Tara peered over to him, but Ben kept his eyes on the road, “Sure.”
“You seemed really nervous about this at first, but-” He paused to try and find words that wouldn’t offend her.
Tara jumped in for him, "I was really nervous because I screwed up at the Museum and I didn't want to botch this assignment. I’m at risk of losing my job if this doesn’t go well. Seeing you crawl under the car to check for tracking devices and explosives, and then…. we were actually run off the road, rammed from behind to be exact. Then… I wake up from that to have some weird guy chase me and knock me out to ransack the room. That's a whole lot to go through in less than 48 hours. If I get to know the ins and outs of this file like I was supposed to instead of getting hammered, maybe I could be of some help and not be the one causing us so many delays."
Ben held a different appreciation for Tara after witnessing her shift in attitude after being attacked.
"So, you're not worried about the person chasing us or the guy who attacked you?"
“No, that’s why you’re here, right?”
“Right,” Ben sighed.
While Ben appreciated what she said, her words haunted him. That underlying sense of insecurity was never far from his mind. He kept his eyes on the road. The interstate was a straight shot to their next rest stop. His mind wandered to his last job …
Flashback… Seven moths ago, Jeremy Holmes squirmed in the front seat of the car as Ben took a different route home than the tech genius knew.
“This isn’t the way home,” Jeremy stated loudly to make sure Ben knew how nervous he was feeling.
Ben let out a deep exhale to exercise patience in having to explain it again to his client, "I know Jeremy. We can't take the same way home anymore. Your life is being threatened because of the software program you designed. We need to keep you safe, and the easiest way to do that is to not be so predictable. It's only going to be a few more days of this, and once the program is sold, Argos Technologies is going to take over your security detail."
“We really should take the same way home, Benjamin Reynolds. If we take the same way home and get lost, I know how to get there,” Jeremy whined anxiously. His tone was flat as he continued to reiterate the same statements over and over.
“Jeremy, you’ll know how to get home no matter where you are. You’re brilliant that way,” Ben smiled patiently trying to soothe his distraught client.
“Thank you, Benjamin Reynolds. But, can you please, please, go the way you’re supposed to? I like things to stay the same. I want things to stay the same. I need things to stay the same even though nothing ever stays the same.” Jeremy’s agitation escalated. He was starting to hyperventilate.
Ben reached over to apply pressure to the top of Jeremy’s hand. He understood the genius and his less than practical social quirks and emotional fragility. He pushed the top of Jeremy’s palm three times in equally timed pulses. “See? You already know that nothing stays the same. Don’t let this worry you. I’m going to take care of you. Three more days, okay? Only three more days and you can get back into a nice routine.”
The unfortunate thing was that in three more days everything would fall apart and there was nothing Ben could have done to stop it. Jeremy would be in the hospital alongside Benjamin and they would both be recuperating from bullet wounds. While Jeremy would bounce back quickly, Ben would retreat into himself and a world of guilt and remorse and feelings of failure to protect his client and himself. Ben disappeared into the recesses of his mind and rendered himself useless to his team.
Present Day… “Are you okay, Ben?” Tara asked with the files and pages tucked away in her oversized purse. “You’ve been quiet for a few hours now.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry, I’m just trying to figure out how to move forward without knowing all of the variables.”
“What do you mean?”
He didn't want her to worry, but he didn't want to lie to her either. He'd already questioned if he were ready to get back to work. "I just don't like the idea of being put on an assignment, and within a day or two, we have everything turned upside down on us. This wasn't in the dossier."
"That's life. When are the hiccups ever given to you in advance?"
"I can appreciate that, really I can. A part of the process when you hire a security firm is to tell them the possible threats. We weren't alerted to anything."
Tara's eyebrows scrunched together. Her inquisitive nature began to show itself, "Well, again, MoVA wouldn't have hired security if it knew what the threat was, right?"
“I probably would have resigned over this if I knew we’d be up against someone willing to run us off the road. It’s not worth dying over. Any other trips the Museum has taken to retrieve exhibits have been fine. MoVA picks them up. It’s very routine. When the exhibit is through, someone else comes to pick it up and take it to its next museum or collector. This is the first time-”
“Is this the first time you’ve picked up anything from the duck guy?”
“Yes, but Mr. Mallard is a pillar within the community. He’s one of the biggest private donors to MoVA. Eccentricity in the art world is considered a positive. He’s a go-to benefactor for a lot of museums. What are you worried about?”
Ben eyed her to see if she was seriously asking that question, “You mean other than trying to find out who’s chasing these artifacts? I just don’t want you to get hurt again. It’s easier for me to do my job when I can plan accordingly. This wasn’t a high profile-”
“What happened?” she
