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So here is all chapter three. I got it finished because someone was threatening to harm me if it wasn't finished before I got home. Enjoy.
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May 5, 2035. US/Former Mexico border. Threat level: High.
The border between the US and the former Mexico, now part of the super-country controlled by the World Governor, is guarded by two twenty-five foot tall electric fences with 200 feet of demilitarized zone and watchtowers every one-hundred feet. US guards are posted on the US side, and the World Governor’s soldiers on his. No weapons of any kind are allowed in the demilitarized zone, and anyone caught approaching the fences without proper clearance is shot immediately. The stifling heat of the desert is enough to cause tempers to flare, and many small fights between the two sides have been engaged without orders. The offense is punishable by death.
Illegal immigrants are a problem for the border sentries. By law, all illegal immigrants are to be escorted to the border and shot if they resisted, but oftentimes the sentries trained by the district can be paid off. For five years, the stream of immigrants was increasing, until one day, it suddenly stopped. This suspicious activity was cause for alarm, and reported to the US HQ immediately.
Captain Dalin Malstron and his sergeant, Falcon Elridge, have been assigned to survey the former Mexican border. The suspicious activity reported needs further investigation. Dalin is trained in undercover investigations and Falcon has partial training. The general received a recommendation from Dalins instructor, thus causing him to send them. Little do they know that there is a greater purpose.
Falcon once again stared at the empty room. In the act of packing, all her belongings were removed, leaving the room as barren as it was when she first saw it. Her arm was completely healed thanks to the state-of-the-art technology regarding bone growth. Dr. Coultin, however, was puzzled when she explained how she broke it.
“You got a spiral fracture… by tripping?” he asked, doubt clouding his normally very expressive eyes. When she nodded, he only sighed. “I guess that only you could accomplish that.”
Pondering once again why she didn’t tell him what really happened, she shrugged. That was the past, no use in thinking ‘shoulda-coulda.’ Shouldering her bag, she exited her room, this time making sure to lock the door. She didn’t want anyone accidentally wandering in there while she was gone.
Walking down the halls, she entered courtyard 3. Dalin was already there, lounging in the front seat of the jeep. Looking up, he hid something that looked like a smile. “I thought females took forever to pack.”
Falcon stopped in her tracks. “Did… did you just crack a joke, sir?”
His eyebrows furrowed. “Can’t I have a sense of humor?”
She shook her head and muttered to her self, “So much for Frosted Flakes…”
His head snapped up. “Frosted Flakes!” he demanded in a voice slightly higher than normal. Falcon took a step back as a leapt out of the jeep. “I am not a breakfast cereal!” He glared at her, “Who calls me that?”
Falcon fought down a giggle. His hair had just flopped into his eyes, and he looked…
She swiftly disbanded that train of thought. He was her superior officer. No relationship could form. “Just a few people and they mean it in an endearing way,” she reassured. It was stretching the truth a little, but it was used jokingly.
He brightened and said, “Well, as long as I’m not called that to my face, I’m fine.” Getting back into the jeep, he closed the door. He was obviously waiting for her to get in, so she threw her bag in the back, hopped in, and deftly buckled the seatbelt. “Hold on tight.” Grinning, Dalin threw the vehicle into reverse, and slammed on the acceleration.
“Oh s**t!” she gasped, and he switched to drive. Tires squealing, they raced down the streets of HQ, dodging cars and pedestrians. When he exited the base, she realized he was holding back. The needle plunged to over one-hundred as he drove like a madman down the freeway.
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Falcon struggled with the seatbelt release button, still shaking. Dalin chuckled as she finally released herself from the only thing that kept her safe. Throwing open the door, she flung herself onto the grass. “Thank God!” she exclaimed. “I’m alive!”
Dalin, who looked like he didn’t have so much as a hair out of place, calmly exited the car. “I wouldn’t let any harm come to you,” he insisted. Approaching her, he pulled her upright with one arm. “Now stand straight. What will the onlookers think when they see you groveling on the ground?”
“What will they think?!?” she hissed. “What will they think when they see the skid marks leading right to the jeep?!?”
