《An Angel's Retirement》 An Angels Retirement - Chapter 1 "No. In fact, not only no, but hell no." The woman across from him frowned. "Come on, Eric. At least read the file before you reject it outright." Eric crossed his arms, returning her frown with one of his own. "You lied to me, Rosa. You said this was going to be about my pension." "And it will be, we just haven''t gotten to that part yet." She reached for the file ¨C a large, old-fashioned manila folder that looked to be about as thick as the average dictionary, and pushed it over to him. "They''ve already marked the important parts for you, so it shouldn''t take too long." "I said I''m not doing this," Eric insisted. "Eric-" "No, don''t," he snapped. "It''s not that you sprang this on me out of nowhere under false pretenses. It''s not that you want me to open my home to a complete stranger. It''s not even that this person could apparently, assuming they were properly motivated, snap my arms clean in half like they were crispy breadsticks. No, you want to know what it is? It''s the notoriety that would come with me doing this. Frankly, I don''t know why you even thought of me for something like this ¨C you know I hate the limelight." Rosa let out a tired sigh, bringing a hand up to push the black-tinted glasses on her face up a bit. He always hated the fact that she wore those stupid things, even indoors and at night. At the very least, he could take pleasure in the fact that he''d learned her tell when it came to them ¨C whenever he had sufficiently annoyed her, she pushed her glasses up a bit. That was how he knew he wasn''t losing the argument. He wasn''t winning, either, but at least he wasn''t outright losing. "I just don''t understand what the big deal is," Rosa told him. "I know you hate being the center of attention, but you''d be doing something really good for someone who desperately needs it. Isn''t that worth the risk of the media hounding you? And besides, the government would do its best to keep them out of the loop." Eric let out a small snort of contempt. "That''s rich. I certainly feel a lot better now that I know the government is here to help me." He cast a glance over his shoulder at the three men wearing suits standing behind him, all of whom had pistols holstered at their hips. "No offense," he sarcastically added. Again, Rosa let out a sigh and pushed up her glasses. She then ran a hand through her long, flowing black hair, and at that point, Eric was confident in his ability to win this particular argument. Pushing up her glasses was one thing, but now she was playing with her hair, and that could only mean he had her dead to rights. "Look," Rosa offered, "I''m not at liberty to discuss the finer details of what''s going on." "Oh, so now there are finer details, too?" "But all you need to know is that you''re the best candidate for the job," Rosa insisted, a note of finality creeping into her tone. Eric blinked, surprised. She was always direct with him, which he appreciated, since the last few liaisons he''d had with the Office of Veterans'' Affairs had all beat around the bush with him and danced over whatever issues he''d tried to raise. None of them had lasted more than a few weeks, but she was the exception. Rosa knew how to fight fire with fire, which he appreciated, because it meant she was both very direct with him and it meant that it was that much more satisfying whenever she caved to his demands, no matter how inane they were. Of course, she tended to give demands as good as she got them, but it was still better than dealing with any of the other Affairs officers, because at least she told him to his face whenever the government was trying to fuck him over. Except now, apparently. Now, she seemed intent on winning him over to her side, more than she ever had before. Eric said nothing, and Rosa took that as her cue to keep talking. "You asked about your military pension?" she said. "Whatever you''re getting paid monthly, we''ll triple it." Eric''s eyes just about bugged out of his skull. He let out a low whistle. "That''s a hefty chunk of change, Rosa. You sure you have the authority to push that through?" "Believe me, I have the authority," she replied. "You''re still free to walk, of course. But I know you could use the money." Eric''s gaze narrowed. "You know, you can be a real cold-hearted bitch when you want to be," he growled. "Give me that damn thing." Rosa passed the folder over to him, and he turned to the first page she''d bookmarked. Immediately, he looked back to her in confusion. "What the hell is this?" "It''s her file," Rosa answered. "I know it''s her file, I''m not an idiot. What I mean is, what''s with all the black ink?" "Classified," one of the suits behind him said. "I gathered that," Eric said through gritted teeth without looking back at the man. "Rosa, be honest with me for a moment ¨C which of the Angels would I be getting?" Rosa hesitated. "...Thirteen." Eric couldn''t help but choke. "T-Thirteen? You''re trying to give me Thirteen? As in, the Thirteen? That one?" "Yes." Eric immediately slammed the folder shut and went to stand up and march out of the room. "Fuck this," he declared. "And fuck you for bringing it up to me. I''m not-" "Eric," she called after him. "Sit down, please." Something in her voice made him pause. All the fight seemed to have left her in the blink of an eye, replaced with resignation. He''d known Rosa for about a year now, and yet he''d never heard her speak like that, to him or to anyone else. Slowly, Eric turned around and walked back to his chair, his bad leg resounding against the metal floor with every other step. He took a seat across from her again, and stared at her through her sunglasses. "Talk to me," he said. "What the hell is going on?" Rosa simply motioned to the folder in front of her. "Read it," she told him. "It shouldn''t take long to get the gist of it." Eric hesitated for a moment, but after a few seconds, he caved. Just like she''d asked, he reached for the folder and cracked it open once more. And just like she''d said, after just a few minutes of reading, he understood. "Jesus Christ¡­" he breathed as he set the file down on the table. "I knew those girls had it rough, but this¡­" "And those are just the parts that aren''t covered in black ink," Rosa reminded him. "She needs you, Eric." "Why me, though? Surely there was some other poor bastard out there just as capable as me, if not even more so." "Your record spoke for itself," one of the other suits chimed in. "Multiple combat tours, battlefield commission when your commanding officer took a bolt to the head, fast to rise through the ranks, medals for-" Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. "I know what my fucking combat record is," Eric growled. "I don''t need you to remind me of it. And that wasn''t the question, anyway ¨C my question was, why me?" "Truthfully, you aren''t the only candidate," Rosa admitted. "You''re correct, there are others just like you. There were bound to be, given how many people are still left even after the war. But in the end, the brass picked you. I don''t know why, but you were their first choice. That ought to be worth something, even to you." Eric blinked, taken aback by her words. After a moment, he let out a sigh, then ran a hand through his unkempt, days-old black beard. Rosa had told him to shower and shave before coming into the branch office, and he''d chosen not to out of spite ¨C after all, the OVA seemed intent on treating him like a crazy homeless man, so why not look the part? That was before all this, though. Suddenly, he felt completely out of his depth, in a way he hadn''t felt since taking over command for the first time, "...I''ve heard of this shit," he muttered. "The press calls it the Archangel program. Pretty fucking corny, if you ask me, but I suppose it fits. Is that what you want me to be, then? The guardian Angel''s guardian angel?" "Nobody is asking you to be anything more than yourself," Rosa insisted. "All you need to do is take her into your home and help her acclimate to life outside of the battlefield. And you won''t be alone in it, either ¨C not only will I be around, but if either of you two need something, everyone in this office will drop everything in order to help out. It''s the least we could do, given what the Angels did for us." Again, Eric gave a snort of contempt. That was barely scratching the surface of what it would take to repay those girls. He didn''t know much about the Angel program beyond what the government had told the public, but he was smart enough to put the pieces together ¨C super soldiers didn''t come from nowhere, after all, especially not ones that young. It didn''t exactly take a genius to figure out exactly how they''d been created in the first place. Slowly, Eric turned his attention back to the file. He flipped the page, and for the first time, he saw an Angel without her armor and helmet. She was young, of course; in her early twenties, by his estimation. It was tough to tell from her picture, given that it was a sole image of her staring straight ahead, but she appeared to have blonde hair that flowed down to the middle of her back. Her face was covered in faded scars, including a nasty-looking jagged cut that went directly through her right eye. Both her eyes were blue, but her right eye was an almost unnatural electric blue compared to her left, which was normal ¨C he could only assume that eye was artificial in some way, though he had no idea how. Aside from that, she looked mostly normal. She was a little short, coming in at about five-and-a-half feet tall compared to his six-foot-three, but with the Angels, looks were deceiving ¨C he had no doubts that this girl could snap him in two with her bare hands if she so desired. And if she truly was Thirteen, like Rosa had told him, she was capable of doing so much more than that, as the Iprenians had been unfortunate enough to discover. There was a reason why one of the terms of their permanent ceasefire was that humanity decommission most of their Angels, and no longer train up any more. That was why she was being decommissioned, he realized ¨C she was the Thirteen, probably the most well-known Angel of them all. Of course the Iprenians would demand that she be let go. Part of him was surprised that the Terran government had agreed to that, but then again, perhaps they were simply as weary of the war as everyone else was, to the point where she was considered a necessary sacrifice. Still, despite all that, there was one thing missing from her file. "What''s her name?" Rosa looked at him in surprise. "What was that?" "Her name," Eric repeated. "Her real name. She has to have one aside from Thirteen." Rosa hesitated for just a moment, no doubt taken aback by his sudden change in demeanor. "...Rebecca," she answered. "Her real name is Rebecca." "And her last name?" "Classified," the third suit cut in. Eric let out a sharp exhale. "...Okay. Alright. Fine." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Behind him, the three men in suits bristled. "You can''t smoke in this building," one of them said. Eric ignored him, instead popping the cigarette in his mouth and lighting it up. "You are having me open my home to a person who can and has wiped out entire Iprenian companies on her own, if the urban legends are to be believed. And honestly, just based on what little else I''ve heard, I wouldn''t be surprised if those stories were watered down. So if it''s all the same to you, I''ll be smoking wherever I damn well please." He took a drag, and then exhaled, blowing a cloud of smoke out into the room. "Besides, this shit is calming me down enough that the idea doesn''t sound completely terrible of all a sudden." Rosa stared at him, surprised. "What do you mean? You''ll do it?" Eric waved her off. "Give me the fucking papers to sign, before I change my mind." Rosa stared at him again for a moment, and then, for the first time, she did something he''d never seen her do before. She gave him a faint smile. "Of course," she replied, sliding over a series of forms and a pen. "I hope you don''t mind wet ink signatures." "Rolling out the red carpet¡­" Eric muttered as he signed on each dotted line. By the time he was done, his cigarette was nearly down to a stub, but he kept taking puffs from it regardless. He knew better than to waste good tobacco. With a final stroke of the pen, it was done. Eric set the pen and papers down, then leaned back in his seat, a sigh escaping him. Rosa gathered up the forms, then rose from her chair. "I''ll get these filed right away, and then we can move on to next steps," she said, barely able to conceal the excitement in her voice. "Thank you, Eric. You may go now." Eric didn''t wait for further confirmation. He rose from his seat without a word, following after her as she went, his bad foot again resounding against the metal floors. He barely made it a few steps before one of the suits called out to him. "Thank you," the man said. "Captain Anders." Eric paused, his brow furrowing. Wordlessly, he pulled the cigarette stub from his mouth and dropped it on the floor, then ground it beneath his heel before continuing on his way. He had no idea what he had just gotten himself into, but something told him he was going to regret it.
