End Of The Beginning

Chapter 32 - Blast From Past

Allen grew eager as the days passed. On Monday the mail arrived, four days before his journey to the old facility.

" So when are we going there ? " asked Allen

" Tonight " Albert replied

Allen went back to training, on the way he saw Jessica

" Hey " she waved at him

" Hey " he replied

" You wanna grab lunch together ?" asked Jessica

" No, I got some training to do " Allen replied

" You ok dude ? Recently, you seem different from how you used to be. Is there anything on your mind ? Something you wanna talk about ? " asked Jessica

" No... No... I'm ok " he replied

" If you wanna talk, I'm here " she replied

When she was about to leave, he called her. " Can I ask you something ? "

" Yeah sure " she replied

" Have you ever committed to something you didn't want to do? As if you really weren't interested in taking part, but you did it anyway. Would you do it for someone you can't say no to ? " asked Allen

" You don't really make sense to me, but if you don't want to do something, don't. " said Jessica

" But what if you are already committed to it ? " asked Allen

" Still... You can say no. Just talk to them. They will understand. " said Jessica

" It's not that easy. It's ok... Just forget it " said Allen

" Is this about the Jupiter mission ? " asked Jessica

" No.... No.... It's something personal. Don't worry, I will figure something out... " said Allen

" Alright, but hey... If you ever want to talk about anything, I will be here. " said Jessica

" Thanks. By the way I'm taking a vacation for this week, I'm going for a trip. " said Allen

" Trip ? " asked Jessica

" Yeah, by the way thank you for putting up with me for all this time. " he knew he might not come back, so he said good bye without saying goodbye

" Will you be gone for the whole week ? When will you return ? " asked Jessica

" Probably Saturday or Sunday. Why ? " Her reaction was not what he expected. She didn't ask anything about the trip or his odd good-bye.

" Nothing..... It's just that...... " she hugged him

He did not understand why she reacted that way. Afterwards, he went to the training room. When he turned around he saw Jessica standing there, looking at him, he felt a little weird.

In the evening, he didn't waste any time. Allen met with Albert outside the city. They then went to Dan's house together.

" If we both miss work on the same day, will anyone suspect anything ? " asked Allen

" No ! As a matter of fact, I'm working right now. You can do anything when you are the highest authority  " said Albert

" So how far is her house ? " asked Allen

" From here, about 5 hours drive " said Albert

Allen drove to Dan's house, he thought about finding something useful. Hours later they arrived at their destination.