by Sarah Carter
With a smile, Claire follows Mr. Grandin to the room next door. When they get there, Claire’s heart drops. Damien is lying on the bed with ashen skin. She gasps and covers her mouth.
“He’ll be fine,” Mr. Grandin assures her. “He just needs to sleep it off.”
Quickly, Claire goes over and grabs Damien’s hand. She falls to her knees and kisses it. “Damien, wake up.”
“I’ll bring that tablet in,” Mr. Grandin says, as he backs out the door.
With a heavy heart, Claire sits there, staring at Damien. “Is this what you went through?” she whispers. “I can’t even imagine. I know you’re going to wake up. You had no idea what was happening to me.” There is a pause and then she mutters, “Please, baby, wake up.”
A lot of time passes before there is a knock on the door. Mr. Grandin walks in and hands Claire a silver tablet. “You can access it with your palm print. It’s the only file on there. Every ten minutes, it’ll ask for your print again. It’s a security measure.”
“Alright,” Claire says, as she stands up. Mr. Grandin nods and leaves. She takes a seat next to Damien and opens the file.
When Claire has finally read through everything, she shuts off the tablet and places it on the stand next to the bed. “Oh....my…god.” She exhales. “What am I getting myself into?” A yawn escapes her. Claire turns and looks at Damien. “It’s getting late, baby. You could wake up any time now.”
The minutes tick by, and Claire finally lies down next to Damien. She stares at him while tracing her finger down his face. He doesn’t stir, so Claire closes her eyes and snuggles up next to him.
Chapter 20
“Cla…Claire, wake up.”
She groggily opens her eyes. “Damien!” she exclaims, sitting up.
“Hey,” he groans in return. “What happened?”
“We were attacked,” Claire answers. “You were shot with a tranquilizer—a really strong one.”
Damien grimaces. “I can still feel it.”
“Stay still,” Claire instructs. “Let me get someone.”
“Am I going to die, or something?” Damien mutters as he sits up next to her.
“No, you just needed to sleep it off.”
He rubs his face with his hands. “I feel like I was on a bender.”
“That’s horrible.”
“Are you okay? When did you wake up?” Damien inquires curiously.
Biting her lip, Claire says, “The tranquilizer had no effect on me. They shot me twice but I was able to disarm five assailants at one time.”
Damien stares at her. “Please tell me you didn’t get hurt.”
“Not one scratch. Though the assailants had many, many broken limbs.”
“Ugh,” Damien groans. “How am I ever going to be okay with you being in the guard? My stomach turns at the thought of it.” Claire shuts up pretty quickly. Damien goes on, “At least you’re alright now. Did everyone else wake up, too?”
“Only your father, at least when I fell asleep.”
Damien reaches up and tucks her hair behind her ear. “I couldn’t have asked for a better way to wake up than to see you sleeping next to me.”
“I know how you felt now. To sit here and not be able to do anything.”
“It ate me up,” Damien whispers. “My feelings for you were so strong. From the second I saw you, there was a pull. When you were unconscious and we didn’t know what was wrong, I couldn’t leave your side.”
Scooting closer to him, Claire leans in. “Damien, you mean a lot to me.”
“I know, baby,” Damien murmurs back. “That makes me the happiest guy in the world.”
“I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.”
“The feelings are mutual,” Damien murmurs back, before kissing her. Claire presses against him and they fall back. They lay there, kissing each other.
Someone clears his throat. They stop and look to the side. Dr. Galliger is standing in the doorway. Claire wipes her mouth and sits up. Damien follows.
Dr. Galliger smiles, “How are you feeling, Master Damien?”
“Groggy…hung over,” Damien replies. “Sluggish.”
“That’s what everyone else reported. Your readings are normal. We don’t think there are going to be any adverse effects from the tranquilizer.”
“Good.” Damien yawns.
Dr. Galliger looks at Claire. “Master Blakely would like for us to implant that chip today, so that the wound is healed completely by the time you go on your mission.”