Special thanks to my friend/co-writer, /u/Ickbard over on Reddit, without whom I would probably forget how to write entirely. An Angels Retirement - Chapter 2 ¡°So when are they supposed to get here, anyway?¡± Rosa frowned, checking her watch. ¡°They¡¯re a little bit late, it seems. Probably hit traffic or something. Give it time, they¡¯ll get here.¡± Eric sighed, interlocking his fingers behind his head as he looked up into the sky. Dark clouds had gathered overhead, a sign that summer had ended and fall had finally approached. It was yet another cold and soon-to-be-wet Virginia day. Part of him couldn¡¯t help but feel that was some kind of bad omen, almost. ¡°If they make us wait out here in the rain, I¡¯m gonna be pissed.¡± Rosa sighed tiredly, running a hand through her flowing black hair. ¡°Just be patient, Eric. They can¡¯t be that far out.¡± ¡°If you say so.¡± Eric unlocked his fingers, then reached into his pocket for a cigarette and his lighter. Rosa¡¯s frown deepened as the telltale sound of his lighter being flicked open reached her ears. ¡°Must you do that now?¡± she asked. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be trying to make a good first impression on her.¡± Eric waved her off as he lit up his cigarette, then took a drag from it and exhaled. ¡°She was in the military. Guarantee you she¡¯s seen plenty of people smoke before.¡± ¡°Still, you¡¯re supposed to be setting a good example for her.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean? She shouldn¡¯t need a role model, she¡¯s a grown-ass woman. Her file said she was, like, twenty-four. That¡¯s not much younger than I am.¡± ¡°Telling, then, that she¡¯ll more likely be the mature one out of the two of you.¡± Eric rolled his eyes. ¡°Oh, bite me.¡± Rosa opened her mouth to respond, but didn¡¯t get a chance to before her phone began to buzz in her pocket. She paused, then pulled it out to check her messages, her face lighting up as she did so. ¡°They¡¯re a minute out,¡± she said. The moment the words left her mouth, she turned to Eric, giving him a harsh stare from behind her ever-present sunglasses. ¡°Behave yourself.¡± Eric simply held up his hands in surrender before taking another drag from his cigarette. Rosa seemed intent on him playing nice today, and that was what he intended to do, especially since he¡¯d already signed the paperwork saying he¡¯d take Thirteen into his home. Part of him regretted it already. He¡¯d underestimated exactly how much work letting another person room with him was going to be. The house was big enough for both of them, thankfully, but it was already bringing back memories of having to bunk with his squadmates in the Marines during the war. At that thought, the memories came flooding back yet again, and Eric grimaced as he forced them out of his mind. Once they were gone, he took a long drag from his smoke before pulling the stub out of his mouth and throwing it on the ground, then grinding it beneath his heel. Normally, he tried to make a point not to leave cigarette butts on his own driveway, but there were exceptions to every rule. He leaned against his garage door and crossed his arms over his chest, already craving another smoke. He held himself back, though ¨C the last thing he needed to do was start chain-smoking this early. Then again, Rosa had already stopped him from going for the cheap whiskey, so perhaps she wouldn¡¯t mind indulging him this one time. Eric was in the process of reaching for another cigarette and his lighter when a small convoy of black SUVs with tinted windows pulled out from around the corner and stopped in front of his house. He watched, curious, as several men in suits filed out, then approached the vehicle in the middle and threw the rear driver¡¯s side door open, allowing its lone occupant to step out. It was her, all right ¨C Thirteen looked exactly the same in-person as she did in her picture. It was all there - the flowing blonde hair, the artificial electric-blue eye¡­ it was downright striking. Eric¡¯s heart actually skipped a beat when he first laid eyes on her, and as if on cue, she reached for an eyepatch on her forehead and brought it down to cover her artificial eye. This was a person who had to have a body count in the thousands, at the very least; given the secretive nature of the Angel program, he¡¯d be surprised if her actual body count didn¡¯t dwarf that by an order of magnitude. This young woman was little more than a killing machine, raised into a weapon that was to be pointed at humanity¡¯s enemies, and already, he could tell that she had the scars to prove it. He was staring face-to-face with arguably the single deadliest person in all of human history, and yet somehow, that thought faded very quickly when he saw how she was looking around at his home. She had the gaze of an apex predator searching for its newest piece of prey, and yet something about it was completely hollow. She was retired now, so all of the training, all the shooting and destruction and murder, meant nothing anymore. His gaze met her one good eye, the one not covered by an eye patch, and in that moment, Eric was able to realize what the problem was. She was completely lost. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Two men in suits suddenly stepped forward. They were both tall, standing at six-and-a-half feet each, and their outfits matched Rosa¡¯s, though somehow Eric could tell they were more official than even she was. They both wore very dark sunglasses and had earpieces in, and the way their suit jackets shifted as they walked was just enough to tell him that they were both carrying handguns in shoulder holsters. The more serious-looking of the two was fair-skinned, with a receding black hairline and a thin layer of facial hair, while the slightly more personable one was dark-skinned and completely bald. ¡°So, you¡¯re the intelligence spooks, then?¡± Eric couldn¡¯t hold himself back from asking. ¡°Let me guess ¨C if anything happens to her or if I reveal her true nature to anyone, it¡¯s straight to a government black site for me?¡± ¡°Officially, the government does not operate any black sites,¡± Receding Hairline stated matter-of-factly. ¡°Unofficially, you are in the presence of a war hero. Do not let anything happen to her, or else.¡± Eric simply nodded. ¡°Well, if you¡¯re trying to keep this a secret, you¡¯re doing a pretty shit job of it. I¡¯m pretty sure I see a few of the neighbors looking out through their blinds already, no doubt wondering what¡¯s going on.¡± ¡°Thirteen¡¯s face is known only to a select few,¡± the other suit said. ¡°And we¡¯ve put together an extensive cover ID for her, which she has completely memorized by this point. You will be provided a copy, of course, should a situation ever arise where you will be required to validate any of it.¡± Eric waved them both off. ¡°Yeah, yeah. Are you going to introduce us any time soon, or keep talking my ear off about nothing and issuing implicit threats?¡± He thought of something, then turned to Rosa. ¡°Also, where¡¯s my money?¡± ¡°The money will be wired directly to your account on a monthly basis, starting at the end of this week,¡± she reported. ¡°Should she need anything else that you cannot cover with those funds, let us know and we will overnight a check.¡± Eric blinked, surprised. ¡°Really rolling out the red carpet, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°The entire human race owes its continued existence to the Angels,¡± the bald man chimed in. ¡°No expense is too great for them.¡± Before Eric could say anything else, both suits suddenly stepped aside and motioned for Thirteen to come forward. She didn¡¯t hesitate, and marched over to stand between them. She stopped a short ways away, and then to Eric¡¯s chagrin, she did something he hadn¡¯t had anyone do to him in years. She saluted him. ¡°Sir, Lieutenant Rebecca-013, or Thirteen, at your service, Sir,¡± she rattled off, her voice almost completely monotone. Eric was taken aback. He stared at her for just a moment before grimacing, then waved her off. ¡°You don¡¯t have to salute me,¡± he said to her. ¡°I¡¯m retired. Have been for years. In fact, I¡¯d prefer it if you didn¡¯t salute me.¡± Still, Thirteen didn¡¯t drop her salute. Eric sighed tiredly. ¡°At ease, Lieutenant.¡± The moment the words left his mouth, she dropped it, relaxing slightly. Once that was done, she looked around once more, focusing on his house. After a moment, she turned to Rosa. ¡°This is where I will be staying?¡± ¡°It is,¡± she confirmed with a nod.Thirteen said nothing further, instead turning back to examine the house once more. Eric stepped forward, clearing his throat. ¡°I can show you around,¡± he offered. ¡°Let you know where you¡¯ll be staying, and all that.¡± He looked over to Rosa. ¡°Does she have any luggage to bring inside?¡± ¡°I have my essentials with me,¡± Thirteen cut in. ¡°I¡¯ll get those,¡± Rosa said. ¡°Eric, show her around, we¡¯ll get everything out and set up.¡± With that, her and the suits moved away, heading for the convoy of SUVs still lined up outside his driveway. Eric watched her go, then let out a sigh before turning to Thirteen. ¡°I guess that¡¯s that, then,¡± he said. ¡°Come with me, I¡¯ll show you the place.¡± ¡°Affirmative, Sir,¡± Thirteen replied.Eric forced himself to hold back from lighting another cigarette as they both stepped inside his house. ¡°And this is your room.¡± Eric stepped aside, allowing Thirteen to look at where she¡¯d be staying. She knew it wasn¡¯t much for most people, just a single bedroom with an attached bathroom, but to her, it was more than that. She¡¯d never had a room of her own, even after moving on from training; everything had always been shared with other Angels, or at the very least, other soldiers and Marines. She took a few tentative steps inside the room, and after a few seconds, turned towards him with a nod. ¡°Thank you, Sir.¡±Eric¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°Stop calling me Sir. I haven¡¯t been in the military for years, now.¡± Thirteen blinked. ¡°You outrank me-¡± ¡°We¡¯re both civilians now. Rank means nothing at this point.¡± Thirteen blinked again. ¡°Affirmative.¡± Eric sighed, running a hand through his hair. ¡°Look, it¡¯s pretty late in the day, alright? I¡¯m hungry and thirsty, so I¡¯m going to throw together a very basic dinner for both of us ¨C figure that¡¯s the least I can do to officially welcome you here. Are you okay with chicken?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Good. Get yourself settled here, I¡¯ll call for you when the food¡¯s done.¡± Thirteen nodded, then fell silent. The two of them stared at each other before Eric took a few awkward steps out of the room, then began to make his way to the kitchen. ¡°This was a terrible idea¡­¡± he muttered as he began to pull out the ingredients for a very basic lemon chicken. Still, terrible idea or not, they were officially stuck together now. He¡¯d signed the paperwork, and as far as he could tell, she¡¯d signed her end of it too. That meant they shared a government contract, and if his service with the Marines was any indication, government contracts were as binding as they came. If nothing else, Thirteen seemed relatively easy to get along with, if only because she seemed to think that him outranking her meant anything at this point. That was going to be a bad habit of hers he¡¯d have to break, he realized. After all, the last thing he wanted was her dredging up bad memories, unintentionally or not. A chill went down his spine, and despite himself, Eric reached for the nearby bottle of bourbon he¡¯d opened not too long ago and took a swig directly from it. It tasted like turpentine, but he wasn¡¯t complaining. Anything to numb the pain. In any case, it didn¡¯t take long for him to get dinner ready. Before long, it was all set at the countertop, waiting for her; he had already started eating on his own and was just about to call for Thirteen when she stepped out from around the corner, far more quiet than he¡¯d have expected. That earned a raised eyebrow from him ¨C this house had hardwood floors, and yet he hadn¡¯t heard her footsteps at all. Then again, given what she had allegedly been doing during her time in the service, that probably shouldn¡¯t have surprised him too much. One does not make entire enemy lines disappear in the middle of the night without picking up at least a few bits of knowledge regarding stealth, he supposed. They both ate in silence, and once they were finished, Eric cleaned up, and they both went their own separate ways. He stared as Thirteen disappeared into her new room, closing the door behind her as she went. ¡°Hell, I don¡¯t know,¡± he said to himself as he finished setting the dirty plates and silverware in the dishwasher. ¡°Maybe this whole arrangement will be bearable, after all.¡± An Angels Retirement - Chapter 3 The sun hadn¡¯t even started to rise by the time Thirteen awoke from her slumber. Normally, that wouldn¡¯t have bothered her; her life had been regimented so much during her time in the military that her body had an almost unnatural sense of when it was time to wake up. She was used to getting her six hours of sleep, then waking up and going straight to the gym or some other form of training. But she wasn¡¯t in the military anymore, and that meant that she had nothing to do upon waking. Thirteen laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling as the minutes ticked by. The entire time, she tried desperately to think of something to do, but completely failed. Captain Anders didn¡¯t seem to have a gym in his home, let alone a gun range she could practice in, and that meant she was utterly devoid of anything to keep her occupied aside from lying in bed and counting the ceiling tiles until the sun rose. And that was precisely what she did. She laid in bed and stared up at the ceiling, her artificial eye¡¯s night vision capabilities allowing her to make the features of the plaster out despite the lack of any kind of light source. Naturally, counting the tiles didn¡¯t keep her occupied for long; when she ran out of tiles to count after just a few minutes, she resorted to counting the imperfections in them instead.It was utterly mind-numbing. Surely, this wasn¡¯t what civilians did in their free time, though she had no idea what else they could do other than that. Finally, just as the sun started to rise, she heard a noise from down the hall. Immediately, she perked up, expecting it would be Captain Anders. If nothing else, she could ask him what to do. With that in mind, Thirteen rose out of bed and turned on the lights before slipping on her eyepatch, then threw the door open and stepped out into the hall, looking for Captain Anders. ¡°Captain.¡± There was a tired groan from down the hall, around the corner. ¡°For the hundredth time, don¡¯t address me by my rank or by Sir. Please. I am not in the military anymore, and neither are you, so you don¡¯t need to do that.¡± Thirteen tilted her head. ¡°How should I address you, then?¡± ¡°Just call me by my first name, damn it.¡± He gave a frustrated sigh. ¡°Fuck, and it¡¯s only the second day¡­¡± She heard him messing with some machine, and tilted her head again. Curious, she stepped out around the corner, heading for the kitchen, where she¡¯d heard his voice coming from. ¡°Eric.¡± ¡°Ye- Jesus Christ!¡± he exclaimed as she stepped into view. He flushed red, then abruptly turned away. ¡°Eric,¡± she repeated. He held up a hand, the entire time still refusing to look in her direction. ¡°You¡¯re naked!¡± Thirteen blinked, then looked down at herself before looking back to him. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°So go put some clothes on! They didn¡¯t just let you walk around like that on the ship, did they? Consider the same rule in effect in this house.¡± Thirteen blinked again. Truthfully, her and the other Angels generally slept in their cryo pods when they weren¡¯t being actively deployed or about to be, and the pods necessitated that their users be naked. They¡¯d all grown used to walking around in either full armor or nothing at all, with few exceptions. But again, that was while she was in the military, which she obviously wasn¡¯t anymore. ¡°Apologies,¡± she softly offered, his discomfort plain to her now. Eric waved her off, again without looking. ¡°Just¡­ go put some clothes on, please. I¡¯ll have breakfast ready in a bit.¡± Thirteen nodded, then marched back to her room and threw on some simple clothes the OVA had provided for her. It was nothing fancy, just a plain olive drab shirt emblazoned with the Marine Corps logo, and some matching pants. Once she¡¯d been dressed, she turned and stepped back out into the hallway, heading for the kitchen.By the time she got there, Eric had already set a place at his table for her, directly across from him. He¡¯d provided her a plate filled with what appeared to be eggs and toast; nothing she hadn¡¯t eaten before. Truthfully, though, she¡¯d always preferred her ration bars to any regular food. The ration bars were tasteless, sure, but they were packed with calories and essential vitamins and nutrients, which was worth more to her than whatever enjoyment she would have otherwise gotten out of eating normal food. Still, she knew better than to turn her nose up at an offered meal, and not just because she didn¡¯t want to risk upsetting Eric further after what had happened earlier. With that in mind, she took a seat across from him and began to eat. As she ate, she became idly aware of Eric having paused in order to watch her. She froze, her fork mid-way to her mouth, and stared at him. ¡°Eric?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± he hurriedly said. ¡°Just¡­ I¡¯ve never seen anyone enjoy eggs and toast this much.¡± Thirteen blinked. ¡°...Are you referring to how fast I am eating?¡± ¡°I am. You¡¯re shoveling that stuff down like you¡¯ve never eaten before. They weren¡¯t starving you in the military, were they?