Story: Tattered Petals in the Wind (all chapters)

[Author's notes: You can also find this story on my fictionpress.com account. My pen name there is Mirror of Remembrance.]

A/N: Alright. It looks like I'll be writing a sort of espionage romance story. I've realized that there's a lot more stories and media that explore gay male relationships but fewer ones that explore lesbian ones. So I'll just be writing what I would like to see and read.

Glass shattered and rained down like hail. The pitter patter echoed as it hit the ground and shattered into even smaller pieces. A figure could also be seen among the storm of glass. It twisted around in mid air and grabbed onto a steel column. The figure grunted in pain as the impact nearly yanked its arm out of its socket. The moon moved from behind a cloud, illuminating the figure. It was a girl, just a girl; a girl of about 17 or 18 with short black hair and brown eyes. What was odd was the clothing that she wore: black clothing made out of some mysterious material. It was ripped and tattered in some places and covered in blood in others. On her back the girl wore a small light weight bag. It somewhat resembled a parachute that skydivers would use, although, unfortunately that wasn't the case here.

The girl just hung there as the sounds of the city went on around her. After all, glass breaking was hardly anything new in a city. In a city, people tended to mind their own business and look the other way about many things. She glanced down and immediately regretted doing so. She must have been suspended at least four stories above the ground. Her breath suddenly hitched and her eyes widened in fear as a sudden realization suddenly hit her. She was losing her grip! Her hand was slowly sliding off the slippery steel. She frantically tried to swing her body forward and wrap a leg around it, but it was no good. Her nails frantically scraped against the column as she slid further and further off the edge.

Her fingers gripped furiously and strained to pull herself up, but her body weight was too much. "God dammit!" she muttered fiercely under her breath as her grip broke and she was falling once more. She plunged quickly through the night. She hit the side of a building hard and cried out as white hot pain shot up her leg. She crashed through several awnings that ripped and tore, doing a little to slow her down. She quickly twisted around in mid air and barely managed to land feet first. She tucked her head in and rolled to distribute the force of impact more evenly. She slammed right into a car. The car lights lit up and the alarm went off briefly before shutting off. Car alarms went off all the time in the city, sometimes for no reason. Nobody came to check.

The girl's face was covered in blood and she attempted to sit her mangled body up. That was a mistake. She cried out in pain and collapsed on the cold alley ground once more. She glanced down at her right leg and grimaced. It shouldn't have been twisted in that awkward position. It was definitely broken. They would come searching for her. She had to hide. The girl painfully shuffled over to the side of a dumpster. Nobody who glanced down the alley would see her immediately. All her energy spent, she collapsed to the ground. Her vision began to go black and the sounds of the city began to fade away. The last thought she had before she lost consciousness was: how are we going to stop him now?
________________________________________________________________________

Claire held her breath as she crept silently through the house. All the lights were off, and she could hear her mother snoring in her room. Claire took another step forward and flinched as a loud creak reverberated throughout the house. She held her breath and prayed that her mother wouldn't wake up. It seemed an eternity before her mother took another slow breath and went back to snoring. Claire let out a sight of relief as she passed her brother's room. He didn't live with them anymore. He was studying as a med student here in the city and had his own apartment. Claire hoisted her shoulder bag over her arm and tiptoed down the stairs. If her mother caught her sneaking out there would be hell to pay. It wasn't that Claire was a delinquent or anything, sneaking out of the house at night. She just wanted to hang out with her friends

Her mother had been against it but what her mother didn't know, and more importantly what she didn't find out, wouldn't hurt her. She had already set up the classic decoy of several fluffed pillows in her bed. That wouldn't hold up to any close scrutiny but it was the best she could do. Claire opened the front door slowly and carefully. She went through the doorway and shut the door behind her just as carefully. The streetlights illuminated her shoulder length dirty blond hair and her green eyes as she set off down the street. She was supposed to meet Becky and Miranda at the corner of 73rd for a night on the town.

They had said that they would be meeting up with some cute guys later on but Claire didn't really care too much about that part. Guys were assholes who only thought with their third leg. She honestly didn't get what her friends saw in them. All they ended up doing was breaking your heart. Just like her father had done with her mother. Claire shook her head as she continued to walk down the street. She didn't like thinking about her father. The bastard just took off one day without even a goodbye. Her mother had been devastated and cried for weeks. Claire hated him, hated him for leaving them behind. In the back of her mind, the irrational thought that she had something to do with it refused to leave.

Claire glanced up and immediately stopped in her tracks. There was trouble. Walking down the street were two men dressed in black suits carrying briefcases. They looked just like any ordinary businessmen, but Claire's warning bells went off immediately. There was just something about the way they walked. Or maybe it was the way their lips curled back in an obviously fake and cruel smile that made her shudder. Besides, what businessmen took strolls in the city at 1 A.M. in the morning? Whatever the reason, Claire immediately crossed the street and darted down an alley to wait until they had passed. She knelt by a dumpster and held her breath until they had gone. She let out a sigh of relief when they disappeared and took a step backward.

Her foot stepped on something soft. Claire let out a cry and spun around. She held her shoulder bag in front of her like a shield. She immediately felt extremely foolish when she realized it was just a girl. Her second thought was of extreme alarm and concern. She let out a heavy breath. "Oh my God," Claire breathed out almost silently. The girl was in bad shape. Claire immediately knelt down next to her. The girl was pretty banged up. She was covered in blood and her face was bruised. Claire noticed her leg. She may not have been a medical expert but she could tell that a leg wasn't supposed to bend like that. Fearing the worst, Claire placed her ear against the girl's chest. She could hear the steady of rhythm of a heartbeat.

"Thank God!" Claire breathed out. She was still alive. Claire glanced around. How could she have been hurt like this? Did someone attack her? Did she fall? Whatever the reason was, Claire had to get her help. She pulled out her cell phone and was about to call 911 when the businessmen reappeared right outside the entrance to the alley. Claire froze. They stood side by side and she could just barely catch the words they were exchanging.

"Anything to report?"

"No, nothing. We haven't been able to locate her just yet."

"Well get on with it then. She can't have gotten far. She would've taken a great fall jumping out a window like that. I wouldn't be surprised if she's dead." The other man laughed.

"That would make our job a lot easier though. Just retrieve the information she's stolen." Claire looked at the girl once more. She actually was quite pretty. Claire gently and tenderly brushed her dark hair from her face. Could she been the one the men were talking about? It was then that Claire noticed the bag lying next to the girl. She picked up and opened it, not without feeling a little guilty though. She reached in the bag, and her hand met cool metal. She pulled the object out of the bag and nearly dropped it. It was a gun! Claire glanced over to the prone girl. Just who the hell was she? Was she some kind of criminal? Claire took a closer look at the gun. It was coated with dried blood. Claire dropped it to the ground and nearly wretched.

Shakily she reached into the bag once more. There were different compartments and straps inside the bag. Some of the things she found she had know idea what they did. They looked like high tech electronics. This time her hand met the handle of a knife. The ironic part was that it was perfectly clean. Not a drop of blood on it. Claire laid it beside the gun. She looked into the bag once more and saw something nestled at the very bottom of it, a CD in a case. Claire took it out of the case and examined it. It had a weird logo and symbol on it. Whatever it was it wasn't English. Claire returned everything to its proper place in the bag before considering what to do.

On the one hand, it seemed like this girl was some kind of criminal. She was mixed up with the wrong crowd. This was the exact kind of person her mother always warned her to stay away from and yet… She couldn't just leave her in the alley. She could die if she didn't get help. Claire looked at the girl once more. Her heart ached with empathy for her. When they were little, her brother would always tease her for being a crybaby. It wasn't that she cried for herself. She cried for others. If she saw something sad on TV her first reaction was for tears to well up in her eyes. Claire shook her head resolutely. She would help this girl first then get answers later. She pulled out her phone and dialed a number.

The dial tone rang several times before being picked up.

"Hello?"

"David, it's me."

"Claire?" her brother said incredulously over the phone. "What the hell are you calling me for? I have this big exam in the morning and-"

"David I need your help," Claire cut him off. "It's an emergency."

"Is Mom alright? What's wrong?" he asked worriedly. Claire shook her head and glanced over at the unconscious girl.

"No. Mom's fine. Just get over here right now please."

"Alright I'll be right over."

"David, wait," Claire suddenly said.

"What?" Claire twirled a strand of her hair nervously as she considered how to break it to him.

"I'm not exactly at home at the moment."

"You snuck out!" David said in shock. Claire nodded.

"Yeah." David whistled.

"Mom is so going to kill you." Claire frowned.

"She won't have to if you keep your big mouth shut!"

"Fine. Where are you?" Claire glanced around at her surroundings.

"I'm in an alleyway near 68th street. Oh, and bring any medical supplies you have, alright?"

"What?"

"I'll explain when you get here," and with that Claire closed her phone. She shut her eyes and let out a sigh of relief. Her brother would know what to do. She shivered as a cool wind blew by. She remembered reading somewhere that it was important to keep warm if you were injured. Claire quickly took off her coat and spread it over the girl. She was a lot colder now but that wasn't important at the moment.

"There," she said quietly. "That's better." The girl of course remained silent, still oblivious of the world and her surroundings. Claire carefully leaned down beside her to lend her some of her body heat. A little while later her brother pulled up in his car and got out of it. David ran over to her and looked down at the injured girl.

"What happened here?" Claire shook her head.

"I don't know. But we have to help her."

"Claire, listen to me." Claire looked at her brother. He adjusted his glasses. "She needs to get to a hospital. I'm just a student."

"She can't go to a hospital!" Claire protested. "Look David, she's in some serious trouble. They're some men looking for her. I don't know what exactly happened. But we can't just leave her here!" David sighed.

"Fine, you've always gone out of your way to help people. Why should it be any different now?" Claire ran over and gave him a hug. David smiled and ruffled her hair.

"Yeah, yeah, help me get her in the car. I'll treat her back at my place."
________________________________________________________________________
Waking was painful. Everything seemed to fade into and out of focus. She could have sworn that somebody had carried her. A gentle hand upon her head, a soft voice telling her everything would be alright. Holly slowly opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. She was lying in a bed. She grimaced as all the pain came flowing back to her. It felt like she had gotten hit by a truck. Holly quickly checked to make sure that everything was alright. Her right leg was broken but somebody had placed it in a splint. She was covered in bruises and the difficulty breathing must have been from a cracked rib or two.

"Well I'm glad to see my first patient up and awake." She jerked at the sound of the voice and nearly fell out of bed. The man was sitting in a chair facing the bed. He looked to be in his early twenties and had brown hair and glasses. He smiled at her and called down the hallway. "Claire, she woke up." Holly could hear a scrambling sound from down the hallway. A girl quickly emerged through the doorway out of breath. The first thing Holly noticed about her was her eyes. They were green and piercing but not in a cruel way. They seemed warm and comforting. Holly quickly berated herself. She wasn't normally that sentimental. She must have been hit on the head harder than she thought.

Claire quickly rushed over to her side and grabbed her hand. Holly was quite taken back by the action and couldn't help the blush that crept up her cheeks.

"I'm glad you're alright. When I found you in that alley at first I thought you weren't going to make it." Holly looked down.

"I'm tougher than I look."

"I'll say," David spoke up. "What with the broken leg, cracked ribs, bruises, and cuts, I'm surprised you don't have any internal bleeding." He got up and shined a little light in her eyes and took note of her reaction. "How do you feel? Any dizziness, nausea, or headaches?" Holly swatted the light from his hand and glared at him annoyed.

"Yes, I suppose I feel a little dizzy." David nodded.

"It looks like you have a minor concussion. You'll need to rest up and see a real doctor."

"Then who the hell are you?"

"A med student." David replied. He turned to Claire. "I'm going to get some more ice and painkillers. Keep an eye on her." Claire nodded. David got up and left the room. As soon as he left the awkward silence descended like a shroud. Holly finally broke the ice.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"Huh?" said Claire in surprise.

"For helping me," Holly elaborated. Claire smiled.

"It wasn't a problem. You can thank me by telling me your name." Holly paused for a moment, considering how much she could tell her. Claire seemed honest and she did save her life. It was the least she could do.

"Holly. My name is Holly."

"Holly," Claire whispered, tasting the way the sounds sounded on her tongue. She liked it. "It's a very pretty name, Holly." Once more that blush rose up Holly's cheeks.

"Holly?"

"Yes."

"What happened to you? Around where I found I saw these weird men in suits. I avoided them but I think they were looking for you." Holly closed her eyes and took the information in silently. So they were looking for her after all. "And....," Claire hesitated for a moment. "Why do you have this?" Claire held up her gun lightly with her fingers, keeping it away as far as she could from herself as it smelled horrible. Before Claire had time to blink, Holly moved forward, grabbed her wrist, and twisted it. Holly caught the gun as it fell out of Claire's grip and pressed it against Claire's temple. Claire froze in shock as the cool metal kissed her flesh. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the barrel of the gun before quickly looking at Holly. Holly continued to hold it there for a moment before checking that the safety was on and set it down gently on the bed.

"Sorry," she said shortly. "It isn't a toy. You should treat them carefully. They can turn on you very easily." It was at this moment that David returned with the ice and painkillers. Seemingly oblivious of his sister's silence and the tension between the two of them, David offered Holly the pills. She took them silently and swallowed them with some water. She nodded in thanks and sat up.

"Well thank you for all of you have done but I have to get going."

"What!?" Claire cried out. "You're in no position to go anywhere." David nodded in agreement.

"I put your leg in a splint, but you're still going to need to get a cast for it." Holly considered her options. They both had a point. She was practically helpless in her current state. On the other hand, every minute she spent with them placed them in greater danger. If she could just find some way to contact the others… She sighed. She would have to recover more before she did anything.

"I suppose I'll have to stay here for a little while."

"Good," David said. "I'll see if I can pull some strings and get your ribs and leg examined and taken care of." He turned to Claire. "You should get home before Mom freaks out." Claire groaned. She had completely forgotten about that.

"You're right. She'll be getting ready for work in an hour. I've got to go." Claire stood up. "I'll see you later then Holly." Holly nodded as Claire went to leave.

"Claire." Claire turned around feeling nervous. Holly must have seen this because she diverted her eyes and fiddled with her thumbs.

"What is it?"

"Could you pass me my bag?" Claire smiled.

"No problem." She picked up the bag and passed it to Holly. Holly immediately reached in pulled out the CD. It was still intact. A weight lifted off her shoulders. At least the mission hadn't been a total botch.

"Do you want me to give you a ride home?" David asked Claire.

"No, I can just take the subway." While they were talking, Holly slipped her gun back into her bag. No need to cause David undue alarm. As of the moment, her life was in his hands. Holly laid back and closed her eyes. Claire was different from anyone she had ever met. She didn't know anyone who would help some stranger they had found unconscious and injured in an alley. It was a good quality. She hoped it wasn't taken advantage of. Eventually she slipped off to sleep once more, clutching her bag to her chest tightly.
________________________________________________________________________
A man sat in front of an array of computer monitors, their blue light illuminating his face. He was young, late twenties with a grin that most women would find charming. But at this moment he wasn't smiling. He was frowning. He glanced over the person sitting beside him.

"Holly was supposed to check in several hours ago. Do you think she's alright?" The guy beside him laughed.

"Don't worry Sid. Holly is one of the best agents we have. Besides, she's too stubborn to die." Sid shook his head unconvinced. It wasn't like her.

"I don't know Tate. If we don't hear back from her soon we'll have to send out a retrieval team."

"Alright," Tate relented. "If we don't hear anything from her soon I'll lead the retrieval team myself. That sounds fair to you?" Sid nodded. Tate thumped him on the back. "Good. How about a beer? I'm buying." Sid shook his head and turned back towards the screen.

"No thanks. I still have work to finish up here." Tate shrugged and yawned.

"Suit yourself. Just make sure to get some sleep." Sid grunted and turned once more toward the screens. It just didn't add up. Where was this company getting all of their money? It was like running through a labyrinth trying to trace where they got their funding. And of course there were the rumors that were going around about what they were actually doing. That was why they had sent Holly in for reconnaissance. If there was any connection to him... Sid shook his head. That was ridiculous. He was long dead. He had done the deed himself and yet doubt still lingered in his mind. They had never found the body.
Sid pulled up the file on the computer and displayed it on the screen.

Name: Leonard P. Iverson.
Sex: Male
DOB: February 17th, 1970
Case Notes: Iverson was heavily involved in a drug ring back in 2002. He supplied weapons to terrorists all over the world. He upheld the front of a businessman as founder of the company Sevenia Incorporated. He embezzled millions of dollars to meet his own ends.
Status: Killed by Operative Sid Monroe in 2004.
Sid closed the file and put his face in his hands. The activity lately had Iverson's fingerprints all over it. He hoped that he was mistaken.
________________________________________________________________________
Claire opened the front door to her house slowly and quietly. She glanced at her watch. Her mom would be waking up any minute now. She quietly crept up the stairs and entered her room. That was when her mother's alarm clock went off. Her mother hit it to shut it off and got out of bed and opened her door. She blinked sleepily at Claire.

"Good morning Mom!" Claire said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster.

"What are you doing up so early Claire? You don't have to get ready for school for another hour." Claire froze.

"Oh… Um, you know… I was going to get some breakfast and take a jog. You know what they say early to bed early to rise." Claire crossed her fingers and prayed her mom would buy it. Fortunately at this time in the morning her mother was like a zombie until she had her first cup of coffee.

"Aright dear," her mother said as she went downstairs to put the coffee on. Claire let out a sigh of relief. Just then her phone rang. She looked at the screen. It was Miranda. She answered it.

"Hello?" she asked tentatively. Claire quickly held her phone at arm length and grimaced because Miranda's response was quiet vocal.

"Where the hell were you last night!? I can't believe you chickened out. You totally stood us up!" Claire frowned and frantically shook her head in protest.

"It wasn't anything like that. I was on my way to meet you guys when I..." She paused for a moment, unsure what to tell her friend. She decided to go for the partial truth. "Met someone," Claire finished finally. Miranda squealed on the other end of the line.

"Tell me everything! What's he like? Where'd you meet him? Is he cute?" Claire smacked herself against her forehead and sat down on her bed. Trust Miranda to immediately jump to conclusions.

"No. It wasn't anything like that. Although…" Claire's voice dropped and trailed off as her mind turned back to the girl she had just met in the alley. There was just something about Holly. She was beautiful, dangerous, and there was something about her presence that was almost… intoxicating "They were pretty cute," Claire concluded as her cheeks flushed light pink. Her face was burning up. What was this strange feeling?

"Are you going to see him again?" Miranda asked excitedly.

"Later today, after school," Claire responded without thinking. She stopped for a moment. She hadn't planned on it but that was what her mouth had immediately said.

"Well good luck," Miranda said teasingly. "If everything goes all right you should introduce him to us later." Claire smirked at the thought of introducing Holly to her friends. She wouldn't be what they were expecting first off because she wasn't a guy. Claire didn't want to disillusion Miranda because she had never really had been into boys or got all flustered and excited about them. Letting her think she had met a guy, while dishonest, allowed her to feel a little closer, a little more like her friends.

"Damn peer pressure," Claire muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Claire froze and hoped she hadn't said that loud enough for Miranda to have heard her.

"Uh, oh, nothing, nothing. I'll see you later at school, alright?"

"Alright, bye."

