Author's Note: Please let me know what what you thought of this chapter. I love hearing your thoughts.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5…
Elsa counted silently to herself as she started CPR. She didn't necessarily know how to do it, but her hands worked on instinct alone. Anna had only passed out about ten seconds earlier, but it already felt like hours.
…12, 13, 14, 15, 16…
The adrenaline rush from the fight began to wear off only to be replaced by rising sense of panic. Anna couldn't die; not again. She had already died in Elsa's arms once, and that had torn her apart for months. Elsa couldn't live with Anna's blood on her hands for a second time. Maybe it was selfishness that powered Elsa's arms to continue.
…26, 27, 28, 29, 30.
She stopped the compressions and quickly focused on Anna's mouth. She squeezed Anna's nose shut and tilted her head back before attempting to breathe air back into Anna's lungs. One breath; nothing. Second breath; tongue? Elsa shot away from the figure on the pavement, eyes wide. Anna's eyes fluttered open as she began to laugh uncontrollably.
"What is… what is wrong with you?!" Elsa yelled, flustered. "That wasn't funny!"
"They why am I laughing?" Anna replied though continued laughs. She pushed herself to a sitting position and rubbed her chest. "Wow, you've got a good arm there, Els."
"I… I thought you were dead!" Elsa shot back. Anna simply shrugged her shoulders.
"Neat little trick, huh?" she responded with a smile, "being able to stop my own heart momentary. It can come in handy when you're a spy."
"So… So was all that just an act?" Elsa sputtered out in disbelief.
"Uh, no. Whatever that jerk stuck me with was incredibly painful, not to mention trippy as hell," she rubbed her neck as she spoke. "Speaking of which…" Her voice trailed off as she slowly worked herself to her feet. Elsa could tell the redhead was still in pain, or at least sore, but she was doing her best to hide it. Anna walked over to the unconscious form of the officer lying several feet away. Anna bent down and picked the officer's handgun up from the ground. Before Elsa could react, Anna pointed the gun toward the man pulled the trigger. Elsa nearly tackled Anna to the ground less than a second after the gunshot.
"What are you doing? You can't just kill people, Anna!" Elsa yelled as she ripped the handgun from Anna's grasp.
"Oh, now you tell me!" Anna sarcastically retorted. "He was just gonna follow us. Plus, need I remind you of a certain general and a certain me? You're hands aren't clean either, Els." The words were like a knife into Elsa's heart.
"OK, I admit!" Elsa conceded, "I was wrong to kill you! Is that what you want? I'm sorry, OK?"
"Relax, Els, I don't care that you killed me. I'm just wondering when you decided to become all 'holier-than-thou' about it," Anna snapped back.
"From now on, though, nobody dies. Got it?" Elsa warned, ignoring Elsa's question. Anna rolled her eyes in response.
"OK, your majesty, I'll do my best. No promises though," Anna replied. She started to walk over to the now-empty police car. Elsa followed her, tucking the handgun in her belt. Anna opened the passenger side door and began to rummage through the glove compartment. Elsa opened the driver's side door and began to search the interior for anything useful.
After several seconds of looking, her eyes locked on a folded sheet of paper that was tucked in between the driver's seat and the center console. She carefully unfolded the paper and quickly glanced over it. The first thing Elsa noticed was the E.L.S.A. logo printed in the letterhead. That wasn't nearly as shocking as the content of the letter. It was orders. Skimming the words, several lines stood out in her mind.
Intercept A113 and her companion…
…neutralize the contact…
…detain A113…
Signed,
The Marshall.
Who was the Marshall? Was he the one who had called Anna? What was his connection to E.L.S.A.? The questions seemed to pile up in Elsa's mind. She glanced up at Anna, who still digging through the glove compartment and hadn't noticed Elsa's discovery.
Wait a minute.
The paper ordered the officer to neutralize the contact. The officer had tried to kill Anna, was she the contact?
"Anna, care to explain this?" Elsa inquired as she held the paper in front of her. Anna grabbed the orders from Elsa's grasp and read through them quickly.
"That double-crossing SOB…" Anna whispered under her breath. Elsa quickly moved to the passenger door and forcefully pulled Anna from the car.
"So you're telling me you knew about this?" Elsa fought to keep her anger down as she stared into Anna's eyes. "What was your plan? You were gonna turn me in weren't you?" Anna's eyes shifted quickly from side to side, obviously uncomfortable.
"Of course not, Els," she began, but Elsa wasn't about to buy it. She quickly twisted Anna's wrist up to the point of nearly breaking it. Anna winced with pain. "OK! OK! Yes, I was going to hand you over! To be honest, I was really glad you fell asleep so fast in the car. I never had to lie about where we were going; you never asked."
"Why? Why were you going to do this to me again?" Elsa struggled to keep her voice below a scream as the frustration at her situation began to surface.
"You would not believe how much some people would be willing to pay for you. I had no money, Elsa. I can't keep a job, especially when I need to hide the fact I'm supposed to be dead," Anna explained. "Then, one day I get this call from this dude who called himself 'The Marshall'. He said that he knew what I was and he knew about you. He said he could get a new life and about half a million dollars for you." Elsa felt the feeling of betrayal and naivety well up within her. Why had she been so quick to trust Anna a second time? Maybe it was because Anna signified a second chance to right those mistakes she made six months ago. Anna hadn't changed at all though.
"He knew what you wanted, Anna. He made you do exactly what he wanted." Elsa hoped the irony of Anna's own words penetrated that thick skull of hers. "And just like you, he wasn't planning on following through on those promises." Elsa released the younger girl's arm and started walking back toward the pickup truck. Anna followed.
"Yeah, but he didn't kill me," Anna pointed out.
"Yeah, but he tried," Elsa reminded. "Maybe we're stronger than he realizes. Now, can you burn this truck? I don't want to get pulled over again because of this thing." Anna stepped forward and raised her arms. Seconds ticked by slowly and nothing happened. Anna retracted her hands stared at them with disbelief.
"What the hell? Why isn't this working?" she whispered. At that moment, Elsa noticed something that should have been painfully obvious minutes ago.
"Anna, your hair."
"What about my hair?" Anna shot back.
"Didn't it have a white streak in it before?" Anna grabbed one of the braids that draped over her shoulder and gasped at the sight of her solid red hair. Elsa could see panic in Anna's eyes for the first time.
"What did he do to me?" Anna almost whimpered. Elsa didn't buy the pity plea, but an explanation began to form in her head.
"He still neutralized you," she replied calmly. Anna looked up with an expression that let Elsa know Anna didn't understand. "It didn't kill you, but it looks like it still affected you."
"That double-crossing SOB!" Anna mumbled to herself again. Elsa could see the anger that replaced the panic in Anna's eyes.
"Do you know where the Marshall is?" Elsa asked.
"Pretty sure, why?" Anna replied, confused.
"Do you want to help me take down this son-of-a-bitch?" A coy smile spread across Anna's face.