Hey everybody,

yes, I know I said the next chapter would take another two weeks, but guess what, I decided to jump in on a weekly update schedule from now on until it's finished, because it's not that much left, so here you go^^

Thank you for your support and I hope you'll enjoy.

See you next week

Sharry

Chapter 23

It was too easy.

Why did it have to be so easy?

After they had brought him to their station, they hadn't even bothered to search him a second time, beginner's mistake. It would have been more interesting if he had been weaponless, but well it was the way it was.

Now a small green light on the bracelet around his wrist blinked a few times as he pushed the button once.

It hadn't been a fair fight, but one single assassin against a stronghold of soldiers was never fair. He had been held in a small room, only his hands restrained, not enough to control him, not enough to even bother him.

It hadn't been such a big deal to free himself and to find the control center. The enemy had taken way too long to notice that their captive had been missing, that something had been off, maybe that had been the reason why it had been such a simple task for him. Barely five hours had been enough to destroy the whole Russian camp. Well to be honest, with that kind of armory Briareos would have been able to take down almost anything.

A mission, that should have been impossible for even an elite group of soldiers, leave alone one single man, but he was no average assassin, he was the assassin, his skills were the reasons why Carl had taken him with him when he had been still a little kid, because he had seen that Briareos was able to do the impossible things and there was only one thing Briareos was not capable of: failing his missions.

All that was left of his mission was the burning piece of earth behind him and the car he was currently driving.

"Oh."

His rear mirror showed a single car following him. Apparently, somebody had escaped, but it didn't matter, the other truck was too far away, too close to the ruins. 3...2...1…

BOOM!

It was always good to make sure nothing could remain.

The earth quivered under the explosion and his car swirled around in the shock wave, but he made it, unlike the one behind him, who hadn't made it that far yet.

So Briareos had been successful, just as he had expected. He didn't waste any thoughts about the lives he had just ended. That was part of the job, maybe not a part he cherished, but he had lived this life long enough to not burden his conscience with things he couldn't change.

After all, this wasn't L.A., this wasn't peace and freedom, this was war right now. Not the typical war civilians probably pictured while thinking about it, but war nonetheless.

Yet there was one emotional thought he couldn't free his mind from, he was wondering if Deunan had made it. If she had been successful with her mission as well. There was no reason for him to doubt it. She was the best at this job, second only to him maybe, her intelligence probably surpassing him already, and although she was still young, she had been trained longer than most soldiers his age.

She was only lacking two things in his eyes, the actual experience of combat and the habit of being in a life or death situation. Beside from that there was no weakness in her skills.

Well maybe that wasn't completely true; yes, she was amazingly talented and hardworking, improving in an unbelievable speed, especially considering her age and gender. In any one-on-one situation she would probably win effortless, even facing many enemies on her own wouldn't endanger her more than necessary, but there was this little but.

She wasn't the greatest in teamwork and wasn't good in listening to people – especially superiors – she didn't respect. He knew exactly where that was coming from, after all she was Carl Knute's daughter.

That was one of the reasons why Briareos had teamed-up with her himself, for one because he had promised his old friend to guard her with his life, but also because Carl was right. He was the best, he was the best wingman and after Nathaniel he had sworn himself, he would never again sacrifice his pointman and in all honesty, if he was the best wingman, Deunan definitely was the best pointman.

With a slight sigh he noted that he wasn't far from the point where Deunan and he had agreed on meeting after their missions. This was not how it was actually supposed to be, waiting for a comrade who might had failed and was already dead wasn't much of a safe strategy, but at this point safety was a luxury they couldn't afford any longer and Briareos preferred the risk of being detected over not being able to protect Deunan.

Of course even with a destroyed base, they always had to expect enemies around the corner, especially because now Russia knew, that they were here. They didn't know how many they were, but certainly Russian soldiers were trying to hunt them down.

Their official plan was to arrive at the agreed point by nightfall and wait for the other one until the early morning before heading to the pick-up point. Of course Briareos didn't care for that plan. After all they were on a suicide mission, so his rules were the only ones that mattered.

