20. 20
I was ushered to a safehouse, a suite on the top floor of a swanky hotel, bigger than my apartment. I wondered how many other fancy hotel rooms my tax dollars went to, though moving forward, my tax dollars would be coming back into my own pocket, plus some.
I decided to listen to Elias and not sign the contract.
This did not peeve Deborah in the slightest, and she said that after I finished health screens, that we would take another look after whatever revisions were found to be necessary.
She handed me a business card with a number written on it to contact a liaison officer if I needed something.
Anything I needed in the interim was to be handled by the US government, and she was clear that all expenses I incurred would be taken care of.
Late in the afternoon when I arrived, I had nothing to do but pace around the suite.
Exploring the bedrooms, bathroom, and the kitchen only took me ten minutes, and I resigned myself to the couch, lost. Elias hadn’t been brought with me, and when I asked about him, I received little to no information from the guards or Secret Service or whoever the hell was driving me around.
He’d be finished with the President when the President was finished with him, is what they’d said.
I’d been handed my duffle bag and shoved into the hotel room with strict instructions not to even open the door.
They were stationed outside though, I could see them through the peep hole, so it wasn’t like I could go anywhere if I tried.
The phone had been removed, so I couldn’t tell my parents I was okay, and it was made clear to me I was not to call them.
I wasn’t sure how I’d contact my liaison officer if I needed to, but I’d figure that out when the time came.
The television played on throughout the evening, but I hardly watched it.
I shut my eyes for a while, exhausted and trying to sleep, but that didn’t work either.
Clicking through the guide, I saw that Monday Night Football was gearing up to start, the preshow playing.
I smiled, turning it on, hoping that Elias would be able to watch it, too. He was owed a good game.
A familiar voice echoed in the halls, and I jumped to my feet, hitting my shin on the coffee table in the process. Whoever placed furniture that close to a sofa was demented. I kicked it back, throwing it off kilter, and walked over to the door and waited for it to open. I didn’t have to wait long.
“Hey,” Elias said as he closed the door behind him, throwing his duffle bag to the floor.
“Thank God,” I said, wrapping my arms around his waist.
He returned the embrace. “Careful,” he warned.
“Shit, sorry,” I said, trying to pull away, but he held on anyway.
“Well, was today as bad as you thought it would be?” He asked, leaning his head on top of mine. He rocked me back and forth for a moment.
I shook my head against his chest. “Not really. It was a little traumatic to talk about everything, but Deborah Maynard was very nice. Not empathetic by any means, but very professional.”
“That she is,” he laughed. “I’m starving, is there anything in the fridge?” He asked, letting me go. Elias walked through to the kitchen, and swung the refrigerator door open, inspecting its contents. “I’ve had worse, but we’ll be eating ham sandwiches for a few days. Did they feed you?”
“No, but they gave me a water bottle half way through and I almost lost it.”
“What, you only take them from me?” He asked, busy in the kitchen once again.
“Can you tell me how your conversation went?” I prodded. I didn’t want to ignore the important conversation at hand. I hovered near him in the small kitchen, trying, but not trying too hard, to stay out of the way.
“Officially, probably not, but I don’t care,” he smiled. “Your contract will include me as your bodyguard, basically, for any traveling that you have to do, and if I’m on a job elsewhere, a replacement will be sent to relieve me.”
“How’d you manage that?” I asked, shocked he was able to negotiate when it was clear that we were not in a position to do so.
“The President likes me,” he shrugged. “I also mentioned how well we work together as a team, and that our mission together this weekend solidified a working trust between us. That’s not something that can be forced, and trust in your partner can mean life or death when it gets tricky. He knows that.”
“What happens when you don’t want to see me anymore?” I asked, extremely aware of the possibility. I didn’t want to be tied to an ex, or whatever was going on, even in a professional capacity.
“Oh, Cassie,” he sighed. “Have some faith in yourself.”
“Okay fine,” I said, a little louder now. “What happens when I don’t want to see you anymore?”
