Yes I went and split 'my web of lies' into smaller fics. The first one is now called 'my ultimate nemesis' and goes up to chapter 18. The next chapters are here and will continue to be uploaded here until it's time to chapter fic 3 in the series.

Still, who remembers when this was starting out? When I actually made an effort to stick to the codes and conventions of a spy thriller, instead of this just being a mess of death and poor-taste jokes. Ah good times… Then again, pretty much anything I write can be summed up by death and poor-taste jokes.

So, without further ado, let's crack on with the story so epic, if it was a film everyone would be played by Nicolas Cage!

Funnily enough, this chapter's pretty mellow and more getting to know characters' thoughts, but the next one will be pretty action-y.

...

At this point there was nothing much else he could do but promise things would get better and hope it would come true. Really though, he reasoned, could it actually get any worse?

Sadik looked around their tiny, cramped studio flat and sighed. Well, they could be homeless.

Then again, with everyone sleeping in one damp room, they weren't that much better off; even the most run down of B&Bs would be an improvement. But things would change! Before, he didn't need to be able to afford anywhere bigger and more comfortable, but now there were five occupants and five wages coming in, they would soon be out of here for good. He'd let the kids keep their earnings, but Kuzey and Temel were happy to contribute some of their Commonwealth money towards a new home, given that they were the ones thinking of moving in permanently. Stelios and Cora, however, were very much looking forward to the day they could finally go back to their mother and sunny Cyprus.

Sadik grimaced; had he even told Liz they were going back eventually? The thought had most probably slipped his mind.

Stelios was right; he was getting old and doddery. The cheeky little shit was even talking of putting him in a home.

Either way, that wasn't something to worry about now.

He had far too many worries piling up to bother himself with future ones, not if he didn't want to end up in hospital with insane blood pressure levels and a kaput heart. Everything seemed to be falling apart and he knew he didn't know the full extent of their mess. The two youngest had seen something they shouldn't have, as had Kuzey, but they wouldn't tell him what, and he was terrified of the power Liz had over them all. She was bad news and he loved his family too much to see her or her little henchmen just murder them. Not his children! Not on his watch!

Yet he couldn't help them. He didn't know how to talk to them or get them to open up on what they were hiding. He hadn't been in their lives long enough to get them to confide in him, and even if they did, even if he knew exactly what he was up against, what could he do about it? He was just one man without a shred of power. He couldn't stop Commonwealth. He couldn't stand up against such a dangerous organisation and expect to last a second. All he could do was play along and hope his children did the same. Or their lives would be very short indeed.

Yes, that was it. They just needed to keep their noses clean until Sadik could think of a way out of this mess. He hadn't been there long, but he'd already heard the rumours. The whisperings he'd had to piece together himself. Every single person who'd tried to back out or betray Commonwealth had paid with their existence. Had soon been tracked down and murdered without a thought. All but one man, though even he paid the ultimate price for it. How had he done it? How did he become the sole, lucky survivor? And what was this 'ultimate price'? Sadik needed to know, but he knew he'd arose suspicion by asking. Was there another way to find out?

Even just thinking about their situation made his chest hurt, and he hissed as a hand shot up, resting over his heart. He leaned back in his armchair, noticing that Cora was glancing over at him in concern, but when he caught her eye, she scowled and turned away, focusing once more on her brother.

It had been tricky to explain that Stelios needed to stay at home because he was ill. Mr Morgan didn't believe that a grown man would need a day off over something as trivial as a stomach bug and eventually Sadik had needed to stop being tasteful with his excuses, so simply told him there was no point in Stelios coming in because he would be on the shitter for the whole day. A rather disgusted D'Andre had stopped pestering him over his son's absence then, but he certainly wasn't any happier at the news, especially with Temel and Cora at school. Still, Kuzey had stayed late to make up for the lost work, and to avoid Stelios whining about his bowels too, most likely.

"So what caused that then?" he asked, leaning forward.

