Nina followed the trail until she reached a small stream. At that stream the tracks of three men went into the water, but didn’t come out the other side. Nina walked up and down the edge of the stream trying to determine what they’d done, which way they’d gone, but there was no trace of them. There were no prints on the bed of the stream and nothing indicating they’d gone back the way they’d come.
Eventually Nina went back to the last place she saw prints and placed herself in them. Then she looked all around the area from that perspective. Nothing. She was about to tell Lethal she had no idea, when a thought suddenly occurred to her. She unlocked her weapon, raised it into her hands as though she was preparing to fire, then she raised her eyes and looked directly into the tree that hung above the stream where she was standing.
“Click,” she said at the pair of eyes looking back at her from the limb more than six feet above her head. “You’re dead.”
She didn’t see it because her back was to Lethal, but he smiled proudly. She’d figured it out all on her own, and next time, she’d remember to check all the possible hiding places, even above her head long before she exposed herself. “Well done,” Lethal complimented.
“Not good enough,” Nina answered. “They’d have seen me before I saw them.”
“It’s a training exercise. You figured it out for yourself. You’ll never forget it. You found them, and you won’t be caught in the open again. You’ll check it all before you expose yourself,” Lethal said.
Feral dropped out of the tree. “You’re getting good, female,” he said, grinning at her through his green and black face paint.
“I need to be better,” she answered.
“You will be,” Lethal said confidently as he walked away from them. “Where to next?” he asked Nina.
Nina looked around. Nothing was giving her any clues, so she looked back up into the trees. There were a few green leaves and a small twig with green leaves still on it lying beside the creek. The tree it was from was standing next to the one she found Feral in. She picked up the twig and the leaves and looked closely at them. Then she walked into the stream and inspected the other bank again. There were a few green leaves there too. “This way. These leaves and the twig shouldn’t have fallen off the tree — they’re still alive, and they have jagged breaks where they were forced away from where they were growing. Someone moved through the trees, and they went this way,” she said, moving cautiously up the bank until she got a good view of the terrain on the other side.
Lethal followed her without a word, though he flashed a smile at Feral.
Feral grinned back and tilted his head to the right to let Lethal know he’d go get ready for the next spot.
Nina led the way up an embankment and after checking to ensure that no one was lying in wait for them, she skirted the tree line, being sure to stay just inside it as she tracked the path she could see in the red clay off to her left. She found Scorn waiting for them in a ravine covered in the wet, red clay. She found Steel lying deep inside the wooded area she just barely skirted, outfitted in a ghillie suit. He was completely invisible, blending into his surroundings. The only thing that gave him away was a twitch of his nose when a mosquito landed on him.
But Valor was the one who got her. After an all day tracking event, she decided to take a moment to catch her breath. It was hot and she was miserable, tired and hungry. Just a little water would do wonders. After thoroughly clearing an area and deeming it safe, she leaned back against a large, fallen tree to sip from her canteen. She uncapped it and lifted it to her lips for a sip. As soon as the water touched her tongue, she felt a cold, sharp blade against her throat. “You’re dead,” Valor whispered.
“Well, fuck me!” she exclaimed. “Where the hell were you?” she asked, getting frustratedly to her feet to examine where he’d been hiding.
“I was part of the log,” he said, showing her that he’d covered himself in the fallen leaves and debris and wrapped his body around the side of the decaying log opposite from that she’d leaned against.
“There’s no way! I checked the log!” Nina said.
“Did you really?” Valor asked, as he kicked away the leaves and branches to show that it wasn’t as rounded in the back as it was in the front. “The back already rotted away. I just fit myself there and covered with the rotted debris and fresh leaves.”
“Well, fuck,” Nina cursed. She glanced over at Lethal who watched her with a smirk.
“Come on, gotta lot of land to cover before we can break for the night,” Lethal said.
“Where are we making camp?” she asked.
Lethal raised his eyebrows. “Camp? Assassins don’t camp, Nina. We sleep where we find ourselves, and we keep one eye open.”
Nina didn't complain, she just capped her canteen and followed Lethal as he took point, leading them further away from Alliance.
Over the next two days Nina tracked and ‘killed’ all the members of her squad at least four separate times. They only ‘killed’ her twice. At night she and Lethal took turns sleeping wherever they found to be able to sit for a little while, as the other kept watch.
The third night, a storm came through with driving rain and gale force winds. Nina followed Lethal as he led her through the day’s exercises. A little thing like a storm couldn’t stop you from tracking your prey. Later that evening they finally took a break. Lethal began building a fire and Nina stopped him. “If we do that, we’ll be found,” Nina said.
“Exercise is over. They’ve all returned to Alliance. Just you and me out here for the night. We return tomorrow morning,” Lethal said.
“Are you sure? Are you trying to lure me into thinking it’s all clear and then have them jump out at me while I have my guard down?” she asked suspiciously.
Lethal smiled at her. “No. That’s not going to happen tonight. You’ve done well. You picked up more than I thought you would at your first tracking. Tonight’s just an unwind kind of evening before we start back in the morning,” Lethal said, leaning over to blow lightly on a flame he’d finally gotten started. “By the way,” he said, glancing up at her. “Which way is home?”
