Andrea stood on
the beach at Duransay hoping that Kate’s meeting with her informant was going
better than the training exercise she was currently involved in. To her it was just wrong to be running
around working on a beach when they could be relaxing and enjoying themselves
in the warm July sun. It wasn’t as if
the sun made an appearance that often in Scotland, so they should really make
the most of it. Instead she was
sweating under her thick uniform, waiting for Chadwick’s instructions.
Those
instructions weren’t forthcoming, and, tired of feeling hot and bothered,
Andrea peeled off her black vest and jacket and sat on the sand in just her
t-shirt. She closed her eyes for a
moment, drinking in the warmth of the sun on her face and arms, feeling the
faint breeze drifting up the deserted beach while the waves lapped gently at
the shoreline. The sound was lulling in
its effect - back and forth, back and forth – the gentle rhythm never
changing.
Andrea jolted
suddenly having almost nodded off.
Supposing that she didn’t have anything better to do, she decided that
it wouldn’t hurt to make an extra check of the equipment considering the recent
spate of ‘accidents’. Though everyone
else seemed to think the sabotage had stopped with Patterson’s arrest, she
remained to be convinced.
Clambering to her
feet she made her way over to the mobile launchers positioned on the grassy
solid ground at the top of the beach.
Examining the devices she couldn’t see any obvious signs of tampering
and she reached in to pick out one of the projectiles. She turned it over a couple of times, its
smooth metal surface glinting in the bright sunlight. It looked fine to her, but she wasn’t exactly an expert. She picked the second one out of the tube
for comparison purposes and that was when she saw the obvious difference. There were a couple of tiny scratch marks on
the second projectile where one of the panels had been prised off at some
point. Andrea tried to get her fingers
nails under the edge so she could lever the same panel off.
“Hallstrom,
are you ready?”
It was Chadwick
on her earpiece.
“Hang on,”
replied Andrea, still fiddling with the projectile.
“What’s
wrong?”
“Nothing, I just
need a moment.”
“You’ve been
sunning yourself on that beach long enough, get your bloody arse in gear!”
Andrea ignored
his irate tone, finally managing to get enough purchase to pull off the metal
plate on the side of the projectile.
There was a timer inside, as there was supposed to be, but Andrea wasn’t
sure if the wires leading from it were in correct order. Quickly grabbing the untampered disc she
prised the same panel off, holding them both up to study them closely.
“What the hell
are you doing?”
Andrea swung
round, squinting against the sun to see Chadwick stomping across the beach
towards her, his boots kicking up puffs of golden sand along the way.
“Someone’s
being tampering with the projectiles,” she stated, staring directly at him to
make it obvious who she thought that person was.
“Yes, someone
has,” he replied, snatching them off her, “You!”
“Before me,” she
said, offering him a withering look, “There were marks on the second one where
someone had taken off one of the outer panels.”
“Don’t be
ridiculous,” he said dismissively, “They were probably there already.”
“Scared I’m going
to discover your attempts at sabotage?”
Chadwick’s eyes
shot darkly to her. “You better not
repeat that to anyone, certainly not your little girlfriend.”
Andrea fought
hard to stop the colour draining instantly from her face at his comment.
“A bit close to
the bone am I?” he noted.
Obviously she
hadn’t been able to cover up her shock well enough. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she attempted.
“Really?” he
said, raising his eyebrows suggestively, “Because you two seem awfully…close.”
Andrea stepped in
towards him, narrowing her eyes warningly.
“And you better not repeat that to anyone.”
Chadwick didn’t
reply, but the smug smirk on his face was obvious. Andrea wanted to wipe it off.
With her fist. However, she knew
that would only make matters worse.
She’d already hinted at far too much by her reaction. Controlling her rising anger she stepped
back from him and walked away. As she
made her way across the sand she wondered exactly what it was Chadwick was out
to achieve.
Was he out to get
her? Was he after Kate’s job? Did he want to shut down the unit?
She considered
that quite possibly it could be a combination of all of those and maybe other
factors she wasn’t aware of. One thing
was for sure, though, and that was that she was more determined than ever to
discover the answers.
…..
Later that
evening Andrea waited anxiously for Kate to join her, eager to know what she
had unearthed from her meeting. Kate
was late, however, no doubt still working to catch up on the time she’d missed
while off base. After kicking her heels
impatiently for a while, flicking distractedly through the television channels
and leafing aimlessly through a few journals, Andrea decided she might as well
check in on the ‘real’ world to pass the time.
She dialled Meg’s number, glad to find that she was in. Meg seemed equally happy to hear from her
and they chatted for a while before Andrea eventually heard the sound of the
chime to the door.
“Hang on a sec,
Meg,” she said, crossing over to the door with the phone in her hand and
opening it.
“Late night
visitor?” asked Meg
inquisitively.
