Author's note: Well, here's the longest chapter yet, I hope it lives up to expectations. Enjoy.
What Will It Take?
Chapter 5
The two were walking down the streets of England, which were bustling due to it being a Friday night. Ela watched as people walked by and found herself wondering how the average person would be spending their time during the weekend. She briefly recalled the period in her life when she tried to be normal, even then she would always keep to herself. She guessed she really didn't know anything about being normal, Nelson's words still sounding in her head.
They had only walked a few blocks away from base when Meghan stopped in her tracks. "Here it is."
In front of them was what looked to be a small, family owned coffee shop. Ela looked up at the sign that read 'Oxton's Coffee and Tea'. Looking at the place from the outside, one would think it was a normal house if it weren't for the sign. As they stepped inside, Ela noticed it was a quaint place, dark wooden flooring and walls which were decorated with various pictures and artwork. A few wooden tables and a fireplace near the back reinforced the family home feel. They approached the counter, there were small pastries and dishes on display. Above were menus listing the different types of coffee and tea they had for sale.
"Hey Meghan." Greeted the girl behind the counter, she looked to be about seventeen.
"Good evening Lena, how are you?" Meghan asked, she had clearly been here a number of times if she and the girl knew each other by name.
"I'm great, thanks, how 'bout you."
"Can't complain. How's Amelie?"
"Oh, she's the same as always."
"That's too bad."
"Haha, she's not that bad, she really sweet once you get to know her."
"I'll just take your word for it."
"Anyways, will it be the usual?"
"As always."
"Brilliant, and for you luv?" The girl looked at Ela, who was too busy observing that she hadn't even looked at the menu. She wasn't sure what they even had so she just stared awkwardly.
"I think she'll just have the same thing." Meghan suggested.
"Alright, that'll be four pounds please."
Meghan pulled out a five-pound note and gave it to Lena, "Keep the change."
"Thanks, luv." Lena dashed back into the kitchen seemingly in the blink of an eye.
The two operators waited while Lena made their drinks, "Her parents own the place, she works here on weekends when she's not at school." Meghan said.
"You two seem awfully close." Ela commented.
"She's like a little sister to me."
Ela took a pause upon hearing the word sister. Just then, Lena popped back up and handed Meghan their drinks. "Here you go, and it looks like your favorite tables opened up as well."
"Excellent, thank you Lena."
"Cheers luv."
Meghan handed Ela her drink and lead the Polish girl to a table right next to the fireplace, which made the room glow just brightly enough. It also offered a nice amount of warmth throughout the shop. They sat down across from one another, at first Ela didn't know what to say, so she just took a sip from the drink Meghan bought for her. It was a coffee mixed with a small amount of what tasted like caramel, making the drink rather sweet.
Finally, Meghan spoke up. "I found this little shop not long after joining Rainbow," she explained, "it's kind of a special place to me."
"What makes it so special?" Ela asked, curious.
"It's quiet, it's warm, and it's peaceful. Everything our lifestyle is not. Sometimes when I feel like the pressure is too much, or I'm lost, I'll come here and separate myself from everything, if not just for a moment. It helps me decompress, so to speak."
Lost and over-pressured, now those were two things that Ela didn't think were possible when it came to Meghan Castellano, but she knew everyone had their limits. She was also surprised that Meghan was willing to share this personal getaway spot with her.
"So, why have you brought me here?"
"Because I feel like maybe it could help you as well. Now we're away from Hereford, operators, training, it's just you and me."
Now Ela was concerned. "What makes you think I need to 'decompress'?" Feeling stupid just from asking the question.
"Ela, I've seen you throughout the past week, I know you've been having a difficult time, and not just from getting shot."
Ela was now falling back into her old habits, not letting anyone in and trying to keep to herself. "You don't know anything about what I'm going through."
"Then tell me."
"Why do you even want to know?"
"Well, we fought together in Iraq, again in Afghanistan, and now in Rainbow. I even consider you a friend and yet, I feel like I know almost nothing about you."
"Maybe that's for the best."
"Ela, don't say that. You don't have to hide from everyone, you can trust me."
"How do I know that?"
