Chapter Twelve

IVY

It takes two hours to make it to the safehouse, and the headache I have makes me wonder what it feels like to not have a headache in the first place. The sound of dirt turning into gravel pulls my attention; looking out the window, my brown eyes see the sun beginning to fall. The sky is painted with orange and pink hues mixing wonderfully. The driveway up to the enormous mansion comes into view, tall trees hiding the presence of the place. The Victorian-style home balances two stories and a lovely landscape– If only I could enjoy the scenery more.

A few other vehicles are already parked by the front patio, and two guards lay hidden in the manor's shadow, challenging to spot if you don't pay enough attention. My exhaustion begins to catch up with me, but I can't lose focus now. Even if we are at one of the safehouses, my family is now being exposed to my real line of work, something I was hoping they would never see.

Raven brings the car to a halt, and I stumble out of the white stead. My boots shuffle along the gravel, too tired to walk correctly, as I make my way up the steps and to the front door. Punching in the correct code in the electronic lock, I open the doorway and welcome myself into the manor, charming and elegant yet rustic style choices throughout the place. I look to my left and see my family, along with Secretary, Fox, and Shadow, in the living room. A fireplace is lit up, warming the place from the cool autumn air. They're all sitting quietly, waiting patiently for me to walk over. I compose myself as best I can before striding to the group of people staring at me.

Chloe and Angela can't seem to sit still any longer as they jump off the sofa they are sharing with Luke, and Chloe asks me, "Is this our new house? It's super duper big, but It's really, really far away. They wouldn't let us look around for hiding spots, so we can't play hide and seek yet."

"Where's all of our stuff?" Angela follows up.

"What about the paletas? I thought we could still get them–"

"One thing at a time, please, girls." I hold up both my hands, trying to get them to stop.

"There's no way this is our new place," Luke pipes up. "Something weird is going on; when are you going to explain it to us?" Luke sits cautiously on the sofa while my Dad hides himself in a corner of the room, quiet and still, his face blank.

"We're going to stay at this house for a while. We'll get all the important stuff as soon as possible; it's not something kids should concern themselves with–"

"I'm not a kid!" Luke retaliates back.

"Luke…"

"You… you don't understand. You're telling us not to worry, but then say something is going on that we shouldn't concern ourselves with, which only worries us more. Obviously, something bigger is going on. Who are these people? Where are we? What is happening?"

"I…" I look over where Shadow and Fox stand and stare hard between them and my siblings. Fox doesn't budge, her stonewall persona as rigid as ever, but Shadow seems to understand. He nods his head, blonde hair neatly in place, as he walks over and takes Angela and Chloe's hands.

"You girls said you wanted to explore the house earlier, right? Let's find the best hiding spots for a round of hide-and-seek later, okay?" Shadow suggests to the two to help remove them from the main conversation that will happen soon. I can tell Secretary can sense my urge to discuss the game plan for my family and me. Chloe gives me a worried look, but Angela obediently follows Shadow's lead. I nod my head to reassure them as they walk away with my trusted colleague.

"Luke, can you go play with your sisters?" I turn my attention back to my suspecting brother, understanding that he is frustrated at everything occurring. If I were in his shoes, I would also like to learn what is transpiring. But he can't know– at the very least, not everything.

"No." He stays in place, burying himself further into the sofa. I'm too exhausted to push Luke out of the room immediately, but if things go into too much detail, I'll try again later. As for Dad… I'm not sure if he's so zoned out he can't understand what's happening or if he's recessing back into his natural defensive state whenever anything extreme happens. It reminds me of how he used to be right after Mom passed.

Turning my head away from my stubborn younger brother, I look at the entrance, where Raven finally walks in. "The parameter is secured," Raven says with exhaustion in her tone. I feel a sting of jealousy and resentment build, wondering how she can act so laid back. I reel my emotions back, knowing it's just how she is, and it's not like her family is the one being targeted. If she even has a family.

"What's the situation?" I ask Secretary, and she pushes herself off the wall she leans upon, her black pantsuit matching the state of my mind. Fox relaxes back into her wall, looking outside through the window beside her, keeping an eye on the property's surroundings.

