What She Thought She Knew (Rachel Moore Mystery Book 1), стр. 38

A sad smile appeared on her face. "Of course they did, and I'm paying the price for it. However, I don't regret it one bit." She regarded me with a serious look. "I sincerely hope that you and your organization beat the Phantoms. They've caused enough suffering as it is."

I merely blinked in surprise.

"What were you doing in that lab?" Elvira asked.

A barely repressed film of emotion showed in the Phantom's otherwise blank eyes.

She blinked rapidly as if trying to maintain control of whatever internal reaction Elvira's question provoked. "I… had nowhere else to go," she replied hoarsely.

I nodded impatiently. "You already told us that. Why is it that you were forced to go back, though?"

For once, the former Phantom agent appeared to have been struggling with replying. Her unusual display of emotion perked my interest.

Predator knelt down in front of Diana. "You can trust us," he said in encouragement.

Raw emotion exposed itself on the frail woman's worn face as she stared at Pred. "I was trying to protect you," she responded. "I wanted to find out where Austin's clone got his storage of the protein pill."

I looked at her confused. "Don't you all get it from the same supplier?"

The Phantom woman chuckled quietly. "That would have made my task much easier if it were so. Having several suppliers lowers the possibility of all of our agents' pills of being sabotaged." A small smile came across the woman's face. "I knew I would never have been able to kill Austin's clone one-on-one, so I opted for the only possible option I had."

My eyes widened in disbelief.

Diana seemed so protective of Pred. Almost like how a mother would fret over her child's wellbeing.

Elvira seemed just as shock as I was. "Why are you protecting Predator?" She asked.

The former Phantom smiled sadly as she stared at Predator's blank face. "I don't understand the reason myself, only that I have to."

A thick silence suffocated the room then. Neither of us reacted for several minutes.

Predator finally spoke. "Come with us. We can protect you, and you'd be a great asset to the Seekers."

The woman grunted. "I bet you would, but my situation's more complicated than you know."

Predator stared at her in confusion.

Deciding that we got the information we needed, I stood up, and placed an arm on Predator's shoulder. "We've learned what we needed to know. Let's go take a break."

He nodded wordlessly, and followed Elvira out the door.

I was about to join them when the woman spoke once more. "Beware Seeker; even some of your so called "teammates" might not be who you think they are." She warned.

I turned back and stared blankly at her for a moment. Beneath the haze of her cold eyes was an emotion that I couldn't quite pinpoint. It almost appeared like… regret.

Just as quickly, it was wiped off, and a scowl appeared on her face. "Oh for God's sake, just leave me in peace!"

Her outburst snapped me from my thoughts, and I glared at her.

I then slammed the door shut, and made sure that it was locked properly. Didn't need that grumpy woman to escape.

I leaned against the nearby wall, and sighed. Just when I thought things couldn't have gotten any worse.

I realized Elvira and Predator were looking at me expectantly. I faced Predator. "You alright?" I asked.

He nodded, and gave me a small smile that didn't quite meet his eyes.

I sighed again. "Go get some rest guys."

Wordlessly, they went their own ways down the hall.

I kicked myself off the wall, and walked in the direction they took, not particularly paying attention to anything.

As if by fate, I arrived just outside the door to the room where Delta and his mother were occupying.

I decided to go in. "Hey." I greeted softly. "How's she doing?"

Delta turned his head toward me. "Her vitals are strong, but she's still out cold. I don't know when, ifshe'll wake up." He sighed at the last part, his body language displayed his hidden helplessness.

I walked over to him, and place a hand on his shoulder. "She'll wake up. We did just take her from a Phantom lab, so she probably needs more time to regain consciousness." I bit my lip as I tried to formulate what I would say next. "Just have faith, John." I whispered the last part.

The Guardian's eyes widened as I called him by his real name for the first time. "How did you…" he trailed off.

"Fear told me. A slip of the tongue, I suppose." I said, and smiled slightly while I withdrew my hand.

The Guardian had a dazed look on his face.

He quickly recovered, and looked at me with the unique intensity that made my stomach do backflips. "What else did he tell you?"

I shrugged, and leaned on the nearby counter. "That was all. We were running for our lives after all."

That seemed to have gotten John out of his trance as he shook his head. "I see." He finally replied. "So what's the verdict?" He asked as he stood beside me, and crossed his arms.

"We're basically on standby until the Head Warrior gives us our next orders."

"Ah."

A long, yet comfortable silence overcame the room as the two of us enjoyed each other's company.

I absentmindedly kicked at my boots as I paid unnecessarily close attention to the specks of dirt on them.

As I slipped my hands into my coat pocket, a foreign weight grazed my fingers.

Curious, I grabbed the object and brought it out.

Once exposed, I realized that it was the ring I had found at the ruins of what was once Madison Square Garden.

I twirled it in my hands, and studied it under the bright