CHAPTER SIX
DENY THY FATHER AND REFUSE THY NAME
The next time Nathan woke up, he was lying in a bed in a white room. There were heavy bandages wrapped around his torso, and part of his face. He couldn't open his left eye for some reason, and his arms were strapped down. There was an annoying beeping sound somewhere close.
Soon, a tall lady came in, wearing all white. For a moment Nathan thought she was an angel, but she looked kind of annoyed, and angels were never annoyed. She was holding a clipboard, and wrote things down while looking at things behind Nathan that he couldn't see. She made a "hmm" sound a few times, and then left.
Nathan decided he hadn't died. "People don't "hmm" when you die. They welcome you and explain that you are dead and show you around, and you get wings and a new body that doesn't hurt, and you get to meet Jesus and he hugs you and says "Welcome, my child, I have been waiting for you" and you get to see your uncle who died, and everyone is happy and nothing hurts. But at that moment Nathan hurt a lot.
Then two tall men came in. They were wearing suits, brown and blue, and they had hats, which they held in their hands, and big briefcases.
"Mr. Green," one of them said. He was addressing Nathan, whose last name was Green.
Nathan looked up at them, unable to sit up. Why was he strapped down, he wondered.
"We regret to inform you that your mother, miss Elizabeth Diane Green, has passed away," the other man said.
"She died," the first one clarified.
"In a fire," the other added.
Nathan looked up at them both, looking so sad and grave. Why they were sad, he didn't know. His mother was dead, and that meant he was free.
Slowly, Nathan smiled. "She's dead?" he croaked.
"Yes," the first man said, sounding confused. "She was drunk. Passed out, leaving something on the stove unattended."
"Terrible habit," the second man added.
"Your entire flat burned," the first man continued. "Luckily for you, a neighbor saw the smoke and called the authorities. They were able to climb the fire escape and save you, but for your mother, it was too late."
Nathan was still smiling. It hurt a little, but he couldn't help it.
"So we're here to find out if you have any other relatives who can take care of you," the second man ventured. "Do you know where your father is?"
"No," Nathan said. "He's gone. Grandma and Grandpa died a long time ago, and Uncle Ben died in the war."
"No one else that you know of?" the first questioned.
Nathan shook his head. he was very tired, and breathing hurt his chest and throat. He wished the men would go away and let him sleep.
"Just as I suspected," the second man said. "In that case, Mr. Green, I'm afraid we're going to have to put you under the care of a foster home. We're working on finding you one now, and by the time you get better and are released from the hospital, we hope to have found you one."
"Foster home?" Nathan had never heard of such a thing.
"Why, yes," the first man said, sounding surprised. "We will find you a home that will take care of you until you can be adopted."
"Adopted?" now, Nathan was getting worried. He didn't want to be adopted, and he didn't want a home to take care of him. He wanted to take care of himself. Six years with his mother and her endless string of boyfriends and husbands and hookups and drug dealers and friends and everything else had taught Nathan that adults, no matter how nice, could not be trusted.
"Of course, that could be as long as a few years," the second man admitted. "Some children never get adopted. But you're young. I wouldn't worry."
"There's always a good market for a kid with such a pretty face," the first man muttered.
Mae shivered a little as she stood in the early morning fog, arms crossed to preserve heat, though it did little to help. It was bitingly cold, and she was wearing only her white dress, the one with the red trim and pink petticoats, with her red jacket and stylish cream-colored flats. She had spent two hours on her hair the previous night, setting small strands of it in bobby pin curls so it would cling to her head the way it was now, looking naturally wavy and full. Over it she had pulled her favorite red bell hat, which fell partway over her eyes. All the girls were wearing them, and who was she to question real fashion?
"Ah you sure this is real necessary?" she called into the dim whiteness. She couldn't see Julian anywhere, but she knew he was close by. He'd told her to wait there, on the roof of a great big shed somewhere near his workplace, and had scampered off. She didn't know how he could have so much energy so early in the morning, but he'd told her his agility was part of why he'd been hired, though he never went into much detail about what it was he actually did for Reliable Excavation Demolition. Something about gravel or deliveries or pick-ups or something. She knew it involved weapons and adventure, though.
"Just wait, Mae. Really," his reply came, somewhere to her right. His voice sounded a bit forced, as though he were carrying or pushing or pulling something heavy.
"Do ya need any help?" she asked, half hoping he would say yes, just so she could move. God, it was freezing. Though, she supposed, freezing was better than melting. Nothing like a good sweat out in the sun to ruin a perfect makeup job. She'd even taken the time to dig up her favorite old perfume, the one that smelled like tulips. She'd read somewhere that in France, giving a tulip to someone meant you were declaring your love to them. She hoped Julian would notice.
"You cold?" Julian asked, suddenly right beside her. She jumped and snapped her arms to her sides. She didn't want him to know she was miserable.
