Behind Enemy Lines

Chapter 1-Mel

Mel was 90% sure her collar was slowly choking her to death.

Fighting the urge to cough, the eighteen-year-old rubbed her hands together to stop their sweating and tugged at her neckline. 

Screw that- 95% sure.

Mel's eyes took in the room. Not much to take in. The walls and floor consisted of cement and peeling paint, and they didn't hold much; a desk and chair, and two chairs in front of the desk. 

One Mel sat in. The other was empty.

Mel gulped, and her rebellious hands leaked with nervous sweat. The silence was pressing, but the question was more pressing: had Jakov found them out?

The door creaked open, and Mel jumped like a startled deer. She composed herself and brushed her thick hair out of her eyes as a short, skinny girl around her own age entered the room.

She had the most fiery red hair Mel had ever seen, which fell in wavy curls to her shoulders. Her face was slender and high-cheekboned, with sharp green eyes that pinned on Mel like a hawk. Mel knew that gaze well. In fact, she knew that girl better than anyone else- Harper was her best friend and fellow double agent.

Mel offered her a simple nod as Harper sat in the chair next to her, which screeched painfully in the depressed silence that burdened the air. They both winced, and Mel jumped again. She cursed softly and shifted in her seat. 

I am Melanie Pepper, an agent of the CIA. I will bow to no one.

Mel lifted her gaze once more, feeling at bit more confident. That slight bubble of courage, though, was immediately crushed as soon as Jakov sauntered into the room.

He was a heavyset man, with a thick, dark unibrow that overshadowed his small and cruel eyes. His hair had thinned over the years, and now started halfway down his scalp. Tattooes lined almost every inch of his body, most dotted and slashed with scars.

Jakov was a real teddy bear.

The devil himself furrowed his brows even further, if that was possible, and glared at Harper and Mel through the thick shadows under his eyebrows. "Вы знаете, почему я назвал вас здесь?"

Luckily, Mel had learned to speak Russian after they were sent here six months ago to attempt to find the weapon the Russians were apparently building. "No, we do not know why you called us here." Mel replied in fluent Russian, cutting off Harper.

Though her voice was calm, her insides were shaking like a leaf. If she did the calculations... there was a 60% chance Jakov had found them out.

"I am promoting you." Jakov, cheery as ever, replied in a gruff voice. "You have shown great loyalty and skill during your training. I am officially making you two soldiers- congratulations, you will now be able to fight on the field. I'm expecting good results and a high killing rate from both of you... or there will be consequences."

Before giving them time to react, the Russian leader stomped out of the cement room and slammed the door behind him.

Shocked, Mel could only form one thought as she saw her own fear mirrored in Harper's green eyes.

Unless they wanted to blow their cover and have a 95% chance of getting killed, they would have to kill U.S. soldiers.