Beginnings

by Sandra R Neeley

  Roscoe smiled and waved.

  Two just barely lifted a hand in the air before rushing off.

  “Hmpf, that’s strange,” Roscoe commented more to himself than to the woman standing in front of him.

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  Roscoe looked at her. “Oh! Nothing, I’m sorry. I was thinking out loud. Have a seat, Shauna, and we’ll go over a few things that would be part of the job and see if you’re still interested. I’m sure you’re already aware, Nina comes in part time, so what we need is someone to perform the receptionist duties. I was thinking when Nina’s not here, but now I’m beginning to consider making it full time so that whoever ends up with the job would be here full time and Nina wouldn’t have to bother with the things the receptionist does on the days she is here.”

  “Yes, I was told she’s working both here and over at security as well,” Shauna answered.

  “That’s right. She’ll be training you until you’re comfortable on your own if you decide to take the job,” Roscoe explained.

  “Shouldn’t be a problem. She’s always been very nice to me,” Shauna said.

  Roscoe smiled. “She is very nice. Okay, so, let’s go over a little of what you’d be expected to do.”

  Two hurried out of the admin building, and went straight to his side-by-side. He pulled out from behind the building and drove onto the white gravel path that would lead him all the way across the property to the General’s house, and the delivery of packages that were always waiting for him when he arrived. He couldn’t resist a glance over his shoulder toward the admin building as he started the twenty minute drive. He looked back twice more, hoping for a glimpse of the female he’d seen talking to Roscoe. He knew she’d never want anyone like him, but at least he could smile at her and make friends. Everybody liked friends, and she had smiled at him. He didn’t see her as he looked back, but he decided to see if he could find out what her name was. He was sure she had a pretty name, a kind name, just like her.

  <<<<<<<>>>>>>>

  Brutal sat at his desk, signing off on the reports that Nina had left for him to look over for approval. Since his officers had begun to type their reports into the mainframe report hub Nina had created for the security department, his job of reviewing each report had gotten much easier. He could actually read them, instead of having to try to decipher each officer’s unique handwriting.

  The door opened and he glanced up.

  “Morning, Brutal,” Nina said pleasantly, as she made her way to the extra desk across the room from his.

  “Hey, Nina. Good morning so far?” he asked.

  “It is. And, I brought muffins,” she said.

  “I think I’ve gained ten pounds since you started working here,” he said with a smile, though he wasted no time getting up and going to her desk to choose a muffin from the plastic container she pulled the lid off of.

  “Looks good on you,” she said, not even looking up at him.

  Nina looked up at the clock on the wall and saw that it was almost 10:15 A.M. “Sorry I’m a few minutes late. I had to stop by the admin office for a few minutes.”

  “No problem. You know your hours aren't set to any particular time,” Brutal answered. “Roscoe giving you a hard time still?”

  “No, not since I agreed to come back a few hours here and there for the sensitive things he wants no one else to handle. Today he’s talking about hiring someone to help out with the phones and basic reception duties for when I’m not there.”

  “And how do you feel about that?” Brutal asked, knowing how much she had at one time loved her job in the admin building.

  “I like it. I can still be a part of the more sensitive jobs that used to come across my desk, but also work here and help you out a few hours a week as needed. I like the flexibility much more than I expected to.”

  “Good for you. Any idea who he’s going to hire?” Brutal asked.

  “He had appointments scheduled for most of the day, but I’m not sure who he’ll choose. I told him it didn’t matter to me, just hire someone that’s slightly pleasant and won’t be upset each time one of the males enters her office in a huff. Because it’s inevitable one of ya’ll will end up in a huff,” Nina said, chuckling.

  “I’m surprised he didn’t try to use that point to insist you come back full time,” Brutal said, smiling as he took another bite of blueberry muffin. “And I do not huff,” he said. “I very clearly explain whatever it is that is bothering me.”

  “He did. Didn’t work. I’ll be there when he needs me, but he doesn’t need me to sit there and answer phones while I wait for something to come up. I could be here, or at home with Glenn,” Nina explained. “And every one of you huffs. It’s part of your charm,” she teased.

  Brutal chuckled, then realized that Acker hadn’t walked her into work this morning like he usually did. “Where is Acker? He didn’t walk you over today. He on another mission?” Brutal asked.

  “No, he’s over at General Ferriday’s office. He said he had something to discuss with him. I’m sure he’ll be by later.”

  <<<<<<<>>>>>>

  General Ferriday sat at his desk, with Acker sitting across from him, looking at him expectantly.

  “I can’t give you a team and a helicopter without you explaining the wheres and whys to me, Acker. You well know, there could at any time be developments that will have us needing to leave in a matter of minutes. You’ve been on those missions of late.”

  “I know that. And I wouldn’t ask, but I need this. Nina needs this,” Acker said.

