"Hey", Luke, another tech called out to her. She smiled at him sweetly and nodded her head. Her mouth was full of cold water. "How's your mornin been, Sara?", he asked the prettiest tech in the building.
"Interesting so far", she replied after swallowing.
Luke got closer. He was about six feet tall and almost handsome, but he always looked like he was holding his breath even when he wasn't. Sara couldn't get over that, even though she'd tried a couple of times. To Luke, Sara was the perfect girl next door. The soft curls of her flaxen hair rolled down her shoulders to the top of her back. Her face was so sweet Luke could almost taste her, and she had the kindest eyes. She actually cared about people, she wasn't as detached as most people in the world. That would have been enough for Luke, but Sara also had quite a tight body on her under those cute little scrubs. She was a middle distance runner at Emory and quite a workout warrior. He'd only seen her without scrubs once, and it had been after a jog. She had to come to work on short notice wearing short jogging shorts and a tight halter top. Her skin had been covered in sweat and her legs pumped. Luke had looked at her body for as long as she stood outside the break room until she went to shower and change. He didn't know how hard Sara had worked her body. Her legs had grown over the last year or so, but her upper body had caught up. Luke had felt like his head and loins would explode when he'd seen Sara in that little running outfit. He hadn't seen her without scrubs since, but that one glimpse hung in his mind for a very long time afterward. He'd get more than a glimpse before the day was over.
"Have a good shift", he called to her as he started out.
"You too", Sara replied quickly. She looked at him walking away and sighed. She felt a little sorry for him. He wanted to ask her out. She didn't need her telepathy to guess that, but he couldn't build up the nerve. The way she felt, she might have even said yes.
She found the tech coming off duty to get updated, and then it was time for work. She went to Chuck's room first. They had their usual banter. He was always playfully hitting on her, while Sara reminded him that he was a married man. While he was busy explaining his idea of a romantic evening, and doing a good job of it, Sara slapped her hands to her thighs.
"Let's work on something really quick", she said slowly while the idea formed into her head.
"I'm game. What do you have in mind", Chuck thought in reply.
"Just follow my lead." Sara entered Chuck's mind. She had always been a powerful telepath, but over time she was learning subtly. She used that new tact now as she pushed her mind into Chuck's. There was less room there now. Chuck was taking his mind back over, and getting close to consciousness. Sara found Chuck inside his brain and started pulling, not forcefully. Her gentle nudging urged Chuck push more than she was pulling, and it was working. He was making progress. She saw his finger move but didn't tell him. She had to make herself not think about it. She didn't want him to know that he had moved. She kept pulling on his mind while he pushed. Sara let hope creep into her heart. This might be the day. This might be the day when Chuck would wake up. He was oh so close. He moved again, but there was a barrier like a rock wall that he just couldn't force his way through. Sara used her talent and skill, but there was only so much she could do. The two of them chipped at the barrier, but they couldn't get through it.
"That's enough for now", Sara told Chuck. She had more left in her to keep trying, but she didn't want to over do it. "I'll be back and see you later." She left the room feeling pretty good. They'd made real progress in those few minutes. There were some doubts though. Could she really deliver on her promise? It was getting close to put up or shut up time, and these were really people and real lives. It would crush her to be wrong, but she stayed optimistic.
Sara had no such optimism about her next patient. This patient was beyond Sara's help. He had been in a coma for three years, but the damage to his brain was too much even for her to communicate with him. It broke her heart, but lately Sara had been learning to deal with her limitations. For a person like her, that lesson was a hard one. She did her job in this room then left.
"That was the fastest I think I've ever seen you finish a patient", the head nurse, Mrs. Crabb said. "I told you that I could get you some help with the heavy lifting." Mrs. Crabb was several inches taller than Sara and quite a bit heavier. She had started out as a tech at a facility years ago before training to be a nurse. She looked at Sara's smaller frame and confused that for weakness. Sara was physically quite strong for her size, but Mrs. Crabb didn't know the half of Sara's true strength.
Sara never let the pleasantness leave her face as she answered, "I think I manage just fine. Have I ever had to ask for help?" Mrs. Crabb had to admit that she'd never had. "Besides, is there a rule against visiting a patient?"
Mrs. Crabb shook her head. "No rule against it, but I don't see how you can visit with a patient who's in a coma."
"Maybe you're not listening hard enough." Sara smiled and continued past the middle aged head nurse.
Mrs. Crabb reached out and took Sara by the upper arm to stop her, expecting to startle the young college coed, but she was the one who ended up looking surprised. She had expected to feel a slim or even skinny arm beneath the sleeve, but instead she felt the hardness of Sara's biceps, triceps, and delts. Sara's arms weren't big, but they were hard enough for Mrs. Crabb to remove her fingers before she felt the fibers of Sara's muscles begin to flex. Sara hadn't even bothered to tense up. Mrs. Crabb got the idea. "Was there something else, ma'am?", Sara asked pleasantly.
"No, never mind", Mrs. Crabb turned and left quickly. That girl was starting to get on her nerves.
Sara continued on her rounds forgetting about Mrs. Crabb. She wasn't Sara's immediate supervisor, which meant Sara didn't have to make her happy, and she wasn't going to try. After a few more patients, Sara made it to Nikki Washington's room. "Good morning", she greeted her out loud.
