They took her. The saying "The good guys always win" was wrong. The only person that really could be "the one" was gone. They took my Bex.
But they wouldn't get away with it. Oh no, if Bex was taken away from me, the kidnappers should expect a fight. Because I am going to find her… and so are a bunch of Blackthorne and Gallagher agents.
:.:.:
As January passed, my determination only grew stronger. After a day or two, the CIA confirmed her MIA.
When February went by, my physical condition started to display my mental one. I was weak and exhausted. But that didn't stop me.
March went by, I started to have nightmares. They reoccurred almost every night. Bex was in the nightmare, pleading for my help. We were on some sort of two story building. The night was cold and foggy. No one was out. Bex was screaming for my help, but I couldn't move. I couldn't help her. Then, the masked attacker lifted Bex in his arms, and gracefully tossed her into the street.
Then, April came along. I realized that I might need help. If the school and CIA were losing her, they would lose me also. We couldn't have one without the other. She was my other half… my life. My parents were dead. I couldn't have saved my mom, who died when she gave birth to me. I couldn't have saved my dad, who died on a mission in Venezuela.
May flew by quickly. I only got false leads to try and find Bex. I got nowhere in helping.
June came. It had been six months since she went missing. I haven't seen the girl who holds a key to my heart. My heart was dying. But I still kept looking.
During June, I finally got a good lead. The attacker that had Bex was discovered. We tracked him through a chip which was installed in his left ear. It took months to find out who it was, and we got lucky that the man was caught before, and received a locating chip in his ear. The bad news, though, was that he was an abusive slave owner. He was a physical and mental abuser, and treated girls and boys like dirt.
I had received a kind of long text message from Bex while on break at Gallagher. It was almost a joke, a teasing trick, making me angry beyond belief. I opened it and the techies traced any and all clues from the message. The message read:
"Before you read this, please note that this is not Rebecca Baxter, merely her… master. If you want the girl back, I am willing to trade her for $2 million or more. Remember, your favourite girl is no longer useful to me. She will not give me any answers, no matter the "consequence." I no longer need her. So if you fail to meet the requirements, I can give her an easy, guilt-free death. A speaker factory near Rebecca's home is where you will find her and we will exchange."
Zach, Cammie, Jonas, Liz, and Macey helped me to locate the man, who was in the UK (using his spelling of the word favorite). The speaker factory was a block away from her home, and a team of professionally trained agents (a.k.a. The crew listed above) would accompany me.
The preparation for the trip was easy. I packed a Swiss-army knife and a gun. That was all. Cammie and Zach went a little more extreme, with nuclear guns and acid. Jonas and Liz brought their laptops… which were way more capable then I'd expected. Macey kind of tricked the entire school staff into thinking that we were taking time off to go to Macey's summer home. We took off on June 16th, at 3:38am. It was time to see her again.
:.:.:
The abandoned factory was made out of dark, gray, steel. It was a rainy, foggy morning, and it was raining just a little. The scene set in front of me was one I would never forget. I walked towards the door, my left hand holding the gun (which was pointed at the front door), and my right on the door knob, ready to open. I looked back at my team, nodded, and opened the door.
After looking around, I felt a metal square on the wall and flicked a switch. The entire building lit up with cheap, fluorescent lights.
We scouted the area for bombs, traps, or any sort of if-you-step-on-this-you-will-blow-up type thing. The place was clean. The entire place was open… no doors or windows anywhere. There were only open doorways which led through the building. I saw Zach walking up a staircase. Cammie was shining her flashlight everywhere.
"Over here," Zach called. I jogged over and up the stairs and tried opening the dark door… locked. That meant, out of however many rooms there were in here, there was one locked door. I figured this was it. Behind this old wooden door was my Bex.
"Thanks. I want to go in alone, so have the team prepared to bust in if you here my command," I told Zach. He nodded, and went to find the others.
I used a makeshift key (a.k.a. paperclip) on the door, and it opened easily. The light was already on in the room. I quickly shut the door behind me, and looked at a haunting sight.
Sitting in the middle of the dark metal room was a girl looking at the floor. Her dark bangs covered her face. She sat in an oak wood chair. When I looked closer, I saw that her feet were bound with duct tape to the legs of the chair. The sleeves worn by the girl were long gone. Cuts and bruises ran down her arms. The girl's plaid skirt was mid-thigh, so I could see her bloody legs with gashes and scars. Her collared shirt wasn't easily noticeable, but it was torn. Her sweater was stretched and had blood and wet spots on it. The girl kept ignoring me. Her hands were behind the back of the chair, cuffed together with three sets of hand cuffs. This was definitely a school girl.
"What is your name?" I asked, firmly, softly.
