Model in Disguise

15. Following Orders

Dedicated to: AshleyHernandez463

Decided to save your life and upload a chapter! :) Thanks for the support!

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      September 6th
      Agent R. Harris and Agent A. Peterson gather resources to create a room specifically designed for Special Operations. An error occurs concerning the operatives.

                15: Following Orders
                Date: September 6th

The auditorium inside Smile is filled with people. People of different backgrounds and different futures cram themselves into the room, a noisy chatter replacing the deep silence of an empty auditorium. I plop down into a solid seat and face the front of the room with a stoic demeanor.

      Christopher Jacobs is all the way across the room but somehow I still feel his eyes watching my every move like a wolf tracking its prey. I don’t acknowledge the fact, but there’s something about it that makes my skin crawl.

      I’m not used to being prey.

      Alex, coming up on my right, squishes himself into the seat next to me. His left leg is pressed up against my right one and he leans close to me slightly, preparing to whisper something into my ear. Now my right side is warm, protected; the sharp point of Chris Jacobs’s gaze lessens to a soft brush as he looks away.

      “I’m sorry,” Alex says in my ear.

      I pull away from him, pretending to adjust myself in my chair. Otherwise I say nothing.

      “I didn’t mean to complicate things,” he goes on. There’s a faint indication of panic in his voice. “I know you said—”

      “Don’t,” I interrupt.

      And then the assembly begins. A loud screech sounds through the speakers, the audio feedback drawing the attention of everyone in the auditorium. I turn to face the front of the room, my eyes settling on a striking man in a suit standing in front of a set of blue curtains. I focus all of my attention on the front of the room now.

      “Good afternoon,” says the man. “For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Christopher Jacobs. I am the assistant principal of the school.”

      As I hold my breath, a buzz from Alex’s pocket makes me jump in my seat. I glance at Alex, barely containing my annoyance as I peek at his phone.

      The text is from Adrian.

          .         .          .

“I have to go.” Adrian’s words are so sharp that they don’t echo through the hallway that the three of us stand in. I can hear faintly the words of Chris Jacobs from the auditorium, but everything he says blends into a few single lines of gibberish. I watch Adrian carefully as he speaks. “Kyle sent me an order.”

      An order. In Operations, this term is used to describe something similar to a search warrant, or a warrant of arrest.

      Alex makes eye contact with and only with the shiny brown wall in front of us, tense and alert, looking out for anyone who is not where they should be. And that would be us.

      I haven’t spoken to Adrian since the day we broke up, but my voice has a mind of its own when it replies. “Why didn’t he send us a notice?” I watch his face for any signs of distress. If Adrian has not received an order that will lead him to Maxwell Thomas, I will know. But as I examine him, all I find is determination.