Claire closes her eyes and grimaces. There’s a pause, and then Damien says, “What mission?”
“Your father has requested Claire go on a mission,” Dr. Galliger replies. “There are only four people that know about it, so far.”
“And why am I not included into that group?” Damien snaps.
Turning to him, Claire whispers, “I was going to tell you, but I didn’t want to spring it on you when you first woke up.”
“Tell me…what’s the mission?”
With a deep breath, Claire explains everything to him. When she’s finished, she adds, “And I accepted.”
The look on Damien’s face is ice cold. “You accepted before even talking to me?”
“Yes, Damien. It’s important. We have to get this guy.”
“Let them find some other way of doing it!” Damien yells. “You can’t go in on your own. That goes against the major rule!”
“Damien,” Claire starts, “I’m going to do this.”
“Regardless of how I feel?” he retorts hotly.
Claire gives him a look.
Damien growls and runs his fingers through his hair. “We need to talk about this with my father.”
“And Mr. Grandin,” Claire notes.
Damien stares at her and then says, “I don’t care what he thinks.”
“You’re going to have to,” Claire snaps. “It’s going to be part of your job.”
“My job will be to give him directions, not the other way around. That’s neither here nor there. We need to have a meeting about this and come up with a plan.”
“I have one week to prepare,” Claire declares. “Then I go in.”
“One week? You’re giving me one week to be with you before you go on a life-threatening mission?” Damien gasps.
Claire exhales and barely whispers, “I’ll make that week worth your while.”
Damien laughs. “That’s a start.”
“I’d like to check Damien over,” Dr. Galliger says. “Claire, an attendant will take you to a room where you can stay.”
“Where are we anyway?” Claire asks. “We were shoved on ships and whisked away.”
With a smile, Dr. Galliger says, “We’re in Nevada, in the desert.”
“Isn’t that competing with Area 51?” Claire quips.
“That’s the benefit.” Damien yawns. “Our ships are invisible and no one would suspect us because all eyes are on that area.”
“Interesting,” Claire replies.
A girl appears in the doorway. Dr. Galliger gestures to her. “We’ll implant the chip in you in a few minutes, after I check over Master Damien.”
“Okay.” Claire turns to Damien and groans. “I hate the thought of leaving you.”
“We’ve turned into that ridiculous couple.” Damien chuckles. “Can’t stand to be apart.”
“Hey, I can’t help that I’ll miss you,” Claire replies with a smirk.
“I’ll be with you after he checks me over. I’m sleeping in a real bed for the rest of the evening.”
Dr. Galliger furrows his eyebrows. “We’d like to keep you where we can monitor you.”
Damien gives him a look. “Do I not have, like, twenty electrodes in me and a few random chips? You can use that to keep track of me.”
“It’s your decision.” Dr. Galliger sighs.
“Well, I plan to spend the evening with my future wife.”
Those words make Claire’s heart jump. “Damien,” she
hisses. “No one is supposed to know.”
“Oh.” Damien snorts. “Dr. Galliger can’t speak a word of this to anyone. The punishment is solitary imprisonment.”
“Wow, we do that to people?” Claire says. “Harsh.”
“Treason is a pretty heavy crime. We have to take that into consideration.”
“I guess. I’m going to go to our room and freshen up.”
Nodding, Damien says, “I’ll be there in a few minutes. Okay?” Claire nods. “I love you, baby.”
Claire pauses for a second and then replies, “Me too.”
Sitting up quickly, Damien gasps. “What?”
“We’ll talk about it when we’re alone,” Claire replies softly. “Hurry up.”
“Gladly.”
Claire turns to the attendant. “You can take me to our room.”
“Very well,” the girl replies. She gestures to the right and they start to walk down the hallway.
Looking at her, Claire says, “You can’t repeat any of that either, can you?”
“Oh no, miss,” the girl squeaks. “I’d be too scared to. It’s also none of my business.”
“Well, that’s good to know. We don’t want word to get out quite yet.”
