"No way!" Clyde screams at me, "I don't know what Trevor told you, but Archer is not a good guy! We execute on sight."
I put away the paper that had Trevor's address on it. "Clyde please listen, don't you remember when we all used to work together? He had good intentions, he just went a little crazy is all. I mean... not in the right mind. We can stick him in a rehabilitation center, he can get better."
The rain pours heavy on the two of us as we stand outside the police department arguing. I was beginning to feel cold, but that was in the back of my mind.
"Do you even hear yourself right now?" Clyde begins pacing back and forth. "He just went a little crazy? Are you kidding? That's the best you can say?"
I open my mouth to retort, but nothing came to mind.
"This isn't something that can be negotiated, Troy. These are orders. Orders! That means the agents that the orders were given to have to complete them."
"I know what orders are, idiot! I'm not stupid," I hate it when he yells at me, "I just thought that maybe you could do more than just orders."
His ears perk up. "What do you mean by that?"
"You're such a soldier, Clyde!"
"I fail to see how that's a bad thing. Being a soldier means I keep my squad alive."
"It means that you've got Ispio making all your actions like some sort of tool. Ispio thinks for you, and you've given up your free will."
He scoffs, and lightning strikes when he does. "Oh please. Do you think you're better than me because you openly go against protocol so much? That doesn't make you better, Troy, that makes you insubordinate." He clenches his teeth in fiery anger. "You know what, you've been lucky enough that I stuck around this long. I could've requested a new partner anytime I wanted."
My tears mixed with the rain on my face. "Then... then why didn't you?"
He yells from the top of his lungs, "Because I-" but then his face of wrath dies down, and changes to one of concern or regret; I couldn't tell. "Because I care for you, okay. A-As a friend, I mean." He throws his arms up in the air and lets out a frustrated groan as he puts his hands behind his head. "God, that came out weird."
He cares for me? He cares for me? Dammit, Clyde, stop confusing me! "Clyde?" My tears stop as I feel the mood shift.
He turns his head so that I only see one of his eyes. "This is what it's like? To care? To feel something so...trivial?" He looks away again. "What happened to me, Troy? Where did all this emotion come from? It's making me become an insufficient leader."
I want to tell him that he's not a bad leader, that he's much stronger as a leader because he feels for his partner. I want to tell him that everything will be okay, but I just stand here like an idiot, waiting for him to continue.
He states coldly, "I don't have the confidence to direct this mission anymore. Archer dies... and then I quit."
In utter shock, I hop closer to him and shout, "What!? No, Clyde, those are the worst decisions you could ever make. You can't quit!"
He gently pushes me out of his face. "Yes, I can."
"But Clyde, that's not a rational decision. You can't quit and leave me like that."
"When I resign, Ispio will assign you a new partner. The gears keep turning, nothing changes except the name and face."
"Clyde..." The tears come back on easily, and my hands were wrapping themselves around his bicep on their own, clinging dearly for what I call my best friend. "Please stay. Ispio needs you, and I need you. I won't work as well with another person. I want you. And maybe you mean more to me than just my partner. You're my friend, dammit." And much more.
Finally, after a long pause, he hugs me back and says, "We shouldn't have gotten so close, Troy. Now it's hard to make professional decisions."
"I'm sorry."
"Me too," he says with a shaky voice. I don't hear Clyde cry often, so it's heartbreaking when he does. "So starting now, I'm going back to my old self. No more feelings. Archer dies tonight, with or without your help."
"Clyde, no!" I grip him harder, but he pulls away too strongly; I can't hold on. "Don't do this, he deserves-"
"A quick death. Nothing more, nothing less." He starts walking away at a quick pace back to the car we parked some meters away.
I give chase, not sure what I'm going to do when I catch up. "We need to talk more about this. It's someone's life at stake."
Without turning around, he shouts back, "Insubordinate agent! I'll complete the mission myself. You've become a liability for the assignment."
I sprint, but the second he hears my more rapid footsteps, he sprints too. Clyde is much taller than me, not to mention his constant physical exercise allows him to be faster and more endurable than me. He grows distance between us quickly.
"Stop chasing me! I'm pulling you off the assignment!"
It's no use, I just keep falling more behind. "Goddammit you stupid dog, stop right this minute! You're not leaving me here in the rain!"
The car comes into view, and with his head start, Clyde jumps into the driver's seat and revs the engine to life. I catch up out of breath and bang on the window.
"Don't worry, I'll find you after I do what needs to be done," he tells me through the window.
My fist pounds on the window heavily. "Clyde, I swear that if you take off I'm-"
And with that, he speeds off down the slippery road, drifting away from me and turning a corner. I really wish I hadn't shown him the address Trevor gave me.