Meghan knew she was on the verge of losing this battle, she had to think of something to bring her back. Not just for her sake, but for the team's sake. "How about this, I'll tell you something about me that no one else here knows, and you tell me something about yourself. We'll take turns."
Ela thought hard about the offer, she didn't want to admit she was afraid, but she knew that Meghan was trying to help her, and deep down, she knew she needed it. "Alright."
"Okay, I'll go first." Meghan thought a moment. "I was originally going to compete on the Olympic swim team, but I broke my arm in a car accident."
"Everyone knows that about you." Ela interrupted.
"Yes, but do you know what caused the accident?"
Now Ela was intrigued. "What?"
"I opened the glove box and saw a spider. I freaked out and lost control."
"…It must have been a large spider to cause a car accident."
"Well…It was about this big." Meghan held up her fingers indicating that the spider was about the size of a finger nail.
"So, the unstoppable Meghan Castellano was defeated by a spider less than half an inch long?"
Meghan's face turned red with embarrassment as she nodded. "Okay, your turn."
Ela was still apprehensive, but she knew she had to be fair. She thought for a moment, "What do you want to know?"
"Anything, I mean, I know a lot about your military career, but I want to know what makes Elzbieta Bosak tick."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I want to know more about your life outside of the stone-cold killer you are on the battlefield."
"Well, I studied art in Berlin for two years before becoming a Private Military Contractor in 2003."
"Berlin sounds exciting."
"Not as exciting as this, which is why I gave it up after two years."
"I suppose."
"Your turn."
"What do you want to know?"
Ela thought for a moment. "Where did you grow up?"
"I split my time between Oceanside, California and the army base my dad was stationed at. I would spend a lot of time at the beach, which is how I realized I wanted to compete in the Olympics as a swimmer. And after I broke my arm, growing up on a military base is what helped me realize I wanted to serve. It was also around the time that the Department of Defense decided they would start letting women try out for the Navy SEALs. So, I figured if I wasn't good enough to swim for the Olympic team, I would try out for the special forces team associated with water."
"And yet, you ended up in the deserts of the Middle East, twice." Ela joked.
"Ironic, I know." Meghan laughed, she was happy to see her friend getting more relaxed.
"Interesting. Now I guess it's my turn again, ask me something."
Meghan asked a question she wanted to ask for a long time. "Why do you dye your hair that color?"
Ela hesitated, "It's my favorite color."
"That's it? That's the only reason?"
"Yes. Your turn now."
"Hmm." Meghan thought hard, wondering if this was a secret worth sharing. "I'm bisexual."
Ela didn't know what to make of the revelation. "Nobody knows that?" She asked, recalling the jokes from Monika and Eliza.
"Some people have their suspicions, and some have even made jokes, but none of them know for a fact, not even Eliza."
Ela started to feel awkward, she wasn't expecting the conversation to go in this direction. She wasn't even sure what her own sexual preferences were. "I'm not sure what to say."
"Hmm. What was your family like?"
Now this was a realm that Ela wanted to avoid at all cost. "You really don't want to know."
"Ela, you can trust me." Meghan was making progress, she couldn't lose it now.
"It's not that you don't trust you, it's just…"
"Come on."
"I don't know."
"What will it take for you to open up?"
Ela completely froze.
"Ela?"
"I'm sorry, I just can't." She suddenly got up and walked away.
"Ela, wait! Was it something I said? Ela!" The girl didn't respond as she left the shop. Meghan wanted to chase after her and find out what was wrong, but she knew it wouldn't work. All she could do was stand and watch the girl leave. She sat back down, defeated, trying to process what just happened.
"Ouch, that was rough." Came a familiar voice.
Meghan turned around, "Yumi?"
Seated at another table was her friend and fellow operator, Yumiko Imagawa, who until now she thought was in Spain. She stood up and hugged her friend. "When did you get back?"
"We all got back just a few hours ago."
"Well, welcome back, how was it?"
"Definitely one of the more interesting operations."
"Ryad and Elena did alright I hope?"
"Yes, for their first mission they did very well"
"We all saw the video by the way, it looked like it went extremely well."
"Ha, yeah, the owners of that night club wanted to show their thanks, so they gave us free access for a few days."
