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• 2.25.18 - Agent W hit

• — Thank you —

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*cough* extra long chapter *cough* you're welcome *cough*

"... But he doesn't even remember me- I didn't remember him cause I called him Carter all these years but- what the heck even happened what the heck is this why is he here who the fuck told him he was Jason what who-"

Liam jabbed my waist and I winced as my right arm was suddenly bent a weird position. I looked back up at him and raised my left arm in a closed fist, about to bang his head to transfer some of my anger, until he spoke up.

"I didn't know you were a chatterbox, Agent W," he glared at me, "You've been chanting in my ear for the past 15 minutes, would you give it a rest, woman?"

My mouth parted open in a gap.

"Excuse me? Was I the one that handcuffed us?"

Liam used his dominant hand to run a hand through his hair in frustration. "I told you a hundred times that I don't know what happened! The watch was a mission gadget I received from someone and she told me to have it on at all times, and no it wasn't stuck on my wrist all these fucking years I was able to take them off."

My eyebrows twitched as I clearly remembered he had only mentioned it to me 98 times.

"You whiny watch-boy now you're complaining to me about not knowing your watch? Oh my god, I'm about to go crazy."

He scoffed, "To be fair you've been crazy from the moment I met you. Any crazier than this and you'll start to be creepy."

I paused.

A dark expression fell across my face before I became cautious and hid it from everyone, carefully tilting my head away from the stares. And especially from the boy sitting to my right. Who exactly was he? He creeped me out.

"Ha..." I let out quickly as my brows furrowed, looking at the man to my right.

"'Ha?'" Liam repeated, fed up with the situation.

Who would've thought, we both thought each other were creepy. I guess we were even.

We were both leaning against the wall, exhausted, and sweaty with no chance to refresh ourselves. Earlier on I had another argument with Chestin, and he left for the dorms without another word to me or any signs of sending help our way.

Team leader meetings had been going on for three hours. It was bound to end some time. It had too. I couldn't stand this situation. I had no idea what was going on, and while something in me embraced the new task of finding the source and end to the cuffs, the invasion, and the man to my right, another part of me missed not going on missions and just having a 'normal' life instructing and going home to Axel, Chestin, Helene, Kora, and Sammy every night.

I wanted a break. I wanted to spend time to myself and not for the corporation for a while.

My head hurt and I bent my head down to meet my left arm, which was resting on my kneecaps. My right arm went limp as well as Liam's left arm and we sat there in silence, neither one moving nor talking.

-

It must've been a good 25 minutes before my ears picked up footsteps marching down the hallway from the far end of the building. I stayed limp before I heard the men and women, the usual men and women, that always came out of the team leader meeting conference rooms, and lifted my head.

"Jay," I let out, my head completely up with my arms falling off of my knees.

Liam also quirked his head up and upon seeing Jay, he too was wide awake. I got to my feet and could feel Liam following a second later with no resistance.

"Agent W," some of the leaders nodded their head my way, "" (Long time no see. Do you want to have dinner with me?).

I stepped forward and gradually hid the handcuff behind my back, nodding back in acknowledgement. Forcing a smile at some faces that I haven't seen in years, I replied, "" (Maybe another day).

Soon it was only Jay left standing.

"Listen," my team leader started, staring into my eyes, "We meant to tell you-"

I glared daggers into his eyes.

"-sooner." He ended with a firm shut of his mouth. Glancing at our wrists, he made a grim face and looked at Liam before coming back to me.

"This was why we didn't want you two to meet."

"I don't understand what is going on, Jay," Liam let out after a decade of silence, "I have nothing to do with this. This watch," he brought his left hand up, which in turn raised my right arm involuntarily, "She told me to keep it on. She said it was for mission purposes. It was working all these years, why is it like this now? Did she program it like this? Why?"

Unlike me, Liam kept his stem hot within him until he met the right person, waited for the right moment, and then he'll boil.

'Years' he said? Have I heard it wrong? He's been doing this for... years? He's been with the R.U. for... years?

"How long..." I came in, voice cracking and unstable, tired and weary, "have you kept it a... a secret?"

Jay looked sympathetically back at me. There was a long pause. Of course there would be. He had a lot to spill. I had a lot to soak up.

"Three years."

"Are you people out of your minds?" I screeched, hissing at the man in front of me, "Have you lost your head? Have you? Have you sought help?"

"Jamie." He warned.

I let out a quiet, barely audible scoff to myself, looking down, around, left, anywhere but the man standing before me.

"You're out of your mind," I let out again, shutting my eyes and feeling the headache accumulate triple its weight before, "This is a joke."

