AGENT 23 BLACKOUT (Agent 23 Book 1)

CHAPTER 30

As the countdown dips below five minutes, with my head down, I pace back and forth in front of the chairs that hold Kayla and my dad. Occasionally, I glance up at one of them, weighing their futures in the balance. When I look at Kayla, I feel an ache in the pit of my stomach. I remember when she walked up to me in the safe-house and hugged me. Deep down, I hoped for a kiss, but the time wasn't right. A warm embrace was more in order. Then came the time in the van when our lips were inches from touching until Agent 24 whipped us onto a gravel road and shattered our moment.

I think back to our encounter at Lattes. I didn't know wooly mammoths and coffee would lead to a potential life and death decision.

My gaze lingers on the smooth contours of her chin and jawline. Her cheeks appear a tad rosy under the glare of the fluorescent lights. Her black-rimmed glasses rest on the slender bridge of her nose, her eyes closed, resting. I swallow a hard lump. I'd love the chance to remove those glasses and see what she looks like without them. My hand runs through my hair as I blow out a gust of air.

My other hand finds its way to my head, and I snag a few tangled locks and pull hard...

What am I thinking? I don't have time for this.

I turn to my dad and stare at his chiseled chin, and for the first time, I notice how built his upper body is. His shoulders are broad and his arms sculpted. He's not as muscular as Agent 24, but he's bigger than me. I'd hate to face him in a dark alley.

But he's my dad. He's in his early forties. Something like that. He's been out of my life for so long I can't remember his birthday.

I check the time. My eyes bulge at the red numbers ticking down: four minutes and fifteen seconds left.

My dad has lived most of his life. He's had tons of life experiences. Why should I save him, especially when he stepped out on our family? My mom might still be alive if he hadn't left, and maybe my Aunt Zero would have left us alone?

I turn to Kayla. She's a lot younger, probably sixteen. About the same age as me. She has her entire life ahead of her, and the more time I spend with her, the more I feel a bond forming. Our connection feels special, like it could lead to something great. She consoled me when I was having the killer headaches. Now, I realize some of those headaches occurred when she pressed the button on the device my dad created. I don't know what to call the creation, but it worked. As The Collective's Mind Bender tried to draw me in, the device blocked the signal, causing a disruption, thus the headaches. The headaches may have occurred when Zero tried to take control as well. I don't understand it all, but that's how it happened with Agent 24 during our last fight. Theoretically, I should've been reeling in pain when I used it on the assassin. That meant Zero had lost the battle for the control of my mind, or at least given up.

In the duress, my thoughts are wandering...

I reflect on Kayla once more. I recall the moment she consoled me when she found out about my mother's death. For whatever reason, she's been there for me during this entire time. True, originally, it was because of the assassination order issued for her father. I can only imagine what The Collective wants with him, seeing they've decided not to kill him. It might have something to do with the secret project he'd been working on during those late nights at city hall.

Then I consider how I comforted Kayla after her father's abduction. Truth is, we've been there for each other during all this, but we've just gotten to know each other. As much as my heart longs to save her, my dad is blood. He's family. He's my dad, and he's just reentered my life. How can I choose to let him fall back into the hands of The Collective? The last thing he'd want is to become an assassin again, to murder and take lives, whether they be good or evil. Murder is murder. Killing is killing, and in his soul, I don't think he's an assassin, and neither am I.

According to Zero, the moment I free my dad from the Mind Bender, the pre-programmed computer—that I don't have access to—will automatically seal Kayla's fate, imprisoning her forever under the control of The Collective.

Whatever I do, I have to make a choice. I have to choose who I'm going to save, and it can only be one of them.

If I choose to save my dad, that means Kayla will forever be my enemy.

I shudder with the thought she might come after me one day, that this lovely girl who has stolen my heart might turn into an assassin.

Another realization jolts through me and makes me stare at her.

One day, I might have to kill her.

And now, I have less than three minutes to make my decision.