The Black Rose

As I stepped blindfolded onto the plane, my muddled brain felt as if someone had stuck it in a blender and hit scramble. From Dr. Marlo’s new serum and interrogations, to learning my former father was a leader in Shadow, I didn’t think I could take any more torturous surprises.

Ushered to my seat, the men lifted my blindfold, and as the light enveloped my senses, something stirred within.

“How was your visit?” Damien leered next to me. Damn, he’s back.

“Just another day at the spa,” I jeered, my blood beginning to boil as flashes of Dr. Marlo’s torture returned. I closed my eyes as a vision of me stabbing Mia took center stage.

“What’s wrong with you?” he barked.

“Nothing,” I muttered unconvincingly.

“You better have sucked up hard. It’s not only your ass on the line,” he seethed.

I could sense it. Damien was worried more so than usual. His pores oozed of it.

“Don’t get your panties in a wad,” I sassed. “Everything is under control,” I shrugged repugnantly.

Damien slunk in his seat as the tiny private plane began to take off.

The real question remained, was I actually under control? As much as I would like to think I maintained control, I knew that wasn’t the case. I fingered the vial of pills Nadine snuck in my pocket before I left. The faint traces of that satanic purple liquid remained within my system, but I knew it wouldn’t last long.

“Did you see Dr. Marlo?” Damien asked breaking the silence.

I paused. I didn’t want to think about that bald-headed demon nor the visions that tore through what little heart I had.

“Why do you ask?” I aired flatly.

“Just curious what Alex would be returning to L.A.” he trailed.

What a wonderful question. “The same Alex that came,” I muttered defiantly.

’Wonderful,” Damien snarked.

My left hand moved with lightning speed, grabbing his good wrist and twisting. I was mere millimeters from breaking his other wrist.

“Don’t start,” I snapped, vision blurred of my hands wrapped around Marlo’s neck. Anger bubbled within my veins.

“Go ahead, break it,” he gawked. “Add it to the laundry list you have created for yourself.”

I let go of his wrist and slung myself back in my seat. I wanted to kill him so badly. Dr. Marlo, Richard, the mysterious woman, the puppets in combat boots holding the guns, everyone. I tapped the window’s ledge, the anxiety building.

I rose, marching to the back of the plane. The young male steward stood promptly. “You shouldn’t be back here, Miss,” he reprimanded.

“You got any alcohol on this plane?” I asked.

He rummaged through the drawers until one opened, exposing several mini bottles of vodka.

“I’ll take that,” I moved around him, grabbing several in my fists. I was like the kid who took the whole damn bucket of candy on Halloween and didn’t feel the least bit guilty.

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” he rasped.

I rounded on him, “What is it with you people,” I seethed. “I am a grown fucking woman. If I want to have a drink, I can have a drink.”

He didn’t speak but cowered in fear. I turned on my heels and sat down in the farthest seat opposite Damien, for his own safety.

I twisted the vodka bottle cap and chugged. The clear liquid burned as it glided down my throat. I extracted the vial of pills from my pocket and took five, washing them down with the line of vodka mini’s. Damien glared at me from the opposite side of the plane. He knew better than to interfere.

Sitting back, I closed my eyes, letting the vodka and pills calm the torturous visions. By the time we landed, I could barely see straight. I stood, stammering slightly. Damien moved to grab me, but I pushed him away. “I’m fine,” I slurred.

He shook his head but didn’t protest. We moved to the same black Escalade and I slid rather clumsily into the passenger seat. Damien grabbed for his phone, surely to text Landon. Mia. My feelings and thoughts marred thanks to Marlo. I reached for my phone. I had five missed calls and ten texts from Mia. I gulped. My drunkenness dissolved slightly.

I glanced in Damien’s direction, and he too was pressed to his phone.

I slid mine open and read the texts.

Mia: Hope you are having a good day. I decided to sneak down to my lab and analyze your samples.

Mia: Jennifer. Call me, please.

Mia: I’m starting to get worried. Please call me.

Mia: I finished your results. CALL ME NOW!

They went on and on. Interspersed between the texts were the calls. I sighed. I shouldn’t have given her my blood. Stupid! I berated myself internally.

Me: Mia. I’m sorry, it was a rough day. I can’t talk right now but can I call you when I get home?

