Balance (26 page)

Rena turn
s
slowly,
letting
Michael
examine the entire ensemble.

His mind races, feelings of inadequacy in the presence of this
angel
in
all
her
magnificence
.  Her naturally tan
sculpted
body on display, her toned back, shoulders, arms and legs polished
to a glowing sheen.  Michael
blush
es,
slightly embarrass
ed, realizing
the only garment on her body
…
is
the gown, for
nothing
could fit under this
m
inimalist approach to fashion.

Her hair
,
pulled back loosely
,
woven
into a spiral braid, fall
s
over the front of her left shoulder,
its
dark red
color
creating a subtle
c
ontrast
to the dress
. 
O
bvious
to Michael,
the focus
is
her striking eyes.
S
hadowed
pearlescent
with
hint
s
of
turquoise shading and liner, t
he effect ma
k
e
s
them
appear as magical
floating
gems.

The ensemble finalized
with matching pearl
white
leather sandal
ed
heels, a
brushed
silver bangle on her left wrist and p
earl diamond teardrop earrings
.

The dress
is
simple, al
luring and
provocative
,
yet it captures her strength and confidence.  Michael feels
Ms. Smith
, considering the exercise
Rena
had to endure only a day a
go,
picked this particular gown specifically to empower her
. 
He
can tell it worked;
she
stands before him,
radiant and smiling.

Gazing
at Michael
,
his
face
reveal
ing
everything she needs to know about h
ow he feels at that moment, Rena
can
appreciate
ho
w attractive she is in his eyes
. 
E
very
morning
when they meet in the hallway,
she sees
how happy he is to be
near
her. 
She’s
never felt this way, desired, protected … loved.
  Regardless
of
what happens tonight, she ha
d
this moment
…
to take his breath away.

Rena walks ov
er
and stands
before him, mere inches between them, the warmth of his body reaching her.
E
ven with
heels
,
she’s
still
a couple inches shorter
.
Meeting Michael’s intense gaze, her eyes pool with emotion.  Shifting her attention forward, Rena hides her blushing face by d
eftly secur
ing
the top button of his shirt, “
Looks better
this way.”

Michael
whispers
,
“I don’t think anyone
would’ve
noticed.”
 
He kisses her on the forehead
.

She’ll never forget this moment.

Abigail
politely clears her throat
.

The
intensity of the moment drawing them in, the
y’d completely forgotten the
y
we not alone. 
T
urn
ing together
,
Michael
slip
s
his arm
around her waist protectively
,
his fingertips
sliding
just
under the
edge of the
dress to rest
on her
bare
hip.

“
Sargent
Rodriguez will b
e here at 6:30PM.  Rena, there’
s a shawl in
the garment bag.”
Abigail instructs.  She
smiles
warmly at the couple
, thrilled with their burgeoning relationship, it’s been a long time coming.
“By the way, you two look
exquisite
.  I
’ll
tell
Ms. Smith
.”

“Thank her for us.” Rena requests
.

Abigail, retrieving her wheeled suitcase, departs
,
leaving Michael and Rena alone.

Turning
to Michael,
Rena
tak
es
his hand, “Come in here.
” She
instructs,
leading him toward her bedroom.

F
ollowing
,
he
protest
s
halfheartedly
,
“I
don’t th
ink this is a good idea.
”

She laughs, still leading him, “Relax,
we’re not doing that. 
I’ve got a huge mirror in here.  I want to see what we look like together.”

Rena pulls Michael in front of the mirror,
positioning
beside
him
.
H
er left arm
snakes
a
round his
back
, her right hand on his chest, the side of her face resting on the front of
his
shoulder.
  “Wow, we look
…
really good together.”

Michael laughs, “You doubted the word of, like
,
everyone in the
Bunker
.  Besides, you would make anyone look good.  Not that anyone would probably notice someone standing next to you.”

Making
her blush again,
Rena
tips
her face
down,
avoiding
his gaze.
“You don’
t have to keep complimenting me.
I’m
fairly certain
we’
re both pretty much set
here.”

