1100 Hours
March 1st, 2001
Manhattan, New York
Metropolitan College
"Until next time, Dr. Summers." Richard Barley said, the old man giving a pleasant smile and wave before leaving Kade's office. Kade sighed and spun around in his chair. As much as he loved chatting with his fellow English Professors about any manner of topics, he did appreciate a moment to himself once in a while. He glanced at the large stack of papers looming at him from the desk. The seniors had just handed in their second seven-page papers for the semester and Kade already knew he was in for many a long night of grading. Next to the stack of papers was a picture of Ryan in his military dress, his brown eyes filled with life despite the sternness of his expression. Next to that was a picture of Kade, Ryan and Robert, all grinning from ear to ear. He needed to send them both a letter soon, though he knew with Ryan on deployment, it would be more than a while until he got a response. Not that Kade minded. With their father dead and gone, their little until had finally starting feeling like a normal family. It had been far too long since Kade had seen her smile so often. He would need to give her a call before the week ended so she'd know he was doing okay. That was when he began to hear noises outside his window. He often heard the foolery of his students but there was a twinge of something unnatural. Something frightening. His heart began to beat. Something about them sounded off. They could've been mistaken as shouts and cries of children playing catch or Frisbee or anything else college age kids would be doing on a mild spring afternoon. Kade resisted his mind's attempts to trivialize his fears. He listened intently. More shouts and hollers. Then coughing. They began to morph, from suspicious noises to blood curdling screams, coughs and gasp. Kade darted from his office, heading straight for the stairs. His office was only on the second floor so it didn't take him long to get outside. He ran up the sidewalk, taking a hard left which let him to the main pavilion and admissions building. The sight that awaited him filled his heart with horror and his mind with utter confusion. There were men in white hazard suits, unmarked, with big yellow devices leaking a similarly colored gas. Students, faculty and visitors alike were on the ground, coughing, spasming, or laying unnaturally still. Kade opened his mouth to shout but found he couldn't. The smoke-the gas, whatever it was had entered his body. He began coughing and sputtering, immediately sinking to his knees. The taste was so beyond foul he could hardly think of the words to describe it. He could his body seizing up, as if under attack in all places all at once. He tried to scream but his lungs were filled with the deplorable gas. Oxygen was being sucked out of his body like a milkshake through a straw and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. The last thing he remembered as his breath slowed to an intermittent wheeze was the armed, faceless men. They said nothing as they stared down at him, their forms and the barrels of their guns looking like wraiths wrapped within the smoke. His last thought was of the beautiful family he'd never see again.
1800 Hours
February 5th, 2018
Herefordshire, England
Hereford Base, The Spire
Ela traced the U.S Army Infantry Insignia tattooed on his thigh as he spoke. Silence and comfort were best at times such as these. The only reason she didn't have a panic attack right then at there at the mention of the gas was because Kade was right there next to her, his calming presence deterring anything other than peace.
"When I awoke in the hospital they'd claimed that something had happened to me and that test would need to be completed in order to fully access the changes. They transferred me to a military owned hospital and took things from there."
"What did they find?" Ela asked. She had a feeling it would have something to do with how absurdly fast his arm had healed.
"That the gas had seemingly done what the White Mask had intended it to do. Create super soldiers." Ela's eyes flicked up to his at the remark.
"Super soldiers?" Kade nodded.
"What little intelligence could be gathered about the attack was that they planned on kidnapping survivors and turning them into weapons. Their plans went awry when everyone involved in the attack died; except for me. It was a miracle they assumed I was a lifeless corpse." he explained.
"What makes you a super soldier?" she asked. Kade got a far away look in his eye as he passed her the lit cigarette.
"Enhanced strength, senses, healing. An increased lifespan. High pain tolerance. High resistance to the negative effects of drugs. High resistance to disease and illness. The list goes on." he rattled off.
"Do Robert and Anna know? Erik?" Kade shifted uncomfortably.
"No, Robbie and Anna don't. Erik does." They said nothing after that, the silence stretching like long mountain valleys, the shadows of the clouds passing slowly over pure green pasture.
"Well?" Kade said.
"Well what?" Ela answered. There was no hostility in her voice, just confusion.
"Do you...think differently of me now?"
