He sighed and turned to walk away.
“That’s the saddest thing I have ever heard.”
He left me in the romance section and I sighed. It was sad but like Helen I didn’t think of it like that. I was in this for my own reasons. Revenge is a powerful motive and whenever I needed something to draw on, that, not love was it. If he asked Helen that would be her answer as well.
We were so alike and yet so very different. Maybe we had too much in common to be together. We knew about all the horrible things the other had done. That made it so everything was in the open. We were too familiar with each other to be together as more than friends. I laughed. Irony really kicked you in the balls sometimes.
(Helen)
I sat down to eat and wondered how long before someone would spoil my enjoyment. My phone beeped as soon as the thought was finished. I checked the id, deciding I would only pick it up if it were important. It said Jane’s number so I answered.
“What's up Jane?”
I listened to her rattle on. Yes, sure, ok.
“Are you serious?” Well, that was good news.
Prattle on again.
“What!”
I jumped out of my seat so fast I knocked my chair over. That wasn't possible! I ran outside so I could have this conversation away from prying ears.
“I’ll do what I can. But you know we will be watched too closely for me to take him out until we get back. I might be able to get Phillip’s help with this. We might just have to keep the two of them apart until Phillip or I can take him out. It will be done before you return. Trust me; I don’t want this out either.”
I nodded as she gave me details. The agency had a backup plan. Good. Because we actually had more security in France than at this damn school.
“All right. I’ll do what I can. Phillip will help, I’m sure. I don’t think he’ll even ask for payment.”
I nodded to Jane’s last comment and hung up the phone. I went back inside, righted my chair and sat down. So much for a nice vacation. Or a quiet lunch for that matter. I threw some money on the table and turned to leave. Nick was coming in the door. Oh, not now. But I couldn’t let him go find his friends.
“Do you know where Phillip is?”
“He was in the library when I last saw him.”
I chewed on my bottom lip, I truly was nervous now. “I need to speak with him. I just got a very bad phone call and…”
“Are you in trouble for shooting someone?”
I looked at his worried face. Well I wasn't, but I could use that.
“Kind of but there’s something else that affects him also.”
“Let’s go find him then.”
I sighed. Nice guy. Too bad I was taking advantage of that trusting nature. He wasn't meant to be a soldier. Too much honor. Too kind and caring.
“Thanks.”
We exited the diner and started towards the school. Phillip came running towards the gate before we even got past security. We rushed in and he stopped, looking back and forth.
“Helen, I need to talk to you. It’s very important.”
I turned to Nick.
“Could you excuse us a moment?”
He nodded and went to sit by the gate entrance.
“Helen, my handler just called, he just got off the phone with Jane.”
“I know, she called me first. We have to do something. Its Nick’s friend that found out. I want as few people as possible to have to be taken out. Too many of their top students start disappearing and the school will get suspicious. We need to isolate it to just him, if possible. Now I’ve read his file. I don’t think he’ll tell anyone until he’s told Nick. So we just have to keep them separate.”
“How do we do that?”
“I’m thinking.” I rubbed my temples. No doubt Nick thought we had lost our minds. Oh well. “Okay, ask to be his roommate. Think of an excuse to give him. Just tell the teachers you want to work out the issues you two had earlier on and get to know him better or some stupid stuff like that. If you act sincere they will believe you. That way, when the girls and guys are separated, you can watch him. If he finds out it’s gonna be ugly.”
“Why do you say that?”
I looked at Phillip. It was not a happy look. “Well, we have both lied to him about me not being his dead girlfriend. How do you think he’ll react?”
He thought about it and rubbed his chin. Normally I found it funny how he did that, but today I just wanted to hit him.
“A part of me would like to say he’d confront you in private about it but I’m not entirely sure. He might be so upset and pissed that he starts screaming at the top of his lungs.”
“Exactly. If there is a crowd, well we can't kill that many people without being noticed and suspected. We would have to go underground. Well, I would.”
He put his arm around me.
“Ah, honey, I’d be right there with you shooting the place up.”
I smiled. “Great, so we’d be on the run together. At least I wouldn’t go insane from solitude.”
He kissed the top of my head.
“See, way to stay positive.”
I laughed. Thank God one of us still had a sense of humor because I’m pretty sure I was about to lose my mind. “Okay, so we have a plan.”
“Okay, but you know if I stick to him like glue he’s going to get suspicious. I’d like to say he’s stupid but, well, I can't.”
I rubbed my eyes. “I know. I’ve thought about that. What do you think?”
“You are not going to like my plan.”
I shrugged. “I don’t have much choice.”
He nodded. It was true. “Well, if he asks I’m going to tell him you like him and that I am trying to keep you two apart.”
I pulled out of Phillip’s comforting hug.
“Are you crazy? He’ll never believe that!”
“He will. Trust me, Helen. If I say it’s true he’ll believe me.”
I shrugged. I looked at the ground. “Does that mean I have to play the flirty, giggling girl with a crush?”
I saw Phillip smile out of the corner of my eyes.
“Yes, it does. Try not to mix business with pleasure.”
