Mission: Betrayal part 6

It was several hours later that Jordan had solemnly announced that they had shaken off the emperor’s forces. They’d ditched the IMF van in a ditch, of all places, and continued on foot, looking for a new vehicle. Laz had suggested that they bury Zach’s body next to the van, and so they did. Every IMF agent said something about Zach that they’d always loved, such as, “he was a great agent,” or “he always did what needed to be done, whether it was watching the car or shooting a terrorist.” In the end though, they had to move on. None of them had any doubt as what had happened to Timothius now; they knew that the emperor had gotten to him. The question was, could they do anything to save him, or was it too late?
“Where do we go now?” Jordan asked.
“We can’t go back to the hideout,” Kayla stated a fact they all knew. The house was swarming with government agents now; someone had told the emperor about their hideout, they still weren’t sure whom. “We need to go somewhere and regroup, maybe we can organize some sort of rescue effort for Tim… if he’s not already dead.”
“I know a place,” Ryan said. Everyone looked at him; he’d been silent for a long time, which was very unlike him. “A place where IMF agents in distress have always been able to go.”
“Won’t the emperor know where it is then?” Emmy asked.
“No,” Sarah spoke up. “I know what place he’s talking about; even the emperor doesn’t know about it.”
“Evan Hunter himself used it to hide from the emperor’s right hand man, years ago,” Ryan informed them.
Everyone’s eyes widened. Evan Hunter? He was one of the greatest IMF agents that had ever lived. They all knew the story of when the emperor’s right hand man had suddenly started killing agents behind the emperor’s back. Evan Hunter had been the one to bring him down. Now they wondered if the emperor had known about it after all.
“Do you know how to find the place?” Christophear asked.
“Of course I do,” Ryan said confidently. He seemed to be growing surer of himself by the moment. “An old mentor showed it to me a long time ago.”
“A long time ago?” Laz asked. “Like when?”
“Before you joined IMF,” Ryan replied. “I was the one that vouched for you to get in, remember?”
“I could have got in myself,” Laz said, crossing his arms.
“Whatever, let’s not start fighting,” Sarah intervened. “We need to find this place.” She turned towards Ryan. “Do you know how to find it?”
Ryan threw up his hands. “Please, I’m Ryan Cruise. Of course I can find it.”

