Story Saturday: Not- A-Spy-Writes

Showcasing Stories every Saturday for your reading pleasure. Over the next four weeks, we'll cover Not- A- Spy- Writes story called Don't Tell Me.

Don’t Tell Me - part one

After a series of suspected terrorist attacks rocks Berlin, Team Black is called in to find the culprits and stop the attacks before they get any worse. However, the enemy is closer than they think and with tensions on the team running higher than ever, it’ll be a race against the clock (and against basic human emotions) to save the day and keep the team intact. Warnings: mentions of terrorism, depictions of violence, mentions of bombs, explosions, guns, smoking, swearing and descriptions of panic and anxiety attacks. Word count for part one: 9,966 Author’s note: Hello and welcome! This is my very first time on Tumblr so please bear with me as I figure this out. This is part one of a several part series, so stay tuned for updates! Part two hopefully coming same time next week. Also, thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy! - not-a-spy ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Nils Karlessen chewed on his bottom lip, drumming his fingers anxiously on his desk. The line was still dead, five agents all not responding. Behind him, Henry Chalice paced, twisting his hands incessantly. The room wasn’t big enough for him to get more than a few steps before he had to turn around and start again. Nils ignored him, staring at his screens. After the explosion his GPS reading had been scrambled so he had no way of tracking any of them. “Vicky? Maurice? Come in please.” Nils tried again, struggling to keep his voice even. The radio signals must have been disrupted somehow; they’d be back in a moment. “Nothing?” Chalice stopped pacing, running his fingers through his dyed grey hair. “Not yet. Chalice don’t panic, let the dust settle first. They’ll respond in a minute.” “We should be over there!” Chalice’s voice shook with the emotions he had been trying to control. “No. We can do more here than we can out there. They’re all trained agents, they know what they’re doing. Just give them a minute.” “I don’t see how you can be so calm!” Chalice said, passing his hands over his face. He was shaking. Nils frowned sympathetically, spinning around to face him and wincing as his foot was squished into his desk. He sat up straighter, pushing his headphones off of his ears. “Because I’ve done this before. You can’t always think of the worst case scenario. They’ll be back. Sometimes the radios go down but they’ll be back.” “Nils! Do you copy?” As if to prove his point, a faint voice crackled from his headphones. He spun around, whipping them back on as he did so. “Adalie? Where are you?” “We’re,” she panted for breath, “we’re on Zimmerstraße, right outside the English school.” “We? Adalie, who’s we?” Nils asked, holding his palm out to stop Chalice from talking. Chalice wrung his hands desperately. “Cipriana’s with me. We’re both safe.” Adalie paused again. “She lost her earpiece, that’s why she couldn’t call you.” “Good. That’s excellent. You girls get back to the cars and head towards base. Have you seen Vicky and the boys?” “No. No, sorry Nils, we haven’t seen anyone. We’ll see you soon, depending how bad the traffic is.” The headphones went dead again and Nils shoved them off, spinning back around with a grin on his face. “The girls are okay! They’re headed back to the cars, they’ll probably be here within the hour. But we still haven’t heard from the boys or Vicky.” Chalice covered his mouth with his hands. He looked as if he was about to throw up. Nils reached out and took his wrist gently. “I’ll call them again, okay?” Chalice nodded. “Maurice, Vicky, come in please. Owens, come in please. If you can hear me, come in please.” Nils paused, waiting for a reply. The silence hovered. His extension rang and Chalice jumped violently. “Nils Karlessen, Interpol.” He listened intently, switching to German to reply to the paramedic on the other end. He frowned, then spoke again, his voice hard. Chalice looked at him, his eyes demanding answers but Nils shook his head. He knew what Chalice wanted to hear. Nils signed off sharply and then called again. “Maurice, come in.” “Nils.” The voice was strangled and tense. “Vicky’s hurt. I’ve called for a med team.” “I know. They just called me. Are you okay?” “Sure. Vicky’s unconscious, I, I don’t, I don’t know if she’s breathing, Nils, I…” “Okay, alright, Maurice I’m gonna need you to calm down, okay, take a deep breath and sit down. The med team is on their way, I just need you to hold on until they get there.” “Vicky’s unconscious, Nils, I…” “Maurice, I need you to take a deep breath, okay, the med team will be there in a sec. Sit down and take a deep breath before you go into shock, okay. You’ll be fine.” On the other end of the line, Maurice took a deep shaky breath. “Hang on Maurice, I’m getting another call. It’s probably the med team. I’m gonna have to put you on hold for a sec but I’ll be right back.” Nils said, his finger hovering over the transfer call button. “Okay.” Nils nodded involuntarily and pressed the transfer call button. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by the German voice on the other end. He listened intently for a second and nodded again before barking a few quick words and hanging up. Chalice frowned, moving to perch on the desk next to Nils’ makeshift computer set-up. “Maurice? The med team is right there, okay, they’ll take care of things from here.” “Yeah…yeah, I see them. Thanks Nils.” “No problem buddy, you take care of yourself. One last thing, you haven’t seen Owens, have you?” “Uhh, no. What about the girls?” “They’re fine, they’re headed back to base now. Thanks Maurice. We’ll see you later.” Nils signed off, pushing his headphones off of his ears and stared blankly at his screens. Four out of five agents were now all accounted for, but he had received nothing but radio silence from Owens and he was starting to get worried. There was no doubt that he was an excellent agent. If it were anyone else out there on their own, Nils would certainly be in a state of much greater panic, but if Owens had been capable of checking in, he would have. “Is Maurice alright?” Chalice asked. “Debatable. He’s shaken, maybe concussed even. Vicky’s unconscious but the med team should be there by now, so hopefully they’re on their way to the hospital. I’ll call in later and make sure she’s okay.” Nils turned to face him as he spoke. He knew exactly what was coming. “He’s dead, isn’t he?” Chalice’s voice was controlled and even, but Nils could hear the emotion wavering at the edge of it. “We don’t know that.” “That’s not a no.” Chalice said, his voice hard. “But it’s not a yes either. I have faith in him, Chalice. I’m sure he made it out of there okay.” “But then why hasn’t he reported in yet?” Chalice demanded, pushing himself off of Nils’ desk and beginning to pace the room again. “Adalie said that Cipriana had lost her earpiece. Maybe that’s what happened to Owens. It’s entirely