Thanks again to all my readers. I'd love to know what you all are thinking about this story.
Chapter Seven "New Plans"
Billy and Marina took a taxi back to the hotel. She was silent during the drive. Billy assumed she had said all she wanted to and was now sulking about the dismal prospect of taking it easy. With a smile, Billy recalled the times he had worked with her. She wasn't exactly easy for some people to get along with, but she had found a home with Olivia and George especially.
With a light sigh, Billy remembered when he was a part of that too. But it was long over, and high time he focused on what he had not what he lost. Not that anyone could tell just how much he thought about it. There were the few times someone called the four of them Americans and he would say, just loudly enough, "I'm Scottish."
Billy didn't think anyone knew what he really meant by those words, but he was beginning to wonder. Maybe his mask wasn't as flawless as he thought. It certainly didn't feel like it now.
When they got to the hotel, Billy helped Marina inside. As they walked through the lobby, he could almost feel her frowning.
"You're gonna make me take the bloody elevator?" she asked.
"Unless you'd rather I carry you upstairs," Billy replied. "Which I am not opposed to, so take your pick."
Marina glared at him and pushed the up button. She was going to argue with him about going to bed. Going to say that she was fine to join the others. But the pain medication the doctor had forced on her was kicking in and she felt like curling up in the elevator and going to sleep.
"I will have my revenge," she said, half yawning. "On all the doctors in the world..."
Billy only nodded because it was useless to argue with Marina when she was like this. He let her plot medical genocide all she wanted. She probably wouldn't remember it in the morning.
Once he had her safely in bed, Billy made sure that Marina's meds and phone were within reach. He didn't really want to leave her alone, but she just needed to sleep, so there was no reason for him to stay.
A few doors down, Billy heard loud voices before he even got to the door. He could tell the Michael was upset about what happened, and Billy could guess who was receiving the righteous anger of his fearless leader.
CHAOS
No one was defending Harrington because everyone knew it had been his mistake. Everyone but Harrington that is.
Billy's entrance was observed but hardly noted. And he didn't expect it to be. Michael was busy telling Harrington just how much of an idiot he was for letting them get ambushed, and Billy wasn't surprised at all. Even though none of Michael's men had been hurt, they could have been and Marina was just as important as they were.
When Harrington tried to mount a final argument, Olivia held up her had. "Frank, take a walk," she said. "Clear your head. We don't have time for this."
Harrington didn't say anything, but moved stiffly to the door, bumping Billy's shoulder as he went as if this were somehow his fault.
Olivia looked over at Billy, her eyes sympathetic and asking for the same.
"Marina's all right," Billy said, hoping that would improve the mood. "She's sleeping."
"How'd you accomplish that?" Olivia asked, visibly relaxing.
"The doctor made her take something before we left. She just needs to rest and not use that leg too much and she'll be fine."
"What are the chances of that happening?"
"I don't know. You might be more persuasive than I am."
"Do you want me to keep an eye on her?" George asked.
Olivia looked relieved. "Yes. Thank you. At least for now."
George nodded and left the room. Olivia turned to the window and everyone waited to see what she would say. Finally she turned back to them.
"We need to find out where this went wrong," she said. "Not only the ambush, but the contents of that warehouse. This isn't what we thought it was."
"Maybe they're planning simultaneous attacks all over the place," Rick suggested.
"With the kind of weapons they have," Casey said, "it looks more like they're supplying for a war."
"That's what Marina and I thought," Billy said.
"Question is, why?" Michael said. "And how far does it go?"
"And how were we so off base to start with?" Olivia said. "Our Intel was solid. This doesn't make sense."
"Maybe there's some bigger picture we're not seeing," Rick said. "It could be that all the information we had was correct, just incomplete. That no one realized the extent of this."
"Either way, it's our job to find out," Michael said. "Right?" It wasn't really a question. More of a challenge to Olivia and everyone could tell.
"Exactly," she replied without hesitation.
CHAOS
It was morning by the time everyone decided to go to sleep. But Billy couldn't seem to relax. He was plenty tired from the events of the night, but he could sleep. After about the tenth time he rolled over in bed he heard Rick sigh.
"You want to talk about it?" he asked.
There was silence. Billy really just wanted to shut everything out and sleep, but that wasn't happening. Finally Billy turned to face Rick in the dark. "Everything is a lot easier in my head," he said.
Billy heard what might have been a stifled laugh from Rick. "That's how it always is," Rick said. "Things never work out the way we expect. I'm a perfect example of that."
"Well, at least you're a happy example."
"Depends. But I see what you mean."
"I was distracted," Billy confessed. "And there wasn't a bloody thing I could do about it."
"You know why that is?" Rick asked.
"Why?"
"Because you are a human being and unlike Casey, human beings can't be perfect all the time. We screw up, we have feelings, and we have to deal with a lot of crap. And most of the time, things don't got the way we want."
"Where'd you get to be so smart, huh, Martinez?"
Billy could sense Rick's smile. "I learned it from a good friend," he said.
Billy shook his head, mostly to himself. "You're a good man, Rick," he said quietly. "Better than any I've known before. I know I don't deserve a friend like you."
"Don't be ridiculous," Rick said. "I wouldn't have survived this long without you. Ironically, you keep me sane. Michael and Casey are pretty clueless when it comes to interpersonal relations, but you always understood me."
"You know, it's funny," Billy said. "Or not funny, depending on how you look at it, but even though you have no idea what this is like, I still think you understand better than anyone."
"Casey said it's because I care, and that's important 'for whatever reason'."
"It is important," Billy agreed. "And we forget it far too often."
"Well, I just want you to know that I'm here for you no matter what. I don't know if you know this, but I consider you my best friend."
For a long time, Billy didn't say anything. "Well," he finally spoke, but in a near whisper. "Then I suppose it's only fair I tell you the whole story."
"You don't have to," Rick said softly.
Billy stared up at the ceiling and blinked several times. "I want to."
