"Could changing out the core processors completely make up the work of the missing components?" Joana asked Nick analytically.
"Well it definitely will do the job. Given the pressure equalizer can equal out the intake ratio, we are solid." He wiped his tired eyes and gave the new schematics a once over before looking up to Joana who was giving him a wild smile.
"Nick, we did it," she murmured. "Nick, we freaking did it!"
He jumped up in excitement and they both entered stiff but celebratory dance in light of Nick's forward thinking mind. "And you thought you didn't need me."
"We would have gotten there eventually." she mocked.
"Sure," he replied. "Some time in year 3000."
"Which isn't that far from now." She fell back into her couch laughing goofily. He fell in next to her.
"But then I wouldn't be able to hog all the credit, now would I?" he laughed. "Think of all the things we could build, all we could make from this success?"
Against her will, she started to get lost in his soft green eyes that seemed to be harboring fluffy clouds against their will. She always found herself drawn to men with ambition.
"It's boundless." She replied but her words became fleeting chunks of sound floating away with the nonexistent breeze. "It would blow the particle accelerator out of the water..."
It was clear he was under the same spell as she slowly began to lean in for something a little unexpected, like he's wanted to every time he stepped foot through her front door. Hands clasps on necks as she saw through his eyes and into his secretive but utterly ingenious mind, the real magnet to her lust.
But she couldn't. But yet, she did.
Lips touched and given they made it this far, there was no stopping the drive now. As his hands explored the soft strands of Joana's flaxen hair and Joana was testing just how thick Nick's biceps really were, the hungering power between their kiss intensified.
Nick could feel her fingernails ever-so-lightly graze across his neck and down his back to where every touch became a lightning storms setting off every nerve. Her touch was like ocean flooding every cell in his brain as she felt the fire searing from his hands to her arms as he filled her with passion so powerful, she could only gasp in response. They could see it in each other's eyes, the craving, like a drug, like a melody that would never stop entrancing them with its utterly captivating tune.
Then after giving so much opposing force, Nick allowed Joana to push him onto his back and she flipped a leg over him and let her hair fall over the both of them.
Nick found himself being the first one to let up for air and he stared her dead in the eye of her incredibly light brown iris that faded into a marble white. It was the same colors that one would believe to be the color scheme of heaven itself. The irony had set its course in her mind, knowing the betrayal she was causing to Eric.
The worst part; she gave it everything she had to justify it.
The way Nick looked at her like she was the only thing that mattered in the world as it was just too much to walk away from. Especially since her so called 'boyfriend' has only one thing on his mind; his office desk. If an inanimate object gets more out of Eric that his supposed partner, why couldn't she be allowed to see other people? A girl has her needs.
That's how Joana tried to look at it. The way she did see it was far different:
I'm a monster.
Without warning, she pulled away and suddenly stood up. He looked surprised but also had a look that said that he should have seen it coming. "I have to get these to Eric."
****
On a hill fifty-seven kilometers away, Adrian had a sniper trained on Nick as he and Joana went back and forth, overhearing the final modifications to the stabilizers. He always knew Nick was smart but tonight he really proved himself and Adrian, very deep down, was impressed.
He mission was to take Nick out and he had his finger on the trigger to do just that.
The 'striker team' was split into five different groups to keep monitor of the five most likely places Nick might show up. Adrian and three other guys were assigned to Joana's house and had set up camp here for days.
The strange thing was, the unit had been getting smaller and smaller since the day it was created. Talk that people simply couldn't make the cut floated about within the group but Adrian knew she was just weeding out suspects to get to the traitor.
There would always be a random series of tests and questioning that was uniquely disguised as background checks but were secretly ticks on the list of attributes that would only belong to the traitor. Adrian knew to stay calm and bite his tongue through the advanced polygraphs, that Nexus itself, taught him to lie through. He had to be extra discrete because he knew Nexus would look for signs of forgery, but on the trust level Adrian established with Melinda, she would have no reason to doubt him.
Adrian figured out that she was trying to kill two birds with one stone. Rather the 'assassins' eliminate Nick, or the traitor tries to protect him once more, thus revealing himself. Either way, something she wants gets done.
He fiddled with the trigger as he steadied his aim a fourth time.
"Captain, what's the hold up?" one of the men asked, holding binoculars.
"He told us to hold on so he can learn what they were talking about." another called out, but to his rescue. His Russian accent always gave the rest of the group chills so he always had his way in arguments, though he wasn't always that bright. "Never doubt the captain, ever."
Adrian stayed silent.
The guy to the right shifted. "But she's leaving." he grumbled in a squirrely voice. "We heard all they have to say."
The last guy was much farther up close to Joana's house hiding behind a tree. "Any time now, commander."
Adrian knew it was up to him to put Nick down, but then he thought strategically.
He refocused his aim onto Joana.
If she got that message to Eric then Melinda will have everything...and by everything, it means everything. On top of that, he was looking for any reason not to kill his only friend, even if there are a million secrets buried behind his easy-going composure.