Thanks to his vehicle he would make it rather early to their meeting point, but he knew certainly that he would not wait until the sun would rise for Deunan. When the night would come to an end and she were nowhere to be seen, he would chase after her. He wouldn't lose her, couldn't lose her, not her.

When he was close enough, he left his car behind, of course he had ripped out and turned off anything that could have send signals to anything or anybody, but still a truck was more startling than a single person in the middle of nothing.

So, he shouldered his weapons and the few things he had been able to gather from the Russian camp and walked on, not even an eye on his navigation advice. He knew he had made it. There was nothing at this point, nothing a satellite could pick up on, this was why they had chosen those coordinates.

And then he waited as the night came and the world became cold, he waited as the minutes passed, and he waited as the stars slowly started to disappear.

He was about to get up and head back for the truck to search for Deunan, when he saw her.

She was already close by and he was shocked that he hadn't noticed her before, a shining figure in the moonlight; damn did she improve, but by her walk, her body movement, her shape, he simply knew that it was her.

As she came close enough, he could see the tired smile on her face, and he knew that no question was needed. She had completed her mission, just like the perfect soldier she was, almost was.

In silence they greeted each other, both aware that they were still not out of danger, but both knowing that now, that they were back together, nothing could stop them. For a moment he held a strand of her filthy hair. She was even more beautiful covered in sand and dirt, her eyes sparkling, her lips chapped.

"Ready to go home?" His voice was nothing more than a whisper.

She took his hand and placed a kiss in his palm.

"Always."

So, they did.

For the first time in days Briareos felt lighthearted. This war was about to be over; Russia would lose their control over Africa from now on within days, having no central commando camp any longer and no possibility to bring in more supply. The scattered units would call for backup, which would either come to take them home or to support them. But it would be too weak to stand against the combined force of America and Africa. Maybe support wouldn't come and those left behind would be lost for good. Briareos was well aware that those soldiers – having nothing left and scared of death – were the most dangerous ones, desperation and angst their closest friends, but he wasn't scared of them, he wasn't scared of neither war nor dead.

Once Carl had told him that one man could be enough to change the fate of a battle, now one man and one woman were hopefully enough to end a whole war as well.

But he wasn't naïve, the whole world was at war; they might had stopped the leak in the roof but that didn't change that the water was coming in through the busted windows.

Still he didn't care at the moment, right now they had done all they could and now all they had to do was getting back to their pick-up point where hopefully some allies or at least landmates with supplies were waiting for them.

They would make it, after all Deunan was with him, so what could possibly go wrong?

"Everything went wrong," Charles hissed and pursed his lips in annoyance, "you really gave me a hard shell to crack here, my friend, but in the end, I made it."

"What, you did?"

"Sure, Briareos, don't forget who I am, here you go."

Almost carefully he took the tiny piece of paper the other man was offering him. Beside a name and a multiple digits long number nothing was written on there.

"Are you sure?" He couldn't believe it; this was simply impossible.

"Are you kidding me? I'm the best there is, trust me, it's true," Charles responded huffing but with a grin.

Briareos noticed an old feeling rise within him, a feeling his inhuman body wasn't able to express, so he simply nodded in regards and waved his friend goodbye.

"Wait a sec, Briareos. Have you heard of Deunan?"

He didn't turn around, too afraid that his expressionless robotic face might betray him.

"Of course I did," he answered plain.

"You know," Charles continued, "I did as the Commander told me and added several missions to her schedule, but she ain't stupid, she probably noted what's going on all along."

"So, what do you want to tell me?"

He didn't want to discuss that matter, not again, because every single time somebody mentioned it, he was afraid that he would falter, that he would finally give in, but he couldn't, he couldn't put a burden on Deunan he couldn't even carry.

"Well, it's just that maybe you want to talk with her. She's treating that Wataru-boy pretty damn bad and although the missions I chose for them aren't that dangerous, I'm still worried she might get somebody killed with her current behavior."

The cyborg huffed slightly.

"Don't worry about her, Charles. Even in her worst condition she's not easy to be killed."