"Bye." Claire closed her phone and set it down. She glanced over at the clock by her nightstand. 6:30 A.M. She groaned. She had barely gotten any sleep at all that night. Claire yawned as she got dressed. At least it was Friday. She would go see Holly as soon as she got of out of school.
________________________________________________________________________
Holly on the other hand, was wishing that David would hurry up and just leave. She began to get the impression that she was some kind of doll or experiment to him. He would continuously fuss over her. He kept on asking her if she was in any pain and repeatedly ran off to consult his textbooks. The one time he had been foolish enough to get near her with one of them, she grabbed it out of his hands and beat him on the head with it.

"Don't you have better things to do?!" She asked angrily. His constant badgering was only aggravating her headache. David moaned and rubbed his head before answering.

"You're a real life patient. I'm gaining valuable experience."

"Experience at what?" Holly snapped back. "Pissing off your patients?"

"No," David replied. "Dealing with aggressive and uncooperative
patients."

"Hey! I told you I could get to the bathroom by myself!"

"And I told you not to put any pressure on that leg until you get a proper cast." The alarm on David's watch went off. He glanced down at it and swore under his breath. He ran over to his bag and began to messily shovel books into it. He glanced over his shoulder at Holly. "I have an exam I have to take. Will you be okay by yourself for a while?" Holly let out a sigh of relief. Maybe she would finally get some peace and quiet. She nodded wearily.

"Yeah. Go ahead and take it."

"Thanks." David got up and headed for the door. He paused for a moment before leaving. "Claire should be stopping by later. Say hi to her for me." Holly looked out the window.

"Sure. I'll do that." Holly was a little nervous about seeing Claire again. After all, she had pointed a gun at her head. It was a reflex but still… It wasn't what a normal person would do. Holly sighed. Then again, she wasn't a normal person. Holly glared down at her leg, the thing that was confining her to this bed. If it weren't broken she'd be long gone by now and safe back at headquarters. Holly reached into her pocket and pulled out her transmitter. It hadn't been as fortunate as she had been in the fall. It was smashed beyond repair. Now the others had no idea where she was and she had no way to contact them. They would start looking where the transmitter had last been broadcasting but it was still a big city. Who knows how long it would take? Especially if they thought that she didn't survive.

Holly shook her head free of that thought. They wouldn't stop until they had found her body at least. They would keep looking. She just hoped she wasn't worrying Sid. That man had been taking on too much work lately without her adding to his problems. The early morning sun filtered through the window. Holly gave a small smile. Well, at least she wasn't a bloody mess on an alley street. Her circumstances had certainly improved. Her stomached growled loudly. Holly put her hand on it and winced. She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten.

Holly frowned and looked at her leg. How was she going to get to the kitchen? No matter. She hadn't failed a mission yet. Even in her injured state she should be able to make a grilled cheese or something. Holly cautiously moved her leg a little. She gritted her teeth as pain shot up her spine. It was bearable but only just. Holly gave the room a cursory look before zeroing in on a pair of crutches next to the bed. David must have left them after there after she had taken the stance of going to the bathroom unassisted. Holly gingerly leaned forward and grabbed the crutches. Now for the tricky part.

She hunched forward and using her good leg she managed to get vertical. She swung the clutches forward and began the slow journey to the kitchen. Her broken leg protested against every single slight movement but she grinned and bared it. Eventually she made it into the kitchen. She opened the small refrigerator and peered inside. It was typical of a college student, lots of microwavable foods. She selected a pack of hot pockets and placed them in the microwave. She waited impatiently as it heated up, staring at the rotating food. When the timer went off, Holly quickly opened the microwave, pulled out a hot pocket, and bit into it. She burnt her tongue and nearly dropped it on the floor. Deciding it best to wait and let them cool of, Holly found a chair and sat down. Scenes of her mission kept on playing through her mind's eye.
________________________________________________________________________
She clung to the shadows and moved stealthily. An unsuspecting guard lay straight ahead. She snuck up behind him and struck. Holly coolly and efficiently kicked his legs out from underneath him and punched him straight in the solar plexus. She followed through with a blow to the temple and the guard was down for the count. She dragged the man out of sight. No use raising the alarm prematurely. Holly quickly and silently ran over to an elevator door. She would be able to obtain the Intel on the sixth floor. She pulled out a device from her bag and jammed it into the middle of the elevator door.

It looked similar to a car jack except it was compact and had hydraulics. Once making sure it was secure, Holly pushed a button on the device. The device began to hum mutely and it slowly forced the elevator door open part way. Once it was wide enough for her to slip through, Holly stopped the device. Holly jumped through the elevator shaft and grabbed hold of the elevator cable. Then, she began to climb. It was slow going but it was definitely stealthier than actually riding the elevator. As she approached the fifth floor she heard a whirling noise from above. Holly spat and swore under her breath. The elevator was coming down. What was she suppose to do? It could crush her or knock her lose of the cable.

It was then that Holly realized that the elevator was stopping at every single floor as it slowly descended towards her. Of course! This was an ACP type of elevator; anti crime prevention. It would stop at every floor and a guard would check the passengers inside it before sending it on its way. Holly moved just below the entrance to the fifth floor. While it was stationary, she would climb up the elevator and back on to the cable. The elevator came to a stop right before her. She would only have a handful of seconds before it starting to move again. Holly grabbed on to the corner of the elevator and proceeded to scramble up as quickly as she could. Just as the elevator began to descend one more she grabbed on to the elevator cable once more.

She let out a sigh of relief. Hopefully there wouldn't be too many more elevators coming down. Holly wasn't particularly fond of the idea of plunging several stories. She finally reached the sixth floor. Now, how to get in? Holly quickly scaled up the cable until she came to the top of an elevator. She reached into her bag and pulled out a welding torch. She cut a square opening in the top of the elevator, making sure to avoid the multiple cables. She took the square slab of metal and set it aside. From her vantage point she was able to get a good look inside the elevator.

The elevator descended and came to a stop at the sixth floor. The doors opened and the guard stuck his head in. That was when Holly quickly slid in to the elevator. The guard gaped at her in shock for a moment. This gave her the opportunity to kick him in the face. The guard fell back with a cry, clutching at his probably broken nose. Holly moved to exit the elevator but the guard gave an angry cry and tackled her, pinning her against the side of the elevator. Holly let out a gasp as all the air was knocked out of her lungs. The guard apparently didn't take to kindly to being attacked and roughly punched her in the face. Holly's head whipped back and slammed against the cool metal of the elevator. Stars exploded in her eyes and Holly struggled to focus. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the door of the elevator door slowly began to close. She had to act quickly.

Holly stomped on the foot of her assailant and when he loosened his grip she kneed him in the groin. A dirty trick albeit, but a very effective one. The guard cried out in pain and leaned against the side of the elevator for support. Holly grabbed his arm and slammed him brutally into the floor of the elevator before diving through the door before it closed. Holly took a second to collect herself and calm her breathing. It looked like her mission was compromised. She should get out while she still could and yet… Sid was counting on her. So was everybody else at the organization. Besides, she didn't want to go back to them with her tail between her legs and nothing to show for it. So instead, Holly decided to press on.

Holly took off in a run, all pretense of stealth gone. They would know she was there in a matter of minutes if not less. According to the blueprints Sid had managed to obtain, the office should be on the far side of this floor. Holly came to the door and stooped beside it. She reached into her sleeve to reveal her lock picks. She jammed them into the door and listened for any sign of pursuit. She worked frantically and was eventually able to open the door. She entered the room and jammed a chair up against the door. It would buy her a little time. Holly rushed over to the computer and inserted the disk Sid had given to her. He explained that the information they needed was on an isolated sever. All she had to do was physically get there and insert the disk he had programmed. It would do all the work.

It seemed to have worked because as soon as it was inserted it began to override the password and download files at a rapid pace. Holly was so busy waiting for the disk to finish its process that she didn't notice the figure in the corner until it was too late. Holly whirled around at the sound of a gun clicking. A man in a suit with sunglasses regarded her with an amused smile. He pointed his gun at her. It was then that the disk popped out of the computer, its process complete. Without taking her eyes off her adversary, Holly slowly placed the disk into her bag.

"Ah, what do we have here?" he asked her with a cynical smile. "You know, trespassing is against the law." Holly glared at him and gritted her teeth. The man laughed. "A feisty one, aren't you? But it's no use. There's no way to escape." And with that the door burst open and five guards shuffled in, each with their gun drawn. Holly's spirits plummeted. She doubted that she would be able to draw her own weapon in time before being shot to pieces. Holly slowly backed up before bumping into a desk.

"Why don't you just walk over here and give me that disk? That way nobody will get hurt." Holly shook her head and weighed her options.

"No thanks. I'll take this disk and you can just go to hell." The man smiled and cocked his gun.

"I think you'll be going there first." Holly gripped the edges of the desk so tightly that her hands turned white. She had to time this perfectly or she was dead. Although the second part of the plan could result her winding up dead just as easily. Holly smirked. Well, this was a dangerous line of work after all.

"I'll put in a good word for you," and with that Holly flipped backwards over the desk and kicked it at the guards. They opened fire and the desk took most of the bullets. Holly dashed forward towards the windows, the only way out. She closed her eyes. This was going to hurt. She crashed through the windows and they shattered. Then she began to fall…

The hot pockets were finally cool enough to eat and Holly dug into them eagerly, moaning at the taste. She hadn't eaten in while and even hot pockets tasted good at this point. When she was finished, Holly made her way back to bed and got back in. The effort had tired her more than she thought and she was soon drifting back to sleep.
________________________________________________________________________
Claire waited impatiently for the bell to ring signaling the end of last period. History just seemed to drag on and on and on… Her teacher's voice kept on droning and droning and honestly Claire could care less. At last the bell rang and she was free. She went over to her locker and gathered her books. It was there that she bumped into Becky and Miranda who had obviously lain in ambush. Becky kept on smirking slyly at her and it started to annoy her.

"What?"

"Well," Becky began as she leaned against a locker and regarded Claire out of her peripherals. "Miranda informed me that you broke off our meeting because you met someone. Now spill." Claire blushed and began to shove books into her bags anxiously.

"I already told Miranda, it was nothing like that. So just drop it!" Miranda smiled.

"Your flushed face suggest otherwise Claire," she noted. Claire groaned in exasperation. Now her face was betraying her. This was ridiculous. She couldn't have feelings for another girl, could she?

"Besides," Becky added in, "If it's not what we think, why don't you enlighten us?" Claire sighed and rubbed her temple. Becky and Miranda were great friends and all, but sometimes they could be just a bit much.

"As much as I would like to play twenty questions with you guys I have to be somewhere so I'll call you later." Miranda squealed.

"Are you going off to see him?" She turned to Becky for confirmation. "She's definitely going off see him, right?"

"Definitely going off for a hot liaison with a mysterious rogue with a heart of gold." Claire left them to gossip as she went to take the subway home. Her mother was at work so Claire just let herself in. A thought crossed her mind. Holly would need a change of clothes while she was staying at David's. She went up to her room and wondered if any of her clothes would fit her. After a while of debating, Claire decided to take some of her old t-shirts and jeans. Hopefully they would fit. Claire hastily scribbled a note informing her mom that she would be at David's and stuck it to the refrigerator with a magnet. Then she set off to take the subway to David's apartment.

During the jostling ride, Claire got the feeling that someone was watching her. She would quickly glance over shoulder but every time she did she just saw passengers nonchalantly reading the paper or listening to their ipods. Claire sighed and looked down at her shoes. She was just being paranoid. But on the one hand, she could be harboring a fugitive. When she arrived at David's apartment she knocked on the door. There was no response. Claire dug out her pair of keys and slowly opened the door. Holly was lying in bed once more, not that Claire was expecting her to be up and about with a broken leg after all.

She set the clothes down and sat on the edge of the bed. Holly was sleeping but not peacefully. Sweat ran down her face and she began to toss from side to side, muttering something under her breath. Claire decided to intervene when the screaming started. She shook Holly gently by shoulder.

"Holly, wake up. It's just a dream," she said with a sense of urgency as the night terror seemed to increase in magnitude. Holly suddenly sat up in bed gasping for breath. Her brown eyes were a light with terror. Claire grabbed Holly's hand and pulled her to herself. Holly seemed to resist at first but the reluctantly caved in. Claire whispered soothing words and stroked her hair gently.

"Claire?" Holly asked hesitantly. Claire nodded slowly.

"Yeah, it's me. You seemed to be having a pretty bad nightmare so I woke you up." Holly reluctantly tore herself free of Claire's embrace and propped herself up against her pillow. She wouldn't meet Claire's gaze.

"Sorry about that. I'm not usually like this."
"Then what are you usually like?" Holly looked at her confused, obviously perplexed by the question. Claire decided to explain.

"I mean I've only known you for a day and it wasn't under normal circumstances…" Claire trailed off as she realized she had no idea what she was talking about. Holly smirked

"Well they say you never really know who a person is until you put them through a crisis, so I guess I am who am." She paused for a moment. "Not really sure I'm going with that either." Claire laughed and Holly smiled. It was a good laugh; nothing forced or hidden about it, the best kind.

"Oh by the way," Claire spoke up, "I brought you some clothes." She went over to retrieve them. "I hope they fit." Holly picked up a t-shirt and scrutinized the puppy on it with a frown.

"Yeah," she said reluctantly. "I'm sure they'll fit.

"Well," Claire replied a little taken back, "I could always get some-"

"No!" Holly interrupted her. Claire regarded her curiously. Holly blushed.

"I… I um… I mean I'm not much of a dog person but its fine."

"Oh, good." They were silent for a moment. Outside they could hear the sound of traffic: the honking of horns and bursts of profanity.

"Holly?"

"Hmm."

"Do you have any family we could call that could take care of you?" Immediately Claire regretted asking the question as Holly's face darkened.

"Oh I'm sorry! I didn't mean to pry!" Claire babbled nervously. Holly brushed it off with a wave of her hand.

"No, it's fine. I don't really have a family. I never knew them. Don't even know if they're alive or not…"Holly trailed off.

"I'm sorry." Claire said softly. Holly shook her head.
"It's not that bad. I mean, I have some people who look out and care for me. It's more of patchwork family of rejects but we get on just fine."

"Could we call them?" Holly shook her head.

"No, that would be a bad idea. I can't even get in reach with them. As soon as my leg heals I should be able to find them. I guess I'll be imposing on your brother for a while longer. Do you think he'll mind?" Claire shook her head.

"It shouldn't be a problem. If that doesn't work you could always stay with me." Holly's eyes widened in surprise.

"You would take a total stranger into your home?" Claire nodded.

"I already helped a total stranger I found on the street. Besides, don't demean yourself. You're not that strange." Holly smirked.

"Very funny," she said dryly. Claire glanced down at her watch.

"David should be getting back from class soon. He said we would be able to get your leg examined once he got back." Holly nodded.

"Alright. Oh, Claire?"

"Yes?"

"Could you help me to the bathroom?" she muttered, obviously embarrassed.

"Sure." Holly grabbed the crutches and placed one arm around Claire's neck for support. Then using her good leg, they set off for the bathroom. Unfortunately the room was filled with pitfalls. Being a med student, David was often busy cramming for exams and studying. This didn't leave much time for laundry. Because of this there were several shirts on the floor. Holly's crutch came in contact with such a shirt and she slipped and fell, landing on top of Claire. Holly bit her tongue as pain shot up through her leg. "Are you alright?" Claire asked concerned. Holly grimaced and nodded as the pain began to subside.

"I'm fine." It was then that they realized the awkward position they were in. Holly lay directly on top of Claire. Their arms were tangled together and their faces were inches apart. A small lock of Holly's hair fell and brushed against Claire's cheek. Their eyes locked. Claire's heart began to hammer painfully in her chest and her breath was short. Holly was having similar problems. Her face flushed bright red and her palms were beginning to sweat. She was caught in the dilemma of wanting to move as far away as possible and wanting to move even closer. At was at that particular moment that David chose to open the door and walk in. He clapped his hands together.

"Alright! Who's ready to get a cast?" David glanced down and saw the position that the two girls were in. He paused for a moment in contemplation.
"You know I can always come back later," he said pointing at the door. "I'll visit Paul while you two finish up here."

"David!" Claire screamed at her brother. Her face flushed red in embarrassment. "It's not like that. It was an accident. I was just helping Holly to the bathroom." David frowned and looked at Holly.

"You wouldn't let me help you," he accused her. Holly nodded.

"I'm glad I didn't. You're obviously a pervert."

"I am not!" David protested. "I was just joking." Holly carefully got off of Claire and Claire helped her up. They refused to look each other in the eye. Claire walked over to the table and got a change of clothes for Holly. David was once again oblivious of the tension. "Okay, the car's parked outside. Let's go." And with that they exited the apartment and shut the door behind them.

A/N: Tell me what you thought of the first chapter. I'm open to ideas. Also, I got the names Holly and Claire from two of my favorite authors, Holly Black and Cassandra Clare. I'll post the next chapter as soon as I can.

Chapter 2

A/N: I’ve set up some more background information and the plot is a little more developed. On a side note, Holly and Claire are fun to write. I like how Claire balances Holly out, adding a little ying to her yang.

“Alright,” David said as he stopped the car and pulled the keys out of the ignition, “this is it.” Holly wiped the dirty car window with her sleeve and gazed out. They had pulled up in front of an old gothic building. Stone gargoyles clung to the edges of the roofs, and they almost seemed to glare down at her passing judgment.

“It’s pretty creepy, isn’t it?” Claire voiced aloud. Holly shook her head.

“They’re just stone. Stone can’t hurt you.” As David fumbled through his pockets for change to pay the parking meter, Claire carefully helped Holly out of the car.

“You know,” Claire said as she glanced over at Holly, “You really should have changed out of your clothes before leaving. They’re really torn up.” Holly looked down and couldn’t help but agree. David and Claire had removed all the glass shards and cleaned up the blood, but her clothes were still in tatters in some places. Holly sighed. She was too conspicuous like this. She was going to change clothes, but then she had tripped and somehow wound up on top of Claire… After that it really just slipped her mind.

“I’ll change after I get my leg taken care of.”

“What is it you’re wearing anyway?” Claire asked curiously. “Is it some kind of jumpsuit?”

“Something like that,” Holly replied nonchalantly, as David finished the exchange with the parking meter. Claire reached into the car and handed the crutches to Holly, who took them without a word. David came to a stop beside them.

“Aright, let’s go.” Holly took a step forward and grimaced as pain shot up her leg. She had never used crutches before she broke her leg, and now it seemed like the painkillers were wearing off. She managed to take a few more painful shuffles before coming to a stop, gasping in pain. David noticed that Holly was falling behind.

“Are you alright?” he asked concerned. “Are the painkillers wearing off? Need some help?” David took a few steps toward her, but Holly shook her head and looked down.

“I don’t need any help,” she grunted painfully. David looked like he was going to argue, but thought better of it.

“That girl is just too stubborn sometimes,” he muttered before continuing to walk toward the entrance. Claire remained where she was, and Holly came to a stop next to her.

“You don’t need to wait for me,” she informed the other girl.

“I know,” Claire said as she tucked a stray lock of blonde hair behind her ear. “But I wanted to.” Holly sighed and looked down at the ground.

“Fine, you can walk next to me, but I still don’t want any help.” Claire gave a little frown and shrugged.

“Alright, do whatever you want.” Holly once more resumed shuffling forward, doing her best to ignore the pain. Claire walked beside her, ready to help Holly whether she wanted it or not. The came to the entrance and entered the building. The building was at least a hundred years old, but there had been some major renovations. Lights shone down from the tall stone ceiling and off to the side were several elevators. David walked over to one of the elevators and pushed the button.

