In Pursuit Of ✔

What Happened in Phoenix?

After two nights of minimal sleep and an over eleven-hour drive, Henley felt sufficiently exhausted. She didn't necessarily want to sleep, but her body was screaming at her to. It was still relatively early; the sun had barely gone down and it was still light out thanks to the lengthening days, but as soon as Nick showed her the room she would sleep in, Henley dropped her bags and collapsed on the bed.

Her nightmares that night were different than what she experienced in the past. There were elements from her past dreams, but they were more complex than reliving her first experience of attempted kidnapping.

Getting dragged into a van became the baseline, but now Henley was in a void of smoke, in a crowded room, or outside the C.O.D.E. San Francisco headquarters. She would scream, but everyone would ignore her. Blank faces would walk by as she struggled against a million hands pulling her backwards. Nick's face would stare impassively at her before he turned his back, walking in the opposite direction.

When Henley jerked awake, she knew she had let out a yell. Her clothes were damp and her heart beat imitated that of someone who had just finished running a marathon.

Henley swung her legs down from the bed, putting her feet on the floor. She heard rapid footsteps coming toward her room, and a second later Nick barged through the door, firearm in hand.

He visibly relaxed when he saw that an unharmed Henley was the only one in the room. Henley, however, couldn't look him in the eye. She didn't want to see the worried, concerned expression on his face.

"Do you want a tour of the house?" Henley was thankful he didn't ask if she was okay.

"How long was I asleep?"

"About ten hours."

Henley didn't feel like she had been asleep for ten hours. She felt more tired than when she collapsed onto the bed. "I need a shower. But then yeah, I'll see the house."

The shower definitely helped. Calming down from the dream and finally feeling the positive effects from the, albeit restless, sleep, Henley could now take better note of her room in the safe house. It wasn't dissimilar from the one in Lake Tahoe, but slightly plainer. Henley was also very aware of the lock boxes in each corner of the room; they were identical to the one she and Nick had carried from hotel to hotel. Henley still wasn't that big of a fan of guns, but knowing they were there and that she could get to them did make her feel safer.

Dressed in fresh shorts and a t-shirt, Henley headed downstairs. The house was definitely smaller than the one in Tahoe, but the large grounds that Henley caught glimpses of out of the windows made up for it. She wondered if the safe house security measures would allow her to at least sit out on the front porch.

Nick sat at the kitchen table drinking coffee. He slid a mug over to her as she approached.

"I was promised a tour." Henley took a sip from the steaming hot coffee.

"As you've probably noticed, there's not too much to see."

It was true. Upstairs, Nick's room was directly across from Henley's, and the shared bathroom was down the hall. On the ground floor, there was a kitchen, a small living room, and another bathroom, but that was it.

Henley thought it had a lot of character, despite the fact that it was a top secret safe house.

"Honestly, it seems like a normal house," Henley commented.

Nick put his coffee mug down. "Come on," he said. "I want to show you something."

Sadly leaving the coffee behind, Henley got up to follow him. He went over to a door that Henley assumed was a closet, but when he opened it, he revealed a staircase leading down to a basement level.