They both stared at her. It was kind of unnerving, but she knew it meant something when there were those worried expressions on their faces.

“You’re insane,” said Caleb. “All of it. Do you even know how dangerous that is?”

“Yes—”

“Have you really?” asked Caleb.

“I have. I know that I can die but tell me if you have another way to defeat Nox because I don’t,” said Astrid. “I have thought through every possible situation. In the end, it has to be… him against me.”

“How are you so sure?” asked Caleb.

“Remember when I told you that I accidentally travelled to the future?” asked Astrid. “That’s what I saw. Even if I know how it ends I don’t know the full details about it.”

“Oh,” said Caleb. “I still don’t like it.”

“No one has to like it,” said Astrid. “I don’t like it either but it’s what heroes do. We put our lives on the line for others.”

“It doesn’t mean that you have to shoulder this burden alone,” said Caleb. “We’re your team and besides being great friends and wanting to protect the people. We are also here for our leader… any time she needs us.”

“Thanks,” said Astrid.

“So, what do we do?” asked Caleb.

“We work together,” said Astrid.

There were only three trials. Each tested every aspect of one’s personality in the event of a crisis. Astrid was worried about the future, but she was more worried about Dante. On top of that, she needed to find the hit man who had been hired by the Circle to take out certain agents.

She decided to visit her foster brothers this weekend. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision that she had made. She had not talked to them since they had accused her of killing her foster dad. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Frank opened the door. He had a look of surprise but also relief on his face.

“So… can I come in?” asked Astrid.

“Oh. Right,” said Frank as he stepped aside to let his sister inside. “Yeah. Come in. Sorry if things are a bit messy in the house. We still have been adjusting to life without dad.”

She had arrived in the afternoon. She had drove past the house many times before but never stopped by and tried to talk to them because she was too scared. And now, she was here.

“It’s not your fault,” said Frank. “We have come to terms with that. We’ve just been wondering why you never came back or visited.”

“Because my life is far too dangerous right now,” said Astrid as she looked at them. “And as much it hurt to hear you accuse me of murder, I am still your big sister… and I really need your help now.”

“Sounds serious,” said Frank. He brought a thermos cup to her and put it in front of her. “It’s hot chocolate with mini marshmallows and whipped cream. Your favorite. How can we help?”

Astrid let the comfort of being back in the house sink in before she spoke up.

“I think I am in over my head…” She paused pursing her lips and took a deep breath. “Which is probably you don’t hear me admit often.”

“Not often,” said Frank with a chuckle. “But asking for help is a start and I know you would not ask if you would not ask us for help if you didn’t really need it.”

“I really need it,” said Astrid. “I think I just need you guys to be there for me.”

“We’ll be there but I also know you would not have called if you were not sure you needed investigative help, Astrid,” said Frank.

“Well, mainly… I am tired of dead ends,” said Astrid. “Dante and I tracked the buyers of the chemicals but then we lost their money trails again in Geneva.”

“And you are sure it is the Circle?” asked Frank.

“Yeah… I think they are dumping all the riches that they are receiving into some offshore bank account,” said Astrid.

“Why?”

“I kind of blew up their last base,” said Astrid. “And gave them more reasons to hate me.”

“Which is probably why they teamed up with the guy who wants to kill you,” completed Frank.

“There might also be a crime scene I need you guys to check out with me,” said Astrid. “If you and Cole would be willing.”

“Of course, we would be,” said Cole. “Why were you telling Frank all this before you told me?”

“He’s more mature,” said Astrid. “And I know how excited you would get when I involved you guys would get if I said outright and direct that I was involving you in secret agent work.”

“The bed you slept in is still there,” said Frank as he looked at Astrid as she got up. “You look run down.”

“Try staying in hiding to lure out an enemy in a safehouse for two weeks with nothing but what was left in the pantries,” said Astrid. “At least, the room customized to our needs and people cleaned out after themselves.”

