She stopped for a moment, and the CIA official nodded to a guard to bring her the water glass. She heartily drank while he held the glass.
"Before we go on, Ms. Bell, I'd like to know a few things. How many field ops had you been on prior to this..er..mission?"
Her eyes held steady. "I believe this is all in my file."
"Yes, well, I'd like to hear everything from your viewpoint. Isn't that what you want?" His voice was mocking, and she stared down his cold eyes. He would believe nothing that came out of her mouth. But this was being recorded, and the truth was all she knew of to speak.
"I had only been on three previous field operatives. It took 2 years of physical training to get my letter maintaining my qualifications. I suppose you want to know what I did for those two years, so I'll tell you that as well." He frowned, sensing her scornful tone.
She continued, her body aching from sitting in the interrogation chair for so long. "I learned kickboxing, kung fu, weapons tactics, and any other kind of field operation techniques possible. Need I go into detail?"
"No, just continue on with where you left off before. Orcs, you say, were chasing you." It sounded stupid, she knew, and she winced.
She then rolled her eyes. "Not chasing, they hadn't seen us yet." She heard him smirk, and sighed heavily. "Mr.-"
"Boggs."
"Interesting." She smiled slightly. "Mr. Boggs, I know you have every intention of possibly proving me a liar, or at worst, insane, but I cannot take your ridicule as I answer the questions you ask of me. I am handcuffed to this chair, but I am cooperating. Further prod me on like this and I will say nothing for the rest of my life. Maybe that will mean nothing to you, maybe you'll pull your hair out-" she paused, now noticing he was balding. She bit her tongue, then continued. "Whatever the case may be, this is your only chance to hear my side."
For a few seconds neither spoke, both staring intently at the other, waiting for some kind of weakness to show.
He sat forward in on his desk, folding his hands together. "Miss Bell, please continue."
She looked down again, closing her eyes, reliving everything she had gone through in the past few weeks.
*****
"Hunter! We have to hide!" She fled towards the bellowing trees, but noticed Hunter dwindling. "Hunter?"
He was staring ahead. Any minute the orcs would notice him!
"I've dreamed this my whole life," he whispered.
She practically dragged him behind the first few trees, their huge trunks covering their bodies.
"Alirhgt Hunter, first things first. I will NOT have you compromise this…this well…this dream by leering the enemy to us. If my eyes are not deceiving me, if by some strange chance I haven't hit myself on a rock and gone insane, then there are over fifty Urik Hai coming towards us with real swords and armor and teeth that could- well, you know what I mean." He looked away from the path and at her. He smiled.
"Your right. But remember Kat, we are the ones with the M45 sniper guns. And the grenades and pens that explode."
She was not in the mood to laugh at his heartiness. "Aiya!" she exclaimed, and he laughed. She rarely spoke in Mandarin Chinese, mostly because it reminded her of home, but this was one of those times where only the Chinese dialect could describe her feelings.
The Urik Hai approached quickly. She cocked her sniper, aiming carefully at what seemed to be the leader. If all hell broke loose, and the orcs went after then, she was prepared to spray the gas and fog their plans. Hunter did the same.
She aimed at the head, focusing on the white hand markings. She aimed to the left more, and was shocked to see a hobbit attached the his back. Her hands shook, and for the first time that day, she began to question whether or not this was reality. "It can't be," she muttered. The she wanted to smile and kick herself at the same time. Of course it could! She worked for the DUI, unknown intelligence, as in, the unbelievable. She had seen the Holy Grail with her own eyes, and even viewed the Loch Ness.
She joined to prove the falsehoods of such fairy tales. Instead she had only found truth, wonder, and intrigue.
"START A FIRE!" The leader bellowed to the others, who scrambled into the forest. Hunter and Bell held their breaths as the orcs passes by them. Once they were out of range, Hunter spoke.
"Even with all our equipment, Kat, I've realized we can't possibly fight these creatures head on."
"Took you long enough," she muttered. "All we have to do is create a diversion to get the two halflings away from them. Remember, the Riders of Rohan will defeat the Urik hai anyways."
"That doesn't happen until night falls. We can't possibly hide from them this long. Our scent will drift over when the wind picks up."
"Should we do nothing?" To this Hunter couldn't answer. It was a bad habit, yes, but she bit her lower lip once more, in deep thought.
"Our main objective is getting to Frodo, and the one Ring. Saving Merry and Pippin will not bring us any closer to our package." She hated saying this, seeing the two hobbits live. But she knew Hunter. He was rash, sometimes, like her even, when something precious was questioned.