He laughed and I lifted my head to glare at him. I slapped his arm. He knew how I hated that part. I’d had to do it before when we posed as brother and sister on an undercover mission. Being cute almost made me barf every night when we got a second of freedom. Phillip had teased me incisively. He could be such an ass.
“Do I have to be his date for the dance too?” Please God, no.
“If you can get him to ask you…”
“In case we haven’t killed the boy off yet.”
Phillip nodded as I finished his sentence. I stomped my foot. Something very childish that I hadn’t done since I was about five. But the situation just seemed to call for it.
“Fine, but that means you need a date too.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Won't that blow my cover story?”
“No, say you’re trying to make me jealous.” I thought about it and snapped my fingers. “Ask Missy out.”
He laughed.
“That is genius. I bow to you, goddess of all planning.”
I rolled my eyes as he actually bowed. Now Nick would know we were insane. No question to it.
“Let’s go get this over with.”
“Helen, don’t do too much at once or he’ll get suspicious.”
“I doubt I’ll know how to do any of it at all.” I nodded anyway to let him know I could handle it and we walked back over to where Nick sat waiting. He was very patient.
“Well, now that everything is taken care of, Helen’s charges will be dropped.”
“That’s good news. Is the other thing taken care of too?”
I nodded and started walking. The boys came after me and we all walked silently towards the dorms. Phillip was the first to break the silence and I almost wished I had throttled him earlier.
“Yo
u know, I’ve been thinking about asking Missy to the prom. Well, the dance that seems prom-like to me. That is, if you aren't going to take her.”
Nick looked shocked.
“You can take her if you want. I assumed you two would go together.”
I shook my head. I wasn't feeling articulate right now.
“I already asked Helen and she said no. So, I was thinking… who else would I like to take? And Missy was the first name to come to mind.”
Nick looked at me and I knew he was thinking exactly what he was supposed to. That Phillip was taking Missy to piss me off because he knew I hated her, and I had turned him down. I had to play my part so I decided to go for spiteful.
“Only because you have a thing for bimbos that are complete airheads and will fawn over you like you’re God or something.”
“Oh Helen, she has to have some brain. She made it here, didn’t she?”
I stopped walking and glared. A very evil glare. He was pushing it.
“I could have come at any time but I chose experience over this lame ass teaching, and if you think you can prove that I made the wrong decision, we can meet in the fighting rink anytime, buddy.”
“Oh Helen, I might bruise that pretty face.”
He smiled as I thought about being pistol-whipped. Usually baiting me was just about impossible. But I knew Phillip’s plan. This is how I would get in on Nick. Phillip and I would fight and he would drop out. Nick would take his place. So I let the offense wash over and consume me. I went to hit him and Nick grabbed my shoulder.
“Ignore him. He’s just being an ass. He’s baiting you and you know it.”
I shrugged his hand off and nodded. I walked down the pathway more but turned back once to look at the boys. Nick glowered at Phillip and came after me. Phillip nodded once to me and left. Phase one complete. I couldn't nod back as Nick was facing me, but he knew my thoughts even if I didn’t say them aloud.
When Nick caught up to me he went straight to being nosey. No subtly at all.
“So, why did you turn him down?”
I shrugged. “He’s not who I want to go with.”
“Going solo?”
I smiled. This was almost too easy. “I hope not.”
“Waiting for a certain someone to ask you?”
He seemed more curious than interested in being the one to ask. I didn’t let it frustrate me. Phillip would drop the final hint in Paris when we all filed into our rooms. If he boarded with Nick. Hopefully he would. Knowing Phillip, he wouldn’t hint it, he’d scream it at the top of his lungs. Phillip wasn't always subtle. I guess this job didn’t really require subtlety. Until the part where we killed someone. I tried not to think about that yet. I’d have plenty of time to plan it later.
“I didn’t think you’d made any friends.”
I turned and gave him a ‘thanks a lot’ expression.
“That came out wrong. I just meant I didn’t know you were that close to anyone in the school other than Phillip.”
“Well obviously I’m not, because he hasn’t asked me yet.” Time to get some information. “How about you? Going solo or what?”
“Well I had thought about taking Missy, but if Phillip really wants to take her I don’t really care. Although I have a feeling he isn't taking her out of interest in dating her.”
I hated this acting pathetic part. “Yeah. He’s mad at me because I told him who I was waiting to have ask me. He said it was stupid, that it’s going to just cause problems and I was being dumb for thinking it’d ever happen. Maybe he’s right.”
“Don’t say that. Maybe this guy just doesn't know you’re interested. Have you told him you were?”
“Not exactly.” I laughed. That was an understatement. “Not in the least, I guess.”
He nodded. “See maybe if you let him know he’ll ask you. If he doesn't know you like him how is he supposed to know to ask you?”
“He could just ask because he likes me and he’s hopeful that I might say yes.”
He nodded.
“That’s true, but guys don’t generally take rejection well so it’s not likely that he’ll ask unless he has some inkling that you will say yes.”
I tilted my head to the side, wondering if I should drop the hint. No that would be moving too fast. Slow and easy, like Phillip said.
