Chapter 4
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3AM
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Randy woke up from a dream with a jolt. In it, he was on a shoot-out with some armed men in the forest, like in the video game that he always plays. Except in the dream, he was with the girl and he was trying to get her to safety.
He took a moment to grasp his reality. He was still in the motel, naked in the same bed he slept in, but she's gone. He grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around his waist as he stood up. Did he get robbed? Did she leave? Maybe she took his car? He found his pants, and the car key is still inside. His bags were right where he left them. But where is she?
That's when he noticed her stuff resting by the television set.
"So, she didn't leave…" He said to himself.
He thought it was kind of weird that he felt relieved that she didn't just leave like she did the other night, when they were on his bus.
"Pretty dainty for someone who can kick ass." He said, when holding up one of her boots. He put it down and took her gun. ".45 caliber colt. Nice."
The necklace she was wearing was coiled around the gun, so he looked untangled the necklace from the gun and tried to open the locket, when she suddenly appeared behind him, in all her naked glory.
"What are you doing?" She asked, standing behind him like a statue—cold and unmoving, yet so striking, almost ethereal and mysterious, like a goddess in the dead of the night with the moonlight shining through the window. It renders him immobile for a second.
She took the necklace from him and walked towards the bed. She moved so casually for someone being naked, it's like she didn't mind her current state at all, or him staring at her.
"Were you looking for me?" She sat on the edge of the bed, crossing her legs, arms propped behind her for support.
"Umm…yeah, I was." He said, still standing right where he was.
"I was in the bathroom. I had to pee." She said, looking at him through the moonlight. He's a sight to behold, she had to admit. There was something—a kind of animalistic attraction to him. She'd felt it when they first met, but it just get stronger every time since then, until she couldn't hold out much longer. "You want to come over here and share the blanket? I'm getting kinda cold."
"Right…" He smirked.
There was no more reason to hold out. They've crossed the line and all that's left is to play with it. He walked over, undoing the blanket off his waist. She glimpsed at it and bit her lip, but looked right back into his eyes, sliding back on the bed as he crawled over.
"Round three?" He asked.
"You're on!" She said, grabbing him around his nape as he pulled the blanket over the two of them.
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4:15 AM
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She sat awake beside him in bed, staring at her necklace in deep thought. A truck passed by and there was light seeping in through the curtains. It woke Randy up from his not so deep slumber. He turned around to her side when the light moved over his eyes and caught a glimpse of her as he did.
"Hey…" He said, sleepily.
"Hey…" She said, barely glancing at him.
"What are you doing up?" He asked, "Planning to leave?"
"No." She said.
There was something in the quality of her voice that told him she wasn't quite as sure of herself as she was the last couple of days. There was no authority, no conviction in her voice, and he wasn't used to it. He opened his eyes, and stared at her for a while. He noticed she was holding her necklace in her hand.
"That seems important to you." He said.
"It is." She tossed it to him. "Open the locket."
He sat up on the bed, and opened the locket. In it was a picture of her and a man. "Boyfriend?"
"No. He's my partner. It's just a prop." She said. "As an agent…we were working undercover as a couple." She clarified. "But he's gone now."
"Wanna talk about it?" He asked.
She looked at him, searching for something—some kind of assurance that she could trust him. He looked at her intently. There was something in her eyes telling him that despite her tough façade, that she was scared, confused and vulnerable.
"Listen, I know you can't tell me…It's 'confidential'…But maybe you can make an exception. I'm already involved in this…" He paused, "You can trust me."
She leaned back on the headboard with a deep sigh. "His name is Dick Bennett." She said, after a while. "We never really got along, even when we were just training. That's why I didn't expect him to do what he did."
She told him the whole story…
It was about 6 months ago, when she was given her first assignment as a rookie agent. She was excited to get into action until she learned who her partner was going to be. It was Dick Bennett. What's worse was that they were supposed to come in as a couple.
They were supposed to investigate an illegal immigration scheme down in Mexico. They got a tip that some rich businessman was on top of all of it. So they were implanted in his corporate office in Texas. She was to be the new temporary secretary to him, while Bennett was the new accountant.
The first couple of months went by smoothly. They were getting things done as far as evidence goes regarding the tip they received. But then, something bothered Bennett about the amount of money that was coming in from the businesses outside US and Mexico.
She wanted to stick with the assignment, but he was insistent on following up his gut that something else was going on. They reported it to their senior officers, and they were ordered to stick to the plan. But Bennett had convinced her to let him investigate further. She stuck to their assignment as he went on his own investigation.
Then, just a month ago, things started to change. It got difficult for her to get anywhere with their assignments. It was like someone was sabotaging her. Security got tighter at work too. She wasn't allowed in offices she was used to.
Bennett was acting strange as well. Sometimes he was distant—in deep thought. Sometimes he was just uneasy around her. Three weeks after that, he was transferred to the office in Mexico to do some "accounting." They remained in contact, if by little. She felt like he was being secretive, and she reported that to their senior officer.
