Chapter 582: Queen's Resurgence (3)

"What do you mean?" Katherine questioned, pressing her foot down Alicia's neck.

But Alicia kept a wicked smile on her face even when she was at a disadvantage. "Didn't you hear what Parker said earlier? You're all going to die together." She laughed like a maniac.

Why was this lunatic laughing? Katherine wondered if Alicia really was crazy. Did she realize that she was down here too? If Parker blew up the place, that would mean she would be killed too. Along with other agents who were still down here.

Katherine looked up and met Damien's gaze. Then he drew out a handgun from his waistband and tossed it in her direction, which she caught smoothly. Without hesitation, she pointed it to Alicia's forehead and pulled the trigger. The bullet went straight to the skull, killing her instantly.

"Let's go," Amelia urged, and thus the three of them left the training room.

They reached a section of the underground building with cracks and broken pillars, remnants of Katherine's impulsive revenge five years ago. A lot of areas were cleaned up and reconstructed, so it looked like an unfinished structure.

The three of them met several Shadow guards while they were on their way back up. They managed to fight and passed through them seamlessly as if they had been doing this all their lives.

Upon landing on the floor just below the prairie's ground, there were voices of what seemed like two men talking. The closer they got, the clearer it was, and they realized that it was Chris and Parker.

Amelia gestured to keep quiet as they stalked towards the open space where the voices were coming from. She went first, followed by Damien, and then Katherine. The hallway going to the open space was dark and dusty, and as they quietly moved forward, their hearts raced in anticipation.

"Drop your weapon," a man's voice resonated in the hallway, followed by the sound of a gun's safety being released.

Amelia froze on the spot when she felt the muzzle of a gun on the side of her head. Damien and Katherine also stopped in their tracks as more men came to do the same to them. From where she stood, she could see that the man pointing the gun to Amelia was none other than Scar.

The Shadow guards disarmed them. They were clearly outnumbered, and with the guns pointed at their heads, they could only oblige.

"Well well… look who decided to join," Parker muttered when the three of them entered the open space. He glanced at Amelia for a few seconds, feeling a little familiar, but because Amelia wore a mask that only had her eyes revealed, he didn't realize who she was. He ordered his guards to spread the three apart.

Chris watched as they lined up. The closest to him was Katherine, followed by Amelia and then Damien on the other end. He met Katherine's eyes for a brief second, checking to see if she was okay before shifting his stare back to the front. He looked fierce even when Parker's guards had their guns pointed at him.

"Sir, we still can't reach Castle. Something's wrong with the line," said one of Parker's guards.

"Have you tried Oscar?"

"He's not answering, Sir."

The little exchange between Parker and his guard showed that he still had no idea what was going on in his lair.

"Help is on the way," Styles informed them through their comms.

Amelia and Damien exchanged looks. They carefully observed their surroundings and quietly calculated what they could do when they got the chance.

"When are you going to stop?" Chris questioned, his eyes blazing in anger directed towards Parker. Memories of his past resurfaced, and he was disgusted by how the man before him planned everything that happened then.

Unperturbed by Chris's anger, Parker responded, "I don't see a reason to stop, Christopher. This is my job. This is what I have to do."

"Kidnapping children and exploiting them? That's your job?" Chris scoffed.

"I gave you a home. I took care of you… trained you… groomed you…" Parker smiled. "I practically raised you. Just like every agent in Shadow. You owe your life to me. But you decided to bite the hand of the one who fed you? You've lost your loyalty, soldier."

"Shadow is built from a lie," Chris bit out.

"Is it?" Parker probed mockingly. "Well, that lie was your home for two decades—"

"You told me my sister died! You had us separated for two decades!"

"You are what you are now because of me—don't forget that. You were my masterpiece. Did you know that? Of course… it wasn't until you brought Katherine. My instincts never failed me. That day you convinced me to take her in… I knew she was going to ruin you someday. And look at you now. What a waste of skill."

One of Parker's guards whispered to him.

"Then we should take our leave," said Parker before facing Chris and Katherine. "I'd love to stay and chat some more, but I don't have time for traitors like you two." Then he addressed Damien, "As for you, Mr. Park… It's sad that you got involved in this. I had plans for you and your uncle. But I guess Frederick will do. It was nice seeing you all again for the last time. Goodbye."

Parker turned on his heel and left through the hallway. As soon as he moved, Damien, Amelia, Katherine, and Chris fought with the Shadow guards that were left in the open space. It was four against five. They clashed over the guns and broke into combat.

Damien battled with two guards, while Amelia and Katherine engaged with one guard each. Chris, on the other hand, faced Scar. The open space became a battlefield. Each of them tried to one-up the other, trying so hard as they fought, despite knowing that the place would blow up any minute now.

Amid Chris's fight with Scar, the latter got a hold of a handgun. And an evil smile ghosted his face when instead of pointing it at Chris, he pointed the gun at Katherine.

The seconds seemed to move so slow as Scar pulled the trigger, aiming at Katherine's back.

"Noooo!!!" a man's scream reverberated in the space, followed by a sound of a body dropping to the floor.

Heads turned in the direction of the body just as Scar announced, "All agents retreat. Leave through the west tunnel." He left with a grin on his face.

Scar was really aiming for Katherine, knowing that they would all be alarmed and distracted if she got shot. But it didn't turn out like he planned.

"Chris!!!" Katherine immediately knelt and checked Chris's body, realizing that he wasn't wearing any vest. Then her fingers trembled when they touched the side of his abdomen where blood gushed out.

He pressed a hand over his wound, but it didn't stop the bleeding.

Seeing him bleed out shocked her. She quickly pressed both of her hands on top of his in an attempt to help.

Katherine's heartbeat raced, nearly exploding because of fear. She was unable to speak as tears began to flow out of her eyes. 'This can't be happening,' she thought.

"We're going to get some help," she managed to say. "Just hang in there."

A wistful smile formed on Chris's pale face as he placed his other hand on top of hers. "It's okay... I'm not afraid."