Chương 16: A Mixed Squad

Jared hadn't wanted it to come to this but Claire Conway could no longer be treated as a normal hit request. Not with how many different agents had been sent out and failed.

The client was getting impatient but they had to be strategic now that they suspected Six was shielding her. That was how he found himself in a meeting with the other leaders of the Agency.

The Agency might be renowned in the underworld but it really didn't have all that many people in it. There were less than 150 people involved total.

Most were hitmen but they also had a couple of doctors for treating injuries that happened during training or missions, the trainers in charge of keeping the numbers program running smoothly, and a handful of cafeteria and janitorial staff. All had signed confidentiality agreements before working here, whether they were aware of the actual business or not.

The board of directors, for lack of a better term, consisted of five people and none of them knew each other's true identities. They had inherited their positions from the people who actually founded the Agency generations before so there was no need to share information like that.

All of the board members were in their late forties to mid-fifties and had been a part of the organization for at least twenty years. Raven, Jaguar, Timberwolf, Osprey, and Mustang were all equal in terms of power.

Everyone in the Agency used a living thing as their codename aside from the Numbers. It was the way things had always worked. Using real names made things too messy. The risk of being sold out was reduced when no one knew who anyone else was.

The board didn't meet formally often. Whenever they did it was because something serious was going down. This might be the most serious thing that had happened since the Harvey Whitlock incident eight years ago.

"I'm sure you know why we're here," Jared began grimly. "The Claire Conway situation has gotten out of hand."

Jaguar sighed heavily and fingered her necklace. A nervous tic she'd had for as long as he had known her.

"That's a delicate way of putting it. We've lost five agents already and can't afford to lose any more. The client is breathing down our necks and threatening to take their business elsewhere. Worst of all, we've lost Six. I think this is past 'out of hand' by this point."

Osprey scowled. "Remind me who we lost again."

"Grizzly, Tiger, Komodo, Shark, and Hawk. They weren't our best agents but they weren't our worst either," Timberwolf pointed out. "We can't risk sending anyone else out until we are positive they will be able to take down Six. He already took out three at once."

Mustang sighed and rubbed his forehead. "We'll probably have to send a small squad of Numbers."

Uneasy murmurs went around the table. Jared had worried it would come to this. It was risky. Very risky. If any of the Numbers were aware Six went rogue who knows what it would do to the program? They might be tempted to follow his example.

It wasn't as if sending one or two of them would suffice either. Of the fifteen Numbers still living at headquarters, only eight were old enough to take on hit requests. Against an opponent like Six…how many of those eight would be necessary to take him down?

He had been able to beat Three and Four—grown adults—in hand-to-hand combat by the time he was thirteen. Jared had personally seen him take on five opponents at once and win.

They probably would have to send all of the Numbers to get him back successfully. But at what cost? The Agency really couldn't afford to lose any more agents but especially not Numbers.

The experiment would be considered a failure if they kept losing participants like One and Two. The next Number wouldn't be able to take on hit requests for at least another year and the others had much longer so if they lost all of them in one fell swoop the Agency would suffer a huge loss.

Everyone at the table knew this, which was why they sat there at an impasse. Timberwolf cleared his throat after a long pause to offer a suggestion.

"What if we send a mixed squad of regular agents and Numbers? We could send the best of each group and make sure there were enough of them that Six couldn't possibly resist capture."

Jared raised an eyebrow. "It will take time to assemble a squad like that. Most of our best agents on away on jobs out of state right now. I'm not sure the client will wait that long."

"I know," Osprey sighed. "But it might be our best chance at this point. Continuing to send agents the way things are now will only cause collateral damage."

"How long do you think it will take to gather everyone?" Mustang asked.

More than a week. Two or three tops. The squad might have to do a group training after they all got back to headquarters so they would know the right formations to use on a monster like Six successfully. Once he was out of the way, the girl would be easy pickings.

Jared told them his speculations and they all reluctantly agreed that he was right. No one was happy about it but they made plans to go ahead with the arrangement. The bounty would certainly be cut for taking so long but that wasn't as important as getting Six back here for retraining.

He was so disappointed in Six. He had watched the boy since he was a child; this sort of traitorous behavior shouldn't have been possible.

He always followed orders perfectly and took down any opponent with ease, always maintaining that perfectly blank expression. The ideal soldier who felt neither guilt nor pain. He made it through adolescence without having a rebellious episode so why did he have to go off the rails now and give everyone grief?

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