A/N: Kit Harington as Marcos ;)
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Ariana stayed as still as she possibly could, not wanting to reveal their position to the two men who could very well kill them. Next to her, Max was gripping her hand so tightly that their knuckles were turning white. He was obviously scared, and Ari didn't blame him. She was terrified too.

Tobias was against the wall next to her, Oscar keeping him quiet and still. At any other time, Ari would have made fun of them for the interesting position they were in but this was definitely not the time nor place. Besides, the look on Oscar's face was not one that invited teasing right now.

"You took your time," Marcos said to Lark, pushing himself off the wall. "You know how much of a risk this is. The least you could do is turn up as scheduled."

"Your little assassins were causing a bit of havoc," Lark said, his voice calm but emotionless. "I had to make sure they didn't spot me. You know as well as I that they'd tear me apart the moment they saw who I was." Marcos looked uncomfortable but his posture remained rigid and respectful.

"They're just kids, Flint," he said.

"Kids who have telekinetic and telepathic powers and are quite possible the deadliest assassins in this century," Lark pointed out. "They're not just kids, Marcos. You know that." Ari swallowed hard. So the Unity did know about them, or at least their leader did. She and Max had been in the base for a few weeks now and no one had ever mentioned anything about the Flame's secret assassins. That meant that Lark hadn't let the information seep down to the foot soldiers. He probably just didn't want to panic them, but Ari thought there was something more to it.

"Have you got anything new for me?" Lark continued.

"Other than the fact the Flame Leaders are now sending the kids into battlegrounds, no," Marcos answered. "But you're deflecting the issue." Lark whirled on Marcos, his temper flaring.

"No, you're deflecting the issue," he hissed. "These kids are dangerous. We need to deal with them." Max's hand slid to the gun strapped to his leg but Ari stopped him.

"Not yet," she whispered in his mind. His hand relaxed, but he still kept his fingers brushing the hilt of his revolver.

"Lark, if you want the kids out the way then you need to let me tell them the truth," Marcos said. "The Flame have brainwashed them since they were seven. They have no idea what they are doing is wrong. Give me permission to extract them. We can take them to HQ and tell them the truth."

"They'd kill you the moment they realise that you betrayed them," Lark replied, pacing in front of Marcos as the trainer stood attention. "And even if we did extract them, there would be casualties, not to mention the fact we have nothing to contain them at HQ if they decide to fight back. You really want to give them access to HQ where all of our highly classified information is? They'd escape and run right back to the Flame."

"You don't know them, Lark," Marcos said, all the respect draining from his voice. "All they want to do is protect the people harmed in this war and fight the evil that caused it. They just think that the evil they need to fight is you."

"That's because he is evil," Ari muttered to the boys next to her. None of them replied, though Tobias looked conflicted. There was something going through his head that he wasn't sharing, but his eyes were so unreadable that Ari couldn't tell what.

Lark seemed to be thinking, his expression guarded. "Marcos, when you came to me ten years ago, begging for the chance to protect your brother, I told you that if you did this, tough decisions were going to have to be made. I employed you to send me information, and you have done that well – so well that no one even comes close to your skills. But, as I told you then, you can't have conflicted interests. It is either the Unity, or the kids. You have to decide."

"The safety of the kids is in the Unity's interests," Marcos insisted. "Flint, imagine what we could do if they knew that the Flame has been lying to them. They would fight for us. I swear on my life that they would because all they've ever worked for is to fight for goodness." Lark closed his eyes and sighed, his jaw clenched.

"I saved the Oscar's life when he spied on us," he said. "I haven't killed Ariana or Max yet. I did that because you asked me to. If we are going to risk everything we have built, you have to be completely sure that those kids will not betray us."

"They won't," Marcos affirmed. "I promise."

"Fine," Lark said. "As soon as you get back to the Compound, work on pulling them out of the Flame's web of lies. As soon as you think they're ready, call us in and we'll extract."

Copy that," Marcos said, saluting. He took a step forward to leave but Lark grabbed his arm.

