by J. C. Phelps
Fifteen minutes, I thought with disdain. I locked the door. I thought about taking my time then thought better of it. He would probably just break down the door.
I hurried out of my clothes and started the shower. I half expected to have nothing but cold water, but it warmed up quickly. I found soap, shampoo and conditioner and used a bit of each. After I finished washing up I got directly out of the shower and found clothes on the toilet lid. They were nicely folded and had a toothbrush sitting neatly on top. I dried off and wrapped my hair up in the towel. The pants were loose fitting, tons of pockets, comfortable and black. The shirt was a black tank top and my shoulder was nicely displayed. That ended the worry of showing private parts to Mr. Black. My hiking boots were set on the floor next to the toilet with fresh socks rolled up inside. The boots completed the outfit. I looked like a bad ass with a towel on her head. I found toothpaste on the back of the pedestal sink and brushed my teeth. I didn’t have a hairbrush. Shit. I imagine Mr. No-hair didn’t think to bring a brush. Oh well, I used my fingers to get at the tangles and pulled it into the all-purpose braid.
I stepped out of the bathroom and Mr. Black was in one of the bedrooms rummaging around. I walked to the door of the room and watched.
“This is your room,” he said. My pack was lying on the bed. It was open but it didn’t look like it had been unpacked.
“Take this outside and empty it,” he said motioning to the backpack on the bed. I went and picked up the pack and glanced inside. It was filled with ROCKS. ROCKS!
“Rocks!?” I repeated out loud. Then I looked at Mr. Black.
“Did I carry these rocks all the way up here?” I asked in disbelief. Rocks, I thought again.
“Yep.” That’s all he had to say was, yep. Fine, I thought and I stomped out of the room to dump my rocks outside.
I stepped outside and it was still early morning. I hefted the pack out a ways from the cabin in hopes that Mr. Black wouldn’t find the rocks to put them back in my pack later. I wonder what he carried up here, probably just the necessities. He wasn’t undergoing training.
I went back into the cabin and Mr. Black was walking out of a different bedroom toward the bathroom. He turned and said, “Now, empty mine.” He pointed to his pack still on the floor by the table. It looked like the side pockets had been gone through but the main body of the pack looked undisturbed.
I walked over to it while he shut the bathroom door. I reached down to pick it up and it didn’t budge. I ended up having to drag it to the door. The damn thing was filled to almost overflowing with rocks. Who was this guy? I got it to the deck but didn’t want to drag it down the stairs. It would make too much noise and Mr. Black would know that I had to drag the thing. I started pulling out rocks and pitching them out away from the cabin. At least the guy was working hard, the same as me, I thought. I found a new respect for him as I emptied the pack. Some of the rocks were large enough that I had to pick them up with both hands and carry them away from the building monkey style. I had my arms stretched almost to the ground in front of me and my back hunched over. I finally got the last of the stones out of his pack and went back inside.
Mr. Black was sitting at the table when I walked in.
“Come here,” He had placed a chair in front of himself and was pointing to it.
I went over and sat in front of him. He reached over and moved the strap of my tank top to the side.
“Nasty,” he said. “But you’ll live.” I looked down at my shoulder and it actually looked better than it had before. Not more attractive, but better. It had started to get a greenish hue to it and I thought that meant it was healing. He put the shirt back into place and stood. “Let’s go.”
We went out the door and started another march out into the woods. We followed some sort of trail. I figured animals must have made it because there didn’t seem to be people anywhere close. Before too long we came to a large clearing that held a beautiful lake. The water was clear and the bottom was made up of pebbles. I was enjoying the fresh air and the beauty of it when Mr. Black pointed to a buoy out in the water.
“Get out there.”
I sat down to take off my boots and he said, “Nope, just go.”