Two hours later…
“Ryan,” Laz called huffing and puffing. “Are you sure you know where this place is?” They’d been trekking through a forest for two hours now.
“Of course I do,” Ryan called back. He had been leading them throughout the forest, constantly mumbling to himself. The whole team was dirty and their clothes were ripped by now. Chris had fallen three times and the third time he’d taken out Laz and Jordan with him. To say the least, it had been an unpleasant journey.
“I told you, it’s kinda out in the boonies,” Ryan added.
“That’s gotta be the biggest understatement of the year!” Emmy replied with a little bit of irritation in her voice. (That was also a bit of an understatement; there was actually a lot of irritation in her voice.)
“We’re lost aren’t we?” Sarah asked.
“No, we are not lost,” Ryan assured her. “I know exactly where we are; we’re right here.”
Sarah sighed. “That’s helpful.”
“Hey look,” Kayla called. “Is that it?” She pointed towards an old shack off in the distance.
“Aha! That’s it!” Ryan exclaimed. They ran up towards the shack.
Emmy clapped her hands together. “I knew you would find it; I never doubted you for a second.”
When they arrived at the shack, however, they had a different impression. “That’s it?” they asked almost in unison. They all seemed rather disappointed, understandably so.
“Hey,” Ryan shrugged. “This is just the ground floor. Wait ‘till you step inside.” He paused and then added, “None of you are claustrophobic by any chance, are you?” The IMF agents crammed themselves into the shack and Ryan pressed a button on the wall. The floor slowly sunk down beneath them.
“Don’t worry, it’s an elevator,” Ryan assured them. They lowered down a ways and then stopped. A door opened in front of them, and the agents gasped at what they saw.
The hideout was like a huge bunker, complete with concrete ceilings, walls, and floors. It was lined with all of the latest equipment and gadgets. There was a huge gun rack on the west wall, and several screens mounted on the north one. Underneath the screens was a large dashboard, covered with buttons and switches. There was a cabinet on the east side that was labeled: Gadgets, and it was filled with all kinds of gadgets, of course. Hallways appeared to lead off into different areas of the hideout. At the dashboard was a single chair, which appeared to be empty. Suddenly, the chair whirled around. It revealed a man who appeared to be a seasoned agent, his hair was graying and he had a salt and pepper beard.
“Who are you?” Laz asked.
“Are you Evan Hunter?” Emmy whispered.
The man laughed. “No, of course not. Evan Hunter has long been dead. I was with him when he died actually, fine agent. As for me, I believe Ryan Cruise can tell you who I am.”
Ryan grinned as if he’d just found the largest candy store in the world and the owner had told he could have all the candy for free. “Derek! I can’t believe it’s you!” They laughed and hugged each other. Ryan turned to the others. “Guys, this is Derek, the man who taught me everything I know.”
“And everything you don’t know,” Derek added.
“Is he IMF?” Sarah asked. “He looks familiar.”
“Yeah, he is,” Ryan assured her. “But he disappeared a long time ago,” Ryan said, turning towards Derek. “What happened? The emperor said that you were killed on a mission.”
“That’s what he wanted you to think,” Derek said, solemnly. “Truth was, I had crossed him. I disobeyed one of his orders, and then I fled for my life. I’ve been hiding out for about five years now.”
Ryan and Derek filled each other in on what had happened in the last five years.
“Have the Giants won the World Series yet?” Derek asked.
“No,” Ryan shook his head. “They were in the NLCS, but they lost in the last inning of game seven.”
Derek shook his head. “Figures.”
“Um, guys?” Kayla spoke up. “Shouldn’t we be worrying about the emperor right now? And not who won the World Series.”
“Calm down sweetheart,” Derek grinned. “I’ve got that under control.”
Kayla frowned when he said sweatheart, and started to say something, but Ryan interrupted. “Don’t worry, he calls girls sweetheart sometimes. It started after he went on that mission in the South; he had to learn a fake accent for the mission and everything. Still slips back into it sometimes.”
Kayla nodded, still not that pleased at his choice of words.
“We’ve got surveillance cameras set up all over this jungle,” Derek informed them as he walked back over to the dashboard.
“Who’s we?” Sarah asked.
“IMF,” Derek replied matter-of-factly. “You didn’t think you guys were the only IMF agents, did you?”
“Of course not,” Sarah shook her head.
“She’s lying,” Ryan said, earning him a glare from Sarah.
Derek grinned, and then his face turned solemn. “Unfortunately, we still don’t know for sure why the emperor wants us all dead. He’s pretty much signed the death warrant for all of IMF. Part of what Sarah said is true, but I think there’s more to this. Until we find those documents that Cathy had, we won’t ever know.”
Everyone grew very silent at the mention of Cathy. There were even a few tears that came from some of the agents’ eyes.
“How did you know what I said, and how did you know about Cathy?” Sarah asked.
“I’ve been watching you guys,” Derek said. “I’m sorry for your losses.”
They all nodded, quietly. “We’re still not sure where Tim is, though,” Emmy said
Derek swallowed and replied, “I know where he is, in the emperor’s dungeon. Being tortured. I’m afraid I have some more bad news, though.”
“What’s that?” Jordan asked.
“We have a mole in IMF.”

