Authors: Sara Schoen
“Camden has already taken Sara. We found this note from her this morning when we searched her apartment,” Demon said as I unfolded the note he handed me. “She knew they’d found out about her, and if I had to take a guess, she helped them along.”
I glanced over the note to see that Sara had said that everything had gone according to plan. She had won over Danielle’s trust and told her what Camden actually did for a living, and built a relationship with me, but she let too much information slip out while talking with Danielle. She said it would only be a matter of time before Camden managed to connect her to the Sandtown mission if his men were as good as she thought, but while it had worked out so far, the plan had one downside.
She had stated that after being taken she knew they would have Marco interrogate her based on the close relationship we shared. She knew I would request few people be there from preliminary scouting at the compound, and that she would be able to escape with no problem. With all the information she had on them, CIRA could end the cartel by getting rid of the right people, and eliminating the remaining bases. All Demon had to do was call the police.
The police would have enough to arrest Camden and Miguel, and before they got there Sara would be gone and heading back to CIRA. The pitfall came because now that Camden and Miguel knew my true identity, they weren’t going to let us leave together. They would send in their best people, which would involve those who tortured for information, and they wouldn’t spare her life. Once she gave the information, she’d be dead, along with the other agents if they managed to break her.
“What are we going to do?” I asked. “They’re going to kill her, and then what?”
“We’re hoping to stop them before it gets to that,” Whip Lash said, plucking the note from my hands. “That’s where you come in.”
“How? My cover is blown. I can’t do anything! What about Danielle? What are we going to do with her?” I questioned, turning to look at my sister. She’d grown pale, as if about to pass out from the news.
“We will take care of Danielle,” Whip Lash stated. “What we need you to do right now is act like Marco.”
“What good will that do? They know I’m not really Marco.”
“We know,” Demon interjected. “But Camden doesn’t know you’ve been warned your cover is blown. He’s going to call you in, just like he always does, and he’ll ask you to come deal with a problem that’s come up. He should lead you right to Sara, and from there it’s up to you two to get out. We’ll call in for other agents, and make sure they know what they are walking into, but you should be prepared for the worst. You know better than anyone that Camden won’t let you just walk away after this.”
“What if he doesn’t lead me to her and takes me somewhere else to deal with us separately?” I knew Camden wouldn’t want too many agents in the same room, but if he had managed to figure all of this out, maybe he knew Sara didn’t know me and wouldn’t work with me. If that happened, we were both screwed.
“Then we can save you, and find her later,” Whip Lash decided. “We don’t have a lot of time left. That guard Miguel keeps on you should be coming up soon, since I’m sure he’s fixed that tire by now.” He flashed a look of annoyance in Demon’s direction, who in turn offered him a boyish grin.
“What can I say? It takes too long to burn bridges. I prefer explosions. They are just as efficient, but much quicker.”
Whip Lash groaned, as if he felt he’d been working with children. Then he took Danielle by the hand. “We’ll be taking her out of here, and getting her somewhere safe. To him it will seem as if he missed her while working on the car, and no one will be the wiser. Just make it fast,” Whip Lash said, suddenly darkening his voice in an intimidating manner. “I don’t know how long Sara has left. She’s been with Camden for a few hours now, and we don’t know what he’s thrown at her. Do whatever you have to do to get both of you out alive.”
I nodded, sending them on their way. Demon took Danielle from Whip Lash as he leapt out of sight. I smiled as Demon showed her how to move with him as he vanished into the shadows. I would have to ask him how to do that one day, if I ever made it out of this alive. As if on cue, my phone started ringing, and the caller ID told me that Camden was ready to see me. I picked up the phone and took a deep breath.
“Camden,” I stated, waiting for an order.
“I need you to come take care of someone, Marco.” I noticed that he spat the name as if he meant it as an insult. He definitely knew my real identity, and he hated I had managed to keep the lie going for so long. “But before you do, as always, try to get some more information. There’s a lot that this one isn’t telling me, and I want answers. I don’t care how long it takes, and then I want
her
gone for good.”
My breath caught in my throat when he said
her
, but I kept my composure and continued as usual. “Just tell me where to go.”
“I sent a car for Danielle to Sara’s apartment. She said you were there as well.”
I bit my tongue to stop myself from telling him he was lying to me. He couldn’t play me as he had done to her and countless others. I knew him better that that.
“He should be there soon.” He hung up without another word.
Camden had managed to act as though nothing had changed. I wondered how long it would last once I got to wherever he needed me.
***
Camden had sent the car to a deserted bottling factory on the very edge of town. The factory stood in the middle of nowhere, and people only came here for deals or to scare their friends with ghost stories. It had been abandoned for years, the windows so dirty they couldn’t be seen through, the electricity didn’t work, and some of the machinery sat derelict in the darkness. It wasn’t a desirable location and only told me nothing good could come from venturing into this building, especially when the cartel was involved.
I walked into the building to find Camden with Miguel and André, along with three other members of the cartel. I tried to look at the leftover conveyor belts and equipment instead of at them because they all looked deadly, and in normal circumstances I would have assumed they were angry at whomever they had brought me to kill. It was different because now they were angry with me. I had betrayed them and they were going to make sure I got what I deserved.
“Who are we dealing with today, Camden?”
He scoffed. “Bring her in,” Camden called once I stepped in front of the crowd. “I think you know who we are dealing with today. I just hope you can handle killing the girl you love.”