¡± Thirteen shook her head. ¡°No. I was always kept well-fed, even above the commanding officers. It was determined that myself and the other Angels were too valuable to not have in top condition at all times. Our diets were carefully monitored, and-¡± The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Eric held up a hand, silencing her. ¡°I get it,¡± he offered tiredly. ¡°Just¡­ if you want more, I can make more. That¡¯s not an issue, especially not since the government¡¯s paying for it. Just let me know.¡± Thirteen nodded. ¡°Affirmative.¡± The two of them ate in silence after that. When they were done, he offered to make her more breakfast, but she refused. Instead, she stood back and watched as he cleaned up the kitchen. ¡°You just gonna stand there all day?¡± he asked as he hunched over the sink, scrubbing out the pan he¡¯d used to cook the eggs. Thirteen stared at him. ¡°I do not know,¡± she confessed. ¡°What do you mean, you don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°Is that what civilians do?¡± Eric paused, then looked back at her over his shoulder. ¡°The hell are you talking about? No, people do not just stand around all day when they aren¡¯t eating or sleeping.¡± ¡°What do they do?¡± ¡°All kinds of things. Depends on who you¡¯re asking, I suppose.¡± Thirteen continued to stare at him, her question unanswered. After a moment of silence, she said, ¡°What do you do?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a difficult question to answer,¡± Eric said, again without looking back. ¡°Sometimes I¡¯ll watch TV or browse the internet. Sometimes I¡¯ll read a book. Occasionally I¡¯ll go for a walk. But mostly, I put up with my annoying handler trying to get me out of the house, for whatever reason.¡± ¡°Handler?¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯ve met her. Her name¡¯s Rosa, and she¡¯s a massive pain in the ass. I only keep her as my handler because she¡¯s the kind of pain in the ass that I can get used to.¡± Eric finished scrubbing out the pan, then set it aside and turned off the sink. He wiped his hands on a nearby dish towel, then turned to her. ¡°You act as if this is all new to you,¡± he noted. ¡°Did you really not do anything aside from go on missions when you were in the military?¡± Thirteen shook her head. ¡°Any downtime was spent training and preparing for the next mission. Otherwise, we were all asleep in our cryo pods.¡± Eric stared at her for a moment, an eyebrow raised. ¡°...How long were you in the military, exactly?¡± ¡°Classified,¡± she instantly replied. ¡°Right, of course¡­¡± He sighed, running a hand through his hair. ¡°One of these days, I¡¯m going to request an unredacted version of your file, not even with the intention to actually get it, but rather to see the look on Rosa¡¯s face when I put in the request¡­¡± He shook his head. ¡°Look, I wasn¡¯t planning on doing much today, aside from maybe hitting up the liquor store, since I think I need to restock. I suppose you can come with me if you¡¯d like.¡± Thirteen considered his offer for a moment before nodding. After all, if she was going to be living with him for the time being, then it would pay to do a little bit of recon. It was a few hours later, when the store had opened, that Eric had directed her towards his car and started the drive to the store. Thirteen shifted in her seat as he drove, uncomfortable. She¡¯d ridden in plenty of land vehicles before, not to mention driven her fair share of them as well, but this vehicle seemed downright fragile compared to those. ¡°What kind of vehicle is this?¡± she asked. ¡°This?¡± Eric asked, not taking his gaze away from the road. ¡°This is an old car that¡¯s been passed down through my family for generations. My father owned it before me, and his father before him, and his father before him, and so on. If I remember right, one of my past ancestors was a police officer, and this was his squad car; he bought it off the department when he left the force, since they were retiring the car in favor of something new¡­ In any case, it¡¯s been through a fair amount of changes ever since then; the only thing still original on it is the body. Everything else got replaced as parts failed and became increasingly impossible to get.¡± He shook his head. ¡°Anyway, I think it¡¯s called a Crown Vic? Something like that.¡± Thirteen shifted again. ¡°...And what is it rated for?¡± ¡°Rated for?¡± Eric echoed. ¡°Uh¡­ well, it¡¯s not exactly an off-road vehicle, but it gets the job done-¡± She shook her head. ¡°No. Will the body stop at least a thirty caliber projectile? It is clearly not rated for plasma, but-¡± ¡°Oh, no,¡± Eric explained. ¡°This isn¡¯t that kind of vehicle, it¡¯s really not rated for anything like that. It¡¯s strictly for transportation.¡± ¡°And what of its armament?¡± ¡°Non-existent. They¡¯d never let a civilian walk around with that kind of firepower.¡± Before she could ask any more questions, Eric pulled in front of a store, then put the car in park before shutting it off. He unbuckled his seat belt, then stepped out, motioning for her to follow him. ¡°Come on,¡± he said, ¡°let¡¯s get this over with.¡± Thirteen said nothing in response, instead following after him as he entered the store. They spent roughly fifteen minutes shopping, Eric taking a small cart and filling it with bottles of his choice. Thirteen eyed the shelves with curiosity, unsure of what she was looking at. She¡¯d seen other soldiers and Marines drinking alcohol before, but they¡¯d come in much smaller glass bottles; a few of them had tried to offer her and the other Angels a taste, but they¡¯d always refused, knowing that alcohol wasn¡¯t in their diets. And more than that, alcohol was an intoxicant, and would impact their combat effectiveness if consumed; one more reason to stay away from it. She turned her gaze away from the shelves as Eric put another bottle in the cart. She gazed at everything he¡¯d selected. ¡°What is all that?¡± ¡°A little bit of everything,¡± Eric told her. ¡°Government¡¯s paying for it, after all, so might as well splurge. Of course, the good stuff is hard to find these days, but thankfully, I¡¯m not picky about what I¡¯m drinking.¡± He picked yet another bottle, bringing his total up to six. Once that was done, he nodded to himself. ¡°Alright, that should do it for now. Let¡¯s go pay and get out of here.¡± Thirteen nodded, then followed after him as he approached the front counter and began to pile it high with the bottles he¡¯d collected. He¡¯d just about set the last one on the counter when someone emerged from the back room, then approached, a grin on his face. ¡°Well, look who it is,¡± he said, offering Eric a hand. ¡°Miles,¡± Eric said, surprised. He accepted the handshake. ¡°Where the hell have you been?¡± ¡°Broke my foot working on the house,¡± Miles answered. ¡°Dropped a piece of tile on it ¨C shit wasn¡¯t pretty. Melanie about cried her eyes out when she saw it.¡± ¡°Shit, man. Everything good now?¡± ¡°Yup, it¡¯s healed up nicely.¡± Miles finally seemed to notice her standing there, and turned towards her, surprised. ¡°Who¡¯s this? New piece? I¡¯ll be honest, I wasn¡¯t sure you had it in you.¡± Thirteen tilted her head at the term, unsure of what it meant. Eric cleared his throat. ¡°She¡¯s a guest, Miles,¡± he explained. ¡°She¡¯ll be staying with me for a bit while she gets back on her feet, nothing more.¡± Miles nodded in understanding. ¡°Ah, I see ¨C she¡¯s military. Friend of yours from your time in the service?¡± ¡°Yeah, something like that.¡± Eric passed him a plastic card of some kind, and Miles scanned it before handing it back. ¡°Thanks, man.¡± ¡°No problem,¡± Miles said as Eric gathered up his alcohol and went to leave. ¡°Good to see you again, by the way.¡± Eric waved him off, then motioned for Thirteen to follow him. She did, piling into his car as he loaded up the trunk. Once that was done, he got in the driver¡¯s seat, then let out a heavy sigh as he started the car up. ¡°Fucking Miles¡­¡± he muttered. ¡°Dude never knows what he¡¯s saying¡­¡± Thirteen said nothing in response, instead falling silent as Eric pulled the car out and began to drive them home. Somehow, she suspected this was still not what most civilians did in their spare time. An Angels Retirement - Chapter 4 To her curiosity, Eric hadn''t opened any of the bottles he''d bought for the entire day after returning home. Instead, he''d unpacked all of them save for one, which he''d left in a bag on the counter, and instead opted to drink something called ''beer''. She sat opposite of him as he stayed perched on his couch, the amber-colored glass bottle clutched tightly in one hand as he stared absentmindedly at the television in the corner. Thirteen''s brow furrowed at the sight of it. She''d expected civilian life to be monotonous, but this was downright unbearable. This was really what she was supposed to do with the rest of her life? Humans lived to be almost two hundred years old now, on average, which meant she still had about a century-and-a-half left ahead of her. If this was really what she was expected to do for the rest of her days, she was liable to jump off a tall building first instead. Eric must have sensed her discomfort, because he glanced to her out of the corner of his eye, letting out a small grunt as he shifted in his seat. Then, to her surprise, he tossed her the remote. "Here," he offered. "Find something that looks interesting to you." Thirteen stared at the remote ¨C a small glass rectangle, adorned with a tactile touch screen ¨C then looked back to him. His only response was to shrug. "I''ve seen this movie a million times," he explained. "They kill his dog and steal his car, and then he hunts them down for it. Believe me, once you''ve seen a bunch of mobsters get shot in the face a hundred times, you don''t really need to see it for a hundred and first." He leaned back in his chair, upending the bottle in his hand to get at what little liquid was still inside. Once it was completely drained, he stood up. "I''m gonna go get another beer," he said. "Want anything?" Thirteen shook her head. He shrugged once more. "Suit yourself." With that, he walked off, leaving her alone in the room. Thirteen again turned her attention back to the remote, her brow furrowing once more. She knew how to drive a tank, how to fly a gunship, and how to control a mech. She knew the exact calculations needed to take the head off an Iprenian with a sniper rifle at two-thousand yards. She knew how to create explosives from little more than the remnants of a plasma-slagged hardware store and some gumption. She''d been put in charge of military equipment worth multiple millions of dollars, to say nothing of her own armor, which rivaled even humanity''s best warships in terms of sheer monetary cost. Of all the Angels, she''d always been considered the one who was the most maliciously creative, able to think of new and exciting ways to kill aliens on the fly. And yet, despite all of that, this little glass rectangle somehow eluded her in its simplicity. She turned it over in her hand, trying to figure out how it worked. There were only a few buttons on it ¨C a power button, obviously, but also one labeled volume, one labeled channel, and two more respectively labeled input and guide. She hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do ¨C this device was one of the most rudimentary pieces of tech she''d ever been put in charge of, but somehow, it was troubling her. Perhaps it was because of the stakes involved this time. Out in the field, if she broke a piece of equipment, it was considered a worthy sacrifice to the war effort since it generally meant that several Iprenians were about to die in turn. Sure, her commanding officers might yell at her if the piece of gear had been particularly expensive or valuable, but they were always very impartial about it, because on a certain level, they understood why she would have done it. Here, though¡­ if she broke something of Eric''s, the aftermath was a lot more personal. She had no idea which parts of his house were sentimental to him or not. Some of them were easy to guess ¨C the pictures on the walls, of people she could only assume were friends or family, along with anything that looked particularly expensive, for what few of those kinds of objects he may have had. This television and remote, though, eluded her. She scowled. Her primary concern was breaking the remote. She was much stronger than even the most well-trained human athletes were as a result of her upbringing; who was to say that merely the act of her pressing on the remote wouldn''t cause it to shatter into a million pieces? It was definitely not something that could be ruled out immediately. And if it was sentimental to him¡­ As soon as the thought entered her head, her scowl deepened. Her time in the military had taught her to plan for the worst-case scenario, but as she couldn''t seem to stop reminding herself, she wasn''t in the military anymore. With that thought in mind, Thirteen decided to throw caution to the wind. She pressed a random button on the remote, unsure of what it would do, and watched as the television suddenly changed away from what Eric had been watching, to¡­ something else entirely. She blinked at the sight of it. "What is this?" "It''s a children''s show," Eric said from behind her. She turned to face him, and found him standing there, holding a fresh bottle of beer. She noticed that he had already taken several sips from it, and her gaze narrowed. "How long have you been standing there?" "Long enough," he explained. "Really, I wanted to see if you could figure out how the TV worked on your own. Congrats, by the way ¨C I suppose at this point, we''ll have to get you started on the other household appliances soon." He brought a hand up to his chin in thought. "Hm¡­ The washer and dryer are probably fine, but the stovetop and oven might be a little too dangerous¡­" Thirteen glowered at him, and he raised his hands in surrender. "Just kidding," he offered. A moment later, he looked past her, staring at the TV. "So, you planning to sit here and learn your ABCs all day, or am I okay to change the channel to something else?" Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Thirteen said nothing, instead passing the remote back to him. Eric took a seat, then began to flip through channels for a moment before looking over to her. "Any idea of what you might want to watch?" She shook her head, and he pursed his lips. "Yeah¡­ not sure why I asked. Sorry." The two of them fell silent as he continued to search for something to watch. Thirteen simply sat there, staring out the window, until suddenly, he stopped on what appeared to be a show about a war of some kind. Immediately, she turned towards it, blinking in surprise at what she saw. It was old, grainy, black-and-white footage from what appeared to be some twentieth century war. Men were huddled in muddy trenches, clutching wood-stocked rifles and shivering as snow fell around them. She stared at it in amazement before turning to him. "Which war is this?" "Looks like World War One," he answered. "I take it you know at least enough to recognize what that means?" Thirteen nodded. "We studied history as part of our training. It has been awhile, though." "Since you''ve seen the inside of a classroom?" She nodded, and he sat up straight. "Hm. I probably should have expected that. Don''t suppose you can tell me when, exactly, they put you into the field?" She shook her head, and he let out a small sigh. "Didn''t think so." Eric took a sip of his beer before looking back to her. "They let me read your file," he said. "Only the parts that weren''t covered in black ink, of course¡­ so really, I was only able to skim your file, since the thing looked more like a damn chalkboard than anything. But still, I was able to make out a little bit of your history. More than I initially knew, at least." "What did you know initially?" "Only as much as everyone else. One day, these girls in armor showed up and started tearing the Iprenians a new asshole." She tilted her head, and he added, "Figure of speech; it basically means you put the hurt on them real bad. Anyway, not long after the rumor mill started up, the US government came out and officially declassified the Angel program to the general public. All they really told us was that they''d been training fifty young women to fight as a new type of specialized unit attached to SOCOM directly. That''s about all we knew, at least until they started publishing all your kill counts." Thirteen blinked. "...They told you our kill counts?" "They did," Eric confirmed with a nod. "Said it would be a much-needed morale boost. And for once, the government was actually right ¨C nothing put a smile on a soldier''s face like reading about how you girls were absolutely eviscerating entire enemy lines by yourselves. Though, I have to ask¡­ those kill counts weren''t accurate, were they?"Thirteen''s heart skipped a beat. She said nothing, instead merely staring at him, until eventually he waved her off. "Forget it," he declared. "You don''t have to answer that; I understand it''s probably classified." She nodded, and he let out another sigh. "Yup¡­ about how I thought that was gonna go¡­" He raised the lip of the bottle to his mouth once more and took another drink. Thirteen stared at the liquid as it flowed through the bottle, and as Eric lowered it away from his mouth, she couldn''t help but ask about it. "Why do you drink that stuff?" "Hm?" he asked, turning back towards her. "The beer, you mean?": "The alcohol," she specified. "I saw how much you paid for those bottles at the store. And, for that matter, alcohol is an intoxicant." "Yeah, I know. That''s the whole point." Eric raised the bottle so she could get a better look at it. "Look, sometimes, you just