Heart on her Sleeve: A Katherine Short Story by Sean Ryan

Katherine rides a jet black hover bike to a stop at the light.She is dressed from head to toe in black leather, which compliments her perfectly. Her identity is hidden behind a full face helmet with a mirrored visor.A yellow sports car stops beside her at the light. Four teenage boys hang from the windows of the car as soon as they notice her.“Hey baby, wanna race?" One of the boys yells at her.The other boys burst out laughing.“You sure you can handle that bike?” another roars.Katherine turns her head. The motorized visor slowly opens to reveal piercing green eyes.The boys in the car grow silent. Their expressions change as they look into Katherine’s hypnotic stare.“Think you can handle me?” she asks with a wide smile.Katherine revs the bike hard which blows a trail of smoke behind her.Her visor lowers again and Katherine releases the clutch. The bike roars into life, leaving the car behind.The boys snap out of their trance and chase after her.Katherine zigs in and out of traffic, whizzing by the cars as they speed by. She commands the lanes like a champion racer.She darts between two cars and turns a corner, leaning the bike hard and nearly grazing her knee on the concrete.The sports car continues the pursuit, hot on her tail and closing fast.Katherine leaps onto the sidewalk, sending people diving in all directions away from this event.She cuts a small plastic table in half outside a cafe, which grabs the attention of a police patrolman, sirens wailing as she flies by him.Katherine looks into her bike's mirror. Where there was one policeman there is now two.The sports car slows down and is quickly boxed in by two other patrol cars. Katherine pushes the bike to it’s limits. Katherine takes the bike into a wheelie, zipping in and out of cars, leaving the police cars behind.Katherine lets out a cry of pain, as she collides with the side mirror of a truck.She struggles to stay on the bike, wobbling for several feet before she steadies the bike and turns a corner.Katherine calmly drives into an underground garage of the Olympus headquarters, as three Police cars whiz past her.Katherine parks her bike, removes her helmet and makes her way to the elevator.The elevator door opens on a floor of lavish looking offices.Katherine walks from the elevator and makes her way to her own office.She removes her leather jacket to examine the effects of her impact with the truck.She looks down at a sizeable bruise on her right arm. Katherine flexes her fingers and moves her arm. Nothing broken.“You know I could hook you up with a nice company car,” Alex says.Katherine looks up straight into the eyes of Alex, who is dressed as usual in a tailor-made suit, passing by her in the hallway toward her office.“Why Alex, are you concerned for my safety?” she asks, smirking.Alex taps the screen on a tablet size computer, almost ignoring her.“Oh...not at all. Just figured a car would be more comfortable. That’s all...” he replies as he taps the computer screen.Katherine looks disappointed as she gazes at the back of his head.“Where would the fun be in that. Besides... no substitute for a bike. It gets the blood pumping.” She smiles at him as he turns.“My office in ten. I want to go over the spec of the Pegasus with you. They are still having issues. I need someone to get it done,” Alex says.She tosses the helmet and leather jacket to her male assistant as she opens her office door and walks inside.The office walls are mostly glass. The one solid wall holds a collection of various certificates and awards for martial arts tournaments along with various weapons in glass cases.Katherine steps into her office bathroom and takes a shower.Later, Alex stands in his office watching several screens on the far wall, as Katherine enters, dressed in a suit.She walks up behind him and examines the same screens. One screen shows the team training. The other shows Gaia sitting in the recreation room watching television.“I see she's still not playing ball then?” Katherine asks.Alex rubs his chin and nods.“Do you want me to handle it?” Katherine asks.“No. Not for now. For now I think we need the more gentle approach. I’ll talk with Sam. See if he can shake some sense into her,” Alex replies.“So what was so urgent?” Katherine asks.He clicks a remote and the screen changes to show blue prints of the Pegasus and a hangar where the craft is half dismantled.“This... they assured me it would be working last week and now we have hit more delays with technical stuff,” Alex says.“And you need me to....” Katherine asks.