Purposefully, she sat in a seat next to a pole so she could lean on it. She put her hands behind her head and leaned back against the pole. She waited for the bell to ring. When it did, she opened her eyes and turned to face forward. There, on her desk, were two notes. Nonchalantly, she set her binder on the desk, hiding her hands from the front, and from anyone else. She opened the first note. It read:
Meet me after class. Something important has come up. Extremely important. Need your help.
ACR
She knew the ACR meant Agent Conner Ross. She around and saw him sitting next to her. He gave her a meaningful look, and she nodded. Then she opened the other note. It was in hurried scribbles, and although she didn’t recognize the writing, she knew whoever had written it was under a lot of stress.
Hey, I know you don’t know me much, but there’s something I’ve got to tell you. Please talk to me. Sorry about last time.
Rian Allen
Rebecca rolled her eyes, unamused by the persistence of this kid. Then she noticed something at the end of the note.
P.S. Forgive the lowly peasant that, for one day, was honored to be the Bearer of the Crutches?
Rebecca bit her knuckle to stifle a laugh, and looked around for Rian, smiling. Conner gave her an odd look, wondering what she could be so happy about. She looked down at her work and got started, still smiling.
****************
The bell suddenly rang. Rebecca hadn't noticed that it had been getting closer to 3:33. She gathered her stuff, then went towards Connor. She saw Rian giving her an odd look, which she quickly ignored.
"What is it?" Rebecca asked. Connor looked around the room, saw Rian, and pulled Rebecca farther away from him.
He whispered, "The ASW is gone. There's nothing left."
Rebecca plopped in the closest chair, processing what Connor had just told him.
"Everyone's gone?" She whispered back.
Connor nodded.
"It looked as if the place had been bombed or something." Connor gave a wary look to Rian, who was obviously trying to listen in on their conversation as he was slowly putting his stuff in his binder.
Rebecca couldn't help but feel the tears building up behind her eyes.
"Connor Ross, please come to the front desk." The secretary called.
"I better go." Connor said. He left the room.
Rian left his binder at the desk and walked over to Rebecca, sitting at a chair behind her.
****************
"Alright, are you ready to go to Fiji?" Adm. Taylor asked Connor.
Connor nodded.
"Then off you go!" the Administrator said cheerfully.
Connor left the room and began to prepare his plane for Fiji.
****************
"OK, we're here." Laura announced. "Why don't you guys eat something while I go and talk to--" Laura stopped herself. Kalyia and Imraan looked at Laura strangely, knowing that she was keeping something important from them. Laura turned around and walk to her old boss' door. Imraan and Kalyia followed slowly behind her. Laura typed in the code for entrance. The halls were oddly empty except for the three of them. The door opened and Laura entered the most crowded room that she had ever seen.
****************
Griffin figured he should feel blessed. But he didn’t. He should feel happy that he had survived the explosion. But he wasn’t. He grit his teeth as the fortified Humvee hit a bump. He would be more grateful if the ASW—or whatever was left of it—didn’t have to four-wheel it out of there so quickly. But then, he’d have to expect that any kind of Army-looking or government certified automobile wouldn’t be cleared to drive on paved roads where random citizens might be driving. Heck, he would be the most grateful he had ever been--screaming out hallelujahs to the exalted skies--if the ASW facility had somehow survived. If the SSAWPS hadn’t blown it up.
He wondered how many ASW agents had died. More accurately, he wondered how many had survived. But then, of course, he would have been able to get a better count if he had actually been able to move.
And that’s what they told him made him so lucky. He hadn’t been able to move, so he shouldn’t have been able to make it out of there. It was by the good grace of some Samaritan that he was hefted out, sprawled out on a stretcher, flung away and rolled down concrete because of the impact of the explosion, having again been saved by someone who cared enough to pick up his sorry remains, dragged to a Humvee, shoved inside, and sent down a dirt road with a lot of rocks and pot holes. He was injured in more places than he could count, the pain killers weren’t helping, and he was supposed to be thankful. He didn’t even know who it was that had saved him. Who had helped him survive, who had brought him here. Oh, yes. It was a sweet life, as far as he was concerned.
Not. He almost wished he was dead. At least he would be free from all of this.
****************
“Come with me,” Rebecca demanded, grabbing Rian by the arm. She dragged him out of the classroom and down the hall. She pulled him up the stairs, outside, and into the Choir room. She opened the door to one of the practice rooms, and yanked him inside. She turned on the light, closed the door, and tapped the wall for maximum security. No sound would be able to get out. “What did you hear?”
“Nothing,” Rian answered, sitting down on the piano bench and pulling his feet up onto the chair. He smiled.
“Don’t lie to me. What do you know?”
“About what?” he asked innocently.
Rebecca glared at him. “Don’t play games with me. What do you know?”
Rian’s smile faded. “I don’t have a lot of friends. But the few I have are lessening. The ties become limited.”
“What do you mean?”
Rian stood. “The princess knows what goes on in her castle. Or does she?”
“Stop talking in riddles and give me a straight answer,” Rebecca commanded, annoyed.
He sighed. “I wasn’t welcomed into Sean’s country. No need to ask. But it’s why I came here.”
“What is?”
“They’re not my friends, but they need help.”
“Who?!” Rebecca was now extremely agitated, and she knew he knew something that she didn’t. There was something he wasn’t telling her.
“They’re not dead. Most of them escaped,” Rian continued. Rebecca was quiet, trying her best to be patient. “The ASW needs your help.”
****************