490 Agent Gazelle

Katherine released a long sigh of relief upon seeing Chris walk out of the elevator and into Felix's car. They had lost their connection with Felix when he went down to the basement parking and all they could rely on was the security cameras in the parking area to know that he was there. So when they saw that Chris was with the team again and had already hit the road heading towards a safe house in the outskirts of Harbor City, she released the breath that she didn't know she was holding in.

Sliding her hand to Damien's, he clasped it tightly in his and nodded at her. Since the first operation was already done, they were down to one more mission tonight. But for the second mission to commence, they had to wait for that short interview that Felix did earlier to be televised at the 10 o'clock news that night.

That was the latest time that they expected Parker to learn the news about Chris being in Hillcrest Hospital. Anything could happen in between and their time would get cut down much shorter, especially since they didn't know how many were lurking in the shadows. So earlier that night, Styles reminded Gus to prepare for any surprises. 

Initially, they anticipated starting the operation in Castle around eleven in the evening, thinking that it was enough time for the agents whom Parker would send to look for Chris to be far away from the base, causing the security to weaken a little. This way, Gus would have a higher chance to finish the task and get out of Castle alive.

In about an hour, the news would go live. Damien and Katherine had to leave the trailer van as they had to be in the musical concert. But before they left, Damien checked in with Noah who was in another state, along with other Alpha, Beta, and Delta team members. They were on standby, waiting for orders not far from Castle—Shadow's base.

"How's the situation over there?" Damien asked as soon as Noah picked up.

"Boss, we're ready anytime. Just waiting for your orders."

"Good. Take commands from Lia after this call. She'll oversee the operation moving forward." Damien gently patted his mother's shoulder as if a gesture to transfer the role to her. Amelia nodded and put on her headphones, connecting herself to Noah's team.

"Copy that."

When the call ended, Damien and Katherine got up from their seats. "Markus will send some food over for you soon," he said.

"Thanks. Oh, here!" Styles tossed a small container to Katherine and she caught it. "So that you guys can listen in."

Nodding, she took out one piece and gave the other to Damien. Now, all of them were connected. "Good luck," she told the two.

Amelia looked at the other three and muttered under her breath, "Yeah. Good luck to us."

…

"I don't feel like eating…" said Katherine. He looked up and caught her eyes, wondering if she was okay. "I'm hungry but I don't think I can eat," she added.

"You're nervous. It's understandable." He reached across the table and held her hand as though he was giving her some reassurance that everything would be okay. "Eat just a little bit more. Then I'll have all of this packed so we can eat when we go home later. We need to move… the concert will be starting soon."

"Okay." She nodded. She couldn't stop her heart from beating erratically. The first phase of the operation with Chris earlier went somewhat smoothly, and setting their differences aside, their mission that night was to get access to Shadow's database—they had decided to use him as a distraction, but they still needed him alive and that alone already made her anxious. However, now that they were in the second phase of their operation, she feared that everything would go south. This was Shadow—no, this was Parker. No one had succeeded going against him yet. 

Getting up from his seat, Damien brought her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her. "We're going to make it." He kissed her forehead and felt her embrace him back. They stayed in the same position for a while before leaving the room and heading out to the concert.

...

Castle—Shadow's Base

Gus had been in Castle since seven in the evening to check-in. It was crowded and busy that day as agents went in and out and were sent to missions, and several were sent to look for Chris—including him. Parker had almost turned the base upside down, frustrated that none of the agents found the traitor. They had been searching for him since Saturday—it had been two days since and there was still no sight of him. 

A few agents were called to Parker's office for a while now, reporting to him directly regarding the status of their search. He had expected to be called too, but he wasn't called in until it was ten minutes to 10 o'clock in the evening when Gus was called to Parker's office. 

He clenched his jaw as he walked through the hallway that was leading to the director's office, thinking that if Parker wouldn't get alerted regarding Chris being in Hillcrest Hospital before the news even comes out, he only had a ten-minute window to get out of his office. He needed to be far from Parker at this time, but the man called for him. He was supposed to be out of Parker's sight until he sends the agents out because Gus could only do his task when the security in Castle weakens. What would he do if he happened to still be in his office when Parker receives the news and decides to send agents to Esmea including him? What then?

"Fûck this. You'll owe me for this, Katherine," Gus mumbled to himself before he knocked on the door. As soon as Gus was allowed to enter, he coughed.

"Agent Gazelle, your report," Parker ordered without looking at the other, his eyes closed as he leaned on the backrest of his chair. His tone and stance showed that he was stressed and tired. He had been hearing countless search reports that were all unsuccessful and no progress. He was getting a massive headache. A rogue agent was out on the loose and Shadow was at risk. He couldn't let Christopher get away.

Gus started his made-up report. From time to time, he would cough and clear his throat—he had also changed his posture, looking as though standing up for a long time was hard for him. When he finished, Parker turned to him, causing his heart to race.

"You look pale, Agent," said Parker.

"I apologize, Sir. I haven't slept for two days now." He coughed again and looked down.

"I can understand that you're under a lot of stress looking for your traitor of a mentor." Nodding, Parker let out a sigh and massaged his temple. "Very well… You should have yourself checked at the infirmary. We can't have you coming down sick at this time."

"Thank you, Sir." 

Just then, the door suddenly opened and one of Parker's guards barged in. 'Shît,' Gus cursed in his thoughts when he guessed that it must be the news and now he was still in the office. He had never wished so badly to run the fûck out of Castle.

"Sir, we found him," said one of the guards. Using a remote control from Parker's desk, he turned the TV on and turned up the volume, then he continued, "The agents in Harbor have already checked the hospital, but Agent Hawk was no longer there."

As soon as Parker heard the report, his expression changed. He turned to the guard and ordered, "Send all available agents to Harbor City. Christopher should still be there somewhere. He couldn't have gotten far." He slammed his fist on the desk, clattering the things on top of it.

The guard acknowledged the order and left very soon after receiving instructions from Parker. Gus cursed a hundred times in his head as he stood by the corner helpless and unsure of what to do. Trapped at the moment, he dreaded that he would be sent out as well. He was about to leave the office to inform Katherine and her team to abort the mission when Parker called after him, "Agent?"

With his heart kicking against his chest, he stared at Parker and saw the violent look in his eyes.