Hello everyone! Just a little transition chapter to get us to the start of the mission.
Chapter 14
Kowalski watched Hans light the cigarette with envy. Of course, he knew that the agent would give him one if he asked, but he had already committed to the line that he was trying to quit when the Dane first asked him to join for a break before they began their drive across the country.
"You couldn't have picked a worse time to quit, Kowalski. But I suppose you don't want to run out of breath while you're chasing Doris."
"If that is a Danish euphemism-"
"I know you've been in contact with her," Hans said, cutting Kowalski off. " In fact, I think that's the only reason she even let me in: to find out if you can be trusted to keep your word."
"Did she tell you what we discussed?"
"No, she didn't tell me," Hans answered sharply before taking another drag. As he exhaled it became clear that Kowalski was hesitating and he decided to alleviate some of the geniuses' anxiety. "I don't want to know either, not that I don't care to know, but sometimes the less I know the easier it is to do my job."
"What about Skipper?" Kowalski asked as he watched the smoke dissipate into the air.
Hans raised an eyebrow and shrugged, "What about Skipper? It's not my place to tell him or anyone else on your team for that matter. I can only trust that you know what you're doing. After all, being betrayed by someone you love is one thing, but betraying someone you love is something else entirely and I'm not sure if you can handle the consequences of doing that."
For a moment, Kowalski was confused by Hans' statement. Certainly, he had loved Doris at one point, he had to have for how blind he was when it came to her, but those feelings were gone, and his betrayal was part of the plan. Finally, he settled on a response, "I don't love her."
Hans' expression grew bitter. "Kowalski, I don't have many regrets. In fact, I could probably count them on one hand, but hurting the person I loved the most is one of them."
"As I already said, I don't love Doris, not after what she did. But I will do whatever it takes to save Rico."
"I wasn't talking about Doris, but if you haven't figured it out then I can only hope that you do sooner than later because at sluge en kamel, is not pleasant. Now a lot can happen in 30 hours so if you happen to change your mind on whatever plan you've come up with, let me know." He looked at his watch and snuffed out the cigarette. "We best return before Skipper decides to come looking for us. The sooner we are on the road the better he will feel."
Kowalski glanced at his own watch and saw that they were due to depart in 30 minutes. It gave them enough time to do a final check of their cargo as well as their list of checkpoints while Hans contacted Doris to inform them that they were going ahead with the trade.
As they descended the stairs it occurred to Kowalski that it also gave Rico time to say goodbye to Julien, but he wondered if Rico had already done so in anticipation of something going sideways on their unapproved mission.
"W'alski, would you lend me a hand with the cargo check?" Private's question pulled K'walski out of his thoughts. "Rico was supposed to but Skipper needed to talk to him and they aren't back yet."
"Of course, as long as Hans doesn't need anything else."
"I'm sure I will be able to manage on my own. I need to contact Doris anyway and let her know that we are going forward with retrieving Project Collar." Hans excused himself, leaving the other two to their own devices.
"So what did you and Hans talk about?" Private asked as they made their way to the garage where the Jeep had yet to be packed.
The question threw Kowalski because even he wasn't certain what he and Hans had really talked about. At most, it was an understanding of where the other stood when it came to Doris, but in a larger sense of things, it felt like they had had two different conversations. Especially when Hans made his remarks about love and betrayal. One answer seemed the most logical and the least like a lie. "Whether I could face Doris after what happened."
"I wish we knew what happened," Private replied as he grabbed the checklist off the table. "I mean, do you get the sense that Rico remembers more of what happened than he's letting on?"
"I do," Kowalski's throat felt tight as the video played in perfect detail in his mind, "but I don't want to push him about it."
"That's probably for the best."
This time Kowalski had no response and instead focused on the cargo in front of him. He grabbed the medkit first and loaded it into the Jeep, making it clear that he was not in the mood to talk. Although that didn't seem to be an issue with Private, they lapsed into a comfortable silence as they worked.
The silence remained when Skipper, Rico, and Hans appeared, but it was far from comfortable. It seemed the sense of finality surrounding the mission was finally felt as they closed the back of the Jeep. Even if it had gone unspoken, they were about to begin what could be Rico's last mission if everything fell apart.
"Look alive boys; it's time to head out. Operation: Heartstrings is a-go," Skipper announced breaking the silence. "I'll take the first leg of the trip; Private you'll be on deck."