Anada (Book #3)

Stealth

"I was successfully able to hack into Leon's network." Neil says triumphantly as we all eat breakfast.
"Meaning what?" Robin asks as he leans against the wall sipping coffee.
Neil starts slowly, "It means that I know his next move. This a great accomplishment. We can mix it with Elias's plan, and we'll have this whole thing in our favor."
For most of the day the team stayed indoors. The road conditions weren't safe, and the meteorologists on the television repeatedly told us that a larger snow threat was coming soon.
"Why do I have a feeling that Leon's going to use this weather as some sort of advantage?" Westen says aloud at lunch.
Alex shrugs, "There's going to be weather reporters all across the city..."
I jump up, "Exactly! Leon will likely have shifters stationed all around Washington, and then he'll force them to shift in front of the cameras. Plus, this is the U.S. capital. If something that dramatic happens here, the government will jump right on it within seconds. They'll be doing something about it when they see humans turn to animals, and the shifters might possibly be commanded to attack citizens too."
This causes everyone to start talking at once. Misty who had been silent stands up quickly which makes everyone stop talking.
She tells us, "I've been in a situation like this before. It was about two or three years ago. The mayor of my town also tried revealing shifters."
"Really? How'd you stop him?" I ask her.
She paces the room, "Well, we stopped him before he could tell the whole town. Mr.Liam and Connor were there too. It took us and a bunch of shifters to stop him. Stopping one man took a lot more effort than it should've."
I'm afraid it may be like that with Leon.
"Well, at least we'll know what he's doing next." Neil says positively as he continues staring at his computer's screen.
I started thinking back to when Reina had been on her mission. Leon had told her that we couldn't stop him or his plans. We had to prove him wrong.
"How easy was it for you to hack into his system, Neil?" I ask him.
He replies, "Pretty easy. That's what worries me too. This whole thing has been too easy. It's as if he has some larger plan that we're not aware of."
That's exactly what I'm thinking too!
Alex starts talking, "I think we need to place ourselves around the city so that we're not stuck here when something starts to happen."
"Nothing may happen today. Might not for a week." Westen says.
"That's why we have to be ready, because he'll work fast when he starts this thing. And we'll know when we see shapeshifters on the streets. The one problem is that only shifters can tell if someone else is a shifter. That's where Anada, Misty, Robin, and Colten come in." Alex tells us.
We then devised a plan to station all four of us shifters around the city. There were only four shifters and there was one huge city out there.
But we did as Alex said and we went out across the city searching for any suspicious activity. The rest of my team was out there too. Only two of them had decided to stay at the hotel which we're now calling our 'headquarters'.
As I walked down the snowy street listening to my friends talk over the earpiece, I started thinking about how this could have been played out better if we had more people teamed up with us.
I purposely brought myself out of thought, because I was supposed to be watching for unusual activity.
The conversation over the earpiece had stopped. I guess they had nothing else to talk about now.
The snow on the sidewalks was piled up from being plowed off the road. It was in big white chunks that lay in the path. So everyone had to walk off to the side so that they wouldn't have to hike over the thick unstable clumps.
I walked a few blocks with my hands in my pockets. Not many people were out, but those who chose to brave the cold were only out to enjoy the snow and goof around on the slick ice.
A man with a thick dark coat happened to pass by me. With little space to walk, we had to brush up against each other. I caught a breath full of his scent. Apparently, he did too, because we both turned to look at each other quizzically.
He's a shapeshifter! And he probably works with Leon.
The shifter starts talking to me before I can speak to him.
"Hey, I didn't see you with the other shifter teams Leon ordered to come in. Who are you?" He raises an eyebrow suspiciously.
I hid my shock and replied quickly, "I'm Cleo. My team came in later than the rest. That's probably why you haven't met yet."
He looses the suspicious look and says, "Oh, well you're going the wrong way Miss Cleo. Mr.Escapade's place is this way."
I smile nervously, "Really? I must've got lost."
He huffs and says unbelievingly, "Shifters don't get lost."
He was right. I've never got myself lost before. It's literally impossible for a shapeshifter to get himself lost.
I abruptly change subject as I start walking with him, "It's not everyday that I meet another shifter. I'm a tiger. What are you?"
Apparently, the whole entire team was listening to my conversation over the earpiece, because they're all talking about what I'm doing. They know not to ask me anything, because they know I won't be able to reply.
Elias tells me, "Anada, I like your tactics, but turn before you get yourself in trouble. Leon won't pass an opportunity to get ride of you. Please, don't do this."
The man replies my question in a friendly tone, "I'm a cheetah. My name's Deryk by the way."
Anyway, like I said before, all shifters become a shifter for a specific reason. A bad person won't ever become a shifter. That's why I'm still walking with Deryk. I just wish that every shapeshifter knew that fact about themselves. We would be much more allied if every shifter was aware of this.
Deryk continues to ask me questions while I give him fake answers to cover myself. I wish I didn't have to lie, because it would have been a great conversation between us.
Finally, we take a left and walk down a darkened alley. The red brick buildings rise above us. Our warm breath looks like smoke in the cold winter air. There aren't any footprints in the snow here. That was the first sign that sparked my suspicions. We were the first people down this alley since yesterday. If we were headed toward Leon's stronghold, then why weren't there any other footprints?
Up ahead I could see that the alley turned right. My skin started prickling. Something wasn't exactly right.
Then we turn as the alley did. The first thing I noticed was that the alley was a dead end.
I immediately whirled around and struck at Deryk. He blocked my fist and swung too. I ducked his blow and kicked his right kneecap. He collapses, but someone grabs me around the neck and shoves me up against the brick wall.
My teammates are making a loud commotion over my earpiece. It's not helping with the situation either. Elias is being the loudest. His voice overwhelms the everyone else's.
Both of the hostile shifters have to strongly hold me against the wall. I'm about to shift and begin fighting as a dragon, but I watch as two more people quickly come closer. By the looks of it, they are also shifters.
"Tell us what you know about Leon. And don't try shifting either." Deryk demands harshly.
I stop kicking when I hear his statement, "What?"
He narrows his eyes angrily, "I said to tell us what you know about Leon and his plans."
"You're not with him, are you?" I ask surprised.
They all give me a funny look. I guess they didn't expect that to be my answer. They nod nonetheless and they loosen their grip on me just slightly.
I take this advantage and burst into my dragon form. My explosion of scales and talons throws the two men backward. They land and slide in the powdery snow. I crouch down on the ground and send them a snarl to warn them to stay back.