What should I do now? I can't call HQ and say "rogue agent" because technically I'm the rogue agent. I stand still in the rain, letting the cold water hammering down on me be my punishment for being so stupid. Well, I do have one idea. I put the address Trevor told me into my GPS and watch the screen zoom in on an emergency tunnel.
"Abel J. Co. Evacuation Tunnel?" In my head, I know that I wouldn't be able to make it there before Clyde, but what were my other options? I start running at a good pace, heading in the direction I need to go. I make it to a corner on the sidewalk and turn sharply, bumping into another pedestrian braving this rain on foot. We both fall flat on our butts.
"Hey! What in the world are you running for? It's just rain, lady!" The stranger shouts.
" I'm so sorry," I say, getting up and offering my hand to help. That's when I saw that there were two people instead of one, but I only knocked down the rabbit, leaving her human companion wide-eyed from the ordeal. "I'm just in a big hurry."
She takes my hand aggressively and pulls herself up. "Yeah? Well stop being in a hurry," her mocking tone replies.
"Agent Troy Hearth?" The human says, making the rabbit turn to him.
"You...you know me?" I ask hesitantly.
"You know this fox? She's not a woman?" the rabbit asks her partner.
"No, Edith, this is Troy Hearth. He's part of the NEQ1 unit. His track record and career summary are amazing." He turns to me, "What are you doing here in Philadelphia?"
"Are you two with Ispio?" I ask.
"Yeah," the rabbit named Edith says, "and I guess you are too. Anybody ever tell you that you look like a girl? What's up with that? Get some muscle, fox boy."
"Whoa, okay, you know it's taboo to see other agents, right?" I tell them. "It's bad luck to run into another unit."
"Superstitious mumbo jumbo," the man says. "I'm Harris, and this fiery little one here is Edith. It's a pleasure to meet you, Troy."
"I don't want to be rude, but I don't have time for small talk. I gotta get somewhere quick, can you two help me?"
"Where's your partner," Edith asks, "all units are made up of two agents. Where's your missing piece?"
I feel my cheeks burn hot. Obviously, if I tell them what's up, they'll interfere with our mission. "He's uh...in position right now! I got held up by some goons, and now I don't have a car. If I'm late, that could be the end of his life. Can you drive me to the Abel J. Evacuation Tunnel?"
They both look at me, mouths hanging open. Did they buy my lie?
"Car's this way," Harris says.
*** *** ***
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Abel J. Evacuation Tunnel
I slam the car door and peek into the front passenger window. "Thank you. Remember that we didn't see each other today."
Edith gives a thumbs up, not a word to be said. Harris puts the car in reverse, and I watch them drive off into the rain to do whatever mission they were assigned. Truthfully I'm certain they're here for Archer's bounty as well. I turn around and see the tunnel in disrepair. I know that the evacuation routes for natural disasters have been updated, leaving the evacuation tunnel abandoned. Abandoned, is there any other place to hide for Archer?
I bring my compact flashlight out. "Looks dark in there." Quickly I move into the dark tunnel, beaming my flashlight over the floor and walls. Seems normal enough. "Best bet is to find some cutoff. Archer wouldn't hide in a direct path, even if it's abandoned." Going deeper into the path, a thought strikes me cold as ice. There's absolutely no way I made it here before Clyde, so where is he?
A big, booted foot comes drilling for me from my left side, something I didn't see coming at all. My reflexes save me from getting directly hit as I put out my arms and let the steel-toe collide with my forearms.
"Ack!" I shriek, the pain coming in quickly after the initial shock. I ignore it and turn to the fist making its way to ruin my face. A quick jerk of my head put me out of harm's way, but the onslaught wasn't over. The hand grabs my arm tightly and tries to pull me in, but I break from its grip easily. Thank you self-defense training.
"Troy?" a gruff voice asks.
Speak of the devil. "Clyde? What the fuck, man? That hurt like hell."
"Sorry, I thought you were one of Archer's hired goons patrolling the area."
"Do I look like a regular goon to you? What goon even dresses like me?"
"You've been here for two seconds and are already giving me a migraine. How'd you get here so quickly anyway?"
"Never mind that, all that matters is we're both here to do the right thing, right? Let's go save Archer." I start walking down the path I was going, but Clyde grabs my arm again.
His harsh tone demands, "No. We eliminate."
I break his grip once more. "Dammit, Clyde, are you serious? I gave you time to think it over, and you're still saying the wrong thing."
"It's not the wrong thing, idiot. He dies, that's our orders."