want to loosen up a little. And when that happens, all you need is a visit from Mister Booze and his friends." "How much is a little?" she questioned, tilting her head. Eric hesitated, seemingly lost in thought for a moment. After a moment, he answered her with only one word. "Classified." And then he drained what was left in the beer in one go before standing to get another. Thirteen watched him as he left the room, unsure of what to make of the conversation. Somehow, the more she spoke with him, the more confused she got. *** She was already awake when she heard Eric step outside that morning. He hadn''t bothered to check on her first; not that she cared or needed his assistance that badly, of course, but it was unusual. Thirteen thrived off of a routine, and already, he''d broken it by leaving the house without a word. When she heard the Crown Vic start up and pull out of the driveway, she knew something unusual was happening. Cautiously, she stepped out of bed, pausing only to pull on some clothes and her eyepatch before moving out into the hallway. She stepped into the kitchen, and the first thing she noticed was that the bag with the big bottle of alcohol in it that he''d bought the day before was gone. That was curious, though she had no idea what to make of it. The house was empty aside from that, of course, and so she continued into the kitchen, looking around for any signs of where he''d gone. Before long, Thirteen found a small note on the counter, along with a pre-made meal of some kind ¨C some thin slices of meat held between two pieces of white bread, with some kind of cheese in the middle. She pushed the plate aside, instead reaching for the note. Hey, it read, I have to leave for a bit. I''ll be back in a few hours. Until then, this sandwich is for you, and there''s also some more in the fridge if you''re still hungry. Do me a favor and don''t leave the fridge open, would you? Oh, and if Rosa stops by, tell her I''m at the gym or something, I don''t care as long as it gets her to go away. And then, at the bottom of the page, he''d written something else. Happy Victory Day, by the way. An Angels Retirement - Chapter 5 Everything was more boring when she was alone, she concluded. It had been a few hours since Eric had left, and she''d spent that time eating through the food he''d provided for her, as well as absentmindedly watching old war shows ¨C documentaries, they were called ¨C on the television. It was mind-numbing, but in the absence of anything better to do, it was the only thing available for her to occupy her time. Thirteen was beginning to realize how much she hated not having anything to do. In the military, there was always something that needed to be done, generally either killing Iprenians or simply training to kill them. Any downtime she''d had was spent in either cryo or in the hospital wing of whatever ship she''d found herself on. Thirteen grit her teeth as she stared at the screen, willing herself not to clench her fist and shatter Eric''s remote control. The lack of anything to do was making her stir-crazy, and she wasn''t sure how much longer she could take it. Finally, just when she''d about reached her breaking point, she heard the Crown Vic pull into the driveway. Immediately, she perked up, if only because that meant she wasn''t going to be alone anymore. A quick glance at the nearby wall-mounted clock told her that it was almost three in the afternoon; he''d been gone for several hours. She didn''t know why he''d decided to leave so suddenly or where he''d gone, but that didn''t matter. All she cared about now was that she wouldn''t be stuck alone with nothing to do and nobody to talk to. For all his faults, Eric at least kept her from dwelling on her own boredom, if nothing else. The door to the house opened and Eric stepped in. Immediately, Thirteen''s relief was dashed when she saw what he looked like. He looked haggard, but more than that, he just looked downtrodden. She wasn''t sure how to describe the look, but it was one she was familiar look ¨C that faint sense of unease etched across his face, and the way he kept his gaze fixated firmly ahead, staring at something that wasn''t there. She''d seen the same look on the faces of soldiers who''d lost a battle, and worn the same expression herself whenever she''d heard news of one of her fellow Angels falling on the battlefield. Idly, she noticed he was swaying side-to-side slightly; a cursory glance showed that he was clutching tightly to a half-empty bottle of some kind. That was enough to snap her out of her stupor. "You''re drunk," she declared. Eric blinked, then looked over to her, whatever spell that had taken over him having apparently been broken at the sound of her voice. After a moment, he let out a small huff. "That easy to tell, huh?" "Tell me you didn''t drive home like this." Eric waved her off. "Relax. Roads were clear the whole way back." "That isn''t the point. You should not be behind the wheel of a car at all when you''ve been drinking." "What are you, my mother?" Eric shook his head. "Christ, you sound like Rosa¡­" As Thirteen watched, he raised the bottle to his lips and drained it of whatever was left, then wiped the few remaining drops from his lips before letting the bottle fall to the floor below. It landed on its side, then rolled across the carpet before stopping next to her foot. Again, her brow furrowed at the sight of it, and she turned back to face him. "Where did you go, anyway?" "What''s it to you?" Eric growled. "Mind your own business." He went to walk past her, but Thirteen didn''t let him. She stood up and moved to stand in his way, blocking him from going any further. She blinked, surprised at what she had done; it had happened before she''d even realized she was doing it. Across from her, Eric scowled. "Move," he demanded. "Unless you''ve forgotten that this is my house, and you''re just a guest here?" Thirteen''s gaze narrowed, but as much as she hated to admit it, he had a point. Begrudgingly, she nodded, then stepped aside. Eric glowered at her for a moment before stepping past her. "That''s what I thought," he said as he moved past and into his room, slamming the door behind him. Thirteen stared at the closed door for a moment, then turned and marched back to her spot on the couch. She settled into her seat and tried to focus on the war documentary airing in front of her. Somehow, it seemed even more hollow and pointless than it had before. *** The next day, she awoke to the sound of something sizzling in the kitchen. Thirteen blinked, then sat up in mind, a small yawn escaping her. It was early ¨C early enough that she sun hadn''t even risen yet. She hesitated; staying here wasn''t an appealing option, but neither was leaving to investigate the noises Eric was making in the kitchen. Still, she couldn''t exactly spend the rest of her days in this small room, and if she had to leave anyway, then perhaps it would be best to get the worst of it over with.She rose out of bed and pulled on some clothes and her eyepatch, then stepped outside into the main hall. Again, the sound of something cooking hit her, as did the scent; she hesitated for a moment, but then decided to move on. "Eric," she said, stepping out from around the corner. Just as she''d predicted, he was there in the kitchen, hunched over the stovetop, cooking something. His back was to her, meaning she couldn''t see his face, but the moment her words hit him, he tensed. She grit her teeth at her apparent mistake and turned around, silently chastising herself as she prepared to walk back to her room. At least, that was the plan until he turned around, a shameful look on his face. "Hey," he greeted. She paused, then looked over to him, the two of them locking eyes. "Hey," she repeated. He took a breath, then gave a sharp exhale, running a hand through his hair as he did so. "Look, about yesterday¡­ I''m sorry." "About what?" "How about everything?" Again, he sighed. "I''m sorry for leaving you alone all day. I''m sorry for drinking and driving. I''m sorry for snapping at you when you confronted me about it. And finally, I''m sorry for threatening to kick you out at the end." Thirteen titled her head, taken aback by his abruptness. Still, even she knew better than to spurn his apologies, unfamiliar as she was with the process of giving or receiving them. She shifted nervously. "...Is there a reason you left to go drinking all day?" Eric flinched like he''d bee struck, and again, she silently chastised herself, up until the moment when he exhaled again. "...Yeah," he answered softly. "It''s just¡­ I didn''t think Victory Day would be this tough for me, you know?" Thirteen said nothing in response, instead giving him a nod of understanding. The two of them were about as far apart as two service members could be, and yet there was something in his statement that she could relate with. There wasn''t much time to dwell on it, though, as he soon beckoned her to step into the kitchen. "Here," he offered as she came up alongside him. "I was tossing and turning all night; couldn''t get to sleep at all. Finally, I said fuck it and decided to just start making breakfast. You recognize any of this stuff?" Thirteen eyed the stovetop, poring over each item he''d prepared. Out of them all, she only recognized one at first glance. "Eggs," she said, pointing to the mound of fluffy yellow in the corner. Next to her, Eric blinked, confused. "That''s it?" She nodded, and he exhaled. "Shit¡­ you really are out of touch. I guess they didn''t teach you much of anything not related to killing Iprenians¡­" "Correct." "Figures¡­" He sighed once more, then pointed to the other two items on the stovetop. "That''s bacon, and those are pancakes. Take as much of everything as you want, I can always make more if you''re still not satisfied." "You are always careful to offer to make more," Thirteen noticed. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation."Yeah, well¡­ I figure you didn''t get many good meals while you were in the service. I didn''t either, for that matter, but you''re on a whole new level of not experiencing everyday life. I figure, hell, might as well start in the kitchen, if that makes sense." He shook his head, then handed her a plate. "Go ahead and start, I''ll join you in a minute." Thirteen nodded, then loaded up her plate with food and took a seat at his table. True to his word, Eric joined her a short while later, the two of them sitting and eating their breakfast in silence. As usual, she powered through hers, but ultimately opted not to go back for seconds; resources were scarce, after all, and she didn''t want to waste any of them by being a glutton. Instead, she simply placed her dishes in the sink, then sat back down across from Eric once more to watch him eat. He suddenly tensed, a hand going to his temple as he grimaced. Immediately, Thirteen was at his side, though he was quick to wave her off. "I''m fine," he insisted through a mouthful of eggs. "It''s just a headache. Drinking too much will do that to you." Reluctantly, Thirteen backed down, though she was careful to keep her eye on him even as she moved back to her seat. As she sat down, Eric turned towards her once more. "So," he said, "I just realized that you must be getting stir-crazy." She tilted her head, and he added, "You must be feeling pretty claustrophobic, being cramped up in here all day." "Affirmative," she answered. He stretched his arms out. "Well, then you''ll be happy to know that you''re free to wander around town as much as you want." Thirteen tensed. "...You''re kicking me out?" Eric''s eyes widened. "No, no! I just meant¡­ if you want to walk around town, you''re free to do so. You don''t have to wait for me before doing anything. Probably should have realized that earlier, but it didn''t really sink in until now that you''re probably used to being regimented. Figured I''d bring it up, just in case you weren''t aware already." Thirteen stared at him in surprise. Truthfully, she hadn''t realized that she had that level of freedom. Still, after a moment, she nodded. "...Affirmative." Eric opened his mouth, intending to tell her something else, only to be interrupted by a knock at the door. The moment he heard it, a deep scowl crossed his face. "I fucking figured she''d come around eventually¡­" he muttered angrily. "And only she could make a point to do it this early¡­" Before Thirteen could ask what was going on, Eric stood up and marched over to the door, then threw it open. "What do you want?" he asked angrily. Thirteen peered around him, staring at the familiar woman and her ever-present pair of dark glasses. "Good to see you, too," Rosa greeted, Eric''s harsh demeanor rolling off her like water off a raincoat. She flashed him a thin smile. "May I come in?"Eric rolled his eyes, but stepped aside all the same, allowing her entry. Rosa pushed past him without a care, entering his home, though she paused the moment she laid eyes on Thirteen. "Huh," she said aloud. "So you two aren''t at each other''s throats." "Why are you here?" Eric demanded, crossing his arms. "Aside from it being my job to check on you two periodically? Because I wanted to see how you both were getting along. Judging by the lack of property damage and physical injuries to you, I''d say this has been a success so far, if only just." Again, Eric rolled his eyes. "If you came here to make fun of me-" "Oh, please, I can do that over the phone just fine." Rosa flashed him a thin smile. "Really, I''m here because I truly did want to make sure you both were doing fine. And by the looks of things, you are. I mean, she hasn''t killed you yet, so that''s a small victory right there." "I know you well enough to know that there''s some ulterior motive here," Eric challenged. "Well, you''d be right about that," Rosa admitted. She clapped her hands together. "How about I take a look around and make sure she''s getting along just fine, and then we''ll do lunch?" "Only if you''re paying for it," Eric said gruffly. He stepped into the hall and began to make his way back to his own room. "Gonna go take a shower and get changed. Try not to destroy the whole house while I''m gone." "No promises," Rosa said as she watched him go. The moment the bedroom door closed behind him, she turned towards Thirteen, a smirk crossing her face. "So," she began, "tell me everything that''s happened since you''ve gotten here." Thirteen blinked, unsure of what to say at first. She hesitated before finally settling on the truth. "The first day, I aggravated Eric by breaking his nudity taboo, and he immediately demanded I put on some clothes. I did so, and he made breakfast afterwards. He then took me to the liquor store, purchased a number of bottles of alcohol, and dropped me off back here before leaving me to figure out how to use the television by myself," she explained. "The next day, he disappeared for a number of hours, leaving me by myself. When he came back, he was visibly intoxicated and very irritated about something." Rosa stared at her for a moment. "...That''s it? That''s all that''s happened over the past few days?" Thirteen nodded, and Rosa let out a tired sigh. "Damn it, Eric¡­ what are you doing?" She shook her head. "Well, I figured this was going to be anything but smooth sailing, but still. I''ll talk with him, see what needs to be done when it comes to getting you better settled in. Were there any questions you had about adjusting to life outside of the military?" Again, Thirteen hesitated. Truthfully, she had no questions, but that was less because she knew what she was doing at this point and more because she still didn''t know what she didn''t know. It was difficult to come up with any questions when she wasn''t even sure what she needed to be questioning in the first place. Rosa seemed to sense her discomfort, and shook her head again. "Look, don''t worry about it now," she offered. "You''re still taking time to adjust, I''m sure it''s more than a bit of culture shock to you. Tell you what, I''ll leave you my card. If you come up with any questions that Eric can''t ¨C or more likely won''t ¨C answer, give me a call and I''ll answer them for you. Deal?" Thirteen nodded, and Rosa reached into her pocket and handed her a small card of some sort. Thirteen turned it over in her hand, examining it. Rosa Herrera - Service Officer, Office of Veterans'' Affairs "My number''s at the bottom," Rosa explained. "You have any questions, give me a call." Thirteen gave her an appreciative nod. "Thank you." Rosa waved her off. "Least I could do, really. Anyway, I''m just gonna take a quick look around, and then we can get lunch afterwards when Eric''s out of the shower. Anything in particular you feel like eating?" Thirteen shook her head, and Rosa clicked her tongue. "Well, we''ll think of something. You just hang tight here for a second, I''ll be right back." With that, she turned and disappeared down the nearby hallway, looking through the various rooms in Eric''s house. Thirteen again turned her attention back to the card Rosa had left her, tilting her head as she stared at it. She was used to serving alongside comrades, of course, but Rosa and Eric were certainly the oddest two she''d ever dealt with. "Are all civilians like these two?" she wondered aloud. There was a sudden crash from down the hall, followed by a surprised shout. Thirteen was about to take off running down the hall when she realized what had happened ¨C Rosa had accidentally knocked a picture frame over, and Eric was now yelling obscenities at her from inside the bathroom while she simply laughed at him in response and set the picture back upright. Thirteen paused at the sight of it, then slowly allowed herself to relax. Quietly, she grimaced. "...I sure hope they aren''t," she softly added. An Angels Retirement - Chapter 6
"This doesn''t look like a steakhouse."
