heather fisher

8/14/2019 Heather Fisher

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/heather-fisher 1/16

Heather Fisher



"How's it comin' along?" 45-year-old Mark Kensington leanedover his daughter's shoulder. Her fingers hit the keys on the keyboard

at rapid speed, interrupted only by her right hand leaving the

keyboard to select something in front of her.

She shrugged, pausing her diligent work to throw an unruly sectionof hair back over her shoulder, only to resume her research.

"Jessica?" he prompted.

Mark Kensington was FBI Director, and his daughter, Jessica, had

followed in his footstep, completing her training to become a specialagent. Their bond was extremely close, and it needed to be. Jessica's

mother had died 7 years previous in a car accident; only a week afterJessica's sixteenth birthday.

Jessica nodded, mumbling an "okay" as she smiled happily. "Got it."She slipped her hands in her lap and turned to her father. He looked

as pleased as she did.

"I traced this guy from New York all the way to a bank account inCuba," Jessica swept her cinnamon hair into a high ponytail, and even

then the edges of her hair fell to mid-back. "Guilty of seven pluscounts of fraud, and it's all proven here. He better get an attorney."

Jessica sat in her cubicle. She'd never been one for closed-up

offices; cubicles were better for open communication. The small areawas neatly yet fully covered with maps, upcoming missions, and

itineraries, among other things. The only clear space seemed to be onthe pristine white desk that held the monitor. She checked her watch

quickly, reading the time as 17:43, or 5:43 p.m., civilian time.

"Is it time for you to leave?" Mark questioned.Jessica nodded. “Yeah, I do have to leave soon...I have a plane to

catch at 7:45," she added. Time really does fly when having "fun"...or when insanely busy...

Mark sighed. "It's time for me to give you something of importance.

You must keep it on your person at all times," he led her to his office,opened a safe and extracted a computer chip sealed in plastic. "I'm

trusting you with the government re-institution plan, along with thenation's secrets. People will be after you if you make it obvious, so

don't even tell your friend Helena."

Jessica gave her father a look of understanding. "Where should Ikeep it?"

"Close to you," Mark answered. "And if it becomes endangered,destroy it." Jessica's pale fingers closed around the chip. She slid it

into her pocket, then walked back to her cubicle, making sure she'dlogged out of her computer. After gathering her things and clocking

out, Jessica headed to her car.

Her phone rang as she drove to the airport.



"Kensington," Jessica greeted the caller."Jess!" her best friend, Helena Phoenix, answered happily.

"Oh, hey, my dad kept me a little late; investigations on fraud,"Jessica explained quickly.

"Oh. Well, I reserved our tickets; when will you be here?"

"Around two a.m. DC time, 10 p.m. your time."Helena sighed. "Well, get some sleep on the plane; Trent can't wait

to meet you--sort of. He's passed out on the couch now, but youknow--the exhausting life of a rock star..."

Jessica giggled, pulling into the airport around 6:00 p.m. "Nice

choice of a boyfriend, Helena. The only thing remotely good aboutbeing single is that I can legitimately say that I'm a virgin!"

"Take that back, Jess," Helena shot back. "Or you can't come to theconcert."

"Fine, you win. I've got to hang up; security checks and

everything."

--Las Vegas Airport, Nevada----10:35 p.m.--

"Helen, baby, are you sure she's going to be here?" Trent frowned,

tapping his fingers repetitively on the steering wheel of the car. Helena

sighed and reached her right hand out to calm his hands."Stop doing that," she murmured softly.

Trent stiffened. "W-what was I doing?" he clasped his hands in hislap quickly, still fidgeting slightly. It wasn't that he was nervous to

meet Jessica, fidgeting was just a nervous habit he'd picked up fromdrug use.

Helena rolled her eyes, unnoticeably, and turned away from Trent.

Jessica came rushing out of the airport with two black suitcases; onemedium-sized and one small. She stowed them in the back of the

trunk and slid in the back of the car.

"Hey, Helen!" Jessica greeted her friend breathlessly. "Sorry I'mlate, newbie security officers...anyway...I'm so happy to be here!"

