"Of course it's a trap." Alex said unconcerned. Julianne looked at him as though he had magically sprouted a third eye. He grinned at her and sighed.
"I know it's a trap, and you know it's a trap, the question is, do they know it's a trap? It's a training technique. You should have read your manual a little more closely." He chided gently, glad to see her smiling again.
"Just play along. We'll see what they're made of." He whispered to her and she nodded, returning to the cab and placing her bag on top of the enormous pile in the trunk. Kelly shut the lid and hoped into the car, conveniently sandwiched between the Anna Maria and Nicole. He looked extremely pleased. Alex and Julianne squeezed together in the front. The driver started the car down the street and Julianne surveyed the driver. He wore non descript clothing, jeans, a baseball hat shielding the color of his hair and a jacket to cover what seemed to be a gun underneath his right arm. Julianne sighed and turned her head to look out the window, disconcerted over Alex's close proximity to her. His shirt contained the underlying scent of cologne, unobtrusive or offensive, the kind she enjoyed the most. Their shoulders collided abruptly.
"There might be more room if you moved your arm." Julianne suggested gently. He nodded and raised the arm closest to the door. Julianne shook her head.
"Try the other arm." She murmured lowly until she almost purred. Alex felt his heart jump to his throat again and he smiled sheepishly as he lifted his left arm and draped it casually over her shoulders. He hid a hint of a smile and avoided eye contact with her, instead choosing to take in the scenery of Tahiti.
There were fruit stands everywhere, and the heat radiated off the asphalt from the blazing sunlight. The driver remained suspiciously quiet as the group in the back became raucous from one of Kelly's fantastic stories. Suddenly, there was a loud explosion and the car swerved violently back and forth, darting dangerously in and out of the other lane. Everyone except Alex and Julianne screamed in terror, including Kelly.
"I've been shot." He cried out in supreme horror, cowering in the confusion that followed. Julianne reached out and attempted to help the driver to stabilize the car as they slowly pulled off to the shoulder, narrowly missing a banana stand. He smiled gratefully.
"It was a tire. I'll have it changed in no time. You betcha." He said jumping out of the car and opening up the back, digging through the luggage to find his jack and spare donut tire. The group waited patiently in the car.
"Is it over?" Kelly whispered in terror, squeezing one eye open and then the other.
"I don't know Kelly. Are you sure you don't require surgery from the phantom bullets?" Alex retorted, watching the driver in the rear view mirror in quiet anticipation. They waited for several minutes, as the car still remained unbalanced, one side teetering on a jack. Alex looked agitated.
"I'll see if I can help him." He offered gently, sliding his arm reluctantly off Julianne's shoulder and exiting from the car. They all waited for a change in the car's status, but after minutes ticked by, the car remained the same. The recruits began to grow uneasy, some quietly unbuttoning the covers to their guns. Anna Maria was the first to have hers out and stowed at her side.
"I think we'd better get out of the car." Julianne urged them, still uneasy despite Alex's assurances this was part of their training mission. Nodding in agreement, Kelly opened the door and covered for the first recruit as he slid out and rolled to the ground, seeing both the driver and Alex had disappeared. The flat tire remained unchanged. He frowned deeply, motioning with his fingers for the recruits to spread out after hearing an unusual rustling in the bushes. Motioning them forward, Kelly and Julianne stayed on the fringes, listening for any signs of an ambush behind them. One of the recruits pulled back the bushes to reveal the driver of the van bleeding profusely at the head, bound and gag. Julianne and Kelly frowned jointly at Alex's disappearance.
"Spread out in the perimeter. Search for Alex. If you find him, fire one shot into the air." She whispered gently, the same prickling sensation as though they were being stalked creeping up the back of her neck. They crawled out from underneath the bushes and looked around them. A few of the recruits looked anxious.
"Buddy up. I don't want anyone alone." She ordered to assuage their fears. They nodded numbly, nearly gripping each other with fear. Anna Maria stood next to Julianne. She fought the urge to roll her eyes, knowing Alex would be all too pleased to see the young recruit when he was found. No doubt she wanted to be responsible for his safe return, commanding the sort of camaraderie from him she craved. She repressed a sigh, and walked around the bushes, looking toward the banana stand they had nearly hit with great suspicion.
"Follow me." She whispered, holding her gun at the ready, noticing the sudden lack of travel on the roads. She swallowed uneasily, hoping Alex had been correct, that this indeed was a training mission. Kelly and Nicole followed behind, the later tossing her straight blonde hair over her shoulder, letting it float into Kelly's face. He sputtered indignantly then patted her shoulder when she appeared more than apologetic. Gun shots erupted over the uneasy calm. The group, close to surrounding the hut, took cover in the tall grass. They instinctively army crawled toward the hut, keeping low to the ground as the bullets flew above them. One of them narrowly missed Kelly's back by inches. He looked disconcerted but kept a brave front for Nicole, who remained doggedly by his side.
"Don't shoot; incapacitate them at all costs with your self defense skills. We want them alive and well for questioning." She stated firmly, standing from her crawl and rushing a man with a machine gun from behind. She gave him a firm blow to the head. She recognized him immediately as Charlie, one of her favorite BNS agents and she almost outwardly rejoiced. At least Alex would be safe and they would not be pursued by some unknown enemy whilst on their training mission. The other agents followed suit, their training serving them well as they surrounded the building, each of them taking down a man until they were able to gain safe passage into the hut. Alex stood their proudly, applauding each of them as they entered, confused faces greeting him in return.
"Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to the first day of training. You passed brilliantly." He said officially. Many of them straightened, and then relaxed, their faces slowly growing into smiles as the incapacitated guards limped in one by one and announced their identities. The last to enter was the driver, clean from his supposed bloody wound, smiling broadly at them all.
"If you're ready, we can all go to the hotel now." He said, greeted by a small cheer from the recruits and the other agents alike. Anna Maria rushed over to Alex, whispering something imperceptible to him. Julianne fought a smidgen of jealousy before looking around her.
"Where are Kelly and Nicole?" She called to the others in concern, not seeing them amongst the group. Everyone froze and looked automatically around them. She could hear the bushes rattling again and she pulled out her weapon, instinctively crawling forward pushing aside the bushes with the muzzle of her gun. She let out a cry and rushed through to the clearing of the foliage. Kelly lay bound and gagged, struggling to release himself in his panic. She cut the bonds with her pocket knife.
"What happened?" She asked him calmly. He took a breath.
"We were attacked, they took Nicole somewhere." He said, as Julianne motioned for him to crawl out onto the main highway. Alex, having overheard looked to the other members of the training team.
"Don't look at us boss. That wasn't in the training plan." One man said gravely. Alex and Julianne exchanged grave looks.
"Everyone into the van quickly."




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