"We're checking out the place to ensure there's nothing hazardous. Unit 28 is scouting the surroundings, and volunteers like Aria and Shirogane-san are questioning the other tenants. We also moved out your storage unit in the closet, so if anything explodes, those won't cause a problem for the place or the rest of the complex. We're treating this as top priority; after all, it's the promise I must uphold in our contract." Secretary states.

"Exploded? Contract?" Luke iterates.

"And the new house?" I ignore his comment.

"We don't have enough people to check out both places at once; we already are relying on volunteers for help. But as soon as the apartment is cleared, we'll check the new house. Right now, it matters that the complex is secure and safe for the others living there as well."

"Ashe wanted to check out the new house on his own, but in his condition, we advised him against it." Fox chimes in. I wince at the memory of our last mission together.

"For now, we triple-checked the moving company's background, and it's clean. However, we do have employee records printed out if you want to look and see if any of them look familiar." Secretary adds, walking over to a side table by one of the armchairs in the room and lifting up the surface to reveal hidden storage.

"Yes, please." Even though I'm confident that whoever the mystery woman is didn't work with them, I'd like to be as sure as possible. I pick up the pile of papers hidden in the side table and begin shuffling through them.

"What's happening?" Luke asks again, tired of being ignored.

I look over at my Dad, who still hasn't said anything. The way he's acting right now reminds me of his drunkard days when he seemed so lost and dazed without Mom around. This is not how I imagined this day going. Mom… I wish you were still here.

"Luke, can you go make sure your sisters are okay?" I try once again to see if he'll leave amicably.

"No! I want to know what's going on–!"

"Luke!" I yell back, clutching the papers in my hand tightly. He slinks back into the seat, his hazel eyes glaring with anger and confusion, before picking himself and his backpack up angrily and storming off. I let out a sigh, lightening my grip on the employee records, and Raven, with her irreverent attitude, feels the need to fill the silence. "I see that impatience runs in the family–" Secretary smacks her upside the head. "Ow! Jeez, it was a joke. I'm sorry."

"Do you think this is the government's doing?" I ask, curious if the extra encounter I had with Case screwed me over. Of course, if that whole John Garner mission had never happened, this wouldn't be happening.

"Can't rule it out, but if it was, they wouldn't know where your original housing is. They would only see the records for room and board applications at HQ and then the new house papers. They wouldn't see your apartment unless they had access to your real name, and as far as we can tell, they don't." Secretary responds.

"So then… is it an inside job?" Raven asks, her dark blue eyes trained on the fireplace. We all remain silent.

"Well… I guess we can't rule it out either…" I close my eyes, upset and overwhelmed by the idea. But who would do that? And why? Is it someone in this very room? I look over at my Dad, who seems more disconnected than ever. Looking at him… makes me mad. I've been through hell to bring this family back together, to provide and protect, and the second things are looking south, he shuts down? It's not the first time he's done this, yet now is the first time I've looked at my own Dad with resentment. Maybe becoming an assassin, dealing with homelessness, providing for my siblings, and already being upset with Mom for dying too soon, were enough to distract me from realizing how upset I am with my Dad. I clutch my head, thoughts jumbling through my skull. I can't think straight.

"I vouch for all of our units," Secretary confidently replies. "But there could be some outside influence. All of this connects back to John Garner after his assassination."

"So what? He has his own assassin unit? The Lynti government is more corrupt than we think and is actually with John?" Raven questions.

"No, that wouldn't be possible, even if it was corrupted; there's no way they would go this far to recover a failed step in a plan to expand Seybrals control. They would do that secretly rather than possibly expose their plans as such." Fox explains.

"So, not the government?" Raven confirms.

"I doubt it," Secretary replies like she knows it's not the government. Is this Secretary's past catching up to her? I shouldn't bring it up since I don't want to cause suspicion or panic. Or should I bring it up? What if all of this is Secretary's doing? She may have saved my family and me by offering me this job seven years ago, but if she's putting my family in danger, then no amount of gratitude will save her from me. Still, I can't go about this recklessly either. If it is her doing… I need to be innovative.

