"I hate that I'm here," I say, squinting as I look at the ongoing chase from afar. Sweat runs down the side of my face and sticks my hair to my forehead. "Why did I agree to this? Also, isn't this cheating since they don't know you're here?"
"Only cheating if you get caught, Luv," Sniper whispers back. He lies on the hot concrete next to me and it's amazing he doesn't have third-degree burns yet. "Steady, there, mate. Wouldn't want to get ya head blown off..."
"I won't tell if you don't," Salvador offers up, sitting on the edge of the rooftop with his feet hanging off the edge.
"Deal," Sniper agrees, pulling the trigger. I hear a yell and then some feedback from the people below as the scout carrying the briefcase face plants. Or well, he fell down. There's no more face for him to plant on. "Alright, mate, your turn."
Salvador slides off the edge of the building and lands on an awning on his back, rolling off and kicking a pyro in the face before landing on the ground and picking up the intelligence to-go. I help Sniper up and we both go back inside and run down the stairwell, popping out onto the fire escape and unlatching the ladder to ride it down. The metal ladder clacks when it hits the concrete in the alleyway, and I jolt upon impact. I see Salvador dash by with another scout in pursuit, so I pop out near the opening to follow. People flee upon the shock of the situation passing, and Sniper shoots the scout in the back before disappearing to the slim shadows again in avoidance of the BLUs infesting the area.
We appear on the other side and try to make a rendezvous at the end of the street, hoping that the crazy person with long-ranged weaponry is enough of a deterrent for getting people out of the way. I get jumped by a soldier from the crowd, and I press my thumbs into his eyes to get him to let go of my neck. I grunt, stabbing one of his eyelids with the nail of my thumb since the other is still in the process of growing back. He roars in my face as I get under his skin and slice his eye with blood running down my hand. Sniper puts his rifle strap over his shoulder and takes out his knife, stabbing him in the back with his kukri. It runs through the soldier's body, dripping blood onto my stomach as I throw him off of me and wipe my hand on my shorts.
"You good, Luv?" Sniper asks as he helps me up.
"Mm-hmm, don't worry." I pull him along with no hindrance. I see the bus stop ahead, a lone man sitting on the bench reading the newspaper with his legs folded. I pant and sit next to him, heaving. Pilot lowers the paper and turns to look at me.
"He's not 'ere yet," he quietly says before going back to "reading" his newspaper. Sniper puts his knife away and loads his gun again, waiting patiently for something to happen. Salvador emerges from the fray and jumps onto the trolley as it's passing by and hops off after running through the aisle. He takes and Sniper's gun along with the briefcase, going behind the bus stop and hopping down the seawall. Gone with the wind. "Discreet."
"Sly little bugger," Sniper whispers and stands in front of me as BLUs catch up to find out no one's there. I hold my backpack in front of me to cover my bloodstains and follow the horde with my eyes rather than my head. Honking and screaming come from the street and a PÃO VERMELHO van shoots out from the fray and drifts on the street after running three Vanguard operatives over. Soldier sticks his head out of the window and obliterates the remaining enemies. Cashew gets out of the driver's seat and observes the mayhem, Erika, Engie, Medic, and Alpha getting out of the back.
"Teach me how to drive like that, Cashew," Alpha says.
"Just live in Puerto Rico for eighteen years," he shrugs. She takes a moment.
"We'll come back to that."
"None of ya happen to have the Intelligence, do ya?" Engie grumbles. "That is the one job we were given."
"Here," Soldier voices, lifting up Erika's wrist as she's the one who had it.
The rest of the team gathers around the van. Neuro stands on top of a heavy to be seen by all. "I'm gonna be the one to say it."
"No, don't," Scout groans.
"We fucked up," she sighs, everyone groaning in the process. "Miss Pauling is gonna freak, we lost the other one."
Pilot whistles and waves to them. "Oi, shitheads," Sniper brightly exclaims.
"Sniper, not now, we're wallowing in disappointment," Soldier dismisses us. "I say we blame Neuro."
"Ugh, over my dead body!" She pushes back. Salvador comes back over the seawall. That thing's at least fifteen feet tall and the staircase is further down the way. What else did I expect from a track and field kid?
"Hey, uh," Salvador tosses the briefcase over to Medic who fumbles with it almost falling before securing it with Alpha's help. "Looking for something?"
"Wait, then who's this?" Scout points next to him, Salvador standing next to him.
"Spy," I say, smoke dispersing to shed his disguise.
Pilot somberly folds away his newspaper and sits up, distraught. "Accomplice is still out of a job."
