A/N: Two chapters in two days. I'm really feeling Lost at the moment so I'm hoping to get more chapters out at this rate but we'll see. I'm at a bit of an impasse at the moment in the story but I do have some great ideas. I hope you like the this chapter. I love any feed back. Thanks guys ;)

Chapter Eight

There can be a true grandeur in any degree of submissiveness, because it springs from loyalty to the laws and to an oath, and not from baseness of soul. ~Simone Weil

I want to believe that those who have been appointed to accomplish this mission will be totally committed, devoting all their skills and determination to their work. I urge you to lend them your support.~Paul Biya

True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost. ~Arthur Ashe

As Ben stepped into the faux clearing he looked around before his eyes finally landed on me. He didn't looked surprised but I could tell that he hadn't expected me to remain where he had left me. At first I thought that he looked the same as he had when he had gone off into the jungle. His gun was safely resting in the back of his waistband with his bag still over his shoulder. As he walked to me I could tell he was tired, as if he had gotten in a fight or run a great distance. When he got back to me he set his bag down next to mine and looked at me.

"Let's go." I moved to stand and when I was upright I tilted my head to look at him. Once I got past his carefully guarded blue eyes I noticed a splash of blood resting above his left temple. Without thought aor hesitation, which I would have if I had thought, I brought my hand up to the side of his face and let one finger gently trail down his face wiping off the blood, which stuck to my finger. A sigh of relief escaped my lips when I saw that there was no wound under the blood. That the blood was not his. I brought my hand closer to my face and rolled the blood between my finger and my thumb as I stared at it. My intense gaze caught sight of his eyes and I returned my attention to him. He was staring at me although I couldn't describe the emotions behind his eyes. There was emotion there and that in and of itself was shocking. He grabbed my hand roughly and wiped the blood off with a handkerchief that had appeared out of no where. "Let's go," he said again. I bent down and grabbed his bag before slinging his and mine over my shoulder. I smiled at him and went off in the direction of the barracks. He soon caught up to me and took the lead. I followed behind him happily.

The trip back to the barracks seemed to take a shorter amount of time than it had on the way there. I knew it was because I didn't want to get back to the barracks. There I wouldn't be free to walk the jungle, there I always knew what the day would bring, and yes I'll admit there Ben and I hardly talked. The jungle was getting startling familiar. I don't know whether Ben could sense my hesitation but once again I found that we were walking side by side.

"There are things that happen on this Island that you don't know about," Ben said.

"A multitude, I'm sure." I glanced over at him and he returned his gaze back to the path we were taking. Soon the pylons came into my view. I couldn't stop the depressed sigh. Ben stopped then and turned to look at me.

"You're going to do two things when we get back," he says in a low voice. I move closer to him in an attempt to listen intently. His body tenses but he continues none the less. "You are never to speak of this." This request I have no problem with. He seems to have understood for he continued. "You will give me regular updates on any relevant activities of everyone in the barracks." I nodded in a quiet acceptance. He stared at me again for several moments with the same expression from the clearing. Yet soon he turned and made his way to the pylons. While the sun was bright over head everyone would still be asleep. Soon Ben was entering the codes for safe passage. I was happy when his hand found its way to the small of my back again as he ushered me into the barracks. "Go home Miss Kendrick." I accepted the dismissal. Handing Ben back his bag I looked at him for one moment before retreating to my house and bed. Glancing back I could see he was staring at me in cold contemplation.

After returning home I quickly fell into a troubled sleep. I woke up late which was expected because I hadn't gotten home until after nine. When I had woken from my fitful sleep the events from last night came flooding back and it took me only moments to realize that they weren't a dream. I had been traipsing around the forest while Ben did god knows what. Smiling I got out of bed and headed to the bathroom for a much needed shower. Although I didn't want any remnants of last night gone I thought I really should get the grime off. Humming to myself I was content as I dressed and made blueberry muffins for breakfast.

