What She Thought She Knew (Rachel Moore Mystery Book 1), стр. 65

________________________________________

My body shook uncontrollably as I re-watched the videos. It was obvious that the Phantoms had inside help.

Again, deja-vu filled me as I recalled the contact's warning. We realized the severity too late.

Taking a closer look at the people executed, something twisted within my gut.

I had a strong feeling that they were the directors. It was suspicious that they were only four bodies instead of five.

Someone had to have allowed the Phantoms in, and who knew would have had the authority and clearance to let them pass?

I gritted my teeth in fury at the betrayal. The Seeker's foundations on which it was formed completely crumpled.

With HQ in Phantom hands, they practically had our organization nailed to the wall.

They would have access to our files, our mission reports, classified information, and so on.

We were so screwed.

I shook my head to clear my senses, and proceeded to try to send a message to Pete.

Suddenly, a beep sound came from the computer as well as a message stating that I didn't have the authority to proceed with my request.

Confused, I ignored the warning, and continued with my task.

Another message popped up, and stated that the server analyst would be informed if I continued with my task.

Hesitantly, I ignored the message again, and continued to type my message.

A tight knot curled in my stomach as I continued.

At that point, I knew that my cover was blown, but all that mattered was warning Pete about what happened, if he didn't already know.

An alarm went off, and I winced as I heard doors open and slam shut as well as numerous voices barked at each other.

The voices got louder, and eventually were right outside my door. It slammed open, and revealed several Phantom agents entering the room.

I looked back in desperation and fear as I vainly tried to find a way out.

Abruptly, an electric shock coursed through me.

I yelped in surprise, before I fell to the ground.

"No!" I screamed as a pair of strong arms grabbed me from behind, and dragged me away from the computer.

I was about to fight back, until I felt something hit the back of my head and the world went dark.

Chapter 31: A Long Awaited Meeting

The sound of low murmuring was what freed me from the dream world. The more awake I became, the more aware I was of the fact that all of my muscles felt like they were on fire. I could barely move without having a sharp sting go up my spine that left me momentarily paralyzed. The damn collar was pulsing electricity through me.

I gritted my teeth to prevent a hiss of pain from escaping.

Once the uncomfortable sensation passed, I concentrated my energy that remained on opening my eyes. It took a lot more effort than it should have as each eyelid felt like they weighed a hundred pounds each.

After a few minutes of trial and error, I was finally able to open my eyes, yet my sight was met with darkness.

I huffed in exasperation. The Phantoms really ought to get more sun, I thought.

I immediately froze as the murmuring sound from earlier made itself known again. It came from right outside my door, and if the shadows from underneath the door were reliable, there were two people outside.

I grunted as I slowly pushed myself back against the corner furthest from the door. I had absolutely no intention of making myself so easily visible to an intruder.

The murmuring stopped, and the door creaked open.

I remained as still as I could.

A figure stepped inside as the door closed, and took the short steps to the center. "You've been a bad girl, Agent Moore." The figure commented.

I nearly rolled my eyes at my incredibly bad luck. Of course it had to have been Shadow of all people.

"Why did you have to make our lives more complicated than they should be?" The man asked.

I snorted. "You know me, always happy to screw you over."

The Phantom agent turned towards me. "Now that's just plain rude, Agent Moore. Do you remember how I said I'd fix that trait of yours?"

Shadow took a few steps towards me, and grabbed me roughly by the hair, forcing me to look up at him. "Your little scheme earlier gave us an unnecessary headache. Do you really enjoy pissing me off?"

I spat at his face. "Go to hell, you Phantom bastard." I snarled.

I inwardly smirked at my move, but my confidence quickly turned to fear as the Phantom agent's plasma-like eyes stared at me venomously.

What happened next caught me in a daze.

One minute I was face to face with the man, the next I was slapped so hard that my nose began to bleed.

The pain didn't stop there; the Phantom continued to kick me all over, repeatedly on my stomach and legs.

I groaned as I gestured to cover my face, but realized that my hands were tied up once more.

I inwardly swore at my disadvantage.

"I'm getting extremely tired of your lack of cooperation. The more you disobey, the more unnecessary pain you put yourself through." To emphasize his point, the Phantom kicked my head which caused me to nearly black out for a moment.

Tiny stars orbited in my vision.

Mercifully, the Phantom stopped his aggression, and took a step back. "You've forced me to take drastic action, Agent Moore. The outcome will not be so good for you."

I snarled once more. "You think a petty threat like that is going to scare me? The Seekers will stop you, and I'll be there to put the much deserved bullet in your head."

"Oh really?" The Phantom replied mockingly.

He leaned down at my level, and looked into my eyes. "Even though your emergency