Coded

by Kayla Bainbridge

  ∆∆∆

  Jordan woke up exhausted. Over the last two weeks he easily worked 150 hours. It was taking a lot to coordinate and accomplish his part of the company’s plan and tracking Kennedy down, again. Despite being tired, he took a quick shower and ate breakfast before heading over to control.

  “How are you doing this morning?” Shelton, his team leader asked when Jordan walked into the room.

  “Tired, please give me some good news.”

  “I can do that. This morning we have made two confirmed findings. First of all, the location we picked is possible. Someone on the inside notified us that no one is on our tracks, and we can resume sending the codes. Are you sure they need to be double ciphered? It takes our linguists twice as long to compile.”

  “Yes,” Jordan said quickly. “It is necessary. I have told you her capabilities; we need to be incredibly careful. The extra time is going to be worth the secrecy. I have some ideas of how to code some of the messages. I can go over there and lend them a hand. As for the location, and inside man, that is great news.”

  Shelton took a deep breath. “We also might have found her. It is going to be difficult to get to her.”

  “But can we do it Shelton?”

  “Yes, that is the good news; we have someone working on options.”

  “Alright, so what should I do today?”

  Shelton picked up a piece of paper, “We need to buy a house in the area. You can take care of that.”

  “Perfect, I will get on that.”

  “It needs to be in a neighborhood, and it needs to at least be two floors.”

  “How much longer will it take until we are ready to go?”

  Shelton looked at the paper again. “I am going to guess about three weeks, give or take a couple days.”

  “Great, what about our practice runs?”

  “Two, three days,”

  “I can’t wait,” Jordan said grinning.

  ∆∆∆

  One day, after Kennedy’s first class, the three of them headed to their usual spot in the library.

  Penny led the advance, while Taylor and Kennedy followed a minute behind. Kennedy took her seat and pulled out the iPad. She was currently caught up on homework, so she could easily do a few codes.

  Kennedy opened the first document from Jennifer and Brett.

  “Jordan is back online,” Kennedy said quietly to Taylor so Penny wouldn’t hear.

  “Really?” Taylor asked as he pulled his seat closer.

  Pulling out a sheet of paper, Kennedy rolled her eyes.

  “I guess I’m back to double deciphering.”

  “Penny?” Taylor asked. “Why don’t you do a perimeter check?”

  She nodded in response and left their vicinity.

  Kennedy guessed that Taylor didn’t want her to see what Kennedy was working on. This code was similar to all of Jordan’s other codes. The only advantage was that Kennedy had started to break down patterns of the double decipher. Which meant, she could conserve energy.

  Kennedy wrote out the message, and then typed up the final deciphered message to send to Jennifer, “Confirm numbers received, ready to move on George, weapons sent in mail, seek after Sig, work on outer perimeter, inside key cards sent to rendezvous point 483, keep team to minimum, jump after four, clean out house.”

  Regardless of some details, it said nothing. The code had been lengthy, and Kennedy could feel a sudden wash of exhaustion. It wasn’t dominant though, and she held it back. She stood up and decided to go to the bathroom to splash some water on her face.

  “I’ll be right back,” Kennedy said when Taylor stood up with her.

  Taylor nodded in understanding. Kennedy walked down the hallway and around the corner into the bathroom. Once inside she put her hands on the counter and looked at herself for a second. She then splashed some water on her face. When she looked back up, Penny was standing next to her.

  “Woah, Penny,” Kennedy said startled. “Where did you come from?”

  “I was finishing my route and needed to go to the bathroom.”

  “Oh ok,” Kennedy said as her heart normalized.

  “What are you working on today?” Penny asked, trying to make small talk.

  Kennedy tried to act casual, “I'm just working on a history report.”

  “What is it on?”

  “Harry Truman, know anything about him?” Kennedy said remembering a piece of old code.

  “Maybe, did you know he was the one who founded the CIA and NSA?”

  “No,” Kennedy said.

  “Well he did, there is a big picture of him when you enter the NSA,” Penny said.

