Flight Ch. 02

NOTE: Thank you to everyone who took the time to read my first chapter. I'm pumped you all liked it. This chapter might not be as in-depth as some of you might wish but I promise...we shall get there.

Shout to my ever amazing editor lil_meow6 <3

*****

"Mina," A voice said.

I shook my head slowly, utter disbelief surging into me. I had thought I would have more time. Why couldn't Derrick have confessed sooner?

Archer's second-in-command and close friend was leaning against the exposed brick wall, a cup of to-go coffee in his hand.

"You can't be here." I whispered at him.

Tiller gave me one of his beautiful smiles. He looked as relaxed as any professional criminal could. He was darker than the last time I had seen him and his brown eyes were studying me with that stupid playfulness he had always been able to coax out of me.

"I have to give credit where its due and I commend you on staying gone for as long as you did."

"Wasn't for a lack of trying."

I glanced behind me and saw that the front door had been shut, which meant Archer hadn't just sent him.Tiller was more than capable of getting me back on his own but Archer was always paranoid.

"I'm not going back," I said gritting my teeth.

Tiller pushed himself away from the wall, straightening his black bomber jacket. "Well, if you're not going back then I'm not going back because if I show up there without you he's going to put me in the ground."

I tsked at him. This was a lie and we both knew it. He would come get me himself.

"What have you done to my apartment? Where are my things?"

Tiller took another swig from his coffee and I really wanted to slap it out of his hand. "I had orders to strip it. Your lease has been taken care of even though it wasn't really a lease. You've got some interesting friends."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What does that mean?"

He pointed a finger toward the floor. "Ricci."

I was about to ask him what he was talking about when his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and I heard the slide of an answer.

"Yeah?" He turned slightly away from me.

"Yes, she's here with me right now," He said looking back.

The panic that had been simmering under our polite conversation got the better of me. Even though Archer was on the phone it was still too close.

My skin heated with the memory of him forcing obedience on me. It was too much. I turned on my heel and bolted for the door.

I heard Tiller curse behind me. I ripped open the door and flew down the hallway, almost slipping on the stairs. I could see the light coming under the outside door and pushed myself to run faster.

But I realized I didn't hear Tiller behind me.

When I crashed through the door, I came up short. A lithe figure was leaning against the wooden balcony, smoking a cigarette.

I remembered those hooded eyes and the blankness that clung to him. He tilted his head at me in a silent greeting and took a draw on his cigarette.

It was Kazuya, who didn't look happy or pissed to see me either way.

"Oh yeah. He came," Tiller said behind me shutting the door.

"Listen Mina, I don't have to tell you what's happening. You know. This shit is inconvenient for everyone. So, I need you to get the fuck in the car. I'm sure you already know Kaz and I aren't the only ones here."

I looked at the shiny new Rover that hadn't been here before.

Tiller didn't say anything while I tried to compose myself. Kazuya had never spoken a word since I had known him.

I didn't have a choice, I knew that. If Tiller and Kaz didn't succeed it would be Archer. If he was still the same, I knew his fury had only worsened. Archer didn't let things go. Not when he could get even. If he had to come get me, I would regret it worse than if I had just gone.

"I need my things." I said in a low voice, finality hurting me.

"We've already taken care of it, Mina. We're having them sent out."

My face flashed red and I felt indignation at them going through the items I had collected to claim my identity back.

I tilted my chin in defeat and Tiller nodded. I walked down the steps that I had been bitching at Ricci to replace. He was going to kill someone one day.

******

I leaned back against the seats that were warm and smelled new. The sky had gotten darker and Tiller had told me to try and get some sleep before we got on the plane. It was hard to relax with a pair of cuffs around my wrist.

Tiller had put them on me when I got in the car and he hadn't looked apologetic about it.

When we pulled away from the building there were two other SUV's that pulled away in tandem with us.

Oh yes, Archer was paranoid. But I guess that had kept him alive.

"How pissed is he?" I asked into the space.

I couldn't see his eyes because his black hat, with a gold owl, was pulled too low.

"It's Archer," he said simply.

