Shattered Heart, A Rainbow Six Story

Chapter 3 (Currently Editing)

                                                                                          1:09 A.M.

                                                                                          Cormac's POV

I sit on the roof of Rainbow HQ, weighing the pros and cons of staying here.

Pro: It could be my only chance at revenge.

Con: I don't like working with others.

Pro: Tina seems nice.

Con: I just left two of their operators beaten and bloody in front of the entire team.

Pro:...

Con: Tina probably hates me now.

Pro:......

Con: They all probably hate me now.

It's not a very compelling list.

To Rainbow, I will always be an outsider. Not to mention Olivier clearly still hates me. Not that I'm surprised. Still... Monika, Marius, and Tina gave me something in those few short hours that I have been craving for years without even knowing it.

Acceptance. 

So here I sit on the roof of a building full of people who hate me, because it was the only place that I could find where there was nobody around. 

Where I felt even the slightest fraction of safety. 

I haul myself to my feet with a heavy sigh and make my way down the ladder to the ground below, before setting off towards the East Wing. Luckily the halls are deserted, and I make it back to the room without running into anybody. 

I check my watch: 1:20 A.M.. 

I enter the dorm and close the door behind me with a soft click that sounds deafening in the still silence of the morning. I walk quietly into the Living Room to find Tina lounging on the couch with a book in her hands and my dog sleeping soundly on her lap.

She looks as if she's been waiting here for a long time, and I can only assume that it's me she's been waiting for. Tina slowly closes her book and sets it down on the nearby table, calmly gesturing towards the couch beside her.

"Sit down for a minute."

I hesitate for a second before crossing the room and lowering myself onto the couch. The shifting cushions cause Whiskey to stir in his sleep and squirm around for a moment before settling down again. I absently run a hand along his flank, though whether for his comfort or my own I'm not sure.

"Are you okay?"

Tina's soft question takes me by surprise, and for a moment I can only stare at her. I was prepared for her to be furious, demanding that I leave. It never occured to me that she would be concerned for my well-being.

I'm caught so thoroughly off-guard that the only answer I can manage is, "You aren't angry?"

Tina looks at me with patience and understanding in her eyes and it melts away a little of my unease.

"Well I'd like to hear your side of the story before I judge you for anything. After all it's pretty clear that there is some pretty painful history between you and Olivier."

"It's a long story." I murmur.

She rolls her eyes with a shrug and replies, "Well then it's a good thing that I've got plenty of free time to-"

Suddenly Tina looks down and stops. She gently pushes Whiskey off of her lap, earning a slight whine in return. She scoots closer to me, and extends her hand palm up towards me.