Balance (42 page)

“Dispatched?
H
ow?”
Rena asks
,
looking at Michael.

“Well
… I guess you could say,
she found a unique way to use a butter knife.”

“A butter knife?” Rena laughs
, wincing in pain
.

“Yeah.
C
arotid artery.  It seems he was already running pretty low on blood, high on adrenaline and maybe something else.” Michael explains
.

Rena
addresses
the young girl
,
graciously,
“Well thank you, I owe you my life.”

“O
we me?  Y
ou wouldn’t have been hurt if you hadn’t stepped in
to help me.  I owe you my life …
Thank you.”  The girl implores
.

“May I ask you your name?” Rena politely requests.

“It’s
Meg
.
”

“Well Meg
” begins
Takada, “this amazing young woman is Rena, and this is Michael.”

Without introducing himself, Takada addresses Michael and Rena, “
I know this is probably not the right time, but maybe this meeting was fortuitous. 
Would you two mind taking
Meg
under your wing
a little
? 
She displays unique creativity
and
I think she could learn
quite a
lot from you both. 
Please, let me know what you think.
”
 
Takada takes Rena’s hand and kisses it gentlemanly, “My dear
,
you get some rest and d
on’t push it for a few days. 
W
ith a concussion
,
the last t
hing I want is permanent damage, so no activity until you’re
cleared
.
  Do as the
doctors’
order.
”
 
Turning
th
e
n
to Michael, “Let
’
s get together
tomorr
ow;
I want to discuss the RamSteele operation.  If we have time, m
aybe we can
get some
practice
on
the
Monolith
.”

“I’ll stop by in the morning.” Michael offers.

Takada addresses
Meg
, “My dear, I leave you in excellent hands.  I daresay you wi
ll not find two better teachers.
Become
a
sponge;
learn everything you can
from them
.”
  Turning from the small group,
Takada walks out of the infirmary, stopping briefly to give instructions to the doctor in charge, looking back at Rena
.

The next morning,
Michael
and Takada have a short
de
briefing on the RamSteele operation. 
P
leased with the result,
Takada
looks for
ward to Rena’s health returning, commenting that he “had big plans for their team.”

R
estricte
d to her quarters for two weeks,
Rena
is to remain in bed,
with
no physical activity, reading or bright lights.
 
Spending
all of his free time in their
residence
, Michael
keeps
Rena comfortable and
preoccupied. 
He reads to her, preferring poetry over classified
dossiers, trying to prevent her from focus
ing
on current activities.  He understands that once her mind wraps around something, like a constrictor
,
it won’t let go.
 
The two spend time talking about things outside the
B
unker, past lives, childhoods, creature comforts
they miss.
Michael does an
excellent job distracting
her,
all the
while,
their relationship growing
stronger
.

Instructed to get at least fourteen hours of sleep daily, Rena takes short naps often. 
Michael
spends that time
maintain
ing
his training
regimen,
sparring
with Waters,
working out in the
M
onolith
, on the rifle range or in private training in the dojo
.
  Feeling responsible for Rena’s condition, the private sessions, weigh heavy on his mind.

He checks
in daily with Meg.
S
till in the assessment stage of her development, so her schedule is pretty well defined.  Micha
el asked Waters
be
assigned
her
handler,
thinking
it w
ould make scheduling seamless.

Takada
remains tight lipped with regard to Meg,
not t
elling
Michael or Waters
where or who
discovered
her
and
what th
ey think
she’ll
be suited for
.
  For the time being,
Michael finds
the girl
a complete mystery.

By the end of the two weeks
,
R
ena is experiencing cabin fever
and mild depression. 
For two additional weeks,
she
i
s
,
f
or her
own safety
,
c
onfined to a wheel
chair
,
allowed
to move freely about the
Bunker
, but
only
with an escort
.
  Feeling restless and out of the loop, Rena uses her significant skills of persuasion to learn
the Immersion Teams are researching a man called Whitemire.

H
aving passed with high marks in all of her assessments,
Meg
is g
iven free reign of the Bunker.

