Danger Zone

By Divamercury

Hey guys, sorry that I haven't posted in a while. I just came up with the idea for Chapter 3 (last night), so that should tell you how drained of inspiration I have been lately. Anyway, none of these characters belong to me except the Speakers, (although exactly why I want them I don't know), so no one sue me and enjoy Chapter 3! I even made it longer than I usually do to apologize for the delay. :)

Chapter 3

I picked up Sara's bag of clothing and started walking down one of the many labyrinthine corridors of my secret residence. Over my shoulder I said, "I'll take you to your room." Sara followed me out of the foyer and through the halls.

We arrived at a room that I had actually designed with Sara in mind. It was ready for her, and had been for some time, waiting for something like this to happen: for Sara to have a need for a place to hide. The walls were painted a pale blue and the bed, centered on one wall of the room, was a cast iron queen sized canopy, ready with white sheets. There were pieces of exquisitely carved mahogany furniture placed sporadically around the room, and during her first exploration Sara discovered the slightly hidden door to the adjoining bathroom with delight.

"Just what I was thinking about. I really need a shower," she said.

"Everything you need should be in there. If not, I will be next door in my room," I said, preparing to leave.

"Ian?" Sara's voice stopped me. I whirled around.

"I just wanted to thank youfor saving my lifeagain. And for everything you've done to make me feel at home. I really appreciate it."

"Anything for you, Sara," I said with a small smile, and then left before Sara could say anything else.

* * *

Ian left me abruptly. I turned toward the bathroom and entered it, shedding my clothing as I went. I turned up the water and waited until it was my preferred temperature—something that would most likely scald other people—and when it reached said temperature, I stepped into the spray. The almost boiling water made my slightly sore muscles rejoice with the contact, and I leaned my head back toward the shower head, the strange thoughts from that evening running through my head and bouncing off the sides of my skull. Why was Irons so intent on killing me because of the Witchblade? Why couldn't he just get a life? He was so frustrating, and now I was hiding like a coward. Which was what I felt like. Sighing, I commenced with my shower.

* * *

When I heard the water start running, I knew that Sara would be occupied for a while. I went to my bedroom and removed my trench coat. Making sure my hair was tied back securely, I went to the night table, withdrew a pad and piece of paper, and wrote a short note to Sara in case she came looking for me:

I'm in the exercise room, on the other side of your bedroom.

-Ian

Not exactly the most romantic note in the world, but oh well. I entered the aforementioned room and began my workout.

My exercise room was a large room with mirrors on the walls and lots of various pieces of workout equipment strewn about. The only break in the mirrors was a small window about eight feet from the floor, which was an access to the street. Part of my sanctuary was above ground, but this room and the bedrooms were underground for safety reasons. I took off my sweater and undershirt and picked up one of my practice swords. I then decided on a routine. It felt better doing it with a katana, but I wasn't going all the way to the foyer to get it. A wave of laziness had washed over me and I decided to stay close. Or maybe it wasn't laziness. Maybe I just wanted to be close to Sara while she was in trouble. Pushing all these thoughts from my mind for the time being, vowing to come back to them later, I poured all my concentration into my routine.

* * *

When I finished my shower, dried my hair and dressed, I left my new room and went looking for Ian. Where did he say he was going?' I thought, wracking my brain to find the answer. Oh, right, his room.' I entered, but he wasn't there.

Spectacular. Now I'm going to get lost in this huge place looking for him,' I thought a bit angrily. I walked over to his bed, noticing a small scrap of paper on which Ian had inscribed a note in his vertical, precise handwriting.

"Exercise room? I like the sound of that," I said to myself, a smile slowly creeping across my features. "And at least he included directions."

I left Ian's room and skipped the door to my room, coming to one that was ajar. I peered in, then opened the door a little more. Surely Ian heard me. Well, I could never be sure of anything with him, but if he had heard me he made no indication of having done so. I stopped short as I passed through the doorway of the room.

Ian wasn't wearing a shirt. I had never seen him when he wasn't covered with layers upon layers of black clothing. He was doing a routine with an Oriental sword, and I watched him in the reflection of the mirror. I doubted if there was an ounce of fat on him anywhere. The muscles of his chest and abdomen were well defined, obviously from extensive use, and several scars were visible in various places. The muscles of his back were also defined from use and were being used at extremes as he deftly maneuvered the sword. I couldn't stop staring at him, forcing some strange thoughts that had slipped into my head out so I wouldn't go crazy. I leaned against the doorframe, crossing my arms and legs as I did so, watching him. I didn't want to interrupt, but sooner or later he would notice me. Or at least, I hoped so. I didn't want to stand there all night.

After a few more minutes and no noticeable sign of recognition from Ian, I decided to make use of the plentiful equipment. I had dressed in a pair of gray sweatpants and a white tank top, and I went over to the rack of barbells of various sizes that lined a wall. Leaving Ian to his routine, I started one of my own.

* * *

Unexpectedly a break came in my concentration. I glanced backwards with the help of the mirrors around me and I was surprised to see that Sara was in the room. She was lifting weights and for a moment I watched her, fascinated. Her cropped shirt showed every strain of her arms and abdomen. Embarrassed at myself, I tried to go back to my routine but my concentration was shattered. I put the sword away and Sara's head snapped toward me, realizing that I was actually changing my position. She put down her barbell and turned to face me.

"I'm impressed, Ian. This is a great place and I appreciate your hospitality."

"It's nothing, Sara. I just hope that it will be secure enough for you. The Speakers, once hired, will stop at nothing to find you, especially if Irons has promised them enough. As long as they are ignorant of this location, we should be fine. Everything that you should need is here, so it may be safer if you stay out of sight for a few days."

"I'll need to call in to work, tell Jake to cover for me."

"We can do that. I'll get you a phone with a scrambler so you can't be traced; they could be listening out for you as well as watching for you."

"Oh, yeah. I hadn't thought of that. Are you done?" she asked me, meaning in the exercise room.

"Almost. Then I will leave you in peace," I said.

"I didn't mean you had to leave. I just wanted to know if youweren't too busy to talk." She turned back to her weights. Suddenly I saw a small red spot race around the room and rest on Sara's temple. A laser sight!

"Sara, get down!" I shouted. She turned her head and looked at me strangely, the sight landing on the back of her head. In a second I was across the room and I pushed her down behind some equipment, falling to the ground with her and shielding her just as machine-gun fire roared in the room. Originally she had I was crazy but now she understood. The first round of gunfire was short, but the second was longer. It took out all of the mirrors, showering us with tiny fragments of silver glass.

"Lights out!" I yelled, and the fluorescent bulbs instantly died. She looked at me inquisitively.

"Voice command," I whispered. They continued to fire on us, showering us with plaster as well as glass. After about fifteen more minutes of rapid gunfire, they stopped. We lay low for some time, trying to make sure that they weren't still there, and then I stood up.

"The Speakers?" Sara asked in a whisper from the floor.

"Most likely. They must have looked in the window up there and seen us. Damn!"

"But will they be able to find their way in?"

"I doubt it. I was careless. They were lucky to have found us, but they will probably think that we are dead after all that. Irons doesn't know about this place and therefore they will not know the entrance. I only hope Irons doesn't find out because of them."

"I'm sorry about all this, Ian. First the room gets destroyed, and next your secret place might not be secret anymoreall because of me."

"Lights on." I threw a Look at her as I helped her up. "Stop blaming yourself for everything. It's not like you."

"I'mI'm just scared. Scared out of my mind."

"That's not like you either."

"I know. And that scares me, too."