Nik was doing her very best not to keep staring at him. She kept repeating her mantra that he was no different to her. That they had the same gifts, the same abilities. Wesley was just another guy who could bend bullets, who could control his world, just as she could control hers. But he wasn't the same and she knew it. He was different. He was the last surviving member of the Fraternity. He was the last one to see Fox alive. He was different because he could beat her. She knew that if Wesley changed his mind about her, she would not live long enough to know that he'd changed his mind. It set her on edge. She cut her eyes to him briefly and he saw her look. She looked back to the road, silent.
It was more than who he was and what he represented. He was different because he was making her feel different. It wasn't just his eyes, or the memory of his shirtless torso. It was him, something about him, that made her feel different. In a bizarre not altogether comfortable way and she wasn't sure whether or not she liked it. She knew, at the least, one person who would not like it.
"So where are we going?" Wesley asked, bringing Nik out of her thoughts. She turned her head to him, smiling at him for a moment, before looking back to the road.
"We're going to HQ," Nik replied lightly. Wesley laughed.
"Yes well, I got that part, thank you. Where is HQ?" he said. Nik pressed her lips together tightly. Wesley noticed the gesture and frowned.
"So you're happy to take me there, but not tell me where it is? What is it with these secret organisations? I don't get it. You're all twisted," Wesley said. "Will you at least tell me more about what you're offering?" Nik smiled again.
"Have you ever been watching the news, or reading about some natural disaster and thought to yourself... I could have stopped that? If I were there, I could have saved lives? I mean, you can't prevent the avalanche or the flood. But you can get people out of the danger zone faster than anyone else. Or you read about some punk raping some poor woman on her way home from the grocery store and think, if I were there... I could have stopped him. I could have saved her. What about hostage situations? Or collapsing buildings? You can see things no one else can, shoot more accurately than anyone on the face of the earth, you can bend bullets, you can move faster and you're stronger. Did you really think all you'd ever be good for is killing someone? God or Ghandi or random chance or whoever made you a natural born killer? Or did they make you a guardian? A protector? I know the line the Fraternity sold you. They said kill one save a thousand. But killing one is still killing one. And if it can be avoided... I think it should be. I don't think we're given the right to decide who lives and who dies. I think if it's unavoidable it's sad. I think that if we're the next step up in the evolutionary chain and all it's made us is really good at killing people, then we should just wipe out the human race because there's no hope for us, you know? But I believe we're more than that. And that is what I'm offering you; what we're offering you. We're offering you the chance to be more than just some ex-account manager who's a super assassin," Nik explained.
Wesley fell silent, thinking about what she'd said. Nik tried to keep her breathing steady and her heart rate low. She tried not to think about the fact that Wesley might not agree. And what he'd do if he didn't agree.
"You're not lying," he said, a statement, not a question. Nik shook her head.
"I'm not lying," she replied.
"Do you have a loom telling you who to save?" he asked sarcastically and Nik laughed.
"No, we don't have a loom. We're a very different organisation to the Fraternity. But we do have a trio of seers who tell us where we need to be. They are kept in three separate locations, so they can not simply agree with each other. When they are in perfect agreement, we go. When they aren't, we discuss the risks to our people. We never issue an order to go, we always ask if you want to. And when you want to leave, we let you go with a fond farewell," Nik replied.
"Who is 'we'? Who do you work for?" Wes asked. Nik licked her lips, uncomfortable with the question.
"I, technically, don't work for anyone. We're called Aequitas Bellator. It means Warriors of Justice. A little melodramatic, I know, but it beats the shit out of 'the Fraternity' in the bad ass stakes," Nik replied. She didn't want to lie to him, but she didn't particularly want to tell him the truth either. There wasn't an easy way to tell someone that they were talking to the head of a secret organisation on a recruiting drive. But it changed things. Nik liked to do business with people on a friendly level, she didn't like to hold herself over anyone. It wasn't the way that things ran smoothest, most of the time.
"Aequitas Bellator? That's a bit of a mouthful," he commented. Nik grinned.
"Yeah, I know. I usually call it AB. But most people just call it Bellator," she said.
"What's your cover? You must have one for no one to have heard of you," he asked. Nik laughed.
"Humanitarian Aid Society," she said. Wesley grinned.
"That's a lousy cover story," he said. Nik shook her head.
