Balance (55 page)

“
Ma
ssage, huh
?” She
ask
s
, her
charming
half smile
an indication of his
good sense
.

“A
t least I’ll try.  You’re the expert.” r
ecalling
their stay
in Chicago.

R
e
leas
ing
the towel
and
letting it fall
to
the
floor
.
N
aked
,
she climbs on
to
the bed,
l
ying
face down.

Michael watches her with affection,
“You’re not going to make this easy
,
are you
?
”

“If a smoking hot guy is willing to give me a massage, I had better make sure I get my money’s worth.”

“Not sure how to t
ake that comment
.”
He
laughs, “
I had
m
a
ssage oil with C
hamomile, Lavender and
Peppermint made up.  This should help relax you.
  I think the guys in the lab were jealous.
”
  He
leans over
her toned back
, kiss
es
the nape of the neck
and whispers, “Rena, I love you, so please let me help you, even
if
it’s just a massage.  You need to rest, so try to relax and fall asleep.”

H
er face turned toward
him
,
Rena
smiles, eyes glistening, “I love you Michael
.
Y
ou are helping, in
so
many ways
, you really are
.  I’ll try to ease
you
r
concerns … and thank you.”

Michael
massages the oil into her body,
trying to
soothe
her muscles
and her mind
.
Regardless of the in
nuendo, she needs rest.  Both of
their lives
depend on her being
at the
top of h
er game.  It takes about half an
hour
,
but Rena finally
drifts off
.

After laying
a towel over her
resting form
and
pulling
the
sheet
up
, h
e
lights
lavender
candles
,
hop
eful
it
will help her rest peacefully
.

Stepping out of
the
bedroom into the sitting room, h
e has an overwhelming urge to look at whatev
er she
’s
working on, but he knows her obsession could be dangerous
.
N
o matter what he finds, even if it helps, could do irreparable damage to their relationship.  Whatever she’s working on, she’s working late at night for a reason.
  He trusts her; s
he’ll let
him
in
when she’s ready.

…

F
or
three
months, since the Whitemir
e discovery
,
Meg has trained relentlessly
.
Michael
concentrated
on
improving
her combat skills,
specifically hand-to-hand and close quarter engagements.
T
he suggestions Rena
proposed, focusing on anticipating reactions
, help to accelerate her grasp of the various
fighting
styles and their strategic application
.

Early on,
Rena
recommended
introduc
ing sniper training,
more intended to teach
the
tactical a
spects over actual marksmanship
,
educating
Meg in
the
locat
ion
and identif
ication
of
hostiles
or concealed
threats
.
 
To Michael
’s
surprise,
she
shows an affinity for the rifle.
A
l
though not
sniper
level, her accuracy under 300-yards is very good improving to excellent
within
fifty
yards
.
 
He
suspects,
with continued
exposure,
she
would eventually attain sharpshooter level skills.

Concern
ed
for Meg’s deep cover safety, Rena
concentrates
her instruction
on
risk
identification
and subterfuge.
E
nlist
ing
Ms. Smith
’s help, they
place
Meg
in
various
simulations,
the Immersion Team coaching
her
on
manipulat
ing
the environment around her
, much
the way Michael and Rena changed perceptions based on small actions; like kissing, glances or carriage.
Meg’s skills
evolve
rapidly
, exhibiting excellent creativity when adjusting
to dynamic
conditions
.

Rena
introduce
s
Meg
to
advanced termination
techniques
.
U
sing drugs,
small-concealed
weapons and
lethal
points
in the human body
for situations requiring terminat
ion to secure or maintain
her immersion. 
To enhance her proficiencies, Meg
receives
tutoring
in p
harma
cology
and
human anatomy
.

Working
with
her privately,
Waters
instructs Meg in
communication and
computer ski
lls, as
well as
access
and
withdrawal
techniques.  It’
s during these opportunities
their relationship grows.
 

As the
ir
sessions progress,
she
begins to notice
frustration in
his
behavior
.  A
lthough
not directe
d at her, she
w
orries
something is wrong.  Fearful she’s underperforming, Meg
alerts Rena to her
observations
.

U
nderstanding
Waters
dilemma and
fearful of
Meg’s
potential awareness
of her
predicament
,
Rena
occasionally
substitutes for
him in Meg’s sessions.

Toward the end of the
three
month accelerated training
regimen
, Meg’s development starts to
progress
even
more rapidly, merging aspects of different
facets;
human anatomy and hand-to-hand
combat
, manipulation and advance termination
. 
As a result of their collective
efforts,
Meg
evolves
into a highly capable Infiltrator, thou
gh not
at
Rena’s level, superior
to
most
of her peers
in
the
Bunker
.

Rena hopes
Meg’s potential will sway Takada’s vision for the young
woman
.  Unfortunately, Takada
,
intent
o
n protecting
one of his
two
most valuable asset
s
,
starts immersing Meg
,
Mr. Black act
ing
as her conduit to the
Bunker
.

When not
immersed or
training with Michael
,
Rena
or
Waters
,
Meg
spends
most of her time in
research
,
looking for Whitemire
.
 
Though the lead
at the bar
was significant, advancing the investigation substantially, they
are
still not in position to launch a di
rect
action
.

Rena and
Meg
carry out small
fact-finding
ops
, with
Michael provid
ing
support in the field.  Waters
often
goes
in with Meg
,
posing
as her lover or husb
and.
Needing Michael
external to the immersion, Rena proposes the couple scenario to sell the
performance
and provide Meg extra security
and
assistance
.  Her abbreviated development schedule helps
Rena justify the extra detail.
 
While
Meg
cherishes the stolen time together,
Rena
’s
efforts
are not entirely altruistic.  The perception
that Meg requires
assistance helps veil
her
true potential,
Rena doing what she can to
protect this girl who has become like a sister.  At the same
time, the growing relationship undermines Takada’s influence over Waters, allowing Rena to lay the ground for her own
machinations.

The combination of long nights in the
Ready Room
,
Meg’s accelerated training,
occasional immersions,
stress and
general
lack of sleep tak
e
their toll on Rena.  Michael does every
thi
ng in his power to relax her, even
sequestering her to the bedroom
,
forcing her to
rest
. 
Functioning
as
her bodyguard within the
Bunker
,
Michael
limit
s
Rena’s
availability
to all
but
crucial
personnel.

E
at
ing
most of their meals
in their
residence
,
t
heir comforting
private
conversations
become
less frequent
as
Rena
grows
more
exhausted and
distant.
  Michael
worries
she’s
starting to breakdown
, both physically and mentally,
under the pressure
s
of
protecting Meg, the active operation
and
her own
private
demons.
He knows that unless they get a break on Whitemire,
she’l
l continue to digress
and
likely
end up in the infirmary
.