Before the other two can attack, I raise my scaly hand and growl, "I'm not with Leon either."
"You're lying." One of them accuses me.
Why do I always get into fights with other shapeshifters?
Deryk cuts in, "Prove it."
"Well, I told you I was a tiger. I'm obviously not. Plus, my name isn't Cleo." I tell them pointedly.
They don't say anything for a second. I hadn't wanted to be in a fight with anyone who was also against Leon, and it was going to stay that way. I had to try persuading them once more. I had to gain their trust.
"Does the name, Anada, mean anything to you?" I ask them slowly.
Deryk tilts his head up and looks at me, "You're Anada?"
At first I was sure that telling them that had made no difference, but their expressions changed as they start to realize something. Then their moods change completely.
"Hey, we found her. I guess this means that she is alive." One of says happily.
Deryk smiles, "You're the one who first rebelled against Leon. If it wasn't for you, we would have never questioned Leon. Even before that you were a well-known person in the agency."
Until now I had been ignoring my friends who were screaming at me over the headpiece. I finally took a second to listen to their voices.
"What's going on? Where are you? Anada, say something. Hey, are you alright? Answer."
I turn from the shifters and say to my earpiece, "I'm okay. Just got in a fight with some shifters."
"I like how you say that like it's an everyday thing." Westen replies sarcastically .
Elias asks worriedly, "Please tell me you didn't get your throat ripped out this time, Anada."
I smile and shift back into a human. The four others are looking at me curiously. Apparently, they don't see many rogue agents talking into earpieces.
"No. I found more allies." I tell my teammates.
These people were shifters, and if they weren't for Leon then they were not the enemy. We needed to align. Aren't we, shapeshifters, all just people with a destiny? Together as a species we must join together in order to keep ourselves a secret and fulfill our personal destinies.
Alex says to me over the earpiece, "That's great, but are they trustworthy?"
"Yes."
Neil cuts in, "Hey, guys we... um... have a situation here at home base. We have some visitors."
"Oops, I forgot to tell ya'll about my friends. I thought they could help us out since that's what they do." I hear Misty say to us nervously.
I motion for the four new allies to follow me. I began to direct them back to the hotel.
"Who are your friends, Misty?" I ask her slowly.
Misty starts speaking a mile a minute, "Well, there's these shifters that have joined together into this organization type thing and they call themselves SSAW."
"What? Why have I never heard about this?!" I nearly shout.
"It's probably because they're only one hundred in number, but only forty of them could come today."
I shake my head. Misty has called in forty shifters, I have four confused shifters following me, and then there's my teammates. How many people was that? Fifty-six.
As we walk along the snowy sidewalk, I turn back to the four new shifters, "I'm so sorry. I didn't even get any of your names. It's just... everything that's going on..."
"We understand. Maybe the information we know about Leon will help some." Deryk tells me.
Those words were like music to my ears.