web viewshe pressed the down button and patiently waited for the elevator to ... you are not to say...

All's Fair In Love and WarBy Ruth Oudit

For Rachel, Who Is, Somehow, Pretty Amazing. Happy 16th Birthday!

Chapter One"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure."

-Colin Powell

R.O.S.S. Headquarters, Belle City, 11:57p.m

"Well done, Oakley. You always get the job done. You know you're one of my best agents." John Reed said with a pleasant smile.

"Thanks, boss." Denella replied as she tied back her long hair into a ponytail.

John examined the file he held in his hands. "I've got another mission for you. Apparently, the Amarillo Starlight, an expensive diamond, was stolen from the Silver Wood Museum last night. We've got a location on it. It's inside the Blue Bridges Warehouse, which has been closed down for three years, right outside of Belle City. I need you to check it out."

"Sure thing, boss." Denella said as she walked to the elevator, eager to get the job done so she could get some rest before another big day. She pressed the down button and patiently waited for the elevator to come. It slowly opened and she stepped inside. After inhaling the stuffy elevator smell and pushing P1, the elevator was about to close.

"Hold the elevator, please!" A young man shouted who was suddenly running towards the elevator. "Thank you," he paused to take a breath, "My name is Brandon Switz." He said as he outstretched his skinny hand that resembled a toothpick.

Ignoring his hand, Denella said, "I'm Denella. Denella Oakley."

"You're D-Denella? It's a pleasure to finally meet you. You're the best agent at R.O.S.S. Headquarters."

" . . . Thanks, I guess. Are you new here?" she inquired.

"Yes, I just started yesterday. I've always dreamt of becoming an agent when I grew up. When I was younger, I used to play these video games and, believe it or not, I was a pretty good spy. I always thought it would be fun, especially if I got to go on a mission with you. I could be your partner, or maybe your sidekick, since I'm not as good as you are."

The elevator came to a stop at the main floor. The doors opened and Brandon stepped outside.

"See you around." He said as he waved goodbye. "Maybe sometime we can go out and catch a movie or something and get to know each other.

"Sure, that would be nice." She said. "Wait, before you go, I just wanted to tell you that," Denella started as Brandon's face lit up like fireflies in the night, "That . . . working at R.O.S.S. isn't about fun. There's no playing, no fooling around; this is serious work. This isn't one of those video games you played when you were a kid, this is real life."

The elevator doors closed as a hole appeared in Brandon's heart.

T.E.R.S.E. Headquarters, Belle City, 12:12a.m

"There's my best agent, I've been looking all over for you. Where've you been, Heath?" Terrance Earl Easton questioned as he walked up to Raphael and guided him to his office.

"I'm sorry I'm late. I got held up on the way with some guy." Raphael explained as he closed the door behind him.

"It's fine. I was wondering if you could look into a case for me."

"Sure, who am I going after this time?"

"Not who, what. The Amarillo Starlight went missing last night from the Sliver Wood Museum. It's a diamond. I had the team research about it, and they've found it. It's located in the Blue Bridges Warehouse outside of Belle City. There's been no one there for years, since it's closed down, so it should be empty, except for security. I want you to check it out and see what you can find."

"Sure thing, boss."

Blue Bridges Warehouse, Wichburg, 12:19a.m.

Denella scaled to the top of the building and opened a hatch that led to the inside of the warehouse. She looked inside. There were three men inside guarding the diamond. She put on her mask, an eye mask that John had given her, and used a rope to lower herself to the ground as quiet as falling snow. It was dark inside. The shadows from the trees outside were dancing on the walls. The coolness from the building made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

"Hello, I'm looking for an Amarillo Starlight. Just wondering if any of you boys have, by any chance, seen it?" Denella asked sarcastically.

"Hey! You shouldn't be here." One of the men shouted. "Get her!" He ordered.

One of the men came at her. She punched him, and then kicked him, which sent him flying across the room to the ground. The other men came behind her and one tried to choke her, but she tripped him and he fell to the floor. The last guard was short and reeked of too much cologne. He ran away faster than a bullet in mid air about to hit its target.

A satisfying smile appeared upon Denella's face, but later turned into a puzzled look after noticing the diamond was gone.

"Looking for this?" Raphael asked.

Denella quickly turned around to find a gorgeous, muscular, brown-eyed guy who looked her age. The smile on his face was the mysterious type, and he had dimples just like her. "'Gimme' that!

"Gimme, Gimme never gets. Don't you know your manners yet?" He said slowly.

"I don't even know you, but I know for sure that I hate you already."

"The feeling's mutual."

"Who exactly do you think you are?"

"I'm Raphael. Nice to meet you, too." He said sarcastically. "I work for T.E.R.S.E. Headquarters."

"T.E.R.S.E.? Don't think I've ever heard of it . . ." Denella started, "I work for R.O.S.S. and I'm on a mission to bring the Amarillo Starlight back to my headquarters so they can return it to the museum. So, if you'll excuse me . . ."

"Well, I was supposed to do the same for T.E.R.S.E."

"It only makes sense if I get it because I was here first and I took out two of the men."

"I'm the one who laid my hands on it first, though."

"How about we make a deal?"

Raphael eyed her. "What kind of deal? One where you get the diamond and I get nothing out of it?"

"Wow, it's like you read my mind." Denella said with sarcasm in her voice.

"If you want the diamond, you're just going to have to get it." He said with a big grin on his face as he started to scale the wall like a spider.

Denella sighed as she followed him outside. He jumped off the roof and landed on the ground. She also jumped off the roof, but fell on him, pinning him to the ground. Right then, her eye mask fell off, revealing who she was. The diamond was knocked out of his hand. It rolled, and then stopped in front of one of the guard's feet. He bent down and picked it up. Not noticing, Denella and Raphael started to fight and ignored the guard as he secretly snuck away.

Chapter Two

"Without hard work, nothing grows but weeds."

-Gordon B. Hinckley


"What do you mean the diamond wasn't there? The team had a location on it and they're never wrong." Terrance stated as he stood up from his big office chair.

"It was there . . . but someone took it." Raphael replied.

"Starting today, you will have a partner to be accompanying you on your missions. This will not happen again."

"But--” Raphael started.

"No buts." Terrance interrupted.

R.O.S.S. Headquarters, Belle City, 12:58a.m

"Finally, you're back," John said, "Where's the diamond?"

"John, about that . . ." Denella started.

He arose from the chair at his desk, took his reading glasses off and laid them on the paperwork he was doing. "Wait, are you saying that you don't have the diamond?" He asked.

"The guard, he got away with it. I'm really sorry." Denella apologized.

He motioned her to sit down. "Oakley, I've been thinking about our newest member on the team. He needs to be trained and I thought it would be best if you trained him. You have the most experience out of all of the agents. He could go on missions with you, and he could help you to make sure that something like this won't happen again."

"Boss, as much as I would love to, you know how I'm an individual person. I work alone, and I don't need any help. I am fully capable of getting whatever it is you want me to do done by myself."

"I sent you on a mission to get the diamond, but instead, you come back empty handed."

"I know, but I promise I won't do it again. Please, just give me one more chance." Denella pleaded as she stood up.

His voice lowered. "Oakley, I wasn't asking. Your next mission will be with a guy named Brandon Switz."

"I know who he is." Denella said quietly.

"Good, then you'll make a great team. It's pretty late, so I think you and I should both call it a night."

Denella's House, Belle City, 1:31a.m

Denella was frustrated because of the fact that she would have to start working with Brandon. She never seemed to work well with a partner or in a group. She did everything on her own ever since her parents moved to Demsberg two years ago, and that was almost seven hours away.

Brandon seemed like a nice person, but there something about him that Denella didn't like. He was pretty tall, and he had emerald green eyes. He had a long oval face. His lips were thin and his nose was pointed. He had thick, brown hair that resembled a lion's mane. He loved video games, but everything, including life, seemed like a game to him.

Denella, on the other hand, was more of the sporty type. She admired her job and enjoyed helping other people. Her dark brown hair was long and resembled flowing water. She had hazel eyes that looked like they changed colour in the sun and her face was round.

She closed her eyes as her mind flooded with thoughts.

R.O.S.S. Headquarters, Belle City, Two weeks later, 7:41a.m

"Good morning, Oakley," John said cheerfully, "Ready for your new mission with Brandon?"

"I guess so. What do I have to do this time?" Denella asked.

"You and Brandon will be investigating a young women by the name of Judy Walker. She went missing a few nights ago. She was last seen with her ex at the Sanfield pub. Witnesses say that they saw her ex with a gun in his hand when they were getting in the car together. First, I want you two to go to the pub, and then you can go check out her apartment and see if you can find any clues."

"Sure, boss, but where exactly is Brandon?"

"He said he was running a little bit late."

"Late? Boss, I can't work with late. Either you're early or you're right on time."

"Oakley, it's his first day. Just give him a chance."

"Someone is missing out there and the more time we waste, the less time they could possibly have to live!"

"Fine, you'll go without him." John said as Denella got her jacket.

"Wait! I'm here." Brandon yelled as he breathed deeply.

John smiled. "Great, now you both can go."

"What? I thought you said that I could go on my own."

"Oakley, it's not your choice if you want to go alone. You will go with Brandon, period."

Denella held in her anger as she stormed off to the elevator. Brandon followed behind, trying to keep his distance.

"I'm sorry if I'm a problem to you." Brandon said as the elevator door closed. "I can tell that you like to work alone. The last thing I want to do is to make you unhappy. You are the person I look up to . . . I mean, you're the best one on the team. So again, I'm sorry."

Denella inhaled the airless elevator smell. "No, you shouldn't be the one who's apologizing, I am. I may have said some things and, trust me, I'm not proud of it. You're right, I do prefer to work alone, but I guess a partner won't be so bad. So, I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine. I was just hoping that we could be friends."

She smiled. "Sure. I'd like that."

Sanfield Pub, Sanfield, 8:23a.m.

"Okay, let's check around for clues." Denella said as they entered the tumbledown building. The walls were painted red and the tiles were messily put together. It looked like someone had rushed it. Denella studied the place, spotting out all of the imperfections. There were cracks on the walls and the paint didn't even suit the place. There were also crumbs all over the floor. The music was too loud; it could make her ears bleed. She always wondered why the specific pub blasted their music so loud, even in the mornings.

"Shouldn't we ask workers if they know anything?" Brandon questioned.

"Well . . . I'm the expert here, and I've had years of training. So, first we'll look for clues, and then we'll ask questions. Let's start with the back."

Denella and Brandon went to the back room where they stored their extra supplies.

"It's so dark in here." Brandon said.

Suddenly, Denella took Brandon's phone and weapons, pushed him into the storage room and locked the door. He banged on the door so someone could come open it, but no one could hear him with the loud, deafening music pounding in their ears.

Denella went up to the workers that were serving drinks at the table. She took out her photo ID and showed it to one of the women who were worker there. "Hi, my name is Denella Oakley. I work for R.O.S.S. Headquarters, and I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about an event that occurred a couple of nights ago?"

"S-Sure." The women stuttered. Her hair was dirty blonde, but you couldn't miss the hints of grey hair in between, even with the hair dye she had on. He eyes were ocean blue, and

she had light purple eye shadow on. Her glossy lips were small and thin and she wore golden hoops on her ears that were big enough to jump through.

"What's your name?"

"Kristen."

"And how old are you, Kristen?"

"34."

"How long have you been working here?"

"Six years. I own the pub."

Denella raised her eyebrow. "Okay. Can you give me the names of all the people who were working here last Thursday night?"

"Here's a schedule of all of our shifts. There were only the five of us working here that night."

Denella skimmed through the list. "Where are Sadie Burton and Julie Paxton right now?"

"They're both serving drinks now with Benjamin. And Kayden must be somewhere controlling the music. He's our DJ. They were all here last Thursday, except for Sadie. She called in sick that night."

"Did you happen to see anything suspicious with any if the customers? There was a woman here that night by the name of Judy Walker. She was here with her ex and now she's m-issing. This was the last place she was seen."

"I'm sorry, but if I knew anything, I'd tell you. You can try asking the other workers, but I doubt they know anything."

Chapter Three

"A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work."

-Colin Powell


"Heath, there you are." Terrance said. "Allow me to introduce you to your new partner, Henry Gargani. From now on, he will be going on missions with you. A few days ago, a young woman by the name of Judy Walker went missing. She was last seen getting in the car with her ex at the Sanfield Pub and he was armed. I want you two to check her apartment and see if you can find anything. I'll text you the address."

Raphael gave one of those mysterious smiles to Henry as he examined him. Henry was at least one head shorter than Raphael which made him have to look up when he was to talking to taller people, and his head resembled a balloon. His hair was a catlike orange colour, and he had dimples which stood out when he smiled. His eyes were as green as the grass in summer, and he looked younger than what he really was. His teeth weren't perfectly straight, but they were somewhat straight. Henry's nose was round, like his face. His lips were small, and his cheeks were a rosy shade of pink.

"Okay, boss. Shouldn't I . . . we check out the Sanfield Pub first?" Raphael asked.

"No, I think another team went there already."

"Then, wouldn't they also go to her apartment?"

"No questions, now go before you waste anymore time."

Suddenly, Henry started to choke. He then collapsed, leaving everyone in shocked.

Judy's Apartment, Belle City, 9:44a.m

Denella broke the front door down and walked inside of the apartment. Knocking on the door for minutes had her hands tired. She had her gun and flashlight out since the apartment was dark. It smelled stale and stuffy and she could hear the sound of mice scratching the walls. As she searched the rooms, she found an opened window.

"Small world, isn't it?"

Denella spun around quickly. She sighed. "What are the chances of seeing you again? Ralph, right?"

"Close enough, it's Raphael." He corrected. "I found out that we were both registered as agents in 2009. Kind of funny, isn't it, Denella?"

"Oh, so now you're stalking me?" she asked, smiling.

"I wouldn't call it stalking." he said as he smirked.

"Then what would you call it?" she questioned.

Just as Raphael was about to answer, they both heard a crashing sound. It was coming from the kitchen.

"What was that?" Denella inquired.

Before they could get out their weapons, someone came out the kitchen and pulled the trigger to their gun. Denella and Raphael recognized the person's face. The bullet zipped through the air and before it could peel into Denella's skin, Raphael jumped in front of her and it dug its way through his skin.

Chapter Four

"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope."

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

Denella's House, Belle City, 10:21a.m

"Oww, that hurts!" Raphael winced in pain.

"Hold on, I'm almost finished." Denella said as she threaded the last stitch on his left shoulder. "You're lucky, your injury could have been much worse."

"Why are you doing this?" He questioned.

"What do you mean?" She answered in a question, still focused on his now patched up injury.

"Why are you helping me?"

"Just be glad, I don't do this often."

"Well," he paused, "Thanks."

"Why did you take the bullet for me?" she asked him.

"I don't know. You just look like something special that's worth taking a bullet for." he replied.

Sanfield Pub, Sanfield, 11:01a.m

"What is wrong with you? You locked me in there for more than two hours! How could you? It was so stuffy and small in there, and I'm claustrophobic! We were supposed to do this mission together. Didn't you hear Mr. Reed?"

"First of all, I never follow the rules. Second of all, if John hears you call him that, he'll freak. You are not to say a word about this to him, or I'll rip your throat out."

"You're the one who should get your throat ripped out because you--"

Denella pinned Brandon to the wall holding his throat. She whispered in his ear, "Don't you dare tell me what should happen to me."

Brandon gulped.


Raphael barged into Terrance's office. "Terrance, someone was at Judy's apartment. It was this man and he had a gun. I recognized him." Raphael stated.

"Are you okay? A-Are you hurt?" asked Terrance.

"No, I'm fine."

"Who was it?"

There was a long pause. Raphael took a deep breath. "Celcus."


"Oakley, Switz, did you find anything?" John asked.

"There was someone there. It was Celcus, Judy's ex. He had a gun, but I'm fine . . . I mean, we're fine."

"Of course Brandon's fine . . . because he didn't even go to the apartment with you."

"Yeah, we both went, like you instructed. What makes you think we both didn't go?"

"Denella, you locked Brandon in the storage room at the Sanfield Pub. Turns out, Brandon is really, really intelligent. He used the materials he had there to make a device and

sent out a signal to us. This proves to me that he is responsible enough to go on his own missions."

"What? Doesn't he need training?"

"Working for R.O.S.S. isn't all about training, it's about teamwork. And if you can't handle that . . . then I think that I might have to suspend for breaking the rules and not obeying my orders."

"What? You can't do that!" Denella shouted angrily.

"I'm sorry, Denella. I'll see you back here in two weeks.

Denella felt like her stomach had dropped to the bottom of the earth. She swallowed and finally said, "Fine, but good luck on trying to solve this mission without my help. And Brandon, I can't stop you from practically killing yourself, but I don't have to help you, and I promise you, I won't." And with that, she stormed out of the room.

Chapter Five

"Winners never quit and quitters never win."

-Vince Lombardi

T.E.R.S.E. Headquarters, Belle City, 12:01p.m

“Heath, we’ve still got no lead in this case, but I’m happy to say that Henry is much better. This same thing has happened to him a couple times before. It's a condition he was born with. I guess you’re done for the day. You can head home if you’d like.” Terrance offered.

“What? You’re not going to even look into this case further?” Raphael asked.

“Like I said before, we still have no lead for this case. There’s nothing to look in to.”

“Someone is missing and we need to do the best we can do to find her.”

“I know, and we are. We’re doing everything we can.”

“She’s too young for something to happen to her. I did some digging earlier in her file. Did you know that she’s a mother of a two year old girl?”

“Raphael, you’re done for the day. Take a break and I promise you, we will find her.”

Raphael grabbed his jacket and headed to the elevator.

The Coffee Shop, Belle City, 12:35p.m, One Week Later

Denella collected her coffee and walked past the line of people. There, sitting down at a table, was Raphael. He closed his Apple laptop, and stuffed it into the laptop case.

"Fancy seeing you here." His deep voice said.

"Well, it's not my fault you're following me." Denella smiled as Raphael stood up. Together, they walked out of The Coffee Shop.

"Shouldn't you be at work?" Denella questioned.

"Shouldn't you?" He answered in a question.

"I asked you first."

"Fine. I was sent home today, again like I was for the past week now, because, apparently, we have no lead, and they're not going to look into this case anymore until we do."

"That's dumb, but at least you'll be going back to work tomorrow."

"Aren't you?"

"My boss suspended me last week, and I won't be going back until a week from now."

"Wow, two weeks. That's harsh. What'd you do?"

