8
358words
Cyrus stepped out gracefully, greeting a man in a military uniform. Seraphina jumped out and hugged the man.
"Daddy!"
So, Cyrus had linked up with the Iberian Border Command.
The connection was Seraphina’s father, General Moretti.
Cyrus rarely let me near his business dealings. Tonight, he had not only brought me along but also told me that chilling story about the traitor. I felt like I was walking into a trap.
Usually, undercover agents hide a cyanide pill in their collar.
But I was on a long-term assignment; I had nothing.
As I surveyed the room, wondering if I could grab a guard’s gun or run into a wall if things went south, Seraphina approached Cyrus with a group of people.
"Mr. Thorne," she said. "My father and I have a gift for you. A token of our partnership."
"Oh?" Cyrus tilted his head. "And what might that be?"
In that split second, the realization hit me. I wasn't the one who was exposed. It was Seraphina.
She opened a velvet box to reveal a gold-plated pistol. In the blink of an eye, she leveled it at Cyrus’s chest.
"Mr. Thorne, that gun you gave me once? I’m giving it back."
She pulled the trigger.
I didn't think. I lunged in front of him.
Bang.
Agony.
The room exploded into chaos as Cyrus’s hidden gunmen stormed the hall.
He had known. He had squeezed the truth out of that traitor last night.
The bullet had hit my abdomen.
I looked down, watching the blood soak through my dress.
Suddenly, a hand pressed down on the wound.
"Heh. You really are..."
I heard him sigh in my ear. He carried me to a corner, tearing off his expensive shirt to bind the wound.
"A fool."
A bullet ricocheted off the wall near us, sparking in the dark.
I clutched my stomach and thought: What are you acting for, Cyrus?
He had given her a gun with a sabotaged barrel. He had brought me here specifically.
He wanted a human shield.
And I had given him exactly what he wanted.