I've never been one to throw the first punch, but Clyde obviously needs some sense knocked into him. I push him hard on his chest with both of my hands, making him stumble backward.
He looks at me surprised, but it doesn't last long as he bares his big, ferocious teeth at me. "Alright, punk, I'll bite. Hard."
He throws a heavy straight kick aimed for my stomach, but I spin lightly on my toes, making him miss me completely and throw him off balance with his momentum. I punch him square in the eye, but it doesn't phase him in the slightest. If anything, it hurt me more.
He grabs my arm and twists it into a hold. "Stand down, agent Hearth!"
Ow! Dammit, that hurts. "We're espionage agents! We collect information and crack cases! Don't you remember when killing was a last resort? We're not hired guns, Barker! This is wrong, and you know it's wrong!"
I break out of the hold and quickly land a jumping kick to the side of his head. He stumbles away but is still standing. He charges me in a tackle, grabbing my waist and slamming me into a wall. I elbow his head to get him off me and knee his face for good measure. He lets go but doesn't back up. His heavy fist comes flying at my head again, but I duck and watch his hand slightly chip the concrete wall above me. A kick to his stomach pushes him away and gives me room to breathe.
"No shit it's not right, but we do what we have to do," he yells, echoing through the tunnel. "Rules, direction, objectives, this is how we are supposed to function. A loose cannon like Archer walking the streets, or even just being alive could cause serious mayhem down the road, especially for us!"
"You're full of it! I'll draw every breath I can give to defend life, no matter who threatens it!"
Clyde suddenly lowers his fist, but I keep my guard up. "You don't care about protocol; fine, but doing this mission... this specific objective, it means more than just completing another assignment. It means safety for both of us."
I take steps closer to him, readying a stance to strikeout. "It's a life, Clyde. No matter how twisted the humanity is, it's a life. Who are we to take it away from anyone? What would we become if we're given the chance to spare someone, and execute him anyway?" I can feel tears wanting to come out, but I hold them in. "Archer was our friend and a damn good person, and you want to go in there and end him like some feral animal. It's just wrong."
He comes closer, and I strike at him with a reverse roundhouse. He ducks it and scoops my other leg upward, making me fall.
"Ow! ...Jerk." I try to push myself back up, but I can't. It isn't the exhaustion of the fight, rather it's the feeling I have from fighting the one I care for the most. How can I stand when I'm standing against Clyde?
"C'mon," he says while holding his hand out for me.
"W-Why? You've won. Go. You don't need me. Just leave." I'm crying again. Why do I cry so much? I must look weak to him.
He sighs deeply. "Grab my hand, Troy. We need to go save an old friend."
I sniffle, "What?"
"You've convinced me. If... if you care about him this much, I think you may be on to something."
I grab his hand and he helps me up. "Is this genuine?" I ask bluntly.
He nods. "Yes. I'm... it's hard for me. I don't do well when it comes to feelings, but I can understand the sentiment. Sometimes you care for who you care for, no matter how twisted that person is."
God, it's so hard to believe him. "Thank you for trying, Clyde."
His eyes roll to the floor. "I just hope HQ isn't too harsh on us."
"We'll cross that bridge when we get there, but first we should find Archer's hideout."
"I've already got him tagged, I just wanted to make sure he didn't have external security with him."
My heart is pounding so hard right now, I can't believe how close we are to finishing this. "Where is he?"
He points down the path. "Further down there is an old storage space for ration supplies. It'll be big enough to hold him and his equipment comfortably."
"Great work. You ready?"
"You never know what's on the other side, but yeah, I think I'm prepared."
Together, we travel down the pathway and head into the small indention in the wall that had the steel door blocking our path. We lean in quietly, holding our breaths as we strain our ears to listen for anything on the inside, but there was nothing. I've been under fire, kidnapped, injured real bad, and many other things on the field, but this particular moment made my hands tremble uncontrollably.
"One," Clyde says behind me. "Two," he pulls me behind him and gets into a kicking position. "Three!" His heavy boot kicks the door open revealing a dimly lit room filled with monitors stacked on top of each other, wires strewn all around the floor and walls, and crates of food and water. He's been living here for quite some time.
"Wow, what a mess," I say.
"I didn't get the chance to clean up," a voice from the dark calls out.
"Archer!" Clyde barks.
Archer was well hidden in the shadows. The creaky wheels of his wheelchair scratch the inside of my ears as he rolls himself into the light. "That's not fair, you weren't supposed to find this place until after the last trial."
"The last trial?" I ask.
He smiles. "I was going to have one of you two kill an innocent civilian by accident. The guilt would've eaten you up, spiraling the unit into depression, and eventually breaking up the teamwork completely. Good, no?"