"Jessie, I'm so glad to see you! This is Trent," she motioned to theman in the driver's seat. He was about 5'6", slightly muscular, with a

small tan and ear-length silky black hair. Trent had startling emeraldeyes with beautiful black eyelashes that only heightened hismasculinity. He turned back to Jessica and offered a small smile and a

hand. She shook his hand firmly and smiled back."Hi, Trent," Jessica nodded. When Trent turned around, she looked

at Helena with wide, bright blue eyes and mock-fanned herself. "He'sgorgeous," she whispered as Trent started driving away. They arrived

home shortly, and it was a studio-like apartment with sandy tan walls



and red details. The tile was a shade darker than the walls, and asmall kitchen had been constructed at one corner of the apartment.

"Should we walk the Strip tomorrow?" Jessica suggested. Trent andHelena turned around with a surprised look on their faces.

"Walk the Strip? Are you insane?"

Jessica shrugged, setting her bags down at the entryway. "Myfamily and I used to do it all the time. But now we're actually old

enough to go into all the casinos and stuff."After a small debate, Trent and Helena agreed to walk part of the

Strip with Jessica the next day, but stated that they had to be back by

five p.m.

--Sam Boyd Stadium----UNLV Campus--

--Las Vegas, Nevada--

--7:30 p.m.--

Helena grinned at Trent as he proceeded to get ready for hisconcert. His band was Nine Inch Nails; and they'd been together for

just under ten years. Jessica nervously yet discreetly fingered thecomputer chip, making sure no one saw she had it. She had that

strange feeling that something bad would happen, but managed to

shake it off in time for the concert. After the concert, they group of three headed back to Trent's black car. Jessica slipped into the back

seat while Helena called "shotgun". The ominous feeling crept backinto Jessica's mind, and her fingers found their way to the chip again.

On the way back home, Trent began to feel sick and pulled into a darkalley. Jessica decided to speak up.

"Trent, this isn't a good idea," she said boldly.

"Oh, I'm a big boy, Jess, I can take care of myself," Trent shotback, getting out.

"It's a dark alley at midnight , Trent, please--" Helena began, but

stopped, seeing her comments were useless. She turned to Jessica,sighing. "What am I going to do with him, Jess? Jeez, I'm getting out,

it's creepy sitting in the car." Helena took the keys from the ignitionand stepped out. She glanced back at Jessica again. "What are you

holding?"Jessica slid out of the car, slipping the chip into a false bottom inher shoe. "Can't tell you. My dad told me to keep it safe."

"Well..." Helena took a step forward and screamed as she tripped,keys flying into oblivion. She swore loudly and got up. "Stupid alley,"

she spoke over the soft sound of Trent puking. "Hey, Trent, clean up,let's go! I need to find the keys...jeez, I can't even see--"

"Someone's been following us," Jessica realized, whirling around.



There was nothing, and her comment made her feel slightly silly."Quit it, Jess, I'm already scared." She spun around to find a man

clad in black pinning her friend to the ground. Helena screamed as theman waved a knife at her, telling her to "shut up".

"I've been following you all night, Kensington; you have something

I need," the man growled, his voice like ice."I don't have anything! Get off me!" Jessica struggled. The man

slapped her viciously across the face."Don't LIE TO ME !" he roared, back-handing her and shaking her for

effect. "Give me the chip, Kensington!"

Helena whimpered. "What chip, Jess?" her voice was high andsqueaky. "Jessica?"

"NO!" Jessica screamed as the man twisted her arm behind herback. She couldn't remember how to defend herself in a situation like

this. "HELENA! RUN!"

Helena took a deep breath and dashed for the end of the alley. Shedidn't consider looking for the keys; it was too time-consuming. As

soon as she reached the end, a large black van pulled up, hitting herfull force. Helena was thrown to the cement and barely retained

consciousness."This can all be over if you just tell me where your little computer

chip is," the man continued as another man leapt from the van.

"Lawrence! Get the guy at the end of the alley! We can't afford to haveany...slips in the plan."

