In the woods...
As the wind whistled across her ears. Cordis gently placed one of her knees on the ground as she gasped for breath.
Sweat dripped down her face, and her lips were slightly parted, permitting more air into her lungs.
She didn't mistake the message.
The male voice that would always speak to her through her black earring continued:
"Drop everything and move." It ordered.
Her voice trembled as she questioned, "But my friends—"
Interrupting, the voice ignored her and continued:
"Where the four roads meet at the end of this one to form a juncture. You'll see a call booth. Get inside, lock yourself, and after twenty minutes, I'll call back. You have 10 minutes to get there...go!"
And then there was nothing.
She couldn't refute, she couldn't complain, just like the other times, she was expected to carry out the orders with no questions asked.
At first, she didn't have any problems being friends with The Cativan. It has been her lifelong dream ever since she learned her family's secret.
But this—
Leaving her friends in danger, hurting them—wasn't what she signed up for.
"For the greater good, huh?" She muttered to herself, wiping the snot and tears from her face with the back of her palm that was covered in a leather black glove.
Picking herself from the floor dejectedly, she stared at the relic she dropped earlier and then the towering prison.
"They're trailing me, how else would they know I'm here? They must know about Seven and Miguel too. Can I trust The Cativan in keeping my friends safe?"
Taking one last glance at the prison, a huge question mark hanging above her head. Bound by nobility and duty, she turned and disappeared in the darkness.
---
Seven and Miguel caught their heart in their mouth as they stared, startled beyond measure at the sounds of activity resuming all around them, most especially from the one below them.
They had to deal with it fast, and without a second thought, they ran, jumping over the police, that was seconds away from waking up.
Cutting through a corner, they kept running no clue of where they were heading. No one was alerted of their presence or the possibility that there was something wrong. But more police and guards were starting to move. Even the prisoners in cells...
They would receive short, confused glances at them as they zipped through. Thankfully, everyone was just as disoriented as they were to actually understand what they were seeing.
Two teenagers in prison? By this time?!
No way!
Right?!
Running away could only work for a painfully short amount of time, though. Soon, they were cornered. They could hear footsteps closing in, approaching from all sides and corners.
'We can't get caught!'
Panicking, Seven's mask of indifference slipped as sweat dripped down his forehead, barely missing his widened eyes.
Reaching out for his bag, despite knowing there was nothing there that could help, he felt a cold sensation like a hand grabbing a hold of his left forearm.
"Jesus, Miguel! You're squeezing..."
He turned to find a confused and scared Miguel staring at him, too, with his right hand running over his hair; he saw a hand reach out and grab a hold of Miguel, too.
On realization...
Swoosh!
They were snatched.
Just before they could fully conceive the thought of the fact that there had been a third person with them. In one swift motion, darkness clouded their eyes as the blurry features of the police approaching them faded.
---
Stepping into the call booth and checking her wristwatch simultaneously. Cordis let out a slow breath of relief and proceeded to lock the door behind her.
Feeling suffocated in the small space, she let down her face mask and hood. She squatted, feeling shivers run down her spine.
The Cativan had never given her a mission like this before. She had no idea what she was getting into.
Or if it was even from the Cativan?
Lifting her head so she could stare at the ceiling, she closed her eyes trying to concentrate.
A lot of things were currently running through her mind, and she wasn't in the best shape to think either.
The relic's effect on her is yet to run off even though she didn't bring it along.
Swallowing a lump, she kissed her tooth regretfully at the thought of losing her relic or worse, the possibility of it falling into the wrong hands.
She had lied about stealing it from Master, it was the only story she could come up with to avoid questions.
Her job required a lot of lying.
The relics, among others, were gifts from the Cativan to protect herself. She'd be lying if she said she said it wouldn't hurt her to lose The Cradle Bell.
It was the counterfeit, all of them were mere imitations of the original that is currently being locked away in a vault underground somewhere in Rome.
Cordis would always wonder how they did it because it obviously went against every law of the church...whatever the method was, it was beyond Blessing and worked like magic...
Or in this case, miracle!
Looking at the wristwatch again as seconds stretched to minutes, her shoulders tensed, seeing she only had a few more minutes left before the mysterious call would come in.
There were many questions she had about this secret organization. It was all cool, risky, and fun, till things got secretive. She was too low in rank to gain reasonable insights, and being an agent, she's forced to understand that she couldn't just have the answers to everything whenever she wanted them.
"Verbum sanctum est, audi illud a sacro imperio."
The male voice yanked her from thoughts and she immediately sprang up from where she was sitting.
"Dial..."
It began, a few moments of silence following suit...
"000-027-8212"
He called out and subsequently, She imputed the codes.
Pressing on the call button...the voice came again making her sweaty hands almost skip away from the phone.
"Before you call, note this..."
"Yikes..."
The voice continued, unaware that she had already called.
Hoping it wasn't too bad of a mistake, she controlled her breathing and listened to both incoming messages attentively...
"If the person on the other end picks on the third ring say, 'I need your help!' if it doesn't, we would require you to remain shut!"
Trying to keep calm, the third ring came and there was nothing. She made sure to not make another sound. Slowly putting down her hand, she prevented the constant 'hello, is anyone there' from getting to the man speaking through her earring.
Wait for another call and if it does pick up, cut it and call back. If it picks at the third ring, repeat the first process and say as I quote...My German Shepherd is constipated, I need an ambulance!"
He didn't mention how long it would take for this another call to come in, but she prayed silently it would be for a while—at least before she was done with getting all the information.
"Note the Tenth word from the speaker's mouth. Carry out a normal conversation, if it drags out more than five minutes of you stopped hearing, cut the call yourself no matter what. Do you understand?"
"Yes..." She whispered almost in a whisper, and just afterward, the telephone rang.
Thankfully, the guy from her earring didn't say another word.
Cutting and dialing again, the call was picked up at the third ring this time around.
"My German Shepherd is constipated, I need an ambulance!"
"How many weeks Mrs. Lillian Stanford?"
'Stanford!' she made a mental note.
"Two weeks now, I'm really worried about her!" She continued the act as requested, hoping the tremor in her voice was interpreted as concern for her dog to whoever was listening.
"Don't worry, ma'am, we'll be right there," she listened, noting the interference of the network from the other end.
"Really? Thank you so much!" She said, frowning a bit when she could hear another reply but just some distant whining growl.
Slamming the telephone back in the holder as instructed, she ran through the conversation, confirming and reciting repeatedly the sixth word from their conversation.
"Stanford!"
Soon after, she heard a different voice from the earring, this time with a strong Italian accent.
"You have successfully retrieved the code. Stan-ford! Please exit the call booth."
Cordis wasn't sure if it was the accent, but the man pronounced the two-syllabic words like each syllable was a word.
Heeding the instruction, she moved out of the booth and stood at the T- junction.
"Stand forward and look up straight. Fourth house to your front, you'll find a mailbox." Cordis listened attentively, her heart racing, scared to interpret the message.
Again, she's unsure if the instruction to stand forward was all from the sixth word, she dared not ask either.
"In that mailbox, you'll find four envelopes, each above the other, the last one a little out of place. Now, carefully, without touching the three upwards, grab the last and pull it out gently."
With a deep breath, the man continued:
"You'll find the VIII written on it. Leave immediately and note, don't close the mailbox! Copied?!"
As a second stretched into two as she battled with her conscience concerning the very awkward instruction, she swallowed a lump and nodded curtly;
"If there's no VIII on it?" She asked, previously noting the change in tone in the man's voice as he made the statement.
Just like she suspected, there was hesitation before the man's voice came again...
"Run!"
'Wait, what?!'