6

It felt as if several hours had passed.

After Carmen had been arrested and blindfolded, she was transported to another location. She had no idea where they had brought her, because they hadn't removed the blindfold until they led her into a room and sat her down in a chair without removing the handcuffs. When they took off the bandana, Carmen looked around to see that she was sitting in what looked like an interrogation room. They had sat her down at a silver, metal table with only one chair on the opposite side before leaving her alone in the room without a word. She hadn't spoken the entire time and no one had bothered trying to get her to talk.

This was a long time ago, her arms and shoulder blades ached due to the uncomfortable position and she wanted to know what was going to happen now.

Carmen couldn't do anything but hope that maybe she could strike a deal for less jail time, although she had nothing to offer them. She was busted due to her own carelessness. If anything, she felt that she deserved to be in this spot.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. She straightened in her seat and watched as three people entered the room.

Two of them she recognized, one she did not.

One was Colton, and the other was the boy with black hair who'd put the bandana over Carmens eyes to begin with.

The only person she didn't recognize was a woman. She was much older than them, that was for sure. She may have even been around Stellas age. She had dirty blonde hair, like Coltons, that was sleek and straight down to her mid back, and the same tanned skin as both of the boys that now leaned against the wall, watching Carmen intently. She wore a maroon colored knee-length dress and her black high heels clicked as she walked. This woman stared Carmen down, with no emotion on her face, as she shut the door behind the three of them and took a seat in the chair on the other side of the table from Carmen. Those bright green eyes were all Carmen needed to know that this woman was indeed related to Colton and the other guy.

She finally offered up a polite smile. "Hello."

Carmen didn't respond, she only stared.

The woman didn't seem fazed by this as she continued, "My name is Kendra McGuire, I am in charge here."

"Where did you bring me?"

"We brought you to a place that we call The Compound."

"So." Carmen pressed her lips into a hard line. "How do you know who I am?"

Carmen was many things, but stupid wasn't one of them. She had been safe for many years, the CIA catching up to her had to have meant a major system breach on her dark web link or a snitch. She doubted the first, she would have noticed an issue in the coding.

"You'd be surprised at how much we know."

"How much exactly is that?"

Kendra folded her hands together and straightened. "I know that you've been selling unauthorized technology on the black market. I know that we found sixty thousand dollars in a duffel bag in your car, and I know that we have the past three months of surveillance footage of you selling this tech to citizens."

Carmens stomach tightened. "Three months?"

3 months was plenty of time for them to have seen all of her allies, all of her recent buyers. Her mind floated to Carston, Niylah, and even Paris. They'd had plenty of interactions that could've been recorded over the last 3 months, including Marcus's death. If they were now a target for the CIA because of Carmen, she would never forgive herself if they got arrested.

Kendra nodded.

Carmen closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, not being able to believe that this was happening to her right now. She opened them and swallowed hard. "So, what now? You send me to jail?"

Kendra shifted in her seat and shook her head slowly. "That depends on you, Carmen."

"Meaning?"

"We have an offer for you. Depending on what you chose will decide whether or not you end up in a maximum security prison."

Was she hearing this right? The CIA had an offer, for her?

"Go on."

Kendra glanced over her shoulder at the two boys behind her. They both looked at her and then each other. She cleared her throat before turning back to Carmen.

"Luke told you that we are a part of the CIA. But, he didn't tell you that we are a top secret branch of it that specializes in twin spies."

A beat of silence passed while Carmen took in this information.

"We're called the Twin Operative," Kendra said. "We want you to make your tech for us here and train to join our team, or you can chose the alternative: jail time."

Carmen didn't speak at first, what was there to say?

She blinked at Kendra and tilted her head. "You want me to become a spy?"

"Basically." Kendra nodded.

Carmen almost laughed. "I'm not exactly spy material."

"You're right." Kendra pushed her long hair over her shoulders. "You're an accomplice to domestic terrorism."

This made any humor rid Carmens body and her eyes slightly widened. "What?"

