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Chapter 327: Candi
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2022-11-24 14:23:07Related chapters
Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 328: Quentin
Friday. Stoke's Bar & Grill, Miami, FL.QUENTIN SAT IN SILENCE, staring at the glare on the dashboard. The smell of the fries still tickled his nose. Sadness yawned inside of him, threatening to swallow him whole. He'd mostly worn off burgers and fries for this reason. The smell would always remind him of Candi.Early on, not long after they'd bet, Quentin and Candi wound up grabbing lunch together. It hadn't been intentional. They'd both assumed others were joining them. He remembered watching her demolish a plate of fries. In one of his less stellar moments, he'd opened his mouth and told her she shouldn't eat so many fried foods. Not his proudest moment. Quentin liked to think that he'd grown since then.What was it she'd said to him?Damn. He still couldn't remember. Something about her brain fuel. She hadn't missed a beat, though. That's what had stuck out to him. She'd taken his arrogant comment and laughed it off.That was Candi.She lived according to her own rul
Last Updated : 2022-11-24Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 329: Nadine
Friday. Unknown, Arizona.NADINE SLID ONE NAIL under the other, absently cleaning them. She kept finding dried blood, no matter how well she went over herself. Given that she'd killed five people a week since December, that was a lot of blood. There were a few loose ends still, but she'd managed to clear her list. For the most part. There were still a few on her list to deal with.The car shifted suddenly and she leaned left. Her elbow rammed against the door a bit too hard, causing her to suck in a breath. Of course, the damn bag over her head came with it. The fabric stuck to her lips and a fold of fabric went into her mouth.Gross.She reached up and pulled at it."Hands," the boy next to her snapped."Calm down, boy. I can't see anything."Still, she placed her palms on the top of her thighs.That seemed to placate him.Nadine didn't need to see where she was going. She'd put a device into the sole of her shoe that would record their coordinates periodically. W
Last Updated : 2022-11-24Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 330: Candi
Saturday. Wesley Gonzalez's Home, Miami, FL.CANDI GLANCED OVER AT the house. Everything appeared to be in order. She'd stayed up most of the night cleaning and tidying up. Her laundry was completely done for the first time in ages.God, if her brother found out about what she planned on doing today, he'd kill her. But he was off doing other things he refused to tell her about, which meant she had freedom over the house. And what he didn't know wouldn't kill him.Last night she'd texted Q about their next steps and they'd agreed they needed to get together to discuss where to start. Seeing as Q feared his rental might be compromised, she'd suggested her brother's place. Not that it was really appropriate for her to do so. Her brother had told her up front that he didn't want her bringing friends here. However, Q wasn't a friend. Not anymore. They were simply working together on a mutually beneficial case. Wesley would never find out, so what was the big deal? Besides, when had
Last Updated : 2022-11-24Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 331: Quentin
Saturday. Orlando, FL.QUENTIN FELT AS THOUGH his insides were pulled tight and straining. Keeping his eyes on the road was an almost constant struggle. His shoulders ached from the tension of gripping the wheel as tightly as he held it.Being around Candi was pleasure and torture.He'd never met anyone who was so easy to be around. Most people wore on him to some point. But not her. It only served to remind him of all the good times. How well they connected and worked together after he'd stopped being an ass. And it rubbed salt on his wounds. His actions had led to her exiting his life. All because he'd been afraid of his own feelings. If he'd done things differently, maybe they'd never have gotten to this point?Time and time again, he wondered where they'd be if things had gone differently. If he'd kept her secret.Would he have helped her prove her theory?One thing was certain. They wouldn't be friends now. They'd be something much more. And that was a bitter pill t
Last Updated : 2022-11-24Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 332: Quentin
Quentin straightened his shoulders, set his eyes on the front door and strode down the walk.The yard was sparse, well kept, but no one took pride in it. The house appeared to have had the siding updated recently and the windows were cleaner than the typical home. The car out front was clean, as if it had been washed lately. Or perhaps the rain had rinsed it clean?He wished he had more information on this Zhang Wei. As names went, it was very common. Sort of like John Smith. He knew of a few off the top of his head. They ranged from completely uninteresting to terrifying.Where did this one rate? And was this meeting even a good idea? What choice did they have?Nadine's trail was cold. They had to do something.Quentin rang the doorbell, took a step to the side, and waited.No answer.He wasn't surprised.He lifted his hand and knocked.Still no answer.A car pulled into the drive next door. Two noisy kids tumbled out and rushed to the front door of the blue house.
Last Updated : 2022-11-24Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 333: Candi
Saturday. Viet Town, Orlando, FL.CANDI PUSHED HER SUNGLASSES up her nose and screwed her smile on tighter. Q's dark energy wasn't going to bring her down. She didn't know what had gotten into him, and she didn't want to know. That wasn't her problem. Especially right now, when she was so damn excited.Ever since moving to Florida, she'd heard about the imposing Chau Phan that ran a tight information network out of Orlando. Candi didn't know for certain that their dead Chinese expat had worked with or for Chau Phan, but it was a damn good hunch given what she'd been told. It made sense to Candi that they should try to see the grand dame of intel for the city.Normally speaking, Candi didn't think that a Chinese expat and a Vietnamese grandmother would necessarily get along depending on their political leanings. The two countries had fought an eleven year war not all that long ago. There were still disputes over who had governance over certain areas. However, Candi had to hope
Last Updated : 2022-11-24Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 334: Candi
Candi swallowed and inclined her head, muttering, "Hello.""This is a surprise," the older woman said."Chau Phan?" Q asked.Her gaze cut to him. "Was I speaking to you?"Q was quick to bow and reply, "No, ma'am."Candi did not snicker at that.Chau curled her finger. "Come here, girl."Candi?What did she want?Candi glanced at Q, but he never met her gaze.Well, great."Uh, okay," she muttered.No one spoke as she made the trek around the long table to stand in front of the woman who could only be Chau Phan. She lifted a hand and Candi had to wonder if she was supposed to take it or what.Once more, Chau curled her finger.Unsure of what that meant, Candi bent.Chau grasped her by the chin and turned Candi's face this way and that. Chau lifted her other hand and ran her fingers through Candi's hair. The very act made her skin crawl.Some stranger touching her face?Strange hands in her hair?These were not things Candi would normally allow.And y
Last Updated : 2022-11-24Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 335: Quentin
Saturday. Orlando, FL.QUENTIN WAS SUSPENDED IN a state where he wanted to be back in the hotel room, and he dreaded Candi's presence.What had gotten into him earlier?They'd had a plan. They'd been on the same damn page. And then he'd seen red, and it all went out the window.What the hell?Quentin slumped over the steering wheel. At Candi's suggestion, he'd left her at the hotel while he ran a few errands. They hadn't spoken since she'd yelled at him on the sidewalk outside Saigon Pho. He just hadn't been able to make his mouth work. No words would come out.What would he have said, anyway? What could he say?He shoved a hand back through his hair.It wasn't like this was the first time he'd seen someone flirt with Candi. Just because he hadn't wanted to date or get distracted didn't mean others had those same standards. He could still recall the acute annoyance he'd felt the first time another analyst had hit on Candi. The guy had done it right in front of Quinte
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