“I can see how doing nothing can drive you crazy,” said Cole.

The bedroom was just as she remembered it. Astrid dropped her backpack on the floor. Clothes from a year ago were still in the closet as she had left it. There was a photo frame on top of the dresser. It was three of them on a camping trip. She traced her finger along the photograph with tears in her eyes.

“Are you okay?” asked Frank.

“Fine,” said Astrid as she put the photograph away. “You know, I used to idolize living a normal life. Your definition of normal. It used to be the one thing I really wanted.”

Frank nodded in understanding. “Not anymore.”

“No… I don’t know. At some point, I realized that my normal was never meant to be completely normal,” said Astrid with a sigh. “I am okay with that now.”

“But…”

“But I miss the days where we were just detectives and I was occasionally an agent,” said Astrid. “And when we were close.”

“We are still close,” said Frank as he looked at her. “And your normal does not have to be completely normal. Cole and I want to be like you. We look up to you.”

Astrid sighed and looked in her brothers direction.

“Nigel told me you two wanted to be agents,” said Astrid. “I was not surprised. He thinks I should start training you personally, then the academy and then you become probationary agents.”

“That’s a long process,” said Frank.

“Yeah,” said Astrid. “It is. My step-dad didn’t let me out into the field for a year and he trained like I was in the military.”

“So, does our training start tomorrow?”

“Yeah… we are checking out the crime scene of two safehouses. Two agents were killed in them,” said Astrid. “Nigel wants me to find out what they were investigating the time they died.”

“I thought you were a spy,” said Frank.

“We also do criminal investigations too,” said Astrid. “And besides, they might have known something relevant as which might help us. We all should go to sleep tomorrow is going to be a big day.”

The next morning, they headed out early. They made it to the first safehouse in an hour. The safehouse was cordoned of by the police.

“Ah… you three,” said Collig. He held the tape up. “Come in. Take a look. We have not been able to find anything.”

“You won’t find anything unless we want you to find it,” said Astrid. “We know how to hide things we’re investigating when we have the feeling that someone is watching us.”

They stepped into the safe-house which was a log cabin but much more advanced technologically inside.

“Wow, nice!” said Cole as he pulled on the latex gloves and looked around the room. “So, any idea how this particular agent was killed?”

“Decapitated with a garrote,” said Astrid.

“Isn’t that a little bit ancient or you know an old method?” asked Frank.

Astrid shook her head as she opened a book on the shelf and turned to look back at her brother.

“No… assassins use whatever they can get their hands to kill,” said Astrid. “Same as secret agents do to fight.”

Frank frowned. “What do you think he was looking into?”

“He didn’t tell me, specifically,” said Astrid as she flipped through the pages of the book “He only mentioned a little in his check-in calls. Liam’s expertise was deep cover work. The last assignment he was on was probably deep cover.”

“What did he mention?” asked Frank.

“Something about kidnapping and human smuggling,” said Astrid. “I think. He was very discrete about it. Although, that is my fault because I drilled it into him to talk in code.”

“You two talk in the same code when either of you were sent on missions?” asked Cole.

“Similar, but not the same,” said Astrid as she put the book back on the shelf. “And he always insisted on sending his reports through people he trusted to send messages to me.”

“Isn’t that a bit strange?” asked Frank.

“No… it really isn’t,” said Andre. “Many agents use more direct ways of transporting communication like delivering letters and reports by hand rather than use emails.”

“Frank, Cole… this is one of the agents I am training. This is probationary agent Andre Torres,” said Astrid. “Andre, I would like to introduce you to my foster brothers.”

“Nice to meet you two,” said Andre.

“I thought I told you specifically not to get involved.”

“He was my partner and I know he was your friend,” said Andre. “I’m not going to sit by and now let whoever is after the agents take you as well.”

“Andre views as an older sister,” explained Astrid. “And ok, fine. You do as I say.”

“I found a coded letter,” said Frank.

“I also found a cell phone,” said Cole.

