Shadows of the World » Band of Brothers

25: In the Contrast

"There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast." - Charles Dickens, The Village Coquettes

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There were no two ways around it. They were going to have to tell Gene.

Juliette looked up at Alexis from where she was still seated on the kitchen table and saw the conflict in his face. He gave Juliette one look and a small nod and swiftly left the kitchen. The sounds of his footsteps up the stairs were almost deafening in the silence that had fallen.

There was another long pause, everyone waiting for someone else to be the first to speak, before Martin finally cleared his throat. "Well, um, I'll be off then. Places to be, people to see and all that." He patted Gene on the shoulder as he passed him on his way to the kitchen door. "Pleasure to meet you, mate." He must have run through the living room once he was out of sight because the front door slammed behind him in record time. Juliette fought the laugh that threatened to bubble up at all costs.

"You know what? Me too, actually. I'm a uh -" Will's words broke off when he glanced at Tom, who was all but pleading with his eyes for him to stay. Avoiding eye contact, Will rushed out in one breath, "verybusyguythesedays." And then he was gone too.

Juliette risked an experimental glance up at Gene and found his eyes on her, his eyebrows furrowed and his bottom lip caught between his teeth, deep in thought. Then she looked at Thomas.

"Are you going too or are you staying to help me explain this?" Juliette asked. He made a pained face.

"Don't phrase it like that. Makes me seem like a bastard if I leave."

Juliette grinned but when she heard Gene's intake of breath as though he was about to say something the smile fell. She honestly had no idea how they were going to talk their way out of this one.

There was a pause in which Gene looked between the pair of them before he opened his mouth to speak once more, and then didn't. This happened a few times before Juliette finally sighed and just decided to ask and get it over with. "What do you want to ask?"

"Obviously we can't tell you everything," Tom interjected, and then shrugged. "But some things I'm sure you've already worked out."

Gene looked between them both a few more times with eyebrows furrowed so tightly together Juliette wondered whether they'd ever be able to separate again. Eventually, he exhaled and nodded as if deciding on what he wanted to ask. "Are you..?" he trailed off. His eyes darted to the blood on the kitchen table. The implication was clear.

"Are we..?" Tom replied, leaning forwards gradually as he dragged out the final word.

Juliette looked up at Gene in anticipation, hoping that whatever conclusion he'd drawn would get them out of the hole they'd dug themselves into without them having to reveal anything.

He searched for a conclusion to draw and came up empty, so eventually Juliette took pity on him and decided to just rip the plaster off. "Spies," she finished for him.

"Allied," Tom told him quickly. Juliette's head shot back up from where she'd let it drop, wondering whether they'd given Gene the wrong impression. After analysing his expression she decided that Tom was just being safe. "But yes. Spies."

Eugene nodded. Juliette had never been more grateful that he never seemed to ask many questions.

He didn't ask anything else, just looked around the kitchen contemplatively, and finally Juliette tugged on his sleeve. "Look, Gene, you can't tell anyone, okay? Not a soul. None of the boys. Not your family in your letters home. Not even if you visit home. Okay? No one on the planet can know."