"That sounds way better than that favela we liberated."
"That place should just be removed from the world."
"Agreed, so where's Masaru?"
"He was tired from the trip, so he's back at Hereford getting some rest."
"I should probably warn you that his ex-girlfriend is here now."
Yumi's face turned serious. "What? Who?"
"Siu Mei Lin."
"Is she back at the barracks?"
"No, James took them out somewhere."
"I have to go." She got up to leave.
"Yumi," Meghan grabbed her by the wrist. "you don't have to worry, Masaru would never do anything to hurt you."
"I know but-"
"Relax, you're just overthinking."
Yumi thought hard for a second, "You're right." Yumi always got easily jealous and paranoid when it came to her relationship, but everyone knew that Masaru was head over heels for the girl.
"Besides, Siu herself said there's nothing going on between them."
"Alright." Yumi turned back to face the SEAL. "Thanks."
"No problem."
"Anyways, sorry your date didn't go so well, she was cute."
Meghan was taken aback by what Yumi said. "What?! Oh! She wasn't my date, she's a new operator."
"Oh." Yumi sounded a little disappointed.
"Wait! You two weren't on a date?!" Lena seemed to teleport out of nowhere.
"No." Meghan clarified. "Why is everyone obsessed with my dating life?"
"Because you don't have a dating life, luv." Lena answered bluntly. "Which is weird considering you helped me get with my girlfriend."
"Well one, whether or not I date anyone is nobody's business, and two, I had to help because you were totally lost."
"Well look who's talking, you had a beautiful woman sitting right here with you and you let her go."
"Can we just drop it, we were not on a date."
Yumi was on the side trying not to laugh. "Okay, it's getting late, we should head back."
Meghan agreed, the two said goodbye to Lena and made their way back to Hereford.
Meghan and Yumi came back to find the barracks in a state of celebration. All twenty operators that were deployed to Spain had safely returned. Some, like Masaru, had gone to their rooms to catch up on some much-deserved rest. Others, had decided to celebrate in the lounge, which, as usual, involved a lot of alcohol. Meghan and Yumi noticed Eliza and Monika had returned from their date, and several other operators were gathered around them. It appeared that Eliza was in a drinking competition with none other than Maxim Basuda, the Spetsnaz trapper, and avid drinker. Monika had a combined look of worry and disappointment on her face.
"Hey Monika." Yumiko greeted.
"Yumi!" Monika gave her friend a hug. "Welcome back."
"What's going on here?" Meghan asked.
"Oh, miss red head thinks she can beat Maxim in a drinking contest."
"Has she met Maxim before?" Yumi asked, sarcastically.
"You know how she is, she can't admit defeat."
"And, you're okay with this?"
Monika shrugged. "If she passes out, it saves me the trouble of fending off her attempts at 'after date' sex."
"Fair enough."
"Meghan, what happened to Ela? She came back and went straight to her room, she looked upset."
Meghan's heart hurt at the thought. "I think she needs some space."
"So, your date didn't go well?"
"It wasn't a date!"
"I'm just kidding."
"Anyways, I'll leave her be tonight, and see how she is tomorrow."
"ELIZA!" Monika had to catch her girlfriend from falling out of her seat. It appeared the competition was over. "Well, it looks like I need to get this one to bed. Yumi, Maxim, welcome back, I'll see you all tomorrow." She then, proceeded to drag Eliza back to her room.
"Hi Maxim, welcome back," Meghan greeted the Russian, who somehow appeared to be completely sober. ", where are the rest of the Spetsnaz?"
"Shuhrat is asleep, Alexsandr and Timur are back there."
Meghan looked towards the back of the lounge and saw Timur drinking by himself. "Thanks." She said as she walked over to the Russian.
"Timur, welcome back." She greeted. Timur was the only Spetsnaz that Meghan was close with, like her, he was seen as the leader of the Russian operators and constantly had to deal with their antics.
"Ah, Castellano." The sniper greeted with his thick Russian accent, he seemed to have a small buzz but was still coherent, all the Russian operators had a high tolerance when it came to alcohol, although Maxim was in a world all his own.
