Bolt

13

Kara decided to keep her thoughts to herself for once. She had been through too much that day to rely on any emotional reaction that would spring forth out of her mouth.

Elle crouched next to Kara and began rubbing her back. Bolt looked down at them, and Kara could see his eyes flicking between reverence and frustration. They were two fireballs colliding to make even more combustible elements.

“We should get going soon,” Bolt said.

Kara nodded, then let Elle help her up. She dared not say anything because her emotions were still on edge.

“Where to?” Elle asked Bolt.

Bolt pointed in the same direction that they had been heading the entire time. Elle nodded, then Bolt led the team.

“Let’s see where he takes us,” Elle said to Kara.

Kara sighed. She was too tired to argue. Even with a team member who she knew was on her side.

They began moving once again as if nothing had happened. Elle and Kara stayed at the back of the line. Kara kept trying to think back and imagine the drawing herself, wondering what the f**k Bolt was able to interpret so quickly.

She felt weak and useless. It wasn’t a nice feeling, but a feeling she was familiar with in her family unit. She wasn’t supposed to feel this way on any of her digs.

BOLT

Bolt made his way to the front of the line to lead the team the way he had interpreted the drawings. He knew that Kara was pissed at him, even though he had saved her. But he had irked her ever since they met, so he knew there wasn’t anything he could do that would make her trust him.

Maybe he did think that saving her life would do the trick, but it didn’t.

She probably saw him as some muscle head who would do anything to make a woman think she owed him something. But Bolt was the complete opposite of that, and she would find that out if she took any time to get to know him.

As Bolt trudged up the mountain, he pictured the drawing again. It was the same design as one he’d seen in a satellite photo of the area Kara’s group was in. The General herself had given him the folder with the operation’s details. The images showed where the rendezvous point would be after the gem had been found.

But what Bolt had noticed was the profile of an outcropping of rocks on the side of a mountain in one of the images. The bulge looked like it could’ve been the muzzle of an animal, long worn down with erosion. The outcropping must have been huge for it to show up from such a high aerial elevation. The thought went away when the General pointed out the location where they were to meet the helicopter.

But after seeing the cave drawing of the exact mountain profile in the imagery, he knew what it all meant. The problem would be locating that exact spot from the ground. The rest of the drawing may have been clues for getting to the location, but he didn’t have time to analyze them, just glance at them.

When he felt the tremors through the cave floor, he knew that he had to act fast and think later.

They had seconds to get out. And Bolt wasn’t going to let Kara’s pride get her killed, no matter how dedicated she was to it. It bothered him to no end, but he would always follow the mandate of the mission first.

Kara was alluring to him, though, despite her frustrating ways. She knew so much about the gem and was just as dedicated to her goal as he was to his. It was hard not to admire that, and with admiration came attraction.

Bolt wasn’t leading along the pathway up the mountain very long when Kara ran up and stood directly in front of him. He heard Elle yell after her, like a parent chasing their kid through a mall.

“I want you to stop right now,” Kara said.

Bolt stopped in his tracks, which made the rest of the team do the same. Kara stood there, chest heaving up and down from rage, and pointed her finger at him just as she had in the cave. It irked him immensely.

“You’ve no right to take over this mission,” she began. “I have worked for years studying this culture, and I am not going to let some government lackey come in and take over.”

Bolt stood still, completely exhausted from this ongoing debate the two had between them. It was practically wasting time, and Bolt hated doing that.

“Tell me what you saw in that drawing,” Kara said.

Tears were rising in her eyes, and Bolt felt a twinge of empathy. It was clear that she was passionate about the gem, her team, and everything else surrounding it. He abruptly felt guilty for taking over.

Elle stood beyond them, looking like she was waiting to get in the middle again. Bolt took his pack off and removed a notebook and a pen.

“I’m going to draw it from memory,” he said. “I don’t know how accurate it’ll be, but I’ll try.”

Kara blinked with surprise, and a tear rolled down her cheek. She wiped it away aggressively, probably hoping that Bolt hadn’t caught it.

He crouched to use his knee for a hard surface. He did his best to draw the tiger muzzle and the rest of the images. He could have easily just told her where he thought it would be, but he needed to show her how much he believed in her by re-imagining the message.

Hopefully, it would also help her trust him.

Bolt finished, hoping he had drawn everything as accurately as possible. He stood and handed the notebook to Kara.

She held the notebook close to her face and turned away, using the sun as a natural light source. The team stood still, waiting for further instructions. Bolt turned away with his arms crossed, giving her time with the drawing.

Elle gave him a look he hadn’t seen from her. It was one of trust, and it made his heart warm.

“Thank you,” Elle whispered.

Bolt nodded, trying to avoid the lump that rose in his throat.