"I am not talking about her, Briareos." The other man placed a hand on his shoulder. "Would you forgive yourself if she'd be responsible for a civilian's death, for Wataru's death, because of this? Would she be able to forgive herself?"

The answer was clear and simple, but Briareos couldn't stop, not now, only two days left to go. He trusted Deunan enough to not drown in her emotions. She wasn't like the others, she was no ordinary soldier, she surely was a handful and could be quite moody, but in the end it would never cloud her judgement. In the end she wouldn't fail, but they didn't know, because they didn't know her like he did.

"Thank you for telling me, Charles."

With those words he left.

He only needed to endure this charade for two more days, in two days he wouldn't have to worry about people talking him into decisions, in two days he would have other things to worry about, or maybe not, depending how well his mission would go.

Being with his mind everywhere but in the present, he made his way back to the room he currently occupied. It was a simple room, a bed, a sink, and a small drawer for his few belongings, it was more than enough for him, reminded him of old times.

In less than an hour Birareos had to be back at the lab, currently his schedule was especially tight, but there was nothing for him to do right now, nothing except for…

He stared at the piece of paper Charles had handed him, struggling what to do, but then he came to a decision and dialed the number.

Sweat spread over his body, something even this body was able to show, nervousness, anxiety, and yes, he was anxious as the line kept beeping. Maybe this was a mistake, maybe he shouldn't do it, maybe at least not right now, maybe… No, Briareos wasn't a man of maybes, he had decided to call that number at this moment and now he could do nothing but wait for…

"Singer and Partners, Smith's office, Karen Mcleod my name, how can I help you?"

"Uhm…" He didn't expect that. He didn't expect to hear the soft voice of an older lady from the other side of the line.

"Sir? Can I help you?"

"Uhm, yes, is… is your boss available? I would like to… it's important for me to talk to him."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Sir," the lady replied wholeheartedly. "He won't be in office until tomorrow. If you want, I can deliver a message."

"Yeah, yeah, that'd be good. Just tell him to call me back, right? It's really important, I only have… the sooner the better, okay?"

Briareos couldn't recall ever having such a difficult phone call, he was having such a hard time coming up with words.

"Of course, I will tell him to call you back as soon as he can."

"Thank you very much. I appreciate that, have a nice day."

"You're welcome, Sir, have a nice… uhm, one sec…"

He had done it, he had made that call and now there was nothing he could do anymore, still he felt the heat rush through his body, while his body's signals informed him that he had just passed 98%. He was almost ready.

And he was almost late. The alarm in his mind reminded him that he had to leave now if he didn't want to anger a mob of overeager scientists. With a sigh he got up and grabbed a small dufflebag, just in case he couldn't get back this night.

As he came out of the door, he almost crashed into nobody else than Deunan, who was rushing down the floor.

"Briareos!" She exclaimed with huge eyes as they barely dodged each other.

"Deunan", he muttered. It seemed like they had the worst timing ever. He wasn't in his right mind to talk with her now and he was running late. At the same time, he didn't want to hurt her even more than he already had and to be totally honest, he couldn't deal with her yelling at him right now.

For a second they simply stared at each other. Just mere weeks ago they had felt comfortable next to each other, now none of them knew what to say, how to approach the person they trusted most, they had trusted most.

"I need to go, I'm running late," Briareos finally mumbled and hurried down the hallway. There was nothing left to say between them, or at least there was nothing he could say to make things easier without giving in at the same time. And he wouldn't give in. He knew that Deunan deserved the truth, but she didn't deserve to feel hope only for that hope to be shattered, and he couldn't bare her smile if he knew she was hiding tears.

"Bri…Briareos." She reached out and held his wrist, like she didn't dare to go for his hand. "Can we talk?"

Her voice was softer than he had expected – especially after what Lance and Charles had told him – almost insecure.

"I'm sorry," he muttered not turning around, because he knew she was able to read his expressionless face while no one else could, "but I got an important meeting and I'm already running late."

"I… I know, I heard that the first time, but… but we need to talk!" She sounded desperate, scared even, so he sighed lowly and turned around.

