3. 3
Jordan Parsons sat next to Deborah Maynard and a man I hadn’t met yet.
While it wasn’t the same room I was debriefed in after the incident at Baker and Pryor, it was a replica.
The same harsh light beat down on us, and the same table took up far too much space in the room.
Like before, Elias sat defiantly by my side, unwilling to rise to the decorum expected of such a meeting.
“Agent Correa, Dr. Hayes, we’ve met, and I know you’ve met Mr. Parsons,” Deborah said. “This is General Trevor Montgomery. He will be your commanding officer for this mission.”
“Pleasure to meet you, General Montgomery,” I said, wiping my sweaty palms on my pants, unsure if he was going to shake my hand. Elias sat silent next to me, but I noticed his right hand had formed a fist in his lap.
“I will let General Montgomery take it from here,” Deborah said, crossing her legs under the table. She kept her perfect posture like a statue, the smile never quite leaving her face.
“While we intend to keep the finer details from the incident at Baker and Pryor from entering the public zeitgeist, it is our duty as a global collective to ensure a similar event does not happen again, even on foreign soil. This includes countries we may not be in total cooperation with,” Montgomery began.
“Where are you sending us?” Elias asked.
The General ignored that he was speaking out of turn.
“A virus is being studied at an outpost 50 klicks north of Norilsk, Russia. We need you to create an antiviral in the event that there is an outbreak.”
“And the Russians know that I’m coming along?” Elias asked.
“They are less than pleased, but it is in agreement. You’ll be expected to report your findings as well.”
Elias scoffed, his chair creaking as he leaned forward. “So I’m playing spy?”
The General nodded. “Yes.”
Jordan cut in. “I’ll be available to you for this particular mission any hour of the day.”
“How long will we be there?” I asked, my hands rubbing together in my lap. I looked at Elias, but he was staring at the General.
“Until your work is done,” General Montgomery replied.
“It took me months to make headway on the Variant-13 vaccine,” I pointed out.
“Hopefully with the assistance of the other scientists you’ll progress faster.”
Elias nearly hopped out of his chair. “This is ridiculous. Months? In Russia? They hate the American Government,” he said, slapping his hand on the table. “I won’t be surprised if they apprehend us at the airport to use us as some political bargaining chip.”
“You didn’t have to be a part of this, Correa. However, you insisted on it,” the General spat.
“I surely wouldn’t be happy to see her shipped off by herself, either. She needs protection if she’s going to The Motherland.”
“None of this needed to happen, but you broke protocol. Anything that followed was of your own doing,” the General reminded him.
I didn’t want to see this conversation escalate any further, especially with me in the middle of it. Though General Montgomery had essentially said that this wouldn’t be happening if Elias had let me die. Elias was seething.
“If it’s anything like Variant-13 then it won’t take long,” I said to Elias. “Or maybe, we get there, and it’s not as large of a concern as they make it seem.”
“That’s why it is important to stay in contact with me. General Montgomery and I will communicate your next steps as you gather information,” said Jordan.
Elias stood now. “I’m done with this conversation.”
General Montgomery stood too. “You’re lucky the President thinks so highly of you. When his term ends, I don’t think the next administration will be as apt to put up with you.”
“That’s fine by me,” he said. “Let’s go.”
I looked between the two men, unsure if I really could leave. General Montgomery nodded his head. “You’re dismissed.”
Elias stomped out of the room as I stood, and I heard his footsteps stop in the hallway before the door had shut completely. When I caught up to him, he was standing with his arms crossed over his chest.
“This fucking sucks,” he said, his voice just above a whisper.
“At least we’ll be together.” I didn’t know what to say, really. It did suck. Knowing that the mission was purely scientific, no combat required, made me feel a little optimistic, but I also knew how quickly things could go south.
“I’d rather be together in America. Doing quite literally anything in America would be better.
” He stood there, still pouting with his arms crossed.
I wondered if he was like this every time he was given a new assignment.
Even with the President’s favor, this would be exhausting, but I wasn’t about to feel sorry for General Montgomery.
“What if you think of it like a vacation?” I suggested.
“Oh yes,” he said, a smile breaking through his brooding. “Our first vacation together to the Arctic Circle, of all places. Maybe we can shoot a polar bear and make some snow angels.”
“Aren’t polar bears endangered?” I asked.
He thought for a moment. “I’m not sure, maybe.”
