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Chapter 356: Candi
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2022-11-24 14:23:07Related chapters
Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 357: Quentin
Thursday.QUENTIN STARED AT THE white, four-door sedan. It had to be twenty years old, but according to the dash, it only had thirty thousand miles on it.Wesley's directions had brought them to a county road just off the highway. There was a gravel drive that led to an area with two awnings. There were half a dozen vehicles here, from a utility truck and van to a two-seater, flashy sports car. It really made Quentin wonder what kind of gig Wesley was running.Candi stood, her bag slung over her shoulder and staring at the car. "I wish we didn't have to rely on my brother for this.""It's good to have people." He felt a pang of guilt.Quentin had people. The Task Force had always pulled through whenever there was an emergency. He just hadn't wanted to rely on them. Now, he regretted not answering at least one or two of those calls."Can we trust him?" she asked."About as much as we can trust anyone."She shook her head. "I just feel like I don't know him."Quentin
Last Updated : 2022-11-24Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 358: Quentin
"Hm?" Quentin looked at him longer this time."Ignore me," he muttered.She turned her hand over in his, lacing their fingers together and leaned on the center arm rest."What if we kept driving, started new lives and pretended none of the bad stuff never happened?" She smiled, but it was sad. "If only it were that easy.""Is it such a bad idea?""If we were different people, no. Can you really see yourself doing that? Walking away from your family and the career you built? What would you do?""Bet I could work in a Chinese food place.""Stop." She scowled at him. "You'd be terrible. Do you want to give poor, unsuspecting people food poisoning?"He sighed. "You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"She laughed. "That was five days of hell.""You threw up on me. You don't think that was penance enough?""No. No, I do not." She laughed and her smile lit up her face.He'd brought the wrong leftovers with him to work, and then traded meals with her. By
Last Updated : 2022-11-24Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 359: Candi
Thursday. McLean, VA.CANDI STILL FELT OFF balance from earlier. After Q's call with his teammate, she'd felt all kinds of conflicted.She was lying to herself and Q. At some point over the last few days, she'd stopped holding onto all that bitterness and distrust that had plagued their first few days. It was her and Q against it all. Just like she'd always wanted it to be. Only, with less potential for death.There was no crystal ball to tell her how this would end or what the future held, but she knew her plans to simply walk away from Q and this wild ride were impossible. She'd thought her work at the CIA was what had breathed so much life into her. Now, just driving with Q, she had to wonder if it had been him all along.What that meant for her future or what they might do together, she didn't know yet. But she wanted to find out. Later. After they'd seen this through. Broaching that topic would just distract them, and they didn't need that."This should be us," she mu
Last Updated : 2022-11-24Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 360: Quentin
Thursday. Mausoleum, McLean, VA.QUENTIN DRAGGED CANDI TO the gray marble plaque. Plastic had been taped over the marble. The top right corner, above Edward's side of the crypt, had been cracked off."Is it damaged?" Candi asked."Looks like it.""What's with the plastic? I wonder if the crack was recent. Think it was natural, or...?"Or had someone tried to get into the crypt?"Can I help you two?"Quentin straightened and turned to face a woman. She wore a brown slacks and a coordinating tweed jacket. She exuded warmth and comfort."What happened to this plaque? Did someone try to rob a grave?" Candi gasped. "Do we need to be worried about that?""Oh, no." The woman held up her hands, eyes wide. "No, no such thing."Quentin glanced from the woman to Candi. What was going on here? Candi's eyes were wide, and she looked truly worried. What was she playing at?She suddenly reached for his arm, clinging to his elbow. "My husband's cousin was just put to rest here
Last Updated : 2022-11-24Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 361: Quentin
How was it they'd never been on a date, and yet Quentin loved her? He'd fallen for Candi before he realized it. It was hard to say why or how his heart had settled on her, but he couldn't deny it. Not to himself at least.What did the future hold for them? What if they couldn't stop Metis? What if they had to actually start new lives? Would Candi want to do that? With him?What would it be like to try being normal people?Quentin wasn't sure what he could do.He'd gone into law enforcement at a different time in the world. If he started over now, he'd like to do something different. Something that made a change for the better.A creaking sound broke the stillness.Quentin tightened his arm around Candi.Her breathing stuttered then she inhaled and sat up.He said a silent thank you that she was still aware of herself to not make a sound.Due to the arches, they didn't have a clear line of sight to the door. Even walking past, if they flattened themselves to the ground
Last Updated : 2022-11-24Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 362: Nadine, Candi
Thursday.NADINE DREW A DEEP breath in through her nose. She didn't look at the box Candi had carefully strapped in next to Nadine. At some point, she'd given too much away.Then again, it made sense Quentin would have seen the importance of Edward in her life.She shifted, finding a better spot to sit with her hands still behind her back.Quentin had surprised her in one regard. She'd expected him to take her to the police or straight to Langley. Instead, they were driving away from the city and into stretches of nowhere.That's what she would have expected the man she'd left in DC to do.However, something had changed in him over the two months since she'd seen him. She was curious.Quentin was her protégé. Yes, she'd picked him because of his specific background. She'd needed someone she could mold. Someone she could put blinders on and hide behind.He'd made it easy. Especially in the beginning.She'd often wondered if she'd over-played her hand when it came to
Last Updated : 2022-11-24Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 363: Quentin
Friday. Motel, Leesburg, VA.QUENTIN PACED THE FRONT walk outside the room. Candi had slept there for a bit. At least one of them was getting rest that wasn't Nadine.He didn't think she'd been asleep for as long as her eyes had been shut. That was merely her best way to buy time.A beat-up green SUV pulled around the side of the U-shaped motel. Quentin had secured rooms around back, giving them some added measure of privacy.He pressed his arm to the gun at his hip and waited.The driver's window rolled down, and a hand waved at him.Wesley.Quentin blew out a breath and glanced over his shoulder.Watching Nadine and Candi was wearing on him. Wesley might not like what Quentin had to tell him, but they'd been backed into a corner.The green SUV pulled around and parked a few doors down from the room. Wesley got out, sporting a flannel jacket, ripped jeans and a trucker hat. Not at all his normal, clean-cut look."How'd you end up here?" Wesley asked."Long sto
Last Updated : 2022-11-24Aegis Group Task Force Chapter 364: Candi
Friday.CANDI RESOLUTELY STARED OUT of the window. Wesley and Q were in deep discussion on their next move. They'd more or less ignored her. It wasn't her fault her logical next steps were so flimsy. She was out of her depth here.And then there was Nadine.She'd talked and answered questions there for a bit, but had returned to her silence. Every so often Candi would catch her glaring daggers Candi's way. She wasn't egotistical enough to think she could fend off Nadine without support or a gun. Heck, even if Candi had a gun Nadine could probably take it from her with little to no effort.Candi really wasn't suited for this.Her brother was right.Q would probably be better off without her dragging him down. He wouldn't have to watch after her or put up with her questions.She didn't like the idea. Not one bit.And yet, they had Nadine. Their arrangement was over.That realization had her sitting in stunned silence for several miles.Finding Nadine had seemed abo
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
