Edge of History (Billie Pierce x Orignal fem character)

Part 6

When Billie gets out of the car, Kacey tells us we need to go to the guys car to go over the plan again. "Everyone here?" Nate asks, looking around. "I think so," I answer, squished between Billie and Dario. "Okay, so something that I figured out when I was opening that jade box is that they attract each other." Nate says. "What do you mean?" Billie asks. "Let me show you." Nate replies. He sets the two boxes on the dashboard. When he lets go the slide against the leather until they are touching. "I figure we can use their combined attraction to find the third box in the well." Nate explains. "Great, the reenactment starts in four minutes." Kacey interrupts. "Okay, everyone." Billie commands, "Rita, Kacey, and I will go into the courtyard. Nate and Dario blend in with the crowd. We'll keep in touch with the earpieces." Everyone puts their earpieces in, and we do a check. Nate and Dario are the first to exit, immediately breaking apart to blend in with tourists. Next is Kacey, who stands by the car to wait for us. Billie and I step out into the bright sun. We are wearing the costumes Kacey got us. Billie is wearing high-waisted khakis, a white button-up shirt, and a blue jacket with gold buttons. Hanging off of her shoulder is a satchel that holds the two boxes. I am wearing similar pants, but my blue jacket is buttoned closed and has red straps intersecting in the middle. Hidden in my satchel is a pulley system to lift the iron grate that currently sits on top of the well. We weave through the people as the crowd gathers to watch the reenactment. When we enter the courtyard, a guard in a cowboy hat approaches us. "You can't be back here. The show starts outside."Kacey walks up to him swiftly and stuns him in the neck. He drops to the ground.  "Don't worry, Rita. It only stuns him." Billie reminds me, knowing my uncertainty from earlier. We make our way to the well, and Kacey asks for my satchel. I give it to her, and she begins setting up the pulley. Billie and I wait for her to finish while keeping an eye out for other security guards. Withing two minutes, Kacey is done, and the grate is open at a forty-five degree angle. On the inside wall of the well are footholds that form a latter. I help Billie over the edge of the well, and she climbs down the latter. When she is a few feet down, she takes the boxes out. She holds them out so that they are an inch away from the wall. Kacey and I lean over the side to watch her. "Kacey, why don't you go watch out for any wandering tourists." Billie says, looking up for a second before going back to her search. "You got it, boss." Kacey replies, walking away to watch the entrance of the courtyard. When Billie has checked everywhere she can reach, she lowers herself down two steps and begins again. "You look sexy when treasure hunting." I call down to her. "Oh darling, I know." She says, looking up at me with a grin. Several minutes have passed, and nothing has turned up. Kacey returns to the well, "Have you found anything? They will be moving in here in a minute or two." Kacey informs us. "Not yet." Billie yells. "Billie, you should get out. Maybe you guys missed something in the journal. Let's regroup on the plane." I yell down the well. "Just give me thirty seconds." Billie insists. I look to Kacey in concern, but she walks off to resume her position. I look back down to Billie with worry on my face. Suddenly, I hear a loud SNAP. I watch in horror as the iron grate falls down, trapping Billie inside. "Rita, what happened?" Billie calls up, her voice calm. "Um, I think the rope on the pulley broke." I say, trying to find a way to lift the grate. "Kacey! Help! Billie is stuck." I call, looking for Kacey. Kacey is nowhere to be seen. "Rita, don't worry about me. You need to leave. We don't need both of us getting caught." Billie reasons. "No, I'm staying." I yell back. "Rita, sweetheart, just go. I'll be fine, Kacey will get me out when they arrest me." I look down at her she is completely calm. We both hear the final cannon go off, and we both know people will be coming back here any second. She locks her eyes with me, giving me a gentle smile. "Just go, I'll be okay." She assures. I nod my head in resignation and run out of the courtyard. I feel tears build, and my check feels heavy. "Billie will be fine. Kacey will take care of it." I repeat to myself. "Rita! Where's Billie?" Kacey asks when I reach the car. "Where did you go?" I raise my voice to her. "The rope broke, and she got stuck. I couldn't help her, and you were gone." I feel my body starting to shake as I speak. "Oh no!" Kacey says, beginning to panic as well. "Time was almost up, and I thought you and Billie would get out. Some guys were coming, so I had to redirect them." Kacey explains. "It's going to be okay, right? Can you fix it?" I ask, grabbing her arm. "Yes, I can fix it. They'll have found her by now. All we have to do is wait for them to escort her to their holding place." Kacey answers. I look towards the building to see Billie walking out in handcuffs. There are two guards on either side of her, each holding one of her arms. I feel hopeless in this moment. I couldn't help her. But it's okay, Kacey is here to fix everything, I assure myself. She has to. 