possible,” Nils paused to fix his hair and was about to continue when the door to the office was thrown open and a young detective stormed in. “Can you tell me what the fuck is going on?” His english was heavily accented but clear. Nils glared at him. He continued, “There has been an explosion and countless tourists may be dead. I thought it was your job to stop this.” “There was no indication that there would be a bombing. Up until today, all these attacks have been shootings, you know that as well as I do.” Nils snapped, any hint of sympathy vanished from his face. “And I’ll have you know that two of my agents are injured and another is missing so if you don’t mind, I’ll do my job and you can go do yours.” Nils turned abruptly back towards his computer, leaving the detective fuming in the doorway. He stood there for several moments before turning and slamming the door closed behind him. ***** Owens watched the man standing on the other side of the road. Something was off about him, something that made it so he didn’t quite blend in with the crush of tourists surrounding him. He was average-looking, average height with blond hair and wearing a grey hoodie, but his movements had a furtive quality that Owens recognized immediately. That was how you moved when you knew someone was watching you. He tried to look nonchalant, leaning casually back against the wall of the building and pulling out his phone to disguise his earpiece. “Vicky, I’ve got a suspicious man across the street from me, wearing a grey hoodie and black jeans.” “Right.” She paused for a second. “Okay I got him. Why’s he suspicious to you?” “He looks shifty, like he’s afraid of being watched. And he’s got both hands in his pockets, which is never a good sign.” “Right. Has he seen you?” “No ma’am. Do you want me to keep an eye on him?” Owens asked, shifting his position against the wall as the man in the hoodie took a few steps down the street. “Yes, please do. I trust your instinct. Keep me updated Owens.” Vicky signed off and Owens slipped his phone back into his pocket. The man in the hoodie started to move suddenly, walking with small, quick steps away from the checkpoint down Friedrichstraße. Owens followed, a few steps behind on the opposite side of the road, his eyes fixed on the man’s retreating back. “Vicky, he’s on the move. He is walking north down Friedrichstraße. I’m going to follow him.” “Good. Stay safe.” The man in the hoodie picked up his pace, glancing furtively around him but not seeing Owens on the street behind him. Owens frowned. This team’s MO so far was shootings, driving into heavily trafficked areas and letting loose with a machine gun. This wasn’t matching up to that. Seeing a break in the traffic, Owens ran across the street, falling into step several paces behind the man. “Vicky.” Owens paused, turning to stare into a shop window as the man turned around in his direction. As he did, the man pulled out a cellphone. “They’ve got a bomb!” Owens broke into a sprint, dodging through the tourists as the man pressed a button on his phone. ***** “They’ve got a bomb!” Owens’ voice had lost its emotionless quality and was suddenly frantic. “What?” Vicky demanded, causing Maurice to look at her in concern. “Owens what do you mean?” The street exploded. A wave of unbearable heat swept over them, followed immediately by a wall of flame. Vicky dropped to the ground, dragging Maurice down by his sleeve, hitting the pavement as the shrapnel rained down over them. A large piece of wood hit Vicky over the head and she pitched forward onto the ground. Somewhere behind them, someone screamed, people running haphazardly in every which way around them. Maurice stayed where he was on the ground as destruction rained down around him, trying desperately to keep his breathing even. A second explosion shook the street and Maurice covered his head with his arms, doing his best to sink into the sidewalk. Vicky was still motionless on the ground next to him and from where he was he couldn’t even tell if she was breathing. The explosions seemed to have stopped and Maurice raised his head. People were still running around uselessly, screaming ringing over the street. Maurice clambered gingerly onto his knees, glancing around for any other members of the team. From where he was on the ground, he couldn’t see anyone other than Vicky. He crawled over to her, rolling her over to check her pulse when the museum exploded. Maurice was thrown flat from the blast, broken glass and building fragments showering down over him. He pressed himself further into the ground, feeling himself beginning to hyperventilate. He took a deep breath, clamping his hands tighter over the back of his head. The sharpnel kept coming this time, flaming pieces of building landing around him. After several more minutes of incessant shrapnel, the flaming rain stopped. He lay still, trying to keep his breath even. He kept his eyes to the earth until he felt that several minutes of silence had passed before daring to look up again. This time the street was silent and motionless, no one daring to breathe in the silence that followed the attacks. Eventually, he crawled over to where Vicky was lying. Through the dust and confusion he couldn’t tell if she was breathing or not. The only course of action would be to call a med team. The call was long and arduous, Maurice’s German inadequate to properly express himself amid the emotions running rampant inside him. Eventually he got through to them and managed to explain what he needed and they told him they’d be there soon. Not that he really knew what ‘soon’ meant. He lay on the pavement, still stunned by the explosion. People had started to run around again, yelling. His head ached with the screaming and he reached up to massage his temples. As he sat there, he heard an echoey voice in his ear. At first he assumed it was just another part of the rabble going on around him but then he recognized who was speaking. “Maurice, come in.” “Nils.” Maurice managed to choke out the name, taking a deep breath before trying to continue. “Vicky’s hurt. I’ve called for a med team.” “I know.” Nils’ voice was calm and reassuring, giving Maurice a chance to catch his breath. “They just called me. Are you okay?” He ran his fingers through his tangled hair. “Sure. Vicky’s unconscious, I, I don’t know if she’s breathing, Nils, I…” He trailed off, trying very hard not to burst into tears. He was a trained agent, his head shouldn’t feel this muddled. “Okay, alright, Maurice I’m gonna need you to calm down, okay, take a deep breath and sit down. The med team is on their way, I just need you to hold on until they get there.” “Vicky’s unconscious, Nils, I…” Maurice tried to explain, to make sense of what was happening but his thoughts were disordered and he trailed off again.” “Maurice, I need you to take a deep breath, okay, the med team will be there in a sec. Sit down and take a deep breath before you go into shock, okay. You’ll be fine.” Maurice nodded for no reason in particular, taking a deep shaky breath as he