The Agency - Operation Delta (Part II)

Chapter 5

Vanessa's mind echoed with the hard lessons ingrained in her by the Agency's instructors: "Emotions are weaknesses-no room for guilt, sadness, or sympathy in times of war."

Laura was sobbing, her pain on display. Vanessa envied her that small freedom. Her own emotions were locked behind an ironclad facade. This was her failing; Winters should never have been on that train.

The wreckage of the explosion sprawled out before her. Train parts scattered, flames engulfing carriages, dark smoke polluting the sky. She forced herself back to the present to plan their escape.

She glanced toward Eric, but as she did, her eyes caught something odd amid the smoke. A figure emerged, dimly at first, then unmistakably-Winters. He fell, stumbling through the curtain of ashen air. Then, as if propelled by sheer willpower, he found his feet and lunged forward, stumbling yet unyielding, until he was there-right in front of them. She was speechless, her internal protocols short-circuited by disbelief.

Laura was still buried in her misery, unaware of the turn of events. Vanessa lightly nudged her and in an instant, she was up and sprinting, a blur that ended only when she threw herself into Winters' arms.

"Do you think he got to the panic button?" Eric broke the moment, his arms crossed.

"Look at him," Vanessa retorted. "Does he look like a man who failed?"

"He's still breathing, isn't he?" Eric said, a sneer forming on his face.

"Why are you like this? Why, in the middle of all this, do you still find the time to be such an arrogant prick?"

"You forget your role in this," Eric warned. "Why did you let the commander go?"

Her jaw tightened; words would be a waste. Instead, she turned to Winters, who now stood beside Laura, his uniform damaged but his demeanour victorious.

"Seems you were wrong," Winters said with a triumphant air.

"You activated the beacon?" Even as she asked, her tongue caught the taste of copper. Instinctively, she wiped her lip, only to see her own blood smeared across her fingers.

"Yes, hopefully, it worked. Are you ok?"

"We all have our weaknesses, but evidently, courage isn't one of yours," she said, returning his smile with a muted one of her own. But the sound of helicopters returned. The enemy was mobilising, taking positions.

"Eric," Vanessa said, grabbing his hand with an urgency she couldn't disguise. "Take the students and run."

His eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about? Where are you going?"

"The helicopters are already here. They're only looking for one thing. We don't know how long reinforcements are going to take and you will have a better chance at surviving if I keep them occupied."

He yanked his hand away. "No. Absolutely not."

"Eric, this isn't up for debate. Our priority is their safety."

"And what about the information you have? The risk if you're captured?"

"The information will die with me," she cut him off. "Our duty is to protect those students."

He grasped her wrist, his grip tightening to the point of pain, the veins in his hand standing out like twisted rope. "Our duty is to protect what's important to the state."

Her eyes met his, unflinching. "I'm pulling rank, Eric. I'm ordering you to get them out of here. If Winters was successful, help is on the way. I just have to buy time until then."