I can't let this discovery be made Adrian and Nick thought to themselves. Nick purposely placed a certain flaw in the schematics that would shut the stabilizer down when they would try to activate it. He made sure that it wouldn't cause any damage to the building when doing so.
As he watched Joana pull over one of her coats off the rack, she threw him a key. "Lock this place behind you."
Nick knew he could have just locked the place from the inside when she left so his imagination ran off a little.
"Is this an invitation?" he jested.
She turned back with a smirk. "It's wh--"
A neon blue bullet penetrated its way though the side window, ripping through the glass like it was Styrofoam. It traveled at maximum velocity across the living room as it made its way to the unsuspecting Joana. The sound of the glass shattering gave enough of an impulse that their heads had just ticked to the left when the bullet soared though her right shoulder.
Adrian took a deep breath as he just realized that his crew had no idea who Joana was. They had no idea why he would shoot her either. Neither that nor the infinite project or even the ore itself.
If they reported to Melinda that he shot Joana, she would wonder how he knew about the project. Adrian then remembered that it was Nick who had told him about it. If Melinda caught wind of it, the traitor would be revealed.
Adrian then immediately pulled a hunting knife and stabbed the neck of the soldier who had the binoculars next to him, pulled it out and threw it into the eye of the guy to the right before anyone had a clue as to what was happening.
The Russian guy, however, caught on incredibly fast as he swooped over and landed a critical jab into his cheek.
*
Joana screamed out in pain as the rest of the large glass window came raining down like glaciers in an avalanche. No second shot fired as Nick rushed to Joana's aid and hid her behind the doorway leading to the front door.
"Keep pressure here!" he shouted to her as she was still fighting off shock. So was he.
"What the hell was that?!" she screamed out. "Who--?"
"I don't know! I don't know!" he repeated, glancing over to the window as he pulled out his phone for the police. He then remembered that he was a wanted man but for the sake of Joana, he kept dialing.
*
Adrian struggled against the huge Russian's mighty grip, but made no progress on escaping. This guy had to be a wrestler.
--What the hell is happening up there?-- The last soldier who was closer to the house yelled over the receiver, not awake of Adrian's duplicity. --Captain, you missed the target!--
"The Captain has failed," the Russian shouted while holding his lock on Adrian. "You need to finish job."
Adrian saw that he had to pause to speak and kneed him straight in his gut. It seemed to have no effect on the Russian, but it did leave an opening for Adrian to escape which he took without a second thought.
He didn't see that it was a strategic trap for the Russian to take both hands and smash them over Adrian's back and send him plummeting into the leafy cold ground. Nighttime colors swirled around the sky as Adrian felt his legs being dragged.
*
911 claimed to be on their way as Nick glanced over to the window once more and retreated to check on Joana, he swore he saw something move.
He looked out again only to be pulled from around the corner and thrown through the small glass table next to the screen desk Nick and Joana had been working on just minutes ago.
Nick had just barely rolled over to the side when the man fired his laser shotgun, eviscerating whatever was left of the table. He ducked behind the screened desk and counted the seconds until another blast chomped through the desk.
With half of the desk now missing, it would be impossible for the trained military soldier to miss his next shot. Nick had to move.
Nick just enough time to bounce out of the hiding spot to fly over the couch before another shot blasted through the rest of the desk, a huge chunk of the couch and fried the wall behind it. He looked for anything that could help him. Unfortunately, Joana's slight hand of OCD was enough for her to keep the place spic and span.
He was completely defenseless and he could hear the charge of another blast about to discharge.
*
Adrian was nailed in the stomach twice and then the soldier picked up Adrian by his chest and held him up to his face. His feet dangled as the Russian pegged him into a nearby tree.
Adrian rolled over and pulled out his pistol only for it to be kicked out of his hand.
"Nice try." he mocked. The Russian yanked back his foot for a kick that would rip Adrian's jaw straight off. The momentum of the kick was almost too fast for Adrian to dodge, but he managed to weave his head to the side right in time.
The Russian's foot smashed straight into the tree. He screamed out in pain but tried to quickly shake of the probably broken foot. This was enough opportunity for Adrian to rise up.
The soldier threw a punch, but it was sluggish and Adrian motioned to the side and connected a punch to his stomach, then his face. The Russian stumbled back as Adrian kicked off of the tree and spun into the air into a butterfly kick that smashed into the man's face. It sent him into the air as he then crashed into the ground.
Spitting out blood, he got back up and charged Adrian with an obvious punch. Adrian used his momentum against him and twisted his arm into a grapple then flipped him over his shoulders. With another crash landing, Adrian still held his arm and motioned to snap it in half, but the Russian grabbed Adrian's shoulder and threw him off to the side.
While Adrian was on the ground, the Russian appeared before him and was about to get on top of Adrian but he was too fast. Adrian landed a good floor kick on his broken foot, spun to his feet with another kick that ripped the soldier's neck in the opposite direction, and ran up his body and jumping onto his shoulders.