Lawrence nodded, quickly knocking out Trent and dragging him intothe van. Jessica figured people would hear the ruckus and come to see

what it was about, but it hadn't happened yet. Once the first mandragged her to her feet, she slipped out of his grip, kicked him in thegroin, and ran. Helena groggily got to her feet and hobbled after

Jessica."Jess! Trent's still back there!" she squealed. "We can't just leave

him!"

"Oh, yes we can!" Jessica snapped. The van was racing after thegirls, catching up much too quickly. "Do you see how close they are?"

Helena tripped, falling flat on her back. This time she didn't get up.Jessica was torn. She could easily get away, but only if she left

Helena. In a selfless decision, she decided to stay. The van had caughtup already, and Lawrence was stepping out to pick up Helena.Jessica decided to surrender, not the chip, but herself. "You'll need

me if you want the computer chip," she offered misleadingly. It washer hope that she wouldn't have to surrender the chip; it was the only

thing between a free America and socialistic chaos. "I...I know how itworks, where to put it in the computer..."



"Good, good, Kensington," the driver nodded. "I'm Davis Smith, bythe way."

Jessica smiled gracefully yet smugly. "Awesome; now when I killyou I can shout your name to the demons of Hell to drag you down to

the abyss."

"Very amusing," Davis laughed sarcastically. "If you keep up yoursnide remarks, you'll find yourself in the ground before you can load

your gun."Jessica crossed her arms defiantly over her chest. It was smarter to

keep her mouth shut and take the insults dished out than to endanger

her friends and the computer chip. The chip literally contained all thenation's secrets and even held a plan to replace the government

peacefully if it was ever corrupted. This plan was called The AlternateAction. Jessica looked discreetly at her shoe, hoping her captors

wouldn't get smart and look inside her shoe. Her phone buzzed

obnoxiously, jolting her out of her thoughts."Whose phone is that?!" Davis seethed. "Speak up! Lawrence, you

were supposed to confiscate their phones!"Helena grabbed the phone out of Jessica's hands and answered it as

Jessica tried to ignore it. Jessica screamed for Helena not to answer it,but she didn't listen. It happened to be Mark, and before Helena could

tell him any vital information, Lawrence snatched the phone from

Helena's hands and tossed it up into the front seat. Davis reached forit, turning it off.

"She was talking to the Director of the FBI," Lawrence informedDavis. "What should we do with her?"

Davis looked into Lawrence's eyes for a fleeting moment, a gleam of inhumanity in both their faces. "Nothing yet; if she knows anythingelse, we'll get it out of her...somehow."

Helena backed up against the van wall in terror, her hands grippingTrent's limp left hand tightly. She called his name, but it was no use.

He lay still and unconscious on the floor of the van.

The van had been driving for a long time, ten or fifteen minutestops, and it was too dark to discern anything, but Jessica knew they

had to be on the outskirts of Vegas; she hadn't seen any flashy signsor ads for casinos, nothing that reminded her of Vegas.

Davis slammed on his brakes, stopping at a screaming red stopsign. Lawrence jumped a little, Helena shrieked, but Davis and Jessica(and Trent) were the only calm ones in the car. Davis turned right,

gaining speed on a dusty side street. It led to an old, grey-brickwarehouse with broken windows. The building was clearly abandoned.

Davis drove into the parking garage, stopped the car, and walked outto check the door leading into the building. It was unlocked, so he

gave a signal to Lawrence.



Lawrence escorted Helena out of the car first, then took Jessica.She had a defiant look plastered on her face, but didn't say a word.

"Say something, Jess!" Lawrence threw her to the ground, kickingher roughly in the stomach. "Tell us how this chip works, sweetheart !

Let's go!"

Jessica held her stomach and tried relearning how to breathe."Did--did you honestly think--" she began, laughing, "that I would give

up America' best kept secrets? If you thought so, you are so wrong!"Lawrence rolled his eyes in frustration. "Davis! Get over here, she

won't tell me anything!" he whined pathetically.

Davis shook his head, clearly fed up with Lawrence's helplessness."There's something called 'the art of persuasion', Lawrence, put it into

action, stop being so helpless!"Lawrence's eyes flashed with maliciousness as his eyes fell upon

Helena, who was standing in the doorway cautiously. He strode over to

her, and it was as if the old, frustrated Lawrence had melted off,revealing a suave, power-driven man. Every step he took nearly

screamed "leader". "Let's go, girl," Lawrence motioned quietly,grabbing her arm roughly. "I said let's go!"

