Thanks for the reviews! To address a comment: I meant "Mika" instead of "Micah" and didn't think to look up the difference.
Chapter Fourteen:
Shawna sighed as she looked around the war room.
"This is place is even more crowded than ever."
There were FBI agents everywhere. Some were in plain clothes and had lanyards like production crew while others didn't.
Faye approached her with a cup of coffee.
"Let's just focus on the dates, shall we? Spencer will be done talking to security a half hour."
"Was your meeting that intense?"
"Yes," she said. "Now it's down to the final five: Ava, Bella, Leah, Mel, and Star. Two dates this week plus a special guest appearance from a television show."
"Any idea which show?"
"Yes," Faye said darkly. "Because Macy is a master manipulator."
"So, what are the dates again?" Shawna said.
"Dinner on the beach and a visit to a vineyard for the other one."
Macy came in looking irritated. "I can't believe the divas on that show. We make a request to cut their entourage sound like we're attacking their soul."
"I take it the Future Force is here?" Faye said.
"How angry are you and how long did it take for you to figure out?"
"I figured it out after you spoke with Sam and I am angry but not surprised."
"Please don't argue, you guys. We have too much to produce today," Shawna said.
"I wasn't planning on it," Faye said.
They turned to the monitor as Reid took a seat with the women. Drake appeared next.
"Ladies and our Heart, I'd like to present to you a time when what happens next is in danger. But there are people out there whose only goal is to protect it. I present to you, the Future Force!"
Lila Archer Dorance and her three other castmates appeared in uniforms of navy blue with hats and space insignias on them.
"Close-up shot of his face," Macy said through the radio. "He looks like he could keel over."
"This is a prime example of why I hate your guts at times," Faye said.
"Lila, would you like to tell us a little bit more about your show?" Drake said.
Lila looked to Spencer.
"You didn't know, did you?"
"No," he said.
The women kept looking back and forth.
"I was in a brief relationship with Spencer over ten years ago. He was trying to protect me from a stalker and I pulled him in the pool and kissed him, treating my safety like a game. In the end, he apprehended my stalker without firing a single shot. We went on two secret dates and then realized we were better off friends and haven't been in contact in over eight years."
Reid sat up. "I haven't had feelings for you in years. It is just, seeing you is like going into a time warp where what happened feels like yesterday."
"I know," she said with a sigh. "I love my husband and my son but seeing you always kicks up butterflies."
He looked around. "If anyone feels uncomfortable knowing that I dated Lila Archer Dorance, please speak up now."
Leah just smiled. "I loved your dress the night you won your first Emmy."
Lila beamed. "It's my all-time favorite dress! It comes from a designer who believes in designing for women of all different shapes."
One of her costars coughed. "Let's continue with the presentation, shall we?"
"Of course," Lila said. "The future needs protection and preservation."
Macy turned the sound down. "That got boring fast."
Faye sipped her coffee contentedly. "Lila has a heart at least."
Lila and her castmates handed out pen, paper, and envelopes. Faye turned up the volume.
"I'd like you to write where you see yourself in three months," Lila said. "I will place it in a tube that will be opened during the finale of the show."
Everyone hand theirs to the cast five minutes later.
"Good luck, Ladies," she said kindly. "And please be gentle with Spencer's heart."
She then went and kissed him on the cheek and walked out.
Macy grinned. "She also knows how to make an exit."
…
Reid chose Ava for the dinner on the beach.
"You don't like the beach, do you?" she said as they sat at a table with views of the water.
"I don't like the texture and the multitude of creatures that live in it," he said with a grimace.
"It can't always be fun knowing things then," she said.
"But most of the time it is," he said. "I crave knowledge."
"I can understand that too," she said. "Knowledge is power. Like armor."
"Yes," he said. "Knowledge is my best tool in any situation."
"Never a fan of a guns?" she said.
"Only as a last resort," he said.
"So, aside from led to your incarceration, what is your greatest regret in life?" she asked.
A pained look came across his face and then he shook his head.
"I don't believe in regrets. I believe in living the present as much as I can."
"I think you do have regrets," she said. "You just don't want to share them with me."
"Why would you say that?" he said slightly defensively. "What is really on your mind Ava?"
"I see the way you look at Leah," she said. "You and have far more in common with me than you do her yet I am getting a one-on-one date this late in the show."
"I like you Ava," he said. "You're always friendly and you have an edge that I'm not used to. I like you and Leah for different reasons. As for why this late, I wanted it to be when we finally did have a chance to have heavy conversation after exchanging pleasantries for a few weeks."
"Then why can't you share your greatest regret?" she asked.
"Because sometimes I feel like my whole life is one regret after another!" he shouted. "I shouldn't have separated from my partner during a man hunt and ended up tortured. I shouldn't have lifted drugs from my torturer because otherwise I wouldn't have become a drug addict who fights for control every day. If I said the right thing maybe the only woman I loved might be alive. If I hadn't taken my mother out of that drug trial, maybe I wouldn't have sought alternative treatment that resulted in me getting framed for murder that led me here because I don't know where else to go!"
There was a long pause. Some of the crew was tearing up.
Ava stood up. "I should go."
"No," he said. "I want to finish this date. What regrets do you have?"
There was the light humming of an aircraft. Reid looked instantly alarmed.
"It's probably just a plane," Ava said.
"There are no flight paths over this area," he said. "Get down!"
They immediately ducked under the table as the crew and security scrambled.
It was a sky writer plane. The message was:
"Cat got your tongue?"