"Morning", Nikki thought back, still unable to emerge from her coma. Nikki had been a popular and talented student in high school. She hoped to be that again as soon as she woke up. She had been in a car accident with some friends on a Friday night, and she hadn't woken up since that night, but Sara helped give her hope.
Sara always marveled at the strength and clarity of Nikki's thoughts. Usually Sara had to do a bit of pulling to hear a thought from someone in a coma, but not with Nikki. Sara started working on her patient. Nikki could feel all of it, and it hurt not to be able to do anything for herself. She had to take her mind off of it.
"Hey, Sara."
"Yeah."
"You're a volunteer here, right?"
"Sure am." She rolled Nikki over a bit while she worked.
"Is your family rich or something, since you don't get paid for doing this?"
Sara's hands stopped for a second while she considered how to answer. "We do pretty well."
"Oh come on Sara! Don't be like that. You come here and work your butt off, and you don't get paid. Are you rich or not?" The corners of Nikki's mouth were almost smiling as she pressed.
"Ok, fine", Sara relented. She knew Nikki needed this diversion. "I'm not rich, but my family is. There I said it."
It wasn't enough for Nikki. "Vacation house rich, or private jet rich?"
Sara laughed. "Private jet rich. We have two G-IV, well our bank does, and my father just ordered a G-V, but they are strictly for business purposes."
"Have you ever ridden in one of them?"
"Of course I have", Sara answered like Nikki should have known the answer.
"Then they're aren't just for business."
Sara grinned. "We don't get to use them whenever we want to, but we use them for family trips sometimes."
"I asked because I got on a private jet once."
"Oh really?", Sara asked and started on the pillows.
"It belonged to some company. I'd never been on one, even though Daddy works for an airplane manufacturer. Anyway, me and Brody weren't supposed to go. They were flying our big sis-" Nikki stopped in mid thought.
"Go on, you were saying something about your sister."
"I don't want to talk about it", Nikki thought emphatically.
"Hey, you started this. I've met your parents and your brother, but I didn't meet-"
"I said I don't want to talk about it!"
Sara inhaled sharply when Nikki closed her mind. Sara huffed in frustration. "That's uncomfortable, you know", she said out loud.
"What is?", Nikki opened herself up again.
"When you pushed me out. To me, its like getting a door slammed on your face."
"It's my mind."
"It most certainly is", Sara told her with a thought.
Nikki could tell Sara was upset. "Sorry. I didn't mean to push you out like that. I.. I didn't know it hurt."
"No way for you to know." Sara kept working. "I'm not mad or anything. It's jarring. That's all."
"You're not used to that are you?", Nikki asked, hoping it wasn't a sore subject.
"No, I'm not. There aren't many telepaths who can kick me out by without help, and certainly no non-telepaths."
Nikki laughed internally. "I can, and I'm not telepathic."
"You know, you remind me of my roommates, both of them are smart alecks too." Sara was about to say something else when her phone rang. "Hello."
"Hello, Sara", a slightly breathless voice responded. "This is Armen."
Sara chuckled. "I know who it is. That stupid picture you took of yourself comes up every time you call."
"Oh, yeah. Well, I was just calling to ask if you'd like to go to a movie tonight and maybe get something to eat. And not where I work, I mean, I'll take you to a nice place. What do you think?"
Sara only paused for a second. "Sounds great."
Armen had to keep from shouting. "Cool. I would say that I'd pick you up after I get off, but I know you don't want to ride the bus, so..."
"I'll pick you up Armen, don't worry about it. I'm not that old fashion."
He laughed and sank into a chair. "Ok, great. I'll see you then."
"Ok, I'll see you."
"Sounds like someone has a date", Nikki told her tech.
"I do", Sara admitted with a big grin on her face.
"Is he cute?"
"Yeah, he is. Got dimples when he smiles and everything. He's a little on the skinny side though."
"Gives you something to work on. You don't want a guy to be perfect when you meet him. Makes you lose interest faster." Sara laughed and talked to Nikki for several more minutes then it was time for the next patient.
Sara finished her first set of rounds by early afternoon, and was ready for lunch. She sat next to some co-workers from other floors while they swapped stories about their boyfriends or husbands. Sara didn't have any stories to swap since she hadn't had many boyfriends growing up, and her last boyfriend had left her abruptly. She still couldn't understand why Chris Adams had broken it off with her so suddenly. She always thought the relationship was going somewhere. She pulled herself out of memory fog to answer a question from one of her lunch companions. Sara was feeling a little lonely when Luke walked in to get his lunch from the community fridge. He looked at Sara a touch longer than he needed to. He made up his mind right then. He was going to ask her out. He took a sip of his Coke, wishing it was something stronger to give him a little courage, but he was going to ask her before the day was over. Sara was nice. He had no idea that another guy had already asked her.
Sara went to Chuck's room when lunch was over. She was a few minutes late, and Chuck didn't greet her when she stepped in. He was concentrating hard to push through the barrier in his mind. Sara could feel it and didn't distract him. She started then stopped working at his bed and prepared to enter Chuck's mind, but the door opened.
"Good morning, Mrs. Thornton", Sara greeted Chuck's wife. She visited her husband often enough for she and Sara to be friendly. Sara hurried with her duties to give she and Chuck some time alone. It was a two hour drive every time Donna Thornton came to see her husband. This time though, Donna didn't come by herself. A teenager came in behind her.
