Episode 13: A Lost Odyssey
Part 2
Humming to himself, Nick headed down the hall towards the elevator. The meeting wasn’t in the normal location. This one was on the lower restricted levels where access was only given to those of 00-rank. That was the other reason he’d wanted to make sure he made this meeting on time, though he couldn’t say so to Brian. Not that he didn’t trust him.
He pushed the button and stepped inside. If anything, he probably trusted Brian and Opal more than anyone else outside of the agency. But with recent events, there were just things that couldn’t be said to just anyone. And that included his shadow agent as well — the message had specifically said not to bring his trainee.
Nick felt kind of bad about it. Because as crazy as Styx drove him, he also saw so much damn potential. Not to mention, to be trusted with a protégé after everything that had happened, hiatus and all… well, it meant a lot. The elevator dinged again, a soft voice announcing the floor level.
“If you want my body, and you think I’m sexy… come on, sugar, tell me so…” Nick would never say so, but he was nervous about this meeting, too. Most people at HimTak didn’t realize this, but his singing wasn’t just a way to amuse himself. It wasn’t always because he got distracted (though it sometimes was). It was his way of coping with nerves. A way to mellow himself out with something he loved: music.
A retinal scan and fingerprint pad later, he walked into the meeting room. He was, as usual, the last to arrive. But at least he was on time. “If you really need me, just reach out and touch me. Come on, honey, tell me so…”
Diamond immediately looked up with a flirty grin. “You know I will.”
Emerald just rolled her eyes. “The jukebox has finally arrived, I see.”
“Did Canada deport you, Avril?”
Pearl chuckled from where she stood beside K, which caught Nick’s attention more than Emerald’s biting reply. “Pearly! Where were you?”
“Helping K set up for the meeting.”
He pouted. “I was waiting in your lab for you.”
“I know, but you survived.”
Jay was checking his phone, possibly going through notes though Nick wasn’t too sure. “And no weapons for him to set off,” he added with a chuckle.
“Wait, he’s why no one’s allowed in her lab anymore?” Vitruvian asked. He snorted. “Of course he is.”
“He’s not why.”
“Besides, I’m still allowed, so ha!”
K cleared his throat. Rather than continue, Nick plopped into a chair next to Diamond. Resisting the urge to pull her into his lap was a struggle, but he did since the tone of the meeting was a serious one. No need to piss off his boss this early into it. He could save that for later. He did give her a smirk and mouthed, “Meet me later?”
Diamond just smiled. He could feel the glare coming from Leo across the room.
“Take that, Di-Crapio.”
“If you’re all finished…”
Nick nodded, at least trying to look focused. He was really curious about what the meeting would involve, though he could venture a guess. Since the discovery of missing security footage and items stolen from Pearl’s lab, K had kept the breach at HimTak hush-hush. To lower ranks and more casual staff, he had played it off as a drill — something they admittedly hadn’t done in some time. Most people bought it. Access to Pearl’s laboratory had suddenly become restricted. As far as Nick could tell, only himself, Jay, and K could access the room without her. Jay and K were obvious choices, of course. Nick was only slightly surprised that he’d been able to pass the scans earlier.
Amidst all the playful jokes and the flirting, Pearl was quite possibly his best friend within the agency, and he knew she saw him the same way. (Though if she ever saw him as more, he’d probably do the longest happy dance known to man. He always wanted what he couldn’t have.) She trusted him the way she trusted few others. Not that she didn’t trust Diamond or Red, who also might still have access, for all he knew. Red probably did, actually. It would make the most sense. All the “Carter Girls,” as he called them to himself, had a solid bond. He would usually see the three of them catching up on downtime whenever they actually had it.
He needed to schedule some Red Time, too, now that he thought about it…
“For now, I’m limiting missions. Between that bomb implantation upon myself and the latest hack, we don’t want to make ourselves more vulnerable until we seek out the mole we seem to have within our agency.”
Shitballs, did I just tune out K’s whole talk?! He nodded like he’d been paying attention this entire time. Fuck. Hope he didn’t notice.
