Everything Burns

Ara made it home in one piece, she didn’t exactly know if everything that had just happened was a figment of her overly dramatic imagination or not, so she turned on the tv and every channel, even Disney Channel, was talking about Governor Armstrong’s assassination along with the girl who was meeting him for lunch and ran out the second the bullet hit his head. The Federal government will be showing up at her doorstep any second now.

The feds always questioned her and her unit when in the forces about missions they could never prove, so this will be nothing, The Governor was just offering her a job on his personal protection squad. Easy-peasy.

She walked to her kitchen and sat the knife that the man gave her to free herself on the counter and began savaging for any food she could find, she wasn’t much of a grocery shopper. In fact, she hated going out into the general public overall, people got way too close to her liking and there are people who smell like fritos and onions, parents let their children run freely and eughh. Humans are too disgusting beasts, why did she sign up to protect their freedom? Well that’s a whole other story.

There was nothing in her kitchen except ramen noodles and 2 week old milk in the fridge, so she had no other choice to wait until she’s done with the feds to get some take out. She didn’t want them to think she was actually running, so she decided to stay.

Ara made her way to her beat up couch and closed her eyes, she wasn’t much of a sleeper either. But she took 20 minute eye rests a day or night and called it a full night rest.

She drifted off for what seemed like 5 minutes but was actually an hour, and a new record, when a knock on the door woke her along with a “Ms. Fulmori FBI, we’d like to talk.”

She walked to the door and opened it. “Ms. Fulmori.”

“We talking here or you taking me to the station?” Ara got straight to it.

“Here’s fine.” The Special Agent spoke and shoved past her into her own home, never foreplay before the action with these boys.

When they walked in, their eyes scanned around for any signs or clues for their case as usual.

She closed the door and leaned against the wall a couple feet from where they were. “You’re in my home and I haven’t the slightest of your names. Is Quantico changing their guidelines for a simple introduction?”

“I’m Special Agent Marsh and this is my partner Willis,” the taller one said through a brick like face. “Care to sit?”

“I’ll stand, get to the questions.” Ara tapped her foot impatiently. Causing Agent Willis to frown.

“What were you doing with the Governor?” Agent Marsh asked.

“He was offering me a job.” Ara answered.

“We weren’t aware there was an opening?” Willis said.

“He wanted a female bodyguard with just the amount of training his males had. I guess he was for the whole equality thing like stated in his campaign.” She shrugged.

“Did he tell you why he wanted extra protection?”

Ara shook her head. “No, just that I had a spot on his team.” She answered.

“Why you?” Willis asked again.

“Well Willis you probably didn’t have a chance to read my file because the entire thing was classified because my file is waaaaay above your clearance level. Agent Marsh you’re an ex-Marine and that much is obvious, I can sniff a jarhead from a mile away, so I’m guessing you saw a couple words on the papers but not much.” Willis looked to his partner and put his hand on his hip where his gun was holstered, Ara laughed, “6 years in the Special Forces boys. You guys just aren’t important enough to know about my life, now you can take me down to your little lab and fingerprint me but they’re just going to disappear again. Your government will make that happen for me. Regardless of how I got discharged, yes Agent Willis, I was dishonorably discharged. But moving on, Governor Armstrong offered me a bodyguard position because I’m bad ass as fuck. Anything else?” Ara was actually enjoying herself for the first time in months.

“Yeah, why’d you run?” Agent Willis asked. Ara looked at the rookie agent then to Agent Marsh who was mentally scolding his partner.

“It’s like what I said just went right over your head. I. Am. An ex-Special Forces soldier. I just got out 6 months ago. Meaning 6 months ago was the last time I got shot at. So when I get back to my homeland and see motherfuckers shooting Governors in the head, I’m fucking out, because I don’t have anything to return fire with. Now once again, anything else?”

“No m’am, that’s it, thank you for your time and service to this country.” Agent Marsh grabbed the rookies arm and dragged him out of her apartment, muttering under his breath.

