"Phil, it's a code red..."

My words echoed through the now too silent apartment; even Phil was making no sound on the other end of the line. In fact, aside from my own heartbeat, the only sound I could hear were my footsteps as I continued to pace across the lounge room floor. Another 10 seconds of silence and Phil finally spoke.

"OK. We have planned for this. First things first, all active missions need to be sidelined. We need a full inventory of what has been compromised. I will initiate contact with all Ghosts and their team leads so they can begin the process of relocating and acquiring new identities, off book..."

He was running through the laundry list included in our code red protocol. He wasn't helping me any; I knew the list well. Heck, I was the one that wrote it! It was m protocol and one that we had hoped to never need to use – bet he is glad I insisted on having it now!

I could feel the eyes of the Toma team watching my every move, trying to work out what exactly was going on. A code red isn't something that everyone knows about – just the top level Academy members, the ones that essentially keep our organisation running as smoothly, and as silently as it does. I saw they eyes follow my free hand as it moved from beside my hip to across my stomach, to rubbing the back of my neck and even to holding a fistful of my hair close to my scalp, the longer Phil went on through the protocol list. It was a habit I had when
I was feeling extremely nervous or was freaking out about something, like the pain from almost pulling my hair out managed to keep me grounded somehow.

I eventually had to cut Phil off. Okay, it was probably more like minutes that he was talking for, but with the tangents my mind was taking, knowing the severity of the situation, it felt like hours. His incessant running through the list I knew like the back of my hand wasn't helping to calm me any. I needed the together, collected, 'this patient just tried to amputate their own arm, but don't worry I can restore it and ensure they maintain full use' Phil that I was used to!

"Doc!" He loathed being called Doc, so if he ever lost his cool, past the point of the simple formality reminder I could usually pull on him, Doc was my go to. It was the 'we are at panic stations' button that managed to calm him down long enough to listen to someone else for two minutes. "I already know exactly what files were accessed. Shouldn't you perhaps ask them if they want to run? Talk to their family about the possibility of standing and fighting instead of running and hiding? Shouldn't they get a say in what their immediate future will be, rather than just being told 'here's your ticket out of the country – run, hide, have a good life'. Did you ever think about that, Phil?" Fine, I was taking out my frustrations on Phil, but I already had the information he would want me to find anyway and he wouldn't give me a chance to tell him. It wasn't like either of us had been in this situation before, so we should have been working together, instead of him trying to steamroll the situation.

"Well, who is it? What asset needs to be protected? I need to know what security measures need to be put in place to ensure it doesn't disappear!"

"Wow, Dr Roberts, tell me how you really feel." I sounded defeated and I knew it, but he unknowingly just compared me to a possession. I was more than a possession, damn it! I was a person!

"You know that's not how I meant it! I need to know who is compromised, Alexandria! I already know it isn't you since we buried your information so deep that you are the only one that can find it. So who is at risk? A straight answer would be a wise decision, this time!" At least he was starting to sound more like the in control leader I needed him to be.

"Actually Phil, it's me."

"So they got the dummy file in place for this, that's not a problem at all! What was with all the dramatics? Only three of us know that there is more information buried and it was far too difficult for your Aunt Rose and I to understand how to access it. This really isn't a code red situation, are you trying to send me to an early grave? Who put you up to this?"

"Apparently it wasn't buried well enough. While Corey couldn't even find the dummy file, this person powered through it and to the real information, Phil. They. Got. Everything."

The silence, that lasted mere seconds, was deafening. I was just stepping in front of Axel when Phil finally spoke. He was loud enough that Axel could hear him clearly despite still being a good arms length away from me as I passed by him. "Well, Fuck!"

The look on Axel's face when he registered that he had just heard Dr Roberts swear proved to me that he knew what ever the situation was, he was well aware it was serious. He had no idea just how serious, or that his family had just been sucked right into the middle of it.

"Do you know ..." Phil started.

"No." I cut him off. "I followed the 10 minute guideline we set after it only took 7 minutes for me to back trace Corey the first time he tried accessing my file. I was still no closer to working out who when I called it in." I chanced a look at Corey, feeling guilty that he had no idea I knew he had been looking into me for a while now, or that I was able to trace his searches back to him so quickly. He looked shocked. At least he didn't seem angry, yet.

"Okay. Here is what we are going to do! You are staying put! You aren't running again! You need to read them all in, they now have full access. Get Corey to help trace the hacker. I will call Axel and explain the situation. It's going to cost us, but we will get through this. Check in with Kevin and then Victor, he can help you and Corey! It wont hurt for them to be prepared just in case anyone works out how close you are to their team. They can better prepare to defend their bird if they are aware of the potential threat. Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Also, let Victor know we are moving the smart watch app you've both been working on into field-testing. Have him add the Toma team into the emergency protocol so they are redlined when it s activated, too. And don't you dare take that watch off your wrist! Report in regularly and let me know if you here something!"

I had grabbed my toiletries while Phil was still talking. When the call ended I turned to face the unknowing members of "Team Keep Andy Alive!" They had no idea what they were in for.

"You knew I was looking into you, and had it traced back to me that quickly? The security protocols I use should have stopped you from being able to trace it back to me. How did you do it?" I had to hand it to Corey, he almost sounded in awe that I had worked it out and was trying to figure out how.

"It only took me that long because I was on my phone when the search notification came through."

"What do we need to know Andy? You haven't stopped moving since you found out Corey wasn't running another search, you sounded panicked while you were on the phone and you are a particularly unnerving shade of green." I could kiss Axel right about now for jumping straight into boss mode!

