A crash of thunder startled me for a moment. Then I settled back into my routine. As a lieutenant, I had to keep myself in top shape. This job at Whitmore's was only temporary after all. Eventually I would move on like I had when I was younger. I had never stayed in one place for too long. I landed a few punches on the punching bag that hung from the ceiling. Some of them were off. I cursed under my breath. This wasn't right. I tried a few high kicks. Something was definitely out of place. I couldn't focus. Another clap of thunder rattled the windows. Instead of practicing some more, I decided to stretch. Maybe that would help. It was then when I heard a strange noise. It didn't sound like the storm. I held my breath and listened carefully. There was some sort of scratching noise coming from outside. Cautiously, I picked up one of my many guns. I neared the glass door and peered out. Nothing was there. I could barely see, the rain was coming down so hard. I grasped one of the handles of the doors and opened it slowly. Rain began to pour into my room. "Hello!" I called. Then I heard a voice coming from below.
"Help! Someone!"
I tucked my gun into my belt. I'd know that voice anywhere. Though I had only known her for a short time, Adrienne's voice seemed to stick in my head. I looked over the side of the balcony and sure enough, there she was.
"What do you think you're doing?" I shouted.
"Helga!"
"Yes, it's me."
"Can you help me?"
"Give me one good reason why I should."
"Look, I'm sorry for embarrassing you!"
I tapped my foot pensively. She deserved to be left out there. It would serve her right. If I had pulled a stunt like this when I was under Rourke's command, he would have left me out for the whole night and then some. But this wasn't Rourke's training base. I had a responsibility given to me by Whitmore and her name was Adrienne. I reached over the side. "Come on. Grab my hands and I'll pull you up here." I saw a grateful look in her eyes, which almost made me smile. Maybe Adrienne wasn't such a brat after all. She was pretty helpless in her current situation. As soon as her hands were secure in mine, I pulled her up. Thank God I was strong. She wasn't heavy, but she wasn't a feather either. Soon she was safely on the balcony. Her eyes were wide and she was shivering. I shook my head.
"Come on. Get in before you catch a cold or something." I shooed her inside and slammed the doors shut. It was then when she turned to me and threw her arms around me neck.
"Helga, thank you! I don't know what I would have done. Anybody else would tell grandfather…"
"What makes you think that I won't?"
Her eyes grew fearful. "Please don't! He'll send me away! I've got nowhere to go!"
"I was kidding."
She started to cry…probably out of fear and stress. I led her over to the small couch in my room. "Don't cry. It's a sign of weakness, you know."
"Well, then I'm weak. I'm not strong at all."
I motioned for her to sit down. "Adrienne, I've only known you for a few hours," I said. "But you've proven that you are strong. I hate to admit it, but you surprised me when I attacked you. I didn't think that you'd fight back."
"I guess I didn't have a choice."
I stood up slowly and got an extra blanket from my bed. She looked at me with big eyes when I handed it to her. Then she took at, wrapped it around her shoulders, and stared at the floor. We sat in silence for a few minutes. "Listen," I finally said. "I think that we got off on the wrong foot. We're both strong, but stubborn. Perhaps we should call a truce and try to be friends?" I almost shuddered at my words. Rourke would think that I was becoming soft. But I didn't care. I had to keep reminding myself that I was not under his command at the moment. Adrienne was a good actress, but underneath it all I could tell that she was very innocent. And I knew that innocence could spell trouble. All of a sudden I wanted to help her as much as I could. She had suffered a terrible loss. Nobody deserved to go through what she was going through. True, I hadn't lost my parents. I had left them. But I had also lost…years ago.
"I think that we should call a truce too," she answered, her voice barely a whisper.
"Then it's settled," I said. "From this moment on you can come to me for anything. I'll try to help you as much as I can."
A small smile crept across her face. "Why the change of mind?" she asked. I sighed.
"It was more a change of heart. Put it this way, it's about time that I had a younger sister to look after."
Before I knew it she had grasped my hand. "If you look out for me, then I'll look out for you."
I stopped myself from rolling my eyes. "You know that I can take care of myself."
"I don't care. There has to be something that I can do for you."
I smiled. "All right. Here's what you can do for me. Go to bed. You look like a complete wreck."
She laughed and stood up. "All right. Oh here's your blanket."
I stood as well. "Don't worry about the blanket. You can keep it."
"Thank you Helga."
"No problem, Adrienne. No problem at all."