"Hey, Sara. This is Mack, our youngest son."
"Nice to meet you." Mack's eyes went to Sara's pretty face, but went up and down her body too. Sara blushed. Jan might be used to that, but it was still embarrassing for Sara.
"We're going to Knoxville for Thanksgiving so we won't see him for a little while, and I wanted Mack to visit his father before we left. Mack doesn't come as often. All the other kids can remember their father, but Mack was a baby when that crane dropped it's load and put Chuck in this bed."
"I can remember him a little when he woke up the last time, Mom", Mack gently corrected Donna.
Sara smiled. "Well, I'll come back later." She started out of the room, but Donna stopped her.
"I just want to say what a wonderful job you do with Chuck."
Sara's smile made Donna smile. "He's a good guy, from all I've heard."
Donna laughed. "Chuck's a character. Its too bad you haven't had a chance to get to know him like I do. He can make you laugh and make you want to punch him at the same time. Do you know the first thing he said to me when he woke up the last time?"
Sara shook her head. "No ma'am."
Donna took her husband's limp hand. "He told me that I'd have to come back to see him later, he wasn't finished with his nap." Donna gave his hand a squeeze. "He hadn't said a word to me in two years, and then he tells me to come back. I could have wrung his neck."
That sounded like Chuck all right. Sara couldn't take it anymore. "Ok, today's the day, Chuck do you hear me", Sara said aloud.
Donna and Mack looked confused.
"I'm scared Sara", Chuck thought. This thought was clear enough for Sara to hear it without really being in his head.
Sara simply closed her eyes and pushed her way into Chuck's head. Her breathing quickened as she pushed herself. She used her power now, more of it than she had ever used on Chuck, enough power to ruin his mind, but that wasn't her goal. She wanted to stimulate it.
Donna didn't know what to do, neither did Mack. They both gasped when they saw sweat on Chuck's forehead. His breathing was quick too. Donna put her hand on his chest. His heart was racing.
Sara felt Chuck start to break through the barrier. "Touch him again", Sara ordered through clenched teeth.
"What?"
"Both of you take his hands. Now." When Sara was like this, people did what she said. Touch is very powerful. Their hands were like winches pulling him into the world. "He's almost there. Talk to him." Sara's voice was strained. This was harder than she ever thought it would be.
"Chuck, can you hear me?", Donna began earnestly. She wanted to believe. She wanted to more than anything. "Chuck, I love you. I love you as much as I have ever loved you."
"Me too, Dad. Wake up", Mack cried like a young child after he saw his father's eyelid's flutter. "I want to hear you voice again. I want to hear you say my name. Wake up, please..."
Sara was using as much power as she dared. It was like pushing a loaded truck up a hill. They were almost to the top, but were they strong enough to get it over? Sara pushed and pushed and then suddenly she was out. She sucked in a breath because she was back in her own head, and not in his. She blinked her eyes a couple of times. Donna and Mack looked at her.
"What happened!"
Sara wasn't sure. This was uncharted territory for her. "I... I don't...."
"What did you do to my husband?", Donna demanded. His breathing was normal again, and the sweat was going away. Donna released Chuck's hand. "Was this some sort of trick?" Mack got up too. Both of them turned to face Sara who stood her ground. "I'm getting the nurse!" She took two steps towards the door.
"Mack, get your mother. Tell her my nap's over", a raspy grating voice wheezed. Only two of the three people in the room had ever heard that voice.
Donna turned when her husband opened his eyes. His vision was blurry, but his eyes fell on Donna's face, and he smiled. "Hey, babe. You miss me? What's for dinner?"
Mack went to his father's side, and Sara let out a sound half cheer and half cry. Tears tried to well in her eyes, but she wouldn't let herself cry. She was too proud to be seen with streaks on her face.
The hubbub on the second floor of the Cherry Glen Long Term Care Facility spilled out to the street. People from all over the building came to see the marvel of a patient waking up after being in a coma for so long. Doctors poured over him, preparing him to go to the hospital. They wanted to make sure he stayed awake this time.
Mack found Sara sitting in the break room. She hated commotion. "Dad's looking for you, Sara. He wants to see you before they take him to the hospital", Mack told her. Sara had to fight her way though the throng to make it to Chuck's bedside. He had already spoken to his other children on the phone, but he looked up when his former tech came over.
"So you must be Sara Hewitt."
"I am."
Now that his eyes were more focused, he looked her from head to toe. "You are a hot nurse, as cute as I thought you'd be."
"I don't know what he's talking about Mrs. Thornton."
Donna came over to Sara and gave her a big hug. "Yes you do. I don't know how, but thank you. From my whole family, thank you." A single tear escaped to roll down Sara's cheek.
They took Chuck to the hospital, and things settled to almost normal after a couple of hours. Everyone was on a high. It wasn't often that anyone got to witness what had just happened. Sara was happier than most because she'd been working towards this day for months. She wished she could tell someone. She would have told Jan and Alisha, but both of them were busy until later on. She decided to tell Nikki.
She was in Nikki's room trying not to brag about what she'd done to help Chuck Thornton. All of it was giving Nikki hope though.
"You really can help wake people up. You aren't just full of shit", Nikki told Sara.
