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Chapter 9
The door to Archer’s study flung open, interrupting her memory. “Cara?” He called to her, he could hear sniffling coming from the kitchen. Heading towards the sound, he found her holding a piece of paper in her hands. Her eyes were red and puffy, her face etched in pain and confusion. “Cara? Whats wrong?” He walked towards her, an arm outstretched.
“Don’t come near me!” She shouted, flinching away from his reach. She looked scared but that only urged Archer to walk closer to her, to shield her from whatever was hurting her.
“Talk to me! What’s going on?” He pleaded, edging forward again.
“You do not get to touch me!” She screamed. Archer froze, staring at her in shock. He didn’t understand what was going on and she refused to explain.
“Cara please.” He almost whispered, his voice shaking. “Let me help!” Cara stormed out the kitchen, instantly grabbing her things from around Archer's bedroom and aggressively stuffing them into her bag. She stumbled and
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There were no words to describe the rollercoaster she was travelling on. Cara would lay in bed at night allowing her thoughts to invade her mind, it was like heartbreak. Archer had filled her with an array of emotions only to shatter her heart into a million pieces. When she finally gave in and allowed the dam to burst, Jessica would rush in wrapping her in her arms and console her. But the arms weren’t the ones she needed. He had betrayed her trust and yet she found herself pining for someone unworthy of her. A few days had passed since the event and Cara had ridden the waves of pain and grief. Archer’s calls and texts had stopped and she welcomed the silence. The distance that followed helped a little but the dullness that ensued brought with it a new ache. As the middle of the week approached, the effects of Archer’s deception had subsided. She had managed to convince herself that it was just bad luck and good timing. Without Rich in her life, she had newfound freedom; sh
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“Archer!” A hand slapped him on the back, forcing the coffee in his hands to spill over the table. “Johnson.” Archer said choking on his drink, “How’re you doing?” Johnson sat next to him at the conference table, the room was situated in the middle of a large concrete building. The walls were greyed, accommodating a few blacked-out windows that let the tiniest slice of light through. The dimly lit room was overlooked by the battered hanging bars of light that had seen better days. The smell of coffee and men’s musk suffocated the atmosphere, whilst the sound of male ego filled the expanse. Archer was struggling with the lack of communication with Cara. The week had dragged while signal limited his access to speak to her. He had left her a message but he was unable to see if she had tried to get back in contact. It was one of the drawbacks of the job, and it frustrated him that it caused so much silence and distance between them. Archer had struggled w
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He squinted in the sunlight, the figure was far too tall to be Cara. Feigning slight disappointment he crouched down to pet the dog. “Archer?” The voice came from the tall, model-like figure. Archer stood up, forcing a polite smile to his face. “Or should I say, Zach Maddox? Which do you prefer?” Her face tilted sideways, mocking him. Archer’s smile dropped as he felt the sarcasm stab at him. “Sorry do I know you?” He asked confusion wavered through his voice. “You should.” She replied, pursing her lips. “You were a bit of a dickhead at school.” She stated. “I’m sorry I don’t follow.” He responded blankly. “Of course you don’t. Why would you?” The girl was starting to piss Archer off now. She was smirking at him, goading him on. “I’m Jessica, Jessica Jamieson.” Archer looked at her with his blank gaze. “We went to school together.” She continued. Before he had the chance to reply, Jessica butt in. “Actually, so did Cara! You know... ” she paus
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Archer woke up with a jolt, his alarm clock buzzing in the background alerted him that they would be moving out today. Archer jumped down from the bunk, heading towards the showers. He could already hear Johnson singing away as he opened the door. Archer flung his towel over the hook on the wall before stepping under the water. “Hey man!” Johnson turned to Archer. “Hey!” Archer returned, not as emphatically as he would have liked. “This girl has got you in a twist! What’s going on?” Archer turned to Johnson, giving him a brief dismal expression. “Okay okay! I give up!” Johnson retorted, throwing his shower gel at Archer before leaving the room. The men loaded up the vehicle before making their way over to the other side of the base to the airstrip. Checking their kit one last time before they entered the aircraft. The team placed their bags under their seats, doing their final roll call. Archer had tried to keep the situation between C
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Cara turned at the sound of screeching, a black van barrelled into the car park grinding to a halt next to her. She froze to the spot, unsure what to do. Should she run? Hide? Before she could decide, the door to the van slid open, clanging as it bounced back with force. Two masked men emerged from the van, jumping in front of Cara. One threw a heavy bag over her face, obscuring her vision whilst the other grabbed her by the arms. She felt the tightness of her binds wrap around her wrists, the sound of zipping as the cables pinched her soft flesh. Cara tried to scream for help, but before the sound could escape her lungs she felt a cold sharp sting in her neck. The coldness flowed down from her neck, travelling through her body, all the way to her extremities. The iciness enveloped her, draining her body of energy and she felt herself sink into darkness. The black van peeled out the car park, the guard at the gate stepping out of his uniform and joining the p
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The team had made their trek out to a nearby compound, the journey wasn’t long but the heat of the midday sun made it slightly more difficult.As they reached their new temporary base camp, O’Connell pulled out his map confirming their final destination.Three of his men entered the compound while the remaining men stood guard, rifles at the ready. Clearing the area was a quick and easy process, once confirmed Archer ordered the team to set up. The compound was small, it consisted of four rooms all on the ground floor with one large open room that took up the entire upper level. A mediocre staircase led from the upper floor to an open area on the roof. It was inconspicuous and would serve well as basecamp, temporarily.O’Connell and Blake were set up in one room, their weapons lay across the floor as they carefully inspected every detail. Archer walked through the area, observing their administration before turning the corner into the next room
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The early morning sun blasted through the insufficient windows of the dusty compound, suffocating Archer as he rose from his sleeping bag. The midnight shift change meant Archer could regain a few hours of sleep, but his thoughts tormented him. He had spent most of the night on the roof, watching the sparse tufts of grass quiver as the breeze passed over them. Not a movement in his sights. Archer had returned to his sleeping bag but was unable to fall into a slumber, instead, he resigned to the makeshift briefing room he had created to run over their mission plans. The rest of the team woke around the same time, filtering into the temporary kitchen one by one. “We move out in one hour,” Archer announced adn the men nodded; checking their watches. “I want to be in and out.” No other sound apart from the shuffling of feet could be heard. Everyone was packing their kit up silently, ready for the march into the next town. The sun was blazing down harsher than bef
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