by Kayla Myles
“Even more reason for you to take my offer,” Spencer said, grunting as I gave a particularly strong blow on the sandbag. “Come on, man. With you there, I won’t feel guilty that there’s less manpower to handle the jobs once I go on my honeymoon,” his voice took on a different level of desperation now that it made me chuckle.
“Oh, so this is a purely self-serving request, isn’t it?” I asked, amused as I finally realized his true intent.
“Yeah, totally,” he nodded, not even denying it. “Come on, dude! Help a guy out!”
“I don’t know…,” I said, dragging it on to see what else kind of groveling Spencer was capable of.
He seemed to read my thoughts because his face turned completely solemn.
“You want me to beg? I can totally beg. Do you want me to beg right now? Because I’m going to do it,” he said, letting go of the bag and moved to get on his knees. I sighed and waved him to get up.
“Fine, fine. Just get up already,” I said, turning away with a scowl. “This better be worth my time, dipshit.”
“Oh, don’t worry! My bro gets all the kickass cases, so you are never going to get bored! I can promise you that!” he exclaimed. He then proceeded to rub his hands together in glee. “Oh man, Rebecca is so not going to be able to kick my ass now that I’ve got this covered!”
I stopped mid-blow as I heard Spencer speak, that name triggered something inside of me.
“Who’s Rebecca?” I asked.
“Oh, she’s my coworker. Well, she’s my friend, too, but we bicker more than we get along. She’s best buds with the wife-to-be, though. Why do you ask?”
“Oh, nothing. I just…remember someone with the same name,” I murmured, going back to my training.
Rebecca…it was a name I hadn’t heard in a long time, not since I left my hometown long ago. It was too much of a coincidence if Spencer was referring to the same girl, and ‘Rebecca’ was too common for a girl’s name.
Still…it triggered some memories I haven’t thought about in a long time.
“How about we go to the office later and sign the contract, eh?” Spencer suggested.
“You’re very thorough, aren’t you?” I countered.
“Hey, I wouldn’t want you backing out on me,” he replied, grinning.
“A couple more sets and we can hit the showers,” I told him.
***
I let Spencer lead me to his brother’s office, all the while giving me a brief description of the people I would mostly associate with while I was here.
He told me about his stoic senior, Jason, and his close friend from college who works in the information and data security, Elliot, and the woman he called Rebecca, who had only recently joined in, but worked with him in the past. I was amused by his descriptions of his colleagues because he didn’t describe how they looked, but rather their attitude and behavior. When I asked him about a brief description on what they looked like, he just shrugged and said, “They look OK, I guess.”
He burst through double doors without knocking, but the man behind the desk wasn’t the least bit startled as he barely spared us a glance while he talked to someone on the phone. Spencer gave him a maniacal smile before settling his ass on the chair in front of the desk, gesturing towards the chair across from him for me to take. I closed the doors first before doing what he said, and waited for his brother to finish the call.
After a couple of minutes, Spencer’s brother nodded and hung up the phone before adjusting the papers scattered on his desk, still not looking at us.
“I see your impending marriage hasn’t done anything to improve your lack of tact, Spence,” he said, flipping through a document before putting his signature on it.
“I highly doubt even George’s powers would be capable of turning me into a respectable guy,” Spencer answered slyly before nodding his head in my direction. “Anyways, I brought my replacement. He’s here to sign some shit. Chase, this is Michael Gardner, ex-Special Forces. Michael, this is my brother, Chase. He’s ex-army.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Chase said politely, extending his hand for me to shake. We shook hands before he furrowed his eyebrows at his brother, scrutinizing him. “Did he come willingly or did you kidnap him? Because I don’t want a repeat of what happened with Elliot, you hear?”
“Aw, come on, bro. That shit’s all water under the bridge. Besides, Elliot likes it here now, right? So no harm done!” he explained. Chase rolled his eyes, shaking his head before turning his attention back to me.
“So, before we go to the actual ‘shit signing’, I need to know what sort of lies my brother told you to get you to apply here. For transparency, you know?” he said, folding his hands over his desk. I smirked at him.
“He just told me it would be worthwhile,” I said, before showing him my prosthetic leg. “He also said it was going to make me feel useful again after my Army stint left me with this.”
He gave me a critical eye and said nothing, and like his brother, he didn’t look at me with pity after showing him my leg. I could see the resemblance between them now.
“Well, he got that right, at least. A first for my brother, I must say,” Chase said mildly.
“Hey!” Spencer called, taking offense.
“It just so happens that Spencer here will be taking an indefinite leave after his wedding, so we will need someone to fill his spot,” Chase said, smiling slightly. “The call I got earlier was a request for three units, but since I’m confident with the agent I had in mind, I told them only two people would suffice. What do you say? Would you like to fill the other position?” he asked.