"My name is Rebecca. I am your forever grateful slave. Master, I live to serve you and fulfill your wishes," she said quietly. She was terrified. I took a step closer, and she winced… almost expected to get hit. She glanced up very quickly and looked down, breathing unevenly… not recognizing me.
"Look at me," I said softly. "Tell me you remember." Her head slowly rose up.
Her face was much more disturbing than the rest. There was a deep cut across her right cheek. Her left cheek was red and sore. The corner of her mouth was bleeding and her lips were cracked and swollen. Her eyes were hazel, but there were hidden feelings inside. Regret, sorrow, and pain. And she was terrified beyond belief. But what caught my attention was one very hidden item. There was a thin silver chain around her neck, over her shirt. A small, delicate charm hung off the chain. It was a 'G' in calligraphy. And when I spoke three simple words, she realized who it was, and her hazel eyes shone with lust.
"Hey, British Bombshell," I said, smiling… actually, it was more like a smirk.
"Grant…" she breathed. "You found me."
I nodded, and pulled out my knife. Slicing through the tape was easy, thanks to the Swiss knife upgrade Jonas hooked me up with. It took a little more time to snap off the cuffs, but I managed all three sets in four minutes and about seventeen seconds. I grabbed her beaten hand and headed for the door, but she didn't move.
"I can't walk well," she confessed. "He pushed me down the staircase a day or two ago."
Bex felt my hands and face tense up. She stroked my hand quietly.
I wanted to kill him. Her kidnapper didn't deserve to live. If I ever met him… I shook the thought off.
"I'll carry you," I smiled painfully. And with one swoop, I was holding her bridal style. She smiled faintly back.
She paused thoughtfully. After a few moments she looked at me gratefully. "I missed you," confessed Bex.
"I might have died if I never saw you again," I said. I slowly carried her through the door and down the stairs, careful not to make Bex the least bit uncomfortable.
"You're so corny," she sniffled. We reached the bottom of the staircase.
"Are you sick?" I asked.
"A bit," she smiled.
Our other friends gathered around the fragile student in my arms.
"Oh Bex," Liz gasped, clamping her right hand over her mouth, while her left clutched her laptop over her body.
"Good to see you, Bex," Jonas smiled, wrapping his free arm around Liz's petite waist.
"Likewise," she smiled warmly.
"This must be the first time that you ever needed help, Baxter," Zach realized cheekily.
"You would be surprised, Goode," she replied, just as cocky. "Macey, I expect you've been receiving amazing grades as usual?"
Macey grinned and gently wrap her arms around Bex for a light hug. "Yep." She retreated to see the infamous Chameleon's reaction.
Cammie was frozen, mouth wide open with shock. Her eyes were wide also, and started to pool with tears. She ran towards Bex and me, pushing everyone out of the way.
"Do you have any idea how worried we were about you?" said Cammie as hugged Bex with all her might.
"I reckon it's more than I expect?" guessed Bex.
While the girls continued their reunion, Zach and Jonas approached me.
"So, why are you carrying her?" Jonas asked.
"The kidnapper pushed her down that staircase and she hurt her legs," I explained, anger boiling inside again.
"What an idiot," Zach muttered. I merely nodded.
"Let's get some help, Bex," I told her, and the crew walked out, relieved.
We all walked to the front of the building, feeling very relieved. Cammie called for the police and asked if we could get to a hospital. She lied, claiming that we found our fellow student while passing by, after hearing a scream. A police car came in three minutes and thirty-seven seconds (pretty decent timing for police). We all got in, and drove to the nearest hospital.
Bex was rushed in as soon as we got there, and was handed away to doctors. "When she's awake, you'll all be allowed in," was what an assistant said. The five of us just sat in the waiting area for hours. I kept playing with my hands, unsure of what to do. Cammie was being comforted by Zach, while the others just talked about how we'd all be in tons of trouble when we got back. It was 3am when the doctors told us that we could see Bex.
A petite nurse escorted us to her room. "You see, somehow she got months of damage, but we are doing our best to help. She will probably live."
"Probably?" I demanded. "What are the odds exactly?"
"49.3%," muttered Jonas, though I wish I didn't hear.
"He rounded, the exact odds are 49.285%," Liz piped up quietly.
"Listen, we are trying everything we can. Your friend-"
"Best friend," Macey interrupted.
"Sister," Cammie insisted.
"Girlfriend," I said inaudibly, but the only person that heard was the nurse. She looked at me apologetically and sighed.
She led us to the door, and twisted the knob. "After you."
We all walked in, unsure of what to except. She just lay there, peacefully, innocently, and naïvely. It was like a Bex I had never met, one that wore dresses and liked to daydream. She was beautiful.
"I'm afraid that we can't have you all stay here, Miss Baxter will need time," another nurse explained, while checking up on Bex.
"But we-" Cammie started.