I could already see her typing.

Mia: Can you come over or can I come to you? It’s important.

I glanced at the time. It was ten pm. I needed to handle this one way or the other. Due to Dr. Marlo’s experiment, my thoughts towards Mia were clouded. The protective instincts soured.

Me: I will come to you.

I could feel the spurn of anxiety mixed with the vodka. Why had I drunk so much? I lay my head back, gazing out the window at the city. The city that I had barely come to know.

“When are you seeing Mia again?” Damien broke the silence. I guess his conversation with Landon was less amusing.

“Tuesday for dinner,” I mumbled, my head spinning slightly.

I grabbed my temples as the conflicting thoughts resurfaced.

Damien handed back the box I had given him before.

“Try to record everything this time,” he gazed at me with acute skepticism.

“Will do,” I moaned. My anxiety had reached new levels and was now threatening to overtake the alcohol. My heart raced. I wanted my hands around Damien’s neck. I wanted to strangle him, watch the life drain as I gazed into his eyes. My anxiety, my problems, would stay with him.

I couldn’t get out of this car fast enough. My breathing thickened. I thought I was going to be sick.

“Let me out,” I groaned.

“What?” Damien questioned. “We are still like three miles from your building.”

“Let me out!” I yelled. I moved to open the door but it was locked. My eyes grew wild as I gazed into the driver’s rear-view mirror. He pulled over immediately and unlocked the door.

“I’m going to walk the rest,” I fumbled with the door and opened it.

“Are you crazy?” Damien yelled exasperated, leaning over my empty seat.

“I need to walk it off!” I yelled back. I had already begun walking. The Escalade remained parked for two more minutes, but Damien thought better of it. He let me go.

I trudged down the dark, dank sidewalks of L.A.’s streets. I wasn’t a hundred percent sure where I was going, but at this moment, I didn’t care. My heart and head felt as if they might explode. I needed more alcohol.

I lifted my head and a miracle occurred. There was a liquor store two blocks in front of me. I walked faster, pulling my jacket closer to my body. There were three men drinking out of brown bags, sitting on the ground in front of the store. They mumbled some gibberish my way, but I didn’t pay them any mind.

I wandered in the store and went straight for the vodka, no point in mixing demons now.

I grabbed the first bottle of Grey Goose I could find. I opened the top and took a swig. It tasted amazing.

I turned and walked to the counter. I placed the opened bottle on it and the older balding gentleman with a stringy goatee looked at me apprehensively. I patted my jacket and pants and realized I didn’t have my wallet. Shit.

“I, uh, it seems I forgot my wallet,” I fumbled coyly.

“You already opened this,” he exclaimed loudly.

I know, I only live a few streets down from here. What if I left this here and then came back for it?”

“I can’t allow that.” He grabbed the bottle.

I sighed deeply. Now was not the time man, but my patience had worn thin. I turned to the right and marched around the counter. I jumped over it with ease, and I pushed the man back into the register. A few bottles of brown whiskey fell to the ground crashing.

“What the fuck?” he seethed. He moved to swing at me, but I ducked. I grinned. My eyes gleamed. I noticed a shard of glass on the ground from one of the broken bottles. When the man lunged again, I swooped low, kicking his leg out from under him, and he fell with a thud. My fingers grasped the glass shard, cutting into my skin, but I jabbed the glass straight to the man’s jugular. Blood sprayed wildly in all directions. I stabbed again, and again, and again until all I saw was blood.

My eyes wide, breath calm, I looked at my red hands and wrists. I stuffed the glass shard in my jacket pocket. Rising, I glanced around and found the camera in the corner facing the register. I grabbed the bottle of vodka and jumped back over the counter. I marched with purpose to the back of the store and kicked open the back door. I found the ancient computer monitor which showed the front of the store, the register, and the back.

“How high tech,” I murmured. I found a brick that doubled as a doorstop and I sent it crashing into the monitor. I poured a bottle of cheap restock vodka onto the hardware and watched as it short-circuited. My job done here, I sauntered from the back of the store, chugging the vodka bottle as I moved.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

My phone went off, jarring me conscious, I clumsily pulled it out of my pocket, my hands bloody. It was Mia.

