Swan Song (Book Three of the Icarus Trilogy) (28 page)

“We’re listening,” Thomas said as he cradled the whiskey in both hands.  Goldstein licked his lips and then looked at the floor.

“I figured we’d wait until after this operation, try to give us more leverage.  But Montgomery wants to talk, he wants a cease-fire,” Zachary said before looking back up at the three men.  They were all sitting back and absorbed in their own thoughts.

“No way,” Jenkins said, shaking his head at the tyrant’s audacity.

“Look, it’s something we might want to consider, kid,” Goldstein said, but the messiah figure narrowed his gaze and leaned in closer.

“He killed everyone on Eris, Zach.  All of our friends.  The Trade Union needs to fall!” he said in an urgent whisper.  He didn’t want any of the celebrators to hear the conversation.

“I know, Ryan, I know!  But the Trade Union
still
has the upper hand.  They still have most of the planet and most of the asteroids.  We won today, but that can all turn,” Goldstein said, but Carver grunted, which stopped Zachary mid-statement.

“What do you think a cease-fire will accomplish, Goldstein?  It’ll just let them consolidate their forces, regroup and then crush us later.  It’s not a strategic move,” the old Crow said, falling back to his EOSF training.  Zachary shook his head and tried to plead the case.

“Carver, it’s time
we
can use, too.  I’m not saying we’ll stop operations, I’m saying we’ll meet with them, do what we can to get the best deal and then backstab them when we get the chance,” he said, but Carver shook his head before bringing the palm of his right hand to his face.

“It’s probably just a trap, Goldstein,” he started, but Zachary interrupted him this time.

“It could be!  I’m not saying it’s not, but Garrison is clearly on our side and he wants Jasper to fall just as much as we do.  He gave us the information for today’s strike and that worked wonders!  And since it’s a trap and I volunteered it, I mean, I’ll be the one who goes.  I’m already in it, anyway, and, well, I’m way better than you guys at negotiations.”

“Zach, this is stupid.  We can’t
negotiate
,” Jenkins said as he rubbed his eyes.  “They’ll be backstabbing us, too, and we have way more to lose if we go to the table.  I don’t know why you’re even consider-”

“We need to.”

The three men looked over at Thomas, who had been staring into the still surface of his whiskey.  He had been engaged in thought, listening to the men debating in front of him, but now he was ready.  The teacher breathed in deeply before stating his case.

“We have to take the high road, my friends.  That’s the point of the EFI.  We’re not the underhanded scum that rule the Trade Union.  We’re the idealists.  For us to deny peace when it is offered will only serve to show that we’re the terrorists that Montgomery is making us out to be.  It’s a pretty masterful stroke on their part.  We need to go to the table in order to maintain our righteous image.  We have to try.”

There was silence for a time as the revolutionaries considered the teacher’s words.  Unfortunately, it all made sense.  None of them liked it, but it caused Jenkins and Carver to back down from their opposition.  Goldstein was grateful for the support, but he dreaded what he had to say next.  He cleared his throat and received the attention of the three men.

“One more thing.  Garrison told me this part was non-negotiable,” Goldstein said, feeling the gaze of three powerful, righteous men burning into him.  “Atlas has to be there.  Since it started with you, Thomas, Montgomery thought it fitting that you’re there to end it.  He’s not going to see it as legitimate unless you’re there.”  Goldstein looked at the floor after the statement and tried to focus on the celebrations happening behind him.  Jenkins and Carver both grunted at the same time, clearly wanting to object, but Thomas put out his hand to stop them and gave a desperate laugh.

“I suppose it has to.  Guess I tied my hands,” Atlas said as he drank the rest of his whiskey without flinching and then looked back to the former merchant, who was now looking him in the eye.  He shook his head and sighed.

“You certainly have a way of killing the mood, Zachary.”

-

Kaspar had never been happier.  This last week had been a whirlwind of activity and good spirits were going around, but James had not been to the headquarters in days.  There were quite a few messages and missed calls from Demetri and Oliver, but Kaspar couldn’t be bothered to care.

The young girl stirred before rubbing her face on his exposed chest.  He watched and a smile crept across his face as she fell into a deeper sleep.  The two of them had spent the last two days lying in bed in his apartment, but James wouldn’t have wished for anything else.  They had only eaten a few meals, food James was easily able to grab across the street before returning to their sanctuary, but they weren’t often hungry.  It was more of a way to pass the time as they drank each other in.

Kaspar lifted up his left hand and ran his fingers between black strands leading to the top of her head.  Elizabeth’s hair was gorgeous and soft, falling to the side as he slid his weathered fingers down from her head and along her neck.  Kaspar dragged his nails along her skin with a delicate touch, something he could tell Elizabeth appreciated as she purred and squeaked.  As he set his hand against her side, James could see her open her eyes, revealing the emeralds beneath her eyelids.

“What are you doing, Jimmy?  I was sleeping,” she said with a false tone of annoyance, the smile on her face betraying her words.  James chuckled softly; shaking the young woman draped across his chest and sighed with content.

“So?  We’ve been sleeping for two days.  You could stand to be awake a bit,” he said with a grin as he swept his hand along her perfect skin.  James had always appreciated lying in bed with his few girlfriends, but there was something about this girl that felt different.  Elizabeth rolled her eyes and lifted her head up so that she could look down on the soldier.

“What, so we can continue to stare dreamily into each other’s eyes?  I would think that you’d be getting sick of it by now,” she said, her teeth peeking out from behind her red lips.  Others could have found flaws in this young girl, but Jimmy loved every single part of her.

