What She Thought She Knew (Rachel Moore Mystery Book 1), стр. 22
Soft murmuring sliced through the thick silence like a knife through hot butter.
The Head Warrior straightened his posture. "All right everyone, it's time to get associated with each other." He looked at me. "Agent Moore, these are agents Gizmo and Olsen. Gizmo will be your tech expert, and will keep you informed on any detail involving communications and intelligence."
The man who put the cards away waved at me, a grin plastered on his face.
The Head Warrior continued. "Agent Olsen is a Scout like you, however, he is more experienced in reconnaissance in Phantom territory."
The man with shoulder-length curly hair smiled, and waved at me.
"Agent Delta here is Agent Moore's assigned Guardian. And you've already met Agent Elvira. She will assist you with any interrogations should you manage to capture a Phantom agent alive, as well as be your Weapons Expert. Once on site, two additional agents will join you. I'll be staying here to maintain the link between you and HQ. You'll be sending your mission reports to me."
Agent Olsen spoke. "Shouldn't there be more agents assigned to this mission? Entering Phantom territory, even abandoned, is a risky operation."
The Head Warrior nodded. "You're absolutely right, but I have confidence in all of your abilities. Besides, the less agents there are, the less chance there is of your mission being compromised." He then turned to face me. "You all will be answering to Agent Moore while on site. She will be running this operation."
My eyes widened as I stared at the Head Warrior to look for any signs of a bluff. He held my gaze confidently.
A feeling of nausea threatened to overwhelm me. I was the loner Scout who preferred to hang around in the morgue than lead a team of specialists.
The Head Warrior nodded once more. "Alright everyone, you have your orders. You'll be departing this evening. Dismissed!"
With that, the three newcomers packed up, and left the room.
It was just me, the Head Warrior, and Agent Delta.
The Head Warrior motioned to the both of us. "Now that the others are gone, we have one last meeting with the Directors."
I nearly grimaced, though I followed the older man nonetheless.
We arrived at the elevator, and went up a few levels.
During the entire ride, it took a lot of my willpower to stay still. My mind was swirling with the numerous shocking news I received one after another.
The Director's wife's assassination, investigating a Phantom lab, me being put in charge. It was overwhelming.
The elevator stopped at our level, and we made our way to the Directors' room.
Surprisingly, the secretary wasn't at her desk, though one of the guards nodded at us, and let us through.
We stepped inside the gloomy room, and right away the atmosphere was different. Even with the dim lights, the room never gave off such a strong feeling of helplessness as it did when we walked in.
The Head Warrior stepped in front of Delta and I, facing the Directors. "I have briefed the agents on their mission."
"Very good," a voice said quietly. "Agent Moore, please step forward."
I blinked in surprise, before I did what I was told.
The Head Warrior stepped back to allow me more space.
My whole body tensed as the Directors focused their undivided attention on me.
"Hello again, Agent Moore." The female Director greeted. "These present events have caused havoc among our organization."
"After a thorough investigation among our ranks, we have alarming results." A third Director added.
"A good third of our agents are either spies or have had some form of contact with the Phantoms. To what extent, we still don't know. Either way, our organization is in a very vulnerable position." Another female Director added. "We believe that number may even rise up to 50%."
"We now have a better idea of how Martin Hill, and perhaps countless other individuals like him, were able to have access to our classified information." The first female Director stated.
I stared at the Directors in shock. I then remembered the clear warning the contact gave me.
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"If you think your pitiful organization is incorruptible, then you're in for a rude awakening."
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I carefully worded my question. "What do you intend on doing with them?"
"Nothing," a Director said quietly.
I was taken aback. "What?" I said in disbelief. "Why? This is your chance. You now have proof of who they really are!"
"If we take an aggressive course of action against them, they'll overwhelm our organization before we can fight back."
I was about to retort, when I felt a hand on my shoulder.
I jumped, and turned around to see Delta give me a stern look. His lips were thin lines as he shook his head.
I slightly glared at him, before I turned to face the Directors.
Delta lifted his strong hand from my shoulder.
A slow sigh came from one figure. "The only thing we can do is pretend ignorance while we continue to assess the situation and carefully develop a plan of action."
"It has been decided that we, the Directors, will resign from our posts until the threat has been dealt with." The female Director said. "The incident from this morning was the turning point."
I took in a sharp breath. "What are the rest of us supposed to do then?"
"The Heads of each rank that are our allies have been strictly instructed to carry out missions as normal, while discreetly picking out the traitors within their ranks."
A tense silence nearly chocked me. I harshly let out a breath before I stepped back against the wall.
Delta was instantly at my side, observing me worriedly. I ignored him as I stared at the Directors, my mouth