“If you don’t mind my saying, I think it’s good that Master Damien found someone. I’ve been the family’s attendant for a while. None of us thought it was going to happen. He was so…”
“Slutty?” Claire retorts.
“That’s a word for it, miss,” the girl giggles. “He’s changed in the last year.”
Nodding, Claire agrees. “He’s changed and for the better.” The girl smiles and they remain quiet the rest of the way to the room.
When Claire goes in, she shuts the door and exhales. Walking over, she plops down on the bed. “So tired.” She yawns. Claire closes her eyes and dozes off for a while.
“Hey, baby,” Damien finally whispers. The bed gives way as he sits down next to her. “They’re coming to put that chip into you. You have to wake up for at least ten minutes.”
“Mmm,” Claire groans. “Need sleep.”
“I promise, we won’t be disturbed early in the morning.” Damien laughs.
There is a knock on the door. Claire springs up. Damien goes over and answers it. “Hello, Dr. Galliger.”
Dr. Galliger walks in with a silver tray. “This will only take a minute, Claire.”
“Where are you putting it?” Claire asks.
“Um,” Dr. Galliger says, with a smirk. “In your hip.”
“I voted butt!” Damien exclaims.
“That would be an odd place to press in the middle of a fight,” Claire retorts, with a look. “Wait, wait, wait, please hold on, while I push on my ass.” Damien and Dr. Galliger burst out laughing. She puts her hands out. “Not kidding. That’s what I’ll do. Better yet, if I’m wearing a short skirt, I can lift it up in front of a guy and whisper, can you press here? You know you want to.”
Dr. Galliger laughs some more but Damien loses all humor. “No asking another guy to press anything on you.”
“Well, then, I’m not getting it in my butt, now am I?” Claire quips.
“Alright, we’d all like to go to bed,” Dr. Galliger interrupts. “Claire, if you’ll please lie down on the bed and pull the side of your pants down. This will be quick.”
Claire unbuttons her pants and pulls them down. Damien grins. She glares at him and shoves him away. Falling back, Claire lies there. Dr. Galliger sets down the tray. “It’s going to be like getting an injection. There’s a numbing agent on the needle. It’ll only leave a small hole and will heal in a few days.”
“Okay,” Claire gulps. Dr. Galliger takes a metallic syringe and holds it up. He presses a button on the side, which turns on a green light at the tip.
Claire’s eyes widen. “What’s that for?”
“To make sure I put it in the right spot,” Dr. Galliger replies. “Ready?”
Claire nods. He leans over and inserts the tip right above her hip bone. Claire winces for a second and then it’s over.
“There you go. It’s activated. We’ll be able to track you, and if you press it, it’ll send out a signal.”
“Even if I do it now?” Claire inquires, looking at her hip.
“Well…yes, but it sounds an alarm, so probably best not to press it now.”
“I won’t.”
Dr. Galliger sighs. “Alright, since everyone is awake now, it’s time to get some rest.”
“My family is okay?” Claire asks.
“Perfectly, they’re all asleep for the evening,” Dr. Galliger replies. “Master Blakely wants to speak with you before you see them. They were told a different story of the events that happened. You know, to protect them. So, he wants to make sure everyone is on the same page.”
“Okay,” Claire says.
He starts to walk toward the door. “Good night you two, get some sleep.”
“You too, Dr. Galliger,” Claire calls out, as he leaves. When the door is shut, Claire turns to Damien. “Well, we really can’t run away together anymore. We both have tracking devices in us.”
“I guess that means neither of us can cheat on the other because we could find out,” Damien teases.
Claire laughs and grins, “I would never ever cheat on you. I’ve been on the other end of that. It’s heartbreaking.”
“I would never break your heart,” Damien whispers, brushing his fingers down her face. “I love you.”
She pauses and says, “I love you too.”
Damien smiles. “What made you finally decide that, because it’s heaven to hear.”
