Authors: Chanel Cleeton
It’s passionate and intense; it’s enough to make me forget where I am, what I’m doing, everything except his mouth on mine. Our tongues tangle; a moan escapes my lips. His hands slide down my body, cupping my ass, hauling me up against him until his cock grazes me through the thin layers of our clothes. Neither one of us controls the kiss; instead we fight for it, matching each other in passion and heat.
I don’t even see it coming. Cold metal scrapes the small of my back, hovering where Luke’s hand rests. It takes a second longer for me to realize it’s the barrel of a gun.
Shit.
Luke moves in front of me and in a flash the gun is gone, the stranger disarmed. Luke pulls me to the side, yanking me up against his body, moving me out of the stranger’s reach. His free hand tucks the gun into his waistband, the movement so practiced no one around us even seems to notice.
My attacker is a dark-haired guy, probably around Luke’s age. A pair of wire framed glasses balances precariously on his nose. Up close he hardly looks intimidating, but he could have killed me. I was so distracted by Luke’s hands, his body, his mouth, that I completely forgot the danger we’re in and the threats that surround us.
Stupid. So stupid.
“Man, how many times have I told you? If you can’t handle a gun, don’t carry one. And don’t ever fucking point it at her again.” Luke’s voice is low, but I can hear the force behind his words, can read the anger in his eyes. He’s as pissed off and confused as I am.
This
is why we aren’t supposed to get involved with other assets—we can’t afford to lose focus. Even for a moment. That’s all it takes for us to be killed.
The guy grins, an easy flash that transforms his entire face. “Sorry about that. Had to make sure it was really you.”
Luke’s shakes his head. “X, this is Oscar. Oscar, X.”
So this is the techie. How could I have been so stupid? How could I have forgotten everything I ever learned?
I lost my focus in the most spectacularly awful way.
I blame Luke, but most of all I blame myself.
“So why are you here? And who is she?” He jerks his head in my direction.
“She’s an asset.”
Oscar’s gaze lingers on me. “She’s cute.”
My eyes narrow. “
She
can hear you.”
Oscar’s lips curve. “So the little kitten has claws.”
I flip him off.
He chuckles. “And teeth.”
Luke shakes his head. “You don’t know the half of it.”
I elbow him in the side.
“Ouch.”
I roll my eyes. “You’re fine.”
Oscar grins. “Not that this isn’t entertaining, but perhaps we should get down to business.”
“We need help,” Luke begins.
His smile disappears. “I figured.”
“A few nights ago, a group of men followed us from the Academy in London and tried to kill us,” Luke says. Surprise flickers across Oscar’s face. “They were heavily armed and they were definitely professionals.”
“Are you sure they weren’t from the Academy? Maybe it was a test.”
“It wasn’t a test.” I lean forward in my seat. “I think I’m being followed. It’s subtle, but I can’t shake it.”
“And you brought that shit here? To me?”
“We’re not stupid,” Luke interjects. “We took precautions coming here. No one followed us. Besides, you owe me.”
Oscar groans. “Why did I figure I would pay for that eventually?”
“I saved your life.”
“Yeah and you’re making me risk it again by asking me to help out here. You know better than anyone what these people are like. Do you really think they’re just going to let the two of you poke around without any repercussions?”
“We don’t really have a choice. They brought this to us; we didn’t go looking for it.”
“You could run.”
“That’s not an option.”
“Then you don’t seem to have a lot of options.”
“We need help,” I interrupt. “We flew all the way down here because Luke thought you would help us. You owe him.”
Oscar stares at me, his expression calculating. “I heard Luke’s side. What’s in it for you? How did you get mixed up in all of this? Why’d they start following you?”
There’s no way I’m telling him everything.
“I don’t know. We don’t even know if they’re after Luke or me. We don’t know who they are or what they want. But they came after us. They tried to kill us in London; we want answers.”
Oscar’s eyes narrow. “You’re not out on your own, are you? You’re still at the Academy. You’re what, seventeen?”
“Nineteen, actually.”
“And they aren’t looking for you? They just let you walk away from the Academy like it was nothing?”
“I’m her handler,” Luke interrupts. “They think we’re out on an assignment. I vouched for her.”
Oscar whistles. “You’re sticking your neck out for her. Are you sure this is how you want to call in your favor?”
“I’m sure,” he answers. “Are you going to help us or not?”
Resignation flashes across Oscar’s face as he gestures toward the door. “Come on then. Let’s go back to my place.”
Oscar throws some money on the table for the drinks and we head out, Luke behind me. The restaurant is packed now, a large line of people outside. The noise is loud, spilling out onto the street.
It’s difficult to focus, easy to get distracted by the sights and sounds of Havana. I struggle to keep my gaze trained on the crowd, searching for anyone who could be a threat. I sense a similar tension in Luke. His body is full of energy, his gaze sweeping over our surroundings.