Before the Russian could keep up, Adrian's cold hands were around the man's neck as he yanked it into an unholy position.
*
Nick was running out of options that he didn't even have in the first place.
That was when he looked over and saw Joana grab a knife from the soldier's ankle and stabbed him in the thigh. He screamed as he fell onto one knee and she grabbed his waist pistol, throwing it in Nick direction.
The man kicked Joana out cold with a vicious grunt and went to end her permanently when Nick caught the pistol and the man's head exploded to the side.
But Nick never pulled the trigger.
Adrian appeared through the gaping hole in the wall from the window and was still looking through the scope of his sniper when he stepped in.
Nick went to fire at him but when he saw who it was, he flooded in relief. "Adrian!"
"We need to get out of here, now!" he shouted, still very much bruised from his earlier fight.
"We've got to stop meeting like this." said Nick as Adrian waved for him to follow back through the window. Before he could get up to move, red and blue lights began to flash back and forth.
"You called the cops?!" he shouted.
"Joana is hurt, I had no choice!" he called back. "Help me pick her up!"
Adrian began to fret. "Leave her."
"What?!" Nick scoffed. "No way"
"You're running from the law, remember?" Adrian reminded him. "And as of today, so am I." he pressured. "Besides, there's nothing we can do for her besides let the cops help her; they're the only ones who can get her the help she needs."
Nick understood his argument but remained unmoved by Joana's side.
Adrian walked up next to him and ripped him away. "We have to get out of here!"
He nodded and rose to his feet. Adrian felt he had no choice but to grab his arm and drag his out of the house. Nick didn't stop staring at her until he felt the crushing of the glass underneath him almost make him trip. He glanced away and began to run with Adrian out of the house and into the woods.
****
~Nick's Flashback~
Jensen reappeared in Melinda's office. "Melinda, I need to have a word with you."
"And I you." she said as she swiveled to face him in her chair.
"You do know I have to fix this right?" he asked her. "This mess you're planning on creating, it has to stop."
She gave him an inquisitive glare. "You sent in a spy, didn't you?"
He gave no answer.
"Scheming are we?"
"Did you just accuse me of scheming?" he shouted. "Especially when you set up a possibly dangerous project behind my back?"
"It's for the greater good, dad." she stated.
"And so is this," he said. "Arrest her."
The guards didn't move.
"I said, arrest her." he repeated.
"Dad, these people want to know what it's like to be rich beyond their wildest dreams, to have their name placed in history as the people who discovered infinite energy," she smiled. "And you seem to always be getting in the way of that."
At the last statement, the guards grabbed both of his arms and placed a handcuff around his wrists, tightening them so that his back straightened and he moaned in pain as his face strained.
"Put him in the dungeon," she laughed, 'dungeon' referring to the small jail block in the basement that doesn't show on legal floor plans.
"Melinda this is going to blow up in your face!" he shouted as the guards took him away.
"I'm director now," she pointed out "and I have a strong feeling I'm going to love the outcome."
****
~Chase~
"What do you mean 'You don't exist'?" I questioned.
"It means..." he couldn't bring himself to uncover the truth, but if he didn't face it now, then when? "It means that I made you up!"
"So you're saying..."
"That you are just a, a, figment of my imagination."
Chase focused himself to remember that he never found me at the rover crash site. The pain was just too much to take when he realized that my body was nowhere to be found so he...pretended I was.
He saw that I was literally there for moral support and companionship so he wouldn't melt away in loneliness. Without his family heirloom and then hoping to find another person so badly that he was blind-sighted to the women wanting to rob him.
The crushing pain could only be subdued by the thought that I was by his side. Fantasies merged with reality when we unlocked each other's bodies in the rover, given we never got the chance to do while I was physically with him. That I will never get to do with him.
It was so much easier to think that his one true love wasn't dead and was forever loving him and will live on with him through the roughest times.
So now he was, without a thing. The memory of my body still captivated his vision and he ran up to me and kissed the lingering memory as hard as he could before reality settled in and I began to fade.
"I love you more than anything on this rotten planet!" he shouted as loud as his vocal chords could allow, eyes bleeding of salted marine.
"Then it looks like I didn't have much competition." he imagined me saying.
"You can't leave me here by myself." he cried.
"Everything I've said was a reflection of your own words and thoughts," I confessed sorrowfully. "Not one thing I've said or done was real."
"I don't care!" he bawled. "Just the thought of you is enough!"
"And when that fades?"
"It will never fade!" he shouted. "Skylar, I love you!"
He looked up to see me giving him a skeptical look, which was really, him giving himself a skeptical look, only with my face. He knew it would happen, but he couldn't bring himself to admit that either. Eventually, he would forget anything and everything he every loved, or even known.
And at last, my body eventually dispersed out of his embrace and he stood there letting every ounce of his maddening pain flood his every thought...
Alone.
e