The night before the mission was rather tense for me. Mr Knight had arranged for me to stay home in order to give me a sense of familiarity before everything became hectic. I was laying in my bed staring at the ceiling, a million thoughts running through my head as I tried to force myself to go to sleep. I couldn't , though. I was nervous and uneasy about tomorrow but it was too late for me to back out now. I checked the time on my phone and it read eleven thirty PM, meaning I had seven hours until I would be coming face to face with Alexis for the first time in eleven years. Based on the picture I saw in her file, she still looked the same but there was no telling if that was an updated picture or one they had managed to procure from somewhere. I sighed through my nose. I closed my eyes to see if I could force myself to go to sleep when my phone suddenly started buzzing. Peering at the screen, it was a number that I didn't recognize and I was hesitant to answer so I let it go to voicemail. It started buzzing again with the same number popping up on the screen. I hit answer and held the phone up to my ear.
"Hello?" I said nervously.
"Long time no talk, Joey," a husky female voice said on the other end.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I knew that voice. There was no mistaking it.
"Alexis," I hissed. "How'd you get this number?"
She chuckled. "Awww, don't be like that. You still mad at me? Let me make it up to you. Meet me on the roof of Remington Mall in twenty minutes. Come alone."
I scoffed. "You think I'm just gonna trust you after what you did to me eleven years ago? Keep dreaming, Alexis."
"I'm not gonna repeat myself, Joey," she said, her tone quiet. "Remington Mall, twenty minutes. Come alone."
The line went dead and I stared at my screen, the gears in my head turning as I debated on if this was a smart idea. I opened my contacts list and hovered over Mr Knight's number. Should I call him? I shook my head. If I did, he'd alert the rest of the Sentinels and it would complicate things even further but…. I wasn't entirely sure this was going to be a peaceful meeting.
You know you wanna go, my thoughts said to me. You want answers.
I gritted my teeth then proceeded to get dressed. It was fall so I made sure to throw on a windbreaker before sneaking out my bedroom window and zipping across the dark skyline towards the meeting point. What did she want? Did she know about the plan? Or was this something else? And how had she gotten my phone number?
"I feel like I'm going to regret this," I mumbled to myself as I spring-boarded off the roof of a grocery store.
Remington Mall soon came into view and I could vaguely make out a figure standing on the roof who waved me toward them. I landed on the roof with a shoulder roll and came up kneeling a few feet away from the figure. All my senses were on high alert as I made my way over, careful to give myself some distance in case I needed to bolt and get help or fight. The figure turned towards me and I felt my breath hitch as I stared into the face of the one person who I hated more than anything in the world. She still looked the same. Her dark hair was pulled into a ponytail and fluttered in the wind while her dark green eyes seemed to pierce my soul as she stared back at me. Her olive skin seemed a shade darker since we had last seen each other. She wore a dark brown leather jacket with a black shirt underneath, dark jeans and a pair of low top sneakers.
"Did you miss me?" Alexis said, smirking at me. "Can't seem to take your eyes off me."
"Why did you call me out here?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.
"I just want to talk," she responded. "It's been four years since we've seen each other. Let's catch up."
"Stop talking to me with familiarity in your voice," I said tersely. "You stabbed me in the back and forced me and my family to move."
Alexis sighed. "I'm your best friend Jo-"
"You were my best friend," I retorted. "But then you showed me who you really were. I'll ask you one more time. Why the hell did you call me out here?"
Alexis brushed her hair out of her eye then turned to stare out into the empty parking lot of the mall. I watched her pensively as she seemed to be gathering her words. She was still a cool beauty, like the kind of girl who'd have a mysterious personality in those drama shows that people watched.
"I've been quite busy since you last saw me," She said finally. "I've got big plans and I want you to be part of them. I've been watching you for awhile and you've gotten stronger, Josiah."
I arched my eyebrow. "What plans?"
She turned to face me, her expression a bit unsettling. "I'm going to destroy the authorities and erase the laws that govern our city. I'm going to rewrite our society so that lower level citizens don't have to live in fear of people like us. We were born as the strongest for a reason and we should use our power to remake the world how we see fit."
I frowned. "And how do you plan to do that? You gonna start a revolution?"
Alexis chuckled. "Something like that."
She reached into the pocket of her jacket and revealed a vial of purple liquid. She held it up in the moonlight for me to see and I immediately knew what it was; the amplifier drug. I felt my hand twitch but I resisted the urge to reach out and grab it from her and take off. I had no way of knowing if we were actually alone or if she had several of her subordinates hidden from view and out of range of my enhanced senses. Alexis studied the vial with an expression of clinical interest before placing it back inside her pocket and walking towards me, closing the distance between us in a fraction of a second.