“That’s unlikely,” he said, under his breath. “I don’t have a good answer for you. What I can say is that you would still trust me to keep you alive more than anyone else they send with you. Or am I wrong?”
“You’re probably right,” I admitted. “So what happens next?”
Elias handed me a paper plate with a sandwich on it and walked past me to the small table. I sat across from him, and he kicked his leg into my lap again, smiling.
“We watch the Monday Night game,” he said, nodding to the television. “Without interruptions.”
I rolled my eyes. “You know what I meant.”
“Not really. Were you asking about my feelings toward you again or something less uncomfortable?”
It was a fair question. Multiple times now he’d try to answer my questions when I meant something else entirely. “I was referring to the quarantine and medical clearances in our future.”
“I was honest about being infected, so I imagine I’ll be here a while,” he said, taking a bite of his sandwich.
“They’ll pick us up one day, probably one at a time, and we’ll spend the day at a facility being poked and prodded, and then we’ll come back here while they look at results and decide to set us free.
I imagine you’ll sign your contract the next time you’re there. ”
“I don’t see why I even need to sign the paperwork if I have to do all this shit anyway,” I mentioned.
“Just legal stuff. It could work in your favor if they try to send you somewhere without me. They’re the government, but they tend to do as much as they can by the book. Also, it’s nice to have your minions agree to their job instead of being forced.”
“So they know that I used the vaccine on you,” I said. Not so much a question, just a statement of fact.
“Oh yeah, they’re thrilled to already have a human guinea pig. They’re going to be taking my blood for months, so thanks for that,” he mumbled.
“Look who’s the lab rat, now,” I said. “Not so funny is it?”
“It’s hilarious. I love your call sign.” He shoved the last bite of his sandwich in his mouth, and tossed the paper plate into the trash can. He plopped himself down on the couch, stretching out in front of the television.
“Sunshine is a lot cuter than Lab Rat,” I argued.
“Yeah, I’m a man, it’s not cool to have a cute call sign. It was meant to be insulting. That’s just how it works most of the time,” he retorted. “I’m just glad they didn’t call you Goth Barbie, or I might’ve had to fight someone.”
I laughed, finishing my own food. Lingering in the kitchen, I explored the cabinets, looking at what exactly we were given: cans of soup, fruit, and some bagged popcorn, nothing special.
If this is what we had, it would have to be enough.
Elias didn’t seem to mind, though I felt like there was a massive lack of protein-rich foods.
“Cassie,” he called, and I walked into the living room to see what he needed. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing really,” I said. “Just looking around.”
“Come here,” he whined, drawing out the word “here.” He held his arms open for me. “The Packers are playing tonight.”
“Fine, fine,” I said, smiling. I laid down with him, snuggling in with the intention of actually watching this time. “If I get out before you, am I supposed to just wait in your house for you?”
“Yeah,” he said, kissing the top of my head. “I left my house key in the jacket I gave you in case we were separated.”
I scoffed. “Was I just supposed to figure that out on my own?”
“You have a PhD, you could’ve figured it out,” he teased.
“Key to the house, huh?” I asked. “Don’t you think we’re moving a bit too fast?”
His arms tightened around me. “I was minutes away from death. You saved my life, I owe you everything that I can give. Letting you stay in my house is nothing. If anything, it feels like I’m taking even more of my fair share.
I’m looking forward to waking up next to you.
” He was sincere, his voice low and steady.
“If your morning moods improve.” There was his infamous honesty.
We sat quietly for a moment before he spoke again. “Cassie?”
“Hmm?”
“Do you think that I could, uh, get your number?”
I giggled. “I can’t believe we skipped that part.”
“I think we did a lot of things in the wrong order,” he said. “We’ll straighten it out.”
I tilted my head to him, kissing his jaw. It was all I could reach from here.
“The Pack is stacked this year, please let me watch the game,” he begged. “We have at least a week off, so we have plenty of time to touch each other. I just need you to wait three hours.”
“Oh my God, Elias, I can keep my hands to myself.”
“Do you promise?” He asked.
“I promise.”