CAUTION: LONGEST CHAPTER IN THE HISTORY!

***

Aurelia didn't expect that her friend would've done that to her. She thought that she knew Arsenic inside out. But little did she know she had much more to know.

"Come on, Lya Berger! Stop this shitty sentiment, please!" Arsenic said sarcastically.

"This was not the friend I knew."

"I can't do anything for that, Lya," said Arsenic.

"Why did you do that?" Aurelia asked.

"Why did I do what?" Arsenic asked back.

"Why did you kill Oxygen?"

"Ummm... Should I tell you the truth or the lie?" Arsenic asked.

"Callie, this shouldn't be your reply. Just spill the beans and surrender!" Aurelia shouted.

"Fine! But before that, why did you kill my boy?" Arsenic (alias) Callie Agnes asked.

A baffled Aurelia asked back, "Your boy? What rubbish are you talking about?"

"I mean, why did you kill Max Richards?" Callie asked back. "With your one reflex action, I'd lost my only trusted person. He was the one who worked for me and understood my motive. He was the one who stood up for me and has been my best guy. And now—"

"So... Are you...?" Aurelia tried to ask something, but soon Callie gave her the answer.

"Yes! I am Adrienne. And I'm the person you guys have been searching for five and a half years."

Aurelia felt that the whole moment was a dream. She thought that if the person who is the head of an operation to nab a criminal is a terrorist, then that must be some fantasy. But unfortunately, that turned out to be the reality. And the reality was never a dream for anyone.

"Callie," Aurelia called. "Now, that's unexpected! What sin did we do for you? We took care of you, right? We've been with you through thick and thin, haven't we? Is this how you show your loyalty and gratitude? Was this what we expected from you? Forget everyone, what did Oxygen do to you? What sin did he do except kill a criminal like Max? We work for global peace but there are you who ruin that as a wolf in sheep's clothing! Is this why we kept you alongside? To backstab us? And what sin did we do to receive your—?"

"ENOUGH!" Callie yelled and interrupted her. "What you said now... Lya, you were wrong. Don't talk as if you're smarty pants. I've seen many like you. And... What did you just say now? I backstabbed you guys. Right? If what I did was betrayal, then what would you say for the betrayal you all did?"

"We? I don't know this thing. Why do you guys always blame us? Even though we do our job and shut the fuck up, it always affects shitty people like you. And it does. After all, one man's meat is another man's poison," Aurelia said, proceeding to the confrontation.

"Not always, Aurelia. You always reap what you sow. That's how everything is happening. And, you don't know what has happened. They made me realize that Man is the cruellest animal. And I'm thanking them with blood and iron."

***

SEVEN YEARS AGO...

It was a secret meeting at Brussels, held by the Chief Agent Iodine. Everyone was at the Head Office of Inspygency, which is nothing but the bunker of an old house. As everything is all set, Iodine started the crucial meeting of that time.

"Now, I guess everyone knows why we are here. We all are aware of the recent genocide at a park in Geneva, and we know who is behind that," Iodine said, glaring at Callie. He continued, "And now, the greatest threat to our motto, is this genocide. He also threatened that..." He paused, banging the table, which jerked other agents there. After a while, he continued, "This atrocity will continue. And, we have got a new mission, which is to nab Vlad and his team. Shall we do this and get rid of the disease called disharmony?" He asked, expecting the cluster to the chorus. And they did with a zealous tone of 'yes'.

"Now," Iodine continued. "Anybody ready to share the plan of how to catch them red-handed?"

"Chief!" It was the ever-enthusiastic agent Radon, who raised his hand like a nerd and squealed.

"Yes, Agent Radon," Iodine replied. "What's your suggestion?"

"So, to catch Vlad, we must first find out the people who help him in this genocidal mission. And according to the Wanted List by Interpol, we have Robert Harrison, Uday Singh, and Caesar Agnes, who help Vlad," Radon said. As he mentioned Caesar Agnes's name, the whole cluster, including Radon and Iodine, gave Callie a disgusting look. "If we catch at least one of them, we can surely stop this," said Radon, still eyeing Callie.

"Sounds like a plan. Thank you, Agent Radon," Iodine said, while Radon bowed down humbly and took his seat. "Anybody else?" He called out and the meeting proceeded.

