CHAPTER SEVEN
"Don't you see?" Athos ground out impatiently at his next session with Kramer, "Aramis blames himself for what happened. He has been trying to compensate ever since. I cannot bear it."
"What I see, Athos, is you blaming yourself. That is why you cannot bear it."
"What are you talking about?" Athos almost growled. "That is ridiculous."
"Is it? I agree, I see him trying to reconnect with you. And I see you pushing him away."
Athos stood up suddenly.
"You are his dear friend, according to him." Kramer continued, undeterred by the man looking down at him, an angry frown on his face. "Yet you tell me he is your "associate."
"I said that in confidence."
"And I have kept your confidence, though I have wondered at your wording, since you nearly died together."
"He disobeyed an order!"
"Why?"
"Why?" Athos snarled. "Because he is Aramis!" he said, in frustration.
"Have you ever considered the possibility that he does not know?"
"Not for a moment," Athos replied at once. "He is a highly trained sniper. It is his job. His duty."
"So, tell me, Athos," Kramer said, about to swerve in another direction, "What exactly is a back draft? And please, sit down."
Caught off guard, Athos curled up his hands into fists, breathing through his nostrils, as Kramer waited him out. Gradually, he regained control and sat down, the tightening in his chest a little too painful. Kramer poured him a glass of water from a carafe on his desk, but did not speak. He waited the man out. Athos leaned across and accepted it, his hand shaking slightly as he brought it to his lips. Once on firmer ground, he sat back and rubbed his forehead.
"It is a fire starved of oxygen in a confined space," he started, quietly. "If someone opens a door, the fire is fed by the oxygen rushing in. The fire wooshes out and rolls across the highest point, i.e. the ceiling. We were on the gangway, a floor apart, fifteen feet or so above the ground. Aramis was above me."
He paused, before licking his lips and continuing;
"The fire came at us, I had never seen anything like it," he whispered. "The gangway buckled, the roof was corrugated metal so it was buckling too and I had seconds to think. So I ran up the stairway, grabbed Aramis and threw him down. I landed on top of him and the stairway above us came down. Fortunately, it wedged ten feet above us but debris rained down on us. When our platform started to go, we went with it, landing on boxes, which gave way, but we were finally on the ground, and somehow, we got out. I don't remember how. And I don't remember anything after that until I woke up in the hospital."
"And Aramis?"
"I thought I had killed him," Athos finally said, his eyes shining with unshed tears.
"And he, you," Kramer said, quietly.
"I damaged his ribs."
"You had injuries yourself," Kramer persisted, gently. "Two weeks in hospital is not inconsiderable."
"Both of us," Athos agreed, dipping his head, his hair obscuring his face.
"So, what was the order he disobeyed?" Kramer queried gently, refilling Athos's glass with water.
Athos drank it half down before replying. "He told you?"
Kramer nodded slowly. "Only that. Nothing more."
"I told him to shoot the person who opened the damned door," Athos replied. "He hesitated."
"An innocent?" Kramer asked.
Athos huffed out a laugh. "Hardly. Dannika Rand was notorious. Our authorities had been after her and her cabal for a long time, and when the Musketeers, we were after her too. But, she was a woman. And women are Aramis's weakness."
He held up his glass. "And wine is mine," he added. "Is this therapy?"
"We're just talking."
"And what is your conclusion, Doctor Kramer?"
Kramer smiled. "I don't know yet. He draws you to him, while you push him away, but the common denominator is guilt."
"It's the only way I can deal with him," Athos replied, softly.
"And when he is gone, what then, Athos?"
Athos didn't speak for several minutes. The idea of Aramis "gone" had never occurred to him.
"Gone?"
Kramer spread his hands, before linking them together on his desk. "Your work is dangerous. You must have a shorter lifespan than most."
Athos was inwardly horrified. They were a new team, still finding their feet. "I don't know," he finally said, before rising shakily and moving to the door. "Are we done?"
"If you wish. You have tests in the morning," he added, as Athos's hand turned the door handle.
"Lung capacity," Athos said in response, without turning his head. "I know. I'll be there. We'll be there," he added, before turning around. "You don't waste time, do you," he stated.
Kramer shrugged. "Not if I can help it, but it depends on the client."
"I thought you were going to say, "Time is Money," Athos replied, tersely.
"That as well," Kramer replied.
