The Spy You Trust

Chapter 8

Molly couldnʼt see through the tears in her eyes. She still couldnʼt believe Marcello would betray her like that. She dared not turn around, but she could feel Durell getting closer and closer. Tree branches kept smacking her in the face while she ran through the woods. Pine needles and rocks stabbed the bottoms of her bare feet. She knew that if he caught up to her, sheʼd be dead. Her lungs ached for air and her legs begged her to stop. The only thing that kept her going was the fear of being caught. She had trained for this moment her whole life, but now she couldnʼt remember what she needed to do.

Her mind was blurred with the gruesome images of her parents; she could hear their voices in her mind telling her they loved her. The thought of them supporting her gave her the strength she needed. She wiped the tears from her eyes and hid behind a tree. She took a deep breath and focused on what she had been trained to do.

Durellʼs footsteps became louder, like they were right next to her. When she was sure he was on the other side of the tree, she whipped out from behind it. Not a word was spoken between them. The only communication was from their eyes. In a matter of seconds the fight had begun.

She blocked, punched, kicked; whatever felt right at the moment. Her strength was starting to fail her, however. Most of her energy was used in the running and the beginning of the brawl. His motions seemed to become faster. She tried to punch him in the left ear, but he was too quick and grabbed her arm. In mere seconds, she heard a crack and felt a fiery pain explode in her arm. She screamed and cradled her arm. He pushed her down like she was a small child. The fall made her foot twist around, and more pain escaped from her ankle. She went to reach for it, but he sat on her and pinned her shoulders down. She put up her good arm to protect her face; however he put a good blow into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her.

Her vision started to go blurry, and she saw spots. She couldnʼt even feel the pain as the dirty agent beat her in the face. She only had a few seconds to think ‘This is the end. Iʼm going to die’ before everything went black.

* * *

“Molly? Please wake up. Please.”

Molly started to come to. The more she woke up, the more pain she felt. She tried to open her eyes, but it was too bright.

“Molly! Open your eyes. Cʼmon.”

She could recognize that voice anywhere. “Charlie? Is that you?” She said weakly.

“Yes it is!” He started to talk to someone else. “Sheʼs awake. We need to get her mobilized so we can get out of here.”

“Charlie. Who are you talking to? Whoʼs with you? Howʼd you find me?” She finally felt like she could sit up, but as soon as she did, a wave of nausea rolled over her.

“Donʼt get mad, but itʼs Layla. I saw you being dragged into Durellʼs car, and I followed him. Layla wanted to come help.”

Molly looked down at her feet and saw Layla wrapping an Ace bandage around her ankle.

“Hey, Molly. Donʼt try to get up. You have a sprained ankle, bruised ribs, and a broken arm.” Layla had finished wrapping her foot and came to the other side of her.

“We canʼt trust her! She might be working for Marcello!” Molly harshly whispered to Charles.

“Molly. Iʼm not with him. Iʼve actually been trying to prove that heʼs been dirty for years.” Layla said obviously hearing her.

Molly looked at Charles. She tried to tell him with her eyes that she didnʼt trust her.

Charles shook his head at Molly. “Sheʼs telling the truth. Weʼve both been trying to expose him. We both had been sent to infiltrate the institution.”

Molly stared at him. “So this whole time youʼve been working for someone else? For as long as Iʼve known you? Why didnʼt you ever tell me?”

Charles started to speak, but Layla interrupted him. “We had our orders not to tell anybody. Plus we had to make sure that you werenʼt with him.”

“Iʼm sorry, Mol. I wanted to tell you, but I couldnʼt.”

“Charlie. He killed my parents.” Molly said harshly. Charles just looked down at the ground. Molly scoffed and looked away from him. “You knew.”

“I found out about 3 years ago.”

“Ok. This is all nice and stuff, but we really need to get going. Durellʼs only knocked out and could get up at any moment. Backups already on their way to take care of him. The carʼs at the top of the hill.” Layla interrupted.

Molly looked at her. “I canʼt walk. How am I supposed to get up there?”

Charles had already started to pick her up when she finished her sentence. He carried her to the top of the hill and gently put her in the back seat. He got into the passenger seat and Layla got into the driverʼs seat.

“So where are we going? I canʼt go back to the institution.” Molly said as she made herself comfortable.

Charles turned and smiled at her. “I was thinking about Chicago.”

Molly smiled back. Charles had always promised her that one day theyʼd leave the institution and theyʼd drive to Chicago. “Iʼd like that.”

Layla put the car in drive. “Alright then. Chicago here we come.”