What She Thought She Knew (Rachel Moore Mystery Book 1), стр. 29

slight gasp from behind me which was then overpowered by a deep growl.

I turned around and saw Delta looking at the same container as me with an air of confusion.

I cautiously spoke. "Delta, what's wrong?"

The Guardian continued to stare unblinkingly at the wide container for several more minutes. "That's…that's my mother." He finally replied in complete disbelief.

Chapter 17: Unwelcomed Guest

I could only stare at Delta in shock as I took in what he said. "What?" I said as I finally managed to use my voice. "What do you mean that's your mother?"

Delta gave me a 'what do you think?' look.

I glared at him. The possibility of the woman in the tube being his mother was completely absurd.

Delta made a disarray of the various tools on the lined up tables.

"What are you doing?" I asked after I observed him for a few extra seconds.

The Guardian ignored me, and continued on with whatever he was doing, occasionally knocking over some tools.

Feeling annoyed, I placed a hand on his shoulder, and turned him around roughly. "Just what in the hell do you think you're doing?" I asked harshly.

The Guardian glared at me. "I have to free my mother. She's still alive!"

He went back to making a complete mess of the area.

"How do you intend to free her?" I inquired.

"There's a hatch on the front of the tube, but the power is out so I'll have to break it open."

Delta crouched on the floor, and picked up a thick hammer.

I raised an eyebrow. "You expect a hammer will get your mother out?"

Delta simply looked at me with a serious expression.

I felt my eyebrow twitch in annoyance.

I couldn't help but feel suspicious. It seemed too much to be a coincidence that Delta's lost mother was kept in this specific enemy lab. If the rumors about the experiments were true, then the woman in the tube could have been a clone of Delta's mother.

"Delta, you need to put that down." I said as I pointed to the hammer.

The Guardian did not pay attention to me. Instead, he positioned himself in front of the tube, and raised his arms up.

Without a second thought, I tackled him to the cold ground, and pinned him down with my knees.

He looked up at me with eyes narrowed in frustration. "Get off of me, Agent Moore!" He hissed through clenched teeth.

I glared at him. "And let you do a stupid mistake that could put our lives at risk? I don't think so," I replied.

Delta started to struggle, his movements became more violent and aggressive. One of his legs managed to free itself to kick me in the guts.

I let out a grunt, but I kept my firm hold on him.

Eventually, Delta realized that I would not budge from our questionable position.

It only occurred to me at that moment just how close we were: the tips of our noses were nearly touching, and I straddled him in a rather provocative way.

I forced myself to ignore the rather provocative physical contact, and maintained a collected attitude.

I stared down at the Guardian as I made an effort to breathe normally.

After what seemed like an eternity, I spoke. "Put that hammer down. I won't allow you to put our lives and our mission in jeopardy."

The Guardian looked at me with desperation evident in his grey eyes. "I need to know whether that woman is my mother or not. I've spent the last seven years believing that she was dead." His eyes visibly molted into a lighter shade. "Please, Rachel," he whispered tenderly.

My eyes widened in surprise as my heart momentarily fluttered.

Over the past few months, my relationship with Delta had dramatically changed.

We had come a long way from me being annoyed by his very presence to what we became, though I had no bloody idea what changed.

We already established that we were friends back on the plane, yet for some reason I felt that wasn't right. It was like I wanted more, but wasn't sure if that would have been appropriate. I barely knew anything about the Guardian, but that only seemed to draw me in.

As I looked down at Delta's saddened face, I saw the eyes of a man who was desperate to hold on to the one thing that made him whole in an otherwise empty world.

My eyes softened. It was a huge risk to let him carry out his wish, but I knew that I already cared about him too much to see him suffer like that.

I carefully got off of him, and awkwardly stretched my upper body.

Delta immediately got up, and wiped off some imaginary dust from his cloaks.

A stiff silence took over as we both momentarily tried to avoid looking at one another. Luckily Delta grew some balls and spoke out first. "Thank you, Agent Moore."

I turned my head towards him, and was met with the intense gaze of the Guardian. I felt heat creep up my neck and face, so I nodded and quickly looked away to avoid further embarrassment.

Delta's footsteps echoed in the empty hallway, the noise was amplified by the stillness of the atmosphere.

I shivered slightly at the spooky effect, but pushed the feeling away.

I activated my ear piece. "Fear, are you there?"

"Yeah, what's the situation?" He replied.

"I want you to scout out for any entry ways that may have been overlooked."

"And what accomplishment do you have in mind by me doing that?" He asked dryly.

I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes at the Assassin's attitude. "Because, Agent Fear, we are in a location where we have no idea what to expect. I don't want to be caught by surprise if we end up being ambushed." I answered as if explaining something obvious