“Something like
that,” agreed Andrea seeing Kate on the threshold and gesturing her inside.
Kate could
immediately see Andrea was on the phone so crossed wordlessly to sit on the
couch and wait for Andrea to finish.
“Have you got
a new girlfriend?” came
Meg’s voice down the line, “You have, haven’t you!”
“Meg!” countered
Andrea warningly.
“Who is
it? Is it that woman I saw you with?”
“Ok, I’ve got to
go now,” said Andrea quickly, “Take care!”
She hardly waited
for Meg’s corresponding goodbye before she cut the line. “Sorry about that,” she said to Kate,
replacing the phone in its cradle.
“No problem,”
replied Kate, “Meg was it?”
Despite Kate’s
best attempt at keeping her tone even, Andrea still managed to detect the faint
edge to it, especially when passing over her ex-girlfriend’s name.
“Not jealous are
we?” asked Andrea, amused after the way Kate had ribbed her about Sophie.
Kate was now
looking down at an interesting piece of fluff on the sofa next to her. “I don’t know what you mean,” she said.
Andrea flopped
down onto the sofa too, pushing up against the other woman who was resolutely
not looking her way. “You are,” she
teased Kate, “You’re jealous,” she repeated, worming her fingers across Kate’s
stomach and attempting to tickle her.
“All right, all
right!” cried Kate, squirming under the touch.
“I might be a teeny bit jealous.”
“I’ve told you
all about Meg, though,” Andrea reasoned.
“Exactly,”
pointed out Kate, “You two were together for over two years.”
“You were paying
attention,” noted Andrea, “But believe me it’s ancient history as far as I’m
concerned.”
“As far as you’re
concerned,” said Kate, echoing the words but altering the emphasis, “Remember
I’ve met Meg and she did not like me.
Considering she doesn’t know me I can only assume that the reason for
that was the fact I was with you, as it were.”
“I’m sure she
likes you just fine,” Andrea remarked, ignoring the small scoffing noise
emanating from Kate as she spoke, “And even if she doesn’t I’m sure you won’t
be losing any sleep over it,” added Andrea pragmatically. “Not to mention that there are so much
better ways to lose sleep…”
Andrea leant in
closer, flicking her tongue over Kate’s earlobe. The other woman managed to resist for all of five seconds before
she turned her head, meeting Andrea’s lips with her own. Andrea never ceased to be surprised by how
fast the arousal shot through her, even from the simplest of kisses. She slipped her hand up over Kate’s shoulder
to tangle in the soft hair at the nape of her neck pulling her closer. Just when Andrea thought she might get lost
in the sensuous play of Kate’s tongue across her own, the other woman pulled
back.
“Oh, before I
forget, I have something for you.”
Kate reached over
to the coffee table, handing Andrea the folder she had brought in with her.
“From your friend
on the investigation?” queried Andrea, opening it up.
Kate nodded. “It’s not much yet I’m afraid. From what he said it appears the
investigation has been hived off into sections. He’s only been looking into what the contents of the warehouse
was.”
“Some of these
names are awfully familiar,” noted Andrea, reading through the chemical list.
“They are?” asked
Kate, leaning over Andrea’s shoulder to look, “They didn’t mean anything to
me.”
“I’m just trying
to remember where I saw them,” said Andrea, rubbing at her temple.
“You can keep the
folder,” offered Kate, “Sometimes these things come to us when we’re not
actively thinking about them.”
“I suppose so,”
conceded Andrea, though it was really bugging her now as to where she’d read
the names before.
“I did find out
one other thing of interest,” added Kate.
Andrea stopped
reading, turning her eyes to the other woman, alerted by the wary tone. “Oh?”
“Our friend
Kaminski’s in charge of the investigation now.”
“What?” cried
Andrea incredulously, “And what experience does she have exactly?”
“Don’t ask
me. Someone, somewhere must think she’s
right for the job.”
“Or maybe not,”
noted Andrea cryptically. Seeing Kate
eyeing her questioningly she sought to clarify her statement. “If someone didn’t really want the
investigation to go anywhere, then what better way to bury it than put someone
inexperienced in charge.”
Kate’s lips
pursed thoughtfully as she pondered Andrea’s point. “Possibly, but I don’t think that’s the case here. Kaminski may be a lot of things, but she’s
not sloppy or lazy.”
“I guess not,”
agreed Andrea, sighing and putting down the file. Closing her eyes, she kneaded the muscles of her neck which were
suddenly tense. It seemed rather than
answers all they had were more questions.
Suddenly her
fingers were joined by another set, slowly brushing hers aside and starting to
gently massage her aching muscles.
“Mmm, that’s
good,” she murmured, leaning back into caress.
Kate eased
forward, whispering into Andrea’s ear.
“It would be easier without this,” she said huskily, working her fingers
under the bottom of Andrea’s shirt.