“The professor should be on the third floor.” The three of them got into the elevator and the door slid shut. A thin whisper of music came in through the vent of the elevator. Holly glanced up at the ceiling of the elevator. It was firmly in place.

“What are you looking at?” Claire asked her. Holly quickly looked down and stared and stared straight ahead at the steel elevator door.

“Nothing.” The elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open. Several hallways spanned to the left and right. Sounds of classes in sessions could be heard faintly. David looked over at Holly.

“Some classes are going on right now, but the professor we’re seeing doesn’t have class today. His office is right down this hall.” David took a right, and Holly and Claire went to follow him. Holly was slowing down once more so, Claire took her arm and placed it around her neck. Holly reluctantly complied.

“Seriously,” Claire whispered to her. “What’s with the tough act?” Holly gave a small smile.

“Who says it’s an act?” Claire groaned.

“Putting yourself through pain doesn’t prove that you’re tough. It only proves that you’re stupid.”

“Hey!” Holly retorted. “Life is filled with pain and sometimes you have to endure it.” Holly paused for a moment. An uncertain look fell over her face and she closed her eyes. “Sometimes it’s best to test your limits while you have some control in the matter. It’s better than having someone else break them for you. Trust me.” Claire looked over at her with concern her eyes.

“Holly… I…” she said softly. Holly shrugged the words off.

“Forget that I said anything.” They came to a stop in front of an old oaken door. David stepped forward and knocked on it.

“It’s open!” came the muffled response through the room. David opened the door and they stepped into the room. The first thing that Claire did was sneeze. The room was incredibly dusty. It lined the shelves of books and the various medical instruments on the table. The sunlight coming through the heavy drapes illuminated the dust, making it almost seem like golden sand suspended in the air. Holly took in the surroundings carefully.

“This place is a dump,” she concluded after scrutinizing the room.

“Sorry about that. I get caught up in my work and sprucing up the place becomes the last thing on my mind,” said the man sitting behind his desk. He looked to be in his late fifties. Streaks of gray lined his hair. He wore a buttoned shirt, and he was carefully examining something in a jar while taking records in a small notebook. The man seemed to have forgotten that they were there. Claire coughed loudly. The man looked up startled.

“Ah. How rude of me. How can I help you three?” David cleared his throat.

“Well actually Professor Humphrey, my little sister’s friend broke her leg and I was wondering if you might be able to help us.” Professor Humphrey reached for his spectacles and put them on and turned to look at Holly.

“You know my boy, this isn’t a free clinic. I just can’t help anyone that walks in here. This establishment is a school, not a treatment center. Take her to an actual hospital.” His answer given, Humphrey returned to his work. Claire glared at her brother and punched him the arm.

“Ow! What was that for?” Claire rolled her eyes.

“You said that this guy would be able to help her!” she whispered fiercely. David rubbed the back of his head nervously.

“I thought he would. He’s not like any of the other professors. He’s always up to a challenge if you can persuade him.”

“How are we going to do that Mr.MD?” While the two siblings continued to bicker, Holly decided to take action into her own hands. She crossed the room slowly and came to a stop in front of Humphrey’s desk. She took a moment to consider how to best enlist his help. Holly had left her gun at David’s apartment, and her leg severely limited her forceful persuasive techniques, so duress wasn’t an option. Perhaps triggering a sympathetic emotional response would do the trick.

“Professor?” Humphrey put down his jar and looked up at her.

“Oh, you’re still here, are you?” Holly took a deep breath. She didn’t want to overplay her hand.

“Listen professor, I hate to ask for your help but I don’t have anywhere else to turn to. I can’t go to a hospital.” Humphrey frowned.

“Why is that child?” Holly sniffed and let a few crocodile tears well up in the corner of her eyes.

“You see my mother died when I was only three, and my father’s a drunk. My brother’s been taking care of me, but he had bad deal with the mob and…” Holly let some of the tears flow down her cheeks and gave a small sob. “Some mobsters took him, and I haven’t seen him for days. I tried looking for him, but they attacked me and broke my leg.” The professor was at rapt attention for once. His face contorted with empathy for this poor young girl who had gone through so much. Holly pointed over at Claire. “Claire, she’s a really good person, one of the best I’ve ever met,” she said tearfully. “She and her brother took me in and have been taking care of me. If I were to go to a hospital, the mob would find me and I don’t know what would happen to me.”

Professor Humphrey felt a great sense of outrage flowing through his veins. To think someone would harm such a poor young girl. He had to do something. No! He must do something. Humphrey stood up abruptly and slammed his notebook loudly on his desk.

“Mr. Reed!” David looked up from his argument with Claire.

“Yes sir?” Humphrey grinned, showing off a gold tooth in the corner of his mouth.

“Fetch me bag by the door over there. We have a patient to care for!” David’s eyes widened at the professor’s sudden change of heart.

“Um… Right away sir!” he stammered. Humphrey walked over to the phone and looked at Holly.

“I should be able to book the use of an x-ray machine on the fifth floor. Just give me a few minutes.” Holly smiled widely.

“Thank you sir!” she said sweetly. Humphrey began to dial the number.

“Think nothing of it. After all, I took an oath.” Claire took a step forward and came to stand beside Holly.

“How the hell did you change his mind?” she whispered into her ear. Holly shrugged nonchalantly.

“Easy. I lied.”

“What? But that’s dishonest!” Claire exclaimed. Holly leaned against the wall.

“Maybe it is, but it might have had a grain of truth hidden somewhere.” Claire sighed and rubbed her forehead. She could feel a head ache coming on.

“I don’t want to make of you sometimes,” she informed Holly. Holly gave a small smile.

“That’s a good thing,” she said cryptically. “Let’s try and keep it like that.” Humphrey hung up his phone and turned to the two girls.

“Alright let’s go.”

Humphrey held up the x-rays against the screen and scrutinized them carefully. David stood beside him.

“Hmmm. Good job at placing the leg in the splint Reed.”

“Thank you sir.” Holly and Claire sat in chairs by the wall of the room. Humphrey frowned and glanced over at Holly over his shoulder.

“How did you say you became injured again?” Holly gave a small gulp and kept a straight face.

“I was attacked.” Humphrey’s frown deepened.

“Well this x-ray would beg to differ.” He turned it around so that she could see.

“You see it appears that you have a comminuted fracture. That is where the bone breaks into more than two pieces.” He pointed out the bones on the x-ray. “It looks like your leg has fractured into three distinct fragments. This is common to elderly people with osteoporosis, not teenagers. Usually you only see this kind of fracture in cases with extreme trauma like a car accident or high fall.” Holly thought quickly.

“I was hit on the head,” she said quickly, lowering her eyes. “I don’t know what happened next.” David rubbed his chin.

“That would explain the minor concussion you received.” Humphrey turned to David.

“She has a minor concussion?”

“Yes.”

“You’ve been going through the standard procedure, right? Making sure she’s gotten plenty of rest?

“Of course.” Holly let out a sigh of relief, glad that the conversation had deviated in a different direction. Claire regarded Holly skeptically.

“Hit on the head huh?” Holly leaned close to her.

“Well my head did get hit. Let’s just leave it at that for right now,” she whispered. Humphrey continued to discuss the injury with David. Ever a teacher, he never let a learning moment pass him by. Humphrey pulled out a chair by the girls and sat down. He sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“I have good news and I have bad news,” he told them.

“What’s the bad news?” Holly asked.

“The bad news,” Humphrey said, “is that you’re looking at quite a long recovery time. Three months. You will also have to undergo physical therapy, and I highly recommend that you see an orthopedist.” Holly took in the news silently with a nod. Three months was a long time, but at least she was alive. She would have to contact Sid sometime before that at the very least. The information needed to get to him while it was still useful

“And the good news…?” Claire asked hopefully. Humphrey seemed to brighten up a little.

“Well the good news is that young Holly here was very lucky with the fracture. I’ve seen some cases of comminuted fractures where the bone had been smashed into fragments. A case like that would require enormous amounts of surgery, pins, and time. Your breaks are clean and should be able to heal relatively well on their own. The bones are still in place. I will have to perform a minor surgery to realign them. I can either use general anesthesia or regional-”

“Regional is fine,” Holly spoke up. “I’ve already spent enough time unconscious.” The professor looked at her with surprise for a moment before slowly nodding.

“Very well, I should be able to procure a room in the demonstration area on the main floor. I’ll make the call right now,” and with that Humphrey stood up and went to the telephone. Claire looked at Holly with concern.

“You’re only taking regional?” Holly shrugged.

“You heard the man. It’s only a minor realignment. I’ve slept enough lately as it is.” David came over and sat down next to Claire. He straightened his glasses and smile.

“You’re worrying too much Claire,” he said cheerfully as he stretched his arms with a yawn. “Professor Humphrey was one of the best surgeons in the state. He’s been retired for a few years, but it’s like riding a bike. You never forget.”

“Yeah,” Holly said dryly, glancing over at David. “Leg surgery is just like riding a bike.”

“Well, it is if you’re an expert at it,” David retorted. Claire laughed.

“You two argue like a married couple.”

“What?!” They exclaimed in unison before glaring at each other. Holly scoffed.

“That’s crazy. The idea of it…” David nodded with enthusiasm.

“I gave up dating high school girls years ago. They’re too clingy.” Claire bristled.

“I’m going to let that one slide,” she informed him pointedly. Humphrey hung up the phone and came over to them.

“We’ll be able to use room 3-B for the procedure. Follow me.” Holly grabbed her crutches and Claire helped her up as they followed the professor. They came to a room. Humphrey opened the door and turned on the lights. The lights flickered on and illuminated the room. Claire’s nose wrinkled at the sharp smell of antiseptics. She never had really liked hospitals; they were too clean. There was something almost unnatural about it. There was a large padded chair in the center of the room. It almost looked like the kind you would sit in at the dentist. Holly shuffled over to it and laid down on it. Claire pulled up a chair and sat beside her.

“Mr. Reed,” the professor called over his shoulder, “Come help me gather my equipment.” David went over to help him. After a few minutes they were ready to begin.

“It’s a relatively simple procedure,” Humphrey explained as he prepared the IV. “It’s called intravenous regional anesthesia. I’ll inject a local anesthesia into your leg via a vein and tie off a tourniquet to prevent it from spreading to the rest of your body. Once the procedure is done, you should regain feeling after I remove the tourniquet.” Holly nodded.

“Let’s get started.” Humphrey knelt beside her and carefully removed the splint and tied a tourniquet at the top of her leg. He then cut away at the material covering her leg and began to look for a suitable vein. “Alright, this should only sting for a moment,” he said after finding one. The needle pierced her flesh and began to inject the anesthesia. After a few minutes, Holly’s leg had gone completely numb. It was a welcome relief. The dull throbbing pain had finally vanished. Humphrey paused a moment before continuing.

“You might want to look away for this part. It may make you feel uncomfortable.” Holly shrugged.

“I’ve seen worse,” she said, but none of the less, she turned away. As Humphrey began to set her leg back in place, Holly felt something squeezing her shoulder tightly. She glanced over. It was Claire. Claire smiled weakly.

“Sorry, I’m just a little nervous,” she explained. Holly laughed lightly.

“You’re not the one having the procedure done on.” Claire blushed and looked down, her hair hid her face.

“I know. You’re handling this is so well, and I’m the nervous wreck.” Holly paused for a moment before placing her hand on top of the hand on her shoulder and giving it a squeeze. Claire looked up at her in surprise.

“Don’t be so hard on your self. You seemed to handle yourself pretty well when you found me unconscious in that alley.” Claire looked away.

“That was different. I didn’t have time to think or be afraid. I just reacted.

“Well,” Holly said, “I’m glad you did otherwise we wouldn’t be here having this conversation.” Claire looked over at her. The look in Holly’s eyes was different. They were relaxed, gentle almost. Most of the time there was hard edge to them, especially when David was involved. Claire shook her head gently.

“David did most of the work.” Holly shrugged and lifted Claire’s hand and slipped it into her own.

“Maybe… But don’t sell yourself short. Got that?” Holly said with a serious look on her face. Claire smiled widely. She felt incredibly warm at the moment. It was strange, but pleasant. Claire gave Holly’s hand a squeeze.

“Yeah.”

While they had been busy talking, Professor Humphrey had finished the procedure.

“Alright, I’m finished,” he said surprising the girls.

“Already?” Holly asked incredulously. The professor smiled.

“Like I said, it was a clean break. Besides, I’ve been doing this for years. All we have to do is set it in a cast.” Humphrey wrapped several layers of cotton around Holly’s right leg as David soaked the fiberglass in a container of water. Humphrey took the fiberglass and showed David how he wrapped it around the leg slowly. He then took a scalpel and cut some slits on the side. “With a fracture like this, there is bound to be some swelling,” he explained. “This should allow some room for it.” At last the professor had finished. “Alright, let the cast dry for half an hour and you should be good to go. Now let me write you a prescription for some pain medication.” Humphrey went over to the counter and pulled out a slip of paper and a pen.

“Thank you,” Holly told him sincerely. The older man brushed off the gratitude with a wave of his hand.

“Think nothing of it.” Half an hour later the cast had hardened completely and Holly got on her crutches once more.

“Make sure you keep that leg elevated!” Humphrey called after them as they left the room. They waved and bid him farewell. As they were exiting the building Claire grabbed Holly’s arm.

“Wait!” Holly instantly tensed and scanned the area for any signs of danger. She had already had several escape routes plotted out when she noticed that Claire had gotten down on her knees. Holly gazed down at her confused for a moment.

“What are you doing?” Claire looked up at her, and smiled as she smoothed her hair away from her face. She held a sharpie in her hand.

“I wanted to be the first one to sign your cast.” Holly closed her eyes and tried to calm her heart rate. Claire didn’t know that she was an agent after all. After a few moments she opened her eyes.

“Who else do you think is going to sign it? I’m not letting David anywhere near my leg.”

“I resent that!” David called over his shoulder as he walked over to his car. Claire giggled.

“Well maybe… But when I broke my arm all my friends signed it. It made me feel better so I want to do the same for you.” A few seconds later Claire finished writing on the cast and put the cap back on her sharpie. Holly peered down at the cast. Claire had drawn a smiley face and signed, “Holly, I hope your leg feels better.” Claire signed it with a little heart. Holly gave a small smile. It was already working.

On the drive back to David’s apartment, Claire fell asleep. Her head lolled and came to rest on Holly’s shoulder. She seemed to be really tired so Holly didn’t disturb her. David looked back at them through his rear view mirror.

“Yeah, Claire mustn’t have gotten much sleep last night. She’s completely wiped out.”

“Then why aren’t you tired?” David laughed and focused his attention on the road once more.

“I’m a med student. I’ve built up some immunity to fatigue. Besides I have my secret booster: a red bull-coffee cocktail. It’s enough to wake up the dead.” Claire murmured something softly in her sleep and repositioned her head on Holly’s shoulder. Holly groaned, but her heart wasn’t in it. This girl had saved her life after all. Anyone else she would shove off. Besides, Claire looked rather peaceful when she was asleep. She breathed softly through her nose rather than snoring. They arrived at David’s apartment building and he parked the car. Claire was still asleep. David sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “Fine, I’ll just carry you,” and with that he picked Claire up gently and placed her over his shoulder without waking her up. Holly got off of the car and with her crutches followed them.

“Dad?” asked Claire drowsily as David carried her to the elevator. He pushed the button and waited for the elevator to come down.

“No, it’s just me Claire,” David told her quietly. Claire nodded sleepily before burying her head in David’s shoulder once more.

“Mmmm alright.” The elevator door slid open and they got in. David glanced over to Holly and gave a small smile.

“Claire’s always been like this since we were kids. Once she’s tired she is like a slug. I always end up carrying her around.” Holly nodded thoughtfully. She had never had anyone to carry when she was a kid and tired. She always kept going on by herself. It must be nice to have someone to rely on. The elevator came to a stop and they went to David’s apartment. He opened the door and immediately went over to lay his sister down on his bed. “You were a lot lighter when you were a kid,” he muttered under his breath as he wiped sweat from his brow. Med students mustn’t get much exercise, Holly observed. David turned to Holly.

“Look, I have to go pick up your prescription will you be okay staying here with Claire.” Holly nodded.

“Not a problem.” David opened the door once more and disappeared down the hall. Holly looked at Claire spread out on the bed. How tired she felt finally hit her. She would love to get some more sleep, but that would have to wait a while. Holly went into the bathroom with her change of clothes and locked the door behind her. She unzipped her suit and pulled it off and looked in the mirror. She was covered in bruises. It looked like she had been beaten. Holly gently touched one of the bruises on her chest and hissed at how tender it was. It looked like there would also be some scarring as well. David and Claire had done the best for her but she noticed one particularly long cut that ran from down her side to her hip. Oh well, it would be an interesting story to tell everyone once she got back to headquarters.

Holly paused for a moment as a thought suddenly struck her. She had only one bra. She examined it. Her suit had taken the worse of the scratches and cuts but her bra was also pretty torn up as well. Holly tossed it aside. Maybe Claire could help get a new one. Holly pulled the t-shirt over head and put it on. The one with the puppy she noted unhappily. Oh well, beggars can’t be choosers. Now for the tricky part: the pants. Holly took the pair of jeans and slid her left leg in without a problem. The right leg proved to be more cumbersome. No matter how much she tugged and struggled, it refused to go in. She spent five minutes forcing and pulling at it.

“Get in there you piece of shit!” Holly exclaimed becoming more and more frustrated. This frustration was augmented when she tripped and fell over, bumping against the bathtub. Fortunately she didn’t land on her broken leg. There was knocking on the bathroom door.

“Holly, are you alright in there?” Crap. It was Claire.

“Um!” Holly said as she used to the crutches to get to her feet. “Yeah I’m fine. D-don’t come in!” Claire lifted her hand from the door.

“Okay. What are you doing in there?” Holly once more resumed her struggle to fit her leg through the pants leg.

“Changing!” she yelled through the door. Claire frowned.

“You could just do that out here. I mean, we’re both girls” Holly thought quickly. The truth was that she didn’t want Claire to see her like this. She hated to appear weak or to depend on anyone. In this world, the only one you count on one hundred percent of the time was yourself. Besides, for some reason Holly didn’t want Claire to see her unclothed. Her mind drifted back to how they ended up on the floor. It had been strange and disconcerting; she didn’t know what to make of what she had felt.

“Um, I- I’m afraid that David will come back.”

“Oh. When’s he coming back?”

“Oh, very soon,” Holly said distractedly as she was finally able to get her leg through the pants leg. She hitched it up over her leg so it didn’t completely cover her cast. She unlocked the door and opened it to face Claire. Claire looked at her for a moment before breaking out in a smile.

“You look so cute Holly!” Holly frowned and looked at herself. She was wearing a t-shirt with a puppy on the front and sweatpants that were hitched up over her cast. Her hair was a mess, she hadn’t bathed for a couple days, her face was bruised, and bandages covered various cuts on her arms. This wasn’t exactly Holly’s idea of “cute”.

“If you say so,” Holly said as she swung her crutches forward and shuffled out of the bathroom. Claire crossed her arms.

“I do say so,” she said. “You’re just a little frazzled at the moment. I’m sure when you’re cleaned up you look fine.” Holly came to a stop by the couch and slowly sat down.

“I thought you just said I was cute.” Claire blushed.