"That tech that you've been developing and selling, it's not only illegal and unauthorized, but it has been used in countless attacks and attempts against US government officials, soldiers, and even civilians. You may not be the one using it, but you're the one who has been selling it. Therefore, you're an accomplice to any crime committed using them."

Those words... in the moment, it had made Carmen freeze in despair. But they would also haunt Carmen until the end of her days.

Kendra cleared her throat. "I'm sure you were aware of that."

"I wasn't," Carmen whispered.

Kendra blinked, taking in this response. Years of training had helped her skill in separating liars from people who were being honest. She could tell by the tone of Carmen's voice and the look on her face that she was in fact telling the truth.

"That's your offer," she stated. "Join us or prison."

"Why do you want my tech so bad?"

Colton scoffed from behind Kendra, who shot him a look to made his smirl fade instantly when she turned back to Carmen.

"You're not dumb, Carmen. You know how advanced your tech is. We've never seen anything like it. You can make almost anything possible and do it out of thin air. We've also seen your hacking skills and it's better than people who have been training here for half their lives. We need someone like you on our side, you and your tech could be an asset."

"Or a liability," the boy with black hair said so low that Carmen almost didn't hear him.

"Clayton," Kendra said in a warning tone without turning around to face him.

He only rolled his eyes in response as Kendra carried on, "You could help us get some very bad people off the streets."

"My friends, right? You mean the other black market dealers that you've seen me with? If you think I'm giving them up, you're wrong. I'd rather be in prison. I'm not a rat," Carmen spat the words at them like venom.

Kendra shook her head. "I admire your loyalty, Carmen. I truly do. You should know that I have no interest in arresting any of your friends. You were the only one that we had our eye on."

"I want anything you have on them tossed out or else I'm not taking the offer."

Kendras eyebrows pulled together and she released a heavy breath. "I'll see what I can do for any of my colleagues that may have information on them, but I can guarantee that my team will be getting rid of anything we have on them."

Carmen nodded and paused for a brief moment. This was the moment when everything changed. She'd been mentally preparing herself for the past few hours to get ready to have her whole truth laid out to her mother when Carmen was officially arrested. However, the last thing that she'd expected was for them to offer her potential freedom if she made her tech for them. If any of the other black market dealers could see her now, they'd spew words of hatred at her for what she was about to do. Traitor. Snitch. Rat.

"Okay," Carmen began. "I'll work for you." It seemed better than prison.

Kendra smiled. "I'm glad you chose the right option. You will be staying here, at The Compound, and we will set you up with everything you need later. Right now, you should focus on meeting the team."

Kendra rose from her seat and motioned to the two boys.

"These are my sons." She looked to Colton. "This is Colton."

Colton lifted his hand in a slight wave and smiled slightly. "Nice to meet you."

"Colton will be your partner."

Carmen raised her eyebrows. "My partner?"

"Yes." Kendra looked back at her. "Meaning that he will help you train, during missions he is who you will be sticking with most of the time and any questions you have, he can answer. Your partner is someone that you need to build a deep trust with first. Because when all hell breaks loose, you need to know deep down that your partner will not fail to use every ounce of their power to keep you alive and safe. They need to be your first thought, no matter what."

The ending of that sentence made Carmen's hands flinch.

"Colton's skills are in martial arts and weapons. And this," Kendra started as she lifted her hand to point to the boy with black hair. "Is Clayton."

Clayton tightened his arms across his chest and met Carmen's eyes.

"He's my oldest. His skills are in weapons and ground work."

Clayton and Carmen were studying each other. Sizing the other up. Getting the correct read. Colton didn't seem as interested in doing this with Carmen, he kind of shrugged off this look when Carmen had given it to him. But Clayton only gave it right back. He knew this game, it was almost a test of dominance.

"He's also your leader," Kendra's voice broke through Carmen's thoughts and she instantly snapped out of it.

"My what now?" she asked incredulously.

Kendra brushed a few strands of hair from her face and nodded to Clayton. "Every team has someone to keep things going. I'm a busy woman, Clayton helps keep missions under control and guides the team through almost everything. He does most of the planning and strategic work. He is who you listen to when I'm not around."

