Beautiful Catastrophe

Chapter Twelve:

"Las Vegas? Are you crazy?" Kim asked in bewilderment. "What the hell are we going to do in Las Vegas Nathan?"

"I have something I need to take care of."

"You sound very sketchy... I don't like this plan. I want to go home." She was uneasy about the entire thing regardless of the fact that she had given herself no time to warm to the new change of plans.

"You weren't going home in the first place Kim, we were going to D.C remember?" he scoffed, causing her to narrow her eyes at him in annoyance.

"Yes but at least I thought home might be in the near future. We're literally going back on our steps by days and days just to go to Las Vegas? Couldn't you have decided to go there like-I don't know- when we left Portland? It's going to take us ages." Kim felt as though she was about to have a nervous breakdown.

"Not my problem Sweetheart." He said monotonously.

Normal life was something that was definitely unreachable now, the constant question in her mind was: when would everything go back to the way it was? Tears of wretchedness pricked her eyes, her mind wandered a little more into the topic and then her sadness was replaced with anger.

"We have a punch of crazy Japanese Kung Fu men trying to kill us at any moment and now you're going to drive us all the way back to Las f*****g Vegas?!" Her raised voice made Nathan cringe slightly.

"Calm down Kim, god-"

"No, I won't calm down. The quicker you get me to D.C, the quicker I will fully understand what's going on and I'll be safe there too. Why the hell didn't you decide to go to Las Vegas when we were in Portland you dumbass?" she asked the same question he hadn't answered just a moment ago again.

"You're going to be safe, I'm assuring you now."

"Your assurance means jack s**t to me. You couldn't care less whether I'm safe or not. Dead or alive, once you get me to D.C, you'll be fine." There was a short silence in the car before Nathan finally spoke. He had been weighing up his options on what to say next and had decided to tell her the truth.

"That was a lie." He admitted, still keeping his eye on the road as they soared past the desolate landscape.

"What?"

"I was lying okay? I told you that to scare you. My boss needs you alive and safe. We're going to Las Vegas and then I'm taking you to D.C. It's my job to keep you safe and I must admit I'm very good at my job."

"You don't seem to be very good at your job, considering you're prolonging our trip, putting us both in more danger than needed."

"Kim... trust me with this alright?"

"No, not alright. I wouldn't say I could trust you at all actually."

"Well you're just going to have to."

"What's so god damn important in Las Vegas anyway Nathan?" Kim challenged him.

"I'm going to find the people who murdered my parents." Nathan spoke loudly with frustration.

It certainly shut her up. She was completely taken aback. Kim had only learned Nathan's parents were both dead a short time ago but he had never mentioned how they had died and so this caused some surprise after his confession. She was unsure how to act, and didn't know what to do or say.

"It's getting late, maybe we should stop off somewhere soon." Was all Kim could think to say when she opened her mouth. Her voice trailed off as she spoke and she looked away from him, out the window again.

*****

"I want her back here as soon as you can Nathan. I don't care whether you have to drag her by the hair or if she's in a body bag anymore. Once you get her here I don't give a fuck."

The words stung Kim's ears, she had heard every last one loud and clear. Nathan didn't know of her presence nearby yet, he thought she was getting ready for bed. He was sitting out on the balcony of their hotel room with his phone on loudspeaker.

"I understand." He nodded to himself; the change of plan was slightly unsettling for him. First, his boss needed her to be alive and now there was a huge rush to make sure her body physically got to D.C dead or alive. Some things were a little strange and fishy.

"I know you have other things going on at the minute after your discovery. You've been such a good agent over the years and so we can understand completely your need to extend the trip. We just hope you can complete the mission correctly."

"Why are you so keen on Kim being dead or alive now anyways? Didn't you need to question her when I got her to D.C?"

"Things have changed Nathan."

"What has changed? You assigned me this mission for a reason, I should know everything about it. What are you keeping from me?"

"She has something in her arm that we need."

"And what is it exactly that you need?" Kim edged closer to the door, still remaining hidden by the curtains that were pulled over almost all the way.

She wanted to hear this, she needed to hear it. She was scared even more then by the fact that Nathan could kill her at any moment and bring her back to D.C whenever he was done with his business in Las Vegas. It would definitely be the easier option- considering the two were constantly bickering and arguing with each other.

