**Next chapter may be a bit delayed, I'm working some crazy hours next couple of days, but I'll get it posted as soon as I can**
**Enjoy!**
Chapter Three: Change Of Plans
Birds. She wasn't sure if the sound of birds is what woke her up, or if that was just the first thing her mind processed when consciousness finally began to flow through her. Kade opened her eyes slowly, seeing that the darkened room had illuminated ever so slightly since she last saw it; giving her the clear indication that it was daylight outside. Little by little, the rest of her body seemed to stir awake as she shifted and tested the stability of her muscles, surprised at how easy it was to move; but with that ability…came the memories still hot on her mind before she passed out.
Her eyes snapped open and she shot up into a sitting position, her head darting in every possible direction, scanning the room for any possible sign of him; fixating on the chair in the center of the room…the duct tape still hanging from the arms. Kade's heart went into her throat and her stomach churned violently, ghosting pain echoing out from her shoulder. She looked down, seeing that the torn and bloody shirt she was wearing before was gone, replaced with a dark gray one that practically swallowed her small frame.
She reached over, pulling the right sleeve up to expose a small pink scar where the wound had been. Disbelief washed over her as her fingers tested at the scar rewarded with a dull spike of pain against the point of pressure. It was still tender, but otherwise healed. Confusion took its root for only a moment before she rolled the sleeve back down and did one more scan of the room, still not convinced he wasn't going to just appear out of thin air like he had done.
Her eyes zeroed in on the door and the urge to go bolting out it was almost difficult to reign. When it came to fight or flight scenarios, she usually took the latter, given her hand to hand combat experience was nearly non-existent. Inhaling deeply to level her erratic breathing, she pushed her legs off the side of the bed, surprised she was still wearing her converse sneakers.
Standing up on her own wasn't as difficult as she imagined it being, but it still took her a minute to regain her center of balance. Kade exhaled slowly, taking a step forward, putting care into her footing against the wood floor. Her hands closed over the brass door knob, holding it securely as she slowly turned it. A rush of fresh air gushed by her as she opened the door, and the sigh of relief that escaped her was drowned out by the cramping growl of her stomach when she caught the scent of food…it smelled absolutely divine at the moment.
Kade bit down on her lip to distract her stomach, as if reminding it that she had more pressing issues at hand. Faint sounds coming from somewhere within the house had her heart rate increasing and she pulled the door open just a little more. The old hinges let out a squeak and she held her position, determining that she could slip through the gap with no issue to avoid any more noise.
She kept her footfalls slow and tender as she came out of the room and onto the bannister of a second floor; checking both left and right for any sign of movement. Determining that the sounds were coming from the lower floor, she made her way toward the stairs directly to the right, praying that the flooring wouldn't betray her.
It seemed to take ages at her pace before she reached the stairs, and she saw the front door only a few feet from the bottom step. Her problem however was the entryway to the kitchen on the right, which judging by the sounds, is where he was…if she wanted out…she had to get past the guard dog. Kade lowered her foot down on the first step and a high pitched creak came out from beneath it. She froze, her whole body tingling as her eyes set on the kitchen entry, prepared to see him flying around the corner to stop her. Whatever he was doing seemed to hold his attention, for what seemed like hours later, she relaxed enough to go down another step.
Memories of childhood bounced around her head, recalling the times she would sneak down into the kitchen to steal a snack in the middle of the night, and use just as much stealth to avoid waking her parents. Yet, as she reached the bottom step, it was clear that this situation was much more dire than before. It wasn't her parents she was sneaking away from…it was a cold blooded killer.
Now flat on the floor, she made her way to the kitchen entry, flattening her back against the wall and peeking around slowly. He had his back to her, concentrating on the stove, still dressed the way he was last time but this time she could clearly see the arsenal of weapons he had strapped to his body, his metal arm exposed all the way to the shoulder. Kade's heart went into her throat and she flattened herself to the wall, clamping her right hand over her mouth to keep herself quiet.
She took a second to compose herself, eyeing the door with ears trained on the sounds of something crackling in the skillet. Taking a deep breath she mustered up all the courage she could and made a silent creep for the door. Flattening her body against it, she took a ragged exhale, and reached for the deadbolt with unsteady hands. Fear was overtaking her, the fear of being caught when she was so close to freedom.
