Balance (15 page)

“You know
,
you’re quite beautiful when you laugh.”

F
eel
ing
a little uncomfor
table,
she
comments,
“Does that line work
?”

“
On women? 
Don’t know, haven’t tried
it,
yet
…
think it might?”
Trying to h
umor her
, Michael stands
and starts
strolling around the apartment, glancing
into her bedroom.  “Listen, we’ve got our walking leashes no
w
, let’s get the hell out of the padded cells for a while
.
”

“Do you mind, if I slip into something, I don’t know, a little more clothed
?” She
giggles
in response.

“Absolutely, I’d hate for anyone to get the wrong idea an
d all.  Oh
,
here, you left this.”
  Tossing her jacket left
behind
in the arena.

Rena walks into her bedroom, leaving the door ajar so s
he can still hear Michael, continuing
the conversation. “So
…
you’ve
noticed
their interest in …us
?
”

“Hard not to
.
I don’t think it’s a bad thing
.  I must admit, I’m
a little surprised
how well we
seem
to
work together.  You don’t think there are ulterior motives?”

Rena knows there are motives.
What
they are, she’s not sure yet. 
“
D
epends what they want us doing for them in the future
.
”

“You know
the comment
,
about your laugh
…”
Michael offers shyly.

Rena remains quiet
.

“I’m just telling you the truth … I guarantee, I’m not the only one to notice.  You’re probably going to have a lot a guys here wanting to get to know you.”

Rena
,
holding her tan
k top against her chest, smiles.
S
he knows she’s developing feelings for Michael. 
S
he
also
knows that could be problematic.
  She hadn’t planned on this, on them … as a team.  The fewer bonds, the better … she knows that’s the only way to survive here, but making her heart agree with her mind …
also
problematic. 
Pulling
on
the
tank
,
she
grabs a clean jacket and
steps out of the bedroom
w
earing the customary black workout attir
e
. 
“Then
,
I’m going to have to stick around you, since you’re the most dangerous person in the building.”
She comments.

Michael turns to Rena, turquoise eyes sparkling, her
long red hair
falling
loose,
coiling on her shoulder
s and down her back, the form-fitting clothing accentuating her body’s curves.
  He
stares
,
appreciating her beauty
,
“Yeah …
that mig
ht end up being a full time job …
Besides, the way I hear it
,
Takada is the most dangerous person in this building.”

“Really? …
he’s quite charming … i
n an assassin
kind of way.”  Rena
responds
.

B
oth laugh
at her assessment
as they exit her quarters.

Together, they
explore the
Bunker
, reflecting on
their abandoned lives
.

Michael is surprised
to discover
Rena was an orphan
.  She didn’t remember her parents,
dying
when she was three.  She thought
they
might
have been fairly well-to-do,
maybe Elite,
since she was placed in a rather priva
te orphanage, a trust fund set
up for her through the facility.  She was well cared for, educated in social graces and the arts
,
learn
ing
ballet
and piano
. 
Rena admits
the
facility
was nice
, staying there until she was eleven, when she
was
adopted
.  Her adoptive father was a
n influential teacher.  When he was around, which wasn’t much
, he was great to her
.
 
Because he was gone so much, s
he spent a lot of time in pr
ivate education.

Rena
,
becoming
emotional
,
tell
s Michael
that when she was
seventeen
, they had a falling out
and she left home.  She
still
had a
sizeable trust fund to draw from, so she w
as okay for the most part.  For
the last
five
years, she’s been on her own.

Michael’s life was not
as
privileged.  His parents died when he was eight. 
Living
with his aunt after that,
he was
pretty much left to his own vices until she passed away when he was fifteen.  He’d been getting by on his own smarts
ever since. 
Michael
tells Rena that
his talents came in handy, in both legal and illegal pursuits. 
Doing
what he could to survive,
he
stay
ed
away from t
he flesh peddlers and pushers,
taking
jobs that were
dangerous, where his skills made him uniquely suited. 
The
cage
fighting
started
when he turned twenty
.  The cages might be brutal and barbaric, but they had a code, no one under the age of consent.

By the time they head to the dining hall, they’ve walked
for
hours.

Michael brings
up the arena test and her anger at him, now
referring to it as ‘her fierce’
, as if it were a pet.  She laughs
as he points out
he’s met ‘her fierce’
four times
,
first
in the hallway with the promoter,
then
the dining hall
during the tryout
,
in
the arena
when she got angry
and in her quarters when he chasti
sed her.  Michael characterized
it
,
as those times when she would get that steely defiant attitude where she was going to do something
…
probably dangerous.

Rena
studies
Michael with keen interest.  He had
a
unique
way o
f
compartmentalizing his experiences; e
verything going on around him
sorted,
packaged,
and put away for future use.  He didn’t seem to ponder why things happened.  She thought it might be a defense mechanism, using humor to navigate the packages.  He didn’t seem to
be
overly concerned about his gifts, what Chango ha
d planned for him or
the
world
around him. 
However
,
for all his
short-term
memory, he was highly protective and caring, he just didn’t really have anything in his life to care about, that he had to protect, until now.  She could tell he felt
responsible for her.  Even though she was the elder, he was her big brother and bodyguard.

Dinner is uneventful for a change.  They still sit opposite each other, scanning the surrounding
s
, although t
hey talk more during the meal, light banter, nothing that co
uld be a problem if overheard.

Rena notices the same table of
elders
,
now four,
still
appearing
to have
significant
interest in one or
the
both of them.

Michael
watches
as
Waters and Rodriguez enter the hall together and he
ad immediately to the balcony,
confident
the two together
means
the topic of discussion,
he and Rena. 
He’s
glad to see Rena relaxed, even smiling.  He was worried
she would be embarrassed and uncomfortable
this
soon after the arena incident.

H
e just happens to scan the room and
notic
es an
inordinate
number of
guys watching their table, catching
himself
wishing she wasn’t smiling quite so much. 
Michael has
a battle going on inside his head, his attraction
to Rena and his fear
she’
s in over her head.  This beautiful young wom
a
n should not be here, she should be happy and at home
,
laughing with her children
and kissing her husband
.  Than it hits him, that world re
ally doesn’t exist, in his life
time at least. 
He finds it
odd
he
would
meet
someone so unjaded …
normal, like finding a diamond in a dirt field.

Rodriguez
descend
s
from the balcony
and
joins them.  R
e
mind
ing
Rena
of her
appointment w
ith the psychologist
,
they
leav
e
together
shortly after
his
arrival.

Waters joins Michael
minutes later
.
 
“Michael, as I mentioned,
a few people would like to meet you.
” He
states
,
look
ing
over h
is shoulder and
nodding
.

The four ‘elders’, as Rena has dubbed them
,
rise from their table and approach.

T
he taller of the two
males
introduces
the group.  “
Good e
vening Mr. Allen,
i
t
’
s our pleasure to make your acquaintance.  This is Mr. Black, Ms. Pearl, Ms.
Gold and my name is Mr. Grey.”

Michael laugh
s,
“Are you serious?”

Mr. Grey smiles
politely
, “It’s for our protection, yours as well.”

Michael composes himself, looking
at Waters
, realizing the gravity of the situation
.

“These are four of our best, shall we say
…
field assets
.
”
Waters expounds
.

“
S
eers
, Dear
.
” Ms. Pearl interjects, “We’
re looking forward to the chance to
work with
you and Ms.
O’Neil
in the field.  Your demonstration last night w
as quite enjoyable.  I dare say
we were
quite disappointed in the early conclusion
to your
… negotiations
.”