Chapter 1

Rebecca

I crouched down and held my weapon at the ready, ducking to the side of a wall for cover. I looked around to check if there were any enemies lurking around, almost jumping out of my skin when Jason suddenly plopped down on the other side and held his weapon tightly in his fingers. I glared at him.

“I told you to tap me on the shoulder if you were coming near me!” I hissed. “I could’ve screamed bloody murder and given away our location!” he rolled his eyes and scoffed.

“But you didn’t,” he said. I bit the inside of my cheek to hold back from snarling a reply, and went back to surveying our surroundings. “How many are left?”

I smirked at his question.

“Three, but one of them doesn’t excel in sneaking around,” I answered. Jason chuckled and nodded in agreement.

My ears twitched as I picked up the light crunching of boots on the floor, and I signaled Jason towards its direction. The mirth on his face disappeared, and he raised his head slightly to peek at them.

“All three, present and accounted for,” he muttered.

“Stupid idiots,” I said, shaking my head. We nodded to each other and listened carefully, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

I held my breath and trained my eyes on the ground, watching as my target took steps towards my hiding spot. Just a little bit closer...

His foot peeked out from my cover and I stood up, holding my weapon out. I aimed the tip at the surprised look on his face, and fired before quickly switching to another guy, taking him out too. Beside me, Jason had quickly dispatched the last of them, and I watched with smug satisfaction as the light on his vest went out, signaling his defeat.

The sound of victory played from the speakers, further taunting the losers, and making them groan as they pulled their masks off their heads. Spencer’s blonde and slightly spiky hair stood up as he scowled at me.

“Why do you have to take this so seriously?” Spencer complained, his half-brother Chase snickering beside him. “I mean, we’re using wands, for crying out loud!”

I shrugged as Jason patted my shoulder.

“Rebecca hasn’t changed one bit since I last saw her,” Jason said. “She’s always been a fiery and competitive girl, in and out of the mission. It’s why she’s regarded highly in her platoon,” he complimented.

“Oh, so you’re some kind of big shot on your team, huh Red?” Spencer drawled. I shook my head in embarrassment.

“It’s not like that,” I muttered.

“Well, either way, I’m glad she’s on our side now,” Chase remarked. “She’s going to make a fine addition to our roster.”

“Why did you quit your old agency, anyway?” Spencer asked, one eyebrow raised in skepticism. I shrugged again.

“I wanted more, and they didn’t like it, so I quit and looked for another place that agreed I deserved better,” I admitted. That was only half of it, though. The other half was because I liked working with Spencer and the rest of his team a hell of a lot better than the uppity bastards where I used to work. Switching to Chase’s firm was the easiest decision I ever made.

“Where are the girls?” I asked, wondering why they didn’t come to play with us.

“My girl got a little over excited about shopping with her cousin, so they opted to meet with us at the restaurant after our game,” Jason said, making Spencer snicker as he slapped him on the back.

“Man, you’ve got it bad, huh?” Spencer drawled. “‘My girl’? Seriously?” Jason’s cheeks colored into a tinge of pink, but he said nothing, not denying Spencer’s claims.

“Lay off the man, Spence. The guy can’t help it if he’s whipped already. He is getting married, after all,” Chase said, “Besides, like you’re one to talk. How far al--,”

Spencer’s eyes widened, and he frantically covered his older brother’s mouth, cutting him off from saying anything else. He looked at me with worry, and my eyes narrowed.

“What are you hiding?” I growled. I’ve never liked being kept in the dark. And I could tell from the look on Spencer’s face that whatever he was trying to keep from me, was something I wasn’t going to like one bit.

“Let’s go and meet up with the girls first, Rebecca. I think telling you about it with everybody present would be the wisest course here,” Jason suggested calmly, his arms tensed up, ready to break up a fight if need be.

“It’ll be really obvious what it’s about once she sees her, anyways,” Chase added, scratching the back of his head. I glared at the both of them.

“You two knew?” I asked, betrayal evident from my voice. Chase winced, and looked at me apologetically.

“Later, Rebecca,” Jason said firmly. “We’re disturbing the other players.”

I looked around and saw a group of teenagers looking at us curiously while giving us a wide berth. I sighed, then flashed a menacing glare at Spencer’s direction before stalking off towards the exit, my hands clenching around my plastic wand so tight I feared it was going to snap.

I wondered what Spencer had fucked up to piss me off now.