Gage walked in carrying Sara. From the way her body slumped in his arms, and the lack of reaction she had from being brought in, I could tell they had knocked her unconscious. Gage set her down in the chair, letting everyone see the blood dripping over her exposed skin and seeping through her clothes in sporadic spots. Her jeans were well intact except for the blood seeping through, and her shirt was sticking to her from a mix of blood and sweat. She had put up a fight, but it wasn’t enough to get her out of this. I wasn’t even sure she could fight anymore in that condition.
“So tell me,” Camden said, turning to face me. “What’s it like knowing you almost got away with it?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I stated, attempting to remain composed as I looked over Sara’s figure. There were bruises, which were covered by the blood, along with a few faint cuts that I could see on her arms.
“Really?” Camden questioned. “Then you won’t mind if I have Gage end it.” Camden nodded in Gage’s direction, instructing Gage to draw his gun and place it to her temple.
My chest tightened as he looked at me. I could see that his eyes were merciless, and he would do it. I weighed the options I had, but in the end none of them mattered because they knew I had lied about my identity, and they knew I had feelings for her. They knew exactly what would happen before I did.
Gage smiled as he reached for the trigger, and before I knew it I had tackled him to the ground. The gun fell out of his hand, and we were forced into a fistfight. I had the upper hand for a while by landing on him before he had time to react. He flipped me onto my back just in time for some of the other members to rush to help him. I laughed at the cowardly actions before lifting my legs and kicking Gage off me, and hopping back to my feet. Each man looked at his friends before stepping forward to fight with me. Knowing the fight would be long and tiring, I took the best stance I could and prepared for the first blow.
They surrounded me, keeping me in the center so I couldn’t escape and would have to fight them all at once. As they started to throw punches, I watched their movements closely before striking, and instead took the time to duck and sweep their feet from under them, leaving one man standing. I raised my momentum by pushing up from the ground, and used the palm of my hand as I hit upward to break his nose.
He cupped his hands over his nose in shock, giving me enough time to then grab his shoulders, so he wouldn’t move, and land a last blow before he toppled over. The small victory was short lived as one of the men I had knock down previously grabbed me from behind and held me, allowing the others to punch me repeatedly. It didn’t last long though. I lifted my legs and knocked the two men in front of me down before I threw my head back to hit the one behind me. I heard something crack before I turned to face him. His nose must have broken, judging from the amount of blood dripping down his face, but it wasn’t enough to take him down. I could hear the other two guys getting back up and knew that I didn’t have a lot of time left. So I did the one thing I swore I’d never do to another man. I kicked him in the groin. He went down hard, cursing me as he did so. Honestly, he should be thankful I didn’t have a knife or he would have lost his most prized appendage.
He fell to the ground in a heap, and when he did he flashed the knife that he had concealed under his shirt. I pulled the blade from his belt and turned to the last guy. André glanced between the knife and me before he made his choice. He pulled a gun from behind his back and offered a wicked smile in return.
I smiled as well, confusing him. Little did he know, from lack of field experience, I had been in this situation before, and knew how to handle it. For once I could be thankful for meeting Alejandro on countless occasions which ended with a gun pointed at me. It would save my life today. André thought he had me beat as he stepped forward to end it, but he made the same mistake as Alejandro had. He got too close. I grabbed the barrel of the gun and rotated around André until I had him in a tight hold.
“You know, André, I always hated you,” I said, before I stabbed him in the side and twisted the blade. “You can take my secrets to the grave,” I whispered as his grip loosened and he fell to the ground. I took the gun and turned toward the last guy standing, who seemed uncertain whether he wanted to deal with me. Though I had promised myself I wouldn’t let any of them get away. I fired the gun and killed him quickly. Which left me to finish the other men who were starting to get up again, but a familiar scream, one that sent chills down my spine, and anger through my veins, pulled me out of the job.
When I turned to face Camden, he had Danielle tight in his arms with a gun to her head. With no other words needed he told me that he knew
exactly
who I was, and not just my status as an agent. He had managed to connect everything he needed to find out my true identity once he figured out I wasn’t Marco, and he would use it against me.
“Now, Marco,” Camden said, again spitting the name as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. “I bet you’re wondering how we got her. We found your friends, and they happily gave her up so they could live. Looks like when you betray those who take care of you, the ones you trust betray you as well.” Danielle was shaking her head violently, but Camden kept his hand firmly over her mouth as he continued. “Now who is it going to be?”
I glanced between Danielle and Sara, who remained unconscious. I was starting to think that they had actually killed her and brought her out here to get me inside the building. The fighting hadn’t woken her up. She could be dead, but I couldn’t be sure because one of the men I had taken down was inching over to stand next to her as if she could still be a threat. Either they were good at acting as if she were alive or they were worried about her waking up.
“So who is it going to be?” Camden taunted. “Make your choice, and we will just kill the other one now.”
Danielle’s eyes grew wide with fear as she pleaded with Camden to let her go. I couldn’t let her die. I had left her alone for so long. I had made her fight for herself, and forced her to live alone. It wasn’t fair. I’d let her live a lie for too long, and she had to suffer for it. I wanted to step in and take her away from Camden, but I’d been ordered to protect Sara.
I glanced over to Sara to see that Gage had picked up his gun and put it to her head again. He waited for my choice, because if I went for Danielle, he would have to shoot Sara and then me. A wicked smile crossed his face. He knew that I would choose Sara, but not solely because I’d been ordered to. I had grown to love her. I let out a low growl, annoyed that I’d gotten attached and put myself in this situation. I couldn’t decide who to save, and who should die. This wasn’t a choice anyone should have to make, much less between their family and someone else they cared for.