Chapter 16: Pink Lace.

"I don't think taking her to your bedroom is a good idea." Gears had a valid point, but Rea wasn't going to tell him that.

"I didn't ask for your advice."

Rea carried Karma through the doorway of his bedroom past the kitchen table. He walked beyond his computer desk before setting his would-be assassin down on his bed. Gently, he placed her head on his pillow.

"What if she gets her memory back and tries to kill you again?" Gears arranged her legs so he could look at the bleeding cut on the front of her thigh.

"I know this isn't a thing I'd normally do, but I don't have a lot of options. All the men on this base are new. Ken does most of the hiring so that I have more time to train. I can't leave her to be assaulted in the interrogation room. If she wakes up alone, she could free herself and kill me or you or Eric, or she could leave. If she escapes, I still won't have any answers as to what's going on." Rea ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "Gears, help me take the rest of these clothes off. I'll find something to put on her. You can close any other cuts."

Carefully, Rea lifted her into his arms and started to unzip, unbutton, and unsnap the elaborate front of her bodysuit. He found a sack sewn on her back. He pulled out an H&K MP5. Earlier, he'd felt a rigid metal item along her spine. Now he knew what kind of weapon she was hiding.

While Rea pulled out smoke grenades and throwing knives from her pack, Gears washed his hands.

"Mac, I don't get you. Why do you care if some killer gets, well, taken advantage of by your men? Why are you protecting her? Because she saved your life when Josh tried to stab you?" Gears came over to the bed. He set his medical supplies down before helping Rea.

"Stop being dramatic. She didn't save my life."

"Why are you doing it, then?"

Rea didn't answer. Instead, he bent Karma's fragile frame forward. He tugged her arm out of her sleeve and realized he couldn't explain what it was about this woman. Over the years, Gears was one of the only people he'd ever told about his gift to know if someone was lying to him. Gears never judged him as a freak or tried to figure out the ability. Rea appreciated that. However, he didn't have the words to explain the fact he couldn't let this woman get hurt. He didn't know why, but she reminded him of someone. Letting her get screwed just wasn't in him.

As he removed pieces of bloody fabric that were stuck to her skin, he thought looking after her might be because this was the last base where he would work his ass off. Perhaps, now that his dad was dead, he was trying out doing whatever he wanted.

Well, it didn't matter why he was looking after her. All he knew was he couldn't be so heartless as to allow her to be unprotected. In the end, he couldn't let her fend for herself with strange men, most of who rarely seemed to follow his orders. Gears could understand his gift, but he didn't think he could understand this unexplainable need to safeguard Karma.

After Gears and Rea had removed her suit, Rea studied the material. He also flipped open the cell phone he pulled from one of the many pockets. Other than the weapons, the only other thing he noted was an old deck of playing cards.

Gears patched up her leg and all the other little cuts he could find with his healing cream. When he finished, the doc gave her a drug he insisted would ease the pounding in her head.

As Rea noticed the tattoos that covered her arms, he scratched his head. Tattooing was expensive and rare nowadays. He read the words out loud, staring at the bold cursive lettering.

"What goes around," he read on her right arm, "comes around." He finished as he glanced up at her face.

What goes around comes around was what karma was all about. Rea actually believed in that. He considered the type of person who would tattoo those words on her body. In the dark hours when his father beat him, he'd clung to the belief that one day his father would get what he deserved.

Wrinkling his brow, he picked up her bodysuit, pushing the unsettling reflections out of his mind. Instead, Rea considered the workmanship of her outfit. He thought about all the places where she could've gotten it. The cloth around her core was reinforced with a material similar to chain mail. The arms and legs were comprised of thick breathable material. This suit was made to stand up to the harsh snowy elements and gunfire. The fabric was fantastic. He'd never seen anything resembling it. This woman was no off-the-street killer hired to do a job. This woman was a professional who had money. No ordinary person would have a suit like this. No off-the-street hired gun would have a tattoo, either.

"She's all patched up. I even put something over her eye. After a few hours, she'll have less swelling and bruising." Gears paused. "Why do you look upset now?"