"Yeah but he's had almost two years to get over it," I snapped.

"Mina, if he had gotten over it we wouldn't be here," he said plainly.

I stopped talking after that because if I didn't I'd start screaming.

We drove through the night and I didn't pay attention to where we were going or highway signs. It wouldn't matter. Even if by the grace of God I got free again, I wouldn't be able to come back here.

When we arrived at the private airport, everything was lit up and ready to go. The people that had followed us pulled in but didn't get out.

Kazuya got out of the passenger side, his black jacket going crazy in the wind. He trotted toward a female stationed at the bottom of the jet stairs.

Tiller turned to me from the driver's seat, "Mina...things are different now," he said in a neutral tone.

I didn't answer because I didn't care.

"This isn't two years ago. Don't push him." With that, he took the keys out of the ignition, got out and opened the door for me.

I couldn't imagine Archer changing from the prodigy I once knew. He had been unstoppable. He only slowed down when he was focusing his energy on me.

Those were the times I thought I'd lose my mind.

I settled into the plush seat of the jet, thankful when Tiller took the cuffs off. A pretty flight attendant in a sleek black suit with a gold embossed crown on the lapel smiled at me. Her lips were a bright red, perfectly applied, and her smile was almost stupid.

She was an employee of the organization.

"Welcome, aboard," she said handing me a gray throw-blanket and pillow, "if there is anything I can get you, please let me know."

Behind her, I saw Tiller give me a sly smile. I rolled my eyes at him, nodded at the attendant, and settled in.

I closed my eyes and tried to fight the dread I felt. Archer's unpredictability made me unpredictable. I never reacted the way I wanted.

It was way too easy for him to turn me into someone I wasn't. It was harder to fight my way out.

******

Kora laid in her bed, tracing the feather on her thigh that still had a beautiful vibrancy.

She should be sleeping but she her stomach was in knots and her insecurity was consuming her. She had just found her footing, just found a life that wasn't wrought with her walking an invisible line that she would never see. It had been unfair that she had been expected to follow rules that were fluid and enigmatic.

She had been wrapped around Archer, his warm skin under her fingers and she had been watching him sleep. He had used her thoroughly and carefully like she was fragile and wholesome. He made her feel like she was the only thing that mattered, unlike like her former master.

Archer had nipped at her and indulged her and loved to hear her laugh.

He had quickly fallen asleep and she had been happy to see it. He hadn't been sleeping very well lately and she hadn't minded that he kept her in a firm grip. When his phone rang, she frowned into the darkness and considered shutting it off but felt she would be overstepping herself. Archer had come awake with a subtle shift that was unnerving.

He detangled himself from her and answered; his voice smooth as if he hadn't just come awake, "Tiller."

She heard a low voice but couldn't make out anything. Not that she should have been trying but she couldn't help the habits that had been forced into her. Be useful.

Even if she hadn't been looking at Archer, she would have missed him tensing like he wanted to capture something.

"Tiller, are you sure?" he said his voice precise.

"Why the fuck was she there?" he snapped, a plethora of emotion wafting from him. Out of habit she tucked her arms closer to herself. Archer must have noticed because his hand smoothed over her hair.

"What do you think," he said harshly, getting out of bed and standing in front of the glass wall that made up the back of his suite, "Dispatch a surveillance team—tonight. I want confirmation in twenty-four hours. I expect a full detail on everything and everyone she's been involved with."

Tiller must have given him an answer that pleased him, "Good. Get the fuck out there. Clean up whatever you need to, threaten whoever but secure her—do not let her get away. Oh, and take Kaz. He needs a fucking vacation."

She heard Tiller's infectious laugh before they hung up. Archer didn't come back to bed right away. She could see him staring at his phone. The ghost of his past hung around him and she felt innate sadness.

But Kora was also excited. Excited because she could put another piece of him into place.

A piece that Mina firmly had a grip on.

*****

The sea of red was the only thing I had missed. It was alive and had much more to tell than I did. The plane started its descent into the landscape happy to welcome me back. Dusk still had a spell over the area that I still, years later, couldn't name.

Anyone who accidentally stumbled into the desert would never be able to name it.

