“What are we looking at Dr. Jameson?” Wendy asked.
“You are looking at one of my creations!” he said emphasizing the last word so that it echoed across the room. “This here is a control room, where I can test my theories. Kennedy if you could step inside the shipping container, we will be able to monitor you from out here.”
Wendy, Jennifer, and Taylor all looked at Kennedy standing there, deciding whether or not her life was in peril from this “creation”.
“Fine,” Kennedy said, interpreting all the staring.
“Nice!” Dr. Jameson said, opening the door and letting her in.
When she stepped into the room, the walls became transparent for everyone outside of the room, but inside, the walls remained plain to Kennedy.
“That is pretty cool,” Taylor said, stepping closer.
Kennedy could still hear them from the inside.
“You haven’t seen anything yet!” Dr. Jameson said. “So, while we were trying to extend Kennedy’s ability to decipher codes for longer stretches, I wondered if she needed to read the code. After doing some research, I found other methods. I created this room to test out my theory.”
“Is she safe?” Taylor checked again.
“Yes of course,” Dr. Jameson said. “Are you ready Kennedy?”
“Ready for what?” Kennedy replied.
“Now if I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise!” Dr. Jameson said excitedly.
“Oh of course not,” came Kennedy’s sarcastic reply.
“Here we go then!” Dr. Jameson said, pressing another button.
Inside the room, Kennedy waited for whatever Dr. Jameson had planned. She sat on the one chair, facing a wall, the rest of the room remained blank. After waiting a couple seconds, she could hear a rumbling noise growing. Closing her eyes, she tried to heighten her hearing. Several minutes passed before the noise got loud enough to hear the voice clearly.
“011111000010101011110011101010101010111110001101010101000000001111100101010111000110010101010101010110” and it kept accelerating until she could hardly differentiate each number.
Kennedy realized that Dr. Jameson thought if she could hear the code quickly enough, it could cut the deciphering time and side effects. Playing along with his idea, she concentrated on the numbers in the code.
“Are you okay?” Taylor asked after five minutes.
Kennedy nodded in reply, as her lips moved quickly with the speaker.
“Give her some time,” Dr. Jameson said, never taking his eyes off Kennedy.
Inside the room, Kennedy continued to struggle with the mumbling and deciphering the message. Reading required a lot less concentration, and will power, but she was determined to figure this out.
Ten minutes passed before Kennedy suddenly opened her eyes and smiled.
“The downtown zoo around 5 p.m.,” she recited.
“Very good,” Dr. Jameson said smiling.
“What happened?” Jennifer asked, shocked.
“I sped up the reading of a code to see if she could decipher it any faster.” He turned back to Kennedy, “More or less difficult than reading?”
“More, that took forever,” Kennedy commented, but she was ready for more.
“Don’t worry I have other ideas,” Dr. Jameson said, turning back to the command pad and typing in something. “Here we go!”
The room went dark. After hearing the code so quickly, she was ready for anything. Patiently, she waited for whatever he had in store. Then, a picture the size of a complete wall appeared in front of her. The picture then repeated on every wall around her, surrounding her with this one picture. Looking closely at the picture of a giraffe, it was different somehow, but Kennedy couldn’t figure it out. A new picture went up. Slowly the pictures began to quicken in speed, until Kennedy couldn’t even see the image before it switched to the next. They were all a blur.
“Take your time,” Dr. Jameson said.
Closing her eyes, Kennedy took a deep breath and then opened them again. At first, the images were frustrating, but a minute passed, and her eyes adjusted. She could now see through the images to the subliminal messages that were encoded within the pictures.
“Howard is going to kill the girl,” Kennedy said confidently.
“Amazing!” Jennifer exclaimed.
“Thank you!” Dr. Jameson said.
“I wasn’t really talking about you,” Jennifer said.
Taylor smiled at Jennifer’s comment, and Wendy giggled. Dr. Jamerson didn’t hear or chose not to acknowledge. Kennedy appreciated Jennifer’s praise. but took a few seconds to recover from the images.
“Now tell me,” Dr. Jameson said, turning off the pictures and the lights back on. “Did this feel any better than reading the code?”
Kennedy took her time, “I am not sure, I would almost say they are the same. At least once I figured it out.”
“Fear not! I have more!” Dr. Jameson said wildly, pushing more buttons.
“I am ready,” Kennedy replied, not really knowing what to expect.
“Okay!” Dr. Jameson said, pressing the last button before focusing on Kennedy inside the room.
Without knowing what to expect Kennedy continued to sit in the chair, waiting for whatever crazy Dr. Jameson planned. A couple moments passed when the room then echoed with a new noise Kennedy couldn’t figure out. Concentrating on the noise Kennedy only heard different pitches. Some of the pitches were incredibly low like an organ, but other pitches resembled a scream or shrill. Most of the pitches ranged in the middle.
Outside the room, Wendy, Jennifer, Taylor, and Dr. Jameson remained silent as they listened to the weird noises and watched Kennedy for any type of reaction.
Minutes passed, and Kennedy only became more and more frustrated until she covered her ears, “Stop it!”
