What She Thought She Knew (Rachel Moore Mystery Book 1), стр. 35

I turned my head to face him, and saw him looking at me. His grey eyes were incredibly bright.

I gave him a small smile, and lightly squeezed back.

Despite all the difficulties that we would have to face, I knew that my team and I would make it.

Chapter 20: Interrogation and Emotional Sparks

We arrived back at the Seeker base by nightfall. With all the events that had happened, and the spike in our adrenalin, I hadn't realized that it actually took several hours to complete our mission.

Sometime during the ride, I had crossed my arms as I mentally prepared myself for the mission debrief I'd have to give to the Head Warrior.

Delta noticed my distress, and rubbed my arm in comfort.

I smiled at him, but quickly looked away as the butterflies in my stomach made me feel nauseous.

Unwillingly, I got out of the van. The action was mimicked by Elvira and Fear who followed me.

Gizmo, however, was led away by Olsen while Predator "escorted" the mysterious Phantom woman to a separate section.

Delta carried his mother elsewhere.

I made my way to the conference room from earlier.

I walked over to the computer, and punched in the Head Warrior's personal code.

I took in a deep breath, and exhaled sharply. I hoped that HQ had a plan.

After a couple seconds of processing, the familiar face of Pete came into view on the screen. "Agent Moore, what is the situation?" He asked.

"I've come to give you our mission debrief." I answered calmly.

"Good." He simply said. "What happened?"

I turned to look behind me; all of my team members looked back at me with solemn eyes.

I felt my professional facade crack a bit, but quickly put it back in place.

I focused my attention on the Head Warrior. "We did exactly what the mission parameters instructed us to do: investigate the lab for any relevant data, and destroy the facility. None of us, however, anticipated what was found there."

The Head Warrior leaned forward against his screen. "What did you find?"

My lips formed into a tight line. "We've discovered that some of the victims sent there were cloned. There is also evidence that suggests the Phantoms have planted spies within our organization."

The Head Warrior didn't appear surprised. "I suspected as much. What else happened?"

"We had a close call with a team of Phantoms. It's unclear whether they were killed in the blast or not." I paused to take a breath. "We also managed to capture a Phantom agent." I added.

"Is that so?" Pete asked in interest. "Have you performed an interrogation yet?"

"Not yet."

"I see." Pete replied. "Be cautious around the Phantom though; he may be alone, but Phantom agents are nasty people to deal with."

"It's a she, actually." I corrected.

The Head Warrior grunted. "Were there any survivors from the experiments?"

"Just one." I replied. "It's…it's the Guardian's mother."

A look of surprise passed over Pete's face. "His mother?" He asked, skepticism was obvious in his tone. "Are you absolutely sure that it really is her?"

"The Guardian is convinced that it is her. He's currently attending to her," I replied.

"I see." Pete said, clearly unhappy about our situation. "Very well, I will present your findings to our allies. Until then, stay on guard. Things are going to get a lot worse before they will get better." He finished as he rubbed his forehead.

"Yes sir." I replied.

"Good," he stated. "Take care, agents. Pete out."

The Head Warrior's image faded into black, and we were left processing the given information.

Olsen eventually came in, and took in the tense atmosphere.

After a moment of silence, Elvira finally spoke. "The Head Warrior is right: things will get worse, won't they?"

I met her weary glance, and nodded.

She sighed and looked away, her morale deflated.

My eyes softened at the rare sight of vulnerability in the normally strong woman.

As I looked at the other agents, I noticed that they too were feeling down.

Even Fear, the smartass Assassin who was always stiff as a statue, stood with his shoulders slightly slumped, a clear sign of his dislike of the circumstances.

I turned my attention back to Elvira and placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

Her dull blue eyes met mine.

"When you joined the Seekers, what did you wish to accomplish?" I asked.

She blinked at me in surprise, but answered nonetheless. "I wanted to be able to protect the weak."

I nodded. "Is there anyone in particular you're fighting for?"

The Weapon's Expert didn't hesitate in her reply. "I am fighting for my daughter. I want to offer her a world free of Phantoms and their threat."

I smiled softly. "Then use your daughter as a means to make sure that the Phantoms are wiped out for good. You can't give up."

Elvira was speechless for a few minutes, but then her eyes lit up in renewed hope as she smiled back.

I turned towards Olsen. "Hey there fellow Scout; what's your reason for joining the Seekers?"

The shy agent smiled. "I joined to fight for justice; the world has lost its order, and it's up to us to restore it."

I nodded, and then turned to Predator expectantly.

"I joined the Seekers to make sure that no one would have to suffer going through the Phantoms' experiments. They are an abomination." He stated aggressively.

I narrowed my eyes in confusion.

The way he stated his answer made it seem like he went through a terrible ordeal. I made a mental note to later inquire him about his past.

Last, but not least, was the Assassin.

I glanced at him with a raised eyebrow as he had his arms crossed, and gave me a stubborn look.

"And you Fear; what are you fighting for?"

The Assassin continued to