I was thinking to myself that I should get started on surveillance for Ben with renewed vigor when I heard a commotion from the courtyard. Curiosity won over hunger and I quickly made my way outside and on to my porch. At the moment nothing particularly interesting was happening. Jackson and a couple of his friends were on my side of the courtyard and when they got going they had a tendency to cause quite a ruckus. At the far side of the courtyard Ben and a couple other security members were walking through. For a fearful moment I thought Ben was coming to kick me off the island for my snooping but I soon realized his attention was focused elsewhere. Jackson noticed me and waved happily. I smiled and waved back but my eyes flicked towards Ben who noticed my reaction to the entire interaction.

His path visibly changed course although none of the men with him commented, as use to Ben's behavior as anyone could be. Stopping at the group of young men Ben begun a conversation with Jackson from which the other men soon left Jackson.

"What?" Jackson asked and I begun to listen to their conversation.

"You're being changed to permanent patrol division at Hydra," Ben said, the bored tone suggesting that he had already said that.

"Why? I didn't do anything wrong. Everyone knows that is a grunt job," Jackson exclaimed.

"We need another body there and you're going at the end of the day," Ben said.

"No. I'm not going to patrol around some desolate station," Jackson argued back, an attitude which I wasn't use to. Then Jackson turned to look at me for a brief moment. I froze although I hadn't been moving and I might have replied to his look with a reluctant smile. Reluctant wasn't something I looked like unless if was on purpose, this was not on purpose. I glanced at Ben whose eyes meet mine for a moment behind Jackson's back before flicking to my front door. Jackson turned back towards Ben and I took that opportunity to retreat back to my house as I could hear Ben telling Jackson that the Hydra wasn't so desolate now. Jackson was gone when I looked out the window but Ben's eyes met mine before he moved towards the laboratories.

Apparently Ben had kept Jackson so busy that day that we didn't even get a chance to say goodbye which was good because I had been wondering how to end our relationship so abruptly. I think I may have done too good a job befriending him, a lesson I would remember for next time. School, reading, and surveillance had kept me busy for the rest of the following week. Something outside the barracks had seized most of Ben's time and I sparsely saw him. Not that he acknowledged me any differently when I did. It was less disconcerting but I missed the intense stare he left me with at the pylons. It was probably good that Ben's behavior towards me hadn't changed because Lydia already thought something was up with me. Having thrown myself into Ben's request I hadn't realized that Lydia had begun to wonder where I'd run off to until she confronted me about it. Claiming that I simply missed Jackson she let it go with a smile and some metaphor of a pond and fish. Thanking my quick thinking I vowed to treat this assignment as I did with everything planning, dedication, and secrecy. Oh yeah and duplicity, must remember that one. Descending the stairs into my room from the roof I quickly threw a sweatshirt over my shorts and tee shirt and silently slipped out of the house.

I had been 'paying attention' to the barracks community well into the night and just as I had been about to call it a night I saw Ben walk out of his house and towards the trees. Deciding in a split moment to follow his retreating figure I dashed out of the house leaving my shoes behind. Hoping I hadn't lost him I dashed into the tree line and followed the little known path to the security shed. I couldn't see Ben but I figured he had gone this way. Walking quietly along the path I chastised myself for rushing after him. I had no real reason too and I refused to accept that I had just wanted to talk to him. After our expedition through the jungle I had been thinking about him more than ever in the last two years and that is saying something. I finally caught up with him as he walked silently thought the trees. I didn't immediately call out for him wondering how I would explain this when he stopped.

"I know you're following me," Be said and turned to face me.

"Hi," I say sheepishly and look down at my bare feet. I walk over to him as he has made no movement towards me.

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice?" he asks.

"No, I was only trying to talk to you." His eyes widen slightly and I'm sure no one else would have noticed not that anyone was around. Don't think about how alone we are. "To tell you what has been going on since you've been gone," I explain coming up with it on the spot. He seems to notice the smokescreen but doesn't comment. He grabs my arm and marched me up to the abandoned security shed. My breath began to quicken as we entered the shed and I couldn't control my blush. I hoped Ben would assume my reaction was due to the quick walking. The door swung shut behind me.