❝I'll be your army.❞

☀︎

"GET IN AND OUT," Harry looked at each of his crew members in turn. "We stay as close to each other as possible. No one stays behind, you get that? Agapi Mou isn't the only thing at stake here. It's our lives on the line, too. You ready?"

Mia nodded resolutely, Noah squared his shoulders, and Anna flexed her fingers. They were as ready as they could be. They for the heist, Anna for the kill. She was going to be on the right side of justice. She had nothing left to lose anymore.

Mia had assumed that she was a traitor just like that, Mark had refused to acknowledge her presence, Harry didn't seem to notice her much. Noah and Jeremy were the only ones worth Anna's time. She would honour her last promise to Mia and protect them.

But no one else. They deserved what was coming to them.

Harry bent down, fixing the soundless bomb on the cover of the abandoned sewer pipe. His black tuxedo was sticking to all the right places and Anna found herself staring.

He looked insanely attractive, like the devil had himself come down to play. His characteristic mischievous glint never left his golden eyes, even though they were going to jump twenty feet below.

Anna wondered how she would manage that fall. Her high slit red dress left very little to the imagination. It was shaped like a heart near her chest, leaving her chilly. Her dress was studded with red stones and it pricked her bare legs more often than not.

On her left, Mia was already tying her hair back, her six inch heels laying on the ground. She looked slender and beautiful in her lavender dress. It reached only till her knees but the chiffon layering made it look stunning. It matched perfectly with Mia's olive skin, her scar making her look fierce and fragile all at the same time.

Noah shrugged off his black jacket and tied it around his waist. He stepped back, pulling Anna along with him. Mia and Harry moved behind on the opposite side. Harry nodded at them, placing his hands on his ears. Anna followed suit, as did Mia and Noah, before Harry pressed a button on a small remote.

The detonator went off, blowing chunks of disintegrated metal everywhere. Anna coughed through the smoke and went to stand near the gaping hole. There was no light around, shrouding the whole depth in darkness.

Mia placed a hand on Anna's arm and pulled her aside. She gathered her heels in her hands and jumped. Anna's hand flew to her mouth, as she tried peering into the dark, plunging hole beneath.

Within a few seconds, Mia's voice shot up the hole, "It's all clear. Come on!"

Harry stepped forward and flung his new tuxedo down the mouth of the manhole. He sat on the edge and gracefully slipped into it, not showing even an ounce of worry for the possibility of breaking his bones.

Anna went next, throwing her heels in before she tied her hair back. She crouched low and pushed her legs in, just like they'd been trained at the agency. She let go of the ground she was clutching and was instantly sucked into the darkness.

It wasn't as bad as she had imagined, with broken bones and teeth or splattered blood everywhere. It turned out to be exhilarating, whooshing down an opening with no control, no choice. It felt liberating, her hair blowing and dress flying. She landed on her feet, just next to Harry.

He held out a hand to her. "Perfect landing." Harry winked and Anna could swear that a thousand butterflies were having a rave inside her stomach. She blushed furiously, knowing that it was completely wrong.

Harry put his index finger under her chin and tilted her face up. He looked directly into her emerald eyes and even in the darkness, he could see the spark in them that he loved so much. Without realising it, he pulled her closer to him, like two opposing magnets.

"In case you didn't notice, I'm still here," Mia said, grunting and gagging. "You guys are disgustingly close. Please move," she said, gesturing at them to stand apart.

Anna jumped apart at the intrusion, seemingly flustered. Noah fell to the ground directly behind Anna, with a loud groan. "Fuck. I knew this was a bad idea."

Anna scrambled to his side and helped him up, desperately trying to get away from Harry. He was no idiot. He knew what she was doing and it hurt him intensely to know that she wanted to be away from him.

If only she knew how much he wanted to walk away into a sunset with her.

But this was real life, where sunsets only meant getting up again tomorrow to fight and survive. Harry rubbed his neck and pulled out a phone-like device. He pressed a few buttons while the rest of them shrugged their clothes on and fixed their hair.

The device beeped, a holographic image of the underground tunnel lighting up their surroundings. It cast an eerie glow on the walls and Anna shivered. She noticed the space around her for the first time as her senses slowly kicked in. It smelled and looked disgusting as if they were inside a dead rat's belly.

She quickly moved to stand close to Harry. As far as Anna was concerned, it was only because she appreciated his woody scent more than she would like to admit. Her green eyes wandered over his shoulder and scrutinized the hologram. Four red spots blinked aggressively, indicating their current positions.