"I have not enough time right now for the talk we need, Deunan." That one wasn't a lie. He could see her eyes tearing up; she had to be in an unstable mindset at the moment for her to be so close to crying already.

"I understand but could you just… please just tell me what's going on! Nike has been lying to me, Lance is dropping hints without meaning, Charles is drowning me in work and you… you just disappeared. Can we please talk?!"

She was taking his breath away. After all that had happened, after all he had done, the words he had said, the closure he had denied, after everything she still cared for him, still loved him that deeply.

It hurt him even more. Her words from their last fights hurt even more.

"You're like a ghost, it's impossible to catch you around, you're not coming home, hiding in this room here, always on the run when I'm close to you, avoiding me. I know, Birareos, I know I said some…"

"Deunan," he interrupted her effortlessly, but oh how it hurt to hear her talk like that. "There is nothing left to talk about, okay?"

"No!" She jerked his arm back, like she was afraid he would leave her like that. "There is so much to talk about! I won't let this end like this. There is so much I need to tell you and so much I need to ask, so please…"

"I know." He freed his hand easily, back in his mind again, knowing what he needed to do. "I know, but I don't have the time right now to listen to more of your words. What you want will lead to a discussion, a fight, but I can't handle that right now, okay? And now I really need to leave, so just let it be."

None of this was a lie, but still it wasn't true either. He wanted to tell her, he really did, but he wouldn't handle, if he failed at this mission and he couldn't handle telling her his decision, that he rather died than coming back alive after failing.

He could see that she was searching in his face for answers he wouldn't give. She was desperate, confused, but also helpless and angry. How she hated to be helpless.

"I know you don't like Nike, Deunan, but at least you should listen to Lance and stop burden everybody around you with your emotions. I understand that things aren't easy right now, but our private issues shouldn't interfere work."

"I don't get you," she whispered. "You sound so much like my father, saying so much and meaning so little. Why are you doing this? Why can't we even talk for two minutes? Why are you running away from me?"

"I'm not running away, I'm just busy." With those words he left her behind, hoping that this time it would be enough for her to stop asking, to stop digging, to stop coming after him.

He had only two days left, but right now all his resolution was about to crumble. If she were to run after him right now he would probably give in this time, and part of him hoped that she would follow him, part of him wanted this charade to end, to make it easier for him, to be kind to her, part of him wanted to be the man who could just love her selfishly.

But the other part was stronger, the part where he was a soldier who wouldn't risk to fail a mission because of something like emotions, the part where he was Deunan's guardian and had promised Carl to keep her save even if it would cost his life, the part where he was the man who loved that woman so much he didn't want her to suffer more than she would one way or another. But also, this tiny little part where he was just himself and wanted to do this for himself, not bound by any contracts and relationships, not by orders or promises.

Briareos wanted this mission to succeed solely for himself, but if he would fail, he wanted to be free enough to die while trying. This time at least he wanted to have a choice in his life, this time he wanted to have the authority over his own life and his own death.

"Gee, I'm really not planning on dying out here!"

Briareos looked up as Deunan kept on cursing like she was a sailor and not a soldier.

"We won't die," he replied calmly and placed a hand on her shoulder, "at least not today."

She gave him a quick smirk. "You know how to lift up someone's spirit, don't you?"

"Are you mocking me?"

"Oh, I would never dare to."

Both laughed subtle. They had taken cover in ruins that once could have been a small oasis, but the water was gone, the broken huts drowning in sand. Nobody had been here for years and Briareos and Deunan didn't plan to stay here longer than necessary, but after the sun had risen high over the horizon it had become too hot for them to travel, now that their operation was completed and the enemy was searching for them.

Of course they weren't searching for two individuals striding through the dessert, but an army of highly equipped soldiers, after all it seemed impossible that both the stronghold and the supply route were destroyed within a few hours, even less by only two human beings.

Still in the far distance they could hear landmates and jets disturbing the quietness. They had to stay alert, safe grounds were nowhere close and the distance they still had to cover was worrying Briareos even more. It wasn't like they were well-equipped on supplies.