"I'm not Accomplice," I muster as I get drowned out by jeers of defeat, Demo latching onto me and giving me a hug that I so desperately needed. I call for order. "Guys, I'm sorry. We leave tonight."
"The fuck you are," Alpha states. She's fired up more than everyone else. "This is bullshit."
"There's nothing we can do about it. We'll just... Let's just go back to the hotel. We should get out of here before authorities arrive, I am covered in blood."
"I have problems with authorities," Soldier comments.
"I know, let's go." Those who came out of the van go back into the van and as many people as possible pack in as well. Sniper takes his firearm back from Salvador and they both get into the van as the rest of us take the streetcar back as close to the hotel as possible before we walk across the street. We enter the freezing temperatures of the lobby before ascending the stairs. The van got here first, and I'm afraid to see what's going to happen if Miss Pauling is here.
She and Miss Campbell don't seem to be in. Siti pops out of her room, my messy binder in hand. "Eyo, dada dada, I have something for you~" She sings and does a little dance over to me and bumps my hip.
"It better not be my binder, I'm still fired~!" I sing back in the same tone.
"Okay, action woman, I saved these for you," she awkwardly laughs off her good mood and still hands me the binder. On second looks, it's not as messy as I remember it to be. Still scuffed up and beaten as well. It's no longer mine, though. "I cleaned your house."
"Thank you, but I don't need it," I say as I hand it back.
"There's... There's just one last job I have for you. You'll be going on my dime."
"And me," Salvador butts me. "I'm going, too."
"Yes, and him."
"Heh peh," Pyro seconds.
"No, not the fire bean." Alpha chuckles under her breath upon hearing Siti using the nickname she gave Pyro but quickly loses that tiny ounce of joy and goes into her room. "This is different. This is not a normal job."
"How bad is it?" She hands me the paper, and I skim. My spine tingles. It's time. It's finally time. "I need to say goodbye."
"Righto," Pilot drones before going in after Alpha as if he's running away from me. Everyone shuffles slowly, but I stop Neuro from entering her room and pull her aside down the hall by the elevators.
"Can I ask you something?"
She cocks her head to the side. "Yeah, what's up?"
"I need you to come with me on this," I shakily request, holding up the paper. "Please, don't ask questions, I just need your help."
"Alright then. Where are we going?"
I give myself a papercut by running my index finger over the edge of the paper so many times in rapid succession. "Georgia, United States."
"Oh, back to America," she crescendoes into misery.
"Mm-hmm," I nod. "Go pack your things, please."
"You got it." Neuro agrees and gets her luggage ready. I check on Salvador who arranges his belongings in a way that'll fit. He moves slowly with caution, not wanting to finish as if time will slow down with him. I round everything up in my room just to be done with it and reorganize my suitcase, looking for my warmer clothes to put on tomorrow for the plane for when we land in New Mexico before connecting to Texas for Georgia.
It's going to happen. It's finally going to happen.
Why does it feel so bad inside then?
Once I'm done, I see everyone off. Engie kissed my cheek again before he left, and I feel slightly better. Medic, Pyro, and Scout are the three who are staying with the rest of Stronghold and Erika to wait for Miss Campbell to arrive again. I sit down and try to help Pilot with fixing his drones, but I know next to nothing about this kind of advanced technology. I can check out your transmission, but I can't do much when it comes to the future. Erika came shortly after to try and pitch in, but I think they and Pilot aren't having any more luck than I am.
"Wrap that wire around the copper bit there," Pilot instructs, magnifying goggles over his eyes with a light attached as he works off to the side on constructing the frame while I work on a propellor. I use the pliers he gave me to bend the frayed metal to do my bidding, but it crumbles into powder with every slight movement I make. I set my tools down and take a deep breath and stretch my arms up into the air. "No luck?"
"Nope," I groan. "Sorry."
"It's alright, Love," he takes his goggles off. "A break, then?"
"Hey, get out here garage moles," Alpha hangs in the doorway, showing a crate of beer she got from the convenience store around the corner. "We're gonna go down to the beach."
"For what?" Erika asks as I slip into flip-flops.
"Drink our pain away, duh," she renders. Medic stays behind with Confetti despite the open invitation. Salvador stands with Scout in the lobby as they waited up for us. The six of us traverse down the steep path in misty air that smells of salt and fried foods. Floodlamps light our way as the sun has practically set, and we walk down the steps of the sea wall to get to the sandy beach below. Samia's in the process of starting a bonfire that finally lights when Pyro tosses a match onto the wood. My feet bury into the sand with each step as rocks and shell fragments stab me in the most uncomfortable of places, and I wait until I get to the chairs provided by the beach to take off my sandals. I sit criss-cross in my seat with my shoes laid on top of the land, and I deny a beer when Alpha goes to hand me one. "Aw, not even one?"