Shaking the entire time, she slowly turned the bolt, flinching when it clicked loose. She moved to the door handle, turning the dial to unlock it, then wrapped her fingers around the handle, twisting it slowly. A soft creak came from the hinges as the pressure released around her, bringing the door open inch by inch. She wanted to cry as relief came over her, her freedom was only three steps away.
The good feelings were gone in an instant when a force came up from behind her, slamming the door shut and effectively pinning her to it. Kade let loose a surprised squeak and braced herself, knowing at this point, trying to struggle free was only going to make things worse. His body was solid against her, and she felt his breath at her ear.
"Nice try" he growled, obviously less than pleased.
His body made itself vacant but a painful grip came over her upper right arm, practically dragging her into the kitchen. Survival instincts kicked in, which was the only reason she felt the need to fight him; although any effort to resist his pull proved null and void.
"You're hurting me, let go!" she spat, clawing at the metal arm that dragged her along.
He ignored her, stopping at a small table and all but throwing her into a chair placed on one side of it. She glowered at him, but held her place nevertheless, not wanting to make things worse…she seemed to be making a habit of testing his patience. As he went back to the stove, she glanced down at the table, her heart falling into her stomach as she took in the multitude of weaponry in front of her. Several handguns and an assault rifle were broken down across the table, no doubt for cleaning, including the small dart gun he used on her…which appeared to be loaded.
Kade's attention was disrupted when he dropped a plate in front of her, topped with the very source of the smell that had her stomach growling earlier…still steaming from the skillet. Part of her wanted to wolf down the offering in order to satisfy the churning emptiness, but given his reputation…she hesitated.
"What's this?" she questioned.
"Breakfast" he stated, taking a seat across from her with his own plate.
"What's in it?"
He looked up at her, and she didn't bother hiding the distrust in her eyes.
"Eggs" he retorted, stabbing his fork into the food and shoving it into his mouth.
Kade gave him a soured look, unimpressed with his sarcasm.
"Well considering you've drugged me twice already, you'll have to forgive me for being a little weary"
"I dosed you as a necessity, you have no problem losing consciousness because you haven't eaten…you need to eat"
"I wouldn't lose consciousness so easily if someone wouldn't make it their mission to break my bones with their bare hands" she snipped.
He brushed off her retort and went back to his food, leaving her to stare questionably at her own plate. Her stomach cramped painfully at her indecision, letting loose a low grumble. Kade sighed and picked up the fork next to her plate, scooping up a small clump of eggs and gingerly raising it to her mouth. The flavor that invaded her taste-buds wasn't what she was expecting, in fact it was the exact opposite. She tasted egg, but it was overcooked and bland.
Hiding the grimace was a difficult feat enough without the effort it was taking to finish chewing. She swallowed, sucking on her tongue in hopes to get rid of the after taste; casually stabbing at the eggs on her plate. Her hunger was far from satisfied, but even with that, she couldn't will herself to finish it. Kade tapped her fork on the plate quietly, and she felt the slightest itch on her shoulder with the pull of muscles.
"What did you do to me?..." she asked.
Blue eyes raised to meet hers but he never stopped chewing, urging her to elaborate on her question.
"…This kind of healing takes two weeks at a minimum…what did you do?"
His attention was brought back to his plate, taking another mouthful of food. Kadence grimaced, convinced this man had to be superhuman if he could stomach that foul mess.
"An accelerated healing serum that HYDRA developed a few years back…it's only temporary so I don't advise putting yourself in front of a bullet any time soon. Quit stalling and eat, you need your strength…we're leaving for Russia tonight"
If she had any appetite before, it was gone now.
"What?"
He ignored her, taking another mouthful of eggs. Kadence dropped her fork and sat up straight in the chair, concern and part panic etching over her face.
