Chapter 2 - Red Hope @ redhope.net

Sarah forced her body to put one foot in front of the other. She stayed on the officer's heels and found
they were going into the building they'd parked near. From a quick scan, Sarah assessed it was a
rundown apartment complex and once inside she noted a stairwell with ten floors. She wound up them
with the officer until they were on the seventh.
The officer walked down the hallway that had doors with climbing numbers labeled on them. The doors
were dark green and worn out. The hallway was carpeted and occasionally there was an overhead light
that meekly revealed the hallway. But the officer came to room number 777 and unlocked the door with
a key from her jacket pocket.
Sarah entered the tiny apartment after she was signaled to go. She heard the officer lock the door, but
she was too busy looking at the apartment. Yet in reality it was actually an efficiency with a small
kitchen and space for a dining table, bed, and maybe a sofa. The efficiency was definitely smaller than
Sarah's college apartment.
But what was strange was the fact there was no dining table or sofa, not even a bed. The kitchen
appeared to be empty. And the walls were bare except for the eerie gray paint. The only sole piece of
furniture in the room was a worn wood desk and a matching chair that was positioned beside a closed
closet. On the desk there was a brand-new laptop that had a few cords such as power or internet neatly
flowing off it.
Sarah couldn't slow her heart, and she nervously looked at the officer. She clenched her right hand and
kept the fear out of her voice. "Who are you"
The officer unzipped her leather jacket and revealed her uniform underneath. She stared at Sarah for a
beat then walked away to the desk.
For whatever reason, Sarah was compelled to follow the officer and desperately tried her question
again. "Who the Hell are you"
The officer had her back to Sarah, and she pressed her fingertips into the rear of the laptop's screen. She
remained poised to close it but calmly answered, "My name is Cameron Philips." She now shut the
screen then approached the closet and carefully leaned her Remington against the wall.
Sarah stared at the officer's stiff posture. "Are you really a cop"
The officer, Cameron Philips, pulled open the sliding closet door but didn't bother to turn on the light.
Sarah started to wonder if the older woman would answer her or not. She was about to repeat herself
but faltered at hearing Cameron's voice.
"I am not an officer." Cameron removed her jacket and merely dropped it to the floor.
Sarah's stomach pitched at this news. She slid her right hand into her jacket pocket and clutched the
Blackberry Curve. "What do you want with me"
Cameron turned her head sidelong, but she was steadily unbuttoning her top. "To protect and serve
you."
Sarah thought it was a joke but the woman was very serious about it. She hesitated but demanded, "Do
you know who those men were"