To Catch A Fox

Chapter 3

"Is she alright?" His friend, Nathan, asked. Nathan was Henry's partner. He had sparkling blue-gray eyes that matched his chestnut-colored hair. Nathan was as tall as Henry, and tended to be more on the party side.

"Who?" Henry asked, playing dumb. He paused, getting a drink of water. The common room was half full with agents working on separate projects.

"You know who." Nathan rolled his eyes, hovering.

"She's fine. I think. Girls are difficult to read." Henry walked over to their shared desk and started organizing. "She's strong though - broke free of my spell."

"She WHAT?!" Nathan's pen dropped to the ground. In Henry's six years of working with the agency, not a single person had broken free from his persuasive voice. And here Henry was telling him that some random girl he picked off the street could tear herself away. Henry could get inside people's heads with his voice, make them do what he wanted. Henry had other powers, but none of them were on his file. Nathan could teleport and shapeshift.

"Yeah. Misyuk was glad when he heard. My efforts weren't wasted."

"No kidding! Does Misyuk want her?"

"Yeah. I don't know if she wants in though. The girl's sleeping right now." Henry added.

"You can make her join, right?" Nathan helped him organize the mess of papers on their desk. He wasn't extremely helpful, but Henry let him help this once.

"I'm not sure I want to. If she can break out of the enchantment, then she might run off. We'd need her to be willing to."

"Well.. she knows you, so you could nudge her in the right direction." Nathan blinked.

"Maybe." Henry responded thoughtfully. They finished organizing. "Stop letting it get this bad, Nate." He sighed, turning and walking away. Nathan watched him go with a slight smirk on his face. Vikki is going to be jealous.

"I see them getting together." Nathan decided after a moment, without even seeing Lilian yet. Unfortunately, Henry already had a girlfriend. Maybe he'd try to meet the girl when she was awake and see what she was like.

When Henry walked back into his room, Lilian wasn't there. He rolled his eyes. "Manna, where did they put her?" The artificial intelligence embedded into the system spoke up immediately, the New Zealand accent easy to understand.

"Cell 2 in Sector E."

"Thanks." Henry went back to his desk, putting Lilian out of his mind.

Four days later...

"Agent H., your presence is requested in Misyuk's office." Manna spoke. Henry looked up. He'd been doing Lilian's work for her and turning it in. He stood and made his way to his requested destination.

"Sir." Henry walked in after knocking, closing the door behind him. Misyuk looked thoughtful, staring at a camera. Henry walked closer, looking at the camera too with Misyuk's promptive gesture.

"She goes hours without moving. She doesn't eat or drink anything and barely sleeps." Misyuk rolled his eyes, but Henry could tell he was concerned. "Talk to her. You're authorized to use any method necessary, say anything you need to say. Lilian has to join, and has to be healthy." Misyuk briefly wondered if that was giving the agent too much power.

Henry perked up. Any method necessary? "Alright. Thank you." He pivoted and walked out, silently celebrating. He made his way to Lilian's cell. "Manna, turn off the cameras in Lilian's cell." No interruptions or recordings...

"Just did, Agent." Came the prompt reply. Henry opened the door to Lilian's occupation, walking in quietly. He took stock of his new surroundings - just a bland silver room with a single bed. There was a bookshelf with a wide variety of books. Lilian was tucked away in a corner. Henry strolled over to her. There was no acknowledgement of his presence. "What drugs have they been giving her?" He asked softly, kneeling beside her. He reached towards her, tilting her head up. Lilian's eyes were glazed, with a blank look.