"No, I'm good. I have to fly later tonight."
"Oh, right," she pops the cap with her teeth.
Scout lays his lanky, skinny legs out when he sits down, turning his hat backward. "So, what's happenin'?"
"Nothing much. We just wanted to enjoy the weather," Priyanka tells as she turns the ring she has on her middle finger. She recants her statement immediately. "Can we ask about what happened in Brazil the last time you were here?"
"No," Scout plainly states. "What else is happenin'?"
Alpha hands him a beer. "I, for one, would like to drink in Accomplice's place since she has to be a responsible mother as the designated driver."
"I don't have a license," I comment.
"At least you're responsible." She chugs. Cashew sits next to Scout and leans on the arm of the chair closer to him. I give Scout an eye flick and he looks at the fire instead.
"Well, thank you guys for helping as much as you could," I start. "We don't even know each other that well, and what you did... Thank you."
"But we didn't fix the issue, Love," Pilot argues, but I double down.
"No, I'm serious," I scoff, shaking my head with a smirk. "I mean, you risked your livelihood for me even though I deserve to have my job taken away. Don't be so down-trodden about it, I probably had it coming."
"Simply because you didn't tell Miss Pauling shit?" Neuro sputters with a laugh as she takes a beer from Alpha, Socrates hopping along behind her to keep up as she returns from the shoreline. "Man, we'd have been out of a job a long time if that were the case."
"Or better yet," Samia cackles. "Dead." She finds humor in death. She's still gorgeous to me.
"Either way," I continue. "Standing your ground like that is hard. You went above and beyond, and I can't thank you enough for that, even if you didn't do what you were set out to do. Miss Pauling thinks I didn't do a lot for the team, and she was right like she always is."
"Don't let that get to you," Erika counters. "She can be mean, but she didn't really mean to hurt you like that."
"She still hasn't apologized, so...?"
They nod. "She's bad about owning up to things. It takes time with her."
"I never did nearly as much as her, so maybe she has a right to go ballistic on me. I did as much as I could."
"And as much as you can is still a lot in of itself," Cashew reasons. "I mean, I was only told stories in passing, but I heard you went up against a wizard after you were presumed dead by being swallowed whole by the ground."
"Whoa, really?" Salvador turns to me from his game of sand tic-tac-toe with Pyro. "No way, uh-uh."
"You'd be surprised," I titter. "But, I guess this is my Brazil event, yeah?"
"We don't even know what the first one was to make a fair comparison," Pilot inputs. "A certain bloke could tell us, but--"
"Go to hell," Scout flips him the bird, and I reach over to push his hand down.
"It must've been bad, but I guess Brazil brings bad luck. I mean, why did she even show up? There are already four of us here with Adonebi, Siti, Miss Campbell, and me. Why a fifth?"
"I dunno," Alpha sighs. "Killer instinct I guess. She can be such a goody-goody two-shoes sometimes." Alpha slits her eyes and scratches her nose over her scars. "I don't really like her. She's a bitch."
"Don't call her a bitch."
Alpha smirks with mischief. "Major b--"
"She's not a bitch!" Erika huffs. They sigh to decompress and reach for a beer to act as though she didn't just act out. She has strong opinions on this woman, and I'm getting some vibes once again.
"I hate her," Salvador maintains, and I shush him.
"God wants it that way," I passively mention. "Bad things keep happening to me, and it's only gotten worse with this job. I'm still convinced I'm a typo in a college thesis paper, but I'm working with what I've got." I lean back in my chair and stare at the navy-blue-tainted cloudy sky. "Could be worse."
"Worse like..." Alpha's eyes wander over to Scout, "Like 'what happened the last time the guys were in Brazil' worse, or--?"
"Shut up, Carol!" Scout yells at her.
"Okay, I'm literally the nosiest bitch you'll ever meet!" Alpha yells back. "Something to do with the war, huh? Is that what it is?"
"No, nothing to do what that shit," his fuse is lit. "It doesn't concern none of ya, so just forget we ever brought it up!"
Neuro picks up Socrates. "My husband goes to bed miserable and wakes up miserable, Scout. He won't say a word."
"Then that's your cue to drop it," he barks. I sit idly by and let them yell it out for a bit. I stare into the bright flames. Oranges and yellows flicker and dance on the amber glowing wood. It peels and falls into the beige abyss. The wind blows and it reveals the dark and burnt rusted wear of the wood below. I take in a deep breath.