"So, how was it?" Meghan asked.
"A successful one like always, however, having access to a high-class night club as a reward was…different, but definitely not unwelcome."
"I can imagine."
"Yes, much better than that yacht, all we got from liberating that thing up in the arctic was frostbite, I'm happy HQ decided to sink it, so we'll never have to see that place again."
"I'm glad I wasn't there." Meghan laughed, "So, the rest of the Spetsnaz do alright?"
Timur set his drink down and gave a frustrated look. "Oh, those assholes. First, I have to deal with that idiot Shuhrat. We were trying to extract the hostage, so we send in a drone, we find the hostage sitting next to one of the windows."
"Oh no." Meghan already knew where this was going.
"So, the genius decides to plant his cluster charge right on the window, perfect spot for all five explosives to land in the hostage's lap. Luckily, I managed to shoot the cluster charge and disable it before he set it off, the idiot still doesn't see what he did wrong. I swear, how one could be so smart and yet so stupid I don't understand."
Meghan felt for the guy, dealing with Eliza alone was a burden, but Timur had to deal with three of the oddest characters Rainbow had to offer.
"Then there's Maxim, in the middle of the fire fight, and 'The Trapper' decides that his EDDs are good enough, that's all he needs. Ironically, we ended up taking defensive positions inside one of the bars, and this asshole decides to open up a bottle of vodka and start drinking. We're in the middle of a hostage situation, and he decides to get drunk! Most people need to be taught not to drink and drive, this fucker needs to be taught not to drink and fight terrorists."
"He could have jeopardized the whole mission!" Meghan was astonished. "You should teach him a lesson, that's unacceptable!"
"I can't."
"Why not?!"
Timur gave a disgruntled look. "He was right…his traps killed everyone."
"You're kidding…"
He shook his head, "He knew exactly where they would try to enter, we ended up never firing a shot."
Meghan couldn't believe it, she didn't know what to say.
Timur took another swig from his drink. "And then there's THAT ONE." He pointed to the other side of the room.
Meghan looked over and saw none other than Alexsandr. She noticed that he was still wearing his signature full-face helmet. He was also perched upon a chair that wasn't at a table, it was on the table, like a throne. She also noticed that the USSR national anthem was playing in the background. Absolutely no one else in the room thought any of this was odd.
"Do I even need to say anything?"
"No."
"Sometimes I wonder if I'm the crazy one." Timur sighed as he took another drink. "So, enough about me, how have you been? I heard you went on a date with cute polish girl."
"It wasn't a date!" Meghan shouted, "Wait, how do you even know about that?!"
"Yumiko sent a picture to the whole team."
"YUMI!"
"I didn't know it wasn't a date until after I sent it!" The Japanese woman explained.
"Wait, so she's single?" Jack asked.
"Jack, don't even think about it!"
"Yeah bro, I got first dibs anyway." Jordan chimed in.
"Nobody has dibs on her Jordan!"
By now the whole room was paying attention to the SEAL, some because they found it entertaining, others just wanted to get more information on one of their newest allies.
"You know for someone who didn't just go on a date with her, you are being oddly territorial." Julien commented.
"She's not interested in dating anyone right now!"
"Oh, and exactly how would you know, did she reject you?" Emma teased.
"She didn't reject me."
"So, you admit you asked her out?" Elias asked.
"I didn't say that."
"So, why are you so against any of us making a move on her?" Ryad questioned.
Meghan slammed both her fists on the table. "Nobody goes near her!"
Everyone went silent, none of them had ever seen Meghan lose her temper. Even Timur had a look of surprise and confusion on his face. Meghan was even surprised at herself. Embarrassed and confused, she quickly got up and left the room, not able to look at anyone.
"Tachanka approves of the new couple." Alexsandr spoke.
It was 2:00am and Meghan couldn't sleep, the days events replaying in her head. Her mind kept going back to her 'not date' with Ela. Everything had been going well, the girl was comfortable and was beginning to show signs of breaking out of her shell, then it all came to a screeching halt. One of the worst parts was, she had no idea what she had done to upset the girl.
