A Web of Lies, A Rainbow Six Story

Part 10: Progress and Regress (part one)

Alibi's POV

I put my car into gear and pull out of the parking lot, stopping briefly at the security building to flash my ID at the guard on duty. He nods and throws a hand signal to one of the other guards inside, and a moment later the gate slides open allowing me through. I push lightly on the gas on the car rolls forward smoothly, the engine giving a quiet, soothing hum as it works in harmony with the rest of the car to gently propel itself along the road. Eventually, the dirt beneath my tires gives way to smooth concrete, and I give a slight rotation of the wheel, angling us towards our destination. 

I focus my attention on the road ahead, but all the while I'm so very aware of Marco sitting in the seat next to me. He's silent, watching the scenery pass by outside his window, looking through the glass as if it's a glance into another world, strange and unfamiliar. But even though he says nothing, I can feel his attention on me, drowning out the steady hum of the engine and the sound of the song floating softly through the air from the radio. I can't help but shiver a little at the feeling, at this strange awareness. I've never felt anything like it before. Marco seems to simultaneously emit an aura of both measured control and chaotic imbalance. I'm not even sure he knows that he has this effect on people, or how it rolls thickly through the air like thunder before the blackest of storms. 

"So where are we going?" Marco asks, breaking the silence.

"I have somewhere in mind," I say with a teasing smile. "You'll just have to wait and be surprised."

Marco lets out a quiet chuckle and smoothly switches subjects. "So. How did you get here?"

I cock my head in confusion. "I took a plane from Italy?"

Marco snorts in amusement.

"No, I mean how did you end up in Rainbow?" He says. "I know that Six didn't let you in just because you asked nicely. What made her notice you?"

My lips twitch in what could be both a smirk and a frown.

"Six had her reasons," I reply.

"She always does," Marco murmurs, his voice so quiet I barely hear the words.

"So what about you?" I question, deciding that the turnabout is fair play. "I heard that Six has had her eye on you for a while now."

Marco lifts one eyebrow slightly, and I take it as an opportunity to continue.

"How does someone like Six notice..."

My voice trails off as I realize the unintended cruelty of the words now hanging heavily in the air.

Someone like you. 

"I... I didn't mean... Not like," I fumble over my words, flustered by my careless choice of words. "I just mean that Six must've had her-"

"Reasons?" Marco says, cutting me off.

I mentally kick myself for having dragged the conversation in a loop. He stares out the window for a long moment before speaking.

"She does have some. Quite a few I'd imagine. I don't care to know them." Marco pauses, then glances over at me. "Doc said that you came to see me while I was out."

His next words are barely a whisper, filled with confusion and what I can only describe as vulnerability. 

"Why?"

I pull into my regular parking space behind the familiar building and shut the engine off, the silence hanging thick in the air as I remember those two days. I could barely focus on my daily routine. All I could think about was Marco and Monika laying in the Infirmary, barely clinging to their lives. Doc had told me that Marco had suffered more internal bleeding than he had seen in years, and that it was no small miracle that he had been able to pull Monika from the rubble and carry her to the surface.