Balance (23 page)

Michael tries to pull away.
 
Takada warns him
if he continues, Rena will suffer. 
F
orced to
remain
under control
,
he
watches
Rena, in
horror
,
mout
h his name.  His heart breaks.

For several minutes, the soldiers
patrol
the bar look
ing for the assailant,
Rena
pulled along
as their hostage and human shield
.

Then Michael sees it happen, the moment
she
realizes he’
s not coming,
understands
she’
s on her own.
  Her eyes narrow, mouth closes and
the muscles in her jaw tense. 
‘Her fierce’;
the pet she keeps bottle
d
up inside, the one she only lets out when she feels threatened
,
has just
entered
the
saloon
.

Michael knows i
mmediately why Takada’s lesson
this morning was the ‘element of surprise’.  These two
soldiers
have
no
idea
as to
who’
s in the bar with them.  This incredibly beautiful young wom
a
n, the expert infiltrator, who
m
Takada himself trained and acknowledged was more deadly than many of his
own
Dispatch
agents, just realized
she’s
the only person that will get her
self
out of this situation.

W
ithout warning
, Rena
drops her weight
down
;
at the same time,
her
right
hand swings up
,
striking
the
assailant’s
hand holding the
bottle,
driving it backward,
just past her descending
cheek
.
 
The jagged end of the bottle hits her captor full in the face, cutting his eye, nose and mouth
,
blood spraying everywhere.
  He falls to his knees
, releasing the bottle.

Rena
understands
,
terminating
the soldier
,
the unknown gunmen
established the terms of this altercation. 
She spins on the spot,
and
w
ithout hesitation
,
strikes,
driving
the heel of her open palm directly into
his
left
orbital socket.  His
eyeball
explodes
.  The man screams
, his hands
covering
his
face.
Rena grabs the bottle in her
left
hand
,
her right
reaching for
the other cue lyin
g on the pool
table
.
S
he turns
to confront the
last
hostile
.

D
istracted,
t
he soldier
had
not
witness
ed
Rena
dispatch
his companion, does not realize how lethal she is. 
Turning around, he finds himself confronted by the tiny female, the bar whore, all weaponed up.  He r
egar
ds her with a laugh, raising his
pool cue out away from his body
, taunting
.

Rena expected
his
bravado, knew he would make this exact mistake.  Her pool cue,
tip in her hand,
heavy end
rested on the floor,
veers
up
suddenly
,
striking
t
he soldier’s groin
with intense force
.

He fall
s
forward
to his knees,
dropping the cue,
clut
ching his
crotch
with both hands.
 
L
ike a dancer
,
Rena
pirouettes
,
smash
ing
the bottle
into
the
back
of his head,
spraying
blood across the bar.

Before his
dead
body hits the floor,
the cue
swings
into the air over her head
, s
weeping in
a full circle
, accelerating
.
T
he heavy end
impact
s
with
crushing
force
at
the
base of the
first solder’s
skull, snapping the cue in half.

Rena stands
shaking;
surveying the
carnage
wrought on these three unsuspecting men. 
Aware
she
’
s
under surveillance
,
suspect
ing
Michael
at this moment
forcibly restrained,
she holds back the tears
…
f
or his life as well as her
own.
  All she can do
,
silently
scream
,
‘
What have I done
’
,
over and over
in her head
.

The entrance
to
the
saloon
opens.
 
Fior
, worry on his face,
stand
s
in the doorway, his hand outstretched, invit
es
Rena to come with him
.

In a daze, she walks out to the gravel parking lot and into the limo.  Covered in blood, alcohol an
d sweat, she climbs
to the back, retreating to th
e far corner of the compartment, away from everyone, her mind crying out for only one person’s comfort
and protection
.

F
or the short ride back to the Bunker
,
s
he says nothing
, acknowledges no one
.

E
scorted back to the
Immersion Offices
,
Rena
wa
lks in withou
t a word,
searching and
finding
Michael
across the
room
.
Relieved he’
s
unharmed
,
s
he
slowly
moves
toward him
.

Takada watching, studying
,
signals
Michael to help her
.

Striding
quickly across the space,
Michael
gathers
Rena
to him
, feeling her weight
slump as
she falls into
his arms.
Takada had already instructed
him
to take Rena back to her quarters. 
The rest of their schedules
cleared for the day.  Michael would ex
plain the test to her when she’
s ready.

Michael
ushers
Rena
from the Immersion office.  Outside he picks her up and carries her
to her quarters
, her face buried in his
chest.  Straight into
Rena’s
bedroom, h
e helps her
undress;
never uttering a word
.

Rena
knows there’
s no malicious intent,
Michael
’s
only concern,
her
wellbeing
.

After h
elp
ing
Rena
into
a
hot
shower,
h
e picks up her soiled c
lothes, putting them into a bag
he
drops
by the entrance.
 
G
ather
ing
clean under-
garments,
a
robe and a towel
,
he
leav
es
them in the bathroom. 
Going
across the hall
to his quarters
,
taking
the bag of clothes and
leaving it
th
ere,
Michael
r
eturn
s
quickly
with a f
resh set of his own.
Going
in
to
the kit
chen
,
he
makes some hot tea
and waits
.

After many long minutes, Rena enters the main living
space
wrapped in her robe.  Michael helps
her to the couch and some tea. 
M
aking
her
comfortable,
he tells her he
’
ll be right back.
Leaving only to go
int
o her bathroom
to clean himself up
, not having a chance
before going to
the
immersion
offices
.

After a quick shower, Mich
ael returns to the living space, f
inding
Rena
curled up on the couch, despondent
.

Sliding up next to her, putting his arms around her, she collapses into his chest.  He can feel her body
shudder
from the silent sobs he knows she’s been holding back since the bar.  He holds he
r
safe u
ntil she falls asleep.  Careful
to
not wake her,
Michael
picks
Rena
up
, takes her into the bedroom
and
places
her in
bed.  R
emoving
her
robe,
he
pull
s
the sheets up
over her tiny, fragile body
.
 
As he turns to leave, her
hand slides
into his
.

“
S
tay
. 
Please
don’t leave me
alone
.”
She whispers
like a frightened child
.

“Of course.” 
Lying
down on
top of
the covers
next to her, his
eyes
gaze
into
hers.

She touches his cheek, her eyes wet with unfallen tears, “Thank you.” She whispers.

He takes her hand, holding it strong, “Sleep.” He pleads
.

Knowing she’s safe,
Rena
closes her eyes and
falls asleep
.

After a rest
less
night,
one
in which
she
cries out several times,
Rena sleeps quietly.  Michael never left her side, always there when she woke, always there to make sure she felt safe.

5:00
AM.

Michael
wakes;
t
here are no computer chimes this morning. 
Careful
not
to
disturb
Rena, he goes into the main living area
to
make
himself some coffee
.