Coded

by Kayla Bainbridge

  “Fine,” Kennedy relented.

  She propped her chair up and tried to shake the sleep.

  While Kennedy ate her snack, Taylor went over the final mission details again. The plan included emergency meeting areas, numbers, and people.

  For personal patrol, Taylor would be with her for most of the day. Dustin would be Taylor's second-hand man and back up. That left Penny, who was mostly in charge of Kennedy during the night, and while in her apartment. Over the summer, Kennedy had brief encounters with Dustin. Penny on the other hand, Kennedy had just met.

  Dustin had flown ahead of them to check out the apartment Taylor selected months ago. The apartment was actually an older house split up into different units. They had chosen a house down Center Street to avoid the problems with a complex. Penny would be living with Kennedy, and roommates in separate rooms, and would be the first responder for anything that happened in the apartment. The other two roommates were Kelsey, and Lacey. Kennedy had never met them, but Taylor had done thorough background checks. Dustin had been there early to set up cameras and sensors throughout the apartment.

  Taylor finished by reminding Kennedy about Penny’s security clearance.

  “Why would anyone double code their messages?” Kennedy said still stuck on that.

  “Someone knows,” Taylor concluded.

  “What do you mean?” Kennedy asked.

  “Someone knows of your ability.”

  “Do you think…” Kennedy started.

  “Jordan?” Taylor finished.

  Kennedy nodded in reply.

  “It makes sense.”

  “The message could be coincidence,” Kennedy stated hopefully.

  “Yes, it could be,” Taylor added, but Kennedy heard the doubt in his tone.

  ∆∆∆

  Chapter 11

  K 01011

  After landing, they went to check out her apartment. On the main floor a living room sat to the left, holding a couch, a TV and a small coffee table. To the right was the kitchen, that looked like it was plucked out of the 80’s, at least had a dishwasher. There was also a small table that sat four people. Upstairs were four bedrooms and a bathroom.

  Kennedy and Penny were the last ones to arrive. Penny gave Kennedy the room farthest from the stairs, and Penny took the one right at the top.

  Taking a few minutes to unpack, Kennedy then went back downstairs, she was too excited to spend her afternoon in her room. As she reached the kitchen, her new roommates walked in. They were carrying grocery bags.

  “Hey! You made it!” one of them said, setting her load of bags on the table.

  “Yes, I’m Kennedy,” Kennedy said, reaching out her hand.

  “I’m Lacey,” the girl said, shaking Kennedy’s hand. She had wavy blonde hair, was medium build, and was wearing a big baggy sweatshirt.

  The other girl turned from putting things into the fridge. She had black hair, in a bob cut, was short, and had a huge smile.

  She turned to say hello, “I’m Kelsey. Where are you from?”

  “California, what about you?”

  Kelsey started, “I’m from Oregon, Lacey is from Colorado.”

  Over the next few minutes, Kennedy got to know Lacey and Kelsey. They both were easy to talk to, and cheerful. Kelsey was studying business, and Lacey was doing something with computers. Both were juniors and had met during their freshman year.

  After they finished putting the groceries away, Penny came down the stairs and they repeated the introductions again. Penny said she was from Maryland and studying civil engineering. Kennedy enjoyed all the small talk. All the “save the world” deciphering was so heavy and consuming, that this was a wonderful break. Hopefully, this was just a taste of what the semester held.

  There was a knock at the door, interrupting their conversation. Penny opened it; it was Taylor.

  “Hello,” Taylor said easily.

  “Taylor, these are my roommates, Kelsey, Lacey and Penny,” Kennedy said, making introductions. “Everyone, this is Taylor, my boyfriend.”

  It felt weird to say that out loud. They had both agreed to the arrangement, but saying it was different, more real. She looked back to Taylor, and he smiled at her. He hadn’t thought anything of it. Apparently, she was reading too much into it. Afterall, this was all just for show, not for real.

  “Ready to get books?” Taylor said after a few minutes of small talk.

  “That sounds great.”

  “See you later!” Kennedy said as she walked towards the door.

  The three women waved their goodbyes, as Taylor held the door open for Kennedy.

