| Kylee Mission 7: Point of No Return Page 1 |
| "You lying little whore!" A right hook connected with the target's jaw and sent her spinning. Kylee kept at her assault and pounced on the other girl. Erica hit the floor with a loud exhalation of air. The fiery blonde dragged her to her feet and delivered a roundhouse kick that left Erica back on the sensor pad. "Take her back down, but leave her at an inch this time," Kylee ordered. Erica screamed for mercy, throwing her hands before herself in a futile gesture of defense. Energies crackled over her skin and infiltrated every cell of her body. Her throat tore loose with an unearthly howl that turned comical with a rise in pitch. Erica's body faded more and more until she reached a wretched inch tall, even smaller than her previous pathetic size. "I'll teach her to lie, I'm going down to three." Kylee shrank herself, stopping at three times the height of her opponent. She towered over the traitor, laughing at her puny form. She grabbed the smaller girl and lobbed her into the air. Another roundhouse brought her back to the ground. Kylee finished with two shots to the gut and a crashing blow across her face. "You ain't so pretty no more." A glob of spit punctuated the retort. "That was hardly an appropriate measure," her boss scolded. "The second she was restored, she tried to bolt," Kylee offered in defense. "They always try to run before finishing their end of the bargain. Besides, it wasn't entirely one-sided. I strained some muscles on a couple punches and one kick. I deserve recognition for those injuries in the line of duty. Alright," she added in a more recalcitrant tone, "I guess I went too far. It's just that I'm� we're all� goin' nuts trying to get whoever's behind all of this." "I have every available agent working on this and many undercover." Kylee froze and cast a Medusa gaze upon her superior. "I wasn't briefed on any undercover ops. Why wasn't I considered?" "Easiest explanation: you're too invested in this. Yes, you are my top agent and deserve to know about other assignments. You're learning about the solos now." He leaned forward in his chair, shifting more weight onto his desk, and steepled his fingers. "The FBI alerted us to several missing persons cases in Ogdensburg, New York. Agent Duverge relayed the information to us when he was reviewing files from other offices." A manila envelope, so much like the countless others she had seen, coasted across the desk to Kylee's waiting hands. "I sent in a fairly new agent, but she's had enough experience." Her nimble fingers deftly flipped through the pages, her eyes capturing the relevant details in seconds. Her brow knit into a mass of ridges. "There's something missing from here," she said at last, tapping the folder against her chin. "Primarily, the lack of a name for the field agent out there, and why you're breaking protocol." A cloth went up to his face to remove the spontaneous sweat outbreak. He knew she'd catch both, especially the protocol about two agents always being together. How could she forget a rule she was a part of the creation of? "We needed so many field agents out tracking leads that we're stretched too thin. As for the agent's name, I need you to stay calm. I know how protective you are of Alicia and-" He caught himself a nanosecond too late. Rachel sagged to the floor, her reserves depleted. She had even lost secondary auxiliary back-up reserves and would have extended the joke further in her mind if not for the crippling fatigue. Her limbs were wet spaghetti at the peak of her starvation. The other prisoners, if there had been any and hunger wasn't scattering her memories through a mental prism, had died days or weeks before. Nothing remained certain anymore; not facts, dates, or even time. She had made her way into the shower during a dehydration induced delusional state. A semi-regular drip from the head kept her alive, at least where one survival need was concerned. Strangely, when she was first imprisoned by her late ex friend Janel that drip had maddened her tiny ears. Her hands grasped at the next saving droplet and her mind reveled in its sound. She was always the best fighter in Janel's contests and was still the champion. Her shurnken lungs tore free with a howl of triumph. She was gone now, had moved away shortly after coming back. She only took her own stuff. The child's things had either been discarded or donated away. The memories had been too painful and now only she remained as the new family moved in. A girl in her late teens lived there now with oblivious parents. This was close to Ocean City, Maryland and a party would would finally happen in this house near a resort town. Julie watched the new girl changing from her vantage point in a crack in the wall. She laughed, knowing that the newcomer would be perfect. "Alicia? You sent Alicia in alone?" She grabbed his phone and pulled it close. "Give me her contact number." "I can't," he sighed. "She hasn't reported in for several days and missed key contact times." Her composure shattered and her heart rate skyrocketed. There were only two possible reasons for this situation: First, she was with a suspect and setting up to take him/her down. Second, she had been taken captive and couldn't escape, or was dead. Too many agents in recent history had been lost to the second scenario for it not to be the most likely cause. "When do I go in?" "Today, but not in your usual capacity. You and Agent Duverge will be working together merely to retrieve Alicia's material and determine her most probable status. You will both receive boosters, but I am informing you now that you are not to engage in any personal sizechanging." Rachel sagged to the floor, her reserves depleted. She had even lost secondary auxiliary back-up reserves and would have extended the joke further in her mind if not for the crippling fatigue. Her limbs were wet spaghetti at the peak of her starvation. The other prisoners, if there had been any and hunger wasn't scattering her memories through a mental prism, had died days or weeks before. Nothing remained certain anymore; not facts, dates, or even time. She had made her way into the shower during a dehydration induced delusional state. A semi-regular drip from the head kept her alive, at least where one survival need was concerned. Strangely, when she was first imprisoned by her late ex friend Janel that drip had maddened her tiny ears. Her hands grasped at the next saving droplet and her mind reveled in its sound. She was always the best fighter in Janel's contests and was still the champion. Her shrunken lungs tore free with a howl of triumph. She was gone now, had moved away shortly after coming back. She had only taken her own stuff. The child's things had either been discarded or donated away. The memories had been too painful and now only she remained as the new family moved in. A girl in her late teens lived there now with oblivious parents. This was close to Ocean City, Maryland and a party would would finally happen in this house near a resort town. Julie watched the new girl changing from her vantage point in a crack in the wall. She laughed, knowing that the newcomer would be perfect. |
 |