Vitruvian raised his hand once K finally paused. “No disrespect, Pearl… K… but how do we know it was a mole and not someone who was able to get past the security system?”
Pearl’s usually kind blue eyes narrowed. “Because they’d have left a coding trail for me to track, first of all.”
Jay snickered, unable to hold it in. “I warned you not to ask.”
“Second of all, with the way that I programmed our current security, the only way for a breach of this level to be possible would be for them to do it at the control station. That means they would’ve had to have had access to it to try and get in. I suspect they had a USB drive with a virus to bring down a few walls long enough to disable it before the system detected it and kicked them out, which it did. There’s only been one hacking attempt that got anywhere… about a year ago.” She shared a glance with K. “And trust me, they didn’t get very far at all.”
“So, in geek speak, it was an inside job, and she’s pissed you tried to say otherwise,” Emerald said with a smirk.
“Yes, well…” K looked around at everyone in the room. “Expect your workload to increase despite us prioritizing only high-level missions. As for now, all agents lower than 00-rank will be grounded. Grasshopper is meeting with them now to inform them that, going forward, we’ll hold back from giving them missions until they’ve received ‘new training’ under his guidance.”
“No wonder he’s not in here giving us confusing wisdom…” Diamond mused, putting away her phone.
“It’s a good cover as well,” Jay added. “We’ll keep them training and working on becoming better agents while we snuff out the asshole who thought he or she wouldn’t be found.”
“If there is a mole,” Leo muttered, still looking a tad perturbed that his thought hadn’t been considered more seriously.
“There is,” Pearl fired back.
“What about Styx?” Nick finally asked once everyone settled down again. Though seeing Pearl pissed off at 009 definitely amused his soul. Any other time, he’d probably be rubbing it in. In fact, he planned to later.
K shook his head. “I know he was your shadow, Carter, but for now, we can’t.”
“But we can trust him; I know we can. Please–”
“No.” It was one word, but the heavy tone and intense green-eyed stare said a lot more than words ever could.
Still, Nick felt like he had failed his protégé.
“Alright, if there are no other questions, you’re dismissed. Remember, none of this leaves this room. With our security being threatened at this level, our circle of trust has to get smaller.”
For someone who felt like he’d found a second family within Himitsu Takana, which had always been the case for Nick, this fact bothered him. But, unlike Leo, he knew and trusted the fact that no one would have been able to achieve such a breach from the outside. So if that was true, then someone was betraying them. Had already betrayed him. It felt like a sick deja vu, another Drums all over again. And why had that happened? Because Nick had failed his partner. He didn’t know the reasons someone had stabbed them all in the back this time, but he wanted to. He wanted to understand, to know why. That was all he wanted: for someone to tell him why.
For now, however, he’d shove those thoughts aside.
He owed Brian a phone call, after all.
***
The next few days at the Himitsu Takana headquarters reminded Nick of his days on hiatus, only eerier. He was used to being grounded, and it made sense that the lower-ranked agents were also grounded. What was unusual was that while K had said everyone’s workload would increase, it hadn’t; seeing everyone else grounded was just… odd. At first, Nick bounced from employee to employee like an excited kangaroo — a little time with Pearl here (though she was too distracted by her lab to be any real fun), a little time with Red there, a little time with Diamond everywhere. He even made some time for K, Jay, Emerald, Lancy, Styx, and even Vitruvian and Grasshopper (though he suspected some of them enjoyed that time more than others). Only the elusive 007 managed to avoid spending any quality time together.
But by the second day, Nick shortened his visits to only the people who accepted (and deserved) his distractions. And today, only Diamond and Lancy wanted any kind of company; Di was probably just as bored as he was, and Lancy had said, “This is the most exciting thing that could happen on a Thursday!!!” Admittedly, Nick wasn’t quite sure why he’d mentioned Thursday in particular. Did more exciting things happen for Lancy on other days of the week? Just what did Lancy do all day when Nick was gone or focused on his domino train? If this kept up, he’d have some time to figure it out. But for the moment, Nick had hidden himself in his dorm.