"Look, I know I said I could hack their network to trace the IP…but do you have any idea the kind of computer that takes without getting detected!? Something like that needs to be built, engineered, encrypted, it requires codes, algorithms…you can't just walk into Wal-Mart and buy something like that! And encase you haven't noticed, I don't exactly have access to my old equipment…"
He straightened his back, and stared her down, and Kade wasn't sure on whether he was merely taking this in, or entertaining the idea of killing her.
"…I can get you the names of hundreds of Russian analysts who have access to what you need, and can do it ten times better than me"
The silence that followed was deafening, and she watched as he just finished chewing, and swallowed; bearing that cold smirk.
"You sell yourself short. You honestly think that I just randomly came across you and fished you out of that river? I've been keeping an eye on you for days…"
Kadence paled and her stomach disappeared.
"…Considering HYDRA still sees me as an active asset, I have unrestricted access to all of their agent records, yours included…and you have quite the resume…Kadence…"
Her name rolled off his tongue so easily it sent chills up and down her spine, and she didn't know what was worse, the fact he's been spying on her for days, or the fact he's known who she was the entire time.
"…you are the youngest senior analyst ever recruited by HYDRA. Your father is chief analyst, and while he's taught you everything you need to know, your skills have now far exceeded his, eventually earning you the cyber name Jester…you're capable of a lot more than you're letting on. If I wanted a Russian analyst, I'd go get one…but I don't need one, when I have you at my disposal…"
She couldn't explain the unrelenting urge to punch him in the mouth at that point, regarding her as a disposable asset was just an insult she couldn't handle. It was bad enough HYDRA saw her as that…she didn't need it from him too.
"…We're sticking to the plan, I get you to Russia…you get me to HYDRA…now…eat"
He went back to his food like the conversation they just had was a normal as asking for the time. Kadence was willing to blame the rising anger for her sudden swell of bravery as her eyes fell to the dart gun nearby. A fleeting gesture suggested that the course of action she was currently planning bordered on the imbecilic, but she was not about to be drug halfway around the world to satisfy a grudge.
"Plans change" she hissed.
With speed she didn't know she had, Kade grabbed the dart gun, aimed at him and fired just as he looked up to question her sudden comment; an action that followed with a dart lodged in his neck.
"Ah, god damn it!" he howled, recoiling back.
She didn't bother relishing in her lucky aim, before she went vaulting out of the chair and bolting for the front door. Kadence slung the wooden door open and all but leapt down the three steps and onto a sidewalk, taking a moment to adjust her balance before taking off, running as fast as her legs would carry her.
It didn't matter if she had been running for five minutes or five hours, her lungs hurt, her legs hurt and her head started swimming; her stomach twisting painfully…reminding her she still needed to eat if she didn't want to black out. The sound of her sneakers against the sidewalk slowed to a stop and she doubled over, resting her hands on her knees to hold herself up, panting heavily. Sweat dripped from her forehead, making it obvious she didn't make a habit of physical activity; but when you potentially had a killer on your tail…it was motivation enough.
Kade took a deep breath and stood up straight, exhaling slowly to make sure she didn't fall right back over. She glanced around, looking for anything that looked familiar. It was a downtown setting, and not the most favorable of neighborhoods by the looks of it. Her eyes fell on a street sign nearby and the rise of delight bubbled up into her chest.
Virginia Avenue.
She was still in DC. While that news wasn't exactly the best in the world, it meant that there was a chance she could still reach her car…providing the HYDRA agents didn't push it over the bridge along with her. Kadence checked her pockets, and nearly cried out with joy to find her fake I.D, a credit card and a ten dollar bill still jammed in her back pocket where she left it.
A cheeseburger had never tasted so good, as she did her best not to just swallow the damn thing whole. Eating and walking was a lot easier since her stomach had time to process food, and she was already feeling ten times better than she had been over the past few days. Taking one final bite as she turned the street corner, her attention was brought to the very sign she had been looking for since she grabbed food…city impound.
Crumbling the wrapper in her hand and tossing it in the nearby trashcan she strode toward the front entrance, choking down her last bite and quickly composing herself; trying not to look like a criminal on the run. Kade strolled up to the guard shack, clearing her throat to gain the attention of the man inside, who seemed otherwise occupied with the Playboy magazine he was nose deep in just seconds earlier.