Without hesitation Nina lifted a finger and pointed over her own shoulder. “That way.”
“Excellent. Now, how about you go find us dinner,” he suggested, arranging his pack beside the fire so he could lean back on it and relax.
“Anything in particular you’d care to eat,” she asked, rising to her feet.
“Whatever doesn’t eat you first,” he cracked as he tilted his head back and closed his eyes on the sunset that painted the sky.
Nina moved off in the direction of the last watering hole they’d seen and kept her steps quiet and slow. She took her bow from where it hung on her pack and crouched down beside a copse of trees that grew near the small watering hole that couldn’t quite be considered a pond with it drawn and ready to shoot. Time passed as she waited, but her patience paid off. Finally, two big rabbits approached the water from the other side. Nina didn’t smile. She barely even breathed. She held perfectly still until they’d moved to the water and were drinking, then she let the arrow fly.
She was exact with her aim. The rabbit never knew what hit him, and his friend scurried off to live another day. Nina hopped up to grab the rabbit, and once she had it in hand, decided to clean it there beside the water so she could go back to Lethal with their meal cleaned and ready to roast over his fire. Thirty minutes later she was happily walking back into their camp with her rabbit on a stick all ready for the fire.
“We’re having rabbit,” she announced.
Lethal didn’t answer, but smiled as he watched her set up the stick over the fire to cook the rabbit she’d hunted them for dinner. Once it was ready, she took the entire rabbit still on the stick and sat down next to Lethal, offering him the first bite.
Lethal reached up and pulled a piece of meat off the bone, then, instead of popping it into his mouth, he held it out for Nina to eat. Nina leaned over
and accepted the food from Lethal’s hand. “Thank you,” she said, watching his face as he fed her.
“You’re welcome,” he said, reaching for his own piece.
They finished off the rabbit, then settled in for the night.
Both of their clothes were wet from the storm and the ground was soggy, but they did have a fire. Nina leaned on her pack much the same way Lethal had when he’d sent her off to hunt their dinner and rest a bit. Eventually Lethal sat up across the fire from her. “I got next watch, get yourself some sleep, Nina. We’ll head back early in the morning.”
“Thanks,” she answered, letting her head fall back and her eyes close.
Sometime during the night Lethal realized she was shivering. He moved his pack closer to her and lay down next to her, pulling her shivering body into his arms. Almost at once she curled into him, seeking his warmth. “I have you, Nina. Rest,” he rumbled at her, his voice gruff with arousal to finally have the female he coveted above all else in his arms.
Nina nodded in her sleep. “’Kay. Don’t leave me, One.”
Lethal looked down into her sleeping face and very, very slowly lowered his head. He pressed his lips to hers gently, and when she didn’t wake or pull away, he kissed her again, taking his time to appreciate the softness and warmth of her lips beneath his. “I’ll never leave, Nina. Never,” he promised. Then he adjusted her and kept watch until it was time for him to go.
Nina kept her eyes closed and her breathing even. She’d woken just barely when Lethal had kissed her the first time. The second time he kissed her, she was fully awake and not sure if she should let him know. Instead, she pretended to still be asleep, hoping that she’d not spoken aloud. As soon as he’d kissed her, she’d awakened and realized that she’d been dreaming they were back under lock and key, and he was still called One. She was begging him not to leave her as she watched him go, waving back at her happily.
She snuggled in closer to Lethal, knowing he believed her to still be asleep, then took advantage of the circumstances, and allowed herself to fall asleep in his arms. It was easy to sleep in his arms. He’d kept her safe with these arms, in fact, he still did, though he’d made no attempt to hold her until now. The last thought she had before she drifted off was how nice it was to be held by him, just because he wanted to.
Chapter 50
The next morning Nina woke to the chirping of the early morning birds as they greeted the just breaking dawn. She was no longer being held as she sat up and looked around. Immediately, her anger rose. “Bastard!” she exclaimed, getting to her feet and looking around.
She looked down at the fire still just barely smoldering, and her pack that lay beside her feet. Everything else was gone. He’d left her there. “Fucker!” she snapped before she walked over to the fire and began to cover it with dirt, so she could start her journey back to Alliance.
<<<<<<<>>>>>>>
It was just after 8:00 A.M. when Lethal walked back into Alliance. What looked like a floor was being assembled in the park just past his house and right in front of the admin building and cafeteria. There were multiple tables being set up on one side, and another raised surface that almost looked like a stage had already been erected with speakers on each side of it on the admin side of the park.
As Lethal walked past the helipads, he took in all he could see wondering what the hell was going on.
Scorn looked up from where he was helping with the set up and saw him coming. “Just in time!” Scorn called out with a wave.
“For what?” Lethal asked, still walking toward the mix of people all busily preparing for something.
“We’re having a party,” Scorn answered. “They got a DJ, and he’s coming to play music. We’re setting out tables and some dance floors. We’re going to have food, and have a couple of beers and unwind. If it goes over well, we’ll do it regularly.”
“Says who?” Lethal asked, looking around.
