Thick as Thieves 2: Under Your Command

Chapter 16

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Taylor awoke gradually to his head throbbing with pain, his eyes slowly trying to make sense of the blurry figures in front of him. He sensed he was in an armchair, in a dimly lit room. There was a face in front of him, dabbing his head with something cool. It took a long time for it to come into focus. He could tell it was a woman's face. Dark hair. Brown eyes. Then she began to seem familiar.

He blinked a few times, trying desperately to focus his gaze. Then he saw her, up close.

"Wash?"

Wash smiled, her eyes glimmering with tears. "Commander."

He didn't care about the pain. He leaned in and embraced her. "You're alive," he whispered. "Thank god you're alive."

"It's good to see you again, sir," she smiled, holding him tightly. "I'm sorry about your head. I didn't recognise you at first."

"That's alright," he said, sitting up carefully. He looked around him, noticing he was in an old apartment. Behind Wash, there were three other women. They all looked a bit apprehensive.

"Where am I?"

"Oh. This is where we were holding up. My group and I."

"Your group?"

"Yes. This is Rae," she pointed to a young girl behind her who waved. "Tara." An older woman who frowned suspiciously at him. "And Mags." A twenty-something woman with a friendly face who nodded a hello. "There's more in the other room."

Taylor leaned forwards slightly, his forehead creasing, confused. He noticed how the women were dressed, a bit like vigilantes with knives and guns strapped to them. "I don't understand. Wash, how did you get here? Who are these people?"

"It's all a bit hazy," she admitted, getting to her feet. "I escaped EdenCorp where I was being held. They must have knocked me out the entire time because I don't remember any of it. One day I woke up in a room, stole a gun and broke out. Lucas was there. I used him as a hostage. I don't remember a lot of what happened but I got out and just kept running and running until I ran into these guys. They're with the rebellion."

"Dammit, Wash. You joined the rebellion? You've been fighting the Phoenix Group? After what happened to you?"

Wash turned to her companions. "It's alright, ladies. You can leave us now." The three women left the room silently, leaving the two old comrades alone. "My brain might still be healing," she told Taylor, "but my body feels fine. I've been taken care of."

Taylor stared at her. She did look in a better condition than he expected her to be in. But she was thinner than he remembered, maybe a bit more weary than usual. But still, she had been through a trauma. It was hard to believe she could jump back so easily into a fight.

"I'm surprised to see you here," she said, offering a baffled smile. "How on earth did you get here? I thought I told Jim to destroy the bridge to the future?"

"It's a long story, Wash. There's so much to tell you. You've been gone..."

"A year. I know. I figured that out after a while. I just don't get why they kept me there for so long. I assume as some sort of leverage against you?"

"They didn't use you against me," explained Taylor.

He paused, letting Wash think for a moment. "Michael? But..."

She tried hard to remember the last time she saw him. It felt like an age. Her memory was still fuzzy. She could only remember bits and pieces from before she was shot. Then she remembered the gun pointed at her head. Michael's fearful expression in the crowd. She remembered moving her lips silently, telling him she loved him.