"Can I help you?" he asked, nervously stuffing the magazine under the desk.
"Uh, yea…I was uh…in an accident a few days ago…and I think they brought my car here"
"Your name on the registration?"
"Yes, Wood…Tiffany Wood" she replied, wondering how it got so easy to use her alias.
He turned to type the info into his computer. Kadence glanced around, trying her best not to act suspicious, but keeping a look out for anyone that may look like they're ready to put a bullet in her head. HYDRA wasn't so much on that list as a particular metal armed man was...and after her little stunt in the kitchen, he'd most likely make it slow and painful once he regained consciousness.
"Make and model?" he asked, snapping her back to reality.
"Oh, uh, 2012 Honda Civic…black…four door"
"Yep, it's here"
Finally, things were looking in her favor.
"Thank god. I don't suppose I can…get my things out of it at least?"
He scowled at her, raising his eyebrow questionably.
"Please, that's all I want to do…I have some…irreplaceable things in that car that I really, really, really…need back"
He sighed heavily, and Kade figured no harm in giving him a partial pout. She may have not been a master spy…but she still knew how to utilize her innocent feminine charm.
"I.D" he stated.
Kadence reached for her back pocket, fishing out her license and handing it to him. He glanced over it, looked at her, then back at the I.D before handing it back to her.
"Alright, use the door to the left and follow me" he instructed.
"Thank you so much!" she breathed, not bothering to hide the skip in her step as she made her way to the side door.
She followed him through what seemed like a maze of cars, most of them intact, the others bearing some kind of body damage; one of them barely even qualifying as a car anymore. They rounded one more corner and Kade paused for a second, taking in the sight of her vehicle. It looked a hell of a lot worse than she was expecting. The back bumper was destroyed, and pushed halfway into her backseat, while the passenger side front fender had been crushed so far inward it looked like half the engine was gone…it amazed her she survived that.
"Sad to say, you won't be driving it out of here…or anytime soon for that matter…insurance company already assessed the damage…she's totaled" he stated.
"Yea…I see that" she breathed, slowly walking toward it.
Memories of that night came flooding back to her. The jarring impact of both vehicles that pushed her into the support beam, the shouting, the smoke…the shooting; her heart rate skipped at the thought of it. A ghosting pain throbbed in her shoulder, where the scar of the bullet made its mark, and she resisted the urge to hold it; making her way to the passenger door…or at least what was left of it.
He stood back, giving her distance it seemed while she pried the door open; sighing with relief to see her laptop bag resting on the floorboard. She scooped it up and slung it over her shoulder, then leaned in to dig through the center console.
"I can't say it's the worst I've seen, but it's nasty nonetheless" he commented.
"Yea, I had a run in with something…rather big" she remarked, fishing a small silver phone and stuffing it into her pocket.
"Given this kind of damage…I'm surprised they released you from the hospital"
"Oh you know, a few bumps and bruises never killed anybody" she stated, sifting through the glove-box until she had hold of a small green flash drive.
"Maybe…but a bullet and tumble over the bridge should have"
Kade went rigid, and suddenly it was difficult to breathe; but that may have been because it felt like her heart was lodged in her throat. She slowly came out of the car, and turned to face the guard, who now had a gun trained on her. Several choice words crossed her mind and she eyed for any possible means of cover that would be only a quick dive away. Her hopes were crushed, wondering if that was their intention all along, isolating her car in the back so if she did survive, it would be easy to just kill her for sure.
"You should have stayed dead" he sneered.
A gunshot echoed out, startling her, but the pain she was expecting to follow, never came. Instead, she watched in part horror as half the guard's head seemed to explode, spraying blood, bone, and brain matter all over the place. His body careened sideways and hit the ground with a low thud…motionless. Kade was frozen in fear, unable to get her legs to work no matter how hard she willed them to move.
It wasn't until another shot rang out and the bullet struck her car not inches from where she stood that she snapped out of her trance, scrambling backward so quickly she nearly fell. Kadence bolted off into the maze of the impound, hoping to use the cover of the cars until she escaped.