"What am I, made of money?" Rosa crossed her arms.
"I thought you could expense all this."
"I can, but that''s not the point. Do you have any idea how expensive a good steak is these days? My boss would have my ass if he saw I spent that much on a casual lunch with you two."
"Is that what this is?" Eric questioned. "A casual lunch?"
Rosa flashed him a grin. "This is as casual as I can make it, you know. In my eyes, at least, it doesn''t get much more casual than a Tex-Mex joint."
"Did you have to pick the one where the staff apparently only speak Spanish?"
"Why, is that a problem?"
"Yeah, it is ¨C how are we supposed to order?"
Rosa waved him off. "That''s why I''m here."
Eric just sighed tiredly, picking up his menu with no small amount of resignation. "Can''t even read what most of this stuff is supposed to be¡­"
"That''s why they included little pictures of everything," Rosa pointed out.
"Smart ass¡­"
"Thanks, I try." She turned towards Thirteen. "What do you feel like eating? I can point you towards something good."
Thirteen''s brow furrowed as she stared at the pictures of food on the menu. After a moment, she shrugged; Rosa''s expression faltered, and she turned back to Eric.
"What, are you not feeding her or something?"
"What kind of question is that?" he asked, looking up from his menu. "Of course I''m feeding her. Hell, you ought to ask the same thing to the Military ¨C did you know she''s barely eaten anything aside from nutrient paste for nearly the entire time she''s been in the service?"
Rosa blinked, then looked over to Thirteen. "Is that true?" Thirteen nodded, and Rosa sucked in a breath. "Okay¡­ I recommend you get this, then." She pointed at a picture of something on the menu. "Arroz con pollo.
Thirteen just nodded. Eric, meanwhile, looked over his menu for a bit before pointing at something."That burrito with ranchero sauce sounds good," he grunted. "I''ll have that."
"I thought you wanted steak?" Rosa asked.
"Who goes to a Mexican restaurant and orders just a steak?"
"Plenty of people, actually. There''s a reason why they even offer it as an option, you know."
"Seems like it''d defeat the point of coming to a place like this."
"If you say so." Rosa let out a sigh, leaning back in her chair. "Anyway, I''ll go ahead and order for you both, so no worries there." Her gaze turned towards Thirteen, and she smirked. "So, be honest ¨C how tempted have you been to beat the crap out of him so far?"
Thirteen''s one good eye blinked. "...The only humans I am supposed to do harm to are smugglers, bandits, and terrorists. Eric is none of those. And even if he were, I am supposed to be retired."
Again, Rosa''s expression faltered. "Right, right¡­ of course¡­ forget I asked."
A heavy silence fell over the three of them for several minutes, lasting until their food finally arrived. When it did, Eric raised an eyebrow.
"This isn''t what I ordered," he said, confused.
"I know," Rosa replied, giving him another smirk. "I figured you needed more vegetables in your diet."
Eric glared at her. "You''re lucky I can''t speak Spanish, otherwise I''d be sending it back."
"Whatever you say."
As the two of them bickered, Thirteen tore into her meal, doing her best to ignore them both. Surprisingly, the food was quite good ¨C it was certainly a far cry from her nutrient paste. The mix of flavors and spices was unlike anything she''d ever eaten before. It was so mind-blowing for her that, before she knew it, her plate was empty. She blinked, staring at it in surprise, her fork and knife still poised for her next bite. After a moment, she lowered the utensils, then turned towards Eric and Rosa, who she realized were both barely halfway through their respective meals.
"O-kay, then," Rosa said, breaking the stunned silence that had settled over the two of them. "Eric, does she always-"
"Pretty much," he said, "but this was intense, even for her. She must have been hungry."
"That or it just tasted really good." Rosa cleared her throat. "You can order some more, you know. This place is pretty cheap, all things considered; I don''t think my boss will mind if you get more."
Eric expected her to refuse, as she''d always done, but to his surprise, she hesitated for just a moment before nodding. Rosa gave her a small smile, then called for the waiter and began conversing with him in Spanish. He left a few moments later; as he walked away, a thought occurred to Eric, and he turned to Rosa.
"How come you''re nice to her and not to me?"
"Hey, I''m buying you lunch, aren''t I?" Rosa countered. "Besides, my first meeting with her didn''t end with a series of four-letter words between the two of us. Can you say the same?"
Eric let out a begrudging sigh, then turned back to his food. He''d barely gotten a few bites into it when Rosa suddenly looked over to Thirteen.
Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. "That reminds me, would you mind giving us a few minutes alone?" she asked. "I have some stuff I need to go over with Eric, and I''m sure he''d appreciate the privacy."
Thirteen hesitated, apparently unsure about what to do, but eventually relented with a nod. "...I''ll be up front," she said quietly before standing up and walking away.
Once she was gone, Eric turned his handler, confused. "We''re really doing this here?"
"Come on, you didn''t think I was only here to check on her, did you?" Rosa asked. "I''m still your service officer, too ¨C that means your well-being is, on a certain level, still partially my responsibility. Now, are you going to be difficult about it like usual?"
Eric''s gaze narrowed. "Is that why you took me to a public place for once? So I wouldn''t make a scene?"
"Honestly? No. Genuinely, I wanted to try and do something nice for her; this is just a good bonus. So, I''ll ask again ¨C are you going to be-"
"For fuck''s sake, just get it over with," Eric growled. "Ask your damn questions, already; dragging it out is only making things worse."
"Fine, fine." Rosa adjusted her position in her seat, then pushed her sunglasses up slightly. "I''ll start with the obvious ¨C how do you like having her living with you?"
"The extra money''s nice."
"That''s not what I asked."
"That''s the answer you''re getting."
"Alright, I guess it''s going to be like that." Rosa sighed tiredly. "So she told me you''ve already seen her naked."
Eric choked on a mouthful of chicken. After a few seconds of gasping for breath, he managed to get it down, then turned back to her.
"She told you that?"
"She did," Rosa confirmed. "Should I be concerned?"
"No, no¡­ it''s just¡­ she''s used to sleeping naked. I guess the other members of her unit didn''t have much of a nudity taboo. Makes sense, given that they weren''t a typical unit." He brought a hand up and ran it through his hair. "And in my defense, I looked away as fast as I could and established some ground rules about that sort of thing. It won''t happen again."
Rosa simply nodded. For the first time, Eric noticed she was typing on a tablet, and he glowered at her."Are you notating what I just said?"
"Forgot to mention, we''re on-the-record," she said without looking up.
"Bitch."
"Got that, too. Anything else you''d like to add?"
"Notate this." Eric flipped her off, and she paused, peering at him from behind her sunglasses.
"Real mature," she said flippantly as he lowered his finger.
"You know us soldiers ¨C real pinnacles of maturity. Speaking of maturity, that makes two questions; were you planning on asking the other eighteen any time soon?"
She rolled her eyes, but didn''t offer a response. He was disappointed. "She mentioned you''ve been drinking."
"Yeah, what else is new?"
"Is your drinking a joke to you?" Rosa suddenly demanded, causing him to go silent. "She mentioned you went out with a bottle of alcohol, then came back ¨C drove back, even ¨C hours later, minus most of the alcohol and clearly intoxicated."
Eric blinked. "...Told you that, did she?"
"She did," Rosa confirmed with a nod. "Eric, be honest ¨C is everything okay?"
"If I say yes, will you believe me?"
"Eric-"
"I know, I know." He heaved yet another tired sigh. "Look, it''s just¡­ Victory Day was a hard one, you know? I figured it would be, but I didn''t think it''d be quite so bad. What I did was really fucking stupid, I''m aware, and I''m sorry, and I won''t do it again."
"And I appreciate the sentiment, but that doesn''t change the fact that I''m worried about you." Rosa leaned in, dropping her voice down to a mutter so the other patrons wouldn''t hear. "And the nightmares? How are those?"
Eric crossed his arms. "...Same as ever," he admitted. "I still see ''em, damn near every night. It never gets any easier."
"Is that why you''re drinking so much? Or was it some combination of that, Victory Day, and having her here with you?"
"Hell if I know," Eric admitted. "Look, can we change the subject?"
Rosa stared at him for a moment. "Eric, I really think you should consider seeing a-"
Eric slammed his hand on the table, cutting her off.
"Change. The. Subject," he said sharply.
Rosa''s expression narrowed behind her glasses. "I don''t know why you''re so resistant to this idea. Tougher men than you have-"
"Because I don''t want the fucking stigma, okay? What''s so hard to understand about that? I already know what they''re going to fucking tell me, I don''t need them to confirm it. Besides, I''m dealing with it just fine on my own."
"You really consider drinking and driving like that to be dealing with it just fine?"
"That was a one-time thing and it''s not going to happen again," Eric promised.
"How can I be sure-"
"Rosa," Eric interrupted, his tone taking an edge. "I mean it. Drop it."
Rosa stared at him, but finally relented with a small nod. "...Alright. Okay. Fine. But just know that this conversation isn''t over."
"It is for now, and that''s good enough for me."
At that moment, the waiter returned with Thirteen''s second plate of food. Eric watched him set it down, then looked back to Rosa.
"I think that''s our cue to call her back," he said.
"We''re not done with-"
Eric suddenly stood up and motioned for Thirteen to come back. She didn''t hesitate, and began making her way to their table. Rosa glared at him, then sat back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Asshole," she muttered.
