Coded

by Kayla Bainbridge

  “You made it,” Taylor said surprised. “I ran into Jennifer in the cafeteria, she wanted me to pass her thanks to you.”

  “Ok, ok, give me the food,” Kennedy said, grabbing the plate. “This looks fantastic.”

  “Good,” Taylor said, taking a bite of his dinner too.

  Kennedy easily consumed her plate before laying down on her bed. She didn’t pay attention to Taylor. She didn’t mind him in her room. He knew he was welcome. She just wanted to sleep. Closing her eyes, she easily drifted off to sleep.

  The following week Kennedy let her classwork slip to help the NSA. She skipped classes, struggled to finish assignments on time, and slept a lot of extra hours. Despite her sacrifice, all the information she passed was so vague that it was useless, at least to her.

  Taylor took her on walks when she felt capable. This time of peace and quiet was special to her. She used it as a moment to reset and calm her nerves.

  Finally, the day had come for the lecture and she was excited. This was a break from her usual schedule. A change in pace.

  ∆∆∆

  Walking into the lecture hall, Taylor was shocked when he saw thousands of students sitting inside. Looking to Dustin, he also had a surprised face. Handling a crowd this large with three agents was impossible. The day before, Kennedy had reminded him of this commitment. He had no recollection of that discussion, and she didn’t look surprised at his lack of memory. Now he was stuck.

  Following Kennedy, they found a spot near the front. She pulled out her laptop to take some notes,

  Taylor took his position next to her, Dustin sat a few rows behind, and Penny a few rows ahead. They continually scanned the crowd while the speaker started his lecture. Easily tunning out his voice, Taylor slowly looked to the left and then back to the right. He was looking for sudden movements, anyone focusing on Kennedy, or any unusual actions.

  Half an hour passed, and Taylor was finally settling into a flow when an alarm sounded. Taylor immediately looked to Kennedy who was as surprised as he had been. They sat waiting. Looking around, all the other students were still sitting too. It was as if they were waiting for someone to say it was a false alarm. Even the speaker stayed at the podium. Then the overhead sprinklers activated. Water poured from the ceiling. Suddenly the calm crowd transformed in a mob.

  Taylor grabbed Kennedy’s arm, “Kennedy, stay close.”

  This was not good. Chairs were crashing down as students scrambled to reach the exits. Kennedy and Taylor slowly moved with the mob. Taylor sacrificed a few seconds to search for Dustin and Penny, but he couldn’t find either of them. He couldn’t worry about them, they knew protocol. Dustin would stay as close as possible; Penny would grab the car.

  Kennedy tripped on a chair, but Taylor easily lifted her back up. She looked up and nodded her thanks. At this point they were both soaked.

  One student screamed and perpetuated the crowd to move faster.

  “Look out!” one yelled as he ran between Kennedy and Taylor, breaking their connection.

  “Kennedy!” Taylor yelled as their gap widened.

  He still had eyes on her. She was following the crowd but working her way back towards him. Then something changed. Her eyes had been so concentrated on him but were now confused. Also, her forward momentum had stopped. Now, she was heading against the crowd, instead of with them,

  “Taylor!” she yelled, and Taylor knew something was wrong.

  There were too many people between them. At this point he struggled to keep his eyes on her.

  She ripped her arms away, and Taylor saw two men were on her side. They were roughly pulling her away from Taylor. He could tell that she was fighting them off, but they were stronger than her.

  “Taylor!” she screamed again. They were almost at the edge of the crowd.

  One man pulled something out, and Taylor watched them roughly gag her mouth and cuff her hands. Lifting her up over his shoulder, the man then took off running out of the lecture hall.

  Taylor was only a minute or two away now.

  “Dustin!” Taylor yelled.

  “I’m behind you!” Dustin yelled twenty feet back.

  The students were beginning to thin, and Taylor finally broke through the edge. He sprinted after the two men. Running down the hallway, Taylor went to the exterior door. The sunlight blinded him. Squinting his eyes, he saw a car speed off.

  “Dang it!” Taylor yelled.

