The Silver Seer

Chapter 28: Fire, Fire, Fire!

Reko paces back and forth in Liam's office, stopping every now and then to make a random sound out of boredom. He wishes he was in Bern with his captain, or at least alongside Reyes traveling to the western border, yet he got stuck here on Felix's orders.

He doesn't like it here. Not after Liam's suicide and hearing about what happened to Leon. It seems like Basel-Landschaft brings nothing but bad luck to whoever commands the canton. Is Basel-Stadt the same way?

Before those events, he loved traveling to the two cantons and visiting with the twins. Leon was the most fun to talk to, and Reko admired Liam's work ethic and ability to multitask. But now, with Liam dead and Leon supposedly going back into the knights...Reko feels lonely. It is as if a piece of Basel-Landschaft and Basel-Stadt were yanked out of Switzerland and cast away. The cantons will never be the same. The military as a whole will never feel the same.

He also couldn't stop thinking about Felix's confession. Killing one of his own officers- one of them from Finland, of all countries, and one of the many Reko saw as a friend is hard for him to comprehend, even now. But Kal's final words to the group while they walked in the forest keep replaying in his head.

"I'll do anything if it means we get to return to Finland- to our home. Isn't that what we all want?"

And that "anything" was taking the life of his own superior, the person who put their trust in him with the hope Kal would never betray him. Yet his nightmare became a reality, and Reko knew his captain would have not killed Kal if there was even the slightest chance the officer would not kill him. But that was not the case.

Why? Why was Kal pushed to kill Felix? Who convinced him to attack the young man Reko loved above all things in the world? If Reko had to choose between saving Kal and Felix, he would choose his captain in a heartbeat. Felix saved his life- everything Reko has, is, and will be doing is all a debt the boy feels he owes his captain.

And though Felix has told the boy that there is nothing Reko needs to do to repay him for saving his life, Reko doesn't listen. He has saved his captain's life, yes, and maybe that evened everything out. But Reko didn't feel that way. Felix saved his life at Forchheim too, and Reko has yet to save his life a second time. Even if he did, he is still willing to do anything for Felix. If that cost his life, fine. They live for one another, and Reko would never wish for anything more.

He lets his eyes wander about Liam's office despite having been in here many times. The mahogany desk, once filled with pictures of the twins together is now bare, the black leather seat untouched. The large window that overlooked a flower field with a river in the distance now reveals nothing but a black landscape, still scarred by the fire and covered in ash. The wall to the left, with medals glistening in the soft white light is nothing but cream white paint, and the wall to the right, displaying shelves filled with memories of what Reko assumes is home in Geneva is gone. It is just a lonely, empty space, with no significance whatsoever.

His captain's office is nice. Medals on the left wall, along with a bookcase filled with books and a closet containing the uniforms he wears. A mirror is on the opposite wall, and a desk of black wood is in between the two, against the furthest wall. A map of New Europe is pinned above the desk, while a larger map of the same area is rolled up and stored in the furthest left corner of the room. When that map is rolled out, there are marks on it, which are routes, important locations, and even the areas each base covers and is responsible to defend.

There are four drawers that make up the desk. The top one on the left side holds his captain's gloves, phone, and silver watch. The one on the bottom hides the Medal of Honor his captain received from Forchheim, along with a large navy notebook that Reko has no guesses as to what is contained within. The top drawer on the right side contains a collection of pens, highlighters, pencils, erasers, pins, paperclips, and anything else his captain may need in order to illustrate what he wishes to achieve with the officers if required and then save for later reference or use.