“I did say that. I mean… Later when… Never mind!” Claire said as she sat down next to Holly. They sat there in silence for a little while. All that could be heard was the sound of the clock ticking in the kitchen. Claire fidgeted in her seat. She honestly had no idea what to say at this point. Claire glanced at Holly out of the corner of her eye. What she had said had been true. Holly was cute. Her hair came down to just cover her ears. Several hairs were out of place and the late afternoon sun coming through the window and seemed to make them even darker. The cuts along her cheeks would heal, David had told her. They seemed to give her a fierce look, like a lioness. Holly slightly turned her head and the next thing Claire knew she was looking into a pair of earthy brown eyes. Her face flushed and she immediately looked down at her hands.

Holly raised an eyebrow. That was weird. Holly was never one for talking but she felt that she would have to say something to the break the silence that had risen up between them. What were you suppose to say to new people you met? Back at headquarters you stated your name, rank, and current status. Holly leaned forward so that her elbows rested on her knees and turned to Claire.

“So…” she began as she attempted to strike up a conversation, “Do you still go to school?” she asked. Claire turned towards her.

“Yeah, I’m graduating high school this June. How about you?” Holly coughed into her hand and tried to come up with something.

“I’m in a different kind of program, an alternate learning program. It’s very advanced,” she assured Claire. This seemed to pique Claire’s curiosity much to Holly’s dismay.

“Cool. What’s the program called? Where’s it at?”

“Titan,” Holly said. Well it was only a half lie. Titan wasn’t a school, it was an anti terrorist organization. “It’s more of an international type of organization. There are campuses all over the world.” Claire’s brow narrowed.

“Won’t they be missing you?” Holly shook her head.

“No it’s fine. They’re a lot less strict than most schools. I’d better wait for things to blow over before I go back.” There had been something that been in the back of Claire’s mind now. Well for starters there was the gun that had been pointed at her. To be honest Claire had been quite shocked. She wasn’t some heroine from a movie. When a gun was pulled on her she froze up in fear and her heart began to race. Holly had put it down and Claire got the impression that Holly wouldn’t do it again, but still; what was she doing with a gun? Then there was how she had gotten injured and why those men were after her. Holly seemed to like a nice person but appearances could be deceiving. She was mixed up in some trouble and now Claire was second guessing her decision to invite Holly to her brother’s apartment. What if David got hurt? Claire would have to talk to her about that.

“Yeah… about that…” Claire reluctantly began. Claire paused as she heard the door knob turn and the door opened. David stood in the doorway with a small plastic bag in his hand. He kicked off his shoes and set the bag down on the table.

“Hey you two, I got the prescription. Holly,” Holly turned her head and regarded him.

“If you’re in pain, take two of these pills every six hours. Don’t over do it, they’re pretty strong.” Holly nodded.

“Alright, can I take some of them now?” David nodded and went into the kitchen and returned with a glass of water. Holly took the glass and swallowed both pills at once and proceeded to drain the glass. She handed the empty glass to David without a word. David placed it down carefully on the table. As soon as he did that his stomach rumbled loudly. Claire giggled and Holly couldn’t help but smirk.

“Are you two hungry?” They both nodded. Half an hour later the pizza man had delivered the pizza and they were eagerly digging in. Holly was about to take a bite out of her piece of pizza when she saw what Claire was eating. Pizza topped with onions, peppers, and pineapple. Holly continued to observe incredulously when Claire bit into it with a smile.

“You actually eat that?” Holly asked astounded. Claire nodded.

“You’re one to talk. What do you call the monstrosity that you’re eating?” Holly looked down at her pizza. Fortunately the pizza place David had called had a meat lover special: pepperoni, ham, sausage, and chicken. Holly shook her head earnestly.

“This is different. Protein is an essential amino acid and is used for building up muscles. A deficiency in it and can cause all kinds of health problems”

“Looks like you don’t need to worry,” Claire noted as she returned her attention to her pizza. David reached out with a napkin and began to wipe Claire’s face for her despite her protests.

“What?” the med student said with a mouth full of pizza. “You had sauce on your face.”

“I can get it myself!” Claire said as she playfully hit him on the shoulder. Once more Holly felt a pang in her chest. She didn’t have any siblings. Well, not any siblings that she knew of that is. Soon nearly all the pizza had been eaten. David had packed away an impressive amount: three quarters of a pizza. Holly hadn’t eaten nearly as much but soon the combined exertions of the day and full stomach began to make her feel drowsy. Glancing over at Claire, Holly could she was also experiencing something similar. David stood up and gathered up the remains of the pizza. He put them on a plate, covered it with plastic wrap, and then carefully placed it in the refrigerator before plopping down in his chair and closing his eyes with a satisfied smile.

“Thank god for pizza,” he muttered. Holly was inclined to agree with him at the moment. Suddenly a phone rang. Claire reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone and flipped it open. She glanced at the screen before looking at David.

“It’s Mom,” she informed him. David nodded.

“Answer it then.” Claire pressed a button and held the phone to her ear.

“Hi Mom. Yes, I’m still at David’s…. No, he hasn’t burnt it down yet but the place is a mess,” Claire told her as she glanced around the room. David leaned forward and snatched the phone from her grasp.

“Hey Mom, don’t listen to her.” David listened for a few moments before answering. “Alright, no problem. She’s already eaten. Bye. I love you to.” David closed the phone and handed it back to Claire. “Mom wants you home soon. I’ll give you a ride.” Holly grabbed her crutches and struggled to her feet. She shuffled over to Claire and glanced down unsure of herself.

“I guess I’ll see you later then.” Claire looked at her inquisitively. Was Holly… blushing? Claire shook her head to rid herself of that train of thought. She was probably just tired and imagining things.

“I can come back tomorrow,” Claire told her. Holly looked up at her confused.

“Why? I’ll be fine now. You don’t have to take care of me anymore. I’m sure you have a busy life. You don’t have to feel obligated toward me.” Claire sighed and placed a hand on Holly’s shoulder. Holly glanced down at it. Her hand felt so warm. She quickly glanced back up at Claire. She was frowning.

“I’m not coming back because I feel obligated to do so. Although I do,” she added. Holly scowled. Claire shook her head. “I’m coming back because I want to spend more time with you. You’re my friend.”

“Friend?” Holly asked curiously. Claire nodded.

“Or at least I’d like to be.”

“You don’t even know me,” Holly informed her. Claire shrugged and removed her hand from Holly’s shoulder.

“I guess I’ll have to change that.” She looked over at David who stood by the door. He was impatiently tapping his foot.

“Are you two done saying goodbye yet? Some people have essays to write.” Claire smiled.

“Whatever,” she said as she walked over to David and opened the door. She glanced back at Holly and waved. “Bye Holly. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Holly hesitantly raised her hand in reply.

“Bye,” she said softly as Claire walked out the door. Holly lowered her hand. David hung back a moment and stuck his head through the doorway.

“Oh by the way Holly, make sure nobody knows you’re here. If my landlord knew I had a roommate he would charge me more rent, so try and keep it low-key.” Holly grinned.

“Low-key is my specialty.” David frowned

“Yeah, that smile isn’t making me feel particularly reassured. Just don’t mess up my place while I’m gone.” Holly looked around her. Clothes littered the floor, books were stacked precariously, and the sink was overflowing with dirty dishes.

“I don’t think that’s physically possible,” she told him bluntly. David snorted.

“Whatever. I’ll be back in a little bit,” and with that he shut the door and Holly was by herself once more. She chose this time to reconnaissance her temporary quarters. The going was slow with her broken leg but the apartment was small. Within five minutes Holly had plotted out all possible exits including the windows, objects that could be used as weapons, medical supplies, and rations. It wasn’t as secure as she could have wished but beggars couldn’t be choosers. Holly grabbed her bag that lay against the wall beside the TV. She took the case containing the CD with the stolen information out and chose a random album from David’s CD collection: Running with Scissors, Weird Al Yankovitch. Ignoring David’s taste in music, Holly swapped the disks and placed the album back in its place and the Weird Al CD back in her bag.

If they discovered her location before Titan did, they wouldn’t be able to retrieve it quite as easily. This brought another matter to attention. She needed to get away as soon as possible. Her leg was in a cast and would heal. What she didn’t like was placing David and especially Claire in danger. They were civilians. If Sid was right and Iverson was behind this, then anyone she associated with could be targeted. Holly rubbed her forehead tiredly. This would all have to wait for another day.

________________________________________________________________________

An image of Holly flashed on the screen. It showed her wearing her uniform and saluting with a determined smile on her face. The file was scrolled down, skimming over facts such as age, weight, services, operations, and other statistics. The file came to a stop at her status. The cursor deleted the previous status: reconnaissance in the field, and replaced it with a new one: MIA. Missing in action.

________________________________________________________________________

Sid sighed as his pager went off and he was informed of Holly’s updated status. He rubbed his eyes and reached for his cup of coffee. It had gone cold hours ago, but he still drank it anyway. Sid put the pile of papers that he had been poring over into a folder messily and stood up and stretched tiredly. His eyes were bloodshot. It had been so busy around Titan lately that he had to pull more all-nighters. Sid walked up to the door and slid his card through the slot. The slot glowed green momentarily before the door slid open silently. Sid walked down the hallway to conference room C-6, passing other agents along the way.

You could easily pick out the new recruits. They were a bundle of nerves. They hadn’t quite found their niche yet and desperately wanted to prove themselves. Next came the more seasoned agents. They had a little more experience under their belts and walked with confidence. Holly belonged to this particular group. Sid came to a stop outside a door and slid his card through the slot and walked in. As soon as he entered the room all the chattering stopped. Everyone stopped to look at him as he walked towards the front of the room. His boots seemed unusually loud against the steel floor, creating echoes that reverberated off the walls. Sid came to a stop at the head of the table, took his seat, and turned to look at everyone in front him. He pressed a button on the arm of his chair and Holly’s file appeared on the screen behind him.

“I’m sure that you’ve all been briefed on the situation,” he began “Agent Holly Collinger was sent on a reconnaissance mission twenty four hours ago. She hasn’t checked in. Our systems indicate that her locator beacon has been destroyed.” Sid paused for a moment. “Whether that was intentional or accidental we’re not sure. Our last transmission came from this position,” Sid pressed another button and the screen changed to an infrared image of a building with a glowing dot, “inside the building she was sent to infiltrate. As of now, we don’t know where she is. If she had been captured I’m sure we would have noticed some change in their activity. Agent Collinger was sent to procure some valuable information. The objectives of this mission are to recover both Agent Collinger and the information if she was successful in obtaining it. Any questions?” A woman at the end of the table closest to the door raised her hand.

“Yes, why was Agent Collinger sent to this particular company?” Sid sighed and rubbed his forehead tiredly.

“Our intelligence has reason to believe Leonard P. Iverson may be conducting a-”

“Hold up a second!” a man sitting next to Sid interrupted him. His name was Moe and he stood about medium height with light red hair and piercing green eyes. “Wasn’t Iverson killed in action over six years ago?” Sid sighed and began to shuffle through the papers in front of him.

“Yes, but the body was never recovered. We all just assumed that he was dead, but now with the recent activity…”

“Weren’t you the one to kill him?” Sid frowned and closed his eyes before answering. His mind thoughts ran back to the events of that day.

“I thought I did.”

________________________________________________________________________

Sid kicked the door open forcefully. His hair was unruly, his uniform was torn and charred, and his forehead was bleeding heavily. Two men hastily reached for their weapons but Sid quickly and coldly dispatched them with his gun. Sid stepped over their bodies and entered the room. A fan on the ceiling rotated slowly, almost lazily. The sound of explosions and gunfire could be heard off in the distance. An explosion particularly close by went off and Sid felt the floor tremble beneath him. Everything was going according to plan. It would all be over soon enough.

He quickly scanned the room. Drywall covered the walls and patches were missing out of it. The intricate Persian rug that lined the floor before the desk seemed to be particularly out of place. Sitting at the desk was Iverson. He was reading and shuffling through his papers. It was as if Sid wasn’t even there; hard to believe considering that two of his men lay on the floor dead. Iverson looked up from his work and looked at Sid. He paused for a moment and then suddenly broke out in a wolf-like grin. He spread his arms wide and leaned back in his chair.

“Monroe,” he said pleasantly, “What are you doing here?” His condescending tone made Sid growl. He knew very damn well why he was here! Iverson continued on. “There are procedures in place. You’ll have to make an appointment just like everyone else.” Sid growled and pointed his gun at him. He clutched his firearm so tightly that his entire arm shook. The barrel of the gun jerked in small, sporadic movements.

“Enough with the charades Iverson, I’m taking you in. You’re under arrest for supplying weapons to terrorists. Titan has enough evidence to put you away for a long time.” Iverson picked up a paperweight off his desk and held it in his hand, turning it over half-mindedly. He looked down at it contemplatively for a moment before replying.

“I see nothing wrong with what I’m doing Mr. Monroe. I am merely a businessman supplying the need of a group of people.” Sid took a step forward.

“Those weapons are being used to kill people! I know people who have been killed by the weapons you’ve sold!” Iverson smiled coldly.

“Yes. I find that that’s the nature of most weapons.” Sid growled. A drop of blood rolled down his cheek and fell, staining the Persian rug. Iverson held the paperweight out in front of him, as if he could get a better look at it from a distance.

“Tell me Monroe, is war wrong?” Sid was taken back for a moment.

“What?”

“Is war wrong?” Iverson repeated. Sid shook his head irritably.

“I’m not here to debate philosophy; I’m here to take you in.” Iverson leaned forward.

“Then allow me to answer. War is a fact of life. It is how it’s always been and always will be. It is engrained in our very DNA. You talk of peace negotiations,” Iverson spat distastefully. “The only way to have the semblance of peace is to crush your enemy, to force them to submit and acknowledge you. It’s a law of nature that many people seemed to have forgotten, content to live in their civilization, secure and safe in their homes.” Iverson looked Sid in the eye. “Even now I can see the hate in your eyes, the longing to pull that trigger and splatter me across these walls,” he gestured. Sid gritted his teeth. The urge to do just that was extremely tempting.

“You’re coming with me,” Sid told him resolutely. “Put your hands up and walk forward slowly.” Iverson sighed tiredly and rubbed his beard.

“Why do things have to be so difficult?” he mused thoughtfully. “I suppose it can’t be helped at this point.” Iverson’s thumb passed over the paperweight until it found the small button on the underside. He pressed it. White smoke began to rapidly pour into the room. Sid was caught off guard and took in a whole breath of it. He bent over and coughed heavily. The smoke was thick and burned his throat. It was making it nearly impossible to see. It was like a thick fog. Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement. Iverson! Sid ran through the door and emerged into the hallway. The smoke was less thick here. Sid glanced down one end of the hallway and just saw Iverson turning the corner. Sid swore heavily under his breath and took off running. Sid turned on the communicator located just above his ear.

“This is Monroe. I’ve located Iverson and I am in pursuit. He’s heading for the west corridor on the sixth floor. Requesting backup.”

“Roger that Monroe. I’ll see if we can divert any of our forces to your location. We’re pretty hard pressed down here. You might be on your own.”

“Understood.” Sid rounded the corner. Iverson was halfway down the hall. He whirled around and fired off a few shots from a pistol. Sid was forced fall back. Sid held his gun carefully and glanced around the corner. Iverson was running once more. According to the schematics of the building, there was a helicopter pad on the top floor. Sid had to get there before Iverson did. Sid bit his lip and forced himself to think. How was he going to get up there? An idea suddenly came to him. Instead of running down the hallway, Sid turned around and ran back to the office he had found Iverson in. Most of the smoke had cleared out. He ran up to the window and took out a blade from his belt.

Sid cut a large square in the glass and carefully took it out and placed it on the floor. He made sure that his harness was secure before leaning out the window. He eyed the distance. Still a few more floors to go. The structural integrity of the building was in jeopardy so taking the elevator was out of the question. Iverson’s men were most likely guarding the stairs and other passages. The only other way was to go up. Sid allowed himself a small grin. “Just like Batman,” he said as he took out his grappling hook gun. He fired it off and the hook soared into the air before coming in contact with the building. Sid tugged on it to make sure it was secure. He then attached the rope to his belt and pressed the button to ascend.

Another explosion struck the building, the biggest one yet. The groaning of steel and the shattering of glass could be heard beneath him. Sid gritted his teeth and continued to ascend the building.

Eventually Sid made it to the top. He just hoped he wasn’t too late. Sid pulled himself over the edge and onto the roof. Iverson was just hopping onto the waiting helicopter. The blades of the helicopter were already spinning, augmenting the turbulent winds already at such a height.

“Iverson!” Sid yelled. Iverson paused and looked at him. A look of annoyance passed over his face, as if a mosquito kept buzzing in his ear. He reached for his gun but Sid was faster. A bang echoed throughout the rooftop and Iverson dropped his gun, yelling out in pain and clutching his bleeding hand. Iverson glared at Sid with a cold and chilling hatred in his eyes. “That’s the only warning shot you’ll get. The next one is going between your eyes,” Sid informed him. Iverson snorted angrily and turned to the pilot.

‘Take off!” he ordered him. The helicopter began to rise from the roof. Iverson looked down at Sid with a smirk. “It looks like we’ll have to continue this discussion at a later time Monroe.” The helicopter began to rise higher and higher. Sid acted quickly. He couldn’t let him get away! Sid aimed at the cockpit and fire off several shots in an attempt to hit the pilot. One of them most have found its mark because the pilot suddenly slumped over the controls and the helicopter began to sway and tilt. Sid jumped back as the blades of the helicopter came in contact with the roof and sent large chunks of concrete flying. One of the chunks hit Sid in the shoulder and sent him flying back to the edge of the roof. Sid reached forward with one hand and gripped the roof while the rest of his body dangled haphazardly above the void.

Out of the corner of his eye Sid could see the helicopter spiraling downward. It hit the ground with tremendous force. Flames soon began to lick around the edges of the downed helicopter. Nobody could have survived that.

“So,” Sid continued on, “Alpha team and Beta team will start at that location and begin their search outward in a grid system. Contact headquarters with any news or updates. That is all. Dismissed.”

A/N: It’s always fun to write flashbacks for laying out the plot or character development. Sid kicks ass! I’ll try to update more frequently. Famous last words… Review and tell me what you think.

Chapter 3

A/N: Next chapter! I really do like writing these moments with Holly and Claire. They’re normally such outgoing people, but when they’re around each other they get all shy. I think it’s kind of cute. (Well duh! You’re the one writing the story. They’re your characters!)

Claire awoke as sunlight streamed in through her window. She glanced over at her alarm clock. 8:30 A.M. She rolled over in her bed and stretched her arms. She was so warm. Sleeping in was one of the great things about the weekend. Claire threw the covers off of her and got out of bed. Her sketch book lay haphazardly on her desk, and she straightened it and her pencils before they fell off. Claire walked downstairs and into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and peered inside. They had plenty of eggs, so Claire took out a carton and set it aside on the counter. Soon the sound and smell of eggs cooking filled the kitchen. Claire was putting bread in the toaster when her mother shuffled in.

“Morning mom,” Claire said as she flipped the eggs over in the frying pan. “Do you want your eggs scrambled or sunny side up?”

“Scrambled, please.” A little later Claire handed her mother a plate of eggs and a cup of coffee. Her mother nodded in thanks as she took a sip of the coffee. Since Claire’s father had run off, her mother to work extra hours just to make ends meet. Claire was worried about her so she did anything to help, even if all she could do was make her mother a cup of coffee and kiss her on the cheek.

“So how’s David doing?” her mother asked. Claire snorted.

“The best we could have hoped for.” Her mother sighed and gave a tired smile.

“The place is disaster, but there are no immediate structural damages or health hazards” Claire nodded as she sat down at the table with her own breakfast. She reached for the orange juice and poured herself a glass.