Eric said nothing in response, instead going back to his own food as Thirteen sat down and resumed eating as well.
The entire time, Rosa continued to glare at him, and he did his best to ignore her.
***
A short while later, they left the restaurant and Rosa dropped the two of them off at Eric''s house. As he stepped out of the passenger side of her car, he turned to her.
"Thanks for lunch," he begrudgingly offered as began to walk away.
"Eric." He paused, then looked back to her. "I mean it. We''re not done having this conversation. You can''t avoid it forever."
Eric merely stared at her for a moment, until she put her black SUV into reverse, then pulled out of his driveway. He watched her drive away, only taking his gaze away when the car turned a corner and he completely lost it from view. He gave an annoyed huff as he unlocked the front door and stepped inside, Thirteen trailing behind him the entire time.
"I don''t know about you, but I need to let all that settle for a bit," he said as he took a seat on his couch. "You good?"
Thirteen nodded from her spot in the living room. Eric''s brow furrowed; for some reason, he suddenly felt bad about treating her so dismissively before. He had no idea why that thought had occurred to him, but now that it had, he couldn''t get it out of his head. He turned towards her, noting she was still dressed in her green Marine Corps shirt and surplus pants.
If nothing else, she needed a new wardrobe. And that much, at least, he could help her with.
"Hey," he said, getting her attention. "You need some new clothes."
Thirteen stared at him, tilting her head in confusion. "What''s wrong with these?"
"Nothing, but they''re not much to look at. And besides that, you don''t have very much to call your own, anyway. Tell me ¨C they paid you during your time in the Marines, right?" She nodded, and he let out a breath. "Good. Tell you what ¨C I''ll help you pick out some new clothes in a bit, once my food''s settled. That''s what we''ll do the rest of the day. Sound good?"
Thirteen nodded, and Eric let out a breath he didn''t know he''d been holding.
"Alright," he said. "Until then¡­ goodnight."
With that, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to drift off for a short nap, the entire time praying that the nightmares wouldn''t be too intense this time.
An Angels Retirement - Chapter 7
"Eric."
At the sound of her voice, Eric catapulted awake, his breath coming out in ragged gasps. He looked around for a moment, only relaxing when he realized he was in his own living room. Thirteen was standing there, staring down at him, confusion etched across her face.
"Sorry¡­" he muttered as he stood up from his spot on the couch. "How long was I out?"
"Two hours."
Two hours¡­ his brow furrowed at that information. It felt like it had been two years, the way he''d been dreaming. Even now, it was all still so vivid to him ¨C the scarred remnants of a battlefield, filled with fallen soldiers from both sides. Smoke curled up into the sky from myriad craters that marred the surface of the planet, and spent brass casings littered the ground every which way. As bad as the sights had been, the sounds and the smells had been even worse. Somehow, more than anything, those never left him; whenever he woke up, he could always recall them with pure clarity ¨C the coppery scent of blood and gore, and the stench of spent gunpowder punctuated by the sickening miasma of plasma-burned flesh. Even now, the recollection of it made his stomach roil.
And the sounds¡­ every which way, wounded men and women from both sides cried out in agony. No matter their race, their vocalizations had long since deteriorated from any discernible language, instead joining together in a universal exclamation of pain. As he listened, the sound reached a crescendo, washing over him as he laid in his crater, the ear-piercing noise drowning out damn near everything else.
"Eric."
And just like that, he was back in his living room. Eric blinked once more, then turned back to Thirteen.
"Sorry," he offered. "I spaced out. What time is it?"
"Almost three in the afternoon."
"Hm¡­ I guess we''d better get going soon, then." He stood up and stretched, then ran a hand through his unkempt beard. Despite his distaste for the act, he supposed it was about time to trim it a bit.
After all, he''d already accepted the OVA''s request. There was no sense in sticking it to them anymore now that they''d beaten him. And wasn''t that a thought? He''d spent most of his post-war life trying to fuck the OVA over the same way they''d continuously done to him, and now he''d essentially given all that up in favor of cold, hard cash.
Not that cared, that is ¨C money was still money, as far as he was concerned.
Shaking those thoughts from his mind, he turned towards Thirteen, who was still standing there, staring at him, unsure of what to do. He gave a small grimace at that; she was still so regimented¡­ it was almost creepy, like the government had somehow done their best to take away her humanity in favor of making her their puppet.
Idly, he was aware of the fact that they''d actually probably done something very similar to that, and he made a mental note never to dwell on that idea again.
He wasn''t exactly Thirteen''s biggest fan, but she hadn''t done anything to him, and even besides that, despite his best efforts, there was still enough of a shred of common decency left in him that he could still feel disgusted about the methods used to create a person like her.Whatever the military had done to turn her into an Angel, it couldn''t have been pretty.
"I''ll be outside in a few minutes," Eric grunted as he stepped past her. "Wait for me in the car."
"Affirmative," she replied, her voice monotone.
Then, as he watched, she turned and marched outside, stopping only to close the front door behind her. Eric watched her go before shaking his head, then disappearing into his room to grab his keys.
***
"What is this?"
"What''s what?" Eric asked without looking over to her as he carefully weaved through traffic.
"The noise," Thirteen specified. "What is it?"
"It''s music," Eric replied. "Don''t tell me you''re not familiar with music?"
She shook her head. "I heard some of the other soldiers playing some over the radio now and again¡­"Eric grimaced. Of course. This was becoming a routine for them ¨C she''d express confusion about something incredibly mundane, he''d be surprised that she wasn''t familiar with any of it, and then she''d say something to once again remind him that of exactly what kind of person she was. And every time, it reminded him of exactly how unnatural she was.
There was a killing machine in the passenger seat of his Crown Vic. Sometimes, it was so easy to forget that about her.
"Is it bothering you?" he asked. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her shake her head, and breathed a sigh of relief. "That''s good¡­ I don''t know if I could have let you stay in my house, knowing you didn''t like Black Sabbath."
"Black Sabbath?"
"That''s the band ¨C er, the guys who made this particular song. It''s pretty old-fashioned by today''s standards, but what can I say? I have old-fashioned tastes."
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. She blinked. "...You were going to kick me out if I didn''t like it?"
"Lighten up, would you?" he asked. "It was a joke. You know, haha, funny, comedy, humor, you laugh? Wait, wait, don''t tell me ¨C you''re not familiar with jokes, either." She shook her head, and he let out a sharp exhale. "...That ain''t right. I don''t know how you all made it through deployment without joking around."
"Mostly, we made it through deployment by killing Iprenians," she answered matter-of-factly.
"Of course you all did¡­"
She hesitated for a moment before speaking again. "...You make it sound as though these jokes were not unusual. Tell me, did you and your men spend a lot of time-"
Eric suddenly pulled into a nearby parking lot, the tires of the car screeching as he did so. He found a space and parked the car as fast as he could, then killed the engine before unbuckling his seatbelt.
"We''re here," he said. "Come on, let''s hurry this up ¨C the stores will be closing soon."
Thirteen stared at him in surprise, but nodded, then stepped out of the car and followed him as he approached the first store.
***
"People wear things like this casually?"
"I''m tempted to say no, just to fuck with you," he answered. She glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, and he sighed. "Yes, people wear things like that casually. Try not to sound too surprised about it."
Thirteen turned her attention back to the mirror the two of them were standing in front of. Currently, she was dressed in a black skirt and a white blouse, mostly because Eric had figured it''d be funny to see her try them on. And he was right ¨C they both looked extremely out-of-place on her. Something about her demeanor just screamed that traditionally feminine clothing wasn''t going to work.
"Maybe it''s the eyepatch¡­" he mused. Again, she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, and he waved her off. "Nothing, nothing. Here, I''ve got some other stuff for you that will fit you better."
He passed her a stack of clothes ¨C jeans and T-shirts, mostly ¨C and then turned away as she retreated into a nearby changing room. She wasn''t changing in front of him, of course, but after the incident earlier in the week, he wasn''t taking any chances.
After a minute or two, the door to the changing room opened, and Thirteen stepped out. Eric couldn''t help but stare at her as she approached him. This was definitely her look ¨C dark blue jeans and a plain black T-shirt, along with a set of black boots and a leather belt to complete the look.
"You''re staring," she noted. "Is it bad?"
"No, it''s just different," Eric admitted. "You look like you ought to be working at a dive bar somewhere." She tilted her head at that, and he sighed. "¡­Really, it suits you. The standard girly stuff wouldn''t fit you at all, personality-wise. Plus, I figure you''re not into showing off a bunch of skin, for reasons of practicality."
She nodded, then looked at herself in the mirror, frowning as she did so. "Do the pants come in something more loose-fitting?"
"Probably. Why do you ask?"
"In case I need to conceal-" She froze, having caught herself, and then let out a sheepish sigh. "...Right. Not a concern anymore."
Eric refrained from commenting. Instead, he reached back into their cart, pulling out another stack of clothes.
"I picked out a few different colors," he informed her. "They''re all the same sizes as what you''re wearing now, but I figured a little variety couldn''t hurt. And before you say anything ¨C no, having variety isn''t practical, but if you look like you''re wearing the same outfit every day, people are going to think you''re weird."
She nodded. Idly, Eric realized he was probably the worst person to talk about this sort of thing with her, but in the absence of anyone else to do it, it unfortunately fell unto him.Just his luck.
Shaking that thought from his mind, Eric motioned for her to look at what was in the cart. "I don''t see a reason for you to try on everything here. If you like the way these all look, then we can probably call it a day and move on to something else."
She nodded once more, then began to look through the stack of clothes. Thankfully, she wasn''t too picky, and the only articles of clothing she ended up discarding were anything too brightly-colored.He tried not to think too hard about why she seemed to have an aversion to bright colors.
In any case, they were done soon after, and before he knew it, they were both at the register, being rung up by a bored-looking teenage cashier.
"Your total is four-thousand, five-hundred, fifty-seven dollars and sixty-eight cents."
Eric''s eyes about bugged out of his skull. "You''re serious?"
The teenage boy behind the register stared at him like he''d grown a second head. "...Uh, yeah? This stuff is all designer."
"Designer? It''s all one solid color. What''s designer about that?"
"...The designer?"
"Smart ass," Eric growled. He turned to Thirteen. "I''m not comfortable with you spending that much on clothing. We''ll put all this back, and-"
"Why?" she asked.
"What do you mean, why? That''s a lot of money to spend on clothes."
"I can afford it easily. It''s no trouble."
Eric stared at her. "You can?" She nodded. "...You''re certain?"
"I called Officer Rosa while you were sleeping and asked her how to check how much money I had access to," Thirteen told him.
Despite his initial reservations, Eric''s curiosity was now officially piqued. "Okay. And how much money would that be?"
"From what she told me? Just over thirty million."
Both Eric and the cashier choked. Thirteen blinked, confused, as she looked between the two of them.
"...Is that a lot?" she asked.
***
"Fucking Rosa¡­" Eric muttered as him and Thirteen carried her bags back to the car. "She could''ve done me a solid and let me know that you were fucking loaded. How do you even have that much money, anyway?"
"I don''t know," she replied. "I asked her that and she told me it was the government''s way of repaying me for my service."
"Well, at least someone is getting repaid for it¡­" Eric muttered angrily. He popped the trunk and the two of them dropped their bags in the back. Once that was done, he slammed it shut and turned to her. "Alright, then, Miss Moneybags. Since you''ve basically got the fucking Midas touch, you can be the one to buy dinner. I know a good bar and grill nearby-"
Before he could explain further, Eric''s phone started to buzz in his pocket. He paused, then pulled it out, grimacing when he saw the caller ID.Dad
"Shit¡­" he muttered as he stared at the screen. An Angels Retirement - Chapter 8
Eric stared at his phone as it rang in his hand, his eyes locked on the caller ID. He couldn''t help but give a small wince once it became clear that his father wasn''t about to give up on contacting him.
"You are troubled," Thirteen noted from beside him. "Is something the matter?"
"Why yes, as a matter of fact, something is the matter," Eric replied. "My father is attempting to call me."
She blinked. "...I believe it is customary to answer-"
"I''m aware, I just¡­ forgot I was supposed to contact him a few days ago, so he''s probably gonna give me a whole rash of shit over that." Eric sighed, running a hand through his hair. "And as if that wasn''t bad enough, I still haven''t told him about you."
Thirteen tilted her head at that, and Eric pursed his lips. "Not the specifics about you, of course, but rather just the fact that I have a girl living with me. And before you ask ¨C yes, he''s going to give me a whole rash of shit over that, too."
"My apologies."
"Not in a bad way¡­" Eric sighed tiredly. "Alright, he''s not giving up, so I''m gonna have to take this. Just¡­ stay there and try not to make any noise, okay?" Thirteen nodded, and Eric took a breath before accepting the call.
"Well, it''s about damn time!" his father said from the other end of the line. "You busy or something?"
"Sorry, I was preoccupied," Eric offered.
"Well, what were you preoccupied with? It better have been getting head from a nice girl."
"Dad¡­"
His father laughed. "I''m just messing with you, son. So, tell me, how the hell are you? It''s been awhile. Weren''t you supposed to call me a few days ago?"
"Sorry," Eric repeated.
"Ah, it''s no big deal ¨C at least we''re talking now. So, how are things, anyway? That cute little black-haired number still coming around regularly?"