At least it was evening now, and the blistering sun was finally setting behind the tower blocks identical to the one they lived in. It had been another long day, and Sadik was just glad to not be stuck behind the wheel any more. How many boxes of evil things did Liz need delivering? And why all the hurry?

He had a chill on his back too, from hours spent cramped inside a refrigerated van. The fact that he was required to drive a refrigerated van made him all the more nervous. Was he transporting food? That didn't seem so immoral. Well, it wouldn't if it was just factories and supermarkets he was travelling to and from, but labs and abattoirs too? Scientists needed to eat, he guessed, but he had a horrid suspicion that those boxes didn't contain luncheon meats and bottles of guava juice.

And it was those kinds of thoughts that would get him in trouble. It was none of his business and the less he knew, the fewer reasons Liz and D'Andre would have to silence him.

Stelios groaned, and Sadik looked up to find him still sprawled on the sofa, clutching one of his pretty, beaded cushions as Cora draped yet another blanket over him and sat on the sofa, on his legs.

"Maybe it was all the funny German food," she suggested, "it could've upset his stomach."

"We've been eating the same stuff though, more or less, and none of it involves German food," Temel replied, who- like his sister- was perched on Stelios' legs, much to the man's discomfort. But hey, there was one sofa in the flat, and no one else was allowed in Sadik's armchair. "And I don't even know what German food is." He was sitting there cradling something in his hand, stroking it gently with one finger whilst Cora looked over curiously, but didn't comment on it.

"Wurst, so that's probably why you haven't had any," she told him.

"I think it might be those pills you've been taking," Sadik piped up, glaring at Stelios.

"The painkillers?" he poked at the pile of paper bags the others had provided for him that were now stacked on the floor, in case he was sick again. It seemed if it wasn't one thing it was the other with this illness. "I took them for this stomach ache I had and it didn't work so I took more and…" He grimaced.

"And now you're shitting to death," Kuzey finished for him, fumbling with keys and shopping as he stumbled through the door.

"What took you so long?" asked Sadik, only half-scolding.

"Decided to work late and stop and get some groceries," he replied, "well, anything was better than being stuck in a room with the exploding shitpipe there."

Stelios could only groan in response.

"I got you some fruit juice," Kuzey told him, taking the cartons out of a plastic bag and balancing them on his back. "And some actual fruit, and other stuff too, if you can manage."

Another groan.

"Put them in the fridge," Sadik growled, "before they start going bad."

"Right, course baba," Kuzey quickly gathered up the shopping; if there was one thing Sadik hated it was anything going to waste, and the habit of frugal living certainly wasn't going to stop just because they had a bit of money now.

"So how have you all been?" he called from the fridge.

"Good, until we came home," Temel replied, "it smells funny in here."

"That's your brother you're talking about!" snapped Cora.

"Stomach not any better?" Kuzey sighed as he closed the fridge door and walked over, leaning against the back of the sofa.

"I'm empty," Stelios groaned, "seriously, it's just sadness coming out now."

"It can't be that-"

"My spine came out a few hours ago, I'm sure of it!"

"That's disgusting," Kuzey wrinkled his nose. "So you won't want any soup yet?"

Stelios paused. "What kind?"

"Lentil."

Stelios licked his lips before sighing. "I guess I could chance it."

"Great, well you know where the pans are. Get on with it; I'm sure everyone else is peckish too."

"Kuzey!" whined Stelios, "I'm ill!"

"Kuzey, go make your brother some soup, and stop arguing," Sadik breathed heavily, hand on his chest once more. He loved his children dearly, but really, their arguing was causing him nearly as much stress as his job at the moment. He was too old to be part of a household that constantly fought anymore.

Four pairs of confused eyes stared up at him; Sadik never snapped at Kuzey.

"Right, on it," Kuzey pulled himself away from the sofa and made his way to the corner kitchen. As he began pulling pots and pans out with a clatter, Temel decided to make his new toy known, by placing it on Cora's cheek.

"What the hell is that?" she snapped, raising an eyebrow as it peeled off, and she found herself staring at a dark, sticky lump on her skirt.

