Fast Falling

To Jack, Emily was the most beautiful creature in the entirety of existence. He wasn’t a child, this wasn’t some unimportant crush; it was real love. He admired the curve of her jaw where it connected with her neck; the tight clench in her small fists, her long fingernails digging into the palm of her hand. Her dark hair gathered at the base of her skull and bound into a tight ponytail that fell down her back in a slightly tangled mess. Her lack of care as she focused on keeping lookout whilst Dylan prepared and safety checked their guns. They were ready to go in. Soon Jack would lose sight of her.

Dylan clicked the last part into place and handed the gun to her, she checked it over herself and slipped it into its holster. Jack smiled a little at her efficiency and took a step back to further conceal himself in the shadows. He hit the concrete wall and his computer case made a noise. He didn’t think much of it, they didn’t even notice. He wasn’t surprised, they barely even noticed him when he was openly speaking to them.

Emily and Dylan were field agents. Taken from school and began training at the age of sixteen, they were twins. They looked so different though, Emily was dark and Dylan was fair. They were both deadly. Jack admired them for being able to fight the way they did, for being so skilled. He wished he had what it took to be a field agent. He wasn’t spotted and recruited until he was seventeen, he had been caught hacking into London’s MI6 database. He was just curious; he covered his tracks well and they never even noticed. But AG1 did. That was the Agency. They noticed him and took him from school, took him away from his mother and father and sister and put him in a training programme. He was a computer guy; he wasn’t quite as acrobatic and violent as the fields but he was very smart. He didn’t wish he was a field, he liked to feel safe. But he never felt like he was helping all that much. Not like Emily and Dylan.

AG1 only recruited the best of the best. They took them out of school like they had done with Jack and Emily and Dylan and they trained them to adhere to their agency. They weren’t spies, they were agents of curiosity. Jack thought they were spies.

Emily and Dylan were gone, they had slipped around the corner and towards the warehouse. They were the most efficient team in the agency, they sometimes even joked that they could read one another’s minds. Jack didn’t wish he could be a field agent, he wished he had someone to be close to. He wished that he knew how to talk to Emily. He wished a lot of things, putting himself in danger was not one of these things. He wanted to ensure Emily’s safety as much as his own, he was lucky that he wasn’t her Tracker tonight. It meant that he could be here to watch over her. He edged forward towards the corner they’d just vacated and he put down his case, peering around the corner to try and see them go into the warehouse. They’d already disappeared.

Jack didn’t need field training to know what the clicking of a gun sounded like. He froze and closed his eyes as he felt the cold metal of the barrel touching the back of his neck between his hairline and the collar of his jacket. He slowly raised his hands in a sign of surrender.

‘Who are you and what are you doing here?’ Emily asked him, pressing the gun slightly harder onto his neck. He’d been mistaken to think that no one had heard his computer case hitting the concrete, Emily was too good.

‘Em.’ Dylan was warning her from somewhere behind Jack.

‘Emily it’s me.’ Jack said quietly, he didn’t want to blow their cover. But he also didn’t want his head blown off. He felt the pressure lift a little and took it as an invitation to turn around and show himself. Once Emily saw him she twitched her head slightly and Dylan turned and disappeared from sight. Jack presumed to start their mission. He didn’t even know what it was, he wasn’t supposed to know it was happening.

‘What are you doing here, Jack?’ Emily asked him, her voice was stony and cold and the idea of talking to her made Jack’s heart beat faster than any mission ever could. ‘It’s a dangerous mission, you shouldn’t be here.’

‘I just heard it was happening. I wanted to see if I could help.’

‘You don’t just hear that a mission is happening. Which means you hacked it. You’re a Track techie right?’ she asked, her voice softening a little and it irked him slightly that he knew it was out of pity. She saw the Trackers as lower than the Field Agents; she had no idea how much easier people like Jack made her life.

‘Yeah.’ He replied, not saying what he really wanted to. ‘I honestly just wanted to check you were alright.’ He replied honestly, ‘There must be something I can do to help?’

