"Adam?"
For a moment Aria feared that he wouldn't answer. It wouldn't even be a surprise because he was probably busy, but she didn't know who else to turn to.
"Aria. What's up?"
When she heard his deep, hoarse voice, she let out a sigh of relief. He probably thought she would still be at TF29 headquarters, sitting out the lockdown just as she promised, and she could hear the concern in his voice. She bit her lip. It seemed like she sounded more desperate than a recently cleared field-agent should. But as much as she hated to be the damsel in distress, she had to acknowledge that this was a bit much for her to handle right now, and she wouldn't allow her pride overrule her better judgement.
"Listen, Adam. I know I said I would stay inside headquarters, but something came up... A friend needed Neuropozyne. Quickly. I'm on my way back to headquarters now, but Čapek's Fountain metro station is blocked. Seems like there was some kind of incident. I'm pinned down behind a dumpster, right next to the Church of the Machine God, and the whole place is crawling with police."
She just didn't have the same stealth training as he did, and neither did she have his kind of augs.
"There 's no access to the sewers nearby, right?"
"No, and I can't get up the roofs, either."
"Sit tight."
The connection broke off and all Aria could do was wait and hope the police wouldn't search the parameter.
Suddenly she heard something, and the police stirred as well. Unlike them, though, she knew what to look out for. Indeed there was something coming towards her, and the only way she could tell was because Adam's glass shielding could only bend light beams, but not the heavy rain that poured down on her for quite a while now. The seemingly dry spot moved in towards her, and suddenly the glass shield fell off. Adam appeared right next to her, just out of view of the police.
"Metro is a no-go right now. Even I couldn't get in."
"Dammit..."
"You'll go left. Take cover behind the police car, then turn round the corner. Head for the few stairs, there you should be well out of sight. I'll make sure the police looks another way. We'll meet in the entrance to my apartment block. You should know where that is. Got it?"
"Got it", Aria nodded, "and thanks."
"Let's get you out of here safely, first. Wait a sec... now go. Go!"
Without thinking twice, she crouched and hurried forward, around a little cage with prisoners the police captured. They were staring at the police intently, so they didn't take notice of her. She stopped for a moment behind the police car before turning left while Adam did his thing. Most police officers were gesticulating and looking behind or into the metro station now, almost forgetting the three miserable figures still kneeling in the wet dirt, and the dead bodies lying next to them. She couldn't tell if they were augmented or not, if that even mattered. She just guessed they were the reason why the metro station was crawling with police.
A big column provided more cover until Aria reached the little flight of stairs. She couldn't see any police nearby, but she kept her head down just to be sure until she reached the glass doors leading into Adam's apartment block. When she reached safety she sighed once again.
# # #
Aria waited right in the entrance for some ten minutes and already started worrying when finally Adam appeared - from behind her, which actually made her jump.
"Relax. It's just me. Door on the other side leads to a small alleyway."
He lazily pointed his thumb over his shoulder, in the direction he just came from.
"Thank you, Adam. It wasn't easy to ask for help, being just cleared for field duty, you know."
"Don't mention it. Now let's go upstairs and sit it out until the metro tunnel's free again."
"You don't need to babysit me if you've got things to do and places to be... I can wait here by myself, and if the situation won't get better, I can still head home tomorrow."
"Don't be silly, Aria. I have to get to Chikane's place, so I need the metro tunnel just as much as you. And you're soaking wet. You can use my dryer in the meantime."
"Alright then... lead the way."
Adam led her upstairs. His apartment block didn't look like much, she had to admit, but this was the poor part of Prague, so this was just what she expected. She just wondered why someone like Adam Jensen would live here. He should be paid enough to afford a less gloomy place? Probably he just didn't care about things like that.
However, when she entered the apartment she had to revoke her opinion. It seemed to expand through most of the roof on his side of the building, the ceiling beams and dark wooden panels giving the place a homely atmosphere. To be honest, she rather imagined something highly modern and cold, just as Adam Jensen himself.
