Rebecca looked confused for a second.
"Coming with you guys? What makes you think I'd do that?"
TJ and I shared a glance.
Is this bitch serious?
"Do you have anyone with you, or did you come alone?" I asked, scanning her expression.
She glanced around, suddenly uneasy. "Why'd you ask? Wanna fuck me or something?"
What the fuck?
TJ and I looked at each other again, then burst into laughter.
"Oh, you're funny," I said. "Maybe I will later, if you want me to." I leaned in, dropping my voice. "No, but you really have no choice. If you're alone, nothing is stopping TJ from breaking every bone in your body."
Her expression didn't change. That was weird.
"Guess you're right," she sighed.
I paused. There's a tracking device on her. There's no way she'd be sent here with nothing to defend herself, not after Mark and Fredrick's reports.
Unless…
Maybe they lied to save their hides, saying we had bombs or something. Or maybe she's buying time for a squad to surround us right now. My fingers twitched toward my watch. Do I freeze time? Run a scan? Get the hell out of here?
No. Too soon. If she is stalling, I need her to think it's working.
"Alright, sure. I'm going to check you for a tracking device now. Arms out, don't worry, I won't fondle you or anything."
She pouted when I said that.
"What if I want you to?"
What the fuck is up with this woman?
My eyes narrowed. Is she really stalling? Or is she just like this?
I gave her a smirk but didn't answer, keeping my gaze locked on hers. What are you trying to do, Rebecca?
"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that." I said as I started to pat her down. There was a part of me that almost wanted to entice her offer, she's very pretty after all, but then again, she's also the enemy. I have to stay focused, can't let the lack of pussy I've got all my life get in my way now.
I continued patting her down, moving fast, keeping it clinical. Stay focused.
"Shame," she murmured, her lips barely moving. "I was hoping you'd be a little more… thorough."
My fingers hesitated. She noticed.
Damn it.
Then she laughed, not being smug nor seductive, just genuine amusement.
"Oh my God," she said. "You really think I'm up to something, don't you?"
I scowled.
"Should I not?"
"Dude, I literally got sent here with no backup, no weapons, and no plan. You could've just shot me in the head and left, and I wouldn't have been able to do a damn thing about it."
I narrowed my eyes. What was her angle?
She groaned.
"I'm being serious, man. Aren't you supposed to be this super smart guy? You can tell I'm not hiding anything. After your pathetic excuse of a pat-down, you should know there's nothing on me. They can't track me, either. I turned my location off."
I stood up, finished with the pat down, and leveled my eyes with hers.
"You're so interesting. I think we'll have some lovely conversations where we're headed."
She grinned.
"Oh, I'm sure we will."
"Now, I need to make sure you can be trusted," I said. "Text your boss that you have both of us in your custody. Let me know how he responds."
She nodded and started typing. "I like it when you get all authoritarian on me," she muttered.
I shot her a look.
"What?" she said, shrugging. "Fredrick made you sound kinda hot."
I blinked. "What?"
"Relax, I'm not about to throw myself at you." She smirked. "I just think you're interesting, that's all."
"Okay…"
TJ led us out the facility while I watched her type the text, so she couldn't alert anyone else.
"You won't be breathing down my neck like this when we're dating, right?"
Dating? What is her endgame here?
I should've just ignored it. Let it go. Instead, I felt my pulse speed up for a half-second.
Is Fredrick behind this?
"Stop," she said suddenly. "You're doing what Fredrick does. You're ignoring your emotions."
I scoffed.
"Oh, please."
"No, really," she pressed. "If you want to beat him, you're going to have to listen to them."
My emotions?
"I don't have any romantic attraction to you," I said flatly. "We just met."
"Sure," she said, unconvinced. "But obviously there's physical attraction. What's stopping you from playing along?"
"The fact that you're supposed to be my hostage? Like, what else?" I snapped.
"Well, fine. Be like that. Anyway, what's the next move? How is Jeffrey Thompson going to take down this giant, unstoppable government force full of superhumans?"
I grinned.
"I already have a plan. TJ, purchase every plane from Virginia to New York in the next 24 hours."
He nodded.
"On it."
He whipped out his phone and began getting to work.
"Use my credit card, too. They'll pull up my search history and find the phone I bought."
"Really, don't we want to like… not do that?"
"No, it's exactly what we want to do, in fact."
"Why's that?"
Rebecca perked up.
"Oh, I think I know this! Can I answer?" Rebecca grinned.
I chuckled.
"Alright. Get it right, and maybe I'll let you stay in my bed instead of the floor."
She giggled. "Aww, you want me that close already?"
I rolled my eyes. "Answer the question, Rebecca."
She sighed.