He sighed. “Now come on. They aren’t even as long as they normally are.” She still looked frantic, so he added, “Well, at least we traveled more than we would have if some one else drove.”
She just muttered under her breath, “So cocky.”
Dalin smiled. “You know it.” Walking leisurely away, he headed over to the main office while Falcon stayed with the jeep. It only took about five minutes for him to get the key, and he said, “We have a lower-floor room.” He motioned to the room directly across from where they parked, and she grabbed their bags from the back. Tossing him his, she followed him to the room.
He unlocked the room, walked in, and started laughing. Puzzled, she flipped on the light. There was only one bed, and no couch. “You have got to be eff-in’ me.” She looked at Dalin, who was trying to hold his laughter in check. “I’m sleeping on the floor,” she insisted.
“I wouldn’t do that,” he warned. “At least the bed is clean.”
Falcon stared horrified at the floor, then a Dalin. “What do you mean?”
Shaking his head, he answered, “Well, you see...”
She held up her hand to stop him in mid sentence, “Wait. Better question. How do you know?”
Smiling wryly, he tapped his nose. “My superior smelling ability. I’m actually surprised you can’t smell it.”
She sighed, and walked to the bathroom. It appeared to be clean. “Is this place okay?”
Dalin spoke from directly behind her instead of at the door like she expected, causing her to jump. “Yeah. It’s only the carpet that’s dirty.”
Relieved, she put her toiletries on the counter. “You really can be helpful sometimes,” she said with a mocking smile.
Dalin pretended to look hurt. “Glad to be of some use,” he said. Walking out of the bathroom, he set his bag on the bed, digging through it and pulling out his toiletries. He walked back to the bathroom and set them next to hers. “You can have the shower first,” he said.
“Thank you,” Falcon replied. He left her, shutting the door behind him. She sighed. They would have to share a bed. While her rational thoughts told her this was a bad thing, the same voice that questioned her during the advanced survival training questioned her here. Telling it to shut up, she started the shower. It was one of the old manual ones, so it took her a minute to get the temperature right.
She made sure she showered as quickly as she could. As much as she loved hot water, she didn’t want to use it all. Shutting off the water, she reached with her Mech arm for a towel. The elbow creaked, and she realized she hadn’t oiled it in a while. Looks like I have to do that tonight, she thought. Drying off and dressing in a spare white tank and red shorts, she brushed out her long hair, drying it off enough that it didn’t drip. Grabbing her bag with her dirty clothes, she walked into the room.
Dalin looked up, and said, “I got some food, if you’re hungry. Burgers.” He then stood, grabbed his bag, and walked into the bathroom.
Falcon looked at the bag, and decided she was hungry. Grabbing a burger, she looked at the pile of wrappers that Dalin placed in there. Good God! How many burgers did he eat? Eight? Checking her burger for anything unpleasant like onions, she started eating. Scarfing down the food, she ate a second before realizing that she had. She didn’t even know she was that hungry.
Sighing when she finished, she retrieved the oil from her bag, and started the long process of oiling every joint. She was so absorbed in the task, she didn’t even realize Dalin had come in until he spoke. “That’s some high quality Mech right there.”
Falcon jumped, luckily not spilling any oil on the bed. She looked up, and immediately looked back down. Dalin decided a shirt was unnecessary, and was wearing only black cotton pants. “Well, Michael did invent Mech. It makes sense that his are more elegant and mobile,” she said, keeping her mind on a short leash. He had to know how good he looked. He sat next to her, and her heart skipped. “Don’t startle me like that,” she hissed.
He raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Can’t keep your mind off this?” He gestured to his naked torso, which was occupying ninety-five percent of her brain right now.
She spluttered indignantly. He was completely right. “O-o-of course I can you vulgar, chauvinistic b*****d!” Her eyes focused on a drop of water that was threatening to fall at any moment off his hair. When it did fall, it landed square on his chest. Her eyes were drawn as it trailed down his well sculpted abs to his—
“My eyes are up here,” he said, breaking her trance. She blushed. How the hell did he have that body after eating eight hamburgers?
Controlling her mind again, she said, “I know. Your hair is dripping wet. Why don’t you dry it some more?”
