Without a word, I slide out of the car, slamming the door shut behind me. My hands are twitching by my side, adrenaline still cursing through my blood.
"Hunter, wait." Micah says, stepping out from the drivers side with the camera in his hands. I breathe in sharply and spin around, my eyes landing on the bodywork of the car that is now covered in bullet holes.
Bullets that were meant for us.
The entire ride home, I grew increasingly confused over Calvin Black's intentions. Just how deep did the business with his father go? Innocent lives were risked today at the hands of Calvin Black and a masked deranged machine gunner who was basically a ghost to us.
We've never heard of his name or status before which was unusual for an FBI Mission.
Why did they choose to meet in a coffee shop full of eye witnesses?
What kind of business were they discussing that they both felt the need to bring guns?
The entire encounter did not make sense.
"Why did he take a gun inside a coffee shop? Who is this Mystery Gunner and how is he related to the Black family?" I question Micah, my words rolling into one. I begin bouncing on the heels of my shoes, frustration bubbling away inside of me.
"I don't know." Micah eventually responds, his voice low. I shake my head, gritting my teeth together —
"What does this have to do with Zack's disappearance? Who's taken him?" I question further.
"I don't know." Micah repeats.
"That's just it! We don't know. We don't know anything, we haven't gotten anywhere. This mission just turned into something that neither you or I were ready for. What the fuck has Veronica gotten us into?" I spit out, storming up to Micah until our faces are inches apart.
"We're FBI Agents, we can figure this out." Micah says bluntly, growing angry at my lack of faith in our ability. He slams his car door shut, brushing past me towards the house. Before he can, my arms swings out and I grab hold of his wrist, stopping him in his tracks. He freezes and tilts his head up, dark brown eyes searching mine —
"The mission is to find Christopher Black. Why are we chasing John Doe's with machine guns who are trying to kill us?" I breathe out, my eyes flickering between his. The night air grows clammy around us, clouds turning darker as seconds go by. Micah remains silent, his stare growing intense.
"You know, don't you?" I ask him, my voice barely above a whisper. The uncertain feeling I've had throughout this entire mission begins to grow until my every spider sense is tingling.
It simply doesn't make sense. . . From the beginning.
"It's a mission that took a different direction, that's all. You have to expect a bump along the way, you know that Hunter." Micah responds however I hear the waver in his voice. He doesn't fully understand what's going on either.
"No! That's not what it is. Think about it Micah! We came here with a single file, knowing barely any information on Christopher Black. We now have a guy who we've never heard of involved. Zack goes missing and I know he's linked to Christopher Black's business. When have we ever gone into a mission this blind?" I ramble, my brain going into overdrive. Micah releases a heavy breath, glancing up and down the street unnervingly.
"This was supposed to be a simple mission Micah. Find the asshole and bring him in, that was it. You've warned me from the start that he's dangerous but how dangerous are we talking?" I continue, searching Micah's eyes for some form of recognition. They begin to darken and he drops his gaze to the floor, unable to hold my stare any longer.
"You're wrong Hunter, you have to be." Micah says quietly. I shake my head, my jaw clenching with anger.
"So why haven't we heard anything back from the FBI? All the information we sent in and nothing. We should be making progress with the image we found of him on CCTV but it's come back as a dead end!" I exclaim, throwing my hands up in the air in defeat.
"Something is very wrong here and I know you feel it too." I tell him, desperately trying to get him to see sense. Micah doesn't respond and I can feel a thousand and one thoughts whizzing through my brain. The pieces of the puzzle begin to slowly come together and it only has one outcome . . .
"We're on a suicide mission." I breathe out, finally dropping Micah's arm.
I slump back against the car, the cold metal greeting the warmth of my back. Suicide missions are a myth amongst the agents. A simple tale that is spoken in hushed whispers because no-one knows the exact truth. Rumours are that when the FBI want to get rid of agents discreetly, they'll place them inside a mission where the only outcome is death. A mission where they don't receive any help, go in blind. A mission where the truth about the severity and the danger of the situation isn't made clear.I tilt my head up, searching the night sky before I begin to laugh.
My laughter grows increasingly louder and I simply cannot believe it's taken me this long to see it. Micah turns to face me, his face a blank canvas. His eyes suddenly fill with dread and I know that I've finally gotten through to him. The pieces have all clicked together in place.
The reason we aren't any closer to finding Christopher Black.
It's been right in front of our faces all along.
"Veronica sent us here to die.”