"Trent--" Helena looked back at the van longingly, before Lawrenceforcibly led her away. "What--what are you doing?" she gasped as

Lawrence opened a door to an abandoned storage room.

"Let's see if this will persuade Jessie, huh?" Lawrence's gazechanged from harsh to a look of pure lust.

" No! Let go of me!" she struggled. “JESS!""Oh, hush, hush, hush, it won't take that long, just over a half-

hour...ooh, you're a fighter, I like that," he whispered sadistically,holding her tightly as she fought him. Jessica suddenly ran up behindLawrence and bashed him over the head with a colossal-sized, heavy

crowbar. His eyes lit up in surprise as Jessica whacked him again witha war cry. Finally Lawrence's eyes fluttered shut.

"Then you'll love me," Jessica breathed as Lawrence crumpled to

the floor, out like a light. "Let's go; quick. I'm not letting this chip fallinto their hands."

Helena put a hand on her mouth. "Oh--Jess, you just saved me,"she whispered in disbelief. "He--he was about to--"

"I know. Trent's in the van, I got away from Davis, I have the keys.I'm sorry if this sounds cold, but we need to forget about this and go.As in now."

"Oh--okay," Helena nodded blankly. She walked behind Jessica,hugging herself, trying to feel that she was still whole. She was still in

disbelief that she'd almost been used as a persuasion tool, in whatwould have been a very sadistic way. Trent was coming to as Helena

slid into the back of the car, still shaken. She embraced Trent tightly.



"You'll be okay, Trent. You'll be okay..." she assured him quietly. "Jessis taking us from here..."

Trent nodded, his vision slightly blurred. It was a reminder of broken promises. He'd told Helena that he would quit the drugs, but

every time he tried, they called him back again. He refused rehab;

rehab was hell, but this time was different. He felt like he should really stop.

"OH MY GOSH!" Jessica screamed, pulling off a sudden, sharp rightturn. The sounds of firing bullets echoed in the night. "They have

another van! Ooh, I was stupid, I should have known!"

Helena shot up to a rigid sitting position, not believing what herfriend had just said. She began to climb forward, over the seats, when

Jessica made another evasive maneuver, accidentally throwing Helenaover the seat. Helena landed with a "thump" and a small groan.

"Could you at least try not to kill us?" she squeaked. Jessica turned

her head sharply to Helena, frustrated."If I don't avoid Davis and Lawrence, there will be worse things

than dying in our future, Helena," Jessica warned, turning back to viewthe road. She didn't want to tell Helena that she actually recognized

the two men from the list of the Top Ten Most Wanted. The men weretied for number 3.

"What could POSSIBLY be worse than DYING, Jessica?" Helena

argued.Jessica sped up, her knuckles whitening from her tight grip on the

steering wheel. "Torture! Watching your best friends die slowly in frontof your eyes! There are A LOT OF THINGS WORSE THAN DEATH!"

Helena quieted at Jessica's rant."Having your own father give you a stupid god-forsaken computer

chip; having him place the fate of the entire freaking world in your

hands..." Jessica continued, almost in self-pity. "You don't know whatthat's like, Helena. You just don't."

"I know something like that, Jess. Have you ever had to watch a

boyfriend die, destruct himself?"Jessica sympathized for a while until the bullets began again. She

looked around at her surroundings and spoke two words. "Area 51,"she realized, positioning her foot on the gas pedal. She'd been

following the speed limit, but Davis and Lawrence were gaining on her."Helena, is Trent awake?""Yeah," Trent answered with a strong voice.

"You better hold on and buckle up, the ride's going to get a littlerough now."

Trent hesitated for the wrong moment and slid backwards as hefumbled for a seat belt.



Jessica floored the gas pedal and rocketed forward, the rush of speed awakening every sense. The car behind them sped up as well,

more bullets flying."Jessica!" Helena pointed at the dashboard. She was nearly out of

fuel! "We've gotta ditch the car, let's run," Helena slipped off her flats

and adjusted her socks before putting them back on."We can make it at least 12 more miles," Jessica looked longingly at

the dashboard, wishing that there would be some sort of godly miracleand that she would be able to make it to Area 51, just a couple more

miles.