"I need to use the bathroom and then make a couple of calls." Definitely not my finest deflection work, but then again, I wasn't really trying either.

"Alexandria! Stop deflecting! What ever this code red is, your talk with Dr Roberts about being compromised, it means something, and whatever it means was bad enough to make him swear! Mark walked into the ER with a nail in his leg, and it was pulled out by another doctor's date, with her bare hands, and that still wasn't enough to make him swear! We can't help if we don't know the problem!"

"You have about 30 seconds left before Phil calls you. You need to answer it within two rings or the amount of armed manpower he will have in here would be enough to make a Russian mobster scared. Now I really need to use the bathroom!"

I slipped into the bathroom as I was giving Axel the call instructions, shutting the door behind me. There was no point to locking it; they were academy. If they wanted in, they could pick the lock in seconds without me even realising.

I heard Axel's phone ring twice before he answered it and put it on speaker so they could all hear. I tuned the conversation out and tried to take a few calming breaths. It didn't work and I found myself hunched over the toilet revisiting everything I had eaten that day – not fun, but it had been going to happen from the moment I realised someone had access to my entire history.

After cleaning up and brushing my teeth, I grabbed my phone and dialled Kevin, stepping back into the apartment as the phone started to ring.

"Piano man" Kevin answered almost immediately.

"Tacos" I responded. I was suddenly hungry and wanted comfort food. For eating, that was Mexican. If I needed to cook, it was always cakes, slices, pies, basically any kind of sweets I can bake.

"Hey Andy, it's been a while! What's been happening?"

'Actually Kev, a lot and not all of it is good. I'm compromised." Apparently my little trip to the bathroom had me back in business mode and focussing on the situation again. "Though, once I have my situation resolved, we need to have a conversation about your obsession with Billy Joel."

"What do you mean compromised? Are we talking made on a mission, need extraction compromised, or full blown code red?"

"The second one, and before you go crazy, I mine was the only information targeted which would suggest this is personal. Has your mark changed patterns recently? Is he still in town and sticking to his usual routine?"

"Oh god! Does Dr Roberts know? Habe you started the assignment with my old team yet? Where are you staying? If you are calling in a code red, you don't know who it is, are you working to find out?"

"Kevin!" I snapped. "No I don't know who, that is why I asked about your mark! I need the details so I can move forward and focus on everything else!"

"Sorry!" Kevin sounded sheepish, but at least he was now focussed. "No, no changes in patterns or behaviour. He is keeping no new company either. I will keep an eye out and let you know if anything changes."

I breathed a sigh of relief knowing he was covered, but who else could it be? "Thanks Kev. Now to answer what I can of your questions, Phil does know. I am actually with the team now. They've just finished on the phone to Phil and were told they are on asset protection detail, though judging by their faces, they are still trying to work out what exactly makes protecting me worth what Phil undoubtedly offered them, you remember what that was like. I have feeling they are going to be put out when they learn of just how deep my academy involvement is, considering they didn't know I was academy till Phil called them. Anyway I have to run. I need to call Victor before I give these guys the answers they want. They will need to be fully briefed, you know how Phil likes to sugar coat the more serious situations to avoid making anyone panic! Say hi to Mindy for me, and keep her safe!"

As I hung up from Kevin, I made sure to avoid eye contact while I dialled Victor. I needed to make the calls before I could give them my full, undivided attention. They deserved that much, with what were no doubt about to go through.

"Strawberries" Victor answered, sounding exasperated.

"Wind" I responded. "Nate and Sang are fighting over who gets the last of the strawberries again, aren't they?"

"Yes. I am about ready to move us all to a strawberry farm so they can never fight over them again. What's up Andy, we aren't due for a catch up for another 3 weeks. Aren't you on assignment with the Toma team?"

"Yeah Vic, I am. I'm calling because I've been compromised; we're talking full-blown code red. Before you hit panic stations, I am the only one. Sang's identity is still in tact and unknown. It was a targeted information grab. Phil wanted me to call and give you a heads up, in case they manage to realise how closely I have worked with your team since, you know."

"Right, well thanks for letting us know. We will make sure we are prepared. Now what can I do to help. I know you didn't just call to tell me that. That was something that Dr Roberts could have done, and would usually be done through family lead or academy liaison. So what is the real reason you called?"

The always in-tune Victor Morgan, ladies and gentlemen, I thought to myself, and chuckled inwardly at my pun.

"Phil wants the watch moved into field testing, so I am activating it. I need the Toma team added into the emergency alert protocol. Phil wants them read in. Once we are off the phone, I am giving them the full file, the one that has everything that was accessed, and more. They deserve to know everything they can about their new mission; I know I would want to know the truth about the person that will be occupying my couch for the foreseeable future. I will get Corey to give me a hand tracking the breach. If we don't get anywhere, I will forward you the data and get you to see if there is anything we miss. Sorry to frag you all back into another mess involving me. Seems I can't get away from it at the moment." I felt awful that the Blackbourne family were back in the firing line because of me, again! They did more than enough for me last time, and now I may very well need them to do it all again!

Victor and I ran through the watch updates and he contacted Phil to let him know we were going to run the test. I kept Victor on the phone while we did, so any issues could be immediately resolved. I tapped in the SOS on the screen and sure enough, the five men in front of me all jumped with the shock of the emergency signal. At least we knew it worked. I advised Victor and we ended the call so he could bring his team up to speed.

I took a deep breath as I turned to face my new family – even if it was only temporary.

Why did I suddenly feel like a zebra trapped in a lions' den?