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Authors: Becca C. Smith
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take before General Clifton would try and undermine Turner’s decision to let her live. There was a tension between the two of those men. At some point it would come to a head, Kala just prayed the head wouldn’t be hers.
Chapter Seven
After a few hours of paperwork, Kala was released from the Compound and Jack drove her to the bar to pick up her car. He hardly said a word as he maneuvered his way through morning traffic. Kala kept her eyes out the window so as not to stare at the digital clock on Jack’s car radio. Like the others she’d seen before, it was counting down. When she first sat in the car it said: 3d 20h 33m 12s. Doing a little quick math from Derek’s earlier time read of 5 A.M., Kala figured it was around 9:30 A.M. She really hoped that if this was some kind of drug screwing up her brain that it would get out of her system soon. Kala wasn’t much of a water drinker, but the first thing she planned to do when she arrived home was drink a gallon of it.
“Kala?” Jack said her name like he was a kid about to ask for a forbidden cookie.
Kala couldn’t resist making fun of him, even in her hyper-stressed state. “Yes, Jack ?”
Jack barely smiled. If Kala thought she was on edge, Jack looked like he was off the ledge and falling. He cleared his throat, “I’m sorry about how things went down. I didn’t want you to have that kind of burden on your shoulders.” Something in the way Jack said it made Kala think that he was trying to say something more, but couldn’t.
“It’s in the job description, right?” Kala didn’t know why she was trying to make light of the situation. It was just the way she coped with the un-copable.
“Considering that the President was our boss, no, I don’t think killing him was in our job description.” Jack briefly glanced over at Kala and she felt a thrill run through her body. The way he looked at her made her feel like she wanted to crawl up in his lap and have him hold her until this whole nightmare was over.
“And I didn’t even get fired.” Kala wanted to punch herself for her flippancy, but couldn’t seem to control herself.
“Just be careful, okay? I’ll give you a heads up if I hear anything, because this situation is far from over.” Again, Jack sounded like he was talking about two things instead of one.
Kala shut up after that and started to replay the incident in her head. The President seemed so sure he was doing the right thing. He kept on saying he’d figured it out. Figured what out? Then Kala remembered something else. Something Jack said.
“On the plane, you acted like you knew what the President was talking about. You told him that killing himself wouldn’t work, that people had tried in the past. What did you mean?” Kala thought that maybe Jack had been under another secret mission. Maybe that was why he was acting so strange. She remembered Jack receiving a text minutes before she did, like he was operating on separate orders.
“I was just trying to talk him down, tell him something that would make him listen,” Jack said a little too quickly, like he had prepared himself for that question.
“It seemed like more than that,” Kala pried. She knew Jack better than anyone and she could tell he was hiding something.
Jack pulled into the parking lot of the bar, next to Kala’s Buick Apollo. “Here we are,” he said changing the subject. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay at my place?”
Kala opened the car door and shook her head. “No, I need to be in my own apartment right now.”
“Call me later,” Jack said. His eyes flashed that same worry and concern he had shown when Kala first woke up.
Kala decided not to push him, but it was unsettling to see Jack so worried about her for some reason. More than she cared to admit. “Will do,” she responded with a smile and shut the car door behind her.
She pulled out her keys from her pocket and opened her heavy car door, knowing that Jack would watch her get in
Chapter Seven
After a few hours of paperwork, Kala was released from the Compound and Jack drove her to the bar to pick up her car. He hardly said a word as he maneuvered his way through morning traffic. Kala kept her eyes out the window so as not to stare at the digital clock on Jack’s car radio. Like the others she’d seen before, it was counting down. When she first sat in the car it said: 3d 20h 33m 12s. Doing a little quick math from Derek’s earlier time read of 5 A.M., Kala figured it was around 9:30 A.M. She really hoped that if this was some kind of drug screwing up her brain that it would get out of her system soon. Kala wasn’t much of a water drinker, but the first thing she planned to do when she arrived home was drink a gallon of it.
“Kala?” Jack said her name like he was a kid about to ask for a forbidden cookie.
Kala couldn’t resist making fun of him, even in her hyper-stressed state. “Yes, Jack ?”
Jack barely smiled. If Kala thought she was on edge, Jack looked like he was off the ledge and falling. He cleared his throat, “I’m sorry about how things went down. I didn’t want you to have that kind of burden on your shoulders.” Something in the way Jack said it made Kala think that he was trying to say something more, but couldn’t.
“It’s in the job description, right?” Kala didn’t know why she was trying to make light of the situation. It was just the way she coped with the un-copable.
“Considering that the President was our boss, no, I don’t think killing him was in our job description.” Jack briefly glanced over at Kala and she felt a thrill run through her body. The way he looked at her made her feel like she wanted to crawl up in his lap and have him hold her until this whole nightmare was over.
“And I didn’t even get fired.” Kala wanted to punch herself for her flippancy, but couldn’t seem to control herself.
“Just be careful, okay? I’ll give you a heads up if I hear anything, because this situation is far from over.” Again, Jack sounded like he was talking about two things instead of one.
Kala shut up after that and started to replay the incident in her head. The President seemed so sure he was doing the right thing. He kept on saying he’d figured it out. Figured what out? Then Kala remembered something else. Something Jack said.
“On the plane, you acted like you knew what the President was talking about. You told him that killing himself wouldn’t work, that people had tried in the past. What did you mean?” Kala thought that maybe Jack had been under another secret mission. Maybe that was why he was acting so strange. She remembered Jack receiving a text minutes before she did, like he was operating on separate orders.
“I was just trying to talk him down, tell him something that would make him listen,” Jack said a little too quickly, like he had prepared himself for that question.
“It seemed like more than that,” Kala pried. She knew Jack better than anyone and she could tell he was hiding something.
Jack pulled into the parking lot of the bar, next to Kala’s Buick Apollo. “Here we are,” he said changing the subject. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay at my place?”
Kala opened the car door and shook her head. “No, I need to be in my own apartment right now.”
“Call me later,” Jack said. His eyes flashed that same worry and concern he had shown when Kala first woke up.
Kala decided not to push him, but it was unsettling to see Jack so worried about her for some reason. More than she cared to admit. “Will do,” she responded with a smile and shut the car door behind her.
She pulled out her keys from her pocket and opened her heavy car door, knowing that Jack would watch her get in
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