Project Shady

Jump

I know I'm late but merry xmas eveyone and enjoy the late update 💕

Thankfully for Clara, there wasn't anyone down the corridor when she came down the steps that led down from the balcony. Wasting no time she pulled out the key she'd hidden in her clutch and started to find the room she'd hidden and locked Marshall in. Clara could admit that she didn't remember which room she'd left him in, but after shoving the key in about two doors she finally found the one it fitted.

''Marshall?'' She whispered poking her head around the door. Her heart sank as there was no answer and she couldn't see him either, ''Marshall,'' she called again, but louder this time.

''Up here,'' Clara blinked craning her neck to look up at Marshall's position. She could just about see him, sat on top of the platform that held the posts together on top of the bed.

''What the fuck are you doing up there?'' Clara questioned crossing her arms over her chest as Marshall peered down at her from his position.

''Uh, adrenaline and not wanting to get killed factored into it a little,'' he shrugged, not making a single hint that he was going to move anytime soon.

''You gonna get down,'' Clara then asked unfolding her arms and gesturing from the bed to the floor. There was a moment of silence between the two before Marshall finally decided to speak up again.

''Yeah about that, um. Kinda didn't think about that part you know being scared for my life and all,'' Marshall explained.

Clara huffed and without saying a word closed the door behind her so she was now stood fully inside the room. Marshall was silent as he watched her eyes roam around the room, before focusing on the bed underneath him.

''You know,'' she begun moving to the side of the bed, ''you're lucky I got some sort of common sense aren't you,'' Clara's words were then followed by a groan as she managed with what little strength she had, to push the mattress off the bed so it lay flat on the ground, ''now just jump, the mattress should break your fall.''

Marshall looked from Clara to the mattress a couple of times before he took a deep breath to compose  himself. before jumping down, ''right so all I gotta do is jump and I'll be good right?''

''Yes now come on we haven't got all night the police will be checking rooms in a bit for us because we are probably the only ones unaccounted for. Now don't be a baby and jump,'' Clara added while tapping her foot in the carpet, becoming a little impatient.

''I ain't no baby,'' with that phrase going around in his head Marshall finally jumped and landed spread-eagled on his back on the mattress, ''am I dead,'' he whispered out his eyes scrunched tightly shut.

''No, but I wish there'd be less whining,'' Clara shot back kicking his leg with her foot causing him to jolt up into a sitting position.

''Hey I'm you're boss without me you wouldn't have a job,'' Marshall argued.

''Hm yeah, but without me, you'd still be stuck up there,'' Clara pointed out walking away from him to go and open the door, ''come on we gotta make sure people know you're still alive,'' she spoke holding the door open for him and gesturing for him the leave with her.

''What about you?'' He asked.

''I'm not famous Marshall. Nobody would care if I went missing.''

''I might,'' Clara didn't hear the words come out of his mouth, strangely a part of him had hoped she'd have heard him because then he'd know if she believed him or not.

°°°

The ballroom was more or less empty by the time Clara and Marshall rejoined it. The only people in the room were Samantha and Travis, who were both handcuffed and under careful watch. Curtis and Rose were also there giving what Clara suspected eyewitness accounts of what had happened. Those were the first people Clara made her way towards, Marshall blindly following behind her, but both of them were cut off by an officer.

''Sir, Ma'am we've been looking for you, where have you been?'' The officer asked his eyes scanning over Clara which made her shuffle uncomfortably away from him and a little closer to Marshall. Her action surprised her, she was more than capable of taking care of herself, but somehow being closer to Marshall made her feel more protected.

''We hid in one of the bedrooms. It's down the hall the one with the mattress on the floor. We only came out when we heard the police sirens,'' Marshall explained and Clara let out a sigh of relief. It looked like she wasn't the only one that knew how to make up lies when they were needed.

The officer seemingly satisfied with their answer, plus it being Eminem, let them past allowing them to continue towards Curtis and Rose.

''Clara you're ok,'' Rose flung herself at Clara as soon as they approached, the hug allowing them to whisper to each other without anybody else hearing them, ''nice shot by the way. Thanks.''

''It wasn't a problem, but what actually happened and the computer what's happening with that?'' Clara shot the questions quickly at Rose, while Marshall and Curtis distracted themselves with each other.

''This guy from the FBI that knows about the lists said he'll take the computer with him to the station and call you about it later, said he had your number,'' Rose replied, Clara just nodded at her words knowing that the FBI agent was Micheal.

''Whose calling who?'' Clara near enough jumped out of her skin the moment Marshall's voice whispered from behind her straight in her ear. When she turned around to glare at him, he just stood there was an innocent grin stretched across his face. Clara folded her arms over her chest, continuing to glare at him as all he did was shrug nocturnally at her.

''What's it got to do with you who's calling me and who isn't,'' Clara announced not taking her eyes off of him. She did, however, briefly turn to her left, where she had thought Rose was still standing, but it appeared that she as well as, Clara had noticed, Curtis too. Which meant that it was yet again just her and Marshall alone; unless you counted the police officers still wandering about that is.

''Maybe I just want to know that you're safe you know after what just happened because I just found out that someone had managed to shot those two,'' Marshall paused to point at Samatha and Travis before he continued, not without taking a step closer to her though. ''And they had been on the balcony. They could have hurt you while you were up there.''

''But they didn't so there isn't anything to worry about. I'm alive and so is everybody else that's the main thing. Now please tell me can we leave because I want to go home,'' she remarked nodding her head towards the exist in hopes of coaxing Marshall to leave with her.

''You still going to come back to mine and pick the stuff you left there?'' Clara glanced down at her phone she'd taken out of her cutch and checked the time.

It was still quite early, meaning she had no excuses to not to go with him back to his house. Either way, it wasn't like he'd picked her up at a club and was taking her home for another reason. Instead, she was his assistant and she'd already agreed to pick her stuff up after the event. So with a short inhaled breath Clara replied with the only word she could muster at that moment.

''Yeah.''