The Agent
I came out of unconsciousness like someone coming up for air after being held underwater. My eyes popped open, and I greedily inhaled fresh air.
Above me, the stars blurred into each other like scratches in the dark sky. Soft soil sifted underneath my hands, and the stench of dirt filled my nostrils.
Glancing around, I tried to remember how I’d fallen into this ditch.
I remembered the grenade. Scraping my arms as I wiggled through the broken window. The explosion barely seconds after freeing myself from the vehicle. The wind as the blast blew me backwards.
Somewhere between the last moments of consciousness, I remember my vision spinning and my body screaming as it hit rough terrain over and over.
I must’ve fallen over a nearby hill and rolled into this shallow grave.
My limbs ached as I pushed myself up. In this position, I could see the steep hill I’d fallen down - and the distance in which my body kept rolling. I was far from the scene of the explosion - farther than they’d look at least.
My thigh screamed as I tried to bend my legs, preparing to stand.
When I looked down, I noticed my leg was covered in blood. A thick, long piece of shrapnel pierced through the side, stuck inches deep into my flesh.
“Shit,” I groaned. I shrugged off my jacket and twisted it into a makeshift tourniquet. I gritted my teeth as I tied it around my leg, each knot adding yet another layer of pain.
The world was eerily silent when I glanced around again. No chatter. No sirens. No helicopters.
No one was coming to save - or kill - me.
Rage crawled up my throat like vomit. I couldn’t believe Logan would do something like this to me. To my father.
For most of my life, he was one of the most loyal and trustworthy people in the world. I had no idea he was nothing more than a snake waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
I grasped the straps of the bag still miraculously hooked around my shoulders and pushed them down. After pulling it onto my lap, I sifted through the compartments for my phone.
The screen had cracks in it, but the light of the screen still shone when I clicked on the side button.
Already, there were multiple missed calls, voicemails and texts from Gabriel and Isabelle.
I frowned as I scrolled through the call log. Nothing would feel better right now than hearing their voices, but I didn’t know what to say. Or if I could trust them.
Gabriel has worked with Logan behind my back before. Who’s to say he wasn’t doing it now? Did he know about Logan’s involvement with this arms dealer? Was Gabriel part of the corrupt clique too?
I didn’t know. And I couldn’t risk finding out.
Isabelle…I just didn’t know if there was anything I could say that wouldn’t break her heart. Logan was just as much an uncle-figure to her as he was to me. She’d be devastated to hear about what he’s done. What I’ve done that led me to finding those papers.
My fingers stopped at the sight of my mother’s name coated in red on the screen. Not once, but at least five times.
Curious, I clicked on the voicemail she left and held the phone to my ear.
“Simone,” her voice filled with something other than indifference for once cooed through my ears.
“Simone, please call me back. This can’t…
this can’t be true. I can’t…I can’t lose you too.
You’re all I… You’re all I have left. Please.
Please call me, so I can hear your voice.
So I can know this is nothing but a bad dream. ”
“What?” I mused aloud.
Pulling the phone away from my ear, I checked my string of text messages.
Gabriel
Please pick up the phone.
I need to hear your voice.
I need to know you’re okay.
Izzie
CALL ME BACK
Let me know this isn’t real
Tell me you aren’t dead
“Dead?” I whispered.
Is this what death felt like?
Cold, alone, and throbbing in pain?
Maybe not for those who are truly gone. Maybe this is reserved for those who only died on the inside.
I almost flopped back down into the dirt. If everyone thought I was dead, then there truly was no one I could call. Not without putting Logan back on my tail to finish me off.
Like my dad said in his letter, there wasn’t much I could do about the information he’d found. Who knew how deep the corruption within the agency ran? Telling someone else, potentially with more connections to the crimes being committed, could put me in even more danger.
Maybe…maybe this was for the best.
But, I still needed to find someplace warm and have my leg treated. That explosion may not have taken me out, but an infection surely will.
I rummaged through my bag again, another thought presenting itself. I didn’t particularly like it, but I didn’t have any other options.
I found the burner phone he’d given me and turned it on. Only one number was saved in the contacts.
Swallowing my pride, I hit the call button and held the phone to my ear. “Mateo,” I said the moment I heard the click connecting the other end. “I need your help.”