The plane landed without any issues and I wished that it had crashed directly into the strip, killing us all in a beautiful ball of fire.

"Mina, you're not going to your death." Tiller said landing in the seat beside me, a shiny plastic cup in his hand.

The flight attendant's perfume wafted from his black cotton shirt.

"Tiller, stop trying to make me feel better when you know I've fucked up." I mumbled wrapping the throw blanket into a mass. I didn't want to talk about this. I wanted to keep my brain on autopilot so I never had to talk about it again.

He let out a heavy breath and took a generous swallow. "To be fair? It's not like he doesn't understand. He doesn't want to but I think he'll get there."

I turned still not wanting to talk about Archer.

The captain made an announcement that was wrapped in courtesy and invited us to enjoy our weekend.

Tiller stood up motioning to Kaz who throughout the whole plane ride kept his wall of silence. He stood up and walked ahead of us, no doubt to make sure that my transfer to and from the plane went off without any complications.

"Mina...just remember what I said, okay? I know you think your life isn't fair but Archer isn't the only one you ran out on."

I looked at him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

He slid his jacket on. "It means that you running didn't just fuck with Archer's life."

*****

Tiller refused to answer any of my questions. By the time we arrived at the coded gates that protected their private compound, I was anxious and pissed.

How the hell was my well-deserved freedom unfair for anyone else? I did what any normal, functioning person would do. Outside the fucked-up culture within these gates, that is.

The organization, from what I remembered, was ushering in some big money. Money that Archer and his men had helped secure. I knew that Archer wasn't the big bad boss. I had met the boss momentarily and he was strangely a jovial man. Or maybe between the champagne and Archer working me out beforehand made it seem that way.

To call it a compound wasn't entirely apt. It was more of a community built to best suit the surrounding environment. That involved anyone who was working the frontlines with security and enforcement.

I didn't think too hard about what they had to enforce but I wasn't stupid.

The different colors of the desert bled together and it wasn't enough to distract me from the fact that I recognized it. I recognized parts of the compact community that had burned themselves into my everyday life, two years ago. I could see the community square built with stones picked from the earth and placed into swirling patterns.

I could see it clearly in my head along with the multicolored stained glass pieces placed in with the stones. I remembered how the sunlight made them dance brightly for the children of the soldiers that had families here. There was even a little general store built from rich brown logs and terra cotta. They had a small chapel cloistered on top of the higher part of the community. The only place that sat higher...was the Archer's home.

And as it came into view, my breathing constricted like he had reached into my chest and squeezed.

It wasn't like everything else. It was the seat of his power and it was as sleek and cold. It was built into the side of the rocks and was a modern god of steel and glass. The car took us into the garage constructed underground and the darkness was broken up by the bright flashes of lights bolted at even intervals.

The light highlighted the planes of Tiller's face, all playfulness gone. Kaz had disappeared into nothingness like he didn't exist. I wanted to close my eyes because it was like falling back down into a universe that I could not quite figure out. I would find some semblance of stability and before I could take a breath it would all crumble beneath me and I'd be falling again.

The car pulled into an industrial parking garage where shiny black cars and SUV's sat pretty until they needed to be used.

There were a small group of men waiting, their faces serious, their ties all straight.

"Is this really necessary?" I asked Tiller.

Tiller smirked but didn't answer me, "Archer wants you to go see Matilda before you get settled in for the night."

My heart leapt into my throat. "Is...he not here?"

He didn't answer.

I chewed on my bottom lip, "Why am I going to see Matilda? I hate her."

Tiller made a noise. "We all do but she's a good physician."

"Who despises anything that breathes. I don't need to go see her. I'm perfectly fine." I crossed my arms like a petulant child.

"Not my call. But I'm sure you guessed that."

"Of course. I'm a thing again, right? Things have to be kept." I said nastily and Tiller shut the car off.

He looked at me. "I don't know what to tell you, or if there's anything I can tell you...but I missed you."

I looked at Tiller, surprised but felt stupid because I shouldn't be. I had liked Tiller and Kaz in his quiet way. And then it hit me. His comment about me messing with other people's lives.

