Thirty-one

We walk down a long corridor before reaching another door. Brandon opens it, and music starts blasting out of nowhere. There are people all around us in dresses and suits, playing poker or with a drink in their hands. Most importantly, there are men positioned in every corner of the room, their weapons evident on them.

A woman in an elegant long dress walks past us. She looks at us, her gaze lingering on Brandon. When she gives him a flirtatious smile, I resist the urge to roll my eyes and clench my jaw instead.

Brandon doesn't give anything away and nods politely at the woman. I notice I'm still holding his hand and release it, looking around me with my eyes slightly narrowed.

"Let's play poker," Brandon proposes, looking around him as well.

"We're not here for that," I mutter, directing my gaze towards the bar section. "Look around for him."

"Looking around like that will make us suspicious. Let's get a drink." Brandon proposes me his arm and I let him lead me towards the bar, admitting that he's right.

"What do you guys see?" Britt asks, and her voice reminds me that she's out there, with us on this mission. Although having her with us is a big help, I don't like it.

"At least twelve men armed. Other than that, no one that looks suspicious for now," I reply, carefully taking a seat next to Brandon.

"He's definitely a protected man," I continue. "Is he afraid of something?"

"Or someone?" Brandon adds, tilting his head towards me.

"He's running what's most likely a criminal organization," Britt states matter-of-factly. "I'm not surprised to hear that, but watch out for your back. That password doesn't reassure me."

"Ah, and why is that?" I mutter under my breath, taking the drink Brandon hands me.

A silence answers me. Then there are a few weird noises, and my heart skips a beat.

"Britt?" I murmur, and I don't like the fear you can hear in my voice.

I knew this was a fucking bad idea.

"Yeah, just wait..." she finally says, and I let out a breath of relief, not missing the way Brandon stares at me. "Something weird just happened outside. A few men joined the ones at the entrance, and they're talking animatedly, but I can't hear anything..."

I share a look with Brandon. He turns his head to look around him, and I focus my gaze on my hands, waiting for Britt to continue.

"All right. Andrew went to see what's happening. If anything goes wrong, I'll tell you both. There's an exit in the back and—"

"He left you in the van alone?" I hiss, shaking my head.

Britt sighs. "I know how to defend myself as well, Soph. He'll be back in a few minutes. Now focus and look around you."

Breathing slowly, I tell myself that she's right. Britt is trained, too. I know that.

But you don't want something to happen to her and feel guilty about it?

I stand up without having touched my drink. I look around me and wait for something, just something that will—

My eyes stop on a familiar face, even after four years. My mouth drops open, and I quickly recompose myself, turning to look away.

I'm probably seeing things. Blinking, I look again in the same direction.

The man is sitting along a few others, focusing on the game of poker he's playing. He raises his cold, dark eyes towards a man, a smirk appearing on his lips. He's probably winning and he knows it.

"Sophia?"

I've searched for him for a while, after Brandon's death. I had to give up at some point, because I already had too much going on, and the man was nowhere to be found.

"Sophia."

"Vincent Alvarado," I murmur, turning my head towards a concerned Brandon, who frowns at my words.

"What?" he says, turning to look around him.

"3 o'clock," I say, and Brandon subtly takes a look in the direction. "The man who stole that diamond four years ago."

Brandon looks back at me, his eyebrows furrowed. "How do you know?"

"I would recognize him even after ten damn years." I turn towards the bar, my heart rate increasing. "He pulled the trigger on you, and I tried to kill him."

My eyes meet Brandon's. "I could never forget his face."

He rubs his jaw covered in stubble beard, a serious expression on his face.

"Right... I must have forgotten what he looks like. I remembered his name but... not him." Pausing, his blue eyes darken, and he slowly looks up at me. "Why is he here?"

"Guys," Britt's voice interrupts us, and I almost jump in surprise. "Andrew is with me. Charles Barton is here."

"Great news, but where is the M—"

"That's not all," Britt cuts me off, and I look at Brandon. "One of them said something... unexpected..."

When a few seconds pass, I'm about to lose it.

"What is it?" Brandon asks gravely, his fists clenched.

"He said something about... the East Agency," Britt declares finally. I freeze. "Sounds familiar to you?"