"Listen, lady," Carmen began.

"Kendra," Kendra corrected with blazing eyes.

"Anyways," Carmen went on. "I've worked alone for nearly 4 years. I don't need someone to "follow"  let alone a damn babysitter."

Carmen's glare went to Clayton, who she looked up and down. "I don't take orders from anyone."

Clayton tilted his head to the side in surprise. "You do now."

Carmen scoffed. "That's cute, really. But no, I don't."

This only irritated Clayton whose jaw clenched in response.

"We'll see about that," he replied.

"We probably won't."

"Give it time," Kendra began before looking to Colton. "Remove her cuffs."

He nodded and walked around to table to approach Carmen, he gently placed his hand on her forearm and helped her stand. She turned and felt him fidgeting with the cuffs before they were released from her wrists. She pulled her hands around and held them to her chest, rubbing at the irritated red lines that'd been made on her skin.

"Let's go meet everyone else," Kendra said as she walked over to the door they came through. There was a small keypad on the side of the door that Kendra punched a few numbers into before a beep came from it and Carmen heard the door unlock, Kendra grabbed the handle and pulled it open. Clayton was the first to walk out, then Colton, and then Carmen, Kendra shut the door behind them and the door locked once more.

When Carmen walked out of the room, she was greeted by the sight of a long hallway. The walls were a dark red with wooden paneling covering the bottom half of the wall. This didn't look like a normal headquarters so far. Colton tapped her shoulder and nodded his head to the left, the same direction that Kendra was walking in. Carmen followed and watched as they all turned down another hallway that had two sets of elevator doors. How big was this place? They all stepped into the elevator and Carmen took note of the 4 different floor buttons. Kendra pushed the second one and once the doors slid shut, Carmen felt the lift begin to rise.

"I don't get it," Carmen started. "I thought that the CIA didn't work on American soil? I thought you guys only handled international stuff."

"We do. But that whole thing about the CIA not operating on US soil isn't true. We just let the public think that. We actually have headquarters all over the place, civilians just don't know that. Plus, Twin Operative is sort of a special case," Colton explained as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Oh," Carmen muttered.

Colton was standing side by side with Carmen, Kendra was standing by the elevator door and Clayton was standing with his back against the wall. Carmen glanced over her shoulder to see Claytons hands shoved in the front pockets of his jeans. His eyes were staring straight ahead, he had a look on his face that made Carmen want to shrink back into a corner. The elevator came to an abrupt halt and Carmen quickly faced forward once Claytons eyes were drawn to hers.

The four walked out of the elevator and crossed what resembled a parlor. This room had a large grand staircase in the center that seemed to have led to separate hallways at the top. To Carmens right, she spotted a door and windows. They must have been at the first floor. Meaning they had just been in the basement when she first woke up. Kendra, Colton and Clayton guided Carmen over to another hallway that resembled the ones she had seen in the basement, however these ones seemed more elegant and clean. They walked over to a door. This door did not seem normal. It was completely steel and had what Carmen thought was a normal keypad on the side, however when Kendra pushed the green button at the bottom. A plastic cover over the top slid up and opened to reveal a screen. Carmen had seen things like this and also had the chance to develop her own versions of these. They were high quality palm scanners. Kendra pressed her hand flat against the scanner. A blue light lit up beneath her palm and Kendra then pulled her hand away. The scanner then let out a voice that made Carmen want to jump back out of surprise.

"Access Granted. Kendra McGuire. Agent 05678. Rank zero."

The steel door made a long hissing noise before it then slid open, the door sliding off to the right and hiding away in the wall. Kendra walked in and Carmen looked to Colton who motioned, with a smile, for her to walk in first.

She let out a heavy sigh before she walked in and took in the sight before her.

The room they stood in was not a normal one that Carmen had seen on her way here. This was a very high-tech, and advanced screening room. There was a large, brightly lit up screen against the wall before them. It was about 20 feet long and 15 feet tall. There were circles of desks with multiple computers set on top of them in the center of the room right in front of the screen. This room had two levels and there were stairs leading down to the bottom level, where the computers were. But that wasn't all. Perched on the chairs and the desks, were people. Four of them to be exact. As they descended down the stairs and grew closer, Carmen was able to make out that there were three girls and one boy. One boy that she recognized instantly.

