"Son, I don't know how to tell you this, but Ryan is...gone." Kade stood in the doorway of his family home with the stillness of a stone. The words of his mother rang in his ears. Robert had his face buried in Kade's chest, sobbing as he clung to him tightly. It didn't feel real. Nothing did.
"Ryan's...gone?" Kade asked rhetorically. He could feel the grief wash over him in waves. It was bottomless, voracious, it ate up his entire consciousness. His knees buckled. He stayed standing, though. He had to be strong. For Robert, for his mother. He had to be strong. There was no other option. Like his father. Like his brother. He felt a hand on his face. It wasn't Robert.
That's when Kade awoke with a start, sitting straight up in bed, gulping down air in a panic. He looked around wildly, thinking he was still at the mission site. He wasn't. He was in the infirmary, with a mildly surprised Doc, who quickly eased him back into his bed. Doc pressed a paddle under bed, which slowly made Kade rise to a sitting position.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, my friend." Doc said, a welcoming smile on his face. Kade groaned as he adjusted himself on the bed.
"How bad's the damage?" Kade asked, looking down at his chest. It was heavily bandaged. He remembered the bullet piercing his vest. He remembered Ela's panicked face as he went in and out of consciousness. Worst of all, he remembered his plan falling to shambles the very moment the White Mask suspected attack. He couldn't make mistakes. He felt his arm throb with pain, as if his father's tire iron was still beating down on it.
"I see why you had an addiction to pain killers now, Kade. The amount of steel plates, screws, and rods lodged into your body came as quite the surprise when I was digging out the bullets." Doc said.
"I don't suppose you read how I got them." Kade said, though his tone implying that it was a frail hope.
"I did, as is my responsibility for all my patients. Don't fret, I won't disclose the information to anyone. More importantly, I should warn you, Ela is quite-" he couldn't finish before Ela stormed in. She looked like she hadn't slept in a few days, deep circles and red, blurry eyes were widened in surprise, seeing Kade sitting up in his bed. Her clothes, sweatpants and a sweatshirt, were clearly bedraggled and unwashed. Kade let out a low chuckle,
"You look spry, my dear." Kade said. Not that Kade looked much better, his whole chest and arms were wrapped in bandages like a mummy and his face and other body parts covered in all manner of grim, cuts and bruises. Doc took a manila folder full of files,
"I'll take these out in the hall while you two work out your differences, hm?" he said, exiting the room before Kade could protest. Depending on Ela's mood, Kade might need Doc again very soon.
"If you weren't beaten to hell, I'd punch you so damn hard." Ela said through gritted teeth, clearly trying her best not to cry. Ela was overwhelmed to say the least. Kade had been in a comatose state for seven days, Doc not giving much hope in him waking up in a timely manner. She was beside herself, all her whimsical fantasies of her and Kade living long into life falling down around her.
"I understand how you feel. I should-"
"How can you understand?! Watching you, the person I love, laying in that bed, thinking you might never wake up again! For seven days! Your hands were so cold and I just couldn't stop feeling that I was going to be alone again!" Ela yelled, her voice breaking at the end. She couldn't hold back her tears anymore. She began sobbing, rushing forward and holding Kade in a vice grip. Kade had a stunned look on his face, even the pain from Ela's embrace not enough to take him out of his stupor. He slowly stroked her hair and rubbed small circles into her back. After several minutes of her crying, Ela finally let him go, stepping back, wiping her tears away. She noticed Kade's shocked expression,
"What?" she asked, feeling almost embarrassed. She didn't like to show weakness but the last few days had been hell. Her psyche simply needed to release her grief and she was afraid she'd stunned him by showing such weakness.
"You...love me?" Kade asked, sounding as if he barely believed the words himself. Ela was finally completely composed,
"Yes, I do. 'I think it's like when you lose someone so close to you, it's like losing yourself'" Ela confessed, Kade's heart soaring not just at her confession but with her quoting a work of literature.
"Over these last few days, the thought of losing you shattered my heart every second. I couldn't function. Six made me go see the shrink, which was terrible because I saw his degree in psychology hanging on the wall and it reminded me of you." Ela's face began turning red as she realized she was rambling.
