CHAPTER 14 

On the outskirts of Demeter, a group of small islands makes up the continent. In the center of Appellees Island lies one of the Government's Secret Facilities. Today, January 5th, at exactly 7:00 pm, marks their second meeting of the year. 

"Thank you, everyone, for being here," President Shaw begins. 

He welcomes the other two world leaders, Mr. Lu and Mr. Phillips, as well as the leaders of the Organization. After taking their seats, they immediately get down to business. A gentleman in a fine black suit walks up to Mr. Shaw and hands him a file. 

"These are the reports that you asked for," he says. 

Mr. Shaw opens it and quickly skims through while the others wait. 

"Is this everything?" he asks. 

"Yes, sir." 

"Put the data on the screen," he orders. 

"Right away, sir." 

He turns to the other leaders and gives a look of confirmation before speaking out to the crowd. 

"It's just as we suspected," he begins. "Our men in Janus have recently come across a spy from the resistance. He was working undercover for almost 6 months, and if it wasn't for our decision to run a system flush, our men probably would have never picked up on his scent." 

"Where is he now?" Lisa Munoz asks. 

"Dealt with," Mr. Phillips interrupts. "Just like those before him." 

"But that's not the real concern. We don't know just how much he uncovered and how much of that information he managed to pass on to his associates." 

The room suddenly becomes noisy, with a cacophony of disorganized chatter filling the air. 

"Alright, everybody, calm down!" Mr. Lu says. "We have several contingency plans in place for any such mishaps. We promise you, we will do everything possible to ensure that these scoundrels don't interfere with our plans. On January 8th, at exactly 11:59 pm, our plans for the Correctional Facility will go off without a hitch." 

THAT MORNING 

Where are you going? 

I told you not to go there... 

Get back here before you get yourself hurt... 

I said get back here... 

Nick... 

"Nick!" 

Her scream almost alarms her neighbors. Luckily, they can't make out just what the outburst was. She gets a hold of herself the moment she realizes it was all a nightmare. Alaya's eyes turn to the clock only to see that she's about 30 minutes late for work. She quickly gets dressed and heads off to work. 

Upon her arrival, she parks her car at the usual spot and strolls in casually. Nothing out of the ordinary, she thinks. The cubicles are filled with both seriousness and laughter. Her colleagues are all smiles and endearing as always, even offering advice and support. 

"Hey, why don't you join us on patrol until Nick returns from vacation? You look like you could use some time out of the office," Kristoff and his partner offer. 

With a forced smile and a simple gesture, she politely declines, "Thanks, guys, but I've got a lot of paperwork to do. Maybe next time." 

She sits in her cubicle, burying herself in work to keep distracted. She envisions her next move. She's already made a checklist of things to do the moment she gets off work. The clock strikes 7:00 pm. 

"Finally!" 

The people in the office hear her outburst and turn in surprise to see what the fuss was about. 

She chuckles then comes up with an excuse, "Sorry, I just really want to catch that new pizza place on 5th Avenue." 

Alaya makes a stop at the Tech store to pick up a few things just before rushing home. Steadfast in her new and improved plans to get Nick out of prison, she isn't going to waste any time getting something to eat. 

Her hands are full, but she manages to reach for the key from her front left pocket. She gets the door open then rushes in with the bags and sets them on the nearest table. She closes the door behind her then immediately pulls out her gun. 

"Show yourself!" she orders. With both hands on the gun and a firm grip on the trigger, she stands firm yet slightly shaken. 

How did they get past my security? 

"If I wanted to hurt you, you'd be dead already," a voice calls out. "Put the gun down." 

"Not until you show yourself!" she commands. 

The light flickers on, and Alaya chokes on her words from surprise. 

"Mis...t...er..." 

Sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, fully composed and holding a piece of paper in his hand, Mr. Bishop leans forward and opens his mouth to speak. 

"Now, I'm only going to say this once, so I expect you to both listen carefully and answer honestly... Where is my son?"