by Gray Gardner
“Let’s talk this thing out,” Connor said, as she ineffectively pulled on the door knob. He had to give her credit for trying to get past him, though she would never be any match to his strength. He was twice her size.
“Just let me go,” she replied, trying her hardest not to let them see her cry. They were definitely tears of anger, but she still didn’t want anyone to see her as weak.
He sighed and gave the Major a look of complete sympathy, but the Major shook his head.
“I can’t let you leave,” he softly said, turning to look down at her as she futilely struggled with the door against his strength.
“Well then we’re going to be here for a long time!” she finally cried, throwing her arm back at the conference table. “Because if those assholes think I’m going to do one thing for them they are seriously mistaken!”
“She certainly is insolent, Major,” Eubanks sighed, nodding over at the 2 new agents at the table. “Let’s move on then, while we still have time. These are 2 agents from our Russian subsidiary. I assume you want to be kept in the loop, Major, so we’ll tell you what we can.”
“What do you mean?” Connor asked, easily pulling a struggling Burton over to the table. He noticed some pictures that looked like Burton when she was a little girl. They looked professional, like a newspaper or magazine.
“Just so she won’t be surprised,” Payne said, leading the two agents over. “She has to be a scared, submissive little Russian girl. Living on the streets, not by choice. She can’t put on this ‘I always get what I want’ act or she’ll blow her cover and the entire operation. We have to see if she’s capable before we waste any more time on her.”
“Submissive?” Connor blurted out, clearing his throat to hide his laugh. Yeah. Right.
She wanted to yell at them and tell them to stop talking about her like she wasn’t there. And she didn’t act like she always got what she wanted, either. She wanted to jam her fist up their noses and listen victoriously as they broke. She couldn’t though, because she was suddenly paralyzed by fear as the two large Russian agents began to approach her. They didn’t look like they’d put up with any of her shit.
The two agents walked around the table and stood in front of Burton and Connor. He noticed that her breathing was only coming in short breaths, and he could feel the sweat coming through her shirt. She was scared. Actually, he was kind of scared, too.
“I’m not sure I understand,” Connor said, pulling her against his body and gripping her shoulders very protectively. Orders or not, he’d be damned if he let some Russian goons hurt her.
One of the agents grabbed a hold of her t-shirt and pulled her towards him. He was large, tall but round too, with no hair on his head except for a brown mustache. The other one was smaller, but by no means little, with glasses and gray, wavy hair.
“We’re just going to rough her up a little bit, nothing like what her real captors will do. She needs to get a feel of what will happen so nothing will surprise her,” the one with glasses said, with a noticeable Russian accent. “And we need to see if she can take it without giving up her cover. We need to do this before we take her off the base and immerse her into the operation.”
“What?” Burton shrieked, giving him a horrified look. She hadn’t remembered agreeing to anything, first of all. And second, she wasn’t about to sit idly as someone roughed her up so she’d get used to what was coming on an operation she was not on board to execute.
This was insane. Connor tried to step forward but the guy with glasses stopped him with a firm hand to the chest. Then it all happened very quickly. The bald guy proceeded to raise his arm and backhand Burton across the face. Anger surged through Connor’s body as he pulled from the other man and landed a hard fist against his face.
What the Russians didn’t expect, though, were Burton’s survival reflexes. Her head was spinning from the first knock and she was frightened as ever. As he raised his hand in preparation again, she blocked his arm with hers and kneed him as hard as she could in the groin. Then she stomped on his foot and jammed the palm of her hand up his nose. He yelped but never let go.
“Fighting back with people in the trade will not go over well,” he grumbled, ripping his belt off and squeezing the leather in his hand as blood dribbled out of his nose and off of his chin. “If they can’t slap you into submission, they’ll use other methods.”
“This has gone far enough!” Taylor shouted, being held back by Eubanks and Payne as Connor continued to wildly fight the Russian with the glasses.
Burton absolutely froze on the area rug as the large Russian raised his arm above his head. Was this guy fucking kidding? Her knees gave out and she fell to the floor, her shirt halfway over her head as the man continued to hold it. She felt a burning heat pricking all over her body, then icy cold. Then she passed out.
Connor flipped the man with the glasses to the floor and ran to Burton.
“Don’t touch her!” he shouted, leaning over her small crumpled body and trying to hear her breathing. It was there, but it was shallow. Sweat rolled off of her face as Major Taylor called the medical center and dropped the phone as he knelt next to her.
“I don’t—”
Connor held his hand up as he turned her on her back, the room waiting silently.
“I think we’ve found her greatest fear,” Connor stated, holding her wrist up and trying to take her pulse as he looked across at the major. He’d seen it before, in all of the other girls, but he never expected this to be what she feared most.
Taylor slowly stood and sighed heavily as he looked at the four shocked agents in the room. Yelling and arguing they expected. Fighting and insolence were normal. This was slightly unprecedented.
“And I think we’re done for today,” Major Taylor sternly said.
Accents and Abandonment
“Hey. Can you hear me?”
Burton slowly opened her eyes and focused on Captain Connor’s face. She half grinned and gave a nod.