"Since I failed at returning the diamond, I was assigned a partner. His name is Brandon Switz. First, we went to the Sanfield Pub to see if we could find out anything. When we were looking in the back, I took his phone and weapons and locked him in the storage room. So, this is basically your fault because I didn't return the diamond."

"My fault? You're blaming it on me?" He laughed. "Wow, that's gold. How did your boss find out?" Raphael interrogated.

"Brandon made 'something' and sent out a signal. Because of that, my boss believes that he's able to go out on missions by himself. He's never even trained before!"

"Couldn't you just do work from home?"

"No, I'm not supposed to, but it's not like I always follow his rules."

"You're not the only one who has a partner now for failing a mission."

"You have one, too?"

"Yeah, but he didn't come with me to Judy's apartment because he has some kind of condition and he collapsed. He's going to be okay, though."

"Good to hear."

"His name is Henry Gargani."

"Gargani? Isn't that Celcus' last name? Celcus Gargani?"

"Yeah, I think so. Why?"

"Just curious."

"You don't think they could be related somehow, do you?"

She shrugged. "What if they are?" Denella asked.

Chapter Six

"Even though you're growing up, you should never stop having any fun."

-Nina Dobrev

Raphael's House, Belle City, 2:13p.m

"Okay, here's Henry's file." Denella said as she brought the laptop to Raphael. "It says here that he was brought up in a foster home, dad married another woman by the name of Hillary Stockford, and they had a son, Celcus Gargani. He was an orphan; parents were murdered when he was four, graduated from Telbridge, worked as an engineer for two years with his foster dad and now lives alone in his apartment five blocks from here. Celcus was his half brother."

"I wonder why he didn't tell us. Why would he quit his job to come here if he had a good one? Was it because he wanted to learn to protect himself since his parents were once targets? He could have easily learned self-defence somewhere else." Raphael stated.

"That's because he didn't quit his job. His foster dad owns the auto shop he worked at and apparently, he was fired."

"Fired? By his own dad? He must have screwed up real bad to have something like that happen to him."

"I don't think he has a condition. It doesn't say anything about it here and that would explain why he 'collapsed' right after you were given your mission. He faked it so he wouldn't have to go. He didn't come to work here randomly; he's here for a reason. Celcus must have sent him here so he could mess up your system. That's why you guys have no lead.

"How am I supposed to expose him? My boss will never believe me."

"Tomorrow at work. Show him all your proof."

"He still wouldn't give."

"Then you ask Henry about it."

T.E.R.S.E. Headquarters, Belle City, the Next Day, 7:34a.m

"Hey, Henry. Are . . . you feeling any better?" Raphael inquired.

"Yeah, it has happens all the time. Don't worry." Henry responded.

"What made you make your decision of working here?"

"Growing up, I always wanted to help people because I felt like I couldn't do anything. Something like this would give me the perfect chance. When I found out about T.E.R.S.E. Headquarters, I was curious.

"Did you work anywhere else before you came here?"

"Yeah, with my dad. We were engineers, but I quit."

"Why did you quit? Didn't you like working with your dad?"

"What's with all of the questions?'

"Oh, I'm like you, just curious."

Terrance walked into the room and headed towards Raphael and Henry.

"We've still got no lead so I'll call you two if I need anything. You're allowed to leave if you'd like."

Raphael's House, Belle City, 8:14a.m

"So, what happened?" Denella questioned."

"I asked Henry a few questions, and I think you're right about him. He lied about getting fired from his dad's place, and when I asked the reason why he 'quit', he snapped at me."

"There's something definitely wrong about this guy. It's time for me to meet him."

"What are you planning to do?"

"Just get to know him a little. Maybe go on a date."

Henry's Apartment, Belle City, 8:26a.m

Raphael knocked on the door and waited for someone to come and answer it. The date idea wasn't the best one in his opinion, but he was willing to give it a try. He heard the sound of someone unlocking the door and when the door opened, he saw Henry standing there.

"What are you doing here? Did you follow me home from work?" Henry questioned.

"No, I just wanted to stop by. Is everything okay?" Raphael asked.

"I'm fine. You've stopped by already so I think you can leave." Henry rudely said as he slowly pushed the door close.

Raphael stopped him from closing the door with his foot. "We need to talk."


Denella scanned Henry's file over and over again, looking for some kind of pattern. It was like her and Raphael thought the same thoughts because she had a better idea instead of going on a date. Raphael could become closer with Henry and they could go to someplace like the Sanfield Pub. Raphael would excuse himself to go to the bathroom and that's where she would come in and introduce herself.

It was the perfect idea, but she would somehow have to get the news to Raphael before he said anything to Henry and made plans for something else. She scrolled through the list of people he'd been talking to on his cell phone. Celcus's name was the most recent one on there. Denella was sure there was something up with Henry, but she wasn't sure what it was.


"I know that Celcus is your brother." Raphael said.

"He's my half-brother!" Henry yelled. Calmly, he said, "Who else knows about this?"

"Just me." Raphael lied.

"Don't tell anyone else."

"Why didn't you tell anyone in the first place?" He interrogated.

"If I told anyone, no one would trust me again. Celcus keeps calling me. I don't know what he wants, but he won't stop. I tried changing my number, but that didn't work either. Celcus has been arrested more than once, and he was accused of killing my parents. Just think about it, a 15 year old stabbed both of my parents."

"You don't know that he really did that."

"His fingerprints were all over the murder weapon and his blood was found at the crime scene. That's enough proof. Then, someone bailed him out. How can you let someone out of jail after they murdered two innocent people? I had to live with this all my life, and he doesn't even care about it."

"I'm sorry."

"For what? My parents or for being here?"

"No, I'm sorry about your parents. I never knew about it." Raphael stated as he looked down at his phone to read the text message that was sent to his phone from Denella. "I was thinking . . . that we could go out sometime to hang out, have some fun and forget about everything else. My treat."

"Sure, I'd like that." Henry replied as he smiled.

Chapter Seven

"Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love is a war; love is growing up."

-James A. Baldwin


"He's innocent." Raphael said as he slammed the door behind him.

"What do you mean 'he's innocent?' " Denella questioned in curiosity.

"He knows nothing about whatever Celcus is plotting to do."

"He's been talking to Celcus recently."

"He said that Celcus keeps calling him and won't stop. He even tried changing his numb-er, but Celcus keeps getting a hold of him."

"Then, how do you explain the long hours he's been spending talking to Celcus?"

"I don't know, but for now, let's focus on what we really have to do."

"What is that? Trying to find Judy?"

Raphael took a deep breath. "I don't usually tell this to anyone, but the reason I want to save Judy so much is because she doesn't deserve to die like my mom did."

Her voice softened."I'm so sorry about your mom, I never knew."

"Well, I don't like to talk about it. Six years ago, she was kidnapped. They found her two years after buried in my dad's backyard. My parents were divorced, so they didn't live together. He was arrested for her murder. They arrested the wrong guy. I know my dad didn't kill her. He was with me the night she disappeared. I don't want another woman to be found dead after she was missing."

"Hey, we're going to find her, okay? Even if it takes all night."

"Actually . . . I was thinking we should take a break from this. My boss and your boss are doing the best they can right now. You know how you were supposed to go on that date with Henry. Maybe you could go on it with me?"

"Are you asking me to go on a date with you tonight?" Denella blushed.

"Is that supposed to be a yes?"

La Belle Nuit, Belle City, 8:03p.m

The lights made Denella's long, floor-length, silver dress sparkle like how the sun makes water glisten in the distance. The music was calm and soothing. The waitress led Denella to the table where Raphael was sitting.

Raphael stood up in awe. He was speechless. "You look . . . beautiful."

"Thank you. You clean up pretty well yourself." Denella responded.

The waitress came to their table and handed them the menu. "Here are your menus. I'll be back to take your orders."

Denella smiled at the waitress as she left.


"Henry, where's Heath?" Terrance asked.

"I'm not too sure. He came by my apartment earlier, but I never heard from him after that." Henry replied.

"Find him now. We just got a lead on the case."

"Yes, Sir."


"Hey, Brandon, have you seen Denella?" John inquired.

"Nope. Haven't seen her around anywhere. What's wrong? Did you need her because she's been suspended? Remember? You were the one who suspended her." Brandon reminded.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. I just needed to talk to her. I'm thinking of lifting her suspension. We just got a lead on the case and she was right. We do need her help."

"Your call."

"I guess I should then."

"Are you sure that what you want to do? She locked me in that storage room and I'm not saying that she shouldn't be back here; I'm just saying that she needs to serve her punishment. She deliberately disobeyed you, and she won't learn from her mistakes if she doesn't face the consequences she deserves."

"Well," John thought for a moment, "I guess you're right, but don't we need her?"

"Why do you think you have other agents working here? We are all here to help. And with or without her we can do this. She is not the boss, you are. She's not the only one here, and we are just as good as she is. We can solve this mission without her. I think maybe I could do the job."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely, what do you want me to do?"

Chapter Eight

"Part of growing up is realizing you learn to love so many people. It's about forming those relationships and finding out what will last forever."

-Dylan O'Brien

La Belle Nuit, Belle City, 8:32p.m

The waitress brought their meals to the table. Denella and Raphael both thanked her. They both smelled so good and tasted even better. Denella looked around inspecting even inch of the restaurant. The restaurant had three chandeliers. The one in the center was the biggest and it hung right above them. She had this weird feeling inside of her and she could tell that she wasn't the only one who was having that certain feeling.

Denella was always aware of her surroundings. She noticed this lady at the table next to them. She was older and used makeup to cover up her wrinkles. Her face looked as if it were a colouring book with all the makeup. She looked like she was in her fifties and she was more to the big side. Her eye shadow didn't suit her at all, and she didn't dress her age. Her royal blue skirt was tight on her, and it was way above her knees. Her blouse was tucked in her skirt and it showed all the fat in her arms. Her hair was tied back and looked like it hadn't been combed. You could see all the knots in her thin, orange hair. She sat with someone who looked like her husband. He looked a few years younger than her and resembled a broomstick. They weren't talking or laughing, but eating both eating with a serious look on their faces.

She felt as if someone was watching them, eyeing their every move. She gave Raphael that look. He knew what she was trying to say. All of a sudden, they saw a red dot on the overweight lady.

"Everyone, get down!" Raphael ordered.

Everyone panicked and dropped to the floor as they heard gunshots. Raphael ran to Denella and pinned her on the ground.

"What's happening?" Denella asked.

"There's someone outside on the roof of the building next to here. We need to stop them." He said as he grabbed her hand and they ran to the back exit dodging all the bullets. Raphael pushed the painted door and left it to slam shut. He and Denella scaled to the top of the building that was beside the restaurant. The man with the gun looked shocked when he saw them.

The man was short and it was as if he showered in cologne because he was soaked it in.

It took both, Denella and Raphael, to realize who he was; the guard that escaped with the Amarillo Starlight. He pointed the gun so it would face him, his fingers gently caressing the trigger.

"Don't do it!" Denella yelled.

"I don't have a choice. If I don't, you guys will just take me and lock me up." The guard stood at the edge of the building and lifted the gun to his head. He pulled the trigger and fell of the building landing in the cement parking lot.

The Coffee Shop, Belle City, 9:02p.m

"Well, that was an interesting night." Raphael stated as he sipped his steaming Vanilla Hazelnut coffee.

"I just can't believe he actually did it." Denella said starring out the window; still stunned from what had happened.

"Hey, it's not like it's your fault or anything. It was his choice. And, he was right. We were just going to lock him up and try to get information out of him. And if we didn't, then he would just end up staying in prison for quite some time."

" . . . Before the ambulance came to pick him up, I found these in his pocket. It's the Amarillo Starlight and some kind of note." She passed the piece of paper to Raphael.

It said, "I was forced to do this. It's not Celcus' fault."

"Who was this from? What does this even mean?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. But, that guy didn't want to do whatever he was forced to do."

"Then why did he?"

"Maybe he was blackmailed. But the real question is: what does he mean by, "It's not Celcus's fault?' "

Chapter Nine

"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it."

-Confucius


"John, we need to talk." Denella said as she barged into his office.

"Oakley, I've been thinking of lifting your suspension, but Switz convinced me that I shouldn't because of what you did." John said.

"Listen, this isn't about my suspension. But, speaking about that . . . you can lift it now so that I can help because you guys are failing miserably without me, and you can suspend me after we finish this mission."

John thought about it and then said, "Fine."

"Fine? That was really vague, don't you think?"

"That means yes. It's a deal. What was the thing you were so off of your feet to talk to me about?

"Well, you must have heard about the man who shot himself on that building beside the La Belle Nuit restaurant. That was the guard who got away with the Amarillo Starlight."

A questioning look came upon John's face. He looked like he had just found out about a two year old who devoured a fire truck.

"I found the Amarillo Starlight and this note in his pocket and I think I know what it means." She showed John the note and after he read it, she said, "Celcus is not the man we're looking for. Someone is using Celcus as a distraction. There is someone else behind this whole thing, and it's our job to figure out who."

"Then what are we waiting for?" John asked as Denella smiled.

Denella's House, Belle City, 9:52p.m

Denella pulled into her driveway with her white Ford Shelby, that had dark blue stripes on the top and down the back, and to her surprise, someone was waiting on her porch, sitting on her front steps.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as she locked her car.

"You sound as if you're not happy to see me." Brandon said as he used the smile that wound win any girl over.

"No, that's not what I'm trying to say. I meant to say--" Denella started as she was interrupted.

"It's okay, I was just joking," Brandon started, "I just wanted to apologize for making John not lift your suspension. You must have heard about that."

"Yeah, actually I went to his office and he did lift my suspension, but I will face my consequences after we solve this mission."

"What? He did?"

"Now you're the one who sounds like you're not happy."

"No, no." He forced a laugh.

For a moment there was silence. They could both hear nothing but the crickets chirping. The moon was full tonight and the sky was filled with glittering jewels.

Brandon walked towards Denella and held her hand. "I know we started off on the wrong foot, twice, but I want that to change. I was hoping we could go and do something on Saturday if you're not busy. I really want to be friends with you, maybe even more than friends."

"What do you mean more than--" Before Denella could finish; Brandon stepped closer to her, leaned forward and kissed her. It was gentle and as their lips pressed together in some kind of rhythm, the whole world felt as if it had disappeared, but suddenly came back as Denella pulled away. "I'm sorry, but I need to go." She said as she opened the door with her key and slammed the door behind her.

Chapter Ten

"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated."

-Confucius


"Sir, I can't work with Brandon as my partner." Said Denella as she closed the door behind her.

"Oakley, we've been over this before. The only way we're going to solve this mission is if we all work together and cooperate," John tried to explain, "I don't care if you can't work with Brandon, or if in fact, anyone else, but you're just going to have to try a little harder. I've worked with you long enough to know that you're not a person who doesn't try their best."

"That's not what I'm trying to say. Brandon is . . . attracted to me and it's weird. He's supposed to be my partner, not anything more than that. He and I can't be anything more than that, and we never will!"

"What exactly do you mean he's attracted to you?"

There was a long pause before Denella spoke. She tried to explain what happened, but the words wouldn't come out of her mouth. It was as if someone had cut her tongue out. Finally, she took a deep breath and said, "He came to my house last night, and . . . he kissed me."

Before John could say anything, Brandon walked into his office. "Were we supposed to have a meeting today? Because I didn't hear about it." Brandon explained.

"No, Denella and I were just discussing something." John stated.

"Oh, okay. Just wondering." He said before he glanced at Denella, then closed the door. Denella peeked out the window to make sure he was gone before discussing the kiss even further.


Raphael entered the building and headed to the elevator. He noticed that they finally finished renovating their lobby. The front desk was changed to a metallic shade of the colours blue and silver and they got new plants; golden pothos. The tiles also had a different pattern on them.

As Raphael reached the 28th floor, he saw his boss trotting up and down his office floors. Something was bugging him for sure. Raphael knocked on the door and stepped inside his office.

"Heath, there you are," Terrance started, "I've been looking everywhere for you! We got a lead on the case last night.


Denella waited for John to come back to his office and say something like, "Maybe we should consider having someone else be Brandon's partner," or, "I don't think it will be appropriate for you and Brandon to be partners and work together." Overhearing the other agents, she found out that John had an emergency. It was something with his mother. She wondered why he hadn't notified her before leaving. Not knowing what to do, she went to Brandon.

"So, about last night . . ." she started.

"What about last night?" Brandon questioned.

"Are we not going to talk about what happened?"

"There's nothing to talk about."

"So, now you're mad at me because I didn't kiss you back? If anyone should be mad, it should be me. You just happened to show up on my front step and apologize. The next thing I know, you're kissing me. We've only known each other for a few weeks, and you don't even know me that well. Listen, I don't care if this is awkward; talking about a stupid kiss, but I guess it wasn't really stupid. Last night, I was out with someone, and I witnessed something that happened. Someone shot them self, and you appeared out of nowhere and made it all disappear."

"So, you're happy about the kiss? Or is this how you start your long explanation on how it was wrong to kiss you?" He joked.

Denella did that laugh she always did when she blushed.


Raphael studied the hallway as he waited for Henry to come open the door. The carpeted floor was bits of both, dark and light shades of green and had chunks of red here and there. The dark green resembled vomit. The lighting annoyed Raphael because it was so dim, and the walls were coloured in a faint shade of yellow. It smelled like old people and pizza that had gone bad. As he looked at the stains on the wall, he heard the door unlock and the doorknob turned.

"Hey . . . aren't you suppose to be at work?" Henry inquired.

"Yeah, I am. I never got a chance to get your phone number, so I came to get you. We got a lead on the case and Terrance already told me my next mission. I needed another hand, and I was wondering if you wanted to come along?"

"Sure, let me just grab my jacket."

Chapter Eleven

"It is better to lead from behind and put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership."

-Nelson Mandela


"Denella, I was looking for you," Brandon started, "John sent me a text a few minutes ago. He said that his mom fell down and hit her head in the retirement home she stays at. He will be away for a few days. He wants me to take his place until he comes back."

"What do you mean he wants you to take his place? You've only been here less than a month." Denella stated.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I don't think I can do it. I was hoping you could do it instead."

"Of course I'll do it," she paused for a second, "You're making a very good choice. Picking me to be in charge is something anyone would do." She, of course, said that with pride, for she had a high self-esteem most of the time.

He smiled, "John also gave me instructions on what we needed to do since we got a lead on the case. We were keeping track of all the phone calls Celcus makes and gets. Last night, he

got a call from someone, but we're not sure who. The phone call was from a payphone. We need to find out who called him."