"Why would I? What happened was out of your control and irrelevant to who you are as a person." she said, moving to trace the outline of the telltale glove, anchor and eagle of the insignia of the USMC.
"Is it so far removed?" Kade wondered.
"You ask if these changes of yours makes me see you in a different light. I'm telling you no. It is that simple." Kade let out a long breath.
"Really? Damn, now I feel a little stupid for being so worried." Ela chuckled as she exhaled smoke.
"You are severely underestimating my devotion, kochanie." (translation: darling) "Why tell me now? Did something come up?" she questioned. Kade let out a sigh.
"That smoke, the X-virus, was just a trial run of what you now know as the Chimera virus. They're going to weaponize it again. At Metropolitan college, on the 17th anniversary of the attack, March 1st. Harry asked me to take point for the Op." Kade said. Ela stopped tracing her finger on the Marine insignia. She could feel a light dread creep just beyond the glowing happiness and comfort she was feeling at the moment.
"Those skurwysyns. Why Metropolitan again?" (translation: bastards) Kade's tone grew serious.
"I'm not sure. I'm hoping the general our team captured will be able to give us some idea. But what it does tell us is we are no longer dealing with a group led by faceless board of execs. They have a figurehead." he said. Ela crinkled her eyebrows.
"Hm. Extrapolate. Tell me more." she said. He chuckled,
"Nice vocab."
"I learn from the best. Now explain. When you go into lecture mode it excites me." Ela said, giving him a sucking kiss on the inner thigh. He smiled in the way one does when they've had the perfect amount of drugs and sex.
"Let's see...I'll use a metaphor. Let's say the White Mask is a business. If-"
"Give the business a name. Makes it more fun that way." Ela said playfully. Kade chuckled as he lit another cigarette.
"Fine. Fine. Let's say Evil Incorporated-"
"Boring"
"Deal with it." Kade said, clearing his throat to continue. God she loved getting him all lecture-y.
"-were planning to release a new product. In order to test this product for maximum profit and gain, the business would choose the most pragmatic, safe and reliable procedure of testing said product. That's what makes choosing Metropolitan as the new "testing site" so odd. It is the least pragmatic, least safe and least reliable way of doing things. I could name several other places in Manhattan alone that would be one-hundred times more suited for the attack."
"Do you think it is a ruse? A plot to get our attention on one complete location instead of the intended site?" Ela said. Kade shook his head.
"Unlikely. The data your team retrieved was heavily encrypted and all marks indicate it being incredibly vital intel for the White Mask. The choice of site and date exhibit signs of a singular personality, one that intends to make a statement with the next attack."
Ela shifted her position so that she was sitting comfortably between Kade's legs, though facing away from him.
"It is perplexing, how much you seem to make from so little." Ela said. She sighed happily as Kade grabbed a brush from the nightstand and began sifting through the knots and tangles that their passionate love making had produced.
"If I boiled it down simply, I'd say it's because I read a lot of books." he said.
"Am I pretty, Kade?" she asked suddenly. He stopped brushing her hair. She didn't have to turn around to see the baffled look on his face.
"Pretty? Elizbieta, I can safely assure you that, in my eyes, the words to describe the measure of your beauty do not exist."
"You're too sweet, Kade. Though, I only asked because I wanted to hear you say it."
"I thought we were above fishing for compliments." Kade said, amusement in his voice. Ela glanced over her shoulder,
"Not when they're coming from you." she said sweetly. She noticed with a thrill his cheeks turning red.
"Kade! Stop being so cute or I just might eat you up." she flirted. Kade's hand glided across the small of her back. She felt his breath tickle her neck and ear.
"Why don't you." he whispered. That was all the encouragement she needed. She turned and pounced on him, her lips forming into a smirk.
"What do you say, nadcz∤owiek, one or two more rounds before the bar?" (translation: superman) she said suggestively. Kade grinned with a predatory smile, making her fingers tighten on his back.
"Double that, angel face." The next moment he was inside of her. The rest was bliss.