“Wait. Did I do something embarrassing?” she asked, in a scratchy voice, looking around as her eyes came into focus very slowly.
“No,” he smiled, gently pressing his hand on her forehead. “You were very dehydrated, and you fainted. We’ve had you hooked up to this IV for an hour now.”
She frowned and looked down at her body as she lay on her back. She was in a hospital bed, her arm hooked up and the sheets pulled to her chin.
“Oh man, am I naked under here?”
He laughed and shook his head. “I did not see your underwear this time, Private. You’re still in your… O’Malley’s clothes. And speaking of O’Malley.”
He stood and opened the white door, letting a worried O’Malley and Jennings inside as he stepped out. He closed the door and marched across the hallway to an enclosed waiting area, breathing heavily. He couldn’t bear to see her like that. She had a mark on the side of her face that ran the full length of her head.
“Somebody better tell me why the fuck these two goons thought it necessary to try and beat up a little girl!” he shouted, moving towards them as Taylor and Reyes held him back.
“Just calm down and let us explain,” Eubanks said, holding up his hand as Connor swung and connected with his face. He stood and easily shook it off like it happened all of the time. “Someone is going to have to prepare her for the horrendous conditions she’s about to encounter. She can’t just fight back like she did, or pass out cold. These kids that are bought and sold, and terribly abused, they just have to take it. They have no other choice.”
“Well she has a choice!” Connor yelled, jerking his arms away and rubbing his head as he paced. “I mean, did you see her? She was terrified of you! She’s been hospitalized because of you! You need to find someone else.”
“I know that,” Eubanks grumbled.
“There is no one else,” Payne groaned, rubbing his neck. The two agents stared at each other.
“Connor,” Major Taylor began, looking out of the window in
the second story room. Connor walked over. “I can’t, knowing now what I know, I just can’t let her stay.”
“Sir?” Connor asked, taking a step back.
Taylor shook his head as he looked at the floor. He was struggling with what he had to say.
“If this ever got out to the general public, not only would my career be ruined, but so would anyone’s who is associated with this base, or maybe even the entire US military. I don’t know. There is no protocol for this situation. Okay? She shouldn’t have lied to us. I just don’t think it’s the right decision to keep her here.”
“And it is the right decision to let these morons take her to a foreign country to be sold into slavery?” he asked, in a raised whisper. He couldn’t believe this was happening.
“She did it to herself,” Taylor sighed, raising a brow.
“No she didn’t!” Connor yelled, throwing his arm back at the agents. “That…that Agent Ferguson guy! He was supposed to change and seal her records so that this kind of situation wouldn’t happen. Where is he?”
Eubanks glanced at Payne, who responded, “He’s still with The Company.”
“Then get into contact with him and make him tell the Major that she is not a threat to the American government!” Connor exclaimed, grabbing at his short military haircut. “Please!”
Eubanks huffed and turned away as Payne held up his hand and stepped forward.
“That isn’t a good idea, Captain,” he said, glancing over his shoulder. “This is Eubanks’s operation and mine as well. Ferguson has his own work to worry about.”
He said it very deliberately, but all Connor heard was a refusal.
“There is a girl’s life at stake here,” Connor said in an incredulous tone. “Now from the way Burton explains it, your Agent Ferguson gave her a life back. Who are you to take it from her?”
“She will be giving life to more people than you can even imagine,” Payne said, voice raised. “Now every time one of our agents fails this ring goes further and further underground, and if we don’t act now there will be nothing that we can do! She wants to help people, and Taylor wants to discharge her. This is her only option.”
“I can’t believe what I’m hearing,” Connor sneered, shaking his head. “You sold her out to the Major. You’re asking for her life and you’re surprised she said no.”
“Connor,” Taylor began.
“Well, I’m not going to help you anymore,” he declared, shaking his head and walking towards the hallway. “She is dedicated to this job one hundred percent.”
“Captain Connor,” Taylor said in a more officious tone. Connor paused and sighed, finally turning around. “I realize that you care for your unit, and I understand that you are worried about Private Burton, but I am telling you to do as these men say. We are all on the same side here, and since they send us the intelligence, I believe that Burton is truly their only option. Now you will help them, Captain. That’s an order.”
Connor held his breath as he stood alone by the door. Every bone in his body told him to object. She was so perfect and so damaged all at once, he just wanted to be the one to protect her and help her. He finally breathed out and squared his shoulders, saluting the Major.
“Yes sir, Major Taylor. Agent Eubanks, Payne, I want in.”
“What?” Taylor asked, frowning.
Payne and Eubanks looked at each other.
“Captain Connor,” Payne began, shifting his weight.
“You want to take her? Fine. I want in on the operation. You must need some sort of military backup and expertise at some point in the plan, and I can be your man. I have field experience and combat experience.”
“Captain,” Eubanks said, holding up his hand, looking bored. “You want in, you’re in.”
Connor smiled.
“But only if you can convince Private Burton that she’s in, too. If not, we’re coming back in two weeks and taking her with or without her consent.”
“Okay, but,” Connor stuttered. “Can you do that?”