‘Jack you shouldn’t be here at all, if dad found out he would kill all of us.’ Emily whispered, taking a step toward him like the director was nearby at that moment. Mark was the Director of AG1 and also happened to be Emily and Dylan’s father, there was no correlation apparently. But Jack didn’t think about that at that moment, instead he was far too distracted by the smell of Emily’s perfume; the blue of her eyes; the perfect curve of her bottom lip. He didn’t know how to respond, he didn’t know how to talk to her despite the fact that he was completely, madly in love with her.

He didn’t need to reply. The sound of the gunshot replied for him.

‘Shit.’ Emily hissed. She grabbed his arm and pulled him back behind her, keeping him close as she peered around the corner towards the warehouse, gun out and at the ready. She poised it, ready to shoot should the need arise. She was eighteen years old. Jack pretended not to enjoy the fact that she was holding onto his arm so tight and instead shared in her worry for Dylan in the warehouse.

‘We have to go. You’ll have to come.’ Emily said, re-checking her gun. ‘Follow my every lead, my every instruction you understand? If I leave you here and they come out they’ll kill you without hesitation and you have no protection. At least I can protect you inside. You might be useful.’ Another gunshot. ‘Come on. Stay close. Leave the case.’

She led the way, keeping low and he followed suit. He had been wrong before about nothing setting off his heartbeat the way talking to Emily did, this certainly got his adrenaline going. He ducked low and tried to stop himself from feeling panicked but his heart felt like it was going to burst from his chest and his breath was coming in short, ragged attempts. He took Emily up on her request and stuck close by her, but he also respected that she had a job to do and he kept a certain distance. He wasn’t too keen around the gun anyway.

She kicked open the door and scurried for cover as a hail of bullets greeted them like an old friend. Jack followed closely and his back slammed against the pole of scaffolding as tears stung the back of his eyes. He hadn’t been hit, just frightened. He tried to catch his breath and stop the tears but he couldn’t, he sniffed and rubbed at his eyes but nothing could stop the fear. Emily looked at him for a brief moment as she reloaded her gun, he hadn’t even noticed she’d fired a shot, and then did a double take upon realising his genuine fear. Her face was softened and surprised as she realised her insolence and stupidity.

‘Oh Jack, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.’ She whispered. There was an odd moment of calm as she reached up and wiped away a tear that had leaked from his eye. There was a moment of tenderness between the two teenagers who’d barely spoken before; displaced amongst the riot and chaos around them. ‘I should have left you outside.’ She spoke softly. She broke her eyes from his to glance around quickly, underneath the scaffolding was a small space, barely large enough for a person.

‘Do you think you can fit in there? You can stay here and hide. I’ll come back for you.’ She said, her eyes were wide and he knew that she wasn’t judging him, that she wouldn’t ever judge him. The truth of the matter was simply the fact that she was Field and he was a Track, he wasn’t meant for this world in the same way that she wasn’t meant for his world of computers and files. But the wide eyed, non-judgemental Emily gave the terrified Jack a newfound sense of bravery. He didn’t want to hide under the scaffolding, he wanted his shot at being a Field. He wanted his shot at being someone worthy and brave. He wanted the chance to prove to Emily that Track and Field wasn’t comparable to Romeo and Juliet. He gave into his stupid, teenage boy instincts, and he became determined to impress the girl.

‘I want to help. Not hide.’ He’d intended to sound manly and tough, but his voice was tinny and timid. She still smiled. He didn’t desire being a Field or putting his life in danger, he just wanted to show the girl he loved that he could be more than a computer code. He could be a hero if he wanted to be. His attempt at being humble was terribly immodest.

‘I don’t know how you can.’ She answered honestly and he opened his mouth to reply with something he hoped was witty but she held up a finger to stop him, her other hand going to her ear where he presumed her set was placed.

‘What do you mean Dylan?’ she asked and there was a pause as her twin brother replied. ‘You found him? Rendezvous at meet point C.’ she said firmly and then motioned for Jack to follow her. She kept her gun pointed towards the floor as she turned and rushed back out into the gun fire. She aimed two perfect shots and took out two snipers as she dashed for further cover underneath another load of scaffolding, there was more room beneath this one.

‘Okay I’ve got to meet Dylan but you need to stay here.’ She told Jack. ‘They don’t know you’re here so they won’t come this far back.’