“Ugh,” I squealed. Could I not catch a break?

“Hello?” I answered perturbed.

“Jennifer, where are you?” she sounded worried, the sound of her voice melted through my skin, my bones straight to my heart. The memories, the walls that Dr. Marlo forced up on me fell with one simple line.

“I’m sorry. I got held up,” I softened.

“Your blood. I need to see you now. Where are you? I can pick you up.”

I thought for a moment. Wishing I hadn’t of been so rash and so stupid. I couldn’t run from this.

“Yes,” I rushed, cutting her off. “I will text you the address.”

“Sure,” Mia muttered. “See you soon.”

She hung up before I could even finish. I swayed back and forth down the liquor walls, grabbing two handles of vodka as I went, finally making it to the front door. I glanced upward at the now useless camera and noticed a round mirror in the corner. I looked at myself. I had blood splatters on my face, neck, clothing, but I wasn’t staring at that. I was staring at me. My eyes were black, pupils dilated to full capacity. The darkness had taken over, and no amount of vodka would quell it. I reached for the pills, thrusting the open bottle into my mouth, a handful of pills hit my tongue. I swallowed. I didn’t trust this, Alex. I needed a muzzle if I was to see Mia in this condition.

Before walking out, I flipped the closed sign, then placed two bottles of vodka on the ground in front of the bums. “Thank you,” they mumbled, gazing wide eyed. I moved quickly to the darkened street, hoping those men didn’t catch a glimpse of their guardian angel. I needed them beyond drunk, so if they were ever questioned, they wouldn’t remember.

With my one free hand, I guided myself along the dirtied brick wall of the building to the dark corner. I had given Mia an address that was a block away. While I waited on her, I wiped what blood I could from my face and neck in a nearby puddle. My hand still bled from the glass shard, but I didn’t care.

Ding.

Mia: I will be there in twenty minutes.

I text back, my fingers fumbling over the keys.

Me: okau.

I chucked maniacally as my knees buckled. I was now one of those men posted at the front of the liquor store. Drunk, dirty, and just trying to contain the voices.

I put the vodka bottle to my lips again, and again, and again, trying desperately to numb myself. It didn’t work. They should have on the back of every alcohol bottle, “Will increase anxiety, paranoia, and make your problems worse.”

When Mia’s white Tesla pulled in front of me several minutes later, I was beyond drunk. I hoisted myself from the ground, almost falling back down again, and finally made it into her seat.

“What happened to you?” she asked as I got in.

“Just drive,” I mumbled. Mia put the car in drive, and pulled away from the curb. We rode in silence for a few moments, until a hiccup broke the barrier. I giggled.

“Did you drink that all yourself?” she asked in slight disdain. I glanced down at the bottle, which now looked like two. It was halfway gone.

“That would explain a few things,” I slurred, hiccupping again. “I also had nine more on my flight today.” I cheered the air.

“You were on a flight?” Mia pressed worriedly. My head lulled to the car window.

“Jennifer, what the hell happened?” Mia retorted. Her tone measurably angrier.

“Vodka?” I asked ignoring the question and my fake name. Handing her the bottle, my eyes glancing at her for the first time. Even within this darkness, she was beautiful. A vision of a bullet entering her head surfaced. I closed my eyes, “No, no,” I squealed aloud. I put my hands over my eyes, trying desperately to extricate the vision of how many times I shot Mia. “It wasn’t real,” I mumbled aloud.

“Let me have that,” Mia huffed, grabbing the bottle from my hand, she sat it on the ground next to her leg. My jaw tightened. My fists clenched. The demons inside wanted me to rip her head off, but the reproach and fear in Mia’s face were enough to make me melt.

“Jennifer, you’re scaring me,” Mia muttered, her brows furrowed, her lips in a slight frown.

My bloodied fists unclenched. How could I ever think those things?

“I, I need to shower,” I gasped, the weight of what had just unfolded and what was to come felt like a cement block on my chest.

“Okay, okay,” Mia cooed, and she didn’t try to talk to me anymore the entire car ride to her house. Once her car was safely in the garage, I fumbled for the door handle, which wasn’t there. Mia had to open the door from the outside for me. Since when did, buttons make a better door handle?

Mia helped me rise and guided me into the house and to the closest bathroom, which just so happened to be the one we shared our first kiss.

