The Price We've Paid

Traitor

"Come on, come on, pick up!" You yelled at the phone as it rang. Your hand was shaking as you held the phone out in front of you, unable to think about anything other than your heart threatening to beat out of your chest.

"Hello?" Tyler answered from the other end a moment later.

He sounded out of breath; must've been out for a run.

"How fast can you get me on a flight to London?" You asked frantically. You had already started throwing your laptop, tablet, and other things in a bag you found in the closet in your office.

"Umm," Ty answered, knowing not to question you when your voice sounded like this, "I can be home in ten. When do you want to leave?"

"Now," you replied plainly, as you began wrapping all your charging cords. "I don't care if it's commercial, private, cargo...hell I'll fly someone else's plane if they'll loan it to me. But I need to get there now."

Ty could tell something was seriously wrong. He knew a little bit about the people you tracked...your fellow immortals. But he'd been respectful of your space and tried not to pry. Every now and then you'd open up and tell him things; he knew their names, when you met them, why you left, trivial things like that. But you'd never told him what they really meant to you.

Though that wasn't hard to figure out.

You spent half your life following them around. Protecting them virtually, making sure they stayed hidden. It was plain to see, from his position at least, that they meant a great deal to you, especially Andy.

"Don't worry boss, I'll get you there. I promise." Ty said, in a low soothing voice. He always knew what to say to calm you when you became frantic. "Just remember to breathe."

In the year or so he'd been working for you, he'd seen you get like this a handful of times. Your anxiety was usually pretty well controlled, but every now and then, control went out the window. Your panic attacks were hard to come down from; but Tyler had learned fairly quickly what works to bring you down and what doesn't.

Truthfully, you were very thankful for Tyler. Your anxiety had only grown worse the longer you'd been away from Andy. The constant fear and worry that she could become mortal and be killed while you weren't with her was your ultimate nightmare...and now it was closer than ever to becoming a reality.

You had run to your bedroom and begun throwing clothes in a duffel bag, but as soon as you heard Tyler's voice trying to calm you from the panic, you stopped; taking in a deep breath before letting it out slowly. "Thanks Tyler," you said, nodding to yourself. "I appreciate it."

"I know you do." He said softly. By the tone of his voice you could tell he was smiling on the other end of the phone. "So, do you want backup in London?"

That question made you smile. Tyler knew you were immortal, that you could handle whatever threats you may face by yourself; but he always offered to come with you, no matter what dangerous situations you may be walking into.

"No...I'll be fine," you said. "Thank you though. Your offer always means a lot."

He laughed. "Hey, I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't at least offer. Though I don't know how much help I'd actually be."

You chuckled. "I'm sure you'd be more help than you give yourself credit for. There's just one problem."

"I know, I know," Tyler mumbled. "I'm not bulletproof."

You snorted. "Neither am I, Tyler; I just happen to live after being shot at. Besides, we've got so much other important work we're doing...and I would never forgive myself if..." You stopped yourself before you got choked up thinking about willingly letting Tyler walk into a dangerous situation, knowing you may come out alone.