did so. “Hang on Maurice, I’m getting another call. It’s probably the med team. I’m gonna have to put you on hold for a sec but I’ll be right back.” Maurice wanted to ask him not to leave but he forced himself to stay calm. “Okay.” For a few moments the line was silent. Maurice looked over at Vicky, still lying on the pavement and his heart started to pound again. “Maurice?” Nils’ voice cut back into his thoughts. “The med team is right there, okay, they’ll take care of things from here.” Maurice glanced up and caught sight of an ambulance coming towards him. “Yeah…yeah, I see them. Thanks Nils.” “No problem buddy, you take care of yourself. One last thing, you haven’t seen Owens have you?” Maurice frowned, trying to think of the last time he’d seen Owens. “Uhh, no. What about the girls?” “They’re fine, they’re headed back to base now. Thanks Maurice. We’ll see you later.” Nils signed off abruptly and Maurice struggled to his feet to meet the med team. ***** “Why have they changed their MO?” Cipriana asked, her feet resting on the dashboard of Adalie’s car. “They’ve suddenly graduated from driving in and letting loose with machine guns to sophisticated bombs in two seperate buildings which are set to explode minutes apart. How does that happen?” Adalie sighed. “I have no idea. Maybe it’s someone else and we’re looking at two different perps.” “I don’t think so. It doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t make sense either way actually, because why change MO so suddenly and seemingly without provocation? I mean, we knew they’d be at Checkpoint Charlie but they can’t have known that. There’s no way.” “Well, I think we have to assume that they did know, if they are in fact the same people. And if they did, then they probably planted those bombs to try and kill us off.” Cipriana frowned. “And maybe it worked, for one of us anyways.” “You think Owens is dead?” Adalie asked. “Well, what else could have happened? I mean, I know none of us know him very well but he’s a bloody competent agent, if he was capable of checking in he would have.” Cipriana said, waving her hand out of the open window. “Suppose that they did know we were coming. There would have had to be a leak somewhere on our end to inform them that we would be there, right? And all of us have checked in, and besides, we’ve known each other for ages. So it would only be logical to assume that the newest member, and coincidentally the only one who’s missing, is the mole.” “There could be a reasonable explanation. Maybe he lost his earpiece. Or maybe they caught him somehow. And as for the mole theory, we are collaborating with the police. One of them could have leaked it.” “Hmmm.” Adalie glared out the windscreen at nothing in particular. “I guess you could have a point.” “Or it could be Chalice!” Cipriana said. “He could be calling the shots from behind the scenes, and what a great way of assuring you aren’t caught in the explosion!” “I don’t know. I rather like Chalice, which doesn’t exonerate him, but makes me less inclined to believe it’s him.” “It’s a good cover! But I agree, I don’t really think it’s Chalice either. Not that I think it’s Owens, for that matter.” “You always want to see the best in people, don’t you?” “What’s wrong with that? We couldn’t have two pessimists on this team, always thinking there’s a mole somewhere.” Cipriana laughed and took a sip of her iced coffee. “Do you know why Owens left MI-6?” “Of course not! Only Nils knows that shit about us.” Adalie shuddered. “Yeah I hate to think what he could dig up on us. But there are other ways of obtaining information. I know some of the girls over there and there was a massive scandal a few years back, in 2015, I believe, and he was suspected of selling names. Well, he disappeared for a few years, supposedly dead and then turned up again in 2018.” Cipriana raised her eyebrows at her. “2015? Wasn’t that the year MI-6 tried to pull off that WBFC takedown?” “Yeah. Owens was one of the agents involved.” “But they caught the mole! It wasn’t Owens, it was some other dude.” “I know. But there was always a theory that there were two moles. Owens did go back to work for MI-6 for a while after he returned from the ‘dead’ but he quit not long after and came to work here.” “That’s terribly anti-climactic! I thought you were going to tell me they kicked him out or something.” Cipriana said. “Well that’s just the official version. We don’t actually know what happened.” Adalie added pointedly. “You should quit Interpol. I’m sure you could make an absolute killing as a conspiracy theorist.” Cipriana smirked. Adalie wacked her in the shoulder and Cipriana made a face. “Hey!” “I don’t know about Owens, Cipriana. He’s a bloody good agent, but I’m not sure about him.” “He’s just shy! That doesn’t mean that he’s a traitor. I can’t believe he’d sell us out. I mean, why would he? I can’t believe he’s the kind of guy who would put people in danger for money. It’s ridiculous.” “Maybe it is. But maybe not.” ***** “Is he still not answering?” Chalice demanded, handing Nils a large iced coffee as he slammed back into the office. Nils shook his head. “I’ve been trying every five minutes and I’ve still got nothing. The earpiece is either dead or it’s fallen out and gotten destroyed, otherwise I’d be getting some kind of feedback.” “Fuck.” “But that means there’s a good chance he’s still alive. For now, we need to worry about something else. Why did they change from shooting to bombing?” “They knew we were coming and had a higher chance of killing some of us with a bomb.” Chalice said, regaining some kind of composure. “If they had stayed with the shooting it would have been much easier for us to catch them.” “Good point. But who tipped them off?” Nils mused, his fingers flying over his keyboard. “What are you looking at?” Chalice asked, setting down his own coffee and leaning over the back of Nils’ chair. “The records of all the police officers involved in our investigation. Oh!” Nils’ fingers stopped, hovering just above his keyboard. “What is it?” “This dude, Eberhard Seidel, his files are locked. I’m not allowed entry.” “But you’re going to get in anyways?” “You bet your ass I am.” Nils smirked, his fingers resuming their dance over his keyboard. Chalice perched himself on the empty desk next to Nils and drank his coffee while he watched Nils work. It was impressive, the amount of information he could get out of five minutes of sitting at his computer. “That’s interesting.” Nils said, frowning at his screen, his fingers still flying over the keys. “What is?” “His files are classified by the BND. Which isn’t an issue, but is intriguing.” “German secret service?” Chalice paused, taking another sip of his coffee. “Is he one of their agents, d’you think?” “That’s a more pleasant thought than the idea that there’s a suspected terrorist in the German police force.” “Can you get through the BND security?” “Is water wet?” Nils asked, not glancing away from his screens. “I just need a minute to crack it.” Chalice cracked a smile for the first time since