"Look, all I'm saying is that after tasting such an enriching life with you, I don't want to give it up. I've come to realize I love you. I do. I love you." Ela said, seeming to gain confidence every time she confirmed it. Kade slowly got out of bed, standing up with a slight struggle before facing her with a happiness that almost seemed to be glowing out of him.
"In my aging life, I had lost hope for companionship such as this. I thought my past too vile, my tendencies too manic and my persona too elitist for anyone to take an interest in me, let alone someone as radiant as you. I know it hasn't been long, but the feeling I feel cannot be anything other than love. I love you too, Elzbieta Bozack. I can be sure of nothing more." Kade said. Ela felt tears brimming once again and tenderly noted that Kade's eyes too were watering. She walked forward and once again embraced, this time Ela kissing him deeply. He returned in earnest, it somehow felt and tasted better than before, the two having confessed their feelings towards each other. Doc cleared his throat,
"You're clear to leave, Kade, if you feel well enough for it. You'll need to come back before the day ends, so I can give you one last look over. Six wants to see you two, so clean up and report to her." he said, standing awkwardly in the hallway. There was one thing the beloved Frenchman wasn't good at above all things and that was smoothly dealing with public displays of affection; either around or towards him. Valkyrie had once likened him to a shy middle school boy at a dance, to which he fervently denied; horrified at his comrade's agreement with the statement. None the less, they were confident someone would peer into his compassionate heart and fall into the boundless kindness that resided in him. Kade awkwardly nodded, pulling the curtain so he could change out of his hospital gurney. Ela blushed with a grin on her face,
"Sorry Gus, we'll get out of your hair. Thanks for keeping Kade in our plane of existence." giving him a thankful kiss on the cheek. He only mumbled and kept his eyes on his paperwork but Ela didn't miss his clearly embarrassed demeanor. Eventually Kade and Ela bundled up and headed out to the spire so Kade could get cleaned up and meet with Six.
"What do you think Six wants to see you for?" Ela asked as Kade opened the door to the spire. Their feet clamoring on the iron stairs as they climbed up, she watched Kade's back, even without seeing his face she knew he was sorting out all the possibilities in his head.
"If I had to make a conjecture, I'd say it would have to do with my rather rough treatment of the Mr. Stevens. Yumiko and Seamus seemed particularly displeased during the mission." he said as he opened the door to his homely room. Ela thought back to is. The techniques he used were pretty brutal. She almost winced when she thought about him forcing the nail through the white mask's hands. She wasn't looking up and bumped into Kade, who had turned to face her. She looked up at him, her face turning red from embarrassment.
"Perhaps you are too?" he said, a knowing smile on his face. Ela opened her mouth to speak but shut it again. She didn't want him to think she disapproved of him, but she also didn't want to be dishonest to him. She wanted to place her words carefully.
"I think what you did was rather cruel, however, I wouldn't want to imagine what would've happened if you didn't." she said. Kade considered the thought, slowly taking off his shirt. His muscles rippled, and his many tattoos danced along his skin as he moved. He slowly took off his bandages, revealing his damaged skin all stitched up. The jack o' lantern tattoo on his gut was slightly disfigured, the once smiling mouth almost completely stitched over. He did the same thing near his collarbone, only to discover the tip of an angel wing that was there was disfigured with stiches.
"I'll have to get them redone, it seems." Kade said, studying his wounds. Ela didn't say anything, staring at his body. Her eyes followed the dips and masses of his muscles. The countless inked images that seemed to flow into each other, she was like a historian hungrily eating up words on an ancient scroll with her eyes. Kade's presence felt endless at that moment, as if he was surrounding every essence of her being.
"Seeing as we both need to freshen up..." Kade said, standing before the bathroom threshold wearing only a pair of jeans. She felt passion and desire fall over her in a wave. Could this be? Were things moving too fast? She felt herself trying to apply mental brakes but could hear the figurative squealing as the rubbery ions burned against the pavement that was her brain.
"Uh..." she was frozen speechless. Her body was screaming with desire. Kade didn't seem the least bit bothered by her hesitance, giving her a smile with a slightly reddened face.
"In that case, I'll be quick. I left some of your clothes in the bottom drawer of the dresser from the other day, washed and dried of course." he said, about to shut the door behind him. Her heart melted. How could she not join him after that? He was sweeter than crisp berries during an early morning sunrise.