"No," I say, stepping closer to him. "No more trials, and no more deaths. We're here to bring you back to Ispio with us... alive."
"Careful, Troy," Clyde calls after me.
I continue, "We can help you. You're lucky that it was us that found you. There's already an Ispio unit here looking for you, and they won't think twice about gunning you down for the extra pay."
"Wait," Clyde interrupts, "how do you know there's another squad here?"
"I ran into them after you left me in the rain. It doesn't take much thought to know what mission they were tracking."
"That's taboo," they both say to me.
"Okay, okay," I turn to Archer. "Point is: we're here for a second option. Come with us, surrender your intentions, and be rehabilitated."
"You don't have to word it like you're a poet," Clyde comments.
"Clyde, please!"
"Rehabilitated?" Archer asks, a smug smile creeping up on his lips. He wheels himself forward some more, circling around the table. He shows teeth now in his sinister smile, still just as white and bright as they've always been. He lifts himself up with his arms out of the chair and tries to steady himself on his legs.
"What are you doing?" Clyde asks, protecting me by stepping in front with his bigger frame.
Archer gets a pained expression and starts groaning in agony. With one final push, he was successfully standing. "Ahhh! There we are! Now I can talk to you guys with respect."
"Jesus, Archer, you're insane," Clyde says. "Sit back down. We'll escort you out of here."
Archer shakes his head no.
"Please. I don't say please a lot. Just come with us, because your second option is to die."
I slap Clyde on the arm. "Don't you know how to talk to people? Stop being so pushy."
"He's right," Archer interrupts, "I do only have two options." He extends his arms out to us, his face still twisted in pain for standing up so long on broken legs. "Take me away boys. Just promise me you'll fix my legs."
I can't believe it. Is he really giving up this easily? Granted, getting to him was difficult, to say the least, plus avoiding, or even killing, some of his hit squads was rather hard on my sleep cycle. I look at Clyde to see what he was thinking, but he looks just as astonished as me.
"You've got a deal," I tell him.
Clyde slowly creeps up to Archer, keeping his whole body tense in anticipation. He pulls out a pair of cuffs from his gadget belt and binds Archer's hands together. I see them both look into each other's eyes a little longer than I felt comfortable with. Clyde tries to put him back in his chair, but he politely refuses him.
"I'd rather walk," Archer tells him.
"You sure? Can you make it back to the car?"
"I'm sure, Clyde. Thank you. Just support me a little bit."
Clyde lets Archer put an arm over his shoulder to support his weight. They both start making their way towards the exit, and I was still amazed about how things turned out.
They stop walking when they reach me, and Archer sets his green eyes on mine. "I have to admit," he says to me, "I wasn't expecting this outcome. You're something special, the both of you, I hope you guys know that."
I put my hands behind my back, shyness taking my nerves for some reason. "Wow, I surprised the Great Archer Fury. Another thing to add to my accomplishments."
"You never know. There could be one more surprise before your day ends."
Before I could even respond, Archer rushed forward at me and forced his lips on mine. My eyes open wide, and my entire body freezes up and feels like every limb is being weighed down by an increased gravitational pull. Time slows down heavily, almost like a still frame. I notice how soft his lips are, they remind me of my silk sheets I have for my bed back in Hartford.
His breath was warm on my face. I haven't kissed anyone for a long time, and I've forgotten the feeling of comfort and safety it comes with. Like I have my own personal bodyguard. It feels like an eternity captured in paradise, but time finally resumes when I think of a thought that would both save and crush me: It isn't Clyde I'm kissing. I break away and spit on the floor. I'm utterly speechless.
"What the hell!?" Clyde shouts.
Before he could say any more, Archer throws his head back hitting Clyde on the snout, making him release Archer.
"Cross that off my bucket list," Archer says, his charming wink aimed at me, "it's been fun, guys. You are the best thing that's ever happened to me." He lifts up his shirt to reveal many explosives taped to his torso.
"Archer, no!" No no no! Please don't let it end this way.
Before I could reach him, Clyde had already tackled him. They both slam into an open locker, and Clyde reaches for the door. He looks at me quickly, and his eyes tell me, "It's been fun, Squirt," before he slams the door shut.
I reach for the handle, but I was too late. The explosion goes off, tearing through the locker and slamming the unhinged door into me. The metal did nothing to contain Archer's wrath. I slam into the wall, hitting my head hard. As I finish falling to the ground, the steaming hot door lands on top of me.
I fling it off quickly, feeling the scorching burns all over my arms. The room had a horrible smell: blood, gunpowder, burning hair, burning flesh, it all mixed up to a scent I soon won't be forgetting.