2000 Hours
Herefordshire, England
The Old Black Lion, Hereford County
The Old Black Lion was, as the title implied, an old family run Pub and Inn with years of service under their belt. The original operators of Rainbow had gone barhopping all over Hereford county until they stumbled across The Old Black Lion. It served good drinks, good food, had live music and was spacious enough that it could accommodate for all the operators at Hereford Base. Kade and Ela rolled up to the bar in Ela's final gift to Kade; his newly restored black hooded 1967 Camaro. Ela had made some friends in GROM, one of them being Oleg, who loved to restore vehicles in his spare time. When she had found out that the car had been, in fact, Ryan's and not his father's she had what was left of the vehicle sent to Oleg and his shop back in Poland. The best part was that she didn't have to pay for any of it. He owed her a lifetime of favors after how many times she had to cover for him either because he drank too much the previous night, or snuck out of base to spend the night with a stranger. It had brought tears to Kade's eyes, to see his Brother's car sitting before him once again, restored to its former glory and more. Oleg had even taking the courtesy of installing bulletproof plating and windows, making it a little sturdier should their date night get "crashed" once again. As they had driven there, classic rock playing over the radio, Ela couldn't help but sink into the passenger side, close her eyes and imprint the happiness she felt deep within her memory. Whatever happened from here on, she never wanted to forget this day. For the night out, Kade had decided on a simple cream-colored sweater with black slacks and some slick brown lace-ups. Ela meanwhile had decided on a white crop-top that had The Analogs printed on it in bold red letters. She then completed the outfit with a fur lined jacket, leggings, sneakers and a custom-made cap that had the letters GROM printed on them. Alfons and Zofia got out of the backseats.
"I take it you intend to stay the night, you two?" Zofia asked. Kade nodded.
"Kade is the birthday boy, it would be a punishment to not let him get drunk." Ela added.
"If I didn't see Kade's stomach get pumped I would've told you to go easy on him. Now Alfons and I are taking bets on how many drinks he can finish tonight."
"I bet 12!" Alfons added enthusiastically. Kade gave the couple a look,
"I do want to remember tonight, you know." he said. They walked in, the rustic bar glowing with soft light and shining bar tops. Ela went ahead of them as the other three took off their jackets by the entry way. A middle-aged man stood behind the counter, a crisp black shirt and white apron signaling his position as the barman.
"What can I do for you, miss?" his voice was light but his pale blue eyes were intelligent and observant. Being a former soldier, why wouldn't they?
"Hey, James. You got my call didn't you? About it being someone's birthday? Do you want me to pay now or tomorrow when I leave?" she asked. James eyed the others at the door.
"Finally found a special someone, did you? Paying tomorrow would be fine, Ela, I'll keep track of your tab." Ela grinned.
"Thanks James, you're the best!"
Before long, the four were seated at the bar, drinks in their hands and complementary bowls of spiced almonds.
"Are you currently working on anything?" Alfons asked Kade. Kade sipped his Stella Artois, looking as if he was going through a mental checklist in his head.
"I'm working on a couple projects. The one I have the most progress on is how warfare shapes a culture; looking particularly at countries like Vietnam, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. I have another that is just in its beginning stages giving a proper analysis on the state of military veterans on a global scale and what it says about our society." Kade said.
"I'll be excited to read them. I've always found your style...intelligent and charming, if I had to describe it. You never come off as haughty or excessive. You give the gruesome details with imagery few can match yet balance the blackness with your honest, charismatic voice. In fact, I've found myself so fond of them that I haven't been able to stomach any other military authors." Alfons continued, making Zofia groan.
"I have to deal with this enough at home, Kade. Please stop indulging him." she begged. Alfons looked at her.
"And what would you do if you met your favorite author?" her husband asked.
"I know I will never meet Joan Didion, so I don't need to entertain the fantasy." Zofia replied. Kade whistled,
"My my, not exactly the kind of woman you read when you have a happy marriage and family; though I do find her take on post modernism fascinating. Have you ever read Don DeLillo? He's another fantastic postmodernist author, I did a fifty-page thesis comparing the two and their contributions to the genre when I was in Harvard." he said. Ela gave him a nudge,
"You're babbling again, my sweet. Drink more beer, would you?" she said, downing another shot of Tequila.
"What made you want to enlist in the Military, Kade? I remember you mentioned it briefly before but I admit I forget what you said." Alfons said. Ela and Kade glanced at each other briefly. While the "Manhattan Incident" Kade had disclosed to her would more than likely be revealed to the rest of the operators before the next op, Kade wasn't sure he wanted to disclose it just yet.