Her hands were still shaking as she struggled to put the SIM card into the silver phone. She glanced around, trying to keep her face obscured by the blue hoodie she had purchased twenty minutes ago; a last ditch effort to keep herself hidden. People bustled all around her, utilizing the strip mall for shopping sprees and convenient vanity purchases. Kadence, however, was using it to blend it…hoping to avoid a sniper that obviously wanted her dead.
"Couldn't have just let the FBI take you in, could you?...had to go off on your own" she muttered to herself.
Finally sliding the card inside, she pushed the back cover on and turned the phone on, scanning her surroundings again while she waited for the device to boot up; her legs fidgeting the entire time. She had been working for HYDRA for ten years, and while death was a part of their grand plan, as a computer analyst, she was never directly exposed to it…until now.
The image of his head caving in like an overly ripe watermelon was something she wouldn't soon forget, and the odds of it haunting her dreams, was very high. What worried her more was the identity of the shooter. The guard was an agent, which meant HYDRA didn't fire it. S.H.I.E.L.D was a possibility, and any of their people had every reason to go after her if they knew who she really was, but their agents had scattered to the wind. FBI was ruled out…they would have taken them both alive. Her thoughts landed back to one person, time and time again…and that fact concerned her.
He had a tranquilizer dart buried in his neck last she saw him, and it took her only two hours to find the impound…there was no way in hell he recovered that quickly AND managed to find her in time to take roost…or at least she hoped.
With the phone booted, she pressed a serious of buttons, accessing a code to ensure the phone stayed secure. Kade slid off the chair she was perched on, waiting for the code to take effect as she made her way through the crowd, knowing well enough to not stay in one place for very long when you had crosshairs on your back. As the screen flashed with a prompt saying "secure", she ducked down a side ally and dialed a phone number she never thought she'd need to call.
"Please work…please work" she mumbled, hearing momentary silence on the receiver.
Some seconds later, a female voice chimed into her ear.
"Line secure"
"Thank you" she breathed, as the line began to ring.
It only rang twice before a man answered on the other line.
"Hello?"
"Mitch…I don't suppose you have a minute to talk alone do you?" she asked quietly.
He was silent for a brief second, then responded.
"Yea, sure mom…gimmie a second"
A cover, no doubt she caught him at a bad time…or with bad company, one of the two. She heard him cover the phone with his hand, mumbling something about his mother, and then walking…then a door closing.
"Kade?"
"The one and only…for now anyway" she remarked, trying to make light of her current situation.
"Have you lost your mind!? You are listed as terminated and deceased, do you have any idea what they'll do to either of us if they find out you contacted me!?" he hissed.
She expected him to be upset, he had a lot more to lose than she did if HYDRA did realize he was in communication with a rogue.
"Calm down, do you really think I'm that stupid!? I put an encrypted SIM in a burner phone and secured the line, they can't trace it"
He sighed heavily, and she only imagined him pacing the floor like a man on the phone with a girlfriend claiming to be pregnant.
"Look, I don't know who else to call…but I need help, and you know I wouldn't call for that unless it was important" she stated, slowly walking down the alleyway.
"Kade…if this was any other circumstance I would…but I cannot put my family at risk…I won't"
"You don't have to, that's not the kind of help I'm asking for"
"Then what are you asking for?"
"I need you to book your mother, a flight from DC to Chicago"
"Chicago? What the hell is in Chicago?"
"Considering the parameters of this conversation, the less you know the better" she replied, turning on her heel and slowly walking toward the sidewalk.
"How soon do you need it?"
"Yesterday would be fantastic"
"I'll see what I can do…but you should know that you're listed as deceased…they won't be looking for you"
"HYDRA may be convinced I'm dead for the time being, but there is someone else who is very much aware that I'm not"
"Who?"
"It's best you don't know that either…all I can tell you is that the further I am away from him the-"
Her sentence was cut short when a strong arm snaked its way around her waist, yanking her back into a solid form. She wasn't given a chance to scream before another hand came over her face, forcing a cloth over her mouth and nose. Her instinctive gasp for air turned out to be just what her attacker wanted as she breathed in whatever had been put it the cloth; she vaguely recalled it having a sweet smell. Her head spun violently, her body went numb, and then everything went black.