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We are parked in a gas station. Kacey has been on the phone the entire time trying to get information on Billie. I try to distract myself by working with Nate to find where we went wrong. "There's got to be another well." Nate exclaims. "I don't think so." I say. "Maybe there's a different Alamo." I say, thinking out loud. "A different Alamo?" Nate repeats. "Yes," I reply, pulling my phone out. I do a quick search about the Alamo. I click on a website called 'The Original Alamo' "I think I found something." I say, turning to Nate. "This website says that the Alamo here in Texas was named after some guys hometown, Alamo. The original Alamo is in Mexico." Nate smiles at me and pulls me into a hug. "I think you're on to something." He says. "Now all we have to do is get Billie out. Then we can go." I say, relieved.
"Okay, I finally found someone that could help me." Kacey states, walking over to us. "They said we can pick her up in an hour." We decide to go across the street to a diner to kill time and get something to eat.
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Kacey went in to sign Billie out and pay a small fine. I wait in the car alone. Nate and Dario went on ahead back to the jet. I watch for the two women, my eyes glued to the double glass doors. About twenty minutes later, I finally see them exit. They make their way to the car. Billie gets in first, followed by Kacey. "Billie!" I exclaim, wrapping my arms around her. "Are you okay? I'm sorry I couldn't do anything to help you." I apologize, grabbing her hands. "It's is quite alright." She assures me. "I was only there for two hours. I'm glad that you were able to get out before they arrested you, too." She kisses my forehead, and I start to calm down. I feel Billie's finger under my chin. She tilts it up and kisses me. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Kacey turning her head to look out of the window.
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Everyone has gathered around the conference table. Billie and I sit next to each other near the end on the left side. Kacey sits on the other end. Dario sits in the middle of the right side, and Nate is pacing behind him. "So, while we were waiting for Billie to be released, Rita came up with a theory." Nate started explaining, still pacing. "Is that so?" Billie asks, looking to me, her fingers softly running over my inner thighs. "Yes." I respond, trying to hold a straight face so the rest of the group doesn't suspect anything. "She found that the is actually a place in Mexico that the Alamo is Texas was named after." Nate continues. "And is there a well there?" Dario asks. Nate stops pacing, "Yes, I looked it up. There was a well there." Kacey looks up from her iPad, "What do you mean, was?" Nate explains that there was a well in the center of town. In the 1920s, the area was developed, and a bank was built over it. "Does that mean we have to break into a bank?" I ask. "No, actually, several years ago, someone blew a hole into the floor. It can be assumed that the bank robber was actually a treasure hunter." Nate answers. "So where does that leave us?" Billie asks. "Well, that brings me to the next part." Nate begins. "I found that the bank robber was caught and is still in prison." I look to Billie, "We need to talk to them. Maybe they will have an idea of where the third box is." I tell her. "I think you might be right." She agrees. She stands to address the team. "Everyone try to find everything thing you can about the prison, evidence from the break-in, who this person in prison is." She says, "Anything and everything that might be helpful. We will go to Mexico in a week." Billie turns to look down at me. "Dismissed," she says with a smile.
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Since our team meeting, people have been busy finding information. Kacey has not looked up from her iPad in an hour. Nate and Dario have been coming and going from the room. Billie is in front of a whiteboard, catching me up on the history of the treasure. I had asked her to give me a refresher. I hadn't heard anything about it since I read about a supposed Pan-American treasure while researching my dissertation. The part that I hadn't known was Malinche and the Daughters of the Plumed Serpent. The other stuff was basic info about the ancient civilizations. There were points during the presentation where my attention was on Billie's body. The way her long black skirt perfectly followed the curve of her hips. I couldn't take my eyes off of her breasts. Her blouse had a lower cut that showed just the right amount of cleavage. I could see the outline line of her nipples, brought out by the cold temperature on the plane. "Rita? Are you listening?" Billie asks, stopping her presentation to get my attention. "Yes, you were saying Malinche taught herself to write." I answer. "Baby, that was five minutes ago." Billie says. "Oh. I'm sorry, can you go back?" I ask, turning my attention back to the whiteboard. "Sure, pay attention this time." Billie says with a smirk. I know she likes that I get distracted by her body.
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The plane has landed, and people are deciding what to do. I am the only one who has a place to stay outside of the plane. Nate told me that though they have beds on the plane, they will sometimes stay in hotels. Some of them like to stay in the cities they are in to get the full experience. Though I get the feeling that they get tired of sharing a room with everyone.
Billie disappeared twenty minutes before the plane landed. I went to go look for her. She was sitting on her be,  brushing her hair. "There you are." I say, sitting next to her. "I guess I have to go home now." I say, putting my head on her shoulder. "I guess so." She replies. "Though I was wondering if your offer for a drink was still open?" She asks, wrapping her arm around my waist. I lift my head to look at her, a smile forming. "Of course, it's still open." I reply. I look over to the bag I brought, and I see that she has packed a small overnight bag for herself. "I guess I didn't need that change of clothes after all." I comment. "Yeah, I only told you to bring it just in case. If we had found the third box, we would probably be going somewhere else tonight." She explains. "It's good to be prepared for anything." She says. "Are you ready to go?" I ask, getting eager to take Billie home with me. "Yes, let's go." She says, kissing me before standing up. She grabs her bag, and I grab my own. We exit the plane and get in a black car. One of her drivers takes us to my apartment.