Balance (29 page)

Rena
laughs, “You two are getting drunk.”

“Which bring
s
me to tonight’s lesson and ton
ight’s treat.” Takada replies, t
urning to a rather larg
e spice rack
and retrieving
from an upper shelf,
a jar
that looks to contain pickled
herbs.  “I had mentioned
you will be gaining additional training
, specifically
in
the field of
herbology. 
Consider this,
your introduc
tory lesson.  There are plants
and
animal
s
that possess various medicinal qualities, some healing and some very deadly.  Yo
u will be taught to identify,
harvest
, prepare,
and use
such rarities
.
”
 
Opening the jar,
he
removes two small leaves, handing one to
both Rena and Michael
.
“
This
treated
leaf is one such
example
.
  Please
,
place
it
on your
tongue
.”
Takada nods at Michael.

Wearily,
Michael
slides
the leaf
in
to
his mouth
.  H
o
lding
it
on his tongue for a minute, h
is eyes
grow
wide with surprise.  Removing
the leaf
,
he exclaims, “
Wow,
what i
s
that?  Its minty
and
…
my buzz
,
i
t
s disappearing.”

Takada explains, “It’s a peppermint leaf pickled in
e
vening
p
rimrose
o
il with
w
illow bark,
g
inseng and má huáng.
It
counteracts
the effects of alcohol and hangovers.”

“So
,
I guess
,
I will be prepared for training tomorrow.”

“No
,
you won’t.
”
Takada
corrects
.

Michael regards
his mentor
with confusion and a little concern.

“I took the liberty of having
Ms. Smith
arrange for a few days
out of the
Bunker
.  I thought Rena
needed
a little time to decompress from
her ordeal
.
”

Rena smiles in appreciation
.

“
You
will be taken to a secure hotel
,
here in Chicago
.
  You
r tracking chip
s
will
allow us to
monitor
you
. 
For your own safety, y
ou
are
not to
leave your
suite.  According to
Ms. Smith
, you won’t
need
or
desire
to
”

“We don’t know what to say, sir.
”
Michael replies
.

“Just say you’ll enjoy
each other’s company
.”
He affirms.

Takada’s assistant arrives
, ready to escort them to the parking ramp
.

Rena flaunts past her holding Michael’s hand, flashing
an
excited
,
sinister smile, just to make sure she reali
zed who was
leaving with
Michael
,
and why he was going.

The limo takes them from Takada’s office building, along the waterfront
,
N
orth.  Within a half-hour
’
s drive, they descend into the sub-ground parking complex of another massive ornate build
ing,
not nearl
y
as tall as
Takada’s
,
a splendid hotel
,
right o
n the Lake Michigan shoreline.

Their chauffeur
escorts
them
to a private elevator
.  Inside, a single button
indicates
that this specific elev
ator had only one destination.

After a short ascent, the door
s
open to a closed foyer
with a second set of double door
s
across the hall
.
 
Two bench seat
s
outside the doors
imply
the occasional posting of
sentries.  No one
staffed
the seat
s
tonight, making Michael wonder
if the absence of guards meant th
ey were not important enough,
because
they cannot leave
or
few peopl
e would be able to attack h
e
and
Rena successfully in close quarters.
 
Their chauffeur leads them
forward
, passing
his hand over a bio
sensor,
disengaging the security system
.  He pushes both doors open, stepping
out of the way
for Rena and Michael to enter.

The round suite,
separated
into
inner and outer chambers
is expa
nsive and elegant,
decorated in a combination of contemporary
furnishings
and
artwork, comingled with
the latest technology. 
T
he outer perimeter
comprised of
a
n
office
, kitchen and dining area, informal sitting area with fire pit, and
a textured
glass walled bathroom.
  The central chamber, a massive bedroom opened to the East outer wall.
 
A
series of floor to ceiling
window
s
encompass half the suite’s perimeter
,
offer
ing
a spectacular view of Lake Michigan. 
Along
the
window
s
,
a
wide
continuous
walkway permits
guests
to
stroll
the entire span unobstructed.  A
spiral stairca
se
,
located off the walkway between the bedroom and the sitting room
,
rises
to a second level
.

They
proceed
into the suite, Rena holding Michael’s hand.  She give
s
it a sharp squeeze, as if to
imply
,
‘Can you believe this?’

The double d
oors close and lock,
leaving them
alone
.

Rena releases
Michael’s
hand, but only to allow her the freedom to explore their surround
ing
s.  Slipping
off her shawl, dropping it
on a chair in the
foyer
,
she
glid
es
like a ballerina through the incredible suite.

F
or the first time
truly alone with
her
,
Michael
mov
es
to a l
ocation that allows him to
gaze fondly as
this beautiful
angel
drift
s
about
the space.  Her flight
concludes
perched on the walkway
,
looking out over the lake.
 
Michael
approaches from
behind
,
wrapping his arms
around her
, hands clasped together
at her waist
,
pulling
her close
.

P
lacing her hands on top of his,
Rena
rest
s
her head
back against
his
shoulder
.

“
Michael,
I
...
”

“S
hh. 
Y
ou don't have to for me. 
I
know.
”

“Y
es
I
do
…
not for y
ou …
for me,
I do love you …
more than I could ever have thought possible,
but...
“

“I know …
”
,
‘
under the
se
circumstances
’, he completes the sentiment in his head
. 
S
he
does not
need to say any
thing
more.
Michael kisses her bare shoulder
.

They stand
motionless, contemplative
, holding each other for
several
minutes, in silence.

“
C
an you help me with this? …
I
t
’
s ea
sier to put on than take off.”
Tipping her head forward, exposing her neck and back.

G
ently
,
Michael
slides the thin straps over her shoulders,
holding them
so she can slip
her arms
out
.
H
e carefully lifts the
straps
over her head, pulling her braid back through.

H
old
ing
the top of the dress to her chest
, Rena
walk
s
to the edge of the walkway
.
Releasing it,
t
he
slip
fall
s
past her hips to the floor.
L
ike a breeze, naked, she steps over it
, down
into the bedroom,
and then
slid
es
in
under the covers
of
the large soft
bed.

Michael
,
watching this exquisite creature
,
walks over to the dress. 
Picking
it up
, he
lay
s
it
carefully
across the bench at the foot. 
Moving
to
the
side
of the bed
,
Rena
’s
back toward him, he
l
ean
s
down
and
kiss
es
her
forehead
, just over her closed eye
. 
Standing,
he
survey
s
the room f
or a comfortable place to sleep
.

H
er hand slip
s
into his
. 
“
Please Michael, s
tay
with me … I don't
want
you to
leave me alone.
”