“Yeah, you’d think a med student would keep his place healthier” Her mother nodded in agreement as the dug into their breakfast.

“Claire,” her mother suddenly asked, “Did you get any responses from the colleges you sent applications to?” Claire nodded.

“A few. I got a couple acceptances and a refusal. I’m still waiting to hear back from the Academy of Art University.” Her mother sighed and put her dishes away in the sink.

“I’m going to be so lonely when you go off to college in the fall.” Claire got up and gave her mother a hug.

“Don’t worry Mom,” she told her. “I’ll write every week and I’ll be sure to visit you whenever I can.” Her mother returned the hug.

“I know sweetie, it’s just you and David are off in school and with your father gone…” Claire’s face darkened at the mention of his name. Claire freed herself from her mother’s arms and went to put her own dishes in the sink.

“If you ask me, we’re better off without him!” she said angrily as she turned the faucet on and scrubbed her plate clean fiercely.

“Claire…” her mother said placatingly.

“No Mom!” Claire turned off the water and slammed her hands against the edge of the sink. She gripped the sink so hard that her knuckles turned white. Angry tears began to well up in the corner of her eyes. “How can you miss him?” she said in a fierce whisper that seemed all the louder in the silent kitchen. She whirled around to look at her mother. “Do you remember the way he used to treat us? All the yelling, fighting, screaming. Coming home drunk half of the time.” By now the tears had welled over and ran down her face. A vortex of emotions seemed to swirl within Claire. She was angry, sad, and indifferent. Though she wouldn’t admit it to herself, her father leaving had hurt her as well.

“Claire,” her mother said while taking a step forward. Claire took a step back. She didn’t want any sympathy.

“I’m going to take a shower,” she muttered quietly before running upstairs. Claire opened the bathroom door and locked it behind her. She took off her clothes and threw open the shower curtains. She turned on the shower and stepped inside. At first the water was cold and she flinched, but she remained in the shower. The water soon heated up and was tolerable. Claire leaned against the shower wall and let the hot water spray against her, washing away all of her anger. Soon her salty tears joined the water being sucked down the shower drain. Claire reached for the soap and began wash up.

15 minutes later she emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her chest and her hair. She walked into her room and began to get dressed for the day, trying hard to keep her thoughts from turning to the painful subject of her father.

________________________________________________________________________________

A sound suddenly was suddenly heard in the room. It sounded like a pig being stuffed down a garbage disposal. Holly opened her eyes and sat up in bed. Her eyes went to the couch. It was just David snoring. His mouth was open and drool began to accumulate in the corners of his mouth. He had forgotten to take his glasses off and they rested haphazardly on his face. Holly sighed and looked over at the clock on the bed stand. 8:53 A.M. She had slept in. Normally she would have been up hours ago, stretching and exercising. Holly looked down at her leg and frowned. She hoped she wouldn’t get soft during her recovery time.

Holly carefully got up and grabbed her crutches. She shuffled past David who still lay snoring on the couch and into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and took out a box of pop tarts. She placed them in the toaster and pressed the lever down. Holly went back to the fridge to see if there was anything potable to drink. There were several expired cartons of milk with something fuzzy growing on the bottom, Holly noted. Near the front there was orange juice. She picked it up and checked the date. It had only expired two week ago. It would be fine. She grabbed a glass and poured the orange juice into it. The pop tarts were finished and Holly eagerly tucked into her breakfast.

By the time she had finished, David had stumbled into the kitchen rubbing his eyes tiredly. He went over the coffee maker and set the pot on. He completely ignored Holly until the coffee was ready. After taking a sip he seemed to notice Holly for the first time.

“How did you sleep?” he asked her as he sat down.

“Alright, I suppose. Why is it that I have to sleep in your bed? What’s wrong with the couch?” David held up a finger.

“Well for one, you’re my guest. What kind of gentleman would I be if I didn’t offer it to a lady?”

“I thought chivalry was dead,” Holly said before draining her glass of orange juice. It wasn’t that bad. She had much worse while on active duty in the field.

“Yeah, a lot of people would say that,” David admitted. “Besides, you need support for your leg. The couch would be too cramped for that.” Holly shrugged as she placed her glass in the sink.

“I suppose you’re right.” A thought suddenly occurred to Holly and her eyes widened in alarm.

“When was the last time you changed our sheets?” David laughed.

“What are worrying about?” he said smiling. “I changed them…” his voice trailed off and he tilted his head to the side in contemplation. “Come to think of it,” he admitted, “I can’t remember the last time I changed them.” Holly shuttered and grabbed some of the clothes Claire had lent her and headed towards the bathroom.

“I’m taking a shower,” she told him.

“I’ll change them later today if you want!” David called out helpfully. Holly firmly shut the door behind her. She placed the clothes on the sink and laid her crutches against the wall. She was about to open the shower curtains when a problem occurred to her.

David looked up at her in surprise.

“I thought you were going to take a shower.”

“Do you have a trash bag I could use?” she asked.

“Oh, that’s right. You can’t get your cast wet.” David reached into a cupboard and pulled out a black trash bag. “Here you can use this. Hold on a second.” David went over the table that had all of his medical text books. He reached into the pile and searched around for something. He found what he was looking for and handed Holly a few rubber bands. “You can use these to secure the bag. Do you need any help?” Holly reached out and punched him hard in the arm. David cried out in pain and clutched his arm.

“I don’t need any of your help you pervert!”

“That’s not what I meant!” David said as he rubbed his arm and winced. “You have quite a right hook,” he told her. “I hope it doesn’t leave a bruise.”

“Serves you right,” Holly informed him as she went back to the bathroom, this time making sure to lock the door behind her. She looked down at her fist in contemplation. Maybe she shouldn’t have punched him. He was letting her say in his home after all. Holly shook her head free of those thoughts and focused at the task at hand. She took off her clothes and threw them in the corner. Fortunately removing her pants proved easier than getting them on. Holly went up to the mirror and frowned at what she saw. She hadn’t bathed in days. Her skin was covered in a combination of sweat, grit, and dried blood. Holly ran her hands through her short hair. Her hair could use a wash as well; it was all greasy.

She grabbed the trash bag and pulled it over her cast and then secured it in place with the rubber bands. Then Holly carefully stepped into the shower, reaching out with one hand to lean against the wall as she went forward. She drew the curtain back and turned on the water. She gasped as the cold water beat down on her. She turned the tap and the water shifted to hot water. Holly let a blissful sight as the hot water poured down her aching body. She grabbed the soap and began to wash herself clean. The water had turned a peculiar shade of brown as it went down the drain. David didn’t have much variety of soaps and shampoo. There were a couple different kinds of Axe body washes and one bottle of shampoo. Holly popped the cap open and sniffed it cautiously. Deeming it adequate, she poured some in her hands and began to wash her hair.

Steam had begun to accumulate spread throughout the bathroom. It hung thick and warm, like the mist of a jungle. Holly reached for the faucet twisted it to turn off the water. She drew back the curtains and grabbed the towel that she set out and dried herself off. Holly got dressed and the issue of underwear once more presented itself to her. She didn’t have any. They weren’t salvageable, torn beyond any further use. She had thrown them out. That presented a problem. It was one thing to borrow some of Claire’s old clothes. To ask for underwear would be… Holly struggled to find the proper word. Embarrassing? Demeaning? Just plain awkward? Holly’s face turned red at the mere thought of asking Claire that. What if she misunderstood and took it the wrong way?

Holly opened the bathroom door and shuffled into the living area. David sat on his couch looking over a medical textbook. Every now and then he would dot something down on a post it or scribble something in his notebook. Holly went to the couch and sat down next to him.

“What are you reading?” David looked up briefly at her before returning to his work.

“Oh nothing, just going over some basic human anatomy. Why? Do you something about it?” Holly thought for a minute. She was trained in several forms of martial arts and knew over 35 ways to take out a man without killing him. Holly shrugged.

“Just a little I guess.” There was a knock at the door. David got up and went to answer it. Holly perked up and turned towards the door. Maybe it was Claire. The door was opened and Holly was immediately disappointed. It was someone else. He was in his early twenties, five ‘o’ clock shadow, and curly blond hair. He looked like he was straight out of a potato chip commercial, one that took place at the beach and everyone was having fun.

“Hey Paul. What’s up?” David greeted him. Paul shook his head.

“Not much man. I just wanted to talk to you for a minute.”

“Come on in then,” David said with a gesture. Paul shook his head.

“Thanks but no thanks. I’ve got to get my place cleaned up. My girlfriend’s coming over for the first time and I don’t want her to think I’m a slob or anything.” David laughed and placed a hand on Paul’s shoulder.

“It’s best that she finds out now. You can’t continue to live a lie much longer,” he said with a straight face.” Paul grinned.

“You may be right but I don’t want to risk it. The thing I wanted to tell you about was these strange men I saw lurking around the outside of the building.” Holly’s blood ran cold and she listened more intently to the conversation from her position on the couch.

“Strange men?” David asked. Paul nodded.

“Yeah, it was really weird. They were all dressed up in suits. Not the kind you just rent from a shop for a hundred bucks. I’m talking tailor made. The strange thing was that it seemed they were looking for something.”

“Did you go down ask them what they were looking for?” David asked. Paul shrugged his shoulders.

“Nah. I chickened out. I mean, what could they have been looking for. They were searching along the alleys. I even saw one guy digging through the trash and another hop into a dumpster.” David nodded in thought.

“That is pretty weird. Well thanks for telling me Paul. I’ll let you know if I see anything.”

“Thanks man.” And with that Paul was gone and David shut the door. Holly folded her hands in her lap and looked down at her feet. They were still looking for her and they were close. Holly looked up and out the window. Out there was the enemy, the enemy who wouldn’t hesitate to kill her to get back their information. Holly just sighed. That was the way the world worked sometimes. People often ignored the value of life to achieve their goals. That was one of the reasons she had joined Titan, to stop people like that. David sat back down and opened his book once more. They were silent for several minutes.

“Are those men looking for you?” David finally asked without looking up. Holly closed her eyes. She felt a headache coming on.

“Perhaps,” she replied noncommittally. David nodded. “Are they from the Mafia? Are they still looking for you after what happened to your brother?” It took Holly a moment to register what David had said. She recalled the yarn she had spun to win over the sympathy of Professor Humphrey. David was talking about that. About her fictional brother who had been taken by fictional mafia members. “They probably are,” Holly said. She looked at David. “I’ll leave before it becomes a problem that could endanger Claire or you.” David shook his head.

“No. You don’t have to worry about that. You’re my guest.” David suddenly stood up and swung his arm out dramatically. “What kind of man would I be if I turned out a lady onto the streets and into mortal peril? I’ll tell you what kind of man. The kind of man that can’t look himself in the mirror,” he finished with a deep and dramatic voice. A key jiggled in the lock and the door swung open. Claire stood in the doorway observing the strange scene: David striking a dramatic pose and Holly looking part amused, part annoyed. Holly looked over at Claire.

“Claire, you’re brother is really weird.” Claire nodded.

“Mom tried taking him to several doctors but nothing worked. That’s why I think he became interested in medicine, so he can cure himself.” David collapsed and sat down on the sofa.

“Claire,” he told her. “Words can really hurt,” he said tapping into his bravado. Claire walked over, picked, a cushion, and flung it at him.

“Yeah, yeah,” she sat down in a chair. She turned to Holly.

“How’s your leg feeling?” Holly glanced down and moved it a little.

“It still hurts a little bit, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.” Holly looked at Claire for a moment. There was something off about her. Her training told her that Claire was uneasy, maybe emotional. Her eyes were red and she trembled slightly every now and then. “Have you been crying?” Claire looked up in surprise and hastily wiped her eyes.

“What? No, it must be my allergies acting up again.” David took the cushion off his face.

“Claire, it’s January. I doubt that your pollen allergy is giving you trouble.” Claire glared at him.

“It’s nothing, just drop it.” David sighed and rubbed his head.

“Sorry for being concerned about my little sister. I didn’t know that it was a crime.” Claire responded by throwing another cushion at him. David held up his hands in protest.

“That’s enough. I surrender.” Claire laughed. Holly gave a small smile. It was odd. It was nice seeing Claire smiling. She felt odd warmth in her chest. Perhaps it was a side affect of her pain medication. She would have to remember to ask David later. Holly was shaken out of her silent contemplation by the sound of Claire’s voice.

“Earth to Holly,” Claire said as she shook Holly’s shoulder gently. Holly looked up in confusion. Usually her senses were so alert. Nobody should have been able to catch her off guard, nobody but Claire that is. Lately her thoughts were all over the place. Holly just chalked it up to her injury. David leaned forward and shone a small flashlight in her eyes.

“Maybe it’s a symptom of her concussion. We should take you back to Professor Humphrey. He seems to like you.” Holly swatted the light of David’s hands and it bounced of the table and landed on the carpet. “Hey, don’t break it!” David protested.

“I’m fine,” Holly told him. “I was just thinking.

“What about?” Claire asked. Holly recalled her train of thought and reprimanded herself for blushing slightly. She shook her head.

“Nothing important,” she said shortly. Claire regarded her for a moment, but seemed to have accepted her answer.

“Okay then. So Holly, do you want to go shopping?”

“Shopping?” Holly said as if the word was foreign to her. Claire nodded.

“Yeah, you know. Go to stores, look at clothes, try them on, maybe buy them” Holly considered the offer. One the one hand she needed clothes. It didn’t feel right having to borrow from Claire. Plus she needed underwear. On the other hand it appeared that Iverson’s men were still looking for her. She should try to stay one in place and remain hidden. She was in no condition for additional confrontations with the likes of them. Holly gave an embarrassed smile.

“I’d love to but I don’t have any money,” Holly offered up as an excuse. Claire remained unperturbed.

“That’s fine I brought some and there’s this sale going on at this store I know. We can get some good deals.” Holly shook her head.

“Really,” she said, “I don’t want to impose on you anymore.”

“Would this reluctance have anything to do with the men outside who are looking for someone,” David said offhandedly as he leaned back and stretched on the couch.

“What men?” Claire asked her brother. David looked up.

“Paul stopped by just before you got here. He said he saw some strange men in suits poking around outside as if they were looking for someone.” Claire immediately turned to Holly.

“Are they looking for you?” Holly looked down at her hands.

“I can’t be a hundred percent sure. I mean, I haven’t seen the men myself. It’s possible that…”

“Holly,” Claire said gently. Holly looked up Claire who was looking at her with concern. “Are they looking for you?” Claire repeated seriously. Holly already had a lie planned out, but it ripped at the seams the moment she saw the way Claire was looking at her. It was odd. Claire was looking at her attentively with concern and sympathy. Questioning the hold this girl had over her, Holly found that she couldn’t lie. Holly nodded once slowly.

“Probably, yes.” Claire nodded and took the information in stride. She fingered a lock of her hair absentmindedly as she thought out a plan. Yes, it might work. Claire turned to her brother.

“David, do you still go to those cartoon, what do you call thems?” David sighed and rubbed his head tiredly.

“You mean anime conventions?” Claire nodded and snapped her fingers.

“Yeah, those ones.” David nodded.

“Uh huh. I’m actually planning to go to Anime North this year.”

“Do you still have some of those costumes lying around?” David moaned and shook his head.

“Claire,” he said exasperated, “how many times to I have to tell you? It’s called cosplay.” Claire shook her head.

“Whatever. So do you?” David finally sat up.

“I have a few here. Why?” Ten minutes later Holly took a look at herself in the mirror. She had to admit, she did look different. From a distance she would look like someone else. Only someone close up and who knew her would able to tell who she was. The color contacts were a nice touch. They changed her eyes from brown to a light blue. Holly placed her hands on her head and adjusted the wig, making sure that none of her hair spilled out from underneath. David came up behind her and took a picture which earned a glare from Holly. David shrugged.

“What? You look good with my Sousuke Aizen wig. It’s the only normal one I have. All the rest are blue, red, or some other ridiculous color and would defeat the purpose of being unnoticed.” Claire nodded and stepped forward. She grabbed Holly lightly and spun her around gently to see her wig from all angles while Holly tried not to blush at the close contact. She could smell the perfume that Claire was wearing: lavender with the hint of something exotic or tropical. After giving Holly a quick one over, Claire had to agree with David.

“You look nice Holly.” She turned to David. “You don’t have any costumes that Holly could wear sometime, do you?” David shook his head.

“Not unless she wants to crossplay,” Claire looked at him confused.

“What’s that?”

“Dressing up as a character of the opposite gender,” David elaborated. Holly shrugged her shoulders.

“It doesn’t really appeal to me.” Claire picked up her bag and turned to Holly.

“Are you ready to go?” Holly shook her head.

“Hold on a second. I need to use the bathroom.” Holly shuffled over to the bathroom and shut the door behind her. She removed her bag from the corner of the bathroom and opened it up. Should she take her gun? They were only going shopping, but they could still run into trouble. Guns were rather obvious and might be hard to conceal under her clothes. She did have a silencer though… In the end, Holly decided to do without the gun. Instead she strapped her knife to her left leg, concealed mace up her sleeve, and pocketed several small, non-lethal grenades. Now she was ready.

________________________________________________________________________

Claire shifted her jacked as they walked down the street. It was a beautiful day. The sun shone high in the sky, helping to cut the chill in the air. Claire turned to Holly, her breath visible in the air.

“Is that jacket warm enough for you?” Claire asked her. Holly looked up at her and Claire was once again slightly surprised by her appearance. The contacts worked really well at concealing her brown eyes. Holly shrugged her shoulders.

“It’s fine. Thank you.” Claire smiled.

“What are friends for?” Holly nodded softly to herself. Friends. Holly didn’t have many friends. Colleagues, comrades, and acquaintances sure, but friends? Holly navigated over a particular worn out section of pavement with her crutches. She was getting better at using them. It was just a matter of bracing the crutches with both her hands while swinging forward with her good leg. Once she had a rhythm going, Holly found that she didn’t even have to think about it, which allowed her to keep her sense open for other things.

Claire glanced at Holly out of the corner of her eye. Holly kept glancing around at her surroundings as if she were committing them to memory. Her head turned toward to any new sound she heard. Claire frowned.

“Holly.” Holly’s concentration was broken and she stumbled and would have fallen if Claire hadn’t caught her in time. Claire caught Holly by the arm and supported Holly’s weight. Claire turned to her.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine!” Holly said roughly as she grabbed the crutch and continued on her way, ignoring Claire’s injured look. They continued for a block in silence before Holly stopped. She muttered something so quietly that Claire didn’t hear it the first time.

“What did you say?”

“Sorry,” Holly repeated louder. Claire shrugged.

“You don’t have to apologize” Holly shook her head.

“No, I do. I’m just frustrated with this broken leg of mine and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. Here you are, taking me out shopping, while I’m wearing your clothes, and I snap at you. Not to mention that I owe my life to you as well,” Holly added quietly. Claire blushed and hid her face behind her long hair.

“I just did what anyone would have done,” she told Holly. “That’s all.” Holly looked out at the towering skyscrapers in the distance. Their windows seamed to shimmer in the sunlight as the buildings themselves pierced the sky.

“You’d be surprised how many people wouldn’t have helped. The world is a cruel place these days, not saying that it hasn’t always been cruel. People seemed to have reached new levels of cruelty. You’re the last of a dying breed Claire: a good Samaritan.”

“Wow. That’s pretty pessimistic of you Holly,” Claire noted. Holly shrugged as they came to an interception and waited for the light to change.