He smiled as if he knew what she was really thinking. “Because it’s easier to do this,” he explained. It was a weak reason.
“If you go to bed with wet hair, you’ll catch a cold,” she said.
“Aww, are you worried about my health?” he drawled, smirking.
She scoffed. “I don’t want you sneezing on me later.”
“I don’t get sick,” he stated, but stood anyways to go into the bathroom to dry his hair.
“Use a towel!” she called after him. She didn’t want the bathroom covered in water droplets. She heard a muffled laugh before a blow dryer started. Her jaw dropped as she realized he was actually blow drying his hair. After about five minutes, it shut off and he walked out, hair completely dry.
“This dry enough for you?” he asked.
“Smartass,” was all she offered for an answer.
He chuckled again, and walked to the bed, grabbing the bag that held the burgers. “Are you going to eat the last one?” he asked. Falcon shook her head, and he said, “I’ll eat it, then.” He retrieved it from the bag, and scarfed it down in a short amount of time. “What?” he asked and she realized she had been staring.
“How do you eat nine hamburgers within one hour?”
He gave a mysterious grin. “Fast metabolism,” he said as he threw the bag into the trash can. “Are you done oiling that?” he asked, gesturing to her arm. Because he didn’t make a big deal of her Mech, she wasn’t very self conscious of it. Only when people stared at it did she feel the need to hide it.
Giving the wrist one more squirt of oil, she said, “Yeah.” Closing the oil, she wiped any excess from the surface. Lying down on the left side of the bed, she pulled the blanket under her chin and curled up just as the lights turned out. The mattress shifted as Dalin climbed in after her, staying on his side of the bed and only draping the blanket up to his waist.
She closed her eyes, trying to delete the image of him from her mind. The last thing she wanted was a dream of him. She could have sworn she heard him chuckling before she fell asleep.
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They actually reached Texas within two days, a time Falcon had thought impossible before being proved wrong by Dalin. When he pulled into the small town near the border, he was actually going the speed limit, unlike most of the trip. He was looking for something, and when Falcon inquired about it, he simply answered, “A hotel. We’ll be staying a while, so might as well be comfortable.”
One finally came into view, and Falcon pointed it out to him. It was a simple bed and breakfast, typical of most small towns. But it was better than nothing, so Dalin grumbled and reluctantly stopped. Parking, she looked at the group of kids that were staring at them. She silently thanked Dalin for making her dress in civilian clothing. Two military personnel would be a rare sight, and would create problems.
They got out of the jeep, and each shouldered their bags. These types of duffle bags were common enough among the civilian population not to be noticed. They walked into the building and up to the check-in desk. A homely woman greeted them.
“Welcome to Bonnie’s Bed and Breakfast! What may I do for you?” she asked, extremely cheerful.
“Do you have an open room? We don’t know how long we will be staying, as Josie and I want to relax for a while,” Dalin said, obviously making up a story as well as names. Theirs were quite unusual.
The woman smiled at Falcon, who smiled back. “Yes we do. We don’t get many visitors, so the rooms are mostly open. The rate is twenty-five dollars a night. Is this fine?” Dalin nodded, so she continued, “What name will you be under?”
“Nathan Clark,” Dalin said smoothly. He either had a knack for lying, or he thought the names up in advance.
The women wrote the name down, grabbed a key, and said, “Follow me.” She led them up some stairs and to a door with a large eight on it. She handed them the key. “Dinner is from six to eight. Breakfast is from seven to nine, and lunch from eleven to one. You two go ahead and get comfortable. If you need anything, just ask me,” the woman said before turning to leave.
Dalin opened the door, revealing a sun-bathed room with a large bed, a desk and chair, and a dresser. Falcon only saw the single bed and suppressed a groan, while Dalin chuckled again. They entered and closed the door. “It’s perfect for our cover story,” Dalin said.
“Unfortunately,” Falcon mumbled, tossing her bag so it landed against the wall. “Don’t make this a habit. I don’t normally sleep in the same bed as my commanding officer.”
Dalin smirked. “Aww, and I was just thinking what a great sleeping partner you were,” he drawled. He then dodged the pillow Falcon threw at him.
