Old Vows

2

I tell him everything once we're at the safehouse. It's a basic place, bare essentials only. I've never had to use it for longer than a few hours and I'm glad of it. Bare essentials means a chair, a small table, the hardest bed in existence, and a stock of MREs.

Michael has his laptop, because of course he does and I watch, mesmerised, as those long fingers break the encryption on the thumb drive. It's long been a game of ours, me encrypting the drive or the files before giving them to him. He's always been a better hacker than me and it doesn't take long for him to have the encryption cracked and the information out in the open. I wish I was better at coding just so I could watch him at work longer.

"Conley," he says, and I realize it isn't the first time he's said it.

"Trescothik Industries. They're a shell company for chiefly money laundering and assassination. They're pretty much just contractors for just about anything illegal you need done. On the front, they manufacture parts for mobile devices. As far as I can tell, they actually have a few legitimate factories but most of it is a cover." His eyes go dark just at the mention of the name Trescothik and for good reason. Jacob Trescothik is the reason he wakes up screaming at night. I found that out after we had to share a hotel room for a job and ended up holding him as he told me why he no longer had a twin or a left leg below the knee.

"Tomorrow night, at the United Nations headquarters, there's a gala. All sorts of environmental activists and country leaders will be there. The following day, there will be a conference and a new Green Deal will be signed, except, if we do nothing, there won't be one. They are going to plant bombs at the gala and even if they don't kill everyone inside, there will most certainly be war. I know where they have set up base. I know exactly what they're planning. All we have to do is infiltrate the gala, disarm the bombs and make sure whoever T. Industries sent in clears out." I avoid actually saying "Trescothik" because I can't bear to see the look of pain on his face. I'm definitely still too drunk to be alone in a room with him because I want to kiss him again.

"Why not call in the police?" he asks. "I'm sure the NYPD would be happy to have their little moment of glory."

"Two reasons. I'm sure you've already come up with both of them and then some and just want to hear me try to convince you but in case you haven't. One, the police will take an eternity and a half to muck about with paperwork and will cause all sorts of messes trying to sort this one thing out. Two, the conference will be canceled and there will be no new Green Deal. You know even better than me that we need a new Deal yesterday if we want a planet for the next generations." It's true. He was an analyst in the CIA up until 2 years ago after they declared him unfit for fieldwork following the loss of his leg. I always thought that was ridiculous. You can't tell he's even got a prosthetic unless he takes it off.

"Conley, you know I'm retired from this kind of stuff," he says, and he's reluctant. He wants to help me. Something's stopping him, though and I couldn't say what if my life was on the line.

"Michael, just once more. I won't ask again."

"You will," he says softly. "You always do." He pauses, not for long, but long enough that I know what's coming next.

"What about last time? I'm too old to keep saving your ass after you screw up." I flinch, even though I'm expecting it. I know I fucked up, badly too. It burns at me every day and I want to tell him but I don't.

"This won't be like last time. It's not even similar. We're both on familiar grounds and there won't be any civs involved." It comes out sharper than I mean it too. "Besides, you're only 38. You're plenty young enough to drag me out of trouble a few more times." I mean it as a joke, but it doesn't quite come out right and we sit there in silence for what feels like forever.

"Fine," he says at last and the tension leaves me all in a rush. "I'll do it, but this is the last time. And I expect you to drag your own ass out of trouble, so be careful not to dig your grave too deep.

"Thank you," I say, and when our eyes meet, I think that he understands everything I mean by it.

~❦~