Ripping off the gas mask, Carter hurried down the steps after Donovan, gratefully filling her lungs with non-filtered air. Link's arms bounced lifelessly against Donovan's back. The sound of their steps raced down the dim corridor before them.
Neither of them spoke, their trip back to the safe room more solemn than their first. With every breath, Carter's heart returned to a normal rate. The tension in her body dropped away with every step. Link's form beside her eased her.
What didn't stop was her brain, spinning off in every direction, running through theories and speculations. She replayed the details of the altercation with the man from the library, trying to form answers.
Donovan was a stone wall beside her, his face looked like a storm cloud. He showed no signs that carrying around 160 lbs guy was any effort. He had also removed his gas mask. Carter glanced at him, trying to get a read on where his mind was taking him. He flexed his jaw, as anger sparked in his gaze.
The safe room door lay open for them, as if it as just as eager to see Link's safety as they were. They lowered Link to the cot, the sight of him secure lifting the invisible weight on Carter's chest. The sight did not have the same effect on Donovan.
"I'm sealing you in here with Link and I'm going to get those bastards," he said, his fists clenched.
He moved to the door. Carter darted forward and blocked this path, her hands pressed against his chest.
"What are you thinking?" she said. "Did you not see the mammoth man we took down? Do you honestly think you can just go out there without a plan, when you have no idea how many more are out there?"
"They came for Link!" he said, eyes as hard as granite.
"I know!" Carter shoved him. "But that doesn't mean you can get yourself killed! Or do you want me to tell Link how you were really brave and got yourself shot?"
"Get out of my way. And stay here." His voice was low and menacing, but she didn't move, her own anger burning white hot.
"No! I'm not letting you do something stupid."
Donovan stared her down.
"I have to make this right!"
"Link is safe!"
"But he wasn't! I failed! Something almost happened to him and it was my fault."
Carter held his gaze. Beyond the anger at the enemy, she could see the anger at himself.
"That may be be true," she said, her voice quiet, "but he is safe now and he still needs you to protect him. I'm not letting you leave because you have to fix your pride."
Her words held him, but didn't calm his temper. He turned away, a palpable energy coming off him in waves as he tore off his blazer and flung it at the wall. The fabric hit the hard surface before crumpling to the floor.
Carter stared at him, her expression calm and her stance unyielding. Donovan began to stalk back and forth in the narrow space, looking for all the world like a caged animal. His eyebrows were knit together and his mouth was a grim slash.
Every few seconds his hands would tighten and the muscles in his arms would strain against his shirt sleeves.
After she was sure he wasn't going to do something rash, she moved to the speaker. She pressed the button, connecting it, then leaned against the wall.
"Smith," she said.
The response was immediate.
"What's your status?" he asked, his gruff voice crackling through the black box.
Donovan tossed a look at the box but said nothing.
"Link is secure," Carter said. "He was the target."
"What?" Smith's exclamation was echoed by Mason's in the background.
Donovan's gaze turned darker. Carter looked at him, but he didn't meet her eyes.
"We had to neutralize one of the men," she said. "We don't know how many more. We only came across two. They were searching the building. They had a picture of Link. It was his school ID."
"Current?" Smith asked, something in his tone making her gut tighten.
"Yes," Donovan said, his voice a growl.
"This is not good," Smith said.
Mason's muffled voice in the background asked why. Donovan answered.
"This is bad," he said, still pacing, "because it means that someone in the school helped orchestrate all of this. All the student records are sealed, including photo IDs."
A sickening feeling crawled up Carter's arms.
"Could it be hacked?" she asked.
"No," Smith said, "this school has one of the highest security systems because of who attends."
She looked at Donovan. "You got my records."
"I have clearance."
"So that means someone with the right clearance-"
"Or someone who works here," he finished. "That could be a long list, but how many of those people would know Link's identity?"
Like a bolt of lightening, the answer came to her. Images, passing comments and suspicions crashed together to form one name in her mind. Her eyes locked with Donovan's.
"Philips," she said.
He gave a brief nod, his jaw flexing again. "Yes."
In a flash, she realized that he had put the pieces together the moment he had seen the photo. She kicked herself for not seeing it right a way as well.
"Knowing the who is not what is important at this moment," Smith said. "We are still without military aid. That is our next step."
Donovan stopped pacing and pulled the radio and ear piece from his pocket.
"Give me a second and that might change," he said, his pent up energy finding release.