We follow Oscar, walking until the neighborhoods look older, the streets deserted. Even for a city as ruined as Havana, it’s clear this is the dodgy bit of the city, the part no tourist visits.
Luke walks next to me, his body shielding me from the street. With each step he brushes against me, his hip against my hip, his hand grazing mine. Each touch sends a little shock through my body. And yet each time, I make no move to walk away.
Ten minutes pass in silence before Oscar stops in front of a doorway, motioning for us to follow. The stairs creak as we walk up to his room, the paint on the walls peeling around us. Oscar stops in front of a blue door, pulling out a set of keys and fitting them into a series of six keyholes.
“It’s quiet,” I comment.
“I have the whole building.”
He pushes open the door, motioning for Luke and me to follow him.
The room is small, each wall filled with computers and other equipment. It looks like a techie’s wet dream. It’s the kind of sophisticated setup you would expect to see at the Academy—not in Cuba.
“How do you get around all of the restrictions?” I ask. I don’t know much about the country, but I’m finding it hard to believe he evaded the government’s tight Internet control.
He grins. “I have my ways. This what you need?”
“This is exactly what we need.” Luke pulls the flash drive out of his pocket, handing it to Oscar.
Oscar looks like it’s going to bite him. “Do I want to know where this came from?”
“Probably not.”
Oscar motions for us to sit on a sagging couch pushed against a corner before settling into a chair in front of a large bank of computer screens.
“Let’s see what we have.”
His fingers fly over the keyboard, codes and sequences flashing on the screens in front of us. Luke seems to follow some of it; it mostly looks like gibberish to me. No doubt Grace would be in heaven right now. I pull out the burner phone from my purse. Still no messages. I send her a quick text, using our special code. I slip the phone back into my bag, turning my attention back to the screens in front of me. Minutes pass with Oscar and Luke hunched over the desk, staring at the monitor.
“The level of encryption on this thing is insane,” Oscar complains.
Luke walks away from the computer, coming to sit next to me on the couch. He raises his arm, propping it on the back of the couch, resting around my shoulders. The kiss hangs between us, the third person on the couch.
It’s so unlike me to lose control like this. There’s been no one I’ve wanted to kiss since Luke left, no one who has tempted me. Luke’s been back a week and I’m practically ready to have sex with him again. It’s like my body and mind are operating at a huge disconnect. I can’t afford any distractions and Luke is about as big of a distraction as you can get.
I want his mouth on me again. Want his hands running all over my body. Want him inside me.
Luke shifts against me and I sneak a peek at him. His eyes are closed, his chest rising and falling slowly with each breath. He looks so different now, so vulnerable, that layer of cockiness stripped away. It reminds me of how he was when we were younger—before we really began our training. Before they taught us to trust no one, to fight and claw our way to the top. Before we knew what we really were. Before they taught us to kill.
“I’m in.”
I tear my gaze away from Luke. He stirs at the sound of Oscar’s excited voice, straightening on the couch and pulling away from me. A sleepy look covers his face as he pushes back a lock of brown hair tumbling down his forehead.
Something inside of me clenches.
In the background, Oscar gasps. “What the hell did you guys do?”
I turn, staring at the computer screens in front of us. A list of academies around the world stares back at me. Hundreds of them.
Holy shit. We’re in.
“Where did you get the flash drive?”
I hesitate, my gaze drifting to Luke. Do we really want to trust Oscar with this?
“Where do you think?” Luke answers for both of us.
“This is bad news, man. Do they know you have this?”
“We don’t think so,” I interject. “Not yet, at least.”
“But you don’t know.”
“No,” Luke answers, his face grim. “We don’t know.”
Oscar pushes away from the desk, his lean body rising from the chair, moving to pace around the small room. His expression is agitated, his movements erratic. I’m almost guilty for dragging him into this.
I walk over to the computer, staring at the list in front of me. There are so many locations, so many more than I ever imagined. London is just the tip of the iceberg; nearly every major city appears to have an academy. My whole world has been turned upside down.
It’s different for me. Luke met other assets when he was out on his own, but I never heard about them at the Academy. This is infinitely worse than anything I ever imagined.
“Did you have any idea it was this massive?” I ask Luke under my breath.
“No.”
I believe him.
“This is so much bigger than all of us,” Oscar says, coming over to stand next to me. “I went to the Academy in Hong Kong. And sure, we figured there were other academies out there. Since I’ve graduated, I’ve run into assets from maybe a dozen or so places.” He gestures toward the computer screen. “But this? This is insane. They’re everywhere. What’re you getting yourselves into?”
