Overrated

Undisclosed location, 2019

"Blaine, where the hell are we going?"

Blaine clicked his tongue. "Ah, that would be telling".

Hadley sighed and fiddled with her hands. "Well I was told to dress up, and make up my face, so I assume it's a party of some sort".

Blaine smiled. "You are right. No peaking though, okay? Play ball".

Hadley grimaced. "I want to throw the damn ball at you. Okay...we've stopped. Now can you tell me?"

Blaine stopped the car, and took her hand. She got out of the car, and he took off the blindfold. Hadley squinted, as the bright sunlight hit her eyes. She placed her hand above her eyes, and looked ahead of her.

There, was her cousin. Then it hit her.

It was her cousin's birthday, and she had always been too busy to attend. She usually would send a present and a card. She did so too, this year, but, to see her cousin standing there, with her gift in hand made her emotional. She turned to Blaine and grinned.

"Oh, sneaky fucker. Annabel! Lovely to see you!"

Annabel came over and hugged her cousin. She then looked up at Blaine, and smirked.

"This was your idea, right? Honestly Hadley, we are supposed to be family". She teased.

"I was really busy, half way around the world for most of your birthdays. I wasn't avoiding you, trust me. I know I am not very hospitable, but I wasn't deliberately trying to miss any special days. When's the baby due?"

Annabel smiled and held her stomach. "In two months, it's a boy".

Hadley started to get pains in her thigh, and had to grit her way through it. "I know a place that makes the cutest little booties, ugh".

Her cousin seemed concerned. "Are you alright?"

The agent nodded and walked past her. "I'm fine, just sat down for too long, need to stretch my legs".

Blaine followed her, also concerned for her safety.

When the pair got away from the small gathering of people, Hadley cringed.

"Aw shit. I'm in pain".

The gears twisted in Blaine's head.

"Oh, shit. I have painkillers if you want some. They are strong though. I used to take them for my migraines. I still carry some, just in case".

His friend nodded. "It's the thigh injury again. It's getting just plain annoying now".

Blaine nodded. "Okay. I'll get you something to swallow it down with".

Hadley managed a small smile. "Thank you. I do appreciate you, I do. Thanks honey".

Blaine nodded, winked, and left to get a drink.

Hadley was now in her apartment block, and showing Adam to his temporary apartment, in the same block. It was 4am, she was tired, and yet, she had eaten so much pizza that she didn't want to lie down.

She got a call from Finch, telling her that she had the next few days off, and that Adam and Malik had agreed to take on some of the assignments that were given to her. She thanked him for that.

Hadley had gotten the apartment key card. and gave it to Adam. He nodded and took it, before entering.

The apartment was huge, and felt eerie. The walls were granite coloured, and the floor was black marble, with silver flecks ingrained into it. Pewter carpets and furnishings made the large space feel cold, uninviting. Then again. Adam knew he wouldn't be there for too long, and he preferred dark interiors to light. Sometimes, those huge windows in his apartment would let in so much light, that he was very glad for his shades, or he'd be blinded, and falling over the random items, scattered about the floor.

That damn table, clipped my hip on that fucker so many times, I swore it left a permanent indent in the skin. I asked Megan, but she said she couldn't see any difference.

Hadley coughed lightly and walked towards the front door. "The reception desk is always available, there are several takeaway joints, and restaurants around here that deliver, if you need anything. Rent and bills have already been paid for three months, any longer will also be covered, so no need to worry".

Adam sighed. "And who paid for that? Rent on this place must be expensive".

The woman looked away. "It's £40,000 a month. Then again, where we are, the views, and the sheer scale of the apartments, and whats in them justifies that, I think. Marble floors and onyx worktops can't be cheap".

Adam's eyes widened. "Who?"

"Edward did. And yes, Sarif did offer, and offer to pay him back, but he declined. After all, you did help in saving his daughter, so he feels like he owes you. Oh, and the shops open at 6 am. I'll be sleeping, catching up on it. Not had a decent nights rest in about two weeks. Feel like I could sleep for years and I'd still be knackered".

Adam retracted his shades and nodded. "Tell me about it. Sleep is overrated, what we do dictates that. We cannot sleep if there is a job to do, and there'salways something".