"How am I supposed to find out who called Celcus if the person called him from a payphone?" Denella questioned in curiosity. She was still trying to figure out why John told Brandon why he had to go and not her. And, she thought that John's mom lived in a house, not a retirement home. John also talked to Brandon about Celcus and instructed him on what they had to do. Brandon was the one who John chose to take his place while he was gone. Denella was starting to think that John had a new favourite agent and she was getting a little envious. But the fact that Brandon thought she was capable of the job and not him, made that jealousy go away.


Raphael led Henry to his computer room where all of the computers were set up. they both sat down as Raphael turned on one of the computers. It instantly lit up and showed a small picture of his face. Underneath, was a blank space for him to type his password. Henry watched closely as Raphael quickly punched in six letters T-E-R-E-S-A. It spelt his mother's first name. It loaded for a few seconds, and then the home screen flashed up. It was a picture of him and his parents in front of the Eiffel tower in the romantic Paris. He opened one of the many folders he had on his the desktop and skimmed through the files. One of them were Celcus'. He clicked on it and went through a list of all the calls Celcus made or received.

"The most recent call Celcus has received was last night from a payphone in Uptown Deansville. That's right outside of Belle City up north." Raphael said.

"Is there any way to check who called him?" Henry queried.

"Not that I know of. If there were cameras around that area, I could hack into them to see who used the payphone at the time Celcus received the call, and then we would know who called him. But, my computer isn't picking up any signals."

"Then, how are we supposed to figure out who called him?"

Raphael turned his focus to Henry. "The only way we can find out who called Celcus is to find Celcus himself."


Denella opened John's office door only to find Brandon rummaging through John's files that she had thought were kept secure. John never allowed anyone to even step foot near all the files that were private. "What are you doing in here?"

Brandon quickly closed the drawer shut and stood up. Shocked, he hesitated before he spoke. "N-nothing. I'm just trying to find something. I though you left to go find out who made that phone call."

"I already told you, there's no way to track down who called. They only have cameras in Downtown Deansville, not Uptown Deansville. And, what do you mean you weren't doing anything? Those files are restricted. John has never shown any of those files to anyone, not even me! What were you trying to find?"

"I-I was looking for . . . Celcus' files. I couldn't find it anywhere." He swallowed as if he was nervous about something. Denella could tell he was hiding something. He was starting to sweat and his breathing was heavy. He kept looking away when he was talking to her. He wouldn't dare to look in her eyes. Was he lying to her about something?

Denella walked up to the untidy desk where he sat down behind, her heeled boots making a sound each step she took. She removed some of the papers from the desk and underneath them all were Celcus' files. "My mom always told me something: 'Seek and ye shall find.'" And with that, she turned around and started to walk out, her hair bouncing up and down against her turquoise flannel top.

"Wait!" Brandon called.

Denella turned around and looked at him.

Brandon took a deep breath. "My mom also use to tell me something: 'Ask and ye shall receive.'" I've been wanting to ask you something, but I kept holding off." Brandon said as he noticed how she was now interested in what he had to say. "I was wondering, you don't have to say yes, but I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to do some archery. I know you're going to probably say no, but there really is nothing we can do right now. I mean if you're busy or--"

"Sure." Denella answered.

"Oh, that's okay since you don't want . . . Wait, did you just say sure?"

"Yeah, honestly, I have a lot of things on my mind right now, and I need to do something else so I won't think about them."

"Then, let's go."

Dowman's Archery Range, Belle City, 8:34a.m

Denella finished putting on her sports gloves and took the bow Brandon was giving her. They headed outside and lined up in front of their targets.

"Have you ever done archery before?" Brandon asked Denella.

"Well, I can't say that it's new to me, but I'm not any good at it." Denella responded.

"I've done archery ever since I was three, and I've always loved it." he said.

"I've trained with weapons far more dangerous than a simple bow. How hard can it be to hit the bull's eye?"

Later, "Denella, it's been almost an hour and you still haven't hit the bull's eye. Here let me help you.

"It's not as easy as it looks, you know."

He laughed. "You have to angle your bow like . . . ten degrees to the right because of the wind. And bring your elbow down a bit like this. No . . . like this."

Denella didn't understand what he was trying to say, so he went behind and put his right hand on hers. His left hand went on her left hand. He slowly brought her right elbow down.

"There, like that. Now, release the arrow." He commanded.

Denella could feel his breathing on her ear and the side of her neck. She listened to him and obeyed. The arrow slipped through her fingers and zipped through the air as fast as a runaway train. It landed right on the centre of the target; the bull's eye.

"H-How did you do that?" Denella asked, amazed.

"I didn't do it, you did." he said looking her straight in the eye.

Chapter Twelve

Helping others isn't a chore; it is one of the greatest gifts there is.

-Liya Kebede

Elmer's Supermarket, Belle City, 10:50a.m

Raphael and Henry stood outside of the supermarket as they waited for Celcus to meet up with them. Earlier, Raphael had called Celcus and asked if they could meet up some place. Celcus suggested the supermarket. Raphael thought about why Celcus would choose somewhere like the supermarket when it was so busy, and there were so many people around. But the busier, the better because Celcus couldn't try anything in public.

There was a cool breeze in the air and the autumn leaves twirled in the wind as if there were a tornado passing by. The wind was just another rustling sound in Raphael and Henry's ears. The people passing by were rushing by like there was only a little time left to live. Some of them were talking on their phones and couldn't care less while the rest of the world didn't have a second to spare. It had almost been ten minutes and there were no signs of Celcus showing up.

"He's not coming." Henry fussed, his voice wrestling with the wind and the sounds of the noisy car horns in the distance.

Henry wasn't the only one who was beginning to give up hope, for Raphael was starting to get a little bit anxious. "Let's just give him another minute or two."

Just as Raphael spoke, they noticed a blue and white helicopter in the sky. The door suddenly opened and Celcus stood there with a megaphone in his hand. He looked around until he finally spotted Raphael and Henry. "There you are," he breathed into the megaphone, "The two little T.E.R.S.E. agents. Where's that other agent girl you're always with? She works with R.O.S.S. Headquarters, isn't that right?" He chuckled a wicked laugh.

As he spoke, the news people had already got there and started to video what was happening, and the other people in the crowd did the same with their phones. This was already all over the internet and social media.


Denella paced back and forth in front of the TV and waited for Brandon to show up. Apparently he was in the bathroom and she needed to tell him about what was happening. How did Celcus know about her? And Celcus said where they worked at on live TV. One of the main rules about being undercover was to be undercover.

Brandon approached her. "Denella, Celcus is at Elmer's Supermarket because he was supposed to meet up with some agents from T.E.R.S.E. Headquarters. I traced that agent's phone. I think his name is Ralph or something like that."

"Close enough, but it's Raphael." Denella corrected.

"Whatever, who even cares? I found out that he's the one who made the phone call. I think he's working with Celcus and maybe there's a chance of him being the guy we're after." Brandon said as he hurried to the TV and turned the volume up so they could listen.

"No! He's on our side. They're the good guys, like us." Denella exclaimed.

"I don't think you understand what's going on here, Denella. That Raphael guy is the one who called Celcus. And now--"

"You're the one who doesn't understand!" Denella rudely interrupted. "I don't know what exactly he's trying to do, but I know for a fact that he's trying to help. He's not working with Celcus."

"Are you sure?" He asked as if were expecting a 'no'.

"Yes, and I think that I should go there. What if Celcus tries to do something?"

"He won't, they're in public." He said.

"No, something's wrong. I just . . . I just have this feeling that he's going to something. Even if Raphael did call, why would Celcus agree to meet there, especially since there are so many people?"

"Fine . . ." A smile appeared on Denella's face, "But, I'm coming with you."

Elmer's Supermarket, Belle City, 12:04p.m

The wind still continued to squeeze its way through the crowded mob of people, even though it was packed. Everyone stood there confused.

Brandon parked three blocks away from the supermarket since it was all blocked. Denella got out of the car as police started to get there.

"Denella, wait! You can't go out there. Everyone will see you." Brandon warned her.

But Denella continued to go, ignoring what Brandon had said. Not knowing what to do, he ran behind her. They pushed their way past the curious citizens of Belle City and rushed to where Raphael and Henry were.

"Denella, what are you doing? You shouldn't be here!" Raphael shouted over all of the commotion.

"Oh, there our little R.O.S.S. agent is," Celcus started, "I knew you would come. Well, this has been a lovely time, but I have to get going now. I just don't have any time to spare. Speaking of time, the clock is ticking." he said as an evil-like grin appeared on his face. The helicopter took off leaving them all standing there, but the crowd and the cameramen were still there.

"He's gone. We have to follow him." Raphael hollered.

"No, something's not right," Denella begun, "Why would Celcus agree to meet in a public place where it's so busy and then, all of a sudden, leave? That was almost way to easy. It just doesn't add up . . ." Something was wrong. She could feel it. And what did Celcus even mean? " 'Speaking of time, the clock is ticking.' " She whispered. What clock? " '. . . The clock is ticking.' "

"We have to get out of here. Now! Everyone, run!" Denella demanded.

"What's wrong?" Raphael inquired.

"I don't know where, but there's a bomb somewhere around or in the supermarket. We have to find it!" she yelled.

Raphael ordered Henry to go and look for the bomb while him and Denella got everyone out to safety. Brandon ran after Henry.

Denella saw Brandon leave. "Brandon, where are you going?" But he was too far and couldn't hear her.

Denella felt as if she was having a panic attack. Her breathing was deep and she was sweating like there was no tomorrow. Brandon went to look for the bomb with Henry. What if they didn't find it and it exploded? Denella couldn't take her mind off of Brandon. Why was she so worried about him when she couldn't even stand him in the beginning? She didn't know what to do. Every time she blinked, she saw black. It was as if outer space was taking over her vision. The next thing she knew, she was seeing images of two people in her mind, a man and a women. Next, a child appeared in the arms of the women; a baby girl. It was a family. She recognized the baby girl. It looked a lot like her.

Denella had hazel eyes like the mother and she had the father's nose. Then, she saw the couple singing happy birthday to her when she was one year old. She felt like she had known these people, like they were somehow connected to her. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she could hear Raphael's voice calling her, breaking her thoughts.

"Denella, are you okay? Denella?" He called.

She was standing there, staring into space. It really did look like outer space had taken over her mind, too. Before she could say anything, a deafening, gigantic sound filled her ears. Raphael quickly grabbed her and pulled her behind the blue Ford car that was behind them. She accidentally banged her head against the car door. Denella's ears were ringing and there ached so much. She couldn't hear anything or even see anything because of the smoke. There was fire and panic everywhere. The peoples' screams resembled the sound a dying cat would make. The flames were as red and hot as the magma coming out of a erupting volcano. The black smoke was starting to rise. Elmer's supermarket was gone.

It felt like it had been forever since the bomb. Denella still couldn't hear properly, but she could still hear the sounds of sirens in the distance. She turned around to see that there were bodies of people just lying there on the ground. She could still make out the cries for help beyond the smoke. All she smelled was smoke. Then, she saw the red and blue lights flashing from many police cars, ambulance and fire trucks that were there. There were people being sped away to the hospital. She turned to her other side and all she saw was an injured Raphael. His arm was bruised, probably from trying to save her.

Her thoughts suddenly brought Brandon into the picture. He ran after Henry to try to find the bomb. He was inside the building when the bomb exploded! She had that feeling she always had was something wasn't right. She tried to ignore it, but the same thought kept racing back into her mind; Brandon was dead. Denella suddenly started breathing heavily and her heart felt like it was in her throat. She needed to see that he was okay, but the chances of that were very thin. Blackness clouded her view and all she could see was the colourless black. Then, she saw nothing, nothing at all.

Chapter Thirteen

"The word 'happiness' would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness."

-Carl Jung

Belle City General Hospital, Belle City, 9:05a.m

Denella's eyes fluttered open and she gasped when she saw where she was. Oh, how she hated coming to places like these. There were the same old, dim lights pattered on the ceiling. She saw a lady dressed in white fidgeting with the medicines as if she didn't know what to do. Her face was long and her skin pale. She wore a light shade of pink lipstick and a thin, silver necklace with an infinity sign hung over the collar of her uniform. The brownness of her hair reminded Denella of her own. The women looked like she was in her mid-thirties.

Denella wanted to find Brandon or Raphael, but had no idea where they were. What if they were in the hospital, too? She had a plan to escape the miserable hospital room. She would pretend to go to the bathroom in her room, but instead leave. She needed to ask the women, but she couldn't find her voice to say it. Anxious to leave, she happened to mutter, "Excuse me, can I please go to the bathroom?"

The nurse quickly spun around, "Oh, you're awake," her voice was soft and sweet, "It's about time. You've been out for about twenty hours now! You had a small concussion, but it's better now. You must have hit your head against something earlier."

"So, can I go to the bathroom?" Denella spelled out slowly.

"Oh, sorry, I totally ignored you before. Of course you can, sweetheart. It's right there."

Denella slipped out of the uncomfortable bed and planted her feet on the ground. Each step she took, she felt as if the whole room were spinning. She dizzily snuck out her room and made her way through the hall and was thankful she wasn't in the condition half of the other people were. On her way there, she noticed a young girl, probably about ten or eleven years old. There were wires connecting her to a respirator machine because she couldn't breathe on her own. Her skin was even paler than the nurse's skin in Denella's room that it resembled a ghost. Her hair was blond and tangled. Her eyes were a light shade of blue and her lips were dried and cracked. She looked so weak, but still struggled to give Denella a faint smile as she passed by. Another nurse came by and gave the young girl the everyday, tasteless hospital food.

"I hate being locked up in here every single day with nothing to do. And to make it worst, I have to eat their nasty hospital food." The girl said to Denella.

Denella felt bad, but tried not to show it. She knew how people felt about others taking pity on them. "Yeah, I heard it's pretty bad."

"Why are you here? Are you visiting someone?" The girl interrogated in a raspy voice.

"No, I'm not here to visit anyone."

"Then, why are you here? You look fine to me."

"I had a concussion." Denella stated, although she was more curious to find out about the girl.

"Oh," she started, but didn't finish her sentence. Instead, she surveyed the halls as if she were trying to find a subject to talk about so she could kill the boredom for a minute or two. "Wait, I know you." Denella looked confused. "You're that girl from the news that everybody's talking about. You're an agent, aren't you?" she questioned.

"What? You know about that? Please, don't tell anyone about this." Denella begged.

"Fine, but on one condition, you tell me your name."

Denella smiled as a relieved look came upon her face, "I'm Denella."

"That's a pretty name. I'm Sophie Maxwell. I was born with this medical problem so now I'm stuck with this big machine hooked up to me to help me breathe. The way I put it is that this is practically my life. Something happens to it, I die."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault . . ."

"Well, I'll see you around, hopefully." Denella said as she continued to wander around. Why did bad things happen to good people? Sophie seemed like such a sweet and gentle girl. Denella only wished the fact that life wasn't fair wouldn't be true, but she knew that, sadly, it was.

T.E.R.S.E Headquarters, Belle City, 9:43a.m

Raphael opened the door of the resting room and dizzily began to walk out. His mind tried to process what had happened. His head was throbbing and it felt as if someone had either drilled into his brain with a screwdriver or was hammering a nail into his head. The room was spinning and he felt so lightheaded.

"Oh my word! Sleeping Beauty has finally awoken." Terrance mocked. "You could of died! It's been quite a while now since you've been out. You woke up hours ago and kept asking for someone named Denella. After that, you passed out again."

Raphael put his hand on his head and brushed back his hair. He needed to find Denella.

Belle City General Hospital, Belle City, 10:06a.m

Denella wandered around the halls of the hospital searching for Brandon. What if he wasn't there? What if his body was still at Elmer's Supermarket, lying there in the ashes of other bodies and covered in burnt pieces of the store? Or even worst, what if he was ashes? These thoughts made her mind crumble into tiny, little pieces as if it had just exploded. Right now, her only thoughts were about Brandon and he was also her biggest fear.

She saw other people in different hospital rooms. Most of them on that floor must have been somewhere near Elmer's Supermarket when it blew up into pieces. Lots of them had burn marks all in various parts of their bodies. Those scars would be there forever. A few of them looked like they were lifeless. They weren't moving and some weren't even breathing.

All of this, somehow, felt like her fault. She should of figured out what Celcus meant earlier. Then, she would have been able to save so many lives.

In one of the hospital rooms, she saw a little girl. Her mom was there. "Are you okay, sweetie?" The mother said.

"I'm fine." The little girl said.

All of a sudden, Denella felt like she just experienced a Déjà Vu moment, but she wasn't really experiencing it; it was like she was remembering something similar that had happened to her. Once more, she had those visions in her head, but, again, they weren't just visions, they felt like memories. It was the same mother from before with the hazel eyes. The mother was asking the little girl if she was okay. The girl had fallen off of her bike and bruised her knee. The mark it left looked like two hearts. The heart above was bigger than the other one below it. The images suddenly flashed out of her mind so fast, it resembled an arrow just being shot from its bow.

Denella didn't know what to think, for the mark on the little girl's knee resembled the one she had on her own knee.

Chapter Fourteen

"Some are kissing mothers and some are scolding mothers, but it is love just the same, and most mothers kiss and scold together.

-Pearl S. Buck


Raphael called Denella for like the hundredth time, and still, she wasn't picking up. Where could she have gone? He also tried phoning Henry, but couldn't get a hold of him either. Finally, he dialed Denella's number for the last time, and when he couldn't reach her, he gave up. He didn't know what to do. Maybe he could try going to her house. There was a chance of her being there.

"Where are you going?" Terrance questioned as he blocked his way.

"I need to go somewhere. I have to go meet up with someone." Raphael responded, trying not to give away any names.

Terrance said nothing for a moment. Then, he said, "And may I ask who this person your meeting is?"

Raphael had never seen this side of Terrance, so curious and nosey. He always trusted Raphael and would let him do almost anything. "It's just . . . a friend. I also was going to go to Henry's house to see if he's okay. He's not anywhere here and I tried calling him, but couldn't get him."

"That's sweet . . . but when we found you and rescued you from Elmer's supermarket, we also found Henry. Listen, Raphael, I'm sorry, but Henry's gone."

Raphael felt like a big wave had crushed him. It was his fault Henry was gone. He was the one who demanded Henry to go look for the bomb in the first place. He couldn't believe it. He refused to believe what Terrance had. He was going to find Henry, or at least Henry's body.