  “That is really helpful actually.”

  “Kennedy?” Taylor suddenly called from outside the bathroom.

  Kennedy realized her heart rate must have alerted him.

  “It’s ok Taylor,” she yelled back.”

  “Have you heard anything new?” Penny asked, grabbing her attention again.

  “About what?”

  “The case?” Penny pushed.

  “Oh, um, no,” Kennedy said confused. Why was Penny asking her about the case?

  “I didn't think so,” Penny said casually. “I thought if you knew something, maybe I could help you.”

  “Oh,” Kennedy said nervously. “I better get back out there.”

  “Of course,” Penny said, trying to act normal. “I better, well you know.” she said pointing to the toilets.

  “Right,” Kennedy said awkwardly. “I’ll, uh, see you out there.”

  “Yeah,” Penny said, backing away.

  Kennedy backed up out of the bathroom and right into Taylor. She jumped again.

  “Kennedy take it easy, it’s just me,” Taylor said calmly.

  “Right, of course,” Kennedy said, trying to regain composure.

  “What happened there?” Taylor asked, moving her a few feet away from the bathroom.

  Kennedy looked up at him, his concerned eyes pierced her. She had fallen for him. A tall, strong, handsome bodyguard, could it get any more romantic? It was like the movie Bodyguard all over again. Taylor had carried her away from danger. Her reluctance to him at the beginning, everything was playing out exactly like the movie.

  “Kennedy?” Taylor asked again, snapping Kennedy back into reality.

  “Right, sorry. I was splashing my face when Penny appeared next to me. It just startled me.”

  “Yes, I saw that. Then what happened.”

  “She asked me for information on the mission.”

  “Oh, she did…”

  “Taylor, I’m just telling you, I don’t need the analysis.”

  “Sorry, what did she say?”

  Kennedy then led him further away from the bathroom. Surely Penny would come out soon. She whispered their quick conversation back to him.

  After she finished, Taylor replied, “That sounds harmless. Don't worry about it too much, I'll follow up on it though.”

  “Alright, let’s head to my next class,” Kennedy suggested.

  “Yes of course.”

  The rest of the day went smoothly, despite being so tired. She finished her classes, and got some homework done. Kennedy made sure she went to bed early enough that by the next day she could recover.

  On the way to school, Kennedy was reviewing her latest homework assignment. Dustin was driving the SUV, Penny in the passenger seat, and Kennedy sat with Taylor in the back. They were about halfway to the university and stopped at a red light in a four-way intersection.

  “Ready for another day?” Taylor asked casually.

  “Uh, huh,” Kennedy said, focusing on her paper.

  Taylor took her cue and didn’t speak again. There was one line in her paper that wasn’t reading well. She needed to change something. She looked up for a second to think.

  The SUV started to pull forward across the intersection after the light turned green. Kennedy looked down the street that connected to the intersection. Behind several cars, a truck was
hurling towards the intersection. Kennedy didn’t think anything of it and looked back down at her laptop for a second. Her sentence still wasn’t coming together. When she looked back up, the truck hadn’t stopped. It was heading right towards them.

  “Dustin!” Kennedy screamed.

  But her warning was too late, the truck slammed into the SUV. Kennedy screamed as the SUV spun around in circles. Her body was restrained by the seat belt, but her head slammed into the window and her laptop fell to the ground. Her eyesight was blurred as they continued to spin a final rotation.

  Finally, the SUV stopped. Kennedy put her hand to her head, it was throbbing. She heard a ringing noise. Then, her door opened and there were two armed men standing there. Before she could realize what was happening, they had cut her seat belt and dragged her out of the car. She attempted to stand, but they continued to drag her across the street. She didn’t see Taylor, or anyone else. Where were they? Her head was throbbing. Suddenly the two men threw her into another car. She roughly crashed into the seat.

  “Go!” someone shouted as they closed the door.

  It was happening so quickly that Kennedy couldn’t quite keep up. Everything felt delayed. She was nauseous and could still hear some ringing.

