“Right, I’m sorry I’ve been busy. It has felt like forever since we talked.”
Kennedy talked to her mom for over an hour before her mom had to go. She then turned to her food and didn’t even care it was cold. She was happy.
Kennedy didn’t know if Taylor did that to build her trust, or because this was the NSA. Whatever the reason, she appreciated it. Also, he had protected presidents, how cool was that? If this was all true. But that lady in the phone room, they exchanged war stories, it was starting to feel real.
After eating, she spent a few minutes exploring her room. The dressers were stocked with clothes, her bathroom had brushes, shampoo, conditioner, razors, everything she needed.
She changed from the baggy clothes they had dressed her in and then exited her room. Knocking on the door across from her, Taylor answered. He had changed from the all black attire to a gray pinstripe suit, pants and a white long sleeve button up shirt. Behind Taylor, she could see that his room was a mirror image of her own, but without any windows.
“I can remember you better now,” Kennedy said, switching her focus back towards Taylor. His hair was now styled in the front, so the tips were up. The clothes made his eyes pop more. He was handsome.
“In hindsight I should’ve taken that off earlier, my apologies.”
Kennedy nodded, “I didn’t realize the NSA had field agents.”
“We are rare. I’m part of a special team who deals with unique circumstances. Most of the time we outsource our needs to the CIA or the FBI, but we wanted to keep this one in house.”
“How many unique circumstances come up?”
“More than you might think. Sometimes we are trained in areas the CIA aren’t proficient in. We tag along with them sometimes.”
“I see,” Kennedy said, taking all this new information in.
“Ready for a tour?” Taylor asked, changing the conversation.
“Sounds great,” Kennedy said. The drugs were setting in, and Kennedy wanted to use this time wisely.
Taylor’s tour was short, she could tell he didn’t want to push her. They saw the most common areas of the building, this included a beautiful rooftop with an enclosed pool, an exercise area, and a laundry room.
On the tour, she saw the way he watched her, as if he were inputting all the information he collected into his mind, trying to piece a puzzle together. He asked extremely specific questions to help steer his analysis. Kennedy didn’t mind his prodding; he was interesting to her as well.
After the tour, Kennedy found a bathing suit and robe in her closet. Growing up in California, she had many memories connected to the ocean and water. With her shoulder she wouldn’t be able to swim, but maybe floating around would be relaxing. Taylor didn’t object, and simply followed her as she led the way towards the pool.
There was no one there, and Kennedy used her thumbprint to get in. Taylor paced around the edge of the enclosure. This gave Kennedy some space. Inflatable tubes sat on the side of the pool. Kennedy grabbed one, took off her robe. With some difficulty, she was situated on the tube in the water. She let the water take her where it wanted.
Closing her eyes, Kennedy floated and pondered about everything that had happened since she was taken from her school in Idaho. She thought about all the lies that Jordan and Ryan told her, the pain from the gunshot wound, and finally the NSA asking for her help. It certainly was a lot to ponder about. Kennedy floated for a long time. An hour had passed, and Taylor had remained silent. She enjoyed this quiet.
When she was done, she started to get out of the tube. Trying to keep her arm dry she held it up as she plopped into the water. Suddenly she panicked. This was the deep end, not the shallow end. Under the water she tried to swim back up. As soon as she raised her right arm to swim, it shot out in pain. Grabbing her shoulder, she froze and fell further down into the pool. Kicking her legs, she was halfway back to the top, but she was in trouble. The water swirled around her as she struggled to hold her breath any longer. She reached up to the top of the pool with her left arm, but she had several feet above her. Unexpectedly she felt arms wrap around her and thrust her to the top. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, she immediately started coughing up water. She was dragged to the side of the pool where she clung to the wall with her left hand. Taylor was in the pool next to her.
Giving her a minute to catch her breath, and make sure she was stable, he then got out of the pool. Quickly, and gently avoiding her right shoulder, he pulled her out of the water. He placed her on the side of the pool. Laying on her side Taylor watched carefully until she finally stopped coughing the water out of her lungs. Taking a deep breath, she laid out on the cement and stared at the ceiling again.
“Are you okay?” Taylor asked.
“My shoulder,” Kennedy said, cringing.
“Can I help you?” Taylor asked as she tried to get up.
“I got it,” Kennedy said.
Stopping after a few steps, another wave of pain hit.
“You have kept this assignment very unpredictable,” Taylor stated.
Kennedy smiled, he was trying to distract her, “That was not my intention. I’m afraid I’ve embarrassed myself.”
Taylor smiled gently, “Don’t be.”
She saw him looking down at her battled and bruised arms and his smile disappeared.
“It is nothing,” she said, grabbing her robe.
“I didn’t realize. I apologize.”
“They are just bruises.”
Taylor nodded, “Do you want to go now?”
Kennedy nodded.
“Why don’t we go take showers? I will have Wendy come up to redress that shoulder.”
Kennedy agreed, so they walked back down to her room and quickly got into the shower. When she got out, Wendy was waiting for her in the bedroom.