"Scout," I quietly inquire. He turns to me, a face scrunched in anger. "Someone from the team almost died, right?"
"Eh," he flinches as I'm on the mark, stuttering. "Wh-Who tol-to-told you th-- Where'd'ya get that from?"
"Remember when I was missing for two weeks and I didn't want to talk to any of you?" I gently profess. "I was afraid to admit that death scares me. Death still scares you all. It's obvious, even though all of you play it off like it's a mosquito bite. Even though we act all high and mighty, we know that Medic can't save us every single time. Medic wasn't there to save me." My voice is coarse as my throat is dry. "Please tell us what happened in Brazil the last time."
He turns passively frightened trying to keep a tough face. "You-- None of you heard it from, okay?"
"I promise," I say.
"All of you," he says louder. "None of you heard a word from me," he affirms. He closes his body in and rests his arms on his knees. "We weren't even on a job." He can't even start the story without having a hard time. "We was already fed up with work and everything and everyone almost died at least twice already except Heavy and Miss Pauling. I almost got drowned and hanged. Again. But everything was all fine and whatever. It was Medic, Engie-n-I getting food for the team at the street market." I stare at the waves of flames before me as he talks, Cashew moving his chair closer to him. "You know how Engie's always panting and shit and actin' like he's out of breath during battles and we all make fun of him for it sometimes, but it was different.
"I don't know what happened. Medic stepped away to go get him some water and we were standing in the shade. I was poking fun at him, calling him old and shit and just... Kinda being mean." He wipes his nose and starts bouncing his leg. "I was bein' a dick. But he was breathin' all different and sweatin' real bad and he wasn't being mean back to me like he always does. He was lookin' around all paranoid for somethin' or someone. And I finally asked him if he was sure he was okay and he... He never said he was. He just--" He runs his hand down his face and looks behind him as if Engie's right there listening. "He just fell and couldn't breathe."
I start shivering, my entire body running cold as Scout goes on. "And-- And I-- I didn't know what to fuckin' do. I mean-- The guy's wheezing and he's not breathing and I--" He put his hands over his ears and closes his eyes. "I just froze, I didn't know what to do. Everything was going bad and I didn't know what to fucking do. He's sitting there dying, and I don't know how to help him. And I felt like I was gonna lose him, he's my friend, he's one of my only friends on the team and I was just gonna let him sit there and die because I didn't know to help him and he's swelling and shit and gasping for air that I can't give him and I really felt like I was gonna lose the only person who actually treated me like they loved me and cared that I existed." He starts sobbing, and I do, too. I keep a hand over my mouth as he keeps going.
"And I just started yelling for Medic to come because I didn't want to lose him, he's like my dad and I never got to tell him that ever so I just kept calling for Medic and it felt like he was never gonna come and like he was ignoring me like he always does when I call for 'im," he raggedly breathes, wiping his face as I let tears run down my own face and drip onto my chest, still staring at the fire. "And I just felt like I was gonna screw it all up again and that he was gonna leave me, too. I just-- I was watchin' my pops die and I couldn't stop it because I didn't even know why in the first place.
"Me-Me-Med-- Ic-- Medic--" Scout struggles with getting it out, his voice cracking. "He finally ran over and took an Epipen out of his pocket and stabbed Engie in the thigh and got him sitting up so he could breathe again and I--" He looks up at the sky. "And-- And Medic said he had asthma and allergies and was in anaphylactic shock and shit and I didn't know nothing about that. But I read what I could. I'm not good at reading, and y'all know this, so shut the fuck up, just this once, okay? But alls I know is how to save his life now." He digs into his pants and takes out both an inhaler and an Epipen. "Alls I fuckin' know is how to keep him from dyin'. I could leave the house forgetting to put damn clothes on, but I never forget this shit." He puts it away. "And Engie thinks I'm always babying him, and I am. I don't want him hurtin'. Yeah we're always hurting each other's feelings and fucking around, but that's different. Because he's my friend. And--And he's-- I love 'im and--" He coughs and lifts his shirt, exposing his belly to wipe off his face. "And none of you heard it from me." He stands up. "I never told this story, I never fucking cried in front of you, I was never on this shitty ass godforsaken fuckin' beach."
He walks away. I hold my forehead in my hand as I try to keep the volume down on my crying even though I'm the only one here so badly affected by it. Alpha sniffs and pours her beer out, Neuro using her sleeve to dry her eyes. I just sit and weep. I let it out. Salvador and Pyro both stand up and hug me from either side, and I hug them both back, wailing and feeling like every drop of water is being sucked out of my body.
The man I love might've never even met me, and I don't know how to handle it.