"You cannot stay. Look, sweetie, if it was up to me, I'd let you. But that is the doctor's orders," she said. "I am a mother, so I know you kids really have an important reason. But please let the professionals handle this. Miss Baxter will be back soon."
And then they made our team leave. We did the only sensible thing and booked tickets back to Virginia, so the M16 and possibly CIA could deal with Bex. I had made plans to sneak into the air ducts, but Liz insisted that there were some agents at the hospital who knew what to do. And I dozed on an 8 and a half hour flight back to… trouble.
:.:.:
"You are telling me that these students successfully rescued Rebecca, and did not get caught?" Headmistress Morgan asked Mr. Solomon. He nodded and handed her a hospital slip that showed that Bex was getting treated.
"Whose idea?" she asked.
Mr. Solomon nudged me forward. I turned and saw he pushed Cammie forward also.
"One of these two," he answered, emotionless. He motioned for the rest of the students to leave.
"You may go to your rooms," the Headmistress said. She paused until they all left. "I can understand why Cammie might have, but what about you, Grant?" she questioned. I could see the faintest trace of curiosity in her eyes.
"Do you want me to lie?" I asked. Cammie expression asked 'Are you mental?'I didn't think that was really a morale booster. I gave her a 'trust me' look.
"No," Mr. Solomon said. I gained some confidence, he had been tricked.
"Wait, Joe. Grant, please lie to us… and then tell us the truth." Mrs. Morgan knew what I was doing, and I guess she knew how to deal with my irregular thinking. My shoulders fell, defeated.
"She is one of my best friends. I had to save her," I said firmly, gaining some confidence back. I looked at Cammie, who was glaring at me. She thought I was pretending to be Bex's friend.
"I see," Headmistress muttered, puzzled. "And tell us, why did you really?"
"I am indescribably and irrevocably in love with Bex," I stated, becoming quieter by the end.
"Oh?" Headmistress Morgan said, almost sounding like a question. Mr. Solomon was amused and asked, "Tell me, Grant, why did you use that dodging the question tactic?"
"It seemed like the right thing to use," I said, "if I was really being interrogated."
"I see. And Cammie, please join your friends," Mr. Solomon said a faint smile on his lips.
Cammie slipped away and I faced the two most important teachers in the CIA…alone.
"Well…?" Mr. Solomon remarked while staring. "Are you sure?"
"This is one thing that I definitely know for sure… yes," I muttered. I looked down and felt embarrassed. I mean, c'mon, I was talking to two secret agents about my feelings for a girl. And they weren't related to me!
"Grant, I may have to… run some tests on you, very quickly. Do you mind?" Headmistress asked, clearly concerned.
"Uh…" I trailed off. "Sure."
Mr. Solomon briskly walked out of the room, and shut the door tightly behind him. Meanwhile, Cammie's mom shuffled around a drawer in her desk, and sighed, satisfied. She pulled out a small metal box with a white pad of paper on top. There was a metal piece sticking out of the top, with some pointed utensil attached on it, prepared to write. She handed me a wire which connected to this machine, and told me to tape it on my neck pulse. I obeyed, and realized this was an old fashion lie detector.
"I will just ask you a few questions, okay? Just answer them, and you'll be free to go," she said.
I nodded, and sat up in the chair.
"Are you and Rebecca dating?" she questioned, eyebrows raised. The machine hummed to life, drawing a steady line on the paper.
"No," I replied.
"Will you and Bex ever date?" she asked.
"Probably," I said.
"Is Zachary Goode involved with Cammie?" she asked, eyes narrowing.
"Uh… I don't know," I lied. The machine which sat on her desk sketched large zigzags on the paper.
"I see," she muttered. "Would you have snuck off to save a student if it wasn't Bex?"
"Not without permission." The pen drawing on the paper was sketching a straight line.
She nodded seriously and asked, "Will you ever use this fact against her?" I didn't really know what that meant.
"I meant, will you hurt her," said Cammie's mom.
"Of course not," I answered.
"You can take the tape off now," she said. "Thank you, Grant. I really appreciate it."
I shrugged, took off the tape and said, "Not a problem." I turned around to walk to dinner.
"Grant?" she asked from behind. I turned back around, and said, "Yeah?"
"Are you interested in having another ball?"
"Honestly, I'd rather have a real school dance than a pop quiz ball," I joked and smiled. And the Headmistress of Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, who teaches girls and some boys how to be secret agents for the CIA smiled back. And when she smiled like that, she looked like my mom… my dead mom, but still my mom when she was alive.