Belle City General Hospital, Belle City, 12:00p.m

Denella was finally allowed to go home. She felt like a bird that was freed out of their cage for the first time. She needed to find out if Brandon and Henry was okay. She also needed to find Raphael. She walked to the bus stop and waited with the rest of the people that were there for the bus to come.

The sun was staring down at everyone there. She could feel the heat licking at her skin. Once the bus had come, she hopped on. It took forever to get to the stop that was closest to her house with all of the stops the bus had to take.

Denella stared out the window watching all of the people go by. They had not a care in the world. After all, they had no idea of what was really going on. If they did, they would all just live in fear.

Finally, the bus came to a stop at Magnolia Boulevard and Denella got off. She walked a few blocks down and when she reached her house, there was another car on her driveway.


It was a new Acura MDX. Someone came out of the car and ran to Denella. They gave her a great, big hug that squeezed the life out of her.

"Mom, you're going to kill me!" Denella joked as she giggled.

"I thought you were already dead!" Her mom exclaimed. At first, Denella laughed, but then, she realized that her mom wasn't trying to be funny.

"Where's Dad?" Denella asked, trying to start a new conversation.

"He was working, but I didn't tell him. I just told him that you were in some kind of crisis and needed some help, so I just wanted to come up here for a bit. But it looks like you're in more than a crisis. I saw you on the news and I . . ."

"Mom, I can explain."

"It's fine. I don't need you to explain."

Denella smiled.

She never thought her mom would ever understand. "All I know is that you've been lying to me this whole time. You said that you were an assistant for an interior designer. I thought you were going to be your own interior designer instead of an assistant one day. But this is even worse than an assistant!"

Denella was so confused. She thought her mom understood what was happening.

"I can't believe it; you're a spy!"

"I'm not just a spy!" Denella argued. "I'm a secret agent. I have a great boss and good friends. I'm more than a person who delivers information. Why can't you just understand that?"

"All I understand is that you couldn't spare one minute to tell your father and I!"

"I couldn't tell you guys. I had to keep you safe."

"That's why everyone's excuse is. 'I did it to keep you safe.'"

"It's not an excuse!" Denella said as tears began to race down her face.

"Denella, lies tear families apart . . . and thanks to you, the unity and love in our family is now gone." She opened the door to her car and got in.

"So, now what? You're just going to jump hop in your car and drive back home. Is this really why you drove seven hours up here? Just to give me some lecture on families and lies."

There were tears in her mother's eyes as she rushed away in her car. That could of been one of the hardest things a mother would have to do.

Chapter Fifteen

"It takes one person to forgive, it take two people to be reunited."

-Lewis B. Smedes

The Coffee Shop, Belle City, 1:09p.m

Raphael sipped the last of his coffee. Yes, he always drank coffee in the morning, but right now, coffee was just a substitute for alcohol, even though he didn't drink. He couldn't remember why he was even there. Henry was dead and he didn't know what exactly to do.

He watched out of the window and noticed a lady across the street. She had short, shoulder length hair that was brightly coloured in orange. Her hair had so much volume in it, it bounced and jumped on her shoulders. She was wearing light pink pants and a white blouse. Her pants wear so tight that they showed all of her curves. Her skin wasn't pale, but it wasn't tanned, just in between. She wore big sunglasses that covered her eyebrows, as well as her eyes. Her lips were painted in a bright shade of pink. You couldn't walk by her and not notice them.

Raphael thought back to all of the files they've had. She, for some reason, looked quite familiar. All of a sudden, Raphael recognized her. He knew who she was. His mouth was left wide open. Not thinking, he went outside and began to follow her. He stayed on the opposite side of the road so she wouldn't notice him, but lost her when she got into a taxi and it drove off. This had to be her, but it all didn't make sense. He thought she was missing. But maybe none of it was true. Maybe she faked her disappearance and it was all planned for Celcus to be the one they blamed. Now it all made sense. But there was only one question, why? Judy Walker didn't disappear after all.


Denella tried calling Raphael a few times, but she couldn't get a hold of him. After the fourth time trying, she began to get worried. She even tried calling Brandon. She left multiple messages on both of their voicemails, but still no answer. Back at the hospital, she asked the nurse at the front desk if there was someone by the name of Brandon Switz staying there, and the nurse had told her no. Denella kept thinking of the worst case scenario.

She remembered how she showed John the note that she found in the security guard's pocket. Instead of focusing on who was really behind this whole mess, she kept narrowing her focus to Celcus. Celcus wasn't the one they were really supposed to be after. Well, yes, Celcus has done horrible things. He's been armed many times with a gun when he didn't even have a permit, and he still doesn't have one. He also blew up a store and killed many people that day. He wasn't the guy they were really after, but they were still looking for him.

Denella sat at the kitchen table with her laptop and tried to contact John. Apparently, something happened to his mom. It had almost been three days since he was gone. Denella felt like something was wrong with him because he only stayed a few hours away from work when his sister died a year ago. It was strange, yes. He didn't even attend the funeral. But that was so like him. It was his training. You always had to be strong and pretend like you didn't care about certain things, even if you did. Sometimes, you couldn't even spare to shed a tear.

Denella began to type her short letter to him:

Dear John,

I just wanted to know how you were doing. Brandon told me about your mother. I hope she's feeling better. I'm pretty sure you saw what happened on TV or somewhere online, but I want you to know that Brandon and I are fine. Please tell me if you get this. Thanks.

-Denella

Just as Denella was about to press send the doorbell rang. She ran to the door to answer it. Looking out if the window, she unlocked the door happy and relieved. It was Raphael. She ran into his arms and stayed there for a while. It was warm and comforting.

"I thought you were dead!" Denella roared. Then, she hugged him again. "What happened to you?"

Raphael smiled. He didn't even know what exactly had happened to him. "I can't even remember half of it. I just woke up, and I was at T.E.R.S.E. Headquarters. Where were you this whole time?"

"I was at the hospital. I don't know how I got there, but thankfully I did. I had a small concussion."

"What? Are you okay now?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She lowered her voice. "Are . . . you okay? You look upset, like there's something bothering you."

He looked down until his eyes met the floor. "Henry's dead."

Denella felt horrible. The guy she thought wasn't innocent was now dead. "I'm so sorry. How did you find out?"

Raphael swallowed. "My boss told me." There was a long moment of silence until Raphael finally spoke. "I need to tell you something. Earlier today, I saw Judy Walker."

"What? That's impossible." The word confusion was written all over Denella's face.

"I know that was her. It had to be. Maybe she faked her disappearance and Celcus was the one who looked guilty. But I still don't understand why." Before Denella could speak, Raphael's phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out to check who was calling him. Raphael didn't recognize the number. Not knowing who it was, he answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey, Raphael, it's Henry."

Chapter Sixteen

"The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook."

-William James


Raphael parked his car and he and Denella got out. He locked the car with his remote. They two of them rushed into the hospital and took the elevator up to the second floor. Once it opened, they wandered through the halls looking for room 211. When they found it, a familiar face was staring at them from the scratchy, uncomfortable hospital bed. Henry smiled at Raphael as they came in. Then he looked in Denella's direction.

"Denella, this Henry Gargani." Raphael introduced, knowing that Denella had known who he was, but not in person. "This is Denella Oakley. She works for R.O.S.S. Headquarters."

"Oh, so this is the famous Denella that you're always talking about." Henry said giggling. He noticed how both, Denella and Raphael had reacted when he said that. Raphael turned away to try to hide the fact that he was blushing and Denella smiled and looked to the ground, her cheeks also a rosy shade of pink. "It's nice to finally meet the girl that is so utterly important to Raphael." He stretched out to shake Denella's hand.

"You okay?" Raphael asked Henry.

"Well, I fractured one of my ribs and I have to stay in the hospital for about six weeks until it heals, but I'm doing great. Thanks for asking." He tried to laugh, but as soon as he did, he coughed. His coughs were so raspy, they resembled the sound of a saw cutting into wood.

"What happened in there when you went to look for the bomb?" Denella questioned.

"I can hardly remember. But, from what I can remember, I went in the supermarket. Everything looked fine, so I went downstairs to check the basement. There was someone else behind me but I'm not too sure who it was." He closed his eyes as if he was trying to picture what happened in his mind. "It was dark; really dark. I tried to get my phone out so I could turn on the flashlight, but I dropped it. I bent down to pick it up, and all of a sudden, someone came out of nowhere and pushed me. I fell and I hit my head. I struggled to get up, but the person pushed me back down. I could barely see. I tried to see who it was, but between my blurred vision and the fact that the person's black hood was on, I couldn't."

"What happened after that?" Raphael inquired.

"I felt so dizzy and I couldn't move. Then, I passed out. I can't remember anything after that. I just woke up and here I was."

"Thank you for telling us that." Raphael said.

"No, thank you for stopping by. Feel free to come here anytime you want. After all, who's stopping you?" He laughed and, again, he started to cough. "I think I should have some rest now." He smiled. He looked like he was in his own little world.

"We'll see you later." Raphael said as he and Denella walked to the door."

Denella waved goodbye. "Hope you feel better."

"She's a keeper." Henry whispered in a small voice so only Raphael could hear.

Denella and Raphael walked together to the elevators, but Denella suddenly came to a stop when she passed by one of the rooms; room 217. There was a loud beeping sound. There was a doctor there and a three nurses in the room.

The doctor was using defibrillators to help restart the person's heart. "One, two, three." He said as he shocked her heart. "One, two, three." He did it again, but it the person still wouldn't move. "One, two, three." He said for the last and final time. "Time of death, 4:43p.m."

Denella's eyes flooded with tears. She stared at the pale body of a young girl who looked about ten or eleven. Her hair was blond and tangled. Her eyes were a light shade of blue and her lips were dried and cracked. It was the sweet and gentle Sophie Maxwell.

Duncan's Ice cream, Belle City, 5:43p.m

"Two medium chocolate sundaes." The cashier called out from behind the counter as Raphael and Denella picked up their sundaes and headed out the door.

They got into Raphael's blue convertible Mustang and drove to a nearby park a few blocks down. They parked at the bottom of a hill that they climbed and sat there shaded by the big tree above them. The air whistled softly in their ears as the chirping birds flew by. There were a few clouds in the sky, but it was still bright and sunny. Soon, the sun tried to hide behind the clouds, but peeked out again as the clouds floated away.

Raphael swallowed some of the ice cream from his sundae, then said, "What happened in the hospital, when you saw that girl?"

"I met her earlier. Her name was Sophie. She was born with this condition. She didn't deserve to die. She seemed like such a sweet girl." Denella took a deep breath, and then said what was on her mind. "I've been having these visions, but they're not exactly visions; they're more like memories. It's me as a baby, but I'm not with my parents. I'm with these two other people. And the weirdest part about it is that the people actually look a lot like me." She explained.

"You should search your files to see if those people have anything to do with you." Raphael suggested.

"That's the thing, I want to, but then I don't want to. I'm scared of what I might find in there. What if I find something that I never knew and never wanted to know about myself?" She paused. "There's this quote my mom used to tell me: 'Once you know some things, you can't unknow them--'"

"'--It's a burden that can never be given away,' Alice Hoffman. My mom always used to tell me that when I was younger, too." He paused for a while as he lowered his head.

Denella could tell that he was thinking about his mom. At times like these, she'd never known what to say. She tried to think about another subject to change the topic to but couldn't. She never really knew what it felt like to lose someone. With the job she had, she had witnessed many people dying before, but none she knew. She could have never imagined how it felt to lose someone so close to you, someone like your mother.

"So, what about you? Where are your parents?" Raphael questioned, breaking the silence.

"Two years ago, they both moved way up in Demsberg." Denella replied.

"Wow, Demsberg. That's like six hours away, right?"

Denella shook her head, "Seven. I hardly get to see them." She complained.

"At least you do get to see you parents. I'm still trying to find a way to get my dad out of jail, but everyone thinks he killed my mom."

Denella though hard about the scenario. His mom was kidnapped, and two years later, they found her dead in his dad's backyard. Now, his dad is in jail for a crime he didn't commit. She's heard about stories like that before. There was this one story where this young boy's mom was murdered and his dad was arrested for her murder. The only thing was that he didn't do it. When the boy got older, he was struck by lightning and he got this kind of superpower. Now, he's trying to find out who killed his mom and get justice for his father. Oh, yes, there were quite a few stories with situations like this, but only the ones Denella knew were just made up.

"My relationship," Denella started, "with my mom isn't that good. I mean, it always was, until now. She came to my house earlier today, before you showed up. She said she saw me on the news. She's mad about me lying to her and my father about working at R.O.S.S. as an agent. I've lied to her this whole time . . . but I did it to protect her. She just doesn't get that."

"She'll get around, don't worry." Raphael said as he half smiled. Then, he took a deep breath as if he were getting ready to blow a house down like in the story of the three little pigs. "Do you enjoy working at R.O.S.S.? I mean, do you ever regret being an agent?"

"No, well, sometimes, especially at times like this. My mom sounded like she never wanted to speak to me again because I lied about my job. Although, I feel like I actually have a purpose in life since I get to help a lot of people and I can stop crimes. Why?"

"I don't know. I just never really thought of what life would be like if I wasn't an agent. It would be different. I would actually be living like a normal person. I would have friends and be closer to my family and neighbours. I wouldn't have to be just a spy--"

"You're not just a spy." Denella interrupted. "You're more than that, a lot more." Denella wanted to go on further, but the words just wouldn't come out of her mouth. It was as if someone had cut out her tongue and she couldn't speak.

He smiled a shy smile as his face reddened. He turned away so Denella wouldn't see his face. Slowly he got up and helped Denella to her feet. Together they raced down the hill and to Raphael's car. The sun had already started to go down.


The impatient feeling loomed over Denella and began to get inside of her as she waited for the elevator to come. There were so many people waited to go up and she started to get tired of waiting around. She stared at the people so hard as if she were trying to memorize their faces. Finally, she noticed a woman dressed formally in a lavender outfit. She was light skinned. The women had milk chocolate hair a little past her shoulders and a rough smile. She wore makeup that was barely noticeable and she had pink heels to match the small, pink and purple floral scarf that was tied around her neck. In her skinny, wrinkled hands held a small microphone. Denella then realized what all those people were doing here. They were reporters.

Denella slowly backed away and headed for the stairs, while trying not to get caught. Before she could get far, she heard someone coming behind her.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for the boss. Do you know if a John Reed works here?" Said the voice of the annoying reporter dressed in lavender.

Denella still continued to walk away casually, pretending she never heard her.

"My name is Kendra Witherfield. I was just wondering if I could ask you a few questions about R.O.S.S. Excuse me? Do you work here?"

Denella still had her back to all of the cameras as she started to walk faster. She dashed through the door and up the stairs. She didn't stop until she reached the twenty-third floor. She was out of breath. Her breathing was so deep, it was as if she were going to suck in all of the oxygen on the planet. After she caught her breath, she alerted some of the other agents to have a full lockdown. Her being on the news was bad enough, but practically everyone who

worked there on the news would be worse than death. And for her, nothing was worse than death itself but torture.

Chapter Seventeen

There are no secrets that time does not reveal.

-Jean Racine


R.O.S.S. Headquarters was now on a full lockdown. There was a sea of nosey reporters crowded in the lobby. Denella knew that he had to go down to the lobby and chase the reporters away.

Celcus had only said something about the agent who worked for R.O.S.S. Headquarters, but he never mentioned anything about what kind of agent.

Denella would have to lie to the reporters and tell them that she had no idea how the man in the helicopter knew her and how she is just a sales agent working for the company R.O.S.S. It wouldn't be that hard. Being a secret agent required a lot of lying, and that was something Denella hated very much. She lied to many people before because of her job and that included her parents. Her parents. What would she do about them? Then there was the whole Celcus thing.

Denella cleared her mind and focused on what the main problem was right now. Hesitantly, she rode the elevator down to the main floor. She would be asked the stupidest questions and be forced to answer them, even though she knew she had a right to stay quiet.

It would of been much easier to stay upstairs and let John do all the talking, but she remembered how he wasn't there anymore. He was with his mother because she was sick. It was quite odd for him to be gone at a time like this. Denella didn't even know that John's mom wasn't feeling too well until Brandon told her about it because John didn't mention anything to her before he left.

Denella got out of the elevator and was swarmed and swallowed up by the reporters. The first to get to her was Kendra, the women in lavender. She held up the microphone close to Denella's mouth as she motioned her cameramen to focus their cameras on Denella.

"Hi, I'm Kendra Witherfield. Do you work here?" The women in lavender asked.

Denella had to drown the voices of the other reporters so she could hear the question. "Yes, I do work here."

"So, the word is that you're a secret agent. Is that true."

"No, it's not true." Denella lied, making sure she looked directly into Kendra's eyes. "I'm just a sales agent."

"Oh, just a sales agent. Is your boss around here somewhere?" Kendra questioned as she looked around.

"No, he's out of town for a few days. He'll be back soon."

"Then, who's running this place?"

Denella looked around to make sure Brandon was nowhere at that time before she answered. "No one. We were all given our specific jobs, and we will continue to do them until our boss comes back." And with that, she pushed her way through the crowd and headed for the doors.

"Ms. Oakley, where are you going?" Kendra queried.

Denella dashed through the door and got her phone out. She dialed the number of one of the agents who worked at R.O.S.S.

"Hey, Cynthia. I need you to do me a big favour. I'm not at R.O.S.S. anymore; I just left. Can you look into my files and text me if you find anything? Thanks."

She hung up and waited for the bus to come. When the bus arrived, she climbed the steps and found a seat at the back of the bus. Her phone vibrated the same time she sat down. When she read the text message, she almost dropped her phone. She was so shocked, and she had to tell someone.


There were tears in Denella's eyes. After the intense conversation with her mom, she didn't know what to do or where to go. She was left questioning her life. Denella opened the doors and walked into T.E.R.S.E. It was similar to R.O.S.S., but it had a few differences. She went up to the front desk and waited for someone to help her.

"Can I help you?" A woman asked kindly. She had a thick Indian accent. Her skin was fair and her hair was as black as ebony wood.

"Actually, yes, you can. I'm looking for someone by the name of Raphael Heath. I'm a friend of his." Denella answered.

"He's in a meeting right now with the boss, but he'll be out in a few minutes. You can wait for him over there." The woman directed Denella to the waiting area and Denella sat down.

A few minutes later, the woman called Denella over to the front desk again. "The meeting is over. I can call him if you'd like."

"Sure, that would be great." Denella said. "Can you ask him if he can come down and meet me outside? Tell him it's Denella."

The woman nodded as she picked up the phone and began to dial. Denella went outside and waited a few minutes for him to come down.