"Watch your mouth!"
"I can't talk remember. Its all in your head."
Sara laughed again. This day was going so well. She had a date and Chuck was awake. It couldn't get any better. She didn't think anything could bring her down, then her phone rang again. Things went way down hill after that.
It was Jan calling. Sara wondered what the call was about she was supposed to be practicing with Michael, but at least she could tell Jan about her day.
"Hello", she answered still on a high.
"Where is he!?!", Jan growled into the phone.
Sara's mood sank immediately. "Who?", she asked, her voice thin and weak. Sara wondered who could made Jan so upset. She got her answer after a moment. It was Aaron Miles. Sara didn't have time to ask Jan what had happened. She gave the information that Jan wanted, and Jan hung up on her.
"Something wrong?", Nikki thought over and over again, but Sara wasn't in her head and didn't hear the question. Nikki wished there was something she could do. Sara was standing next to her bed not moving. It was strange since Sara kept in contact with Nikki regularly when she wasn't even in the room. Now she was standing right next to her bed, but she might as well have been on the other side of the world.
Nikki relaxed when she felt Sara come back into her head. "What's wrong?", Nikki asked with concern.
"I think Jan's about to get herself into something."
"She's the tall one right?"
"Yeah, and she's been having a rough time recently. I just hope she keeps her head, because when she doesn't, things go down hill really quickly."
Sara debated reaching out to Jan and trying to calm her down, but she decided to stay out of it. Jan was mad and there wasn't much that could be done about that. Jan was hot blooded so Sara prayed for whoever was on Jan's receiving end. She finished with Nikki and headed to the hallway. She rested against the wall and sighed. Jan's angry tone had taken some of the wind from Sara's sails. She looked at her watch then started towards her next patient. After this next one, she was going to get some fresh air.
She was on her way to the room when she heard a man's angry shout. She knew where it was coming from. An elderly woman was being treated at the end of the hall. She'd been in the facility less than a month, and she always had lots visitors. It turned out that she was quite popular in the small town where she came from. She wasn't one of Sara's patients. The lady belonged to Annette, but Sara had tried to contact the woman's mind anyway with no luck.
"You shouldn't even be here, Walter!", a taller man told a shorter one. "It was your drunken cousin that put Momma here in the first place!"
Walter raised his shoulders and hands palms up. "What does that have to do with me? I'm here to see her, Bill! Now get out of my way!" Walter tried to push past Bill. The pushing became more pronounced. Sara knew the hurt of losing a loved one, but she had no idea what those men were going through watching someone waste away feeling helpless.
Annette started towards the two men, then thought better of it. She hurried to Mrs. Crabb's office, but the stocky head nurse was already on her way to the disturbance. Sara took a step closer. She wanted to hear this because Mrs. Crabb could out fuss anyone, this time though the head nurse managed to surprise Sara.
"Excuse me gentlemen", Mrs. Crabb began in a soft tone. "I know Mrs. Ellis wouldn't want to hear you fighting each other like this. If you can't go in and see her together then perhaps you should both split time. One go in first and then the other."
The two angry men considered her words. Then started arguing on who would go in first. "I'll flip a quarter. Head's you go and tails you go." Mrs. Crabb reached into her pocket, but didn't have a coin. Sara rushed up. She always had a little change in her pocket.
"Here." She handed the nurse a quarter. Mrs. Crabb look relieved. She didn't want to lose the moment with those two men. She took the quarter and was about to toss it when the elevator opened. The man on the elevator had a neutral look on his face until he saw Walter standing there. "What the hell are you doing here!?!", the man from the elevator yelled. His face morphed from immediate anger. His movements changed, like an animal in the wild, and he lunged at Walter. "No no!", Mrs. Crabb screamed, but the man from the elevator pushed Walter so hard he hit against Mrs. Crabb, knocking her against the wall then down to the floor. Sara ran to her side and reached out to help her up, but the fall had hurt her hip. Sara put herself between the fighters and the head nurse. The attack continued.
Bill tried to pull his brother, Ted, off of Walter. "Not here man! This ain't the time", Bill told his brother, but Ted had Walter around the neck. Walter kicked Ted in the nuts then punched him in the jaw. Ted went to the ground. It would have ended right there, but Walter kicked Ted again. Bill punched Walter in the jaw. It was a solid smack that made Walter stumble, but then with a roar of anger he charged Bill. They met up and wrestled around both men trying to get some leverage to throw the other to the ground.
Luke was coming down to the second floor to get a drink from the machine when he saw Sara leaning down with a look on her face that he had never seen. He came around the corner and saw the fight then. He took off at a sprint. Bill threw Walter to the ground and kicked him just like Walter had kicked his brother. Walter tried to protect himself. Luke came in then. He opened his arms and took Bill around the upper body, wrapping up like a football tackle. He forced the taller man back a few steps. That gave Sara the room she needed. She took Mrs. Crabb by the arms and dragged her. It didn't look like the petite blond would be able to move the much heavier woman, but Sara wasn't really struggling. She kept her eyes on the fight while she got Mrs. Crabb out of the way. She took her around the corner, so she didn't see Bill's brother stand up and attack Luke with pent up anger.
