As the morning light hit, I climbed down from the fire escape and headed back to my hotel room. Going over the audio that was recorded while I was away from my computer, I found a very suspicious bit of audio from Walker that piqued my interest. It was a phone conversation where he was detailing our conversation to someone and asking for a check on my alias. I checked over the information I got from his phone and was only slightly satisfied to find he was detailing our conversation and my information to someone who seemed to be an assistant or partner.
I pulled out my phone and called Walker, “Who is this?”
“Your new favorite person. Meet me at 2394 Shirlington Road in fifteen,” was all I said before hanging up on him.
I changed into something I bought yesterday and put more evidence on another flash drive before heading to the address I gave Walker. I walked inside and waited for him to arrive. I heard him before I saw or smelled him, “How did you get my number?”
“Trade secret. Why did you call someone as soon as you left the hotel and give up the things we talked about?” I asked, turning to see the shock on his face.
“How do you know about that?”
“I know a lot of things. Answer the question,” I said with force in my voice.
He coughed, “I don’t trust you. You won’t tell me anything, and you’re clearly using an alias. A great one at that,” he put his hands on his hips, “So who are you? CIA, FBI, or NSA?”
I barely heard footsteps behind me. I took in a breath and was hit with the scent of pineapple. “Acid dragon,” Niamh said in my head.
As I turned slowly toward the acid dragon with my hands up, I was greeted with a gun not far from my face. I turned completely around, with my back to Walker, and flashed my dragon eyes at him. Niamh sent out a wave of dominance which caused his head to bow slightly. He quickly put his gun away, causing Walker to scoff. “Who are you?” The acid dragon demanded.
I smirked, “You first.”
“Maverick Donahue,” he responded.
“Maverick? Are you serious?” I scoffed and his only response was a shrug. I dropped my voice so only he could hear, “Can I trust him?” He gave me a barely perceptible nod, “Amaya Wardwell.”
His eyes widened, “Holy shit.”
“You know her?” Walker asked in a confused tone.
“No. Well yes, sort of,” Maverick stammered.
“What the fuck does that mean?”
I turned back to Walker, “It means he knows me by reputation, but has never actually met me.”
“And what reputation is that?” Walker demanded.
“What do you know about The Ghost?”
“He shows up with a team of four or five people, eliminates the hostiles, and moves on, but none of the teams he and his team help will admit to them being there or give a description of what The Ghost or his team looks like.” I smiled, happy to know no one had given me up, including Fox’s team. “Why are you asking about him?”
“Because The Ghost isn’t a him, The Ghost is a her. Me to be precise.”
“No fucking way. There’s no way it can be you,” he asserted.
“Why not?” I asked.
“Because,” I arched an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything, forcing him to continue, “Because. The Ghost can’t be a woman. He just can’t be.”
I rolled my eyes and turned back to Maverick, “Do you mind? A little hand-to-hand to prove my point,” he rolled his eyes but nodded.
We both put our weapons on the ground and started to circle one another. I wasted no time taking him down and getting the submission in just two moves; while Maverick didn’t get a single hit in before submitting. I helped him to his feet and looked at Walker, “Holy fuck. But wait, why the hell are you here on this?”
I picked my weapons back up, “I want to help. My boyfriend was on the last team that was set up by these guys. I figured I could use my skills to help catch them or give enough cause to lead to an arrest or some warrants,” I answered with a shrug.
“You’re not going to kill them are you?” The look of skepticism on his face made me laugh.
“No. God no. I mean unless I have cause that is,” I said with a smile.
“No. You won’t even with cause,” Walker demanded.
“Walker, you can trust her. When she says ‘cause’ she means-”
I cut Maverick off, “Don’t worry about it Maverick, I won’t kill anyone even with cause,” Maverick gave me a look but nodded, and we looked at Walker.
Walker nodded but still looked between the two of us, “How is it you know who she is or know of her?” Maverick started to respond but Walker cut him off, “Don’t give me that shit about running in the same circles either because I know what circles you run in Mav, and none of them include The Ghost.”
“You don’t know about everything in my life Walker, so yeah we do run in similar circles,” Maverick stated defensively.
“I’m not buying that bullshit, but we’ve got a case to work so I’ll let it go for now.”
I tossed him the flash drive I brought with me, “Some more crumbs.” I started walking away with my hand in the air, “Keep your phones on. I’ll call when I have more.”
When I walked outside the warehouse, I heard the click of a camera. “It came from across the street, two warehouses down from this one,” Niamh told me.
I slowly brought in a fog bank before walking across the street. “Where did this fog come from and where is she going?” I heard Walker ask Maverick.
“Get back in the warehouse. She heard something and is going to check it out,” Maverick stated. I imagined him pulling Walker back into the warehouse.
I walked until I was behind the warehouses and jogged until I was behind the warehouse where the camera click came from, “Where are they?” I asked Niamh in my head.
“Second floor,” she said.
I rolled my eyes at the vagueness of her information, but snuck in and found my way to the second floor. I cleared my throat, causing Tessa to turn toward me with a shocked expression on her face. “How did you know I was up here?”
I shrugged, “Caught the reflection off your camera. What are you doing up here?”
She pulled out her gun, making me smirk, “Who are you?”
“Why are you watching those men?” I asked with a little dominance behind my voice.
She coughed, “I-I-I’m watching you, not them. Malcolm wanted me to keep an eye on you. He doesn’t trust you.”
I quickly disarmed her and picked up her camera, “Find anything interesting?”
“How did you do that?”
I ignored her question and flipped through the photos, “Nope. Nothing interesting.”
I erased the images and stole the card, “You just destroyed evidence. I could take you in for that.”
I laughed, “No you can’t because you shouldn’t be here.” I set the camera down before motioning to her to spread her legs and arms. I checked her for other weapons. Finding none, I handcuffed her with her own handcuffs and walked her across the street. When we got outside, I slowly lifted the fog bank.
“What are you going to do with me?” She asked, her voice trembling a little.
“Calm down. You’re just going to be on ice for a while so you don’t blow my cover.”
“I knew it. Who are you with? CIA? DOD? NSA? FBI?”
“None of the above,” I said.
I walked her up to Walker and Maverick, “What’s she doing here?” Walker asked.
“Surveillance on me. I wasn’t followed here, so she must have followed the two of you.”
“What are you going to do with her?” Maverick asked.
“I was hoping you guys could stash her somewhere or throw her in a holding cell, something, until I get what I need.” Walker gave me a look of skepticism but Maverick nodded, “Great! I’ll call you when I get things in place.”
I handed Tessa to Maverick and started to walk away, but Walker grabbed my arm, “What are you going to do? You promised no killing.”
I rolled my eyes, “Yeah I did, so obviously it’s not that. Just keep your phone on, and I’ll call you when I’m ready for you.”
Author: Kailan Counahan 