"Cute little black-haired-" Eric paused as his father''s words sank in. Slowly, his eyes narrowed. "...You mean Rosa?"
"Yeah, her. She still making sure you remember how to cook and clean?"
"In a manner of speaking. J-just¡­ I''m sorry, did you just try to imply that she''s cute?"
"Well, she is."
Eric let out another tired sigh. "I''m not even gonna ask how you figured out she was my liaison¡­"
"It wasn''t hard. I just had to call up the office and ask around like the concerned parent I am. Once I got her name, all I had to do was look her up online. Had to make sure they were treating you right, after all."
Too little, too late, but Eric made sure not to tell him that.
"Anyway, you should ask her out."
Eric''s eye twitched. "Dad, I am not asking out Rosa. Not only would that be a huge conflict of interest for her, but she''s also kind of a massive bitch."
"I thought that was your type? That girl you were dating back in high school certainly fit the bill."
"That was a decade ago."
"So what, you mean to tell me you''ve finally graduated to something better? Hell, maybe now you''re dating the kind of woman who could actually just kill you."
Idly, Eric immediately thought of Thirteen, and shuddered. "Not quite."
"Ah, I heard that! Makes it sound like you are dating someone. Is she there with you now?"
"I''m not dating anyone, dad," Eric replied, exasperated. "That being said, I do have a long-term house guest for the time being."
"You do?" He paused. "Is she cute?"
Eric bit his tongue. Instead, he shook his head. "She''s a friend from my time in the service ¨C needed a place to stay for a while after finally getting out. I offered to let her crash at my house for a bit while she gets herself situated."
"Your friend? I wasn''t aware you had many friends from your time in the military."
He didn''t.
At least, not anymore.
Eric shook his head. "Look, if all you did was call me up to tease me about my love life-"
"Come on, Junior ¨C you know I''m just giving you a hard time. I''ll stop if it''s bothering you that much."
Eric let out a slow exhale. "...Fine. So, what are you really calling for?"
"What, I can''t check in with my favorite son?"
"I''m your only child."
"Yeah, I know." He laughed. "But seriously. How are you doing? You''ve been in that house for about a year now. You''re not just sitting inside by yourself all day, are you?"
Eric winced. Slowly, he shook his head. "Nah. I go out from time to time. You know, hang out with people, get some food, see the sights around town¡­"
"Sounds cool. Say, I don''t think I''ve been there to visit you since you moved in. Next time I''m in town, we should do something, maybe tour one of those Civil War battlefields. I know you''re a big history buff."
"That''s being generous. All I do in that department is watch documentaries when there''s nothing else on."
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "Well, guess what? That''s more than what I do." His father laughed again. "Anyway, I also wanted to let you know¡­ I''m planning to go hunting again soon."
Eric''s heart skipped a beat. "By yourself?"
"Yup."
"...Tell me you''re just hunting deer."
"If I do, will you believe me?"
"Dad-"
"Come on, Eric," his father implored. "I''m an experienced hunter, you know that. Hell, I taught you everything I know ¨C even gave you some of my old guns, too."
"I know, but accidents can still happen," Eric protested. "I''d feel a lot better if you took someone with you."
"What, and have them scare away the game? I don''t think so. But if it makes you feel better, I''ll be sure to bring my phone with me, along with some medical supplies and rations. That''ll be more than enough to keep me going."
"If you say so¡­" Eric shook his head. "Hey, so, while I have you¡­ what do you want me to do with those pictures?"
"Which ones?"
"The ones of you and Mom."
There was a pause on the other end of the line. "...You still haven''t put those up?"
Eric hesitated. "...No room in my place, at least not at the moment. I can mail them back to you-"
"Keep ''em. She''d have wanted you to have them, anyway." There was another pause. "...She''d have been proud of you, son. Don''t ever forget that."
A sudden lump formed in his throat. Slowly, Eric swallowed it, then nodded. "I know."
"Good. Anyway, glad I got to catch up with you, even if it was only for a few minutes. I''ll talk to you later, son."
"Yeah. Talk to you later, Dad."
With that, the call ended. Eric stared at his phone once more, then let out a heavy sigh before pocketing it and turning back towards Thirteen. She was standing next to the car, staring at him, looking a little lost. He sucked in a breath, then stepped over to the driver''s side window.
"Let''s get going," he said. "Fucking starving over here¡­"
***
Dinner was a silent affair between the two of them. Eric ended up splitting the bill with her, and then they got back into the car for the ride home. It was there, on the drive back, that Thirteen finally broke the silence that had come over the two of them.
"Your father seemed¡­ nice."
Eric looked at her out of the corner of his eye. He let out a grunt, then shook his head. "Old man just likes to grind my gears."
"Grind your-"
"Figure of speech. It means he likes to bother me on purpose."
"...And you accept this?"
"Yeah. I mean, I figure it''s a father''s place to give his children shit."
"Hm."
With that, she fell silent once more. Eric turned his attention back towards the road, but something about this conversation was bothering him. Thirteen had never been one for conversation unless she''d needed something from him, so for her to suddenly try speaking with him about something mundane such as this¡­ he felt he at least owed it to her to try and carry on the talk.
"What about you?" he asked. "Got a family?"
Slowly, she shook her head. Eric couldn''t help but wince. "Sorry¡­ should have figured."
"Figured what?"
He paused. "...Don''t know. Just¡­ should have realized that''s a sensitive question-"
"They''re dead."
Eric turned to her in surprise. He found her staring out the window, watching the trees go by as they sped down the highway.
"Iprenians shelled the surface of the planet for days," she said, her voice taking on that same emotionless monotone. "They killed a lot of people, my family among them. I lost both my parents, both older brothers, and my infant sister. I was five."
Again, Eric felt that familiar lump form in his throat. "Sorry."
She said nothing, instead continuing to look out the window in silence. Eric hesitated, another thought occurring to him. It was a dangerous one, he knew, but this was the first chance he''d gotten to get some real information out of her.
And so, he took it.
"Is that what made you decide to become an Angel?"
For the first time since entering the car, Thirteen turned towards him, surprise etched across her face. For a moment, Eric was worried that he''d said the wrong thing ¨C that he''d dug too deep and earned her ire.
But instead, she surprised him yet again.
"...They offered me a choice," she said softly. "While I was recovering in the hospital, a few men in suits approached me. They said they''d heard about what had happened to me, and that if I wanted, they could help me avenge my family. Avenge¡­ I didn''t know what it meant back then, but it didn''t take me long to understand."
Again, Eric swallowed, though this time it was out of nervousness rather than anything else. "...So that''s when the military took you in?"
She nodded. "Myself and the others. All fifty of us. The oldest was nine, and the youngest was four. The only thing we had in common was that we wanted to make the Iprenians pay for what they''d done to us. We didn''t know what we were asking for at the time, but we knew enough to be certain that if there was something we could do to hurt them the same way they''d hurt us, we''d take it."
"And¡­ when did they begin training you?"
This time, Thirteen didn''t answer immediately. Instead, she turned to look back out the window once more, and silence settled over the car again. She hadn''t said anything, but she hadn''t needed to.
Eric understood completely from her silence alone.
***
"Eric, calm down."
"Don''t start," he managed to hiss over the phone to her, the words coming out slurred. The room was spinning around him, but he didn''t care. It was too late at night for him to care. Instead, he raised the bottle of bourbon to his lips and took another sip before turning back to his phone.
"Did you know?"
"Did I know what?"
"That she was-" He caught himself as his voice began to steadily grow louder, his rage almost too great to contain. Eric hesitated, then lowered his voice down so it was barely above a whisper before speaking again.
"That she was a fucking child soldier."
Rosa said nothing. A vein pulsed in Eric''s forehead. "So you did
"Would it have changed anything if I had told you?" she demanded.
"I don''t know, would it?"
"You''re the one drunkenly calling me at midnight to rant about it. You tell me."
Eric let out a grunt, but said nothing. He took another swig, draining what was left in the bottle before setting it aside and looking back to his phone.
"She was five, Rosa," he told her. "Five years old, and the government took advantage of her. They saw a little girl who''d just lost everything, and their first thought wasn''t how they could help her. Oh, no. No, it was how they could use
"In their defense, we needed the Angels-"
"Not like that," he growled. "There had to have been another way. Something less drastic, less¡­ evil."
Several seconds passed. Finally, Rosa broke the silence by letting out a heavy sigh.
"Look, it''s late," she said. "I''ll stop by tomorrow. You and I can discuss this in-person then. Just¡­ do me a favor tonight first."
"What?"
"Please stop drinking for the night. You can be as mad as you want, but please¡­ no more booze for now. You''ve had enough."
Eric stared at his phone in shock, unsure if he''d actually heard her say what she just had. The words turned over in his mind for a few seconds before he finally nodded.
"Fine," he grunted. "Be here at nine. Don''t be late."
"Wouldn''t dream of it."
And then the line went dead. Eric gave one last look at his phone before setting it on the bedside table and lying down, an irritated sigh escaping him.
When he finally fell asleep, his nightmares came back to haunt him, and they were somehow even worse than usual. An Angels Retirement - Chapter 9
"You''re late."
"Yeah, by like five minutes." Rosa rolled her eyes. "Fucking bite me, would you? I hit a little traffic on my way over. Are you gonna let me in or not?"
Eric scowled at her, but did as she asked, stepping aside so she could enter his home. She looked around, lowering the hood of her raincoat as she did so.
"Where is she?"
"In her room," Eric reported. "I told her we needed to discuss some private things regarding my service record for a bit. She won''t be bothering us."
"You''re certain of that?"
"Positive. She follows me around like a lost puppy."
Rosa let out a short exhale. "Alright¡­ the kitchen, then?"
"Works for me."
The two of them stepped over to Eric''s kitchen table. He pulled Rosa''s seat out for her, and she sat down, though he hesitated.
"Can I get you anything?" he offered. "Breakfast? Coffee? Bourbon, maybe?"
"You''re being awfully hospitable," she noted.
"Is that a no?"
Rosa let out a sigh. "...Bourbon. It''s early, but I suspect we''re going to need it."
Eric nodded, then stepped over to the countertop and retrieved the nearest opened bottle of bourbon. He poured two fingers of it and passed one over to Rosa, then sat down across from her. She raised her glass to him and took a sip, only for her eyes to bug out from behind her sunglasses. She managed to set the glass down before coughing, one hand going to her chest.
"Fuck me¡­" she breathed between gasps of air. "That stuff is like-"
"Turpentine, I know."
"Drinking it neat was a mistake¡­"
"Lightweight. Should I get you some ice cubes? Maybe you''d like a water, or perhaps a Shirley Temple?"
Rosa glared at him as her coughing fit died down. "Asshole¡­" she muttered as she settled down into her seat. To Eric''s surprise, she went back for more liquor, this time managing to brace herself enough that it went down with little more than a shudder.
"That bad, huh?" he asked.
"You asked me last night if I knew," Rosa said. "Officially, I didn''t. But unofficially¡­"
"What the hell does that mean?"
"It means that I have a working brain, dumbass. Think about it ¨C she''s twenty-four now. The Angels first started appearing on the battlefield nine years ago. You do the math."
Eric''s eyes widened. "Shit¡­" he breathed.
Rosa cocked an eyebrow. "You''re seriously just now realizing this?"
"Fuck right off, okay? It''s been kind of a crazy week, I haven''t had time to really think about some of the more horrifying implications." Eric sighed tiredly, running a hand through his hair. "Okay¡­ so she''s been on the battlefield since she was around fifteen. Despite her young age, she got herself quite the kill count very rapidly. Last I checked, the published numbers were in the thousands, but I suspect that the actual numbers are much higher than that." He looked over to Rosa. "What else do you know?"
In response, she reached into her bag and pulled out a file, placing it on the table. It was another of those large manila envelopes. Eric gave her a wary look before tentatively reaching for it and opening it. The moment he did so, his brow furrowed in frustration.
"More black ink¡­" he muttered. "Are they ever going to fully declassify what these girls went through?"
"The government never fully declassifies anything," Rosa growled. "You of all people should know that."
"I know, I know. I was just¡­ hoping you''d tell me I was wrong." He sighed, then brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "What am I looking at?"
"Her medical records," Rosa reported. "Don''t ask how I got them ¨C it wasn''t easy, and I''ve got to give them back before the work day ends, otherwise it''s my ass. I''ve bookmarked the most relevant parts for you."
Eric gave her a funny look, but turned to the bookmarked page regardless. The moment he did, he turned back to her, his expression stone-faced.
"It''s just more black ink. Is this some kind of joke?"
"Look closer, idiot. What do you see?"
Eric looked down at the page, squinting as he did so. "...All I can see that isn''t blacked out is her height and weight."
"Exactly. Compare it to the next bookmark."
Eric did as she asked, flipping to the next page. Again, it was her height and weight, but curiously, there was a large discrepancy between the two. He raised an eyebrow, then looked back to Rosa.
"How far apart were these?"
"A few months," Rosa told him. "From what I can tell, the first one was when she was thirteen years old."
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. "And that''s supposed to be weird? She was going through puberty at that time."
Rosa sighed tiredly. "Look, I know you don''t know much about female anatomy-"
"Fuck you."
"-But most women don''t put on that many inches and that many pounds in that short a time. Especially not since, from what I suspect, it was all lean muscle."
