Interlude [h.s]

twenty-one

There's a knock on the door.

"Elijah! Ezra wants to talk to you about the mission."

He sighs at the unknown voice. "I'll be there right away."

He listens to the sound of the steps as they fade away, and then finally stands up. His body is stiff and his joints are aching, but it's nothing he can't deal with. He grabs his father's coat, forgotten on a chair, and walks out of the small room. One day he'll become relevant enough in the hierarchy of the Revolution to earn his father and him a bigger place to sleep, he promises himself.

The walk to Ezra's office in the central building takes longer than he'd prefer, his perception of time distorted by all the hours he spent in his bed.

When he finally gets there, he can tell he's already waiting for him. He stops talking to one of the men of the Council and gives him a severe look.

"You report to me after your missions, Elijah," he states, dismissing the man with a wave of his hand. "Not hide in your room for days."

"I'm sorry, sir. It won't happen again," he apologises mechanically, but it's enough to satisfy him and he nods.

"The mission was a failure, of course. I'm not surprised, I knew it was a long shot when I planned it out. I did hope we would get lucky, though." He gives him an attentive look. "Is there something I should know about it?"

Elijah gulps. "Alouette was there," he says in  a whisper.

Ezra seems to be surprised. Has no one told him? "Oh," he murmurs, "he's smart."

That doesn't reassure Elijah in the slightest. "Do you think he knows about her?"

"There's no way he knows. It looks like he sensed it was a trap, though," he replies. "Did she blow her cover?"

"We lost men at her hand." He doesn't need to say anything more for the other to know what it means.

Ezra smirks. "I knew she had it in her." He doesn't seem to be bothered by the fact that he's just told him she killed some soldiers of the Revolution in front of him— as if he expected her to. He isn't touched by the loss as long as she still holds her strategic position close to the president, because to him she's more useful than he is. Than they all are. He could be the one six feet underground and it wouldn't matter to him. It shakes him a little, but he knows that's how a leader must think. If he concentrated on saving everyone, he would save no one in the end. And if Alouette is higher in his list of priorities than him, he doesn't mind, because it means she's safe.

Elijah shifts awkwardly. To this day, he doesn't know why Ezra chose him to lead the mission. He's chosen him as the leader in many of the jobs he had over the past few weeks, and something tells him it isn't just because he's more skilled and determined than the others.

He has to prove himself. He has to show everyone he belongs here, in the Revolution, and even though he doesn't know much of Ezra's reasoning, he's glad he's giving him a chance to do just that.

"You can rest for some days," Ezra tells him. "Then we'll start planning the attack on the palace." He gives him a sharp look. "An attack you won't be part of, by the way."

"What? Why?!" Elijah feels cheated. It's the most important mission in front of him, why wouldn't he let him go? He can be an asset. He's good, and he knows it.

"Because many people will die there, and Alouette will kill me if you're one of them," he replies. "Be glad you have a way out, boy. A man isn't going to change what happens on the field."

Elijah clenches his teeth, not saying a word.

"It will be in twenty-five days, if everything goes according to plan. I believe you have valuable ideas and I admire your resolution, so you'll help us plan." He gives him an attentive glance. "And then you'll stay here and wait for your girl to come back. If all goes well, a month from now you'll hold her in your arms, and the world will be a better place."