"It's my magnetic rock," replied Temel, scooping the rock up in his hands.

"A what now?"

"Magnetic rock! Look!" Temel stuck the rock to his forehead, grinning widely. "I found it in the grass on the way home! Why would someone throw away such a cool rock?"

"Maybe it's someone's rock and they dropped it?" Cora exclaimed, poking him in the face.

"Well they should've taken care of it better, and now it's mine," Temel nuzzled the rock with his cheek whilst Sadik laughed, a booming laugh that nearly made Cora jump out of her body.

"Stelios, would a magnetic rock make you feel better?" asked Temel, staring down hopefully at his brother, still on his stomach groaning in pain.

Stelios gave a grunt that he took to mean 'yes'.

Delighted, Temel jumped up and wandered over to the other end of the sofa, placing the rock on Stelios' cheek and stroking his hair.

"I hope you'll get better soon," he cooed, "work isn't fun without you!"

"You think so?" Stelios managed a weak smile as Cora leaned closer, studying Temel's 'rock' closely for the first time. She'd have assumed that by now he'd know that for something to be magnetic, it needed to be attracted to metal, and despite the amount of copper jewellery he wore, Stelios was not made of metal. What the hell had Temel even found?

Well, she soon realised exactly what was stuck to her brother's face.

"That's a dried up slug!" she cried, and a moment later she was on the floor as Stelios jumped up shrieking. The slug landed inches from her left eye and across the room, Kuzey was shouting at his brother as Stelios threw up in the sink.

"I bought you some paper bags!" Sadik cried as Temel searched for his rock, and in the confusion, Cora picked up the slug and ran to the nearest window, wrenching it open and throwing the thing outside.

"Ew," she muttered, wiping her hands on her top as Temel let out a cry.

"My rock! You threw my rock out the window!"

"It was a slug," replied Cora through gritted teeth.

"Baba!" Temel climbed onto Sadik's lap, "my rock went out the window!"

"I think my deposit's gone out the window too," he replied with a sigh, resting his chin in his hand and not even telling his son off for sitting in his armchair.

"They actually made you pay a deposit for this place?" Cora glanced around in relative disgust. She, like the rest of the family, hated the flat, with its peeling wallpaper and black mould in every corner. The only other room they had was a tiny bathroom, and as the lifts were in a perpetual state of broken, they had to climb up 7 floors every time they came home from work or school. Not to mention the constant struggle to determine which neighbours were worse: the ones forever arguing or the one always playing their music at full blast, or maybe even the guy with the collection of large, noisy guard dogs.

"Things will get better," Sadik assured them, stroking Temel's hair as Kuzey and Stelios bickered, and Cora raised an eyebrow sceptically. "I promise, okay?"

"Yeah? We'll see."

…

"You drink a lot of tea, don't you."

Tsvetan looked up at Luca's comment, shrugging as he continued to warm his hands on his cup.

"What of it?"

"Well," Luca frowned, "are you ill? No one I know drinks tea when they're well, besides you and Seagull, but he's English so I kind of-"

"There are other places that drink a lot of tea," Tsvetan smiled into his cup, "and I, for one, am deeply calmed by herbal tea."

"Don't most people reach for horse tranquillizer for those kind of kicks?"

Tsvetan laughed. "Yes, but there are two words that put me off doing that: horse, and tranquillizer. If it can subdue a horse, I don't want it in my body. Plus, I'd get found out and fired, and I quite like this job."

"Indeed," Luca looked around at the rather small office he now shared with Tsvetan. Well, he had a tiny corner with a collapsible desk and a phone, but he supposed he was just starting out. Eventually he'd work his way up and get his own office, one that was decorated tastefully and didn't reek of cigarette smoke.

Besides the pair of them, only the two leaders remained in the building, hidden away in their offices filling out paperwork and typing reports. All four should've gone home hours ago, but none really wanted to. Luca wasn't opposed to hard work, and knew Tsvetan and Andrei were close, so the nicer things Tsvetan had to say about him, the more likely it was that Andrei would finally accept him.

