The Glorious Becoming (34 page)

“Huh? Okay, sure!” Hurrying away, Jayden did as told. After a moment, he leaned his head around the column. “Am I lookin’ out for something?”

“No.”

“Oh.” He stared silently for several more seconds. “Then what am I doin’ here?”

Fingers flying on the display screen, Boris answered, “Nothing. I just needed you out of my way.”

“Man! You’re a jackass.”

* * *

S
COTT FLINCHED FROM
his bedside as a beating sound came to his door, its volume and intensity prompting a “what the hell?” to escape from his lips. As he threw on a shirt, a pair of heavy thuds followed, as if the person on the other side was trying to kick his door in. “Veck, hold on!” Grabbing for the knob, he yanked the door open.

Palms hit him immediately—a pair of them, shoved full-strength into his chest. He was actually forced back.

“You
had
to bloody tell them!” Esther screamed. She stormed into the room, slamming the door behind her.

“Tell who what—” Scott barely got the question out before he was slapped clear across his face.

“You ask me to stay behind after our mission brief so we can reconcile, while behind my back you’re smearing me in the mud? How
dare
you!”

Slack-jawed and stunned, Scott couldn’t find words.

Esther didn’t share that problem. “Auric swung by my room out of the goodness of his heart to make sure I was focused enough after you
rejected
me, you pig-ignorant dregg!”

“Esther, I—”

“Isn’t it enough that I’m doing this to save your stupid girlfriend’s life? Do you get off on my personal humiliation? Am I the star of your failure fetish?”

Voice rising to match hers, he said, “I told them because I had to! Did you really think I was going to go into something this critical without briefing my team?”

“Briefing them on
us
? On personal feelings?”

“On things to look out for!” She needed to understand this. “If one of them sees us going off on each other, I want them to know it’s about us and not the mission. And guess what? We’re going off on each other now!”

She threw her hands in the air. “Because of this! Congratulations, Scott, you made a self-fulfilling prophecy!”

“Look, I don’t need to explain myself every step of the way.”

Nose wrinkled, she said, “No, you don’t. But you could at least give a granule of consideration as to the feelings of your operatives—namely me, the one you seem hell-bent on making a fool of.”

She was totally out of line. “I need you to calm down for one second and try to understand why I did what I did.”

“All I understand is that—”

“I said
shut
up!” At that, her jaw clamped angrily. “You do think Boris is ready to handle this? Do you think he’s ready for this kind of pressure? I have all the faith in the world in him as a combat technician. But as a spy?” He held his arms out for emphasis. “He needs to be as confident as he can be, and he can’t be confident if he thinks the mission is falling apart. Same goes for Auric—hell, Jayden, too!

“They need to be aware of what’s going on with us. Is it messy? Yeah, it’s messy. But you know what? It is what it is. Now I am fed up with you acting like a child—”

“A child,” she scoffed, looking away.

“—instead of acting like an operative. We don’t need this drama, Esther. Our lives are dramatic enough.”

Glaring at him, she said, “I have one question for you: did you tell Svetlana?”

Veck.
What was he supposed to say here? Was he just supposed to lie?

She’d already detected it. “Un-bloody-believable.”

“What I tell Svetlana is my business.”

“You cretin.”

“Esther, listen—”

She waved his words away. “There’s nothing more you need to say.” Turning from him, she walked away only to stop a moment later and aboutface. “You know, I could have bought that
Boris
thing. That sounded so wonderful and noble. But you had no good reason to tell Svetlana except to humiliate me.”

“She knew something was up. I told her. I’m sorry.” This was spiraling out of control.

Pointing her finger definitively at the floor, Esther said, “I cannot wait to finish this mission. So I can get the hell away from you.” Turning away from him, she walked out the door.

Scott couldn’t hold it in. As soon as she was gone, he picked up a pillow from his bed and body-slammed it into the floor. It was the most harmless way to expel his rage.

Two days ago, Esther and I were a perfect team. Now we’re mortal enemies. I’m supposed to trust You, God, but I’m not feeling any plan here. What’s going on?

As was the case far too often, no discernable answer came to him—only the silence of a room that felt hotter than it had minutes before. He was so sick of Esther, he was almost sick of Svetlana. Thankfully, his excursion later that night into the city wasn’t with either of them.
Just focus on Natalie.