"Nah, I'm okay," she insisted, but he smiled that cute smile she loved with the dimple on one side and handed her a thick blanket that smelled like he always did when he came to visit her directly after work; like gunpowder and sweat and rubbing alcohol and bubble gum. It was a curious smell, all made up of things she never really encountered at home. She liked the boyishness of it, and how it made her feel like going on an adventure or staying out late or running around like she did when she was a kid, with her arms out wide and her skirt filling out and her hair full of twigs and grass and leaves. She missed those days, before she had had to become a lady.
She gladly wrapped the blanket around her shoulders, tucking her hands in the folds and letting it drape to the sandpapery roughness of the roof, gathering around her feet. Much better.
"What am I supposed to be waiting fo', again?" she asked, though she knew already. She just liked to hear his voice, and that accent.
"Something special. A surprise," he said, fading into the fog again. It was a little less heavy now, and she could make out his shape a few yards away, busy doing this and that with the boxes that were stacked up on the flat roof of the low building next to the shed. Whatever he was doing, it looked like he was in no hurry. Mae sighed and carefully sat down on the edge of the blanket, trying not to get her skirt dirty or show anyone an unexpected glimpse of her underwear, though she needn't have worried; the petticoats were much too dense, paired with the fog, and there was no one around at this hour.
She stared out into the white abyss and watched as the landscape came into focus as the fog lifted. Slowly, she began to make out the shapes of rocks, buildings, and a few sparse trees here and there. Her teeth were chattering, and even with the blanket she felt needles of ice in her bones.
But Mae was a strong girl. Maybe she had grown up with teatimes and dresses and shoes and makeup, but she loved Julian. Julian, she knew, had grown up wild. She had heard story after story about how he had lived, always trying to become something that could compare to his grandfather, who had been a Courier du Bois. And, as his story went, he had looked forward to being one himself. But, of course, they didn't really exist by the time he was born. So he went to work for Reliable Excavation Demolition, which, she supposed, must be the next best thing.
He'd told her fantastic stories about his life, there. She knew all kinds of stories about the men he worked with, even if he never told her their names. She knew that some of them were his friends and some of them were his enemies, and some of them were mean and some of them were helpful, but all of them watched out for him and protected him from the hazards of his job, as he did them, to the best of his ability.
At last, with a bright, dimpled smile, Julian joined her on the roof, She held out the blanket for him, and together they watched the sun rise up and break through the dense fog barrier, lifting high into the sky and revealing, to Mae, a wonderland, and to Julian, a wasteland.
The RED base stood resolutely in the field below, all beat up and tattered and so faded the red of it could hardly bee seen in the early morning light. It was everything Mae had ever hoped, dreamed, longed for. Somewhere to belong, somewhere to explore. It was a mystery and a treasure and a secret and wonderful surprise all wrapped up, and she became wrapped up with it. She forgot the cold and flung the blanket aside, and in a flash she was on her feet and clambering down the roof.
"Mae," Julian called, alarmed. "what are you doing?"
"Let's get closer," she breathed, excitement tingling all up and down her arms. Then, without waiting for a response, she ran off, making her way down the rocky hillside.
He easily caught up, but did not dare try to stop her. She was easy to talk to and open-minded, but once her mind was made up, there would be no changing it. So he went along, and together they wound their way through the rocks and down the steep slopes, until finally arriving right at the RED base's doorstep.
Mae tilted her head back and took it all in. It was in an extreme state of disrepair, and there seemed to be entire chunks missing out of it. There were peeling posters and fading spray paint all over it, and all the windows seemed to be incredibly dirty.
Her heart beat faster. To her, there was no place in the world more beautiful. It was dangerous and exhilarating, and the smell of smoke and propane and bad cooking and dusty old clothes was in the air.
They stood there in silence as the sun rose up and some of the windows caught the light, which reflected back into Mae's eyes. Julian looked at her, and all he could see was the blue of her eyes, so magnificently, brilliantly blue, stretched wide in wonder.
It was in that moment that she fell in love. Julian had given her the one thing that she had always wanted, but, until now, had not known about. Now she knew, and she wanted more.
A sudden sound in the distance brought her back. Someone was shouting. Julian could easily guess who, but Mae, of course, was curious. Without a word, she darted off to find the shouter. Julian followed reluctantly, noting that her hat had been lost some time ago.
They came around to the rear of the base, to where there was a sort of makeshift courtyard. Wooden targets and old boots and tires and an ugly, beat up old jeep lurked in the corners of a square yard of dirt. It was surrounded on three sides by the walls of the base itself, and on the fourth side was a wooden fence.
In the center of the yard, a man in uniform was yelling at three other men, in varying outfits.
Mae's breath caught in excitement. These were Julian's co-workers! These four men were the heroes and villains of the stories she loved, treasured, cherished!
