THE BOSS AGENT

21. I CAN'T BELIEVE I AM DOING THIS.

Eighteen's POV:

"Lefweeigeo."

"What?"

"Hishayeid lefwego."

"You want food?"

"Yawediot cantaear mei."

"You don't like my face? How dare you?"

We brought Noah to our place and we were pretty good host until he started screaming profanities at us. I had no other choice than to bound him to a chair and shut him up with a tape.

As Ben begged me to let him interrogate Noah, I decided to give him a shot and now I am totally regretting it. Usually, it's Alex who interrogates but due to his injuries he directly went upstairs and crashed on his bed.

"Dude, speak English," Ben says to Noah in exasperation.

I was out to make calls and when I came back, I had to witness this scenario. Ben trying to get the information out with Noah's mouth zipped shut. I leaned against the door and stood there silently. Meghan and Liam are leaning against the wall to my right. They have yet to notice me.

"Look, if you're hungry I can't buy you food alright. Yes, the agency pays well but I don't prefer to spend it on you," Ben states.

I roll my eyes and decided to make my presence known.

"Agent seventy-eight," I say with magisterial tone. Meghan and Liam straighten up their posture. I see Ben tense up and get back on his feet with a mock salute.

"Done interrogating?"

"Uh, yeah. I questioned him but he prefers to speak gibberish," he shrugs.

"That's probably because you didn't remove the plaster genius," I say and move forward to rip off the tape.

"I don't prefer to beat around the bush and let's directly get to the point. Who is Maria Evans to you?" I ask. I see Noah's eyes slightly widen but he conceals it quickly.

"Maria who?" he questions innocently.

"Listen and listen well Smith, you either speak up on your own or I'll make you," I threaten shooting daggers. I am still angry on the stunt he pulled on us and there is no way I am gonna forgive.I see a flick of fear in his eyes. He shifts uncomfortably and looks anywhere but me.

"Why are you searching for her?" he asks timidly.

"So, you indirectly agree that you know Maria right? Where is she? Why is she keeping tabs on you?"

"Answer my question. Why are you hunting her down?" he raises his voice.

I take a step forward with a dangerous gleam in my eyes. Ben notices it and takes a step back.

"Don't. Raise. Your. Voice. At. Me," I pronounce every word to drill it into his head.

"I'll repeat one last time. Who is Maria to you and where is she?"

"Sh-she is my wife," he says slowly, disheartened by losing his resolve.

Okay. That explains a lot.

"Do you know that your wife hacks into systems and helps the gangs to kill thousands?" I ask.

"No. I mean, she stopped being the hacker long back. She doesn't work for or in the gang anymore," he says quickly. "She didn't mean to hurt the innocents. She was forced to. Once she got the chance, she ran away from them. She is innocent."

"That's for us to decide. So, where is she now?" I ask.

"Why would I voice her hide out? The very next second you get her location, you will hunt her down and throw her into the cell."

"What she has done is completely against the law."

"She didn't know that. She joined the gang when she was young. She didn't know the illegal plans they plotted behind her back. They gave her the information and she hacked the systems. The very next second when she realized her mistake, she ran off. She was used Miss Carter," Noah flaps in agitation.

"He just called you Miss Carter eighteen," Ben chuckles. I ignore him.

He turns towards Noah, "Dude, Carter is not her real name. Her real name is-"

"Shut up Ben. Let me think," I say as I run my hand through my hair. Ben raises his hand up in surrender and steps back.

Noah has been speaking the truth. I noticed that there was not a glint of lie in his actions. Maria has been innocent the whole time and she ran away to start a secure life. And my conscience won't let me to make such a rash decision of throwing an innocent in prison.

The room has been dead quiet waiting for me to speak up. I let out a sigh and turn around to face Noah.

"I have a deal for you."

"And that would be..." he trails off.

"I'll arrest neither you nor Maria if you tell me where she is."

"No thanks. I'll pass."

"I am not done yet," I say with a glare. "You and Maria will be sent to one of the safe houses I own and nobody, not even the gang can get hold of you both. I'll wipe out everything and provide you and your wife complete protection. It's your call. Make a wise choice," I step back and wait for him to answer. His eyebrows were knitted together in deep thought. After ten minutes or so he spoke up.

"Alright. But you have to give me your words that you will let us be."

"I give you my word," I say without missing a beat.

He lets out a heavy sigh. "We live in a cottage, kind of in the outskirts of the city. She might have come to a conclusion that I am missing as my disintegrated building will be all over the news. She might be trying to track me down or maybe succeeded in it."

"That's not possible. Jen who is the hacker of my team shut off all tracking devices and transmitters in your phone and watch. So, there are very less chances of you being tracked."

"Uh-huh," he replies.

"How do I get your wife in? I don't think she is a very cooperative kind," I say.

"She isn't. She barely trusts anyone. And trusting agents is out of her league. You can't just ring her up and ask for her to meet you," he states.

"I know, that's why you're ringing the call," I say and wait for him to react.

"What?"

"What? You just said agreed to help me get hold of your wife right and I promised you that I will keep you both out of danger," I say and ask Jen to bring the phone. I untie his wrist and place his phone in his palm. He looks at his phone then at me.

"I can't believe I am doing this," he mumbles and calls his wife. Within the next second his phone is answered.

"Noah?! Where are you? Are you okay? I just saw the news and I got an alert in my system that you are missing. What happened?" a feminine voice screams in panic.

"Maria, calm down. I am fine. I am at my-umm c-colleague's place. There were few assassins who tried to attack me but, thank goodness, I escaped," Noah says with sadness coating his voice for lying to his wife.

"And yes, I think those killers are still observing me. I have no idea what to do," he adds.

She stays silent for few seconds before speaking up. "Noah, do me a favor and meet me in the park we usually go. I'll take care of the rest."

"Alright."

"And be careful."

"You too," he says and hangs up the call.

Everyone looks at me with concentration waiting for my next order except for Ben of course. He eyes shining with excitement for next words.

"We are going to the park then," I say and Ben jumps in joy.