Suddenly the car stopped, and Jessica swore angrily. She punchedthe steering wheel in frustration, and then looked in the rear view

mirror. The men were closing in on them."Let's go, guys, quick!" Jessica ordered.

They were quite the motley group; Trent clad in black fishnet and

black leather, Helena in her jeans and neon top with bright red hair,and Jessica in jeans and an army green jacket, her hair up in a

conservative ponytail. The only escape from Davis and Lawrence wasto climb down the steep side of the road, which was almost all dirt.

Trent went first, making it relatively easy as he slipped, taking atumble down the side of the hill. Jessica ran carefully down the side of

the hill, Helena following closely. The trio ended up off the road in the

middle of a wide spanning desert area. Lawrence's car skidded to astop above the hill and the men ran out.

"Let's head east! We could go to Area 51 or something!" Trentsuggested.

"I do not want to lead Davis and Lawrence to anything federal-related right now!" Jessica snapped back. "Does anyone have aphone?" she added, cursing herself for not carrying one on her. She

dove behind a small desert bush and removed the chip from the falsebottom in her shoe, tucking it securely in a buttoned pocket at the

front of her jeans. Helena handed Jessica her cell phone, and Jessica

called her dad."Mark Kensington," he answered.

"DAD!" Jessica screamed. "Davis Smith and Lawrence Clearwaterare chasing after us; somehow they found out I had the chip, and--"

"Calm down, Jess!" Mark ordered. "Do not panic!""Don't panic ?! THERE ARE TWO VERY STRONG MEN CHASING

ME AND I AM WEAPONLESS! Don't you dare tell me to not panic!"

Jessica screamed."Is the chip hidden?"

"Yes!""Where are you?"



"I don't know! Track me! I'm in the middle of FREAKING NOWHEREIN A DESERT NEAR VEGAS!"

"JESSICA!" Mark yelled. "Do not get that tone with me; I am tryingto help you!"

Jessica sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm just a little pissed off here..." she

fumbled for her pistol and looked inside the gun barrel to see if therewere any shots left. She wasn't surprised when she found none.

"If they catch you, don't give up the secret. Are you with Helenaand her boyfriend?"

"Unfortunately, yes. They won't leave," she looked back. "Not that I

don't want to hear your voice, but they're gaining. I love you, Dad.""I love you too, Jessie," he hung up. Jessica handed the phone back

to Helena and they began to run faster. Trent led the pack, holdingHelena's left hand as they ran further into the night, Davis and

Lawrence chasing them.

Jessica looked back and saw a lone figure run back up the hill, tothe car, start the engine...

It didn't take very long for her to figure out what he was about todo. After a silent stream of curses to let her frustration out, she

encouraged Trent and Helena, though the sound of a roaring enginewas plenty motivation. Helena ran so fast that she tripped, falling

almost on her face. She nearly pulled Trent down with her, but Trent

was quicker and pulled her to her feet. Helena breathlessly thankedTrent as the car drew closer. It suddenly squealed in front of the three,

and momentarily stunned, Trent and Helena stopped. Jessica took nochances; if the car decided to hit her as she ran around it, whatever,

she would try to get away from it. The car revved forward, only for amoment, but the force of Jessica failing to jump over the car (andinstead body-slamming it) knocked her to the ground. Unrelenting, she

tried crawling to her feet as Davis leapt from the car and seized hernearly unconscious body, dragging it to the back seat, where Trent

and Helena struggled in their bonds. Lawrence caught up to the car

and slid in the front seat, effortlessly, as if he hadn't been sprinting fora distance around a quarter-mile.

"Take them back to the base," he commanded Davis.Jessica strained to stay awake, fighting the dizziness and shock

she'd received from being hit. Crawling on the seat, trying to avoidTrent and Helena, she reached for the door handle. It began spiralingin her grasp, spiraling into blackness...