"When my brother died During Operation Enduring Freedom let's just say I felt the call. The university I was teaching at, at the time, Metropolitan, was less than four miles from the towers. Though, analyzing my own reaction to the events, I realized I wanted to find out why rather than retaliate on an attack against my country; though that certainly was part of it." Kade said, eating a handful of spiced nuts. Ela glanced over at the band beginning to set up their instruments. Man did she want to dance. She had never danced with Kade and was excited to take him to the dancefloor. The door opening took her out of her thoughts, where she saw her fellow operators pouring in.
"Ah, James how ya doin' mate?" Sledge said as he walked through the door.
"Very good, Seamus. Am I to expect a full house tonight?"
"Yeah, place'll be crammed. Hope ye don't mind." Sledge said, giving a nod to his fellow operators at the bar as he made his way in. Kade had found that his little spat had been a one off as far as his personality was concerned. From all their interactions henceforth, Sledge had shown himself to be charming, of strong moral character and quite easy to talk to and get along with. Kade supposed that the heart made the fool of many.
"Happy Birthday, Kade. How old are ye now? Ancient?" he said, Kade glanced at the door to see the other SAS operators shuffling in.
"Getting closer to that every day. Forty-five, though, to answer your question." Sledge whistled.
"Damn, son. Respect for staying in the game so long. Make sure I buy you a pint by the end of the night, yeah?" the SAS operator said, clapping Kade on the shoulder before joining his fellow Englishmen at the pool table.
"Huh. Who would have thought he'd become more amicable to you?" Zofia said. Alfons looked at her in confusion.
"Why? I thought he was a decent fellow." Ela waved her hand,
"It is a long story Alfons. And-"
"He is a decent fellow." Kade interrupted, earning a glare from Ela. Kade shrugged.
"It's only fair. I vividly remember you interrupting me quite frequently earlier."
Zofia and Alfons observed the two with fondness. They'd fostered something so precious in so little time. Time would only tell where they would go but the married couple were relatively optimistic.
***
It wasn't long before things were in full swing at the Old Black Lion. Drinks were being downed at an astonishing rate, games of pool, cards and darts were all well under way. Food was flying out of the kitchen to those playing cards, sitting at tables, or the bar. The live band was also doing their job, playing some jazz that got toes tapping and heads bobbing. Kade and Ela now sat with two of the newest operators, Mozzi and Gridlock at a table near the bar.
"Your girl was kickin' crazy ass, man! You shoulda seen her, bloody dartin' left and right like she was on fire!" Mozzie said enthusiastically, recounting their meeting during phase one of Operation Scorched Earth.
"What he hasn't mentioned is that he almost blew her up into the bloody stratosphere. He's got the worst itch for demo." Gridlock said in an apologetic tone. Ela laughed,
"Don't worry. Flying out of the danger zone was probably what saved me!" Kade nodded in agreement,
"A toast to coming back alive!"
"Right on, mate!" Mozzie said.
"Cheers to new friends." Gridlock proposed, everyone raising their glasses. Clink. Ela could see Mira and Twitch getting up on a table out of the corner of her eye. Isn't it a little early for that? The band briefly stopped in preparation for whatever the two women had to say.
"Hello? Everyone? I-we-have an announcement to make, regarding the birthday boy." Mira shouted, her eyes staring into Kade's. Kade covered his face with both hands in misery. Jesus Christ, why?
"Yes! Our sneaky little professeur tried to hide some rather important news from us!" (translation: professor) Twitch exclaimed.
"Not true!" Kade shot back, Ela looking at him quizzically.
Manhattan Incident? She mouthed. Kade shook his head.
"Do we air each other's dirty laundry on the reg here? I don't wanna scare anyone off." Mozzie joked.
"Doctor Summers here did not mention that he is the new head of the Psychology and Resources department!" Mira declared with excitement. She was met with silence.
"And? What in the bollocks does that mean?" Smoke questioned.
"Harry's old job." Mute answered, his voice barely audible.
"Well then where the hell does Harry work now, eh?" Maestro asked from the card table, Alibi sitting in his lap cradling a gin and tonic.