“There are towels here. I will get you a change of clothes, and we can clean up that cut,” she muttered, taking in my appearance in the light.

“Why are you covered in blood?” her worried tone resurfaced.

I ignored her questions, removing my jacket, my shirt, then my pants. Mia didn’t leave the room. I ripped off my bra and pulled off my underwear. Turning, I stood naked, unafraid in front of her. Mia’s eyes dropped down then back to mine.

“Why are you covered in blood?” she continued, her voice shaking.

“I will explain,” I stammered. Unsure if I even could at this moment. I had forgotten why I had blood on me in the first place. Mia glanced at me wearily but conceded.

She turned to walk out of the bathroom but I grabbed her hand. My eyes met hers and I could feel the tears well. There were so many things I wanted to tell her, to show her but no words escaped. I released her hand and moved to the shower.

I watched as Mia left the room, silently cursing myself for being so drunk, for being a coward. As I washed the blood from my skin and vodka from my pores, the ache in my heart remained. Mia couldn’t be washed off, she couldn’t be programmed or tortured from my mind, just as Annie couldn’t. Shadow thought they could genetically alter and psychologically eradicate love, but they were wrong. Love was stronger than all of it

Stepping out of the shower, I was finally ready to speak. I toweled off and dressed in the clothes Mia provided, stuffing my bloodied garments into the bathroom trash bag.

I tiptoed quietly to the kitchen, sitting the bag on the counter. My eyes met Mia’s. She was sitting at the kitchen table with a gun pointed in my direction.

“Start explaining,” she said flatly.

I held my hands in the air. “I’m not going to hurt you,” I began.

“Whose blood was on your clothes? And why is your hand cut?” she barked raising the gun higher.

I’m pretty sure I wasn’t supposed to be turned on by the fact Mia was holding me at gunpoint and her face looked as if she might actually pull the trigger, but I was. Stay focused, Alex.

“Let me start from the beginning,” I muttered, no ounce of anger left.

“Well, start,” she retorted. “Don’t move another inch.” I halted as if Mia had the speed and proficiency to kill me.

“Mia, my name isn’t Jennifer, it’s, Alexandra Pierce.” I paused. “Well, actually my real, real name was Danielle Watson,” I stumbled. Mia’s eye brows furrowed at my poor explanation. “I was taken four years ago from my home town in Atlanta, Georgia. I was given a choice to join an organization called Shadow, to have my genes manipulated. or die.” I pressed on.

“What are you talking about?” she interrupted, shaking her head.

“As a child, as a young adult, I was different. I was sharp, reclusive, extremely introverted. I had trouble getting along with others, but mostly, I never cared to. This secret group...society, they said my DNA, my genes, matched what they were looking for. They offered to give me money, a new life, and traits I could only dream of. I said yes.” I paused, letting my words sink in.

“The blood that I tested, is that what I’m seeing?” she asked, putting the pieces together.

“Yes,” I countered. “A doctor by the name of Anthony Swartz, he manipulated my genome on a scale yet to be remotely accomplished by anyone except you. They want you, Mia. I was assigned to tail you, to gather Intel, to recruit you.”

Mia’s eyes widened her face, melting into one of shock and fear, yet her grip remained firm on the gun. I remained where I was.

“Mia, the truth is. I’m a killer. I have killed many, many people for them. I have killed more people than I can count,” my voice broke. “But... I wouldn’t kill you. I meant every word I said in the basement, I like you. I want to protect you. I let you take my blood because I wanted you to find out.”

She lowered her head. Her breathing was shallow, her heart raced. “Just breathe,” I consoled.

“Don’t tell me how to react,” she scathed, rising from her seat. Her face looked pale.

I held my hands again, “I’m sorry.”

“I might be sick,” she mouthed, moving towards the kitchen sink. I followed slowly behind. Mia cowered over the sink, her eyes closed, breathing slow. I didn’t say a word. I let the truth sink in, I let it take hold.

“I trusted you,” she exhaled a few moments later. “I showed you my lab, something I never even showed my closest friends.”