“I’d prefer to think that I’m a realist.” The light changed and they began to walk along the crosswalk.

“If you expect the worst in people, you’ll find that you won’t be disappointed often,” Claire pointed out. Holly nodded. She did have a point. Holly suddenly remembered something from earlier.

“Hey Claire…” Holly asked somewhat hesitantly.

“Hmmm.”

“Why were you upset earlier?” Claire gave smiled weakly, but Holly could tell that her heart wasn’t in it.

“So, you saw through my clever ruse,” Claire said jokingly.

“You don’t get much pollen in January, at least not in this part of the country.” Claire sighed and brushed a stray strand of hair out of her eyes.

“It was my mom. We were having breakfast. She brought my… my dad up and I…” Claire shook her head ruefully. “I don’t know. I got really upset and kind of stormed out of the house afterwards. That probably wasn’t the best thing to do now that I think about it.”

“You don’t get along with your father?” Holly asked.

“You could say that,” Claire replied. “He just took off four years ago without a word. We haven’t heard from him since.”

“Oh,” Holly said quietly. Both of them were silent for a moment. “I- I didn’t know Claire. David never mentioned anything.” Claire placed a hand reassuringly on Holly’s shoulder.

“It’s fine Holly. David wouldn’t have brought it up. He won’t admit it, but Dad leaving affected him just as much as it did to me. And it’s like you said, you didn’t know.” They came to a particularly busy intersection. Claire reached out and pushed the button to make the light change to green. Not getting an immediate response, Claire impatiently pushed the button half a dozen times before realizing that Holly was watching her with a bemused expression.

“Calm down Claire. You’ll break it.” Claire immediately jumped back from the button and stood next to Holly. The sign lit up indicating that they could walk. “Well, at least you still have your mother, right?” Holly said as they crossed the street. “That’s one more parent than I can say I had.”

“Holly.” Holly shook her head.

“I don’t need pity Claire. I’m just stating the facts.”

“Was it hard growing up without them?” Holly nodded slowly as she recalled her childhood. It certainly wasn’t like many other girls. Other girls didn’t have to worry about keeping warm or whether or not they could steal their next meal.

“It was. Eventually social services got a hold of me and they shipped me from one foster family to another. Some seemed to genuinely care, but most of them didn’t. I was just a paycheck to them. Eventually Titan came across me, and I had… certain qualities that they were looking for.”

“So now you have a happy ending, right?” Holly looked around. Trash littered the street, a car sped past spraying them with exhaust fumes, and a homeless man sat against warm, shivering in an attempt to keep warm. Not exactly a picturesque fairytale.

“Happy endings are only for fairytales,” Holly said. “Life continues on. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s not. It’s never simple, that’s for sure.” They turned the corner and came to the store that Claire had been talking about. Claire immediately grabbed Holly by the hand and pulled her along as fast as her broken leg would allow. Holly’s head was still spinning as Claire shoved her into a changing room and began handing her clothes over the top of the door.

“These are all half off! Try this one; it’ll good with your eyes, your real eyes, not the contacts.” A pile began to accumulate quiet quickly.

“Claire!” Holly exclaimed irritated as pair of pants landed on her face. Claire peaked over the door and looked down at Holly inquiringly.

“Yes?” Holly took the pants off her head and sighed.

“Could- could we slow it down a little bit. We’re not training for the shopping Olympics or anything. I can’t keep up.” Claire looked down at the pile of clothes that she had chosen for Holly. There were a lot… Claire grinned sheepishly.

“Sorry about that. I guess I got carried away.” After that they resumed shopping at a much more leisurely pace, actually going up and looking through the racks instead of grabbing everything in sight. Claire hummed a tune under her breath as she flicked through the racks of clothes. Seeing that Claire was distracted, Holly went over to the lingerie section and discreetly chose a few pairs of bras and panties. She then quickly grabbed a shirt and hid them underneath. “Oh! This is cute!” Claire held up a red top with abstract shapes embroidered along the sleeves. “I’ll think I’ll try it on.” Claire walked over to the changing room and closed the door behind her.

Holly continued her own search. The store had a wide selection, and though she wasn’t particularly interested in clothes, it was nice spending time with Claire picking them out.

“Hey Holly, can you take a look at this?” Claire called from the changing room.

“Sure.” Claire opened the changing room door and stepped out. She spun around a few times in order to display her shirt.

“What do you think?” Holly nodded appraisingly.

“You look nice. What’s the material made of?” Claire checked the label.

“Polyester and cotton.” Holly nodded thoughtfully.

“I guess that will do. You want to have clothes that are made out of durable materials. Ideally they should be waterproof, resist tearing, offer minor protection from foreign objects, provide camouflage, and keep you warm.” Claire just looked at Holly strangely. Holly cocked her head to the side. “What? Did I say something weird?” Claire shook her head.

“No, not really, it’s just that we’re here to buy clothes, not purchase body armor.” Holly coughed nervously and turned around to look at a rack of clothes.

“Of course. Sorry about that. I read too much,” she offered as an explanation. About forty minutes later they were ready to pay for their purchases. Despite Claire’s many protests, Holly only chose a couple articles of clothing to buy.”

“Come on Holly, you can pick out a few more things.” Holly shook her head stubbornly.

“No. You’re already paying for everything as it is. You’ve already done so much for me already,” she murmured quietly. Claire sighed and rubbed her head tiredly.

“Has anyone ever told you how stubborn you are?” Holly shrugged and smiled.

“It’s been the subject of many conversations I’ve had with Sid.”

“Who’s Sid?” Claire asked curiously. Holly froze and winced inwardly at the information she had let slip. Titan wouldn’t stay a secret much longer if she didn’t keep her mouth shut. Why did this keep happening whenever she was around Claire? Claire had a knack for getting her to relax and lower the barriers she had always kept up.

“Um… Well… Sid is my…” How could she answer this without saying superior officer?

“Boyfriend?”

“No!” Several nearby people turned to look for the source of the outcry. Holly winced and looked down. If this kept up she would blow her cover. Claire laughed lightly.

“Well,” she said. “I think even Sid must have heard that. How will he take the bad news?” Holly frowned.

“It’s nothing like that. Our relationship is strictly professional. He’s my… advisor at Titan. He helps me out with choosing courses and discusses my future with me.”

“Oh.” For some reason Claire felt a bit of relief that Holly wasn’t going out with this Sid guy. Against her better judgment, she decided to pursue the subject. “So… you don’t have a boyfriend?” Claire asked without meeting Holly’s eyes. Holly shook her head.

“No. I’ve been too busy for a relationship. My… studies take up a lot of my time. How about you? You probably have a boyfriend, don’t you?” This time it was Holly’s turn to avoid Claire’s eyes.

“No I don’t.” Holly looked up at Claire in surprise.

“Really? I thought the guys would be knocking down the door. You’re really pretty, Claire” Claire blushed and looked away.

“You’re just saying that.” Holly shrugged and placed a hand on Claire’s shoulder. Claire turned to face her. Holly felt her stomach flip and swallowed nervously. Her throat was dry. When you were thirsty you were already ten percent dehydrated. Dehydration had many symptoms such as dizziness… She struggled against that train of thought and returned to the situation at hand.

“I am just saying it. I’m saying it because it happens to be true.” Holly lost her courage and was forced to turn away. Claire smiled.

“Thanks Holly, and I’ll say it again, you’re pretty cute yourself.” Holly scowled and walked over toward the checkout.

“You need to rethink your definition of cute,” but despite her accusation, Holly couldn’t help but feel a bit warm on the inside. They paid for the purchases and walked out onto the street.

“Do you want to get some lunch?” Claire asked Holly. “I know this really good sandwich shop not too far from here.” Holly nodded.

“Sounds good to me.” As they were walking down the street, Holly noticed something. A man she saw several times, despite how many times they turned a corner. Somebody was following them. Holly glanced over to Claire. She hadn’t seemed to notice. That was good. It wouldn’t do any good to upset her. It might alert their tail. Holly decided to check for sure if they were being followed. “Hey Claire, do you know any faster ways to get to this shop.” Claire shrugged.

“I guess. If we cut across Baltimore Avenue and then head down Hansen Way we could get there faster, but it’s pretty busy this time of day.” Holly nodded.

“That’s fine,” she said quickly and with that she swung her crutches forward and took off so fast that Claire had to run to keep up with her. Crutches weren’t as fast as running, Holly thought. But then again, outright running could alert the man following them that they knew of his presence. It was best in a situation like this to lose a tail without looking like it was intentional.

“Holly, wait up!” Claire called after her. Holly glanced over her shoulder. The man had turned the corner and was quickly walking after them. He wore a black tailored suit and pointy tweed shoes. He carried a briefcase alongside him which he handled with particular care, as if there weren’t mere documents inside. It was probably something much more sinister considering it was one of Iverson’s men.

“Son of a bitch,” Holly muttered under her breath. Either he was late to a meeting, or he was following her, probably the latter than the former. Claire caught up to her, the bags containing the clothes they had bought in her hands.

“What’s the rush?” Claire asked her. Holly ignored her question and instead glanced ahead. Claire was right, it was busier here. A crowd of people quickly hustled and moved along in a giant convulsing mass. Holly saw the man approaching them out of the corner of her eye. It was now or never.

“Claire,” Holly spoke low but urgently. “Follow me and keep your head down.” Holly shuffled off as fast as she could, not looking checking to see if Claire followed or not. They moved through the crowd as quickly as the people and Holly’s leg would allow them.

“Sorry!” Claire apologized for the umpteenth time as they plowed through the crowd. People stopped and stared for a moment before continuing on with their business. The man following them wasn’t as patient. He violently shoved and muscled his way through the crowd, not caring who got in the way. Holly didn’t need to look back to know where he was. She could tell by the indignant cries and protests of the people he shoved out of the way. Holly spotted a narrow alleyway off to their left.

“This way,” she told Claire as she quickly headed toward it. Claire followed her. As they entered the alleyway, Claire decided that she had had enough.

“Holly! What the hell is going on? Why did you-” Holly quickly covered her mouth with her hand and pinned her against the alley wall. Claire’s eyes widened enormously as Holly leaned in close to her. Holly’s skin was so soft, Claire thought absent mindedly as Holly’s face approached her own. And she was so warm. Claire could feel her warmth even through both of their jackets. Claire was beginning to feel a little lightheaded. She couldn’t help but feel a tang of disappointment when she realized that Holly was just leaning in to glance around the corner of the alley. But then, what had she been expecting her to do? Claire couldn’t answer that question, but the disappointment still lingered.

Holly could hear the man’s footsteps approaching and she hastily ducked her head in. She looked at Claire.

“Stay quiet,” Holly breathed. Claire nodded slightly and Holly removed her hand from her mouth. The man had stopped walking. He stood there hesitantly, as if deciding if he should go check the alley. Holly gritted her teeth, and her hold on Claire tightened protectively. Claire reciprocated by wrapping her arms around Holly’s waist. They both held their breath and tried to slow the rapid beating of their hearts. After what could have been hours, but in actuality was probably only a few moments, the man took off running once more, eager to not lose his quarry. Holly let out a sigh of relief and relaxed. “He’s gone,” she told Claire. “That was close.”

“Yeah,” Claire agreed. Speaking of close, the two of them just seemed to realize how tightly they were holding on to each other. Someone walking by could have easily mistaken them for lovers embracing. Both their faces flushed crimson and they immediately let go. Holly had dropped her crutches and would have fallen if Claire hadn’t caught her by the hand. Claire looked down at Holly for a moment before helping her to her feet.

“Th-thanks,” Holly muttered embarrassedly as she tried to gain her composure. Claire bent down and handed her crutches to her.

“Not a problem.” Holly tucked one crutch under each arm and found her balance. “What was that all about?” Holly sighed. It was no good hiding the truth from her now, or at least this small part of the truth.

“We were being followed. Or to be accurate, I was being followed. I’m sorry you had to be there when this happened.”

“I guess the disguise didn’t help that much.” Claire noticed something for the first time. “Holly, your wig’s gone.”

“What?” Holly reached and felt her head. Sure enough, it wasn’t there. “Shit! Somebody from that crowd must have knocked it off. I guess I’ll have to by David a new one.”

“That’s not important now,” Claire said firmly. “What is important is why that man was following you in the first place.” Holly looked away.

“I don’t want to get you involved Claire. It’s dangerous.

“But I’m already involved!” Claire protested. “There were men searching for you the night I found you in that alley. You never told me what happened or why they’re looking for you.

“The less you know the safer you’ll be. I don’t want anything to happen to you Claire.

“And how do you think I’ll feel if something happens to you!” Holly turned around to face Claire. Claire’s lips trembled slightly and the corners of her eyes welled up with tears.

“Claire,” Holly whispered.

“I care about you Holly. I don’t want anything to happen to you.” Holly smiled and placed a hand on Claire’s shoulder.

“Claire, nothing is going to happen to me,” she reassured her. “I can take care of myself.”

“There’s a difference between taking care of yourself and shouldering a burden alone. Why don’t you let someone else help you?” Holly didn’t know how to answer that.

“Well isn’t this touching, two school girls bonding and sharing their feelings,” said a voice from the other side of the alley. Three men walked toward them. Well, it would be a stretch to call them men. They couldn’t be any older than twenty. Their jeans were torn, their teeth were crooked, and one of them was unsteady on his feet, obviously intoxicated; on what was anyone’s guess. On their right forearms was poorly done tattoo. Holly and Claire couldn’t tell what was, but it appeared to be a quadruped of some kind.

“Claire, lets get out of before things take a turn for the worse.”

“Where the hell do you think you’re going,” one of them said as he strode forward and grabbed Holly by the arm. Holly glared up at him.

“I’d recommend that you let go before I’m forced to hurt you. The man merely whistled.

“You’re one cocky bitch, aint’ch ya?” Holly smiled.

“I guess I am. At least I’m not some white-trash, wannabe gangsta bastard like you three.”

“What did you say?” he asked enraged. His grip on her arm tightened to the point where it might be considered painful. Holly’s smile only widened.

“You heard me. Or are you too chickenshit to stand up to a girl with a broken leg?” Claire tugged on Holly’s other arm urgently.

“You’re only making this worse!” she hissed fiercely.

“Relax.” The gang member released his grip and shoved Holly back. Holly swung her crutches out and kept her balance.

“I think it’s time someone taught you a lesson.”

“Please begin class then Professor,” Holly said condescendingly. Holly checked her sleeve to make sure that the device was secure. It was. He drew his fist back in preparation and Claire flinched and looked away. Holly quickly slipped the mace from her sleeve to her hand and took aim. Their would-be assailant clutched his eyes in agony and took a step back ward. Holly swung her crutch and knocked him off his feet. She swiftly followed through with a blow to the crotch and then to the temple. He wouldn’t be getting up anytime soon. Claire and the other two gaped at Holly in disbelief. Holly looked over at them. “I suggest you stop while you’re still ahead.”

“You little whore!” One of them cried out as he charged. Holly quickly knelt down and removed the knife strapped to her good leg. Holly twisted out of the way of the first swing and struck with the knife, landing a shallow blow. He cried out in pain and Holly hit him in the head with the hilt of the knife, sending him flying back to his friend. Holly decided to not give the last one a chance and reached into her pocket for one of her flash bangs. She pulled the pin and threw it, leading Claire quickly out of the alley and back onto the main streets. It detonated and the sound of swearing, stumbling, and trashcans being knocked over could be heard.

Holly cleaned the blood off of her knife and strapped it to her leg once more. She stood up to see Claire staring at her. Holly looked away.

“I’m not a criminal or anything, if that’s what you’re thinking.

“How did you do that?” Claire asked in disbelief. Holly shrugged.

“I picked up some of it from the street and the rest from training. Like I said before, the less you know the better. Although…” Holly hesitated a moment before looking at Claire. “I wouldn’t… I mean I’d- never do anything to hurt you Claire.” Claire looked at Holly for a moment. She looked so vulnerable, as if one touch would break her into pieces. Claire nodded and leaned forward to hug her.

“I know you wouldn’t Holly. I know you wouldn’t,” she murmured reassuringly. Holly’s arms dangled uselessly at her side for a few moments before lifting to hug Claire back.

“Thank you.” They separated and Claire frowned.

“Are you crying?” Holly looked bewildered for a moment. She touched her cheek and sure enough, there were tears. Holly shook her head.

“No, it’s these damn contacts; they’re irritating my eyes.” Holly removed them and placed them in their case. “See. All better.” Claire nodded but wasn’t completely convinced. “I guess we better call it a day,” Holly said. “I’m sure David has something to eat back at his place. I should try and keep a low profile for the next couple of days.”

“That sounds like a good idea, although I doubt that David will have anything edible. All he eats is frozen dinners and takeouts.” Holly shrugged.

“You’d be surprised what you’ll eat when you really hungry.” They headed back to David’s apartment, shopping bags in tow. This time however, Holly made sure that they took an alternate route, doubling back several times in case they were being followed again. As a result of the evasive maneuvers, they didn’t reach the apartment until it was nearly three ‘o’clock.

“God I’m starving!” Claire complained as she slid her key into the door and opened it. She set their bags down by the coffee table and made a beeline straight for the kitchen area. Holly followed her. Claire began to rifle through the doors looking for anything edible. There was some bread that was only half stale, some cheese that hadn’t sprouted mold yet, plenty of chips and soda, and of course the staple meal of Americans: peanut butter and jelly. Holly looked over Claire’s shoulder at her findings.

“You know… if we toast the bread, it might not be that bad…” A little while later, the two of them sat down to eat their sandwiches.

“Hmmm,” Claire said with a full mouth. “Who knew that toasted peanut butter and jelly sandwiches tasted so good?”

“Not me, that’s for sure,” Holly replied. After they had cleaned up at Claire glanced at her watch and frowned.

“I should probably get going,” Claire said reluctantly. “I have some homework I need to finish, and I’m sure my mom is worried about me.” Holly shrugged and walked Claire to the door.

“If you have to go, you have to go.” Claire opened the door and hesitated for a moment. She turned around to face Holly.

“I’ve got school this week, so I’m going to be pretty busy. I’ll try to visit as soon as I can.” Holly blushed and looked away.

“No, no, I understand. It’s fine.” Holly looked up at Claire. They both just stood there awkwardly. They didn’t want to part, and yet they didn’t know what to say either.

“I guess this is goodbye then,” Claire finally spoke up. Holly nodded.

“I guess.”

“For the love of God Claire! Kiss her goodnight and then let me get in. These groceries are heavy!” Claire whirled around to find her brother standing next to her holding several plastic bags laden with food.

“David!” Claire bristled irritably at him.

“Hmmm. I seem to have a knack for interrupting moments,” David reflected philosophically. Claire shoved past her brother and glanced over her shoulder.

“Holly, if he gives you any trouble let me know.” Holly gave a small smile.

“I’ll be sure to do that.” Claire smiled back and continued on her way. David walked into the apartment and began putting the groceries away. Holly sat back down on the couch.

“You know,” David called to Holly from the kitchen, “I’d like to know your intentions with my sister. Are they honorable?” he asked teasingly. Holly frowned.

“You need to get your head out of the gutter. It’s not like that. Claire and I are just…” Holly hesitated for a fraction of a second, “friends,” she finished. David shrugged as he walked into the room and flipped on the TV.

“Whatever you say.”

________________________________________________________________________________

The room was very dimly lit. A figure sat behind a desk, leafing through some pictures. His right hand came into view. It was scarred and somewhat disfigured. It was missing two of its fingers. The man glared down at his hand as if it pained him. He lifted it front of him and examined it. He slowly rotated it, picking out the details. The surgery had been quite taxing. The bullet had nearly lost him the use of his hand. Some warning shot. There was a knock at the door.