  “You did well,” Kennedy said walking towards campus. “They seem really nice.”

  “Good,” Taylor replied.

  Kennedy suspected that Taylor already knew where her classes were, but it gave her peace of mind, seeing them herself. She was taking 14 credits, barely a full load. With deciphering, homework, and the chance of a social life, Kennedy knew that would be a stretch already.

  Once they finished the route, she led Taylor to the bookstore.

  “How many books do you need?” Taylor asked as she handed him the first two.

  “Looks like twelve,” Kennedy said, checking her phone.

  “Alright, let’s keep going,” Taylor said.

  ∆∆∆

  Taylor scanned the bookstore. Dustin was standing by the nearest exit and nodded his head as Taylor’s eyes passed over him.

  As they had walked campus, it felt busy and leaked excitement. Taylor now regretted only showing up the day before school started. Maybe they should have come up earlier. The energy of the college campus was potent, and Taylor sucked it all in. The youth, the positivity, and the energy. Students appeared happy to be back. To live the life of friends and study sessions.

  The bookstore reminded him of his own years at college. Although he had enjoyed a small social life, Taylor had mostly focused on his studies. He liked to think it was his focus that got him into the secret service, and then the NSA. Yet, he felt like he had missed a special part of his life too.

  Returning to the present, Taylor surveyed the area again, as he walked behind Kennedy. She scoured the aisles to find all the books on her list. The bookstore was very crowded, and Taylor's secret service training kicked in easily. He watched facial expressions, hand gestures, proximity to Kennedy, and the overall feeling in the room.

  Kennedy had found half of her books, when she decided to take a detour to the clothing section. Taylor easily weaved his way behind her as she searched. As she stopped at the sweatshirt, Taylor scanned the room again. Dustin had moved to the next doorway, and Taylor easily spotted him. Another man also caught his eye, he was making his way towards them. Taylor continued to watch the man; Taylor knew him.

  Gently, Taylor bent down and whispered in her ear, “Kennedy, Cole is coming this way.”

  “What?”

  “You need to talk to him.”

  Kennedy bit her lips before nodding, “Yes, you're right.”

  Taylor backed up a few feet to give them some space as Cole reached them.

  “Kennedy, what happened to you?” Cole said, going in for a hug and kiss.

  Kennedy backed away, avoiding his embrace, and stepping into Taylor. “Sorry I... something happened... look...I met someone else. This is Taylor...I should have told you.”

  Kennedy grabbed Taylor’s hand. Taylor was surprised by the gesture. He felt a tiny prickling in his hand and smiled. Kennedy’s idea of pretending to be a couple had been a good one, and a pleasant surprise. He already enjoyed being with her. Why not test out the waters further?

  He turned his focus back towards the situation unfolding in front of him. Despite the enjoyment he got from her touch, he didn’t like how she was handling the situation. Regardless, it was none of his business, this was Kennedy’s life.

  Cole was also not taking it well, he looked shocked.

  “What?” Cole asked.

  “My boyfriend, we met over
the summer.”

  “I can't believe this Kennedy. What about all this time?”

  “I just…”

  “Forget it,” Cole said, walking away, clearly distraught.

  “Cole!” Kennedy said, trying to catch him, as he melted into the crowd.

  Tears started to form in Kennedy’s eyes, so Taylor squeezed her hand for comfort. She looked up at him and tried to smile, but he could tell she was struggling.

  “I didn't handle that very, well did I?”

  “Um no, not at all.”

  Kennedy let go of Taylor's hand and picked up the books she had piled on the floor.

  “Do you think I'll see him again?”

  “Probably,” Taylor replied. The campus wasn’t noticeably big.

  “Great,” Kennedy said sarcastically.

  Taylor helped Kennedy finish finding everything off her list. They then made their way out of the crowded bookstore. He could relax now that the crowd was gone. Taylor walked Kennedy back to her apartment and passed her off to Penny. He then went back to his own place; Dustin beat him there.

  “How was the boyfriend?” Dustin asked as Taylor walked inside.