I blinked at him.
“What? Just like that?” I asked, and he nodded.
“Just like that.”
“You’re not even going to ask me about my skills? Techniques? Anything?”
“My little brother’s manners may be questionable at best--,” he started.
“Do you really have to say that?” Spencer cried.
“But if it’s one thing I know, he has an eye for people. He wouldn’t have vouched for you if he didn’t think you were going to be good at this type of job. Besides, I’m sure our resident hacker could find out every single thing about you, so why bother asking?” Chase said.
“So I’m hired?” I clarified, and he nodded.
“I’ll contact my attorney and have the paperwork ready for you.”
“Sweet!” Spencer cried. “By the way, what’s the assignment and who’s he going to be working with?”
“It’s a request to protect a singer, and by extension, the singer’s daughter, which is why they asked for more than one person to take on the job. Michael, you’re going to be supporting one of our agents in this mission, which will also serve as your trial because the both of you are new recruits.”
“You mean my partner for this mission is a newcomer, as well?” I asked. “Is that wise? I mean, shouldn’t you put me alongside a veteran?”
“Well, we say she’s a newcomer, but to be honest, she has more experience working in this field than Spencer. She just recently transferred her contract over to us, which is why she’s considered a new recruit,” Chase explained.
“Oh, awesome! You’re pairing him up with Red! Nice,” Spencer exclaimed. I furrowed my brows at him. “Oh, I mean Rebecca. Red is just a nickname because of her red hair,” he expanded.
My eyebrows shot straight up at this additional description. Surely not a lot of redheads were named Rebecca, were there?
“Um, excuse me, sir,” I said, addressing Chase. “May I please ask my partner’s full name? I think I know someone matching her description,” I said honestly.
“Certainly. Her name is Rebecca Hayes,” he provided, and my heart stopped. “Well? Do you know her?”
Hell yes. Oh, I knew her, alright.
Chapter 9
Rebecca
“You called for me, Chief?” I said, closing the door after me. I was wondering what to call the boss man while at the wo
rkplace because calling him by his first name didn’t exactly fly. The man was my boss even though we knew each other before then, so it was only natural to show the guy some respect, right?
“Hello, Rebecca. I wanted to discuss with you about a job. Are you interested?” he asked. I sat down across from him and shrugged.
“Hit me with it,” I answered. I’ve been stagnant for about a week because I didn’t have anything to do, so I was looking forward to this.
“Okay,” he said, nodding before handing me three blue folders. “The clients you will be assigned to are Tanner Lee and his five year old daughter, Elizabeth. According to their manager, Tanner reported that his daughter was almost kidnapped by three yet unidentified assailants during one of his concerts a week ago.”
I furrowed my eyebrows as I listened to his briefing. That sounded very familiar.
I flipped the first one open, and was surprised to see the little girl I helped out on the parking lot a week before. Now that I think about it, Veronica did say the singer at the concert was named Tanner…
“I know this girl,” I blurted out, making Chase raise his eyebrows in surprise.
“You do?”
I told him about how I was at the parking lot at the time, and that the little girl was being chased after by men in suits, and I managed to subdue them before they got their hands on her.
“Ah, so you mean the woman they were referring to that saved Lee’s daughter was you?” Chase said.
“I didn’t know she was his daughter, though,” I said, flipping onto the second folder next, glossing over Tanner’s profile. So the man who picked Beth up from the café was him. “He looked so different from this picture though, and when I saw him on stage.”
“He was probably wearing a disguise,” Chase suggested.
“He was just wearing a pair of glasses, though,” I recalled.
“It could’ve been enough, then. If the lenses were big enough, it would make the eyes expand so that there’s a noticeable difference. But that’s not important,” he said, shaking his head and going back to the matter at hand. “By the way, do you still remember the men you took down?”
“Vaguely.”
“Vague enough that you could ID them?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Alright, then. I’ll have the police send us a cartographer to do a rough sketch,” he said, before chuckling. “This is quite the lucky break, Rebecca. I’ve never seen a case have so much progress even before we start the work.”
“Pretty weird, right?” I said, agreeing.
“Then again, I was kind of surprised at how adamant the manager was about hiring you for the case. I guess this Tanner guy recognized you from the roster I gave him, and specifically requested you to handle this matter,” he explained.
“You mean the reason you’re giving me this job is because he selected me for it?” I said, my eyes widening in surprise. Chase nodded, smirking.
“I handed them over a roster of our members, and he chose you as one of the agents to take the case,” he said.
“One of the agents?” I parroted.
“Oh, right. Didn’t I tell you? You’re working with another one on this case since you’re assigned to guard two people. Therefore, I’m sending in two.” Chase explained.
“Don’t you trust me? I can handle this myself,” I urged him.