Carter explained to Smith what they had obtained from the man, while Donovan hooked the ear piece in and started working with the radio.
After a few tense moments, Donovan swore under his breath. He looked at Carter, his gaze like ice.
"It's a secure line. Only communication is between the other men." He gripped the radio in his fingers, the plastic casing straining against his hold. "Our best move now is to take out the signal jammer."
"It seems so," Smith said. There was a pause as if he hated saying his next words. "I'm sealed in this safe room and can't leave Mason. It falls on you two, to disable it and get a call out for support."
Donovan nodded, his anger dying down as a course of action was in play. He looked at Carter, his gaze a challenge and a question. She met his look, unflinching.
"Don't worry," she said. "We'll take care of it. What are the access codes to the security booth?"
Smith conveyed all the information he could think of that would be useful to them. He finished with a pregnant pause, as if he couldn't bear to put this on two high schoolers.
"Now, what do we have to work with?" Carter asked.
The supply closets still had nothing of value. She laid out the contents of the man's pockets on the edge of the cot: zip ties, lighter, pack of cigarettes and a case of gum. In light of their task, it amounted to very little.
They turned up the volume on the radio, listening for any information worth knowing. It remained silent for the most part, only making noise when a voice spoke, saying an area was cleared.
"So far, we have one tranquilizer gun," she said. "No clue to the amount of men we are going to face, with the closest access to the security booth three hallways away...passed the chemistry room..."
She paused as a her eyes traveled to the odd collection of items and a thought struck her.
"And we're wasting time," Donovan said, his need to move pushing him off the wall. "They will discover that one of their men is out cold soon. We need to move."
The radio crackled into life.
"Holcom, check the library, Robinson isn't responding," a commanding voice said.
Carter and Donovan's eyes snapped to each other.
"I have an idea, but it's not a good one and it might not work," she said.
"Let's hear it."
She explained the simple plan. Donovan's brows edged closer together with each word.
"You're right, that's not a good plan. It's barely a plan," he said. "But it's all we have and we need to leave."
With Smith's resigned 'go ahead', they quickly pocketed all the items they needed. Donovan tucked the gun into his waistband. He hooked the ear piece in and slid the radio into a pocket.
Carter gave Link one last glance before following Donovan out of the safe room. Smith offered a final good luck before they shut the door, sealing Link inside.
She guided them through the maze of gray cement tunnels. With each step her heart picked up speed. They stopped at a tight space before a blank wall. Carter's heart was like a battering ram against her chest as her nerves ricocheted inside of her.
Donovan looked at her, his eyes serious.
"You don't have to do this," he said.
A sudden surge of emotions overtook Carter, heightened by his closeness.
Without thinking, she kissed him.
Before he could react, she broke away.
"That's in case something happens to one of us," she said.
A charge set off in Donovan's eyes. He grabbed her waist and kissed her.
He pulled her against him, his other hand holding the back of her neck. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. His hold on her tightened, electrifying every one of her cells. Behind his lips was an undeniable need as if he had been drowning for years and she was oxygen. A different sort of adrenaline shot through Carter.
The intensity of the moment made it seem timeless. When they broke away it had only been seconds. Donovan stared down at her.
"Well," she said, slightly breathless. "Let's make it out of this alive, cause I want to do that again."
**********************************************************************
So-
I'll wait till you're done screaming.
Done yet?? Okay, I'll give you another minute...or two.
Haha and you're back! Hi, how's it going? Are you going to pass out? Should I catch you??
Was it all you hoped it would be?
It took FOREVER to get to this moment, but was it worth the wait?
I've had this scene and Carter's reaction stuck in my head for almost a year. It's crazy how a good many things have changed, but that one thing didn't. ☺️
Any thoughts you want to part with now that you're more coherent? I'll take all of them!
Best kiss scene you've read about or watched?
(The one between Barry and Iris from the Flash is AMAZING!!!)
Nga wa uiui! (Maori) This question is from rdg1812: What is your favorite memory as a child?
Answer: Gosh that is a really hard question to answer. Okay, it's not one specific memory, but it's a compilation of them. I come from a family of ten kids and we would have these epic Christmas dinners, with a million people talking at once. On top of just us, friends would come over and afterward dinner we would all play charades. It got crazy competitive, but it is some of the best times I can remember. (That's where a little of Kade's family and Elliot's family come from.)
Create, remember, smile!
This amazing collage was made for me by bubblegum_24201 How awesome is this?!?!