After kicking off his lime green sneakers and flopping back on his bed, Nick crossed his arms behind his head, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought. A small part of him worried that if he only focused on his antics, he’d slip back into old habits… and a lot had happened since then. Mr. Roboto. Drums. Moonwalking penguins. Playboy Carter Girls. Disney World. Pirates. FANthrax. Lancy’s Olympics. Worldwide Leo-nerdo. K’s bomb. The breach.
Replaying all of those things in his mind made them sound less serious than reality. But he had to get more serious. So he sat up, pulled a sketchpad from beside his bed, and began to draw. While singing helped him calm his nerves, drawing helped him think. Helped him think about things that happened, things he wished happened, things he would have done differently. And as focused as he was on the events since his hiatus, those were the things he drew. A comic about a suave agent who stood on the edge of each disaster and kept the world running like clockwork from the shadows. The kind of agent he really wanted to be.
This would make a great TV show, he thought to himself. And as he began to think of his comic as a show, his mind began to turn as he worked, piecing together the perfect melody to accompany his art. Eventually, engrossed in his work, he started singing out loud to himself.
“A star shining brightly, a diamond, a ruby,
a treasure to find brings a smile to my face.
Shake off all your troubles; they roll right off your back,
just like an old stray dog when he’s caught in the rain.
And I know that someday we’ll find what we’re looking for,
a new you, a new me, a new start.
I won’t stop moving forward, feel the strength that truth brings.
The love we spread shines like a jewel within our hearts…”
As he brushed away some stray eraser crumbs from his paper, he laughed at the thought that this hypothetical theme song sounded more like Grasshopper wisdom than things he would actually say. But before he could refocus on his work, “Mambo No. 5” blared through his thoughts.
“Brian has perfect timing,” he grumbled. But as he picked up his phone, he began to frown, feeling guilty as he thought of their last few conversations. Brian had been going through a lot, and he probably just needed someone to talk to. Secretly, Nick was happy Brian decided he was that person, but he’d never say it to his face. Instead, he greeted Brian with “Got a BBQ stain on your white tee shirt?”
“Hello?”
That wasn’t Brian’s drawl! That was Opal! He hadn’t heard from her since before Brian called him about their fight; it was good to hear her voice.
“Hello? Nick?” Her voice shook as she spoke.
Nick frowned, wrinkling his nose as his surprise became concern. “Opal? What’s going on? Are you okay?”
“Hello?”
“O–”
A piercing sound interrupted him.
“Opal?”
A sharp, loud crack that decayed into silence.
“Opal!”
Even a rookie would recognize it.
“OPAL!”
A gunshot.
“OPAL!!”
***
The familiar tap of keyboard keys surrounded Brian as he worked in his office at CIA headquarters. Though he portrayed himself as a typical upstanding member of the Central Intelligence Agency, he liked to fill his office with pops of personality, such as the Star Wars poster hidden behind the door and the framed University of Kentucky basketball jersey on the wall. Meanwhile, he kept his desk fairly work-focused except for two personal items. The first was one of those cutesy wooden block signs with sayings. Ashavari had painted a cross on it and written one of his favorite verses from the Bible, Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” The second was a framed photograph of him and Ashavari.
Brian paused his research, picking up the photograph. Ashavari continued to stand firm in her decision to leave the CIA. The day after their first fight, she’d started clearing out her desk — a reminder that they no longer saw eye-to-eye on the organization that had brought them together. That twisted Brian’s stomach into knots, but he wasn’t quite sure if that was a deal-breaker yet. After all, they had plenty of history together since then that had nothing to do with their work at the CIA. They couldn’t discuss it now anyway. She had left a note on their fridge’s grocery store list a few days ago: “I’m going to stay with my sister for a couple of days so I can think. I love you. See you soon.”