Hadley tilted her head. "That's a little cynical, but true. I'm gonna go. Did you take the Seoul mission?"

He nodded. "Yeah, headed there in two days. Need to talk to Sarif and Finch first though".

Hadley nodded and walked out the front door. "Got it. Alright, see ya".

She waved and left his apartment.

2 and a half years ago

"Dammit Adam, I told you why I used your DNA. I needed too, don't you see that?"

Adam growled and lent on the door frame of his bedroom. "No, I don't. Why couldn't you have asked? I don't get that at all".

Megan sighed. "I couldn't. You were always busy, the research team were pushed for time and we couldn't find a viable sample. But you were. We needed results Adam, and we got them".

The agent spied a gym bag, filled with his ex-girlfriends possessions and he flipped out. "Seriously? You're just going to walk? You've changed Megan. The old you would never have backed down. Yes, you would have considered it, but you never would have actually done it".

Megan scoffed, and tied back her hair. "And you haven't? Look at you, a hunk of metal. You should be thankful for what Sarif did. He could have let you rot among the bodies of our colleagues, our friends, Adam. But he didn't. And without that research, no one would have known that you didn't need Neuropozene. So that research that you so love to scorn, was the most important thing we did. The old you wasn't a cynical fuck, so don't pretend you haven't changed for the worse, either".

Adam was stunned, mortified at what this woman, whom he no longer saw as anything other than a vile, contemptuous bitch, was saying. He held his head and walked around her, to sit on the sofa. He picked up a tumbler and started squeezing it.

"You think I enjoy being like this? No! It's torture. You think I enjoy having to get my fucking head rebooted, my eye calibrated, my arms and legs oiled just so I can move? No, I don't. Cut the bullshit Megan. Just tell me why you didn't inform me that my DNA was going to be used, to make a breakthrough in science. Don't you think I should have known? That's kinda important, huh".

The tumbler was crushed, and glass covered the floor beneath his feet.

Megan walked to the front door, and picked up her bag. "Because you didn't care. You cared about work, you cared about me, but the research? You didn't give that a second thought. I wanted you to know, I really did, but then the attack happened, and I didn't even know if you had survived it. I saw you get shot Adam, I saw you get hurt, and all because of my research. Now you know. I'm no saint, you always knew that, but neither are you. I don't even recognise you anymore, and it isn't the augments that I am talking about".

Adam grabbed another tumbler and filled it with bourbon. "Really? That isn't an excuse. You had time, you had hours before the attack to just tell me. Yes I would have been a bit angry, but I wouldn't have lashed out. I want to know one more thing, before you go. Why were you so cold to me that day? I tried to comfort you, I knew how nervous you were, and how important this was to you, but you just walked away. All I wanted to do was hold you, but you wouldn't even let me do that. I'm sorry Megan, I've made many mistakes, and I can't take any of them back. Just take care, alright. I don't hate you, I just can't comprehend what happened, and I can't get over it, god knows I've tried".

Megan sighed, and had a small smile on her face. "We've both made mistakes Adam. I, I couldn't even look you in the eye that day, because of what I did. I couldn't let you hold me, as you would know, you just would, that I was keeping something from you. You knew how to read me like a book. I'm sorry too Adam. I really am. You're bringing out the worst in me, and that just isn't right. I never thought we could get back together, but I had hoped that we could talk it through. Discuss all of it, openly. We'll be okay, I know it doesn't seem like it, but we will. Bye Adam".

She opened the door, and walked out.

Adam lent back against the couch and looked up at the ceiling. He felt something wet, and warm leave his eye.

And for once, he let himself cry, instead of bottling it all up, and smashing things, including the mirror again.

Present day

Adam knew he wouldn't be able to sleep. He had too much on his mind.

The city was started to awaken, and so he chose to leave his apartment, and check it out.

He could feel a headache coming on, and his temper was flaring up. He had to get out and do something, just to stop himself from going crazy, and trashing this new, shiny apartment.

He need strong coffee, a smoke and...

...a sense of self worth would be nice.

Then again, Megan had called him a 'hunk of metal'. What if she was right? What if he was just a useless hunk of junk?

He grabbed his key, but left his comm unit.

He wanted to be alone, really, truly alone.