"I'll join you, darling." she said. She began stripping off her clothes, leaving a trail of discarded cloth to the bathroom door. She began to kiss him when he was close enough and he kicked the door closed with his foot. The lock clicked. She resolved to just kiss him. However, she could feel her resolve crumbling every passing moment. She would just touch him a little bit, no harm in that, right?
Nearly an hour later the two exited the bathroom, their skin cherry red from hot water and passion. Kade had folded up her clothes in a uniform perfection she'd seen replicated only in her father. She decided on a black-shirt and jeans, noting one again that she really needed to think about buying a new wardrobe. Kade made her feel like more of a woman, she had observed, and she wanted to show that.
"Are your stiches okay?" she asked Kade as she pulled her t-shirt over her head. Kade stood in front of a mirror by the bed, tucking in his dress shirt to his pants.
"Fine. You didn't reopen the wound, if that's what you're asking." he said with a teasing tone. She mumbled some sort of retort, of which Kade could only pick up a couple polish curse words. His phone, which he had thrown on the bed when they entered the spire, was vibrating incessantly. He picked it up,
"Kade speaking." he said. He was silent for a moment.
"Ah, yes. We'll be there shortly, just got out of the shower."
He paused. He coughed.
"Um, yes. We won't let it happen again director, apologies." he said before hanging up. Ela had a feeling what it was about. He turned to her, a sheepish grin on his face.
"Six would ask that we 'refrain from such illicit activities' when keeping her waiting." he said. Embarrassment washed over her. This meeting was going to be awkward. Not that she had ever had a problem sticking it to her superiors, but Six was different. Six treated her and the others with equal respect but at the same time pushed them to be more, be better; the way a good mentor would. In some ways, Six felt like a mother figure to her, which would make the upcoming meeting uncomfortable to say the least. Kade put on his vest, clipping on his pocket watch, checking the time before clicking it closed.
"Ready to go, dear?" he said.
"Yes, let's go, professor." she said. She really loved his scholarly aura. Not that she had ever had a thing for brainy men but Kade made one hell of a good case for the stereotype.
Kade's hypotheses for the meeting had been correct, as Sledge and Hibana stood behind Six's desk. Sledge still had bandages wrapped around his head from his injury. A certain anger seemed to be lurking just beyond the surface of his visage. However, they didn't expect Blackbeard and IQ to be there as well. The two were sitting on one of the couches of her office, leaving the other for Kade and Ela. Glaz was also there, standing with arms crossed against the wall. Kade chose not to sit however, choosing to stand and face Six and the others with an emotionless mask.
"Hello Professor, Ela, glad to see you could finally make it." she said with an air of annoyance. Ela shifted uncomfortably, while IQ and Blackbeard couldn't help but silently snigger in her direction. Kade betrayed nothing, keeping a level stare with the director.
"Firstly, Professor, I want to congratulate and thank you for completing the mission and getting all my operators home safe. The hostage you acquired has also provided useful intel, which I will send you over email later. However, that's not why we're all here." she said, shuffling some papers on her desk.
"According to these reports written by those in this room and my administration, you treated the hostage with, what could be considered rather barbaric treatment. Explain." she said. She didn't look upset, but rather curious. Sledge was staring daggers into Kade, while Hibana looked between the two with slight apprehension, seemingly worried about a quarrel bursting between them.
"I'll start by saying my treatment of Mr. Stevens is not born of some mental affliction, as I'm sure Seamus's report claims; my master's degree in psychology can speak for that." he said. Sledge bristled at the accusation but one look from Six made him freeze in place.
"I killed his comrades to wear down his mental defense. He believed I wouldn't hurt him or any of his constituents because of the information they held, but with a couple of questions and observations I immediately discerned that the others were of little use beyond fodder for the interrogation of Mr. Stevens." he said. Six didn't say anything but Sledge looked on the verge of crying out. His face was red and a rather large vein had appeared on his forehead.
"How can ye just call 'em that, fodder?!" he burst out. Kade raised an eyebrow,
"That's interesting of you to say, considering the rather enthusiastic use of your sledgehammer to crush their craniums. You killed them like they were nothing but base beast." Kade said.
"Like ye can talk ya bastard!" Sledge said, only for Six to raise her hand, silencing him.
"Seamus, you can leave if you can't keep silent. Continue, Professor." she said. Sledge clammed up, clearly wanting to say more.