Then there was the party in the lounge. Even she was surprised that she had lashed out at everyone the way she did, she never lost her temper, even with Eliza. She just couldn't take everyone talking about her friend in such a way, Ela was going through a lot, she didn't need a bunch of guys hitting on her, the thought alone made her blood boil.
Meghan let out a frustrated sigh, she already had a list of problems, she didn't need to add lack of sleep to it as well. As much as she tried to clear her head, it was no use, she was going to need some help. She hated resorting to this, but she felt like she was out of options. She got up, walked over to the kitchen cabinet and opened it only to find a note.
Dear Meg,
Had to borrow this for 'special occasion'. I'll repay you later, I promise.
Eliza
Meghan crumpled the note in frustration, why was she friends with her again? Then she had a thought, maybe there was some left-over alcohol in the lounge. Again, she hated to resort to drinking, but she was desperate for sleep, and maybe a few drinks could help her pass out, it seemed to work for the Spetsnaz. She got out of bed and got dressed, she then left her room and proceeded down the hallway. As she passed by Ela's room, she stopped, contemplating knocking on the door and seeing if she was alright. But she figured the girl was probably asleep and decided to wait until morning.
She made her way downstairs, the place was a mess, but at least it wasn't destroyed, previous parties had resulted in much worse. She immediately noticed Maxim passed out on a table, at least she hoped he was passed out. She walked over to him and poked him in the shoulder, he let out a small groan, but didn't wake up.
"He's alive." A voice from behind made her jump.
She turned around and saw Ela, sitting at the counter facing away from her. Meghan could see a cup and a bottle in her possession. Meghan just stared for a moment, not sure what to say, she then decided to grab her own cup and took a seat next to her. Ela handed her the bottle and she poured a drink for herself.
For a while, neither said a word, and neither even looked at the other. After a few drinks Ela spoke. "You couldn't sleep either?"
"No." Meghan took another drink and took a moment to figure out what to say. "Ela, I'm sorry."
Ela paused. "For what?"
"I didn't mean to upset you, I shouldn't have pressured you into talking about something so personal."
"No. I'm sorry." Meghan looked at the girl. "I shouldn't have just left, I ran away like a coward."
"You don't have to apologize to me."
"Yes, I do. Meghan, you've shown me nothing but kindness and care ever since I arrived, and I just ran from you for doing nothing more than wanting to be my friend." Meghan could see the girl trembling, Ela took a deep breath. "I left when you asked about my family, do you still want to know?"
Meghan grabbed to girl's hand. "Only if you're okay with telling me."
Ela paused for a moment. "That piece of cloth you asked about earlier," Meghan remembered how Ela had reacted when asked about it. ", it belonged to my grandfather. He was my inspiration, the reason I wanted to become a soldier in the first place. He was born and raised in Poland and served as a paratrooper, he was proud to fight for his country. Even after the Nazi's invaded and Poland had fallen, he continued to fight. He was eventually captured and imprisoned, but he somehow managed to escape and continued to fight back and resist the Nazis until the wars end. I wanted to be just like him, but he died when I was young, he never even got to see me grow up. So, I carry a piece of his uniform with me everywhere I go."
"I think he would be proud of you." Meghan commented.
Ela didn't respond, she just kept going with the story. "My father on the other hand, he was the commander of GROM."
Meghan had to process what she had just heard. "You mean he was in command of the whole organization?"
"Commander Jan Bosak." Ela nodded. "My sister and I both enrolled in the military academy as soon as we were old enough, and we knew from day one that we had incredible shoes to fill. He pushed us harder than any of the other students, he didn't want us to embarrass him, he wanted us to embody him, as the commander of Poland's most elite special forces unit, he would accept nothing less than perfection. My sister was able to handle that pressure, and she was a model student. I wasn't. I was unable to live up to his image, and everyone could see it. No matter how hard I tried, no matter how hard I pushed, I just wasn't good enough. He loved my sister more."
"What makes you say that?"
"…he told me."
Meghan saw tears flowing down Ela's face, she wrapped her arm around her.