He was fairly sure that would be a joy.

Outside in the hall, Esther was halfway to her room when a voice called behind her. “Esther!” Turning around, the dagger-eyed Briton located Jayden as he approached. As soon as he saw her expression, he stopped and tilted his head. “Hey, you all right?”

Her irritation poured out. “Really? You have to ask? What’s the matter, weren’t you properly briefed?” Turning away from him, she resumed her angered march.

“Hey,” he called out, running to catch up to her, “you wanna talk about it?”

“Didn’t you leave with Boris? Don’t you have something to do?”

Stopping in the hallway behind her, Jayden quietly answered, “Actually, I was kinda in his way.”

Esther slowed her march until she too had stopped completely. She turned to face him, her pointed expression settling on his good eye. When it became clear that there was no animosity emanating from him, she relaxed tiredly.

“Is everything okay?” he asked. “I saw you leave outta Scott’s room. He say somethin’ to upset you?”

Brushing back her hair and glancing away, she said, “Jay, I appreciate you asking, I genuinely do, but I really don’t feel like rehashing it right now.”

“I didn’t mean I wanted you to rehash anything. I just wanted to make sure you were all right.”

Faintly, Esther smiled. “I’m all right, Jay. I’m not mad at
you
.”

Still a good five meters apart, the Texan crouched on the floor. “Yeah, I know. I guess I just don’t want anyone to be mad at anyone.”

Sighing quietly, she said, “Jay...it’s complicated.”

“Naw,” he said, shaking his head, “it ain’t.” When she canted her head curiously, he went on. “You loved someone and they rejected you. I know how it is.”

It took several seconds for a reaction to show on Esther’s face, but one did as her brown eyes subtly settled at the Texan’s feet. Her defensiveness disarmed, she smiled sadly—just enough to indicate that she’d heard what he’d said. Silence fell between them.

Pushing up the brim of his cowboy hat, the Texan finally looked back up. “You doin’ anything right now?”

“Actually, no,” she answered resignedly. “Not until Scott clears me with Captain Rockwell.”

“Wanna go get a beer?”

A genuine chuckle escaped from her lips. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah.” He rose up from the floor. “We passed one of the food courts while we were walkin’. Looked like they had a couple bars.”

Despite her lack of an immediate response, a grin slowly crept across Esther’s face. Resting her hands on her hips, the Briton conceded. “Jayden, I would love to go get a beer with you.”

Snapping his fingers into a backwards-aimed thumbs up, Jayden said, “Pick ’em up.”

“What?”

“I mean, c’mon.”

Extension bouncing behind her head, Esther trotted to Jayden. Together, they trekked for the food court.

Despite the obvious venting pretense of their journey, much of the walk to their destination was filled with marveling at the sights of the Anthill. Esther spent most of that time attempting to answer Jayden’s numerous “what do you think that’s for?” questions about everything from terminals, to seemingly pointless troughs of flowing water, to the various other aesthetically-curious intricacies of
Cairo
. By the time they reached the food court—after a brief detour during which the Texan insisted he wasn’t lost—it was nearing one o’clock.

As Jayden had claimed, there were several bars scattered throughout the almost city-block sized food court. One in particular caught the Texan’s eye immediately—a dark-hued, smokey establishment called
Route 66
. The authenticity of not only that particular bar, but of the various restaurants and dives across the food court, was more than somewhat impressive. Authentic Japanese sushi bars, Mexican grills with Mexican staffs, Danish coffee shops—it was like a showcase of global sustenance.
Cairo
might have been a Class-2 base, but it was five-star luxury for those fortunate enough to reside inside its mural-laden walls.

Route 66 was among the least populated stops in the food court, indicative of the plethora of better lunchtime options available. Just the same, the atmosphere was as Midwestern U.S.A. as it could have been, and as soon as Jayden stepped through its doors, his good pupil dilated with exuberance. From the country music playing on the jukebox to the pair of pool tables at the back of the room, it was as American as the road it was named for. Ordering a pair of Amber Grain classics and a bowl of nachos, he and Esther claimed their seats.

