Disclaimer: I don't own the African jungle. Besides that, enjoy this chapter! Once again, reviews and comments are appreciated!
Chapter 4
Cathica sighed, leaning back against the cool stone wall of her room. She had spent the last few days interviewing people who had be transported from the future to this time, learning their stories and working on the article for the African News Channel. All under Chaths' supervision of course. The ATI agent had made it his job to thoroughly read anything Cathica sent back to her boss, and often made suggestions for minor changes that wouldn't give away any classified information. Tomorrow was to be her final day at ATI headquarters, and she was planning on using it to tie up any loose ends in her article. The journalist knew that she was going to miss working with Chaths, but there was nothing she could do about that.
Hearing a soft tap on her door, she reached over and hit the panel next to her bed, unlocking the door. Although it wasn't necessary, Cathica felt safer with the door locked when she was alone at night. She watched as Chaths poked his head in and politely asked, "Miss Akins, may I come in?"
"Of course." she answered, smiling at the younger man's calm expression. Although he appeared relaxed, the woman could tell that he was worried about something. Slipping inside, he shut the door behind him and sat down at the computer chair, swinging it around to face her. Returning her smile, the ATI field agent asked, "I hope I'm not disturbing you?"
"No, not at all. The article can wait until tomorrow. Besides, it's too late to be working." Nodding, Chaths fell silent, his gaze on the small fountain that was tucked into a corner. Puzzled by his odd behaviour, Cathica waited for him to speak, sensing that it had to be something important for him to come see her so late. When a few minutes had passed and he still hadn't said anything, she crossed her arms and stared at him. Finally noticing her slightly angry glare, the younger man sighed, shifted and coughed uneasily. Staring doggedly at the stone floor, he muttered, "Er….if it's not too much of a hassle, Miss Akins…could you possibly…help…me?"
Realizing that he was bushing furiously and was attempting to hide it, Cathica struggled with herself to keep a straight face and not give him a sound whack over the head. She knew she was being mean, but she had never seen Chaths so uncomfortable around her, and it funny to watch. Cathica was also slightly upset that he hadn't asked her earlier for help. Although they had known each other for only a few days, she felt a close connection to him. Deciding to make her point, she waited until Chaths had lifted his gaze from the floor to her face, the frowned. "Now Chaths, you should know better…" she said sternly, watching as his expression fell, "…than to have to ask me for help. Of course I'll help you!" Grinning at his rather dazed expression, she moved so that she was perched on the edge of her bed.
"You…you really mean that?" the younger man asked, still looking slightly stunned with her accepting his offer. Chucking, Cathica nodded, watching as a smile lit up his face. "Well that's a relief. If you are serious about helping, you'll have to stay here a bit longer. Is that still alright?" Her reply was to reach over and give him a not-so-gentle tap on the top of the head. Smiling, he nodded and continued. "Alright then. I'll explain the situation. T3 thinks they found the reason why people are being brought back from to future in such large numbers, and it isn't good. They traced the signals left behind from the transportation method back to a location in central Africa, and I've been assigned to investigate. My commander suggested I take you with me, since you're now directly involved with this case."
"But you had your doubts?" Cathica prodded him after he stopped talking. Chaths nodded slowly, looking mildly uncomfortable. "Y-yes…I did…You see…This could be a dangerous mission, and…I don't want you to get hurt. If you did, I'd never forgive myself." Blinking at his sudden admission, she stared at him for s few seconds before grinning. "Don't you worry about me. I can handle myself just fine. So, when do we start?"
"Whenever you're ready. A car is waiting outside the main entrance."
"What? No transporter this time?" Cathica asked jokingly, standing up and retrieving her travel bag from under the bed. She slipped some empty data pads and a spare chance of clothes inside, folding her coat on top of everything.
"No. Time is of the essence, so that's why we're leaving so soon. We can sleep during the trip, since it's going to take us a while to get to our destination. Avoiding detection is important." Chaths answered seriously, but his smile indicated he had gotten the joke.
"I see. I'm ready then. Let's fly!" Chuckling, the younger man stood up and slipped his hand into hers, leading Cathica from the room.
- - -
Cathica yawned and sat up, blinking in the bright light. The sun had just risen, turning the sky a wonderful to her left gold colour. The flying car was travelling steadily southwards, skimming low over the seemingly endless jungle below the vehicle. Beside her, Chaths was still asleep, his head resting on her shoulder. A blanket wrapped around them kept off the chill of the African dawn. Gazing down at him, the woman smiled faintly, noticing how innocent he looked while sleeping.
Leaning back, she wondered how much longer it would take for them to reach their destination. The ATI agent hadn't told her anything else about where the pair were heading, except that it was deep in the central jungles. Cathica knew from her research that the jungles had almost disappeared during the 21st century, but a massive effort by several governments had saved the unique plant and animal life that lived there. Since then, the jungles had been allowed to grow, stretching north into what had once been barren desert. Because of that, they could be almost anywhere. If something happened to them, their remains would probably never be located. The massive jungle also made a perfect hiding spot for whoever was plucking people from the future.
Hearing a soft chuckle, Cathica swung her head around, meeting the younger man's intense gaze. Surprised that she hadn't heard him wake up, she stammered, "G-good m-morning!"
"Same to you." Sitting up, he stretched and rubbed his eyes. Leaning forward, Chaths stared at the car's dashboard and started to tap away at the small keyboard set into the panel. "Sleep well?" he asked, still focused on the task at hand.
Wondering what he was doing but knowing better than to ask, she replied, "Pretty good. You?"
"Not bad. This is probably the most comfortable car I've been in for a while." the man answered, pressing a final key and facing Cathica again. Smiling at her bemused expression, he continued. "Most of the ATI's cars are for practical use only, with lots of equipment and stuff but not much room left over for the passengers. This car, however, is for extended trips. I don't normally get to use these, so I'm very pleased at the moment."
"Ah, I see. So, when will be arriving?" the journalist asked, settling back in her seat and gazing out the window. The morning light had turned the jungle canopy into a painter's pallet , highlighting the multitude of colours the trees bore. It was a truly beautiful sight.
"We'll probably be landing in about ten minutes or so. Even I'm not sure of our exact location." Chaths admitted, moving over to look over her shoulder. Aware of his warm breath on her ear, Cathica muttered, "Hey, don't you have your own window to look out of?"
"I do, but yours has a better view." he replied softly. Falling silent, they watched the world below wake up to a new day, just enjoying each other's company. Cathica let her mind wander, her thoughts drifting back to her time on Satellite 5, wondering how all her old friends were doing. She hoped that they had adjusted well to the sudden disappearance of their boss.
Cathica was jerked out of her thoughts by a loud bang that made the entire car shake. "W-what was that?!" she asked, feeling Chaths grab onto her as the vehicle lurched sideways. Another impact rocked the car, sending them tumbling to the other window. "I think we're being attacked!" Chaths said as the flying car skimmed over the tree-tops.
"From who?"
"The people we're going to see."
"This is one hell of a welcome then." Cathica muttered through gritted teeth as a third explosion caused the vehicle to lurch hard to the left. Chaths was hanging onto her for dear life, while she was pressed up against the window they had been looking out of just a few short minutes earlier. The jungle was racing past mere inches from her face, forming into a giant green blur. Feeling dizzy, the woman shifted so that she was looking ahead, but still down at the trees below. In the distance, she saw a small puff of smoke and something silver speeding towards them. She was about to warn the ATI agent of another hit, but didn't get the chance. The missile slammed into the car, and everything froze for a moment. Then her world shattered into a million silver shards.