It reminded me of the time that I was playing in our old home in Arizona, where the sun was scorching and the desert was beautiful. We owned an adobe home, with a brick patio. My mom told me that when I was three, I played in the patio on a beach towel. One day she forgot to spread out the towel, so I got on all fours on the hot brick. It burned my hands and knees a little, and when I showed mom, she smiled and asked why I didn't cry while she treated the burns. I told her that it wasn't a big deal. And she smiled like Headmistress Morgan. And I felt happy, almost content with Cammie's mom there… almost like a real mom.
Though she was rummaging through some papers now, she read me like a book. "Grant, if you ever need a place to relax, please consider my office. Or perhaps someone to talk to, I would be glad to help," she said. "You remind me so much of your father. I knew him, back in the day…" she trailed off. "You're a good kid, stay that way."
"Thanks Headmistress," I replied, overwhelmed by her sudden motherly moment.
"Call me Rachel, if you'd like. Just between us," Rachel said. "Here, I found something you might like."
She handed me a thin envelope, with the words "summer with Mark and Bethany" on it. Mark and Bethany were my parents…
"Okay, thanks," I grinned, loosening up a little. I went to find my friends.
:.:.:
I found them all in the dining hall, picking at the food. They were picking at some pasta which Gallagher's awesome chef made, but it seemed like they weren't in the mood.
"Hey," I said cheerily, sitting between Macey and Zach.
"Hey," Liz replied half-heartedly.
"What's wrong?" I asked, unaware.
"Bex," Liz and Macey replied at the same time.
"Oh," was my response.
"By the way, did you see Cammie up there?" Zach asked. I shook my head, looking around. Cammie was nowhere in sight… figures, she is the Chameleon. I took a plate and served myself some pasta.
"We haven't seen her since she went back upstairs, she said she needed to ask something," Jonas explained.
Just then, Cammie bounded down the stairs, skipping a few steps in between each stair. She ran over to me and Zach, beaming.
"Grant!" she exclaimed, and practically ran into me.
"What?" I asked, spooning some pasta into my mouth.
"Does 'I am indescribably and irrevocably in love with Bex' ring a bell?" she asked.
"So?" I said with my mouth full.
I looked around, looking at people's reactions. Macey and Liz were smiling like crazy, and Jonas had an "I knew it" look on his face… it was one I saw many times during classes. Zach just grinned like an idiot, which also was a look I saw a lot.
"What?" I questioned, like it wasn't a big deal… which it was, I'll admit, but not one I wanted to publicly announce.
"You guys are so perfect!" She squealed, a little more girly than was necessary.
"When Bex gets back, you have to tell her," Liz added.
"Probably… unless you girls beat me to it," I added sheepishly.
"Oh, we won't. It's much cuter when a guy says it, like in the movies," Macey said matter-of-factly.
"Bex is gonna flip out!" Cammie squealed, stomping in place with excitement.
"Why would I flip out?" I heard a beautiful British voice ask from the top of the banister. She imitated Cammie's comment perfectly.
I stood up from the table, and turned around, looking at the most gorgeous person in the entire world. She was recovering from the hospital, it was obvious, but she smiled like the old Bex would, and she looked at us like we were her entire world. Bex was perched on a small black and silver wheelchair, smiling.
I though the girls would take over first, but Macey pushed me towards Bex and I stumbled. I recollected myself and casually strolled over to her.
"Hey, British Bombshell," I said normally.
"Hello Grant…" she tried to continue. Our little 'normal' game didn't work though, because she couldn't resist and lifted herself up and into my arms. She wrapped her legs around my waist, and her arms around my neck.
"Whoa, looks like someone missed me," I said with a smirk and wrapped my own arms around her waist. She rolled her eyes and buried her face into my chest.
"I missed you so much. You have no idea how much I missed you. You could ask the nurses at the CIA hospital if you want. They had to hear me rant about you saving me for several hours," she mumbled into my sweater.
"Bex… I need to tell you something," I said. She lifted her face up. "Yes?"
"I am in love with you," I replied, trying not to make it weird. I wished I said it in an amazing way, but tough luck. She smiled, tearing up a little.
"Me too," she replied with grateful smile. And then I kissed her with so much emotional, I might have died. But Bex was so perfect, so wonderful, and she fit perfectly against me.
When we both broke apart, we stared at each other's eyes with a stupid smile, one only we knew the true meaning to.
"You are so amazing," I told her.
"Shut up," she said, and pecked me. "So are you, Grant."
And I guess it was in that moment, that reassuring gesture that Bex gave me that made me realize that this was what I wanted. There would be arguments, breakups, kisses, and so much more that it might have taken a whole year to describe them exactly how they came about. But I don't want to ruin this moment, with me and my Bex, together and smiling like there was no tomorrow. I didn't seem to process much in that moment, but one thing definitely stood out. Bex and I would be together forever, I thought. She and I were inseparable, and I guess that's just what happens when you fall for a girl… a Gallagher girl, that is.
:.:.: