Chapter Two
Miles woke in a jump. He heard footsteps coming his way. He looked and eased up as he realized it was Nora. She sat down next to him on the firm ground.
"Where have you been? You know you shouldn't go out alone".
Nora simply shrugged. She hated the way Miles always thought he needed to have her back. She had managed fine without him before, she didn't need him.
"I was on the lookout, trying to see what was happening on the grounds. I think something is going down. You should come have a look for a while".
Miles sat up. "What do you mean something is going down"?
Nora, was practically sure of what she had seen regardless of what she knew. But the only way to verify it was for Miles to see it with his own two eyes. If she was right, he would most probably lose it. Nevertheless, he needed to know.
She sighed, gave a quick glance to Charlie and Aaron before returning her attention to Miles.
"Look, it may be nothing but I want to get your feel for it OK. Come on".
They both stood. Miles looked over at Charlie and Aaron. "We are going to the look out. We'll be back in a while. In the meantime you both stay quiet and put"!
Charlie nodded and resumed her discussion with Aaron.
Miles and Nora headed out a few miles to a hill that overlooked the grounds and provided a clear view of what was going on. The laid down like snipers and watched. For the first half hour, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. Then a group militia guards stepped out of the headquarters followed by Sebastian himself. Miles knew this was protocol; Sebastian never left his headquarters unless he was fully escorted. Yet what he saw next, nothing could have prepared him for it. He blinked a couple of times, he even wiped his eyes with his hands.
Nora looked at him from the corner of her eyes. If she had been right, she would need all her strength to hold him back.
Miles removed his hands from his eyes, looked out again and focused…Suddenly it became clear. His blood started to boil in every inch of his body. Without thinking, he prepared to lurch and go downhill. Inevitably, he felt himself being pinned down as Nora jumped her entire body on top of his.
His entire body trembled. It was a mix of anger, of pain, of longing and of hatred. Still with Nora holding him back, he dropped his head to the ground. He wanted to scream, scream his heart out but he knew he couldn't without having the militia on them within minutes.
Nora felt him ease under her. She could barely hear him but finally as she eased off of him, heard his faint voice. "No… Oh God Claire..No"..
He lifted his head again and quickly shot Nora a look of distress and disbelief before returning his attention to the grounds. Aside from the fact that she was in Sebastian's possession, she looked fantastic. She still looked like she did the day they had met, the day they had gotten married. He watched silently as they escorted Sebastian and her to what was known as the hospital. Had Claire looked ill, he would have worried more than he was but this also was protocol; any new member arriving on the grounds needed a full medical checkup within 24 hours of their arrival.
Nora slid back from the top of the hill. "Come on Miles. There is nothing you can do for her now".
He looked back at her. She was right. Until they had come up with a plan, there was nothing they could do to free Danny or Claire. Yet, he suddenly found himself in a delicate situation. If a choice had to be made and only one could be saved, which one would he pick?
When they returned to Charlie and Aaron, they both sensed something was wrong. Charlie didn't know Miles all that well but still she could read on his face that something had taken a toll on him.
"Miles? Is everything all right"?
Her worry grew as he sat down and cradled his head in his hands without answering her.
"Miles"?
Even Aaron was starting to get concerned. "Miles what is going on"? "Is it Danny"?
Miles remained silent and from where they were, they only saw a single tear roll down his cheek.
Nora looked at them. "No it's not Danny. It's Miles'…". Miles head shot up from his hands.
"Nora, no'! he said fiercely.
Nora, Charlie and Aaron were taken aback by his sudden outburst.
Nora looked at Miles. "Miles, they have a right to know".
Miles shook his head 'no'. "Oh yeah? And why is that"?
"Because even if you haven't said anything, I know you think the same thing I do and it changes the plans. This is going to be much harder than we thought initially. They didn't sign up for this part and they need to know, they have a right to know".
Miles continued nodding 'no'. "What they don't know, can't kill them".
Charlie moved towards Miles. "Miles, tell us. Maybe we can help".
Miles sighed, looked up at the sky. "Sebastian has my wife".
Aaron looked at Miles, at first he thought it was a bad joke but when he realized it wasn't started to understand him a bit better. All this time, he and Miles had not been so different after all. Miles' cold-heartedness, his lack of wanting to get involved with others were simply because he had suffered a loss, one that he could relate to even if it has been his choice.
Charlie looked at Miles surprised. "You have a wife"?
Miles looked at her. "Yes. I thought I had a wife but apparently I still do".
"Sorry Miles but you lost me there", said Aaron cleaning his glasses with his shirt.
"Claire and I got married when you were just a baby Charlie. You obviously don't remember. Two days before the blackout, Claire left South Carolina for New York. She was a book editor and needed to go with one of the authors to a book show. At the time of the blackout, Claire was supposed to be on a plane headed back to South Carolina. All the planes that were in the air at that time all crashed, leaving no survivors. I came to terms inevitably with the fact that Claire had died on one of them. I don't know what happened but she's still alive and Sebastian has been holding her hostage at least for the past day. So yes, you can say I'm married".
Charlie took Miles' hand in hers. "I'm so sorry Uncle Miles. If you thought she had died, wouldn't have Monroe thought the same".
"Yes. He was my best friend, hell he was even my best man, so he knew everything there was to know about Claire. He was actually the one who helped me get over her death. I don't know why she's there, but one thing is for sure, it's not a coincidence. If she is there, it's because he's been looking for her. He probably thought it was a long shot and he sure has enough men to trail the country for years even if it they brought no one back".
Aaron nodded.. "OK.. OK.. so he has Claire. But why"?
Miles shot him a look that made Aaron feel really stupid. "Sebastian is a very clever man Aaron. And it doesn't take one to know that if I were to hear that he has my wife, I'm not going to let him get away with it".
Aaron nodded. "Yeah. So"?
Nora stepped in. "Basically, this means he's using Claire as bait to get Miles. And when he does he will most probably kill him".
"Holy crap!" yelled out Aaron.
Silence settled in as everyone seemed to weigh the consequences of this new revelation.
Miles stood and started walking away. Charlie rose to follow him but was stopped by Nora.
"Charlie, he's fine. You just need to give him some space. He's got to cope with a lot right now. He must feel scared, powerless, guilty, terrified and angry".
Charlie sat back down and continued to look towards the direction her uncle had gone. "Why would he feel guilty".
Nora sighed. "For two reasons… The first is that he suspected she was dead when after all this time she wasn't, he let her down even if it wasn't his intention. The second is because of me. Commitment and respect is something very important to Miles, he broke that with me".
"But he didn't know. And don't wedding vows usually say till death do us part? He thought she was dead".
"I know and he knows that too but that doesn't mean he doesn't have remorse. Right now he's torn. But one thing is for sure. Until he has accepted the situation and gotten his emotions under control, we are staying put".
Miles walked to a clearing in the woods where there was a brook. He knelt down, took water into his hands and splashed it on his face. He sat down and stared at the water.
Flashback:
It was summer. He and Bass were on leave that weekend and had decided to go to the beach nearby, their usual beach. The sun was shining and it was packed. They picked a spot not too far from the water next to a group composed of 5 young men and 4 young women. He and Bass took of their shirts to reveal their very muscular figure. 3 out of the 4 girls kept staring in their direction obviously enjoying the view of the two of them rather than what appeared to be their dates or boyfriends. Bass laughed at this scene and then stood to run in the water. Two of the girls followed him and were quick in starting up a conversation. Had Miles been able to bet, he was sure that one of the girls would finish her night with Bass, that's just the way it was.
Bass waved at Miles to join them but something captured all his attention. It was the 4th girl who hadn't acknowledged their presence. She was sitting in a long chair apparently very busy reading a book. He couldn't make much out as she was wearing a straw hat on her head and sunglasses but still he liked what he saw. Suddenly an amazing gust of wind rose and her hat went flying in his direction. He stood just in time to catch it as it flew by him. When he turned, she was standing there.
He smiled at her. "I think this is yours". He handed it to her.
She took it and smiled as well. "Yes, I believe it is. Thank you".
She lifted her sunglasses and placed them on the top of her head and their eyes locked. Wow! She had the most beautiful almond shaped brown eyes he had ever seen.
He broke the stare and held out his hand. "I'm Miles".
She took his hand and shook it. "I'm Claire. It's a pleasure to meet you Miles".