Andrea slipped it
off over her head, shivering for an instant before Kate’s hot hands were on her
back again. Kate’s touch was at once
sensuous and relaxing, Andrea finding her eyelids drooping as she lay down on
the soft cushions of the sofa.
“You know I do
have some massage oil, if you’d like some,” Andrea remarked over her shoulder.
“Really? And where might that be?”
Andrea propped
herself up to twist round slightly. “In
the bedroom.”
Kate smiled
seductively, raising a single eyebrow.
“I should have guessed.”
……
“Wait!”
Andrea ran
along the gantry after the mysterious figure, her steps making the familiar
clanging on the metal walkway.
Why did they
never listen? Why did they never stop?
“I just want
to talk to you!”
The gas was
still drifting around the warehouse and she thought she had lost her target in
the murky swirls, pausing for a moment on the raised area as she peered
around. Then suddenly they were there,
looming out of the smoke towards her.
Only now she wasn’t sure she wanted to catch them after all. Now she found herself filled with an
irrational urge to turn and flee the way she had come. Yet she stood her ground despite the
chilling dread trickling through her.
They were
reaching out to her. The fingers inched
closer, Andrea’s breathing growing ever shallower as her terror increased. The digits were nearly on her face…
Andrea took a
sharp breath, and
suddenly she was awake.
Andrea’s chest
heaved as she took a few more deep gulps of air in the darkness, trying to calm
her racing heart before she sat up. Her
hair was dampened by sweat, and she noted that the sheets were similarly clammy
and uncomfortable. By her side, Kate
slept on, oblivious to Andrea’s nightmare.
Andrea watched her sleeping in the half-light, seeing how her breath
tickled at a few loose strands of auburn hair that had flopped down across her
cheek. Andrea almost chuckled out loud
when one of the hairs flew up and then landed on Kate’s nose, causing it to
wrinkle in annoyance. Unable to resist
the temptation, Andrea reached down and gently brushed it away for the still
slumbering woman.
Knowing that
sleep would be elusive any time soon, Andrea quietly slipped out of the bed,
pulled on her robe and made her way out into the lounge area where she flicked
on a single lamp. She rubbed tiredly at
her eyes in the sudden illumination, sitting down to try and read a
journal. Yet it was hard to concentrate
on the words. She needed to do
something less intellectual and more instinctual to distract herself, she
realised. Thinking of instincts she
couldn’t help recalling being with Kate earlier, when the massage had quickly
degenerated into prolonged love-making.
However, she wasn’t sure how amused Kate would be if Andrea woke her at
4am for a repeat performance just because she couldn’t sleep.
Instead she
crossed to the bookcase and pulled down her violin case from on top of it. Making sure the door to the bedroom was
closed, she started to play a quiet melody as she walked round the room. As she allowed herself to drift along with
the music, she finally started to feel calmer, not thinking about anything bar
the notes of the piece. As she neared
the end, she felt almost relaxed enough to return to bed, eventually playing
the last notes as she reached the window.
A soft clapping
noise made her turn back round. Kate
was in the doorway to the bedroom, leaning against it and regarding Andrea with
sleep-softened eyes and mussed hair.
The whole vision was unbelievably gorgeous to Andrea.
“Sorry, did I
wake you?” she asked, placing her violin back in its case.
“No,” replied
Kate, running her hand through her hair as she sat down on the couch, “I think
the empty bed did that. Trouble
sleeping again?”
Andrea nodded
ruefully, taking up a position next to Kate.
The other woman leant back, gesturing Andrea to lie on her. Andrea didn’t need to be invited twice,
laying her head in Kate’s lap where the other woman started soothingly stroking
her hair. Andrea loved the feel of the
fingers gliding through the strands, wondering at how amazing it was she got to
experience it. Only a few weeks ago she
could only have forlornly dreamed of a moment like this with Kate, and yet now
it was a reality.
Andrea was just
starting to close her eyes when Kate finally spoke. “Was it the same
nightmares?” she pressed gently.
Andrea
sighed. “Yes, chasing the mysterious
figure in the warehouse.”
“Perhaps it
wasn’t such a good idea showing you those papers,” allowed Kate, “Not if it
stirs up your memories like this.”
“No, I’m glad you
did,” insisted Andrea, “To tell you the truth I still have those nightmares
quite frequently, without any prompting.”
“I thought the
counselling was helping?”
Andrea was quiet,
reluctant to answer the question.
Kate’s fingers stopped their stroking for a moment as she wondered at
the hesitation.
Andrea glanced
guiltily up at her. “I haven’t actually
been for a few weeks.”
“Andrea!” cried
Kate in exasperation.
“I know, I know!”
said Andrea sitting up, “You don’t have to tell me, I’ll start going again, all
right?”