"Denella?" A voice called from behind her. It was Raphael.

She smiled. "Hi."

"Hi. I saw you on the news. I am so sorry I made the reporters come to R.O.S.S. I never thought they would."

"No, no. It's not your fault. Don't worry about it. I love cameras, anyways." she said as they both laughed. "But I need to talk to you about something. Do you have time now?"

"Yeah, we're not busy anyways. What is it?"

"I did what you said. I looked into my files to see if there was anything about that woman I've been having dreams and visions about. Well, I got someone to do it. One of the agents at R.O.S.S., Cynthia. She told me that my mom, Natasha Oakley, isn't really . . . my mom. And Josh Oakley, my dad, turns out he's not my dad either. They're not my real parents. I'm adopted." She said as her eyes filled with tears. "I called my mom when I reached here and she said she did it to protect me. She was the one who told me lying is tearing our family apart, and she was right, it is. Cynthia said that she did some research about my parents and she found my real dad, but he's dead. I looked up my mom, Carrie Larkwood, and nothing showed up. It's like she doesn't even exist!"

"I'm sure she's out there somewhere, and it's possible that she changed her name."

"Maybe. But how am I supposed to find her? The only thing that came up when I searched her up was this address." Denella showed Raphael the address on her phone.

"Richilo Bay? That's up north." Raphael stated.

"Yeah, but what does this mean?"

"This means Richilo Bay is where we are going to start our search for your mother."

Chapter Eighteen

Patience is the art of hoping.

-Luc de Clapiers

Richilo Bay, North York, 5:34p.m

"365 Richilo Bay, North York. This is it. We're here." Denella said.

Raphael and Denella had been driving for six and a half hours now and they were exhausted. They just wanted to sleep.

"This place is some sort of campground." Raphael stated.

There were quads and dorms, and it was a really big campground. There was an area for canoeing, fishing and they even had a beach there. It was more of an outdoor kind of place. There were a lot of trees and grass, but it was quiet and peaceful.

"I think that's the main building over there, let's check it out." Denella said as Raphael parked the car.

They got out and went inside. There were couches all over. There was a desk at the side. Raphael and Denella went over to check if anyone was there, but they couldn't find anyone. Denella decided to ring the bell. A few seconds later, an older woman emerged from the darkness inside the room behind the desk. Her face was wrinkled, and her hair was grey and white. Her teeth were yellow and old. She forced a smile.

"Jenny? Jennifer Wilcox? Is that really you?" There was a hint of a British accent in her voice. She put on her glasses so she could see better. "Oh, sorry dear. Without my spectacles, I can hardly tell if it's day or night."

"It's fine. Who's Jennifer Wilcox?" Denella questioned.

"Oh, she's just another woman who used to stay here. She owned one of the trailers." The woman said.

"Do you have a picture of her?"

"Yes, I think I might."

"Do you mind if I take a look?"

"Sure, sweetheart. Let me just grab it from the back.” The old women said as she scurried through the door and disappeared back within the darkness.

Raphael stepped beside Denella. "What exactly are you trying to do?"

"If I saw a picture of Jennifer, then I could see if the she's the woman in my dreams. It's possible, isn't it . . . ?"

Raphael could tell that Denella was already starting to lose hope, even though they had just started looking for her mother. The old woman came back to the front desk with a picture in her hands. It was a picture of all of the members who stayed on the campground dated back to two years ago. She held out the picture so both, Denella and Raphael, could see it.

"That's her right there." The woman pointed out. "Oh, Jenny was such a sweet girl. She was like a daughter to me."

The old woman was right. She did look a lot like Denella, only an older version. And she looked exactly like the woman in Denella's dreams.

"That's her! That's the woman I've been seeing inside my head." Denella said.

"Are you sure?" Raphael asked, noticing the old woman's face drawn with confusion.

Denella nodded. "Where is she now; Jennifer Wilcox?"

The woman looked down to the ground. "Sweetheart, she's long gone."

"What do you mean she's long gone?" Denella questioned in curiosity.

"She doesn't own a trailer here anymore, but I can give you an address."

"Yes, that would be great." Denella said, feeling a little more hopeful now.

"It's about ten minutes away. 344 Sandards Avenue, North York."

Raphael searched the address up on his phone. He waited his phone to load the results. When it did, he said, "That's a cemetery."

"Oh, yes indeed." The woman said, adjusting her glasses. "Jennifer Wilcox died about a year and a half ago. I'm sorry I couldn't be much help to you, but good luck." She got her keys and locked the doors as Raphael and Denella left.

Raphael found Denella sitting on the dock with her feet in the water later by the canoes. He walked on the dock, each step he took made the dock scream. He stood beside her, and then bent down to feel the water. His fingertips made ripples in the calm water. The water reflected the sun.

"It's beautiful here." Denella finally said. "That's probably why my mother chose to live here."

Raphael walked back off the dock. Denella looked back to see where he was going. He bent down and picked up a paddle.

"What are you doing?" Denella looked at him with curiosity.

He found a decent canoe and started pushing it towards the water. "You coming?"

"Are you serious?" Denella asked. When she saw he wasn't joking, she got up and walked to the canoe.

Raphael threw a paddle to her, and she caught it. He held the canoe as she got in at the front, and then he got in. Using the paddle to push off the rocks made the canoe move. Soon, they were far out form the dock and none of them had lifejackets.

"You're splashing water on me!" He laughed.

She giggled. "Sorry. I haven't been canoeing in the longest while."

Accidently she splashed more water on him with her paddle. Using his hand, he scooped up water and threw it on her. It went all over her hair and dripped down the back of her neck. The cool water sent a chill running up her spine.

"You did not just do that." she said.

"Well, you keep wetting me when you splash water on me." He scooped more water in his hand but did nothing with it.

Denella gave him a look. "You better not." she warned.

But he did. So, she splashed more water on him. Soon enough, he grabbed her and shoved her into the water. She emerged from the water quickly.

"I'm going to," she spit enough water out to fill a small aquarium, "kill you!" She coughed a few times.

"Ouch, that hurts." he muttered as he died with laughter. "Okay, I'm sorry." He still had the biggest smile on his face. He looked like a little kid who had just made his brother pee himself and couldn't help but laugh. He offered a hand.

Denella grabbed his hand, and instead of him helping her out, she pulled him inside of the water. She started laughing as he disappeared beneath the deep, blue water. It had been a few seconds already, but she couldn't see him. He wasn't coming out of the water.

"Raphael? Raphael, where are you?" she laughed some more. "Okay, you got me. You can come out now."

But there was still no answer.

Denella started to get worried. Where was he? When he pushed her in, she had resurfaced in seconds. He wasn't coming out. "Ahhhh!" she screamed.

He had gone behind her and popped out of the water to scare her.

"You're crazy. You actually scared me." she said as she noticed the fact that he was laughing again.

"I have to admit, that was pretty funny. I have never heard someone scream like that before."

She punched him in the shoulder and splashed more water on him.

"Oh, I see. You want to splash more water on me. You realize that's how all this started, right?"

She chuckled.

He splashed more water on her. Then, he grabbed her and dove into the water. When they resurfaced, his arms were wrapped around her waist. Their faces were inches apart. Her hazel eyes had a gleam in it, and they were sparkling in the sunlight as she looked in Raphael's brown eyes. He leaned forward and put one of his hands on her cheeks.

"Excuse me," A woman from the dock shouted with a heavy African accent. "You are not supposed to be out in the water after six." she explained.

Raphael and Denella started laughing as they got back on their canoe and paddled to the shore.

Later, Denella sat down on the shore. The beach was beautiful. The sun was going to set soon and the birds had already said goodnight. The skies were coloured in yellow, orange, pink and purple. The ripples of water reflected the dancing sparkles of the sun, and the waves were crashing softly onto the shore. At the corners of her eyes she could see Raphael's silhouette.

"You okay?" he asked.

Denella nodded. "This whole thing was stupid anyways. I don't even know why I agreed to come down here."

He sat down on the sand beside her. "If you want, we can go down to the cemetery tomorrow before we leave."

"No, it's fine. I just want to go home tomorrow. There's the whole Celcus thing and Judy Walker is still out there somewhere. Then, Henry is in the hospital, and my mom . . . I don't even know who she is anymore. I don't think I could ever trust her again."

"You can always trust me."

"I know." she said as she smiled. "And, thank you for doing this with me; coming out here to help me try to find my mom. It means a lot."

He smiled, "Anytime. I will always be here for you if you need me."

There was a long moment of silence as they stared into each others' eyes.

"Do you ever wonder how life would be with your mom?" Denella asked, hoping she wouldn't upset him by asking that question.

"Yeah, all the time. I just miss her a lot. And then, my dad isn't here either, so I do get lonely. I used to not be able to get her off my mind, but that stopped when I met you."

Denella could tell her face was turning red, and she started to smile. "What do you mean?"

"When I first met you in that warehouse, there was just something about you that was different than everyone else. I didn't even know you, but I felt like I did. Then, I got to see you more often and know you better, and I felt like . . . like even though my mom, who was just like an angel, was gone, another angel came into my life. He leaned forward, until Denella's lips were just an inch away from his, and kissed her.

It was kind of like when Brandon was kissing her, she felt like she was in a different world. There were definitely sparks, and Denella felt safe where she was. She was safe and she was happy.

Chapter Nineteen

You don't choose your own family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them.

-Desmond Tutu

Richilo Bay, North York, 7:36a.m

Denella arose to the sound of the birds chirping outside her window. She unwrapped herself from the warm, cotton blanket she had wrapped around her and stretched. Raphael had slept in the other room across from her. She idly got out of her bed and headed to the bathroom in her room.

After she brushed her teeth, showered and made her bed, she changed and went into the kitchen. Denella pulled out the frying pan out of the cupboard and put it on the stove.

Raphael got out of the shower and wrapped the white, cotton towel around his waist. Right before he got out of the bathroom, he fixed his hair. When he came out, he could see Denella standing by the stove in the kitchen.

Raphael slowly entered the kitchen and, with a smile, said, "Good morning."

"Good morning. How do you like your eggs?" Denella asked as she looked up at him. She couldn't help but notice that he only had a towel on. He looked as if he were someone from a magazine with the perfect body.

"Scrambled."

"Me too." She got out a wooden spoon.

"I'll be right back, just let me go change." He said as he exited the kitchen.

Denella scooped the scrambled eggs out onto two plates. She put them right next to the bacon and sausages. To finish the breakfast she was preparing, she got a few slices of toasted bread and placed them on a plate and set it in the middle. Then, she poured out the coffee.

Raphael came into the kitchen; this time dressed, and made his own coffee. They both sat down and started to eat.

"Wow," Raphael said in amazement, "This is really good."

"Thanks, my mom owns her own restaurant, so she's the one who taught me how to cook, but I still hate cooking." stated Denella.

Raphael took another sip of his coffee. "Does R.O.S.S. have any leads on the Judy Walker case?"

"No, not yet. But, we did find out that--" Before she could finish, her phone rang. She checked who it was. "It's Celcus! What do I do?" she asked, alarmingly.

"Answer it and put it on speaker." Raphael instructed.

Denella listened to him and answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hello, Ms. Oakley," Celcus greeted, "How are you and the little T.E.R.S.E. agent, or shall I say boyfriend, doing?"

Denella glanced at Raphael and then stared back at the blank screen of her phone. "Why are you calling me? What do you want?"

"You know, it's funny that you would ask. Let me just get straight to the point, I have your dearest mother here with me, and if you want to save her, you have to come to the old Seakards factory at 8:00p.m. Come alone and unarmed. Don't be late."

"I don't believe you!" Denella screamed.

"What? You think I'm bluffing? I never bluff."

Denella and Raphael heard Celcus' poisonous breath in the speakers. Then, they heard another voice.

"Denella! Don't come to save me. Stay right where you are!" Her mother cried.

"Mom? Is that you?" Denella questioned.

"Yes, Denella. But, listen to me, don't--" she couldn't finish because she was interrupted by Celcus when he took the phone away from her.

"Mom!! No! What did you do to her?" She snapped at Celcus.

"Nothing," he said in a calm and careless voice, "At least for now. If you want to see her again, come to the warehouse tonight, alone." And then he hung up.

Denella felt her blood boiling. She was so angry at Celcus and she needed to let her anger out. She was also shocked. The last conversation she had with her mom was full of hatred. Even if it wasn't her real mom, it was still her mom.

"What am I supposed to do?" she said as she swallowed saliva.

"You have to go, but I'm coming with you." He put his hand on top of hers. "You're not going there alone."

"I have to. He told me that I had to come alone. Who knows what he will do to her if I don't. What if he kills her? What if I never see her again?" Tears filled her eyes.

"You will, don't worry. We should get going now. It's going to be a while until we get home."

Chapter Twenty

It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you don't stop.

-Confucius


Raphael didn't know what to do about Denella. She didn't want anyone to know about her going to save her mom. If they did, then everyone would go with her for backup, and Celcus could possibly kill her mom.

Raphael raced out of the elevator and headed straight to Terrance's office. The door was opened about halfway. Raphael knocked before he went in. The back of Terrance's chair was facing Raphael.

"Terrance, can you find me the files of a woman by the name of Natasha Oakley? I need them for some . . . research." Raphael fibbed. He waited for a reply, but there was no answer. "Terrance?" Raphael walked closer. He put his hand on the chair. "Are you sleeping on the job?"

He spun the chair around only to find a passed out Terrance. There was a cup on the ground and the coffee inside was spilled out of the cup. He picked up the cup and smelled the remaining coffee that was inside. It had a bitter stench.

"Poison." Raphael whispered. He immediately dialed 911 and checked Terrance's neck to see if he had a pulse.

In moments there were other agents and paramedics in the room and Terrence was rushed to the hospital.


Denella was so worried. She wanted to go now, but she couldn't. What would Celcus do to her mom?

Cynthia ran up to Denella, her blonde ponytail bouncing up and down. "I found out that your mom's real name is Carrie Larkwood. She was married to Brent Larkwood. That's all her files say. Everything after that is gone."

"I'm a Larkwood. My name is Denella Larkwood." Denella said.

As Denella was stressing over her mom, she noticed someone familiar come out from the elevator from the corner of her eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Denella asked as she hugged Raphael.

"What do you think? I know that you don't want me to come with you to the Seakards factory, but I might have a way to know if you need my help." Raphael stated.

"Raphael, we've been over this. I have to do this by myself."

"I know, and you are." Denella's face had the word curiosity written all over it. He pulled something out of his pocket. "This device will help me to hear your conversation with Celcus and whatever else is happening. Using this earpiece, I will be able to know if you need any help. You just have to hook it on the inside if your shirt and then it will work perfectly, hopefully."

"You're a genius!" Right when she was about to hug him, Brandon walked in the room. She ran up to Brandon and hugged him instead of hugging Raphael. "Where were you?" she asked.

"I was out for a few hours. Where did you go? Cynthia told me you were going to be gone for a day or two."

"I was also out." she replied.

Denella heard Raphael cough to remind her that he was still there.

"Oh, Brandon, this is Raphael. Raphael, Brandon." She introduced. "Brandon is my partner."

"Oh, your partner." Raphael nodded. "The one who you always used to complain about?"

"What? Brandon, I'm sorry--" Denella apologized as Brandon interrupted.

"No, no. The two of us never really got off on the right foot," Brandon explained to Raphael, "But, look at us now." He said as he put his arm round Denella.

Raphael grinned. "Yeah, look at you two. I was actually just heading out now. I have . . . something important to do. So, if you'd excuse me." He said as he rushed out.

"Brandon, I'll be right back." Denella said.

"Yeah, okay. I'm pretty busy myself. I'll see you later."

"Okay, yeah, I'll see you later." Denella rushed after Raphael. When she caught up with him, he was already outside heading to the parking lot. "Raphael, wait up! What happened back there?"

"What do you mean?" He questioned, knowing exactly what she was talking about.

"Why were you acting like that with Brandon?" she demanded. "Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about."

"It's nothing."

"No, I know it's something. I saw the way you reacted when I hugged him."

"No, it's just that . . . since when have you and him been that close?" I mean, you used to hate him."

"Well, people change. Once I got to know him, it was different. Come on, at first I never liked you either. You were the reason I had to get a new partner; I failed my mission because of you. But, after I got to know you much better and . . ." Denella sighed. "Why does that one hug even matter? Are you jealous?"

He reacted quickly. "No! Of course not. Why would I be jealous of him? Why do think that?" he inquired.

She hesitated. "I don't know. It's just that you seem kind of jealous."

"Well, I'm not. And Brandon seems like a nice guy, so you can go back to your partner and do whatever it is you have to do." He walked away and left Denella standing there without even a goodbye.

Chapter Twenty-one

Sometimes a little heartbreak is a lesson, and the best thing to do is just learn the lesson.

-Jon Voight


Denella tried to forget about Raphael and focus on what the real problem was. She called John for the hundredth time but still couldn't get a hold of him. Brandon had told her that John would be back soon but probably not soon enough. Denella was starting to worry about John. He didn't tell her anything about his mother being ill, so she decided to look into this a little deeper.

She looked up Maryanne Elizabeth Reed and found her address on one of the high-tech computers they used to locate people and places. Once she found it, she decided to give Maryanne an unexpected visit.


Raphael couldn't stop thinking about Denella. He wasn't mad at her, although it seemed like that. Maybe she was right; he was a bit jealous. When he showed up at R.O.S.S. Headquarters, Denella acted as if she didn't want to see him by saying, "What are you doing here?" When Brandon came out of the elevator, she greeted him with a hug. She hugged him too, but Raphael felt like it was his fault. He shouldn't have walked away and left her.

He noticed how one of the agents, Chris Delarosa, was running around the offices. It was as if he was looking for something, or someone. He was wearing a purple t-shirt and a black leather jacket over it. He thought he looked more attractive in the leather jacket. He had on his favourite pair of jeans that he always wore because it made him look much taller. He was about one and a half heads shorter than Raphael. Finally, he stopped and was looking straight at Raphael. He rushed up to Raphael and was panting so hard.

"Finally I found you." he managed to spit out. "You have to hurry. The boss is in the hospital, and he isn't doing too well. Go before it's too late!" he demanded.

Raphael nodded and instantly left.

Maryanne's House, Belle City, 4:22p.m

Ringing the doorbell, Denella waited for someone to answer. She never expected Maryanne to answer the door quickly because even though she was only in her late sixties, she had Parkinson. It affected the way she moved. She got it a few years ago, as John had told Denella, a few years after her husband passed away.

