Christin Solomon
Chapter 35-Hands
A/N: Thanks for the fantastic reviews! Now I'm really fighting for ideas to get this story to 40 chapters, so if some of my events are random. I'm just winging it from here on out.
Christin's POV
Since it was spring break for Gallagher and Blackthorne, James and I had decided to go rock climbing at the Grand Canyon. Chris was buying a car in Washington D.C. Shane and Shawn were going deep sea diving in the Caribbean. Mom and Daddy were having some alone time back at our home. So here I was, scaling a three hundred yard cliff with my boyfriend a few feet away. We didn't have ropes or any of those safety precautions. A spy has to be able to handle anything on short notice, including climbing one of the most dangerous canyons on Earth. I looked over at James. His black hair had a golden tinge because of the sun and his blue eyes were relaxed but focused. I smiled to myself as I thought how undeserving but lucky I was to have him. James glanced over and met my gaze, and then winked.
"What are you staring at?" He asked quietly. One thing I loved about James was how quiet he was. He didn't raise his voice or act all macho. My boyfriend was calm and quiet, just what I needed.
"The hot guy next to you," I said sarcastically. James laughed and climbed closer till there was barely any space left between us.
"What about me? Am I not hot?" He teased and I couldn't help but half smile.
"No, you're not hot. You're sexy," My handsome boy laughed his strong, deep laugh, and kissed me with a warmness that only James could really put through a kiss. We kissed for a few more moments before we pulled away and he kissed my forehead. I tightened my grip on the rock from the sudden relaxation that the kiss brought. His hand briefly rested on the small of my back to balance me.
"Don't fall babe, I'd be really sad if you did," He whispered, though it sounded playful, I knew he honestly didn't want me to fall. I didn't want him to fall either.
"But you would catch me, right?" I tried to lighten the mood. He grinned and nodded before we started climbing again. After about an hour, there was a ledge where we could look over the canyon and get a bit of a rest, there was an overhang providing shade. James and I sat in the shadows, his arm wrapped around my shoulders, me leaning into him.
"Guess what?" I questioned suddenly, straightening a little so I could look him in the eyes.
"What?" He played along, he always did. Most people didn't play along, Chris was the only other person who did.
"I love you," I straddled his lap and wrapped my arms around his neck loosely, our faces only inches away. His hand reached up and cupped my cheek lightly before he grasped my chin between his thumb and forefinger. Gently, he pulled my face till there was only one tiny inch between our lips.
"I love you too," I kissed him back lovingly. It was nice knowing that there weren't cameras or bugs or nosey brothers checking in on you every five minutes. Instead, it was just me and him in the shadows. I started to hear a distant humming noise above us, but we didn't part. I thought it was just a vehicle passing by. But the humming got louder, and closer until I realized it wasn't a muffler or engine, it was a helicopter.
"Christin, we know you're some where hear in this waste land, come out come out wherever you are," A voice coaxed playfully. I found myself in a crouched position without realizing it, so was James. We pressed ourselves as far back in the shadows as possible.
"Come on Christin, come play with us," The voice continued. The helicopter rounded the bend and was only a few feet above us. If it lowered only those few feet, they would see us. I pulled out my gun, ready for whatever they were going to throw at us. The helicopter lowered a couple of feet, only a couple of more to go . . . and then it flew forward. Either of us moved, wondering what our newest enemy was trying for. The humming finally subsided until there was silence once again.
"No service coverage and we're miles away from anyone that could help," James reminded me. I checked my phone, the no service icon was flashing. Great.
"Well we can't wait them out here," I countered. We needed to get away from here. They were bound to make a second sweep and would spot us.
"Up or down?" James asked. If we climbed upward and got to the top, we might be able to find somebody or get a couple of service bars. But the flat terrain made it dangerous, a helicopter could hover safely a couple of feet off the ground, making for an easy shot or for people to jump out and nab you. Plus, they might not be the only helicopter and we would be spotted easily. Going downward would be a longer climb and for the first few hundred yards, a helicopter would be able to shoot at us, but wouldn't be able to get near the cliff wall. By the time we reached the bottom, there wouldn't be space for the helicopter to fly, but the flat terrain again gave the advantage of being spotted and shot at. I chose the latter.
"Down," I spoke with my I'm-the-boss-so-don't-argue-with-me voice. James nodded in agreement and we cautiously crept out from under the overhang to observe our surroundings. It was safe, for now. We began our descent downwards.
"It's going to be alright Shadow," James used my code name and that made me smile.
"I know Eagle," I responded. We were silent, focusing on solid foot holds and hand grips. Then the humming started coming back. I said a really bad word in Italian and climbed down a couple of more yards before pulling out my gun. I gripped the rock tightly with my left and held the gun with my right, still trying to climb down a few feet. The helicopter rounded the bend and hesitated twenty feet away from us.
"Christin," A female voice cooed. I could see her in the cockpit, sitting beside the pilot. Her black hair was pulled into a ponytail and her night black eyes looked way too familiar . . . my aunt. I didn't reply, only glared.
"Now that is no way to greet your aunt," She reprimanded like a mother. My aunt had murdered one of her brothers so she would be able to become an Italian spy, and had tried to murder my mother multiple times.
"Screw you," I smirked, feeling my mother inside my head.
"Apologize," Aunt Diya commanded. James growled, yeah, seriously growled.
"I'm so sorry you tried to murder my mother!" I yelled sarcastically, feeling suddenly protective of my mother who was too many miles away. The friendliness disappeared from her face and she glared back.
