Little Spy | Peter Parker ✓

[16]

I FELT LIKE DEATH.

Getting electrocuted by a strange man who shot lightning out of his fingers and contained it in his strangely coloured figure on its own was hard enough on a body; after running 'home', I collapsed and felt the adrenaline and fear of the boy finding me out leave my body in a rush, leaving me helpless. However, getting back was far from a good thing - if anything, it was far worse.

I held my injured torso with trembling fingers and scooted away from the furious Inga, trying to get up and defend myself. Blood tripped like a slow falling tear from my cheek, and I cursed, knowing it would take a lot of product to cover that up in the morning. "I told you, I was just trying to follow orders!"

"By exposing yourself?" she shrieked. We were lucky that Inga had things that helped contain noise, else noise complaints surely would be filed, due to the volume of her shrill cries and the numerous sounds of fists hitting already injured flesh. "Have you any idea what you have done, Freya? You could have just ruined everything - not just for you, but for everyone!"

"I just needed to save his life!"

"That is not your job!"

I finally staggered to my feet, rising to my full height and glaring in a mix of pain and anger. My ribs throbbed at every moment, but it was easier to ignore when there was something to overpower it - and the confusion and anger at the woman before me was enough adrenaline and more. "What does that mean? I thought I was supposed to protect the boy?"

She struck me again, twisting my hands away from her and holding me in a grip like iron, forcing me to curl up and squirm as her nails dug into bony wrists. "Your job is to watch him and make sure he doesn't mess up. We told you that, идиот!"

"But he did mess up," I croaked out, falling free and shielding myself from her flurry of blows to my face and body, "which is why I did something. If I hadn't done anything, he would have been dead!"

Again, Inga spat on me as she punched. Her blows fell onto me blocked, but one made it through my clumsy defence, causing me to groan out and slip to the floor. "That's not your problem! You're not a hero, идиот, you're a spy sent to do her job, not ruin everything else!"

Her words caused me stop and sit up, dodging a hit clumsily and watching her in shock. "So if he's dying, you want me to let him die? I thought you needed him alive, not six feet underground! What are you trying to do to him?"

"We're doing nothing to him," she hissed, drawing closer. "Whatever is to happen is not your business; you're just there to watch him. Anything else is out of your hands."

"You're going to kill him!"

Her back stiffened, and it was obvious my questions were maddening her, but at this point, I was in so much pain I couldn't care how mad she was; I wanted answers, answers only she could give me. "No one is going to die except for you if you don't shut up."

"Not until...you tell me...what's going on!"

She smiled and let her bitter chuckles bounce off the ceiling, pinning my reaching hand to the ground with a booted foot. "No, you will shut up because if you don't, you won't make it back to Russia. Do you understand?"

"So you're going to kill me-"

"Do you understand, Freya?"

I fell back limply, hitting my head hard against the wooden floorboards and feeling salty tears sting at my eyes. "Yes, I understand. But you better not be-"

"Better be nothing." She removed her foot, though not before driving into the stained boards, and stomped off. "Clean yourself up."

I watched her leave but didn't move from the floor, simply laying curled up while the waves of pain enveloped my body and filled me with nothing but misery and sadness and anger and worry for both my life and the boy I was sent to protect. For, while I didn't care about him, his death meant nothing good for me. I couldn't live with more blood on my unwashed hands, and I certainly couldn't live with failure - if he died, I would be nothing, and my own death would be inevitable.