Eubanks grinned as the other three agents packed up and began leaving the room.
“We can do anything we want.”
Connor frowned as they walked out, then turned and looked at Major Taylor, who was absolutely shocked.
“Captain,” he said, looking down as he rested his hands on his hips. “You are a decorated officer and well on your way up the food chain, here. You have a long career ahead of you and you’re going to throw it all away?”
“I don’t see it like that,” he replied, shaking his head. “That is a broken girl who will only break even more until there is nothing left but an empty shell. And I trained her. You trained her. Everyone on this base had a hand in it. Do you really want to release her out into the public knowing what we know, knowing she can do what we’ve trained her to do?”
Taylor slowly shook his head as he thought. “That’s not all. There’s something you aren’t telling me.”
“What are you talking about, sir?” Connor asked, exhaling heavily.
“I’ve seen you two.”
Connor shrugged.
“Do you have a relationship with her, Captain Connor?” he asked in a raised voice.
“Yes sir,” Connor said through his teeth. “She is under my command.”
“Connor,” Taylor replied, stepping forward and lowering his voice. “You know what I mean. Entering into a relationship with a private is entirely inappropriate and in violation of several codes! Now am I going to have to court martial the both of you?”
“No sir,” he answered, shrugging his shoulders. “You’ve already decided to kick her out. And I quit.”
Taylor let out a dubious laugh. “You can’t. You can’t just quit!”
“Then assign me to her operation as a military backed mission,” he said, stepping forward. “Special Operations. Major, you know me. Honor, duty, and service are all that I am.”
“Connor.”
“All that I am!” he shouted, turning and rubbing his forehead, trying to calm down. “And nothing inappropriate has happened between myself and Private Burton. You told me to take her to my place to keep an eye on her, so I did. We talked and she’s amazing. Her life, her future—it’s all hanging in the balance and I want to help her. I’m the only one who can. She has no one else.”
The Major sighed heavily and turned to Lieutenant Reyes, hovering in the corner, trying to pretend he hadn’t heard anything. The silence was long and awkward.
“Lieutenant Reyes,” Taylor began, glancing back and forth between the two. “We need to draft some papers for Private Burton’s discharge. And we need to prepare for the leave of absence of one of the finest captains under my command.”
Connor stood still as he looked at the Major.
“You still have to convince her to go with you, and you only have two weeks to do it,” Taylor said, holding out his hand. “Good luck.”
Connor shook it and smiled. He felt really good about it, the whole situation. He knew convincing Burton to go would be like moving heaven and earth, but he felt so confident that it didn’t faze him. He didn’t know why he was going out on such a limb for her, but he was ready for it.
Burton smiled and readjusted herself in the uncomfortable bed. She was glad to see her friends there. The past couple of days had been confusing as hell.
“So?” Jennings softly asked, leaning in and glancing back at the door.
“So what?” Burton asked, raising her brow.
“You know what,” O’Malley said in a hushed tone.
Burton shook her head and looked at her friends. Did they want to know how she ended up in there? She wasn’t sure what she was at liberty to tell them. She certainly didn’t want them to get hurt if they knew too much. They could see the bruise on her face so they had to be able to guess.
O’Malley rolled her eyes and whispered, “So, you nailed the trike race. Did Connor nail you?”
“What?” Burton hollered, sitting straight up. Things beepe
d. She looked at the door and waited for someone to bust through as Jennings and O’Malley hushed her and tried to get her to lay back.
“Damn it, be quiet!” O’Malley said through her teeth.
“I did not have sex with the Captain!” Burton loudly whispered, glancing back and forth between the two inquisitive faces. How could they think that? How did they even know she liked him like that?
They both sighed and sat back in their chairs. They seemed so disappointed. Maybe she wasn’t hiding her feelings for Connor as well as she thought.
“So then, where were you all night?” Jennings asked, cocking her head. “And how in the hell did you end up in the medical center with that bruise?”
Burton rubbed her eyes and sighed heavily as she tried to think of a way out of this situation without anyone getting hurt. She knew that after finding out about her past Major Taylor had no choice but to discharge her and that she’d end up out on her ass. She just wished that she had more time. More time to do some good in the world, more time with her new friends, and more time with Connor. She finally thought of something.
“I fainted.”
“Why?” Jennings asked.
“I’m being discharged,” she sighed, looking down at her hands. “Soon.”
The two girls went off into a tirade so fierce that Burton couldn’t really keep up with what they were saying.
Suddenly the door opened and Captain Connor knocked as he walked in. Both O’Malley and Jennings quickly stood at attention and saluted, his return sending them at ease and into a fury of questions.
“Why is Private Burton being discharged, sir?”
“We can’t do this without her!”
“Hold on,” he began, holding up his hands. “All will be explained in due time, soldiers…”
“No sir!” Jennings objected. “We’re leaving in two weeks to go half way around the world and we cannot just leave her behind!”
“We won’t go without her!” O’Malley protested, quickly adding a, “sir.”
“Privates, the decisions made by Major Taylor and myself should not be questioned,” he stated, walking forward and standing over Burton. He paused and glanced back at them.