Luna on the Run (The Carmsborough Vigilantes #1)

Chapter 18

The Dixie cup in my hand slowly fills with water from the dispenser inside of Slaphand's office. This is my third cup since the man escaped in an armored car. Filling it is a menial task compared to what I was hoping to do tonight.

I down the water again, finally quenched, and press the tab to fill it one last time. Then I turn to face Agent Ike.

Immediately following the events of the battle, I tied him to a rotating chair with my climbing rope. It wasn't easy lugging his unconscious body through the building while making sure he didn't stir, but apparently, I didn't have to worry. He didn't move once.

I look at the cup dramatically and splash its contents onto the man's face. He gasps awake, sputtering and spitting. "What happened?"

"I'll tell you what happened, Mr. Agent Ike," I say. "I lost Slaphand because of you, and therefore, I lost my cat, too. If you weren't so busy avoiding being a grown man and working with a seventeen-year-old girl, maybe he wouldn't have escaped."

"Wait, wait, wait. You're blaming me for him escaping? I'm not the one who fired the gun off and alerted everyone in a fifteen-mile radius to our position!"

He tries to squirm but ends up spinning himself in a circle.

"I made this pretty tight," I say, spinning him some more. "I knew I was no match for you when you came to, and I desperately need whatever information you have, so I think we'll cut to the chase. If you don't tell me where Slaphand's going next, I'm going to kill you."

For the first time since our meeting, fear flashes across his face. "Let's think this over a little, Luna. I understand you're upset about losing your cat. It's a hard thing to lose someone you love, and from the sounds of it, you've had to do that a lot."

"That'd be correct."

"I have people I love, too, and people that love me. I have a daughter and son, a wife, and there's a girl out there your age hunting Nazis that I plan to adopt soon. I respect your drive and enthusiasm, Luna, and I understand you want revenge, but I don't think you want to do the same thing they've done to you."

He's right, isn't he? I really wish he wasn't. But he's one of the good guys, and they've been few and far between lately.

"Okay, fine. But you can't run away or knock me out as soon as I untie you."

"Sounds fair to me. Tell you what, I'm willing to admit we both sort of fudged this, and I want to offer you a deal. If you're still on board with it, I'll work with you and together we can go for Slaphand."

"Yeah, alright."

"You've gotta promise me you'll try to listen if I have something to say, though."

"Don't push your luck, Agent Ike. You've already got your deal. Don't act like you're the boss here."

"Understood. And please, just Ike. If you're gonna add the agent, at least make it 'Secret Agent Ike.' I worked hard for that title."

"Who even are you?" I ask, cutting the rope.

"Secret Agent Ike, at your service. I work directly for Jimmy Carter."

"And who is Jimmy Carter?"

"Oh, he's the president of the United States. Yeah, I'm American, if you couldn't tell."

"I could tell."

"Well, good."

"Why are you here chasing after Bijabers? Aren't there issues in America and an entire global war going on?"

"I am still very much involved in the war. I'm helping direct a group of kids scouting off in the Pacific Ocean who are enthusiastic about wanting to kill Hitler, and I'm at the top of the feeding order for a lot of the intelligence operations against both the Russian and Nazi armies. As for Bijabers and the crew, they originated in America, and I'm following where the wind blows."