Still, he liked Tsvetan, somewhat. It was clear they weren't each other's first choice of company, and Luca had never known him when he wasn't grieving, but the man seemed to have taken him under his wing. He was much older than the other agents, only Daniél and Anri coming close. But as far as the South Berlin Division was concerned, he was team dad. Team drunk, angry dad, that is.

Tsvetan was gruff, and handled emotions as well as normal people would handle juggling chainsaws blindfolded whilst unicycling across a tightrope stretched across an active volcano, but at the same time there was something endearing about him. He certainly made an effort to be polite to Luca, and was a refreshing change from Andrei's hostility and Peter's rather creepy idolisation. In addition, he and Franz were getting along now they'd had a chance to get to know each other, and found they had a lot in common. Dress sense, for one thing.

Even if politeness wasn't something that Luca highly valued, he knew he couldn't comment on Tsvetan's tacky interior design, given that a large chunk was bought by Alin for his office, and Luca wasn't sure which was which. They were both equally tasteless, in that sense, he noted as he glanced from the Azis poster to the dragon ornament to the venus flytrap to the sequined skull, and not to mention a variety of full ashtrays and numerous framed photographs of Alin and the children on his desk, which he would occasionally stroke. But all in all, the place looked like a second bedroom for Tsvetan: personal and probably lived in more than his actual bedroom. Unfortunately, though he enjoyed the man's company and their thoughtful, intelligent conversations, it wasn't an environment he cared to be in. He could probably handle not looking around all day, but the constant smoking was too much.

"You know that's bad for you," Luca peered through the cloud of cigarette smoke at Tsvetan, still puffing away.

"What, this?" he held up his cigarette, a bitter grin on his face. "What's it gonna do? Kill me?"

"Well, yes, really."

Tsvetan laughed. It wasn't a kind laugh though, but the laugh of a man consumed by moroseness, on the brink of madness, even. "You know, my grandfather lived to be a hundred!"

"Smoking?"

"Minding his own business."

Luca huffed. "Well could you at least smoke out the window?"

"Andrei would throw a fit. He doesn't even like the blinds being open, let alone the windows." He shrugged, smiling slightly. "But since he's been getting on my nerves lately, and you seem too pretty to have your lungs clogged with shit, I'll comply. Could use a break anyway." He moved over to the window, forcing it open and sitting on the sill.

"You know," began Luca, "that's the most you've ever said to me in one go."

"I think it might have been the most I've said to anyone in one go, including my husband." Tsvetan smiled and snorted, staring at the floor in a haze of nostalgia.

"Oh," Luca frowned, "how come?"

Tsvetan shrugged, stubbing his cigarette out in a plant pot, its resident long dead, and lighting another. "Not a talker, 'specially when I don't know you. I'm used to you now, I guess. And you have a trustworthy face."

"And Alin didn't?"

Agent Yogurt regarded him in amusement at that. "No, his was more mischievous. That's not to say that I didn't trust him, quite the opposite, really. Besides, he did all the talking in the relationship."

There was silence between the two, Luca taking in his new colleague, every line and detail thrown into contrast by the single, working desk lamp.

"You really should be going home and getting some sleep," he commented.

"Well you're one to talk," Luca commented back.

This time, Tsvetan's laugh was kind, playful even. "Ah, but you have a busy day tomorrow! Making Seagull look unrecognisable is hardly a task to be undertaken lightly, as I'm sure you're aware."

"Indeed," Luca sighed, "but I don't fancy going home just yet."

"Likewise. Keeping an eye out on my brother-in-law is a full time job, but don't tell him I said that. He seems to think I'm the only one who's been delicate as of late. Plus, he's technically being paid to look out for me, not the other way around."

"I see," Luca chewed a nail as he thought; a terrible habit, he knew, but one he'd been unable to shake lately. "I know he's like family to you, and he's our boss and all, but I'm not sure I like him."