Over the period of the next day; Jessica was in and out of consciousness because the impact from the car had really put her

under. She woke up, coming to full consciousness in the darkwarehouse. As if on cue, all the lights flipped on. She looked around,

blinking against the harsh white light. "What is going on?" she



maintained a clear, strong voice. Point for me, she proclaimed silently.Her hands were beginning to ache and it occurred to her that they had

been tied tightly behind her back. There was no indication of eitherdawn or dusk, or in between, for that matter; all the windows had

been boarded up.

"Where is it?" a quietly threatening voice whispered. Davis.They hadn't searched her yet. Jessica was relieved, but didn't show

it."We searched you," Lawrence added, "and found nothing."

Jessica fought the urge to laugh. They searched me? And they still

found nothing? "She knows you're lying, Lawrence, for pity's sake, can you say

anything intelligent?"Lawrence's double personality was beginning to confuse Jessica.

Was he the suave, James-Bond like man with the world in his hands,

or the blubbering idiot of the present?"Do I have to hurt you?" Davis asked, a hint of false sympathy in

his voice. Jessica knew he'd do anything short of killing her; his liesdidn't matter. She sat there calmly, as if she was attending a lecture,

and it made Davis angry. "WHERE IS THE CHIP, KENSINGTON?!"Jessica should have been down on her knees, begging Davis to have

mercy on her soul , her body...and yet she sat, not struggling, calm. He

shoved her on her back out of frustration, and she began to laugh!Clearly, Davis would have to try more... persuasive tactics. "Lawrence!

Bring Trent in!"Jessica frowned in confusion. Why Trent? What are they going to

do? Trent followed almost obediently behind Lawrence.

"Trent! Do you know the date?" Jessica shouted.

"It's, um, it's been a day since you passed out..." he answered,tired.

Jessica shrugged.

"They thought I knew something, so...I've been up all night..." heexplained. "You've gotta tell 'em I don't know anything, Jess, I'm

tired...""Trent doesn't know anything. He's an innocent bystander, just my

friend's boyfriend. I'm the one with the info here," she announcedboldly.Lawrence threw Trent to his knees. A small gasp escaped his lips,

and it was noticeable only to Jessica. "Davis. Lawrence. Please, he'sinnocent. He's innocent, I swear..." she began, realizing what she'd

gotten herself into. Helena suddenly rushed in and dove over Trent'sbody. "Helena!" she sighed, frustrated, hanging her head for a

moment.



"What are they going to do to him, Jessica, what?" Helena was onthe verge of hysteria. "I don't want him hurt!" Lawrence pulled the

screaming Helena off of Trent's body. "No! No!"Jessica watched with a blank face as Lawrence beat Trent, trying to

make Jessica give up something. Watching violence like that was

harder than she'd expected, especially with Helena making so muchnoise in the background.

"How can you just watch that?" Helena screamed. "How can you beso cold , Jessica! Give it up! Give up the chip, Jess!"

Tears began streaming uncontrollably down Jessica's face. Helena

was right; she couldn't be so cold, but she had to keep the chip awayfrom the men, or America as they knew it would become a socialist

country of the worst kind. "Let him go..." she powerlessly pleaded."Look, there's--there's a second chip, made just in case that the first

one was destroyed accidentally--" she lied quickly. "I know where it is!

If you'll just quit--"Lawrence let Trent drop like a rag doll. "Where?"

"A base in Portland. Oregon." Jessica convinced Lawrencebreathlessly. He searched her eyes for any trace of a lie, but found

none. Either Jessica was a really skilled liar...or she was desperateenough to give up the secret. By the look on her face, Lawrence

guessed the latter.

"We'll leave tomorrow morning," Davis grunted, walking towardsthe exit. "But mark my words, Jessica. If you are lying I will not

hesitate to kill one of your friends."Jessica swallowed her fear. It was unnoticeable to the insightful

Davis, and she thanked God for that.Trent lay on the floor, motionless. In the ten minutes Jessica had

kept silence, Lawrence had really taken advantage of the time given.

Helena sat still, unable to decide whether to comfort Trent or give himspace. After a time, Trent sat up very slowly. His wounds were nothing

serious; just bruises and welts, but because of the number of them,

Jessica knew it would hurt Trent after the shock went away. Helenarushed to Trent's side.