Michael and Rena grant her access to their quarters so she can visit
and help keep an eye on Rena
. 
Ms. Smith
and Takada are supportive of the friendship,
concerned for
Rena’s mental health. 

Providing another person to talk to while
Michael is training
, she’s thankful
to
have
tak
en Meg under her guidance
.
  N
ot permitted to use
a computer or read anything, Rena
tries to spend time in the company of others
who can feed her information.  S
pend
ing
much of her free
time in their quarters
,
Meg
keep
s Rena occupied,
preventing
her fro
m working on the computer, a
cting
a
s
Rena’s eyes and ears
,
relaying
the Whitemire specifics.
T
he
unauthorized
research
exposure prove
s
excellent training in the world of immersion and intelligence.

…

Meg arrives
at
their
residence
to take over
watch
ing Rena
, as
Michael
has a training session on the Monolith with Takada.
  Wishing for some activity outside
, and Meg
never witness
ing
one of their
parkour sessions
,
Rena sugge
sts
they accompany Michael
.
 
After a light breakfast, the
three
of them,
with
Rena still
confined to
a wheel
ch
air, proceed to the arena.

Meg
watches in awe as
Takada and Michael spend two
hour
s
c
h
asing each other all over the
massive construct
.
 
Their sessions have grown
in
to a spectator sport,
as many inhabitants from the
Bunker
regularly attend.  Both Michael and Takada
felt
the live exposure to the advanced
parkour
sessions
help
ed
the other
assets
understand it better
.

Waters
arrives
an hour into
the session
, expecting a brief
meeting with Takada after
.

Rena
, always in tune with her environment,
notices
Meg
’s
interest
in
the
young man
,
catching
her several times glancing in his direction
. 
W
atching
Waters
as well,
Rena
, an idea forming,
suspect
s
the
attract
ion
is
mutual
.
 
T
he
parkour
session concluded, Takada stops by
the small group of spectators.

“Rena, how are you feeling today?”
H
e inquires, ignoring Meg.
 

Rena notices the unusual behavior, cataloging it for later.  “Feeling better, but going stir crazy.  Your session with Michael was a welcome distraction.”

“I understand you have a follow up in the infirmary tomorrow.  Hopefully, we’ll get you back in the thick of it soon.” He offers.

“Hopefully.”

“Sargent, I’ll see you later.  Ladies.” Takada excuses himself.

“Yes sir.” Waters nods.

Finishing up a conversation with some other assets, Michael walks over. 
“Good workout today.  What did you think?
” He
asks, addressing Meg.

“Holy shit!  You’re not human.”

Michael laughs, “Wait till we get you up there.”

“Not frickin’ likely.  I got no squirrel genes in my blood.”

Waters chuckles lightly, “Squirrel genes” speaking under his breath.

Overhearing him, Rena half smiles.

“I’m heading to the range.  I don’t suppose you
’d
like
to come?
” Michael asks Rena.

“Thanks, but I think Meg and I can find something to do.” She replies, n
ot wanti
ng to deal with the loud noises
.

“I’ll see you later.” He touches her cheek affectionately and winks.  Turning to Meg, “
Please k
eep her out of trouble.”

“I will.”
She
promises.

W
aters leaves with Michael, while
Re
n
a
directs
Meg to the
Immersion Offices
.

While Meg acquaints herself with
the I
mmersion, Rena discusses
the girl
with Ms. Smith.

“
Normally
,
if a conventional infiltration team
were expected,
they’
d be trying to pair her with someone.
”
Ms. Smith
explains, “Alt
hough,
I
suspect
you
, my dear,
may have
challenged
the paradigm
some
.
 
Takada
might
want to
develop
a hybrid
agent
with skills similar to
yours
,
effective in both infiltration and dispatch
.  A hybrid would be
more of
a
conventional deep immersion
specialist
, capable
of
extended
duration
ops
.  M
uch like the government spies of old
. 
T
hat would
offer some
explana
tion for
you
and Michael mentoring
her
.
”