Walking through the double doors, Kennedy found herself in a corporate environment. Carpet covered the floor, and the ceiling lowered to eight or nine feet. It opened to several large rooms full of cubicles. About half of the cubicles had people working. Not one looked up at them.
“Here is where most of us work,” Jordan announced.
“Oh,” Kennedy said, pretending to be interested. This was not what she expected. She didn’t know what she expected, white boards full of their most secret missions? Or to pass by a drive containing all their intel that she could stick in her pocket. This just looked like any other office building.
Kennedy must have looked disappointed too, because Jordan then said, “I know it isn't the most exciting place. I thought that you would like to see around.”
“Yes of course,” Kennedy said, still hoping to see something that could help her escape or know the true intentions of this company.
“There is one exciting place I can take you,” Jordan said as he continued to walk through a large room full of cubicles.
“Great,” Kennedy said, trying to catch up.
∆∆∆
Dustin had been waiting patiently for the next report from Strong Bones. What was taking him so long? Taylor had been on his back for any new information, and Dustin simply couldn't deliver. Without any news from Strong Bones, his team struggled to put together an extraction plan. These times of silence concerned Dustin, but he decided to hold off for another day or two before sending in another undercover man.
The door knocked and one of Dustin’s men walked in without waiting for a response.
“Strong Bones just reported in,” the man said, handing Dustin the paperwork.
“Well, give me the rundown. This better be good news.”
“It is very good news. She is ready for transport now.”
“What kind of condition does that mean?”
“According to Strong Bones, he said transferable, I'm not exactly sure on anything more than that. His contact was very brief.”
“Taylor will be very relieved. How are the plans coming along?” Dustin asked.
“We are almost there. Strong Bones also sent us blueprints and where the asset is located. Do you want me to go over them with you?”
Dustin thought for a moment, “No, has Taylor’s team been briefed about these plans?”
“Yes, but he is still unaware of her condition, per your request.”
“Have they discovered anything about her?”
“Not that Strong Bones knows of, but I don’t know how deep he is in either.”
“How long has he been undercover?” Dustin asked.
“Several years now,” the man said.
“Impressive.”
“Yes, anything else I can do for you?”
“Her apartment?” Dustin asked.
“It is ready; it meets all of Taylor’s requirements.”
“Perfect, let me know if any more information comes, and which day you plan on extraction.”
“Yes, sir,” the man said before leaving Dustin’s office.
∆∆∆
Jordan's view of excitement had been several server rooms. Kennedy tried to count how many servers there were to try and calculate the number of computers located within the building. This was easier said than done. Not only was Kennedy’s comprehension of computers limited, but Jordan kept finding his way next to her. Kennedy would then step away, and the pattern repeated. Finally, Jordan gave her some room and Kennedy could breathe again.
They were currently in the third server room. It looked exactly like all the other server rooms. Kennedy was walking around the outer perimeter. This room had twenty server towers. Jordan was watching her.
“What is going on?” Jordan shouted as he banged down on one of the server doors. His fists shattered the glass.
Kennedy jumped back, frightened by the glass and Jordan’s rage. Sirens blared through the room. Red lights illuminated the room, and Kennedy took an additional step back.
“I have tried to keep you entertained!” Jordan yelled, taking a step towards Kennedy. “I have tried to be nice to you. But all you have done is complain and act nonchalant.”
“Jordan, I...” Kennedy didn't know what to say. Jordan's actions were erratic, and frightening. She took another step back and he continued to advance.
“Look what you have done!” Jordan yelled over the alarms as he pointed to the broken server door.
“Me?” Kennedy asked, surprised.
“If you had cared!” Jordan yelled, taking a few steps towards her.
“I...” Kennedy's steps backwards were running out.
“You what?” Jordan continued to advance.
“I'm sorry,” Kennedy said, struggling to maintain a calm demeanor.
“You’re sorry?” Jordan yelled only a few steps away.
“Jordan, please!” Kennedy pleaded.
Two doors slammed open as six armed men entered the room. Four men focused on Jordan and pulled him away. Surprised, Jordan jerked away from their grasp, but they easily restrained him.
“Let go of me!” he yelled.
“Stop!” one of them said to him.
“Fellas, I'm sorry I hit the servers, it was an accident,” Jordan said.
He had completely transformed back into the Jordan Kennedy thought she knew. He submitted to the men and listened to their instructions.
“Miss?” one of the two men next to Kennedy asked.
“Oh...what?” Kennedy asked. She had been watching Jordan and had forgotten about the two men next to her.
“This way,” he said motioning to go out to the hallway.
Kennedy obeyed immediately. She had no issue leaving Jordan with those men. In fact, she had no issue leaving Jordan completely if she could.
“Put your hands up,” the man instructed. They still had their guns pointed at her, despite their nice demeanor.
Hesitantly Kennedy obliged as she lifted her arms up. Pain erupted from her shoulder as the other man patted her down.
“Please!” Kennedy begged as the pain from her shoulder intensified. Didn't they see the brace.
“You can put your arms down,” he commanded as he then took her hands and cuffed them together.