“Don’t you have anything better to do than make suggestive comments?” she asked, annoyed.
Dalin shrugged. “Not really.”
“Gah!” she exclaimed. “I’m going out.” She went to her bag and pulled out her wallet, looking through. She didn’t have much…
“Here,” Dalin said, holding out a credit card.
Falcon shook her head. “No, I shouldn’t,” she resisted.
Smiling, he replied, “Now, now. There isn’t anything you could buy here that would even dent my balance.” He waved the card tauntingly. “Besides, it’s normal for a wife to take her husbands credit card. It’s p-l-a-t-i-n-u-m.”
Falcon gave up. “Fine,” she said, taking it and slipping it next to her debit card. “I’ll keep an eye out, too. Don’t worry.”
“Who said I would? Oh, the PIN is 2203. I’m gonna sleep for a while. Have fun,” he said, kicking off his shoes and laying down.
Falcon smiled, and left the room. This town reminded her of her hometown. She hadn’t seen Michael and Sasha in a while. Maybe she could convince Dalin to make a detour. He might even have a new model ready for her.
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Falcon had gotten most of the souvenir shopping done. A woven wool blanket for Kelli, who often complained hers was too thin. For Alex she bought a book about traditional herbal medicines and remedies. He didn’t like taking factory made medications. All that was left was something for Edward.
As for the other reason she ventured out, she had discovered nothing.
There was one place left for her to search. The Antique Store. Walking through the door, she found herself surrounded by old furniture and decorative pieces. She browsed, and suddenly heard something of interest.
“Hey. Did you hear those screams last night?” a voice asked.
“Yeah. Scared me shitless. They sounded like they were coming from that abandoned warehouse at the edge of town. Some of my buddies went to check it out, only to be turned back by the border patrol.”
Falcon grinned. Finally something useful. They stopped talking about that, instead going on about their plans for the weekend. She continued looking when she saw a knife. It was perfect, made of obsidian and razor sharp. Edward had been discussing how difficult it was to find a good knife.
She pointed it out to the owner, and he nodded. “Yes. This is perfect for any knife enthusiast. It was used in ancient Aztec sacrifices. Unfortunately, I can only sell it to those over eighteen or in the military.”
Falcon sighed, pulling out her fake ID. Dalin had said not to, under any circumstances, show that she was associated with the military. So he pulled some strings and had a fake ID made for her.
The shop owner studied it, then gave it back. “I’ll just put it in a box for you. It’ll be 95 dollars.”
Falcon handed her Dalin’s credit card. “It’s my husbands,” she said when he raised his eyebrows.
“He’s a lucky man to be married to you,” was all he said, swiping the card. “Sign this, please,” he said, handing her the receipt.
Falcon picked up the pen, the fake signature flowing easily from her pen. She had been signing like that for the majority of the day. And if the last name was slower than the first, the owner didn’t question it.
He handed her the card and box, and she left the store, telling him to have a nice day. She then made her way back to the Bed and Breakfast, eager to reveal her news.
When she finally entered the room, she was surprised to find that Dalin was still asleep. She quietly closed the door behind her, slipping off her shoes and placing the shopping bags next to her bag. She went through her bag and found her notebook and pen.
She went to sit on the bay window seat and started a summary of what she overheard. It wasn’t much, barely even five lines, but it was something. The scratching of her pen must’ve woken Dalin, for he sat up, looking at her in surprise.
“When did you get in here?” he asked.
“About five minutes ago,” she answered, closing the notebook. “Sir, I found something useful.”
He stretched languidly. “Really? What?”
“I overheard that screams have been heard coming from an abandoned warehouse the past few days. Apparently someone went to investigate, only to be turned away by the border patrol,” she said.
Dalin grinned. “Great work, Elridge. We finally have a lead. Get ready.”
“For what, sir?” she asked.
“We are going to follow this lead. Get your Field Uniform out. We leave at midnight, but we need to plan”
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It's shorter than the others, but I thought it would be better to let the chapter end there.
 love-sesshy · Tue Jul 21, 2009 @ 03:46am · 1 Comments |
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