I felt the guilt hit me like a tidal wave. “I’m sorry,” I fumbled. “You can trust me. I didn’t tell Shadow about your lab. I haven’t given them much, and it has cost me everything.” Flashes of Nadine, Dr. Swartz, and my father hit me like a ton of bricks. “Whether you choose to believe me or not, trust me or not, I have started down a path I can no longer deviate. All I know, is they want you, they want to kill me, and I will die before I let either of those things happen.”

“What do they want with me?” She broke the silence several moments later.

“Your mind and your genes. They want to enhance you. With your skills, you could further their goals tenfold. They could produce more soldiers like me, more lab rats.”

“I would never,” she muttered.

“I know, and I would never let you. I will protect you. I promise.”

She looked at me with doubt. How could she trust me now?

“Where were you today?”

“I had to go and meet them. They put me on a plane and took me to the facility to be tested. I have annual tests to monitor my progress, also correct my mental state.”

Screw this. I couldn’t handle the distance. I moved towards Mia and she jumped up. “Stop Jennifer! Alexandra, whatever your name is! I’ll shoot! Don’t come any closer.”

“You won’t,” I muttered softly. “I know you.”

I kept stepping forward until the barrel of the gun hit my chest. “But if you must, do it and don’t miss.”

I closed my eyes waiting to hear the sound of the trigger pull, but nothing. I opened my eyes slightly, Mia gazed at me, her hands trembled. I slowly moved my hand to hers. Her skin felt warm and safe.

“I would never hurt you,” I muttered. I wanted my words, my thoughts, my feelings to seep through her skin, so she would know what I had been through to finally discover this.

“Let me help you,” I murmured. She lowered the gun slowly. “You don’t stand a chance without me.”

She chose to trust me for now. Her back turned from me as she deliberated. “Where do we even go from here?” she furrowed.

“We go to my place. It’s secure, and I can keep an eye on you, on them, but Mia, I need your help first.”

She turned back around to face me.

“Can we go to your lab?” I pointed below.

Mia nodded, and we both walked briskly to the secret shelf, through the sealed doors, and into the confines of her mind. The site of the lab brought back surging memories from the night before. My hand grazed the desk where Mia’s backrest, but I continued to the surgical area.

“I have a chip somewhere in my body. It needs to be removed.”

Mia looked at me like I had surely gone insane. “I’m not drunk anymore,” I aired flatly, “And I’m not lying.”

Choosing not to push my buttons too much, Mia moved to the X-ray machine and turned it on. She grabbed the thick cover and placed it loosely around my stomach. Loading the X-ray machine, I lay on the table flat. Mia pressed the green button and the X-ray revved to life.

“It’s near the base of your neck,” she murmured.

“Can you get it out?” I asked hopefully.

“I think so,” she murmured. “Unless it is connected to your spinal nerves somehow.”

“Just try,” I interrupted. In order for my plan to have a glimmer of hope, I needed that chip out.

Mia gulped and moved instantly to the surgical table and tray. As she danced around the lab gathering all the necessary pieces, I couldn’t help but admire her. Her brain, her tenacity, her resolve.

Mia held a needle in the air, flicking it with her fingers to remove the air bubbles. I lay face down on the surgical table. “You will feel a tiny prick,” she muttered.

I lay still, unnerved.

“What did you see in my blood?” I asked, wanting to end the silence as she worked.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” she mumbled. “Your cell regeneration for starters, but when I sequenced your genome, you only had a 99% similarity to a human genome. To put that into comparison, that is the same as chimpanzees.”

“Awesome,” I exclaimed.

“Not awesome,” Mia countered, “Dangerous.”

“But that’s what you are trying to do?” I asked. I could feel the devices moving my skin aside.

“But I wouldn’t do it to harm others, to kill.”

I swallowed slightly.

“I threatened one of the head members of Shadow today. I was told they created three more just like me and that my days were numbered. If I didn’t bring you successfully to our side...”

Mia’s hand grasped my arm. “I believe you,” she fumbled.

“You do?” I stuttered. I wanted desperately to turn around, to kiss her.

“I just told you I was a murderous psychopath,” I exclaimed into the folds of the sheet.

“They created you,” she breathed. “They made you a monster.”

No, no, no, I thought. She was too naive. She didn’t know the real me. The real me can’t keep her murderous hands-off others. The real me can’t stand people, let alone love.

