The Prior

POV: Cass Abbot

I can feel Elliot staring at me. I just look ahead. I’m worried I scared him too much. Obviously, my goal was to make him terrified enough to tell me everything, but I might’ve gone too far. Maybe I should’ve stuck to just a knife, instead of the gun… Worse, I have a million unanswered questions, but I can’t ask them. Elliot needs to stay on my side, because if he doesn’t I’ll have to choose between my job and my personal feelings… of friendship? Maybe something more.

I grab a stick in the grass nearby. Using the stick, I draw in the dirt: You “nap”. We talk. X recorder. Elliot glances over. Hope I’m not pushing him too much. He kicks the dirt where I wrote the message to clear it out.

“Cassidy, can you keep watch? I want to take a nap, I didn’t sleep much last night,” Elliot asks.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll just wake you up if anything happens?” I question, trying to sound the most natural.

“Yeah,” he whispers before adjusting his body and pausing the recording. After a moment, he removes it from his pocket and rests it in front of me. I stare at the recording light for a moment, just to ensure that it’s really off.

“We’re good,” he says. I smile at him.

“I have a few questions that I figured you wouldn’t like on record,” I say. He nods at me,

“Go ahead. I have some for you too.” I sit up to face him.

“Let’s trade off. I ask. You answer. You ask. I answer, if I can. Then I’ll ask again,” I suggest.

“Sounds fine,” he whispers.

“First question, the original paper said that my real boss, Benjamin English, the real CIA director organized this. Did you meet him, ever?” I ask.

“What does he look like? There was a man named Ben, but I didn’t get a last name and he could’ve given me a fake name,” Elliot answers.

“Mid-fifties. Little shorter than you, stocky, gray scruff. Thick midwestern accent. Usually wearing funky socks and a matching tie. Grown out buzz cut,” I elaborate.

“No, definitely not. The Ben I met was about the same age, but he had longer hair. Normal tie and socks. No distinct accent. A bit taller than me and I wouldn’t say super stocky,” he answers.

“Okay. I don’t think it was the same guy. But, close enough description that I wonder if they tried to get you to believe that he was Benjamin English. Go ahead, your question.”

“What are you supposed to be doing here? You said wipe out the leadership’s family line, but how does that happen?” he asks.

“Well, that’s why I am trying to figure out who these people are. I think my first goal is to figure out why these events are being changed. What exactly does each event have to do with giving these rouges power? I’m trying to piece together each event and figure out why we are changing them,” I explain. He nods.

“Okay. Your question.”

“Have you decided if you’re willing to help me? Obviously, you’re willing to talk to me about it, but will you help me?” I ask. This is the question I’m the most afraid of. He seemed against it last night, but maybe the rest and time has helped.

“I will help you, Cassidy,” he says with a sigh. I reach over and squeeze his arm gently.

“Thank you, Elliot.”

“My next question is different. If you can’t answer, that’s fine,” he says before pausing. I look at him, nervous. Is he going to ask something I could get in trouble for answering? Is there a favor he wants in exchange for helping me?

“Go ahead,” I mutter after more silence. He nods, biting his lip.

“Our relationship. Is that real or strategic for you?” he says. My heart sinks.

“Define relationship,” I request. He looks down for a second.

“The trial. Our kisses… Honestly, even our friendship,” he says, trailing off.

“Our friendship started off as strategic. I was convinced that Max was a mole and thought that you could help me. Then, I genuinely started liking you as a friend,” I explain. He winces as I say ‘friend.’ I feel bad for him, I really do. I continue, “But, the kiss we shared after you got shot was completely real. I realized how much I liked you when you almost died. But, honestly, the trial was a mix of both. I suggested it for a strategic purpose, but maybe I enjoyed the idea a little bit.”

“But, the kisses were real?” he asks, his voice cracking ever so slightly.

“They were,” I say, with a soft smile. Without warning, he leans into me. His hand pushes against the back of my neck, pushing my lips into his. I close my eyes and allow myself to enjoy the kiss. I wrap my arms around his neck as he pulls me closer to him. The soft touch of his hand against my back makes me feel safe. He pulls away first, before I was ready. I keep my arms wrapped around his neck and pull him into a tight hug.

“From now on, everything is real,” I whisper directly in his ear. He squeezes me harder before placing a soft kiss on the side of my neck. I softly rub his lips with my thumb. At last, he pulls away and looks directly into my eyes.

“Thank you, Cassidy,” he says. I nod at him.

“My question now?” I ask.

“Hit me,” he says.

“Have Max or Belle figured out that you’re involved? Or are they involved too?” I ask. He shakes his head at me.

