Make Your Move

Chapter 18- Business Interrogation

Chapter 18 

Date: March 30th 

Location: On way to Guardians Base 

Time: 9:41 a.m. 

"Are you alright?" I asked and the silence I had just broken felt wrong. 

After I had agreed to Caldwell about his proposition to have a better alliance between the two organizations the next step was convincing William to essentially go into enemy territory. He didn't even flinch when we asked and after everything was all said and done we took a flight back to Texas. 

I thought that he never got shook up by anything, but that was wrong. The closer we got, the paler his face had gotten. He wouldn't even have to worry anymore when we got to the base because he would be so white he'd match the walls. 

"I've had better days," He mumbled, but his voice didn't have his confident edge. 

"You want to talk about it?" I prodded. When we got to the Guardian base he would be under a microscope with everyone judging every single move he made. He needed to represent Caldwell, and being terrified wasn't going to help either of them. 

But William remained quiet and for now I let it slide by, I knew how terrifying this could be and I didn't like people breathing down my throat. One needed space to breathe and to think through various scenarios and what you would say if someone asked you a question. It was like a job interview or a business negotiation, but it felt like more than your job was on the line. 

A notification signaled that Matt had everything prepared at the base and now the rest were just waiting for our arrival. A day after William agreed with us to go back to the base Matt decided to head back early to explain what was going on and if William would be allowed to set foot in that place without being blown up. It was silent for a few days afterwards until we were given the green light. Of course my parents, L.J, and even the occasional texts from Iris kept me in constant communication with them. It was one thing to speak with Caldwell and his protégé in an open area at an undisclosed location, it was another thing when they were allowed in our most secure location. No one wanted another Ian. 

"How do you do it?" William broke the silence this time. 

"What do you mean?" He had to narrow down that field. 

"Be calm when you go somewhere and you don't know if you'll make it out alright or not," I knew he wanted some philosophical answer, one that would chase away all his fears and worries.

Unfortunately I didn't have one. 

"Don't tell anyone, but most of the time I'm terrified," I answered honestly. "But I know it's something that needs to be done, so I just try and do my best at pretending to be this person everyone thinks that I am." 

"Really?" The disbelief was shining in his eyes. 

"I thought I was going to have a heart attack when I met with Caldwell, but I knew I had hit a wall with the Reapers and I wasn't having much luck in finding Sebastian,"