Forever Fighting | ✔️ | [previously Espionage: double-cross]

Chapter 53

Alex checked behind her. 

And then again, and then again. 

Her paranoia was making her suspicious so she willed herself to stop. She was falling for one of the most simple tricks - letting your fear show. 

Her suitcase was dragging behind her, satchel slung over her shoulder and she was phone-less. She had taken out cash and stopped using her card, the transactions were too easy to track. Her phone was smouldering in a bin somewhere in London while she was here, in Pinner, sitting on a train to take her as far away as she could go before making a plan with her dad. The burner phone she had picked up was sitting in her bag, waiting patiently for when she could call him and not worry about people tracking her. She got off at Rickmansworth, knowing there was a premier Inn close by. 

When she was secure in her room, she would call.

The lady at the reception was very nice, not at all suspicious of the almost 16 year old girl asking for a 1 person bedroom, paying with cash. 

Maybe this was a normal occurrence, who knows. 

The room was small and kind of dingy, the lighting flickering. She shouldn't have expected anything more though, paying for one of the cheapest rooms. She didn't expect to stay the night though, just give Potentia a place to look if they had in fact managed to follow her, though she doubted it. This was just another one of her fake clues, part of a trail she intended to make them follow. Alex knew for a fact she couldn't exactly stay in any one place for more than an hour or so at the risk of being found. This was a highly equipped government agency she was running from.

She sighed, the fatigue from travelling, being constantly vigilant and terrified was catching up to her. All she wanted to do was fall asleep on the soft bed and only have to worry about normal teenage things; like whether she had revised enough for her chemistry exam the next day or what she should wear when going out with her friends. 

But she wasn't normal, far from it. She was a complex 3D puzzle and her life was the toy shop: she was too difficult to understand so everyone stayed away, opting for the simple toys instead. But when she was wanted, it was by some corrupt government hell-bent on using her to find out some information she may or may not have and no matter what she possessed, she would die in the end. 

But her wall help strong, keeping all of the emotions locked away. She wasn't out of the woods yet.

Alex picked up the burner phone she had found at a small hardware store and on the small buttons typed in the well-memorised phone number.

He picked up on the second ring.

"Hello." He sounded tired, exhausted.

"Dad?"

All at once his voice perked up, brought to life by the sound of his daughter. He wanted to see if she was okay but there was protocol. "The weather's lovely today."

"Not as lovely as the day I was born." Alex's set response was executed flawlessly, without hesitation.

He sighed in relief. "Are you okay? Did you get away? I wanted to talk to you before but I figured out what happened, I also had some help with that so-"

"Yeah that's great, dad. There are a lot of things we need to talk about."

"I know."

"A lot of things you've been keeping from me."

"... I know." There was a beat of silence. "Meet at the safe house. Use your fake ID and tell no one where you are going."

"Okay. How long till you'll be there?"

"Give me a week."

"A week? Where are you?"

"I have some things to finish abroad."

"Okay, then. I'll see you in a week."

"Be careful and be safe."

The line went dead and the phone clicked off. Alex looked at the phone in her hand, threw it on the floor and stepped on it, grinding her heel into the ground and destroying the phone. "There, try tracking me with that you losers." She looked around and picked up her bags. "Okay, time to leave." Luckily the reception person was different because that would have been hard to explain. Also, luckily the receptionist was not very observant, completely missing the girl walking out with her bags without checking out.

Now, just to get to the Pennines.

"Hello Miss,"

"Hi."

"Ticket please."

Alex handed it over.

"Thank you, Miss Berry. Platform 5." She gestured to the platform to the left of where they were standing to which Alex set off for without any more conversation. The less people who saw her face the better. 

That was when she saw it. 

Playing on the closest screens was the news with a report of a missing girl, one that looked exactly like her. 

"That, is not good."

She took out the thing she had hoped she would never have to use. 

The blonde mop of plastic felt wrong on her head, especially paired with the bright blue contacts. 

It just wasn't her. 

In the bathroom mirror she was fully able to appreciate, or not appreciate in this case, the new look. Alex hated it, really, truly, passionately hated it. But at least she looked different and the chance that someone would recognise her was slim to none. And so far, no one had even looked at her twice, not on the platform, not on the train where she settled into the single seat she bought, thankful she wouldn't have to sit next to anyone else. 

Before the train had even started moving, she could feel her eyelids drooping. 

No. 

She scolded herself, gripping the handle of her suitcase which was wedged between the seat and the window even tighter as well as her grip on her satchel in the other hand. She managed to stay awake for just a few moments longer before sleep overtook her. And she drifted off into dreamless darkness.

She was woken up a few hours later but a kindly looking old lady in a train uniform. She had a strong northern accent but Alex managed to make out the gist of what she was saying.

"We're here darlin'. You're gripping onto those bags rather tightly? Travelling on your own for the first time?"

Alex realised she still had both of her bags gripped tightly in her fists. Rather than replying, she played the part of the scared teenager and nodded mutely.

"Okay, then, you be careful and make sure you find someone you know soon." She helped Alex with her bags, dragging the suitcase to the exit of the train and helping her get off.

"Thank you," she all but whispered in reply.

The woman smiled gently. "Be careful." Then she turned and left. 

The rest of the platform was empty, the other passengers having already departed, her being the last one left. It was still dark when she left but the sun was just rising now, streaks of golden filtering through the midnight blue. It was beautiful, just a moment of peace in the timeline of chaos. 

She sighed and made her way over to a taxi hoping she had enough money to get her to the closest town before she started the trek to the cabin. 

Well this ought to be fun.