We both stay quiet. The noises around me are suddenly muted. I can only hear Britt's words over and over again, and slowly, things make sense.

The Circle.

The Master.

The Bird.

The East Agency.

Charles Barton.

Vincent Alvarado—

Holy shit.

Everything... everything is connected.

The East Agency is The Circle.

Vincent Alvarado takes part in The Circle.

The Circle killed Brandon... his old agency... killed him.

Fuck. My head whirls around and I look around me frantically before my eyes stop on Vincent Alvarado. He hasn't noticed us yet. My eyes go back to Brandon, and I look at him from head to toe.

"We have to go, now," I order, grabbing Brandon's arm. He's still, not moving, his eyes filled with confusion and surprise. It seems like he hasn't put everything together yet.

Blinking, he looks at me, shaking his head. "We haven't seen the Master yet and you want to leave?"

I yank him towards me, and he blinks again, this time the confusion and the shock slowly leaving his features. He needs to recover, at least for now.

His face a few centimeters from mine, I look him in the eyes. "Brandon, he knows what you look like. I'm disguised tonight and you're not. Vincent Alvadaro knows what you look like. So, we leave right now. Your old agency is your enemy. Our enemy. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Slowly, he nods. I take a step back, watching him carefully. If he turns around and tries to kill Vincent Alvarado, we're all dead.

"Britt," I say, "help us get the hell out of here."

*

I take off the blonde wig with a wince, brushing a hand through my dark brown hair. Sighing, I cross my arms over my chest and look at everyone in the room.

Mr. Neil is still silent, his eyes narrowed. Brandon stands beside me, and although I'm not close enough to touch him, I can tell he's tensed.

Britt is finally the first one to say something.

"The East Agency... or The Circle. That's the same shit and four years ago, they did all of this," she says, throwing a glance at Brandon.

"But why?" I shake my head. I turn towards Brandon. "You said the East Agency saved you, but did they really, though?"

"Of course not," Andrew interjects, crossing his arms. "They killed him. Well, tried. It didn't work, so they took him with them. They used him for their advantage instead. It makes sense."

Brandon's jaw is clenched, and so are his fists. He stares at his feet, not wanting to meet our gaze.

"You were with the enemy for four years," I say, glancing at Brandon. "Your girlfriend was the enemy and you didn't realize anything?"

I knew Nova wasn't what she pretended to be. God, I knew it. Even with the lie detector, she was good enough to fool us.

I grit my teeth. Good thing she's dead.

Brandon finally speaks up, raising his head towards me. "How could I? I don't understand how..." He shakes his head and sighs.

"What about the Master?" Britt says, looking at Mr. Neil who hasn't talked yet. "Maybe Vincent Alvarado is the Master."

"Maybe he is," Garry finally declares, raising his head. "But if he knew that Agent Montgomery was coming, he wouldn't have just stayed there for her to notice him so easily."

"He hasn't even looked at me. The Master knows I was coming, or at least that's what I think." I pause, thinking about all of this. "But it would make sense if Vincent Alvarado is the Master, after what happened years ago."

"And what does he want?" Brandon asks, looking at me carefully. "Revenge?"

"I didn't give him what he wanted, did I? He killed you but it didn't work, tried to kill me, and in the end, I threw his little diamond away, making sure he wouldn't be able to get it."

I can tell he's surprised. He didn't know the whole story, and still doesn't. I'll probably never tell him any more details of that night because I can't keep thinking about it. Too bad I now have to think about it again.

"What do we do, now?" Britt questions, her eyes going from me to Brandon.

I take a deep breath. I don't know. I don't know what to do anymore. Every time we find out about something, it doesn't feel like we're getting closer to the truth, to the end of all of this. It just feels like we're burying ourselves, and soon, we won't be able to breathe.

However, I must say something, because I'm still the Bird. I'm still the one who's the most involved, even though Brandon has been with the enemy for four years without knowing it.

Even if Mr. Neil has the authority, he still looks at me and waits. So, I open my mouth and say something.

"We find out the whole truth... and we destroy The Circle."

I think I know how to do the first step. I'm just not sure if they will let me.

*

This story is much more complex than I intended in the beginning bahahaha.

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