Claire had been nervous. She hadn't known what to do, did she stay or go back to her place?
"Well thanks again for catching my hat Miles. Enjoy the rest of your day". She smiled, put her sunglasses back on along with her hat and headed back to her chair.
Miles smiled. "I will now"!
Claire turned around and smiled again at him before she returned to her seat. She picked up her book and didn't even pay attention when one of the guys walked up to her, most probably asking for an explanation on who Miles was.
The rest of the day was pretty much the same. Bass came in an out of the water, still working on the chicks and Miles just kept looking over at Claire. She was definitely the quiet type, he couldn't picture her like one of the girls in the water with Bass, shrieking and laughing loudly to get attention. She was what he considered to be a serious girl.
At around 4PM, Bass was more than underway of winning one of the girls over as he whispered in her ear and caressed the back of her neck in the water. It was a sure thing that Bass wouldn't return to base that night but most probably to his usual motel room.
Claire closed her book. She stood and placed it on her chair as she grabbed her dark blue pareo and tied it around her waist. She said something to one of the girls laying down on a towel and started walking west alongside the water. Miles heart was beating fast, he knew that this was his only chance if he wanted to see her again. He stood and jogged to catch up with her. She didn't seem surprised when he reached her side. She had later revealed that she had desperately hoped he would.
"Would you like some company"?
Before she could answer one of the guys walked their way and called out her name. "Hey Claire wait up"...
Claire looked at Miles. "If your company then yes. Come on"! Before he knew it she started to sprint, he was caught off guard and so was the young dude behind but Miles was military and was most probably quicker than the other guy and had more endurance. He eventually caught up with Claire and they both stopped to turn and see the other guy had been outrun and had given up.
"Wow! Let me guess...track and field"?
She laughed. "Yep and hurdles too". She looked at him from head to toe. "Let me guess..military"?
He passed a hand through his hair.. "That obvious huh"? She flirtatiously nudged him with her shoulder. "No, not really. It was a long shot but there are a lot of Army guys that come to this beach on the weekends, you know to hook bait, like your friend back there".
Miles turned his head in direction to where Bass most probably was. "Oh yeah well that's Sebastian for you. Really a ladies man, he's incorrigible".
Claire looked at her feet as the waves came up to them. "Hmmm.. What about you Miles"?
"Me? I'm a one lady man".
"Really"?
"Yeah really. That's why I spent the entire day looking at one lady while Sebastian was trying to win two over in the water".
Claire caught her breath. "So who were you looking at"?
Miles stopped walking. "You".
Claire stopped as well and they looked at each other. She gave a shy smile. "Oh".
Miles looked at her. Her long brown hair was blowing in the wind, the sun was reflecting on the water behind her. That was the moment he knew, he would never forget that day. He knew he only had this moment to make it count.
"Have dinner with me tonight".
She bit her lower lip. "Dinner"?
"Yes dinner and why not a movie before or after dinner. You can pick the movie".
"You're serious"?
He got a serious look on his face. "Does it look like I'm joking"?
"Ok. On one condition... No motel room afterward".
"It hadn't even crossed my mind. Where can I pick you up and at what time"?
She pointed to something behind him. "Here at six thirty sharp".
He turned to see a very big wooden beach house. "OK. Six thirty it is then".
She started to head to the house. "Don't be late, I love punctuality. And one more thing, don't stand me up".
He nodded. "Beautiful, even if I were on the other side of this country, I would never stand you up. Heck even if I didn't know where you were, I'd still find you.. my radar is locked on you now"!
She had laughed and ran towards the house. He had staid there until he could no longer see her and had walked back to their spot. Bass was busy kissing one of the girls on their towels.
"Bass, you need a ride back to base"?
Sebastian unlocked lips with the blond and addressed Miles his winner's smile. "Not tonight my friend. See you in the morning".
Flashback ends:
Miles picked up a stone next to him and threw it in the brook. So much for his freaking radar... They were connected, they had a special bond. He should have felt that she was still alive. He would have searched and walked for years to find her if he had known. Now it was too late and who knew what she thought of him. He had abandoned her and now she was at Bass' mercy. "I swear to God Bass, you lay one hand on her and I will kill you this time for sure"!