  Gunshots fired, and Kennedy screamed again.

  “Wait? What?” she asked wearily, as the car sped off.

  “Hold on!” the man yelled back to her as the car whipped around.

  She slid across the seat into the side of the car, banged her head again.

  “What are you doing?” Kennedy asked.

  “Getting out of here!”

  Finally, some of the fog was starting to clear. These people were trying to kidnap her. The whole thing had been a trap. She had to get out, she had to do something. The car was just starting to accelerate again. Without another thought, she quickly opened the door and rolled out of the car. Slamming into the road, it was rough and coarse. Rolling across the street, and she could feel her clothes tearing apart. After a few rolls, she finally stopped. Grunting she looked up and saw the car had stopped and was backing up. Another car slammed on their breaks to keep from hitting her.

  Despite the pain and confusion, Kennedy slowly got up and looked around. She was in a busy area. Several people had seen her jump out of the car.

  “Are you ok?” A man asked running to her side.

  “Um,” Kennedy replied, she was so dizzy. The man gently guided her to a sidewalk curb. A crowd was forming around her.

  The car must have seen the crowd because it switched into drive and drove off. Kennedy took a deep breath; she would be ok.

  “Miss?” the man asked. Kennedy hadn’t been listening.

  Another person was on the phone with the police.

  “What happened?” another person asked.

  “I was...car accident…” she tried to answer.

  “Here,” someone offered. They held a cloth up to her elbow which she hadn’t even realized was bleeding.

  “Thank you,” she managed. Her body was pretty banged up, she already felt sore.

  “An ambulance is coming,” someone announced.

  “Why did you jump out of that car?”

  “Where were you going?”

  The questions kept coming, and Kennedy could only attempt to smile. They were trying to be helpful.

  “Give her some space,” another person yelled. The small crowd backed up a few feet.

  Kennedy nodded her appreciation. The man who had gotten her out of the street stayed next to her. How could she thank him?

  “I…” Kennedy started as a black car pulled up in front of the crowd.

  Two men in suits got out and approached the crowd. Some of the crowd dispersed, but a few remained by Kennedy’s side.

  “Who are you?” the man next to her asked the newcomers.

  “NSA,” one man said, stepping forward. “Kennedy, please come with us.”

  Kennedy was hesitant. How did she know he was NSA?

  Suddenly Kennedy could hear running. She turned and saw Taylor running towards her. She could see the relief in his eyes when he saw her. Quickly, Taylor closed the final block between them.

  “Kennedy,” he said falling to his knees in front of her. He had a huge cut across his forehead, but otherwise looked ok.

  “Taylor,” Kennedy said, trying to smile. She was glad he was alive too.

  The man who had stepped out of the vehicle cleared his throat.

  Taylor turned his attention to the man.

  “Kennedy, this is agent Henry, we can go with them.”

  The man who had remained by Kennedy’s side turned to her, “Are you going to be alright with these people?”

  “Yes, thank you, thank you everyone,” she said, though it hardly felt appropriate. These strangers had probably saved her life.

  The men who had stepped out of the vehicle approached to help Kennedy and Taylor stand up. They carefully walked to the SUV. Kennedy struggled to keep her moaning quiet.

  “Easy Kennedy,” Taylor said as she stepped up and into the SUV. She suppressed a cry when she sat down. Everything hurt.

  Taylor got in beside her. He was still breathing heavily from his run. The other two men entered the car and drove off.

  “How did you get away?” Taylor asked.

  “I…” Kennedy’s head was throbbing. “...rolled out of the car,” Kennedy admitted. It sounded so foolish saying it out loud.

  “Thank goodness,” Taylor said. “No wonder you are so banged up.”

  Kennedy looked over herself for the first time. Her clothes were destroyed, she was bleeding in a few spots, and she ached all over, but nothing felt broken, or too deep.

  “I suppose I am.” She took another second, “What about Dustin and Penny?”

  “They are fine. Bruised, but they are fine. They will meet us back at headquarters.”

