Part one
Chapter seven
"Hey, Munchkin."
Elaine blinked, then recoiled. "Stop that," she muttered, but with a sleepy smile. Then she turned to the window where the rays of the early morning sun were creeping in through half-drawn blinds. "How long did I sleep?"
"Almost 24 hours," Luther answered and folded down his newspaper. He got up from the armchair in the corner and walked over. "How do you feel?"
"The best I have in two weeks," she smirked. "Where are we?"
"Danville, Virginia," the other agent replied. It had been the next stop on the train line. "St. Mary's Hospital."
Elaine nodded. "And everyone else?"
"Ethan already flew back to D.C. with Hunley last night," Luther explained. "Skye and Benji decided to crash in a local safe-house after we dealt with the police and sweepers. And the doctors forced Brandt to get some sleep."
"And you?" she asked.
"Well, someone had to make sure you don't just disappear again. Also, it's a very small safe-house," he said, then stopped, when a nurse came in.
She checked up on Elaine and set down a tray of breakfast on the bedside table. Once Bray had convinced her that she wouldn't need any help, the nurse left again, and in her wake Skye and Benji entered.
"Morning," Benji greeted her with a grin and slipped a snickers bar onto her breakfast tray. He and Holt had obviously raided the safe-house wardrobe for fresh clothing.
Just when Luther had shut the door behind them, there was another knock. Brandt stepped in almost shyly, his hands buried in the pockets of a fresh grey suit. Freshly shaven he looked more like his usual self now, even the rings under his eyes seemed to have receded. Only a layer of fresh bruises on his face that mingled with the older scratches and the short cut along his right jaw bone that was fixed up with a single butterfly told of the previous day.
"Hey," he said, his voice still scratchy.
"Someone's looking better," Elaine replied with a smile, but she was suddenly very aware of the blue-striped hospital gown she was wearing.
Will pulled up a chair next to the bed. "What about you?"
"Well, they do have good painkillers," she said with a shrug and tried to secure a loose strand of fringe behind her ear, but with her hand bandaged up to her fingertips, she failed to get it there.
Carefully Will picked up the hair and brushed it out of her face. Elaine flinched at the unexpected touch, but when he wanted to remove his hand, she held it in place. His hand moved gently behind her ear and down her neck, softly touching the white dressing that ran down to her collarbone. And then suddenly disappeared when they were both startled by the ring of a phone.
"Sorry," Brandt muttered. He had every intention of pushing it away, but when he saw the number, he got up with a sheepish look and answered the call. His face went tight as if he had bitten into a lemon and he quickly waved Luther, Benji and Skye back in who had been about to sneak out.
The call was very short and when it ended he slumped back down onto the chair. He looked at the expectant faces in turn. "Yesterday night the secretary's motorcade was ambushed on the way from the airport to HQ," he said with a distant voice. "Seven dead, three injured, two missing."
And since I know how much you like cliffhangers, I'm going to end on one.
Thanks for reading, a thousand thanks for the many reviews! And don't worry, part two is already in the hands of my trusted Beta-reader.
