The Countess and The Spy - Closed for BeachBum25

[TheNiteSiren]

Bits of tree branches became caught in her long black hair as she raced through the trees in an effort to escape the nightmare that was following after her. Tears ran down her cheeks as she stopped for a moment to catch her breath and to hide. The day had seemed to start out normally enough for the young Countess Umberto. At 22, Desideria was one of the youngest ever to inherit the title but her circumstances had been far from normal. While still in college, she had resided at home and lived life as any girl did at that age. Music was a passion for her and Desi sang with a local group in their home town near Rome. Things had been particularly tense that night when she was to be performing again. Her parents just seemed to be on edge but she had no idea why.

Her mother, Sabrina Umberto, was very close with her daughter while her father, Marco, kept a bit of distance. She knew they kept things from her but always thought it had to be for a good reason. Her father was very protective man, making sure she had the best security he could find. She went to the club that night with no expectations on how the night might end. The crowd was as receptive as ever and Desideria enjoyed her time in the spotlight. That night she went up to the front door to notice it was already ajar, which was odd considering her father’s paranoia.

The first scent that hit her nose when she entered the home was that of blood. The head of her security team just barely caught her as she fainted in front of her parent’s dead bodies. Someone has massacred the entire household. There wasn’t a person left alive, including her dog upstairs. The scandal broke out the next morning and rumored speculated that her father was into something illegal. Desideria became very vocal in the fact that her father was a straight-laced working man that never did anything outside the boundaries of their laws. Clearing his name became a way of coping with their deaths, a way to deal with not having them with her anymore.

It had been 2 lonely years since that awful night. Once reaching the age of 21, Desideria inherited the title and all the wealth and privilege that came with it but she would have gladly given it back to have her parents again. Now she again found herself a situation she had never faced. She had been taken forcefully from the club by two brutes and brought out to the camp ground nearby. She managed to get loose, which is how she was running from them at the moment. She could hear the ruffians in the distance, coming for her. What was she going to do?

 

[BeachBum25]

Aaron Cross had been through a lot. In fact, his name wasn't really Aaron Cross. When he signed up to enlist in the army his recruiter told him that he didn't score high enough on the IQ test to get in. He was devastated. The recruiter knew how much it meant to him to get into the military, so, his results were doctored, and off he went. Once enlisting, he proved himself to be the best at everything he did. He made such an impression that he was chosen for a Special Ops assignment. That is where is name was changed. The story that everyone in his past would be told was that he was killed by an IED in Afghanistan.

He was excited about the chance to work in Black Ops, but what he didn't know was that he was part of a genetics experiment. He had to take different colored pills everyday.....green ones improved his physical skills......blue ones improved intelligence. After an investigation into the program, there were attempts to eliminate anyone and everyone involved with the program. Aaron was responsible for saving the lead geneticist and himself.... all others were eliminated. Aaron eventually eliminated all those trying to cover up the program. The geneticist had infected Aaron with two different viruses....those viruses eliminated the need to take the green and blue pills.

Once Aaron and the geneticist had parted ways, he needed something to do. He wanted to use the special talents and abilities that he had. He started out exploring opportunities to be a mercenary, but soon found that he was too idealistic for most of the work that was available. He did not want to do it for money. He wanted to do it for the principle. So, what he did was make connections. He found himself work fighting for people that truly needed help battling against those who had wronged them.

He no longer went by Aaron Cross. He was simply AC.... there was no record of him anywhere, but if you needed him, there were people who knew how to find him. He sat at a cafe in Paris taking in the sights of residents and tourists passing by. He was enjoying the peace and tranquility...until his phone rang. It was an insider from he Italian government. AC was needed right away, because the Countess had disappeared. They feared for her safety especially in light of the fact that her entire family had been slaughtered two years before.