"Are you okay?" she whispered frantically.Trent nodded blankly, staring into space. His head was spinning and

so was the room. "Just--just let me regain my balance, k, baby?" hisvoice quavered slightly. After the spinning had toned down, he feltpain trickle into every nerve in his body. "Jess--you didn't have to give

up the secret just for me," his voice grew stronger. "I could've takenmore..."

Jessica cringed. His willingness to take a beating was courageous,humbling, but it made her feel guilty. And if she hadn't lied...



Her thoughts trailed off. The time displayed on her watch read23:03. Close to midnight. Jessica suddenly realized she was

unbearably tired and sore, so she maneuvered into a somewhatcomfortable position and fell off to sleep. Helena wrapped her arms

gently around Trent and cuddled up against him. In time, she fell

asleep, lulled to unconsciousness by the soft pattern of his breathing.Davis woke them at 4:30 sharp the following morning.

"What the--" Trent rubbed his eyes. Before his eyes could adjust tothe unbearably bright warehouse light, Davis yanked him to his feet

and dragged Trent to the van.

"Walk, you idiot!" Davis grumbled.Trent staggered into the van. "Helena, I need Helena--"

"You don't need anything," Davis slammed the door shut and wentback to go retrieve Helena and Jessica. Hopefully they hadn't gotten

into any...crap! Davis mentally beat himself for his stupidity. I forgot

to...Helena might be helping Jessica free herself! He rushed to thewarehouse and burst in the room where he'd been keeping Jessica. He

heard that annoying laugh of Jessica's...the same laugh she'd used tomock him when he failed to hurt her...

Lawrence lay on the floor, hands behind his back and a blindfoldacross his face. He wasn't hurt, but simply disabled.

"Hey, Lawrence! Where's the chip, honey?" Helena taunted the

man. "You wanna mess with my friends, you'll get the consequences!"she yelled, drawing her foot back in anticipation to kick him. Davis

cleared his throat, announcing his presence. Helena shrieked."Exactly what I was thinking, my darling," Davis shrugged,

cornering Helena. He was so close that she could almost taste the mintscent of his breath. She closed her eyes as a helpless gesture, butopened them when Davis began to drag her to the car. Jessica took a

deep breath and bolted past Davis to the van. "OH, NO YOU DON'T!"Davis roared letting go of Helena to tackle Jessica. Jessica fell to the

ground under Davis' body weight. Davis slammed his hand into the

back of her head and it instantly forced her to lose consciousness.

--Two hours later----Private Jet to Portland, Oregon--

--6:40 a.m.-- Jessica woke to a blurry world. Her head throbbed angrily and she

tried to focus on a worried Helena. "Helena--"Helena gasped and threw her arms around Jessica. "We're going to

Portland! Oh my gosh Jess, I'm so scared, Trent isn't moving--""Did they take it?" Jessica frowned. Helena's forest green eyes

registered confusion. "The--the chip, is it gone?"



Helena shook her head and helped Jessica lie back down, listeningto her mumble something about destroying the chip. At that point,

Trent blinked awake."What is she saying?" he whispered. "Helena. What is she saying?"

The plane rattled as it touched down. Helena took the moment of

noise to tell Trent. "Destroy the chip, Trent."Trent's eyes widened and he cautiously walked to Jessica and knelt

down to whisper in her ear. "Are you insane, Jess? They will kill you if they find the chip gone!"

Jessica laughed quietly. "Yes," she replied. "But they won't kill you."

Trent shook his head, denying her permission to get him involved inone of her schemes. But she went on, describing the minute details as

to how exactly he must destroy the computer chip, ending her planswith a statement. "I lied about the second chip, did you really think

the FBI would be that stupid ?"

Trent shook his head. He could argue with Jessica, but suddenly ithit him that it might be a crime to resist orders from an FBI agent.

Jessica erased that thought from his mind by giving him an option tosay no. To the surprise of both the girls, he said "yes". Helena tried

reasoning with him, but soon realized that the destruction of thecomputer chip would bring them all freedom.