“It’s not me who
needs to be all right about it – they’re meant to be for your benefit. Is it Dr Shah? Are you two not clicking?”
“No, it’s nothing
like that,” Andrea reassured her, “I just wasn’t…in the mood recently.”
“If that’s all it
is?”
“Really, I’ll
make an appointment for this week.”
Kate nodded her
acceptance of that, relaxing back into the cushions and motioning Andrea down
onto her lap once more. This time it
didn’t take long for Andrea’s eyes to drift shut under the other woman’s loving
caress.
………….
The Major pinched
the bridge of her nose in an effort to stem the tide of her fast-approaching
headache, but the gesture couldn’t block out the raised voices that flew across
the conference room. To her right sat
Colonel Parsons, while opposite him sat Anna Kaminski, both of whom were almost
shouting across the table at one another.
The Major left them to it for a moment, reaching forward to slowly and
deliberately pour herself a glass of water from the jug sitting in the centre
of the polished table.
She supposed it
was fortunate that neither of them had turned up for their unscheduled visit
two days previously when she had been on the mainland speaking to her friend on
the investigation team. She would have
been hard pressed to explain her absence to an inquisitive Parsons and
Kaminski, especially since the latter was notoriously suspicious of
everything. Finally the Major got tired
of their bickering.
“Please!” she
said, her voice just loud enough to get them to stop without being
aggressive. “Can we just talk about
this calmly?”
“That’s what some
of us were trying to do,” Kaminski pointed out
“Colonel,” said
Kate, swinging to look at the older man, “Perhaps I could have a word with Miss
Kaminski on my own?” It was a risky
gambit, basically ordering him from the room, since obviously the Colonel was
her superior. However, The Major was
banking on the fact that he was also her friend and would realise that he had
become counter-productive to negotiations at that point.
He eyed her for a
moment before dipping his head and leaving the room. The Major waited a few seconds to allow the dust to settle.
“So what is this
really about?”
“It’s like I
outlined before – the government is interested in expanding the role of the
Superhuman Research Unit. You should be
pleased.”
The Major had to
hold back her laugh. “Not when you
consider what it is you want us to ‘expand’ into.”
“I thought you of
all people should be able to appreciate the unit taking a more active military
role,” commented Kaminski.
“I know this may
be hard for you to grasp,” said the Major as if talking to a small child, “But
though this is a military run operation, a good percentage of the people here
are not military personnel. I’m
thinking particularly of the superhuman operatives.”
“You don’t think
they’re up to it?”
“I didn’t say
that.”
“You haven’t
trained them well enough?”
The Major could
see exactly what game Kaminski was playing and she wasn’t going to go along
with it. “You know full well exactly
what training they’ve received, unless you’ve not been reading the reports?”
Kaminski’s eyes
narrowed at the implied insult.
“However,
training and the real thing are something else entirely,” the Major
continued. “None of these people have
seen any active combat before. Take
Harry King for example, he was an IT consultant before he came here for god’s
sake, he’s hardly covert operative material.”
“Maybe not,”
conceded Kaminski, “Though possibly some of your operatives are more suitable
than others.”
“I’m sorry?”
“Andrea
Hallstrom? She was a police officer
after all, a role which included a fair bit of undercover work I note from her
records.”
Kate determinedly
maintained an implaccable expression, despite the fact that all her blood was
rushing to her head. The correspoding
thread of fear and anxiety curdling her stomach at the mention of Andrea’s name
as part of whatever scheme it was Kaminski was cooking up didn’t help matters
either.
“I hope you’re
not getting too close to these people,” noted Kaminski.
Kate internally
chided herself - how did the woman sense such things? At least Kaminski had no idea just how ‘close’ she and Andrea
were.
“I know you share
a certain ‘bond’ with them,” remarked Kaminiski snidely.
“And what’s that
supposed to mean?” Kate couldn’t help
herself rising to the other woman, there was no way she was letting Kaminski
railroad her into anything that could put anyone in danger, especially not
Andrea.
“We are aware of
your background in Whitehall [16],” Kamiski outlined succintly,
“I’ve seen the unofficial reports from Iraq.”
Kate tried hard
not to let her obvious shock show. She
had assumed the Colonel had kept details of her own powers under wraps. She made a mental note to speak to him in
person later.
Deciding she
really didn’t want to be discussing her own situation with Kaminski, Kate turned
the conversation back to the main topic.
“Whatever you
think of my personal motivations, I should remind you that the superhumans are
here completely voluntarily. They’re
not prisoners, and you certainly can’t make them do anything they don’t want to.”
“And how do you
know they don’t want to do this? Have
you asked them?”
Kate gritted her
teeth. “No.”
“Then perhaps you
should.”
Kate had to keep
her hands firmly gripped together on top of her trousers under the table. It wasn’t so much Kaminski’s words that were
offensive, as it was the way she delivered them all with an air of unremitting
superiority.
