He was here. The little traitor was sitting in the same room as me and had the nerve to smirk like this was all one big joke. Sarah had to hold me back by my restraints as I lunged for him.
“Let me at him!” I cried, thrashing around as if I were a wild animal.
The room looked at me in shock, all except John Smith who chuckled and gracefully stood from his seat. With small, calculated steps he made his way over to me and stopped only a few feet away. A staring contest began between my harsh glare and his amused gaze.
“Lovely to see you too, Janie.” He waved his hand and, after a moment of hesitation, I felt Sarah release her hold on my restraints. In the corner of my eye, I saw her glare at Smith only to have him give an amused glance right back. It was obvious to me now that he held more power than her and if I was going to get any answers, they would be from him.
I stood my ground and allowed him to lead me to a seat near the one he had just left. Mentally, I counted the faces that sat in front of me. Twelve sets of eyes including those of Agent Sarah stared back at me with a collection of anxiety, contempt and smug pride. Plus Smith made thirteen Ghost agents against one Company runaway. I might have been top of my class, but I could only imagine the experience that sat in this room.
I was still trying to calculate my odds when Smith paused next to my seat. They weren’t looking so good. However, Smith evened them out slightly when he began to undo my bindings despite the protests of the table.
“She’s in a facility filled with Ghost agents,” he stated as he loosened the last restraint.
“Do you really think she’d be that stupid as to fight them all on her own?”
With that, he pushed me into the plush office and took the one to my left. I stretched slightly and heard my joints crack back into place. My eyes swept to his face for a second before moving to stare at the almost frozen faces of Ghost. I was stupid enough to trust you, I thought.
“Miss Doe, do you know where you are,” a particularly big and serious man asked from the head of the table.
“Well you’ve made that obvious enough,” I said, annoyed by the fact that this seemed to be turning into an interrogation.
“Show some respect, Doe,” commanded Sarah. “You’re in the presence of senior operatives.”
“If you haven’t noticed, I’m your prisoner. They’re not my elders. I don’t have to show-AH!” My comment was cut off by a surprised shriek as I felt cold metal suddenly wrapped around my ankles. I looked under the table to see two ankle restraints coming from out of the floor.
“I thought you said this was going to be a peaceful questioning Simmons,” John hissed. The big man who I could now identify as Simmons straightened in his seat. “We have to take precautions, Smith. I guess you wouldn’t know that after the mess you made earlier.” If Smith’s apologetic and submissive face proved anything. This man was the true power in the room. He turned back to me, his gaze turning me to stone in my seat and making my blood run cold for the first time.
“Now, I shall repeat the question, Jane Doe. Do you know where you are?” “Ghost training facility.” “Do you know how you got here?” “Yes.” “How?” I glanced at Smith and took a deep breath. “John Smith recruited me for a job in exchange for information. After being double crossed by our employer and being injured in the process. Smith slipped me a drug while trying to comfort me.”
“Did you kill O’Connell?”
I paused, looking at the table. He tried speaking a little louder.
“Did you kill-“
“Yes.”
The table chuckled lightly at my admission. All except John Smith who looked strangely guilty.
I felt a tap against my leg and saw a small card slip into my lap from my left. My eyes flickered to Smith as I picked it up gently. “When I say, run,” it said in looping cursive.
“Well!” My head shot up to look at Simmons. He was grinning that Ghost smirk. “It seems that we were able to do what Company couldn’t and turn you into a proper agent, haven’t we?”
My eyes fell back to my lap. They laughed again thinking I was embarrassed. I wasn’t. “Why should I trust you,” I whispered, hoping that Smith could be the only one who heard. I felt an electric current shoot through my body and had just enough restraint to keep from screaming.
“You will look up and answer when we ask you a question, Miss Doe.” I did just that, giving him my hardest glare. “Have we turned you into a proper agent?” “Depends on your definition.” Another shock, this one stronger than the last, but still, I didn’t scream. “They certainly make them tough at Company,” commented one of the nameless agents. “That shock would have brought some government agents to their knees.”
“Is that a compliment,” I smirked, earning another shock. I felt another card fall into my lap and glanced down to read is. “You can’t,” it said.
I closed my fist and felt the words crumble in my head. I weighed my options. I could stay here and continue being the shock puppet for these well-dressed animals. Even when I was only training, I knew it was rare when Ghost captured a Company agent or vice versa. I could get information from the inside out about the whole operation though if I play my cards right. On the other hand, I couldn’t exactly trust Smith.
For all I know, he’ll kill me himself or worse…leave me to Company. However, he knew what my true identity was and might be the only one. My decision was made for me when I felt another, strong shock go through my system. “Are you listening, Agent Doe?” I looked up, glanced at Smith for a second, and nodded. Instantly, he gave me that smirk I’ve grown all too comfortable with. For once, I smirked back. “Of course, Agent Simmons. Loud and clear,” I said.
“Then, did Ghost Operations succeed where Company failed?” I thought over the question for a moment, flipping it around in my head. Was Ghost the reason that I finally took a life? As the answer came to me, I couldn’t help but turn my smirk into an all-out grin.
Looking at these faces, I could see the same expressions that were back at Company. They were cold-blooded killers who had been drained of a conscious long ago. They tried to do the same to people like me, young and naïve. They drained us of our memories and attempted to give us the same life that they had. It worked for a long time, too. But it didn’t work on me.
“No, sir. I don’t think you did.”
The room suddenly burst into a cloud of smoke, sirens, and lights courtesy of John Smith, no doubt. I felt the medal disappear from my ankles leaving them sore and surely burned.
A large, rough hand grasped mine, shoved what I assumed to be a gun in the other, and dragged me out of the room leaving the mass of confusion behind. And together, we ran into the heart of Ghost.
Two people against an army of recruits. It almost seemed unfair. They wouldn’t know what hit them.