Jayden seemed to take an almost owner-like pride in the bar and made it a point to identify every image of Americana on the walls, from Old Era soda signs to vintage car grills. Though the conversation was destined for something serious, at the onset both were contented to simply small talk. The bombshell of the opening chat came when Esther confessed that she’d never drank an American beer before—a fact made more than apparent by the bitter face she exhibited upon her first sip. Recanting memories of his teenage years, drinking with high school friends out the bed of a pickup, Jayden assured her that her taste buds would acclimate. She took his word for it and drank on.

By the time the jukebox took a turn for the reflective, their small talk had effectively died down. With a countenance as somber as the lighting, Esther propped her elbows on the table and rested her cheeks atop her open palms. Leaning back with a beer in one hand, Jayden watched her from the brim of his hat. “Let’s talk about it.”

“Ugh.” She closed her eyes. “I’m just so tired, Jay. I’m tired of trying.”

“I hear ya.”

“It’s like,” she paused to gather her thoughts, “you can do everything right, you can do everything you’d think someone would want you to, and it’s just
pfff
.” She extended her fingers as if to signify an explosion in the wind.

Smirking faintly, Jayden said, “You wanna hear the truth?”

“Sure. Hit me.”

“Ain’t none of us done everything right.”

Her expression made it obvious she concurred.

The Texan shook his head and looked off. “I thought I did everything right with Varya. I opened the door for ’er, I let her walk ahead of me.” A breath of sweet laughter escaped Esther’s lips. “What?”

“Those things are so simple, Jay.” When he sat up to defend himself, she assuredly waved him back. “No, no. I mean that to say they’re wonderful. What girl wouldn’t want that?”

“Apparently Varya.”

Closing her eyes, she raised her eyebrows. “Well, what can we say? Some people can’t see a good thing in front of their face.”

“Yeah, I’ll drink to that.” Tapping their glasses, they took another drink. “What sucked so bad was that Viktor saved my life. Then he stole my girlfriend.”

“Can I tell you something?” Dipping her head forward, she eyed him sincerely. “You deserve
so
much better than Varvara. Don’t think of her as being stolen. Think of yourself as being freed.”

He scoffed gently. “Free with one eye and the body of a wuss.”

“Hey, don’t say that.”

“I’m serious. Look at me, Esther. Do I look like I’m ready for a fight? I don’t even know why they let me stay.” He slid his glass out as the bartender passed by to refill it. “I’m tryin’ hard. I’m workin’ out. I want to be as good as I was, it’s just...man. Months of layin’ down just kill ya.”

Still working on her second glass, Esther smiled at him. “You’ll get there. Everything takes time.” Tracing her fingers along the top of her glass, she eyed him sidelong. “Do you remember anything from that mission after you got shot?”

“Naw.”

She looked into the drink. “I was the first one to get there after Viktor. Medics must just be wired differently, because he was totally calm. But I was scared.” Her gaze lifted to him again. “I thought you were going to die. That scared all of us.”

Faintly, Jayden smiled.

“That you’re standing here today is a miracle. You got shot in the back, you fell out of a tower, and you had a broken visor sliced in your face.” She shook her head. “You may be weakened, Jay, but you’re the toughest man I know. We’re a unit full of broken spirits, but only one of us had their body broken, too. Yet here you are. There’s something to be said for that.”

“Aw’right, aw’right,” Jayden said, tinging red. “Let’s talk about you now.”

She stuck out her tongue. “I’d rather not. I’m a proper train wreck.” As the bartender passed by again, she finished her beer in time for a second refill. Eying Jayden, she waited for him to speak. When he didn’t, she laughed. “Okay, what? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“I’m just listenin’,” he answered. “Lettin’ you talk.”

Smirking flatly, she took a drink, then leaned back and propped her fingers into her hair. “I am what I am, Jay. What can I say?”

“Why do you like Scott so much?”

The question’s bluntness caught her off guard, but after giving it a moment’s pause, she tried her best to respond. “I think it’s how he does things. I think he’s so driven, so efficient. The first time I saw him and I realized he was the Golden Lion, I was just blown away. The way he commands, the way he can do things that no one else can do, like what happened in Chicago, and then Chernobyl and that rescue of Pelican Squad...” As she stopped talking, a funny look came over her. Leaning back in contemplation, and then realization, she made a stupid face and huffed laughter. “Wow, Jay. These reasons are
awful
.”