“As far as I
know, I am still in charge of this base am I not?” questioned Kate.
“Yes…”
“In which case,”
Kate quickly continued, “Until such time as I receive a direct order telling me
otherwise, I’ll continue to run it as I see fit.”
Kaminski pursed
her lips into a fine line. “Fine, I
shall expect to speak to you again soon.”
Kate had no doubt
she would, fearing this would be nowhere near the end of the trouble she was
going to be getting from Miss Kaminski’s direction. She escorted the other woman downstairs, wanting to personally
make sure she was off the base and not snooping around somewhere. As they stepped from the lift on the ground
floor, Kaminski was almost knocked off her feet by someone coming along the
corridor.
“Well, well, Miss
Kaminski, what an unexpected surprise,” noted Andrea, catching the petite woman
before she fell.
Kaminski quickly
shook off her hand, straightening her jacket in annoyance. “Miss Hallstrom,” she acknowledged.
“Since I’ve
literally caught you, there was a matter I’d like to ask you about.”
Kate gulped
nervously. Andrea wouldn’t would she?
Kaminski regarded
Andrea curiosuly. “Oh yes, and what
might that be?”
“I’ve heard
you’ve been put in charge of a certain investigation.”
Kate frantically
tried to catch Andrea’s eye, to indicate that this really wasn’t a good time to
bring up the investigation. Not to
mention the fact that they weren’t even supposed to know about it.
Meanwhile
Kaminski’s eyes swivelled slowly from Andrea to Kate and back again. “And how exactly did you hear about that?”
“I have my
sources,” replied Andrea evasively, “So it’s true then?”
“I’m afraid that
is a classified matter that I am not at liberty to discuss,” Kaminski informed
her, turning to go.
“Wait a minute,”
cried Andrea, latching onto her arm again to stall her.
Kate could only
watch on in stunned amazement as Kaminski rounded on Andrea and the
conversation suddenly erupted into a heated debate, all carried out in frantic
and irate Swedish. She had no idea what
Andrea and the other woman were saying to one another but neither of them
looked very happy. She was pretty sure
that a number of the words were curses and swearwords from what little she’d
heard Andrea speak before. Finally, and
without warning, Andrea turned and marched off down the corridor, not deigning
to look at Kate as she left.
Kaminski watched
her for a moment before turning back to Kate.
“If that’s the level of discipline you encourage on this base, I can see
why you would be uncertain of some of your people.”
Kate didn’t
reply, grimly keeping her mouth shut and resolving to catch up with Andrea as
soon as she’d dispatched the annoying Kaminski.
…………..
It didn’t take
long for Kate to see Kaminski on to her waiting transport, and a quick check of
the internal mointoring systems showed her that Andrea was on the first
underground level, in the gym. Kate
pondered for a moment about the wisdom of pursuing her when it was obvious she
was angry, considering it might be better to let Andrea take the edge off her
temper before speaking to her. However,
she also know that the Colonel would be expecting her back and that once she
got back upstairs she might not be able to get free until later that
evening. She wasn’t sure she could wait
the rest of the day stewing, so in the end punched the down button on the lift
controls.
When she entered
the gym she could immediately see Andrea, since everyone else present seemed to
be giving her a wide berth. Andrea was
currently taking out her frustrations on a poor, unsuspecting punchbag, the
equipment quivering beneath her furious blows.
It was a good job the one she was attacking was specially reinforced or
she would most likely have destroyed it.
Kate could see
that Andrea had already worked up a sweat, the edge of her vest top displaying
the telltale darker hue around the neckline.
Her bare arms also glistened from her exertions, and Kate had to take a
moment to remind herself why she was there, before she got too distracted by
the arousing sight. As if sensing the
study, Andrea stopped her blows, catching the bag as it swung back at her.
Kate made her way
over, directing Andrea over to the benches in the corner where they could
hopefully talk out of earshot of anyone else.
“What the hell
did you think you were doing?” questioned Kate in a annoyed whisper.
Andrea picked up
her towel, dabbing at the sweat on the exposed part of her chest. “I was trying to shock her into a reaction.”
“You managed that
all right, but you also dumped us, and possibly Phil, right in it!”
“Someone had to
take the initiative,” replied Andrea, the edge to her tone evident too, “I bet
you didn’t ask her about it.”
“No, but it was
hardly appropriate,” Kate pointed out, “And in case you’d forgotten we’re not
actually meant to know she’s in charge of the investigation. Phil took a risk bringing me those papers,
but now Kaminski’s going to be wondering if she has a mole in her midst.”
“Maybe it’ll be
good to keep her on her toes!”
Suddenly Andrea
swept out through the nearest door into the changing rooms. Kate quickly followed, taking a moment to
gauge that they were alone, relieved that they were no longer airing their
difference of opinion in public.