He punched Luke in the side and made him lose control of Bill. Luke pushed Ted hard. Luke wasn't a weak guy and the somewhat older man hit against the wall on the other side of the hall. Luke turned his head to find Bill, but caught a punch to the eye instead. A bright flash blinded him after the blow. Then Bill sent another to Luke's chin. Luke stumbled over Walter and fell. His head bumped the hard floor, but that wasn't enough for Bill or his brother. They both attacked Luke.
Sara ran back around the corner after some of the other staff members came to tend to Mrs. Crabb. They reached for Sara to pull her back, but she wasn't going to leave Luke alone with those people. It was a good thing too, because he was bleeding when she saw him next.
"Leave him alone!", Sara shouted. The men heard, but ignored young blonde. They weren't going to ignore what she did next. Ted was leaning over, kicking Luke as hard as he could. Sara pulled her arm back and delivered two hard, perfectly aimed punches to Ted's right kidney. His body twisted, and he crouched from the sudden pain. She stepped into him and put her right arm up and over his shoulder while putting her right leg behind his legs. In one motion she swept her leg forward while pushing back with her arm. Ted went down hard. "That's enough!", she yelled. This time Bill looked up and stopped kicking. Luke took Bill by the foot and used all his strength to lift Bill's leg off the ground and twist. Bill hopped on one leg a couple of times before he went down. Sara reached forward to grab Luke. She was trying to stop the fight, not prolong it. She didn't get to him, two things happened before she could.
Walter started to come around and his body jerked. His leg hit against Sara's foot. She almost lost her balance, but was righting herself when Ted snatched two big handfuls of her clothes near her shoulders. He yanked back as hard as he could. Her legs hit Walter's body, knocking them from under her. Sara's 122 pounds left the ground completely. Ted snatched her like a rag doll. She flew until her back and butt hit the polished vinyl floor.
Luke saw the movement from the corner of his eye and turned. He reached his hand out towards Sara, hoping to grab her and keep her safe. His fingers found her ankle, just above the shoe on her right leg. He clamped on for all he was worth. He had to keep her safe no matter what.
Ted tried to drag Sara across the floor like some angry beast. He looked up when he felt the resistance to his pulls. He was even more determined to have his way. He yanked and tugged furiously. Sara was caught in between two men. Her multicolored scrub top began to tear. It had been protecting her, because he Ted pulled, Sara's Egyptian cotton t-shirt rode higher up her torso until it gathered under her throat. Sara's eyes opened wider. She couldn't breathe. In that moment of panic, Sara almost lost control and used her telekinetic ability. She could have stopped the fight very quickly, but that was an absolute last resort. Her hands shot to her neck and she worked her fingers between the fabric and her skin. Sara pulled her arms down as hard as she could, relieving some of the pressure. She had to find a way out of this.
She tried to get her leg free from Luke's grip, but he mistook her pulls as stronger tugs from Ted and held on harder. She felt like a giant rubber band. Her eyes looked all around, hoping that someone would end this before she was forced to use her powers in the open with so many witnesses. She had to find another way. She worked her fingers all the way around the knot of clothes under her chin and pulled down harder. All her muscles got into the act this time. Sara's teeth set on edge and she strained with all she had. He eyes were squeezed shut and she squeezed her muscles even harder. Her exposed abs tightened and flexed until a rock solid six pack stood out proudly on her mid section. It wasn't just the abs that impressed, Sara's core was very tight all around. Her obliquus got into the action when she twisted her body from side to side to gain as much leverage as she could.
Luke felt a new pressure on his grip as Sara slowly began crunching her entire body. His hand slipped further down her leg as her muscles flexed. Sara was grunting from effort as she demanded more from her muscles. She hadn't worked out all those hours and hours for nothing. She wasn't just a skinny girl anymore relying just on her powers. She was more than that now. Her grunting became louder and her face became quite red as she continued to pull her body closed. Now Luke was trying to hold her, and Ted had to set his feet to keep himself from being pulled the other way. No one would have believed that this slight teenager had strength like that.
Finally all the pulling and tugging came to an end. Sara's top couldn't take it anymore. In the instant before Luke lost his grip on Sara's ankle, her scrub top and her t-shirt ripped off in Ted's hands. He stumbled away from her holding two large flaps of Sara's clothing. Everyone went silent. Sara lay on the cold floor breathing freely and deeply. She could feel the air against her exposed skin, but she didn't make an effort to cover herself. She was too mad for that. She had to get herself under control, because getting Sara Hewitt angry was a very very bad thing. The anger changed to embarrassment, but in many ways it was as bad as anger. Horrible images popped into her head as she stared at the acoustic tiles of the ceiling, like exploding Ted from the inside out, or perhaps imploding him into something the size of a basketball from the outside in. Either of those things were well within her power, but she realized that there was nothing to be embarrassed about. She wasn't an exhibitionist, but there was nothing about her body to be ashamed about. Then she got mad again.
Sara's nice abs flexed once again as she sat up quickly. She looked at the stunned faces around her. They all realized that young Sara hid the body of a woman under those loose fitting clothes. Her breasts were bigger than people would have thought. The only time Luke had seen her not wearing scrubs, she'd had on a sports bra under her halter top, but now wearing a regular one he got to see the full shape and lushness of Sara's body. The roundness of her breasts flowed down her feminine form to her sexy midsection. As with her friend Alisha, Sara's flat middle made her breasts look even larger. Unlike Alisha, Sara wasn't interested in showing them off although she made no attempt to cover herself. Her arms hung at her sides. Even relaxed, people could see the nice muscle tone and how one muscle flowed seamlessly into the next, her delts and biceps and triceps were all shaped and sculpted by hard work. Ted was about to understand just how hard Sara worked.