  “Talk about awkward,” Taylor said, taking a seat on the couch in the living room.

  “Sounded like it!” Dustin said laughing. “Poor guy, Kennedy really handed it to him huh?”

  “I feel sorry for the man. It was strange. He acted like nothing had happened. Let's just say that Jordan lied to Kennedy about breaking up with Cole. Wouldn't Cole have been suspicious after a whole summer of no contact?”

  Dustin processed that for a while, “You're right, that is a little strange. Maybe we should keep an eye on him?”

  “No, we focus on Kennedy.”

  “Right,” Dustin confirmed. “So how does it feel to be her boyfriend?”

  Taylor threw a pillow at Dustin's face and spent the rest of the night going over Kennedy's schedule for the following day.

  ∆∆∆

  The first couple of days went smoothly for Kennedy. All of her classes looked like a challenge, and she was excited to learn. Time management quickly became a struggle. Classes and homework took up most of her day, but she also had to decode in the evenings. Taylor made sure Kennedy was in bed by ten, so she could get enough sleep, and be up by 7 a.m. for her 8 a.m. class. Kennedy could’ve easily slept longer.

  Not only did she struggle to stay awake in her classes, but Kennedy started deciphering disturbing messages. Some of the messages talked indirectly about her time with Jordan, some talked about her ability to code, and some were love messages. All of which made Kennedy cringe. She kept these messages between her and the iPad. Telling Taylor and Dustin wouldn’t help. At the same time, attempting to hide it from Dustin and Taylor was getting more difficult.

  She did all of her decoding at the men's apartment. This way, Kennedy didn't have to explain anything to her roommates or to Penny. Plus, Dustin and Taylor had the place to themselves.

  Lacey and Kelsey were social butterflies, and with Kennedy’s schedule, Kennedy rarely saw them. She spent her time in class, the library, or over at Taylor’s apartment. When she did see them, she asked about their classes, what they had been up to, and they did the same with her. They also really liked Taylor and asked about him all the time.

  “How long have you been going out?” Kelsey asked.

  “About four months now,” Kennedy replied, as she pulled out some cereal for breakfast.

  “He seems supper attached to you,” Lacey chimed from the bathroom, as she did her hair.

  “Freaky attached,” Penny said as she pretended to study on the couch.

  “Why do you say that?” Kennedy asked.

  “Maybe that is a sign he is needy?” Penny responded.

  Why would Penny say that? Was she saying that just to blend in? Maybe she wasn’t coping well. She was stuck in that apartment almost the whole day. If Kennedy could talk to Dustin or Taylor about it, maybe she could help her.

  “Oh, don’t listen to her,” Kelsey said breaking Kennedy's thoughts, “she is just jealous.”

  “I am too!” Lacey yelled over the hair dryer she had just turned on.

  “He is a hunk,” Kelsey said. “Does he kiss well?”

  “I’m not sure,” Kennedy responded.

  “What? You have been together for four months and you haven’t kissed? Move over girl, I will take him,” Lacey said obviously surprised.

  “It’s not like that.”

  “How long does it take?” Lacey asked. “If you aren’t kissing by now, you might as well call it off.”

  “Really?” Kennedy answered.

  “Really, what are you thinking, go for it!”

  “Well I got to go, see you later!” Kennedy said opening the door.

  Kennedy jumped, startled when she saw that Taylor was standing outside waiting for her. She glanced back to close the door, and saw Kelsey and Lacey give her the ‘do it’ look, but she ignored them.

  “What was that about?” Taylor asked as he pulled her backpack off her shoulders and onto his. He never let her carry anything, he was quite the gentlemen.

  “Nothing,” Kennedy said, quickly dismissing it.

  She looked behind her and saw that Dustin was also “heading to class” and walked behind them about twenty feet.

  “Alright I won’t push. Are you ready for another full day?”

  Taylor sure knew how to keep Kennedy focused, “More than anything.”

  Classes were getting tougher as the semester really started rolling. In the second week Kennedy received two projects, a five-page paper assignment, a short story in Spanish and a history synopsis. Kennedy had decided to change her major from psychology to linguistics, when she realized how much she really loved languages. Taylor went to all of her classes but was not an official student.