Despite their coversation being hushed in the corner, she had spotted
the inquisitive looks back out in the gym.
Andrea was pacing
back and forth across the tiled floor, flicking her towel angrily by her side.
“What’s really
going on here?” asked Kate, watching her go back and forth.
Andrea stopped
abruptly. “I’m just so…frustrated!” she
tried to explain, running her hand through her damp blond hair, “It’s been four
months since the accident and I’m still no nearer finding out what happened or
who was reponsible. It’s driving me
mad! Then I bumped into Kaminski and it
seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up. I know it was probably stupid bringing up the investigation, but
she just seems to have this knack of bringing out the worst in me.”
“I did notice,”
agreed Kate, “What exactly were those things you were calling her?”
“You don’t want
to know!”
Andrea sighed and
sat down heavily on the bench, putting her head in her hands. Kate slowly lowered herself onto the seat next
to her, placing a calming hand on the younger woman’s arm and stroking the hot
skin softly a couple of times.
“If it makes you
feel any better she has the same effect on me,” she said reassuringly, “I’ve just had to sit through a couple of
hours of her outlining her wonderful plans for the base. I don’t have time to go into them now, but I
finally managed to impress on her that I was in charge here and wasn’t going to
take any of her enforced changes lying down.”
Andrea’s head
swung up. “And then I came up and made
you look an arse?”
Kate knew she
didn’t need to answer that.
“I’m sorry, I
made a bit of pig’s ear of it all round didn’t I?” said Andrea ruefully.
“Yes you did, but
we’ll sort it out,” Kate insisted. “At
least she doesn’t know what we know, unless you mentioned that in your
Swedish diatribe?”
“No, fortunately
not,” said Andrea with some relief.
“Then all she can
do is speculate at the moment,” insisted Kate.
“Anyway, I have to get back upstairs, the Colonel will be starting to
wonder where I am.”
Kate went to rise
from the seat, but her hand was captured quickly by Andrea who pulled her back
down and then proceeded to surprise Kate by kissing her. Kate’s lips yielded to the sensuous touch,
her hands subconsciously slipping around Andrea’s waist. Only after a moment did she recall where
they were.
“Andrea!” she
cried, glancing anxiously around the changing room, “Anyone could have walked in and seen us!”
“But they didn’t
did they? Don’t say it didn’t give you
at least a little thrill kissing out here in ‘public’”
Kate made some
disapproving noises, but she had to admit Andrea had a point. “Maybe,” she allowed, “But I’d still rather
we kept it behind closed doors.”
“I’ll see you
behind yours later then?”
Kate smiled as
she got up to go. “It’s a date.”
…….
A couple of days
later, Andrea found herself walking along one of the base corridors, glancing
at her silent escort. The soldier
striding next to her didn’t return her look, keeping his eyes trained forwards
on the plain walls. Andrea wasn’t
entirely sure why she had been summoned the way she had – normally she would
get a call over the comm system if anyone needed her. However, that day the soldier had turned up in the training room
and requested her presence upstairs.
The other superhumans had shot her inquisitive looks, but she had been
as bemused as them as to the reason.
Her attempts to
engage the private in conversation had proved fruitless, with the man
maintaining that she should just ‘follow me, ma’am’. She didn’t even know who it was she was going to meet and when he
finally stopped in front of some doors and indicated she should enter, she
pushed them open curiously.
He had brought
her to one of the large conference rooms, usually used by Kate when she had
official visitors. The room was empty
now, all the chairs at the large, rectangular table unoccupied. Andrea wandered around the room, noting the
impressive view of a fine summer’s day out the window. Running her hands over the backs of the
chairs, she wondered which one Kate normally sat at, determining it was
probably the one at the head of the table.
Andrea lowered herself into it, sliding her hands out across the smooth
surface of the table, imagining the other woman being there, commanding the attention
of assorted dignitaries.
When the door
suddenly opened, Andrea shot out of the seat; it somehow seemed inappropriate
to be in Kate’s place. Only it wasn’t
Kate at the door, she quickly realised, but rather someone she was much less
happy to see. The dimunutive form of
Anna Kaminski crossed towards her, the woman holding a briefcase and carrying a
stack of papers. As usual she was
immaculately turned out, not a single crease or piece of fluff evident on her
grey suit. She placed her case down at
the head of the table, taking up the seat Andrea had been in moments before.
“Sit down, Miss
Hallstrom,” she instructed
Andrea stared at
her a moment, annoyed the other woman had chosen that particular seat. She waited until Kaminski registered the disapproving
look before sitting in one of the chairs along the side of the table.
Andrea glanced
aorund the room. “Is it just us?”
“Yes, you were
expecting someone else?”
“Where’s Major
Jarvis, does she know about this?”