the bombs had gone off. If anyone could hack the German secret service, it would be Nils. There was a rumour that the reason he had been hired was because he’d hacked the Interpol server at age 16. Chalice wasn’t sure if it was true, but he didn’t doubt that it could be. “Okay! I have bad news. Our man Eberhard was arrested on terrorism charges when he was a minor, which explains why it doesn’t show on his record.” “So the police have a possible terrorist on their staff? Absolutely fucking wonderful.” “It gets worse! He’s not just any police officer.” “Oh don’t tell me.” Chalice groaned, burying his face in his hands. “He just so happens to be the son of the Chief Constable.” “Somehow that’s worse than I thought. Fuck, this is a mess and a half.” “Agreed.” Nils said. “There’s nothing in here about what his motives were, unfortunately. I’m not seeing anything about links to known terrorist organizations or anything like that.” “I guess we’ll have to figure that out, won’t we?” Chalice asked. Nils smirked. “I suppose we will. More importantly, we need to figure out where they’re going to strike next. Major events going on in Berlin, protests, government shit, stuff like that. Where will have the highest body count? We know they’ve graduated to bombs now so we can’t assume that they’ll go back from that, so it could be a…a…function or a…” “A ball, perhaps?” Nils spun around violently, jamming his feet on the floor to stop himself from flying back into his desk. “A ball?” “Yeah. Some fancy dress ball, I think it’s a political fundraiser of some kind.” Chalice said. “I keep seeing posters for it.” “Chalice you are a genius.” Nils said, spinning back around in his chair and resuming his furious typing. “This Saturday. Hotel Adlon Kempinski Berlin. That’s not in the center of town but its five-star and bloody expensive. And based on the guestlist, it’s gonna be packed, full of big names too.” “My supposed genius doesn’t help us much if we have two agents in hospital and one MIA. This thing’s gonna be huge. The four of us can’t handle it ourselves, there’s no way.” “We can try! Maurice should be out of hospital by then, and hopefully we’ll have found Owens, so we should just be down Vicky and if not I have some favours I could call in, which would mean someone could take over this job and I could be in the field with the other guys.” “You have field training?” “Naturally. And I can shoot.” “That’s not fair! I’m still waiting to take my field training course and I can’t shoot.” Nils laughed. “Oh I know it’ll work out in the end. Besides, you don’t need field training to help save the world! You really want to run around out there with those guys?” “You know I do.” “Because you think you’ll be able to keep a closer eye on him if you’re out there too, is that it?” Nils turned to face him, twirling his pen expectantly between his fingers. Chalice stared at him defiantly. “Of course not. He can look after himself.” “Which is why you’re so worried?” “Well he can’t very well look after himself if he’s dead.” Chalice snapped, jumping off of Nils’ desk and beginning to pace again. Nils rolled his eyes. “You shouldn’t worry about him so much. He can handle himself.” “You think I don’t know that?” Chalice demanded, not stopping his pacing. “I…I just worry about him. He’s not how he used to be back in MI-6.” Nils frowned sympathetically. “Chalice, I know both of you went through some shit, but seriously, he can handle himself. Nothing good comes from worrying about him. It’s pointless, it just stresses you out.” “You’re telling me you don’t worry about Nikki?” Nils sighed. “That’s different and you know it. As it stands right now, you’re just friends and it’s going to stay that way unless you do something about it.” He turned back to his screens, pushing a button on his headphones as he did so. “Owens, it’s Nils. Come in please.” There was silence. No static, or faint heartbeats, or background noise. Just pure silence. “The earpiece is dead or destroyed. Meaning it’s likely that it isn’t attached to him anymore, so his chances are pretty good. I’ll call his work cell, maybe he’ll pick up on that number. Gimme a sec.” Chalice waited impatiently, wringing his hands and trying to suppress the urge to start pacing again. Nils watched him in the reflection of his computer screens as Owens’ phone kept ringing. It stopped with an automated voice telling him he’d reached Theodore Owens but he wasn’t available right now. There was no personal message, which was pretty standard for agents. Nils didn’t bother leaving a message. “No reply I’m afraid. The emergency crews are moving in now so if he’s there, they’ll find him. I promise.” Chalice opened his mouth to protest but thought better of it. There was nothing he could say now that he hadn’t said before. Nils was probably right, Owens was probably alive somewhere running after the guys who had caused this mess in the first place. ***** The second Owens started running, the street exploded behind him. The ground shook, pieces of rubble flying past his head, but he managed to keep his balance and kept sprinting. The man in the hoodie had seen him by now and took off running, throwing the detonator into the street as he ran. Around them people screamed, some running in every direction, others just standing still. The man in the hoodie dodged through them recklessly, shoving people aside when they didn’t move out of his way. Owens followed, gaining on him quickly, his right hand reaching back for his gun. The man in the hoodie noticed the movement and dodged down an alleyway, Owens’ feet nearly sliding out from under him as he followed. “Stop!” Owens yelled, flicking off his gun’s safety. The man didn’t so much as slow down, yelling something in German over his shoulder. Owens didn’t understand, but didn’t like the sound of it anyways. He took the risk of glancing over his shoulder, doing so just in time to see a woman barreling at him from behind. He dodged sideways, firing his gun at her as he did so. He missed. She didn’t, careening into him at full speed and throwing him against the wall as the man in the hoodie switched directions and began walking towards them. Owens shoved her off of him and she stumbled backwards, cursing at him in German. Owens leveled his gun at her but the man slammed into him from behind and he went down hard. The gun flew from his hand, skittering across the ground. He rolled over, reaching for it but the woman kicked it away, leaving him completely unarmed. He struggled onto his elbows, making to get up but the man aimed a sharp kick at his face and he fell back to the ground, momentarily disoriented. “Who is he?” A third figure demanded, emerging from the shadows behind the man. Owens sat up with difficulty, his head spinning from the blow. The woman made a move to shove him back down again but was stopped at a sign from the figure in the shadows. “We don’t know.” She responded curtly. “He followed me from the checkpoint. We do not know who he is.” The figure stepped into the light and Owens’ heart