  “What is this about?” General Ferriday asked. “I trust you, Acker. But I need to know what this is about. I know it’s not a standard mission. I’d have been briefed on it already if it was. I think you owe me at least that much before I decide to trust you with a chopper and to take your team off the grid for an undetermined amount of time,” General Ferriday said.

  Acker sat there for a few minutes then looked at General Ferriday. “I promised that I wouldn’t repeat any of what Nina told me.”

  “So this is about Nina?” General Ferriday said, sitting up to pay better attention.

  “It is. She confided some things to me. It’s been eating at me, and with all of this going public in less than a week, I need to handle something now,” Acker said.

  “What is it, Acker?” General Ferriday pressed.

  Acker thought about it, then huffed, realizing that he would have to tell the General what he’d learned if he wanted to go off on an unsanctioned mission with his team, a helicopter and weapons that were all owned by the Alliance. “The last thing she remembers is her husband beating her to unconsciousness. Then she woke up in the facility run by a Doctor Waller. She doesn’t know for sure, but Waller told her that her husband had graciously decided to sell her to him for the greater good, rather than just kill her for her impudence.”

  “Sonofabitch,” General Ferriday said, sitting back and rubbing his hands down his face. “It just gets fucking better and better, doesn’t it?”

  “She doesn’t know if he did sell her, or just gave her to them, but she went from unconsciousness in her front yard, to being locked in a cell under Waller’s watch. I need to go pay the husband a visit,” Acker said.

  “Where is he?” General Ferriday asked.

  “Little town in Louisiana called Freedom.”

  “I get it, and I’m not saying no, but there’s a tropical storm stirring down there. Expected to turn into a hurricane near the end of the week,” General Ferriday explained. “If you’re going, you need to go now.”

  Acker sat and thought about it for a few minutes. “No. No, I think I need to wait until the storm’s just about right on top of them. Less chance of small town folk noticing details about their neighbor disappearing if they’re all hunkered down, or better yet, evacuated for a hurricane.”

  “What makes you think the husband won’t evacuate as well?” General Ferriday asked.

  “From what she’s said he’s
a real piece of work, thinks he’s invincible — I have no doubt he’ll stay.”

  “Okay, I’ll give you that possibility. But it’s dangerous to fly into tropical storms, much less a full blown hurricane.”

  “We’ll time it so we’re out of there before the hurricane actually arrives. I’m leaving the team with the chopper, and going to the husband’s house on my own.”

  “Acker,” the General said with irritation in his voice, “you could be stranded there if the storm comes in more quickly than you expect. You could end up riding the damn thing out because you’re the only one there and nobody’s coming in after you because the storm is too bad.”

  “Good. It’ll be good cover for when the fucker disappears. I’ll be the only one there, and I’ll be entirely uninterrupted,” Acker said. “And then I’ll get out fast as soon as it clears enough.”

  <<<<<<<>>>>>>>

  Acker lay on his back with Nina cuddled against his chest. Both were flushed and sweaty from making love until they simply couldn’t move anymore. Acker’s arm was draped over Nina’s body and he trailed his fingertips up and down her arm as they lay there basking in the afterglow, or exhaustion.

  “When do you leave on this ‘top secret’ mission?” she asked, putting a sarcastic tone on the words top secret.

  “Thursday morning, bright and early. I should be back before nightfall that night. If for some reason I won’t make it back on time, I’ll let Roscoe know so that you’ll know.”

  “Okay. Are you sure you can’t tell me about it?” she asked. “You’ve always told me about them before.”

  “This one is a little different. But I promise I’ll tell you all about it when I get back.”

  “I’m going to hold you to it,” Nina said, nipping his chest.

  “I have no doubt,” he said with a grin, while he turned her over to her back so he could hold himself above her. “Feeling up to round…” he started, then paused, “I’m not sure what round it is, but…” he finished, inferring that he was ready for another round, waggling his eyebrows.

  “Always,” Nina said, lifting her upper body far enough to suck his lower lip into her mouth and nibble on it.

  Acker paused for a moment looking down into the face of the woman he loved. She was everything to him. He lifted a hand and cupped her cheek, using his thumb to smooth over her cheekbone. “I love you so damn much, Nina.”

  Nina smiled at him, her emotions in her eyes, but again, she just couldn’t return the words to him. “Show me,” she whispered, pulling his head down to press her lips to his for a kiss.

  Chapter 40

  “So, you just click right there on the little telephone icon,” Nina said, pointing to the icon on the desktop of the computer she used at the admin building. She’d been here less than an hour this morning, and already she knew two things. She really liked Shauna, and Shauna would do a great job taking her place here on a day-to-day basis.

  “Good,” Nina said. “Then if you click through the tabs that came up, you’ll see all the options. You can transcribe the messages on that one, save them in the individual folders — there is one for General Ferriday, one for Roscoe, one for Law, and one for me.”

  “What if a message comes in for anyone else?” Shauna asked.

  “It’s unlikely, since none of the males here are in contact with anyone from their pasts. Only a small number even have an inkling of any kind of memory. But, I suppose it could happen. Let’s set up a new folder for any messages that are not for the four of us.”