As Denella waited, she admired the way Maryanne kept her garden. There were many flowers, all kept in neat rows. The stucco walls made the house look new, even though the house was about nine or ten years old. It was a smaller house, but it was suitable and good enough for one person.

Suddenly, she heard someone unlock the door. When they opened it, Denella found herself looking down to a small, white face. It was Maryanne with her big smile of dentures. She didn't look sick at all. You could even say she looked strong and healthy.

"Hi, Mrs. Reed." Denella greeted.

"Hello, Dear." Maryanne paused. It was as if she was trying to remember who it was. "Denella Oakley? Is that really you?"

"Yes, it's Denella," she stated with a smile.

"Oh, come in, come in. Look how much you've grown since the last time I saw you. How long has it been? Two years I believe. You were only 19 at the time."

"I know, it's been a while. How are you doing?" Denella asked as she thought about how she hadn't grown in those years. It was Maryanne who was getting shorter and shorter. Denella took a seat on the couch as Maryanne sat in front of her on her rocking chair.

"Would you like some cookies with a glass of milk?" she offered.

As much as Denella wanted them, she knew she couldn't. She hesitated to refuse them, "No, thanks, I can't stay too long. I have to get back to work soon."

"Are you sure, dear? Don't you remember how you used to love my famous chocolate chip cookies?"

Denella could feel her mouth starting to water. Maryanne was right. Her chocolate chip cookies were the best and they were really tempting. "Well, I guess a few cookies a glass of milk won't hurt."


Chris and Raphael dashed through the front doors of the hospital. People watched as they rushed to the elevators. When Raphael realized that the elevators were all the way on the top floor, he ran up the painful stairs to the second floor and Chris followed.

They hurried thought the crowded halls that were busy with people. As Raphael passed room 217, he remembered the girl Denella was telling him about, Sophie Maxwell. Finally, they came to a stop at room 229.

Raphael saw Terrance. He laid there, still. Terrance wasn't moving, and he wasn't breathing. His lips were dried and parted. By the look on all of the nurses' faces, he could tell that it was over for Terrance. They couldn't do anything about it. The doctor covered the corpse and was recording the time of death. Raphael was too late.

He didn't know what would happen to T.E.R.S.E. Without Terrance there was no T.E.R.S.E. Raphael didn't know what to do. He wasn't sad. He wasn't mad. He couldn't feel anything. Terrence was just like a second father to him. Terrance taught him things even his father couldn't teach him. He was fun but strict at times. Raphael thought he was probably just shocked. It was just like losing his dad all over again, but only he knew that he would never see Terrence again.

Maryanne's House, Belle City, 4:47p.m

Maryanne walked Denella to the door. "It was so nice to see you again. You must visit more often."

"I will. And what was it you were saying about John earlier?" Denella inquired.

"He hasn't visited me in about a month. He usually tries to come here at least once every two weeks, but he told me the job he has keeps him really busy. He never did tell me what he did for a living. I wonder what that boy is up to now." she muttered. "Well, you work for him, so I'm pretty sure it's a good job."

Denella stepped outside, still facing Maryanne. "How come he hasn't been here for a month?"

"I'm not too sure. He used to be here every weekend when his father was alive. Ever since Robert died, he doesn't come by too much. Sometimes I worry about that boy."

"I'm sure he's fine." Maryanne had a somewhat curious look on her face. "But since I know him, and I see him pretty much every day, I know that he is fine." Denella lied. "Anyways, it was really nice to see you again, but I should get going before I'm late."

"I know, I know. Oh, how I wish you could stay longer." Maryanne said as she wrapped her arms around Denella and gave her a hug. "Well, I guess this is it. You better come back to visit me again. You know I would come to see you one day, but I'm getting too old." she chuckled.

"I will. I promise you, you will be seeing me again." Denella smiled as she left.

Soon, she disappeared within the sunlight and Maryanne could no longer see here anymore.

Chapter Twenty-Two

For the most part, that message hasn't change a lot over the years - love is still love and heartbreak is still heartbreak.

-Casey Kasem


Raphael rummaged through the box of all of the old files and other belongings that Terrance kept for memories in his office, on top of his locker covered with other boxes. There he found a spare key for the secret room hidden beneath T.E.R.S.E. Headquarters. Raphael had only been there once when he first came to T.E.R.S.E.-or when they first came to him. He had been one of the five people that were trusted and given the chance to explore more than what was mapped out on the blueprints of T.E.R.S.E.

He and Terrance were two of the people. The first person to ever go in that room was Gordon Mark Newthaway. He was the head leader. He built T.E.R.S.E. Headquarters all by hims-elf, and it took him almost six years to do so. After he died during a terrible tragedy, Terrance was the one who took his place.

Twelve years before Raphael came to T.E.R.S.E., Terrance had a favourite agent who he treated like a son. His name was Derek Breyloson-Fields. He was the best and most trusted agent, as Terrance had told Raphael. Terrance's hateful brother, Thomas Gregory Easton, was once an agent at T.E.R.S.E., but he was envious of Terrance since he was in charge. Terrance knew that his brother would want to do something about it, so he promoted him and gave him a high position in T.E.R.S.E. Even with all Terrance did for his older brother, Thomas was still not satisfied. He turned to the evil side and plotted his revenge. He chained Derek to a heavy rock and pushed him off the Nimikle Bridge and into the Deaverson River. This happened two years before Raphael came to T.E.R.S.E. Derek's body was never found, and Terrance never did forgive Thomas for what he did.

The fourth person to go in the room was Sherrie Yeaster, Terrance's girlfriend. This was about twenty years ago when Terrance was only in his late twenties. He wasn't as wise as he would be now. He thought that showing her his personal life and telling her about T.E.R.S.E. wouldn't be such a bad idea, but he was wrong. She actually worked for G.R.E.M.L.Y., another agency that were enemies of T.E.R.S.E., and giving her the opportunity to go in that room was just like giving her the answer to a question that didn't need to be answered. Terrance learned his lesson after it was almost the end of T.E.R.S.E.

Putting the key safely into his pocket, he hid the box once again in the spot it was. Bending down on the ground beside the dried coffee stain, he picked up a scent. It smelled somewhat like cologne. It was a strong smell. He wondered how he didn't smell it before. The cologne wouldn't have mattered to the police, but it did to Raphael. That was because Terrance never used cologne. Sure, he would always use deodorant and soap, but never cologne. He couldn't stand anything that had a really strong scent.

He remembered the police looked for fingerprints or for anything that would help to see who poisoned Terrance, but they didn't find anything unusual. At the corner if his eyes, he could see something small on the ground; it was shinning under the light. It was small and black. When Raphael looked much closer and picked it up, he noticed that it was a circular button. A though crossed his mind: These kinds of buttons were only found on Vahelio clothing. Terrance didn't wear Vahelio clothing.

R.O.S.S. Headquarters (Floor 23), Belle City, 5:18p.m

Raphael stormed through the elevator doors and looked around. He saw other R.O.S.S. agents, but none of them were the ones he was looking for. But, there in the midst of everyone else, he saw his target. He slowly approached the centre, each step he took made his blood boil

even more than it already was. Finally, he pinned down the scared Brandon on the desk and whispered in his ear, "I know what you did."

Other agents had guns pointed at Raphael, but he still continued to hold Brandon down. Brandon couldn't move; Raphael's grip on him was too strong.

"What do you mean?" Brandon breathed.

"You're the one who poisoned Terrance!" Raphael shouted.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Honestly, I don't." Brandon pleaded.

R.O.S.S. Headquarters (Ladies' Washroom), Belle City, 5:24p.m

The sweet smelling scent in the washroom was something Denella loved. Usually she hated public washrooms because they always had a putrid odor, and they were disgusting, but her work's washrooms were clean. She admired how nicely the walls were painted with a pig-like shade of pink. There were items in there that made it a decent place to be such as a big potted plants. Even though they were cleaned every other day, Denella still flushed the toilets by pressing the button with her leg. She was tired, so she washed her face with cold water. As she dried it with the brown, rough, sand-like paper towels, Denella tossed it in the garbage. And like always, she didn't miss.

Before she forgot, she hooked on the device Raphael gave her onto her shirt. Then, she exited the washroom and headed back to her office. She was alarmed when she saw a circle of armed agents surrounding something. To get a closer look, she pushed her way past the scared agents. To her surprise, she found an angry Raphael pinning down Brandon.

"What are you two doing?" Denella cried.

Raphael looked down at Brandon. "Are you going to tell her or should I?"

"Tell me what?" she was curious. Raphael came to her workplace and was threatening her partner.

"Brandon poisoned my boss and now he's dead." Raphael explained.

There was a gasp from the crowd. Denella stared and motioned them to leave. The crowd listened to her command and instantly scattered, but from their working areas, they still continued to watch the dramatic acts.

"Raphael, let him go." she spelled out slowly.

He hesitated, but obeyed.

Denella turned her attention back to Brandon. "Is it true?"

"No! Of course not. I don't know what he's talking about." Brandon protested.

"Raphael, what's gotten into you? Is it because you're jealous?" she questioned.

"I'm not jealous," he snapped, "I found this button in my boss' office. It was underneath his desk close to where he spilled the coffee that had poison in it. These buttons are only found on Vahelio clothing. Most of the times I've seen Brandon, he was wearing Vahelio clothing."

"That doesn't prove anything!" Brandon exclaimed.

Raphael ignored him. "Vahelio clothing are really expensive. Barely anyone has it."

Brandon was shocked at his knowledge. "So, I come from a family with money - a lot of money - but I know of some people who own Vahelio clothing. I thought an agent with more experience like you would have a theory that actually made sense."

Raphael didn't know what to say. He was speechless, and it was quite embarrassing since everyone was now looking at him. He couldn't be wrong. Why wasn't Denella saying anything? She was the one who didn't like Brandon in the first place.

"Raphael, Brandon's right. You don't have any real proof." Denella said.

Raphael smiled a sarcastic smile. "Are you seriously taking his side right now? Why are you defending him?"

"I'm not defending him!" Denella felt like all eyes were on her now. "And I'm not taking anyone's side." she exclaimed. "I thought that if you were going to just show up to my workplace, it would of been to apologize for last time, but I guess I was wrong. You just showed up to make it worst." she said quietly as she looked down.

"I don't have to apologize for anything, and I'm not jealous of Brandon. I definitely don't want to come back here for you, and don't worry because I won't be making that mistake again."

"You have some nerve to show up at my workplace and threaten my partner! But now since you've figure out that Brandon isn't the one who poisoned your boss, you have no point of being here." She pointed her finger in the direction behind her. "There's the door."

He looked at her and realized that she wasn't joking. Finally, he placed the button on the desk he had Brandon pinned down on and headed in the direction Denella had pointed to a few seconds ago.

"Wait! Before I forget, tonight when I'm going out to go . . . see my mother, I don't want you tracking me or listening in on whatever's happening. I don't want your help, and I don't need it!" Denella said firmly.

Raphael looked down to the ground. With his hands in his pockets, he nodded and said, "Fine. But good luck trying to do all of this on your own." He turned around and continued to head out.

"I always do things on my own." she stated.

He turned to look back.

She took a deep breath. "It has been like that for the longest while and it will continue to be . . . because I don't want anything to do with you anymore."

Chapter Twenty-Three

The Energy of the mind is the essence of life.

-Aristotle


Since Terrance was gone, Raphael didn't know who was going to take over and be there new leader. All of the T.E.R.S.E. agents agreed that a vote on whoever their boss should be. Many people had already came up to Raphael and told him that they would be voting for him to be the new boss. Based on what had just happened, Raphael didn't think he had the qualities of being a good boss. Plus, he didn't want to be trapped in an office and assign missions to people, he wanted the missions to be assigned to him. Raphael loved being able to go out on missions, sometimes disguised as someone else, and defeating enemies. He knew for sure that he didn't train for years to just sit in an office and not be able to leave his desk.

Suddenly, one of his co-workers walked by the office and stopped when they noticed him. It was Alice. Her actual name was Kalema, but she preferred to be called Alice. She smiled and looked down as she shifted her feet in her peach six-inch heels. He floral peplum dress was right above her knees. She was tanned and had brown shoulder length hair that was curled.

"Hi, Raphael." she greeted. "I just wanted to let you know that I voted you for our new boss."

He nodded as she waved goodbye and left the room smiling. Everyone in T.E.R.S.E knew that she liked him, but he was never once interested in her. He was interested in Denella and only Denella.

As he emptied the last of Terrance's belongings in his desk, he noticed there was a small picture at the bottom of drawer. It was the kind you would keep inside of a wallet. It was a picture of Terrance and Derek dated back to 15 years ago.

Derek was found outside of Terrance's house when Derek was ten. He was left there by his parents before they disappeared. Ever since then, Terrance trained him, and when he was old enough, Terrance sent him out on missions with a few other agents. Soon, he was even better than the other agents, even though they had more experience. He was with Terrance for ten years until he died.

After Raphael finished cleaning up, he carried the boxes and left them outside of the office. He took one last look at the office and noticed that he forgot to take down the picture of Terrance that was framed and put up on the wall years ago. Instead, he left it, turned off the lights and closed the doors behind him.

He sighed as his phone rang. He got it from his back pocket and checked to see who it was. Hoping it was Denella, he sighed again when he figured out that it was a blocked number. Not knowing who it was, he answered .

"Hello?" he said.

"Hello, Mr. Heath." The person greeted.

"Celcus." Raphael said, spitting out the name as if it were poison. "What do you want?"

"Oh, what a lovely way to greet your fellow enemy." His sarcasm rang through the speakers. "Where is your little girlfriend?"

Raphael swallowed and took a while to answer. " . . . Why do you care?" he finally managed to emit.

"Hmmm . . . something happened, didn't it? Well, don't answer that because I don't really care anyways."

"Why are you calling me? Denella will be showing up tonight, so you don't have to worry."

"It's not Denella I want." Celcus took a deep breath. "The dearest Judy Walker is tied up below you in T.E.R.S.E.'s basement. If you want to see her alive and rescue her, go. Go before it's too late."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Raphael asked.

"Do I ever bluff? If you don't go, then you'll never know if I'm telling the truth or if I'm just playing with you." he chuckled. "It's your choice if you want to save her."

"Why are you telling me this. Why are you making this so easy for me?"

Celcus laughed. "What makes you so sure that I'm making this easy for you? I'm just being kind. After all, you or your little girlfriend were never going to find her anyways. I had no choice but to give you the biggest clue. Let's face it, all you guys were doing was just make me bored. I needed some action. So, I'm getting rid of Judy because I already have my new hostage." He laughed again.

"You better let Natasha go or else I'm going to . . ." Raphael raged, but he figured out that Celcus had hung up the phone.

He had to save Judy.


There were only a few more minutes until it would be time for Denella to go to the old Seakards Factory. The doors shut behind her as she walked to her car. She opened the car door and before she could get in, she could hear the shuffling of someone's feet behind her. She turned around and wasn't surprised when she saw who it was.

"Brandon, what are you doing here?" she queried.

He slowed down and finally stopped running. "I-I don't know. I saw you head out and I was just wondering where you were going."

Before she could say anything, her phone vibrated. Taking it out of her pocket, she realized that it was a text message from Cynthia. It said, "Brandon's telling the truth, he didn't poison Terrance. Just found out that someone from T.E.R.S.E., Chris Delarosa, did it. He admitted to the crime."

"Everything okay?" Brandon questioned.

"Yeah, yeah. Everything's fine." she replied.

The fact that Raphael was blaming Brandon made her blood boil even more than it did already. She had to try to control herself because she would explode like a vicious volcano.

"Where was it you said you were going?" he continued to ask.

Denella hesitated. "I'm going to go see my mother."

"Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine."Denella checked the time on her phone. "It's starting to get pretty late, so I should get going now."

"Yeah, yeah. I should get going too. I have to head back up."

Denella smiled as she got in her car. "See you later, then." She started to drive off.

"Yeah, see you later." he spelled out slowly. He was pretty sure she didn't hear him since she already had pulled off.


Raphael took the elevator to the basement. He was alone. When the elevator came to a stop and opened, Raphael stepped out. His gun in one hand and his flashlight in the other. He held both, the gun and flashlight, in one hand so he could turn on the lights. As he flipped the light switch on, nothing happened. He flipped it off, and then on again, but still nothing happened. The lights were probably not working since no one had been there in a long time.

He continued walking straight ahead, looking around. He could see boxes everywhere. This was where they stored everything. He could hear a soft whimper coming from behind some of the boxes, but he couldn't tell what it was in the dreadful dark. He inched closer and removed some of the boxes that were blocking him. He coughed and blew away some of the dust that rose from on top of the boxes.

He centred his flashlight on whatever was making the noise only to find three rats chattering together. They scattered at the brightness of the light.

"Disgusting." Raphael whispered.

The rats reminded him how much the basement in T.E.R.S.E. needed to be cleaned.

He continued searching around. He could hear water leaking somewhere. DRIP, DROP! Each drop echoing the sound. DRIP, DROP! Then, he heard someone breathing deeply. It was

coming from around the corner. He neared the sound slowly, making sure it wasn't some kind of trap.

And there, in the corner chained to the wall, he saw a pale and scared Judy Walker. He shoved his gun in his pocket and ran to unchain her. Using his bare hands, he broke the chains and helped her up.

"Judy, are you okay?" he asked.

"I d-don't know. W-Where am I?" she shivered and her teeth chattered.

Raphael took of his jacket and gave it to her. "I'm going to get you out of here, okay."

"C-Celcus didn't k-kidnap me." she said as he stopped.

The words that came out of Judy's mouth surprised and shocked Raphael. "He didn't? Then, who did?"

"I d-don't know. I escaped from C-Celcus the first time, b-but someone else c-captured me again." Tears began to flood her eyes.

Raphael remembered how he saw her outside walking when he was in The Coffee Shop. He thought he was maybe just seeing things or maybe it was just another woman who looked like Judy, but it was Judy Walker herself.

"Can you describe to me who it was?" Raphael asked, hoping the description would be helpful.

"I think so." she responded.

She tried to describe him the best she could and Raphael tried to picture the image of the person who kidnapped her in his head. Soon, the man she was describing started sounding like Raphael himself: a young man who is about nineteen or twenty, white skin, brown hair and tall. He was starting to think she was losing her mind and just describing him.

Seakards Factory, Belle City, 7:57p.m

The car door slammed as Denella locked the car and started walking slowly to the front of the Seakards Factory. It had been closed down for years and no one had been there ever since. The factory didn't even look like a factory anymore; it looked like an old, abandoned barn. The front door was painted with a dark shade of red that resembled blood, but most of the paint had started to peel off.