"Here," Harry points at an upper level in the hologram. "That's where we need to go. According to the image, we have to climb up the vents — "

His voice trailed off as Anna walked away to examine the dingy area. There was little to no light in there, except for the hologram's blue light. The air smelled musty and dry. Anna crinkled up her nose in disgust. She gingerly reached out both of her hands on either side, relying purely on her instincts.

Her head suddenly bonked against hard, cold metal and Anna let out a little scream. Footsteps picked up momentum behind her but Anna decided to inspect the metal. She pulled at it but it did not budge. She traced her fingers along its length, finding it to be H shaped. Her heart beat faster as she ran both of her hands over it to be sure.

Yes, this was perfect.

"Harry, I-" Anna shouted when a large hand covered her mouth firmly. The person pushed her against the wall and she hit her head on the metal. Pushing back a scream, she bit on the hand and elbowed the person right under his chin. The person staggered back and slipped on the floor.

"Oh god."

A pained voice spoke up and Anna stopped her hand before it planted a fist in the person's gut. Harry. She immediately fell down beside him and cradled his head in her lap. She gently placed her hand under his chin where she had hit him. It felt hot under her touch.

That was going to leave a nasty bruise.

"Why do you always sneak up on me like that?"

Harry let out a soft groan when Mia and Noah came rushing back. "What did you do to him?" Mia gritted her teeth, on the verge of pulling Anna up and giving her a piece of her mind.

"I thought someone attacked me! I am sorry — "

Before Anna could continue, Harry sat up slowly, rubbing his sore chin. He shook his hand where Anna had bit him and sucked on the little blood that was prickling out.

Harry stood up, not wanting to waste any more time. He leaned a little on Mark, setting his jaw tight. "It's okay, we need to cross the vents. We don't have much time on our hands anyway." Although the words were said in a forgiving manner, Harry's tone was cold and sharp.

The three of them walked away, leaving Anna on the ground. Should she tell them what she had found? Maybe they would get pissed at her all over again and she really did not want that.

But Harry was hurt. She could throw a mean punch when she wanted to and she knew that it left a sweet little impact. Now was not the time to ponder the many faces she had broken. Even if they did not want her help, she would do it anyway.

As a small compensation to the huge betrayal she was about to do.

"I think I found something."

They stopped walking and turned around one by one, Harry now standing on his own. She pressed her lips into a thin line, obviously not impressed by Anna's continuous disruptions.

"Now what?" She asked, pointedly.

"There's a ladder here. I'm pretty sure it goes straight up to the upper floor. We should be able to access the washrooms without using the vents, if we take this route."

Harry regarded her with a glimmer of pride in his eyes. Anna felt relieved at his stamp of approval. She had never needed to prove herself to anyone but somewhere along the way, she liked how Harry nodded at a smart idea, took her advice when necessary, and especially how he heard her like a human and not just an employee.

He walked over beside her and inspected the metal just like she had. A small smile crept on his lips. "You never fail to surprise me, Bermuda," he said and yanked himself on top of the ladder with surprising agility. Anna perked up at that.

He had called her Bermuda after a long time. She suddenly realised how attached she'd grown to the name. Her cheeks heated up and her heart fluttered but she kept them in check.

Time to take off the heels again, she thought, tired and annoyed.

She followed up after Harry, only looking back to see Mia's disgruntled face. It gave her a weird satisfaction in her chest; the kind that screamed 'look at me now' with the perfect dose of superiority.

Forty rungs later, Anna found herself blinded by a brilliant white light, next to Harry. They were in a large janitor's supply room from the looks of it and Anna struggled to adjust to the brightness.

It stank of disinfectant, soap and dirty mops. Mia and Noah came up next, surveying the huge white washed room with thousands of shelves full of supplies.

"Better than a stinky washroom, right?" Noah joked.

Harry laughed, already moving towards a large door. Above it was a long wooden plank with the word 'EXIT' painted on it in red. Harry had twisted the handle when the door flung open and a little old lady wobbled in.

Mia took in an audible breath, worried and tensed. The team stood still, waiting for the lady's reaction. They expected her to run and alert someone. Harry moved a foot closer to her, ready to pull her away, when she waved a dismissive hand at them.

"People and hormones," she said in a thick Mexican accent. "Get out. Find room yourself. This no place to kiss."

A lingering smile spread across their faces, before they ran out, snickering and laughing. Anna realised she would miss this, once it had died down. They were standing in the entryway of the ballroom. Harry checked his watch. 5:59. The doors to the ballroom would open any second now.

It was showtime.

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