“We don’t know,” I answer. “Something’s not right at the Academy—beyond the obvious—and we’re trying to figure out what it is. This isn’t just about these people following us.” I shoot Luke a meaningful glance. Instinct tells me that if the Academy really is as global as the files suggest, we’re going to need more help. “There’s more.”
“What’s she talking about?”
“All along, we’ve been told that we’re doing good,” Luke answers. “That we’re taking out dictators and criminals. Righting wrongs.” Oscar nods. “We think that’s all a lie. We think they’re using us as their own private army, that we’re little more than mercenaries to them. Someone knows something. We’re just trying to figure out who’s behind all of this.”
Oscar grimaces, silent for a moment. A long moment. “There’ve been rumors.”
“What rumors?”
Oscar exchanges a look with Luke. “Assets disappearing. That sort of thing.”
“Luke mentioned that.”
“Well, what Luke probably doesn’t know is that people have been tracking the disappearances.”
My pulse picks up. My gaze darts between Luke and Oscar. Luke’s silent, his attention focused on Oscar. His silence says it all; we definitely didn’t come here just for Oscar’s computer skills.
My eyes narrow. “You?” I turn on Luke. “You knew?”
“I suspected,” Luke admits. “There’ve been rumors for months. Quiet rumors, but still. Someone was allegedly keeping track of the assets. The computer skills involved in that kind of an op?” He nods at Oscar. “I figured it was you.”
“Why do you track them?” I ask.
He shrugs. “At first, it was just something to do. I like numbers, lists. A guy I worked with on an op in China disappeared one day, so I wrote his name down. That’s how it started. I created a secure Internet board, word got around, and soon people within the organization were adding more names—anonymously, of course.”
“Other assets?” I ask.
“Yes.”
“Are they all assassins?” Luke interjects.
“It’s a mix. Sometimes all I have is a name. Skill sets are harder to come by.”
That makes sense since our names are meaningless, really. They aren’t who we are. What we do is much more important.
“How many are there?” I ask.
Oscar turns back to the computer, punching in a few keys on the keyboard. Suddenly, a list of names pops up on the screen in front of us. I scan the list, counting roughly twenty in all. The names themselves aren’t particularly useful. Some are only partials—initials, first names, aliases. It’s not much to go on, but it’s something.
I want to know everything about these people—how they died, where they were—were they assassins like me?
“How did they die?” Luke asks, shifting slightly, his leg brushing mine.
“I don’t get cause of death, just names.”
“So we don’t even know if it was the Academy—or one of the academies,” I add, that long list coming to mind again. “It could have been anyone. They could have died on a mission. They could have caught pneumonia. You have no clue. All you have is a list of dead assets. We don’t even know what it means.”
“Have you heard of something called Ares?” Luke asks.
“No.” Oscar looks back at the computer, typing rapidly. “But I can do a search through all of the files on the flash drive to see if it’s mentioned anywhere.”
“How long will that take?” he asks.
“Not long. It’s all a matter of writing the proper code.”
I pull out my phone. Still no message from Grace. I want her with me now more than ever.
I turn back toward the screen, trying to fight the rising panic choking me like a noose. “What else is on the files? Besides the academy lists? Anything useful?”
“There’s so much data on this thing that it’s going to take me hours to go through. And even after all of that, I’m not sure I’m going to be able to retrieve everything. This is very sophisticated technology. They know what they’re doing. You guys can chill here while I do a search.”
Oscar’s attention returns to the computer. He hunches over the keyboard, his gaze glued to the screen. Luke settles in on the couch; a few minutes later, he’s asleep again. I can’t sit still. I pace, explore Oscar’s apartment, check my phone for texts from Grace about a hundred times. It’s like the claustrophobia again, although this time, instead of being trapped in a confined space, I’m trapped in my life. And this time there’s no rope to get me out.
Finally after a couple hours, the computer beeps.
“Did you find something?”
Oscar ignores me, his gaze focused on the code in front of him. For a moment, he doesn’t speak. “Looks like we got some hits on Ares.”
I nudge Luke. “Wake up.”
He’s bleary-eyed. “Did we find anything?”
I grin. “Yep.”
He rises from the couch, moving to stand next to Oscar. “What’d you find?”
“Three hits.” Three documents fill the split screens on the computer in front of us. The first looks like a memo. No names are used, only initials. Most of it appears to be in some sort of mixed code—one even a sophisticated cryptologist would have a hard time breaking. But there in the middle of the document is the word, “Ares.”
The next document is an email from the Director addressed to someone with the initials “E.R.”
I understand Ares is getting impatient. We’re doing everything we can.
“She’s apologizing. The person she’s writing is clearly higher up than she is. The whole tone of this is deferential. Whoever the Director is in this organization, she’s not at the highest level.” Excitement fills my voice. Finally. It’s not much, but at least it’s something. “If there are academies all over the world, then there has to be one centralized organization keeping everything tied together. Ares has to be it.”
