12• Just a Fantasy

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VANESSA

I stare at Ajax as he duct tapes my hands in front of me. He rolls it around and around until my wrists are suffocating. When he finally tears off the piece and lets my hands fall in front of me, the smirk he wears annoys the crap out of me.

Standing before me, Ajax has black leggings wrapped around his legs and workout shorts over them. A black, long-sleeved, dry-fit shirt covers his upper body, his small muscles hugged tightly.

These guys really like the color black.

"Okay, so are we doing some kind of role play?" I joke, glancing around the gym. A few people's eyes dart our way out of curiosity, and I don't blame them.

"Yep. I'm the bad guy and I've tied you up." He answers with humor glinting in his eyes. "Now, get out of the binds."

I blankly stare at him for a moment. He's crazy.

"I... uh... can't." I say back, lifting my hands. I glare at them and move them around, but my hands don't budge.

"First rule of survival." His voice raises as octave as his smile disappears. "You can do anything. If there's a will, there's a way."

I tilt my head and try to run my wrists together. Nothing happens. I glance back up at him, shaking my head. "I don't really know what to do... this tape is on tight."

Ajax shrugs and crosses his arms over his chest, staring at me expectantly with those hazel and green speckled eyes of his.

I stare at him back, placing an awkward smile on my lips.

After a few minutes of this, he says, "You can go home when you get out of that."

"Okay." I take a deep breath in and start maneuvering my hands in different ways. After many failed attempts, I start working harder, moving my hands at rough angles.

Ajax watches me quietly, the smirk gone and seriousness settling over him. His thin lips separate as he says, "The bad guys will be back in a few minutes and you really need to get out of those binds."

I don't stop trying. Soon, the duct tape is rolled up in a line around my wrists, but the fabric is thick and ever tough. I groan, my eyes darting around the gymnasium. After I spot the sharp edge of a pull-up bar, I ask, "Can I use objects around me?"

Ajax replies. "You only have a few seconds before they walk in. You've got to get out of your binds now."

My heart rams into my chest, adrenaline surging through my veins.

I sprint over to the pull-up bar and lift my hands up, rubbing the strong binds against the sharp edge. Ajax has followed me and is screaming in my ear. "They're coming! They're coming!"

Snap. The duct tape comes off.

I let it drop onto the floor, and then I glance up to the skies as I exhale. "Holy shit. That was tougher than I expected."

Ajax nods. "You've got to always remember where you are whenever you're in serious situations. Check your surroundings as soon as you walk into a building because you never know what might happen and what could come in handy."

I rub my sore wrists, nodding. "I guess I never really paid attention to my surroundings. I never thought I would have to."

"Everyone thinks that." He purses his lips and crosses his arms over his chest. "I know I said you could go home, but we still have another half-hour. You want to do another tactical test?"

I glance at the red marks on my wrist and recall the way it felt to be tied up when I nearly died. I hated it. I never want to feel that vulnerable ever again.

And even though the thought of my bed is inviting, I know the only thing another lesson would do is benefit me.

"Why not?" I say, letting a smile brighten up my face. "All I have to do at home is watch TV."

"The Haunting of Hill House, was it?" He grins as he begins walking toward an exit that rests on the opposite wall that we entered. "Nell dies in the end."

My jaw immediately drops as I rush to keep up with him. I punch his shoulder as I say lightly, "You're such a jerk. How could you spoil that for me?"

A second passes, and we grow closer to the exit. "Where are we going?"

Ajax shrugs, running a finger through the black streak in his blonde hair. "I thought we could go to the shooting range for a little bit."

"Shooting range?" I remark as he opens the door and walks out with me on his heel. He leads me down an extensive hallway and over to another door. "But, I don't even have a gun."

"The skill might come in handy." Ajax explains as he walks inside and leads me into a large room that has guns lining the walls in cases and earmuffs hanging on hooks.

A few people stand by a particular case and chat about millimeters or something like that. We pass right by them, Ajax snatching up earmuffs for both of us. "When we go into the range, I'll demonstrate how to use a gun, and then I'll let you try. Got it?"

"Okay..." I say, a little weary. I've never handled a gun before. This might turn out bad.

As if Ajax is reading my mind as he picks out a simple handgun, he comments. "Just don't shoot me."

I swallow a lump that has formed in my throat as he walks toward the only other door in the room. Behind it, we can hear the faint sounds of gunshots, so as we near it, I place the earmuffs over my ears.