"Tiller," I exclaimed, "Sati! Is Sati still here?"

A shadow fell over him. "Mina..." he said his voice clouded in unsaid words.

"Tiller?" I asked, nervous Sati was the one person I had truly missed. She had been a brilliant voice in the chaos that overtook me when I had first been brought here.

"She's here," he said hesitantly, "but I don't know if you'll get to see her."

With that he got out of that car and jogged over to the one of the men.

What did he mean I wouldn't get to see her? Was Archer going to be that cruel?

I didn't know what Archer could be anymore. It was like being stolen all over again.

******

Kora punched in a code on the flat keypad outside a door to a room that she wasn't supposed to enter. For two years, she had been sneaking into this room that Archer told her never to go into. If he caught her she would be punished.

She was a good girl because it pleased her to be. She didn't like to be difficult and she didn't like to put Archer in a hard position. But she couldn't help herself.

Archer was attending to business that he hadn't disclosed—not that it was her place to ask. He was in a dark mood, so she had done her best to stay out of his way while he had made sharp phone calls.

Mina was set to arrive at soon and she wanted one last time to have this room to herself.

The door slid closed behind her and she leaned against it looking around.

The room had belonged to Mina when she had been here and after she ran, Archer had closed it off. He didn't even let Lola come in and clean no matter how much she clucked about it under her breath.

The room was like a time capsule that fascinated Kora.

All of her stuff was still littered around from the last night she'd stayed here. There were gorgeous evening gowns thrown across the edge of the bed. They sparkled and had expensive cut lines that told Kora they had been designed for Mina. Her makeup palettes were still open. A cap from a MAC lipstick was by the leg of the chair like she had been in a hurry to get going.

Kora picked up a small, fragile perfume bottle that had little porcelain flowers placed on it. She rotated the bottle and watched the liquid coat the sides of the glass.

She put the bottle back down, looking around the room she had spent much time in when she had first got here. When she had been rescued from the hell she had been in before.

Mina's laptop was still on the desk that had a cat pencil holder. There were sticky notes and Polaroid pictures of the desert on a board above it. Her clothes were still on hangers and Kora couldn't count how many times she had put on the plaid long sleeves or Aztec patterned fleeces. Or how many times she had picked up the necklaces and bracelets that had polished stones crafted into them.

She walked over to the bed and shoved her hand between the mattresses and pulled a leather covered journal out. She knew there was a blood red journal with a golden buckle and a journal with Celtic tree but the plain brown one? That one pulled Kora back over and over again.

There was something fundamentally wrong about what she was doing. The words on the pages were gorgeous and private but she honestly hadn't expected Mina to ever come back. Now? It was too late and she felt that the journal was hers. That this room was hers.

Kora got on the bed where the sheet and quilt had been pushed back.

She had spent so many odd hours in here dissecting and trying to figure out why? Why had Mina been able to keep the root of herself when Kora had not?

She traced the ink that had been pressed too hard into the pages conveying whatever emotion Mina had been feeling.

She highly doubted that Archer knew about the journals and as she flipped the pages that she had memorized by heart, she wasn't going to tell him.

Even if that made her a bad girl.

Archer would be enraged if he knew what Mina wrote in these pages. The words that he didn't get to know...the part Mina had cloistered away and kept when so much was expected to give. That's what Kora concentrated on the most—those words that gave Mina away if Archer had bothered to look.

No wonder he had been driven to get her back.

And Archer was very demanding and she hadn't been able to keep a thing from him. He could peer into her soul and pull the words out of her throat.

Kora knew all about it. Her existence had been stolen, warped, and given away.

What did Mina have that she didn't?

She looked at the clock that sat on the bedside table. She should probably get going.

Smoothing the cover on the journal, she couldn't part with it. Sticking it under her shirt, she said goodbye to the room that had given her space to exist.

*****

"Well...look who decided to grace us with her presence," Matilda, the Wicked Witch of the South, said as I was led into the bright room.

I could smell the plastic and disinfectant and cringed. Matilda was a beautiful woman with blood red hair piled on top of her head.