Kennedy took some quick breaths to recover. Her hands behind her back hurt worse than raising them up.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?” the man asked.
Kennedy remained silent, what was she going to say? She heard footsteps approaching and looked down the hall. It was Brandon.
“What the hell is going on?” Brandon shouted seeing Kennedy. “Release her!” He commanded without hesitation.
“But Sir,” the man protested.
Brandon didn't even respond to the man's comment. He just stared, waiting impatiently.
“Right away, sir,” the man corrected.
He removed the cuffs from Kennedy's wrists. “Sorry sir,” the man then said before turning back down the hallway.
This left Kennedy looking awkwardly at Brandon.
“Are you hurt?”
Kennedy hesitated, and Brandon nodded. He understood.
“Where is Jordan?” Brandon asked with a cooler tone.
“Um,” Kennedy hesitated. “I'm not sure, they took me away and then...”
“Never mind,” Brandon said, not wanting to listen to her story. “I'm taking you back to your room, come on.”
Kennedy watched Brandon walk a few steps before she overcame her fear and followed Brandon. While they were walking down the hallway, Brandon pulled out his cell phone.
“Get over here. I'm in section D42.”
Opening a door, he motioned for Kennedy to walk through first. Outside, a man was standing post.
“Daniel, watch this woman. Don't release her to anyone besides Ryan. He is on his way.”
The man nodded in acknowledgment.
“Kennedy, I’m sorry for this mess,” Brandon said, turning his attention to her. “Plea
se stay here until Ryan comes for you. I am off to deal with Jordan.”
Brandon's tone sounded bleak; Kennedy didn't envy Jordan. Just like Daniel, she nodded in acknowledgment.
With that, the door closed, and Kennedy took a deep breath. Her shoulder ached terribly. Leaning against the wall, she slid down until she sat on the floor. Ryan arrived five minutes later in his own golf cart.
“Kennedy,” Ryan said, getting out and leaning down to assist her up. “Are you alright?”
“My shoulder is killing me.”
“I can get you some pain killers. What happened?”
“I'm not sure exactly,” Kennedy said truthfully.
Ryan nodded.
The ride back remained silent as Kennedy reflected on Jordan's sudden outburst. What had made him snap like that? All the times Jordan and her were alone, she shuddered. Luckily, he had chosen to break something. What if those alarms hadn’t sounded? What would have happened to her?
“Hey Ryan, when do you think I can move out of the hospital room?” she asked as they walked back into the hospital room.
Ryan remained silent for a moment, “I think you have been through enough, and are strong enough. Are you still feeling up to it today?”
He passed her some drugs, and she took them easily.
“Yes,” Kennedy was excited, but still struggled with what had just happened.
“You will need to check in with me in the morning and afternoon alright?”
Kennedy nodded. She suddenly needed to sit down and took a seat on the bed.
Ryan came and sat next to her, but unlike Jordan, it was at a respectable distance.
She put her head down into her bent knees and started to cry.
“What happened?”
Kennedy took a moment to pull her thoughts together. “He pushed me and I kept saying no, but he kept pushing, and then he turned into some else.”
“I’m sorry,” Ryan replied. He waited for her to stop crying.
She looked up, “You don’t have to stay here with me.”
“There isn’t anywhere else I want to be. You need a friend right now.”
“Thank you, Ryan,” she said, laying her head on his shoulder.
“Of course,” Ryan said, not reacting to her gesture.
They sat like that for an hour, Kennedy would go in and out of crying, but mostly just sat there in silence.
Kennedy then got up; her shoulder was feeling better.
“Do you still want to go to the apartment? I can help you pack up here?”
“That would be great, yes I still want to go.”
The rest of the day, Ryan helped her move a few things into her new apartment.
“Are you going to be ok on your own?” Ryan asked as they finished.
“Yes, I think so. Thanks for everything today.”
“I’ll be by in the morning to check in. Good night.”
“Good night Ryan.”
∆∆∆
Jordan's day couldn't have been worse. Not only did he blow up on Kennedy, ruin his attempts of getting close to her, get arrested, chewed up by Brandon, and spent the night alone, but he was almost thrown off the whole case. Brandon only agreed to keep Jordan on the case if Kennedy agreed. How could he ask that of her now?
Pacing his apartment, he reflected on the last couple of days. At first, he tried to reason with himself.
“I’m going to the hospital room because it is my job, because I have to protect her, because I have to figure out why she is so special.”
Jordan sat down on his couch. “At first I just wanted to promote my standings at the company, but then it became more than that.”
Putting his face into his hands, “What is happening to me?”
Thinking about his outbreak earlier reminded himself of a darker time. After he found out about his parents, Jordan had many similar outbreaks. Once when he forgot about a history assignment, he had a break down too, which got him suspended. Another time a bus was late, and he refused to pay the fee, almost getting him arrested. Years had passed since Jordan's last outbreak, he wondered if his emotional connection to Kennedy had triggered the outbreaks again.
Jordan didn't know what could have happened in that server room if those guards hadn't stepped inside to intervene. Brandon didn't say anything about the outbreak, so Jordan assumed Kennedy hadn't told him anything. Why didn't she?
