The Millennial Box by Julie Steimle (snow like ashes .TXT) 📖

we speak of devotion we rather should be speaking about integrity of the heart. That, I think, is true devotion."

She sat down. Mr. Humphries nodded approvingly. So did Jeff. He may have been a big fat liar who used his lies to protect thousands of people. But he liked that she mostly stuck to the truth - never mind everyone thought she was merely an Irish immigrant.

 

The hours ticked by. Past History, past Biology and another animal to dissect, past Chemistry and more experiments, past Lunch and another art session with Jessica; Jeff and Zormna watched the clocks anxiously. Past Health, past PE, past Computers - both waited until the last bell.

When the last bell rang, Jeff found Zormna standing near her computer class door, trying to leave. But she got stuck in conversation with her computer teacher who had been intrigued with how fast she wrote her program and completed her assignment. He had been offering her the job to be his teacher's aide for the next year, and she was trying to politely turn him down. He would not take no for an answer.

"Please, Mr. Darnell, I have got to go," she at last begged.

Jeff smirked, waiting.

Her teacher saw him. His gaze darkened with judgement. He shook his head disapprovingly. "Really, Zormna, think about it."

She closed her but accepted that was the only way out. "Fine. I'll think about it, but don't expect anything."

She marched out of the room, joining Jeff in the hall. But instead of taking their usual route homeward, Jeff steered her toward the auto shop.

The 'janitors' noticed the detour and radioed it in.

"Ready to go?" he asked her as they cut through the open garage mostly filled with unfinished cars and auto parts.

Zormna nodded tiredly. "We are taking something other than your motorcycle, right?"

Jeff winced, pulling her along by the wrist.

Zormna stared at him, halting. "We are taking something else right?"

He could not look her in the eye.

"Jafarr!" she growled, staring at him.

"The truck's in the shop," he admitted, turning around "Al...he's still learning and he wanted to fix it himself."

She would not move from her spot. "What about the trip? What about our clothes? I'm not spending another night sleeping in the dirt with bugs, a beer shirt, and no shower."

Jeff took her hand, which startled her as she could feel the callouses on his fingers from playing stringed instruments. His hands were warm. "I packed sleeping bags. I got a set of clean clothes for each of us. And I have plenty of food packed - plus rain slickers in case it pours while we're there."

Then he pulled her along. Relenting, she let him drag her forward as he spoke, though she was not at all pleased. Yet shivers ran up her arms as his fingers wrapped gently around hers.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'll let you drive," he added wearily.

A pleased smirk emerged on her face. She walked more willingly along.

"Ok," Zormna gave in, squeezing his hand. "But we hurry and beat the Feds there, in case there are problems."

He shook his head at her, reassured by that little squeeze. "Just don't get arrested for speeding."

She smiled.

A few of their classmates saw them leaving the school grounds, realizing it was the first time they had ever seen Jeff and Zormna holding hands. 

 

Chapter Twelve: Room Service

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The quality of the service in a hotel is in direct proportion to the thickness of the towels." - anon -

 

 

 

 

They left directly from school. Not even the FBI car saw them go from the auto shop, though they watched the parking lot for an hour before the agents realized the two teens were not there. Zormna drove for the first hundred miles, not speeding as Jeff half expected but enjoying the steering as one who had come home to an old friend. He also understood now how boring the trip had been for Zormna last time, which is why he insisted to steer the next hundred miles to kill the monotony for himself. They traded off most of the trip. For the most part, they were less achy for it.

Zormna and Jeff did not arrive in Florida until late Saturday night, which was sooner than they had expected. Again they lodged at the sailor-styled motel in Orlando, exhausted, only this time they knew what to expect. This time they came prepared. Zormna still got the bed, but Jeff somehow managed to sleep in spite of her tossing and turning. He slept with his earbuds in.

Bright Sunday morning, when the light was barely cracking through the curtains, the FBI came knocking. Neither Jeff nor Zormna were awake.

Zormna rolled over and looked at Jeff on the floor. He slept soundly through the first set of knocks - the set that had startled her awake. But the second set made him jump.

He nearly knocked heads with her.

Pushing her head away from his, Jeff rubbed his own almost-struck forehead in a daze. Running his fingers through his hair, he muttered. "What were you doing?"

Rolling her eyes at him, Zormna climbed off the bed and walked over to the curtained window where she peered out the crack. She moaned when she recognized the agents at the door. "Scrapes! How'd they know we were here?"

Pushing off his blanket, Jeff got up and peered out of the peephole in the door. He also moaned, though not exactly for the same reason.

"I think Steele told them we were staying here," he said, making for the lock.