“Roscoe. He said it was your woman’s idea and he’s just now been able to make it happen. Speaking of which, where is she?” Scorn asked.
“I left her to find her way back. Survival includes getting home,” Lethal said.
“She’s going to be pissed off,” Scorn replied.
Lethal shook his head. “No, she’ll be fine. I’d have never left her if I thought she couldn’t find her way back safely,” he said, watching Athena approach.
“I hear your female did well out there on her first survival trek,” Athena said, coming to a stop right in front of him.
“She did. She did very well. She’ll get even better, and eventually she’ll be a force to be reckoned with,” Lethal answered.
Athena shook her head. “No, she won’t.”
Lethal had looked away from Athena to gaze out over all the activity taking place. He snapped his head back in her direction. “What?!” he asked sharply.
“You can what me all you want, I still disagree,” Athena answered him steadily.
“Why?” he asked.
“Because she can’t access the anger. She can make it numb, but she can’t use it to her advantage. She can’t access the emotion it takes to actually cross that line from protecting yourself into killing without a second thought.”
“Of course she can,” Lethal answered, his face clearly showing his irritation.
“No, she can’t. She’s done well with everything we’ve thrown at her up to that point, but no matter how I provoke her, she never crosses that line. She lives her life under attack as part of her training to always be prepared, and no matter who attacks her, or when for that matter, she never does more than defend herself. She won’t cross that line into being a lethal weapon. I poke at her, hit her with the skimmer, verbally berate her, goad her to the point that anybody else would have snapped and come after me. Hell, I want her to snap and come after me! And she just keeps on going, repeating the same exercises over and over again. She goes right up to the point of no return, but she can’t cross it. She’s a master at control, and she’ll do fine if ever in a survivalist situation, but she’ll never be what we are. All she’s learned how to do is numb the emotion that threatens to take her down, and that emotion is what she needs to cross the line into ‘you are going to fucking die today motherfucker’ territory.”
“I’m afraid she may be right,” Scorn admitted. “Nina’s one of us, don’t get me wrong, but I can’t see her going all cold hearted killer, or to even attack without a need to defend herself. She just doesn’t have it in her.”
“She does,” Lethal insisted forcefully.
“Maybe,” Scorn said, not wanting to upset Lethal. “Maybe she just hasn’t found whatever it is that means enough to her that she goes all badass on somebody without thinking of the consequences.”
Athena swung her attention to Scorn. Slowly a smile began to build.
“What are you thinking?” Lethal asked.
“I’m not quite sure yet. But, when she gets back, just play along. We’ll see if we can push her today,” Athena said, laughing loudly as she walked away.
“Watch what you do, Athena,” Lethal called after her.
“Oh, I know exactly what I’m doing. See you later, Lethal,” she said, turning around as she continued to walk backward away from him and Scorn so she could blow him a kiss. “Just be at this shindig. We’ll see just what your female is made of.”
Lethal watched Athena go before looking over at Scorn. “The fuck is she talking about?” Lethal asked.
“I don’t know. But I sure as hell don’t want to miss it.”
Lethal grumbled under his breath and walked away, a hot shower and food on his radar. The last thing he needed was this bullshit. He knew Nina had it in her, she just hadn’t needed to access it yet, and he really didn’t give a fuck what anyone else thought. When the chips were down, she’d come through.
<<<<<<<>>>>>>>
Nina was pissed off. She’d been alternately jogging and walking for four hours. She had no doubt Lethal had left her to make
it back on her own as part of her training. And that was fine. What wasn’t fine was that he’d promised to never leave her only hours before he fucking left her. “Dick!” she shouted as loud as she could. Her reasonable mind sounded off inside her head, telling her she’d supposedly been asleep when he promised not to leave her. “Don’t fucking care!” she said aloud. “He still said it!” She went from walking to jogging again, determined to make it home as quickly as she could. “Asshole,” she mumbled to herself once more for good measure.
As she ran across a field of knee high grass, she recognized it as the field they'd first crossed when they’d left Alliance. “Almost there,” she told herself. She cinched up her backpack and picked up her pace. She’d thought about running right into the house without pause, punching Lethal square in the jaw, then getting in the shower without any further communication for most of her run, and she’d just about talked herself into it — except for one thing. He’d not actually done anything wrong. His job was to turn her into an assassin complete with survivalist skills, and that was basically what he was doing by leaving her to find her own way home. “You’re still a dick!” she shouted into the empty sky around herself.
As she got closer to Alliance, she began to hear what she thought was the faint sound of music. She canted her head to the side and tried to listen closer, but she couldn’t be sure. Still, what would music be doing playing this loudly? They didn’t even have anything to play music with other than phones as far as she knew.
Soon enough, she had her answer. She jogged up the gravel road that lead into Alliance just as she did almost every day. But this time, instead of a quiet, peaceful community, she found stages of different levels with people dancing and milling about both on top of them and just wherever they happened to be standing in the grass. There were tables with food stacked on them and a D.J. playing music from a stage set up directly in front of the admin building. Apparently, Roscoe had taken her idea to heart and planned a party for them.
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