Tsvetan shook his head. "Understandable, under the circumstances. Andrei is starting to become someone I'm not proud of. I'm almost ashamed to call him family."

"So he wasn't always like this then?"

"Quite the opposite, really." Tsvetan finally dragged himself off the window sill, shutting the thing to block out the night chill. His cigarette joined its twin in the plant pot, and he lowered himself into his desk chair with a grunt, rubbing his back before continuing. "The thing that drew me to Andrei was how bright he was, in intelligence and personality. I liked the kid; he could make me laugh. And I guess in a way I was also his step-father, given how much younger he is than myself and Alin."

"What happened?"

"Besides the Radacanu-Borisov murders?" Tsvetan raised an eyebrow, "well, there's the stress of destroying Commonwealth before we're shut down, coupled with this business with a mole."

"Do you think he's on to something?" asked Luca, "you know, do you think there's one too?"

"Possibly. It would explain a lot, at least."

Luca gulped. "And do you, you know, think I'm the one to blame?"

Tsvetan thought for a moment. "Look, I want to believe you're innocent, kid, just like I want to believe each and every one of us is innocent, but to be brutally honest, I'd rather believe it was someone who hadn't been in my life long, rather than a comrade I've known for years and fought alongside."

Luca nodded, staring at the ground.

"Don't take it personally," Tsvetan added, "it's not meant to be a personal attack, but I have worked with this people every day for so long, completed dangerous missions with them, learnt their strengths, their weaknesses, their fears, hopes, everything you could think to learn. I want to think I could trust these people with my life, and Andrei does too. For him, it's easier to just blame you than accept someone he's close to might be betraying him, even if it clouds his judgement."

Luca said nothing, refusing to look at Tsvetan.

"I just hope he'll accept the possibility before we all end up dead, because I am not to blame."

"As do I," Tsvetan agreed, "because it might be you, it might be me, or it might be someone else and we need to keep all possibilities open."

"I understa-" Luca jumped slightly as the phone burst into shrill ringing, fumbling with the receiver as he pressed it to his ear.

"Hello, Patch motors customer service line, my name is Loukas. How may I help you?" His chirpy voice rattled off the code with ease as Tsvetan watched in apprehension; phone calls this late never bode good news.

"Officer Hassan?" he asked with a frown, and Tsvetan shook his head. Oh yes, bad news once more.

"I see," Luca frowned into the receiver, "are you serious? ...We'll be right there!" And with that, he slammed the phone down and vaulted over the desk.

"What the fu-"

"Quick! Follow me!" Luca cried as he darted out the door, "we have to get Patch and Magyar!"

…

He knew he was going mad.

Andrei's hands shook as he gripped his cup of coffee, alone in his office with only a cloud of grim thoughts for company. He sat in almost pitch black, quite forgetting to switch on a light as the sun set and hadn't noticed that he could barely see his own hands. His hair was slipping out of its ponytail and his goatee was a mess, left unshaved for days. The holiday brochure Agent Seagull had cheekily left on his desk was now screwed up in a ball at the bottom of his bin. Little bastard.

He didn't need Tsvetan to tell him he was falling apart. He knew. He was trying to fight it.

But how could he? Everything seemed to be piling up until he was sure they would never get out of his mess. He couldn't trust his own agents and that fact terrified him until he was sick with paranoia.

They were supposed to be a team, an unstoppable force of elites that ensured national and international peace. They were nine trained professionals, hand picked by the government to keep the population safe in times of crisis.

How were they supposed to fight anyone when they were crumbling from the inside? They were his friends, and before this he'd have trusted each and every one with his life. But now? He wanted to, and knew that the majority were loyal to him and the DSA, if only he knew who was betraying him.

Luca, Anri and Monique were still his top suspects, but he knew he had to consider everyone, because it could be anyone.

What if Franz thought having a Commonwealth assassin go after his husband would remove suspicion from himself? If Angie had been set up for a fall, that might explain why Lars was still alive. Or had Franz planned to murder Lars all along? Talk about marital problems.

