With a Pull of a Trigger

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

The End of the Beginning

In Langley, Virginia, where the main headquarters and offices of the CIA were, was a place respected by all. It had a marble wall where stars were carved, a black goatskin book located underneath the field of stars, sitting on a small stainless steel frame. A flag of the United States was on the left side of the wall, and a flag bearing the seal of the CIA was on the right.

To normal people, the wall didn’t mean that much to them. It was a mere wall, nothing more. Albeit beautiful, it wasn’t special for them, but they did respect it, for the wall seemed to call for respect and honor. It was a marble wall, nothing more.

To agents of the CIA, the wall was special. It was revered, visited in silence, respected, and honored. To most, it was a mere marble wall. To agents, it was the marble wall.

It was the CIA Memorial Wall.

The stars on the wall were symbols, mere figures that represented agents who had died in service for their country. The book underneath was called The Book of Honor and in it was a list of agents who were killed in action. Some stars didn’t have names next to them, some had, but it was all the same. The wall was important, and the stars more so.

Agent Catherine Aspen, as directress of the CIA, made sure that the Memorial Wall was updated when needed. Even though the CIA’s directress and vice president were located at the Los Angeles headquarters, and not at the main headquarters, the main offices did just fine without the two of them.

Ever since two years ago, when Reini was supposedly dead, Catherine had rearranged the positions of power. Cell leaders were now handpicked from the cream of the crop of Cell Twelve, and all Cell leaders were part of the board of directors. Each Cell leader oversaw a certain headquarter, and though most of their agents were in that headquarter, some agents from other Cells were interspersed in their offices.

Catherine, as Superior of Cell Twelve, oversaw the Los Angeles offices with Amrie at her right side. Though most agents located at the Los Angeles offices were Cell Twelve agents, there were some agents from other Cells in there, too. Bethany Paget, as Superior of Cell Eleven, oversaw the Langley headquarters, though she still answered to Catherine.

The reason why Catherine did not pick the Langley headquarters was because of how much her Cell Twelve agents were targeted. If she had picked to put her agents in the Langley headquarters, everything would have been ruined.

In silence, they watched as another star was carved on the wall, watched as the man worked quietly, finally brushing off the dust after a few seconds, and spraying the star black. The man walked away quietly, his head bowed down, his figure enough to express his apology for their loss.

Reini looked at the stars on the wall, looked at the varying shades of black, and sighed.

A hundred or so stars meant to commemorate the deaths of CIA field agents decorated the plain marble wall. And now there was another one meant to signify Eena’s numerous acts of courage and valor.

Truth be told, Reini didn’t know whether she loved it or hated it.

While she loved the idea of stars being carved on a special wall for the most courageous of agents, she hated the fact that all they had to commemorate Eena’s death was a star on the wall. She hated the fact that they didn’t even have a body to bury since everything that had been left was ashes and broken memories.

A tear made its way down her cheek, and she hastily wiped it away.

Weakness was something she didn’t want to show.