Descent into the Abyss

Chapter 26

"Nice apartment," Blake remarked, his eyes glancing at the assortment of items scattered about the floor and furniture.

"Thanks," She replied, glancing back over her shoulder before disappearing behind a door. "There's water in the cooler. Help yourself."

Nodding, he knelt and opened the lid to reveal several sealed bottles with clear liquid.

"Better to err on the side of caution... But I need her to relax and listen to me," Blake reasoned to himself, reaching in and grabbing a bottle.

To his surprise, it was cool and had a layer of condensation running down the side.

"The perks of the apocalypse," He thought as he heard the door creak in front of him.

Her left arm suspended in air behind the ajar door, "Hand me one?"

With a silent acknowledgement, he stepped forward to place the cold water in her hand. The cool, wet plastic touched her palm and Bake watched the gooseflesh erupt down her arm.

"I'll be right out after I change. The outfit has its perks," Her voice cut out, a small grunt before resuming. "But unless I'm getting paid, I'm not wearing it."

"Speaking of work," Blake replied, trying to pull the conversation away from the rustling of clothes behind the door. "How long have you worked there?"

The hinges creaked again, Blake stiffening his back on instinct, fighting to turn around towards the noise.

"We can cut the small talk," She commented, stepping closer and then appearing beside him. "How does Chicago plan on stopping them?"

His eyes glanced over at her appearance, taking in the loose black tank top and the bottom hem of her shorts, hidden under the oversized shirt. On their way back up her body, he met her smirking gaze before she turned and sat down.

"I don't know all the details. No one does." Blake replied, turning away from her. "With no guarantee of success, every operative only has limited information."

"And your only mission was to retrieve me..."

"Yes," Blake acknowledged. "We've received reports of Kyle's obsessive nature towards you. Removing you from the playing field would allow for a better chance of success."

"Yeah, yeah, I remember. My question, is how? I kinda figured you'd try to kill me by now, but you say to trust you, so who knows? Can't exactly hide out, not with their troops knowing what I look like."

"That's who the guard was at the club?"

Rachel nodded, gesturing at the room, "This is all owned and operated by them. Last time I checked, Kyle had half a dozen guys keeping tabs on me here."

Red flags began shooting up in the back of his mind.

"Couple of them live nearby too..."

Sirens now alarming in the background of his thoughts.

"Kill her and run!" His survivalist instincts screamed, but he couldn't.

"Then why bring me back here? Obviously they'll report back if you're with someone."

Rachel nodded, "Yes, but I learned one night that if I didn't show up here, Kyle would begin a rampage. He killed eight people that night... All because I wasn't home."

"All the reports do point to him being crazy," Blake added.

"It's not his fault though... At least not why he's crazy. All the shit he's done since then is a different matter."