A Spy, A Prince, and Something Else... major reconstruction

Chapter 17

<recap>

For some reason, a wave of anxiety and distrust washed over me. I should trust Andrew's instincts but, she just had a bad Ora about her. She ushered us into an office and stepped out, but not before closing the door with a pass code.

I felt the room move. The movement was calm enough, but still frighted me. I guess Andrew could see the fear on my face because he gave my hand a gentle squeeze. I returned it with a grin. He may have been a jerk but he was a hot jerk. And I'm still a girl.

"So... ," I began trying to drum up a sound other than that of our mysterious descending room.

"Why do you care about him," Andrew sighed

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I fidgeted with my fingers as I avoided Andrew's calculating gaze. I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out. It was like I was frozen. Why did I care? We weren't that close. The truth wasn't something I wanted to admit. We hadn't talked much, Gregory and I. So what was the big deal you ask? I closed my eye and took a shallow breath.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" I tried. There had to be a way to avoid this uncomfortable topic. His inflated ego didn't needed nor could handle anymore hot air. It literally suffocated the very room we stood in or any room really...

"You know perfectly well wh-what I'm talking about," He countered mocking me at the last part. I gave him a harsh glare that dissolved when I saw his heart-warming smile. I knew what he was talking about. Heck, I even knew the answer. I just don't want to embarrass myself anymore on this mission. An image of Andrew's boastful smirk, after the bus incident, came to mind. How was I suppose to know that was his mother. When did she have him? Age 4? I could feel my already bruised pride preparing to be swallowed. It was not a taste I was looking forward to. I was desperate to stall my impeding embarrassment.

I turned my back to Andrew as I searched for a way to change the subject. I studied the pictures on the wall. I began to wonder if the family portrait was real or manufactured. They looked like a family. Then again, everything is never as it seems. Take Andrew, for example. Never, in my wildest dreams, would I have thought that he was a spy and yet... Bam! there he was decked out in espionage mystique.

"Do you remember that day we broke-up?" I hesitatingly started. I felt all the confidence I worked for weeks to obtain leaking from my very pores. All it took was one look, one question, one... Andrew

I saw Andrew's eyes darken slightly. His face clouded beyond readability. Who am I kidding? I couldn't read it if there was a neon sign on his forehead. I wrung my hands, waiting impatiently for his response.

"Unfortunately..." His wince at the memory spoke truth in his single word.

"I was crushed to say the least. I felt like you were just playing me. I just couldn't understand; why I wasn't good enough for anyone. I felt so unlovable. Then, at the dance, Ja...Gregory told me why we wouldn't work. He rejected me but at the same time I felt... well cared for."

I was so caught up in my revelation. When I tuned back in to my surroundings, the tension was palpable. I summoned all my courage and gazed into the two stormy orbs. They held my gaze with determination before faltering.

"I'm sorry, Kim. You don't deserve any of this..."

At that moment, a green gas began to rain in from the ceiling. My eyes widened taking in the sight. Coughing, I covered my face with my shirt to avoid inhaling the gas. I panicked as my eyes flickered to Andrew. Where did he get the gas mask from? His eyes shone with an emotion. For once, I could read it. Guilt! Why would he feel guilty. My coughing fits became more severe as my lung began to lose the battle with the mysterious gas. Black dots floated around the spinning and technicolor room. My knees began to shake, before giving in. My eyes shut to soothe the burning. It didn't matter because my vision was already disappearing into a black hole.

I woke up in pain. Pain. It was a pain that I should be accustomed to. It wasn't anything new and yet it was unbearable. Betrayal was the most painful contributor. It acted like a knife cutting and twisting into wounds that had only just scabbed over.

Sitting up straighter, I began to scan my surroundings. I was in some sort of prison cell. If I wasn't behind bars I'd laugh at the simplicity of it. The more I looked around, the harder it was to contain my mirth. The bars looked like they would give any minute. The walls crumpled slightly at my touch. This was too good.

I regrettably took in a breath. The cruel stench of the air attacked my lungs harshly. My eyes watered slightly. It was unbearable. The adrenaline of my escape wained as the smell over took my senses, blinding me. It burned to breath. I removed my undershirt and ripped it, making a makeshift bandanna to lessen the smell. It wasn't pleasant but it was an improvement. Next, I rescanned my area. This time, more thorough than the former, to check for booby traps or things of that nature.

The coast was clear and it was time to make my move. I brace myself as I moved to kick the door down. After three kicks, the bars gave way. Which was followed by some creaking from the cell and finally the collapse of said cell. Dust particles overtook the air in a fury. I shielded my eyes in reflex. Soon the entire building began to give way. It was going to collapse! I sprinted to what I hoped would be an exit. My first path lead to a dead end. The second the same as the previous. "Third times the charm," I thought. The dust and debris made it almost impossible to see but I did see that I had found yet another dead end!

Do you know that part in a movie where everything happens in slow motion? That part where the protagonist uses some unknown strength to overcome? Well, that's what happened. Except, not in slow motion. Even to this day, I can't truly recall how it happened. It was as if time sped up. One minute I was a goner, the next I was looking at a large pile of brick and mortar that had once been an abandoned penitentiary. I shivered slightly as a cold gust of wind blew by. Stuffing my hands in my pockets, I kicked at the ruins trying to think of my next move. Rustling of a nearby bush caught my attention. I stared at the bushes, their massive size left the intruders identity a mystery. It could have been a simple sparrow or a team of enemy operatives come to correct what the pile of rubble had wronged. I ripped off my bandanna and stuffed it in my pocket for safe keeping. Then I closed my hand and prepared for the worst. With baited breath, I waited as adrenaline surged through my veins.

The bushes rustled again. But, this time they revealed two figures. Both figures were clad in all black. I scoffed as they came into my view. Seriously? I know this is a life or death moment but, I still don't see why Andrew wouldn't let me just wear all black! Obviously, he ditched that day. This is the third person to show up dressed in all black.

An animal like growl escaped my throat. I don't know where it came from. It just slipped! My emotions engulfed me I wasn't sure what to I felt. Each feeling was thrown into an abyss of confliction and strirred by adreniline. A deadly combination waiting for implosion. Then, it hit me. I was scared! Frightened, I held my ground and waited for the ever famous monologe.