Chapter 8
Leon: "No matter how many times we do this, it never gets any easier" .
Ada: "Just keep your head down and keep moving, we will get through this just like always".
Barry: "There has to be a better way".
Chris: "There is a better way, MY way, but-" he was cut off .
TSA Agent 1: "SIR! We need your boarding pass AND your passport".
Chris: "Here we go…".
TSA Agent 1: "Mr Readfeild, your eyes are Hazel, but you appear to have one hazel, and one… glowing… red… eye that is staring directly into my sou-" She cut her own sentence short and stared down at the desk as she handed back his documents.
Chris stepped forward and was greeted by the standard speech.
TSA Agent 2: "Please remove your shoes and place them into the bin, please remove laptops from your bag and place them into a separate bin, please remove belts, jewelry, keys and other metal objects and place them into the bin" Chris approached the second agent and simply held his metal hand up at eye level.
TSA Agent 2: "...".
Chris: "..." his prosthetic eye growing brighter once more .
TSA Agent 2: "Uh, we're going to have to wand you sir" without saying a word, Chris raised his other hand holding his BSAA badge.
TSA Agent 2: "...or not".
Chris walked past the agent and through the metal detector, setting off every alarm as he strode, not even sparing a glance back at the puzzled onlookers. Leon, Ada, and Barry followed suit, using their badges (Ada's being a superb forgery) to side step the metal detectors and follow Chris into the terminal.
The trio caught up with Chris as he was buying a bottle of water and a popular mechanics from a Hudson News.
Chris: "If we had done this MY WAY we wouldn't have to deal with this bullshit" he turned away from the cashier and lowered his voice.
Chris: "A C-130 could have dropped us on a grass strip, on the bush, with fully loaded trucks full of gear. No customs, no TSA, no hassle. But now we are going to land with nothing but a couple handguns and my over sized cigar lighter" Chris held up his right hand, a small flame flickering on the tip of his middle finger.
Leon: "We went over this, your black flight would take a week to charter, we can't let the trail go cold".
Ada: "And I only fly first class, a canvas seat in a cargo hold simply won't do".
Barry: "Holy shit! They have a White Castle!". The rest of the group stared at him in silence .
Barry: "I mean… they made that movie about them" the awkward silence persisted .
Barry: "...I'm gonna go get us a crave case". Barry slowly turned and walked away from the group.
Ada: "Chris, listen, Sheva and Hunnigan are already working on acquiring the proper equipment from her local contacts".
Leon: "Think about it, we are heading to the arms trafficking capital western Africa".
Chris: "That is what I am worried about, if word gets out about someone with deep pockets buying a lot of gear….. Let's just say I hope our target runs away instead of setting up a welcome party".
Leon: "That is just a risk we are going to take, the brevity of the situation requires it"
Chris simply walked away, frustrated.
Ada: "He's just stressed".
Leon: "I know, we are asking him to revisit some painful memories." .
Time seemed to drag on as they waited for their flight. Chris had disappeared to a bar to steady himself, and Barry was going for the record of most sliders eaten before an international flight. That just left Ada and Leon, alone.
Ada: "So, why did you do it?".
Leon: "What?".
Ada: "Him" she pointed towards large man inhaling miniature burgers.
Leon paused and sighed and slumped forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
Leon: "Because I was lonely" Ada did not respond, she just quietly waited for him to continue.
Leon: "We were never attached at the hip while dating, our careers kept us at arms length most of the time." a smile slowly grew across his face.
Leon: "When I asked you to marry me, I assumed we would spend more time together. Live in the same house, eat together, sleep together and so on. But nothing changed, your were still gone for days on end, and even when you were home, your mind seemed to be somewhere else" his smile was now gone.
Leon: "When you told me you were ready to try for a kid, I was ecstatic. We would finally have a physical bond, something that we created together, something to bond over. Once little Jackrauser was born" the mere mention of his name caused Ada to flinch
Leon: "You seemed to shut me out. Your life seemed to revolve around caring for him. I would wake up in the middle of the night, see you missing from the bed, only to find you sleeping on the nursery floor. Camped out just in case he woke up and need to be fed or changed. You insisted on breastfeeding, parroting what your mother told you about bonding with your first born. It felt as if you didn't need me anymore, as if I had fulfilled my purpose by providing you with a child." Leon glanced up at her to see that her expression had softened, a tinge of guilt now present.
Leon: "Once he was weaned, I thought we were out of the woods, that we would finally be a functional family. Instead, you went back to work, trying to make up for lost time. Before we knew it, you were traveling again and I was left alone again, now with a child you had kept from me. He had no relationship with me, when he cried I wasn't the one he was calling out for." Leon sat up and began rubbing his eyes
Leon: "When the twins came along I thought you would finally need me, I thought my help would be invaluable. I would finally get to spend time with my wife and my children." he finished rubbing his eyes and stared directly at Ada.
Leon: "And then, your mother moved in. You insisted that you needed her help with the twins, implying that I was incapable or unworthy of caring for my own children. So I was relegated to looking after Jackrauser. By now he was potty trained and able to feed himself, so this largely consisted of dropping him off at school on my way to work and making his meals." His monologue was shortly interrupted by an announcement on the PA system.
Announcer: "Sherry Birkin, please return to the security station to retrieve your jewelry" Leon used this opportunity to stand up and begin pacing.
Leon: "So, I latched onto him, he was the only person in my life that seemed to need me. He was the only person that seemed to care. We grew closer, and eventually he stopped treating me like the secondary parent. As great as it felt to finally be a real dad, it seemed to fracture our family. Jackrauser and I seemed to be completely independent from you, your mother, and the twins. I was no longer alone, but our family was still not whole. Eventually, the twins were weaned, your mother left, and you returned to work. But this time it was different, you buried yourself in your work, saying that you had to work even harder now to prepare for the future of 3 children. We were once again driven apart, but this time I was left with 3 children instead. You were off galavanting all over the globe while I was trying to raise our children, maintain our quiet suburban facade, and advance my career at the same time. The struggle to juggle everything meant that we had to lean on friends and family for help. Your mother desperately tried to convince me that she needed to move back in but I knew that would only make it easier for you to spend more time at work."
Ada: "And that is when Barry entered the story".
Leon: "That's right. He had taken an early retirement from the BSAA and had the exact opposite problem. He was now home too much, his daughters were now teenagers and his wife had lost her interest in their marriage. He was a father, we knew his background, and most importantly of all, he was there. We spent hours together, every day, looking after the children. Unlike you, he was there, he committed himself to the kids, and he cared about me." Ada was once again staring off into space, her expression devoid of emotion once more.
Ada: "I am sorry, I never realized you felt this way. I thought your relationship with Barry was strictly sexual, I couldn't fathom the idea of you having a deeper connection. I thought he cared for the kids as a result of his desire for you, but it seems he really loved the kids and was simply there for you when I wasn't" .
They both sat silently for several minutes before Leon finally asked.
Leon: "Your turn, who have you been spending special time with?".
Ada: "Sorry, that information is classified".
Leon: "That's it? That is all I get it?" Ada stood and began to walk away, without even turning to face him, she said .
Ada: "Do yourself a favor, stop asking questions" She walked away, her heels clicking loudly beneath her.