He took off his coat and soaking boots so he wouldn't leave wet footprints all over his apartment, and after a moment of looking around she did as well. Now that the adrenaline receded, she started shivering - a fact that was obviously not lost by her host.
"Okay, the bathroom's just over there, round the corner. Do me a favour and take a hot shower before you freeze to death. There's towels in the shelf and if you need some dry clothes in the meantime, in the drawer below are fresh T-Shirts."
Aria looked at him, smiled and shook her head.
"What?"
He was always like this. Aloof, seemingly emotionless, and consistently professional. And yet he cared about the people around him. But there was no need to tell him that. And probably she shouldn't thank him as often, because that made him uncomfortable, obviously. She couldn't help, though. Some things just had to be said.
"Nothing. Just thanks again."
"Yeah. I'll try to find out what happened if I can."
She found the bathroom, closed the door and slipped out of her cold and wet clothes. Generally, her body armour had kept the lower part of her clothes dry, but her shoulders were soaking because the water kept leaking in through the neckline. Her pants were completely wet, but at least her underwear was dry or near enough. Before she got into the hot shower, she put the wet clothes into the dryer, then let herself be warmed up by steaming hot water.
She didn't dare to shower for long because this was not her place. Why did she even let herself be dragged into this again? Now she was stuck in this awkward situation. As soon as she got out of the shower and dried herself, she immediately regretted not staying in for a bit longer. Her clothes would tumble-dry for yet a bit, and she didn't want to run around in underwear. It felt awkward, but as Adam suggested she opened the drawer and found a pile of T-Shirts. She picked a dark grey one - probably the most colourful Adam had, as she thought with a light smile. Luckily, her colleague was taller than her, so his shirt served as a short dress.
Aria opened the bathroom door, popped her head out and found Adam sitting on his sofa, bare breasted, an e-reader in his hand. Of course he had got out of his wet clothes, too. Her thick, woollen socks made hardly any sound when she walked through the room and sat down beside him.
"My clothes should be dry in half an hour, hopefully we'll be able to get back then..."
"Yeah, and I'm sorry, of course I didn't find much yet on what happened at the metro station. Seems like police accidentally shot a natural, and some people witnessed it from above. Then things got out of hand, apparently."
While he was talking, he pushed a glass of Whiskey in her direction, and she gladly took a sip. The apartment was nice and warm - also something she wouldn't necessarily expect - but still she felt chilly. Probably, the reason was rather the overall situation they were in, with the whole city on lockdown and people being shot in the streets under martial law. A shot of whiskey might not help the situation, but at least it chased the coldness away.
She was sitting quite close to him, and Aria couldn't really say whether she - let alone he - was comfortable with it. She had always felt mildly attracted to him, a little crush because of his badass attitude and his ruggedly handsomeness, as she had to admit. But he was not the kind of man she really fell for. She had been in a relationship for quite a while with a really nice and sweet guy, but they had broken up some months ago. He just couldn't handle the long distance, and she was not ready yet to settle down and start a family. A pity, really, and part of her still loved Mark.
But even if she wanted, there was not really space to move over. He was sitting in the middle of the sofa, and the absence of any armchair suggested that he usually didn't have any guests. Aria could relate. Neither did she have many friends in Prague, even though she was naturally warm and friendly, completely Adam's opposite. Still, she knew that most of the TS29 colleagues were a bit wary of her being one of only two augmented team members, and the other usually kept to himself. However, unlike Adam, she did feel lonely sometimes.
The silence started to feel even more awkward and she looked up, realising that Adam's shades had vanished into his temple ports. She knew what his eyes looked like from his official pictures, but she couldn't recall if she had ever actually seen them for real before. Actually, she had never seen him without the shades in public, but now, up close, she could see why. His eyes were lighter than would be expected from a man of his hair colour and complexion, and it was clearly visible that they were augmented. It was hard not to stare at them, a fact that was probably quite uncomfortable for someone as distant as Adam. She first took another sip of Whiskey, then suddenly emptied her glass completely.
