Balance (62 page)

Rena hears conversation around her
.
She doesn’t
try
to open her eyes, just listens
.

“How did she get in?  Was she planted?” Michael’s voice
demands
.

“W
e
don’t know. 
She
couldn
’
t have
been formally
train
ed
.
  She was so young,
t
hat
would’ve
be
en
an expensive
and
risky
endeavor
.”
Ms. Smith
explains
.

“She wasn’t a plant.  She was just a kid.  A very smart kid, that saw an opportunity.”

“
Rena
,
you
’
r
e
awake.” 
Ms. Smith
announces with excitement
.

Rena
opens her eyes slowly, seeing
Ms. Smith
, Michael,
Waters
and Takada standing
in the private room
.

“Hi guys.  I’m sorry …
I screwed up. 
It’s my fault.”
  Fear growing inside, fear and concern for the consequences of her actions, past and present.

Takada steps forward, “
Rena, c
an you tell us what happened?”

She nods, then closes her eyes to remember, to construct the story,
“
Well, t
he operation went like clockwork.  We
terminated
seven, including an infiltrator and a dispatch, both contractors. 
I
copied the servers and wiped ‘em
clean
.  Meg
took care of the others
, and then
set the charges.
We
went down the elevator
as planned
. 
Everything w
ent perfect.
”

“What happened in the elevator, I saw you
r
pulses elevate.”  Waters
questions
.

“P
art way down, Meg start
ed
talking about running for it, said she had people that could fence
the program
for big money.  We argued.  I only turned my back
for just
a second.  I felt the knife and fell
to the floor
.  I don’t remember m
uch after that.  I’m sorry. 
S
he
has
the software. 
I assume w
e’re tracking
her.
W
e’ll have her shortly
,
right?”

“Somehow she disabled her tracking chip.” 
Waters
advises
.

“The
Taser
.
When I was on the floor,
I saw her take the
Taser
off a guard she dropped in the lobby.”

“I’ll have
engineering
look into electroshock effects on the chip.”  Takada
suggests
, then asks with genuine concern,
“Rena, are you okay?
”

She nods solemnly

“
Y
ou scared the
hell out of me
.” Michael
whispers as he
step
s
to
her
side, grasp
ing
her hand, dried tears
around
his blood shot eyes.

Rena turns her gaze
,
her
eyes staring at and through him,
“I saw you Michael, I
saw you come into the building.
Y
ou descended on those men like
… like
a black angel of death.  I knew you’d save me.  I
could see it, you weren’t you … you were …
indomitable.”

“Rena
, you’re talking crazy
, you were unconscious.
” Michael squeezes her hand,
“
You need some rest.
”
T
urn
ing
to the other
s
in the room, “
I think we should leave her
alone.
S
he needs to sleep
.
”
 
H
oping
to discontinue
Takada
’s
questioning, he
looks down at
Rena,
his eyes filled with worry and unquestioned
adoration.  Bending down to kiss her forehead, he whispers,
“
I
’ll come back when you wake up
.
”

All in the room agree, leaving
the couple
alone.

Looking
up
at
him,
tears
fill
Rena
eyes, tears for the sister she has lost
,
and
tears
for the pain that will befall the
man
she loves.

Michael understands, kissing her
gently
on the
lips
.

The sedatives taking effect, s
he
drifts o
f
f to sleep
.

…

“Meg, I’ll explain on the way out. “ Rena tells her
.

Removing
her clothes,
Meg
pull
s
on
the legging
s
, tee
and booties.
  She slips her coat back on as t
hey
walk out of the office
suite.
 

Using
the fob she took from one of the men in the office,
Rena
slid
es
it past
the reader and press
es
the lobby button.  Once the elevator starts
to descend,
she
turns
, handing
Meg
the stored server data
, an
envelope,
and her knife.
 
“Now
listen to me
and don’t interrupt.  Understand?”
  Rena’s voice commanding, yet tinged with pain.

“Yes.”  Meg agrees looking
very scared and far younger
than her
nineteen
years
.

“
You’re like a sister to Michael and I
, a wonderful, brilliant little sister.  A sister we need to make sure lives.  You are in this situation because of me.  Takada brought you into the
Bunker
to act as
an
expendable
surrogate
for me
,
no longer
want
ing
me
exposed
in the field.  He tricked me into
pick
ing
someone
we would
bond with
, someone
that
could be
use
d
as leverage
against
Michael and I
.
”
 
Beginning to c
ry, Rena pauses, holding her hand up to keep Meg from
interrupting while she
works
to regain her composure.
 
“B
ecause I felt sorry for you in the dining hall
, I helped you
. 
As a result
of my compassion, Takada picked you. 
You may have died that day, but that might have been more humane then what Takada
is
will
ing to
do
with
you.
  Do you understand?”

“Yes.” Meg responds
, trembling, voice quaking
, still trying to grasp what Rena is saying.

“
You need to take this.
No one
sho
uld ever have
access to
this program.  This
letter will explain
much more
,
but
now … you have to run
.”

N
ot knowing what to say,
Meg
grabs and holds her sister
,
emotions
overflowing, starting to
comprehend
. 
“How do I get away?”
She
asks, releasing Rena
and regaining herself
.

“There will be a guard when we get off the elevator, take his
Taser
.
G
et at least fifteen minute
s
away, somewhere safe and seclude
d and u
se the
Taser
on your leg.  The focused surge w
ill destroy the tracking chip.”

“What is this program?
W
hy is it so important
no one can ever have it
?”
Meg asks.

“I’m pretty sure it
does
close to
what I said.”

“How the hell can you know that?
T
he
tech
guys at the
Bunker
haven’t even
seen
the program.
How can you know what it does? 
H
ow can you know
the
Taser
will destroy the chip
?
…
How is it you know all these things
?
”

“Meg, someday
I will tell you. 
Believe me,
I will, b
ut now
is not the time
.
N
ow
,
you have to run
.  The letter explains much, including how I will contact you.  Don’t worry, you will be fine, better then fine.  I’ve made sure of it.”

“How can I get away, Takada will just send Michael to extract me.”

“No he won’t
.
T
hey’ll be too busy trying to extract me and save my life.”

“Extract you?  Save your life?  Why?” Meg
asks
, confus
ion mounting
.

Rena takes Meg’s hand holding the knife
and looks into
her
eyes.  “Please for me, you must do this.”

Meg shakes her head, understanding what Rena is asking her to do.

“
You must” Rena pleads, “for me
, please.”

Meg blinks, her eyes red with tears.

“W
hen you get the
Taser
,
run out the
West
emergency exit.
  Michael will be coming in through the front.  I’m sorry
you and Chris didn’t have more time, but I
hope
this will change that
… Megan it’s time.”

Rena turns around
,
facing the doors, closing
her eyes.

“Rena, I do love you like a sister … please come back to me
.
”

A
momentary sharp pain
erupts in
her lower back
, then cold
;
like icicles
and
a
pinch in her abdomen. 
H
er hand
goes
to her
side
.
L
ift
ing
it
to her face
, Rena
finds
it covered in blood.  Tears
,
not for her
own
pain, but for all the pain she
has caused.  Her legs
go weak.
S
trong arms
wrap around her body,
gently
rest
ing
her on the floor.