"I'll take that as a yes. Anyway, you want them to track it so they think you're somewhere else than the airport, right?"
Oh wow, not bad. She was actually right.
I didn't expect that.
This girl was a wildcard, I had no idea what her endgame was. A part of me almost thought she just genuinely wants to help us?
But what would lead to that happening?
"Not bad. Don't worry about the dog thing. Just because you're my enemy, doesn't mean I'm making you sleep on the floor. I'm not evil. This'll help us save on room costs, anyway. My parents left me a lot of money, but it's not infinite. Better to be smart with it."
"Wait, you were being serious?"
"I try not to lie to pretty girls."
She blushed and we moved on.
"Boss just texted me, he wants pictures."
Alright, just as I predicted.
"Good. TJ, turn around."
He obeyed and turned around to face us. I walked up to him and pulled out the spare gun we had.
"Point this at us."
It was empty, in case she tried to get funny with us. Although, it seems like she dropped the overly flirtatious act for now.
"Got it." She complied and didn't even try to shoot us.
Very interesting.
She took the picture and sent it to the boss.
"He just texted me back."
"Let me see it." I said while taking the gun back and handing it to TJ.
"He says he wants me to keep you guys there until he gets here."
The boss is coming? Two tough decisions.
"As much as I'd love to stay here and kill the boss right here and now, he's probably bluffing to buy time. Either way, getting to New York ASAP is the plan of action right now."
She nodded.
"Got it."
"Yo Jeffrey, can we talk real quick?"
TJ asked while stepping to the side.
"Sure," I said while walking up next to him, out of Rebecca's ear range while still keeping her in my sights. "What's up, man?"
"Are you positive that she isn't just being honest? I mean, you saw what I did to Fredrick and Mark? If they told the boss, and he still sent her, don't you think she'd hold some resentment."
"I've already considered this TJ, I'm just being cautious. I appreciate the concern."
"No, seriously, Jeffrey. I know we're trying to save the world and shit, but you also need to look out for yourself. She seems like she's genuinely into you. Give her a chance."
I nodded.
Maybe I should. There's a part of me that's surprised I've controlled myself for this long. That part of me is still 13 in spirit, but it still counts. All humans desire one thing, it's something we're born with. It's the want to reproduce. I'll be honest, being near Rebecca DEFINITELY makes me want to reproduce.
"Alright. Let's get a move on." I glanced back at Rebecca, who had looked away. Giving us genuine privacy?
Interesting.
We made our way to a hotel after trekking through the marsh once more. I purchased the room we would all share, and we made our way to the rooms. I made sure to buy enough rooms to last us a week, not only that way in case something bad happened, we would have a place to stay for a bit, but also for my plan.
"Alright, Rebecca. Do you really want me to sleep in the same bed as you?"
She giggled, then brushed her hair back behind her ears.
"What are we, 12? I'm sure we can manage sleeping in the same bed without engaging in any mischievous activities. You're the one that keeps insinuating that us sleeping together will engage in sex."
Damn, she was right.
"Alright. Well, if it's fine with you, then it's fine with me. Like I said, I make a point to try not to lie to women."
…
A part of me was a little sad we managed to go the whole night engaging within any mischievous activities. I got up and yawned. Time for the real bulk of my plan.
You see, we didn't just sleep in a hotel. That's what Mark and Fredrick think, though. I left my phone behind in the hotel room so they could track it, thinking I'm waiting in there for the right flight to go on.
Even if they saw through that, who would guess that we'd sleep in the airport itself?
TJ, Rebecca, and I all boarded the first flight that day.
Mark and Fredrick didn't even see us once.
…
On the flight, I decided to start discussing the plan of action with Rebecca.
"Alright, you stumbling into our grasp is very convenient, saves me the trouble of having to bribe or blackmail an employee until they get me a map layout. I'd like that as soon as possible. Until we get that, our plan of action will be as follows. Get in, download all the main system files onto my hard drive, get the clues and out. If anything gets in our way, TJ will handle it."
Of course, this was a lie. But that's alright, it's for the greater good.
…
We touched down in New York and made our way to an actual hotel, where we can formulate our next plan of action. Rebecca had successfully gotten the blueprints from the boss, meaning I can finally put together this plan. However, we're gonna be tight on time, since there's a part of me that feels like Mark could be behind us at any moment.
I'm doing it. I'm winning right now. Everything that's happened up until this point has gone to my predictions. This is it, my riskiest plan yet. I have my forever best friend, TJ and my potential lover Rebecca to take on the world.
I felt so alive.
Then TJ's phone buzzed.
He looked at the screen, frowned, and turned to me.
"Uh, dude?"
It was from Bob.
B: I need your help. Now.