They deemed the assignment to be compromised, and she was told to come back. She was finishing up on her investigation and didn't want to just drop it, but she had no choice. She couldn't just disappear though. She had to clean up all evidences of the investigation first.
She was packing up all the evidence and was ready to leave when suddenly a group of men invaded her apartment and took her along with the evidence. She was slipping in and out of consciousness while being transported, and had no idea where they were taking her. She saw only glimpses and heard a few dropped names which she took mental notes of, when she finally gained consciousness inside a warehouse.
Bennett was there too. And he was battered and bruised when she saw him, with his hands tied behind him. The bad guys had discovered their little investigation because of him. He said he didn't want her to get involved, but they tortured him until he gave them the information that they wanted. He was apologizing profusely for compromising her safety.
They were held in one of the offices in the warehouse as the men await orders on what to do with them. She was sure they were going to get killed, especially when Bennett told her what he discovered. He told her that not only were they involved in human trafficking, but they were also involved in drug trafficking. And not only in the United States either. In fact, they were supplying to the drug cartels in Eastern Europe.
And then the orders came for them to be executed. They were blindfolded and taken somewhere. When they stopped, the blindfolds were taken off. Before they were taken out of the van, Bennett told her to wait for her signal to make a run for it.
There were only two guys, he said. He could take them out or at least distract them enough for her to get away. She didn't want to leave him, but he said one of them has to get out of the situation alive to report back to the Bureau.
And then it happened. The men took her out first and made to kneel in front of the van with the head lights blinding her. One of them watched her while the other two were getting Bennett. Suddenly she heard the two men grunt, and she figured Bennett must have attacked them.
The man watching her sprung to action and went to the back to see what was happening and that's when she heard Bennett yelled for her to run. She ran as fast as she could, until she heard shots fired several times and she knew they have killed him. She didn't get very far though.
One of them, a guy in a black car, caught her and shot her in the arm, just before the other two guys who killed Bennett caught up with her and knocked her unconscious. When she regained consciousness, she was in the car, at the passenger side. Her wound hurt and she was bleeding but she pretended to still be unconscious.
She heard one of the men ask why they don't just kill her already and dump her body where no one would find her, like what their boss said. But the one driving, the one who shot her said he wanted to see the look in her eyes as she begs for mercy before killing her. The guy was obviously sick in the head. She knew when they stop they were going to do what they to Bennett, and knew she had to find a way to escape.
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"How did you get away?"
"Like I said, I was pretending to be unconscious…When I saw we were in the woods, I knew that's where they plan to kill me and dump my body, so I had to act fast. I…stepped on the break, smash the driver's face, in the steering wheel, grabbed his gun and jumped out…And I ran. And that's when I found you." She said. "Or rather, you found me…hiding in your tour bus."
"Holy shit." He uttered.
He leaned back on the headboard beside her. They were both silent for a moment. He couldn't believe what she's been through, what she has survived.
He looked at her and noticed something different about her. Her shoulders were slumped and her eyes weren't as lively as it was before. He wondered if it was from recalling what she's gone through.
"So what are you gonna do now?" He asked.
She looked up at him for a second, and then suddenly just placed her head on his shoulder. "I'm not really sure…Tell you the truth, I'm not quite sure about anything."
"You'll be okay." He said. "You'll think of something…"
He wanted to console her but he didn't know how. In the short time that he's known her, she just always seems so in control, and strong, and he wasn't used to her acting that way.
"I don't know…." She laid back down, turning her back on him, feeling the heaviness in her soul. Her voice was starting to break, and tears were forming in her eyes and she didn't want him to see. "I'm not even sure I'm cut out for this right now. This job…I don't know if I…"
"Okay, listen…" He touched her arm. His touch was warm and reassuring. "You can do this. You wouldn't have passed the training and exams they put you through if you weren't cut out for the job. I know you're scared, but you got to stay strong. You have to focus. You have to fight. You have to believe in yourself."
She didn't say a word. She just laid there still. He was getting to her, and he knew it.
"Look at me.." He said, gently turning her towards him, looking down over her. His eyes were so intense, yet so comforting. "This isn't you. You're tough, you're brave…Hell if it was anyone else, they'd be dead by now. But you're here, you're alive…Don't you think there's a reason for that? Maybe, because you still have a lot to accomplish?"
"You don't know what you're talking about…"
"Yeah, I do." He said, "I know who you are. I've seen who you are."
"How could you say that when you don't even know my name?"
"So tell me your name."
She looked deep into his eyes, and it looks like she was going to. But she didn't. Instead, she turned her back on him again. As disappointed as he was, he let it go. He thought perhaps she needed to take some time to think things through, so he didn't push it.
Besides, he shouldn't have to care anyway, because it will all be over in the morning and he wouldn't even have to see her again.