‘What’s the mission?’ he asked. ‘There must be a way I can help.’

She went to protest but stopped suddenly. She thought for a moment before nodding slowly.

‘Okay. Here’s what you can do. They’re hacking into the community network at the moment. Dylan and I can take them out physically but go grab your computer and work them from the inside. Stay down and stay safe.’ She warned him as there was another shot aimed at their direction. One of the snipers she’d originally aimed at had pulled himself up to aim at them again. She sighed and sprinted across the gap in the scaffolding, she knew that he would be too weak to react fast. She jumped up and pulled herself up through the poles and boards until she reached his level and struck him quickly and efficiently across the head before he could swing his rifle around to aim at her. He passed out before her and she returned to Jack.

‘Keep as far away as possible. I mean it Jack.’ She told him and he nodded. He intended to. ‘Okay, I’ll see you on the other side.’ She went to run off to join her brother and Jack couldn’t stop himself. He thought of the fact that she might not return, that there might not be another side to this event. He couldn’t ignore the feeling of fear that gnawed at his insides as he imagined her coming back to him in a coffin, and he would never have told her how he’d loved her from afar for so long. He didn’t know what it was that made him brave, whether it was the scenario or the feeling of hopelessness and recklessness that inhabited him; but he knew that he had made a decision and there was no going back.

‘Wait, Emily…’ he called after her and she stopped and turned back to him, her face full of expectancy. ‘If we both get out of this alive, will you go out with me? Dinner? A movie? Anything?’ he blurted out before he could stop himself. She paused for a moment, shocked into a stunned silence, before her face broke out into a grin and she laughed a little. She came back to stand by him and leaned up to kiss his cheek softly.

‘Let’s both just get through this, yeah?” she suggested before running off in search of Dylan. He stood and stared after her for a moment before letting out a small laugh and running back in search of his computer.

He sat behind the corner where Emily had found him and fired up his computer in a few seconds. He opened up his hacking programme and ignored the irony that he was hacking the hackers. He needed to be much closer, he didn’t want to be. Battling with the idea that he could just get up and leave, claim that he couldn’t do it, he didn’t have the software or something like that. Emily and Dylan would take them out and he wouldn’t have to do anything.

But his cheek still burned with Emily’s kiss. He couldn’t become a coward now, he had to prove he was worthy of it, to himself more than anyone. He slammed the lid of his computer case down and tucked it under his arm before running back towards the danger of the warehouse. He mimicked Emily’s earlier action of kicking open the door before realising his mistake and jumping as it hit the wall with such a force that it made a dent and little flecks of plaster fell down. He cowered as he ran for cover despite the lack of immediate threat and swung open the computer case in his previous spot. It still wasn’t close enough. He knew that he needed to be within the immediate vicinity of the hackers, he had to follow the sound of gunfire right into the battle.

Once again he paused. He wondered whether it was worth risking his life. There was a lull in the sound of fighting and the quiet made him uneasy. A single shot. In his mind flashed images of Emily or Dylan lying dead on the ground, a pool of blood leaking out from underneath them in an expanding lake. A gory hole ripped through their chest exposing sinewy flesh and burned skin. He couldn’t bear it if that was the case and he was responsible for letting them get away with it and stealing the money or intelligence. He closed the computer case again and took a deep breath, silently searching for his courage.

‘Come on, Jack.’ He whispered to himself. Wondering if giving yourself a pep talk actually ever worked. ‘You can do this. For Emily.’

He forced himself up and once he’d moved his feet once he found he was able to run through the maze of scaffolding and towards the centre of the labyrinth. He kept running and running until he found the source of the commotion and stumbled to a halt. He crouched down low behind some crates before gently opening his computer, he was close enough. He glanced down at the scene before him. There was one scrawny looking man in the centre, sat at a computer case similar to his own. Around him were three, much larger men. He could tell who the Trackers were and who were the Field Agents. He ignored them for the time being, but made himself listen to the conversation as he booted up his programmes, he wanted to be aware and alert.

‘What about the two kids?’

‘What about them?’

‘Shouldn’t we do something about them?’

‘Are you crazy? The boss will go mental!’