"You're the best way to kill my big sister. If you die, she dies," A machine gun dropped into view under the helicopter, but I was already ahead of it. I shot at the holes where the bullets would come out. If my bullets go into it, they would jam the shot, and give us a better chance. The machine gun made a weird screeching sound and kept trying to spin but nothing was happening. My aunt cussed and was pounding on buttons. James and I stared at each other before hurling ourselves away from the cliff. I curled myself in a ball and just took a breath. The air roared in my ears and gravity fought a battle it couldn't win. I'm not committing suicide if that's what everyone is wondering, I'm saving my hide along with James. Only three more seconds . . . two . . . one. I uncurled myself and let my hands wait for the edge. They hit solid rock and I felt the painful scrapes on both but clung to the edge. James was beside me thank God. We started to climb down as fast as possible, about one hundred yards from the floor of the canyon.
The helicopter came lower and the machine gun gave a couple of test spins without shooting. I found some foot holds and began to shoot at the helicopter. There was a weak spot between the helicopter and the propellers. That became my target. Now, I'm not Rosie, but I can get the job done. Suddenly the propellers broke off the helicopter was falling. But one of the propellers tore me off the edge and I was falling too. James threw himself head first.
There's that voice in the back of your mind that says you're not going to make it, that you might as well say you prayers, and get death over with. But the fierce look in James's eyes stopped that voice right in its tracks. Then there's that stronger, more powerful voice that says he's going to save you, no matter what it takes, because he loves you.
James went past me and about thirty feel below found a ledge to grip. He held out his hand and I trusted him to catch me, to keep me safe. At the right moment, I reached out my hand, and gripped his for dear life. His arm swung down but he brought up the slack before I could crash into the rock wall. I looked up, into his protective ice blue eyes, and smiled. His eyes glowed with the same warmth but he obviously couldn't force himself to smile. He hauled me up so that I was beside him.
"God," He sighed, wrapping his well muscled arm around my waist in a very protective gesture. I leaned forward and kissed him, trying to reassure him. He kissed me back but I could tell he was distracted by what had just happened.
"James," I tried to capture his attention, but it was like he didn't hear me.
"James," I said a little more forcefully without raising me voice. He blinked and seemed to be finally listening to me.
"Yeah Christin?" He asked, suddenly concerned. He grabbed my hands and lightly uncurled my fingers to reveal the still bleeding scraped. I heard him cuss continuously under breath. I was about to say that it was nothing and try to get him to blow it off when a CIA helicopter flew down and next to us. Chris was sitting in the passenger seating and gestured for us to get in. I didn't even try to argue with James, I jumped first, and Chris grabbed my wrists (careful to avoid my bloody hands) to balance me and get me into the seat beside him. James jumped in and I finally caught a glance of his bloody hands.
"See, I'm not the only one who is bleeding," I pointed out. Chris and James rolled their eyes as Chris got out a first aid kit. I sighed and rested my hands, palms up, on his leg. Chris cleaned the wound and looked at me before spraying the anti-infection stuff on it. It stung like a thousand mini wasps were in the scrapes, but I didn't even wince or voice my pain. Chris was very gentle as he wrapped bandages on both of my hands.
"Thanks bro," I kissed his cheek and he hid his blush by rolling his eyes and mumbling a you're welcome. He made quick work of James and it wasn't long until my spent boyfriend was peacefully asleep. Chris and I had an arm wrapped around the other's shoulders, our personal sanctuary with one another.
"You need to become a CIA doctor," I whispered. Chris looked at me like I was crazy.
"I want to be out there in the world, being a spy," He said, but I could already see his mind thinking about what I had said.
"You could, think about it, we could be a team. I beat the bad guy up, they take him to a hospital using some cover story, and you could interrogate him with a scalpel in your hand!" I whisper yelled so I wouldn't wake poor James up. Chris was obviously pondering what I had offered. It just didn't feel right to be separated on missions with my brother now.
"I'll think about it," He allowed but I knew he would chew on it like a lion and a piece of meat for days until he really started to apply it to his future.
"You suck at listening to reason," I fake pouted and he smiled.
"Mom was the first to know you were in danger," Chris changed the subject cleverly. I gave him a side glance and nodded to show I was listening to him.
"She got a call from one of our uncles who told her that Diya had broke out of the top secret, high security holding facility they had been holding her in, and stole a helicopter while she was at it," I nodded, accepting the story easily.
"Mom knew she wouldn't target our home because of our defense system, she couldn't fly an armed helicopter anywhere near D.C. Shane and Shawn would be difficult to find. You were the easiest target. So mom called me who was closest to the CIA head quarters and I could care less about my new Aston Martin V12 Vantage," I looked at my brother.
"You got the same car that I have," I said, very surprised indeed. He smiled mischievously and nodded.
"We are twins after all," He shrugged and we both half smiled at the thought. I gave my brother a hug from the side and then pulled away. I grabbed his hands and held them in mine.
"You see these hands?" I asked. He laughed, playing along, and nodded, so I continued, "These hands were meant to fire guns. They were meant to hold to a mother's as she drags you through a busy store. They were meant to form formidable fists at the age of two. All ten of these fingers were meant to curl around the wheel of an Aston Martin V12 Vantage that is black. They were meant to grasp a gun, with one, lonely finger, ready on the trigger. They were meant to stretch and grasp these hands," I squeezed his hands to show that I meant that I would always be there to stop him from falling, "But your hands, Chris, your hands are gentle but quick. The way you can see blood pouring out of a wound and you don't flinch; your hands don't shake as you pull a bullet out of someone. Your sister's hands know that your hands were meant to save lives, and to be a team with mine, because that's what our hands are for, to be a team,"
A/N: New longest chapter ever! I'm going to keep trying to write long chapters since I'm down to my final five. Review Please!