Fire and Silk [A Ben Hardy/Four Fanfiction] ON STANDBY

1

          "One? That's your name?"

One was eagerly stuffing a cheeseburger into his mouth as I watched him with suspicion. After the heist-turned-bad, we drove for a few hours, hitting unknown cities. We were currently in Satan's fucking asshole, in the middle of nowhere, in a creepy diner.

"Well, not really. Code name and all, you know?"

I nodded. I used different ones with each team I had worked with: raven, hack, jax, and a whole lot more.

"What's mine, then? Two?"

"No, I already got a two, and a three, and a four, and a five-"

"All right, I get it" I stopped him. "So, like, I'm four hundred or what? How many people have died working for you? Jeez."

"One. You're Eight."

"Seven's dead?"

"No, Six. Long story. Florence didn't agree with him."

I'm not sure I wanted to know anyway. Losing a teammate was always rough, not only on the morale, but also on the ego. As the planner, One must have felt like he hadn't calculated precisely enough the risks, or maybe it was just plain bad luck.

With that, he kept eating, not offering me any more details on his team. I drank a black coffee and nibbled on a cold slice of pizza, Jorgen's opened eyes still haunting me every time I closed mine. I had not been able to catch some sleep at all on the road, but evil don't sleep, right? At least, my demons don't.

"So, where are we heading next?" I inquired, curious about what was ahead of me.

He took off his eyes from the pretty blonde waitress and looked at me.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that yet."

I rolled my eyes quite dramatically, but didn't push further. I understood the needs for self-protection in this job. One can never know when someone's going to turn their back against them, that's why you should never ever trust anybody. It might be a bit ironic that I think that way when I am currently following a screwed-up wannabe spy wherever he wants, but sometimes you just do not have a choice.

Sometimes, you just have to trust your guts.

After a plentiful lunch, One and I got back on the road. He didn't fill me up much more on the details of our quest. I knew one thing for sure: he took his god forsaken time. I studied the paths he followed meticulously, rapidly noticing he was taking the long way home; which isn't such a bad idea to confuse someone over their location. Unfortunately for him, I knew the country like the back of my hand. I had worked in every state, even provinces down in Canada, and a lot of other countries; directions were one of my forte.

"If you're trying to mess with me, One, you should probably put a blindfold over my head or something. Whether we're going to Iceland or China, I'll know."

His hands slightly stiffened over the steering wheel, but a smile quickly appeared on his lips. He was a hard man to read, whatever he did, he had a reason to, but he hid it incredibly well. Sometimes, I caught a glint of something in his irises, but it never lasted long enough for me to comprehend it.

"Just trynna see if you were going to pick up on it..." he admitted, and I believed him, because he had no more reasons to lie to me.

I had a feeling he would keep testing me over and over again. However, I was ready. Or at least, I thought I was.

[***]

A few days of non-stop traveling

Somewhere in California

1500

"Why the fuck did we got through all this road to get here, One? Haven't you heard of a fucking plane?" I blurted out, stretching my legs over at the side of the car.

He was doing the same, with a bit more grace than I.

We had been driving for at least forty hours before reaching our final destination in the desert of California. In front of me stood a large warehouse in the middle of a visible airplanes graveyard. I was impressed by the number of abandoned aircrafts just lying around. There weren't any houses or shops for miles and I understood why as soon as I entered the building. Guns, computers, training grounds: everything for a perfect headquarters.

I started to wonder if I had joined much more than just a group of low-key vigilantes.

I stayed amazed by the look of everything for a few minutes. From the outside, it looked like a total shithole; from the inside, it seemed like I had just entered a James Bond movie. I rapidly took upon myself to examine the tech, but my new boss interrupted me.

"You know, we drove here because sitting next to someone for hours really helps you getting a vibe of who they are..." One replied to my long lost question almost too calmly as he reached for a bottle of water in a refrigerator.

"Great. You know me. Happy now?" I retorted, reaching for the same thing, but he blocked me and gave me a stiff look.

"A bit of gratitude would be nice." He simply added, leaning his head slightly to the left.

With a sigh, I thanked him, mumbling my words. It seemed good enough since he let me reach the refrigerator, pulling his arm back to his side.

My newfound friend looked as exhausted as me, but I had a feeling we weren't done for the day just yet. By the way he looked around and played with the cap of this bottle, something was bothering him. I analyzed his movements, patiently waiting.

"Listen, Sam. " He let out, startling me with a firm tone. "My methods aren't... how can I put it? Conventional. But, believe me, you got off easy."

I rolled my eyes. Spending too much time with that guy wasn't easy. But I felt like this served as an apology, so I just shrugged my shoulders, finding a seat to sit down.

"So, am I to meet the rest of the crew yet?" I suddenly inquired, noticing the absence of all the Numbers around.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, One sighed deeply.

"Yes, that is the plan." He confirmed. "Let me just get home and... wash off. We'll meet later at a bar."

"What about me?"

He vaguely pointed the back of the warehouse.

"There are quarters back there: bedroom, showers, and clothes. Everything you need. You can stay here for now, I'll pick you up around twenty hundred. If you're hungry there's food in these cabinets and in the fridge."

I did not reply, trying to absorb everything. My life had gone from a small, but cute, apartment filled with memories and, might I say, good money, to this creepy warehouse in the middle of California where the only person I knew was a stranger, with a weird fetish for numbers, whom I had met while I was committing a robbery... talk about an unbelievable origin story.

"Welcome to the team, Eight." He exclaimed while lifting both his arms as though he was showing of the room. "We're gonna have a lot of fun!"

I chuckled softly. The sound of my code name felt warm against my ears. One turned his back and closed the main door behind him, leaving me all alone in a new world. Somehow, I felt good, a bit lost, but good. For as long as I could remember, I had been alone. Getting hired by a few people from there to there was the most human contact I could afford. In this life, having a partner or a significant other is the stupidest idea. You can't risk it.

Although having a team... maybe it would work out. Not knowing much about them, just working together... it didn't sound so terribly bad.

Perhaps, for the first time in my life, I really had a purpose.