"You're not going to let them in are you?" Zormna exclaimed, jumping back from the curtains. Her curls were all over crinkled. And though that didn't matter to her, she didn't feel dressed - never mind that Jeff was also male and in there with her.

He smirked. "We have to see them sooner or later."

Jeff opened the door.

The four agents on that assignment stepped forcibly into the room, followed by Steele. They looked around the motel room then at the two bed-tired teenagers, eying the blanket and pillow on the floor as well as the messed up bed. Both of their drowsy personages stared back from inside overlarge beer T-shirts which they had bought on the last trip.

"Won't you come in?" Jeff murmured watching them take a seat on the far armchair and unmade bed. He especially eyed Agent Sicamore, ignoring the rest as they were not really his problem, as he saw it.

The acute mockery in the eyes of the agents who regarded Zormna as naïve caused Zormna to roll her eyes and march into the bathroom, closing the door with a bang behind her. The agents chuckled with peeks to Jeff who ignored them. Jeff's hair was sticking out in random directions. He still had that sleepy glazed look in his eyes.

"You didn't expect us?" Agent Sicamore tersely inquired with a sliver of sarcasm. "Because I could have sworn this was going to be a joint operation. At least you agreed to a - what did you call it? An 'unholy alliance'?"

Jeff smirked then yawned, scratching his head. "No point in getting ahead of you, that's for sure."

They could hear the shower running. Jeff walked over to the door and checked to see if it was locked. It was, and perhaps firmly so. He held in a laugh. Knowing Zormna, she probably wedged something between the door and jamb to keep it closed.

Agent Sicamore continued to stare at him, waiting. "Well?"

Still tired, Jeff blinked at him, turning. "Well what?"

Sicamore narrowed his eyes his arms stiffening in their folded posture, like he was restraining himself from lunging at Jeff. "Well, what have you planned?"

Jeff shrugged. "I figured you had a plan. I wasn't going to formulate one until I knew what you were going to do about it."

The FBI agent smirked, shaking his head. Rising from his seat, he said almost acidly, though he was still smiling,  "What? Your spies haven't told you what we've been doing?"

Jeff returned the smirk. "We never asked. I figured you wanted our help so I just waited."

The shower turned off. They could hear the shower latch detach and click with the metal. Zormna's bare feet padded on the damp tile floor. Jeff's words still resonated in their ears, though. He really had actually waited. And though it had the feel of truth, instinctively none of the agents believed it really was the truth.

Agent Simms especially seemed annoyed. His perpetual glare at Jeff remained as he stood up next to Agent Sicamore and pulled out a sheet of paper. Sicamore took it from his fingers and handed it to Jeff. Taking it, Jeff glanced over it. On the paper was a simple map of a building from drafted plans.

"This is the site where we think the box might be," Sicamore said. "We've watched traffic to and from the place and have determined that this one is their headquarters."

Jeff's dark eyes seemed to look inward as he examined the map. Jeff looked up. "Is this all? Is it only two floors?"

Sicamore nodded.  

"We scouted out the outside security. From what we can tell, they have motion detectors at the doors and alarms on the windows." Agent Hayworth pointed at the specific spots on the map. "The only way in without setting off alarms is through the front door."

Jeff nodded, thinking. "Ok, so what have you done to see how many people are inside?"

Agent Simms smiled, almost smug. "We did a thermal scan - only they have insulated the place well. It's set up like a fortress. That is why we think the box is here."

"That, and we managed to record some conversations over the phone with taps," Agent Keane said. "They mentioned something about how hard it was to open the box even after they got the excess machinery off, and they wanted a professional code breaker to come."

Zormna stepped out of the bathroom, fully dressed in a plain T-shirt and a pair of jeans. Steele grinned at her, sizing her up with lecherous approval. Even Agent Keane blushed when he saw her. But then he always had, even when he was playing teen-spy at their high school. Zormna was breathtaking. She walked to the group and peered over at the paper.

"What's this?" she asked, ignoring the stares out of practice.

"Floorplans," Jeff said, handing them to her.

Zormna looked at them and then back at Jeff. "Well, you're the escape artist. How do we break in without setting off the alarms? Also, how many are we up against?"

Jeff glanced back to Agent Sicamore. "Can I keep this?"

Sicamore nodded, as her questions were practically the same as Jeff's had been. "We have a copy."

Jeff nodded to himself. Then he sat down on the bed, examining the map. "Think. If you were a P.M. - or would rather be like one - where in this place would you put the box?"

Peering at the map, Zormna sat down next to him for a better view. She leaned close as Jeff held it so they both could see. The others watched the pair in action, as this was the first real open interaction they were able to witness between their two suspected 'Martians'. Together they seemed almost natural. Only Steele stood back at a skeptical distance, frowning.

"Where is the most secure