dropped. It was Eberhard Seidel. He was one of the police officers that they had been working with, but Owens suspected he wasn’t there on police business. “Ah. Agent Owens, is it not?” Eberhard said, looking at him for a moment before turning to the man. “Shoot him.” “You’re in trouble Seidel.” Owens rasped, his hand clutching at the stone wall as he attempted to stand up. Blood poured from his nose and the world spun around him as he hoisted himself to his feet. For a moment he thought he was about to faint but the shadows retreated from the edges of his vision. “I do not think so.” He smiled, throwing his arms wide. “Only you have seen me, and you will be dead soon.” “My team is smarter than you think.” Owens said as Eberhard turned and began walking away. “My records are sealed!” He crowed triumphantly over his shoulder. Despite the pain, Owens managed a smirk. “Have you met our tech analyst? He can get into anything.” When I said ‘shoot him’ I meant now!” Eberhard yelled at the man in the hoodie. The man grimaced and went for his gun. Owens lunged for him, sending him flying backwards into the other wall of the alley. He fell to the ground and Owens was about to run for it when he heard the safety of a gun click right behind his head. He had forgotten about the woman. ***** “How you doin’ buddy?” Chalice asked, standing in the doorway of Maurice’s hospital room. “Fine. I’d be a lot better if they’d let me out of here. There’s nothing wrong with me.” Chalice grinned, moving into the room and sitting down in the chair next to Maurice’s bed. “I wasn’t aware you were a doctor in your free time.” “I don’t need to be a doctor to know that I’m perfectly fine.” Maurice shot back, sitting up in the hospital bed. “They’re just worried that you’re in shock. That was one hell of an explosion Maurice, I was rather worried about you myself.” “I’m honoured. How are the girls?” “Adalie and Cipriana were on their way back to base the last time I heard. Vicky is awake now, they’re running some tests and they think she has a concussion but she’ll be okay.” “That’s good.” Maurice said. “What about Owens? When I talked to Nils it sounded like you guys weren’t sure where he was.” Chalice paused for a second, his eyes fixed intently on the ground. When he spoke again, his voice was measured and even, as if he was trying not to betray some intense emotion. “He still hasn’t checked in yet. You’re sure you didn’t see him before the explosion?” Maurice frowned, trying to remember. “I didn’t see him but Vicky was talking to him right before the bomb went off. She…she seemed surprised about something and asked what he meant but then, it exploded.” Chalice frowned. “You didn’t hear what he said?” “No. It just wasn’t something she expected him to say.” Maurice watched Chalice’s face carefully. He was staring absently into the middle distance, his brow furrowed in concern. “Has Nils told you what we found out?” Chalice asked, snapping out of his reverie. “Nope. I have heard nothing.” “We think Eberhard Seidel is involved, that he’s feeding information to the group.” “Eberhard Seidel, isn’t he the Chief Constable’s son?” “Uh huh. One and the same.” “Shit. That’s not good.” “No it most certainly is not. Nils managed to get into his files and found out that Seidel was connected to suspected terrorist activity when he was a minor. I guess his dad must have helped him cover it up and gotten him a job.” Chalice said. “Christ.” Maurice passed a hand over his face. “What are we gonna do?” “There’s a ball happening this Saturday that we think is gonna be their next target so we’re going to be there. And we’ll be prepared this time. Bring in the bomb squad, whatever it takes to catch these assholes.” “Even down two agents? I mean, I’ll be there, for sure, but with Vicky concussed and Owens…” Maurice trailed off. Owens had to be dead, didn’t he? Well, there was of course another alternative, but there was no way he would ever voice it to Chalice. Chalice swallowed hard. “We’ll manage. Nils said he’s got a few favours he can call in and, worst comes to worst, he can always join you guys in the field.” “Yeah.” Maurice frowned. “Hey, are you alright? You don’t sound too hot.” “I’m fine. I’m just a little worried about Owens.” Maurice opened his mouth to talk but Chalice cut him off. “And I know, I know, he can handle himself I just, I can’t help it.” “I get that. And I know you don’t want to hear this, but I’m sure he’ll be fine. You MI-6 boys have a way of getting yourselves out of tricky situations.” Maurice laughed, then grimaced from the pain. “I thought you said you were absolutely fine?” Chalice smiled. “You sure you’re gonna be okay for Saturday?” “Yes, I’ll be fine.” Maurice said determinedly. “You guys are gonna need my help.” “We need you alive for the long term and going into a dangerous situation while still in shock will not help that cause.” “I’m not in shock!” Maurice protested loudly. “I’m fine!” Chalice laughed. “Sure you are. Anyways Maurice, I’ve got to get back to Nils but I’ll see you later. He’ll probably swing by and bring you a coffee or something.” “Hopefully I’ll be out of here by then.” “I know, I know, you’re fine. But look after yourself anyways. See ya.” “See you!” Chalice slipped quietly out of the room and down the hallway. Halfway down, he stopped and pulled out his phone. He shouldn’t. It could quite easily put Owens in more danger than he was probably already in. He knew better. He dialed anyways. The phone rang for an excruciatingly long period of time and Chalice started to fidget. He wasn’t going to pick up and Chalice knew that. This had been a bad idea. “This is not a good time.” Owens panted. He sounded terrible but he sounded alive and right now that was all that mattered. Chalice couldn’t talk for a few seconds, and when he regained his voice all he could manage was a weak laugh. “Really? I thought now was a perfect time for a quick chat.” “Honestly Chalice,” Owens breathed heavily, “you’re terrible. And yes, I’m fine. Where are you?” “At the hospital with Maurice. You need me to come pick you up?” Owens managed a laugh. “You can’t drive. Get the police to come pick me up. But not Seidel!” “Oh fuck you know about him too?” “Yes. He just tried to shoot me.” “Shit, Owens!” “I’m fine! Just get the police to pick me up.” Owens stopped for breath. “I’m back in the police zone now so he can’t get me here. Just get someone to pick me up and I’ll see you later. Don’t worry.” The line went dead and Chalice took a deep breath of relief. He was safe. And he was fine enough to crack jokes, which was a good sign. He caught himself smiling and stopped, shoving his hands into his pockets before walking out of the hospital to dial the police station. ***** “Hey Nils!” Cipriana said cheerfully, waving at him through his office door. “How goes it?” “Oh!” Nils spun around in his chair, his headphones falling off as he slammed to a stop. “Hey! I didn’t expect you back so soon.” “She wanted to stop for more coffee but I wouldn’t let her.” Adalie said. “Where’s Chalice?” Nils