Dr. Jameson instantly pressed a couple buttons and stopped the noises.
“Are you alright?” Taylor asked, running towards her.
“Yes, thank you Taylor. I’m sorry Dr. Jameson, I can’t handle that one.”
“Of course,” Dr. Jameson interjected. “I didn’t expect you to be able to pass all of these. Do you need a break?”
“Yes, but just a short one. The noises are still ringing in my ears.”
“Take all the time you need,” Jennifer assured Kennedy.
“Yes,” Wendy added.
Dr. Jameson pulled out a notebook and jotted down some things frantically with one of the many pens from his shirt pocket. “Fascinating!”
Taylor shook his head and smiled at the doctor.
Wendy and Jennifer talked amongst themselves, Kennedy couldn’t hear them. After five minutes Kennedy decided to start again.
“Excellent! Prepare for this one!”
The unpredictability of the test meant that Kennedy didn’t really know what Dr. Jameson meant when he said prepare. So, she put her hands on the seat of the chair and held tight. The room turned dark, but Kennedy could hear a familiar song start in the room. One of her favorite artists started to play his hit song.
The song continued, and Kennedy closed her eyes to the sounds of his beautiful voice, and the music playing in the background.
Once the song finished Kennedy opened her eyes and said, “Downtown Marriott hotel in three days.”
“Wow!” Dr. Jameson said.
“What happened?” Taylor said as Kennedy walked out of the room.
“How did you do that?” Kennedy asked, walking to Dr. Jameson, and ignoring Taylor’s question.
“Simple, easy, plain!” he said.
“I still feel the exhaustion,” Kennedy explained as she half fell into the chair.
“Really?” Wendy asked.
“Really, but maybe with more songs.”
“Right, but this could be a possibility,” Jennifer said.
“Exactly,” Kennedy said excitedly.
“This requires a lot of work, you have to embed the code within the song at key points in order for the brain to first, ca
tch the code, and second, decode it with the least amount of stress. I can teach the NSA how to program it.”
“Thank you, Dr. Jameson,” Kennedy said, hugging him.
“You're welcome,” he said bowing.
Jennifer then coordinated with Dr. Jameson to start converting code into music.
The following months, Kennedy learned to trust her team of experts with her life. They began doing some extreme training like driving on dangerous courses, rock climbing, wilderness survival, and evasion tactics. With each new skill, Kennedy’s confidence in herself began to grow.
Of all the members of the team, Kennedy grew closest with Taylor. Although Taylor never crossed any lines to gain her trust, unlike Jordan. She trusted him the most and viewed him as a great friend. Despite being friends, Kennedy was very attracted to Taylor. The way he protected her from everything but wasn’t overpowering. The way he understood her needs, and the way he pulled her out if the team was pushing her too hard. These were just some of the qualities she liked about him. She thanked him often enough but kept the deeper thoughts to herself. She had to remain focused on her training.
Over the months, there had only been minor security issues. One time the building was on shutdown from a group of protesters assembled outside. Another time they had to evacuate when someone found a mysterious package in the lobby. In the end, the bag had just been mislabeled, and left by an untrained delivery driver. Taylor had also taught her all the buttons and latches in her room, and how to use them.
Luckily, there hadn’t been any incidents like the first week. Kennedy liked it that way.
∆∆∆
Over the two months Kennedy had been gone, Jordan's company steadily decreased in patience, and increased their pressure to get her back. Not only did they have to use a computer to decode everything, but they were hesitant to send out any messages.
Being the hinge of an upcoming mission, Jordan needed to prove himself here, or they were going to pull him out. He had already contacted a buyer, talked through the exchange, and had put several key players into motion. To pass off this mission would be an insult. Kennedy was an annoyance to all these plans.
Jordan poured over security footage, for an insignia, a name, or serial number. A team also scoured the halls for any DNA samples or fingerprints. With nothing to be found, Jordan started losing hope.
Jordan placed his head in his hands and resisted pounding on the computer. He remembered Kennedy screaming his name as she flew out of the building. This emotional connection made everything worse. At the beginning, he thought maintaining a distance would be easy, but now that she had left, Jordan only felt a stronger desire to be near her. His desire, also mixed with concern, racked his body. Jordan started imagining all kinds of torture she could be enduring. Anger swelled through him and he tossed all the papers across the room before he slammed his fist onto the table.
“She can’t be far, now, where is she!” he screamed to no one in particular.
Someone knocked on the door and Ryan came walking in with food.
“Any leads?”
Jordan looked up to his friend and smiled.
“Thanks,” he said, taking the sandwich, “No leads. I think I am stuck. I have no idea where to look.”
Ryan sat down and started eating a sandwich he had bought for himself. “I miss her too you know.”
“It isn’t the same,” Jordan said, sitting down and taking a bite of his own sandwich.
“All we need is a little hint. Did she say anything before they took her?”
