Aurelia gave Oxygen a victorious grin and was untying the ropes which were tied in his limbs. It was, of course, a victorious day for them. It took nearly sixty-six months to nab a criminal. It took sixty-six months to hit the jackpot. Everything is settled now. But Oxygen's mind was full of unsettled questions.

Yes, Max was the criminal. But Aurelia was the one who provoked him. She was the one who portrayed herself as vulnerable and provoked him. And now, she hasn't uttered a word about that phone call which changed everything.

And Oxygen can't wait to get the answer.

As Aurelia untied him, he stood up with difficulty and faced her.

"Lya. Will you answer my question?" Oxygen asked.

"What is it, Oxygen?" Aurelia asked.

"Well, do you have any idea about the reason why Max did the treason?" Oxygen asked.

"Yeah. For Adrienne," she said.

"I didn't mean that. I mean, do you know why he chose to do the treason?" He asked again.

"Ummm... Of course, for money!" She replied. "If not for money, then what else can he do?"

"You," said Oxygen.

"Me?" asked Aurelia.

"Yes. It was because of you. You provoked him," said Oxygen

"Oxygen, what happened to you? Did you become nuts?"

"I am not, Lya. He told me that you were the reason for his—"

"I know what he said. I get your point. But, let me explain," she said, while Oxygen allowed her to do so.

She took out her mobile from her jeans pocket and was searching for something in it. She then said to Oxygen, "Listen to this." And gave him her mobile. Oxygen took it and saw that she opened a voice message for her. He clicked on the play button and heard it.

***

FIVE YEARS AGO...

"Sorry," Lya murmured, as she realized that Max was also British.

"That's fine, baby! I must be sorry for that," said Max.

"That's okay, Max. And... Life took a drastic turnover. I thought I would have everything on my checklist done, but now it's impossible. Sometimes, I used to hate myself for my job. Like, why should I choose to go as a spy, instead of continuing to pursue my dream? And, most of the time, I feel like why should I do a job when nothing is coming in return? What will I have as my source of income when I get married? Once, I was almost typing my letter of resignation!" She paused, while there was no sound from Max's side too.

"But," she continued. "On the other hand, while thinking about my days as a spy, I can never forget. I learnt many life lessons as a spy, and life would've been unimaginable without a lover like you. I could never afford to lose a guy like you. And I swear. I wouldn't have got a family like this agency. Secondly, this was the path I chose. So, I'm the one to face all pros and cons of my job, and I am happy about that. Then, the thought of leaving this itself makes my heart wrench like anything. This made me realize how close I have become to this family. Yes, I've lost my parents and a brother. But in return, God has given me many well-wishers, who give me so much love until I get fed up. That's what I want, Max. That's the exact thing I used to dream of when there was nothing and nobody with me. Compared to this, financial matters don't matter to me. I can still live happily with it." She concluded, expecting an answer from him.

"Baby?" She called but there was no response from his side. "Max?" No reply. "Max Richards?" Still no reply. "Agent Potassium, are you there?" No reply till then.

"He must have slept," Lya said to herself.

Unaware that this would never make him sleep well.

***

Oxygen, who heard the voice message, clearly realized that it was a planned and executed plan of fate.

Returning the mobile to Aurelia, he said, "I'm sorry. It was my fault."

"That's okay. Things happen like this," she said in a generous tone.

"And, what's our next plan, Aurelia?" He asked.

"Call your team leader and explain everything to them. And... Who's your team leader?"

"Agent Fluorine," he said.

"Ooh! That 'corrosive' guy?" She asked, who remembered Fluorine as her brother-like fellow.

"Yeah," he replied.

"And, who is the head of Operation M?"

"Agent Arsenic," he said.

"Now look at the super-corrosive girl!" She said, who knew Arsenic as her best friend from the agency. "Then... Call Arsenic and tell her everything."

"Sure, but... I don't have the satellite mobile they gave me," he said with a pout.

"Uh-oh! Wait, let me call her," She said, and dialled Agent Arsenic, putting the call on speakerphone.

"Hello?" said a monotonous voice from the other side.

"Agent Arsenic there?" asked Lya.

