Chp. 53 “Shocking Information”
I stared unsurely at Agent Berkley, gawking at how beautiful she was and asking her silently if she had a plan to get out of here. Sure, I really did feel bad internally for thinking the way I did about her when I accidentally stumbled upon her in the elevator, but I loved women.
So you couldn’t blame me.
I had been in an elated mood, and I was excited to tell my friends that there was finally a cure for this disease. I wasn’t a shallow bitch, but because I was simply attracted to women, and she was obviously a woman. So when I had seen her I couldn’t help but check her out a little bit.
Ok, maybe it was more than a little bit, but that’s not the point.
And now I was anxious, and I wanted out of this damned elevator. I paced around, suddenly feeling claustrophobic at this very moment when I looked at Agent Berkley. Was I really stuck in an elevator with this goddess of a woman, only moments after leaving my girlfriend’s side?
I was fucked up.
I felt guilty all of a sudden, and I leaned against the metal wall of the elevator once again, attempting to calm my heart rate. Berkley seemed to be a little on edge, and then she huffed in exasperation, “I can’t just sit here, they might need me out there.”
I looked at the door, “Unless you can pry that thing open with superhuman strength, I don’t believe we’ll be going anywhere.”
She smirked slightly then, walking slowly over to me and holding out her hand, “Touch me.”
My heart fluttered at her words, and I knew she didn’t mean it the way it sounded, but it was extremely sexy hearing it. I looked into her light brown eyes and smiled shyly, placing my hand in hers curiously. There was no time to think. I began to question her then, “What-?”
Then all of a sudden there was a dizzy feeling in my head, and for a split second I had seen nothing but a flash of white. It felt as if we had been floating in midair for that second too, and then my feet were soon back on solid ground. When we landed I fell into a soft body, who caught me and held me upright.
I looked up into Berkley’s eyes, “What the-?”
“Teleportation,” she smiled, letting me go and straightening her ruffled skirt, “Sorry I should’ve told you before.”
I was still completely shocked and caught off guard, so all I could do was nod. Then I realized that I had touched this woman, and I had been too distracted to ask her if she had any powers before I shook her hand. I groaned in response, realizing I had gained another power once again, causing Agent Berkley to question, “You ok? Made you sick?”
I shook my head, “I have Power Absorption.”
Her eyes widened in response, and I knew she hadn’t been aware at all of what I was actually capable of. She muttered, “Holy shit, I didn’t know-“
“It’s ok,” I cut her off, looking ahead as I realized we were on the ground floor of the Bureau. She began walking to the lobby, which could be the only known place to have a single clue as to what was going on. I followed her through the halls and watched her ass sway in front of me, allowing me to take in her killer legs as well. Then I realized immediately what I was doing and forced my eyes away from her.
I just couldn’t stop looking at her.
I caught up to her, falling into her fast paced stride besides her. She spoke, “I’ll help you learn how to control the power considering I feel really bad for accidentally giving it to you.”
I smiled to myself, taking note on what she was telling me. For some odd reason I suddenly tried to place her age. She was young, I knew that much, but how young I really wasn’t sure. Then I realized I was more curious about her rather than the power that she possessed, and that I now possessed.
We made it to the front lobby, only to find the receptionist absent from the scene. I followed Agent Berkley around the counter and through a room, taking us into what seemed to be a security room that showed us all the camera views throughout the Bureau. That’s when I saw a shoot-out going on, on the roof at this very moment.
It had just been two men, and they were just gunned down from the looks of the TV monitors. The blood was scattered over their clothes and the roof of the building, making me gag a little. What had possessed them to try and break into the Bureau in the first place?
Then Berkley spoke, “Well, looks like they took care of it.”
I spoke softly, still feeling horrible from the gross view on the TV, “Yea.” I couldn’t peel my eyes away from it though, and I suddenly understood that this was serious business. There was no screwing around here because this place was trying to save lives, not hurt them, and anyone who threatened that was threatening their own life.
Agent Berkley spoke, “Sorry that you had to see that.”
I shrugged, “It’s not your fault.”
She looked at me, and this time it was a different look I couldn’t quite define. I understood that I couldn’t get carried away. We were in this dark room where the only light that was being given out was by the TV monitors, and Berkley was a walking angel. She tilted her head, “How old are you?”
It was a weird question but I could do nothing but answer it, “18.”
She nodded, opening the door the room and allowing us out, and suddenly I felt compelled to ask her the same, “What about you?”
She looked at me before answering, as if she was debating, “I’m 24.”
We walked up to the elevator that was now running again, and we stepped in. I was curious now as to why she even used to elevator, considering she could literally teleport to any place she wanted. She must’ve seen me looking at her oddly because she responded almost immediately, “I use the elevator because it’s weird to just randomly pop up in places, ok? In case you were wondering.”