  “Penny has the car!” Dustin yelled as he reached him.

  Quickly, Taylor pulled up Kennedy’s GPS location.

  “Stop! She isn’t out there; she is back in the building.”

  Taylor started running back towards the building, the car had been a decoy.

  “Go left,” Taylor directed as Dustin opened the door.

  The two men were now in an empty hallway. Slowing their pace, Taylor navigated them through the building. When they got close, they both pulled out their sidearms. Taylor took a few steps closer to her location when they heard voices.

  “Wait until the crowd disperse and then we’ll take her out of here,” one man said.

  “That wasn’t too bad,” another replied.

  “We’re not out of the woods yet.”

  Dustin signaled Taylor to enter the room.

  Taylor then whipped the door open. Dustin entered first.

  “Hands up!” Dustin commanded.

  The two men were surprised, but reacted quickly, also pulling out their firearms.

  It was a standoff.

  “NSA, lower your weapons,” Taylor said to the men, He looked past them, Kennedy wasn’t there.

  “You first,” the other man countered.

  “Where is the girl?” Taylor yelled.

  “We have her,” the same man replied, without answering his question.

  Taylor wiped his nose, signaling Dustin. Three seconds passed, and they both discharged their sidearms. Caught off guard, the men were propelled backwards. Taylor and Dustin instantly advanced. Taylor had shot the man in front of him in the shoulder, Dustin shot the other man in the leg.

  Punching Taylor’s target, he fell to the floor, Taylor then stepped on his shoulder where he had shot him.

  The man screamed in pain.

  “Where is the girl?” Taylor asked again. He was tired of this man not answering him.

  “Get off!” the man grunted in reply.

  Taylor pressed harder and the man screamed out again.

  “Next door!” he finally answered.

  “Dustin,” Taylor said as he ran out of the room.

  “I got it,” he said, staying behind.

  Opening the door that connected the two rooms, Taylor saw that this was a smaller classroom. There were three large tables, chairs, and two bookcases. In the center of the room, on the floor was Kennedy. She had already released herself from the gag and her hand ties. When he walked in, she was working on her feet. A breath of relief released from Taylor’s lungs. She was fine.

  “I see you decided to show up?” Kennedy teased.

  Taylor smiled as he knelt beside her, set down his sidearm, and easily cut cuffs from her feet.

  “Sorry I took so long.”

  “We all make mistakes,” Kennedy teased.

  Taylor grabbed his gun, stood up and offered her his hand, “Please forgive me.”

  “Thank you,” she said in a serious tone, grabbing his hand. As she stood, she wavered for a second.

  “You okay?” Taylor asked.

  “Give me a second, I’m a little nauseous” she said, putting her free hand to her head.

  Taylor scanned the room, as he continued to hold her hand, waiting for her to be ready. The wall across from them had another exit.

  “I’m ready,” Kennedy said, taking a step towards Taylor.

  Taylor slowly made his way out of the building. He checked every hallway and kept his gun raised the entire time. They progressed slowly. Every few steps he looked back towards Kennedy. She was struggling with walking straigh
t. What happened to her?

  Once outside the building, Taylor quickly found Penny and the car. They were still soaked from the sprinklers, and the cold air made it worse.

  Taylor opened the door for Kennedy, and she got inside.

  “Go assist Dustin, I’ll drive Kennedy back,” Taylor said to Penny.

  “Of course,” Penny said, getting out of the seat and trading with Taylor.

  Taylor got in, checked on Kennedy, and started the drive home. She was rubbing her head with her hands. He needed to get Kennedy safe.

  “Taylor,” she said with urgency.

  “What is it?” Taylor asked worriedly.

  “Pull over!”

  “No, we aren’t back yet, this isn’t secure.”

  “Taylor, pull over!” Kennedy yelled.

  Taylor obeyed and Kennedy hardly waited for the car to stop before she leapt out to the side of the road. She half fell into the street as she threw up. Seconds later he was by her side.

  “Kennedy?”

  “Taylor, please just give me some space.”