  Kennedy closed her eyes as her head began to throb again.

  “We’re not far,” Taylor said, putting his hand on her knee. Kennedy’s knee shot out in pain, but she didn’t care. She welcomed his touch.

  At headquarters, the SUV pulled to the side entrance. Wendy was waiting with a trolley bed. Kennedy’s door opened, and Taylor climbed out. He then turned and helped Kennedy. She had stiffened in the car and groaned while exiting the SUV.

  “Careful,” Kennedy said as she cringed.

  Taylor and another man gently helped her on the bed and Kennedy relaxed. It felt good to lie down.

  “What happened?” Wendy asked Taylor, as they rolled her into the building.

  “We were hit by a truck, the SUV circled several times, and then Kennedy was dragged out of the car, thrown into another car, and then rolled out as it speeded away.”

  “Oh goodness,” Wendy stated. “What a morning you have had?”

  Kennedy closed her eyes, “It sounds worse when you say it like that.”

  Taylor grabbed her hand.

  “Kennedy, did you hit your head?”

  “A few times,” Kennedy said. “I keep hearing ringing sounds.”

  “We need to keep you awake in case you have a concussion,” Wendy said.

  “I’m just closing my eyes,” Kennedy said. Her head kept throbbing.

  “Kennedy!” Taylor yelled.

  Kennedy opened her eyes, “I’m still awake I said.”

  They were now inside the building and going up an elevator.

  “Taylor, how are you?” Wendy asked just seeing his head injury.

  “I’m fine, focus on Kennedy,” he said pushing her off.

  “Where does it hurt the most?” Wendy asked Kennedy.

  “My head.”

  “Let’s clean you up and then we’ll take a CT scan to see if that tells us anything.”

  Kennedy nodded.

  An hour later Kennedy was in a hospital gown, her cuts had all been bandaged up, and her elbow took a few stitches. Wendy had given her some pain killers to help with the aching, and Kennedy felt a little better. They had
taken a CT scan and were now back in a hospital room.

  “The scan came back clean. That doesn’t mean you didn’t have a concussion, but it rules out worse issues.”

  “That’s good news,” Taylor said. At some point he had gotten his head cleaned up and bandaged, although Kennedy didn’t remember him leaving her side.

  “Yes, she’ll probably just need some painkillers and a good night sleep, and she’ll be back to herself in a few days. Nothing looks very serious.

  Kennedy saw Taylor visibly exhale, “Thank goodness.”

  “Kennedy, are you feeling ok now?”

  “Yes, much better. Thank you, Wendy,” Kennedy said.

  “I’ll check on you in a few hours. I need to check on Dustin and Penny.”

  “Thank you, Wendy,” Taylor said as Wendy walked out.

  Now that the pain from her throbbing head was lessening, Kennedy felt ready to leave. She started to get up.

  “Where are you going?” Taylor asked.

  “To my apartment,” Kennedy said. She stood up and winced.

  “Kennedy, you were in a car accident and rolled out of a moving vehicle. Wendy numbed the pain; she didn’t get rid of it. Give your body a break.”

  Kennedy sat back down and did feel better. She decided to watch something on the TV to help pass the time.

  ∆∆∆

  Taylor watched TV with Kennedy until Brett and Jennifer arrived. Excusing himself, he left Kennedy in the room and stood blocking the closed door behind him.

  “Taylor,” Brett said looking over him. “What happened?”

  “We were attacked. A two-unit team. One hit our car, while another group stood waiting to grab Kennedy. After a few blocks, Kennedy realized what was happening and rolled out of the car.”

  Jennifer put her hand to her mouth,” Rolled out?”

  “Way to go!” Brett said. “That training we did paid off.”

  Taylor smiled, “Yes, I guess you are right.”

  “How is she?” Jennifer asked.

  “Bruised body, but her spirit is still intact.”

  “That’s good,” Brett said. “What about the others?”

  “Good, Dustin was saved by the airbags, and Penny was just bruised.”

  Jennifer and Brett nodded.