G.U.A.R.D. Book #2: Aberrations

-18-

Plip! Tap! Plip! Tap!

I breathed on my raw fingers, rubbing them together to ward off the cold. Rain splattered against the motel room window. It echoed on the walls like I was in a cave. I sat on one of the twin beds, staring at the peeling, mustard yellow paint on the opposite wall. Another bed sat pushed up against it, a brown blanket like mine covering it. In between the two was a single nightstand, a lamp in the center.

The shower in the next door bathroom suddenly turned off, and I glanced up to the closed door. Judging by the clock hanging on the wall, Jade had been in the bathroom for around four minutes, enough time to strip and shower. With some spare money from her motorcycle, she got us this shabby motel room, which was where I waited. My pants were wet from the rain. My shirt, dirty and soaked, hung on the curtain pole to dry.

I tapped the wooden floor nervously with my foot. My fingers twitched randomly. Finally, the bathroom door opened and Jade stepped out. The woman was dressed in a skintight cami and booty shorts, probably clothes she had been wearing under her leather suit. With one hand, she dried her hair using a towel, and with the other, she threw her suit onto the bed.

My eyes were drawn to the markings I saw on her skin: scars. Some were red and bulky, others were white and barely seeable. I especially noticed one on the inside of her right thigh, which went all the way to the middle of her calf, curving around her leg in the process. I wondered where she could've gotten a scar so large.

"You haven't seen much action, have you?" she asked, looking out the window.

I wondered what to say. I didn't think Jade was apart of the League, but she could still be a danger to G.U.A.R.D. (and me) if I gave away too much.

"Slade picked me up only a few days ago," I said.

"A few days?" she repeated, looking back to me with narrowed eyes. She slowly sat down on the opposite bed. "That's plenty of time. Why wasn't he able to get you to a base?"

I was about to answer, but something stopped me. Her sleek, black hair cascaded over her shoulders in wet clumps, falling nearly to her waist. A sheen of light glinted off the wet strands. She reminded me of someone, but I couldn't think of who. Her cheekbones were high, eyebrows dark and thin. Skin pale and smooth. Jaw a little squarish. She was actually really beautiful, despite the glare in her light blue eyes.

"Saber," Jade said, waving a hand in front of my face.

I blinked a few times before responding to her earlier question: "It's... complicated."

"You didn't go straight to a base, did you?"

"Well," I stammered. "Not exactly. We were kind of... sidetracked."

She curled her thin lip in disgust. "Typical Slade. Never plays by the rules." She looked me up and down for a second, then asked, "Why does the League want you alive?"

I shrugged.

She leaned back, an agitated expression on her face. "Do you know anything?"

I frowned, pride hurt from her words. Quickly, I countered with, "Maybe I do, and I just don't want to tell you."

She snorted, and a corner of her lips lifted into a smirk. "Don't play with me, kid. But..." She stood up again, grabbing one of the leg belts splayed out on her bed. "... there's on thing we can be certain of."

"What's that?"

The girl took out the gun as she answered, "As long as the League knows you're with me, they won't try to get you alive. They'll take any shot they can get."