“The chip is more intertwined than I thought,” she murmured.

“It needs to come out,” I implored. “I trust you.” I consoled.

“It may take a few more minutes then. Whatever you do, don’t move.”

’It takes as long as it takes,” I muttered, really hoping she didn’t paralyze me.

I lay there patiently as I could discern each prick and pull of the needle and tweezers set my nerves on edge. After several painstaking minutes, Mia broke the turbid silence.

“Done,” she sighed. ’Wiggle your toes.” I wiggled.

“Can you feel this?” she asked as her fingers pressed against my legs and the small of my back.

Warmth radiated upwards. I swallowed, “Yes.”

’Good, then I didn’t paralyze you. Let me stitch you up and then take a look at that hand.” I lay there obediently while a surge of freedom assaulted my senses. The kill chip had been removed. I felt like a wild animal who had finally freed itself from its cage.

“You never told me how you got this, or about the blood,” Mia pressed, waiting long enough before readdressing the elephant in the room

’You really want to know?” I sighed.

A moment’s pause before she uttered, “Yes.”

This woman wasn’t ready for the real me. The me who could kill anyone without hesitation. I turned gingerly, finally able to see her face for what felt like an eternity. She was pale, her cheeks slightly flushed. Her hands trembled slightly.

“You deserve to know everything,” I consoled. “I want you to know everything, but I’m afraid if I tell you, you might hate me.” Mia moved her lips to mine before I could finish. My eyes widened with shock. Did she not hear me when I said I had killed more people than I could count?

“I changed my mind,” Mia interrupted. “I don’t want to know just yet.” Mia grabbed my uninjured palm, tracing the faint lines.

“Look closely,” I whispered.

Mia brought my palms to the light. She gasped.

“They erased them,” I shrugged. No evidence.

“Remarkable,” she uttered.

Not the response I was hoping for. Mia brought her hand to mine and my fingers entwined with hers. I would never let them go. Could we not just stay here in her secret lab forever?

I knew the answer to that, and the answer was we didn’t have much time.

“Listen, Mia, I don’t have much time, we don’t have much time. You need to gather your things and come with me. I have a plan, but it involves leaving this house, your lab behind, your life behind.”

“What is your plan?” she asked worriedly.

“To take the bastards out one by one.”

“And how will you do that alone?” her brows furrowed.

“Oh, I’ll have help,” I muttered. “Willing or not.”

“What do you plan to do with this?” she asked, handing me the tiny chip.

“I plan to use it to my advantage,” I mumbled, moving towards the door. Mia followed and we ascended to the main floor.

“Gather whatever belongings you can.” I grabbed her arm. “But once you decide to follow me, there’s no going back. Once Shadow finds out I have kidnapped you and defected, it will be war, and they won’t stop until I’m dead until you are dead.”

“Then we better get going,” she squeezed my arm.

Oh, this woman.

Mia and I exited the lab and walked up the stairs to the secret bookcase when I stopped. I heard footsteps…a heartbeat.

I grabbed Mia’s arm.

“What?” She breathed.

I put my finger to my lips to silence her. I closed my eyes and listened. There was definitely someone in her home. I motioned for her to follow me back into the lab.

“What is it?” she asked again once we were safely down the stairs.

“Someone’s in your house,” I muttered. “Can any of these computers access your security cameras?”

Mia nodded to one by the door and I moved to fire it up. Navigating through the computer, we weren’t able to access her cameras. Shit. He had jammed them. I could override the jam, but if Shadow was monitoring, they would see it. My fingers tapped the desk. We had two options. Let him take Mia as if nothing was wrong, or I killed him.

“What are we going to do?” Mia asked squeezing my arm back to reality.

“We need a way out,” I mumbled aloud.

“I have one,” Mia vocalized like an angel from above. I turned to her.

“I had a secret tunnel built,” she pointed to a door along the far wall. “In case I ever needed to escape unnoticed.”

Of course, you do, I thought.

“I could kiss you right now,” I exclaimed jubilantly.

“But can’t we wait him out? I could really use a change of clothes, my phone…”

“No,” I interrupted. “With your phone up there he knows you are home. He will wait you out until you go to the kitchen or you fall asleep, we have to leave, now.”