“Be you. Get results. Kick some ass. I need this ship operational. I need to show this team how invested I am in them. Show them what they mean to me...” Alex says.Alex clicks off the screens and turns to Katherine.He leans in close to her. “We are so close Katherine. But these kids are still pulling in different directions. You know how much this team means to me...means to us. I can’t do this without you. You know that,” Alex says.Their eyes meet for a second. Katherine seems unable to speak. They look as if they might kiss. She starts to expect it, want it.Alex breaks away.“Excuse me, I have another meeting to attend. But first I need to speak with Sam,” Alex says as he walks away.Katherine shakes her head, as if breaking from a trance. She blinks and bites her lip as she turns to Alex.“When do you want me to update you on...” Katherine asks.“Busy day. How about dinner, as we’ve both been working too hard. Tonight nine o’clock,” he says as he opens the door.“I’ll leave details of the when and where with Jean,” Alex shouts back at her as he leaves.She tries to reply, but the door slams shut behind him.Katherine sits on the chair and spins around.“This day might not be too bad after all...” she says to herself.The restaurant is busy. Couples sit at tables in various locations. Waiters rush around like people possessed.Katherine looks at her watch and picks up her cell phone.“I thought we were having dinner at 9:00?” She says down to the phone.“I’m sorry. I’ll have to take a rain check. Something’s come up that I can’t discuss over the phone. I’ll get that update from you first thing in the morning” Alex says on the phone.“It’s all work and no play with you Alex isn’t it?” she replies, a tone of anger and disappointment in her voice.“Look I’m sorry. I’ll send a car for you...” Alex says.“Fine. You do your thing. I’ll make my own way home. See you bright and early,” she says as she hangs up the phone and smashes it onto the table.A drink spills and a waiter rushes to clean the mess.“It’s fine!” she shouts at him.The waiter steps back as he catches the tense look in her eyes.Katherine takes a deep breath and her eyes relax as she realizes how she's acting.“Sorry... I’m sorry,” she says to the waiter.She smiles and the waiter immediately relaxes.He cleans the mess and looks at her with concern.“Is there anything else I can get you?” he asks.Katherine just looks at her phone as he replies.“No. I’m fine. Thank you,” she says as the waiter walks away from her table.Bored and dejected, she sits back in her chair and looks at the clock on the wall. Eleven fifteen.Katherine walks out of the restaurant toward a nightclub across the way.Katherine walks through the night club. She looks around the room at various people talking and dancing.Her eyes dart around, almost like a predator seeking out their prey.Men look at her and smile. Some ignoring the people they are with.One married man looks in a trance as she passes. He looks consumed by her. His wife isn’t and throws a drink in her husband's face. It has little effect and he continues to watch Katherine, even as she ignores him and passes him by.A younger man approaches Katherine, but she just pushes him away.“Too short,” she says.She walks towards another man.“Too young,” Katherine says to herself.She stops in front of a well-built tall man, and her eyes examine him from head to toe. He looks very similar to Alex.“Just perfect,” she says as she holds out her hand. The man follows her without talking, leaving his friends behind.Katherine escorts the man through the club, towards the main door. A row of dazed men follow her like sick puppies.“What’s you name honey?” she asks.“Eh...Christopher. It’s Chris,” he replies.Katherine smiles to herself as she runs her hand over the security guard's face at the main door and blows him a kiss.The guard smiles at her and looks in a daze as two women sneak past him into the club.Katherine drags Chris into the street.Immediately the men break from her spell and look at each other. Walking away, they all share the same look of utter confusion.“Where’s your place, Alex?” she asks.Chris looks at her confused.“Chris. You just called me Alex?” Chris replies.Katherine throws her leg over her bike and looks at Chris.“Did I...my bad.” she shrugs.“Get on,” she says.Chris climbs on the back of the bike and puts on a spare helmet.Katherine catches a glimpse of herself in the bike’s mirror.She studies herself for a moment before looking away and putting on her helmet.“Hold on!” she shouts, starting the bike and ripping onto the street.Chris holds her tight and she laughs to herself, thinking of how much faster she can go. THE END