"Marcos," he said lowly. "If they don't except the Unity, you need to get out. Do what you have to, even if it means killing the kids. That's an order."

"It won't come to that," Marcos promised.

"It better not," Lark said. "I put my trust in you ten years ago, Marcos. I put the survival of the Unity in your hands now." Marcos only nodded but his shoulders slumped a little bit more. Clearly the weight of the world was on his shoulders. He saluted Lark one more time before leaving.

Ariana and the others tried to stay as quiet as they could as Lark stood and waited, his mouth set in a firm line. She held her breath right up until Lark left, releasing the tension in her body.

"What. The hell. Was that?" Tobias said slowly. As Ari turned, she realised that Oscar had stepped away from him now but looked disappointed in doing so. If she wasn't so shaken up by what had just happened, she would have been interrogating him right now about what was going on between him and Toby.

"I don't even know," Max murmured, looking pretty shocked.

"All this time we were looking for someone who was unnoticeable," Oscar said, running a hand through his hair. "But the spy was the last person we expected. It's someone we care about, someone we trust. God, he's been lying to us for years and we didn't even know it."

"We need to slow down a bit," Ari said, holding out her hands. "Marcos seemed to want to protect us, not harm us. He may be the spy but he's the only reason three of us aren't dead."

"He was the reason Oscar was shot!" Tobias snapped but then blushed, falling quiet after his outburst.

"We all just need to keep calm," Max said. "Marcos may be the spy but there seems to be more to it. Maybe he's working as a triple agent on the Leader's orders? And didn't Lark mention something about his brother? It seems that the only reason he agreed to spy was because the Flame had his brother. If we find the brother, then we have leverage for Marcos to tell us the truth."

"Or what he thinks is the truth," Oscar muttered.

"Look, you guys are going to have to find out anything from your end," Ari said. "Tell the others too; they'll be able to help. We're on a bit of a tight schedule here but we'll try our best."

"Why are you on a tight schedule?" Toby asked, his voice suspicious. Ari bit her lip, glancing at Max worriedly. He only nodded, leaning back against the wall with his arms crossed.

"A few weeks ago, we broke into the Unity control room and extracted some files," she explained. "They were all useful, but some of the main ones like base locations and planned attacks were too heavily encrypted to be downloaded so we had to leave them."

"To put it bluntly, Loop was not very happy about it," Max grumbled. "He ordered us to get them, because if we don't...well, we won't be able to come home." Tobias swore loudly making Ari smirk slightly.

"Exactly what I said," she chuckled.

"Yeah, and both of you need your mouths washed out," Oscar said. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair, and the mood dropped again. "We'll see what we can get on our end," he said. "But the important thing for you guys is to stay safe. Lark obviously knows you're here but he won't take you yet. Stay on guard; you'll probably be watched."

"Okay, we'll find a way to contact you guys," Ari said. "You do the same if you find anything out."

"Oscar, we need to go," Tobias said. "Scarlett and Sam probably need backup in the centre." Oscar nodded, allowing Ari to draw him into a hug.

"Stay safe," she whispered in his ear. "And by the way, it's okay to feel the way you do for Tobias. But you should probably tell him. We don't know what's going to happen so don't leave anything too late." When she drew away, Oscar's cheeks were a little enflamed. She only smiled before turning to Tobias and hugging him too.

"We'll see you guys soon," Max said. "Now go." Tobias and Oscar ran back the way they came, disappearing in the darkness of the alley.

"We should go too," Ari said. "We don't want to make Lark suspicious that we know what they're up to." And with that, they jogged the opposite way and back towards the danger of the Unity's camp. But in the back of Ariana's mind, she was worrying. What if Marcos was right? What if no one, not even the Flame, could be trusted?

The thought made her shiver. They were going to have to take the chance that Marcos was lying.

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So, secrets revealed but not everything explained...I'm feeling slightly evil hehehe...

Any predictions? Who do we think Marcos' brother is? What's Lark up to? And who can we really trust? Let me know what you think!!!

Comment and vote, my lovelies!

Love y'all!!!