Manhunt

Chapter 18

Julia blinked at her friend, confused as to how she would know Zane's name when it seemed that she'd only just gotten back from her vacation in the Bahamas. It'd been a week already since he'd arrived, and word about Zane was no longer circulating, but it was possible that someone had gossiped about him when she came back. She had been missing out on his arrival. But from the way she looked at Zane with recognition and shock, Julia knew otherwise.

"Marianna?" Zane chanted in disbelief, staring at her. "You go to school here?"

"Yeah, I've always been going here." She reported, sharing her glances between Zane and Julia. "Why are you here though? I thought you went to an all-boys school?" She sounded awkward, shifting from one foot to the other uneasily. Julia simply stood there, hoping for someone to fill her in on what was going on, and why things were feeling strangely uncomfortable between them.

"Oh, yeah, I go here now." Zane stated simply, shrugging. "My parents sent me here." Marianna looked at him, eyes full of understanding now, and nodded slowly.

"Oh..." She responded, looking at Julia again. "Okay, I get it now."

"I don't," Julia interrupted, smiling politely at them. "I'm guessing you guys know each other." Marianna squealed before tackling her with a hug, temporarily holding off the conversation. Julia couldn't help but chuckle at her enthusiasm, finding that she had missed Marianna's bubbling energy. "How was that extended vacation? You're a lot tanner now." She laughed, pulling away and grinning.

"It was beautiful!" She gushed, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I think I've been at the beach for too long, though. I still smell the ocean."

"I honestly expected as much." Julia admitted, remembering the time she went there for an entire month. She had never been so sun kissed in her whole life, and she had constantly thought that the sea salt from the ocean was going to stay permanently on her skin. "You need to tell me everything later, but right now, I'm a bit curious as to how you guys know each other."

"Zane and I have worked together before," she explained easily, shooting a coded glance over at Zane before bringing her attention back to Julia with a shrug. "It wasn't a big deal."

"You've worked together..." Julia begun before trailing off, observing her two friends as things started clicking into place.

Julia was being crazy—just absolutely, unreasonably, crazy. And suspicious. Surely, there was no way Marianna was like her. Like Zane. She'd been attending the same high school as Julia since the beginning, well before Zane had even gotten there. Julia couldn't recall any times when Marianna had exhibited behavior that was dubious enough to be deemed beyond average. She blended in with everyone else.

But Julia did remember how sporadic Marianna's attendance was. In fact, they had both been flagged for such poor turnout, that they were threatened expulsion if they didn't get their act together. It resulted in many sleepless nights and difficult mornings for Julia, but had it been the same for Marianna? Had she been balancing a double life as well, and successfully, at that? Had she been committed to an ordinary life for the sole purpose of staying under the radar?

If Marianna truly was like them, then who did she belong with? Was she simply an ally of Zane's? Or was she a trainee belonging to Solaris? Julia didn't know where her allied agencies were located, including Solaris, but now that there were two of their agents here, Julia would have to look into it—if her assumption was correct.

Julia finally looked at Zane for confirmation, and almost immediately, he turned away from her, looking at Marianna carefully. She blinked at his reaction, shocked by the subtle reveal.

Shit.

"I have to say, this wasn't the kind of development I was expecting." Julia murmured after she flickered away the last of her disbelief. Marianna's eyebrows furrowed as she tried to decipher Julia's statement, her jaw tensing as she turned her pointed stare towards Zane.

"What's going on?" She asked, watching as he shifted his weight awkwardly.

"It'd explain all the unexcused absences..." Julia continued, her thoughts spiraling out of control as she forcibly rewrote everything she thought she knew about Marianna. She was sure that there was truth behind the persona Marianna chose to show to others, but Julia now needed to consider what sort of abilities Marianna had hidden away. She needed to approach this carefully. No matter how she looked at it, she and Zane had made a mistake in telling one another who they were when they met. An agent's identity meant everything— it risked everything—but the two broke that rule too quickly. Julia didn't want to do that to Marianna, but her instinct was telling her that there was more to her. And this explained it.

Marianna remained eerily silent as she pondered Julia's reaction, seemingly debating on her next plan of action. It'd looked like she'd try coasting under Julia's radar by continuing with a passive attitude, but she must have picked up on Julia's sudden change in energy. Slowly, she turned her head to leer at Zane, her still chest indicating that she wasn't breathing.

"What did you do, Zane?"

"Listen, I can explain—" He was cut off by Marianna, who was seething with rage now.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now?"

"Can you just—"

"You told her?" She asked in disbelief, shaking her head and pinching the bridge of her nose. "You know how dangerous it is to tell someone what you do. It's even more dangerous for her because she could be targeted—" Marianna stopped herself, taking deep breaths as she avoided Julia's gaze. "You aren't supposed to bring innocent people into this, Zane. You know better."

"I do know better, Marianna." He stated, staring at her hard. He was clearly trying to communicate with her through his eyes, but she was too angry to notice.

"Then why did you tell her?" She hissed out each word as she motioned wildly at Julia. "She's my friend, you asshole. She could be in danger now. It was better for her not to know at all! She'd live a safer life not knowing anything about agents, missions, and assassinations." Julia's eyelids fluttered, coming to the realization that Marianna was afraid for Julia's safety because she thought she was just a civilian.

How did everything get so messed up?

"I don't know if this is the right time to talk about this." Julia chimed in, wedging herself between the two so that Marianna wouldn't proceed to murder Zane. "There were a few developments that you missed out on while you were away."

"Just a few?"

"I get that you're alarmed, considering the circumstances, but there's a lot that needs to be explained to you." Julia continued, gently placing her hands on Marianna's shoulders. "We'll talk after school, but I want you to understand that Zane didn't tell me anything that I didn't already know."

"What could that possibly mean?"

"Like I said, I really don't think this is the time," she insisted, scanning the now empty hallways. "We'll explain everything later. Right now, we seriously need to get to class." Marianna inhaled sharply, sweeping her gaze over her surroundings before letting out an anxious groan.

"Fine, we'll talk later." Marianna gave Zane one last withering glance before shooting Julia a poorly concealed, restless smile. Giving her a gentle hug, Marianna took off down the hallway, vanishing from around the corner. The two should be mimicking her, but it was difficult to bring themselves out of their disappointment-filled stupor.

"Can I be honest?" Zane finally inquired after a beat of silence, still looking towards the direction that Marianna disappeared to. Julia nodded for him to proceed. "We really suck at this."

She couldn't agree more.