Someone was roughly shaking my shoulder. I sucked in a sudden breath and winced in pain. Shrugging the hand off and grabbing my shoulder, my eyes flew open as warm, sticky blood coated my fingers. Kara and Tom, stood over me, gazing down at my crumpled body lying on the floor, with concern. "What happened? Where's Jeremy?" Tom looked from me to the door, and back again. "Where's your dad?"
I sat up and groaned, clutching my shoulder to stem the blood flow. "Okay, first of all, can someone grab the medical kit for me?" I pointed to a drawer in the side counter with my foot. "It's in there." I mean, priorities people.
Kara rushed over and grabbed it, leaving the rustic wood drawer open. From the way the window over the sink was still dark, I gathered that I hadn't been out long. Crossing the black and white tiled floor, Kara crouched down beside me, opening the kit. Glancing at my shoulder, Kara winced in sympathy, her dark blue eyes searching mine for answers. After carefully removing my hand and gingery probing with her own, she began to assemble the supplies she needed for a bandage. Her methodical process reminded me of assembling a firearm and somehow, that was comforting. "You're lucky the bullet went straight through your shoulder, missing the major arteries and tendons. But it's going to take a while to heal, so you'll have to take it easy for a while." I rolled my eyes. That would be impossible in this line of work.
Kara started cleaning my shoulder with disinfectant and gauze, and I flinched, covering it with a roll of my eyes at Tom, who was still standing in front of me with his hands at his sides, looking helpless. "We're on a mission," I muttered, scowling. "There's no way I can 'take it easy'."
Tom shook his head vigorously, his blond hair swaying with the movement. Slapping a pained smile on his face, he forced out, "Yes, you can. Just let Kara, Jeremy and me do the hard work."
I stared at him incredulously. "You want me to do the easy work?" My voice rose with each word. "Hell no!"
Kara stood up, brushing off her pants. "There you go. Just don't strain your shoulder, or ruin the bandages, and you should be fine. Just take it easy." She grimaced at the look I sent her, and raised her hands in a placating gesture. "Okay, okay, just take it easier."
Tom looked around the kitchen again. "You never answered the question. Where did Jeremy and your dad go?"
My eyes widened and I jumped up. "My dad hit Jeremy on the back of the head with a gun then shot me before hitting me on the back of the head with the gun," I let out in one breath. "Oh no."
I turned and ran out the back door, and could distantly see tailgate lights dissapearing through the trees on the dirt road. I ran over to our agency vehicle, yelling at Kara and Tom to hurry up and get in, but then froze.
"Bloody hell!" All of the tires had been perfectly slashed. I looked to the road again, but the lights had disappeared.
Tom started running down the road barefoot. "Come on! We have to catch up to them!"
Kara halted to a stop besides me. "Tom," she called, cupping her hands around her mouth. "There's no way we can catch up to them." She turned to go back to the house, her shoulders drooping, and ran a hand through her black hair. "I'm sorry."
Tom slowed to a stop ahead of us, bent over slightly and placed his hands on his knees, panting. "No!"
I stood there in the dark, my chestnut hair blowing around my head with the slight breeze, grappling to come up with a plan. "Tom, come on, we need to go back to the house and figure out what-"
"NO!" He turned towards me sharply, and I froze when I saw the tears that were trickling down his face. "You don't understand, Jeremy, he-he," I took a step forward with my hands creeping up from my sides as Tom started hyperventilating. "Jeremy was the one who recruited me into the agency, he took care of me and watched out for me- he always had my back- and now I'm supposed to leave him?" Tom shook his head. "I c-can't." He looked up at me, his voice breaking.
I walked until I was close enough to hesitatingly put my arm around his shoulders. "Tom." He glanced at me, brown eyes wet with tears and laced with sorrow. "We will get him back. Do you hear me?" Tom slowly nodded his head. I stiffened when I felt his arms wrap around me, but slowly relaxed into the hug, and put my arms around him, squeezing tight, vaguely remembering that this was a human coping mechanism.
"Thank you." His voice was clogged with tears and emotion, but I could feel the gratitude.
"No problem, Tom." I smiled slightly. "Anytime."
---
Walking through the back door with determination, I turned and locked it before pivoting to face the kitchen. Kara was still hugging Tom, and I looked away to the fridge, where a picture was placed with a magnet holding it there, which was now visible from my point of view. Coming closer, I made out a couple, standing by a lake, this lake, holding their arms around each other on a bright sunny day. The guy had red hair and light brown eyes, and the blue eyes with light brown hair. Both had huge smiles on their faces, and their eyes were bright with joy. I faltered as I picked up the photo and held it in my hand, staring at the couple.