“No, I have listened to that recording a hundred times. It breaks my heart to hear her scream like that. This is what I know. I have checked with all the hospitals and no one matches her description, which means they have their own medical team. Moving in the stealth of night and with the helicopter costs money. Also, the explosion means they knew about the building, where she was located, how to get out, and the most vulnerable part of the structure. So, that means they had someone on the inside or building codes. One thing I do know, they were unaware of her injuries. You can see how they grabbed her. One hand is exactly on her shoulder. They also didn’t want her dead, or they would have killed her right there. They need her.”
“Have you tried tracing the family?”
“No, I haven’t done that,” Jordan said, typing things into the computer.
“Trace the mother’s phone,” Ryan pressed.
“Ok.”
Ryan took a few bites of his sandwich before Jordan stopped typing, “Anything?”
“There is a blocked number that calls every few days, do you think that is her?”
“A blocked number huh? Can you trace it?”
Jordan typed a little more, “No.”
“Bug the house.”
“We can do that,” Jordan said as he started formulating a new plan.
∆∆∆
With only a couple weeks until Kennedy would go back to school, Taylor and the team began to prepare for college. Taylor handpicked two roommates for Kennedy that passed several background checks. The dean of education was informed of the NSA’s presence, but was unaware which student they were tied to. All of her teachers had been specifically selected. Also, Kennedy didn’t have to go back to that janitorial job. One of Taylor’s only concerns were Cole. Kennedy never talked about him, but that didn’t mean she was over him. The first encounter would be unpredictable. The company had cut her ties with him, but had she done the same? Another problem was Taylor’s constant companionship. Even if he kept his distance, he was going to be suspicious to someone.
On the way to training one day, Taylor decided to ask her about it. “Kennedy, I need your help on coming up with a solution to a problem I'm having.”
“Really, what is it?”
“It is going to look unusual to have me following you around all day,” he said, not sure how to word it.
“Aren’t secret service agents supposed to blend in?”
“Yes, and with most of campus that would work, but I’m talking about when you are with your friends, your roommates, even classmates while working on projects together. Someone is going to notice.”
“Yes, I see your point. You could pretend to have the same major?” Kennedy asked.
“That is a good idea, but not off campus, or taking the same route to school.”
“I'll think about that one. Any other problems?”
“What about when you see Cole? What are you going to do?” Taylor asked.
Kennedy stopped walking and looked down at the floor.
Taylor noticed her hesitation and wondered if she did still have feelings for him. Not only would he complicate the mission, but Taylor was really beginning to like Kennedy. A tinge of jealousy hit Taylor. Over their time together, he noticed her hard work and dedication to anything they threw at her. She worked well with all types of people, had adapted to a new life, and made him laugh. All of these were admirable qualities.
“Just something to think about,” Taylor said, breaking both of their thoughts. “Have you talked to him?”
“No,” Kennedy said.
“You could if you wanted.”
“That's that thing, I could have talked to him for months, but I haven't. That means something. I should have at least contacted him.”
Taylor didn't know what to say. This was something Kennedy had to figure out for herself.
“We could arrange a meeting,” he suggested.
“No, that would be weird. I'll have to think about this.”
“You let me know if there is something I can do.”
“Right,” Kennedy said with a finality that ended the conversation.
∆∆∆
The last three weeks of summer, Taylor revealed that he had organized a week-long trip for Kennedy to go home. Kennedy was beyond excited.
Before Taylor and Kennedy left the NSA, Taylor sent an advance team to sweep the house.
“How did it look?” Taylor asked the agent on
the phone. Kennedy was in bed for the night. Dustin and he had been talking about her professors at Taylor’s place when he got the call.
“The house was covered with stuff. Probably five or six different devices. We did a double search to be sure, and we’ll do a quick sweep the day you fly in.”
“Thank you,” Taylor said, hanging up.
“What is it?” Dustin asked.
“The house was bugged,” Taylor said, grabbing a seat next to him.
“Whoever was monitoring them will notice.”
Taylor nodded.
“Should we cancel the trip?”
“I couldn’t do that to her. Do you want to tag along now?”
Dustin didn’t hesitate, “Of course.”
“Thanks.”
Three days later, Taylor, Dustin, Kennedy and six other NSA agents took a commercial flight out to California. Taylor had met with the team in the evenings to go over the week’s plans. He also made sure that the agents were going to sweep the house again before their arrival.
“How is this going to work?” Kennedy asked Taylor when they took their seats on the flight.
“We’ll be watching with video surveillance, and from a car parked out front,” Taylor explained.
“So, my family won’t know you are there?”
Taylor shook his head.
Kennedy considered this, “I understand.”
“Enjoy this time with them, forget about us.”
“Ok, yes, I can do this.”
When they landed, Taylor got word from the advance team that the house had been swept again, only one bug this time.
Taylor and his team kept their distance once they disembarked from the plane. Kennedy’s parents and brother were in the baggage claim area waiting for her.
“Mom! Dad! Carson!” Kennedy said as she ran to embrace them.
They welcomed her easily, and lovingly. Taylor could see how happy they all were to be together again. The way they laughed, and smiled, and gave her pats on the back, it made Taylor smile too.
Taylor followed the family to their car, while the other agents got in contact with the agency car waiting for them. Once Kennedy was safely driving home, they swung by and picked him up.
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