"Still as handsome as ever," she whispered, smiling at me.
I was too stunned to speak or move. She then entwined her arms around my neck, pressing her body against me and forcing me to put my hands on her waist to steady us so that we didn't topple over. As angry as I still was at her, I'd be lying if I said that she wasn't pretty up close and was making my heart tap dance at how close she was to me.
"I know that I hurt you but it was a necessary step in my plan," she said. "But I'm here now and I want to make things right between us."
"How do I know that I can trust you?" I said breathlessly. "For all I know, you could be plotting to hurt me again."
She smirked. "A fair point. However, I'll prove my loyalty in whatever way I can."
I peered at her, trying to pick out any lies or hidden meanings in her words but with Alexis that was never easy. She was a master of deception and knew exactly what to say to get you on her side or get under your skin and that's what made her so dangerous. She preyed on your fears, doubts and worries and twisted them to get what she wanted from you and that's exactly what she was doing right now.
"By the way, I received a message from anonymous entity asking to join my group, Specter," Alexis said slowly. "Was that you?"
"What if it was?" I asked nonchalantly.
"Then that makes things easier," She responded coolly. "It was good seeing you, Josiah. I'll be in touch."
With that, she pulled away but not before giving me a peck on the lips. She then took a step back off the roof and disappeared into the darkness, leaving me alone on the rooftop to contemplate what just happened. This worked in my favor right? The main goal was to infiltrate Specter and get close to Alexis but she had came to me and directly offered me a place in the group so it was technically a win. But I was torn between telling Mr Knight or keeping things to myself and improvising the plan slightly. After a minute of contemplation, I sent out several text messages then zipped off to my next destination.
•••
"You better have a damn good reason for dragging us out here in the middle of the night, Josiah," Kato yawned, glaring at me.
I rolled my eyes but didn't respond. I had sent out message to Kato, Becky, Ashley, Layla and Priya telling them to meet at the park near our school so I could tell them what was going on. I was going to have to break the rules a bit with what I was planning but it was necessary. Operating under the Sentinels would severely limit my options so I was going to have to do this the only way I knew how.
"Is everything okay?" Layla asked. "You look flustered."
I coughed to clear my throat. Truthfully, my face was on fire from Alexis kissing me but I needed to focus.
"First things first," I said. "I'm…. I'm working with the Sentinels."
Four pairs of eyes widened at my words before I was bombarded by words and questions by the girls while Kato took a step back to watch with mild amusement in his expression right now.
"Are you insane?!"
"You're kidding me."
"I knew there was something up when you got taken out of school."
"How long were you planning on keeping this from us?"
I rubbed my temples and let out an exasperated sigh as the girls let me have it. I knew this would happen but I was also warmed by their reactions. They weren't angry at me, just concerned that I was in over my head and they weren't necessarily wrong in that assumption.
"Alright, alright," I said, raising my voice slightly. "I'll explain everything."
I told them about what happened after my fight with Braxton three months ago, I told them about how Mr Knight had recruited me into the Sentinels and how they had been training me to infiltrate Specter to take down Alexis. I told them about my meeting with Alexis earlier and that she had shown me the amplifier and what she was planning. When I finished I was slightly outta breath but it felt good to get everything off my chest with people that I could trust wholeheartedly. After a couple seconds of silence Priya spoke.
"I think it's rather insane that the Sentinels are sending in a seventeen year old to take down a clandestine organization but it's not the craziest thing you've done," she said tiredly. "So now what?"
"You need our help, don't you?" Layla said.
I nodded. "She's planning something big. Something that could shake the world."
"So what do you need from us?" Kato asked. "You want one of us to go with you?"
"That could backfire," Becky said looking at me. "If one of us goes with him then it might blow his cover."
Ashley hummed thoughtfully. "You want us to keep an eye on the city for you and keep you updated on anything concerning Spector."
I blinked. "Did….did you read my mind?"
Ashley smiled sleepily. "Just a guess but I was right."
I shook my head and chuckled. "The epicenter of the big plan is Hofstadter Plaza. I'm not sure what's going to happen but I need you guys there when shit hits the fan. Once I have a date I'll text you guys and we'll go from there."
"Should we expect a fight?" Layla asked, frowning.
I glanced up at the sky, a heavy feeling of weariness suddenly weighing down on me.
"With Alexis," I said quietly. "There's no telling."