The first person Carmen made eye contact with was Luke, he expressed a small smile and a wave that made Carmen roll her eyes. He was sitting on one of the many desks with his left leg perched up onto a rolling chair. He was still in the same outfit that he was wearing when they met, this indicated to Carmen that she couldn't have been stuck in that room for more than a few hours.

Standing in front of him was the blonde girl who had helped chase Carmen down. She once again took in how similar she looked to Luke and the word Twin Operative popped into Carmens mind. Carmen knew right away that they had to have been twins. There was no denying it. This name kept echoing in her head as she looked to the two girls on Lukes right.

Carmen had scene many twins in her life, hell she was an identical twin after all, so she shouldn't have been so taken back when she saw the next two girls, one of them she recognized as Santana.

Santana was sitting on the desk with her legs crossed, and her arms behind her propping her up as she looked Carmen up and down.

The girl beside her, her carbon copy, glanced at Carmen with a wondrous expression. She was leaning back in a spinning chair with her hands folded over her stomach. She was wearing a plain gray short sleeved shirt and high rise, distressed jean shorts. She was wearing regular, slip on, black shoes. She also was wearing her hair down in large curls as well as a pair of thick rimmed, black glasses.

As Clayton, Carmen, Colton, and Kendra drew closer. The blonde girl perked up.

"Hi." She smiled brightly and turned to fully face Carmen.

"Carmen," Kendra started as they all slowed to a halt. "This is your team. You've already met Luke."

"Yep." Carmen pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at him. Luke waved once more.

"Hey, Carmen."

"You gave me counterfeit money, didn't you?" Carmen couldn't mask the apparent anger in her tone.

Luke rose from the desk and shrugged. "Sorry. Just doing my job."

Carmen rolled her eyes and Kendra continued, "Luke's skills are in weapons and tech, much like you. This is his sister." She motioned to the smiling blonde girl. "Alexa. Her skill is weapons."

"Nice to meet you, Carmen," Alexa said, her voice was soft and soothing. It reminded Carmen of her mother. She could tell that Alexa was trying to be polite, most likely because Carmen was visibly uncomfortable.

"They are the Thornton Twins. Next up we have the Mendoza Twins."

"This is Sophie." Kendra gestured to the one who was sitting in the chair, Sophie gave Carmen a slight nod. "And this is her sister, Santana."

Santana brought her hand up in a wave and gave Carmen a smile.

"Their skills are in deception and in ground work. They are also a part of a side project that the CIA has been working on. We sometimes will send them on missions looking the exact same and switch them out halfway to see if the target notices," Kendra explained.

Carmen nodded slowly, she was only half paying attention at this point. She kept going over the same two words in her head. Twin Operative. Twin Operative.

Twin.

Carmen swallowed hard.

Carmen slowly turned to fully face Kendra. "How did you know that I am a twin?"

The energy in the room stilled.

No one, not even Kendra, was smiling anymore.

Kendra slowly straightened, and cleared her throat. "Our final team members skills are in deception and weapon."

Carmen was going to ask who she was talking about, after all there were no other people left in the room.

But then, Carmen heard the long hiss of the door sliding open and slowly turned around as someone walked into the room.

Carmen noticed the shoes first, they were leather, low cut, black high heel boots. Carmen's eyes trailed up and she saw similar jean shorts to the kind that Sophie was wearing with a black tank top. Carmen noticed the pink hair that was pulled back into a ponytail first. It was a dead give away and Carmen almost didn't feel the need to look at the face of the person before them all. But she did, and she felt the air slip from her lungs.

Carmen went rigid as she gasped so loud she thought she was going to choke.

The face she knew all too well, because it was her own.

Carmen stumbled back as she struggled to catch her breath.

"Ainsley?" Carmen's voice came out strained, mortified.

Ainsley smiled and crossed her arms over her chest. "Hey, Carmen. Miss me?"