G.U.A.R.D. Book #3: Recusant

-10-

    The dorm room was empty. Just as I closed the door, though, Jackie came out of the bathroom. Her hair fell in wet clumps, and her clothes were clean now.

"Hi," she greeted. "Where were you? I was kinda worried when I didn't find you in the room."

"I was just... talking to someone," I told her.

Walking over to my dresser, I leaned and picked out some fresh clothes.

"So do you want to try out a few other training rooms after you shower?" she asked while stuffing her dirty clothes in a hamper under the sink.

"Not really. Sorry, Jackie. I'm just... tired."

I went to the bathroom and shut the door behind me, soon having the water running over me. It took some work getting all the spaghetti sauce out of my hair, and by the end, the drain was clogged with noodles and green beans. But I felt clean and refreshed.

As I dried myself off, I thought about what Commander Barnes said. He hd no idea who I was. He couldn't tell me anything because Director Egypt wouldn't let him. What if Director Egypt was in charge of the memory-erasing project? He was supposed to be a brilliant scientist and inventor. It would make sense. Then was it him who ordered me to have my memories erased?

Maybe I was looked at it all wrong. I kept searching for the person in charge to tell me who I was, when maybe I should've been looking for the person who wanted my memories erased. And if Director Egypt was really in charge of the project, then the only way to find the person who wanted my memories erased was to ask him. And yet, Commander Barnes' words rang in my mind.

"I'm acting on the orders of Director Brandon Egypt, the leader of this base. If you want answers, he's the man you want, but I seriously advise you not go to him."

I sighed in frustration. I just needed to get my mind off all this stuff. And I didn't want to do something "fun" like playing ping pong in the lounge, or swimming in one of the training rooms. I needed an outlet for all my frustration.

Shrugging on a black jacket, I grabbed my keycard and exited the dorms. Randomly picking floor twenty-five, I wanted impatiently for the elevator to travel up. When I finally got there, I hurried through the room until exiting and finding myself on the fields.

The fresh outdoors air was a welcome relief from the AC inside. I couldn't help but stop and let out a huge sigh. Caught up in the sudden free feeling, I picked up the pace. Soon, I was jogging towards the end of the field, hair flying behind me. The tingling at the back of my brain was different from earlier: I wasn't running out of fear. I was running out of relief, freedom.

I skidded to a stop before I could fall over the edge. Beyond, the white clouds of the energy field sparkled in the dying sunlight.

"Hey, Natasha!"

I whirled around, and, to my surprise, saw Daniel. The guy jogged towards me, ripped arms moving in time with his legs.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked curiously.

"I..." I stopped, staring at him. "Are you following me?"

"What? No! No, not at all. I just saw you walking towards the doors, and... well, I followed you after that."

I snorted, looking back to the energy field. "I just needed to get out."

"Did something happen?" he asked after a short pause. "Jackie couldn't find you after meeting with Commander Lawson."

"You could say that," I huffed. I looked back to him suspiciously. "So what was your punishment?"

"Huh. Well, Slade found out, so that's punishment in itself."