"Harry is now the Deputy Director! Kade has his old job now!" Twitch said, a smidgen of frustration in her voice.
"And?" Smoke said again, making the bar erupt in raucous laughter.
"Jésus baise Christ, it means he's our new shrink you blockheads!" (translation: Jesus Fucking Christ) Doc shouted. His proclamation was met with silence once again.
"That's supposed to be a good thing?" Pulse joked, making the bar erupt in laughter, Mira even joining in.
"You all suck! Choke on your drinks! Mourir!" (translation: Die!) Twitch yelled. It was clear she was more than feeling the effects of her drink. As soon as the two operators got off the table Clash raised her cup.
"To Kade!" she burst out, all the others laughing, cheering and raising their drinks. Twitch began to explode in a stream of pure French cursing and rage but Mira put her arm around her waist, laughing and urging her to calm down. Ela turned to Kade.
"And you did not mention this to me?" Kade looked sheepish.
"I was going to...through an email." Ela didn't look pleased. Mozzie laughed,
"Trouble in paradise! Lozza'll put me in the dog house when I'm being what some call a little reckless." he said.
"I think the word you're looking for is stupid, Goose. When you act stupid." Gridlock clarifed.
"You have children, don't you, Max?" Kade said, happy to take the subject off him.
"Oh yes I do! My littles! My angels-here they are along with my absolute beauty of a wife." he said, pulling a picture out of his back wallet. There they were, two newborn babies with Mozzie and his wife Lozza, all beaming at the camera.
"You have a beautiful family, Max." Kade said. Max grinned
"You don't have to tell me, mate. My whole damn world in one teensy picture. You got family, Summers? Ex-wives? Kids?"
"No. No I don't. I was rather reclusive and fully absorbed in my work in my younger days. Love however, has appeared to find me in this one." Kade said, taking Ela's hand in his.
"I suppose I'll forgive you for interrupting. Just this once." Ela said.
"You two are aces. The only love of mine has ever been Izzy and working in the shop. Muckin' around with cars is like nothing else, I can tell ya that." Gridlock said.
"Mind if I bum a ciggy, mate? Haven't had a chance to get new ones." Mozzie asked, Kade handing him one, sparking the lighter once the Australian operator had it held between his lips. Ela fingered one out of the carton and did the same. She loved watching the firelight dance in Kade's eyes.
"I wasn't sure if I was ever going to find it either, until I met Kade. I think once you meet the person, you know." Ela said. The warmness in Kade's eyes turned her insides to mush. Mozzie elbowed Gridlock.
"Ah! Hear that, Tori? You still gotta chance! Maybe your special someone is in this bar." Gridlock shoved his elbow away and stole the cigarette form his hand.
"Who knows? I'm not gonna go lookin' for it. I have all that I need right now." Ela looked over at Kade. She too, had all she needed sitting right beside her.
***
It was when Kade requested that the band play "Dancing In the Moonlight" that Ela finally grabbed his hand to dance. She'd been itching to do it all night and decided that she'd waited long enough. There was no method in the way the two danced, simply keeping their hands on each other and following the beat with their bodies. That being said, it was apparent very quickly that dancing wasn't Kade's forte, but that didn't matter. He danced anyways and wasn't afraid to make a fool of himself, his confidence was something Ela loved about him.
Dancing in the moonlight
Everybody's feelin' warm and bright
It's such a fine and natural sight
Everybody was dancin' in the moonlight
It was an almost magical feeling, being in that bar, dancing with the one she loved, the smell of pine and alcohol, the touch of Kade's hands on her lower back and waist. For that time, no one existed in her world but her and Kade. Kade spun her around and she couldn't help but let out a laugh. She wouldn't have been surprised to see firefly's flying all around her, so light did her heart and feet feel. Time felt limitless and the buzz she felt made her feel like nothing could bring her down. That was, of course, until she felt someone that wasn't Kade grab her ass. She whipped around, her eyes flashing. A tall, handsome man leered down at her. He was young. Stupid. Worse, he was military. No doubt from the base that served as a cover for Hereford. They would always invade their space, hoping to get with any of Rainbow's finest by the end of the night.