Everyone there, in a zeal to help the team, gave different ideas to nab Vlad. Except for Callie. She thought of concentrating on the meeting and not deviating herself from any external forces. But as Radon pin-pointed her indirectly by mentioning Caesar, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed of herself. She knew that this is how her life is, but while recalling everything since she was eighteen, she never realized that her life is full of unimaginable and brutal hardships, until that moment.

"Any other suggestions?" Iodine asked, which made Callie come out of her thought process. The cluster was silent, which was a sign that they have no more things to share. "Fine! You all can disperse. And... You please wait here, Agent Arsenic," Iodine said, thus interrupting Callie from leaving the bunker. She couldn't help but sit and wait for more upcoming embarrassments.

As Iodine ensured that everyone had left, he closed the door with the knob and sat down on his seat.

"Miss Agnes. I think you're aware of the reason why this meeting was held," Iodine asked in a cold tone.

"Yes, Chief," Callie stammered in a docile tone.

"Good!" Iodine said dominantly. "Now... Speaking about today's meeting, everyone shared their ideas and opinions except you. Why?"

"Chief, that's... I was listening," lied Callie.

"I know you're not the kind of person who just listens to everything. I know it, Agent Arsenic. Now, confess everything to me."

"What should I confess, Chief?" Callie asked.

"Tell me where your father is. Tell me where Caesar Agnes is," demanded Iodine. "I know that you know all."

"Chief, but I don't know about his whereabouts," said Callie. "It has been eleven years since we last met. And—"

"Enough, Miss Agnes!" He yelled, banging the table. "I already had enough of your stories. Now, this is the final call for you. Ask him to surrender or else I will expose and expel you. Choose one," said Iodine for the last time, and left the bunker, leaving a depressed soul alone and lonely.

After thinking for a while, she took her mobile from her handbag and scrolled through her contact list. She stopped as she saw a Caller ID named Dad, clicked on it, and pressed the voicemail option.

"Papa, this is Cal here. This is the most important voicemail from me. I can't survive here with that tag name 'Daughter of a terrorist'. I already had enough. Today, at my agency, my team leader asked me to confess about your whereabouts. And, how will I? It has been eleven years since I last heard your voice. Because of all your careless sins, I'm the one facing its effects. You left Mom and me and chose terrorism for that asshole, Vlad. Now, just choose this daughter for once, Dad. I knew how much you love me. I knew how much you love terrorism. But, for this one time, choose me. Leave everything behind and come. Please, Dad. I love you!"

She pressed the send button and left the bunker, in a hope that everything will settle.

But maybe, she was wrong.

***

THREE DAYS LATER...

She woke up that day at four, to quench her midnight thirst. She strolled lazily to the kitchen to fetch the water. As she opened the fridge to get the water, she saw the kitchen illuminated all of a sudden.

As she looked around, she saw her colleagues pointing their guns towards her, which was something one wouldn't expect in the middle of sleep.

"SURRENDER YOURSELF, CALLIE AGNES! YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!" yelled her colleague, Agent Sodium.

"Sodium, what had—?" Callie was about to ask but was interrupted.

"I SAID, SURRENDER!" Sodium yelled again, which made Callie force her to raise her hands, while her other colleagues covered her face with a plastic cover, tied her hands, and pushed her outside.

Callie didn't know what was happening around her and why she was arrested by her colleagues. She didn't even know where she was going. All she knew was she was simply arrested.

The agents took the cover out from her face as they reached a particular place, and Callie found herself in the bunker, where the TV was playing the news.

It was that Caesar Agnes was the one who took the mysterious identity of Vlad, and he was killed by the agents of Inspygency that morning. It also said that Callie was also part of the genocidal team, which was something Callie had just known.

Soon, she saw Iodine entering the room while delivering a dirty glance at Callie.

Taking a seat for himself, he said, "See? I said that I'll expose you, right? You made a mistake, Miss Agnes. You should have confessed on that day when I asked you. You didn't! And I can't do anything about that! Suffer well. But still, you have time, dear! We will let you free soon. Only if you do one thing."

"What is it, sir?" Callie asked, teary-eyed.

"Confess. I saw you sending the voicemail and managed to collect the data from your mobile. So, you can't escape anymore. Confess and we'll free you," Iodine said and left, while she remembered what Caesar said in his final voicemail to her.