Denella crept up the stairs and stood in front of her door. Checking the time, she realized that there was only one minute until it would be time for her to go in. She stood there wondering if she should of at least let someone, other than Raphael, know where she was going and what she was going to do. Maybe she should have told Brandon. Was she having second thoughts about this? No, she couldn't. This was her mother Celcus was holding hostage in there.

She took a deep breath. When she checked the time, it had just turned 8:00 a few seconds ago. Before she could even approach the door, it creaked opened. The noise sounded as if a cat was choking on hot water. As she entered the mysterious nightmare, she could feel the goose bumps crawl all over her body. For some reason, she was scared. Fear was a feeling that never wanted to stay away from her.

Denella couldn't see anything. The darkness loomed all around her. It was pitch black and quiet; almost too quiet. The deafening silence made her mind linger around curiosity. It was strange.

Was she not in the right place? She had to be. After all, her mom used to take her around here when she was five. Denella remembered that so well. Her and her mom, holding hands, walking by the Seakards Factory to go to the park nearby. Denella loved seeing all of the people who worked there. She always used to say that she would be like them, working in the factory, when she got older. But she just proved to herself that people change as time passes by.

Suddenly, there was a crashing sound. It was coming from below her. It had to be the basement. She edged forward, her body shaking each step she took. She found the door that led to the stairs and slowly opened it, making sure she was aware of her surroundings. As she headed down the stairs, the door slammed shut behind her and shocked her. She could feel her heart skip a beat and her body still trembling.

The basement was even colder than where she was before. The flashlight on her phone was bright, but still not bright enough for her to see anything. Finally, she found a lever for the lights. She pulled it down, praying and hoping the lights were working. Luckily, they were and she no longer needed her phone, which was probably almost dead by now. It was big and spacious down there, although there were many cobwebs and lots of dust. You could almost see how filthy the air was with dust all around. Denella gulped and carried along, wishing that she wasn't alone.

Chapter Twenty-Four

He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.

-Confucius


As Raphael ran to the elevators with Judy, he pressed the button and waited patiently. None of the elevator weren't coming for some reason. Suddenly, there was a loud sound from around the corner. It was a deafening thumping sound. Raphael grabbed his gun and told Judy to stay where she was. She obeyed and remained by the elevators.

Then, Raphael heard a deep, raspy voice speaking to him.

"The elevators not working?" The voice said. He chuckled.

The lights suddenly turned on and made Raphael feel on edge. Raphael saw the man's body built silhouette emerge from within the darkness, followed by two others. Obviously, they had sabotaged the elevators. He looked back to make sure Judy was alright, but there were two men holding her and keeping her from running away. There were five muscular and trained men against one of Raphael. He looked around and thought, "What am I going to do?"


There was an irritating scratching noise coming from around the corner. It sounded like someone scratching their long, pointed nails across a blackboard. Then, the sound suddenly changed to a noise that resembled metal being rubbed against another piece of metal. Denella slowed her pace and headed towards the disturbing sound.

She swallowed, and she could feel her body shaking again. Denella edged forward. She could hear the soft whimpers and cries of someone, but it didn't just sound like one person. Around the corner, she saw someone tied to the wall. Their face looked tired and worn. There were dried tears on their cheeks. It was sweaty, and they had blood coming out of their nose. Their clothes were ripped and torn. Denella could barely recognize the person, but from what she could see, she could tell it was her mom. Even though it wasn't her birth mom, it was still her mom, and now she was safe.

Beside her mom was a tortured John. His face was tired, but there was a look of relief all over him.

Denella ran over to her mom and John and got her pocketknife out to cut the ropes that were now digging into their skin. There were marks on her mom's soft, but slightly wrinkled skin. Celcus had warned Denella not to bring any weapons, but she couldn't risk coming unarmed.

Celcus must have been the one who deceived Brandon and made him believe that John was actually visiting his mother. But Denella knew that it couldn't be true since she spoke to Maryanne.

After Denella freed them, she gave her mom a big bear hug. "Mom, I'm so sorry about what I said yesterday." she apologized.

"No, Ella. It's my fault. You shouldn't be apologizing. I shouldn't have kept that from you. You were old enough to know the truth, and I was the one who lied to you. I'm sorry, and I just want you to know that I'm really proud of you." Her mom said with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes.

John walked up to Denella. "Another job well done, Oakley," he complimented, "Thank you . . . for always doing what you do and for saving me."

John stretched out he arm to shake her hand, but she gave him a big hug instead.

"You know I'll always do what I do. After all, it's what I do best." Denella smiled. "Now, let's get out of here."

"You're not going anywhere." A voice said from behind them.


Two men had attacked Raphael but were now laying on the ground moaning and crying out in pain. Another one came at him and pulled out a knife. Raphael grabbed his gun from his belt and pointed it towards the man. Raphael stared the man right in the eye. The man stared Raphael straight in the eye and had a smirk on his face. Behind Raphael, one of the men gripped on his knife and was about to stab Raphael in the back. Without taking his eyes off of the man who was watching him like a hawk, he held his gun with one hand and used his other arm to give the man behind him a bloody nose with his fist. The man went flying back on the ground and fell on a man that was already on the ground. The injured man shouted out for help, but it was no use.

Behind him, Raphael could see Judy struggling to get lose from the man's strong grip on her, but she couldn't managed to break free from his huge, muscular arms. The man with the

knife stopped staring at Raphael and attacked him. One of the men of the ground got to his feet and it looked like he was a toddler learning to walk all over again, but that didn't stop him from knocking Raphael's gun out of his hand. Raphael tripped him and reached down for his gun, but the man kicked it away.

Suddenly, Raphael heard a female voice coming from his pocket. The voice was saying something, but he couldn't hear it clearly. He tried focusing on the what the voice was saying. Distracted by the whispers from his pocket, a man behind him punched him, and his nose began to bleed. There was also blood coming out from his mouth when he coughed.

The man who punched him smirked; his face covered with wickedness. "You give me a bloody nose, I give you one." He said in a Russian accent.

The man grabbed him and had his arm around Raphael's neck. Raphael try to get the man's strong arm off of his neck but the man squeezed him even tighter.

Struggling to breathe, Raphael kicked another man that was fidgeting in Raphael's pocket. He pulled something of the pocket. It was the earpiece that was connected to Denella's device. She must have forgotten to take it off since she didn't want Raphael to mess around in her problem. He could hear her speaking; the panic ringing in her voice.

He had to get out from where he was and get Judy to safety. He felt so lightheaded and the room was spinning. He couldn't breathe.

His eyes shut and his mind filled with a scenery. It was like he was having one of those visions you had before you took your last and final breath. There were hills carpeted in the greenest grass. The sky was painted in a baby blue and there were a few white cotton balls soaring by. The wind hurried through the tall, luscious grass and blew in Raphael's hair as he stood on a hill watching the birds glide in the wind. There were many butterflies fluttering by with their frail but colourful wings. It was so peaceful.

"Raphael." Said a soft, sweet female voice from behind him.

He turned around and smiled. "Mom? You're here."

"Yes, my sweet Raphael. I'm here, and I'll always be here with you." She smiled as she put one of her hands on his cheek. Slowly, her body drifted away in the wind.

"Wait, Mom. Don't go." he begged as his eyes began to fill with tears, but it was too late; for she was nowhere to be seen.

In the distance, Raphael could see another person. They were calling for help. Their soft, calm voice rang in his ears.

"Help, somebody help me." They said as they stood on the hill, their legs devoured in the grass.

Raphael squinted and tried to make out who it was. They looked perfectly fine to him. Nothing was wrong. As the person continued to cry out for help, he finally recognized the voice. It was Denella.

"Help, please, help me." Denella begged. "Raphael, aren't you going to come and save me? I need you."

The image of Denella faded away. Just like Raphael's mom, Denella's body glided away. Raphael closed his eyes and listened to the birds chirping their beautiful songs that you could listen to all day long. The wind continued to scurry by.


Alarmed, Denella reacted quickly. She turned to find the one person she wished wasn't breathing; Celcus.

"I see that you found your mother, but did you really think I was going to let you go this easily?" Celcus laughed. "You've also found your boss, but the truth is, I didn't take him and leave him here."

"What do you mean?" Denella asked, confused.

"Oh, come on. You can't be serious. Right now, your boyfriend is out on a mission."

"He's not my boyfriend!" Denella snapped sternly.

Celcus slowly walked closer to Denella and stopped in front of her. Using his hand, he pushed her hair out of her face and behind her ear. "Aggressive, I see. That's what I always liked about you. Well, Agent Heath is rescuing Judy Walker who is trapped beneath T.E.R.S.E."

Of course, the basement. Denella thought.

"Who knows if they'll make it out of there, alive that is, anyways."

Denella gulped.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Well, a friend in need is a friend indeed.

-Edgar Bergen


"Raphael! Raphael!" A voice called. "Dude, snap out of it!"

Suddenly, all of the hills and birds started to fade away. The basement where he was in came back to him. Raphael gasped and tried to catch his breath. The man who was chocking him was now laying on the ground, knocked out. The silhouette of a man came in front of Raphael. He instantly moved backwards at the fear of that someone being one of the body built men. The person stretched out their arm.

"Need a hand?" They asked.

Raphael was shocked. He took the person's hand and they helped him up. "W-What? How? What are you doing here?"

"You say that as if you don't want me to be here." They said as they laughed.


Denella laid there knowing the man who has been on the run from the police for as long as she can remember was in the same room as her, again. She always had a plan b, but this time, it was different. She didn't know what to do; she couldn't even move. Her body felt so stiff and numb because of the needle that Celcus had just injected her with.

Her mom and John were right in front of her. They also were unable to move. Celcus was on his phone talking to someone about bringing the van.

Celcus listened to whoever he was talking to say whatever they told him before he replied. "I'm ready. Park it around the back entrance. I'll be there soon with the two of them."

The two of them? Denella thought. Was he only talking about John and her mom? What was he going to do with her?"

He waited as they said something. It sounded like a male voice. "Yes, I did exactly what you said."

"Leave them alone, Celcus!" Denella managed to get out of her mouth.

Celcus grinned as he put his phone in his pocket.

Who was he talking to? It was definitely a man, but who? Celcus told them that he did exactly what they said. He did exactly what who said? She remembered the note she found in the man's pocket that killed himself; the one who reeked of sulfur. It said "I was forced to do this. It not Celcus' fault." Maybe the note was right. Maybe Celcus wasn't the one behind all of this. Whoever was on the phone with Celcus could have been forcing Celcus to do this. The only question was why?


"Henry, I thought you were supposed to be in the hospital for six weeks. It hasn't even been a full week yet." Raphael stated.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. Turns out I only bruised one of my ribs. I wasn't even in my right mind when you and Denella showed up. You're right, I'm still supposed to be in the hospital, but I kind of convinced the nurse to let me go earlier than when they were going to release me. By the way, how are you and Denella?" Henry asked.

"Well, let's just say she's kind of mad at me, but other than that, I think we're fine. Honestly, I hope we're fine. Anyways, how did you convince the nurse to allow you to leave?" Raphael questioned.

"Long story short, she's going to be real mad when she's conscious again." Henry explained.

"Henry, you knocked her out?"

"No, of course not. She knocked herself out. Kind of. Yeah, it's a long story."

"How did you know I was here?"

"I was going up to find you, but I realized the elevators weren't working, so I figured I could be of assistance and come on down to the basement to try and fix them. And that's how I found you. You were almost dead! What happened down here?"

"Celcus told me Judy Walker was down here. I came to find her, and I got knocked out because I was distracted. I heard this voice coming from my pocket. It was the device that I had Denella hook up to her shirt. She told me to stay out of her way, but she must have forgotten to take it off."

"Is she okay?" Henry asked, concerned.

"I don't know." Raphael answered as he took the earpiece out of his pocket and held it out so he and Henry could listen.

"Stop!" They heard her say. "Leave them alone!"

"She's in trouble. I already told T.E.R.S.E., but we have to go help her. Let's get Judy and get-- Wait, Where's Judy?"


Watching Celcus getting away with whatever he had planned was not something was going to do. She didn't have a plan, not yet, but she always did come up with something in the end. Celcus was the last person she wanted to see right now, even if he wasn't really the one behind any of this.

Following along on the theory she had, she tried putting the pieces of the puzzle together like how they always fit perfectly in the end. All the clues somehow made sense when you put them together.

Whoever was in charge of Celcus was planning something big; something bigger than what was happening. It bugged Denella so much because she didn't know who Celcus was talking to. Times like this she wished she had super hearing, or even some kind of super power would be cool.

She didn't know what the plan was going to be, but she knew there was going to be a plan. She really wished that there was backup. She should of had a backup plan and brought someone else just in case. Where was Brandon and Raphael when she needed them?


Raphael had seen Judy there minutes ago, and now she was missing. The elevators weren't working so she couldn't have gotten up that way, but maybe she took the stairs. Raphael didn't understand. Why would she leave when she knew that she would be safe with Raphael?

Raphael suddenly got a whiff of gasoline. Where was he smelling the gasoline from? He glanced over at Henry. Henry definitely could smell it too.

"Looking for me?" Judy asked.

Raphael and Henry quickly turned around to find Judy standing in a puddle of gasoline. There was a big bottle of gasoline that continue to spill out of its container. Judy held a lighter in her hand. Her face was sweaty and there were tears in her eyes. Her hand was shaking like a vibrating couch.

"I don't want to do this, but I have no choice." she said.

"Yes, you do. You don't have to do this to yourself. You're safe now. Celcus cannot harm you anymore." Raphael said.

The tears flowed down Judy's cheeks like waterfalls. "I can't do this anymore. I can't pretend that everything's okay when it's not."

Henry tried comforting and calming her down. "That's not true. You don't have to pretend because everything is going to be okay now. Don't do this. We need you. Your daughter needs you."

Judy's hand continued to shake. "I can't take this anymore. I-I'm sorry."

"No!!" Raphael shouted as Judy dropped the lighter from her hand.

Instantly the fire started and began to spread when it touched the gasoline.

Chapter Twenty-Six

It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things work. All good things are difficult to achieve; and bad things are very easy to get.

-Confucius


Celcus grabbed Denella's mom from the ground and dragged her out the emergency exit. Denella tried to get Celcus to let her mom go, but he wouldn't listen.

Outside of the door Denella could see a white van parked. There was another man there. Denella couldn't make out his face beneath his hoodie, but he was tall. He opened up the doors to the van so Celcus could lift her mom in there. After, Celcus loaded John into the truck, they closed the doors and Celcus got into the passenger seat.

Denella could fell her body start to loosen up. It had been an hour since Celcus injected her with the needle. She tried to get up, but her body wasn't loose enough. Struggling to rise, she finally managed to get up on her feet. She had to hurry, but she felt so weak when she tried to walk. When she walked, she almost fell, but she kept going because she couldn't let Celcus get away with her mom and John.

She had to know where Celcus was taking her mom and John. And she had to know who was hiding beneath their hoodie. In order to do that, she had to follow them. The feeling in her body was starting to come back. She took a few steps, and before she knew it, she was running out to her car. She opened the door and started her car quickly. She could see their car driving away. They already had a head start, but Denella was so close to catching Celcus.


Henry grabbed Raphael and tried to pull him away from the fire. "Raphael, we have to go. You're going to go get burnt."

Raphael refused to go. "We can't just leave her here."

The fire was spreading and formed a circle-like figure around Judy. The fire had caught on her clothes and was starting to burn her. Raphael looked for a fire extinguisher, but there was none in his sight.

"There's got to be another way to save her." Raphael said looking for an opening so he could go in and save Judy.

Judy screamed out in pain as the flames scorched her skin, and she coughed because of all of the smoke that was rising into the air.

There was so much smoke around, but Henry realized that there was smoke coming from his jacket. He looked on his sleeve and noticed the fire burning through his sleeve. He quickly pulled off his jacket and threw it on the ground. "Raphael, we seriously have to get going. If you're going to stay here and try to figure out a way to save Judy when you know there's no way to save her, you're crazy. There is no way to help Judy, and you know that. While, Denella is out there, and there is something you can to do to help her. What are you doing here?"

Raphael thought about what Henry was saying. "I always try to do everything I can to help someone, and I feel like I'm not if I leave Judy."

"You've already done everything you can to help her; there's nothing else you can do. But you can go out there and help Denella. She's out there with Celcus. Celcus! Who knows what he'll do to her. Judy's doing this because she can't take Celcus anymore. I don't even want to know what he did to her. If you're not coming, I can't make you. But, I do know that I'm not leaving you. Once a friend, always a friend. Or, that's in some cases."

Raphael took one more look at Judy. She was down on her knees trying to take the pain, but she couldn't. He turned his head and looked down at the earpiece in his hand. He looked back at Judy, and then down at the earpiece. Judy or Denella?

Gregnory Harbour, Gregnory, 10:46p.m

The white van that Denella had been following for about half an hour finally came to a stop. Denella stopped her car and parked farther away from the van. She quietly got out of her car and hid behind a big crate. She watched as Celcus came out of the car and opened the back doors. He grabbed her mom and John and dragged them into a big crate near a dock.

The dock was big and wooden. There were boats tied to the dock. Denella instantly recognized where she was; she was at the Gregnory Harbour. That was where people loaded items on the boats and they were shipped off to another country. Denella saw the driver in the black hoodie come out of the car. He and Celcus stood there and they were waiting for someone. But who?

Denella waited and finally, she saw another car pull up beside the white van. It was a black car. The windows had a really dark tint. Denella took a picture of the license plate with her phone. There was a bumper sticker that had a bunch of numbers: 8-21-13-1-14 20-18-1-6-6-9-3-11-9-14-7. It could have been a code for something; maybe two words since there were two different number patterns.

There were four men in the car. They were also dressed in black and looked like they belonged to Celcus. They got out of the car and went over to the crate. Spreading out along the edge of the crate, they each grabbed an end and lifted the crate into the opening of the boat.

Denella was trying to figure out what they were doing. The Gregnory Harbour was where people shipped off things to another place, and Celcus was here with five other men loading her mom and John onto a boat. Suddenly, it clicked in Denella's head; they were shipping of her mom and John. All of a sudden, the number patterns made sense. It was the code where a letter was replaced by a number. For example, A=1 and B=2. She got out her

phone and entered the numbers on her notes. In less than a minute, she realized that 8-21-13-1-14 20-18-1-6-6-9-3-11-9-14-7 stood for HUMAN TRAFFICKING.