  Taylor stood up and turned away as she continued to empty her stomach. Cars were flying past them. This was a terrible spot to sit. They were exposed here. After a few minutes, Taylor could hear she was done.

  “We really need to get moving.”

  Kennedy stood up, “Taylor, stop!”

  Taylor did a double take, she had never talked to him like that, “Let’s just get you back…”

  “I’m going for a walk,” Kennedy said walking unsteadily down the street.

  “What?” Taylor asked confused.

  “I need some fresh air.”

  Kennedy tripped on a rock and almost fell over, Taylor was by her side, but at the last second caught herself. What was she doing? They needed to get back

  Taylor gently grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. She was shivering. He could see the panic in her eyes.

  “Kennedy listen to me. We have to go.”

  She looked away from him but nodded. Taylor guided her back to the car, but he could tell something wasn’t right. A part of her wanted to escape, but he knew that another part of her trusted him. He buckled her into the car, and she leaned against the car frame.

  Once he closed the door, he took a second to compose himself. Suddenly another SUV pulled up behind him. Taylor turned his body, using the car to shield him from the on comer. He pulled his side arm out again.

  “Easy Taylor,” Agent Henry called out. “We’re here to escort you back.”

  Hearing these words, Taylor took a deep breath of gratitude. Taylor holstered his weapon and walked out to greet Agent Henry.

  “Thanks, Henry,” Taylor said. “Do you have an extra agent?”

  “Yes, what do you need?”

  “A driver for your car?” Taylor said, throwing him the keys.

  “Of course,” Agent Henry said, catching the keys and nodding back to the SUV.

  Taylor walked to the other side of his SUV and sat next to Kennedy. She had also been worried.

  “It’s ok, it is agent Henry, he’s going to drive us back.”

  She nodded and moved closer to him. He pulled her close. What was going on? Surely all these kidnappers didn’t know of Kennedy’s abilities. Was Jordan’s company hiring out help? Taylor didn’t know if he could protect Kennedy if these continued. The attack the previous week was only foiled because of Kennedy’s actions, and today because of her GPS tracker. What if next time they weren’t so lucky? How many more times could Kennedy handle this before she threw in the towel?

  Once they got to the NSA, Taylor just wanted to get Kennedy inside. When she was inside, she would be safe.

  Agent Henry walked on one side of Kennedy and Taylor took the other side. They quickly entered the building and then slowed to a walk.

  “Why don’t we take you to see Wendy?” Taylor suggested.

  “I’m fine Taylor. I just want to shower and get warm.”

  Taylor was cold too, a hot shower felt nice.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” Taylor asked.

  “Absolutely not,” Kennedy said.

  Taylor dropped her off at her place, regardless of not wanting to leave her side. She was in a fragile state. He went to his place and showered as quickly as possible. Afterwards he waited in the hallway for her.

  It was another hour before she came out.

  He welcomed her to his place, and she sat down on the couch putting her head into her hands. Taylor could see the cuts from the zip ties on her wrists. They weren’t deep.

  He sat next to her and laid his hand on her back, she flinched at his touch. Pulling his hand back, he waited for her to come to him.

  Tears fell from her eyes and through her hands. He yearned to help her.

  “Kennedy, please,” he whispered.

  She looked up at him, her eyes were red and watery.

  “I don’t know if I can keep this up,” she admitted before she leaned into him.

  Taylor combed his fingers through her hair. Would she never be able to live a normal life?

  “Why don’t we get some pizza?”

  Kennedy nodded.

  “Sorry about your lecture.”

  “Me too,” Kennedy said, clearly disappointed.

  “There will be more lectures,” he said, grabbing her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. “You were fantastic out there, didn’t even need me.”

  As they waited for the pizza, Kennedy continued to calm down and improve. Taylor tried to keep her talking about random things to distract her.

  Penny and Dustin showed up an hour later with pizza.

  “Perfect timing,” Kennedy said as they set it down.

  “Took your time, did you?” Taylor teased when they walked in.

  “Your pizza place is on the other side of town,” Dustin said, grabbing a slice of pizza.