He does the same and walks inside. His confident stride is followed by my awkward one as we walk down the very long room. As we glide forward, to the left of us are dividers put up and shooters in between them. They all face away from us and toward a paper target that hangs by a hook several meters away.

All of the targets are different distances away from the shooters, but all of them have bullet holes punctured in them near the circled areas—the head and the chest.

The sound of the gunshots are quiet to my ears, but as we stop in front of an empty spot, Ajax takes one earmuff off and motions for me to do the same. He starts teaching me before I can even get used to the rapid noises. "Okay, so you flip this switch for the safety to come off. And then, you just aim and shoot. Easy peasy."

Ajax's eyebrows bounce up and down once as if he's saying, "Be ready to be impressed." Then, he lifts his arms, gripping the weapon tightly, before he fires at a target that is already set up on the farthest setting it can go on.

He fires nine shots, smirking while aiming at the target. He even glances at me on the last shot to display that he doesn't even need to look at where he's aiming.

I tilt my head as he presses a button, and the target moves closer. When the bullet holes come into view, I curse. "No way..."

The target's head has nine holes in it, two near the top, one in the center, and the remaining six forming a line. All together, the holes create a smiling face that matches the one Ajax wears on his thin lips.

"Your turn." He remarks as he puts the gun's safety on and sets it on the thick railing that shooters may put their elbows on to steady their aim.

On the wall of the dividers hang extra targets, and he hooks a new sheet on. As he does this, I hold his smiling target and stare.

Holy shit. AJ isn't messing around.

Well, a little bit. The artwork is quite amusing.

But, damn. He's got aim.

He presses a button and moves the target half the distance his target was at. Then, he lifts the gun and holds it out, watching as I take it in my hands.

I awkwardly shift my weight, and Ajax sneers. He guides my hands to the proper places, my right one gripping the gun and my left one underneath, steadying it.

"Now, you never want to have both of your arms straight. It's okay to have your right one straight, but your left should be bent a little. Whatever is comfortable." He says as he switches the safety off and helps me to a better position.

Then, he steps back and points to the target. "Aim for that."

"Gotcha." I sarcastically shake my head, and then I fire.

When I fire, the weapon knocks me back slightly, and the bullet flies a little to the left, colliding with someone else's target far out.

"Oh my God." Ajax surges forward and tilts me so that I'm back in the spot he first had me at. His laugh tickles my ear as he says, "Grip the gun tightly and expect the recoil."

"Mhm." I bite my lip as my muscles tighten. I fire again, this one fortunately nicking the corner of my target. I turn around to triumphantly smile at Ajax, but he forcefully whips me around so that the gun isn't pointed at him.

His voice is uneasy as he says, "Whoa Whoa. Don't turn around. I'd like to keep my head."

I freeze up and stare out at the target, meanwhile groaning inside. "Sorry."

"This time, try to aim for the chest." He presses a button and moves the target just a little closer to me.

I exhale and pull the trigger, puncturing a hole at the very bottom of the paper. I try once more, firing the weapon at the shoulder of the person.

"Could be worse." I hear Ajax say as he leans over me and flips on the gun's safety. "But, we have a lot of work to do."

My muscles finally relax as he takes the weapon from my hands. "You think? I literally hit someone else's target."

"Yeah, that was pretty bad." He laughs, the raspy noise comforting.

"Well, we can work on it next week." He tells me as he takes down my barely grazed target and begins our journey back to the gym. "I know you're busy with your tv show and all."

His smirk is annoying as he guides me out. We take off all of our equipment, and Ajax takes the ammo out of the gun, placing it back in its case. Next, we head out, retracing our earlier steps.

Listening to the sole sound of our footsteps, I find this as an opportunity to let my curiosity out. "So, how long have you guys been working together?"

I pick up speed so that we walk side by side, and he glances at me with a hesitant flicker in his hazel eyes. "Long enough."

Not a straight answer. Cool. "So, like, you guys steal stuff for the CIA. Is that all you do?"

The ends of his lips twitch as if he knows he's being a jerk. "We do what the CIA tells us to."

Not a straight answer, again. Great.

"I don't feel okay working with a group of men I don't even know." I tell him truthfully, catching his eye.

He shrugs. "Then, don't work with us. Find another group to give you personal training."

"Or you could tell me a little bit about who you guys are." I inform him with a hopeful smile. For some reason, it doesn't charm him.

