MISSION MOONLARK, kotlc

16

Sophie would've sat there, silent and so, so heartbroken for the rest of the day, all the way until the subway stopped and the night shifts started.

He was telling the truth.

Or was he?

Who's side was who? Who's side was he on?

Or better yet: Who's side was she on?

Something vibrated in her pocket so suddenly that she banged her elbow on the metal pole beside her and nearly sent an innocent toddler flying, which effectively earned her some disapproving glances. She pulled out her miraculously un-crushed Imparter and swiped at it before somebody could question the odd-looking device.

"Wait!" the voice through the screen shouted, making Sophie jump- again.

Chatter sounded in the background. Sophie bit her lip anxiously.

"Er... what's the nickname people call you when you're being annoying?" The voice asked.

"Agent Fos-Boss...?"

There was a loud sigh of relief on the other end.

"Oh thank God Soph... we've been looking for you for hours," the person said. "It's... um... Biana. Where are you?"

"On the subway," Sophie said instantly, equally relieved to hear a familiar voice. "Heading uptown, towards Time Square, like two-or-so stops away. Can you guys come pick me-?"

Sophie was about to give more details, when the blaring beep indicating that the other person had hung up, sounded. Her blood ran cold- she'd just given up her exact location... and the person had confirmed her identity, but she hadn't checked to see if they were really Biana or not...

The door opened and her eyes locked with yet another Neverseen agent- and she could definitely tell from the way their expression curled into something of a menacing glare.

If somebody said her life was a merry-go-round of almost dying, being chased by evil organizations- repeat! she would've believed it.

"I'm sorry!" Sophie shouted as she shot to her feet and shoved through the crowd of exiting pedestrians. She glanced behind her, doing her best at an apologetic expression to the rather annoyed people she'd jostled, right as the Neverseen member- Gethen, was it? -leapt into the subway just as the door closed.

Screams rang out- some concerned, some angry -but most of them confused as she wrenched open the side door of the moving subway and took a wild jump onto the next compartment.

"What is she-?"

"She left the subway cart!"

"Somebody close the door!"

The wind pulled her sideways as Sophie clung to the door handle for dear life. The subway was moving so fast... and if she let go... with a loud click, the handle snapped off. Sophie's heart hammered as she leapt to grab another ledge of the subway.

"Go ahead, Agent!" Gethen sneered from where he stood safely on the first compartment. "Go fly! And extra bonus points if you can fall off too!"

Here goes nothing, Sophie thought, ignoring him. She snatched the handles on either side of the subway cart and kicked it open. The door collapsed and Sophie rolled into the next cart, greeted by yet another throng of startled people.

Sophie was pretty sure the video people were scrambling to record was about to go viral...

The subway screeched to a stop again. Sophie ignored the shouts still chasing after her and disappeared into the crowd.