laughed. “Coffee deprivation is no joke. Chalice went to the hospital to check on Maurice and Vicky. He should be well on his way back by now.” “Oh? How are they?” Cipriana asked. “Uhhh, last I heard Maurice is sure that he’s fine and Vicky has a concussion but she should be okay.” Nils said. “That’s good!” Cipriana grinned. “Any word from Owens yet?” “Hi.” Cipriana and Adalie wheeled round in astonishment, almost falling over as they spotted Owens standing in the doorway. He looked absolutely terrible, his face bloody and his hair matted, but he managed to have a slight smile on his face. Nils laughed. “Welcome back. Shouldn’t you be in hospital?” Owens laughed. “I’m fine, it’s just a broken nose.” “You sound like Maurice. I still want you checked for a concussion asap.” Nils paused for a second, staring at him intently. “Have you spoken to Chalice? He’s worried about you.” “Yeah, he called me.” “He what?” Adalie snapped. “That’s strictly against protocol.” “Oh give him a break Adalie, the boy was worried.” Nils said. “He could have put him in more danger!” Adalie spun to face Nils. “It’s reckless!” “But he didn’t put me in danger.” Owens said patiently. “Yes, it was against protocol, but we’ve been through a lot in the past few years and it’s understandable that he got worried. Please, cut him some slack this time.” Nils looked at the back of Owens’ head, his eyebrows raised. Adalie huffed. “Let it go!” Cipriana grinned, playfully punching her in the shoulder. Adalie frowned before nodding reluctantly. “Fine. I’ll let it go.” She frowned, wondering if maybe Owens and Chalice were in this together. “Have you girls had the update yet?” Nils asked, quickly changing the subject. “No, what update?” Cipriana asked. Nils glanced around suspiciously and motioned for Owens to close the door. Owens did. “So, Chalice and I were thinking after the explosion, and we decided that someone must have leaked information to the group.” Nils paused. Adalie shot a pointed look at Owens, who didn’t notice. Cipriana did, however, and kicked her in the ankle. “So, naturally,” Nils continued, “I did some digging into the police officers we’ve been working with and I got something.” “Oh?” Cipirana asked. “Eberhard Seidel’s files were locked, and by the BND no less.” “Isn’t he the chief’s son?” Cipriana asked. “Why would his files be locked?” “Well, it turns out he was arrested on terrorist charges when he was a minor. My guess is, dad sealed up his record for him so he could still get into the force.” “Fuck.” said Adalie, agressively throwing her empty coffee cup into the garbage bin. “Where is he now?” “Last seen a few blocks away from the scene of the explosion.” Owens said. “He tried to get his minions to shoot me. Needless to say, that plan didn’t quite pan out.” Nils laughed, then his face turned serious again. “‘His minions?’ Owens, do you think he’s in charge of this?” “Almost certainly. The people he was with treated him with, I wouldn’t say respect exactly, it was like they were scared of him.” “What do we do?” Cipriana asked. “Should we tell the chief? I mean, his son tried to shoot Owens.” “No we can’t tell the chief yet.” Nils sighed. “And besides, he didn’t actually try and shoot Owens, he got someone else to do that. This guy is smart. No, I say we let him be for now. There’s a ball this Saturday, some sort of political fundraiser and we expect them to hit there next.” “So what?” Adalie demanded. “We’re going to let them blow all those people up?” “We set them up.” Owens said quietly. “We let Seidel think that we think that they’re going to hit somewhere else. If they think that they’re going to get away with it, they won’t expect us.” “And they might slip up!” Cipriana added. “Yeah.” Nils mused, starting to twirl his pen again. “But that means we won’t have any help with the take-down itself. It’ll be just our team. If we’re keeping this from Seidel, we’ll have to keep it from everyone so no one blabs.” “Why don’t we contact the BND?” Owens asked. “There’s no way that we can take these guys out with just the six of us, assuming Maurice will be out of hospital by then.” “Five.” Adalie corrected. “Chalice isn’t an agent.” “You’re right, Owens. I’ll call the BND, I’ve got a few guys there who still owe me a favour.” Nils turned to Adalie. “Chalice can help me out in the van. Or we can send him in to relay information back to me. Don’t be so stuffy.” She frowned, but didn’t say anything. “Okay! We’ll get started on figuring out a plan for Saturday. We’ll make sure not to let any of the police hear our plans.” Cipriana said cheerfully, putting her hand on the doorknob. “Sounds good, I’ll get on the phone.” Adalie, Cipriana and Owens made for the door but Nils stopped them. “Not you, Owens, you’re going to the hospital. I want you checked up.” Owens sighed, leaning his head back against the doorframe. “I’m fine Nils, I’ve survived worse than a broken nose.” “I don’t care.” Nils said, deliberately holding Owens’ gaze. “You could be concussed.” “I can figure that out later rather than wasting valuable time hanging around at the hospital.” Owens said. Cipriana snorted with laughter, holding a hand over her mouth in a fruitless attempt to disguise it as a cough. “Oh so you’re going to wait until you pass out? I don’t think so.” “It’s not that bad.” “Do you have a headache?” Nils asked. “Do I…” Owens paused, tilting his head to one side, “do I have a headache? Yes, of course I have a headache Nils, I was kicked in the face.” Nils frowned. “Please look after yourself.” Owens’ voice softened. “I will.” “Fine.” Nils sighed in defeat. “I’ll see you later.” Owens slipped quietly out of Nils’ office, closing the door gently behind him. His head was throbbing, and the panic he had been trying so hard to keep down was threatening to break free. As he headed towards the bathrooms, he still had blood covering his face from his broken nose, he stopped at Chalice’s desk. There was always a bottle of extra-strength Tylenol in his top drawer, even if they weren’t in their own office. He rifled through the drawer, finding the bottle easily and emptying three pills into the palm of his hand. He swallowed them quickly and moved to the bathroom to clean the blood off his face. ***** “What do you mean ‘he got away?’” Seidel demanded, stomping out his cigarette angrily. “I told you to shoot him! Elske, now we are fucked! I told you to shoot the fucker for a reason, he knows who I am!” Chalice flattened himself back against the wall just out of Seidel’s view, his own cigarette dangling from his fingers. He couldn’t hear what the person on the other end of the phone said, but Seidel definetly wasn’t pleased. “Of course we’re going ahead with it! They don’t know the plan yet and we’re going to make sure that they don’t find out.” Chalice smirked, quickly glancing back towards the main doors before taking a drag of his cigarette. He wasn’t supposed to be smoking but he wasn’t going to let that stop him. “Yes, of course I’m going to try and mislead them. One of the dudes comes out here to smoke, I’ll feed