"Hey, cutie. Why not dance with me? Isn't he a little too old, anyways?" the brute said, making her insides light up in anger. She glanced at Kade, who was lighting a cigarette with the ghost of a smile on his face. He shrugged,
"Go ahead, dear. I won't take it from you." Without warning she faced the rude young man and cracked his jaw with the ring she was wearing, a gift from her mother. A cheer went up from her fellow comrades as the once confident man now staggered around, his eyes unfocused as his friends led him away.
"Solid right hook. Remind me not to grab your ass like that, my old brittle bones wouldn't be able to withstand it." Kade joked. A sensuous smile took over her face as she leaned in close,
"Oh you can grab it whenever you'd like kochanie." (translation: darling) she said, leading his hand exactly where she wanted it. He was the only one she wanted doing such things to her.
***
It was later in the night that Kade and Ela found themselves playing a game of pool with Maestro and Alibi. Maestro wasn't the greatest shot but Alibi picked up the slack, making it a relatively even game.
"So, Kade, about the next Operation. I heard from a little birdie that you're leading. Any chance Ari and I can get in on it?" Maestro said, a mirthful twinkling in his eyes. Alibi stood leaning against her pool stick.
"I agree. I don't think I've been in on a big op in months." Kade hit the red three in the pocket with a satisfying smack.
"Fortunately, you two are at the top of my list for the team I need. Though, I hope you have formal attire. We're going to Metropolitan college in Manhattan, New York. My previous place of employment." Kade said. Alibi's eyebrows crinkled but beyond that she said nothing.
"Oh? Do you miss being a professore?" (translation: professor) Maestro asked. Kade's features grew slightly melancholic.
"I do. Everyday. Helping young minds foster a passion for the wonders of literature is something I will love and miss to my dying day." Maestro shot the ball, the white orb going wide and hitting in a solid for Ela and Kade. He laughed sheepishly as Alibi stared him down with a disapproving look.
"Do you think you'll go back there when you retire?" Alibi asked. Kade shrugged as he chalked up his stick.
"If I live that long." Silence met his answer. Death was always the elephant in the room when it came to Rainbow. They were unnaturally lucky in how no operators had yet died in the line of duty. Of course, that never meant they wouldn't. Or that the next op they went on would be their last.
"I would like to see you teach a class." Ela said suddenly. She felt her cheeks warm. She hadn't meant to say that out loud.
"Perhaps you'll be able to. I have you included in the list of operators I'll need." he said. Ela smiled. She had hated being deployed on separate ops from Kade. It had made worrying about him so much easier. It would put her heart at ease to be within arms reach of him at any sign of danger. Especially with how much he'd been making a habit of getting shot, stabbed and hospitalized lately.
"Haha! Does this mean we get to roleplay as your students, Kade?" Maestro asked.
"Only if you're prepared to take some harsh punishment." he replied with a wink. That was her Kade. Charming, if not a little abrasive, until the end.
***
They were still awake in the early hours of the morning. They had, contrary to what most likely believed, sat most of it in comfortable silence, naked bodies intertwined with the sheets. The radio played just above the silence, enough to lull the couple somewhere between sleep and serenity.
"I read through the reports, you know. They scared me. Bad." Ela admitted into the darkness. She could feel his skin shift against hers, a pleasing feeling.
"I imagine they would. I have enough self-awareness to acknowledge that I was rather reckless this time around." Ela scoffed.
"Try every operation you've been on so far. You're going to get yourself killed at this rate."
"Is that such a bad thing?" Kade asked in a deadened tone. Ela felt a rush of anger and fear at his words. A single candle gave her just enough light to see his eyes. He had that lifeless look in his eyes again.
"Never say something like that again. You hear me? And never look at me with those eyes. You can pull that with your enemies, other operators, but do not look at me like that." she said, her tone something between stern and gentle. The peace hadn't been completely broken after all.
"I'm not a good man, Ela. There's no use in pretending I am. I'm not even a good man that does bad things. You don't work for the Special Operations Division and come out a good man. It doesn't work that way." Kade said. At least the look on his face had changed. He was more mournful now, pained. She opened her mouth to speak but Kade put a finger to her lips. He adjusted his body so her head lay between his shoulder and the crook of his neck. His mouth was about level with her ear, where she could hear his comforting low tones and feel his breath against her skin.