“I don’t think so,” Kaspar said before lifting his head and kissing those red lips.  He couldn’t resist that urge for long, and it was long past due.  This was a time for giving into urges.  James lowered his head back down to the pillow and found the young woman still smiling.

“I should probably get back to my mom.  She’ll be worried even after my messages.  I can’t just run off for two days like you, Mr. Kaspar,” she said with a grin, which James returned.  Only a small part of him felt guilty for running off like he had.  Kaspar was supposed to be in the thick of it, but he had abandoned his duties.  As he looked up into the green eyes hovering above him he had no difficulty justifying it.  James had sacrificed his whole life; first for his family and second to this revolution. 

It was time that James Kaspar got something in return.

“Well, she had to deal with you living in the dorms during school, right?  I’m sure she could get used to it,” James said before shifting a little bit, realizing that his arm was falling asleep because of the girl lying on top of it.  Elizabeth realized what he was experiencing and moved a bit so that she could redistribute her weight onto his chest.  They had become very good at this cuddling business.

“Boy, do you not realize there’s a whole revolution happening out there?  She worries about me when I live
at
the house.  But, well,” she said as she leaned in close enough for her breath to warm Jimmy’s lips, “I guess I could stay for a little while longer.”

“I can think of at least one person who would be a fan of that,” James said as he lifted himself upward, but Elizabeth retreated at the last second, teasing the soldier beneath her.  Kaspar smiled before wrapping his fingers around the back of her neck and dragging her down into a passionate kiss. 

They laid there wrapped in each other for a while before he let her go and she rolled to the side.  James looked at the young girl lying on his other pillow and couldn’t stop smiling.  With his past relationships he had found it awkward to stare for long, the prolonged eye contact becoming uncomfortable as he realized that the girls felt much more attached, but James couldn’t help but stare back.  He looked at Elizabeth’s face and the hint of freckles at the top of her cheeks, the perfect curves of her red lips.

In the end, though, his gaze always fell to those dark, green eyes.  He had not noticed at first, but there were swirls of gold around the rim of the pupil and he had spent hours trying to see the pattern in the intersecting lines and colors.  She had laughed and giggled when he had first told her, but now all the woman did was smile when he lost himself in those eyes.

“What are ....,” she started, the smile momentarily vanishing before she regained her nerve.  “What are you going to do once this is all over?”  Elizabeth was still very happy, but she couldn’t deny the truth any longer.  The man lying next to her was a soldier and she had taken him from his war.  And while it might have been too much to hope for, Elizabeth wanted to know what he planned when there was no war to fight.

“I,” he said before breaking eye contact and looking towards the ceiling.  There were cracks along the right edge of the wall, but his thoughts were far away from the condition of his apartment.  He thought about his brothers and how they were getting along in the middle of all this.  Unlike James, it seemed like Alexei had decided to make the easy money and got into drugs.  His younger brother could provide for them for a while, but a large part of Jimmy wanted to get back and take care of his siblings.  It was all he had thought about beforehand.

As he turned his gaze back to the woman lying beside him, James felt conflicted.  He had never considered that he would find someone else, especially in the middle of this horrible war.  Over the last two days they had done nothing but connect, speaking of so many different things.  They bonded over their families and experiences, always trying to do the right thing but falling short.  James had told the young woman all about his brothers, or at least how he had known them back while he was still living on Earth.  Liz had talked about her father and her sister, mostly, and when she had told him about how Charlotte had lived on Eris it had weighed on his conscience.  He wasn’t directly involved with the action, Montgomery was the one to blame, but he knew that others had become loyalists for much less.

James looked at the golden streaks swirling next to the emerald and knew that his brothers were not the only ones who were owed his company.  He couldn’t comprehend a life without this young girl.  It was absurd, they had just met and there were so many years between them, but Kaspar knew that Elizabeth was meant to be part of his life.

“I’m going back to my brothers for a little while, at least,” he said as he brought up his right hand and started to trace the lines of her upper arm.  “I have to at least visit, maybe give them some money if there’s any to throw around.  I don’t want Alexei to get deep into the business if I can help it.  But, well,” he said as he looked away from the young girl whose leg had somehow forced its way between his own.  “I don’t think I want to stay there.  I think I need to stay in Babylon for a while,” he said as he looked back into the young girl’s face, which had disappointment written all over it.

“Oh, for the rebuilding, right?  There’s gonna be more work to be done,” she said before lowering her gaze and turning into the pillow.  James was confused for a moment before he realized that she had misunderstood.  He brought over his hand and nudged her chin with his finger before shaking his head.

“N-No, Liz.  That’s not what I meant.  I think, I think I’m done with all of that as soon as it’s over.  I have to stay in Babylon because, well, I don’.... I want to be near you, Liz.  I know I’m older and I probably won’t have a real job,” he said, trying to prove his case, but he was interrupted by the soft lips pressing against his face.  James sank into the embrace and then opened his eyes to see Elizabeth’s face filled with joy.

“You’re good at this, Jimmy, I’ll give you that.  Poor at hitting on a woman, terrible at meeting for drinks, but you’re good at this,” she said with a grin stretching her entire face.

They were interrupted by a shrill ring and the two of them looked over at the bedside table.  James had thought he had put the phone on silent, but apparently he had turned it back on.  He groaned as he realized that maybe he
had
been gone too long. 

“Maybe I’ll take that back,” Liz said before burying her face into Kaspar’s shoulder.  He looked down at the girl and cradled the back of her head with his palm.

“I don’t.... I don’t have to get that,” James said, but Liz just gave him a disappointed look and rolled her eyes.  She pushed him out of the bed and he fell to the floor in his confusion.