"So why didn't you stay with your friend in safety?"
That was a good question. On the other hand, the correct question should be: Why did she leave headquarters in the first place?
"Well, actually... it was not my friend who needed the Neuropozyne. It was her boyfriend, and he... can be some kind of an idiot."
It was an unhealthy relationship, really. Everyone could see that, apart from Ava, her friend. The guy was mentally abusing the girl, and Aria wouldn't be surprised if he had hit her in the past, too. Ava had had a nervous breakdown when she called because her boyfriend was furious and withdrawal already kicked in. Aria was worried about her, but so far she hadn't been able to open her friend's eyes, and that was frustrating.
She sighed.
"And because he is a dick, I just couldn't stand the thought of spending the night with them. And also, the way to them was no problem at all. There was surprisingly few police around, and the metro tunnel was a piece of cake. So getting back should have been just as easy. Instead, I got stuck like a bloody rookie."
Just now it dawned on her that the few policemen could also be a direct result of Adam sneaking around as well. She felt she was blushing, and could just hope that Adam wouldn't notice. She was even more embarrassed now.
"I'm part of MacReady's team, too, you know."
"So?"
"You're shooting better than anyone on MacReady's team, remember? That includes me. Everyone's got something they're really good at. I have to sneak past people or hit them in the face 'cause I can't shoot straight. Under different circumstances it might have been you who had to bail me out."
"Haha." She paused for a moment. "But thanks for saying it."
They both knew that wasn't true. Yeah, she might be the better shot after all, but she seriously doubted that he would ever need anyone to bail him out of anything. He worked exclusively alone and seemed to do just fine without any help.
Awkward silence.
It was the distance again. God, could he never open up to people at least one tiny little bit? She felt more and more self-conscious, sitting here next to him, with hardly any clothes on. She thought about getting up to bring some more distance between them, and why didn't he move over on the sofa if her presence made him feel uncomfortable? At least he was not using the C.A.S.I.E. on her, she thought with a sad little smile which died away quickly. However, she couldn't stay silent any longer.
"It's just... I'm a minor nuisance to you at the moment, or at least that's what I feel like. But that's usually the case with people around you, isn't it?"
Real smooth. She didn't know why she said this, had to be the Whiskey speaking.
"Yeah, I have that effect on people..." His tone was sarcastic, and he let out a deep, frustrated sigh.
She nodded, and suddenly she saw through it. She could see his loneliness, and that this topic was eating on him, but he never showed it to anyone, or hardly anyone. She guessed he had just shared more of his feelings than in the whole past year. He had allowed her to see a little glimpse of the Adam inside. Maybe it was not all his fault that people only saw the badass in him. Maybe a lot of people saw only what they wanted to see, and it was hard for him to reach out, and get past that.
He turned his head away, in an attempt to shut her out again.
She actually drew in closer, a little towards him. Most of the awkwardness fell off her, now that she saw Adam the man for the first time, not Adam the half-human badass.
"It's okay to have emotions, you know. And to let people see them, too."
"Aria, I..." He stopped, and then started again. "I'm just a loner. Always have been. Never been easy for me to talk to people. And it's not getting easier, with all of -this." He waved the hand down his heavily augmented body in a short gesture. Then he tilted his head, even further away from her.
Yes, he obviously had big issues talking with people, especially about himself. But even someone like Adam Jensen had to connect to the world once in a while, one way or the other. And, by the by, she needed that, too.
It was the Whiskey yet again that made her reach out with her hand and turn his face back towards her.
"Then don't talk..."
Even before her lips touched his, he could feel his cold hand around her arm, almost roughly pulling her closer. She pushed forward, pressed against him, only wishing to forget her own, not so obvious loneliness for once. Then suddenly he freed himself, moving away. She knew what he'd say right now. That it was a bad idea, that he was not the right person for someone like her, thousand reasons against it. She knew it. She knew all of the reasons, and she agreed - he was not someone she could have a relationship with. She wouldn't leave the apartment with a broken heart because they wouldn't work out. It was not about building a long-lasting relationship or anything. It was about two lonely souls not being lonely for once.
