Oblivion {James Rodriguez} {Book ONE}

the bold and the unfriendly

"Are you sure this is the place?" I ask, hesitantly climbing the lengthy stairs leading towards the entrance of this massive building.

"Yes, positive." He replies, voice laced with sarcasm. Silly me, of course he would be sure about this place. It's his headquarters.

I roll my eyes at his sharp attitude this morning and finally reach the last step. My thighs are throbbing with exhaustion and I clutch the nearest rail for support as I catch my breath. He power-walks a few steps in front of me, before stopping and realizing that I was no where near his pace. He looks back and squints in the bright sunlight.

"We haven't got all day here!" He hollers. Just to annoy him, I take my time fishing for the water bottle from my purse. He groans overdramatically and marches towards me. I'm almost about to finish my large swig of water when he grabs me gently by the arm and drags me with him. I toss the empty bottle to the nearest trash can.

"What do you think you're doing, let go of me!" I scold in a pathetic attempt to express my deep refusal of even coming here in the first place.

"I'm trying to not get us killed here," he snaps rudely. I fling my arm away from his grasp and he doesn't even look back. This time, I follow quickly and quietly behind him.

We finally enter the cool, air-conditioned main office and I instantly relax. Without a word, he leads me straight down the hall and takes a sharp right into what I assume to be his office. The place is not as messy as I would've expected it to be, but still a bit shabby.

"So now that we're finally here, what the Hell is going to happen next?" I ask, plopping down on one of his comfortable guest chairs.

"I need you," he starts, picking up the phone and punching a number. "To call Kerensky and tell him to stall his deal." He deadpans, holding out the phone to me.

"Nice. Funny. I'm amused." I crack a small smile at his comical approach.

When I notice that his expression goes from neutral to cold and the phone's still being held out to me, I drop my smirk. "Wait, seriously?"

"Yes," He says through gritted teeth. "It's ringing. Start talking before he does or its game over."

I shoot him a death glare. With a restless heart and sweaty palms, I grab the phone and clutch it to my ear. "Hello?" I ask with a slight quiver. I notice Carter wince next to me. Probably not a good start.

"Well, well, well, look who we-" Starts Kerensky.

"What do you want?" I don't know where this sudden boldness came from when I was literally shaking two seconds ago.

"Feisty, this one. How is our lovely little lawyer doing this fine morning?"

"Do you always beat around the bush like this?"

"Most of the time, yes. Only because it acts as an effective ice-breaker, don't you think?" I don't know if he usually drags his affairs by including unnecessary details, but he's really getting on my nerves. How do people do business with this guy?

"Don't play with me, Kerensky. I know everything about you." And I'm not going to hesitate for a second to use it against him, only because I have this tiny speck of hope that, whatever happens, Carter will be there. I know I shouldn't be depending on him for my own personal safety, but he's guaranteed it so many times that it's really hard to believe anything but.

There's lethal silence on the other line. I can tell his patience with me starting to deteriorate.

"What do you want?" He says, voice low and threatening.