"We'll be free," Helena embraced Trent and kissed him. "I love you,

I love you, I love you..."Trent smiled lovingly at the girl. "I thought you already did," he

joked."But now I love you more," she grinned. Jessica slipped the chip out

of her pocket and handed it to Trent, who took it rapidly anddiscreetly.

Davis strode over to the girls and took Jessica's arm firmly, leading

her into a black SUV. "Now, Jessica, you will show us exactly wherethis base is."

Trent waited until Davis had escorted Helena from the jet to wrestle

Lawrence for a gun. He managed to get a pistol from Lawrence,hesitantly staring from the newly acquired weapon to Lawrence's head.

Trent leapt out of the plane and looked around quickly to find anycombustible material. Finally he spied twenty full oil barrels.

"BURN IT!" Helena screamed. "Trent, burn--""RUN!" Trent yelled back, tossing the chip into the middle of thebarrels. Unthinkingly, he fired into the barrels and they began to

explode. Davis realized too late what had happened and rushed for theinferno--and Trent-- in hope of rescuing the computer chip. Trent shot

at Davis with his last bullet, point-blank into the head, killing himinstantly. Lawrence staggered from the plane and seized Jessica,

dragging her from the SUV and shoving her to the ground. She leapt



to her feet, shaken, but able to fight. She pushed him against the sideof the car and punched him in his gut, forcing him to double over in

pain. Trent dashed over to Helena and squeezed her hand. "This wholeplace is going to blow, Helena, we need to leave--"

Lawrence drew another gun and fired at Trent's back, missing

Trent's heart by an inch. Trent staggered forward, grabbing at hischest. Helena screamed as Jessica boldly sprinted over to Lawrence

and disarmed him, and then murdered him on the spot. Jessicahanded Helena her cell phone and Helena dialed Mark Kensington.

"Kensington," Mark groggily answered.

"Mr. Kensington!" Helena gasped. "It's Helena! We're in Portland,Oregon at a private jet hanger in the middle of nowhere and Trent's

hurt, and--and Jessica's okay, but we had to destroy the chip!""That's perfectly fine, Helena. I'll--I'll hop on a plane at once, but in

the mean time, get Trent to a hospital and update me regularly."

"Yes, sir," Helena breathed, hanging up. She called 911 whilekneeling over Trent, trying not to cry. Within minutes an ambulance

was at their location; a burning jet hangar in the close background.

--Later that day----3:00 p.m.--

Mark Kensington walked into the Portland General Hospital and

inquired for Trent's location. It was given to him, and he hurried toTrent's room. The boy lay under pristine white sheets, a bandage of

the same color under his navy blue scrub shirt. His defined face wasrelaxed and his eyes were closed, ruffled black hair almost covering his

eyes. Jessica sat on the right side of the bed, holding Helena's hand."Jess," Mark announced his presence by affectionately calling her

name.

"Dad!" Jessica almost shrieked, running to her father and hugginghim tightly. "Lawrence and Davis are dead, Dad, and the chip's gone.

Isn't that great?"

Mark nodded. "Are you okay? How is Trent doing?""I'm shaken, so is Helena, and Trent's going to spend another night

here just so the doctors can keep an eye on him. Oh, Dad, that was sofrightening...I had no defense except my fists, and--"

"Hi, Mr. Kensington," Trent sat up, wincing at the pain. "I'mhonored to meet the FBI's director," he shakily extended a hand. Markshook it tenderly, as if a mere handshake would cause Trent to break.

"Dad, Trent was the one to destroy the chip and kill Davis," Jessicasmiled.

"You've done your country an honor, Trent," Mark addressed Trent."All of you in this room. Really," he nodded in appreciation.



Epilogue

After Trent had recovered, Helena and Trent headed to Washington,D.C. in the company of Jessica and Mark Kensington. They held a

conference with the President and all received awards for their service.

Jessica and Mark returned to their work after the commotion of themedia had settled down, and began devising a new, more discreet way

to cloak the secrets of the U.S. to avoid something similar to Jessica'ssituation. Trent began work on a new album and began touring, and

Helena tagged along. You could say everybody lived happily ever after,

but after all, it's life, not a storybook.

heather fisher

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