“You
’
r
e
right
…
I don’t
.”
Lifting her chin, to see her face, “
But I will, because you are
the most
amazing
woman
, b
eautiful and brilliant.  Where’
s that
confidence you had moments ago?
  Are you okay, you know, with yesterday?  I wouldn’t have expected you to be back to normal this fast.  I think
Ms. Smith
was trying to give you a boost with this amazing gown.”

She
slides
her
right
arm around his waist, pressing in against him, still
looking
at
the mirror.

“I kind of thought that too.
 
Ms. Smith
seems
…
nice.”

Michael catches it the moment she says it.  Without saying a word, s
he just spoke volumes to him, ‘
like an assassin’ jumps into his mind.  He can tel
l
she knows
he understands.  Her fingers apply a
slight pressure on his waist. 
Nothing
more should or need be said, w
ait until the opportunity arises.

They hear the wall computer chime
,
6:30PM, followed by a knock at the door
.

Michael grabs the shawl, w
rapping it around her shoulders and kissing her cheek.
 
Looking
up
into his face, for just a
second
,
she catches him
smil
ing
back
, capturing the moment
.

They step
out to meet Rodriguez and
then
head
down the hallway to the lobby.

Michael
,
breaking the
uncomfortable
silence,
finally asks,
“So where
’
s Takada’s office?  I couldn’t find any reference to it in the
handbook.  I wouldn’t expect to be dressed up for dinner in the balcony over the dining hall.”

Without l
ooking at either of them
, Rodriguez answers, “Downtown Chicago
.”

Michael and Rena both glance at each other in
fearful
surprise.

Rodriguez escorts Mic
hael and Rena to a
n
underground
car
port
,
the massive space filled by
a fleet of limousines
, cars and urban vehicles
. 
As t
he
party emerges from a waiting area, a black town car
pulls up, the windows tinted
dark
and impenetrable.

Rodriguez opens the
rear door
,
letting Rena step in,
followed by Michael.
L
eaning in through the open door
,
he
explains
,
“T
he
car
will
take
you
to
Chicago, there
you
will meet up with
Takada’s
assistant.  She
will
take
you
to
his
office.
  Relax, he’s looking forward to tonight … you did well yesterday Rena, you’ve earned this, you both have.”

Closing the door, the car
pulls away
.  Just before exiting the
Bunker
, interior lights in the rear compartment illuminate,
the reflection on the windows
preventing
either from seeing out
, preventing them from seeing w
h
ere they are, more importantly, where the Bunker is located.

They drive for twenty minutes
before the lights dim
, permitting exterior viewing
. 
S
eated
o
n the
comfortable back
seat, Rena
leans
into Michael
, resting her head on his shoulder
.  He wraps his arm
around her
, pulling her close, offering
comfort and
reassurance
.  Even with
the shawl, she’s chilled;
not the chill of cold, rather fearful anticipation.
 
Breaking
the silence
,
she asks rhetorically, “I wonder where we are?
”

“We’re heading
southeast
toward Chicago metro.” Michael replies
,
pointing at the mass of lights glowing in the distance.

Rena looks up at
his
face, concern in her eyes,
“Why are we having this meeting offsite?  I’m worried.”

“Rodriguez said
Takada
was pleased with your exercise.
Ms. Smith
told us to enjoy ourselves.
” Michael repeats the
information from
earlier,
hoping
to
calm
her, not that it does much to quell his
own
misgivings.

Their small talk
ceases
as they enter the metro-area. 
Gazing out the windows, t
hey
take in
their surroundings. 
The lights of the
city
are
extraordinary
,
a
t the same
time
; they’re
reminded
of
the unfortunate
life
in
the
Hustle
,
quite
visible
her
e
in Chicago.  Michael
grew up in the
Hustle
of
East
Los Angeles. 
Until this moment, h
e
had
never
even
thought to
ask Rena if she was from E
ast-
LA
,
where
they were invited,
or
somewhere
else.  He
understands,
Rena
has
many
secrets
and
maintains
her
priva
cy tightly
,
so
probing for answers
she was not likely to
provide
,
was
n
ot high on his list of
endeavors
where
Rena
was concerned.  He hopes
,
someday, she feels comfortable enough to
let him in
to her guarded world.

