's direction.Quentin's phone buzzed. He knew before he pulled it out that it was Wesley. Quentin turned the screen toward Candi. She shrugged and didn't offer any insight into what he should say or do.He clicked the answer button and put it on speaker."Wesley, hey.""Is she there?" Wesley's voice was flat, emotionless.Quentin glanced at Candi. "Yeah."Wesley sighed heavily. "Damn it.""You're on speaker," Candi said."Do you have any idea what I sacrificed to help
Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 366: Candi
Friday.CANDI SLUMPED DOWN A bit more. Wesley gripped the steering wheel like he was on a race course. From where she sat, she could see the speed wavering between five and ten over the speed limit.He couldn't wait to get away from Q.Her heart nearly seized up just thinking that.She wrapped her arms around her more tightly, as if she could hold herself together with strength alone.It felt like history repeating itself.She had to leave because of Nadine for her own good.While Q remained where he was.Candi understood his resolve to carry through with his job. She really did. But her heart couldn't help but feel abandoned. Again.Q had chosen Nadine once over her, and now it was happening again.Yes, Candi knew it was different. This was about doing the right thing and protecting themselves."You're awfully quiet," Wesley finally said."Know your audience," she mumbled.He glanced at her. His sunglasses hid his eyes and made it impossible to guess at wh
