Chapter 18
I thought once I left, Jason and I would be done for good. I never imagined he would come looking for me again.
On the third morning after I returned to the Special Operations Center, I was in the middle of my routine training when my comms buzzed with an urgent call from the commander.
I hurried to the command center and stepped inside to see the commander and Sean standing before a holographic display. The room was heavy with tension.
“Crimson Hawk, report.”
The commander didn’t turn to look at me. He tapped a few buttons on the console and the hologram flickered to life, showing a high-definition security feed.
Jason was outside the secure gate of the intelligence center, arguing with guards and dragging ten-year-old Timothy along, demanding to see me.
“Look at what you’ve done,” the commander said, anger rare in his voice. “Do you understand how important the secrecy of this place is? You let an outsider find our base!”
“Maybe I was too soft with you. Have you forgotten the rules of our team?”
My heart sank, but I immediately spoke up. “This is my fault, sir. Punish me as you see fit.” Finally the commander turned, his gaze was like a blade. “As an agent, this is a serious breach. Take thirty lashes.”
I lowered my eyes. “Yes, sir.”
“Commander,” Sean cut in suddenly, “I’m the team leader. I take primary responsibility for what happened. I should take those thirty lashes.” He looked at me and though I was about to ptotest his look stopped me.
The commander was silent for a long moment, then accepted his offer. “Very well. Sean, gc
ahead.”
The man turned and walked out. The door to the command center closed behind him, leaving only me and the commander.
He stepped close, his voice low and fierce. “Crimson Hawk, I won’t dig into your past. But now that you’re back on the team, your past must not affect your duties.”
“Remember this, I will not allow anything or anyone to threaten the safety of this unit. You have three days to resolve this. If you fail, I will send people to handle it myself.”
I saw the deadly intent in his eyes and spoke quickly. “I’ll take care of it as fast as possible. No word of it will leak.”
Before I left, the commander let out a short sigh and for a brief moment his tone softened. “Crimson Hawk, I’ve had high hopes for you. Don’t disappoint me.”
“I won’t, sir,” I promised solemnly and turned to go.
As soon as I left the command center, I went straight to the punishment chamber. When I pushed the door open, the lashings had just ended. Sean had his back to me, covered in crisscrossing wounds and dried blood.
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1:54 pm P ppp.
“Sean…” My eyes burned as tears filled them.
He turned, sweat running down his forehead and forced a weak smile. “It’s nothing. It doesn’t
hurt.”
I held back tears, my voice trembling. “This is my fault. Why would you take thirty lashes for
me?”
He reached up, wiped my tears with his fingertip and smiled faintly. “I couldn’t bear to see you
hurt.”
Then, in a voice so soft it was almost a whisper, he added, “For you, I would take it again and again.”
We stared at each other, breathing hard, the silence between us thick and charged. After a long moment, his brow furrowed as if something had just clicked in his mind.
His tone turned serious as he said, “Scarlet, something’s wrong.”
“The intelligence center’s security is top-tier with multiple layers of protection. With Jason’s abilities, he shouldn’t have been able to find our location so quickly.”
“And with our team’s skills, if anyone had been following us that day, we would have noticed.”
I was stunned, falling deep into thought.
He was right. There was something off here.
I had no choice, then. I would have to get answers from Jason myself.
1:55 pm p p p p.