"There's a microchip implanted in her arm holding very important undisclosed details from her father's company. We need it as soon as possible, the information is vital for our case. It's more important than the answers we want from her now."

Kim covered her hand with her mouth, she could have gasped if she had wanted to be more dramatic. She couldn't believe what she was hearing and it made her feel sick. She began to panic and break out in a sweat, but was still frozen in her spot until a breeze came along and blew the curtain hiding her from Nathan.

Nathan's expression sunk, his eyes immediately connecting with hers. The look on her face showed that if she hadn't heard everything, she had certainly heard enough. Kim's heart was racing in her chest and then she finally decided to rip herself from the spot she had been standing in.

She ran quickly in the direction of the door but Nathan, as usual was too quick for her. He told his boss he needed to go and swiftly hung up to run after her. Kim was about to put her hand on the doorknob when Nathan yanked her arm away and pinned her to the wall.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked. She was surprised at how calm he was acting. His brows were furrowed but his tone was more quizzical than full of fury or rage. Kim hesitated for a minute, tears pricking her eyes again.

"I-I, I'm trying to get out of here. Just let me go Nathan please." She knew she was being silly. She knew he wouldn't allow her to leave but that was all she wanted in that moment.

"Kim you're trying to escape again and you haven't even got any shoes on? Stop being ridiculous."

"No! You don't know what it feels like."

"What what feels like?" Nathan's facial features held an expression of concern as he looked down at her sorrowful face.

"I don't know what's going on around me. Everything is going wrong, my life is a f*****g mess and I have no control over when or how that will change. I have no one." He had already let her go to examine her deflated exterior.

Kim had sunk to the ground, her back to the door as she covered her face with her hands. Tears escaped her eyes and she knew she would curse herself later on for coming across as weak in front of Nathan.

"You could just kill me now if you wanted. It would be easier for you. All you need now is this thing in my arm, and that's all the people on my father's side need too."

"I'm guessing you heard everything then?" he asked but she still wouldn't look at him. She wiped away her tears and closed her eyes before nodding yes in reply to his question.

"The night they got into our room one of them was checking my arm. I didn't know it then but it was because they were making sure it was still there, feeling around for it I suppose. If even the CIA doesn't value my life, the rest won't either."

"Kim..." She heard Nathan's voice close to her then and was a little startled when he wrapped his arms around her in a loose embrace. "Shh Kim, stop crying." He urged her gently.

She felt the soft touch of his hands removing hers from her face. He tilted her chin up in order to look at him. He seemed to be more than a little apprehensive and it surprised her.

"No." she said weakly, continuing to let tears pore down her face. He reached out and wiped some away.

"I know you don't trust me, but you're going to be safe with me Kim. I won't let anything happen to you while you're with me. Whether we're in Las Vegas or D.C." Nathan spoke with finality but nothing felt final at all to her. She looked unsure but he only held her tighter in response.

He knew he was getting himself into trouble by even considering the actions he chose to take that night. He understood how feelings were beginning to creep up on him. He could never love someone again- it was too dangerous and Nathan had learned that the hard way. He could never love a girl like Kim, but that didn't mean he couldn't care about her. The last few days they had spent together had made him realise he had no choice in the matter of what he would feel.

Nathan was aware of the fact that Kim didn't believe him and why should she? Everyone else in her life had let her down but he made a promise to himself and Kim then that he would protect her, unlike other people in her life. He would not let her down. Nathan's thoughts were completely and absolutely absurd, but he just had to deal with it.

He stayed with her for a while, the two sitting on the soft carpet in the room until he decided it was time for bed. Kim was exhausted, physically and emotionally, he knew that she needed to sleep. They both got ready and followed the same routine they did every night, ending with Nathan binding their wrists together.

Kim hadn't said much, she barely opened her mouth at all since her eruption a couple of minutes ago. She was too tired to cry anymore, Nathan had surprisingly been a comforting presence she needed that night. A ghost of a small smile fell upon her lips as soon as she felt his hand wrapping around hers in the handcuffs. She didn't want to be happy because of him but she was and there was no stopping that.

His boss's words wrung in his mind again as he felt the softness of her hand wrapped in his. Nathan knew it would be the easier thing to do but that would be a task extremely difficult for him to even contemplate. Nathan cared about Kim, he understood the challenges she had to face and believed her completely by then although a part of him was still apprehensive about it.

He knew for sure he had already grown too attached.