"I dropped out of the academy and started an arts degree in Berlin, it's where I got the idea to dye my hair, I also did it because I knew my father would hate it if he ever saw. It was nice for a while, but deep down, I still wanted to fight, I still wanted to be like my grandfather, so I became a PMC instead and spent the next four years fighting in Iraq. One day I got a letter from home, the first correspondence since I dropped out of the academy. My father had killed himself. The worst part, I didn't know whether to cry, or to celebrate. The next day, I was so out of it, I botched my teams mission. Out of twelve of us, two were killed in action, another six were wounded, three of them later died from their wounds as well. That battle still haunts me to this day."
Ela paused to pour another drink.
"After that, I decided that I would try again to get accepted into GROM, partly to prove myself, and partly as an insult, waiting until after he was dead to join HIS precious organization. This time, I passed the selection process with flying colors."
By now Ela could feel the alcohol taking effect. She let her head fall on Meghan's shoulder. Meghan didn't seem to mind.
"And it doesn't even stop there. After I made it into GROM, my sister Zofia tried to get in to contact with me, it turns out she had gotten married and had a child, she wanted to reconcile after our rough childhood. I wasn't ready to face her, in fact I don't think I ever will be able to make amends. I was so desperate to avoid her that when the offer came to join Rainbow, I took it just to get away from her. I don't even know her child's name." Ela shut her eyes. "That is why I'm here, not to be a hero, not to help the innocent…because I'm a foolish girl running from her problems." She expected Meghan to chastise her, to be disappointed, after all, she did this in order to help others and do good. Meghan was the living embodiment of what a hero should be. She thought Meghan would hate her, but the blonde did no such thing.
"I appreciate you sharing this with me."
"It doesn't bother you?"
"Regardless of why you're here, I know what you're capable of. Even if being a hero wasn't you're intent, I know you can be, and to me, you already are. Just like seeing the world and making a friend, it just kind of happens."
Ela was in shock, she expected Meghan to hate her, and instead she called her a hero, and a friend. She sat up and looked at the blonde. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it." Meghan gave her a smile. By now she could also feel the alcohol starting to hit her. "It's late, we should turn in."
"Sure." Ela agreed, she stood up and lost balance.
"Carful." Meghan managed to catch the girl. She briefly wondered how long she had been drinking before she arrived. "Let me help you."
"Thank you."
The two hobbled up the stairs and down the hall, Ela with her arm draped over Meghan's shoulder. Eventually, the two made it to Ela's room. Meghan managed to open the door without dropping her friend.
"Well, here we are." Meghan said, she walked Ela in and over to the bed. The green haired girl sat down. "I'm sure you can handle it from here." She joked.
Ela smiled and looked up at the blonde. Out of nowhere, she stood back up and wrapped her arms around the SEAL. Meghan froze, it took a moment for her to process that Ela was giving her a hug. She slowly returned the embrace. Now she knew that Ela was drunk.
"Stay here tonight." Ela whispered as she moved her head to the crook of Meghan's neck.
"You really sure about that?" Meghan asked. She felt the girl nod in response. Meghan giggled quietly, knowing that this was probably the alcohol talking. "Alright."
Meghan laid Ela down on the bed, the Polish girl immediately closing her eyes. Meghan took a minute to take off her shoes, she helped Ela remove hers as well. When she was done, she moved to the other side of the bed and laid down as well. She had just closed her eyes when she felt Ela move, pressing her back into Meghan's chest. Meghan's cheeks turned red, but eventually she relaxed, she even dared to go as far as wrap an arm around the girl's waist, Ela was either already asleep and didn't notice, or simply didn't mind. Now that they were spooning, Meghan could smell Ela's hair which carried the scent of lavender. She wondered if it was her shampoo or the hair dye. Meghan had to agree, the color looked nice on Ela, it was hard for her to imagine the girl with her natural dark brown hair.
Meghan was close to falling asleep, when a realization came to mind. Immediately she got out of bed and walked over to the door, which she quickly locked. She even considered propping a chair against it, but she figured at that point she was just being paranoid.
She returned to the bed and wrapped her arm around Ela once again and almost immediately, both were able to finally fall asleep.
Author's note: As always I hope you enjoyed and feel free to leave a review. Also for those of you who caught the Easter egg and are shaking your heads, I regret nothing, don't judge me. Until next time.