"I know, Kat, I know. But- their must be some logical reasoning why we landed here, at this point, in this time period. Why not did we go to Isengard, Minas Morgul, or into the realm of Gondor where Frodo most likely is right now. Or is he near the swamps? My mind seems to escape me right now." He opened the LOTR ROTK book, and started flipping through it.
She had to admit, he had an unusual point. "Alirght, alright. We'll save the hobbits, lead them to that Ent thing, find Gandalf, explain this whole thing and hopefully get some answers."
It was like a light when on in his head. "Of course! Gandalf! Why didn't I think up something so brilliant? He would have to know of Tolkien, if he in fact, was a wizard of Mithrindar." He peered about, then jumped to the same trunk she hid behind. "The only thing I fear, is that by our presence being here, it will alter the course of things to come, and our book won't be able to help us find the Ringbearer." She tried to appear shocked in the slightest, but what he was talking about was the furthest from her head. The woods were suddenly quiet. Everything, it seemed, was quiet. She looked on to the encampment that was now forming of the orcs. A lot of them had their heads slightly turned their directions.
"Human flesh" one muttered.
"I smell it to!" another chimed.
The sun was beginning to set. Kat poked Hunter and pointed upward. "Climb!" she mouthed. He hurredly agreed and helped her snag the first branch. She looked up to the ominous looking branches, so spread out. The trees must be 100 feet high! She gulped, but began her climb. Soon she got into the rhythm, and stopped at a huge branch capable of holding both her and Hunter and hiding them from view. Once Hunter was beside he, she peered about. There was an opening in the leaves, and because she was fifty feet above the ground, she could see beyond the valley. The sight almost took her breath away. The sky was unlike anything she had ever seen. It hung so low to the ground she felt compelled to reach out and grasp the small, artful colors of orange and red. Mountains of all sizes also hung in the distance. She wanted to climb higher, see what no other man has seen, fly through the sky and feel the serenity that surrounded this land.
A shudder hushed her thoughts. She looked to Hunter, who was looking towards the far East. All those feelings of peace and tranquility shattered before her, as a dark cloud of doom thundered into her very soul, enslaving her throat to dry up. Mount Doom. The Tower. The lair of Sauron himself, the most evil of fictional characters.
"Reality," she whispered. She thrust her eyes back to the matter at hand. She observed orcs lurking around, sniffing out their prey. The hobbits sat at the edge of the forest, their hands bound behind their backs, their faces full of terror.
She once again aimed at the leader who stood nearby the hobbits. She did not want to attract attention to her spot, so she let the orcs beside her tree wander around more. Finally, with accurate precision, she fired into his skull, a whisper of noise escaping her gun.
His eyes stared out in shock, and he fell with a rumble unto the dirt. The hobbits peered about, even more scared. Orcs scratched their heads, not understanding the source of their leader's death.
She fired again, this time at the orc nearest the hobbits. "ATTACK!" one shouted, and chaos ensued. Urik hai scouts from the forest returned, ever watchful of the trees above. Bows and arrows were raised, and she ducked her head into the leaves to remain hidden. She looked over to Hunter, who took out a can. Without further hesitation, he thrust the opened can into the mix of orcs, and it sprayed out smoke that smote the air with fog. Hurriedly, the two climbed down the trees and advanced into the mist. Kat put on her night vision goggles while cloaking her mouth into her clothes, so as not to inhale the vile gas. The Urik Hai grumbled and scrambled through the fog, confused and a bit unnerved by their unknown assailants. The hobbits were now within range. They coughed and twisted on the ground, the fumes making them dizzy.
She grabbed hold of them, and before they could scream she covered their mouths and dragged them towards the forest. They kicked and elbowed her, but she did not let go. Hunter had caught up with them, and before the smoke could clear the two carried the hobbits deeper in. Suddenly a great rumble sounded, and horses neighs were heard. Screams of death erupted, and it was then that Kat realized the Riders of Rohan had found their target. She sighed deeply, and continued running with a halfling across her back, his fists pounding into her spine. She gritted her teeth. Already they were on her nerves.
Finally Hunter stopped, so Kat did the same. Putting the hobbits on the ground, they took a breather.
"Merry!" Pippin rang out, crawling over to his friend. The two stared at the humans, their faces full of fear and confusion. Kat looked from one to the other, and shook her head.
"I think I would have woken by now, Hunter." He smiled without showing his teeth, and unbound the halfling's hands from the ropes.