"Agent 5?" I startled and turned around to see Tom disappearing around the corner, and Kara looking at me. Shoving the photo in one of my suit pockets, I cleared my throat for the unpleasant news I was about to deliver.
"I think it would be wise to focus on the mission before rescuing Jeremy." Kara's eyes widened, and I shifted my gaze to the back door.
"You think that we should just leave him alone?!" Kara placed her hands on her hips, and pursed her lips, glaring at me.
I sighed, looking back towards her. "I think it would be wiser. I know my dad won't hurt him, I swear. I just think that focusing on the mission first, then rescuing Jeremy would be more productive."
"But we need him for this mission!"
I raised a brow. "Do we really? I could have done this by myself, but for some reason, I was put in a team with three other agents from another agency."
"But-But," Kara ran a hand through her hair, frustrated, but I could tell that she knew it was a good point after seeing me in action at the motel and knowing who I really was.
Releasing a long breath, she rubbed her weary eyes with her hands and looked at me. "You promise that we can look for him as soon as this mission's done."
I nodded my head. "Yes."
Her eyes narrowed. "Shake on it."
I smiled slightly, but extended my hand towards her. "It's a deal."
Stepping back, she leaned against the far kitchen wall, next to some random pictures of roses, and pulled out her iPhone, and began tapping at the screen. "I will have to contact my directors though, and tell them about Jeremy and what happened-"
"Son of a motherless goat!"
Kara and I exchanged an amused glance at Tom's outburst, before racing through the hallway and up the stairs, stopping in the doorway to the room that he had shared with Jeremy. The walls in this room were dark green, with a wood floor, and double windows on two walls. The bed was situated across from a closet, and the light gray coverlet on the bed matched the throw pillows.
"What's wrong?" Kara gasped, panting and pushing the hair out of her eyes.
Tom turned towards us, letting a plastic bag slip through his fingers and fall to the floor. I braced myself at the look of utter despair in his brown eyes. When he didn't answer, I furrowed my brow and took a step forward into the room, noticing that he had put shoes on, my black combat boots slapping against the floor. "Tom?"
His eyes finally shifted into focus, and he looked between us. "Jeremy ate my last Kit Kat!"
I looked at him incredulously. "That was what you were yelling about?" I threw my hands up into the air. "I give up," I muttered under my breath, turning to go to my own room, leaving Kara standing in the doorway, staring at Tom with a raised eyebrow.
After pulling out the photo from my pocket, and gently placing it on top of all my clothes and supplies in my duffel bag, I zipped it up and slung it over my shoulder. Glancing towards where Kara and Tom were still standing in the doorway, I noticed Tom staring at me with a stunned look of betrayal.
I turned away from them. It hurt to do that, but it had to be done. "Meet me downstairs with all of your things," I called out behind me.
Leaning against the sink in the kitchen, I glanced out the window and noticed a light pick-orange color spreading out from the horizon, with the sun slowly following. I took a deep breath in and out, savoring the silence. When was the last time I had actually taken a vacation?
But my moment alone was over all too soon. Hearing a noise, I turned back to where Tom and Kara were standing before the table peeling while paint.
I looked at Tom, but he wouldn't meet my eyes. Sighing, I looked to Kara, who had a look of pity in her face. "We need to get going," I said.
Tom spoke up, still not meeting my eyes. "How? The tires on the car were slashed."
A slow grin spread across my face, and I turned towards a less noticeable door in the kitchen. Gesturing behind me for the others to follow, I slowly opened my door and I let out a huff of a chuckle. After all these years, they were still here in prime condition, gleaming against the fluorescent overhead lights that I had just flicked on.
Stepping out into the garage, I made my way to the fifth motorcycle, and turned the key that was still in the engine, which purred to life.
Pushing up the garage door, I strapped my duffel bag to the back of the bike and got on, looking at Kara and Tom who still frozen in the doorway, shocked expressions etched onto their faces.
Grinning, I pointed to the six black Harley-Davidson that had different colored bands around the handles. "Pick any one you like." Gripping my own turquoise-banded handles, I drove forward out onto the the dirt road, looking east at the rising sun.
"Let's get this show on the road."
You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net