I stumble clumsily to my feet. "Clyde!" Oh God, not Clyde! Anyone but Clyde! Fuck, this can't be real. This has to be some hallucination, or a nightmare, or some simulation that Ispio hooked me up to for some severe training. All I know is that it can't be true.
The pain in my heart hurts much more than the explosion, and I cry hard. Harder than I ever have before. "This... this is all my fault," I just wanted to save one soul, not lose two lives. God damn it all! Why couldn't I just be brave enough? Brave enough to decide Archer's fate, brave enough to confront Clyde, brave enough to prove me wrong.
*cough*
That wasn't me.
I hold still, I stop breathing, and I wait. The smoke clears up, finally revealing the aftermath of the explosion. The monitors were smashed and up in flames, the table and its plans non-existent, and the locker utterly destroyed except for the floor piece. Standing on it was a blood-soaked figure, its arms, and hands locked in a position of cowardly shielding.
It coughs once more, "Oh God. Oh no."
"Clyde?"
After such statue-like posture, its head slowly raises and locks its traumatized brown eyes to mine, the arms still firmly in place. "I'm... alive?"
I do my best to keep my footing, but it was hard staying balanced as I rush over to him. I throw my arms up for a hug, but the stench of fresh blood stops me from making contact. "Oh goodness. Archer!"
Clyde moves his arms, and as he did a large cracking sound could be heard. "This is uncomfortable."
I'm guilt-ridden for not being able to save Archer, but at the same time, I couldn't be happier to see Clyde alive. "How? How are you still in one piece?"
He flicks his fingers outward, flinging off some blood onto the floor. "Your father's invention. I hereby pronounce Steel Pill successfully field-tested. I took both of our doses on the drive over here in case Archer had something for us. Good thing I did."
"I'm sorry Clyde," my voice was already becoming so trembly, "I'm so, so sorry. There's not a single, possible way I could ever apologize big enough for you to-"
"How about a drink? That's always good enough for me."
I know he's joking, but I do still have that pocket whiskey with me. I look down at my pockets to fetch it, but my eyes found something else. Ripping right through me was a large piece of metal shrapnel in my side. I didn't even feel it until now.
"Oh crap, Troy!" was the last thing I heard Clyde say before I passed out. In truth, I only felt a few seconds of tremendous pain before the shock got to me. For that, I'm grateful.
*** *** ***
My eyes feel heavy, but I force them open anyway. "Clyde...?"
"Easy there," a voice tells me, but it isn't Clyde's voice.
"Doctor Nivans?"
"We're doing the procedure carefully, so you'll have to heal without Serum 32-M. No miracle juice for you I'm afraid."
I now know that Dr. Nivans is with me, and I'm more than likely back in Connecticut's HQ. Still, I need to know something else. "Where's Clyde?" I try to get up, but that's when the pain would come back.
"You shouldn't strain so much."
"Clyde?" I call out. I'm afraid to just lift my head
Heavy footsteps can be heard coming for me. "I'm here, Squirt. I'm right here," his hand wraps around my resting wrist, "and I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."
"It's true, you really are alive."
"I hope so because the other option is that I have a restless spirit."
I feel his hand tighten around my arm. It feels so safe. "You stayed here with me?" The pain in my side is agonizing, but having him around makes it bearable.
"Never left your side, partner."
I smile. "Good boy."
"He's awake?" Another voice entered the circle from far off, maybe coming from the hallway.
"Barely," Nivans comments.
Sassy heels click-clacked into the room accompanied by some soft and delicate footsteps. I already have an idea who they are.
Carlotta pops up on my right side, leaning down towards me with her usual worried face. "How are you feeling, Troy?"
"I'm sure I've been in better condition before."
A bouquet of flowers pops up behind Carlotta's head. "I brought you these flowers, Agent Hearth. I hope you aren't hurting too badly."
"Thank you, Amy, I appreciate pretty things."
For the first time in a long time, Carlotta smiles. She smiles brightly, her aura of strictness and professionalism melting away, and being replaced by a more motherly nature. "I really thought that was it for you. You have to stop scaring me so much."
"I'm sorry. Things didn't go as planned."
Just as soon as it appeared, the smile was gone. Her tone went back to normal as well. "I read Agent Barker's report, well done unit NEQ1. The bounty was confirmed from the blood sample found on Clyde's... everything. You both will receive a transaction later on today." She stands up and walks towards the door, turning around to say one more thing. "Good job, agents, you took a bad man off the streets for good." And with that, she leaves swiftly.
I squeeze Clyde's hand back. "He wasn't bad."
"I know," Clyde says, his shaky voice apparent, "I know."