"This fabric is incredible. This bodysuit has some serious design to it. She isn't some randomly hired gun. This woman is a professional and has money. Who'd hire someone like this to kill me? I can't come up with a reason someone would want me dead."

"I can."

"Thanks, friend."

"I'm sorry." Gears glanced up at him. "That's not what I mean. I meant that without you, I don't think the water bases would be the kind of safe places they are. Really, these bases are underground cities, and you're the mayor. That's a reason. You're our leader now that your father is gone."

"I think you're the mayor. Besides, all the water bases have someone left in charge of them. Those guys would be as much a target as me. My father would've been a target, too, but I never saw anyone try to kill him."

That was too bad. I'd have helped, Rea added in his mind.

"Yes, but now that your father is dead, everyone answers to you." Gears pushed up his glasses. "Maybe you never saw anyone try to kill your dad, but it doesn't mean no one ever tried. It wasn't like your dad would've told you about it. You were not close."

Rea didn't respond.

Actually, what Gears was talking about wasn't even helpful. Rea had more questions rolling in his head than answers.

"Did you get anything off the phone?" Gears asked after silence fell between them. His friend picked up the suit.

Rea opened the only message window blinking on the phone. "It says 1:05 Karma."

"It appears she had a timetable. Either that or it could be code for who she was supposed to kill."

"A killer with a timetable isn't unique, and the Karma name could be 'coz of the tattoo." Rea ran his fingers over her arm. "I have a lot of questions for her when she wakes up. Is she awake? I'm having a hard time being able to tell."

"I don't know." Gears shrugged. "Her eyes are open, but she hasn't talked for an hour now. She didn't even flinch while I cleaned that deep wound on her thigh. I don't know what's going on with her. My rats didn't do anything like this that I can remember."

"Don't mention the damn rats again. It makes me want to punch you." Rea smirked so Gears would know he was joking, but really, he was tired of the reference.

Rea was about to tell Gears he could go and that he would call him on the intercom system later, when she groaned. Both men went to her side.

When Rea stood by the bedside, he took the opportunity to study her.

Karma was slight, but he could see her well-defined muscles. She had lush, full waves of dark hair. It was the kind of hair which, left free, would be everywhere. Her eyes were a rich brown, and a black fan of eyelashes surrounded them. If it were not for the circumstances, Rea would've said she was gorgeous. He'd never seen a woman like her. She had perfectly proportioned features and a small sharp nose above a soft-looking sensual mouth. Her lips were plump. The only thing which marred their perfection was the bruising on the right side.

Standing there feeling dumbstruck, he let his eyes wander lower. He looked first to the swell of her breasts, which rose and fell, and then he gazed at her smooth belly.

He found himself staring at the junction of her legs where he pictured nuzzling. He realized where his eyes traveled, and he quickly pulled them back to her face. They betrayed him, and he glanced again at her rounded breasts encased in a light-pink lace bra. Her underwear matched with the same pink lace design covering the dark hair at the junction of her legs. The sheer lace was flimsy and utterly feminine. Tiny flowers were sewn into the elastic at the top. It was ridiculous that under hardened fabric designed to shield her from bullets, she chose to wear this. He wished she was wearing more unattractive undergarments instead. If she were wearing ugly panties, then maybe he would feel differently. Who was he kidding? She could be dressed in a brown paper sack, and he would still feel completely captivated by her.

"What kind of woman puts on pink lace underwear to go kill people?" Gears voiced Rea's thoughts. Instantly, Rea was annoyed that Gears was seeing her practically naked.

He grabbed the corner of his old blanket and threw the cloth over her body.

"She looks sexy in it, too." Gears grinned as if he knew what he was thinking. Rea felt his neck heat up. He was acting possessive. It was not a good idea to think of her as anything other than the assassin who tried to kill him. She wasn't his… anything.

"You have a girlfriend. Keep your eyes to yourself." Rea knew he sounded jealous. He silently dared Gears to comment on his tone.

"I can look at the menu. I just can't order," Gears muttered.

"May I have some water?" Karma's weak whisper pulled both Gears and Rea away from the awkward staring contest.