I smiled to myself, wondering if she was telepathic as well considering she seemed to know what I was thinking. I pressed the Living Quarters floor and she pressed the Office Sector, letting me know we were going our separate ways.
The elevator dinged and stepped out, looking back at Agent Berkley, “Thanks for the power, I guess, Agent Berkley.”
She smirked, showing a hint of regret, probably from accidentally giving it to me. She waved her hand and sighed, “I’ll teach you,” and then she sighed heavily and smiled, “And you can call me Taylor.”
I smirked slightly then as the doors to the elevator closed and I mentally slapped myself. How could I flirt with this woman I barely knew, and not to mention the fact that I had a dying girlfriend upstairs! I felt a plague of guilt settle in my heart as I walked absent-mindedly towards Max and Gage’s rooms, wondering what exactly had happened in the last ten minutes.
How could I be so stupid and selfish?
I knocked on Max’s door and heard him inside, and then he opened the door to reveal himself. He must’ve been taking a nap or something because his eyes were droopy with sleep, and he leaned casually against the doorway.
“Andy, hey, how’s Avery?”
I could hear worry in his voice, and it kind of warmed my heart to know he was concerned about my girlfriend. Avery and Max had been two completely opposites since the day they met, but seeing Max’s worried look only made me realize he really did care about her.
I smiled, “Max, they’ve found a cure.”
Then his eyes widened, and he seemed to be overtaken by emotion as he ran over to Gage’s door and knocked loudly. He turned to me, “When?! What’s gonna happen now?”
I put my hand on his shoulder and smiled, “Calm down, everything’s gotta be very careful and precise before they start distributing.”
Gage opened the door and Max delivered the good news, and Gage even hopped with excitement. This only got me more excited to where I wanted to run up to the Lab and tell them to inject Avery. I wanted her better, and I wanted it to happen today.
Max smiled, “Have you told Avery?”
I nodded, smiling, “Yes, and I think we need to go up there to see her.”
They all agreed as we made our way back to the Lab, anxious for Avery to be given hopefully the very first injection. She would be the first person healed from the BD3, and I would finally have my girlfriend back.
The elevator opened and we took in the view of the Lab that seemed to be really busy. Then Max questioned, “What was with that security breach?”
I shrugged, “No idea, but it looked like two guys tried breaking into the Bureau upstairs.”
“How do you know that?”
His question brought the thought of Agent Berkley back to mind, and I tried to force her out. I didn’t want to go down that road again, and I wanted to avoid talking about her at all costs with my friends, even though I would have to tell them about my new power. I shrugged to myself, “I ran into another Agent in the elevator that told me.”
Max and Gage seemed to be satisfied with this notion and continued to walk behind me through the Lab. I was actually looking for Doctor Henson rather than going see Avery because I wanted him to know I was still agreeing to injecting Avery with the new cure.
If only I could find him.
I started down a familiar hallway and passed a couple of empty labs, knowing that there was nothing left to be studying. They had finally conjured up a safe and useable cure, so most of the higher up doctors were taking breaks and vacations now. I was just praying Henson was still somewhere in this building.
Then I peered into a room that not only held Doctor Henson, but a couple of other doctors and Agent Roger Boyd, and they were talking about something quite serious. Max must’ve seen them and tried to push the door open but I held him back, whispering, “Shh, they’re talking about something.”
All three of us listened carefully, attempting to pick up any words the doctors were saying on the inside.
I heard Henson’s voice first, “We have to tell her, she deserves to know.”
“It’s confidential information that not many people here at the Bureau know, Henson. Why would some 18 year old girl need to know that?” I didn’t recognize this voice, but I knew instantly that they were talking about me.
“Maybe it would give her some motivation to finish what her father started,” I recognized Roger’s voice here. I rolled my eyes in response, smiling because he would be the only one to be concerned about my “motivation” to take down the government.
Another unfamiliar doctor spoke, “How would telling her such a thing motivate her Boyd?”
I listened closely to his response then, hoping to understand the missing puzzle piece that would finally piece together everything that was being overheard.
“Because, this disease almost killed her girlfriend, and it would put a fire in her ass if she knew that the F.P.S actually developed this disease in the first place.”
I heard Max and Gage mutter things besides me but I could do nothing but stand up straight and begin walking away from them. I couldn’t believe what I had just overheard, and now the anger and frustration was taking over my body. I was paralyzed by anger, and the more I thought about everything the more everything began adding up.
Max put his hand on my shoulder, “Andy…”
I muttered, “Leave me alone. I need to be by myself. Tell Henson to get a vaccine ready for Avery, I’ll be back in ten.”