"At this rate we'll be out of food by tomorrow night and water will last at max for three days, if we ration it strictly."

He nodded at Deunan, who was skimming through their bags in the least broken hut they had chosen to take cover, because it was almost fully covered by dunes by now and almost impossible to be noted from above.

"Better than I expected." She looked up with a smile. "Actually, I'm surprised it went so well."

"Don't jinx us," he laughed, although he didn't believe in anything like that. Their mission had gone well because of Deunan's and his skills, their preparation and the simple ignorance of their enemy, that two people could be able to cause such damage.

Deunan offered him some water, but he denied as he was carefully observing the map in his hands. It was a traditional one, good old paper. The less electricity they carried around the less it could fail them, and everything connected to coordinates and maps had that bad habit of being traceable.

"Take a look," he ordered her to come closer. "Somewhere around here should be Mayaba; should take us two days, maybe shorter if we don't rest during tomorrow noon. It's just a small town and off the usual routes so we might be lucky about soldiers passing by."

He could see her lifting an eyebrow, both of them didn't count on being lucky.

"We should be able to refill our supplies, but we shouldn't stay too long. Besides our target location is less than eight miles away from Mayaba and after that it'll be a piece of cake."

For another time she raised an eyebrow while regarding the map closely, obviously burning it into her memory.

"That is, if actually somebody or something will be waiting there to pick us up. Doesn't seem like any other towns or villages are close. Depending on our supplies it might be tough on us if they don't send some landmates or trucks," she stated.

He nodded. Of course, this whole suicide-mission had more than one weakness, but this was the only one neither he nor Deunan could take care of. Both of them had send their signal that they had been successful in their task and survived so far, which should be enough for O'Brian to send them some backup to the arranged meeting point.

But it was fairly possible that backup wouldn't come or would be gone by the time they arrived. It was a game of chance.

"Well no matter what happens, at least we did it." Her voice was light, even after all she had seen, after all she had done, after days in the dirt and hours of killing people, she still was able to shine.

Briareos agreed silently while folding the map, only looking up after she caressed his cheek.

"Does it hurt?" She asked silently, for the first time in days sincere worry crawling over her face, but he waved it aside with a smile.

"Just a bruise, I had to be a convincing captive, you know?"

She smiled, but it was just to ease his mind, that much he could see, it didn't reach her eyes.

"What about your gear?" He asked to distract her mind. "You'll be fine? I took some ammo with me before I blew their control post, but it ain't much."

With a sigh she walked the two steps back to her small bundle of belongings, before opening his bag as well.

In silence Briareos watched her organize their stuff, each movement like that of a well-functioning machine.

"We should be fine as long as we don't run into an ambush."

He agreed on that as well. They weren't equipped like usually, it had been impossible to take all weapons they needed with them, especially those which were easily to be seen, so Deunan mainly build on her Gong next to the typical Colt M1911 both of them carried and Briareos had abandoned his woodpecker.

Even weaponless they still posed a threat, but it was kind of difficult to fight a landmate without some bullets, so they had to be careful not to waste the few bullets they had left.

"We should get some rest now," he ordered again. "This might be our last opportunity until we reach safe grounds."

Deunan grumbled something in agreement and didn't even argue that he was taking the first turn of watch. That was something special about her. Although she loved to argue, was strongminded and preferred to make things run by her will, she didn't fight during an operation. She obeyed Briareos orders without doubt.

Of course, that was something to be expected of soldiers, on the other hand she wasn't any regular soldier and their quite unusual relationship wasn't making things easier. It wasn't a case of blind following orders, that was something Deunan would never do, she simply trusted him and his judgement, that was why she followed when he made a decision.

He watched her rest while all his senses were in alert mode. He really wanted to bring her back home safely, he wanted to see her brag in front of Carl about their mission and he wanted Carl to show that subtle smile, maybe he would even admit that he was proud of his daughter.

Suddenly Briareos realized it, he was looking ahead, thinking about a future, a future he would share with Deunan, and hopefully Carl, and with Aaron and Alexander. He was imagining a life afterwards, after war.

