ᵉⁿᵍˡⁱˢʰ Battlescars [The Expendables]

07

Eight o'clock. Right on time.

It was eight o'clock and there was still no one in the hangar except Sierra. She kept checking her phone, thinking she might be late, but there was no sign of anyone.

When a kind of droning sound came up, Sierra looked up and started to listen. At first it was barely audible, just faint, but as time passed it grew louder and clearer. The roar belonged to an engine. Not a car, it was too quiet for that, but a motorcycle. This was confirmed a short time later when a white and red Ducati came around the corner.

"I was wondering whose bike it was that wasn't ugly," Sierra called to the oncoming one, but it was Christmas who took off his helmet, "It was obvious again."

"The disappointment hurts," the short-haired man countered Sierra's shake of the head, "Don't let the others hear you say that, especially not Barney."

"I'll keep that in mind," Sierra waved it off, making it sound like a casual remark and not particularly important, "eight o'clock on the dot then, yeah?"

A thing that annoyed Sierra. Enormously annoyed. What was so hard about just being on time, please. If someone was late for work, it would be grounds for dismissal. Quite simply. Of course, there are situations when you are late. An accident, a traffic jam (although there is a difference between a construction site, where you can get information, and an accident, which can happen unexpectedly at any time), train delays (not in Japan), or a breakdown. All can happen, but you can cancel. Tardiness was something Sierra hated to death.

"Hey, smile," Christmas said suddenly, slapping Sierra's upper arm gently with the back of her hand, "What's wrong?"

"It's almost ten past eight," but Christmas looked at Sierra uncomprehendingly, "Why isn't anyone here?"

"They'll be here in a minute," but in the next moment there was a chuckle from Christmas, "weren't you the one who was late yesterday?"

"I was in rush hour traffic. How would I know if I wasn't from around here," Sierra replied in a cool tone, causing Christmas to shake her head and gasp, "What?"

"Typical woman," a response that caused Sierra to give the short-haired man a 'yeah, you too' look, "What are you doing here? You said you only had one wish. To escape your life. I didn't know what that could mean then, but now I wonder why you're here? I would guess you escaped it, but being here is like coming back."

The answer was simple, how simple