Sara's blue-grey eyes fell on the man still holding the scraps of her t-shirt and scrubs in his fists. He took a step away, but it was a little too late for that. He looked past Sara to the elevator and to his brother. The fighting could have stopped right there, but Bill sucker punched Luke. His blood sprayed on the wall and his eyes rolled in his head.
"Get him!", Ted shouted. He threw down the scraps of Sara's clothes and ran to help his brother. Ted was worrying about Walter, but he should have been worrying about the little blond dynamo standing opposite him. Ted tried to run past Sara, when a kick flashed impacting his gut. He stopped in his tracks and bent over from the blow. Then there was another harder kick to the side of his head. "Oomph", was all that he could manage. He turned his head a little to see the half dressed girl in front of him with her fists raised. Normally it would have been laughable, but he still felt the sharp pain of her blows. He started to stand up straight. There was no way a grown man should be worried about a little girl like this. Her blows to his pride hurt worse than her blows, or so he thought. "Get out of my way, before I hurt you", Ted ordered.
"Put your back against that wall. That's the only time I'm gonna tell you", Sara countered.
The first two kicks didn't convince Ted of any danger. Bill looked at the scene and actually chuckled while he prepared to get Walter and throw him from the building. "Hurry up!", Bill called to his brother. They wanted to leave before the cops came.
"I warned you", Ted yelled and moved in to get Sara out of his way.
The corners of Sara's cute lips turned up, and had Ted been an experienced fighter, he might have noticed the small muscle contractions of Sara's pectorals and deltoids in the instant before her fist hit him right in the nose. His hand went to his bleeding nose and his eyes watered. Sara loaded up her right hand this time and her smallish fist cracked against his jaw. Then a quick kick to the center of his chest sent his stumbling back. This was fun. Sara had the man in trouble.
"Stop screwing around, Ted!", Bill yelled. Luke was coming around and so was Walter. He wouldn't be able to handle them both.
Ted gathered himself and threw two whooshing punches. Sara leaned back to dodge the first one then ducked the second. She put her arms up to block a third punch. Ted pushed the girl back when his punches wouldn't land. Sara slid across the floor, but didn't fall. Ted threw another punch. Sara stepped in and below his punch getting her hands on Ted. This was where she wanted to be. She raised her foot and stomped onto the back of Ted's knee. He yelped in pain and went to a knee. Now she had him. She circled behind him and locked her arms around his neck. Her entire upper body flexed with tight sharp cuts when she locked in her choke.
Luke's eyes opened and he shook his head to clear it. He put a hand to the floor to push himself up. Bill made a move to put Luke down again.
"Don't move!", Sara ordered Bill. She punctuated her words by squeezing her arms together. Ted moaned. "Back away from Luke or I'll pop his head off." Sara's muscles tightened again, and Ted's eyes were the only thing in bulging like Sara's biceps. Her hard balls of muscle were cutting into Ted's neck actually cutting off blood flow deep in his neck and compressing the nerves causing great pain.
Ted tried to get free, but Sara's face screw up in concentration for a few seconds and her body flexed again. Ted's eyes rolled in his head, and streams of saliva ran from his mouth. His face turned three shades of red before going purple, all the while Sara's arms tightened around his neck. Those in the front witnessed her biceps getting harder before their eyes, and those from the back got a display of Sara's lats and shoulders flexed to their max. Ted lost all strength and his arms fell to his sides and his face slackened.
"Ok ok!", Bill yelled. "Don't kill him!"
"Then back up", Sara yelled. Bill did as he was ordered. "Now get on your knees, cross your ankles and lace your fingers behind your head." Bill did all of that, but Sara didn't let his brother go right away. "This is for kicking Luke." Sara took a deep breath, then squeezed with everything she had. Ted's neck and shoulders popped and his mouth opened to scream, but no air could escape his lungs. Sara's muscles were overpowering them. Everyone got a full display of the body Sara had been working so hard to attain. She held her squeeze and full powered flex for a couple of seconds, then she opened her arms and Ted fell at her feet. Everyone knew that he was alive when he sucked in a deep breath as soon as the pressure was released.
Sara hurried towards Luke. Bill flinched away from her. She gave him a quick look, but turned her attention to her co-worker. "Are you okay?", she asked him while rubbing her hands over his face and head.
"I will be", Luke began. "You're amazing." His eyes swept up and down her body. He couldn't take his eyes off her. His face brightened suddenly. "Let me get your jacket!" He went to the break room to get Sara's Emory pull-over. The police showed up a few minutes later, and the three combatants were handcuffed. They took statements from everyone, some people had to speak longer than others. They kept Sara for quite a while, but finally she got a moment to rest. She was tired mentally and physically.
"We've had a busy day", Annette told Sara.
Sara sighed loudly. "Tell me about it. Highs and lows."
"Makes me want to smoke a j", Annette whispered to her co-worker.
Sara looked surprised.
"Don't tell me you don't."
