Perfect School

Kira:

I studied up on casino's, learned rules and etiquite of the games and general life style. That was on top of working with Jonah on a variety of skills we'd need on the mission. Returning to the school left doubts in my mind. I was to instruct? Would that be possible? The way I'd been taught wasn't something I wanted to pass onto others. And yet I doubted I could improvise another way.

I let such a thing go however and pushed hard in the training with Jonah. It was a new experience, something that I almost wished we'd had at the start. It was a joy to train with him without any strings, without any other motives than pure training. We pushed each other, we worked hard, and it was in it's own way fun.

And then there was Kyra, she bulldozed the rhythm I'd settled in on. She pulled me aside and brought my family into the equation. I stared at her blankly, the words slow to filter through my mind. "They want to get to know me?" I searched her face for a long moment before shaking my head. "Kyra, if they want to spend time with me....no. If she wants to get to know me and spend time with me then she should tell me herself. She can get a message through you or Zero. You however are suspect when it comes to trying to force things between family members."

Kyra:

My face fell at that. “I know.. I’m sorry. But this is real. They didn’t want to pressure you, that’s why they haven’t reached out to you. Plus, the whole Marie thing… But They both want to know you, Michael and Krissy. They want you,” I said and half reached out to grab her hand before I dropped mine. I knew she didn’t like to be touched unless we were training.

“I’ll tell them to send a message for you. But… Is there anything you want to say to them?” I asked hopefully. She wasn’t exactly shooting the idea down. I was optimistic that she would agree to see them.

Tucking my chin I shifted my weight slightly, stretching out my calves in the process. "Tell them that..." I sighed and my head tilted back instead, my gaze settling on the ceiling. I grew silent, never finishing my words until several minutes passed. "Tell them that this has turned into a game of chess. I'm black, they are white. First move is in their hands. Our relationship, if they really want it, is theirs to win or lose." Lowering my gaze to Kyra my lips quirked slightly, a ghost of a smile crossing it. "Prize I guess is me."

Kyra:

I frowned at her analogy. "What does that make me? Who's piece am I?" I asked. I had an equal stake in this as anyone else. I was closer to Kira than her parents were, and likewise I knew her parents better than she could. I didn't want this to be a game with me caught in the middle of the battle trying to hold onto both sides.

I started to take a step but paused mid stride to look at her. "The rules of chess is to capture the king. I'm one. Krissy is the other. However if I had to pick a piece for you....you would be the white queen. The most mobility, and the best piece to move obstacles out of the way of your goal."

Kyra:

I couldn’t help but be a little bit hurt that she didn’t see me as on her side. It was understandable though, I had tricked her into seeing her parents before. I gave a small sigh. I was on her side more than anything.

“Be safe of your job, alright? I’ll see you back at the school,” I said softly after another moment had passed.

Nodding I moved down the hall away from her. The pain on her face was plain to see but all it told me was that in the end she didn't understand the meaning behind the chosen game. Shaking my head slowly I took the steps two at a time and entered my room to go shower and rinse off.

In chess the point was to capture the king. Either Krissy would capture me, or I would capture her. In either situation Kyra got what she wanted.

Jonah:

Kira and I were up and gone in the morning before anyone else was even out of bed.  We were driving to Las Vegas instead of flying, so we could have our own weapons.  It would take a full days’ worth of travel to get there.  

I took the driver’s seat of the SUV with a thermos of coffee in the cup holder next to me.  “Do you want to listen to music?” I asked Kira as we drown away from the house.  It was quiet and dark.  There would be few cars on the highway for at least a couple hours before work traffic, and by then we would already be out of the city.

Kira:

I spent the night before our trip getting some last minute training in. And as such I worked myself to exhaustion late into the night. I barely managed to catch four hours of sleep before I had to get up and shower and toss my gear into the SUV. Dressed in a pair of shorts, and a tanktop I climbed into the front seat, leaving my feet bare though I brought along socks and boots.

I gazed around a bit as we started our journey but when Jonah asked if I wanted music I shrugged. "If you want to listen to something go ahead. I'm going to try and nap a little bit." Reaching into my boot I drew out a bandanna, folding it from a triangle to create a blindfold of sorts, tying it over my head I tilted back my seat and propped my heels onto the dashboard as I began to doze.

Jonah:

I turned on classical music and she fell asleep soon after. I glanced at her from time to time. Kira wasn’t exactly the kind of girl I was usually attracted to. Her body wasn’t what drew me to her. But now looking at her… She had nice legs. I was used to seeing them while they were flying in a kick at me, but now with her feet propped on the dashboard… It was almost distracting.