him some bullshit story or other.” There was a pause and Chalice took another quick drag. “You better be fucking sorry! You fucked this up Elske and don’t think I’m going to forget that. The boss won’t be too pleased either.” Chalice frowned. Who was the boss, he wondered. That was something that they hadn’t been able to work out from the beginning, who was behind this whole operation. They had assumed that it was Seidel but apparently that wasn’t the case. Seidel cursed something in German and hung up, stomping angrily around the small smoking area. Chalice waited. He didn’t want him to think that he had been listening this whole time. After a suitable amount of time had passed, Chalice slipped around the corner, cigarette between his lips, phone in hand. He didn’t talk, just leaning back against the wall nonchalantly. “Your team okay?” Seidel asked him. Chalice glanced up. “Oh, uh, not really. Two are in hospital and last I heard one more was missing.” Chalice turned back to his phone, not wanting to initiate the conversation. “Oh.” Seidel hasn’t been expecting that. “I’m sorry to hear that.” Chalice shrugged, not raising his eyes. His teammate was supposed to be missing, he wasn’t about to blow his cover by being too chatty. “Let’s hope he’s not dead.” Seidel swallowed hard. “I’m sure he’s fine. What are your next steps?” There it was. “We think they’re going to hit the big shopping mall next, probably this Thursday, since they’re hosting an event there.” It was a well-rehearsed lie, one that Nils had sent him on his way back from the hospital. He could have sworn he saw a smirk cross Seidel’s lips for a second before he pulled back on his mask. “Of course. We were warned that they might try a mall next.” That was absolute bullshit and Chalice tried not to laugh. Did he really think he could fool the whole team? Him, sure, Chalice had been mistaken for an idiot enough times to know how to play the game, but Owens and Adalie were much too smart to be played. Surely Seidel must know that. “Yeah. It’s a pretty common target for terrorists.” Chalice put a little too much emphasis on the last word and watched Seidel squirm. “We’re going to brief your men later, three days isn’t a lot of time to get ready for something so big.” “Of course.” Seidel nodded. Chalice stamped out his cigarette, glancing around furtively to make sure none of the team was watching. Seidel noticed. “Are you not supposed to be smoking?” He asked, as they started back inside the building. “No I am not.” Chalice laughed. “I’d be grateful if you didn’t tell anyone.” “Of course.” Seidel nodded. They split directions as they re-entered the building, exchanging curt nods. Seidel seemed to think that they were friends, which was good. Seidel thought that he was playing Chalice, when it was actually the other way around. Chalice glanced around the area of the office that the team was occupying. Owens wasn’t around that he could see and he frowned. Where was he? He should have been back by now. Still frowning, he wandered into Nils’ office. Nils looked up as he walked in. “Can you go check on your boy please? He went to the bathroom about 15 minutes ago and I’m a little worried.” “He’s back?” Chalice asked. “Yeah. I think he might be concussed but he’s refusing to see a doctor.” Chalice smiled sadly. “Yeah, that’s Owens for you. I’ll go make sure he’s okay.” Chalice quietly pushed the door to the bathroom open. It wasn’t locked, which was a good sign, and Chalice slipped inside. Owens was on his elbows over the sink, his forehead leaning against the mirror. He looked terrible, his face covered in blood, his nose obviously broken. Chalice leant against the door, waiting for Owens to notice him. He didn’t, his breath coming in short pants and gasps. “You good?” Chalice asked quietly. Owens shook his head, forehead still resting against the mirror. “Just..just give me a second Chalice.” “Okay. But I’m not going anywhere.” Owens didn’t protest. They had done this enough times before to know the routine. Chalice waited as Owens collected himself. He pulled himself up, turning around and sitting on the counter. He pushed his hair out of his eyes. “I…” Owens stopped. “I’m sorry. That encounter with Seidel shook me a little.” “That’s understandable.” Chalice said, keeping his voice gentle. “I thought the attacks had stopped?” Owens didn’t say anything, hanging his head. “Hey, it’s alright. I’d just like to know, that’s all. So I can help.” Chalice was struggling to keep his tone even now but he fought it. “You worry too much.” Owens’ voice was barely a whisper and he refused to look Chalice in the eyes. Chalice bit his lip to stop himself from saying something he was going to regret. He paused, unsure of how to proceed. “It’s for your own good.” Chalice said. His voice was still gentle but he spoke with renewed confidence, none of which he felt. “You need someone to look after you sometimes.” “Yeah.” Owens mumbled. “Get yourself washed up.” Chalice said gently. “Nils is expecting you back. D’you want me to stay with you?” Owens shook his head and turned back to the sink to wash his face. “Okay. I’ll tell Nils you’re okay.” Chalice slid quietly out of the bathroom. Owens wasn’t okay, not that he would ever admit that to anyone, but Chalice didn’t know how to help anymore. If Owens didn’t want his help, then there was nothing he could do. ***** “Is he okay?” Nils asked as Chalice walked into his office. “He doesn’t seem to be concussed, if that’s what you’re asking.” Chalice sighed, sitting on the desk next to Nils and covering his face with his hands. “Ah.” “You know about the attacks?” Chalice asked, lowering his hands. “Yeah. He had to undergo a psych evaluation when he joined and he disclosed the attacks then. I asked him about them and he said he could handle it.” Chalice sighed. “Typical. He told me they had stopped.” “He’s probably ashamed of it. You know him better than I do, Chalice, but I can tell that he’s the kind of guy who would rather suffer in silence than admit he needs help. I wouldn’t take it personally. ” He nodded. “I know. I just wish he could trust me.” Nils sighed. “Give him some time. Anyways!” Nils clapped his hands together and stood up. “We need to brief our team before we speak to the police officers.” “I spoke to Seidel earlier.” Chalice said, following Nils out of his office and towards the conference room where the remaining members of the team were. “I started feeding him that story you told me.” Nils frowned at him. “I thought I smelled smoke on you. Good job with Seidel though.” “Thank you. He thinks that we’re friends now, so he’s more willing to trust me. Oh, and Nils?” Chalice stopped just outside the conference room. “Please don’t tell Owens about the smoking.” “No, I won’t.” Nils sighed, pushing the door open. Adalie, Cipriana, Maurice and Owens were sitting around a round table in the middle of the room. Nils looked at Owens as he walked in and mouthed the words “you okay?” Owens nodded unconvincingly. He still looked shaky and uncertain, his hair falling messily