She had to do something. Celcus wasn't only a part of kidnapping, stealing and all sorts of other crimes, he was a part of human trafficking. She had already called R.O.S.S. and told them the location of where she was. They were on their way, but Denella had to do something before they were too late. It was now or never.

Heardford Boulevard, Belle City, 11:09p.m

Henry dialed T.E.R.S.E. to tell them that Denella was not at the Seakards Factory anymore. Since there was also a tracker on the device, they could track Denella down.

"What do you think she's doing there?" Henry asked.

"I don't know," Raphael said as he came to a complete at the stoplight, "But I don't think she would just wander off like that."

Finally the light turned green, but still the traffic wasn't moving.

"What's going on? Why isn't anyone moving?" Henry questioned.

They could see police cars ahead of them, followed by two fire trucks and three ambulance. There was a big accident about four blocks in front of them. They were going to be stuck there for a while.

Gregnory Harbour, Gregory, 11:27p.m

Denella got out her pocketknife and ran out of her hiding spot. "Hello? I'm looking for my mom and boss. I was just wondering if any of you boys have, by any chance, seen them?" That was the way she came out of her hiding every time. She would say something sarcastically to make sure everyone knew she was there.

"Hey! You shouldn't be here." One of the men said running towards her.

"Neither should you." Denella responded as she dodged his punches and cut open his right thigh with her knife.

She kicked him on the ground and elbowed another man who came at her. He wiped the blood away from his mouth and picked up one of the steel beams. He swung it back and

forth trying to hit her, but she grabbed the other end of the beam and pushed it towards him. He injured his stomach as he fell to the ground in pain.

Denella's knife was knocked out of her hand by the man behind her. She kicked him in the stomach and he fell into the boxes behind him.

Three down, two to go. And, of course, there was also Celcus.

The last man that showed up in the second car stood about six feet in front of her. She eyed him, and then looked down at her pocket knife that was laying on the ground. She kept looking back and forth at him and her knife. The knife was right in the middle of both of them.

Suddenly, she ran and dived down to the ground to grab the knife, but the man kicked it away. It was too far for her to get now. He threw his fist right at her, but he missed each time he tried. She tripped him and kicked him to the ground. On the ground, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a gun. Luckily he hadn't pulled it out any sooner. Denella stood still as he got back up with the gun still aiming at her. His bony fingers were caressing the trigger.

Distracted by the sound of the last hooded man running away, the one who picked up Celcus in his white van, the gun was kicked out of the man's hand by Denella. She kicked him in the stomach and he went flying into the crate behind him. Denella locked the crate so he couldn't get out.

Soon, agents from R.O.S.S. and T.E.R.S.E. showed up. They handcuffed the four men and Celcus and drove them away.

"Another job well done, Oakley." John said. "I know our deal was to let you go back to being suspended after you helped us, but we need you on team. And after all you did, you deserve it."

Denella smiled. "I'm just glad you're okay."

Her mom came and hugged her before she was taken back to R.O.S.S. to make sure everything was fine with her. In the corner of Denella's eye, she could see someone running to her. She turned as the person approached her

"Denella! Are you okay?" Brandon asked, fixing the collar on his Vahelio jacket.

She hugged him. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Why didn't you tell me where you were going? I would have come to help . . "

"I'm sorry, it's just that this was something I needed to do on my own."

"Oh, but as long as your okay."

She nodded and said, "I'm fine Brandon, don't worry."

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to go and get something to eat." Brandon proposed. "I mean, you must be pretty hungry, and after all you did, we need to celebrate.

"I don't know, Brandon. I am kind of hungry, but it's really late and I should get some rest. I'm really tired."

"Tired enough to pass on your favourite chicken wings?"

Denella looked at him. "Are they the spicy ones?"

He nodded. "Really spicy; just the way you like them."

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Silence is a true friend who never betrays.

-Confucius

230 Apartment Building, Belle City, 12:39a.m

"Brandon, are you sure we're going to the right place. This looks like an apartment building. Why are we going up to the roof?" Denella questioned in curiosity.

Brandon grinned. "You'll see."

Brandon held the door that led to the roof open for Denella. She walked through the door. When she saw what Brandon was talking about, she was speechless.

"So, what do you think?" He asked, eager to know what she was going to say.

"I-I don't know. Just . . . wow." she said in amazement. "You did this."

"Well, the workers I paid did this, but I guess you can say that."

She giggled.

Brandon paid the workers to set up a romantic-dinner-for-two-on-the-rooftop. There was a small circular table with two fancy chairs. The tablecloth was a light shade a pink and there were lanterns all around. There was a small candle in the middle of the table, and there were plates filled with Denella's favourite foods.

Once they were seated, Denella heard music. Then, out of the doorway came four men. They each had instruments: a violin, a cello, a saxophone and maracas.

"Are you serious? Music too? When you asked me if I wanted to get something to eat, I thought you were talking about grabbing a burger or something at some fast-food place. I never thought you would go all out and do this." she said with a grin.

"Well, honestly you are one of a kind, and I needed to go all out to impress you."

Denella blushed. "Well, I am impressed."


Raphael and Henry got out of the elevator and looked around.

"I don't get it. Where is she?" Henry inquired. "Wait, where are you going?

Raphael walked around and asked a few agents if they knew where Denella was.

"Wait, I know you." A female voice said.

Raphael turned around. He eyed the blonde girl in front of him drinking a cup of coffee. She was definitely talking to him. He studied her face, but he didn't recognize her.

"You're that gorgeous boy from T.E.R.S.E. Denella was telling me about . . . Raphael. You wouldn't know me, I'm Cynthia."

"Cynthia, of course. The girl Denella was telling me about." He thought. "And Denella said I'm gorgeous?"

"So, what are you doing here, again? I mean, the last time you came here, you and Denella didn't look like you were getting along pretty well. What happened to you two?" Cynthia questioned.

"Oh, you know; the everyday kind of thing. I accused Brandon of murder, and Denella got mad because it wasn't him. Apparently, it was an agent at T.E.R.S.E. named Chris Delarosa." Raphael explained

"Oh, Chris Delarosa? He was one of the guys that we caught at the Gregnory Harbour. Denella said that one of them got away. I don't know how we're going to catch him. By the way, if you're looking for Denella, she's not here. I think she's out with Brandon. If only there was a way to track her. That girl is always on her feet. She's just so adventurous."

"You just gave me an idea. I can track her. Thank you." Raphael said as Henry came back to him drinking a cup of coffee.

"The coffee they have here is way better than the one at T.E.R.S.E." Henry explained.

"Oh, Cynthia, this is my partner Henry. Henry, this is Cynthia." Raphael introduced.

"Hi, it's really nice to meet you." Henry said as he shook her hand.

"Likewise. So are all of the guys good looking at T.E.R.S.E.?" Cynthia asked as she smile.

"You think I'm good looking?" Henry asked as Raphael stepped on his toes. "I-I mean, no, they're not. It's just me; I'm one of a kind." He stated.

Raphael rolled his eyes. "I have to get going. I'm going to go find Denella. Henry, you can . . . stay here and . . . help Cynthia with her work." he suggested.

Cynthia smirked. "Yeah, I guess you can help me. I'm going to need another set of hands anyways. It's late, and I'm tired. And honestly, this coffee won't keep me awake forever."

"Then, I guess you'll be okay finding her without me." Henry said.

"I'll be fine." Raphael agreed.

When Cynthia was taking Henry to her desk, Henry turned around and mouthed "Thank you" to Raphael. Raphael mouthed back a "Good luck." Now it was time to find Denella.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

If you do not expect the unexpected you will not find it, for it is not to be reached by search or trail.

-Heraclitus


The musicians left and took away all of the plates. Brandon and Denella walked to the edge of the roof. They looked down from over 200 feet high. Denella felt as if she could see all of Belle City from the top there.

"Thank you for the dinner and the music . . . and everything. I really needed that tonight. I was under a lot a stress over the past few days, and I just really needed that." Denella explained.

He looked at her and smiled. "I know we didn't get along quite well in the beginning, but look at where it's brought us now."

Denella smiled, but her smile suddenly faded and she looked more shocked that happy.

Brandon was confused. "What's wrong? Is it something I said?"

"No, no, It's nothing." she replied.

"I know that nothing. It's the one where you're not telling something. What's wrong?" he asked again.

Denella hesitated. "You're missing a button."

Brandon laughed. "Yeah, I know. It's been gone for a while now."

"It's a Vahelio jacket." Denella stated.

"I know. Two years ago, my sister bought it for--" He paused. "You think I'm the one who killed Terrance, don't you?"

Denella gulped. "I don't know, are you?"

"Denella why would think that. Is it because of Raphael. Did he say something about me that changed your mind?"

"No, it has nothing to do with him. It's just that . . . these buttons on your jacket looked exactly like the one that was found in Terrance's office."

"It's probably just a coincidence. Unless, Raphael planted it there to frame me. He could have done it because he was jealous of you and me."

"Brandon, there was another guy at the Gregnory Harbour, but he got away. He was wearing a black hoodie at the time, and he was the one with Celcus. I don't know why, but he wasn't with the other guys who showed up in the black car.

"Please don't tell me you think I'm that guy."

"I don't. That guy who was wearing the black hoodie could have been the same one who put Henry in the hospital. The other men were shorter than he was. He was taller than them; he was about . . . your height."

"Okay, first of all, you do think I'm that guy, don't you? And, second, who's Henry?"

"Before the bomb went off at Elmer's market, Raphael sent Henry to go search for it. I remember seeing you go after him. I think you were wearing a hoodie that day. Brandon, tell me the truth. Did you push Henry down the stairs? Were you the one with Celcus? Was it really you behind this whole thing? Were you the one who kidnapped John and made up a whole story of lies? Please tell me it wasn't you." Denella begged. "I trusted you. Please . . ."

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The face is the mirror of the mind, and eyes without speaking confess the secrets of the heart.

-St. Jerome


Brandon threw his fist at Denella, but she blocked his punch with her hand.

"You know, I really did trust you." Denella said as she dodged his kicks and tried to punch him.

"You know, I really don't care. That's all I ever wanted from you; your trust." He grinned as he kicked her in the side of her stomach, and she yelled in pain but kept fighting. "Once I gained your trust," he continued, "You would never suspect that it was me who behind all of this. But, I always knew you were a clever one."

Denella punched his jaw. "When did you learn how to fight like this?"

Brandon smirked as he wiped away the blood oozing out of his mouth. "They're many things you don't know about me. That includes me being a third degree black belt."

"Why? Why did you do all of this? Kidnap my mom and John? Who were you going to sell them to?"

"You really don't know how human trafficking works, do you?"

"I know as much as I need to." Denella spun around and kicked him in the stomach.

He cried out in pain. She threw her leg in the air and tried to kick him, but he got a hold of her leg and swung her around. Letting go of her, she landed on the hard, concrete pavement hitting her head on the ground. She struggled to stand up, but once she did, she was so dizzy. It looked like there were ten men coming at her when there was only one of Brandon.

He lifted her up and stood at the edge. "I heard you like roller coasters. I was never too fond of them, especially the part where you go down. But you, on the other hand, well, that's your favourite part; going down. You're going to enjoy going down from 200 feet up, aren't you? Just think of it like you're on the best roller coaster on your way down. Okay?"

"Put her down." A voice said from behind.

Brandon turned around and beamed. "What took you so long?"

"I said, put her down."

Brandon finally stepped off of the edge and stood on the roof. "A little bit longer, and she would have already committed suicide." He laid Denella down on the ground and walked up to Raphael. "Don't try anything with me, Raphael. I'm a third degree black belt."

Raphael punched Brandon in his jaw. "Some third degree black belt. Can't even dodge a simple punch."

Brandon tripped Raphael, but he pulled Brandon down to the floor and he fell. They punched and kicked and tried everything until one of them would give up, but they each showed no sign of weakness.

Finally, Brandon pinned Raphael to the edge of the building. "Remember how you came to R.O.S.S. and pinned me down on the desk? I'm just returning the favour. Once I throw you off this building, I'll throw Denella off too."

"If you touch her, I'll kill you." Raphael threatened.

"But how are you going to do that if you're the one who's dead? That's going to be some story. I can already see it in the newspapers: Man Kills Himself Because Girlfriend Dies. That's the perfect heading, but we need a real writer writing that story. Writing was never one of my talents."

Raphael pushed Brandon off of him and threw him off the side of the building. Brandon was hanging off of the edge, his fingers gripping on for his dear life but slowly slipping off. Raphael grabbed him and tried to help him up, but Brandon insisted he let go.

"Don't save me. Let go. Once you pull me up there, I'm just going to be locked away forever. Let go!" Brandon demanded.

"I'm not letting go!" Raphael pleaded.

Brandon punched Raphael in his hand really hard and Raphael loosened his grip. Raphael's hand was throbbing and he couldn't hold on any longer, but still, he tried to pull Brandon up. Brandon got free of his tight grip and fell from over 200 feet up.

"Brandon!" Raphael called.

He landed on the ground. Raphael could see the blood oozing out of his head. He was gone.


Raphael came out of the elevators holding carrying Denella in his arms. She probably had another concussion after a hard hit like that. The medical group came quickly and took Denella away to make sure she was okay. Raphael had a broken hand, but he was fine. He had tried everything he could to save Brandon, but Brandon chose death over a lifetime served in jail.

Henry approached Raphael and gave him a hug. Raphael asked, "What was that for?"

"Man, you could have gotten yourself killed. I heard what happened, and I'm just glad that you and Denella are okay. But there's something else you have to know."

Raphael could tell that it wasn't good news from his tone.

"T.E.R.S.E. is gone . . . forever."

Raphael was clueless about what Henry was talking about. "What do you mean?"

"Dude, it was too late. It burned. There is no more T.E.R.S.E. When Judy started that fire, it only ended after everything was burned."

"What? No, that can't be true. First, Terrance, and now T.E.R.S.E."

"I'm sorry, Raph. There was nothing they could do."

Raphael was shocked. It couldn't be the end of T.E.R.S.E. "What about the people that were in there?"

"They all got out, except for a few people. Some of them are--" Henry was interrupted by a woman from the medical department.

The woman said, "Denella is awake now. You can see her."

"Go. Go talk to her." Henry said as he patted Raphael on the back.

Raphael followed the woman to a room. He saw Denella laying on the bed. The woman opened the door and let him go inside. She locked the door and waited outside.

Raphael took a seat on the chair beside the bed. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

"My head feels like a million pounds." she replied. "How did you know I was going to be there?"

"The device had a tracker on it," he explained, "You must have forgotten to take it off."

She looked down at his right hand. "What happened to your hand?"

"When Brandon realized that I wasn't letting go, he broke it so I would lose my grip. He was right, I did."

"It wasn't your fault, Raphael. Brandon did what he wanted to do, and he was right; we were just going to lock him up for the rest of his life. I just . . . I can't believe that he did all of that. You were right about him killing your boss and everything else. I should have listened to you. From the beginning, I always had a bad feeling about him, but I trusted him anyway." She paused and took a breath. "You came, even when I told you not to come."

He took her hand. "You know I would never leave you."

She smiled. He leaned in and kissed her.

Chapter Thirty

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.

-Seneca

T.R.O.S.S. Headquarters, Belle City, Two Months Later, 9:31a.m

Raphael walked through the elevators of his new headquarters with two cups of coffee in his hands. It felt good to have a boss again.

"Good morning, beautiful." He said to Denella as he handed her the coffee.

"Thank you." she said as he kissed her.

"Henry," Raphael called, "You watching the game on Saturday?"

"This Saturday?" Henry asked. "Can't. I'm taking Cynthia out to that new restaurant that opened near The Coffee Shop."

"That new sushi place?" Denella questioned. "Don't. She hates sushi."

"What? Then where am I supposed to take her?" Henry asked desperately.

Raphael and Denella looked at each other, smiled and at the same time said, "La Belle Nuit."

"No! Are you two crazy?" Henry exclaimed. "The last time you two went there, somebody died. I'm not going there."

"Fine," started Denella, "Suit yourself." She said as she took a sip of her coffee.

John walked up to the three of them with Cynthia and enough pages in his hand to write a book. "Because our headquarters are now called T.R.O.S.S., it's a requirement for me to resign all of the papers for the ownership. Raphael, Denella, you two are T.R.O.S.S.'s best agents, and I want you two to help train all of our new agents. Henry, you are no longer Raphael's partner," John took a breath and continued, "I'm assigning agent Cathburn with you. She will be trained as a field agent and will be your new partner."

"Wait, so Cynthia's my new partner?" Henry inquired.

"Yes, Henry. We'll be working together." Cynthia answered.

"You four will be my new team." John explained. "I needed trained agents who can work together. Your four have these qualities that will make you a good team. I just need you all to sign these papers."

This was going to be a new thing for Denella since she didn't like working with other people, but she knew she could get used to it. One by one they signed their names: Cynthia Cathburn, Henry Gargani, Raphael Heath, Denella . . . She paused and hesitated. She was about to write Denella Larkwood, but she didn't want to. After all, she was raised as an Oakley. Everyone watched as her hand shook. Her birth parents were named Brent and Carrie Larkwood. Her name was supposed to be Denella Larkwood, but she didn't really like how it sounded. Denella Oakley had more of a ring to it. Even though her parents that grew her up, Natasha and Greg Oakley, weren't her birth parents, they were still her parents. And, she knew in her heart that she was still an Oakley.

Finally, she finished signing with Oakley. John collected the papers in a neat pile and said, "I'm going to go put these up in a safe place." He left.

Suddenly, one of the agents came to the four of them. "Someone is here, and they're asking for Terrance."

The four of them rushed to the elevators and saw a man waiting there.

"Hi, can we help you?" Cynthia asked.

He looked up. He was wearing a vomit green sweater with a hoodless black leather jacket. His jean pants looked kind of old, but his older shoes were more noticeable. Even though his clothes looked shabby, his good looks still made up for it. He looked like he was in his late twenties, and his hair was jet black. The fact that his eyes were really nice made him cuter. His eyes were hazel and resembled a cat's eyes. His little stubble was kind of adorable, and he looked like the mysterious, bad boy type.

"I'm looking for Terrance Earl Easton." His deep and heavy, yet attractive, voice said.

"I'm sorry, but Terrance past away two months ago." Henry clarified.

The man looked shock. He didn't know what to say.

"Why do you need to see him?" Denella questioned.

"I was hoping I could talk to him." he answered.

Raphael and Denella gave each other the look. "I'm sorry, we didn't catch your name." Raphael said.

The man looked at them all. "I'm Derek. Derek Breyloson-Fields.

web viewshe pressed the down button and patiently waited for the elevator to ... you are not to say...

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