Jordan exited the room then, almost jogging to us. “Walk with me,” he said, and he led us down the hallway and around the corner. This area of the building wasn’t busy on a weekday, and was dead silent on a Sunday morning.
“Your attitude sucks, Correa,” he said. It was interesting how they always called each other by their last names. It was so formal, despite working together so often. I supposed it came with the territory, but it was still more natural for me to call him Jordan rather than Parsons.
Elias just shrugged.
Jordan frowned. “Montgomery hates you. You’re not doing yourself any favors.”
“It’s Russia, Parsons,” Elias urged.
“Sure, I’m happy I’m not in your position, but Jesus. He tried everything he could to send Cassia on her own, but the President wouldn’t allow it. He’s not lying about the next administration being a problem,” Jordan said.
“It’s in her contract.”
Elias hadn’t been forthcoming with how he was able to negotiate my contract.
When I pressed him on it, he only told me that the President liked him.
Months later, I asked him again, and he said that during an assassination attempt on the President, he happened to be in the right place at the right time.
That was all that he would give me, and he refused to discuss it further.
“You know as well as I do they can do whatever they want when it comes down to it,” Jordan pointed out. “I suggest you play along a little nicer.”
Elias smirked. “Or earn more favors.”
“You’re insufferable.” Jordan turned to me. “Is he like this at home?”
I nodded. “He mostly does what he wants. I’m just lucky that what he wants is to do what I want.”
“Sickening,” Jordan said. “Anyways, I came out here to tell you about Agent Bloom.”
Elias’s face lit up. “Tell me.”
“He works in cybersecurity, and just started a few months ago. He’s fresh out of college.”
Elias cocked his head. “That doesn’t explain why he’s a massive prick.”
“His father is General Montgomery.”
“You’re joking,” Elias said, his face blank. “His last name is Bloom.”
Jordan shook his head. “He lied. He’s also not an Agent.”
“I don’t regret calling him weird then. That’s weird. We work in the same building. I was bound to find out.”
“You better get going,” Jordan said, “Before Maynard and Montgomery come out here and rip you a new one.”
Elias nodded. “Cassie and I were going to go to the range while we were here anyway.”
Jordan walked away, back in the direction he came from, and Elias and I continued to the elevator.
“I don’t understand why he’d use a fake name, it’s not like I knew who his dad was until ten minutes ago,” I said, hitting the button.
“I told you, he’s fucking weird.”
Elias’s mood seemed to even out during the short walk to the elevator, letting what he felt during the meeting go.
If I had been as worked up as he was, I’d be fuming for the next few hours, probably requiring some sort of incentive to calm down.
Elias would have to take me for coffee and let me bitch until I got it out of my system before I returned to homeostasis.
I didn’t want to compartmentalize as well as Elias because I knew how hard he had to work and what he had to go through to get to that point, but at times like these, I appreciated it.
It wouldn’t be fun to shoot guns with a pissed off guy.
“We’re going to have to go to a department store and buy you a fancy new parka,” he said, poking my arm.
“Is that what’s got you smiling again?” I asked. “All it takes is being able to buy me something.”
The corner of his mouth pulled up. “Maybe.” We walked into the elevator, Elias pushing the button. “If we are lucky they’ll have some thermal lingerie.”
“For some reason, I don’t think that exists,” I said, shaking my head. “Unless you’re thinking about a nice, matronly nightgown. I can see it now, thick and scratchy, down to my knees.”
He reached out to touch my hair. “I think you’d look nice in one of those nightcaps, Ebenezer Scrooge style.”
“Oh, maybe I can walk around in the dark with a lit candle,” I suggested. “Would you like that?”
Elias let out a little moan, playing along. “If you don’t stop the dirty talk, we’ll have to take a detour to a supply room.”
I shoved him lightly away as the elevator door opened. “You’re a dork.”
“No,” he said. “I’m very hip, thank you.” Grabbing my free hand, he walked out of the elevator, tugging me along.
Elias was anything but hip. He collected retro technology not as a hobby, but as a lifestyle, even going so far as to lament the absence of a CD player in his nearly brand new vehicle.
Sure, he had his fancy watch and smartphone, but those were essential both to the job and to his incessant need to text me while we were apart.
It wasn’t necessarily a negative, but I did get tired of explaining internet slang to him.
“Your legs are longer than mine,” I complained. “You might tug my arm out of its socket.”
He slowed his pace rather than let go of my hand. “Take bigger steps.”