Adrenaline

⌊Chapter 17⌉

"I just don't get it. You never want help," Andy mumbled, shutting one eye, working the tedious task of making another bulletproof vest. The reason was because he wanted to help Rich and the others the best he could since he couldn't leave the base - especially because Toronto and Cord would eventually realise that Andy and Rich were never in Prenton. "You're always so insistent on doing everything by yourself, no matter how grueling. I've tried for years to help you, so why is it only now that you're accepting it?"

Rich folded his arms and leaned against the counter, across from Andy. "I've had a revelation," he said. With a short laugh, Andy shook his head.

"What kind of revelation? One where you realise you can't do everything on your own? That would have been good to have about seven years ago."

"You seem upset."

"I'm not- I'm not upset, I just don't understand. You won't let me help you and everything I do that does help you is by my accord. But now you're deciding to work with some cop and her friend that you only met a few days ago," Andy set aside his tools and turned his complete attention onto Rich. "All I want right now is to understand how your mind is working. Why are you suddenly so... trustworthy of Mirians?"

Rich rubbed his temple and looked down at the marble countertop. "Oh, trust me, I'd like to know as well. I don't know why I trust them - I just do. Something about them just silences my 'stranger danger' alarms in my head. I'd give you the answer if I could, but I can't. Something is different about those two. I just know it."

"Well I do always tell you to trust your gut," Andy shrugged, seemingly completely unbothered by the way Rich explained his feelings toward Atlantis and Jayla. "I won't stop you. We have a little less than a month left in this city. Hopefully you guys can get everything done."

Rich stood up straight and cocked his head to the side. "So you don't think Alex is dead?"

"I think, based on who Blake is, he should be dead. But if Atlantis says he's alive, I'll believe her. It's in her work branch, so she would know," Andy shrugged, though his voice was laced with unsureness. Rich crossed his arms and shifted his weight to his right foot.

"You're also right, though. It's odd that he is alive considering the fact that I'd be killed almost immediately. But I guess that's also just because I've been running for so long," Rich looked up at the ceiling, autonomously counting the tiles. "26," he mumbled, returning his gaze to Andy. "But he is alive, so I think that there's really not much to lose in one more month here. And with Atlantis, Jayla... Natasha... and Winters, I'm pretty confident we can do what needs to be done."

Andy rested his arms on the countertop with one hand propping his head up. "I'm still not sure how much I like the idea of Winters being in on this. He hasn't proved himself to be very trustworthy. Especially because of how much he craves the validation of Blake. Looks at that man as his god - a god who he has a burning hatred for. He... contradicts himself. A lot."

Rich agreed. However, he just knew to trust Atlantis. After all, she turned against the man she was supposed to be working for behind his back. She didn't seem afraid to rebel - but Anthony surely did. Rich quietly wondered to himself if he would see Anthony that night at Mosisnoir. Even more so, he wondered what he could even say to the man. He shut his eyes lightly and returned to his normal stance. "He does," Rich said, opening his eyes again and slowly walking to the door. "But something tells me that he will rebel. Just this once."

"You're leaving? You still have time," Andy raised an eyebrow.

"I...I'm going to see Winters," Rich punched in the passcode before grabbing his jacket and throwing it over his shoulders. "Even if he refused to help us, I don't want to be on his bad side anymore. We have a similar goal. From what I heard, we are more alike than you would think. And I'm not going to let go of the possibility of working with someone who will guarantee we win this little war we're in - once and for all."