Heroes

Chapter 16

Lisa spends the night after the rescue at the large aircraft's medical ward where she sleeps like she hasn't slept in days.

The resident medical doctor has confirmed that she's unharmed and left her to rest in the corner of the ward, drawing the curtains around the bed to give her some privacy.

Jennie can't stay with her because she has to assist her team and her squad leader in the aftermath of their attack at the research facility. But whenever she has the chance, she flies back to check on Lisa just to make sure that she's still there, safe and sound. She doesn't want to witness her being taken away again.

When Lisa wakes up, she doesn't know what time it is or where she is but none of it matters because of the smiling face that greets her.

"Hey," she says in her sleepy voice.

"Hi," replies Jennie.

"What time is it?" Lisa asks. She stretches, feeling well rested, and yawns before she sits up on the bed.

"It's breakfast time, actually." Jennie stands up from her seat, hands Lisa a glass of water and watches her drink.

"Really? I thought I slept for at least twelve hours." Lisa returns the empty glass.

"No you haven't." Jennie sets the glass back on the nearby table. "How are you feeling?" she asks as she sits on the edge of the bed, next to Lisa.

"Like I've just run a marathon. Are we still on that huge plane?"

"Yeah but we're heading back to HQ now. Should land any minute."

"Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine. It took a while to sort things out and to shut down that facility but it's all been taken care of." Jennie reaches out to fix Lisa's messy hair. "They'll call you when they need to ask questions but for now, you can go home and rest for a day or two."

"Will you come and stay with me?"

Jennie smiles and nods. "Until the Alliance and the Minister can properly put the senator behind bars, you're considered a key witness and I'm in charge of watching over you."

"That's nice to know," says Lisa with a small smile. "Can I go back to work?"

"Depends on the situation. They've taken the senator into custody and they're going after everyone who has helped him all these years. Some of those people are either powerful or dangerous or both so it might take a while to know whether it's safe for you to resume normal life."

"What about the professor?"

"He's under arrest for conspiracy and maybe even treason."

"I see." Lisa takes hold of Jennie's hand, laces their fingers together and looks down at it as if it's something she's seeing for the first time.

"What is it?" asks Jennie.

"Nothing. It's just... I know that I only spent a couple of days in that place but I thought that I'd never get to see you again let alone do this. It wasn't scary or uncomfortable like those prisons you see in movies but I... I honestly thought that that was it." Lisa looks up when Jennie kisses her cheek. "Sorry to have worried you."

"None of it was your fault."

"Not yours either."

"It was. I was careless but I won't repeat my mistake."

"Okay, let's settle this once and for all," Lisa's tone turns stern. "It wasn't your fault. Period. Seulgi told me what happened that night. You were lured out of the apartment and you did good, catching that burglar. I'm proud of you," she says. "I was worried that they had done something to you in order to get me so I'm actually glad nothing like that happened. So no more saying that it's your carelessness or whatever, got it?"