into his eyes. Nils wondered just how bad the attacks were. In all honesty, he should probably recommend that Owens undergo another psych evaluation, take him out of the field for a while before something went badly wrong, but he couldn’t help but think of that as a kind of betrayal. Nils sighed and walked into the room behind Chalice, closing the door after him. “So,” Nils started, as everyone else sat down. “Despite the fact that we are currently down an agent, we’re moving ahead with plans to make our move on Saturday. Maurice, are you sure you’ll be good?” “I’ll be fine!” Maurice said. “They discharged me after a few hours, Nils, there’s nothing wrong with me.” “Okay, fine, so you’ll be there for Saturday. Vicky has a concussion and certainly won’t be able to help us. I’ve called in some friends from the BND, I’m going over there later to debrief them before we talk to the police.” “Will all of us be in the field?” Owens asked. He was pale, and his voice wavered, but no one except Nils and Chalice seemed to notice. “Yup, everyone except me. I’ll be in the van, directing from behind the scenes as usual.” Nils said, meeting Adalie’s exasperated gaze. “Really? You think that’s a good idea?” “We need all the help we can get.” Owens replied quietly. Nils nodded. “He’s right. It won’t be an issue.” Adalie frowned, but didn’t say anything. “So,” Nils leant forward over the table, lowering his voice, “we all know about Seidel, correct?” Everyone nodded, and Nils noticed that Owens’ hand instinctively went to his broken nose. “Because of him, this stays between us. The official story is that we believe the group are going to attack the mall on Thursday. There will be an armed response and we’ll be there too, but when nothing happens we’ll say we were called back to London and gave up the case as a bad job, except me, of course, because I have to stay and look after Vicky.” “Right!” said Cipriana. “And where are we going? Not back to London?” Nils laughed. “Of course not. No, you’ll go to the airport, hang around for a few hours and then come back, all leaving at different times. You’ll be staying at various hotels around the city until Saturday.” “Will we have contact with each other?” Chalice asked. “Of course you will, we won’t be in deep cover, just making sure we aren’t obvious. We’ll be meeting pretty much daily as well, this thing is going to take a lot of coordination to pull off properly. My friends over at the BND have agreed to let us use a room in their basement for this.” Adalie arched an eyebrow. “You seem to have a lot of ‘friends’ at the BND.” Nils laughed. “I did them a favour once. For legal reasons, I can’t tell you what.” Chalice frowned at him suspiciously. “Legal reasons as in it’s covered by the official secrets act or legal reasons as in the favour was illegal?” “That would be giving the game away.” Nils winked at him. “Anyways, this is not the issue at hand. We will be briefing the police on the mall plan tomorrow, I’ve already typed up a vague action plan for the ‘take-down.’ Adalie, since Vicky isn’t here, I want you to look the plan over and then bring it to the chief for finalization. You and Chalice will lead the briefing tomorrow as well.” Adalie nodded. Chalice’s eyes widened in surprise. “Wait, why me?” “It is your job!” Cipriana laughed. Chalice rolled his eyes playfully. “She has a point!” Nils grinned. “And you’ve already approached Seidel with the plan, so I think he’s more likely to trust you than one of us.” “Okay, I get that, but you know the plan much better than I do.” “Ah. Well, since I’m the only one who’s staying behind, they can’t think that I’m at all useful to the team. If they know that I’m, well, not ‘in charge’ exactly, but giving instructions, then they might be suspicious when I stay behind.” “Okay, makes sense.” Chalice sighed. “Cipriana, I want you to help out with that as well, but Chalice and Adalie will be in charge.” Nils continued. “Owens, Maurice and I are going to start with our plan for Saturday. You two will be over at the BND tomorrow, I’ll introduce you and you can get started.” “Won’t that look suspicious?” Maurice asked. “If two agents just don’t show up.” “Not at all. You two are both supposed to be on medical leave and that’s the cover you’ll be working under.” “Ah. Right. As if we would ever actually be granted medical leave. I thought our covers were supposed to be realistic?” Nils laughed. “Careful what you say, Maurice, if you want to keep your job.” “Oh no. What are they gonna do, replace me?” Maurice said sarcastically. “With what agents?” Cipriana laughed, and even Adalie managed to crack a smile. Owens remained silent, his eyes fixed on the middle distance. Nils wasn’t entirely sure if he had heard a word of the briefing. He would have to pull him aside some time and get him to talk. “Are we good to go Nils?” Maurice asked. “It’s already almost 11pm and I would like to sleep tonight.” “Oh shit, is that the time? Yeah, for sure you guys, go back to the hotel and get some rest, it’s been one hell of a day. Maurice and Owens, I want you guys to meet me at the BND building at 7am tomorrow morning. The rest of you, here at 9am. I’ll see you guys then!” Nils stood at the head of the table, sifting through his files as the team streamed out. Everyone looked tired and tense, except maybe Cipriana, who had had enough iced coffee to power a small country. Owens was the last to leave. “Hey.” Nils said, once they were alone in the room. Chalice had gone to grab his coat, promising to wait for Owens and to walk him back to the hotel. “Are you sure you’re up for this?” “I will be.” Owens mumbled. “I just need a good night’s sleep.” “It’s okay if you aren’t, Owens. There’s no shame in that. If you need anything, you need to tell someone. We can’t have you breaking down.” Owens sighed heavily, passing a shaky hand over his face. “I know. I’ve been going to my psychologist pretty regularly, but we’ve been out of town so I haven’t been for a few weeks.” That was good news, at least. “Are you on anything? For the attacks?” Nils asked. “No.I…I couldn’t get a prescription and keep working.” Owens looked up, and Nils could tell he was trying to fight back tears. “I know it sounds stupid, Nils, but this job is everything I have. If I lose it, I’m sure everything will get worse.” “Jesus.” Nils muttered. “I get it, Owens. But you need a break from this. I know you don’t want to stop working because you’re scared it’s going to get worse, but if you keep working I’m scared you’re going to break down eventually.” Owens shrugged. “Okay, I’ll let you get back to the hotel. But promise me you’ll look after yourself, or at least let Chalice look after you.” Nils said, putting the last of his papers into his messenger bag. “Yeah, I will. Thanks, Nils.” “No problem. I’m always around if you need anything, Owens, and I mean that.” Owens nodded, grabbing his stuff and walking out of the room, meeting Chalice on his way out. Nils sighed, running his fingers through his hair. Those MI-6 boys were going to kill him one day.