Ara giggled to herself as the door closed behind them and she decided to not do anything for the rest of the day, and that grocery shopping could wait for tomorrow. It still hadn’t hit her what had happened just a couple hours before and it would be dangerous to go out into public not fully comprehending everything.

Sleep was something that never came natural to her, since a child she’s always been an insomniac, but when she was tired she could sleep anywhere at anytime during anything. It’s a blessing and a curse being able to sleep during gunfire.

But she was actually tired. Maybe it was just because of the mental exhaustion that she was going to have to deal with in finding a new corrupted governor, or maybe she was just tired from getting 9 hours of sleep every week, 36 hours of sleep a month. It wasn’t exactly clear, and neither was her mind.

But the amount of blood, sweat, and tears put in too getting Governor Armstrong on her side took 3 months of sleepless nights, she isn’t prepared to do it again. Hell, maybe she was just going to have to deal with it, deal that she’s a disappointment to this country, but more importantly: her father.

There was a faint knock on her door that startled her awake. She shrugged it off as her drug addict neighbor getting home from hitting the crack pipe, until she heard it again- then again. It was definitely her door being knocked on. Not many people visited her.. mainly because she didn’t know many people. Her sister had a key and just helped herself in, her neighbors were scared of her. Maybe it was the feds wanting to arrest her. Nah they don’t have shit on her.

Ara pulled herself out of her messed up bed and swung the door open, “I have nothing else to tell you age-” She was immediately shut up from the sight of the man who kidnapped her previously from this day stood at her door, with another man slumped over leaning against him.

“What the fuck? I told you we can’t help each other!” She whisper yelled at him, and the other man groaned.

“I found you another Governor.” He said motionless. Ara stood there dumbfound.

“What?” Was all she could manage to spit out.

“You said you needed another Governor to get what you wanted so I got you one.” He nodded towards the almost-unconscious man in his arm.

Ara’s mouth fell open and she just moved out of the way for him, but he didn’t quite get the gesture, “Get in!” He walked in dragging the.. Governor in with him. He laid him down on the couch and turned around facing Ara who had no idea how to go about this.

“You can help me now,” He stated, “I helped you.”

Ara ran her hand back into her messy curly bed hair, “I just had the Federal government here about 9 hours ago, 12 hours ago you kidnapped me and 13 Governor Armstrong got shot in front of my face. This is the most productive day I’ve had in a long time.” Ara walked to the kitchen and grabbed the first bottle of booze she could grab and took a large gulp of it. She had no idea where to even start with anything.

“What did you tell him?” She asked about the unconscious Governor on her couch.

“Just that he was going to honorably discharge you.” He answered, he spoke so emotionlessly.

“Then why is he unconscious?” Ara squinted.

“He kept moving during my efforts of getting him here.” She smiled and laughed which triggered something in him to crack a slight hint of a smile along with her.

Ara took another gulped and walked past him to stand in front of the Governor.

“I don’t even know your name.” She said continuing to watch over the Governor.

He stood silent and motionless, when Ara looked at him he looked as if he were in deep thought but she didn’t say anything. Went from watching the Governor to him.

“I don’t- I don’t know.” He finally spoke after a moment.

“You don’t know your name?” His blank stare answered for him. “Do you know who hired and trained you as an assassin?”

“Hydra.” He answered.

“I guess that’s where we start.” Ara walked to her bedroom.

“So that means you’ll help me?” He took a step towards the direction she went but stopped when she walked out with gadgets he’s never seen before.

“Yes. I will. I will help you disappear.” She began setting her stuff up on the bar of her kitchen.

“I want to know who I am.” He stood in the same spot. Ara looked back at him. First he wants to disappear, now he wants to know who he is. If any of this were even remotely normal she would force him to choose one or the other, but since he hand delivered her a Governor and she was honest to God curious as a motherfucker, she’d make an exception.

“I’ll call you John, for John Doe, for now. Until I figure out who you are.” He nodded slightly at her.

“Thank you Aramora.” He said.

“Just call me Ara.”