"Aria..."
"Jensen... shut up", she said with an unusually commanding tone, and she could tell that he didn't expect that. She was always the nice, sweet girl, and many people who met her for the first time and in plain clothes didn't even believe that she was actually a former Marine and now member of an Interpol taskforce. She had the same problem as Adam, only the other way round: there was more to both of them than what people saw - or wanted to see.
It did the trick and he relaxed again, too. He drew her closer again while he obeyed her order, kissing her passionately. Her hands found their way up his cold, dark arms and then into his wiry black hair while she moved her leg over and came to sit on top of him. He slung his strong arms around her, got up and carried her to the back of his apartment.
# # #
She laid next to him, still panting and a little sweating.
"Well... I can't say I'm still freezing..."
He smiled and rolled to his side, facing her. He ran his cold hand over her own warm, natural one while her augmented hand traced the outlines of his hip, where his augmented legs joined his natural body.
She could tell that he hadn't shared this kind of intimacy with someone in a long time - and she didn't mean the sex. She only knew that he had had a girlfriend once, who got killed in the same assault that almost killed himself, too. He closed his eyes while her cold hand traced up his back and reached again into his wiry hair.
They lay silent for a while. Aria was not sure if he had fallen asleep while she watched him, and suddenly she realised how vulnerable he looked. It was strange because he was the most uncompromising badass she had ever met, and got the wickedest tech installed that was ever thought possible. Generally, it seemed like nothing could harm this man, or nothing physical at least. But now, as he lay there beside her, it was obvious he was not as cold and unfeeling as it seemed most of the time. He just shut the world out, for self-protection, because all of this, the augs, everything he had been through, was more than a man could handle. His emotional state was a mess and therefore his weak spot, so all he could do was to guard his innermost as carefully as he guarded his body during combat.
"You're watching me."
She wasn't even surprised he had noticed. He opened his strange grey-blue eyes, and showing them was already more intimacy than he shared with most people.
"Guilty as charged..."
Adam was not the kind of person who would immerse in this kind of talk, Aria knew. It was too personal, too close to sharing actual feelings. He had given her a glimpse of the Adam inside, and this was rare and precious. Aria appreciated it as it was.
Adam sat up.
"I should go now. I'll go ahead and check if the metro station's clear again. I'll radio you when you can leave."
He was about to get out of bed without further acknowledgement of what had happened here just 30 minutes ago, but then leaned back, pushed her hair out of her face with his hand, and kissed her temple. It was a sweet gesture, but it was also the demonstration that their fling was over, and they both had to get back to their usual business now. He got up, and Aria wondered if Adam had ever been ashamed of his body. It seemed indeed he was more machine than man. The only natural parts left of his body were his torso and his head, and even there the signs of heavy augmentation were undeniable. For Aria herself it was a bit easier. Only her left arm was augmented; the rest of her body was natural. But at least towards her he showed no sign of shame. He quickly gathered his scattered clothes and got dressed, while she was still lying back.
In the door he stopped again, without turning.
"Take care of yourself, Aria."
"You too, Adam."
When he was gone, she quickly got her clothes out of the dryer and got dressed herself. It was 3am now, so hopefully the metro station should be accessible again. Indeed, she was contacted by Adam not even five minutes later.
"Alright... metro station's almost clear now. You shouldn't have too many problems getting into the station. The platform itself is empty; there's a police lady still sleeping in the broom closet."
"Thank you... again."
"As I said. Don't mention it."
Indeed, she had no problems sneaking past the two officers patrolling around the fountain. When she headed down the stairs of the station, she could swear she saw a movement around one corner, and then the light suddenly choosing to take a little detour. Adam had been waiting for her, making sure she made it to the station alright, and now he sneaked away before her, even though they were headed for the same direction. She stood there for a moment, but couldn't even hear a single footstep. She smiled, and then walked down the dark tunnel.