Julian pulled her back, behind the corner of the base. Luckily, she hadn't been seen.
"Mae," murmured. "come on. You shouldn't be here."
"No," she moaned, leaning forward to watch the men. "I love it here. Can we go say hi?"
"No way!" Julian hissed. "It's against the rules. You could get hurt, and I could get fired-"
She ignored him, slipping out from behind the building and heading, slowly but bravely, over toward the strange men. She could feel his eyes on her back, but she focused in on the men, disregarding his alarm. He was worried about her, but she would be fine. The men wouldn't hurt her; she was sure of it.
.
Spy sighed inwardly. All he had done was go out into the courtyard for a smoke, and just because Sniper had already been out there, and Medic had come out to release his doves, and the three of them had gotten to talking, the American was now yelling at them all. Something about "consorting for the ultimate downfall of the team".
Spy had tried to keep an open mind about the diverse ethnicities of his teammates, but Soldier was making it very hard.
"I know you three are up to something," he hissed in his odd American accent. "don't think I'm not onto you, because I see EVERYTHING! There is not a place in this whole base that I do not know about, so there is nowhere to HIDE, MAGGOTS! DON'T underestimate my stealth! I've been keeping an eye on every single one of you since you arrived, and BOY do I know some secrets about the three of YOU! I know things that even YOU don't know, and I do not trust you to keep my men safe, so I'll be keeping an eye on you ALL! You have been WARNED, you backstabbing, turncoat, traitorous MAGGOTS!"
Spy resisted the urge to wipe the flecks of spittle from his face, barely listening to the rant. He'd heard many just like it since his arrival at Reliable Excavation Demolition, and nearly knew it by heart. According to Soldier, none of his teammates could be trusted, save for Engineer, the only other American. The man was suspicious to the point of a nervous breakdown.
Foolish man, Spy thought. He was suspicious of everyone, too, but at least he knew the difference between "awareness" and "staring lividly at everything that moved".
Just as Spy was beginning to wonder if he should just stab the man in the neck and be done with it, he caught sight of a little mouse sneaking along, coming up in Soldier's blind spot. Assuming the man could see at all.
"Hello," he murmured, watching the little lady in a red dress creep ever closer, eyes wide. "who have we here?"
He watched with interest as she approached, and soon Medic and Sniper had caught sight, too. They watched her intently as she walked right up to Soldier and, with just the slightest hesitation, touched his sleeve.
Soldier made a sound similar to a duck getting stepped on and nearly jumped out of his skin. He'd been so into his patriotic speech that he probably wouldn't have heard her come up even if she'd rode in on a motorcycle. He'd noticed the touch, though. Definitely.
He spun around, reflexively pulling out his class-issued shovel, raised to strike.
The girl's big blue eyes grew, if possible, even larger as he spun to face her. Spy watched with interest as his helmeted teammate searched for a moment for the sneaky culprit in confusion until his gaze dropped to the girl, shorter than he'd expected.
He hesitated. Surprised, Spy guessed. He seemed frozen in shock. A quick glance at Sniper and Medic proved they had been stunned into silence.
Spy went to her side, hands casually in his pockets. After experiencing the miraculous Respawn technology, nothing that happened around the RED base could surprise him, anymore.
"Âllo, petit intrus," he said smoothly. "who might you be?"
Her huge eyes lit up in delight as he spoke, as though someone had handed her a kitten, and her lips curved into a pretty, crooked little smile. She opened her mouth, but the voice that spoke next wasn't hers.
"Mae," it said, and Spy looked up to see RED's own Scout easing toward them. "That's Mae. Ma meuf."
Spy smiled. French slang. Only Scout.
He noticed, too, that she smelled of tulips. Too bad the hint would be lost on poor, uncultured Scout.
"Mae, these are my... co-workers," Scout continued, seeming uncomfortable. Likely, he didn't want his girlfriend to know too much about his job. She accepted this as an introduction, however, and her first question was, "Have you all had your breakfast already?"
Leaving his comrades to deflect her curiosity, Spy pulled Scout a short distance away, eyes narrowed, zeroed in on his prey.
'Co-travailleurs'? Pense que nous allons lui faire peur, petit courir? he said. He crossed his arms, and his young ally copied him, glancing nervously at his 'meuf' before replying.
Tais-toi, Spy, he hissed. Laissez-lui juste regarder un peu autour, et puis je vais lui faire quitter. Mais rien n'est mentionné sur Respawn ou la BLUs ou quoi que ce soit, d'accord?
Spy's smile turned sweet. Et je suppose que vous voulez que nous abstenons d'utiliser des armes, la langue forte, gestes vulgaires et insultes sexistes, ainsi? Vous ne pouvez pas enrober le monde entier, vous savez.
Scout frowned and did not reply.