  “It’s worth it,” Taylor said, reclining back as he took a bite.

  “Kennedy how are you doing?” Dustin said, rolling his eyes at Taylor.

  “The adrenaline has faded, emotionally exhausted.”

  “You sure attract a lot of attention,” Penny said, grabbing a bite.

  “You had me scared back there,” Taylor said, grabbing another piece of pizza.

  “I've been in contact with Jennifer and they came across an ad for a bounty on your safe delivery,” Dustin said between bites.

  “Of course, they did,” Kennedy said, so nonchalantly that it worried Taylor.

  “That explains the attacks,” Penney said.

  Kennedy remained silent.

  “What are you thinking?”

  “I’m going to get some work done and head to bed, I just want to sleep.”

  “Of course,” Taylor said.

  “Kennedy, I picked you up a new laptop. Could you stop going through them so quickly?” Dustin teased.

  “Very funny Dustin,” Kennedy said, grabbing the laptop.

  Dustin and Penny said their goodbyes as Kennedy and Taylor left the room.

  Once in the hallway, Taylor grabbed her hand. “You know you can talk to me?”

  Kennedy nodded, “Good night.”

  “Good night, Kennedy,” Taylor said as she closed the door.

  He then returned to Dustin and Penny.

  “This girl must be pretty special,” Penny implied.

  “Yes, she is,” Dustin agreed.

  “We need to be prepared for more kidnapping attempts,” Taylor said.

  “I’m going to get to work on tracking down the bounty and getting that offline,” Penny said, grabbing her laptop.

  “Great idea Penny. If you can't take it down, maybe you can discredit it somehow.”

  Penny nodded as she walked out.

  “I’m going to call Jennifer and Brett over,” Dustin said, pulling out his phone.

  Taylor finished his slice of pizza as he digested the last hour. Kennedy’s exposure to all of this was weighing on him. Surely it was adding to the stress, yet she was act
ing normal. Maybe she was getting used to it. That wasn’t comforting either.

  Was this the rest of her life? Never being alone. Like on that early morning walk. It showed what effects a life like this could do to a person. Taylor had been out running when he was alerted to her uptake in heart rate. Running back to the building, he hoped to have enough time to grab a shower. Then he checked his watch and saw that she was leaving the building. Carefully he caught up to her. Once he realized she wasn’t in any danger, he quietly followed far behind her. What if someone had been waiting for her outside?

  Jennifer walked in, breaking his train of thought.

  “Good evening,” she said to the two of them.

  “We heard about the bounty,” Taylor said diving into it.

  “Yes, we started snooping around after the first attempt. We discovered it this morning.”

  “How much are we talking?” Dustin asked.

  “One million,” Jennifer replied.

  Taylor swept his hand through his hair, “Oh wow.”

  “We have tried to take it down, but without much success.”

  “We are going to need more agents Jennifer,” Dustin said.

  “We are stretched thin already with this bomb threat. I think we are going to have to cut school,” Jennifer said.

  Taylor and Dustin nodded somberly. Kennedy was not going to like that. Would she understand? She had already planned to work over the weekend. If they could just solve this whole Jordan case, maybe there was a chance of going back to normal.

  “I’ll tell her in the morning,” Taylor said.

  “Want me to be there too?” Dustin offered.

  “Thanks Dustin, I’m ok. Tomorrow we’ll push a heavy load of deciphering.”

  “Thanks Taylor,” Jennifer said standing up. “It’s late, I better get going. I’ll check in with you guys in the morning.”

  “Good night,” Taylor replied.

  “Have you ever worked something like this?” Taylor asked.

  “No, nothing so high profile,” Dustin admitted.

  “Kennedy didn’t ask for this.”

  “No, but she has been doing great, give her some credit.”

  Taylor nodded.

  “Get some rest, she has a long day tomorrow,” Dustin said getting up.

  “Good night Dustin,” Taylor said as Dustin walked out.

  Alone, Taylor checked on Kennedy’s heart rate. It had already steadied out. She was asleep, or at least calm.