“No, you’re the only one who even started questioning things. Belle’s way too young to get there, I think. And, Max… I have no idea why he’s even here,” Elliot says.

“Okay. You have another question?”

“Yes. How do you genuinely feel about me?” he cocks an eyebrow and just looks at me. My heart flutters. I just stare right at him.

“I need your help. I appreciate your friendship,” I say. His eyes droop and he nods lightly.

“The kiss just now gave me too much hope, I guess,” he whispers, almost as if I wasn’t supposed to hear him.

“I just don’t know what I want. I’m sorry if I’ve been leading you on, because I do adore your friendship. But, I think it’s best if we just focus on working together. I wouldn’t want personal feelings to get in the way of what needs to be done. I also don’t know if I have feelings for Max, either,” I explain. He looks back up at me and continues to nod silently. I don’t think that I have feelings for Max. We had some great moments, sure. But, I only mentioned his name because I need Elliot to be hurt. He won’t let go unless he’s hurt. Mentioning Max was the only way I can think to do that.

“No hard feelings, Cass,” he says, gently. My chest aches at him calling me Cass.

The sound of a rattling wagon steals our attention. Elliot looks at me and grabs the recorder. After starting the recording, he places it in his pocket.

“Have a good nap?” I asked him.

“Yeah. What’s that sound?” he says, with a fake yawn. I peak my head around the bush to see a horse drawn wagon. There are approximately 9 people on it.

“Barn party,” I say. His eyes light up and he, too, peaks around the bush.

“So, I was right?” he gasps. I smile at his enthusiasm.

We both jump up and run around the other side of the barn, where Belle and Max unexcitedly stare at the barn’s backyard. Belle sees us first, then Max. I almost trip over my own feet, but Elliot catches me, thankfully.

“Barn party!” Elliot exasperates. Max and Belle stand up quickly. And, the four of us run back to the front of the barn. We all come crashing down behind Elliot and I’s original bush. Someone stopped too early and surely we all toppled over. I can hear Belle giggling. It’s the first time that I’ve heard her genuine laugh this entire time. Max helps me up, then we strategically all watch from behind the bushes.

“So… plan?” I ask. Elliot looks at me and shrugs.

“I mean… are we stopping the party or waiting for the fire to start?” Belle asks.

“I’m afraid the fire will get out of control quickly,” I say. Elliot shakes his head.

“No, I think if we stop the party, then he’ll just throw it again tomorrow and we’ll be stuck here another full day,” Elliot says. I look at Max and Belle. They just stare back at me.

“Guys? Input?” I say, frustrated. Why is it always me and Elliot making every plan?

“I think Elliot’s right,” Belle says. I nod.

“Thank you. Let’s watch closely for this fire. And we need water,” I say. Belle points to a small well down the road.

“Bucket?” Elliot questions. We all scour the farm land. Until, finally, Max just says,

“Got it!” and ducks under a tree. He soars across the land and steals an unlit lantern. He slides back down, behind our bush and yanks open the top of the lantern.

“Belle, take that to the well over there, you’re the least conspicuous,” Elliot suggests. She grabs the lantern and walks casually to the water well. Max and Elliot sit on opposite sides of me.

“You guys have a good chat?” Max asks, aggressively. He leans around me, making eye contact with Elliot, despite asking us both the question.

“Yeah,” Elliot says. Max laughs.

“So… what’s the situation? Do you two hate each other now? Do you like each other?” he says, chuckling. I can’t tell if he’s super upset or if he’s just trying to be funny.

“We’re good, I think,” Elliot says. I nod. Max just laughs. Belle approaches with the water filled lantern. I’m a bit worried, since there’s not very much water in the lantern. I turn my attention back to the barn party. It looks quite fun, actually. Someone sings, others are dancing and all I hear is laughter. A simpler time. Simpler people. Elliot has the best view into the barn, since he’s now on the end.

“Oh, oh. Someone kicked over a lantern,” Elliot says.

“Go!” I say. Elliot grabs the lantern of water and rushes over to the barn. I hear a commotion of people hollering about the fire. I move to where he was sitting so that I can see the action.

Elliot shoves several people out of the way and flings the water at the fire. The entire fire explodes, as if Elliot’s water somehow tripled the volume of the fire.

“It’s a grease fire! Water makes it worse!!” Max realizes, rushing over to the barn. I look over, panicked, at Belle. She looks equally as terrified, her hand over her mouth with widened eyes. I peak back around from the bush and see Max throwing handfuls of dirt onto the fire. Elliot holds back the crowd of party-goers. We’re too far to see perfectly, but it seems that the fire is going out. I squeeze Belle’s hand, relieved.