Alex pushed the rug aside and, grabbing on to a handle, hauled open the door. From above, he couldn’t see a thing. The ladder disappeared into darkness after several feet. Without hesitating, he set one foot on the step. Then another. Then another.

He counted the steps as he went. ‘52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60’

That was where it ended. He climbed down the last of the ladder and stood still, listening for any indication that he may have been caught. Nothing. Alex walked down the narrow passageway that the ladder had brought him too.

Voices. From down the hall. He scanned his surroundings and found himself hiding around the corner of another passageway.

“New girl...Michael...assassin.”

Alex strained and turned the volume of the sound enhancer to max.

“I still can’t believe Michael just brought her in like that. I mean, we had to go through strict training and it was years before we were even allowed into their main headquarters. What if she’s a traitor?” someone said.

The person beside her replied, “If Michael personally brought her in, the person must be important. Plus, didn’t you see how fit she looked from the outside? You’re just jealous she’s hogging all his attention.”

At that, the girl beside her smacked her friend’s arm playfully and said, “Who wouldn’t be. He sooooo hot.”

They both giggled and walked past him to another passageway.

In the back of his mind, Alex was already fitting together pieces about Ailith and her connection to this place. He could’ve gone and reported this to Clarice immediately but, he didn’t. Rather than exposing one base, it was a better strategy to get inside, figure everything out, and attack them from the inside out when they least expected it.

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‘And if Ailith has some connection to the resistance…’ he shook his head. ‘No, so far, evidence suggests that she has not yet had any real interaction with this group.

He was pondering what to do when his treker buzzed.

Clarice: We have another suspected location as to where the main base is located. I’m sending you the coordinates. Take a look tomorrow and report.

He had already found the main base. Was standing in it right at the moment in fact. Still Alex opened the coordinates. It was not anywhere near Dorrance. He sighed. ‘Do I tell Clarice?’

After a minute, he decided against it. ‘No, again, it’s better to report once I have everything under my control.’

Alex left the base soon after, making sure to note it’s exact location and coordinates. He returned to the dorms and lay in bed, awake, waiting for Ailith to return.

After half an hour, she did, looking even more exhausted than during training. Without so much as a glance in his direction, she collapsed onto her bed. She was asleep within seconds.

Alex lay in bed, unable to sleep, but not wanting to work. He closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath. ‘If only I had agreed on going to the park with my parents...if only I hadn’t insisted on going out to play with my friends...if only....if only…’ There were so many ifs but, there was nothing he could change. They were supposed to be at the park with him. They weren’t supposed to be at home at the time of the robbery. It was because of him that his parents were where they were. He had been totally unaware that they were even dead until he returned home, only to find that the house was silent. He remembered running downstairs, then upstairs when he couldn’t find them, only to stumble upon their lifeless bodies in his bedroom. He remembered wailing and calling the authorities. He remembered the sirens blaring in the distance, on his street, on his porch, and they were so, so loud. He could still hear the ringing if he listened closely enough. He remembered the authorities barging into his home, weapons raised, only to find a young child crying over his already dead parents. ‘If only...if only…’ Alex turned over in his bed and closed his eyes, drifting off to a faraway place. A place where his parents were not dead. A place where he never met Clarice. A place where his country wasn’t constantly being attacked by rebels. A place where he hadn’t killed any people. A place, a place. ‘If only…’