A thought just hit me like a punch to the face. “Shit,” I exhaled. “My bag of clothes.”

Why didn’t I take them with me? Shadow would know as soon as that agent returned to base that I had flipped, that I had seen Mia, that she was with me. They could’ve tracked me to her house regardless with that stupid chip in my neck. “Ugh,” I sighed. We had no choice but to play along. I turned to Mia who looked at me with a worried expression.

“When I was kidnapped years ago, a guy came to my apartment. He knocked me out the first time to take samples. I woke up none the wiser, or so I thought until he came back for me.”

“What are you saying?” Mia asked worriedly.

“You need to go up there, let him knock you out—”

“No freaking way,” Mia exclaimed.

I turned to her, “I won’t let him take you. I will use the tunnel to get outside the house and keep watch. You have to trust me,” I pleaded, looking into her eyes. She gave a half nod.

“It will buy us the time we need,” I assured her. “Plus, I can get your phone and the evidence from the house.”

“Okay,” she nodded. “Follow me.”

I followed Mia across the lab to a door labeled “storage”. Opening the door, she moved to the back wall where an empty metal storage shelf sat. Grabbing the edge of the shelf, she pulled. The shelf came towards us swinging on it’s hinges like a door would. Behind was a well-lit tunnel beneath the earth.

“Follow the tunnel to the end,” she pointed. “It will let you out into an abandoned field a block away.”

I nodded, our eyes locking. “I won’t let him take you.”

“You better not,” she chided.

I gave her a quick kiss on the lips, her warmth igniting my senses. “See you soon,” I whispered as I turned to run down the tunnel. I covered the distance in seconds and halted at the metal ladder. I took the small chip that was embedded in my neck from my pocket. Glancing down at it, I let it fall to the ground.

Once I left this impenetrable fortress, Shadow would no longer be able to track my movements. There was literally no going back. I gulped, grabbing the metal rung of the ladder. “Here goes nothing,” I breathed, climbing the ladder step by step until I reached the grate.

Popping it open, I hoisted myself onto the damp ground. Just as described I found myself in an abandoned field behind Mia’s house. Wasting no time, I ran to the far wall of Mia’s property, and scaled the cement fortress with ease. One benefit of Shadow being here, they had disabled the alarm system.

I landed on the grass and lurched with speed under the cover of darkness. Like a dancing shadow I wound my way to the front of the house, landing at the base of the small kitchen window. I rest my body against the white wall and carefully peered through the kitchen window. Mia was on the floor, the agent bent over her. He quickly moved his hands from her body to a small pouch on the table. He was collecting samples. I watched with bated breath as the agent collected a vial of blood, hair sample, and saliva. A wave of déjà vu washed over me as I realized this is what I went through.

Packing up his pouch, he moved swiftly to the front door. This was my cue. Like a dainty spider, I crawled around the front wall to the side, concealing myself from the enemy. Like a thief in the night, the agent snaked through the front door and over the metal gate having stolen very little, yet so much at the same time. I waited ten minutes to make absolutely sure he wasn’t going to return.

The coast seemingly clear, I rant to the front door. Entering, I moved to the alarm screen. My fingertips worked the touchscreen tablet with precision. First, I enabled the exterior alarm system and cameras, yet disabled the interior. I didn’t want Shadow spying on us.

With the eyes in the sky gone, I moved to check on Mia. She slept peacefully on the floor. Her phone still on the kitchen table, the same spot she held a gun at my head merely an hour ago. I left it, walking to the bathroom down the hall, I picked my phone up from the floor. Turning it off, I removed the SIM card and placed both in my pocket.

I grabbed the bloody clothes bag, Mia’s gun and keys and went to the garage. The white Tesla sparkled beneath the fluorescent light. I opened the Lamborghini doors and threw the gun and bag inside. Next came Mia. I gently hoisted her from the kitchen floor and carried her to the backseat. I didn’t have time to wait for her to rouse. For all I knew, Shadow would return the same night to collect her, or worse, realize what I had done.

Jumping in the car, I knew it was a forty-minute drive to my loft from here. I glanced back at Mia’s sleeping form. She looked so peaceful. I couldn’t help but feel guilty. Mia now new the truth, maybe not the whole truth, but enough to never return. Shadow had made their move, now it was time for mine.