Don't wait until it's too late.

They had to stay longer than they had anticipated, while it had been Deunan's turn to keep guard they had heard vehicles passing them not that far in the distance, so they had waited, but by now it seemed safe for them to leave.

In silence they packed their stuff, the few things that were there to pack. Briareos couldn't keep his eyes from Deunan's back.

They were far from safety yet, no peace, no freedom in sight. Garden Eden was nothing more than a dream, but during the last few hours he had realized something very important to him.

None of that was necessary for him; yes, he yearned for such a life, a life he couldn't even imagine yet. He had no idea how a life in peace and freedom would be like.

But what he could imagine, what he could see as clear as day, was a life with Deunan, he could imagine the next few hours, the next days, even the next weeks and months, and he realized that as long as Deunan was with him, he didn't need anything else.

May war come at them, may battles await them, danger and pain, as long as she was with him, he wouldn't mind. Finally, he came to the conclusion that Deunan was his future, the very reason and goal of his life.

What a strange place to come up with such a revelation, but Briareos didn't care. He didn't care that he had nothing to offer despite himself and his will to carry on, his will to live, and his will to protect her life no matter the cost. He didn't care that they were in the middle of a mission, on enemy's ground. He didn't care that this was neither the right time nor the right place.

"Deunan," he said as she checked her weapon for the last time. "Would you like to marry me?"

He could see how her eyes – still fixed on her gun – grew large for a moment, then she looked up with a subtle smile.

"Is that supposed to be a proposal?" She asked and tilted her head.

Slightly confused he nodded and shrugged his shoulders at the same time.

Shaking her head, she fetched her bag from the ground, still that unreadable grin on her face.

"Well," she said and came towards him, securing her weapon and stashing it into her belt, "then the answer is yes."

Before he knew what to say she pulled him down with her left hand behind his neck and kissed him for a soft second, before chuckling slightly and letting him go.

"We're engaged now," she whispered softly against his cheek before turning around and heading for the exit, leaving him in awe.

At the door she turned back to him and the beauty she radiated almost blinded him. Covered in dust and sand, her hair a filthy mess, her skin bruised by the climate and the strains of the last days, and she was the most beautiful being he had ever seen. Her glowing green eyes showing so much love and compassion, her soft smile too gentle for their current situation, and he realized he was the reason why she was that happy. He was able to give her that feeling and that filled him with pride and graciousness.

"So, my dear fiancé?" She laughed silently. "Are you ready for departure?"

He nodded and walked right behind her.

"Remember," he mumbled more serene now, "the moment we leave we won't be able to take cover until we reach Mayaba. We need to pick up a quick pace, otherwise we won't make it in time."

"I know, Bri, don't lecture me, you're wasting precious time."

He gave her a daring look, but she just smirked innocently.

"Then, are you ready to leave?" He asked instead of scolding her and her grand smile was an unasked reward.

"Always."

With those words they left their shelter.

In silence they marched for several hours, both of them alert, but both of them also occupied with their own thoughts.

Briareos felt happy, a simple feeling he seldom grasped. He didn't allow it to cloud his judgement or his senses, but he couldn't abandon it neither. For the first time in his life he felt truly like this was a way he wanted to pursue, together with Deunan, no matter where this way would lead him.

He was truly happy and admitted to nobody but himself that this was probably the best day in his life.

With a dark grin he corrected himself. Here, in the middle of a mission, far from safety, in a life-threatening situation, closer to foes than to friends, only having Deunan by his side, he concluded that this was indeed the happiest day in his whole life, and he wished it would last. He wished this feeling would last, he finally was able to see that future and today was the first day of that future.

"You really have no clue how to propose properly, do you?" Deunan asked him, her feet never slowing down in their pace.

He regarded the back of her head.

"Don't worry, Aaron told me long ago how to correctly handle it. After we return to L.A. you will receive the perfect proposal you deserve," he laughed.

"No need to," she replied, but her next words were so silent that he almost didn't hear her, "this was just as I wanted it to be."