“Come in,” the man said as he picked up his papers once more. A man in a suit opened the door and walked right up to the desk. “I assume you’re here to report the recovery progress.”

“Yes Mr. Iverson.” Iverson looked up at the man before him coldly. The man clenched his teeth and tried not to flinch.”

“Judging from you posture, I can assume that it isn’t favorable.”

“Not necessarily Mr. Iverson.” Iverson frowned and cocked his head to the side.

“How so? The man gulped nervously before continuing.

“One of our agents possibly encountered the target. We weren’t able to get confirmation. The target eluded him.” Iverson frowned.

“Either you and your men are incompetent and can’t trail anyone, or this is the agent we’re looking for. For your sake I hope it’s the latter. Anything else?” The man nodded.

“It also seemed that the target was with someone else, a girl with long blonde hair. My men are currently checking into it.” Iverson frowned for a moment in contemplation.

“This is interesting. Yes, very interesting. Find out what you can about this other girl and report back to me as soon as possible. You are dismissed.” The man nodded and hastily left the room. Iverson turned around and looked out the window. “Everyone has a weakness. That’s why you hide it, keep it secret. It can only be used against you.” Iverson turned to his computer and pulled up a file. It was security footage of Holly breaking into the building that contained the information. He played it and then stopped it as the camera captured the determined look on her face. “Have I found yours, Agent Holly Collinger?”

A/N: Iverson is up to no good and the plot thickens. Please review and tell me what you think of it. I have a pretty good idea where this story is going, but I’m open to any ideas or suggestions.

Chapter 4

[Author's notes: I apologize profusely for not updating for so long. I have every intention to finish this story, but I got kind of sidetracked. Well here it is now, and I hope you will forgive me for the delay. This was an interesting chapter to write. There’s a major shift in the story and now I’m free to pick up the pacing. And Claire and Holly’s relationship is constantly evolving. I swear, it’s like they’re actual people who just happen to live inside my head.]

Claire frowned as her pencil hovered over the drawing she was working on. She bit her lip as she examined it for several moments before turning the pencil around and using the eraser to erase part of the sketch. No, she hadn’t gotten the angle of the cheekbone right. It was more subtle than that. Holly’s hair also fell forward differently; her bangs almost covered her eyes but not quite. Claire was so focused on her work that she didn’t hear her teacher walk up behind her and look over her shoulder.

“She must be somebody important to you.” Claire was startled and dropped her pencil and looked up.

“Miss Ritter! I- I didn’t hear you come over.” Miss Ritter shrugged and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear which was already occupied by a pencil.

“No you didn’t. You were so caught up in your work. That’s a good trait that all artists should have.”

“Um… thanks,” Claire muttered somewhat embarrassed. Miss Ritter walked over to Claire’s side and sat down next to her to get a better look at the drawing. Claire had drawn a pencil sketch of Holly. Holly was sitting under a tree near a pond. She was looking off in the distance and smiling one of those small and subtle smiles that Claire always loved to catch. Miss Ritter nodded approvingly.

“This is good. Who is this girl? She’s obviously someone you’re close to.”

“How can you tell?” Claire asked. Her teacher merely smirked.

“Claire, art is about capturing feelings and giving them visual form. I can tell from the detail and effort you put in.” Claire blushed.

“She’s just a friend, a good friend.” Her teacher smiled.

“Well that’s good. You go through life with only so many true friends.” Claire shrugged.

“I guess.” Her teacher sighed.

“I’m sure you hear this all the time, and I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but you’ll understand when you’re older,” and with that Miss Ritter walked off to see how her other students were progressing. Claire’s attention returned to her drawing once more as she sharpened her pencil with a plastic pencil sharpener and paused to consider what to do next. Her thoughts turned to the subject of her drawing as they often did these days. It was hard to believe that she had first met Holly three weeks ago. It felt like it had happened just yesterday and ages ago at the same time, a confusing paradox. She normally didn’t become this close to someone this quickly. With Holly it was different.

Claire could tell that Holly was involved with something dangerous. Why else were those men looking for her? Why did she have those weapons and how was she able to take on three men with a broken leg? It also had a lot to do with how she acted. She always seemed on edge and alert, on the lookout for some unseen danger. After the shopping incident, Holly had still refused to tell her anything else and eventually, Claire had stopped asking. Holly would tell her when she was ready, not a moment before then. Everyone had their secrets. What right did she have to pry?

The bell rang and Claire gathered up her art supplies and pushed in her chair before filing out the door along with everybody else. She had lunch this period. Claire walked over to the cafeteria, took out her lunch bag, and sat down with a sigh. School always seemed to drain her of so much energy. She reached into lunch bag and pulled out a sandwich. She took a large bite, savoring the taste of lettuce and mayonnaise.

“Claire!” Claire glanced up at the sound of her name and saw her friends rushing over to her. They both seemed rather excited for some reason; their breath coming heavily as if they had run a marathon. They came to a stop at the table and attempted to say something, but quickly thought better of it and devoted their attention to catching their breath.

“What’s gotten you two so excited?” Claire asked as Becky and Miranda both plopped down in their chairs. They both started chattering excitedly.

“Becky met this really-”

“Totally perfect! Absolut-”

“Cute too! I-”

“Tomorrow at eight-”

“Make sure you-”

Claire held up a hand for silence.

“Woah! Slow down. One at a time. Slowly.” She added as she saw them ready to explode into another maelstrom of chatter. Becky glanced over to Miranda who nodded quickly. Claire raised an eyebrow at this silent exchange.

“Well,” Becky began. “The other day I was at work and I met this really hot guy.” Claire grinned. Becky went through guys like some girls went through clothes, often and always on the lookout for the next new style.

“Good for you,” Claire congratulated her. Becky shook her head.

“No, he’s not for me silly! I just so happened to mention that a certain friend of mine was single and might be interested.” Claire had been about to take another bite of her sandwich when she paused and put it down. She sighed and put her head down, her blond hair spilling all over the table.

“Tell me that you didn’t,” Claire mumbled from her position. Becky shrugged.

“That depends on what you mean. I definitely didn’t, not set you up on a date with him, if that’s what you mean.” Claire gave weary moan before sitting up at to glare at her friend.

“You two have to stop doing this. All these blind dates are starting to become a real pain in the ass.” Miranda just shook her head.

“Claire, Claire, Claire,” she slowly and sadly. “At this rate you’ll always be single. Do you want to become an old maid? Is that that what you want? To live alone in some attic as a seamstress weaving threadbare clothes to be sold at a discount price?” Claire just looked at Miranda for a moment.

“What are you talking about?” she asked incredulously. “This isn’t the 15th century. I don’t have to have a guy for my life to be complete.”

“Yeah, you kind of lost me with that one, Miranda,” Becky agreed.

“Fine,” Miranda huffed. “I guess Becky will just have to cancel the date.” Becky looked at Claire one last time.

“Are you sure Claire? I’m telling you I picked a winner this time, I can tell.” Claire shook her head.

“No, go ahead and tell him that I won’t be able to make it.”

“Alright…” Becky sighed as she pulled her own lunch out of her bag. Miranda did likewise and the three of them began to eat their lunch.

“Is there a reason why you don’t want to go on this date?” Miranda asked several minutes later. “If it’s an issue of an outfit, I can lend you something if you want.” Claire shook her head and swallowed a bite of her sandwich.

“No. It’s not that. I just… Life’s a little complicated right now. I don’t have the time or the energy for dating. David’s already off at his university and in the fall I’ll be calling off to college too, and my mom… I don’t know. I’m just worried about her. She’ll be all alone.” Becky and Miranda nodded sympathetically.

“Don’t worry Claire,” Becky told her. “Your mom is a tough lady. She’ll be fine.”

“I hope so.”

“And besides,” Miranda said, “That’s not the whole reason for refusing the date. Someone else has already swept you off your feet, and this only confirms it.”

“What?” Claire exclaimed in surprise. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” as she looked down and studied her sandwich. It had a lot of sesame seeds.

“Don’t think that we didn’t notice. You’ve been busy these last couple of weeks and haven’t had any time for us. You’re smiling more and there’s a spring in your step. I can’t remember the last time you were so happy.” Claire frowned. She had been spending a lot of time over at David’s apartment with Holly. Before she even realized it, it had become a routine.

“You’re putting words in my mouth. I just said I met someone, that’s all. It’s definitely not what you think it is.”

“Alright then,” Becky said leaning forward. “You’re just friends and nothing more, right?”

“Yes,” Claire said as she leaned back in her chair, relieved to have cleared up the misunderstanding. She reached for her juice bottle and took a sip.

“Do you want to be more than just friends?” Claire sputtered on the juice that she had been drinking, spilling it on her shirt and on the table. She hastily grabbed a few napkins and began to mop up the mess, her face flushing pink. Becky smirked. “I’ll take that as a yes then?” Claire let out an angry breath, bunched up the napkins, and threw them at her alleged “friends.” They ignored them. By this time Miranda had joined Becky in her self satisfied and smug smile.

“I think that’s the only answer we’ll need,” Miranda informed her. Claire sighed wearily.

“You two have to stop jumping to conclusions.”

“Are we wrong then? Do you want be more than friends or not?” Claire stopped for a moment and considered the question. She almost immediately began to berate herself for even considering it. They were both girls. Besides, even if she felt that way, Holly definitely wouldn’t return the same feelings. Then why was she hesitating? If someone had asked the same question about her and Becky or Miranda, she would have laughed it off without any doubt. With Holly it was different. There was a connection between them. Claire had never felt what she felt with Holly with anybody else.

“I… I don’t know,” she finally answered truthfully.

“Well, if you’re hesitating at all, you must feel something,” Becky pointed out sagely. Miranda nodded in agreement.

“Yeah Claire, it should be a simple yes or no.” Claire sighed in defeat.

“Okay. Let’s say I did have feelings for this person. I said if!” Claire said as she saw smirks begin to slowly rise even higher on their faces. “It wouldn’t work out anyway,” she muttered somewhat more subdued.

“What? Why not?” Becky asked in confusion.

“Yeah, I mean, this is the first time I can remember you taking an interest in a guy. You shouldn’t let this chance slip you by,” Miranda pointed out. Claire couldn’t help her lips curling into a small smile. Guy? If only they knew. Claire’s smile widened as she imagined what their reactions would be if they found the “guy” she had feelings for wasn’t a guy at all.

“What’s so funny?” Becky asked suspiciously. Claire quickly hid her smile behind her hand.

“Nothing. Nothing at all.”

“Well go on!” Miranda implored impatiently. “Tell us a little about him. What’s he like? Is he cute? Claire hesitated a moment before clearing her throat.

“Well, um… you see… he, is very cute, short black and brown eyes. His bangs come down just to his eyes. He probably should get a haircut soon,” Claire thought out loud. Becky and Miranda merely nodded.

“Go on,” they told her.

“He’s very stubborn. One of the most stubborn people I’ve met. He won’t ask for help even if he needs it, and refuses to rely on anyone else. I can tell that he’s had a difficult life and it shows in the way he acts. At the same time there’s… something fragile about him. I don’t know how to explain. It’s like he’s… almost not there. If you breathed too hard, he would probably shatter, but at the same time he’s really strong. Is any of this making sense?” Becky and Miranda looked at each for a moment before turning to face Claire.

“I think so,” Becky told her. “How does he make you feel?” Claire hesitated for a moment.

“I don’t know. Lots of things I guess. Happy I suppose. I’m always glad to see him. My heart pounds whenever we’re close together. Whenever our hands brush accidentally, it burns like fire. And sometimes, when she looks at me, it’s almost like… I’ve forgotten how to breathe.”

“She?” asked Miranda confused as she scrunched her brow. Claire quickly realized her mistake and laughed nervously.

“I mean he, it was just a slip of the tongue. It happens a lot when I’m nervous.” Claire let out a small sigh of relief as she saw her friends accept this answer. She hadn’t intended to reveal so much. It was just that… saying what she felt aloud and having someone to listen to it… had felt good. A burden had been lifted off her shoulders. Becky and Miranda had gotten her to admit that she liked Holly (not that they knew that) and Claire could decide what she should do next.

“I don’t know Claire,” Becky said. “If he makes you feel like this, I say go for it. You’ll never know how he feels unless you ask.” Claire shook her head.

“It’s not that simple.” Miranda frowned and chewed her sandwich slowly and thoughtfully before swallowing.

“I suppose you could always go for the more indirect approach,” she said.

“Indirect approach?” Claire asked in confusion. Miranda nodded.

“Of course, you just need to hint at it. Flirt with him a little bit. Tease him. Let him know you’re interested in a few little ways. If he responds back, he likes you.” Claire nodded.

“I understand that part, but… what exactly do I do?” Miranda glanced at Becky and sighed.

“I almost forgot that you have absolutely no experience in using your feminine wiles.”

“Thank for you understanding and putting me at ease so nicely,” Claire said with sarcasm as her two friends leaned in expectantly.

“Okay,” Becky began, “here’s what you want to do. Find excuses to get close to him. Maybe mention that you’re feeling a little chilly and scoot closer to him.”

“Compliment him,” Miranda continued, “especially on things that he’s good at, but that you’re not necessarily interested in. Like sports.” Becky nodded.

“And don’t forget to smile and bat your eyelashes, works every time.” With that they leaned back and returned to their seats. Claire digested the information for a moment. She couldn’t imagine doing any of those things with Holly. Would those sorts of things even work with another girl? Maybe she should have some guys for advice. No, that would be too weird. They’d get suspicious. Besides, she didn’t have any guy friends that she felt comfortable asking. Well, there was David, but from what she knew, he was just as inexperienced with women as she was. Hold on, she was a girl. Shouldn’t she have some sort innate knowledge about this? Then again she hadn’t really paid attention to the things that girls said or did to get guys. Well, at least now she knew why that was. There wasn’t anything wrong with her. Well, some people would argue otherwise but she wasn’t going to follow that train of thought.

“So… these things let someone know you’re interested?” Miranda nodded.

“Or you could just right out and tell him,” Becky reminded her. “But short of that, this is the most effective method.”

“I’m not sure if those things would work,” Claire admitted. Miranda shrugged.

“Well they’re not one size fits all. Every guy is different. You just need to do a little trial and error until you find something that works.” Claire nodded thoughtfully. There was so much whirling through her head. She needed a while to sort it all out. At least she admitted to herself what she had been trying ignore or brush off.

“Alright, thank you. You’ve really helped me figure a few things out.” They smiled.

“What are friends for Claire?” Becky said. “Just promise to introduce us to your mystery man one of these days. I want to see who has you in such a flutter.”

“Same here,” Miranda agreed. Claire shrugged and looked down.

“Maybe one of these days.” She didn’t give voice to the unspoken question that she deliberately avoided thinking of. Would they still be this eager and supportive if they found out that her mystery man wasn’t a man at all?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

11, 12, 13, and 14. Holly let a grunt as she slowly lowered herself from the metal bar, and carefully got her footing, being particularly careful of her leg. 14. Her number of pull-ups had gone down a little. With her leg broken in three places, there was a limit to the types of exercises she could perform. Fortunately pull ups only required your arms. Besides, it was her lacking in the upper body strength department that had caused her to fall and break it in the first place. That wasn’t going to happen again. Holly grabbed a nearby towel and wiped the sweat from her brow. In the past few weeks she had gotten weaker, she was sure of it. Her profession required her to be in tip top shape. Not that had helped much when events had come together to conspire against her. No amount of physical training could overcome gravity. Holly glanced around for her crutches. Where had she put them? Just then David decided to walk into the laundry room.

“Hey Holly, do you know where the remote is? I can’t find it anywhere and CSI is going to be on in-” David stopped short when he saw that Holly was standing beside his seldom used exercise bar. The one that Claire had gotten him for his birthday, but had not any application since being set up. “What were you just doing?” Holly groaned inwardly. The last thing she wanted to hear was a lecture from the Major Surgeon General. “Where you doing pull-ups again?” Holly sighed.

“So what if I was?” David shook his head in irritation.

“Holly, how many times do I have to tell you? You’re supposed to be resting. You’re in no condition to be working out! You could strain something! What if you lost your grip and came crashing down? Then you’d be worse off than before!” Holly ignored David’s chastising as she picked up her crutches.

“There’s no reason to worry,” she told him. “I know my limits and I’m careful. My leg being broken doesn’t give me an excuse to slack off.”

“Some people would argue that it does,” David pointed out. “Some would even milk it.” Holly frowned as she shuffled pass David into the living room.

“Well not me.” David followed.

“Do I have to tell Claire about this?” Holly flinched and came to a stop. David was annoying, but she could deal with that. Claire was another matter entirely. She could already hear Claire scolding her. David grinned with triumph.

“You might not listen or care what I say, but my sister is another matter entirely.” Holly sighed and slowly turned to face David.

“Don’t tell Claire. Please.” The last word came out with a little difficulty. It was another admission of weakness, something Holly had always worked so hard to purge from herself. It seemed to well up more often than ever, particularly when it came to Claire. David sighed and adjusted his glasses on the brim of his nose.

“I suppose I don’t have to tell her about this time if you promise to not do it anymore. Besides, Claire should be popping in later today.” Holly’s heart beat quickened, though she tried not to show it.

“Oh?”

“Yeah,” said David as he walked past her to grab his backpack. He sat down on the couch and began to riffle through the contents. “She never came over this often when it was just me living here. She’s taken a liking to you.” Holly opened her mouth several times, but no sound came out. She hastily covered this inaction with a cough.

“I suppose,” Holly said in response to David’s statement. “I mean… I like her too.” David finally found the book he had been looking for, opened it, and began flipping through the pages. He glanced over at Holly.

“I’m glad. You and Claire seem to get along pretty well. You’re a good kid, but a bit too stubborn for my liking.” Holly let out a breath indignantly.

“Who’re you calling a kid? I’m 18. You’re only a few years older than me.” David shrugged as he took a yellow highlighter and accented a passage in his textbook.

“I’m just calling it as I see it. You’re about Claire’s age, and Claire is my kid sister. Therefore, you’re a kid.”

“Nice syllogism,” Holly scoffed, “but I think you shouldn’t just judge age by years. What about experience? How old you are isn’t always accurate. Many years doesn’t always equal experience. There’s a difference between a 40 year old man who’s lived a sheltered life compared to a kid growing up on the street.”

“So that’s the category you’re placing yourself under? The kid who grew up on the street?” Holly turned away at shuffled over to the kitchen for a glass of water.

“That was just an example,” she said as she filled up a glass of water and quickly drained it.” She placed the glass down on the counter carefully before reentering the living room.

“There are plenty of other examples. Why did you pick that one? Do you have a connection to it?”

“I thought you were studying to be a doctor,” Holly pointed out. “Not a psychologist.” David shrugged.

“Mental health, physical health, they’re both connected.”

“I guess.” David leaned back on the sofa.

“So, do you want to talk about it?” Holly raised an eyebrow.

“With you?” she asked skeptically. David nodded. Holly turned away.

“Not really, no.” David’s face fell. He returned his attention to his book, licking his finger before turning the page.

“Fine. Why do I even bother reaching out if you’re only going to slap me down?”

“Enough with the self pity,” Holly called over her shoulder as she used her crutches to shuffle out of the room. “It doesn’t suit you.”