‘I’m not saying we should kill them, just put them out of the way.’

‘How?’

‘A bullet each ought to do it.’

‘You’re a moron. Just stay here and protect Anderson. I’m gonna go see what’s going on with Thing One and Thing Two.’

‘I assume you’re talking about the kids.’

No response.

Jack dared peek up from behind his crates but one of the men was walking in the opposite direction of him. The scrawny man, who Jack presumed was Anderson, hadn’t even looked up from his computer.

‘How’s it going?’ Dylan leapt down and clapped Jack on the shoulder, making him jump. Emily soon appeared at his other side.

‘Good. I’m nearly in.’ Jack said tapping efficiently and decoding Anderson’s algorithm.

‘Make that nearly in an in please Jack.’ Emily replied in a hard tone and Jack glanced up in surprise. Dylan rolled his eyes and sniggered.

‘She pulled a muscle wrestling some chick, she’s in a bad mood.’ He explained and Jack felt momentarily relieved that her animosity wasn’t actually directed at him. He returned to his work.

‘I told you, I swear something tore.’ Emily defended herself, simply earning a snigger from Dylan.

‘What’s our strategy?’ she asked him, changing the subject in a stony tone.

‘You want north or east?’ Dylan asked her and she shrugged as she peered over the top of the crates at the men.

‘I’ll take north if you want. I haven’t flown in a while. You want rat or shall I take him?’ she asked him.

‘Are you sure you can? You know, with your injury?’ Dylan asked in mock seriousness, earning him another stony glare. Jack tried his best to ignore them and continued typing, he was so close.

‘We need to go in soon before the Boss gets back. We don’t know him and we don’t know how difficult he’ll be to handle. We might need back up.’ Dylan commented.

‘We’ve never needed back up before and we don’t now.’ Emily replied.

‘Okay fine. I’m just trying not to get us killed.’

‘We’re not gonna get killed. Just get in position and wait for my signal.’ She stood up and strode away, seemingly not caring if they saw her or not. No shots were fired her way so Jack was silently thankful.

‘What’s her signal?’ he asked Dylan and he shrugged and smiled at him.

‘Usually the first shot. What can I say? She gets to be in charge, she’s twelve minutes older.’ He grinned and clapped him on the shoulder again before standing and checking his gun.

‘Good luck.’ Jack said automatically and Dylan simply winked at him. Jack filled in the last code and tapped enter. He was done. There was a pause and seconds silence before Anderson began to groan and protest. Jack knew that at that moment his computer was filled with small green figures giving him a technological middle finger. He grinned to himself.

‘Now!’ Emily suddenly yelled and Jack watched as she jumped down from the top of some tall scaffolding. As the men all stood to watch her sail through the air, one drawing his weapon, the other two in awe, Dylan jumped over the crates and ran at the one with the weapon. He launched himself at him and took him down without too much hesitation or fuss.

Emily fell to the floor and broke her fall with a forward role which she sprung up from and sprang at the other man designated to protect Anderson. Soon he was accompanying his colleague on the floor. Anderson slowly raised his hands and looked between the pair of them.

‘Good choice.’ Dylan grinned and walked forward, producing a pair of handcuffs from his pocket and holstering his gun. Emily placed her gun on the floor beside the computer case and crouched down to inspect how much damage had been done. Feeling that he was finally safe, Jack emerged from behind the crates and walked to stand beside her as Dylan cuffed Anderson.

‘How bad is it?’ Emily asked Jack as he crouched down beside her.

‘Not too bad. I erased all their files and stopped all transactions. I don’t know what they were doing but I stopped it.’ He explained with a smile and she turned to face him. Jack knew he could have been mistaken but he was sure that she was showing a hint of a smile in return.

‘Thank you,’ she replied softly, ‘we genuinely couldn’t’ have done it without you.’ ‘I think you’d have found a way.’ He said and she laughed.

‘Possibly, but thank you all the same. Maybe we could do that thing sometime?’ she suggested and Jack was stunned into silence. He’d forgotten his crazy mouth when the adrenaline had been pumping and now it was over he was left to remain his usual, slightly socially inept self. He opened his mouth to reply and succeeded in stammering a couple of times, earning a giggle from Emily.