"I surely do not", Sara stated with the proper amount of outrage then cracked a smile. "But, if I did, this might be a day to have a puff or two." A cop motioned for Annette to come over. They had more questions. Luke saw this as his chance. He leaned against the wall next to Sara.
"How's your neck?"
"Oh, its fine. Believe it or not, that wasn't the first time I've been choked."
"After watching you fight, I'll believe it. I've never seen a girl fight like that."
Sara chuckled. "I've only been studying for about three years, but if you want to see a girl fight, you should look at my friend Jan. She can really kick butt."
Luke heard her words, but he was thinking about something else, something that he should have done weeks ago. This might not have been the right time, but he asked, "Hey, Sara you wanna go out tonight somewhere?"
Sara spoke before she thought. "I already have a date, Luke." He looked crushed. He was too late. She hadn't had a date when the day had started. He knew it. "Umm, I'm sorry Luke, I mean I would have..."
"Its okay, Sara. I understand." Luke pushed off the wall, but stood next to Sara for a moment before a police officer came over.
Sara wanted to say something to Luke, but there was nothing to say. "Miss Hewitt", the policeman began. "The sergeant wants you to get looked at by the emt before he wraps everything up. He just wants to make sure you're okay."
"That's nice of him", Sara told the patrolman with a smile. They started towards the elevators when Sara heard a call go out over the radio. The code was for a public disturbance and fight in progress. No one, but Sara paid any attention to it. These cops didn't work that area.
"Excuse me, Officer. Is that address a Mexican restaurant near Emory's campus?"
"Umm yeah, I think it is. Why?"
"I have to go", Sara told the group and left quickly. Jan was about to get herself in trouble, and she might need Sara's help. She had to make a call. She hurried down the stairs and dialed a number. It bypassed the switchboard and went to a direct line.
"Special Agent MacCallum", the voice answered.
"This is Sara."
His voice changed completely. "Hey, how's my girl?"
"I've had a full day, but this call's not about me."
He sighed. "What's Jan gotten into now?"
Morgen Stern made a habit of monitoring the police band. It was something he used to do as a kid, but in East Germany in the 60's and 70's that had been a serious crime. Now it was more of an amusement. Morgen didn't get too excited when he heard of a fight at a Mexican restaurant, probably a couple of guys who'd had too many cervezas. Then he heard that federal agents were involved. That got him a little interested, but then he heard a name... Caufield. This deserved his attention because that girl didn't do anything small.
She didn't disappoint. She had kicked the shit out of three Federal agents without her super strength. That was impressive. Morgen went to the jail to see what or who he could get his hooks into. Two bruised and disheveled agents came out the back door of the jail. Morgen got out of his limo making his way towards them with his commanding manner. "Excuse me, gentlemen", he said aloud. Then he switched on his power. It wasn't too hard. "I want to know what just happened, and tell me everything." Morgen listened carefully. He'd had Agent Aaron Miles on his radar, but not for anything like this. He'd always thought of Aaron Miles as a potential problem, as an agent to watch out for, but now Mr. Miles was something more... a potential asset.
"Thank you gentlemen. Go on about your business and forget this meeting ever happened." The two men would never remember seeing a well dressed man in the parking lot. Morgen got back into his limo. He made a few calls. He needed some files e-mailed and printed right away. With those calls made, he waited. It didn't take long for Aaron Miles to exit the building. He looked like a man who had lost his last friend. Morgen always liked to swoop in when a man was at his weakest.
Later that night, Aaron Miles found himself sitting in a suite at the Four Seasons with a pack of ice on his face and a beer in his hand. He'd been thinking over the last few weeks and months of his life. When he came to Atlanta he'd been a high flying agent with his choice of assignments. He'd jumped at the chance to come to Atlanta and work with two legendary agents, Wills and MacCallum, but now he sat there defeated and suspended from the Bureau, all because of one girl. He had thought that his bosses would be forced to see that his suspicions were true once he exposed her, but no. Even after she had assaulted three federal agents, MacCallum had protected her. He'd set Caufield free without batting an eye. With his world turned upside down, it wasn't a shock that he was some strange man's hotel room. He chuckled. That could be the intro to any number of horror flicks or even worse.
The door opened and Morgen came in with an attractive woman. The woman handed Morgen something then went into another room. Miles sighed, that took one worry off his mind. Normally Miles would have been confident that he could overpower and defeated Morgen in a hand to hand fight, but Miles' confidence was shaken. Earlier in the day he'd gotten his ass whipped by a 19 year old girl. She was over six feet tall with a hard athletic build, but that was hardly an excuse for a trained agent, or three trained agents to lose to her. She had beaten he and the two other agents pretty badly.
"How are you feeling?", Morgen ask from the other room.
Miles shrugged his shoulders and repositioned the ice on his face. "Fine, but you still haven't told me what I want to know." Morgen came into the room. He had taken off his suit coat and poured himself a drink. He sat down opposite Miles. "What do you know already?"
"I have Jan Caufield's print on a 400 pound door that was ripped from the side of an armored truck. I have her blood all over the floor at that Art Gallery. I was trying to prove it to MacCallum and Wills. They don't know what I was risking. I knew it was her job to stay under the radar, so I always talked to her in public places, but if she could rip a door that heavy off the hinges then she was really dangerous. I took the chance so some agent wouldn't pay the price down the road. Do I get a thanks? No, I get the shaft. I swear it, Jan Caufield is not normal."