I started for the lake and looked back at him over my shoulder. Mr. Black just stood there waiting. I put my boots in the water and my feet didn’t get wet. They must be waterproof boots I thought to myself. The water got deep quick and within two or three steps it was up to my knees and cold. I could feel my body tensing up and the goose bumps all over. I kept walking toward the buoy and when the water reached hip height I dove in and took off for the middle of the pond. I was an all right swimmer. I had taken swimming lessons as a kid and Mom and Dad had a pool that I loved to lounge at. Swimming fully dressed with heavy hiking boots was quite different than a swimsuit though. The boots wanted to go to the bottom of the lake and walk me to the buoy. I finally reached it and I looked back to shore to see Mr. Black wave me in. I swam back to shore and plodded out of the water looking like a drowned rat.
“Again,” he said and sat down on the small beach. If I had known that I was to be tortured I wouldn’t have taken the job. Funny, I thought, I didn’t actually take the job, it took me. I hadn’t had any control of my life the second I had stepped foot into the office of White and Associates.
I slogged back into the lake and headed back for the buoy. I knew what was coming when I headed back to shore so when I reached the shallows where I could stand again I just turned around and started another lap and began counting. I wonder how many he’s going to make me do?
I was exhausted and afraid I was going to drown. I was holding onto the buoy and trying to catch my breath. The wind had picked up and the water had some waves hitting me in the face making it hard to not swallow water with each breath. I was at lap fifty and didn’t know if I could make it back to shore. My legs were burning and didn’t want to move with the lead boots hanging onto my feet. The sky was beginning to darken and that gave me hope. I had made good time on the first few laps but had slowed a little with each lap and now I was holding on for dear life at the buoy. I was afraid if I went back to shore Mr. Black would send me right back out.
I’m NOT going to drown myself for this I told myself and swam back to shore with renewed energy. I walked up out of the water thoroughly soaked and freezing. Mr. Black was still sitting on the beach and I stomped past him toward the cabin. I didn’t care. He could say whatever he wanted. I was going back to take a shower and go to bed.
Mr. Black got up and followed me back to the cabin. I was leading the parade now. He was right on my heels. I could hear him behind me, but I didn’t dare turn to see his look. He didn’t say a word though.
I walked into the cabin and went straight to the bathroom and shut the door. I took a long hot shower and when I came out I found clean sweat pants and a t-shirt on the toilet waiting for me. I dressed and walked out into the kitchen and on the table was a steaming bowl of stew in front of Mr. Black and one across the table for me. He was sitting with a book in his hands and when he saw me he put it down and said, “Let’s eat.”
I sat down and ate the wonderful stew. I had never had better tasting food in my life. I hadn’t eaten since the jerky this morning. I sat and chewed the pieces of potato and carrot that I had just put in my mouth and waited for Mr. Black to say something about me being a quitter.
“Well?” I challenged him after a few more bites of my stew.
“Well what?” he asked back.
“Aren’t you going to say something about me quitting today?” I threw it right out there.
“Do I need to?” he asked as he put his head down and took another bite of his stew.
“If I had stayed out there another minute I would have drowned,” I said defensively.
“You know your limits. Just remember, the outcome is only as good as the input,” he replied and the conversation ended there.
I was worried. He didn’t say much about anything, but I
wanted to know if he was upset that I had just quit out there. I mulled it over while I finished my stew. I got up to wash my bowl. Mr. Black had since cleaned his bowl and the rest of the kitchen and had gone to bed. I walked to my room and flopped down on the bed. I really think I would have drowned, I thought to myself. I truly believed it too. I wasn’t exaggerating in the least. I fell asleep content that I had done the right thing but was more determined to do better.
The next couple of weeks went by pretty much the same way. Every morning I got up and did laps in the lake, fully clothed until I could probably have swam back and forth to that buoy indefinitely. Mr. Black seemed to give suggestions instead of orders. I guess it was up to me on what kind of shape I wanted to be in. Running was added to my daily exercise and other things like sit-ups and push-ups. I did my fair share of chopping wood too. At first I was a bit afraid I was going to miss the log and drive the axe into my leg but I got the movements down.