"Dear. This shitty world has all mouths but no ears. So, be careful."

***

A MONTH LATER...

Callie was locked in the bunker without food, water and other facilities, under the surveillance of two agents. Iodine used to visit her, ask her to confess the truth she never knew, and sometimes assault her physically. She felt like she died and was living in hell. She didn't want to live and felt embarrassed of herself to the core.

Still, some hatred was fueling her. Nobody around her was in her favour. Everybody hated her for being the daughter of a terrorist, which was nobody's fault. She felt that she needed to kill everyone, and that's how she can satisfy herself.

As she was thinking about it, she finally got the reason for her existence. To kill all agents in Inspygency, be it the present or the future. To give them the same feeling she had while they were around. To reap what they had sown.

She then saw a small knife on the bookshelf and decided to use the offer God had given. She took the knife and tried to cut the rope with it, painstakingly.

After half an hour of hard work, she had finally cut the rope, which was the first, tiny step toward her never-ending mission. She took the knife and the rope which she had cut and run towards the door to see what was going on outside, through the peephole. She saw the agents walking around and nobody else there, hence the right time to get into action.

She banged on the door to gain their attention. The agents outside, who heard the door bang, found it suspicious and went inside with their pistols. They opened the door, only to find nothing. They went inside, holding the trigger, while they felt a coarse thing strangle their neck. One of the agents tried to look back and saw that it was none other than Callie. She gripped the rope as tight as she could, and she came closer, only to cut their necks thrice. She then let the rope free, leading to them falling.

With an ironic smile, she said, "You reap what you sow."

***

"I'm sorry," Aurelia stammered. "I didn't know that this much happened. Sorry again."

"Don't act like a sympathetic audience, Aurelia," Callie said.

"Now... I've some doubts. Your father is Vlad, right? I think that's why they—"

"I've killed Vlad too! He died three years ago," Callie interrupted.

"Oh! Then... What happened next?" asked Aurelia.

"Then... I killed all the agents from my batch and made it up a natural death. Then... I posed as the only agent from my batch, and the new guys considered me as a leader."

"But... Why?"

"See, I don't mind agents doing their own job. But if they cross my path of revenge, then I have to end their lives," Callie said. "Now, let me tell you one more thing. I killed fifty-six people. That's all that you know about me as Adrienne. But, did you know how I killed them?" She added, pointing the long gun at her. "We confess and kill."

"Ooh!" said Aurelia with a jerk, and continued, "But, why?"

"I don't want you guys to die without any reason. Just like my dad."

"Wonderful!" Aurelia exclaimed out of sarcasm and pointed her sniper at her. "We kill the people who confess. That's the difference between you and me."

But, their war seemed to end as they heard a cracking sound from the entrance. The girls looked back and saw a cop pointing his gun upward.

"DROP YOUR GUNS AND SURRENDER!" He yelled in German. And soon came other cops, pointing their guns.

"We are arresting you for murdering two men," said one of the cops, while he commanded two cops to arrest the ladies. And so they handcuffed Aurelia and Callie and took them downstairs. They saw many photographers, media persons, and the people who came for the event, looking at them disgustfully. The cops pushed them into police cars and drove to the police station, asking one team to stay back and wait for the ambulance to collect Oxygen and Max's body.

***

The two ambulances from the nearby hospital came rushing to the hotel. Two attendants came out from each ambulance with a stretcher, led by a middle-aged cop. The cop went upstairs to lead the attendants. As he went upstairs and saw the crime scene, he was totally baffled and shocked.

He took his walkie-talkie and spoke to his coordinator. "Hello? Sir, something is fishy. Over."

"Over. What happened, Karl?" asked his coordinator.

"Sir, a body is missing. Over," said the cop from the crime scene.

Finally, we are done with the thirteenth and final chapter of Retaliation. And I guess, I did my sheer best. And, what I always expect is the response you guys give me. Please give me an honest and harmless review, and I'll definitely change it as much as I can. After all, you guys are my driving force.

And, let me introduce the theme song of this book, South of the Border by Ed Sheeran, Camilla Cabello and Cardi B. I Hope this suits it well!

Thanking you all for a final time,
Meera.

Word Count: 2500 words (so long in my history as a Wattpad writer)

Total Word Count: 16902 words (made it, finally!)