Once the door was closed, Kramer reached for the phone.
"Get me Captain Treville, please," he said.
/
In his office in Paris, Jean Treville took Dr Kramer's call, settling himself in his chair behind his desk and making himself comfortable. This was going to be interesting.
"Dr Kramer, it's good of you to call."
"Not at all, Captain Treville, it was our arrangement - an initial update after I had spoken to both your men, but I re-iterate much of what I will uncover will be personal and therefore confidential. I can only give you information appertaining to the capability of your men in regard to the work that you do."
Treville smiled. Kramer had already made that quite clear when Treville first approached him. He appreciated the man's integrity.
"Of course, Doctor. That is all I need. These men have been in their team for over six months now. I need to be confident they can work together. Their mission has thrown up some issues."
"Indeed," Dr Kramer said, sitting back in his leather chair and staring out of the large window at the distant mountain range. "I have only had two sessions with each man but I can tell you that Mr de la Fere and Mr d'Herblay are at opposite ends of the emotional spectrum. Something is going on between them."
Treville rubbed his fingers into his forehead, feeling a headache building.
"It is as I thought," he said. "Do you think you can help to uncover what the issue it? They are both guarded in their own way and I am not the man for the role."
"Perhaps, and you are right, Mr de la Fere is particularly guarded. Tell me, Captain, would you say they were friends?"
Treville paused for a moment before answering. "Well, there has to be an amount of detachment in times like these, but all members of the team became bonded very quickly so yes, I would say there was a friendship there. That is why I don't understand this breach between them and I am not qualified to intrude. I can only ensure they are good, well-trained operatives and they watch each others backs. They need to completely trust each other absolutely when in the field."
"So, you would agree these two are more than "associates?"
"Definitely," Treville replied at once. "Why do you ask that?"
"It was a word Mr de la Fere used to describe his association with Mr d'Herblay."
"Athos can be aloof," Treville sighed, "But he is driven by duty."
"Interesting. It is a word he used. He is certainly angry that the mission failed," Kramer said, toying with a silver letter-opener on his desk.
"I don't see the mission as a failure," Treville countered. "It was an ambush and yet an enemy agent was neutralised. The security services had been hunting her for several years. We had been tasked to bring our expertise to that work so that she could no longer wreak havoc across Europe. She is dead, and the mission was accomplished."
"But by her own hand, not your operatives," Kramer stated. "In that she opened a door that caused a backdraft of fire that killed her instantly, so yes, by her own hand. Athos sees it as a failure because they did not take her out."
"And this is the main reason for their current rift?" Treville replied. "I have not had time to debrief them since they left hospital. I thought it best to allow them to recover fully and let their side of events settle before I did that."
"A wise decision," Kramer agreed. "It can take a month for the conscious mind to absorb and make sense of traumatic experiences."
After a short silence, Kramer shared a little more information;
"Aramis disobeyed an order from Athos," he said.
"Yes, he hesitated. Athos said as much in the hospital."
"Well," Kramer said, not wishing to pursue the matter now. "I have them for three weeks. They are physically under par, they are due to have a thorough physical tomorrow which will include lung capacity tests. They will both fail, but the air here is the best in Europe and the body has a capacity to heal itself, given the right circumstances," Kramer said.
"That's all I want," Treville agreed. "Thank you, Doctor Kramer, you come highly recommended. I knew I could rely on you."
"I will have more time in a few days when our renovations commence. As you know, we will have a small number of staff on duty, but your men will be free to roam the clinic and grounds. It will give them time to decompress and possibly sort out their issues themselves," Kramer replied.
"That sounds perfect, at least for Athos. Aramis may struggle with the lack of company."
Kramer laughed. "Yes, he is a very gregarious man," he agreed. "Though I am sure he must enjoy his own company, given the work you do. You understand your men well, Captain Treville," he added.
"I'm getting there, but nobody said it would be easy to bring a group of men such as these together. There is another member of the team, Porthos. He's holding the fort while these two recuperate."
"I think you will have the makings of a good team eventually," the Doctor said. "Don't worry, they are in safe hands."
"Thank you Doctor," Treville said. "Good day."
"Good day, Captain."
Treville sat staring at the phone for a few minutes. He was impressed that Kramer had made some progress in a short time. He had no idea how this would pan out, but at least for the next three weeks, he felt Aramis and Athos were in good hands.
/
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