‘Come on Anderson my friend, let’s get you home and to bed. By home I mean prison of course. I imagine AG1 will want to interview you or something like that.’ Dylan said as he took Anderson’s arm and guided him away from the centre of the room towards the exit. It was as he neared the crates that they all heard the voice.

‘What the hell?’ the man said from behind Emily. She and Jack stood and turned to identify this new voice, Dylan turned too and stopped dead in his tracks.

They all knew the dark-haired man who was stood by the opposite crates, accompanied by the other man who’d left Anderson and the others behind. Jack didn’t need Emily or Dylan there to recognise the man who was their father, the head of AG1. The Director.

‘Dad?’ Emily whispered, Jack could hear the betrayal in her voice despite being stood behind her and unable to see her face. What happened next would forever be a blur. The man raised his gun, Emily and Dylan went to react. Emily widened her arms and moved to protect Jack who remained paralysed. Dylan reached for his gun, pushing Anderson down and out of the way. The Director yelled. But no one was fast enough.

The sound of the shot rang through the air louder than anything Jack had ever heard in his life. And suddenly Emily was falling. He instinctively reached out and caught her, folding her into his arms and bringing her to the ground and into his lap. Dylan was sprinting forward and The Director was being restrained by the Man.

‘Did you just shoot my daughter? Emily! Em!’ his words echoed through Jack’s head like a whisper in a cave. The Man dragged the Director away as Dylan reached Emily and Jack. She was shaking in his arms, red was pouring from the gaping hole in her abdomen like a fountain. It was exactly how Jack had imagined it.

‘Emily? Emily?’ he whispered to her, holding her tighter.

‘Shit. I’m gonna go get the first aid kit, you keep her calm, don’t let her panic okay? She’s going to be fine.’ Dylan told him. But Jack felt like it was more of a statement of reassurance for them both rather than an actuality. Dylan disappeared, leaving him alone with Emily.

‘Shit Emily,’ he whispered, tears he didn’t even recognise splashed onto her face.

‘I’m alright, it’s not that bad is it?’ she asked him, trying to laugh which turned into a cry of pain.

‘Just keep still okay?’ he said to her, brushing her hair from her face. Her hand found his arm and gripped it tightly.

‘I’m such a bitch, I’m sorry.’ She whispered to him, tears he knew she couldn’t help leaking from her own eyes.

‘You’re not a bitch, why would you say that?’ he asked her trying to keep her talking.

‘I pretended not to know who you are. I talked down to you just because you’re a Tracker. It’s like high school all over again. I’m like one of the popular girls and you’re a computer geek. I’m sorry I’m not trying to be mean it’s just the most apt analogy. I’ve known who you are for ages. I’m happy when you’re my Tracker because I know you’ll look out for me. I’ve actually really liked you for such a long time but I was too proud to admit it. Jack, I don’t want to die.’

‘You’re not going to die.’ He promised her, holding her tighter.

‘I just never knew how to talk to you. You’re so smart and I’m nothing more than a glorified, violent cheerleader.’

‘That’s bull and you know it.’ He told her and she winced again, her grip was growing weaker.
‘Emily hold on, Dylan will be back any second now.’ He assured her.

‘You know something?’ she said, it was like she couldn’t even hear him. ‘I’ve never had my first kiss. In my whole life I’ve never been kissed.’ She told him and he didn’t know how to respond so he let he silence stretch out before them until she broke it.

‘Jack,’ she whispered, looking into his eyes, ‘Jack, will you kiss me?’

‘Now really doesn’t seem like the right moment.’ He replied genuinely.

‘If now isn’t the right moment then when will there ever be a right moment?’ she asked him and he was lost for words. ‘Please Jack, before my brother gets back.’

He opened his mouth to protest but he knew that, looking into her eyes, there really was no point. He’d wanted to kiss Emily from the moment he’d first met her, she was the most beautiful person in the whole world to him. Here she lay, broken and bleeding in his arms, and he was terrified. He didn’t want to be the one taking advantage of her. He didn’t want her lips to be cold. He gently thumbed away a tear and brought his face down to hers, he hoped that she would survive long enough to remember it. And he kissed the woman he loved.