Safe and Sound
Rome stared at Gus for a long moment before he said, “So the guy who is supposed to be keeping us safe brought us to a shootout?”
“I think it’s more like the guy who is keeping us safe went out into the world to fetch us and brought back some enemies who otherwise might not have known where he was,” Gus said with a shrug.
“Where’s Mary?” Ella asked.
“Asleep.”
“How can she sleep through this?” Rome wanted to know.
Gus shrugged. “She was… tired.” He ran a hand through his hair and looked away, and Rome found himself wondering how he had slept through that--how thick were these walls, anyway?
“What should we do?” Ella asked.
“I don’t think we should do anything,” Gus replied, looking Ella in the eyes. “King has it under control, I’m sure.”
“What were they shooting at then?” Rome asked.
Gus stepped over to the monitors, his hands on his hips, as he looked from one to the next. These weren’t as high tech as the ones upstairs, but they could see what was happening. The two men they’d seen with shotguns were making their way through the woods. On another monitor, a spring of some sort was triggered, and the guns went off again, but this time, there was return fire, apparently from the spring that was triggered and the form of a man, that looked something like a scarecrow. It was clear on the monitor that it wasn’t a real person, but in the dark, the attackers wouldn’t be able to see that. He wondered if the gunshots fired back at them were real or if they were just blanks.
When one of the men on the monitor grasped at his arm and shouted something in what sounded like Russian to Rome, he got his answer. “How did he do that?” Rome wanted to know.
“King is a genius when it comes to setting up defenses such as these,” Gus explained. “He has discussed how he would do it with me many times. I just didn’t realize he had put it into play.”
“It’s no wonder he was so careful when we drove in.” Ella had her arms folded as they watched the monitors. Rome put his arm around her. At the moment, he didn’t think she was in any danger, but he wasn’t walking away from the monitors as long as the gunfire was close enough to the compound to be heard.
The door at the other side of the stairs opened, and they heard footsteps coming their direction. “Is that King?” Rome asked, pushing Ella behind him.
“I believe so,” Gus said. Then, in Italian, he shouted, “King is that you?” Rome’s Italian was just good enough for him to be able to understand.
“Why are you kids up?” King asked with a chuckle before he appeared at the end of the stairs.
“Because someone is shooting at us?” Gus asked, and King let out a loud chuckle.
“Not at you. At me. I shoot back though. They’re on their way. Don’t worry. There is no danger here.”
“We’re sorry if they followed us here,” Rome said, meaning it. “We never meant to put you in harm’s way.”
“Everything is a harm,” King said with a shrug. “I am used to being in danger. That’s why I have built this place. Don’t worry. You’re safe. Go back to sleep. The sun will be up soon.”
Taking that to mean King expected them all to be up at first light, Rome took one more look at the monitors. Deciding they were safe, now that the men were out of the picture, he took Ella by the hand and led her back toward their bedroom. Once inside, he bolted the door into place, took off his shoes and shirt, and sat down on the cot. Ella was sitting on the edge, too.
“I don’t think I can go back to sleep,” she said, stifling a yawn.
“You’re obviously tired.”
“I am, but… that was scary.”
He brushed her hair back. “You’re safe.”
“How do you know? We don’t even know where those guys went.”
“They weren’t here for us. They were here for King. He didn’t even put any shoes on, so I think he’s not scared. If he’s not, why should we be?”
“True.” She stretched and slipped her shoes off. “Still….”
“Do you want me to stay awake while you sleep?”
“No. You need to sleep more than I do. I slept for three days.”
Laughing, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her down onto the thin pillow. “I slept quite a bit, too, remember?”
“That’s true. Life was a lot simpler then… when we were unconscious.”
He kissed her and rotated his arm so it was around her middle. “True. But I’d rather be awake and with you, even if it’s more complicated, than alone.”
“Me, too.” She kissed him but then lay back on the pillow, and he had a feeling she’d be out in a few minutes, even if she did say she didn’t want to go to sleep. She felt safe in his arms. He could only hope she actually was safe there.
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