“I thought I
would bring this to your attention first,” outlined Kaminski, leading Andrea to
assume that Kate didn’t know the other woman was talking to her in secret, “I
wanted to gauge how you felt about undertaking a specific mission for us.”
“Us? Who is ‘us’ exactly?”
“The government
of course,” replied Kaminski, “This isn’t some sinister plot; it is a fully
sanctioned mission.”
Given that it was
Kaminski proposing it, Andrea found that highly doubtful. “Then why didn’t you go through the Major if
it’s all so above board?”
“I’ll be honest
with you, there are some questions being asked about Major Jarvis’ capability
to run this base in the appropriate manner.”
“Appropriate in
your eyes,” noted Andrea, starting to feel the first stirrings of
trepidation. She supposed the only good
thing about the way Kaminski was talking was that she obviously had no idea
that she and Kate were involved, despite her rash statements of two days
previously.
“The Major was
somewhat resistant last time we talked about this,” added Kaminski, “Unwilling
to even seek the opinion of her operatives on the matter, so I thought I would
come staright to the horses mouth as it were.”
“And you really
expected to get a positive reaction from me?” asked Andrea in amazement, “After
our last encounter?”
“I was hoping you
might be professional about this. As I
said this mission is at the request of the government, straight from the
Secretary of State himself. It wouldn’t
look good for the base or those in command if it wasn’t completed
satisfactorily.”
Kaminski
maintained an even tone the whole time, but it was perfectly obvious what she
was hinting at. Either Andrea agreed or
it would be another black mark against Kate’s name. Andrea considered that maybe Kaminski wasn’t as oblvious to what
was going on as she had first thought, or why else would she use a threat to
Kate as a form of coercion Andrea
wondered if Kaminski had been asking questions about them round the base and
who might have been answering them.
Andrea didn’t say anything, determinedly holding the other woman’s gaze
while she waited for her to elaborate further.
Kaminski didn’t get the chance though as the door to the room swung
open.
“What’s going on
in here?”
It was Kate,
looking mightilly pissed off that Kaminski was using her meeting room for
clandestine conversations.
“Major, come in,”
said Kaminski, her voice never altering from its calm tone but somehow still
managing to ooze obsequious arrogance, “I was just briefing Miss Hallstrom on a
mission we have in mind.”
“You were what?”
said Kate incredulously, stalking furiously over towards Kaminski. Andrea thought the other woman was really in
for it now, judging by the thunderous look on Kate’s face. Andrea merely sat back and watched Kate at
her commanding best with interest, since for once she wasn’t the recipient of
the other woman’s ire.
“I thought I made
it clear last time that I’m still in charge here,” continued Kate, jabbing her
hands on her hips as she remained standing, “Everything comes through me
first.”
“Only those things
don’t get passed on do they?”
Kate looked like
she was about to explode at the other woman’s impertinence, a tiny vein on her
temple starting to pulsate. Somehow she
kept her mouth held tightly shut.
“I didn’t
actually get as far as briefing Miss Hallstrom,” remarked Kaminski, “So you’re
welcome to sit in and listen, add your input.”
Kate’s eyes
narrowed. “You’re too kind,” she said,
her voice cold enough to freeze the water on the table.
Kate sat down
opposite Andrea, the young woman managing to catch her eye briefly to offer and
apologetic look. She hoped Kate didn’t
think she’d been deliberately going behind her back with Kaminski. An almost imperceptable dip of Kate’s head
was enough to tell Andrea that she wasn’t in trouble herself. It was amazing how adept Andrea had gotten
at picking up the tiniest signals.
Oblivious to the
silent communicatrion, Kaminski proceeded to outline the specifics of the
mission, which basically involved Andrea sneaking into a rebel military base in
Kandahar Province in Afghanistan, and retrieving some technology and documents
that had supposedly been stolen from the British military. The name of the province rang a bell in
Andrea’s mind and she suspected it was as a result of hearing about some
terrorist activity on the news. The
whole thing sounded highly suspiscious and Andrea was just about to say as much
when Kate beat her to it.
“You have to be
joking? You really expect Andrea to go
behind enemy lines in some foreign country on her own? Why can’t the soldiers already on the ground
handle it, or the SAS?”
“Are you saying
she’s not capable?”
“Well, no…”
Andrea quickly
interupted the two women. “I’ll do it.”
Kate’s eyes shot
straight to her in utter astonishment.
“Andrea!”
Andrea ignored
the look, knowing she would falter from her course if she dared to look Kate’s
way. “When is this mission?” she asked
Kaminski instead.
“It’s on Monday,”
replied the other woman, Andrea able to detect the barest hint of a satisified
smile on the official’s face. Andrea
wasn’t happy to be the one to put it there, but knew there were bigger concerns
at stake than her pride. “I’m glad
you’ve seen sense,” added Kaminski,
“Here are the full briefing papers.”