"Finally, concerning the treatment of Mr. Stevens. Had the circumstances not been so dire, perhaps I would've taken a different approach, but they were, so I did what I was trained to do. The method of torture for off the grid CIA units is meant to be dehumanizing, inhumane, cruel, and incredibly painful by trade. It is designed to break even the most resilient cases of human spirit until they can do nothing but bend to our every whim." Kade said. The office was silent. On paper, Kade's argument made perfect sense.
"This isn't S.O.G, Kade." Six said, a sternness now present in her tone.
"Perhaps not, though I would argue that Rainbow differs little from it. Rainbow is an anonymous task force meant to combat international threats, without recognition or recompense from the state. We are classified to almost everyone except for select officials of prominent organizations. We collect specialist from all over the world, across all military organizations to strengthen our ranks and suit the needs for the mission. For all intents and purposes, Rainbow is an international counterpart of S.O.G." Kade said. Arguing against Six was a ballsy move. Most would leave her office with shredded dignity after trying to challenge her views or orders. Six nodded,
"I see your point, Professor. You've provided ample justification for your actions, so I have no reason to discipline you. There's one other thing." she said, taking a small black box out of her desk. Kade stepped forward reflexively.
"While your former military ranks are more or less forced into remission, I briefly reactivated yours, in order to promote you to Brigadier General. Additionally, with your former commander's permission I'm awarding you a Silver Star medal for your show of incredible valor and leadership." Six said, getting up from her seat to pin the medals onto Kade's vest. Kade looked surprised and speechless, so did most of the others, except for Sledge, who just looked utterly upset and exasperated. Kade did a salute as she pinned the medals on, seeming unsure of what else to do.
"At ease, Doctor Summers. I can already see you'll be adding much to our organization, so I hope I can continue to expect great things from you. You're all dismissed." she said. Kade stopped his salute,
"Thank you, director, I shall." he said. Ela could hardly contain herself. She felt pride swell in her chest like a balloon. She rose with her comrades, fighting the urge to give Kade a bear hug. Sledge stayed behind, seeming to want to disclose something to Six. She felt her lip curl in disgust. She had had enough of him meddling with Kade's position on the team. They had just gotten outside of the office building, offering Kade congratulations when Thermite ran up to them, seemingly happy but a confused expression on his face.
"Hey Kade! Glad to see you're patched up, bud. I was actually looking for you, some guy with a car full of civs is here, badgering the recruits at the gate. They look like they've been through hell, the guy's name is Erik said you'd-" Thermite couldn't finish his sentence. Kade's eyes went wider than Ela had ever seen them and he immediately started running towards the gate with no explanation. Ela called after him but to no avail. The troupe, now curious as to what was happening at the gate, followed Kade's path. When Kade got there, things were tense. The recruits had their weapons aimed on someone on the other side shouting for this Erik person to put down his weapon.
"Hey! Hey! Enough! He's with me! He's with me!" Kade yelled, pushing past a couple of recruits to see what was beyond the gate. Erik Thorn stood before him, next to a beat-up red car. Kade saw Robert. He saw Anna-Lee. He saw Mary. He felt tears prick his eyes. Erik looked like hell, covered in blood, cuts and grime, a mournful expression on his face.
"I'm sorry Kade. I couldn't protect her, it was all I could do to get them out of there alive." Kade made a mind-crushing connection. The tears fell freely now. He grabbed his head with his hands, pulling at his hair. His information had been leaked to the White Mask. Why hadn't he made the connection?! They had found his family home. They had killed his mother. Ela and the others got there just in time to see Kade sink to his knees, indescribable pain etched on his aging face. Erik joined him on the ground, embracing him tightly.
"I'm so sorry, brother. I'm so sorry." was all Maverick could whisper as Kade began to sob. It was all coming apart now. He'd committed the worst sin imaginable. He led them straight to his family. Rain, which had been holding off in the distance, began to pour down. Ela could only watch on, utterly confused and distressed at her beloved being in such dire straits. This was not how things were supposed to go. He was supposed to protect them. He couldn't feel the rain as it soaked his hair and clothes, nor hear the words Maverick said to him. He then felt rage. Unspeakable rage. He would make them pay. Every single one.
NEW OPERATOR ARRIVAL: MAVERICK