And even though he didn't seem smart enough for such a thing, it could be Peter. He had his own agenda, though since his siblings' deaths was his sole drive, it made little sense why he'd try to bump off another one. Unless Lars' attack was supposed to serve as a warning, or punishment for some sort of failure. But that's what happened when you put trust in a loose cannon such as Agent Seagull. He was good, but did things by his own rules.

Oscar was a possibility too. His brother and sister had yet to be targeted and, although it could just be a matter of time, it did raise several red flags with him. The somewhat pompous Australian played by the book, though he did have an imagination on him, and very little was known about his extended family- or even direct family, besides Jemima and William. He was also the newest member of the North Berlin Division. Could he be the man they were after? It would answer some questions, but on the other hand, what the hell was Commonwealth doing hiring someone so young and inexperienced for what could be a crucial mission to them?

And then there was Daniél Bajusz, or Agent Magyar.

Humoured, secretive and hardworking best summed the division leader up, and he was one of Andrei's closest friends, even if he had despised Alin with all his being. Andrei believed he was someone he could trust, was someone to rely on. But now?

Daniél never talked of his past, and Andrei could count the things he knew about Daniél's life on one hand. He was from Hungary, Feliks was without a doubt his closest friend, and he was the original member of any Berlin division. Andrei never recalled him mentioning family, and he wondered if Agent Magyar had any. Surely he must have, unless he was an orphan. Still, no family meant nothing for Commonwealth to target.

But Daniél? Even the thought of it pained Andrei. Anyone but him! It would be less agonising to find out it was Seagull or Edelweiss!

Maybe they really should cut all ties with the North Berlin division, and he would consider it, if that hadn't been one of the three conditions for the South Berlin division to still be existing right now.

Oh what was Ludwig going to say about all this?

Andrei frowned. Ludwig? Could he be their man? The higher up with every piece of information about them at his disposal? Or even the two polizei they often ran into on missions. Officers Hassan and Nguyễn knew almost as much as they did at times, and certainly would've had the inside knowledge to pass on to Commonwealth.

Andrei groaned and rested his head in his hands. Enemies! Everywhere around him, there were enemies and he didn't know which of his thoughts were real and which were paranoid delusions anymore.

Maybe a holiday wasn't the worst idea after all, though he loathed to think of what mess he'd come back to if he left those four idiots to their own devices for a week.

No, he'd stay here, and not let anyone know he was shattering inside. He had to remain in control, at least on the surface, because he was the one with the answers, who knew exactly what was going on, the one people turned to in times of uncertainty and if he fell, the others would soon follow.

But he could do it. He'd see all and know all and maybe, just maybe, he could catch that mole before it was too late.

"Agent Patch!" Luca burst in through the door, stalling as the darkness caught him off guard. It took mere seconds for his expression of urgency to return. Andrei, meanwhile, was caught between irritation and apprehension, not only at the interruption, but at Agents Magyar and Yogurt behind him, peering through the door with grey faces. He decided it was best to not let the latter feeling show though.

"Fondue! I thought a man like you would know better than to barge into a room without knock-"

"They found him!" cried Luca. "They actually found him!"

Maybe because it was late, but everything he said seemed to be going straight over Andrei's head.

"Found who?"

Luca looked at him like he really was insane. "What do you mean, 'who'? Agent Phoenix! They found Feliks!"

...

Woah this was longer than I planned it, but I really wanted to get deep into those characters' minds. Funnily enough, most of this was written in the past few days, as opposed to the past few months; it's amazing what panic after procrastinating will do to you. And no, Stelios'... plight totally wasn't inspired by true events [help me] [and my arse].

I promise more chapters will be written sooner! But yeah if you're wondering why I'm uploading a whole fuckload of stories, it's because I wanted to give you all a week's worth of stuff to read whilst I'm in Ireland on holiday [thus can't write/draw/internet]. Wow, last time I went to Ireland I was writing Red Doll! Though this time I'm going to Donegal instead of Cork.

Oh, and the magnetic rock is based off something a cousin did once.