I had to focus on what energy I had left to scan my roof for any proof of tampering. I felt extremely queasy, but I knew in this line of work, you had four hours before your chances grew slim of ever seeing the one you cared about alive. My head had never throbbed so much in my life after that realization. I couldn't lose Selena, not now. Not after telling her how I felt and finding out that although I didn't know how to love her, I did however feel more for her with each passing day.
I tried debating with myself if climbing off the roof to scout the ground was such a good idea. If it was daylight I could pick up more traces of the intruder or intruders who snuck into my house to snatch the woman from under me. The sheer idea brought me to my knees. I hovered over the previous bile that escaped me, trying to hold what was left of my dinner inside. But as I studied the road and trees from my roof, I puked once more. She had been taking a shower, what if she was out here naked.
"Selena!" I screamed for the twentieth time that evening. As I pulled myself to my feet, half dizzy and mostly scared, I could spot a flashing light in the distance. It was moving towards my street with such precision that it had to be someone undercover. You wouldn't be able to tell that much if you weren't trained in such an art. I struggled to climb down, finally catching my footing as the car stopped near the front. I wasn't stupid to call out into the night. But unlike those days back in the agency, I had no weapons. I was practically a sitting duck.
"Demi." A familiar voice, which I've dearly missed, chilled me.
"Joe?" My voice surprised him as I held onto the wall for support as he studied me.
"They came?" He questioned as I took in his attire. He wasn't undercover. He had been fully dressed in his all black bullet proof outfit with a headpiece to match. His eyes were the only thing I could spot just before he ripped off his mask. "They came?" He pulled out his gun as I studied him.
"They who?"
"So no one got here?" He snapped his head back and forth, taking in the different angles of my home.
"Selena's gone." My voice shook, just as I forced myself to stand up straight. "Someone took her."
"Let me check the parameter." Joe carried himself into the nearby brush before I could tell him that it was over ten minutes ago. I ran into the house, grabbing my phone as Joe met me near the back. "I don't see anything."
"Its been over ten minutes. I have to check the airport. There's only one way off this island. No plane leaves without authorization, big or small. Its nearing eleven, no flights leave until morning."
"How are you so sure whoever has her is taking her to the airport."
"Its all I have to go on right now." I weakly told him. "I need a gun."
"You're a civilian now. You can't handle government property, nor do you have a license to carry."
"My license is still valid within the agency."
"The agency doesn't exist."
"Don't be an ass Joe." I made it back towards the front of the house. He ran around the side, meeting me at the front.
"This is why I came to see you."
"I can't stand here and talk, I have to find Selena."
"Listen to me." Joe grabbed my arm, forcing me to face him as I yanked away.
"What?!"
"I risked everything to come and warn you, the least you can do is calm down and show me some respect. Besides your little temper tantrum what else has changed?"
"My patience." I hissed as he gave a silent nod.
"Did you get my note?"
"Yes, this evening."
"I had it delivered this morning. It was an urgent letter. Onyx tracked a few of us back to our location in Florida. We could obviously hold them off. We destroyed a big majority of our problem." Joe was wasting my time, and the longer he spoke, the more I wanted to ram my fist into his face. I quickly bawled up my fingers as he took notice. "Although your files were wiped clean, you were never getting off their list. Apparently they found a way to track you here. That's how I found out."
"How could you find out unless you guys are working with them now."
"Selena's coding worked like a charm. It actually loaded into their system and sent over information while destroying them from the inside out."
"No, she told me she destroyed the program. She made sure it wouldn't transfer any data. Besides, how would it be able to transfer after two weeks? Something isn't adding up." I studied my surroundings before jogging over to my truck.
"Listen."
"You listen, if you want to talk, we do so on my terms. I'm not wasting any more time. I have to find Selena. You knows what happens when we lose a trail." I climbed into the truck as Joe gritted his teeth and climbed into his own vehicle.
"Dial '72' I'll talk to you through the speakers." Joe awaited my instruction. I hadn't expected to be tugged back into this mess. I was already lightheaded and here I was going into the dark without a weapon. I had nothing but an old friend who now spoke in code. I dialed Joe on my phone just before my car's speakers began to hum and my Bluetooth connected with him.
"As I was saying, I tracked you because someone was in the old system trying to start it up. It failed obviously, but their search was leading back to you. Here."
"How?" I questioned just as I made it as fast as I could towards the airport.
"I told you, Selena's program. But that's not all. It wasn't specifically you that intrigued me, nor Joshua back at headquarters."
"What?"
"It was Selena herself." Joe was keeping a close eye on me, not even traveling an entire car distance away.
"Whoever 'they' are, they're tracking Selena?" My voice cracked.
"Her coding is unique. Apparently she's traceable through a certain system she uses. A system that not many can perfect. A system she still uses today." As Joe and I made it onto a dark road, I began to speed up.
"What do you mean still? She hadn't been coding lately."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Yes I'm sure!" I snapped, studying the dark road as my eyes began to blur. "She...she couldn't be coding again. There's no need."
"Old habits die hard, don't you think?"
"Why did you come back Joe?" I changed the subject as the man through the speakers sighed.
"I wasn't going to let you do this alone."
"Do what?"
"Onyx or whoever was formally known to be an ally to them are after something."
"Something?"
"Someone." Joe slowly spoke. My stomach was already in knots, him speaking about Selena wasn't going to change that.
"Why are they after her? Because she's a coder?" My voice shook as Joe sighed.
"She's a skilled programmer. But most importantly, she's a hacker. They want to use her to break into the system mainframe for every nuclear weapon known to man. You don't want to know the stuff they would do to her in order to get that information." Joe had snapped back into his agent mode, leaving all sentiment and feeling out of his voice. But I on the other hand couldn't take anymore bad news. I slowly pulled over to the side of the road as Joe stopped next to me.