"Maybe, whatever outside influence behind Garner hired the PI to throw us off. Getting someone else to do half the investigation for them while they try to finish off anyone involved in Garner's demise." Fox speculates.

"Garner was dealing with Seybral; it wouldn't be weird if he had any sketchy connections trying to avenge him. Did anyone seem out of the ordinary that night?" Secretary probes us for more answers regarding that evening.

"You'll have to ask Shadow. He was on the cameras all night; he would've seen more activity than either of us on the floor." I answer, knowing well enough that there was someone suspicious that night. Walter Smith. I didn't give it much thought then, but he must've figured that I wasn't Samantha after our last interaction, but he never made it clear or acted upon possibly knowing that information. Maybe to protect the genuine Samantha? But how would that help? Or perhaps he also wanted John Garner dead. That wouldn't lead to the situation we're in now, though.

"I was busy keeping a trained eye on Garner and eventually the one waiter, but you don't think he's involved, do you?" Raven ruminates the idea.

"No. I wouldn't think so, but–" I start, but I'm cut off by Raven.

"We can't rule it out. Jeez, this whole conversation is a broken record." Raven scratches her head, closing her eyes in evident frustration. She seemed so nervous and on edge in the car rides earlier, but now she's back to normal again. I guess we haven't had to do anything like this before. And I'm starting to understand this is why most assassins don't have families or authentic ties to society.

"So not the government directly, but possibly this agent Case is being used by another force?" I decide to go with this theory, seeing as I can't precisely say I agree with this being an inside job. It's not a total lie either– I do think a third party must be involved somehow, or else, who is this other woman? Another government agent? I can still imagine her golden eyes like she's standing in this room.

"My head hurts speculating about all of this." Raven groans, sitting down dramatically in a chair.

"Your head hurts?" I remark with disbelief, and she dramatically rolls her eyes at me but doesn't fight back.

Secretary's phone goes off, and she excuses herself to another room down the hall to take it. No one speaks while she's gone, taking the time to think through everything we've talked of once again. Not too long passes, and Secretary comes out of the room, placing her phone in the pocket of her black pantsuit. "We got the all-clear. It's not exactly safe to stay too long, but if there's anything you need to grab, now's the time to go get it. We'll have agents surrounding the place to ensure no one gets in or out in the next few hours. The truck is secured too."

"Are you sure it's safe to go back right now?" I'm skeptical, considering everything going on.

"The whole apartment is clear, and so are the common areas. Aria and Shirogane-san spoke with each resident. They all said nothing was out of the ordinary except our unit's visit. You should only grab the essentials, though; dealing with a moving truck to get to a safehouse will be too difficult to manage right now."

"I can just buy new stuff. I don't want to–"

"Can we get our stuff?" I hear Chloe's meek voice from the hall, and behind her I see Shadow carrying Angela on his shoulders. Luke tags along behind Shadow, still in a grumpy mood.

I don't know how to respond. I want to believe, Secretary, that everything is set up alright, but I don't want to risk it. I'm not sure if I can trust her or my teammates. To be honest, I think I could handle the emotional toll of an inside job, as long as it's not Shadow. He's the one who's been there for me the most the past several years and the one I trust with my own life. Maybe even more than Secretary. Although, I am doubting Secretary now. God, what's wrong with me?

Chloe and Angela stare at me with expecting eyes, making it hard for me to deny them one last visit. The surroundings are secured… right? "It's just the truck; we shouldn't go into the building. My friends can go get our belongings for us–"

"But I wanna say goodbye to the place. And to Mom." Chloe mumbles, shuffling her feet nervously.

"Mom?" I tilt my head, a bit perplexed at her statement. Mom never lived there with us, and her ashes are in the truck.

"..." Chloe remains silent, not clarifying her response.

"Chloe, what do you mean by that?" I don't have to ask since Luke is the one to talk.

"Don't get mad at Chloe!" Angela defends her younger twin as she clutches Shadow's suit.