But the fact of the matter is that he was starting to care about her. And that's exactly what was bothering him as he lay awake beside her.
That fact didn't go unnoticed either. And if she would be honest with herself, she knows she's starting to feel the same way. If she didn't want him to get involved then, she feels that way even more so now. She thought that if she finally knew what sort of trouble he was getting himself into, that it would scare him away. But as he was telling him what she'd been through, she felt overwhelmed at the gravity of her situation. She didn't expect that. She didn't expect him to be the one to save her from falling apart either.
She closed her eyes and fell asleep, thinking about what he said.
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8:30 AM
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Randy woke up to the sound of people walking by outside their room. The Sun was already hot and he guessed the other customers were already getting on their way. He spread his arm across the bed and didn't feel anything there except more linen and space. That's when he got up and scanned the room, but she wasn't there. Even her things and clothes were gone.
"Well I guess that's it." He sighed.
He expected that she would have already left before the sun came up, just like when they met the first time, but he was kind of hoping she wouldn't. He put his clothes on and got ready to leave. But when he was looking for his rental car key, he couldn't find it anywhere in his stuff.
"God damn it!" He exclaimed, as he dropped his bags at the floor, realizing she might have taken his keys and stole the rental car.
He ran out the door, to where he parked the car. But he wasn't even half way there when he saw her drive up and come out of the car, with food and coffee in her hands. He just stood there, looking at her as she walked up to him. His train of thought was completely thrown off, because he didn't expect her to still be around.
"Looking for me?" She asked, as she walked past him, back to their room.
He followed closely behind, still with a mix of surprise, delight and embarrassment. She went inside the room and saw his bags on the bed.
"Leaving already?" She put the coffee and food down on the table and sat down.
"I ah…was just getting ready too." Randy said, "I thought you already left."
"Hmm…and you thought I took the car." She said, deducing the situation, much to his embarrassment. "That's why you were running outside…looking for me."
"Sorry." He said, "I mean… What did you expect?"
"It's fine." She said, "I understand…Well, I did take the car, but I wasn't planning on stealing it and leaving you here. Come on, sit down. Eat."
"Thanks…I am quite hungry." He took a seat beside her, and started eating.
"I figured." She said, sipping her coffee.
She watched him as he ate, thinking. She understands why he would think she would just leave. How could he trust someone who won't even give him their name? Sure she told him about what happened to her, but how sure was he that she was telling the truth when she lied about the simplest thing? In the short time they've spend together, she actually trusts him. He had done nothing to make her not to.
"Aside from being an arrogant bastard sometimes…." She thought. But she kind of likes that about him now. She didn't before, but its proving to be one part of his appeal.
"He has the right to be, though. Too bad he's married". She thought to herself, looking at him. She didn't realize that she had a bit of a smile then, as she bit her lower lip. "Last night was AMAZING…He totally knows what to do with his huge..."
"What are you thinking?" Randy suddenly asked.
"Huh? Umm…Nothing." She said, blushing at her thoughts. She took a sip of her coffee. "So…what time do you need to be at the next show?"
"Around four or five. " He said, "I got time. What about you? What are you gonna do now?"
"I was uh…thinking…If I could hang around with you for a bit." She said, "Until I figure something out. If that's alright with you of course…"
"Oh." He looked at her, surprised. "Well…I don't mind. Yeah, sure, you could hang around."
"Really?"
"Yeah…I mean." He cleared his throat. "I'd feel a lot better if I know you're safe. I can't just let you roam around…what if they find you? I don't want to read in some papers that they found your…body…" He looks at her body then, and he consciously looked away. "Right, ah…you know."
"Okay. Thanks."
"Mhhmm." He went back to eating.
"I hope your wife doesn't mind though." She said.
He coughed on the piece of pancake in his mouth when she said that. He took a swig of the coffee to wash it down. "You knew? When? How?"
"I'm FBI, remember?" She said. In truth, she took 50 bucks from his wallet to buy food and saw his wife's picture in it.
He stared at her, eyes wide, speechless for a minute. "Umm…About last night…"
"Yeah…I won't tell anyone if you don't." She said, casually. "it's a one-time thing."
"Right." He said, nodding. "Never happened. Okay."
"Nope." She shrugged. "It'll stay between us."
"Cool….It was the heat of the moment." He said, justifying it.
"Exactly." She winked. "It's still kind of weird though."
"What do you mean?"
"Someone like you, being married." She said, "I mean, you're good looking…" She started to giggle. "But you're such an ass! I don't know how any woman could stand you, let alone marry you."
"Oh, come on!" He laughed, "I think from last night's happenings, you'd know the pros outweigh the cons."
She looked at him, in fake puzzlement. "Last night? What happened last night?" She said, "I don't know what you're talking about."
He just shook his head and smiled.
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A/N Hope you like this chapter. I'd love to hear what you think. Thanks in advance to those who'll post reviews. :)