The staff doctor examined both Arena and Sophia, pronouncing them satisfactory. Lorna led them to the conference room. Trays of food covered the table. Sophia launched herself at it.
Sterling came in with a netbook. Once everyone finished eating, he switched on the vid monitor. Nate and Lorna both sat to one side, out of the view of the camera. Arena sat next to Sophia across from Sterling.
“Agent Kershaw, please recount the events that brought you here, from the time that you last saw Agent Schmidt.” Sterling looked up at them expectantly.
Sophia cleared her throat, “I was assigned to recruit Arena Schmidt to the CIA. I was actually working on a postgraduate project, hopefully to earn a little rank incentive. I became a full agent last year after attending training. The plan was to ask her to move into a house for the next year and recruit her at that time. I convinced Arena to let me go with her to the surfing competition, thinking that it would help me build a relationship with her. I was planning to bring up the idea of rooming the next year.”
She shifted in her chair, wincing, but continued, “When I saw the man on the hoverboard, I couldn’t believe that sort of technology existed, nor did I know there was already a team onsite. I thought maybe I could find out more about it, but I was careless and was knocked unconscious by the man on the board.”
“When I came to, I was in a warehouse, in an office chair, tied to a metal shelf. I could overheard some of the conversation outside. They realized that they had competition for the technology and were going to track this team. They said they had a contact in the CIA and would find out more. They said the Asian girl who captured the second hoverboard and chased them was an agent trained to ride it and they wanted to claim her as an asset, but the CIA interfered. They thought that I was not involved and worthless.” Sophia stopped, eyes darting to the side. “I was shocked Arena chased after me.”
“Four men, including the one with the scar. He didn’t stay there. They gave me a little food and water and said they weren’t sure what to do with me, so they waited until they talked to their contact. It was days. Sometimes they kept me in a supply closet, but mostly they kept me in the chair. They drugged me fairly often, not sure with what. Mentioned ransoming me, but their contact insisted I might be useful. It was a point of contention between several of the men. They did try to question me about Arena, so I told them she was my roommate and we were out for a night of partying. I followed my training and they didn’t seem suspicious of it, though they couldn’t figure why their contact was interested in me.” She paused and took a sip of water. “This morning, I overheard the man with the scar say they got intel of a STATUS team mission near Central Park and would be attempting to capture the agent who could use the hoverboards. I don’t know how they knew Arena was with STATUS, but I assumed they found out from their contact.
“They left. I pulled over the shelf and managed to break it, which is how I got a black eye. The bonds were not very well tied, so I think they didn’t expect me to escape. Or maybe they figured it didn’t matter too much if I did. I stole a cashbox from the warehouse, broke into it, and used the cash to get downtown.” She looked down and then shrugged. “And grab some new clothes--you can buy anything from a New York street vendor. I didn’t have time to find a phone, and I wanted to get to Arena before they did.”
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“The warehouse is here in New York, and I can show you where it is on the map. But with the man with the scar in custody, they might have already moved locations anyway.”
Sterling spun the netbook toward Sophia, showing a map of New York, and Sophia pointed to the location. “Decoys are on the way under Bertha.”
“Anyway, I saw Arena crossing the street toward the park, and followed her to her contact. When she walked away, I shadowed her from there. I really had no idea it was just a training exercise. I knew she had spotted me when she stopped for coffee. I didn’t see the man with the scar or any of his men, so I followed as closely and as obviously as possible, hoping she would either recognize me or at least think I wasn’t a threat.”
Arena nodded at this point. Sophia stopped to let her speak. “I did see her, but I wasn’t sure who she was. Sterling said someone from the CIA was watching the exercise, and I didn’t know if it was her or the man with the laptop case.”
Sophia’s expression was slack. “When Arena passed an alley, I saw a man grab her and pull her into the alley. I ran to the alley, saw he had Arena by the throat, and tackled him, pulling his own gun on him. That’s when everyone else caught up.”
The briefing continued for an hour, concentrated on identifying each of the other men with the man with the scar. Nate escorted Sophia to a room to sleep. Arena wished she could have had a chance to talk to her alone, but perhaps she would have a chance the next day before Sophia went back to Virginia.
Late that night, Arena was sitting alone in the eating area, staring at the peanut butter sandwich in front of her. She heard a soft scrape behind her, and turned to find Sterling, looking worried and very tired. He ran a hand through his hair and pulled out the chair beside her.
“Tough day, huh?” Sterling leaned back in the chair, tipping his head back until there was a loud pop. He flinched and rubbed his shoulder. “Unfortunately, tomorrow may not be much better. You are going with Sophia to Langley. They want to talk to you about what happened, and about your future with the CIA. They are considering sending you to training immediately.”
“But, I don’t want to go from here yet,” she said, realizing for the first time that it was true. “Will they let me come back?”
He met her eyes. “I really don’t know. Most people don’t ask to join us. They sort of end up here.”
“Did you ‘end up here’?”
“No,” he said firmly. “I chose, and still choose, to be here. I don’t want to be at Langley or anywhere else. This is my home--both the compound and the people.” His eyes were bright. “And that includes you, too.”
Sterling stared at the sandwich as she had, as if it were the only real thing in the world. Then he said softly, “I requested that you at least stay to help us finish recovering the hoverboards, but it may be taken out of our hands entirely. However, I also requested that I accompany you and Agent Kershaw to Langley. I have some business there anyway.”
“Thanks. I don’t think I could have done it otherwise.” Arena delicately pulled crumbs from her crust. “I knew you couldn’t say much once Anita said the comms were not secure. What happened anyway?”
“Anita traced the signal to the man with the scar. His handheld was capturing the signal. How he found the frequency out is a mystery, though. From what Agent Kershaw said, it seems we have a leak. I can’t see that it would be anyone here, but it may be someone at Langley who has adequate access. We’re not really a top secret unit.”
They sat glumly, staring at the sandwich on the table for a few minutes, before Sterling stood and said, “You should get some sleep. Tomorrow will not be easy.”