Thinking about everything made Jordan fret more. Without any family he needed this job, and he couldn't lose it.
Without another thought, Jordan picked up the phone and started to call Ryan for a favor.
The next morning Jordan jumped in the shower to get ready for the day. He wondered if Kennedy was awake yet. Last night Ryan had told Jordan they had moved Kennedy into her new room. Ryan had hoped that this would help cheer her up. Jordan had very much wanted to be there as she started to wake. He wanted to start the day right today.
After he finished showering, he shaved and got dressed. Leaving his apartment, he walked down a series of halls before reaching her room. Only four people in the whole building could get into this room unless there was an emergency. That, along with all the other building security, she was safe.
Jordan only waited a few minutes before he saw Ryan walking down the hallway towards him. After yesterday, Jordan was nervous of her reaction to seeing him today. He remembered the terror in her eyes. Was she going to let him stay on the case?
“Are you going to tell me what happened?” Ryan prompted walking up beside him.
“I'm not sure what happened myself,” Jordan admitted.
Ryan turned from the doorway and faced Jordan. “You can't do that again. Whatever you did really shook her up. I couldn't get much from her yesterday either. You didn't kiss, or anything stupid like that did you?”
“No,” Jordan said quietly, “Nothing like that.”
Ryan took a breath, “Brandon informed me that he has another man who can take this position.”
“I know.”
“Are you sure that you can handle this?”
“I was assigned this, and I want to finish it.”
“Well then, let's try and win her back, alright?”
Jordan nodded as Ryan knocked on the door. “Kennedy, it is Ryan... and Jordan.”
Ryan turned to face Jordan, “Time to put on your most charming face!”
Jordan heard Kennedy walk to the door but didn't hear any attempt to open it. Of course, Jordan knew the code, but Kennedy had to accept him today, not the other way around.
“Kennedy,” Jordan said softly. “I'm sorry I blew up on you yesterday. I don't know what overcame me”
Ryan interrupted, “Kennedy, open the door. I'll stay with you until you feel comfortable.”
With that news, Kennedy proceeded to open the door.
“Thank you,” Ryan said as he walked in.
“Can I come in?” Jordan asked.
Kennedy looked to Ryan who was already on the couch making himself at home, while Jordan remained in the doorway.
Instead of answering the question, Kennedy said, “Why don't we go get breakfast? Let me just get some shoes on,” she said moving from the doorway and walking to the bedroom.
A few minutes passed, and she came back out. “By the way where did all these clothes come from? How did you know my size?”
Jordan paused a moment. After the laptop incident, he didn't want to freely admit that he knew all her clothing sizes. So instead he answered broadly, “We wanted you to be comfortable.”
“Okay,” she said in a lingering tone. She put on a casual red jacket over her blue top and khaki pants.
Even dressed so casually, Jordan struggled to not be attracted to her. Jordan felt too formal in his pin striped slacks and his usual white work shirt. But this was his job, and she was a guest, and that made him feel a little bit more at ease.
“Well are you ready to go?” She asked them.
“Sure,” Ryan said before Jordan could answer.
> The three of them walked down to the cafeteria. By the time they reached the doors, Jordan had dragged Kennedy's forgiveness from her lips.
As they entered the door Kennedy was startled, “Look at all these people!”
“Is it nice to see someone besides Ryan and I?” Jordan teased leading her to the closest line of food.
“I saw those people in the office area, but I underestimated this facility,” Kennedy said, picking up a tray and going down the line. “There is so much food.”
“The variety helps with living in a concrete box,” Jordan said.
“I thought you said you had never noticed before,” Kennedy said, picking up some bacon, eggs, and fruit. “At home I normally just have oatmeal.”
“I guess I had noticed. What? I don’t believe it,” Jordan said as they sat down at one of the empty tables.
“No really, it is true, my early job doesn’t permit me to eat a nice breakfast,”
Jordan already knew this, but he had no intention of disclosing that. Today he had to gain her trust back. He knew how to be a gentleman.
She took a bite and continued, “So do these people all know who I am?”
“I have a team and they all know who you are. Otherwise, there are dozens of cases going on at a time, they are unaware of you.”
They chatted over breakfast, after half an hour it was clearly coming to an end.
“How are you feeling Kennedy?” Ryan asked.
Before Kennedy could respond, Jordan wanted to throw one last thing out, “I won't go into your apartment, and we will stay in public places today.”
“Kennedy,” Ryan inserted. “I talked to Brandon, and he has someone else on hand that can take over the case, if you would like.”
Jordan passed Ryan an evil glare, “I would understand if you went with someone else, but please give me another chance.”
“Alright, Jordan, one more chance.”
“Thank you,” Jordan said humbly. “I have the perfect way of making it up to you.”
Jordan had planned this all the night before with a little help from Ryan. Without Ryan, Jordan didn't know where he would be right now. Somehow, he was going to have to make this up to him. Jordan turned his attention back to Kennedy as she placed her tray on top of a trash can.
Before leaving the cafeteria Kennedy, turned towards Jordan, “Why are you so determined? I’m just another one of your cases. Why don’t you just move on to the next case?”
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