Divisions

Part 4- Chapter 20

Natalia

"How long do I have before I need to go?" Jarred asked, breaking the briefing silence.

I looked at him, and the way he looked at me made goosebumps form on my arms.

Everything that happened with him was new, unique, and I did not want it to end...

I felt a stab at my heart when, for a moment, the possibility of him being taken crossed my mind.

"You have a few minutes, at most," Mr. Sheldon said, "Let me fetch something for you to take with you," he continued, walking into another room.

For a moment, I wondered if the room and Jarred and I had been in was the room he was walking into, and I flushed slightly.

"Natalia," he whispered, walking up to me.

"You know what this means," I said, the words too painful to utter.

"I might not come out of this successfully, and even if I do this will be the last time we see each other until the Election Day...," he said for me.

I looked up at him, as he lowered slightly to meet my gaze.

"Are we..." I asked.

He chuckled slowly, and then his face grew more intense.

"Do you want us to be?" he asked.

"After what just happened? Yes," I smiled, the moment souring with the circumstances.

"Please promise me one thing," I said.

"Anything," he said his voice serious.

"Please just come back, come back safe..." I began.

"I promise," he said, his voice low. "Just keep waiting," he smiled against me.

"I will," I said, and I knew this would always be true.

"Pinkie promise?" I asked, stepping away gently in case Mr. Sheldon had returned.

"Sure," he said, a lopsided grin on his face.

We let our fingers interlock for a brief moment, as we stared each other, the moments we had shared hanging in the air between us.

Mr. Sheldon then returned with two small boxes in his hands.

"Dunn," he said, observing us unlock hands. "These two boxes contain micro-chip listening devices. These cannot easily be spotted with the eye. This one should be attached to your person, preferably in a suit pocket," he continued, handing him the box he had held in his right.

"And the other one?" he asked, his voice earnest.

"This one is to be inserted in a vehicle, or as a back-up for your first device. You should be receiving information about tomorrow's itinerary soon, thus you should be returning very soon to avoid suspicions. Ms. Sullivan has notified me that a drive will be on their way. I have some work to attend to in the study, you two can keep yourselves occupied until the car arrives," he smiled, leaving the room.

We were alone again. Every moment we spent, with just the two of us, alone, the tension between us grew ever so slightly.

I finally realized an unnamable feeling I had been feeling whenever I was around him was lust.

We stood in silence for a moment, the weight of our actions and of Jarred's pressure standing in between us.

"So... I guess it's understood that perhaps we shouldn't get too attached before we're sure everything is okay," he began, his voice slightly subdued.