The sun sets behind them
,
building to a bright pink-orange crescendo.
The car heads toward the lake, skyscrapers
ris
e
before them
, the
brilliant
sunset
reflected on
the windows of
West
facing buildings
.

With
the approaching
night
, lights
, like winking stars,
start climbing
slowly
up into the darkening skyline.

Past nightfall,
the car turns into the entrance
of
an
underground
parking garage
of the tallest
building
visible
. 
Driving down
the
spiral
ramp, t
hey descend deep
in
to
the foundation of the
structure
, finally entering a secured parking area.  The
town car comes to a stop in front of an opening elevator door. 
An attractive woman in her early thirties, dressed in business attire
, strides
from the
elevator to the apron next to the car
.

The drive
r
steps out, walks around the car and opens the
rear
door.
 
Michael exits first,
turning a slow circle,
thoroughly
surveying the entire
sub-ground expanse
.

He
consider
s the woman for a moment
b
efore turning back into the car.  Reaching to help Rena out, Michael
positions
her
between himself
and the car door, expect
ing
it
to be
bulletproof
, taking a shielding stance similar to a b
ird-of-prey protecting it’s spoils
.
 
It becomes
plainly
o
bvious
his protective measures
are
not
surprising
to
their new companion
.

Takada
’s
assistant sighs, her patience waning
.

An insolent
Rena
turns to meet
the woman’s
petulant
gaze
.  The
two compete in a brief, silent
tet-a-tet
of wills, the assistant conceding dominance almost immediately.
She retreats
quickly
, without a word,
guid
ing
them back into the elev
ator
.

Once inside
, and
the elevator
’s ascent underway
, the woman turns to address them.
 
“I hope your
trip into the city was
comfortable
.  You will join Mr. Takada in his office suite
shortly
.  Is there anything
else
you
might
desire this evening
?”

Michael suspe
cts
she
is
unaware of their
preoccupation with Takada and the
Bunker
, likely making
an
inquiry as to any illicit
inclinations
; flesh, drugs, or other
seedy vice
s they
might be interested
.  He can tell by Rena’s stoic expression
,
she also interprets the
request
in the same context
.

“No
.
T
hank you.” Michael replies
evenly
.

Catching
the wom
an casually scan Michael’s
person
before turning forward, Rena tilts her head
,
cast
ing
him a
smug
half smile
.

W
ithout turning his head
,
Michael
glances at her with his eyes, faintly lifting the corner of his mouth in amusement
.

F
or several
long
minute
s
the elevator
climbs, the silence deafening.  Rena notes
t
he floor indicator display
ed only the first forty
,
going blank
as it rose higher
.
S
uspec
ting
access to any floor
a
bove the fortieth,
by identification
only
,
key card,
bio ID, or some other means, t
he blank display
ma
k
e
s
it difficult to
ascertain
the
floor you or your destination
resided
.

The elevator comes to a stop.
Doors open, t
he associate steps out.
F
ollow
ing,
Michael
repeat
s
his security scan before
signaling
Rena
to
join them.
  The three walk from the
foyer
into a l
obby, past the secretary’s desk
through a set of oak double door
s
.

Beyond, a massive suite sprawls out in front of them
. 
The
semi-
circular
office
,
enclosed
by windows
,
provides
a
breathtaking
view of Lake Michigan, the shorelines and skylines
, both
North and South
.  They’
re so high, above all other obstructions, Michael can make out another lighted mass to the North, Milwaukee-metro
.

The
space
is
expansive,
with
distinct
islands of habitation
strategically located throughout
.
An office area at the far end of the
room
centered on the windows,
furnished with a
large walnut desk,
leather
executive
c
hair
, file
cabinets
, bookshelves,
and a conference table setting with
ten comfortable seats
.
A more casual
lounge
area with
two
leather couches, tables,
complete
bar,
and
freestanding
fireplace
established
back from the South facing windows. 
An ornate, Asian-style
shrine
with several weapon
displays
and burning incense
resides
between the office and sitting areas. 
Set back from the North windows, a kitchen and dining area, complete with hibachi-island
and large
dark-wood
dining table with
ten
matching
high-back
chairs
.