There was a long dramatic pause. “A mole?” Laz asked. “Like a spy?”
“Yes,” Derek rolled his eyes. “Of course like a spy.”
“Who is it?” Kayla asked.
“That’s the problem,” Derek shook his head and sighed. “We don’t know.”
“Do you have any idea who it could be?” asked Emmy.
“Yes, I do have an idea,” Derek nodded, but he didn’t seem too happy.
“Who?” they all asked him in unison.
“I think it’s one of you,” Derek said quietly.
There was another long dramatic pause.
“Wanna run that by me again?” Ryan said, not believing his ears.
“I think it’s one of you,” Derek repeated.
“And why is that, may I ask?” Kayla spoke up.
“Yeah, what did we ever do?” Jordan agreed.
Derek gave another long sigh and began to explain. “Look, it all adds up. Cathy’s on your team, she had the info we needed and she was killed. Michelle might have been the key to get that information after Cathy’s death, and now she’s dead. Who knew their whereabouts? No one did, except for the people on your team. The empire found out your hideout, which no one except your team even knew about.”
He took a breath. “And finally, the emperor hasn’t yet found out about this place. You’re the last team to make it here. If the mole were on another IMF team, he would have already squealed by now.”
Everyone paused dramatically yet again. “Well, you got me convinced,” said Laz. “I almost believe that I’m the mole now.” He paused, “Am I?”
“You could be,” Derek insisted.
“That’s ridiculous,” Sarah said. “I can’t believe that you would accuse us of this. Especially after what’s happened to all of us.”
“Maybe I was wrong,” Derek said, seeming to agree.
“Now you’re talking,” Ryan broke his unusual silence.
“Maybe it wasn’t your team after all, Cruise,” Derek continued.
“Keep talking,” Ryan nodded, grinning.
“Maybe… it was you,” Derek pointed an accusing finger at Sarah.
“Okay, you can stop now,” Ryan mumbled.
“Think, Cruise,” Derek pleaded, walking over towards Ryan. “Think with your head for once. Where did she come from? Where was she when Cathy was killed? She was right there, you saw her. Where was she when Michelle was murdered? Who knows? Maybe she was there that night, blasting her full of holes. How can you trust her?”
“I can, and I will!” Ryan snapped.
“We can’t,” Derek held his forehead in his hands. Sarah, surprisingly enough, was silent. “We can’t afford to trust her on a whim.”
“It’s not a whim, I’d trust her with my life!” Ryan exclaimed. “I was there too, you know. How do you know I didn’t shoot Cathy? Or that Laz didn’t shoot her?”
“Hey!” Laz protested.
“Sorry Laz, just trying to make a point,” Ryan reassured him. “But don’t you see what I mean? Anyone could be the mole.”
Jordan leaned over towards Emmy. “Is it just me or has Ryan gotten way more serious over the past couple days?”
Emmy nodded and whispered back, “desperate times call for desperate measures.”
Derek closed his eyes. “We have to keep her under close watch, Cruise.”
“Not acceptable,” Ryan crossed his arms.
“Wait, Ryan,” Sarah interrupted before Derek could argue. “I agree.”
“What?” Ryan voiced everyone’s thoughts.
“I agree. My actions have been somewhat suspicious, and what better way to prove I’m innocent?” She walked over to Ryan and whispered in his ear. “I appreciate you trusting me, I’ll remember that.”
“You’re welcome,” Ryan whispered back. Two body guards, wearing flak vests that bore the insignia: IMF, on them, came and took her away. “Don’t hurt her!” Ryan warned.
“Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of her,” Derek assured him. “When I get back, I’ll show you guys where you can get some rest.”
“I don’t like this,” Ryan shook his head.
“Neither do I,” Kayla nodded in agreement.
“Well, I don’t know. Maybe she is the mole,” Emmy speculated.
“How could you say that Emmy?” Kayla was appalled.
“It’s a possibility,” Emmy shrugged.
Jordan looked at Ryan. “How are you holding up?”
Ryan didn’t answer right away. “I wonder if Timothius is really dead?”

Timothius awoke hours later, from a peculiar dream, after being severely tortured. He groaned as he tried to get up. “Oh, my body.”
The interrogator was still standing there when he got up. “Are you ready to give in, or should I start doing a little shoulder relocation?” He held up a drill and buzzed it a few times for effect.
“No, don’t,” Tim, begged. “I’ll do anything, please.”
“Anything the emperor asks?”
“Anything,” he repeated.
The interrogator laughed, “good.”

After a few miserable hours, Ryan had finally fallen into a restless sleep in the bed provided to him by IMF. All the other men from IMF were still in their beds, fast asleep. The girls were in a separate room. He tossed and turned, thinking about where Sarah was right now. Granted, she wasn’t really in a dungeon-- a more accurate description would be house arrest—but he still felt bad about it. As he lay there, in a fitful sleep, a dark figure wearing black clothes and a dark mask crept towards him out of the shadows. The figure crept closer and closer, until it was standing right by Ryan’s bed. It was obvious now from the figure’s long hair that it was probably a girl. She leaned over and tapped Ryan gently.
Ryan stirred and moaned. “No mom, five more minutes!”
The figure tapped him harder. This time he sprang into a sitting position, grabbing a knife from the nightstand beside him as he did so.
The woman instantly drew a gun fitted with a silencer from her holster and trained it on him. “Drop it,” she ordered. The voice was familiar, too familiar.
Ryan obeyed. “Who are you?”
She laughed. “You know, Ryan? You shouldn’t trust everybody. Especially not the pretty ones.” She tore off her mask and shook out her hair. It was Sarah!
“Sarah!” Ryan exclaimed. “Don’t! What are you doing?”
“Getting rid of an old problem.” She pointed the gun at his head and fired. Ryan sank back down to the bed, a bullet hole through his head.

Copyright © Imperial Mission, Inc.
Killer Whale Studios

All rights reserved
The works on this blog including posts, comments, and pictures; may not be reproduced in any form without permission. The scanning, printing, uploading and distribution of these works via the internet or any other means without permission of Imperial Mission, Inc, or Killer Whale Studios is illegal and punishable by law.
Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

For any information the address is: Xanatosofmalta@gmail.com