One morning when I reached the lake Mr. Black was already there waiting for me in a black, tight fitting scuba outfit. There were two air tanks sitting beside each other on the beach. He handed me an outfit of my own and said, “Change over there,” and pointed toward the trees.
After I got the outfit on I went back to the beach and Mr. Black explained to me how much the air tanks held and how long it would last. He gave me all the little details about the art of scuba diving. It was the most I had heard him talk. After about an hour listening to him we got into the water and I got my first scuba lesson. After that my days were filled with the same exercises, except a scuba lesson was added every afternoon. In the evenings I was given books on scuba diving and told to study them. I had never scuba dived before this and found it was completely wonderful. Eventually we started diving after dark until I was proficient at all aspects.
I had become accustomed to waking before daybreak, so when I opened my eyes it was still dark. I went to the kitchen and started coffee. I always slept with my bedroom door open but Mr. Black kept his shut. I didn’t know if he was in there or not.
I was sitting at the table thinking about how strange it was that I had only been there a month and it had seemed like a lifetime. I was sipping my second cup of coffee getting motivated to start my day. The sun had just started to peak over the jagged horizon. Then I heard a helicopter in the distance. It took me a second to realize it was getting closer. I stepped outside and saw Mr. Black standing in front of the cabin looking to the sky. The helicopter reached us and hovered above for a few seconds and then headed toward the lake.
Mr. Black walked past me into the cabin and I followed. He went straight to his room and began to pack. He told me, “Get packed. It’s time to go.”
I did as I was told and packed everything I had been using into the backpack that had been sitting in the corner of my room unused. Mr. Black and I were finishing up when a man entered the cabin.
Mr. Black met him half way across the cabin and they grabbed each other’s wrists in a sign of gruff affection.
The man had a boyish quality and seemed to smile easily. He said, “Great to see you man.” Then he sent a glance my direction.
“So this is Ms. Grey,” he said to Mr. Black.
“Yep.” Mr. Black now looked to me and said, “This is Mr. Brown.”
Mr. Brown had already let go of Mr. Black’s wrist and walked my direction. He had brown hair and eyes. His eyes were friendly and happy. He was dressed in the same type of attire that Mr. Black and I had supported for the past month. He had deep dimples on either side of his smiling mouth. He reached for my arm and gave it the same shake he had given Mr. Black. He didn’t carry the bulk that Mr. Black did, but again, he was in good physical condition.
“I think Mr. White misses you guys,” he said with a grin. “Actually, we have a job to do so I was sent to pick you up. You all set?” He looked to Mr. Black.
“Good to go,” he said and started for the door.
I went back to my room to grab my pack and followed Mr. Brown out the door. We walked the distance to the lake. The three of us got into the helicopter and Mr. Brown flew us off the mountain.
*****
Chapter Eight
I had thought we were at the end of the Earth, but as it turned out we hadn’t been all that far away. Mr. Brown flew us back to the office building in less than an hour and a half. He landed the helicopter on the helipad at the top of the building and we all got out and trooped into the building to the elevator.
Once in the elevator Mr. Brown asked Mr. Black, “So, how’d it go out there?”
Mr. Black looked at him but didn’t say anything. The question was asked with a level voice but I got the impression Mr. Brown was hassling Mr. Black about me.
“Mr. White was getting antsy. I think he was wondering what you and Ms. Grey were doing out in the woods.” This was a definite rub.
Mr. Black’s jaw started to twitch. I had never seen it do that. I must not have ever made him mad. Mr. Brown was getting under his skin though. I wasn’t appreciating the implication either. I decided it was time for me to speak up. I didn’t need to be compliant anymore. I was in my element once again.
“Excuse me, Mr. Brown,” I said and he turned to face me. The grin fell from his face when he saw the expression that I was wearing. “I don’t appreciate the implications you are making. Mr. Black is a perfect gentleman and I am not easy.” He just stared at me with a dumbfounded look until the elevator doors opened. My gaze didn’t falter until he turned and left the elevator.
