The Company

III

We were going to school, finally. I was going back after a long weekend, and Cam was starting his first day there. He decided to keep his first name the same. It was a pretty popular name, so we really didn't feel like we needed to worry about it. He went with Jameson for his last name, one of the identities, complete with paperwork that The Company didn't know about. We had agreed that we would make at least three complete aliases that we would keep hidden from the boss and the IT people. We knew there was always a chance that things would go south with that place, and we would have to run.

"So how miserable is it here?" Cam asked as we walked into the courtyard among crowds of other kids, all talking over one another.

"It's not that bad," I answered, ducking out of the way as a rather large football player ran past me, yelling.

"That's what you always say."

"Come on, Cam, can you honestly tell me the last time you even went to school?"

"Well...no. But in my defense, there hasn't been any reason for me to go."

"Right. It might be hard for you to start blending in again after all this time. Might be a little bit out of practice?" I asked, bumping his shoulder with mine.

"Ha ha, you're so funny," he answered, chuckling, "I think I'm going to be just fine. As long as I can stay awake during class, of course."

"Now, that might be harder than you think."

Cam had somehow managed to get his schedule completely matched with mine, so we would be together for every class of the day. I told him it was unnecessary, we were still in the same building. I was also sure that even if we were found, there's no way that they would try to take us out while in a high school. It would be too high profile and dangerous for them. People would not just let that go without figuring out every possible reason why it happened.

Classes were unbelievably boring to me, and it was no different for Cam. We had been taught at The Company, finishing up to college-level general courses by the time we were fifteen. It was difficult work that took discipline that was, at times, literally beaten into us. Those who couldn't handle the work or the speed we had to work at were not seen again. There were only rumors about what happened to them, but it wasn't hard to guess. Especially considering what Cam and I were going through.

These classes were very basic, so easy that I often found myself struggling to stay awake. The nightmares that I had every night didn't help, of course, I was sleep-deprived most of the time. Cam was having the same problem, drifting off next to me for the umpteenth time that day. I nudged him awake again and rolled my eyes at him pointedly. He gave me a sheepish smile and sat up straighter, looking straight ahead and blinking quickly. I shook my head and looked at the clock again, desperately wanting the day to be over.

"Hey, how much longer do you think we should lie low before we do something?" Cam whispered.

"You really want to talk about that now?"

"Sorry, I'm bored, it got me thinking about how much longer we are going to have to keep doing this."

I stared across the room, thinking. I knew we had to do something, but I had no clue how we were going to even start. The Company was a large operation, with almost 50 agents. Even if they were spread across the entire US, there were still a lot of agents ready to come back at a moment's notice. I use the word "agent" loosely, though. Mostly, it was all teenagers who were taken off the street and taught to do the work the boss told them to. The problem was, as young as they were, it didn't make them any less deadly.

"We'll talk about it when we get home," I told him, right as the final bell rang.

"How about on the way?" he asked, standing up and holding his hand out to take my bag. I gave it to him and smiled. He was always so chivalrous.

"How about when we get home?"

We started the walk home, careful to watch our surroundings and make sure we weren't being followed. That's when I saw her. I had to do a double-take, not believing it at first. How could she have been the one?

"Cam," I whispered sharply, not missing a step.

"I see her too," he whispered back, eyes darting around, figuring out our escape route.

"We can't lead her back to the house," I told him, not that I needed to.

"I know. We're going to have to split up, Ani. I'll draw her away."

"No!" I snapped, gripping his arm tightly, "I'll agree to split up, but she follows whoever she follows, you're not going to play hero and get yourself killed, Cam."

He made a sound that sounded almost like a growl, but agreed.

"Fine," he muttered, "we split at the next intersection. You go left, I'll go right. We'll meet at the house once we're sure we're not being followed anymore. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

"Be careful, Ani. I'll see you soon."

I looked over at him and grabbed his hand. I squeezed once and let go.

"See you soon."

We hit the intersection and both broke into a sprint, heading in opposite directions. I looked back to see which one she followed and saw her break into a run after me. Of course.

"Watch it!" a man barked at me as I missed him by centimeters, trying to stay on my feet.

Jessica. Of course, she would be the one to find us. She would do anything for the boss, sure, but it was Justin whom she wanted to impress. She was hopelessly in love with him. I could honestly say that they would make a perfect couple, though. They were both cold-hearted and evil, in my opinion. I never believed that people were born evil, but those two, they actually might have been. For as long as I could remember, during my time with The Company, those two were the ones that everyone had to avoid and watch out for. I didn't so much. I had beaten Jessica, physically and psychologically, more times than I could count. Didn't stop her from trying, though.

I skidded left at another intersection and kept running, aware that she was still behind me. I turned right down an alley and found myself at a dead end. I cursed under my breath, spinning around to start running again. Jessica was already there, standing in front of me with a psychotic smile on her face. I didn't hesitate, just lunged at her, punching her in the face, then grabbing her around her waist and throwing her to my right against the wall. She brought her elbow down on my shoulder, sending a sharp pain down my right arm.

I hissed in a breath and pulled back, then slammed my knee into her abdomen. I heard the air whoosh out of her body as she doubled over. I took that moment and brought my knee up into her face, then shoved her back against the wall as hard as I could. I saw the back of her head bounce off the wall as I turned and started sprinting back the way I had come. I looked back before I turned the corner and saw her slump to the ground. I hoped she was unconscious. I ran as hard as I could until I was sure that no one was following me anymore, before I slowed to a walk.

I walked the rest of the way to the house without seeing anyone even looking in my direction. I felt confident that no one was following me anymore. I hoped that Cam was already inside as I walked into the living room, locking the door behind me. I knew that Jessica would not have gone after us like that if she had been there alone. She might have been subjected to the same training that we were, but she didn't have the same ease with it. She did her best with Justin there to make sure she stayed safe, but she would take any agent with her if it meant she didn't have to rely on just herself to succeed. I wondered if her help had followed Cam. I didn't see anyone but her as I made my way from the school.

"Ani?" I heard Cam's voice and let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding.

"Cam?" I answered, turning toward the sound of his voice in the kitchen. I took two steps before my eyes fully adjusted to the darkness, and I saw him. I froze midstep.

"What the hell?!"

I rushed to him as he sank onto the floor. He had taken a beating, that was easy to see. But there was too much blood on the kitchen floor. And I didn't see a head wound. I scanned his body, looking for a wound, when I finally found the problem. It was just below his right armpit. Cam had been shot.