"I like the first option more." His grin is fake as he places one on his lips.

"Yeah..." I roll my eyes and walk into the gym, heading straight for my duffle bag. He follows behind, his arms crossed over his chest. "I know you guys don't want me to have any part in your bromance. I get it."

His smile is actually humored. "Bromance? Not sure if that's what we've got going on."

"Something like that." I wave the thought away as I sling my duffle bag over my shoulder. "But it's okay. Just keep me in the dark all you guys want. I'll follow your instructions blindly and hope that you are the good guys."

Ajax seems slightly interested as he follows me toward the gym's entrance. "You should be glad we're keeping you in the dark. In the light, there's no way to get lost."

I remain silent as I pull out my phone and order an Uber. Once we're outside, I sigh. "Are you saying you're lost?"

"We lose ourselves sometimes." He answers and glances away. "You should just stay out of our personal business so that you don't lose yourself, too."

I rub my arm with my free hand when I hear the bitterness in his voice. "Or maybe I could help you find yourselves."

"Are you saying you're the light?" He chuckles.

"Well, I hope I'm not darkness." I reply shortly, seeing the amusement in Ajax's hazel irises.

"Hm." He mutters, uncrossing his arms. He drags a cigarette out of his gym shorts' pocket and lights it up beside me. "I think it's best if you stay as far away as you can from us. We enjoy our job until something or someone interferes."

"So, all the talk about darkness and light, you were just trying to be dramatic?" I ask, making Ajax narrow his eyes.

He lets out a puff of smoke. "Mysterious, maybe."

"Well, this has been a good talk." I lie as I look away from Ajax to watch the busy street. "I have learned absolutely nothing except what I already know. That you guys hate me."

"I don't know if hate is the right word." He shakes his head and sucks in another breath. When he exhales, smoke bellows around us. "We just strongly dislike your presence in the place where we work."

"Maybe, I'll find someone else to teach me self defense." I sigh, already weighing the pros and cons.

"You won't." Ajax grins as if he knows all my secrets. What he says next makes me think he might. "Because we are the most interesting thing that has happened to you your entire life."

"You're definitely interesting to talk to." I rub my arm uncomfortably because he got me spot on. "You won't give me any straight answers."

"You know what? If you get my boss and Ethan to agree that I should answer your prying questions, I will. But, until then, straight answers are just a fantasy." He smiles and sucks in another breath.

By the look on Ajax's smug expression, I figure that getting Jerome and Ethan to agree on me being in on their loop will be one hell of a task. I might as well not ask any more questions.

"Fine." I cross my arms over my chest. "Then, don't ask me any questions either."

"I don't have any. When we first learned of your name, we learned of your life." He says as he blows out smoke. "You had a normal life up until the day your dad left. After that, you and your mom had to move into a small apartment to support yourselves. You moved around after college for a couple years before coming back to your mom. Ever since then, you worked your ass of to be a good doctor, and that you are. You have a 100% success rate in the surgeries you've completed. But, you don't really have many friends, and your job is the only thing you participate in. On the screen, you look quite lonely."

Can't say I'm not impressed. Can't say I don't feel violated. Can't say I'm not pissed off.

"Okay. Well, it's a good thing you know everything about me. That way you can feel secure and safe around me since I'm such a threat to your happy not so happy life." I toss my hands up in the air as I quickly glance down at my phone and cancel the Uber. I start walking away, down the sidewalk.

Ajax hesitates, but follows after me. "It's my job to know who people are."

I turn around and shake my head. "You don't know me at all, Ajax, so don't pretend like you do. And you don't want to know me, remember?"

I storm away, not glancing back. I know he isn't following me, and that's a good thing. I need to let the fumes escape from my head before it explodes. I'm so freakin' pissed right now. How could they look me up and get to know everything about me when I know little to nothing about each of them?

They don't care the slightest bit about me or my feelings. That much is obvious. I should stop trying to intrude, but I can't help myself.

If I were to try to explain them to anyone, I would draw up a blank. They have faces and names, but I don't know a damn thing about them.

Maybe I should leave them. Although I've learned a few things from them, they've brought a buttload of stress along with it. And every day, they make me feel worse. Except Felix. He's alright, but he's just a nice person. He doesn't really care about me either.

My apartment is all the way on the other side of town, but I believe there's a bus stop nearby. I'll just take that instead of an Uber. A little walk is nice, anyway.

It'll help me clear my head from the crap Ajax has put inside it.

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