"What did you do?" I ask the younger twin, my eyebrows frowning in confusion.

"...One of the floorboards was loose when we moved in… so me and Angi… we hid some of Mom's ashes in there, so mom would always be with us…"

"You what?!" Luke bursts out, leaving his position behind Shadow to face Chloe head-on.

"I'm sorry!" Chloe begins to sob, "I– I just wanted mom to be there…"

"Hey, hey, it's okay. I'll go in and grab Mom, okay?" I kneel to be at eye level with Chloe and to calm her down. It's passable if it's just me going in.

"You can't really get her, though… we just took a scoop and spread it in there…" Chloe admits.

"You scooped up some of Mom's ashes?! Like she's some craft glitter? What the hell–!" Luke clamors, rage overtaking his facial expression.

Chloe continues to cry, loud enough to hurt everyone's ears. Angela tugs at Shadow's suit, asking him to place her down. She runs over to her younger twin, hugging her with all her might. "It's okay, Chloe, you didn't do anything bad–"

"The hell she didn't!" Luke reacts, "This whole day is f–"

"Luke!" How many times have I had to yell at him today? Too many. But I can't blame him for feeling so distraught. "One: language. Two: now is not the time. I know you're upset, but getting angry isn't going to help." Luke holds his tongue while crossing his arms, and I turn my attention back to Chloe, who is slowly settling down. "So what are you saying you want to do?"

Chloe manages to speak through uneven breaths and chaotic sniffling, "I just– want to– say goodbye to her, and– the place…"

I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and look to Secretary, who nods and says, "You can't stay in too long, though… who knows if any unwanted visitors will come around."

"Hear that?" I put on the best fake smile I can muster to show Anglea and Chloe. "We'll have to be quick. In and out. Stay away from any windows while we're there."

"Why?" Angela questions, keeping Chloe in her embrace.

"... just do it, please." I don't have the energy to devise an excuse or game.

***

The car ride back over is silent. Dad sits in the passenger seat while I drive Shadow's car, and the kids all sit in the back. Raven follows not too far behind with the rest of the team, her white sports car in the distance of my rearview mirror.

"Are you gonna tell us what's going on?" Luke breaks the silence.

"No," I respond.

"Why not? I think we deserve to know." He stares at me through the mirror, and I stare back.

"No."

"Stupid," He mumbles under his breath.

Before we know it, we arrive two hours later in front of the complex we used to call home. The building now carries an ominous aura to me; the darkness surrounding it and the shadows the lampposts create cast an eerie feeling. But I assume it's just me since everyone else gets out of the car without a problem, even my Dad. I open my own door and look at the agents outside the front entrance. I lean against the running vehicle, leaving the engine on so we can get out of here quickly. I look over to see the truck still sitting by the place, abandoned. The three workers must've been befuddled at the request to leave the truck.

One of the agents comes up to me, wearing casual attire to help them all blend in as guests or residents, "Ivy, the place is secured. We have agents inside; no one has come in or out since we arrived five hours ago." Instead of stepping back into position, he walks around the outside of the place. Good. I'm still on edge, but at least I feel a bit better about the situation. I nod my head toward the quadplex, a silent gesture to tell my family it's okay to head up.

A few minutes pass by, and I don't see them by any of the windows, just like I told them not to be. I'm sure they'll finish up soon. Hopefully, Luke isn't giving attitude to Chloe, and in Dad's state, I don't think he'll defend anyone much. I can see why he's furious with her. To take Mom's ashes in such a way… rather than anger, it makes me sad. But I can understand Chloe and Angela's desire, too. I take another deep breath and run my hands through my hair. A minute passes by. Two. Five. I begin fidgeting, my anxiety heightening. Raven's car pulls up just as I'm about to go in myself– Fox and Shadow step out, and I tell them the situation.

"I'm sure they're just fighting. It's what siblings do, right? Your Mom was precious to all of you, and I'm sure saying goodbye takes a bit longer for them. They're kids. If it makes you feel better, we can both head up." Shadow offers. I nod, and just as we start walking up the pathway to the entrance, the entire complex bursts into flames.