Kira:

Years of training had honed my body. I didn't have much fat to my body, and every part of me was dense with muscle, the combination combining to make my limbs look like they were made of marble. My legs were a perfect example of that. After a few hours later I stirred, pushing the bandanna up on my forehead I gazed around through bleary eyes before setting the seat to sitting up again.

"How far have we gone?" I asked with a soft yawn.

Jonah:

“About two and a half hours. Feel better?” I asked glancing her way. The sun was just barely starting to light the sky. I turned the dial for the music down and shifted in my seat. I was alone with Kira, but Marie was just waiting for me to slip up. Now wasn’t the time to get at her.

"Yeah, I could do with a stretch but we still have a long way to go." I stretched as I could in my seat, reaching my arms back. After settling back down I glanced at his thermos of coffee with a considering air. If there was some left I considered taking it, but I wasn't going to ask or check. Instead I unbuckled and twisted in my seat to reach into a small cooler in the back. With a water bottle in hand I settled back into my seat and buckled myself back in.

Jonah:

“We can make a quick stop, maybe get some breakfast. Are you hungry?” as I asked, I picked up my coffee and sipped. It was barely warm and nearly gone. I drank coffee more for the taste than the effect. I didn’t rely on drugs to keep my body going.

"I could eat, but I'm not feeling substantially hungry." I admitted while glancing at him. Taking a sip of water I studied his face for a moment then gazed forward out the window. "If we stop someplace we might as well make it two stops. I do not know how much gas is in the SUV but I do know we should grab snacks to go along the way. The less we stop the farther we go and sooner we reach the destination."

Jonah:

It was another twenty minutes before I pulled up to the next gas station that had a decent looking store attached to it. “Why don’t you start picking out what you want? I’ll be in after I fill up,” I told her before getting out of the car. The sky was light now, with the sun blaring on the horizon.

"Fine." I agreed, while sliding out of my own seat. Once my feet hit the ground I went through a few basic stretches to work out a few kinks in my body before heading into the store. I grabbed a couple apples from a produce section, before pausing. A small bakery was attached to the store and following my nose along to the smell I stopped before a display counter and took a peek at all of the treats inside.

Jonah:

I parked the SUV in front then went into the store. I found her at the bakery counter and put my hand lightly on her back when I approached. “Bit of a sweet tooth, huh?” I asked with a sideways smile. Kyra was the one with the real sugar craving. She would have gone right for the candy aisle, likely with Paublo following behind her.

With a small bit of surprise I looked up at him, "Sweet treats were always rewards, and before I went to the school I was on a strict and controlled diet. Didn't have much of a chance to enjoy simple things." Turning my head to nod at the aisles of sugary sweets and bags of chips I continued, "Something that is empty but tastes good is fine. However I've always preferred something more substantial and that took effort to make." I ended my words by nodding towards the bakery display.

Jonah:

“In other words, something homemade?” Neither of us grew up in a home, not one with a family or parents who would make us fresh treats. Store bought bakery items were the best we were going to get. Nothing ‘made with love’ for us.

“I’m thinking banana bread, what about you?” The muffins looked good too, but they all seemed to have crumbly toppings.

I considered all the different items before pointing at a large cinnamon roll. "That. Though we should probably stock up on other things as well. We have many miles to go. We have a cooler but it only has a few water bottles inside."

Jonah:

We gathered a few more snacks for the road and checked out. Before we got back in the car I took a couple minutes to stretch out my muscles again. Back on the road I turned the music on low and started in on my banana bread.

"If you were given an car and set free, where would you go?" I asked her after a few minutes on the road.

I gave him a level look for a moment and shook my head. For a while I didn't deign to answer such a question. It was rediculous, and the answer should have been obvious. I didn't have any place I'd go. I couldn't even picture a place I'd want to go. But as my silence dragged on for over a minute I sighed and looked down at my lap.

"Anywhere. I'd just drive and pick as I went...I've never had a chance to imagine where I'd want to go, never imagined what I would do if I was free. I've seen some exotic places already, traveled the world but it's just for me to train, to take a life." I spoke slowly, picking at the seat before glancing at him. "What about you?"

Jonah:

I didn’t look back at her, my eyes staying carefully on the road ahead. “I would go back to Canada. I wouldn’t stay, but I would go back,” I said after a long moment. It was something I had always planned to do. From the moment the school scouted me and told me what they wanted me to be, I knew I would return home one day to use the skills they tought me.

"Canada? What is there for you in Canada?" I studied his face for a moment then I too focused on the road ahead of us. "That is where you are from, your file said as much at least. Is something still waiting for you back at home?"