"I disagree. It's fabulous. People expect us to be where there is a crisis, to do the right thing and no one looks at you funny when you say you're going to work," Nik said.
"You mean we don't all live on site?" Wesley asked, interested. Nik shook her head.
"You can if you like, we have the facility set up for that. But most people choose to live off base. To retain normal lives where they can. Get married, have kids and have a life, you know? That way when they live AB, or they need a break, they can have it without the culture shock. We encourage our members not to make their world revolve around us," Nik explained. "And we get a huge sense of community because most of our missions happen in teams, not solo."
"So I'll be expected to work in a team?" Wesley asked. Well, demanded was probably more accurate Nik thought. She could understand his unease. He'd been let down by people he trusted before.
"Not all the time," Nik replied. "If you never want to work in a team, you don't have to. But the point is kind of that you will. In your own time, you'll learn some people can be trusted, you'll learn the way they think. You'll learn how to communicate with them in a split second in a glance or a gesture. It will seem like the most natural thing in the world."
"I don't play well with others," Wesley commented. Nik gave a half smile.
"I suspected that about you. You're ex-Fraternity, it was to be expected. But you'll learn. They almost always do," she replied, turning down an packed dirt road, the entrance of which was barely visible through the trees.
"What happens to the ones that don't?" Wesley asked. Nik swallowed down.
"One decided to try to be normal. One went rogue. One became a hired gun. One just watches us, closely. One just hangs around New York stopping rapists. It's a personal choice, Wesley, and I would hate to think that you decide what will happen to you before it does," she replied.
"Does anyone stay?" he asked. Nik was quiet for a moment as they pulled up in front of the large manor. The words "Aequitas Bellator" were in stone above the door. A newer sign saying "Humanitarian Aid Society" hung below that.
"Not one, yet," she said softly, turning off the car. "But not because we wanted them to go. There will always be a place here for you, Wesley, if you want it."
A thin man came out of the manor and jogged down the steps, opening Nik's door just as she'd unbuckled her seat belt.
"You're alive then," he said. Nik laughed.
"You were worried, then," Nik teased him. He shook his head.
"You know I was worried, Nik. And this is him?" he asked. Nik nodded, not liking his tone. She'd known Jacob a long time and she this tone well. He was threatened.
"This is Wesley. Wesley, this is Jacob. Jacob, meet Wesley. Wesley is here for the grand tour," Nik said, getting out of the car. Wesley followed suit. Jacob looked him up and down.
"Hello Wesley. You don't need your gun, you know," Jacob said. Wesley narrowed his eyes. Nik tried not to laugh at the dick-measuring contest.
"Now, now, boys. Wesley would like to keep his gun for just a little bit longer. He's had a hell of a year," Nik said charmingly. Jacob put a protective hand on her lower back and Nik fought the sudden urge to shrug it off. Normally, she liked his hand there. She did not know what had changed. But today he was irritating her. It had started before she'd left the manor this morning. Nagging her to send someone else.
"Who would you like to give him the tour? You have a lot to catch up on, Nik," Jacob said. He was instructing her. She fought to keep control. What was his problem today?
"You're not giving me the tour?" Wesley asked. Nik could hear a mild discomfort in his voice. He still looked perfectly relaxed, but she could see him tense ever so slightly.
"Of course I am. You still have a bit to tell me about my sister. And paperwork can wait," Nik said, giving Jacob a look.
"They've got three mission requests to fill," Jacob said. Nik glared at him.
"Don't make me pull rank when you know that you're perfectly capable of doing a mission brief and personnel assignments," Nik said tightly.
"You're right," Jacob said, withdrawing his hand finally. "Of course you are. My apologies." he turned on his heel and strode back into the manor. She'd upset him and she'd pay the consequences later. But she could accept that. She turned to face Wesley with a smile.
"Who was he?" Wesley asked. Nik wished there was an easy answer to that question. She wished she could dodge it but she knew if she did, she'd lose him.
"He's my partner," Nik said, keeping it vague. And he was. She was thankfully when Wesley nodded, accepting the answer and not questioning it.
"Are you ready for the tour?" she asked him. Wesley smiled and it reached his eyes for the first time since she'd met him. She found herself smiling back involuntarily.
"You're not going to start bashing me up are you?" he asked. Nik laughed.
"We're not the Fraternity, Wesley. When I say tour I actually mean a tour," she replied. Wesley grinned.
"Lead the way," he said.