I will be gone for awhile until August. so I'm terribly sorry to leave you guys hanging...please forgive me
You guys are great! Thank you to everyone who reads and responds. It really does help a writer out.
Take care.
Hi guys! Here is all I wrote so far....you are now caught up with the SD-1 folks.
Chapter 16
While the crowd is distracted by the instrumentalists, she snatches his sleeve and quickly rushes toward the back hallway. From her peripheral vision, she notices two burly securities guards eyeing them suspiciously. As they round the corners and rush downstairs, all they hear is the clicking of her three-inch heals. It is a wonder that she doesn’t trip. She slows down her pace once she believes that they are far away enough from the guests upstairs. She hasn’t even realized that her hand is still on his arm until he shrugs it off once they come to a halt.
“ Sorry, I thought I saw guards…” she explains quickly. He doesn’t say anything and turns his head. She rolls her eyes and lets out a huff of indignation. Even after the mad dash and call of truce, he is still upset?
“Vaug…” she opens her mouth, but he holds up his hand to silence her. He turns his head to examine which corridor they ended up at while mentally going over the map that they were given during the mission detailing. Taking a few steps around a corner, he sees rows of doors down the hallway.
“Where did you take us?” he wonders while opening a door and peeking inside. She leans over his shoulder to take a look as well. Feeling her warm breath on his neck and seeing what’s inside this bizarre room makes his spine tingle.
“ What the…” they both turn to look at each other. The room is completely empty except for the rows and rows of brown crates covered in glass. Everything else is gray. The walls, the floor, and the doors on the sides as well. The only signs of dim light come from beneath the glass coverings.
She looks at him questioningly, “ Leave or explore?” They stare at each other for a few seconds, and without even speaking, they both step into the room. Neither one is able to let curiosity simply pass by.
Before they get close enough to the first box, they hear the frantic voices of two guards coming increasingly closer.
“Hanno guardato sospettoso! Ho visto che loro sono venuti questa maniera!”
Vaughn grabs her waist and flings them both into the nearest side closet. Inside the closet, it is pitch black. There is not much space in the cramped closet. Her back is pressed against the stacked boxes and he is forced to hunch over her form.
They try to keep silent and still as they hear the footsteps of the guards stamp around the room. He is so close that she can actually feel his breathing against her face and it only makes her more nervous. Her heart beats faster and faster and she has no idea why she feels like she’s losing control. Is his presence suffocating her? She was never clausterphobic before. Her nerves won’t settle and she begins to vibrate slightly.
He senses a sudden change from her and wonders if she is all right. Though he can’t make out her face, he feels her trembling figure next to him. He wonders if she is cold. How can she not be with her barely-there dress? He wants to reach out for her, but knows he can’t make a sound while the guards are still close by. Shifting his weight forward, he moves in closer hoping it would make her warmer.
She stifles a gasp as he leans in. He is too close. Too close for comfort she decides and shifts her body to the right only to find the edge of a box digging sharply into her back. Like a reflex, her body flinches away from the sharp point and goes straight into his chest. His arms immediately go around her shoulder to steady her. His hands give her shoulders a tight squeeze as if asking, “ are you okay?” but without words. After the initial stiffness at his touch, she surprisingly takes comfort it in.
She closes her eyes and mentally counts backward from twenty. With every descending number, her nerves slow down and become calmer. Ten. Nine. A small release of breath. Five. Four. Her muscles unclench. Three. Two. One. She opens her eyes feeling in control again. She lifts her hand to where his are covering her shoulder and taps lightly to signal that she is fine. Thank goodness, he thinks and lets his body relaxes again.
They hear the guards footsteps disappear and the click of a closed door. They both release their held breathes, but no one moves. She stays leaning into him and he keeps his arms on her shoulder.
After an uncomfortable silence, she whispers, “ I’m sorry,” and puts her head down.
“ Syd…You don’t have to be sorry for changing the plans. I should…” he whispers into her blond wig.
She shakes her head. “ No…not that,” she cuts him off. “ I…I meant about how I acted in front of Anna…I don’t know…” She can barely get the words out it is so humiliating. She hates herself for the way she acted.
“ what came over you?” he helps her finish. She nods her head in confession.
“ I didn’t like that she was talking to you.”
Trying to make her feel better, he offers his understanding. “ You were only concerned that she was using me.”
She swallows down a lump in her throat. She doesn’t deserve his understanding. What she did was inexcusable. “ No…I don’t think that was it…I...when I saw…Anna…I…and you…and on the balcony…I…” She is completely confused. The same annoying questions during the limo ride flow back into her brain again.
He raises his eyebrow trying desperately to follow her train of thought, but it is no use. The woman is completely incoherent, and he is slightly amused.
“ Syd…” he grabs her arm again. “ I’m a spy…not a mind-reader, unlike yourself,” he chuckles. The mention of balcony got him thinking about their little conversation earlier. “You’re going to have to be a little more clear.” He smiles in the dark. “ What are you trying to say?”
For some odd reason, she sees him smile even in the pitch black and she feels a knot in her stomach. “ I’m trying to say….”
“ Yes?” he is surprised at his own rise in excitement.
“ I’m sorry for using you. For making you uncomfortable. For touching you and playing with your collar...You were right…and I’m sorry.” She wants to hide from him. She wants to shrink down and disappear.
Her admission shocks him. How he wished her actions were because of another reason. It hurts to be right sometimes. However painful, he is grateful for her honesty. He is the one that’s been lying every single day that it is hard to decipher between truth and lies.
“ It’s okay,” he says reassuringly.
“ No. You don’t have to forgive me. I won’t touch you like that again…It won’t happen…” she begins to babble again.
“ Syd…it’s okay. I didn’t mind the way you were touching me,” he blurts out almost unconsciously. All of a sudden, they both feel a sudden surge of heat to their faces. “ I mean…I understand.” He lets go of her arms and takes a step back.
“ We should really get to the suitcases.” She finally says.
Returning his thoughts back to the mission, he quickly comes up with an idea of how to complete his counter. “ Syd, I think you might want to go for the suitcase in the right hallway. You want to switch?” He holds his breath awaiting her answer.
“ What? Why?” she is thrown off. “ Sloane told me to get the one on the left. Why would you want to switch?”