“I am going to leave you with some stuff so that you don’t have to call me down every time you need a new bandage alright. Oh and no more swimming for a while. It is too much pressure on your shoulder.” Wendy said as she put on the latest covering.
“That would be a lot easier, thank you.”
“How is the pain?”
“I’m afraid I made it worse,” Kennedy admitted as she got dressed.
“Take two pills, I’ll see you early tomorrow. We can reassess then.”
Kennedy thanked her.
Wendy put the supplies in Kennedy’s bathroom and left. Kennedy laid on her bed. What was she supposed to do now? For a few minutes she texted with her mom, and a close friend, then she flipped through the stations on the TV. After the last few days, she had, nothing held her attention. She started to look at the books they had picked for her when there was a knock at the door.
Taylor was waiting for her, “Are you hungry?”
“I’ll take something, I’m getting bored in here.”
“Your day hasn’t been exciting enough?” he asked as he waited for her to grab her shoes.
“Plenty of that,” Kennedy clarified.
“We can find other things for you to do. Have you ever tried one of those paint by number things?”
Kennedy laughed, “Of all the things…”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Taylor admitted.
Kennedy smiled, “I did one of those there…”
Taylor nodded, “I apologize, I didn’t realize the situation you had at the company.”
“Why do you call it ‘the company’, surely it has a name?”
“It does,” Taylor admitted. “But saying, ‘the company’ keeps that information confidential from anyone listening, at the same time, those involved know the reference.”
“I see, simple yet effective.”
After dinner, Taylor took Kennedy back up to the rooftop and laid out a blanket. “I know your alone time was interrupted earlier. Maybe laying under the stars would be safer?”
Kennedy smiled, “It is beautiful up here, thank you.”
“I’ll keep watch. You are safe here.”
“Is that so
?”
Taylor smiled, and then left her. She watched him walk around the edge of the roof. Every ten seconds or so he would scan the area and check on her. She watched him do this over and over. When he caught her looking at him, he made a subtle nod, and continued. What exactly was he looking for? Did he think she wasn’t safe up here? He in fact just reassured her she was safe.
Kennedy laid down on the blanket and tried to forget about Taylor pacing around her. It really was a beautiful night to see the stars. The building was brightly lit, but there were no surrounding buildings. It was brisk outside, but Kennedy didn’t want to go back inside. There she had to make decisions; she was reminded of her current situation. Out here, she let her thoughts flow freely.
Several hours passed and Taylor didn’t approach her once. He just kept making the same route, over and over. Kennedy appreciated his patience, and his distance. Jordan’s approach had suffocated her. Here and now, she felt calm.
∆∆∆
Taylor enjoyed being outside on the roof. He looked off the edge into the forest, back to Kennedy, to the door, at the skies, and then back to Kennedy. She seemed perfectly content to lie there. He wondered what she was thinking about. Was she thinking about her time at the company? Or was she thinking about her job proposal with the NSA? Did she believe he was the NSA? That thought made him smile. Maybe she would take him up on his offer of asking a thousand times.
He continued to slowly make his way around the roof. Kennedy had given him a good first impression. It made continuing this assignment easier. Whatever deal they figured out; he would be there with her.
Thinking back to the pool. He had heard the splash and had walked up the side of the pool. Under the water he could see her swim up a few feet, before falling back down. Ten second had already passed, and she wasn’t coming up. What was happening under there? Getting nervous, Taylor decided he couldn’t wait any longer. He put his phone, and keys on the side of the pool and jumped in. Swimming to her side, he instantly knew he had made the right call. She was struggling. After she was safe, he didn’t push her to understand what had happened.
Now, he made a closer pass to Kennedy, she was curled up on the blanket, eyes closed. Standing over her, he watched her carefully. The breeze brushed strands of her hair across her face, and every few seconds her hand would twitch. She was asleep. He smiled.
Taylor easily picked Kennedy up in his arms.
“Oh, sorry,” Kennedy mumbled half asleep.
“Rest, I’ll take you back down,” Taylor said softly.
“I can walk,” Kennedy contended as she started to shuffle.
“I have no doubt. But it has been a long day, let me help you.”
She nodded, settling back into Taylor arms, closing her eyes again.
The feel of her in his arms was comforting. This case was so different from anything else he had performed at the NSA. Normally he dealt with hardware, not people. He was interested in how she would play into the NSA. If she agreed to work for them, they could be together for a while. He wasn’t just her bodyguard. He was going to be her personal assistant, her NSA liaison, her psychologist, anything she needed. He wasn’t just going to be in the shadows, he would be by her side the whole time.
Gently he bent down and scanned his finger on her door keypad. Carefully he opened the door and slid inside. Kennedy remained asleep. He walked over to her bed and placed her on top. He found a spare blanket and pulled it over her. After she was situated, he did a quick check of the room before he walked.
Once in his own room, he looked around. The place felt sterile and unwelcoming. They had assigned him a room to stay on property once he joined the case. He had spent all his time getting hers ready, that he had completely forgotten about his own. Maybe one-night Dustin could cover him, and he could grab some things from his apartment.
After quickly checking his phone for anything he missed, he also went to bed.