I turned to look at Mr. Black. He was smiling. Not a cocky grin that I had become used to seeing around these men, but a genuine smile. It was a great smile. I wondered why he didn’t do it more often.
Mr. Black followed me out of the elevator and reached the door to the office in time to open it for me. I stepped in and there was Gabriella. I could see her eyes brighten when she saw Mr. Black. I could understand her appreciation for him better, now that I had spent some time with him. I still didn’t know him well, but I knew him well enough to think he genuinely was a good guy.
“…to speak her mind,” I heard Mr. Brown say from inside Mr. White’s office. I looked inside and saw that half grin on Mr. White’s face.
“Please take a seat Ms. Grey. Mr. Black would you please come in and brief me on your progress?” Mr. White said raising his voice enough so we would be sure to hear him.
Mr. Black stepped into the office and shut the door behind him. I had seen the questioning look in Gabriella’s eyes so I had taken the seat directly in front of her desk.
I could tell she didn’t know what to think of me anymore since I had spent an entire month with the man of her dreams.
“So what was it like, spending an entire month with him?” she asked.
“Okay, I guess.”
“You look different. You look…tougher,” she added.
“I’d hope so,” I said. “Mr. Black had me up at the crack of dawn every morning.” I stuck my tongue out and she giggled.
“You are so lucky,” she said. “I wish it could have been me.”
“No you don’t,” I said. “You want romance not ass chewings.” Mr. Black had never chewed my ass, but I thought it sounded good.
“I didn’t realize how much I had missed him until I saw the two of you walk through the door,” she said. “Isn’t that silly? He wouldn’t even give me the time of day and I’m infatuated with him.”
“I don’t think that’s silly. I feel the same way about another man,” I said back.
“Who?” she said and got a sparkle in her eye.
Shit, now what do I tell her? I’ve got it bad for Mr. White.
“When I was twelve, this guy came over to my place and I haven’t been able to forget him since,” I said. It was true.
“Do you know where he’s at?” she asked. Then the door to Mr. White’s office opened up and Mr. Black came out. He turned back to Mr. White and said, “No. My way or I don’t go.” He pointed at me and said, �
�Up, let’s go.”
I obeyed. You couldn’t say no to that finger pointing at you.
We got to the car garage and Mr. Black’s SUV was in it’s rightful spot. He opened my door and then stepped up behind the wheel.
“How’d this get here?” I asked.
“Mr. Brown and Mr. White brought it down off the mountain the morning we started our hike,” he said.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
Mr. Black didn’t say anything. His jaw was twitching again. I looked forward and waited to see if he would want to tell me about it before we got back up on the mountain. I know I hadn’t been gone but a few hours but I was already beginning to miss the fresh air, the exercise and the solitude.
“Are we going back up to the cabin?” I couldn’t stand it; I wanted to know.
“Nope. We’re on our way to do a job,” he replied. “Mr. White wanted to leave you behind on this one, but I told him no. On-the-job training is the best kind there is.” Mr. Black had started to talk in longer sentences since I had started my scuba training.
Uh-oh. I wasn’t sure I wanted to cross Mr. White, even if I was with Mr. Black.
“What’s the job?” I asked.
“We need to pick someone up,” Mr. Black said. I let a silence fall upon us and the next thing I knew, we were in my driveway.
“What are we doing here?” I asked.
“We need some info and you’ll be able to get it from here,” he said.
We got into my place and it was just as I had left it a month ago. Mr. Black walked directly to my computer and turned it on.
“I need you to hack into the office’s computer and pick out a file for me,” he said.
“I don’t know,” I said as I walked to the computer. I sat down and began to hack. I just couldn’t resist a challenge. In a matter of seconds I had the office system open on my computer. Mr. Black told me the file name he was looking for and I found it right away. I downloaded it onto my computer and my phone rang. I jumped and logged out.
