Chapter 25
Beck sadly carried Jade back downstairs, her eyes still closed. He didn't want to put her back in her hard, cold cell, but if he didn't, the Professor would get suspicious. And that was something he couldn't afford to happen.
Beck gently lay Jade down on the floor, her body lifeless and unmoving. But she was still breathing, her chest slowly moving up and down. He studied her for a second, then hesitantly leaned down and briefly pressed his lips to her forehead in a single kiss. Then he turned and left the cell, head bowed, hoping she would wake up.
/
Cat, Andre, and Robbie trudged solemnly back to their helicopter outside. All three were at a loss for words: they may have possibly just said goodbye to Jade for good.
Andre reached up and pulled open the helicopter door before climbing inside. Robbie followed, then turned around and held the door open for Cat. "Coming?" he asked.
Cat bit her lip. "No," she decided defiantly.
Robbie sighed. "Cat..."
"I can't just LEAVE, Robbie! I don't care that Jade made us! It's not right!" the little redhead cried.
Andre put his head in his hands from inside the helicopter. "It's agent's code, Cat. We-"
"I DON'T CARE!" Cat nearly screeched. Her voice then dropped. "It's more than an agent code to me, Andre. She's my friend, too. And friends don't leave each other behind. Not after all the shit she's gone through!" Cat never swore, but she was so upset she couldn't stop herself.
Andre and Robbie remained silent for a moment. "If we stayed..." Robbie asked warily. "What would we do?"
"Find a way to break her out of there," Cat declared. "I don't care about Beck, I just want my friend back."
The two others didn't move.
Cat grew desperate. "If you two won't help me, I'll do it myself!" she spat, then turned on her heel and marched away from the helicopter. Andre and Robbie scrambled down from the helicopter and ran after her.
"Okay, okay, we'll stay!" Andre gave in. "So what do you want us to do?"
/
Jade's eyes fluttered open. She sat up slowly, and looked around, pushing dark hair out of her eyes. The dark cell she had known as home for God knows how long stared back at her.
Jade automatically put a hand to her forehead, anticipating a crushing headache. Surprisingly, there was nothing.
Still in shock, she slowly got to her feet, and walked around. Nothing. She actually felt light as air. Like someone who had just gotten over a bad cold would feel. Did the antidote actually work? Or was she dead?
Jade cast a glance down at her upper arm, rubbing her fingers over the small mark where the syringe had dug into her flesh. It was real, alright. And it had actually worked.
She heard a noise coming from the stairs, and turned to see Beck appear at the entrance to the cell. "You're awake!" he said, surprised. "I only brought you down here earlier today. It took much longer last time for you to wake up."
"Maybe the reverse is quicker..." Jade mused, as Beck let himself into the cell.
"You think it worked?" Beck asked, coming closer.
Jade shrugged. "I don't know," she replied. "I guess there's only one way to find out."
Before Beck could give her an order, Cat, Robbie, and Andre appeared by the cell door.
"Jade!" Cat called, running inside. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, Cat, I'm fine," Jade said distractedly, a bit overwhelmed by her friend's crushing hug.
"Did you get the antidote?" Robbie asked, coming inside the cell as well.
Jade nodded. "Beck says it worked mush faster than the original administration."
"She was asleep for half an hour tops," Beck told him.
"Must have been due to the cleansing process," Andre said thoughtfully, joining the others. "It's easier to wipe a computer clean that to load it up." The others agreed.
"Do you feel okay?" Cat asked, concerned.
"I feel great, actually," Jade said. "But why are you even back here? I told you guys to leave before the Professor finds you!"
Cat exchanged glances with Robbie and Andre. "I couldn't leave without you," she said quietly. "I'm sorry."
Jade was astonished. "You convinced two official agents of the CIA to turn around for a mission cancelled?" she said.
Andre and Robbie nodded.
"You need to come with us, Jade," Cat begged. "Please. I won't leave without you."
Jade cast a glance at Beck. His face was emotionless. She was torn. Half of Jade wanted to leave with her friends, and escape before the Professor realized. But the other half wanted to stay, because she knew it the Professor did realize, Beck could get killed. She was his responsibility.
Jade pushed past her friends and stepped closer to Beck. "Beck, I..." she trailed off.
"Go," Beck said. His tone was emotionless as well.
"Wh-what?" Jade asked, astonished.
"You heard me. Leave. If you go out the back way with the others, Carver won't notice you. You'll be free again," Beck's voice turned soft at the end.
Jade shook her head, tears threatening to fall. "But, Beck, what will he do to you? I can't leave you here to die!"
"I'll be fine," he assured her, taking her hands. "Don't worry about me. I'm an agent, remember? I can handle myself."
Jade wiped away tears that spilled over. "Go wait for me outside," she told the others. "I wanna say goodbye to Beck alone."
Andre, Cat and Robbie nodded silently and left without a sound. They knew that Jade and Beck had shared something special throughout their bizarre relationship. If she had to do something this painful, she could at least say a proper good bye. Once they were gone, Jade threw her arms around Beck's shoulders and tried not to sob. She was not nearly as strong as she had been coming into this mission, and had a much softer exterior. The new Agent West was not afraid to cry, and that's exactly what she did.
"Thank you for saving me," she said into his hair. "I owe you my life."
"If a plane crash ever has me aboard, will you come looking?" he asked, pulling away to look in her eyes.
Jade nodded. "Absolutely. I'll be the first one there, you know it." She hugged him one more time. "Good luck," she said, her vision blurring.
With that, she turned away and began to walk down the hallway towards the secret exit.
"Jade, wait!" Beck called after her. She turned around. Beck hesitated. "We never found out if the antidote worked," he pointed out.
Jade glanced towards the exit, then back at Beck before walking over to him again. "Okay. Give me an order," she told him.
Beck took a deep breath. "Kiss me," he said boldly.
Jade stepped forward and placed one hand on his shoulder before leaning closer and kissing him, her other hand sliding around his neck as his went to her waist. When they finally broke apart, Jade rested her forehead on his, trying to catch her breath.
"I...I guess it didn't work, then," Beck said, disappointed. "I'm sorry."
Jade smiled. "It worked perfectly well. I just wanted to do that on my own." With that, she kissed him briefly once more before turning towards the exit and heading out of sight. Right before ducking out into the sunshine, she lifted her hand in a brief wave. Beck returned it with a smile. And then, Jade West was gone.
THE END.
Wow, were you guys expecting the ending so soon? Sorry I didn't give you a heads up. I would have, but I didn't really plan for it to be in this chapter. Maybe the next one. But it just fit in well and I was planning to wrap up the story soon anyways. Hope you guys aren't too upset. =))
As for the bademance, I'm sorry it wasn't as romantic as you may have thought. It was always supposed to be the tense and confusing relationship between two enemies, who have feelings for each other but are too loyal to their respective sides to show it. Beck and Jade always knew they couldn't be together, and once she left, it was the last time she saw him. Or maybe... epilogue, anyone? ahahahah But I had to throw in a kiss at the end, it was always the plan.
Any questions feel free to hmu. I'm still considering a big time rush story somewhat similar to this...a bit au as well. I love you guys, my co-writer InfinityForever7 was an amazing help to this story, which I probably wouldn't have even finished if you guys didn't love it so much. Thank you for the suppport. I'll be back soon. =)))