“I know how good you are, Rebecca, but not even you can be in two places at once. Tanner goes out of the country pretty regularly due to his shows and tours, but he doesn’t always take his daughter with him. How will you protect the kid if you’re out of the country protecting Tanner?” he asked.
I scowled at him, acknowledging my shortcoming but still unable to accept the fact I was going to be partnering up with someone else to accomplish the mission.
“Okay, then who’s going to be my partner?” I asked, going over the available crew I could work with. Spencer was out since he was getting married, which leaves Jason…but Jason hasn’t quit being Veronica’s personal bodyguard, has he? Then who…?
“I’m glad you asked. Since we were going to be short one man, Spencer graciously found someone to join the family,” Chase replied.
“You’re pairing me up with a newcomer?” I asked, incredulous. Was he serious?
“Funny, he said the same thing a while ago,” Chase noted. “And since he needs experience, and you have plenty, I am going to put him under your supervision.”
“So you’re giving me two children to babysit?” I shrieked. “That’s not going to help me do my job!”
“Stop exaggerating, Rebecca. He looks like a dependable guy. And he’s ex-Special Forces, so I’m sure he won’t be any trouble,” he said, waving off my concerns.
“Where did you dig this one up, then?”
“I didn’t actually,” he said, his expression smug. “Spencer recruited him. And before you go off on a tangent, yes, I trust my brother’s judgment.”
I rolled my eyes and collapsed on my seat, suddenly exhausted. There was no way I was going to win this one.
“Am I going to meet this guy anytime soon, or will we have our first meet and greet once we start the mission?” I grumbled.
The sound of knocking came from the door and I straightened up, narrowing my eyes at it.
“Great timing! That must be him now,” Chase exclaimed, leaving his desk and walking towards the door. He smiled at the person behind it and waved him inside. “Rebecca Hayes, I’d like you to meet your new partner, Michael Gardner.”
I froze at the sight of him.
Michael’s jaw tightened and he walked towards me with his hand raised.
“It’s nice to see you again, Rebecca,” he said.
I blinked at him as the numbness of my body dissipated, and I did the most sensible thing I could do in the circumstances.
I stepped back and promptly punched him in the face.
***
Chapter 10
Rebecca
I couldn’t believe this was happening.
I couldn’t believe he was here.
The bastard.
He pinched his nose with his hand with a wince, and I mentally cursed at myself for not being strong enough to break it. The piece of shit was lucky he caught me off-guard.
“I can’t say I wasn’t expecting that,” he said lightly, checking his hand to see if there was any blood in it before looking at me. “Still, it’s great to see you.”
“Change it,” I demanded, my nostrils flaring as I ignored Michael and turned towards Chase instead, who had a shocked expression on his face. “Choose anyone, anything, except him.”
“Rebecca--,” Chase started.
“I am not working with him,” I said firmly.
“I can’t change it up, Rebecca. It’s already been decided, and you know there’s no one else available who’s within your league,” Chase explained.
“Then take me out of this assignment instead. I don’t want any part of it if he’s involved.”
“But they requested for you specifically!” Chase cried.
“I guess you’re going to have to change my partner then, huh?” I countered. Michael sighed with exasperation.
“Rebecca, would you just--,” he tried to say but I silenced him with the steeliest glare I could manage.
“You,” I pointed at him. “Don’t fucking talk to me. And you,” I pointed at Chase next. “Do something about this, or else!”
I trudged out of that office and slammed the door behind me, the force of it making the shelves beside the walls shake. I had so much rage welling inside me right now that I could probably level a whole building with my screams alone. It made me yearn to kill someone, preferably that blast from the past that chose to ruin my already peaceful life by coming back to it.
I went up to the roof and released my emotions there, screaming all of the pent up anger and frustration that bubbled up once those silvery eyes made contact with mine. This was all just fucked up.
Why? Why
did he have to come back into my life now? Where was he when I needed him all those years ago? Why now, when I had already adapted to living without him?
The son of a bitch still looked the same, too! It’s been over nine years since we last saw each other, and the damn bastard barely looks any different!
His eyes were still the same mysterious silver that lured you in the longer you stared at them. His lips were still thick and red, and his left cheek was still dotted by that singular dimple that never seemed to disappear even when he wasn’t smiling. Despite the severity of his close-cropped hair, and the vow he was going to dye it a ‘normal’ shade, his hair was still a greyish-blonde.
He was still the old Michael, who walked out of the past, and barged into my present.
But even though the old Michael remained, the old Rebecca definitely didn’t.
“You’re still running for the highest place you can find whenever you’re emotional, I see,” I closed my eyes as I heard his voice coming from behind me. I sighed before turning around. “You haven’t changed a bit,” Michael commented.