Merry looked flustered, so Pippin spoke first.
"Who are you?" His accent was faintly Irish back in the other world. His eyes glittered with innocence and uncertainty, with a hint of protection and courage shifting back and forth.
"You are Peregrin Took, are you not?" Hunter questioned.
Surprise encumbered the small Halfling's face, and he could only nod. "Are you a wizard too?" To that, Kat laughed out loud.
"Sorry, little one, but we are simple humans, just helping along a friend in need."
Pippin looked to Merry, and the tension lifted from the air. Merry wiped his forehead. "Then it is with great relief that we thank you. You saved our lives. May we know the names of our rescuers?"
Pippin piped in "And do you have any food with ye?" Merry kicked his friend.
Already Kat's mind was replaying every word she remembered from the books, and she couldn't help but smile wide. The two Shirefolk were exactly as she imagined, quirky and curious about everything, much like teenage boys. "I am Catherine Bell, and my comrade here is William Hunter. We are Guardians of Relics of the Langley land." She heard Hunter suck in his laughter. "And to answer your question, Pippin, we only have a few rations, but enough to spare."
His eyes lit up, and she opened her backpack and took out two granola bars. They eagerly took them and wolfed them down.
In between bites, Merry spoke. "How is it, then, that you know of our names?"
Hunter fielded that one. "Well, Master Brandybuck, your mission is well known among our people. We wish to help." He stopped eating and the two looked at each other.
Questions popped left and right. "How do you know of our…quest?"
"How much do you know?"
"Have you heard from anyone about our companions?"
"Whoah, whoah, whoah" Hunter exclaimed, raising his hands. "One at a time, young hobbits."
Merry spoke. "Where did you hear of the Fellowship?"
Kat saw the look of fear once more appear on his face, and she felt sorrowful. "To that, we cannot answer. Perhaps after we explain ourselves to Gandalf, you will know." To this he frowned, and his eyes appeared misty.
"I'm sorry to inform you, but the great wizard…was…well, he has fallen." Kat could have smacked her forehead. Of course! The hobbits didn't know yet. She had to recall the story. But wait…wouldn't the Ent be near?
It was as if Hunter read her mind, and both started surveying the surrounding area. No sign of anything else present.
Should she be the person to alter events and tell the hobbit's the truth? Well, you weren't supposed to save them from the orcs, but you did. Your already altering things, she thought to herself.
She put her hand on Merry's shoulder, and her other on Pippin's. "What I'm about to say may be, well, difficult to explain, but all shall be revealed in due course." She shook a glance to Hunter, who smiled at her attempt to talk like Tolkien.
"Gandalf the Grey is gone. Gandalf, the White Mithrandar, lives, and draws near." Two pairs of eyes widened, and breath rates quickened.
Pippin looked to both humans. "Gandalf's alive? But how?"
Merry cut in. "How do you KNOW this?" There was a hint of suspicion in his voice.
"Trust me." A change in the wind made all four turn to the east. A rumble was sounding, something old, and slow.
"The Ent." Kat whispered. Hunter could only nod. Suddenly it was right over them.
"ORCS!!!"The Ent bellowed, the ground slightly shaking as he spoke. Kat fought just to maintain her balance.
All four tumbled out of the way of his leg trunks, and Hunter shouted, "No! We are but Men and Hobbits! We mean the trees and you no harm! We need to see the White Wizard!!"
"The White Wizard? Yes…" Before they could get out of the way, he scooped them up and held them tight. "The White Wizard will know what to do." His 'hand' was pressing into her stomach, and she let out a yelp. Her backpack was still strapped to her, while Hunter's lay on the ground, slowly veering out of view. Her gun was in her hand, but she dared not use it. Instead, she fidgeted to escape his tight grip, but to no avail. Finally, she gave up, and let him take her to Gandalf this uncomfortably.
***
He interrupted her again. "Ahh, yes, the Ent. If I remember the story correctly, he takes you straight to Gandalf, and Gandalf probably tells you to stay with the hobbits and you go to Isengard and etc. Miss Bell, this can't possibly have-"
She jerked against the handcuffs in fury, and he jumped in surprise. "Don't you tell me what happened and what didn't happen. I am only speaking what I saw, what I experienced. Would you like to interrupt me again?" He let her sip some more water before continuing.
Her eyes stared forward, entranced by what came next. "And before you knew it, there we were, in front of the great Gandalf himself. It was at that moment that I realized this was no joke."