"Jay," I pointed at him with my non-dominant hand, "Do you... know what you've done? Why the hell-"

"Calm down," he urged me, a hint of pleading in his eyes left me numb.

Liam looked equally as frustrated. We were both chained to each other and no one knew why. Besides that, seeing his face again brought up all kinds of trouble.

"Liam," Jay started forward towards him, making Liam take a step back with furrowed brows.

"What-"

"-This will only sting a little."

My eyes widened as I observed from a side-angle a needle pointing out from Jay's hand into Liam's torso side. With a soft grunt, Liam's eyes shut and his body slid against the wall and onto the floor, inevitably dragging me down as well.

I winced as our arms fell and smacked the ground beneath us.

"A little warning, Jay?" I snarled, giving up and allowing my fate of forever being on the floor to run its course. Maybe Jean and I'll just have a sleepover on the ground tonight.

He looked at me with a dull expression. "Because warning you won't let Jason know as well," he retorted sarcastically.

My jaw tensed. "It's Liam."

"It's been years, Lennon," he sighed, "Minor slip-up."

"Minor?" I scoffed, looking up at his green eyes from my sitting position, "The man doesn't even know his own name! He doesn't belong in the R.U., Jay. He belongs with the Renai's. You know perfectly well why we were invaded today at the headquarters. They wanted their teammate back. I killed people because I defended the R.U. saying we didn't have him, and... now what? He's here? He's been here? It's against his free will, the man doesn't remember anything, and what will you do when he does? What will you do, now that a whole other organization — who, mind you, specializes in bombing tactics — has their guns aimed for us at any given moment? You underestimated the situation, Jay, and you overestimated me."

"Tell me, I'm asking sincerely," I gasped for breath, my brows creased in permanent frowns as I exploded, "What are you guys doing? What were you planning? I've always been loyal to the R.U., I've always done what I've been told. Bringing back a person from one of my missions, and brain-washing him? Am I... are we, the bad guys?... Has the R.U. always been like this?"

"Tell me," I raised my voice, glaring at Jay's guilt-filled eyes looking down at my form, "Which side are we on? What have I been doing my whole life?"

"Agent W," Jay cut in, being gentle with me, "I am sorry. And I apologize on behalf of the R.U. for doing this."

It was sickening. I wanted to barf.

"Pick your head back up," I gritted my teeth, "Since when did you ever bow to me? Don't start today." My heart began hurting at the sight of having one of the most respected people I knew show remorse and guilt before me.

"I can explain," he pressed, standing up straight again and having his hands out as he talked.

"I'm all ears, Jay," my eyes narrowed as I felt the weariness of the late hour take over my body, "I'd shoot something if you couldn't."

-

We were sitting in his private office since I had stopped him earlier while we were on our way back to the dorms, saying, "Chestin's mad at me. I think it's best if we give him some space."

Doors locked and window-blinds shut, with noise cancellation walls and bullet-proof glass cases that protected the essential tech works of the room, I took a seat on the vermillion cushioned, stool-like chair that positioned opposite of Jay, who leaned towards me with his elbows propped up on the glass casing of the top layer of the table that divided us.

Liam's limp body was carried with us, positioned in a chair and resting his head in his arms on the desk to my right.

And I waited and swallowed any possible attempts of opposition and commentaries until the very end of the explanation. I was that kind of person, if there was another story — another perspective — to a situation that reached its downfall, why not hear it out to the fullest and then make my judgement?

I didn't understand characters in fairytale books, like when the fish cried after seeing the dude kiss the octopus — he was under a spell. Or when the ton-of-gas man tried stabbing beast boy, wanting to think that he'll save the golden nerd from a beast — ironically he was the beast. Another when glass foot saw nameless prince dancing with big foot, and she fled the ballroom — he was also under a spell.

()

My point was, I learned not to reject an explanation. You saw it in movies all the time, the girl sees the guy with the prep girl and she's jealous. Then what happens? The boy comes up to her, obviously panicked and worried, and says, "I can explain." But you know what always happens? She backed away slowly, eventually turning on her heels and running as fast and far away as she could from him, tears threatening to stream down her face.

Psh. I'll decide who cries after hearing the other party out. Why bother running when you're an Agent and can just knock each other out cold?

"So..." Jay breathed out, looking down at the table and then back up at me. I met his eyes before he said, "Three years ago was your mission with Ja-" my brows dropped so low that he cut mid-way, "-Liam."

When I didn't say anything, the man continued.

"One of our agents... found him tortured and on the brink of death in someone else's home."

My stomach twisted uncomfortably at the mention of 'torture.'

"What?"

-