Chapter 13

She couldn’t believe she was doing this. Putting her life in the hands of an operative who she didn’t know was not smart. Nor was it something Charlie did. However, he was clearly not as delusional as she first thought, which helped his case somewhat. But regardless of any of it, they had to get out of this box. She was getting claustrophobic again, and there was a way out, so she was taking it.

Her booted foot fit firmly in his basketed hands, so she sent up a prayer and jumped. With his boost, her backwards summersault went farther than she’d thought it would, and for a few seconds, she was terrified she was going to over-shoot the doorway. From instinct and training, her legs straightened out, and her right foot landed firmly on the ledge. Her left foot swung wildly and her overzealous acrobatics left her with extra momentum she couldn’t control.

Fortunately, the kid was there. His small arms were stronger than she had anticipated when he grabbed her around the waist, pulling her back toward him, and they both sprawled out onto the floor.

“Thanks, kid,” she said, patting his face as she laid back down on the cold floor, her breath coming in ragged gasps. The whole damned day was a bit more than anyone should every be expected to take. It was flat ridiculous.

“We gotta get, Xander,” the kid said.

Taking off her beloved, leather jacket, she put her right arm backwards into the armhole until the wrist was tight around her bicep, then she fisted the shoulder and under-arm in her right hand and turned to Lennie.

“Ok, kid, if you want us to get Xander, then I’m going to need your help.”

Lennie nodded his head, eyes big, and wide with worry. She’d almost forgotten that most of the weapons she’d strapped on were underneath her jacket. She must look like a mercenary after his soul. If he was worried about her torso weaponry, then he was going to have a fit about what she was going to ask him to do next.

“I need you to sit on my lower back with your legs wrapped around me. I’m going to be lying on my stomach and your feet. While I dangle this jacket for Xander to climb up, you’re going to put your hands on either side of the door to keep us from going over from the force of his weight. Got it?”

Lennie’s eyes were still wary, but now he was getting excited.

Lying down, Charlie threw her right arm over the little ledge, allowing the jacket to hang straight toward Xander. Between her arm and the rest of the length of the jacket, Charlie gave Xander around six extra feet to close the gap. He still had the five feet across to make, but if he launched himself, and she swung her beautiful, Italian leather jacket toward him, it was possible to get him out too.

“Ready kid?” Charlie asked.

“I think so.”

It was going to have to do.

“Xander? Are you ready? I’ll start swinging, and you time your own jump,” she said.

“Ready,” Xander answered.

The jacket was heavy, so it didn’t swing crazily all over the place, it simply moved like a pendulum on a hypnotist’s chain.

Charlie watched as Xander timed his run, then jumped, catching the other sleeve, jerking them hard and fast. Then the weight was continuous, but the tugs were short and hard. Out of the corner of Charlie’s eye, she saw the boy’s arms shake as he fought to hold her up. For the first time she noticed her own predicament. Up until that moment, she had been so concentrated on the efforts of the man crawling out of the puzzle prison, that she didn’t realize the trouble she was in. No longer was her right arm the only thing hanging over, but now her left arm was hanging over, as she struggled to hold on to the jacket, and subsequently the man. Her body had begun to fall over the ledge with the power of his weighted steps as he placed his feet against the wall and tried to walk out of the enclosure.

He was less than five feet away, and Charlie felt him slipping. She couldn’t, no...she wouldn’t lose anyone like this. Not again.

“Lennie, I need your help kiddo,” she said.

“Uh huh.” Lennie answered.

Apparently kids were the same no matter what planet they were from.

“I’m going to try to pop up to my feet. I’ll need you to grab a-hold to my waist and help pull me. Because, Lennie, I’m not going to lie to you. We’re losing Xander. We can’t lose him.”

“No, no, we can’t; we can’t,” Lennie almost cried.

“Exactly, so, do what I’m telling you and we’ll get him up.”

“Okay,” Lennie’s voice was shaky and more than a little fear showed in the sharp tenor of his words.

“One, two, three!” Charlie popped up, her arms and thighs burning like hell. She screamed her protest while she put her feet to either side of the door, like Lennie’s hands had been. Standing, well, squatting gave him an extra foot closer, and she had to get his heavy ass up there. What did the man eat? Pure lead?

She screamed another time as she pulled her right hand over her left, pulling him to her as he pulled toward her in a backwards game of tug-of-war.

Lennie’s arms held her tighter around the waist and he buried his face in her back. She didn’t know what the kid was to Xander, but in that moment, she promised herself, that if anything happened to Xander, Charlie would take care of Lennie. He was just a scared little boy.

Maybe that’s the thought that did it, because one final tug, her legs burning until the muscles were in spasm of their own accord, and her left hand grabbed hold of Xander’s wrist, pulling him to her in a hero’s welcome. A welcome where she was the hero, damn it! Apparently, Xander thought so too, because his mouth came down over hers, in a kiss which burned out every possible memory of any other kiss.