As he ran his hand along the frame, the iPod that Pearl gave him with the untraceable connection blared “Mambo No. 5.” Brian chuckled, hardly surprised that the contact list would play the songs if the person called. He’d also had several conversations with Nick since Ashavari’s announcement that also hadn’t gone well, since Nick was firmly supportive of her recent “anti-government” stance.
For that reason, Brian decided to tease Nick with similar tactics, answering the call by loudly singing, “You, you-you are, you, you-you are… Womanizer, womanizer, womanizer…”
“Brian!” Nick shouted.
A lump rose in Brian’s throat at Nick’s serious tone, and he set the picture frame back on the desk. “What’s going on?”
“Opal called me…” The fact that Nick trailed off was equally concerning.
“And?” Brian pressed his lips into a thin line.
“…and I heard a gunshot on the other end of the line. I traced the signal to your house.”
“Gotta go.”
“B–”
Before Nick could finish, Brian hurriedly ended the call and logged out of the system. For a moment, he worried that maybe Ashavari hadn’t called him because she was still angry about his insistence that the CIA wasn’t at fault for everything that happened. Just as quickly, he brushed the thought out of his mind and shut down his computer. If something had happened, time was of the essence.
After locking his office, Brian raced through the halls of CIA headquarters, pushing past anyone in his way. As he sprinted, thoughts of Ashavari slowly bleeding to death in their home buzzed around his mind. She should have called him! Regardless of what had been said between them, he would always come as soon as she asked. Especially in a life or death situation.
Driving back to his home was equally blurry. Brian didn’t even glance at the speedometer, knowing full well he broke several speed limits. He almost certainly ran several red lights as well, but selfishly decided he could get away with it by flashing his CIA badge — a move he normally avoided using.
Once he reached their home, he slammed on the brakes, skidding to a stop in the driveway, and yanked the keys from the ignition. Catching sight of the ajar front door, he sprinted toward the steps, leaving the car door open behind him.
Inside, the home was eerily silent. Oddly, everything of clear value remained in its proper place; perhaps the robbers were still inside. Brian grabbed an umbrella from a coat rack beside the door, brandishing it like a sword, and began walking around their home.
In the living room, glass crunched beneath his shoes from a broken vase and broken picture frames. CDs and DVDs were scattered across the carpet. The pillows from the couch lay on the floor as though they had been tossed.
Meanwhile, the kitchen was a warzone. Broken dishes covered the floor and the cabinets hung open. Ashavari’s favorite fruit bowl had been overturned; its contents rested haphazardly on the counter and floor. The back door remained shut.
The home office they shared mimicked the living room. Brian grimaced at the shattered and mangled frame for his crumpled diploma. At least until he noticed that Ashavari’s laptop was missing from its usual perch on her desk. His stomach churned; finally, something of value. After setting the umbrella on his desk, he kneeled beside it and pulled open the large bottom drawer, unearthing a 9mm Glock from beneath a false bottom. Now that he had proof that something was stolen, he had to be ready for whoever was inside.
After rounding the corner back to the living room, Brian crept up the stairs toward the second floor. Immediate unease swept over him at the sight of their open bedroom door. Brian swallowed away the gnawing feeling in his stomach and flipped off the gun’s safety. Rather than running into the room, he crept toward it, holding his wrist to steady his shaking hand and prevent a misfire.
Inside the room, Ashavari lay sprawled on the bed with her hand clutched around the opal necklace Pearl had gifted her. Brian’s heart clenched, and he almost dropped his weapon; she wasn’t careless enough to sleep with the doors wide open. Thankfully, he caught himself and reset the safety on the gun before placing it on the dresser, then rushed to her bedside, ignoring the realization that the robbers Ashie had worked so hard to fend off could still be inside.
When he reached her, he collapsed beside the bed. Though tears streamed down his cheeks and his heart yearned to scream out her name, his mouth couldn’t form sentences as his sadness mingled with his boiling rage. Only a trickle of dried blood seeped from the clean bullet hole just above her eyebrows, the sign of a marksman that couldn’t be any ordinary robber. Coupled with her missing laptop, the evidence was clear. Ashavari had been correct. This was a government hit.
***