"I can't let her leave this island." My voice was in bad shape, but I felt worse.
"You want me to drive?" He questioned as I grabbed my phone, ditching my car on the side of the road, and climbing in. Joe sped off once again. "The agency doesn't know where I am as of right now. But I'm expected back by tomorrow afternoon. I need inside help in order to stop these guys."
"And to bring Selena back to me, right?"
"I'm going to tell you the truth and you might not like it, but take this information like a solider." Joe had glanced over but his face was darkened by the lack of streetlights. "I came to find out the group behind this and to stop them. Our origination would love such power. The United States government would love such power. It gives you the upper hand in shaping the world as you deem fit. The origination didn't realize how powerful Selena was because no one told them about her. Not even you or I."
"So you just want to use her to access the codes to the weapons as well?" I knew it wasn't Joe specifically that needed this information, but it still bugged me. "I need her back."
"And your government wants the codes."
"You can't have the codes without having Selena as well, and I refuse to put her into such a position."
"You don't have a choice." Joe gripped the wheel as we dashed past a few side roads. We would be nearing the airport within a few miles.
"SHE has a choice." I couldn't believe he was actually putting the agency before the woman I cared about. But Joe wouldn't understand, because if this was any other situation I wouldn't either. "How did they find out she was the coder for B.O.N.E.S?"
"Like I said, her system did its job. But when Joshua found out Selena created the program, he came to me. He questioned if I knew anything about Selena's capabilities."
"And?" I pulled down the car's visor, the small light flicking on. I had to see Joe's face.
"I told the truth. I knew she developed B.O.N.E.S. She had a knack for that kind of thing, and she knew other coding formulas. They explained to me how her skills were considered hacking. They knew it was the real deal when what was left of Onyx or their allies searched her within their database."
"So whoever has her just wants her to access different official codes? That's it?"
"More or less. She's not safe on this planet anymore, let alone in the hands of the enemy."
"This planet?" I studied him. "She didn't ask to be pulled into this mess."
"Well she's in it."
"Why did they send you?" I studied him as he faced me before slowing the car down. We were just a mile from the airport.
"No one sent me. Weren't you just listening? I just knew you needed someone on your side. Someone you could trust. I promised myself that I wouldn't let any harm come to you."
"Joe if I'm going to work with you," I climbed from the car, my gym shoes crunching the grass below. "You must know that, I have feelings for Selena. And I get that you might not understand that, but I do love her. So I want to get her back unharmed."
"I didn't say I was going to work with you Demi. You're still a fucking traitor to me. Choosing her over what we had. But I'll tell you what. If you don't get yourself killed out there, I'd really appreciate it." Joe strolled towards his trunk as I did the same. He didn't understand what he was feeling, but I knew he was angry, pissed even. He pulled out a riffle before studying the trunk's content. "I'm going to turn my back, and whatever you grab, I didn't see it. Come tomorrow morning, I'm out of this place, so make it count." Joe turned away, his back straight and stiff. He couldn't sort through his feelings for me, but I could feel his tension. It was as if he packed his car with my favorite devices, even a vest was provided. I pulled everything I needed on, before slamming his trunk.
"All set." I told him as he faced me. I could hardly make out his features as he waved me away.
"After you." He held his riffle up to his waist as I sighed.
"I know you don't understand what you're feeling Joe, but I do love you." I told him honestly, my eyes trying to make out his hidden ones. "You were my first....something. You helped me through a lot and I thank you for that. But right now, Selena needs me more than you do. And honestly, I need her even more. So I want to thank you for helping me in advance. But please help me bring her home safe." My words only caused an evil glare to escape the man. I ran my fingers across his stiff fist before pulling back. "I'm ready."
We silently followed the road before creeping deep into the brush surrounding the airport gates. I hadn't had much training in getting past a secured fence. Lights beamed brightly around the area just as figures walked and laughed across the pavement. They were workers I assumed, cleaning up for the day ahead. Joe stepped next to me, crouching just before turning my way. He was visibly upset. As if my devious words weighed on his mind, numbing him into anger. I had been using that stupid love word every since I said it to Selena. It spewed out like vomit. And I almost said it to him, but he wouldn't understand them, just as much as I.
"I'll take the casual approach." I told the man at my side. I couldn't pass off as a worker because I was literally in a night shirt and jeans. My vest didn't make it any better. "I'll take the North end. You cover the South." It was as if I had never left. As if second nature was the call of the agency. He stayed silent as I moved away, studying the airplanes that were being washed. There were but two private planes on the tarmac and neither was geared up to fly. Both were bring refueled as others were docked into their own bay. I did my best to force negative thoughts from my head but it wouldn't work. Somehow my feelings were overtaking the rest of my functions, clouding my judgment as I lay low within the brush. Joe hadn't moved from where he was, his eyes watching my every step. I wondered what was on his mind, but took a side note to ask him later.
I stood, making my way into the shadows before I was exposed to the light ahead. The opening in the gate was suited for personnel only. I did my best calm pace towards the guard, but the man hadn't even glanced up. I silently walked past him, through the gates, and into the open. I was a standing target, that I knew for a fact. But I also knew, that if Selena saw me she'd scream and Joe and I would handle it from there. But so far, nothing was happening. I ran towards the first personal jet which now sat polished and ready to move. The door was locked, the stairs pushed a decent distance away. Nothing was heard from the inside and without having anything to communicate to Joe with, it was every man or woman, for themselves. I balanced myself and made it towards the next jet. I had to find Selena.