Crossing Boundaries

Fooling Mr. Morris

It was close to 11 p.m. and Sang waited patiently downstairs in Nathan's house. She was dressed in black, comfortable clothes, perfect for a stake out. She wondered whether she had to don on a ski mask of some sort but just laughed it off. She wasn't going there to commit a crime, well at least she didn't think it was a crime. Sometimes Sang had to wonder about the Academy's true intent; she knew they did things above the law but how much was it illegal work and how much was it just protecting their family members and friends.

Nathan had protested a little when he heard that Sang would be snooping around in the middle of the night but she assured him that it was Mr. Blackbourne who had suggested it and she'd be with Luke at all times. Now Nathan was in bed all tuckered out, he'd been up till late the night before.

There was a slight knock at the door, Sang hurried to the door and quietly unlocked it, not wanting to wake up Nathan. The downstairs' lights were off save for a lone lamp in the corner. The silhouette of a figure slipped through the door. She could see the faint features of Luke's face as he grinned down at her. He was dressed all in black as well.

"I have a tail behind me, we have to lose this guy somehow. I really don't want anyone following us for this," stated Luke.

"Who is it?"

"Mr. Morris."

"Isn't he Kota's tail?"

"I think he circulates amongst us."

Sang thought for a while, "Let me talk to him, try to ease him back."

"Sang, I don't think that's a good idea," Luke warned.

"I've done it before, might be worth a shot. Mr. Hendricks knows that we know about the tail anyway. What harm can it do?"

Luke didn't protest any further. They both headed out the door and Sang locked up behind her. They moved down the front lawn towards the black truck idling by the curb. Sang could see the benefit of North having so many black vehicles, it was perfect for hiding away in. Sang looked down the street and saw the familiar brown car waiting in the shadows. She motioned for Luke to stay by the car and went down the street. She approached the brown car and peered in through the passenger window. Mr. Morris looked up but didn't seem surprised to see Sang.

"Mr. Hendricks has you following us?" Sang asked.

Mr. Morris groaned and put a hand to his face, he looked exhausted. "Yes, he still has us do this. Complete waste of time if you ask me."

Sang looked at him with sympathy, "You should be in bed at home, Mr. Morris."

"So should you, where are you going anyway in the middle of the night?"

Sang couldn't tell him the truth that she was out playing espionage, so she lied through her teeth. She might be a terrible liar but it was dark out and Mr. Morris couldn't possibly see her face in the dark. "Geez, can't a girl be out with a guy that she's seeing. Half the teenagers from the school do worse than this in the middle of the night, you know, and you are not following them around."

"Say, aren't you dating the big guy, the football player?"

"Silas? Kinda, it's not a serious thing," Sang shrugged, hoping that he'd let it go.

Mr. Morris contemplated this for a while. He really did not want to be following a bunch of teenagers. He shuddered to think what they might be up to encased in the shadows of their car.

Sang tried again, "look, I told you that I would call you and feed you information to give to Mr. Hendricks. If you really need to tell him something, tell him that we were following a new lead on Mr. McCoy's whereabouts. If he calls me in tomorrow, I can always say that it was a false lead."

Mr. Morris looked at her, "You know how to deal with Mr. Hendricks?"

It was a rhetorical question but Sang got the idea that he was impressed with her. She rolled her eyes at him; "I've been called down to his office enough times to know how he works. You just go on home and put your feet up. We can deal with Mr. Hendricks tomorrow."

Mr. Morris sighed and rubbed his face in fatigue, "You're right. You go on and...do whatever it is you are doing. Just remember that it is a school night."

Sang smiled at him then with genuine gratitude. "Thank you. Mr. Morris. I'll see you tomorrow."

She ran back to Luke and threw her arms around him, "Just play along with me," she whispered. It was then that Sang, standing in the middle of the road with her arms around Luke that she plucked the courage to do something she never thought she would do. She leaned forward, tilted her head and placed her lips gently on Luke's.

Time stopped then. There was no Mr. Morris watching from behind, there wasn't a job to go to. There wasn't Nathan sleeping 20 feet away. There was only them, surrounding each other, inhaling each other's presence. Sang felt a rush of exhilaration, an absolute sense of freedom and resolution. She didn't dare move, just kept her lips on Luke's, trying to gage his reaction.

Luke inhaled a sharp breath and gasped. He clutched the back of her shirt a few times. They parted, both taking shallow breaths of air.

Luke's eyes got big then, "Sang..." he breathed out.

It took Sang some time to come back to her own two feet. She felt as if she could float away. Finally, she remembered where she was, "shh, is Mr. Morris still watching?"

Luke came down from the high as well, still clenching at Sang's back, he glanced behind her, "No, he's gone," Luke's voice still came out raspy and short of breath as if he'd just run a marathon.

"I'm really sorry for that but I kinda told Mr. Morris that we were out just spending some quality time together. I felt like we had to play it realistically."

"D...Don't worry about it. I'm glad I could help," Luke's voice quivered.

Sang let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Silently they both got into the truck. As Luke started to drive away, the realization of what Sang had done crashed down on her. Her body shook with half adrenaline rush and half nervousness. She just hoped that it hadn't been a stupid idea.