Astrid gestured to Andre with her head, and he pulled on his gloves. She took the letter from Frank’s hand.

“Do you know what it says?” asked Andre.

“You can’t rush the process, Andre,” said Astrid and then turned to look at him. “I do know what it says, and I think I have an idea what he was investigating.”

“You’ve been working non-stop. I was thinking that maybe you should take a break,” said Dante. “Is that hot chocolate with mini marshmallows?”

“Yes,” said Astrid. “And you are not touching it. You and sugar are not something I want to deal with again.”

“So, sugar is your boyfriend’s kryptonite?” asked Frank.

“Sugary treats,” said Astrid. “That one mission in Rome. I made the mistake of getting a profiterole for him and he was hyper for a week. Longest hundred and sixty-eight hours of my life.”

“Hilarious,” said Dante. “And it only happened once.”

“No… it didn’t,” said Andre. “It happened twice afterwards when I was an assigned to be your partner after I graduated and while Astrid was off on assignment.”

“Really, is that so?” asked Astrid as she turned to look at her boyfriend with a raised eyebrow. Andre simply nodded. “See you can’t be trusted. At least, I am not crazy without coffee. I only need for those long overnighters we pull in the headquarters.”

Frank was smiling at that as he flipped through the papers that were hidden between two books in a bookshelf. There was an entire file folder. They were back home and going through the evidence.

Andre stormed out of the room and all three of them looked at Astrid. She got out of the chair and followed him.

“I know you feel guilty,” said Astrid.

“I do but you have no foreign idea how it feels to lose your partner,” said Andre.

“You’re right, Andre. I have never lost a partner, and I don’t know what I would do if I lost Dante, but I have lost a best friend,” said Astrid. “And I can’t tell you how much pain I felt when I lost her, and it led me to do stupid things. I know now that my best friend wouldn’t have wanted me wasting my life on revenge and I am sure Liam would not want you doing the same.”

“So, then why are you looking into the case that Liam was working on?” asked Andre.

“Because I missed something and his investigation is or might be connected to mine,” said Astrid. “The best thing we can do Is

“Because I think they may be connected,” said Astrid as she leaned against the door of the room. “And the best thing we can do in their absence is to keep moving, to persist because they would not want us to remain fixated on what happened to them.”

“How do you know?”

“I know because the same thing happened to me, except I did throw my life away and it was the worst possible mistake I could have ever made,” said Astrid.

“Who set you back on track?” asked Andre.

“Dante did,” said Astrid. “When he found Genissa’s letter, he gave it to me, and I realized that the only way to honor her sacrifice would be to become who she saw in me.”

“I found this in Liam’s cabin,” said Astrid as she took an envelope. “I did not open it, but I think he wrote it to you. Hopefully, this can give you the closure you need and leave you with less questions.”

“That was very sweet of you,” said Dante as Astrid stepped out of the room to give him privacy. “You know, giving him advice how to push through the grief of losing a loved one.”

“Yeah,” said Astrid. “Thanks. I wish someone had told me the same. He needed to hear it.”

The door opened behind them, and Astrid immediately let go of Dante’s hand as Andre came out of the room.

“You don’t have to bother. I know you two are unofficially together,” said Andre. “And Astrid, thanks for the letter.”

“Don’t thank me,” said Astrid. “Liam always appreciated your side of the partnership just as I appreciate the role that Dante plays in our partnership.”

“I got something and it’s big. Cole also found something as well,” said Frank. “What was Liam investigating again?”

“Liam was investigating prodigy child human trafficking across the country,” said Astrid.

“That makes sense of all these transactions he was tracking?” asked Frank.

“Okay, but why the chemicals?” asked Cole.

“The chemicals, of course, tar activates prodigies’ abilities earlier than they are supposed to,” said Astrid.

“Why does he need the prodigies’ powers, isn’t he powerful enough?” asked Andre.

“It’s always been about power for him,” said Astrid.