"You're right. She's not", Morgen encouraged him.
"And she's dangerous. She's killed people!", Miles vented.
"Oh at least two dozen people that I know of", Morgen nodded seriously. "Usually she kills in big bunches, Jan doesn't usually do ones and twos."
"Two dozen!" Miles paused to try and understand what he was hearing. "Then what's the cover-up with Agents Wills and MacCallum?!? What the hell does she have on them? Are they afraid?"
Morgen smirked. "You'd be afraid if you knew the entire story, but your bosses aren't afraid of her in the least." Morgen leaned to the side of his chair and pulled up a folder from a briefcase. He took a single sheet from that folder and slid it across the table to Miles. "This should explain some things."
Miles picked it up. His face dropped as the photo rose closer to his bloodshot eyes. "Is this what I think it is?"
"If you think it's a picture of Jan Caufield smiling at the camera while receiving an award from the Director of Homeland Security, the Under Secretary of the Treasury, and the Deputy Director of the CIA, then you would be right."
"My God", Miles despaired. "She's one of us."
"And now you know. Her two friends Sara Hewitt and Alisha von Edder are in this next picture getting their awards after taking down a European syndicate. So you see, its not a cover-up. They're protecting her and the others as national assets."
"I don't know what to say."
"Ahh, you were just driven and blinded by a few facts. You wanted the evidence to fit your theory. It happens to the best investigators from time to time. I will tell you though, that obsession is a dangerous thing."
"How?", Miles asked, looking at the second photo Morgen had slid his way. "How is she able to get shot and sliced like that? Those wounds should have been fatal."
Morgen thought for a moment before he spoke. "There are people in this world with special abilities. Jan Caufield is one of those people."
"Some sort of experiment?", Miles asked with reflection.
"If we were that lucky. No, Miss Caufield is natural product of the gene pool, a random chance that the right woman and the right man would have the right child. She was born with her ability to heal, and with great strength."
"So that's how she beat the three of us", Miles said to salve his bruised ego.
Morgen chuckled. "No, no. She used to have great strength, but not for a while now. Your defeat earlier today was the result of those wonderfully sculpted muscles that she is quick to show off and her eight years of hand to hand training. No super strength at all."
Miles hung his head. "So I got my ass kicked by a mostly normal 19 year old girl who has commendations from the Federal Government." He had ruined his life, and she had been trying to warn him. He wondered what was next.
"Now on to what I need from you..."
"What do you want?", Miles asked, dreading the answer.
"Nothing of consequence. Just the name of the person who handles logistics and procurement for field operations for your office."
"Jim Napolitano?" That seemed like a trifle compared to the secrets that Morgen had just given up.
"That must be him", Morgen said quickly. "Mr. Napolitano would be the one who would procure equipment for any operation for the local Bureau?"
"Yeah, that's right. Even black operations go through his office."
Morgen's smile had leaches in it. He slid a piece of paper across the table. "Write down everything you know about Mr. Napolitano."
"Everything?" Morgen nodded, and Miles started writing. He wrote down everything, including what he ordered for lunch on a regular basis and when he took lunch. On the back side of the paper, Miles even drew a sketch of Napolitano's movements around the building. When he was finished, he slid it back to Morgen.
"Very nicely done. You have an eye for detail."
"It's part of the job. You aren't going to hurt him are you?"
"Probably should have asked me that before you gave me the information", Morgen smirked. "I have no intention to harm him. I'm going to need some information from Mr. Napalitano, but not for some weeks. This is all I need right now." Morgen waited for Miles to wonder what the hell he had done, and how much trouble he was going to be in before he spoke again. "So, Agent Miles, you know the truth about Jan Caufield, but you still don't know who committed the attacks around the city."
"What the hell difference does it make? I'm not getting my job back."
Morgen leaned forward. "What if I were to say that I could help you with that? I could get you back on without any permanent reprimand going on your record."
"I'd say it was a miracle."
Morgen's smile came back. "Not quite, but close. Excuse me for a moment."
Morgen walked out of the room into the hallway. He made a call to New York first, to get a phone number. Then he put a call to the number he'd just received. He caught SAC MacCallum just before bed. Morgen's power didn't work very well from distances, but they were just close enough for him to send the suggestion to MacCallum. He kept the man on the phone long enough to make sure it worked. He was tired when he walked back into the hotel room. "MacCallum should be calling you."
Miles' cell phone rang after less than a minute. "Hello. Oh hello, sir" Miles listened without speaking for several minutes. "I truly am sorry, sir, and I'm glad you reconsidered. I won't let you down." He flip closed his cell. "Whoa. I can't believe this", Miles sighed. He was overjoyed and couldn't remove the smile from his face. He loved the Bureau even if he had tried to ruin himself.
"I'm quite pleased for you. As it turned out, your Agent MacCallum was conflicted. He just needed me to point him in the right direction."
"Thank you, Mr. Stern. I don't know what to say."
It wasn't Morgen's smile that made Miles' grin fall away. It was the look in his eyes. "Don't worry, Agent Miles. You're worth the trouble." Miles realized that he'd just been bought and paid for. It was too late for him to go back. "Now about those attacks around the country... Have you ever heard the name Malcolm Borman?"
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