"I've made my peace with that. I felt nothing when I killed those innocents at Katari's request. I felt nothing when I gunned down Katari's wife. In fact, I should've killed the kids too. They're only going to become a problem later on." She didn't like the words coming out of his mouth but did nothing to stop them. She figured an admission like this would make any other person horrified. It made her wonder if something was wrong with her, to feel almost nothing but morbid curiosity at his admittance.
"Why would you kill the children?" she asked.
"Because the older one is more than likely plotting to kill me at Hereford as we speak. If not now, sometime in the future. He will spend the rest of his life consumed by hatred of me for killing his mother and ruining the life he once had."
"What about the middle child?"
"The middle one is too much of a coward. He'll be traumatized for the rest of his life, probably kill himself before he turns twenty."
"The baby?" Why can't you shut your mouth, Ela?
"Save him from misery. Their mother thought she was doing them a favor by forcing me to kill her. Thought they'd be able to live a life unmarred by their father's legacy. But she thought wrong. Those children are doomed to a life of suffering. Killing them would've been a mercy."
"Did you kill women and children in droves when you were in Special Ops?" Ela asked. She didn't want to know the answer but she couldn't stop herself. Laying in that bed, next to a very sinful, very dangerous man, she felt nothing but contentment with a dash of discomfort.
"If it was necessary to complete the mission, then yes." God almighty.
"I think I hate how you think." Ela decided.
"Then we're of the same mind."
"Why did you decide to enlist? Why join Special Ops? Why...why have you done this to yourself?" she asked. At that moment she felt something akin to sympathy for him, if only it wasn't buried under the heavy weight of all the atrocities he'd no doubt committed.
"When I laid on the concrete, choking to death on that gas, I could think only of my family and those around me. How they must've been suffering that same, horrible fate. How many young, innocent lives were taken that day."
"95." Ela supplemented. She had shuddered when he revealed how many students and faculty had died during the Manhattan Incident.
"When I awoke, alive and with the enhancements I'd received, I decided that was it. That I'd been looking at the world in far too narrow a lens. Reading about death, destruction, conflict...that's one thing. Experiencing it is an entirely different matter. I vowed to myself I would stop at nothing to find those responsible for the attack and end their lives, their reign of terror. So I enlisted. Climbed my way through the ranks, re-enlisted into the Marines and raised hell until the CIA took notice." Kade said.
"You wanted to join them? That was your goal?" Ela asked. She felt Kade nod.
"It was. I figured if anyone would have intel on those responsible it would be an intelligence agency. I was, of course, rewarded with absolutely nothing of the sort when I joined up. I was tempted to take an early retirement, try to find them on my own. That was until I heard whisperings of Rainbow, a new initiative constructed purely to combat a new, dangerous threat."
"Do you want revenge?" Ela said. She had to ask. Had to know.
"No. The dead are dead, there's no point in trying to avenge a ghost. But as long as my body breathes, I will do all I can to prevent another Manhattan Incident. No one and I repeat no one deserves to die in such a manner. Not even the White Mask." Kade said. Ela decided that would be the end of her questions.
"You don't have to understand how I think. What drives me. Or agree to what I do to achieve those goals. I have no right to ask but the only thing I beg of you is to stay by my side. I'm quite aware that I don't deserve you but that won't stop me from holding onto you."
"Will you force me to stay?" She felt Kade shake his head. But she knew what her leaving would do to him. She took his arm and embraced it with her own, slowly planting kisses down his arm.
"Well you don't have to. I can't say that I'm a good person either. We are all colored by the things we've done. You've sacrificed everything for this, Kade. For what you thought was right. For now, that is enough." Ela said. She could feel wetness fall upon her cheek. She wiped his cheeks, kissing them both lightly.
"Masz moje serce." (translation: you have my heart) she whispered, settling into his arms. Her mind flew through the darkness as she fell asleep. There was no simple way to justify war. Explain it in all its parts and come out with some coherent answer. Who should decide that thousands upon thousands deserved to die? Who had the right? These questions were unimportant on the ground. When you were there, in the thick of it, all that mattered was the man next to you. For the sake of the mind, body and soul, you fought for the brothers and sisters standing beside you. Still. He didn't have to kill Isabel, did he?