AC got up from the table, paid his check, and started to make calls to get him to the Countesses last known location. Once there he began to track. It wasn't long before he was in the woods. He was determined to find her. He found a cottage but it was empty. Then he heard voices in the woods. He set out, quietly. Most of the men would not know what hit them. The goal, however, was to find the Countess. He began moving through the woods searching for her.

 

[TheNiteSiren]

Desideria whimpered as she tripped over the tree root as she ran. Her ankle hurt but it didn’t seem to be broken and still she could hear the men behind her. The woods here were very dense and were packed with wild animals that could be a danger. She could hear one of them yell out a warning which frightened her. Her father had taught her to be a survivor if nothing else and Desi refused to let these criminals take her life today. The fact that she had gotten free initially was surprising and very lucky. One of the men has been so preoccupied with a local football game on the radio that he paid little attention to her machinations.

Once free she lured him close and kicked in the balls, a tactic her mother had used on a reporter who had called her a whore once when Desi was ten. She hid some bushes near the waterfall. In the distance she swore she could a man yell out as if he had been hurt but far as she knew, her kidnappers were all that occupied these woods. Maybe an animal had found them? Either way, it was divine justice. All that was needed now was for her to find her way out of these woods.

Desi reached inside her blouse to the antique silver compass that she wore around her neck. A gift passed from father to child and most cherished by her. She was careful enough to avoid the main path. If there were any of them left, chances were that was the likely route they would expect her to travel. She could feel the crumbling edges of her emotions just dying to give out but she wouldn’t do it here. When it was safe and the whole ordeal was over, then and only then would she let them out where no one else could hear.
‘Our burdens are our own. It is selfish to expect anyone else to take on what we carry.’ It was how her father always saw things. The few times she had ever seen her father let go of his emotions had been in extreme cases. The day her grandfather died from liver cancer she had found him crying into her mother’s arms. It had killed her to see the stoic man that had raised her in such pain so she had wrapped her little arms around her daddy and cried with him.

The woods were proving to be even more hazardous to navigate then she thought. Desi nearly fell over a small cliff and ran down a side path when she heard someone coming up behind her. She stopped by a tree, grabbing a heavy rock to smash the man’s head in but he never came by. A strong arm pulled her up against a hard body, another hand clamped over her mouth. The only look she got of her captor told her that he had the bluest eyes she had ever seen.

 

[BeachBum25]

AC moved through the woods deftly. His training had taught him how to move without being seen or heard. It did not matter what the surroundings were. It could be the cold concrete of some city city inside the Arctic Circle, or it could be the swamps of Southeast Asia. It did not matter. Unless he wanted to be seen, nobody would catch a glimpse of him.

The first person he saw was hunched behind a tree. He was making some kind of sound that AC assumed was a signal to the others. Carefully AC moved behind the man, and before the guy knew what hit him, he was dead....his neck snapped in an instant. He didn't have to think about any of this. It all came naturally...instinctively. Some of it the result of intense training. Some of it the result of the the pills, at first, and now the genetic virus.

AC moved from the first man to the next one he encountered. This time there were actually two of them together. He broke the first one's neck, and then stabbed the second one through the heart. The second guy was able to get out a short scream before death overtook him. AC was a little pissed at himself for allowing him to make a sound. It wouldn't happen again. He moved quietly forward. He had an idea where the target was heading based on the direction her captors were tracking her. AC moved in a direction to get ahead of her and cut her off.

He took up his position and he heard her coming. His heart skipped a beat when he saw that she almost fell off the cliff. Fortunately, she maintained her balance and was able to keep moving. He positioned himself perfectly, and when the opportunity presented itself he grabbed the Countess, and moved to cover her mouth to make sure that she did not scream. He held her close to him to reduce her ability to struggle and fight back, and he whispered to her, "ssshhhh Countess. I am a friend. I have been sent to find you and return you home. I do not want to hurt you. Relax, and I will let you go and I will lead you back home."

