The Chloenicles #1 [COMPLETE]

Chapter 7: in which I probably have a concussion but nobody cares

The first thing I remembered after being knocked out by my neon pink suitcase is my headache. A hundred little hammers hitting my skull in an unspecific pattern. I realized that I was lying down. My brain was not at it's full capacity and I was unable to open my eyes or move. All I could make out was the hum of a car engine and a male voice singing along to the radio.
Well it was more rhythmic screaming then it was singing.


Why don't you like me?
I have a structured jaw,
A six pack and a car
Man, what happened to us
All the other girls are just so jealous
Of the attention I give to you
So why don't you like me?

„Paul stop this, you're going to wake her up", a female voice scolded.
„Don't be such a buzzkill Miranda, the song is so fun to sing along to! And it's about time that she wakes up anyway, how long has it been? Ten hours? I'm beginning to think she is in a coma. Maybe we should go to a hospital?"
„It has not been ten hours, Paul. Maybe half of one hour. I swear, you have the weirdest perception of time. And we talked about this, going to a hospital is too risky at the moment. I'll make sure that we are not followed and if she hasn't woken up by then, we'll find a doctor we can trust."
„Okay."
„I kind of don't want her to wake up though- no not ever, I obviously want her to be okay, stop looking at me like that! I am just saying, her being unconscious made it so much easier to get her in the car and out of danger. Would be easier for us if she just stayed that way until we're at the hot spot or something."
„Right."
„I am not a terrible person, Paul! I'm just being practical."
„I know you are."
Silence.
Then the singing... the screaming... the scringing started again.

Do you see the same man I see when I look in the mirror
My hotness could not be any clearer-

„Could you stop singing, if not for her then for me please, Paul?"
„What, you don't like my beautiful singing voice?"
They both laughed.
„I don't mind your voice, it's just the song..."
„What about it?"
„I don't know... it's kind of rapey in a way, you know? I don't know how else to describe it."
„I think I know what you mean...but I cannot help it, it's so incredibly catchy!"
„Yes it is... it's just that casual misogyny-"
„Wait Miranda, that was our exit!"
„What? Jesus, Paul, I told you to pay attention to where we're going so that I could focus on shaking the agents off our tail! You literally only had one job!"
„Hey, I told you we missed our exit, so I did my job!"
I heard the squeaking of wheels and other cars honking. The car I was in must have been turned around and driven over something solid, because I could feel my body being pressed into what I assumed to be the car seat, before I was lifted up and seconds later slammed full force back into the seat again.
That hurt.

Somehow that pain gave my brain the jumpstart it had needed.
I made a groaning sound and opened my eyes.
I found myself lying on the backseats of an ordinary SUV with a black interior. It was still dark outside.
I sat up, holding my head.
My vision was a little blurry but I could see Miranda in the drivers seat and Paul Herford right next to her.
„What happened?", I mumbled, still disorientated.
„Look who's awake!", Paul Herford sang and managed to put more melody into this than he had when he had sung along to the radio.
Miranda's answer was more helpful. „After your suitcase had knocked you out and I had given the same curtesy to the last remaining agent, I put you and your luggage in the car and we have been driving ever since."
She sounded like she was reporting back to a superior officer or something.
I thought about what she had said. Even though I was happy that the bodyguards, or agents, as Miranda called them, did not get me, I was still pissed that I was with the both of them now.
I wanted to go home.
I did not want to be kidnaped at all.
„When can I go home?", I asked.
„I'm so sorry, but you cannot go back for a while", Paul apologized, and he sounded genuine.
„Why not?"
„Chloe, I realize your head has been through some things today, but how about you use it.", Miranda answered in his place, „The agents were at your apartment and they will be waiting there for you. If you go back there you might as well go straight to AML headquarters and save yourself a trip."
I had so many questions. What is this AML they always seem to be talking about? Why were they after me? Where were we going? What was going on? And how were Miranda and Paul Herford connected to this?
Seeing my face in the rearview mirror, which must have looked pretty shaken up, confused and worried, Miranda continued: „Don't worry about Max, they will leave him alone. The fact that we left him behind, unconscious, should show them that he has nothing to do with us. They might ask if he knows something and put him under surveillance for a couple of days, but he is going to be fine. They already drew too much attention to this situation, they won't risk making it worse by hurting him."
Oh, I had forgotten all about Max. But now that she mentioned him, I remembered something he had told me.
„I think there has been a mistake. They are not actually looking for me, they are looking for somebody who looks like me. Max said so. They knocked on our door and told him. So if you just let me out here I could grab a bus or something back and explain to them how they got it all wrong and that they need to continue looking!" My tone was more desperate and whiney than I would have liked it to be.
„They were looking for somebody who looks like you because they saw you on CotC premises when you visited Paul", Miranda explained.
Great. 
Yet another acronym I did not understand.
Somehow all the explanations they gave me brought up new questions.
„Then why didn't they grab me when they had the chance? I saw them around a lot! Nearly every day at work, on my way home, on my way to work....?"
„They just couldn't be sure that you were the one they were looking for, so they had to ask around."