Agent Moonlark

Chapter Six

Sophie

Two days later, Linh and Dex had left to go to Foxfire High. The school was in another state, so Dex and Linh had to stay at a hotel. Tam was gloomier than ever. The only time he showed a hint of happiness was when he was around Biana. Sophie noticed how the two became practically inseparable. Maybe they should date - OH GODS, SOPHIE WAS TURNING INTO BIANA! Sophie shuddered. Biana was Sophie's best friend, and the sister of her cognate, but...sometimes they could be polar opposites.

Sophie was in the training room with her personal trainers, Sandor, Bo, Nubiti, Tarina, and Flori. That's right. Five personal trainers. The Collective insisted on their heir having different people training her because everyone had different techniques and could educate Sophie in different skills. Sandor specialized in martial arts, Bo taught Sophie swordfighting, Flori taught Sophie stealth, and Tarina taught Sophie agility. Usually, Sophie was only with one of them at a time, but every so often, Agent Forkle decided to torture - sorry, she meant, push her to her limits.

"Ugh," Bo said. "You're out of shape, Moonlark. Drop down and give me fifty." Sophie rolled her eyes and went in a push-up position.

"Diamond push-ups," Bo added. "Normal push-ups are too easy." Sophie rolled her eyes, and brought her hands closer together. One...two............ten......fifteen.......twenty-five. She inhaled deeply, and exhaled slowly. Twenty-six.......thirty-one.......forty-five......fifty! Sophie got up, and faced Bo. Her arms felt like spaghetti, now, but she was used to that feeling.

"Done, Botros," she said. Bo scowled at her use of his full name.

"Another fifty diamond-," he started saying, but Flori interrupted.

"Shouldn't we just do what we usually do?," she asked. "Fight Sophie five-on-one?"

Sandor didn't seem happy. He always talked about how dishonorable it was to have five against one, even though Agent Forkle had recommended it.

That was when Agent Forkle chose to walk into the room. "Agent Moonlark. Can you come with me?" Sophie quickly went up to him, not sparing her trainers a glance. She did not want to fight them today. But then she realized why Agent Forkle must've called for her, and she felt guilty.

"There's bad news, isn't there?," she said sadly. Agent Forkle did not deny it. He merely looked in the distance.

They walked to a door in the corridor. Sophie recognized the gray door to be the one leading to Tam's room. They opened the door, with no sound. Dex had oiled the hinges in order to prank Tam before he left.

Tam was sitting on his bed, very close to Biana. Their legs were almost touching. Matching blushes were on their cheeks. They seemed to be deep in conversation.

"Ahem," Agent Forkle cleared his throat. Tam and Biana shot apart at the sound of his throat clearing, their eyes wide. They looked like they had been caught doing something they weren't supposed to be doing.

Sophie giggled. They weren't very good at hiding it. She quickly sobered up when she remembered why she was here.

"Mr. Song," Agent Forkle said, formal as always, "Ms. Vacker. Come with me."

The four of them made their way to Fitz's room without talking. Sophie was wondering what it could be. Was someone else murdered? Had the Neverseen made their next move? Would she have to go on another mission?

Fitz was still sulking about the last meeting. He refused to look Agent Forkle in the eye. His posture was rigid, and his arms were crossed over his chest.

"Sophie," he said, "what does the Fork want with me?" Tam snorted at the name Fitz gave Agent Forkle.

Sophie was not going to play this game. "Why don't you ask him, yourself?"

"Biana, what does Fork want with me?"

Biana raised an eyebrow. "Just because I'm your sister, doesn't mean I'll let you act like a five-year-old. Ask him, yourself, Ritz." Tam snorted again.

"Tam-"

"No."

"Fine," Fitz grumbled. "I'll just wait for him to tell us about the next murder. Probably someone we barely know."

"On the contrary, Agent Telepath," Agent Forkle said. "It is someone you know very well. And it's not a murder."

"Stop stalling," Biana moaned. "I'm growing old, here!"

"Well, yesterday, at 3:53 pm-"

"That's exact," Tam commented.

"-Alessandro Basile collapsed." Cue the drama.

"What?!," Fitz yelled, no longer giving his boss the cold shoulder.

"Why?!," Tam demanded. He was shaking with rage. "I swear on Biana's shoes, if it was the Neverseen-" Biana put a hand on his shoulder, and he visibly relaxed.

"Don't swear on my shoes," Biana scolded.

"You kids won't even let me finish," Agent Forkle sighed.

The four Cygnets paused. When Agent Forkle did not say any more, Fitz exploded. Like a volcano.

"WELL, THEN, CONTINUE!"

"He became unnaturally pale, and he wouldn't respond to any of the medicine we gave him. In fact, he didn't respond to anything. We sent Physic to examine him." He paused, his blue eyes twinkling with sadness. "Drakostomes. Not very well-known. We only know about them from Calla. But the Neverseen killed her a long time ago. She mentioned Drakostomes once, told us about them. We know how to recognize them, and their name. She died before she could tell us more."

Sophie could still remember Calla. Tears forged silver paths on her cheeks. Calla had been like a mother to Sophie. Well, more like an aunt. In Sophie's first few years with the Black Swan, Calla would braid her hair and sing her to sleep. Sophie used to have nightmares, but thanks to Calla, she didn't anymore.

"How much time does Alessandro have?," Sophie croaked, a sob building up in her throat.

Agent Forkle closed his eyes slowly. "We don't know. Maybe about a week."

Biana covered her mouth with a hand and started crying. Tam comforted her, telling her that they would find a way to save Alessandro.

"A cure," Sophie blurted out. "Is there one?"

Agent Forkle shook his head, much to Sophie's dismay. "Not that we know of. We suspect Calla was close to finding it."

Fitz punched the wall next to him. Hard. "What do they want?! We do everything to stop them, yet we still don't know their goal! Why are we always a step behind?!"

"I don't know," Agent Forkle answered simply. "I don't know."

Keefe

He saw them. They looked exactly like the pictures Agent Gisela had given him. They were clutching their textbooks like they were their lifelines. They looked innocent. But Keefe knew better than that. He saw the way their eyes scanned the courtyard. He saw the way they stood, alert. He saw the way they walked, lightly, soundlessly.

He took a deep breath. Time for Step Two of his mission. He put on his trademark smirk, and sauntered over to them.

"You must be new," he said, wiggling his eyebrows. "I'm Keefe Sencen."

The girl with the silver dyed tips that matched her silver-blue eyes smile sweetly. "I'm Linh Song."

The boy with the strawberry-blond hair and periwinkle eyes held out his hand. "Dex Dizznee."

Keefe shook his hand, still smirking. "Pleasure to meet you, Linh and Dex."