“Makes sense,” Luke says.
The third document is even more cryptic; it looks like a list of sorts, more initials, the word Ares, and not much else.
“Do you recognize the code?” I ask Oscar.
“No. It’s a cipher, maybe. But I don’t think it’s the kind of thing I can break on my own.”
“The Academy trains cryptographers,” I interject.
“So now you want to involve even more people in this?” Luke asks.
“I don’t know.” I gaze pointedly at Oscar. “I didn’t exactly want to involve him. That was your idea.”
“Did you have a better idea?” Luke asks, his tone frustrated. “By all means, I’d be happy to hear it. I never said I had all the answers. But it’s not like a lot of other ideas presented themselves.”
I gesture toward the screens in front of us. “Can you break it?” I ask Oscar.
“I don’t know. Maybe. With a lot of time, at least. Parts of it? Probably. All of it? Doubtful.”
“Do you know anyone who could help?”
Oscar’s silent for a moment. “Look, this isn’t exactly something I want to get in the middle of.”
My gaze drifts to the computer screen behind us. “Aren’t you already involved? How long have you been tracking assets? What do you think will happen if they find out about it?”
It’s not a threat exactly, but it has teeth; after all, they taught me to hit where it hurts.
Oscar sighs. “You do realize we’re probably going to get ourselves killed for this.”
“Probably,” Luke agrees, not taking his eyes off of me.
“And you think it’s worth it?”
“What’s the alternative?” I ask. “That we wait for them to kill us?” My voice builds, matching the anger and frustration filling me. “We don’t matter to them; we’re a means to an end. We’re completely disposable. Don’t you want to fight back?”
I can’t explain it—it’s like all the years of obedience are choking me now. I’m sick of following their rules, sick of my life being defined by their needs, their orders. I’m tired of spending my life worrying about Grace, about whether they’ll make her a killer like me. I’m sick of the weight of the lives I’ve taken and the lies I live dragging me down. I played by the rules because I thought it was the best thing for my sister, but what if I’ve just handed her over to the devil without even realizing it?
Luke jumps in, his gaze on Oscar. “She’s right. You know she is. What you’re doing now—these names that you’re tracking, these assets—if they find out, you’re dead. You’ve already broken the rules. It doesn’t matter anymore.
“Haven’t they taken enough from you?” Luke asks. “Don’t you want a chance to take something from them? To hit them where it hurts?”
A look flashes in Oscar’s eyes—a look I immediately recognize. I’m all too familiar with the kind of loss you can’t ever forget—first my parents and then the two years when I lived with the memory of what I’d done to Luke.
“Who was it?” I ask.
“My best friend.”
“I’m sorry.” I hate what they’ve taken from all of us. Hate that I’ve spent my life serving an organization and a purpose that was built on an elaborate lie. “If you could go back, if you had a chance to save your friend, wouldn’t you?” I need to make him understand. “I don’t want this fight any more than you do, but I have a sister and I’m all she has. I have to keep her safe.”
I wait, the room so silent you could hear a pin drop. I don’t blame him for his reluctance; I felt the same way. But the further we get into this the uglier it seems, and the more I begin to doubt that we can live this life. We need Oscar. He can get in places that we can’t. His computer skills alone change everything. And if he helps us, Luke will have no need for my sister.
Oscar nods. “Fine. Let’s do this.”
Relief floods me. “Thank you. Where do we start?”
Luke points at the screen. “With Ares.”
“Okay so there’s this organization controlling all of the academies,” Oscar says, leaning over his desk. “And you guys think Ares is the one sending down the assignments.”
“Yes. When Luke heard about Ares, it sounded like they were the ones running the show. Beyond that, we don’t have a ton to go on.”
“X is right,” Luke answers. “Without full access to the Director’s computer files, it’s tough to know exactly what—or who—we’re dealing with. But Ares seems like the best place to start.”
Oscar nods. “Agreed. If you want to get to the bottom of everything, you have to go through Ares. If you go after the Academy, it won’t be enough. You need to strike at the heart of the operation. You need to go after the one calling the shots.”
This was daunting enough when I thought we were just dealing with the Academy. Taking down a multinational organization? Infinitely more difficult. We need to dismantle Ares piece by piece.
“We don’t know where they are or who they are,” I interject. “We don’t even know if they’re the ones following us. Ares is just a name Luke heard, a word we’ve seen on your computer a few times. We don’t know what it means.
“How can we fight against something that may or may not exist? The Academy is real. The Director is a living, breathing person. We already know she’s behind some of this, if not most of it. Why not go after her? She can lead us to Ares.”
“It’s not enough,” Oscar argues. “If you just go after the Academy and the Director, you’re going to get us killed.”
“Yeah, but how can we possibly take down an organization that large? We would need an army. A big one.”