"Tell me, Lithium. What happened?" Arsenic asked, still in her monotone.

"Ummm, Arsenic, I've got news for you," Lya said.

"What is it, Lithium?"

"Ummm... M is with us," Lya finally let the cat out of the bag, while there was a deafening silence from Arsenic.

After a few seconds, the silence of space was broken as Arsenic asked, "What? Come again," in a low voice.

"M is with us," Lya repeated.

"Seriously?" Arsenic whispered loudly. "Is he with you?"

"His corpse is with us," Lya replied, while there was silence again.

Lya waited and waited for Arsenic to respond, but she didn't. After a few minutes, Arsenic asked, "Can I know what happened?"

Then Lya elucidated everything from how a wrong message led Oxygen to her, to their cold confrontation, to their plans to nab Max, and how they nabbed and killed him.

"Oh!" Arsenic asked. "All because of Oxygen, right?"

"Yes! And, we killed him," said Lya.

"Oh," said Arsenic.

"What do you mean, Arsenic? We did it! Inspygency did it! Cat got your tongue or what? Don't you feel proud about—" She rambled on, but was cut through by Arsenic, as she hung up the call.

"What happened?" Oxygen asked.

"Don't know, Oxygen. She didn't react well to it. I smell a rat here. Do you?"

"I feel the same, Lya," Oxygen said, and went through his thought process.

Arsenic was not the type of person who hides her feelings. She was such an expressive and straightforward person, which makes her a strict person there. But the conversation between herself and Lya made her portray the different shade of the Operation Head. And meanwhile, she spoke in a way one couldn't decipher her mood, which was even more suspicious.

While Oxygen was thinking deeply about it, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked beside him and saw Lya looking at him expectantly.

"What happened?" He asked.

"What do you mean? I've asked you thrice but you didn't reply," said Lya.

"What did you ask?" He asked back.

"I asked for your real name. What is your real name?" Aurelia asked again.

"Ummm... Do I have to say that?" He asked, scratching his head and walking towards the entrance.

"Hey, please! We worked together. Can't you tell me this for me? Only to me and nobody else," she said with a pout and walked alongside.

After thinking for a while, he decided on his answer and said, "Okay, fine! Promise me that you won't tell this to anyone."

"Promise!" She exclaimed.

"Ummm... Sure, right?"

"Damn sure!" She beamed.

"Fine," he sighed. "Well, my name is... Shall I say?"

"Oh God, please!" Aurelia said.

"Ummm... Okay," he said, chuckling. And he continued, "My na—"

All of a sudden, a cracking sound came from nowhere, which almost made Aurelia deaf. She closed her eyes and ears, and her heart almost skipped a beat. She didn't have the guts to open her eyes and see what happened. Her heart still didn't come to a pace. She felt her whole body trembling and all she could hear was white noise.

She let out sharp exhales through her mouth until her heartbeat became normal. After a few exhales, she felt her heart was at a pace. She took her hands from her ears and she could hear literally nothing except silence. She slowly opened her eyes and the environment was calm and serene. Except for one thing.

She saw a body lying down next to her. It was face down so she couldn't see the face. Fresh blood came from its spine and was oozing. Aurelia bent down to see the face of the body.

She painstakingly turned the body and saw the face. The mouth was half-open and two teeth were broken in the upper jaw. The nose also poured out some blood and the eye sockets were open as if they would fall off anytime.

She started letting out fits of sob as she saw Oxygen dead and lifeless. She couldn't believe that he died so soon. He was speaking to her less than a minute ago and he was dead now. She let out a cry as she kept on seeing his corpse.

And suddenly, she heard yet another cracking sound from her left side. She looked to the side and saw a menacing person there. Though she was thirty-six years old, she still looked fit and healthy with an amazing physique. She also looked femme-fatale with that long gun she had.

Aurelia, who felt utterly betrayed, stood up and said to her, "The saddest part about betrayal is that it never comes from your enemies, Agent Arsenic."

So here we are, at the twelfth chapter of Retaliation. Hope you guys enjoyed it! Please drop some constructive criticisms. I'm waiting.

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Word Count: 1609 words