Our Bruised Bodies | Bradley Bradshaw

ACT FIVE - PART TWENTY-TWO

"Using secret service intel to redirect my car to meet you here is illegal, you know that right?" Solomon Bates said the moment he stepped into the dinner and found the younger Admiral sitting in a booth, a cup of steaming hot coffee in front of her and a second waiting right opposite of her.

"And yet you came inside to meet me." She pointed out, a smirk playing around her lips, as she moved her arms to rest both elbows on the table, only to join her hands, her chin easily placed on top of it, while she looked up to Bates, who was standing right in front of her, towering over the younger Admiral, but even despite the obvious imbalance in position and therefore power, both of them knew that Grace was in charge here.

"Coffee?" Grace asked friendly, while moving her hands to lay flat over each other on the tabletop. "I have nothing to hide here, Solomon. I just want to chat."

"That's what I was worried you would say." The older Admiral admitted before he let out a sign and took a seat, facing the blonde woman head on. "Is this about my brother?"

"No. No, it's not." Grace assured him, her voice neutral even though sure. She wanted Solomon to understand that she would never go as far and threaten his brother. It would be positively insane to threaten to hurt someone so dear to her. Even though Jon had made mistakes, he had redeemed himself to her.

"Actually, I must say, it's quite the clever tactic as a family. Divided loyalty. Somehow one brother can always make sure the other one is in the dry after all." She pointed out after a sip of coffee, before she leaned back in her seat, the cup still in hand. Having her move it slightly for the liquid to swim from one side to the other.

"Sunday lunch is quite complicated though." Bates told her, which had her nod. She could imagine that.

"My loyalty is not for sale, Kazansky." Solomon told her tense, even though there was no reason to. Grace did not plan on doing anything to or against the older Bates brother. She had told him that she just wanted to chat, and she was true to her word as much as she could be.

"I do not wish to purchase loyalty." Grace replied. "But I would like us to come to an agreement."

"What kind of agreement?" He wondered. Which caused Grace to lean back in her seat, before lifting her gaze to look at the other Admiral, who was holding onto his cup of coffee almost tensely. He was here to speak to the enemy after all and no matter what Grace would offer now, it would mean betrayal.

"Tell me what is to be preferred. To go left, where nothing is right or to go right, where nothing is left." Grace asked of him, which had the older Admiral furrow his brows for a moment, while he watched her closely, not understand where she was going with this, for he had believed her to be here to recruit him.

"Quiet a philosophical question. Especially so early in the morning." He acknowledged, just as much as he tried to sidestep her question. He did not wonder out loud which side was supposed to represent which fraction, for in the end it didn't matter. Neither side was desirable. With nothing being right nor nothing being left.

"I'm just trying to show you the options we have here." The youngest Kazansky clarified, for she needed to see if he was on the same page as her. She needed to understand his motivation behind following Cain all these years, she needed to figure out if he was another fanatic, or if doubt have started to bloom within him just as doubts have been her constant companion since she had been in charge of more than just herself.

"You make it sound as if neither side is worth striving for." Bates pointed out and Grace tilted her head slightly as she was watching him take a sip from his coffee.