  Nina guided Shauna through creating a new folder for the storage of telephone messages, then showed her how to send the individual messages for any who worked in admin to their particular computers. The morning was passing rather quickly as she taught Shauna all of the things that would be required of her. She’d waved at a few of the males as they passed by her office on their way to speak with Law and as others sat at the tables in the cafeteria.

  Shauna watched her interacting with them. “You have a lot of friends,” she remarked.

  Nina thought about it. “Not really. I just treat people the way I want to be treated.”

  Shauna sat there for a moment, looking at her hands on the keyboard before she finally voiced what was on her mind. “I can pretend with the best of them, but, don’t you remember any of them? Remember what they did?” Shauna asked quietly.

  “I make it a pointed effort not to, though I definitely recognize some of them. I’m also aware that just as I was, even more so, they were drugged. The very core of who they were was altered. It wasn’t their fault. And from the looks I’m given by some of them, they feel even worse about the memories than I do. When I’m kind to them, it’s kind of like a balm for their soul. I like to think that maybe it helps them forgive themselves just a little bit.

  There’s not enough time in life to spend it lingering on what happened to you when you had absolutely no choice in the matter. I choose to see my past as something I overcame. I will not allow it to define who I am, and these males were just as victimized,” Nina explained.

  Shauna watched Nina as she spoke and realized Nina was right. “Makes a lot of sense,” Shauna agreed.

  “Made a world of difference to me. I’m not pretending that I’m just fine. I struggle a lot, but my struggles are not as a result of being exposed to the males here. Mine are from my previous life, and from one particular male. And honestly, it’s my baggage, not his. I have to make the choice every day to be okay and to make the day better than the one before, and some days are tougher than others. What I’m trying to say is if you want to blame someone for being held captive, or what happened while you were there, blame the doctors and the guards. Not these males.”

  Nina picked up motion out of the corner of her eye and looked up to find Two across the cafeteria, standing alone and simply watching her and Shauna. “A perfect example,” Nina said, tilting her head slightly toward the opposite side of the building. “That male is named Two. He’s kind and gentle and the most trustworthy male I’ve ever met. And I met him in captivity. As far as I can tell, he never accepted a reward for any reason other than to wash her and keep her safe beside him all night. Yet if you look at him, he’s very intimidating, so anyone meeting him would fear him. But he’s the best male.” Nina raised her hand and waved at Two.

  Two hesitated but lifted his hand in a return wave and offered a shy smile.

  “He is a huge male,” Shauna said, watching him.

  “He is, but he’s a big ole teddy bear,” Nina said.

  Shauna watched Two for a moment longer then made her decision. “You’re right. I’m going to try your approach,” Shauna said.

  “Good. I think you’ll be much happier. Now, ready to learn Excel?” Nina asked.

  “I already know a little of it,” Shauna said.

  “Really? That’s great! I’m going to show you the spread sheet for the males we’ve got in Alliance. It has all pertinent data on the spread sheet. It’ll show you the day and the location they were freed as well as the day they arrived in Alliance. It’ll show you the number they had when they checked in and the name they’ve chosen. It’ll show any identifying details about their appearance. It’ll show where they live here in Alliance — the barracks, apartments, etc. It’ll show their cell phone number and any job they’ve applied for and gotten if they’ve been successful in that application.”

  Shauna clicked on the icon and opened up the spread sheet. “Oh, my gosh! This spread sheet is huge!” she exclaimed.

  “Let me give you a tip… I never work in this spread sheet unless I back it up first. That way, if I screw it up, I always have my original to go back to and haven’t lost everything.”

  “Excellent tip. Show me how to do a backup,” Shauna replied with a big smile.

  Two hours later Nina left the admin office feeling confident that Shauna could more than cover the office when she was away. As she moved toward the exit of the admin building, she couldn’t help but hurry her steps.
She was always acutely aware that it was possible for Lethal to make an appearance at any time and she just really wasn’t up to that yet. As she stepped into the sunshine outside, she came face to face with a large male and apologized while trying to step around him without even looking up. “Sorry, should have watched where I was going,” she mumbled and kept going. Her mind was stuck on Lethal and not the male in front of her.

  “Nina?” a familiar voice asked hesitantly.

  Nina’s head came up and she met a familiar pair of eyes. Immediately she smiled and was put at ease. “Hi, Two.”

  “Do you have a minute?” he asked.

  “Of course. I’m sorry I didn’t realize it was you I bumped into. I was distracted,” she said. “You want to go sit on one of the benches?” she asked.

  “No, no I don’t want to take up that much of your time. I was just wondering — do you know that female’s name?” he asked nervously.

  “Female?” she asked, looking around.

  “Yeah, the one sitting at your desk with you?” he said, ending his comment as more of a question.

  “Oh! Yes, I do. Her name is Shauna. Do you know Shauna?” Nina asked.

  Two shook his head.