“Great, so I’ll never have a date to the dance.”
He laughed.
“Why don’t you just tell him you like him?”
How did I explain that? “He wouldn’t believe me if I told him.”
He nodded like he understood that. The smile stayed on his face though. I suddenly got the joke. I slapped his arm and pretended to be offended.
“Thanks for defending me. No, instead you just agree that I’ve been a bitch the entire time I have been here.” I turned away, walking faster and pretending to ignore his laugh filled apologies that came after me. Flirting was annoying. I’d have rather just asked him but he wouldn’t believe me, and he would definitely be suspicious.
“I was just kidding. You haven’t been a bitch… the entire time.”
“Thanks. Wow, I definitely feel the love. Obviously you won't be my date to the dance.”
He harrumphed. See? I knew he wouldn’t believe it.
“Hey, I could’ve wanted to ask you.”
“Somehow I doubt that. Let’s see, so far, I’ve harassed you about being my dead girlfriend, accused you of being a liar, and almost got you in trouble for supposedly trying to use your superior stripes to seduce me and abuse your power as a general. Oh yeah, I can see how you’d be interested in going with me.”
Wow, could he be anymore sarcastic? “We had a rough start, didn’t we?” I smiled and he nodded.
“You could say that.”
I giggled. I hated giggling. “Don’t blame yourself. In your shoes I’d probably do the same thing. I mean, it must have been a huge shock to see me after you have been telling yourself that Celeste is never coming back.”
He nodded.
“You know, I was told upon enrolling that I looked like the girlfriend of a student already in the school. I was curious so I read your file. I felt so bad when I found out what happened to her. And here I was joining up. It seemed like I was rubbing it in your face. I told Jane to hell with it. I could stay a one star for the rest of my life. She wouldn’t listen though. Your teachers all said you could handle it. That it might be a shock at first but you’d adjust. But I guess you can't really get over the loss of a loved one.”
“No.”
Great, here I was trying to seduce him and instead I bring up his loss. I have to be the worst seducer in the world. I mean, wow, what a way to get a guys attention. I hocked my arm through his. “I’m sorry.”
He looked down at me. He was slightly taller than me since I wasn't wearing heels. He nodded and looked ahead.
“Me too.”
Which thing either of us apologized for I didn’t know. All I knew was that I felt sorry. For everything, really. But it was best this way. For everyone.
We walked in silence for a while before the bell rang. We would leave in a half an hour. This was the signal to grab our shit and be ready to go.
We parted ways in silence and went to our dorms. I grabbed my bags and hurried to the flight deck. I looked around. There were two commercial planes and some jets. I smiled. It’d be great to be flying along in one of those. But they were for our protection. I was a student, not a bodyguard.
“General.”
I turned to see General Hoocker striding towards me in flight gear. These puppies could go. I saluted; he was the superior, after all. He waved my attempt at respect away. I lowered my hand and looked at the new toys that the base had got.
“These the toys you were talking about, sir?”
“Yes they are. They were only going to be here for this trip but I requested that they stay after so I could give my class a crash course. I promised not to let any inexperienced pilots drive the things, so the
y agreed I could keep them for a while. So, how about it, you going to drive one so that I can say you have driven one before? I know you want to take some kids up and make them lose their lunch.”
He laughed and I joined in. “There are a few I wouldn’t mind giving a crash course. However, sir, if you look at my updated file, I assume you haven’t seen it in recent months, you’ll see that I am trained and experienced with this model.”
He snapped his fingers.
“Always one step ahead, aren't you girl? So what’d you fly one for?”
“I had some errands to do and thought I’d test fly one. Had to rent one. Cost me a fortune, but upon returning it to the airport they tested me and updated my license to include this one.”
“You had errands to do? Ha! I had to beg to get a couple for my class. You little shit. Well, I’ll get you next time. Sure you don’t want to fly one anyway? I could convince a fighter pilot to stay onboard a plane. Two generals against one pilot. If we gang up on one of the younger ones he’ll be too afraid to argue.”
“Thank you, sir, but I am enjoying being the passenger for once. I don’t get much time to relax with all my work. So I think I’ll sit this one out.” I walked on towards the planes and turned back. “However, after Paris, ask me again. We can race back.” I winked and the General laughed. He turned to jump in his jet.
I shook my head. The military was supposed to be disciplined, and here Hoocker was a three-star general that joked with anyone he could find. He was a great leader though. His open attitude let the people under him feel like they mattered. He had never had a complaint. Not with all his years in the military. Everyone respected him and followed his orders. He was the type of person you’d follow to the ends of the Earth and beyond - blindfolded - and trust everything he told you on the way.
If only that worked for me. I had to be an angry bitch. Hoocker had always said it was harder for female generals because no matter how far we had come, it was still a man’s army. He was right, unfortunately for me.
I stepped onto the plane and noticed that a lot of kids had already sat down while I had passed the time with the general. Oh well. I’d have to sit somewhere. Or I’d tell Hoocker I’d changed my mind and make the poor pilot deal with these brat children.
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