“I knew how I felt when I was sitting there and you were unconscious. My thoughts got away from me and I was thinking what if you didn’t wake up. This whole time I’ve been envisioning our future. What college will be like, how much fun we’re going to have.”
“We’re going to have a blast. Are you sure you’re alright with us living together?”
Nodding, Claire giggles. “Yeah, I don’t think I could be apart from you. That’s what I was thinking—what would happen if I didn’t have you? I couldn’t even think about it.”
“This is all so fast.” Damien exhales. “I know that. We should be cautious, but I can’t help the way I feel.”
“I know what you mean.” Claire sighs. “I love you. We love each other. That’s a great thing. What we’re doing is fine Damien. Even if it’s fast, we’re in love and this is what we want.”
“I love you, baby,” Damien murmurs, pulling her closer to him. “This whole idea of sending you on a crazy mission makes me panic.”
Claire puts her hand on his chest. “I can’t say that I’ll be fine, but people’s lives are at stake. Your life is at stake. I need to take the risk.”
“I know I’m being selfish.” Damien groans softly. “I just found you and I don’t want to lose you.”
“Damien, I have to do this,” Claire whispers. “It’s who I am. It’s what I’ve been trained for. You know this. I’m the only one that could possibly get to him. I can take him out. I also can take out anyone who gets in my way.”
“You have no problem with that?”
“No, I take people out, not kill them. I know how to kill, but I’ll incapacitate before I do that.”
He looks deep in her eyes and asks, “Do you think you could if it came down to it?”
“I don’t know,” Claire replies quietly. “I won’t think about it. There are so many pressure points and ways to take someone down. Death sounds like an extreme option.”
“You’ll do everything you can to make sure you come home to me, right?”
“Of course, I’m a very skilled fighter Damien. I can take down both of your father’s guard members. Doesn’t that say a lot right there?”
Damien snorts. “Yeah, I know. I know you’re very capable of completing this mission.”
“I read up on everything there is to know about this guy,” Claire declares seriously, looking Damien in
the eyes. “I’m not going into this blind.”
“That’s good. I’ll still be a nervous wreck.”
“Honestly Damien, you can’t be. I need you to be strong. I can’t be worried about you and how worried you are. I need to concentrate. My grandfather taught me everything they teach guard members. We have to stay focused. There can’t be any distractions.”
With a nod, Damien says, “Alright, you won’t have to worry about me. I’ll be your cheerleader behind the scenes.”
Claire giggles. “Are you going to wear a uniform?”
“Yes,” Damien laughs. “What colors would you like?”
“Come on, isn’t that a given? Hot pink and black.”
“Oh, that’s masculine.” Damien snorts. “I’d be the butt of a lot of jokes.”
A yawn escapes Claire.
He brushes his thumb across her lips and says, “We should go to sleep.”
“Okay,” Claire murmurs. “I’m so tired.”
Damien leans forward and kisses her. “Then let’s get you to sleep.”
* * * * * * * *
Claire stares at the wall in front of her. “Alright,” Lucas says next to her. “See how many targets you can hit now.”
She feels the gun in the palm of her hand. It automatically hooks onto her fingers. All she has to do is pull her fingers back to shoot it. “I can do this,” Claire whispers.
“Alright…go!” Lucas shouts.
Quickly, Claire shoots at each of the targets that appear. She nails almost every single one of them. “I only missed two!”
“You did,” Lucas says. “You have about 90 percent accuracy. After only a week, that’s very impressive. Now, let’s go over all of these again.” They walk over to the table and look at the weapons. “Identify and explain each one,” he instructs.
Holding up the one in her hand, Claire says, “Kisha, this one shoots small balls of highly charged electrical bursts. It fits into the palm of your hand, great for concealment.”
“Next.”
“Jameen,” Claire states, holding up a gun. “It contains our version of bullets. Those bullets may be filled with solutions, such as poison or sedatives.”
“Very good.”
“My favorite,” Claire says. “Cinya, small throwing knives. The blades extend as you throw them. They’re easy to hide in clothing because of their size.”