“Bite me,” David retorted. Holly shook her head. He might have meant well, but his methods just didn’t put her at ease. She wasn’t going to tell him anything. It was bad enough that she had already let so much slip to Claire. The first mistake had been telling Claire her real name. It was stupid mistake with no excuse. Maybe she had been a bit rattled by the fall, but she should still have known better to not give her name to a complete stranger. It was best for all parties if her identity remained secret and they didn’t become involved. Holly came to a stop and leaned against a wall, supporting herself with her right hand.

“But that’s just exactly what I didn’t do.” She closed her eyes and winced as a twinge of pain shot up her leg. She gritted her teeth and waited for it to subside. The pain was something she could focus on. Something that made sense. Something she could deal with. She let out a breath slowly as the pain receded for the moment. It was funny. Holly would rather focus on a broken leg than what Claire made her feel. At least there was a logical explanation for why her leg was broken; she fell. There was no logical explanation about how she felt about Claire. While Holly might not have had a vibrant social life, that didn’t mean she had been completely isolated from the world. She knew terms. The one that immediately came to mind was lesbian. Was that what she was? A woman attracted to other women? No one had ever caused such strange stirrings or feelings in her before, male or female.

Holly continued to shuffle forward with the aid of her crutches until she came to David’s bedroom. She came to the foot of the bed and carefully sat down, leaning the crutches against the side of the bed. She leaned back and stared up at the ceiling. She blew a strand of hair out of her eyes. So much had happened in the last few weeks. Holly had gone from being an active field agent to an injured girl staying at home. Holly had to admit that though she was anxious to return to headquarters, she was enjoying her time at David’s apartment. This was mostly due to Claire. She almost wished that it would never end; this reprieve with Claire as company.

“Everything comes to an end,” Holly muttered under her breath. Bad things and good things included. The truth was that Holly could have contacted Titan. Although her transmitter had been destroyed in the fall, there were other methods of contacting them. Risky methods, but methods all the same. Holly had refrained from them because they might draw unnecessary attention to Claire and David. At least that’s what she told herself. What she really wanted was to pretend a little longer. To pretend that she was just a regular girl. To pretend that she had grown up loved and hadn’t had to fight for survival. To pretend that maybe Claire felt the same way that she did. That of course was the most ludicrous delusion of them all.

The doorbell rang and Holly sat up. She glanced at her watch. 3:30. Claire got out of school at 3:00. From the other room Holly heard David getting up and setting his book down as he approached the door.

“I’m coming. I’m coming,” David called. “Jeez. I thought I gave Claire a key.” As soon as Holly heard those words she froze. David had given Claire a key. That was how Claire how had always come to visit her while David was in class or just spending time with his friends. It was possible that she had lost it, but that would not persuade the sinking sensation that she felt in the pit of her stomach. Holly bolted upright and hastily grabbed her crutches. She nearly tripped as she rushed to the other room

“David!” she called to him. “Don’t open the door!” It was too late. David’s hand was already on the knob and he had just begun to turn it when Holly burst into the room. David turned and looked at Holly in surprise.

“What’s the matter?” he asked confused. “It’s probably just Claire.” A muscular hand jutted out from the small gap between the door and the door frame and gripped the door tightly. It then began to force the door open completely. David jumped backward as the door swung open to reveal someone who certainly was not Claire. The man stood about six feet tall with sideburns covering the sides of his face. His nose looked as if it had been broken one too many times and small piece of white ivory was embedded in his right earlobe as an earring. He smiled a canine like grin and Holly felt a chill run down her spine. David smiled nervously.

“Oh! Hello sir. How can I help you?” The man shook his head ruefully.

“I can think of several ways that you could help me Mr. David Reed. The first most of them being handing over the fugitive that you’re harboring.” David took a step forward in order to obstruct the stranger’s view of his apartment. Holly quickly and silently backed out of the room. Holly heard the rest of the exchange in the bedroom as her brain furiously tried to come up with a plan.

“I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re talking about.” David’s voice echoed from the room. “And how do you know my name?”

“Details, details. We have information to believe that you are hiding a criminal who has stolen something quite valuable, and we’re prepared to overlook any of your possible involvement if you will let us apprehend her.”

“I’m sorry, but you must have the wrong address. Unless you have a search warrant, leave.” David tired to say firmly, but even from the other room, Holly could hear the slight tremble in his voice.”

“I’m sorry that it’s had to come to this Mr. Reed.” The next thing Holly heard was David crying out in pain, a large crash, and the thud of many heavy footsteps. Holly shuffled over to the heating vent by the bed and began to remove the cover. She reached into her bag and pulled out a smoke grenade and concealed it in a strap under her sleeve. She had just pulled out her gun when she felt something cold press against the back of her neck.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” It was the man from the door. Holly’s grip on her gun tightened until her knuckles turned white. “Put it down,” he told her. Holly let go of her gun, and it hit the bottom of the heating vent with a dull, metallic thud. “Good. Now get up slowly and turn around.” Holly began to rise with great difficulty, leaning against the wall heavily as leg protested, but she wasn’t about to reveal that weakness to her enemy. She turned around and glared at him defiantly. The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a photo, never once lowering his gun from her heart. He held it out in front of him and compared the likenesses. He grinned. “It’s nice to finally meet you in person, Agent Holly Collinger.” Holly glared at him.

“As long as we’re doing introductions; why don’t you tell me who you are?”

“Names aren’t important, and you’re in no position to be demanding anything, but I suppose you can call me Talon.” Holly bent over slowly and grabbed her crutches, never once letting her eyes waver from Talon or his gun. Talon adjusted his aim accordingly and waited for Holly to take the crutches under her arms. “Move,” he ordered her. Holly placed her crutches forward and began to shuffle out of the bedroom Talon walked her back into the living room. David lay on the ground in a heap, quiet and subdued. His arms were bound behind his back and his mouth gagged with a rag. His glasses were broken, the left lens shattered and the right one cracked. Blood dripped down his nose lazily and his face was already beginning to swell from bruising. Five other men hovered nearby him. One of them took a step forward at the sight of the two of them.

“Is she the one?” Talon nodded and shoved Holly over to David, nearly causing her to fall.

“She’s the one alright. The one we’ve been looking for these past few weeks.” Talon turned to Holly. “Looks like you took quite a fall back there. We initially thought that you didn’t survive the fall, that it would be a recovery instead of a search.”

“I like surprising people,” Holly responded slowly taking in her situation. It wasn’t good. She was outnumbered, had a broken leg, a helpless civilian was on the ground, and she was going to assume that all the other men were armed as well. How could it possibly get any worse?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The subway came to a stop, and the doors slid open with a hiss of compressed air. Claire stepped out onto the platform and began making her way up the steps to the surface. She took a deep breath and tried to steady to herself. It was just like any other time. Why was she so nervous? Was it because she had acknowledged her feelings towards Holly? Claire let out a low groan and she traced the safety railing as she climbed the stairs. Why did everything have to be so complicated?

“I’ll just walk up to her, look her straight in the eye and tell her…” Claire hesitated. “What do I tell her?” Despite the illuminating conversation with Becky and Miranda, Claire was nowhere closer on deciding what to do. There was no way that she could try the flirting that Miranda suggested. She would just look stupid. Maybe Becky was right. Perhaps the direct approach was best. What if Holly didn’t feel the same way? Claire stopped in her tracks as she tried to imagine it. It would be incredibly mortifying and would ruin any kind of friendship they might have had. Claire closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. No, it was too risky. She wouldn’t say anything, at least not now. Maybe she would eventually work up the courage. It was better to take these things slow right? Or to admire from afar?

Claire waited for the crossing line to light up before crossing the street to David’s apartment complex. She wrapped her coat more snuggly against herself as a brisk wind blew, scattering bits of litter down the street. Claire glanced up at David’s window. It was dark. That was odd. Maybe Holly was taking a nap. She usually had so much energy, and it was hard to imagine her staying still for more than a few moments. Why, just the other day Claire had walked in on Holly doing pull ups of all things. It seemed like Holly had to do something to burn off all the excess energy. Every since the shopping incident, Holly had refused to venture out of the apartment. She avoided Claire’s eyes every time Claire brought up the subject and would just purse her lips and shake her head.

Claire had hoped that over time Holly would open up a bit more, but the just the opposite seemed to be happening. Ever since they were followed that day, Holly’s entire demeanor had changed. She would whirl around at the slightest sound, and her eyes would always dart around the room, as if memorizing escape routes. Every question that Claire asked went unanswered. One specific time immediately came to mind.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Claire! Just drop it alright!” Claire shook her head. She leaned in closer from her position next to Holly on the couch.

“I’m not giving up this time until you give me an answer. You’re in trouble, and I want to help you.” Holly shook her head bitterly.

“There’s isn’t anything you can do to help. I can handle it on my own.” Claire let out an angry breath and clenched her hands tightly together.

“Just like you handled it last time when you broke your leg?” Holly grimaced.

“That was an accident,” she admitted. “I was being reckless and got in over my head. It won’t happen again.”

“But what if it does,” Claire persisted. “And what if it isn’t just your leg next time. What if it’s your arm? Or your other leg? What if you aren’t as lucky next time?” Holly went to grab her crutches and started to get up to leave, but Claire caught her by the hand, just above the wrist. Holly just stood there facing away from Claire, motionless as Claire took her hand in her own and squeezed it gently. Holly’s hand was calloused and littered with little nicks and cuts that had healed long ago. Claire paused as she tried to think of what to say.

“Holly,” said Claire breaking the silence that had filled the empty apartment, save for the television which buzzed softly. “I… I don’t mean to pry. I mean I am curious, but that’s not why I’m doing it. I know we’ve just met and all, but I care about you and worry about you. You’re involved in something dangerous and there’s nothing I can do because I don’t know what’s going on. I feel helpless as I sit back and watch you try to deal with by yourself. I keep telling you that you don’t have to go it alone.” Holly said nothing for a moment before sitting back down next to Claire.

“You know what Claire?” Holly said smiling softly. “You’re too caring for your own good.” Claire’s face lit up red as she tried to decide whether it was a compliment or not. Judging from the amused look in Holly’s eyes, it was.

“And you’re too stubborn for your own good!” Claire retorted. Holly laughed. Claire looked up surprised. She could count the number of times she had heard Holly laugh on one hand. It was nice.

“We make a good pair then, don’t we? The selfless one and the stubborn one.” Claire allowed herself a small smile.

“I suppose we do.” And that was that. They returned their attention to the movie. Although it wasn’t a conscious decision, they still held hands from when Claire had grabbed Holly. In a few minutes Claire would suddenly realize it and let go quickly, blushing red as a fire hydrant and Holly would clear her throat several times and get a glass of water, but until then, their hands were interlocked, their fingers intertwined. And it felt right.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Claire opened the door to the apartment complex and shut it gently behind her. She unzipped her coat as she began walking up the stairs to David’s floor. When she got there, she noticed something odd. The door to David’s apartment was slightly ajar and the lights were off. Even stranger were the voices she could hear coming faintly from the room. Men’s voices and David’s wasn’t among them. Claire narrowed her eyes and cautiously walked up to the door as quietly as she could. Was it a robbery? Was Holly still in there? Claire pressed her ear against the door and closed her eyes as she listened carefully.

“I’m not going to ask you again, Collinger,” a rough voice said. “Where is the information?”

“Go fuck yourselves,” was Holly’s brusque reply. Claire heard the sound of something heavy connecting with flesh and Holly grunting in pain. Claire opened her eyes and tried to control her breathing. They had found her. Whatever trouble Holly had gotten herself into had finally caught up. Claire tried to keep from panicking. What should she do? Should she call the police? Would they even get here in time? All she knew that Holly was in danger and she didn’t know what to do. Unfortunately, Claire no longer had the option of taking action because suddenly the door slammed open, and a massive hand drew into the dark room and shut the door behind her.

Claire tried to take in her surrounding as she was roughly manhandled, put in an ironclad grip, and had a gun placed against her temple. David lay on the floor, his hands tied behind his back and his mouth gagged. Upon seeing her David began to squirm and tried to say something, but this only resulted in one of the men kicking him hard in the ribs. David ceased his efforts and became still and quiet. Claire looked over to Holly who stood against the wall gripping one crutch for support. Her left eye had begun to swell with a black eye and there were traces of blood in the corners of her mouth. Holly looked up at Claire and froze. All the color drained from her face and what shocked Claire the most was her expression. Holly was afraid. Claire had seen her worried, panicked, and even angry, but never afraid.

“Claire,” Holly choked out in a whisper. Talon grinned menacingly.

“Now we’re getting somewhere. A friend of yours Collinger?” Holly shook her head.

“She doesn’t know anything. Let her go!” Talon shook his head as he slowly walked over to the man who was holding Claire and roughly grabbed her by the hair, causing Claire to cry out.

“I think she might know something.” Holly took in a shuddering breath.

“If you hurt her,” she said her voice trembling with anger, “I swear to God! I will-” Talon shook his head.

“A threat, but an empty threat all the same. I’ll tell you what. You tell me where the disk is within five seconds and my associate won’t blow hole in your friend’s head.” Claire’s eyes widened and her knees buckled. She would have sunk to the floor if the man holding her hadn’t had such a strong grip. She hung limp in his arms. Claire’s thoughts were crystal clear and she seemed to be able to process everything so quickly. There was no doubt in her mind that this man wouldn’t hesitate to shoot her. “Five.” Holly made to move forward, but several of the men pulled guns out of their jackets and pointed them at her. “Four.” David had resumed his struggling on the ground and was slowly inching his way to a broken piece of glass that had been created from the earlier altercation.

“Holly.” Holly looked up to see tears in Claire’s eyes. Claire looked at her and… tried to tell her something with her eyes. Holly didn’t know what it was, but whatever it was, that pleading look dispelled any doubt that Holly may have had. All of her training, the lesson that had been drilled into her: never negotiate, was now null and void. At that moment Holly didn’t care about Titan, or even Iverson for that matter. It was like she was in a vacuum. All there was in the world was her, Claire, and the danger towards Claire. In the end the decision required no thought whatsoever. Holly would endure any consequences as long as Claire was safe.

“Three.”

“Stop!” Talon looked at Holly expectantly.

“Oh? Have we come to a decision?” Holly glared daggers at him.

“It’s in the album collection. Weird Al Yankovitch, Running with Scissors.” Talon nodded to his men and one of them went over to the large album collection and began carelessly tossing them on the floor. David repressed a moan of indignation as his fingers carefully grasped a sharp shard of glass and began to try cutting his restraints, being sure to angle his body so that the activity went unseen. Talon let go of Claire’s hair and went to stand by Holly.

“That wasn’t so hard, now was it?” Holly remained quiet. They had a few more moments of usefulness before they became expendable loose ends. Holly doubted that she would be able to escape with her leg and David with his restraints, but maybe Claire could at least get away. The man bent over the album collection ceased to throw albums on the floor and carefully took out the Weird Al album. He brought it over and presented it to Talon. Talon opened the case and examined the content. He turned to Holly.

“Is this the disk?”

“Yes.” Talon nodded.

“We’ll just have to verify the content on the disk and then we can put all of this unpleasantness behind us.” Talon took out a laptop from a bag and popped the disk into the computer. It began to read the disk’s content and various indiscernible characters began to run across the screen. Holly looked at Claire and then glanced at the door with her eyes. Claire nodded her head almost imperceptibly to show that she understood. Holly looked down at David and was surprised to find that he had almost finished cutting through the rope binding his hands with a piece of glass. Who knew he could be resourceful like that? Holly glanced once more at the computer screen; the disk reading was almost complete. Holly tried to relax. She took a deep breath and held it. She then reached into her sleeve for the smoke grenade with one hand, unhooked it from its strap, pulled the pin, and allowed it to lightly fall to the floor.

Within seconds the room was filled with a white hazy smoke that obscured nearly everything. Holly immediately rushed forward and grabbed the arm of the man who was holding Claire. She forced his gun down and fired a bullet into his foot. He dropped to the ground, swearing profusely as he held his foot, releasing Claire in the process. Holly relieved him of his weapon and knelt beside Claire. Several gunshots rang out, but Talon’s voice rose above them, ordering them to not fire. With visibility so poor they would end up hitting each other. David finally cut through the rope binding his hands and crawled his way over to the door.

“Get to the door!” Talon cried out. “There’s only one way out. We’ll wait for the smoke to clear.” Holly grabbed Claire and put her lips to her ear.

“Get David and get out of here. It’s me they want. I’ll catch up to you.”

“But Holly!” Holly shook her head and shoved Claire towards the door. Then picking up a book, she hurled it across the room. The sound attracted the attention of several of the men and they headed toward it. Claire took one last look Holly before starting to move. Within seconds Holly was lost in the cloud of smoke. Holly closed her eyes and imagined the layout of the room. Taking her crutch she silently made her way to the location of the computer as fast as she could. She came across someone along the way, but applied pressure to a pressure point to knock him out before he could alert the others. She reached the computer, ejected the disk and slipped it into her pocket.

A hand came out of the smoke and gripped her by the throat, slamming her against the wall. Holly gasped as her vision faltered and Talon’s face swum into view.

“You little bitch!” He snarled. Holly weakly raised her gun and shot him in the kneecap. He immediately dropped her and Holly landed hard on her broken leg. White hot pain shot up it. It was almost as bad when she first broke it. She gripped her crutch and abandoned the gun. Holly made her way over to a window and opened it. Smoke began to pour out of it and bullets ricocheted off the side of the wall as Holly climbed through and made her way to the fire escape. She descended the railing as quickly as her leg would allow. As she came to the last one, she swung the railing down. She began to climb down, which was no easy task with a broken leg. All around her she could hear cries of alarm as residents stuck their heads out the window and saw smoke rising from the apartment. Holly could even hear a few sirens off in the distance.

Holly landed on the ground as lightly as she could and wondered what to do next. A car pulled up in front of her and the back door opened. Holly took a step back, but was relieved to discover that it was only David and Claire.

“Get in!” called David roughly from the driver’s seat. Holly made walked up to the backseat and Claire helped her in. Claire slammed the door shut behind her and the car took off down the road. Holly allowed herself a small sigh of relief. She turned to Claire.

“Are you alright?” Claire looked at her for a moment and opened her mouth. Nothing came out, but eventually Claire shook her head.

“No. I’m not. I’ve never come that close to dying before.”

“It doesn’t get any better the more it happens.” Holly told her. Claire brushed a strand of hair from her eyes.

“I have no attention to see if you’re right about that.” There was quiet in the car for a while. Eventually Holly spoke up.

“I’m sorry. To both of you,” she added looking at David. “I never meant for this to happen. I wanted to leave as soon as possible, but…” David shook his head angrily.

“Maybe it would have been better if you had.”

“David!” cried Claire cried out.

“No! Listen to me Claire,” he said angrily. “We were almost killed back there. I was attacked in my own apartment. It was beaten and tied up. Someone put a fucking gun to your head! I don’t care if Holly intended it to happen or not. It happened because of her.” Holly looked down at her hands. He was right of course. Try as she might to deny it, all that had transpired had happened because of her. Now David and Claire were involved. Claire reached out and took Holly’s hand and held it.

“Holly. I think now it’s the time to tell me what’s going on. No more secrets okay?” Holly looked into Claire’s green eyes and nodded solemnly. Claire had a right to know what she was a part of now.

“Alright. I’ll tell you everything.”

[End notes: Thank you everyone who has reviewed this story so far. You’re advice, criticism, and praise is always very much appreciated. Please don’t hesitate to review and tell me what you think. And I’ll try to find a more regular update schedule. You can also find this on fictionpress.com on my account Mirror of Remembrance.]

Story: Tattered Petals in the Wind (all chapters)

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4