∆∆∆
Brandon had called Jordan into his office, “How the hell did this happen?”
“Sir, your guess is as good as mine. I woke up in the middle of the night to the alarm and ran over there as fast as I could.”
Brandon sighed, “This is unacceptable, what am I supposed to tell my superiors? You oversaw this and it blew up in your face.”
“It isn’t my fault,” Jordan said standing up.
“It is all your fault!” Brandon said, also standing. “Now it is your job to get her back. You need to fix this problem so that we can move forward with our plans. I don’t care how you do it, just get it done. Do you understand me?”
“Yes sir!” Jordan said, and he stomped out of the room.
“I will get you a team,” Brandon said, calming down.
“Forget it, I can do it myself!” Jordan yelled slamming the door.
∆∆∆
Chapter 8
H 01000
The next morning Kennedy slept until 6 a.m.. Despite being up late, she couldn’t sleep. Today she had to decide if she was going to help the NSA. Of course, she wanted to, wasn’t that part of her civic duty? At this point, she did believe they were in fact the NSA, but she wanted her life back.
After getting ready for the day, Kennedy walked out and found Taylor waiting for her.
“How did you know I was awake?”
“We placed a vital monitor on you. It sends readings to my watch. The uptake in heartbeat indicated you were awake.”
“Where is the monitor?” Kennedy said remembering nothing unusual when she showered.
“Here,” Taylor said, turning her hand over and pointing to her wrist. We placed it on you when you passed out on the helicopter.
Kennedy shuddered at the memory.
“Forgive me, I didn’t mean to…”
Kennedy shook her head, “Don’t.”
She didn’t want to relieve that memory. The pain, the cold, the confusion.
Turning her focus back towards the present she said, “I can’t see anything.”
“Can you feel this?” Taylor said streaking his finger across a part of her wrist.
“No?” she said alarmed.
“There is a small patch that is infused with your skin. It’s like a high-tech band aid that transmits to my watch and headquarters.”
Kennedy considered this for a moment. She decided this was acceptable, “Ok.”
“Good, now shall we get some breakfast?”
“Sure, I’m hungry.”
“Then we will meet with Brett and Jennifer.”
Kennedy took a deep breath.
“They are really nice.”
“I am sure you are right, but I’m not ready.”
Taylor grinned as he held a door open for her, “This isn’t a life or death decision, we can make modifications as we go.”
“Ok,” Kennedy considered. He was right. Just because she agreed to something today, didn’t mean it was a lifelong contract. She could always change her mind.
“We can take our time at breakfast if you’d liked,” Taylor comforted.
Kennedy dragged out breakfast as long as she could. That meant she kept eating and eating. She was stuffed. Taylor didn’t question her, he just smiled while he ate his one bowl of oatmeal.
After eating her third plate Taylor finally asked, “Did they starve you?”
“No,” she said looking sheepishly at the plates she had devoured. “I’m nervous.”
“I know,” Taylor said as he picked up all three plates and his bowl and put them in a sink for the kitchen crew to clean later.
“One more biscuit,” she said heading back to the line.
“Do you need that?”
“No, we can go,” she said standing up.
As she approached the conference room, she got more confident. She wasn’t the prisoner here; she could decide to leave anytime.
Taylor led the way to the meeting room. He opened the door for her. Kennedy stood still, and then took a deep breath. She could do this, she told hersel
f. Taylor walked in first, but then let Kennedy pick where to sit at the table. He then sat next to her. This time there were more people in the room, but Kennedy surprisingly wasn't any more nervous.
“Welcome back Kennedy, we brought some other people here today to meet with you,” Brett said.
Kennedy listened to Brett introduce everyone but didn’t retain anything he said She simply waited for him to get to his point.
“Did you think about what we said yesterday?”
Kennedy waited a moment, “Yes I did.”
“And what did you decide to do?”
“I am willing to help.” Kennedy said to the whole table.
Smiles crossed all the members’ faces.
“But I have a condition,” Kennedy said quickly.
“What is that?” Jennifer piped in.
“I would like to go back to college.”
Jennifer looked at Brett, and Brett looked at Jennifer.
Taylor didn’t say anything.
“First, we need to determine your value to the NSA, but we could make that work. We could send you with Taylor and a small team,” Jennifer explained.
“That is fine,” Kennedy said, she had expected that.
“You would have to balance work and school,” Brett added.
“No problem,” she responded.
“And you would have to spend the whole summer here training,” another man said.
“But then I could attend in the fall, correct?” Kennedy said feeling closer and closer to this becoming a reality.
“Yes,” Jennifer said, “We could arrange all of that, along with free tuition, help in classes, and so forth if you agree to help us.”
“What about my friends and family?”
“I heard Taylor set you up with a phone already, it is yours. Feel free to talk to whoever you want, whenever. You will have to lie about your work, but I’m sure we can arrange a trip before you go back to school.
“Done,” Kennedy said with a grin on her face.
“Great!” said Brett, as if ready to get going at this moment.
“Now,” Jennifer started. “We need to know everything that happened when you were there.”
“Yes of course,” Kennedy said, expecting as much.
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