Andrea accepted
them, resolutely keeping her eyes cast down as if she was studying them
intently. Of course she wasn’t, she was
merely waiting for Kaminski to leave and preparing herself for what Kate had to
say, which she suspected would not be favourable. She didn’t have to wait long, as soon as she’d shut the door
behind the government official, Kate was storming back over to the table.
“Are you
mad? What were you thinking, agreeing
to her crackpot mission?”
Andrea looked up
slowly, seeing Kate above her, hands placed firmly on her hips in a pose of
obvious displeasure. “I was thinking of
you,” she said simply.
Kate was
completely taken aback, blinking in confusion a couple of times. “Sorry?”
“I said I was
thinking of you,” repeated Andrea,
“Before you got here, Kaminski basically intimated that if this mission
wasn’t accepted that it would reflect badly on the unit, in particular on you.”
“I don’t care
about that!” cried Kate, “Tell her you’ve changed your mind!”
“You don’t think
I can do it?”
“That’s not it.”
“Then what is
it? You don’t trust me to do it?”
“No, I’m
worried.”
Andrea paused for
a moment, having to repeat the word as she digested it. “Worried?”
“Yes, About you!”
exclaimed Kate in exasperation. “I
don’t want to send you off on some dangerous mission. You could get hurt. Do
you know what it’s like in Afghanistan?
I’ve had a few friends stationed there and the situation is highly
volatile. There may not be an active
war as such, but indiscrimate terrorist activity is rife – rocket attacks,
suicide bombs, random shootings.”
“It’s not like
I’m going to be hanging around to take in the sights,” Andrea reminded her,
“I’ll be fine, I have been trained by the best after all.”
Kate didn’t look
in the slightest bit appeased by Andrea’s rather obvious attempt to placate
her.
“And I will need
some backup,” she continued, “An emergency pickup on standby.”
Kate sighed, her
shoulders sagging from where she had been tensely holding them. “I suppose that’s the best I’m going to
get,” she said ruefully, finally taking a seat again. “At least if I’m close I can get in to help if necessary.”
“I hope you’re
not thinking of using your powers again, Kaminski would love finding out about
that.”
“She already
knows,” revealed Kate.
“What?” exclaimed
Andrea.
“I forgot to
say,” Kate answered, rubbing her temple as she leaned forward on the table,
“The other day when she was here she let me know she was aware of my
‘background’”
“That could
mean anything.”
“No, she knows,”
stated Kate. “I don’t know how. I presume she has access to high level classified
reports including those on what really happened last year in Iraq.”
“I’m surprised
she hasn’t used that in some way against you yet.”
“Perhaps she’s
waiting for the right time,” proposed Kate, “When she’s accumulated enough
evidence to discredit me.”
“We better make
sure this mission goes well then.”
“I’m sure it
will,” said Kate with a rueful shake of the head. “It’s funny really. When
you first came here you were so resistant to anything military, yet here you
are practically volunteering for duty.
It’s amazing how things have changed.”
Andrea quirked
her eyebrow suggestively. “In some
rather unexpected ways too,” she noted.
“But you’re right when I first came here I couldn’t wait to get away. Finding out I had these weird abilities and
then being expected to stay cooped up with a bunch of military nutters…well, it
wasn’t my idea of what I wanted to be doing with my life. But I’ve come to realise that this is the
hand fate has dealt me and it’s no good moaning about it or wishing it could be
different. This is my new life now and
there’s no point looking to get back to what I once had. Especially not when there are such good
reasons to stay.”
Andrea peered
directly at Kate, making it perfectly clear what the most important of those reasons
was. The smile that spread across the
other woman’s face indicated she hadn’t missed the point.
“So, if it hadn’t
turned out that you liked me, would you still have wanted to leave?”
Andrea considered
it for a moment. “I don’t know, if it
hadn’t turned out that you liked me, would you have wanted me to
stay?”
Kate
laughed. “Touche! But I would like to think I would have been
professional enough to see past any personal differences to work with you.”
Now it was
Andrea’s turn to laugh. “You don’t know
how difficult I can be when I set my mind to it. Luckily you didn’t have to find out.”
Kate’s face took
on a look of mock horror. “You mean all
those things you did when you first got here weren’t you being difficult?”
“Those?” said
Andrea with an elaborate scoffing noise, “They were nothing.”
“Deliberately
running off the island – twice - starting fights, damaging equipment and
getting me caught up in a car crash are nothing?”
“Ah, now the last
of those wasn’t my fault,” pointed out Andrea, “I’ve always suspected Thompson
had sneaked in a couple of pints at that pub.”
“Andrea!”
“Only kidding!”
said Andrea quickly, holding up her hands, “At least we can laugh about it
now.”
“Let’s hope we
can say the same after this mission,” noted kate, bringing a touch of sobriety
back to proceedings.