Chapter-6

It's been two months since Jasper joined the agency. In those two months, we've graduated from hate-at-first-sight enemies to what teens these days call frenemies, at least I think so. When Jasper doesn't shove past me at the corridor this morning, I feel like the thought must be mutual.

"Cullen, Whitlock!" Captain Masen calls out from his glass cube of an office, motioning us to join him.

When we're standing across from him, he glares at me first and then turns his eyes on Jasper. "What the hell did you do on the detailing job I assigned to you for the security of the Senator?"

"Sir?" we parrot each other at the same time.

He looks sternly at us for a moment before smiling widely. "Relax. I'm joking. Senator is planning a visit to the White House later today and he wants you two on the job."

Jasper raises an eyebrow in question. "Why us?"

"Because you managed to keep him alive the last time?" the captain barks back. "Since he's hoping to run for President in a few months, I think he wants to be in safer hands."

I can't help but grin at that. "Cool!" I exclaim. "We might be escorting the future POTUS, man!"

Jasper rolls his eyes and Captain Masen laughs before slamming down an assignment folder in front of us. "You've been assigned then."

On the way back from the White House, the senator invites us to sit in the back of the the limo with him instead of at the front.

With his small tufts of silvery white hair intermittently dispersed through the charcoal black, the senator looks quite handsome. He smiles, making the corners of his eyes crinkle a little as he regards us both in our usual suit and shades outfit. "Why do you wear the shades inside the car?" he asks out of the blue.

It takes me a moment to realize that I myself don't have any idea as to the purpose of the shades. Jasper, however, is ever vigilant with his presence of mind. "To make sure that we're not blindsided by the glares of oncoming car headlights, and so can protect you, Sir."

The senator nods thoughtfully. "I never thought of it that way. Well answered, son." He looks at the two of us and asks, "So are you two partners?"

The word "partners" catches me off guard. What does he mean by that? Do I give off some kind of vibe? I wonder as I hasten to correct him. "No, no, Sir, we just work together."

He gives me an odd look and says, "That's what partners mean."

Oh so he wasn't asking about those kind of partners. I feel stupid for jumping to conclusions; the tips of my ears heat up with embarrassment.

In my peripheral vision, Jasper's expression catches my eyes. He has a melancholic, almost hurt, expression on his face which I can't decipher.

A sudden sound of shattering glass jolts me out of my musings just then. It takes only a tenth of a second for me to register that there's a bullet hole in the side window, breaking it into million small fractals. I reach forward to cover the senator, making him duck underneath the seats so the next bullets can't hit him.

"Sir, are you okay?" I ask.

He nods vehemently. "What's happening?"

"Looks like they want to hit the future president."

"Fuck!" Jasper swears from somewhere above me.

"What?" I ask, lifting my head a little.

He points through the open divider window toward the driving seat. "The chauffeur has been shot!"

"Jesus!" I join in the swearing team. "What are we gonna do?"

Jasper looks down at me, his eyes full of fire. "I'm going to take the wheels."

I barely manage to acknowledge his statement before he's slipping through the window and climbing into the front seat.

What happens next is a blur of action. Amidst the sounds of gunfire and bullets showering around us, I cover the senator, protecting him with my life as I try to return fire as best as I can just to make sure Jasper can drive us out of here.

I don't know how he does it, but Jasper somehow manages to maneuver the vehicle out of there, swerving this way and that to lose our attackers. When the bullets become sparse, I raise my head to find that Jasper is half-lying on the seat with his head peeking over the dashboard so he can see where he's going without exposing himself to gunfire. Smart man!

"Are they gone?" I yell over the sound of my own heart beating, trying to let me know that I'm still alive, probably.

Jasper makes a sharp right turn, making the car jump onto the highway and then lets out a sigh of relief. "Now they are."

"Senator?" I call.

No response.

I look down and see that he's alive, just seems to have been shocked beyond consciousness. "Sir?" I try again.

"Slap him," Jasper suggests from the front seat.

Snorting at the ridiculousness of the idea, I shake the elderly man a little. "Charles? Yo, Charlie! You still there?"

Finally, the man blinks, his brown eyes looking at me with a mixture of fear and apprehension. "Am I alive?"

I can't help but grin. "Yes, Sir."

I help him sit up straighter now that we're out of danger, which is when I notice that we're not in the highway. No, we're at the interstate.

As if he can read my mind, the senator asks, "Where are we?"

"I-90," Jasper replies, his voice sounding scratchy.

The senator seems to think for a moment before picking up his cellphone. "I need to make a call."

Ten minutes after excessive whispering and cursing into the phone, he hangs up and sighs. "Guys, my security team has set up a safe house a few miles from here," he tells us. "We can go there."

Just then thunder claps, as if to tell us that our miseries weren't over yet.

After half an hour of driving through convoluted routes suggested by the senator's head of security, we reach a place that can be described as a luxurious cottage at best.

A group of five heavily armed men come out the minute Jasper hits the breaks. "Do you know these men, Senator?" I ask.

He nods. "That's Sam, my head of security." He points to a sturdy man of about thirty who walks forward to greet us.

"Sir!" He salutes the senator and casts a suspicious glance at us. "And you are …?" he asks, raising his eyebrows at Jasper and I.

"The men who saved my life," the senator answers before either of us can speak. "And for tonight, they'll be my guests." He turns to face us then. "Boys, I don't think it'll be wise for you to travel back to DC in the dark of night. So please, accept my invitation to spend the night here at my humble abode."

I look at Jasper, at a loss for words, only to find that he too is looking shocked.

When we're both silent for a minute, the senator smiles and tells Sam to arrange for a place for us.

After a dinner of frozen pizza, courtesy of the senator, Jasper and I am shown to the room we're supposed to share.

Walking side by side along the corridor to our room, I feel this strange current between us, as if pulling me to him. I steal a glance at Jasper to see his broad shoulders straight as an arrow, the tension passing through him almost as palpable as mine.

Does he feel this too?

My question is answered the moment I close the door behind me; Jasper pulls me around to face him, then presses his mouth to mine.

Damn!

A/N: Well ... damn! Thoughts?

See you soon.

Thanks for reading.

Love.

Ann