Slowly he removed his hand from her mouth, and he loosened his grip on her. He waited for a second to make sure that she was okay. "I am sure you have questions, and I am sure that you are not certain that I am really here to help you, but would I release you like this if I was here to take you back to your captors? I know it is a lot to ask, but you need to trust me."

 

[TheNiteSiren]

Those lips so close to her ear made her shiver with suppressed fear but as he spoke Desi could sense the sincerity in what he said. Her father always said that some mean gave off something that just felt right while others held an air of evil to them that tainted everything they touched. This man felt safe to her but she was still at such a young age that trusting her own instincts was still hard. He had not completely let go of her but if Desi wanted, she could easily break away in this loose a grip. Her English was lightly accented as she whispered. “I do not know who you are but these men are very dangerous.”

She looked back again and was struck by that handsome, rough exterior. He was not like the dandies that tried to wine and dine her for her family’s fortune. Desi had grown tired of the pompous society climbers that wanted to rub noses with the royal families. She would much rather be on stage again with her music. It had been the only time she ever felt any peace in her heart, especially since she had lost her family.

“I will trust you.” It was an offer she never made carelessly. Not certain why he did it but the man took her down a certain area that seemed to be familiar to him. Odd considering she had never seen before today. The hour was growing later and he seemed to be setting up camp. Desideria did tense up slightly when she saw him pull a small gun out of the pack he had with him but relaxed once he put it away. He seemed so ordinary to her but there was something hidden beneath the surface. People were rarely what they appeared to be.

“Do you have a name?” No answer. “Do you come out to rescue damsels in distress often?” No answer. She sighed in frustration. “Americans.” It was a stereotypical reaction but at the moment she really didn’t care if she was being politically correct or not. She wince when her ankle hit something the wrong way. Her hero was busy building a campfire so she took it upon herself to check that ankle that had been bothering her.

The sun was going down and the air had begun to cool, once the shoe came off the mild swelling was apparent. The inflammation wasn’t too bad so it wasn’t a break or a sprang, just a mild injury. By the next day, Desi should be alright.

 

[BeachBum25]

"You are correct Countess, you do not know me. One thing I will tell you, however, is that I am dangerous, also....much more dangerous than those men are, and that is a good thing for you." He turned and began to lead her down the side of the mountain. As they moved, he realized that he was going to have to find a place to camp for the night. If he was traveling by himself, he would be able to make it out without stopping, but that would not be possible while escorting the Countess out.

He began to look for a place to set up camp for the night. He moved as if he was familiar with this place, but it was his ability to adapt to the terrain and to his surroundings that made him comfortable no matter where he was. He noticed a level area with a backdrop of rocks. That would provide them with protection, and mean that he would only have to keep an eye in the one direction. He began to gather wood for a fire. He would need to keep the Countess warm. He was not crazy about starting a fire because it could give away their location, but he had to make sure that she was okay.

As he worked to set up their camp for the night he heard her asking him questions. He knew that she was accustomed to having her questions answered immediately, but he wanted to stay focused on the task at hand. Once he was finished setting up the camp, he would answer any questions that she cared to ask.....within reason anyway. He set up an area with sticks and branches for her to sleep. He did not want her sleeping on the ground without anything under her.

As he finished setting up the Countess' bed, he noticed that she was taking her shoe off. "No, don't do that. If you take your shoe off, your ankle will swell up." It was too late. She had already removed the shoe. He moved over to her and looked at her ankle. There was a little yellow and blue on her ankle, but it was not too swollen. Hopefully, she would be okay. He reached into his bag and pulled out some protein bars. The Countess had to eat, and he was pretty sure that she would not be interested in anything he would catch.

He extended the bars to her and gave her the choice. "Help yourself to the buffet. It isn't high quality food, but it will nourish your body and hold you over until we get you back home." After she chose what she wanted, he took one and opened it, he ate half. That was all he would need to hold him over. He sat down and looked at her. She was very attractive, and he just now had the chance to realize just how beautiful she was. "So, Countess, why are these bad people after you?"