Agent (Book 1)

Chapter 19-Lynn

19

Lynn Kramer

Agent: 53

Mission: Not Applicable

Location: ACA Headquarters, Quarter 1

Date: September 1st

Time: 0700

I'm in Rap's office within only a few moments. I don't bother knocking (as I never had) and burst through the door in my night t-shirt and shorts. I didn't bothered fixing my hair either; I jump inside with matted knots tangled around my head. Rap's sitting at his desk, lips pulled into a thin line as he studies the sleek computer monitor in front of him. He looks up when I come in and motions for me to come closer.

I go over to him. "There's a few things," he begins, calculating the image in front of him with focused eyes. There is no time for a proper greeting. This has to be urgent. "First off, as of two hours ago, unknown footage was intercepted by our systems." He grabs a gray remote from his desk, presses a button, and an image appears on the wall, slightly blurry at first, but sharpening as the picture comes into focus. I inhale a breath almost immediately. The bushy brown hair. Agent Hood.

He's sprawled out against a concrete wall, clutching his side, facing a large steel door. From the angle his face is at, I can't quite make out his expression, but he lies entirely unmoving, besides the slight rise and fall of his chest. The room is dark and the only object I can spot is a small metal bucket in the upper corner.

What crosses my face must be a look of rage mixed with utter shock. I close my mouth when I realize it's dangling open and try to act sophisticated, like him, and unfazed. But I am not the Commander. I am not calm. Rap doesn't buy it.

"And the weirdest part is..." he clicks a few buttons on the monitor. At once a document fills the length of the screen. Only a few words strike the otherwise blank page. An address.

"I've done some research on it, and the address leads to Division 7, to a rundown bakery. I'm not sure what it means, but it came with the footage," Rap says, putting a hand to his head. I step closer to the screen and stare into it with dazed eyes. Absentmindedly, I lay a hand on the surface, tracing it with my fingers. Is it really Agent Hood who I'm seeing? Or is this all just some cruel trick?

"So... you think the address is the place their keeping him?" I mutter, struggling with every word. I don't look at Rap's face but I can tell he's shrugging. A small spark of adrenaline fills my weary body, and suddenly I'm not thinking about my lack of sleep. This could be where Agent Hood is. This could be my key to rescuing him.

Rap senses my excitement. "I know what you're thinking Lynn, but this could all very well be a trick location. Why would they tell us where they're keeping him? They probably want to lure us in to a surprise attack." He shakes his head rapidly.

I whirl around on my heel and glare at him. He's right, my thoughts echo, but I push them aside. If this location is wrong—when it's wrong— we'll just be wading straight into The King's plan. But...what if it is the right place? What if they really do have Hood there, for us to save, regardless of an attack?

My heart sinks lower and lower within my chest when I realize the truth of his words, but I turn my eyes back to the screen before he can see. This is progress, at least. Hood's not dead. I know that now, or wasn't dead for a while after they captured him. But, it's fairly obvious that he has received no medical attention, and from the way he's sitting, he must be too weak to move. All the more reason we have to launch the rescue quickly.

"Why would they send us this footage?" I ask, wiping a stray hair out of my eyes. It doesn't make any sense, really. So that we can be tortured by knowing that he is alive, but we have no way of getting to him? By showing us what he would've looked like in the moments before he was killed?