  Kennedy enjoyed Taylor's company. At first, she was worried that his presence would be overwhelming and annoying. But just like at the NSA, Taylor kept his distance when she needed it. Also, Kennedy found herself enjoying the facade of Taylor being her boyfriend. They walked to class with hands intertwined, and sometimes she put her hand on his leg while she wrote notes in class. Even while at his apartment, and there was no need to pretend, she found herself enjoying his touch. She would find his hand and play with his fingers as she read or decoded. She couldn’t tell if the feeling was mutual, but he never pushed her away, or showed any signs that it bothered him.

  As recommended, Taylor also helped Kennedy continue to train. He acted like her personal trainer when they went to the gym. He also tracked her food to help her keep her strength. With coding, training, studying and any little piece of college life she snuck in, she easily accepted all of their help.

  After another day of classes, Kennedy went to the library to study. She spent a few hours working on homework.

  “Anyone hungry?” Dustin asked as he walked to the table with a pizza.

  “Ahh, thank you Dustin!” Kennedy said excitedly.

  “This is great,” Taylor agreed, taking a slice.

  The three of them chit chatted about classes, Penny, and deciphering, like old friends. Well, old friends that worked for the NSA. Although Kennedy didn’t get to connect with her friends, or her roommates, she was glad she had Taylor and Dustin. They watched out for her and treated her as a friend.

  “Alright,” Taylor said, cutting the conversation off. “Are you ready?”

  “Right, back to work. I’ll take a few codes before working on homework again. Jennifer hasn't been able to get anymore codes to music. What is going on over there?” Kennedy informed Taylor as she pulled up the latest files on the iPad.

  Kennedy flinched as she read the code. The verbiage matched the previous codes. Just like in essays and books, everyone has their own style, and word preferences. Codes were the same way. With months of coding experience, Kennedy was now beginning to pick up on these subtle cues. This one had Jordan written all over it. His threats of her retur
ning continued. She didn’t want to imagine herself back at that company with Jordan. Despite her fears, she didn't tell Taylor or Dustin, she focused on decoding the message. This code, like all of Jordan's, was double coded. After half an hour, Kennedy picked out four messages.

  “Well?” Taylor prompted.

  “Not good news, Jordan plans to make a move against a government agency.”

  “How can you tell? What does the decoded message say?”

  “Random things throughout the code that finally come together. Here I'll show you.” Kennedy pointed to each part of the code while she talked about it.

  “Here they are talking about several possible targets, CIA, pentagon, CDC, a military base, and the NSA. Here they are asking for approval, and here they talk about how much money it is going to take.”

  “How much?” Dustin asked.

  “1.5 million and some change.”

  “What is the motive?” Taylor asked.

  “That’s your job, not mine,” Kennedy claimed, putting the iPad down.

  “It could be mass chaos, money, power or even just the thrill,” Dustin offered.

  Taylor nodded, “How can we narrow that down?”

  “With time,” Dustin responded. “Are we ready?”

  “Definitely.” Kennedy said, standing up. It was only eight, but Kennedy needed to recuperate after deciphering for so long. So much for going back to homework.

  Taylor stood up and took Kennedy’s backpack. He walked towards the exit.

  Kennedy walked behind him slowly as she yawned. She felt disappointed that she couldn’t answer all their questions. If it wasn’t in the code, she couldn’t really help. Looking down at the floor Kennedy wasn’t paying attention. Suddenly Kennedy felt her arm pulled violently to the left. Without any time to react, or any strength to fight against the attacker, her body followed her arm, and she swung into an open study room that she had been walking by.

  Worse case scenarios started entering her mind. Was this Jordan? Or someone trying to kill her? What could happen in the seconds before Taylor and Dustin reached her? What if she was pulled out the window? Or killed?

  Kennedy’s momentum hurled her into the table in the middle of the room. She quickly turned to face her attacker. It was Cole who was locking the door. The amount of relief that poured through Kennedy made her almost collapse into a chair. At the last second, she braced herself against the table, and held herself up.