"So what are you trying to tell me?"
"I''m telling you that the government did something to her besides just train her up," Rosa insisted. "They''ve been experimenting with chemical cocktails and surgeries for years, trying to perfect them to the point that a standard human could go toe-to-toe with an eight-foot-tall Iprenian warlord and win. I guess they finally perfected it."
"I''m not surprised, but what does this mean?"
Rosa was silent for a moment. She turned and looked out the window, watching the raindrops as they fell.
"They experimented on her," she said softly. "Her and the other Angels. Used them as lab rats for all kinds of crazy shit. Then, the moment they were ready to be set loose, the government set them loose and had them start killing. Christ''s sake, Eric, they were just kids."
"You think that''s bad? She told me how the government found her."
Rosa immediately whipped around to face him. Eric sighed, then reached into his pocket for his pack of cigarettes and his lighter.
Normally, he had rules against smoking in the house, but this was an exception.
He lit up the cigarette and took a drag. "Iprenians bombed her home planet. Reduced most of the surface to ash. Not an unusual story, I''m aware, but it''s what happened afterwards that explains so much."
Rosa stared at him. He took another drag. "Her whole family died, of course. She was the only one of them left by the end of it. And so, when the government found her, they offered her a choice. They told her that if she wanted, they would let her hurt the Iprenians the same way they''d hurt her. I don''t think it''ll take too much for you to imagine what she said in response."
Rosa fell silent once more, again turning to watch the rain as it fell outside. Eric stared at her for a moment, then sighed, reaching into his pocket and retrieving his cigarettes and lighter. He slid them both over to her, and she stared at them for a moment before picking them up.
"I was supposed to have quit these fucking things years ago¡­" she muttered as she put the smoke in her mouth and lit it.
"Desperate times," Eric mused. He took a sip from his glass of bourbon, then turned back to her. "So, the question is¡­ what do we do with this?"
"What do you mean?"
"Rosa, you know how unethical this was. I understand why they did it, but that doesn''t change the fact that it was wrong. I mean, child soldiers are one thing, but using them as experimental test beds for dangerous drugs? Sending them out into the field and telling them to commit atrocities? Cutting them loose like this and just expecting them to integrate back into society like everything is fine afterwards?" Eric shook his head. "We need to tell someone about this, Rosa. We need to-"
"We can''t," she said mournfully, interrupting him.
Eric paused, staring at her in shock. "What? What do you-"
"Think about what you''re asking," she implored. "First off, if the government found out we blew the whistle on this, there''s no telling what they''d do to us. I mean, they''re keeping it hush-hush for a reason ¨C clearly, they don''t want anyone to learn about this, otherwise they would have declassified at least some of it. The fact that they haven''t is telling, at least to me." She took another puff from the cigarette. "And for another¡­ what good would it do, really?"
"What the hell do you mean by that?" Eric growled. "The people have a right to know-"
"I don''t disagree, but think about what you''re asking. We just got out of a galaxy-wide war with a hostile alien species, and it only barely ended with both sides throwing in the towel." She tapped the file lying in front of him. "This information right here? If this got out, there''s no telling what would happen. I mean, the Angels are heroes to basically every human out there. They''re completely larger-than-life. If it weren''t for them, we would''ve lost the war instead of fighting to a draw." She leaned in, enough that she could stare at him from over her sunglasses.
"What do you think will happen if all of those people collectively learn the truth about their heroes? That they''re nothing more than traumatized girls pumped full of experimental drugs, stuffed into a suit of power armor, given deadly weapons, and pointed at the enemy with orders to inflict as much destruction as possible?"
Eric stared at her hesitantly. "...I don''t know."
"Right, and that''s the problem. Maybe nothing happens. But if something did happen¡­ I don''t think we''d all come out of it in one piece." She pointed to the file again. "This shit right here? This is the kind of thing that splits a government apart. We have to be very fucking careful with how we handle it, otherwise we''ll be causing more problems than we''re solving."
Eric swallowed nervously. "So what do you suggest?"
Rosa went silent once more. After a moment, she leaned back in her seat, a sigh escaping her. "...We do what we can, for now," she insisted. "If we ever get the opportunity to safely blow the whistle about this, then we''ll take it. But we can''t risk dragging our own people into what could be a civil fucking war, not this soon after getting out of a different war."
"And what can we do?"
"Help her," Rosa pleaded. "Eric, I''m begging you¡­ please help her have a somewhat normal life at this point. Her war''s over, but that''s all she''s ever known. She doesn''t know what it''s like to be able to live without fighting. You do."
Again, Eric hesitated. "I don''t know if I can-"
"Eric," she interrupted. "Do you really think it was random that they chose you?" She shook her head. "Maybe it was someone higher-up having a guilty conscience about it all, or maybe they truly do want to give her a normal life now that her service has ended. I don''t know. But whatever the case is, you were their first choice for this. If anyone can help her learn what it means to live like a regular person, it''s you. So, please¡­ do whatever you can to help her out."
Eric blinked. He went to take another drag from his cigarette, only to find it had burned down to a stub. With a grunt of frustration, he pulled the stub out of his mouth and placed it in a nearby ashtray, then reached for his glass of bourbon instead. He drained what was left in the glass, then placed it down before turning back to Rosa.
"She''s a Marine," he declared. "I know that much about her time in the service. Well, guess what? I was a Marine, too. Maybe not as elite as her, certainly not SOCOM material like she was, but a Marine is a Marine, and we take care of our own. Nobody gets left behind."
He turned to look out the window once more. Outside, the rain had stopped, though the clouds were still gathered overhead. He let out a small breath, then looked back to Rosa and gave her a nod.
"I''ll do my best," he declared. "Whatever it takes. She deserves at least that much from me."
Rosa stared at him for a moment before a smile crossed her face. "Good¡­ that''s good. And of course, if either of you two need anything, you know where to find me."
To Eric''s surprise, she stood up, and for the first time, she did something unexpected.
She offered him a hand.
Eric was stunned for a moment, but it passed as soon as it came. Slowly, he rose to his feet, then accepted her offered handshake.
"For her," he said. "As well as the others who didn''t make it back."
Rosa gave a nod of agreement, and in that moment, Eric knew everything had changed between the three of them.
The only question was to what extent.
An Angels Retirement - Chapter 10 Eric watched as Rosa ran back to her car, shielding herself from the rain as best she could the entire time. He stared idly as she pulled out of his driveway and started heading down the street, only taking his eyes away from the window once she had taken the turn at the corner and disappeared from view.
And once she was gone, he closed his eyes and heaved a tired sigh.
Rosa was putting a lot of trust in him. Thirteen was too, even if she didn''t know it. At first, he''d been reluctant to help her at all, but now, knowing what she''d been through¡­ he''d meant every word he''d just told Rosa.
Thirteen deserved his help, if for no other reason than because she''d already given so much to the rest of humanity and asked for absolutely nothing in return for her service. She''d been fully willing to continue serving until she was killed in action, and it was only government bureaucracy that had finally ended her time in the military. Now she had nothing, and as far as he was concerned, that wasn''t right. The least he could do was help her adjust to life on the outside.
"Eric?"
At the sound of her voice, Eric opened his eyes and turned towards her. She was standing in the doorway to her room, looking as lost as she always did. He gave her a nod.
"Hey," he greeted. "Rosa and I are done talking, so you''re free to wander around as much as you want. Are you hungry? I can fix you something, it''s no trouble."
Thirteen shook her head. "Just¡­ wanted to know if it was okay to leave."
His expression softened. "Yeah, it''s fine. Here, why don''t you come sit next to me?"
She blinked. "...Why?"
He shrugged. "We haven''t really talked person-to-person since that day in the car, is all. I don''t want you to think I''m some stone-cold asshole who doesn''t care."
Thirteen blinked again, but did as she was told, stepping into the kitchen and taking a seat next to him. As she did so, her brow furrowed.
"What''s that smell? It smells like something burning."
"Ah¡­ sorry. Rosa and I were having a cigarette in here earlier. Normally, I don''t smoke in the house, but sometimes I get a craving, and it''s raining too hard for me to go outside."
"I didn''t know Rosa smoked."
"Neither did I," he admitted. He shook his head. "Look, that''s not the point. I was wondering¡­ did you want to actually do something together?"
"Like what?"
"I don''t know, just something to get out of the house when it finally stops raining. We haven''t really done anything, you know. There''s a whole world out there to experience, and now we both finally have the chance. It doesn''t even have to be anything big, either, it''d just be good to not be stuck inside all day, I think."
"What did you have in mind?"
Eric brought a hand up to his chin in thought. Rosa had told him to help Thirteen learn to live, and he fully intended to do so, but the difficulty was finding something she''d enjoy. He suspected she wouldn''t like anything too high-octane, but at the same time, he wanted it to be something that would give her a truly human experience.
A thought suddenly came to him, and he couldn''t help but smirk.
"I think I have an idea," he offered.
***
"What is this place?"
"It''s called a park," Eric said as the two of them walked down the tree-lined asphalt path. It had thankfully stopped raining a short while ago, though clouds were still gathered overhead. The overcast skies contrasted nicely with the seas of green grass and pine trees, and the fresh rainfall coalesced with all the greenery to produce a pleasant aroma throughout the area.
Thirteen looked around. "It''s nice," she said, though she was still tense. That realization brought him pause. She was looking around like she suspected to be attacked by something, or otherwise be forced to defend herself.
"Hey," he said softly, getting her attention. "There''s nobody out here who would want to hurt you, okay? Anyone you see is just a regular person out enjoying the sights and scents after a fresh rainfall, same as us. You can relax."
"What makes you so sure?"
"Just trust me."
The two of them passed by a wooden bench overlooking a lake. Eric stopped and stared at it for a moment, then motioned for her to follow him. As she came up alongside him, he took off his jacket and laid it on the bench, preventing either of them from getting wet as they took a seat on it.
"So why are we here?" Thirteen asked.
"Because sometimes it''s good to just appreciate the beauty of the world around us," Eric told her.
"Hard to do that when you''re getting shelled by artillery or attacked by an eight-foot-tall alien trying to rip you apart."
Thirteen pursed her lips. "I suppose."
"Plus, it gives us a good opportunity to do something else."
"It does?"
"Oh, yes. Give it a bit, I''m sure it will begin soon."
Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Thirteen stared at him like he was crazy, but just a few seconds later, it happened ¨C a small boat passed by them on the lake, with a man standing at the front of the bow, a fishing held in his hands. Eric pointed the man out to her.
"Look at this guy," he said.
"What''s he doing?"
"Fishing. My father''s an outdoorsman ¨C he says that the best fishing often happens right after a storm, for some reason. No idea why, but I trust what he has to say. Guess he''s not the only one who believes that."
"But why bother to fish now?" she asked. "He isn''t out in the field, and doesn''t need to do it to survive."
"Some people just like to do it for fun," Eric insisted. "A lot of them don''t even keep the fish, they just catch them, maybe take a picture, and then take them off the hook and let them go back into the wild. For those people, they just like the act of catching the fish, they don''t intend to cook or eat it."
"Strange¡­"
"What''s strange about it?"
Thirteen hesitated. "It''s just so¡­ frivolous. I suppose a lot of things in civilian life are."
"What do you mean?"
She looked back out to the lake, focusing on the fisherman once more. "In the military, everything we did had a reason behind it. There was nothing wasted, at least not in what we were doing. We didn''t have time for recreation, or anything like that."
Eric nodded along. "I understand. But that''s something you''re going to have to get used to now that you''re out. Even if you were to get a job somewhere, just to keep busy, it wouldn''t be nearly as busy as the time you spent in the service. Wouldn''t be as impactful, either. Not to mention that with the money you''ve got and whatever pension they''re giving you, you''ll never need to work a day in your life, so there''d really be no point to getting one unless you just wanted a boss yelling at you for some reason."
"Did you have to make that adjustment when you got out?"
Eric sucked in a breath. "...Yeah. I think we all do, on a certain level. It felt weird, coming from having to do something all the time to just not having anything to do at all."
Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he turned towards it. It was a young man, probably around sixteen years old, skateboarding down a nearby path. Thirteen tracked him with her eyes as he passed by, then turned to Eric.
"What is that thing?"
"Skateboard," he told her. "It''s both a form of rudimentary transportation and entertainment."
"Entertainment?"
He nodded. "Yup. Sure, you can ride it from point A to point B and nothing else if you want, but you can also do tricks on it." A thin smile crossed his face as a memory rose to the surface of his mind.
"I''m telling you, man ¨C skateboarding''s the thing to do when you''re out and about. It''s fun and the girls love it."
"You''re so full of shit, Martinez."
"Nah, Captain, I mean it ¨C I''ve picked up my fair shore of ladies by offering to teach them."
"When you were younger, I presume? Because you seem a bit too old to be obsessed with skateboarding now, and it''d look weird for a twenty-one year old man to be picking up teenagers with it."
"Of course, the fuck did you think I meant?"
Eric suddenly shook his head, and the memory faded. He turned back to Thirteen. "Never learned how to ride one, myself, but plenty of guys have, so I''m familiar with it on a surface level."
She nodded, then looked back out over the park, and pointed to two people pushing a stroller. "And them?"
"That''s a couple out for a walk with their baby," he said. Another memory flashed through his mind, this one more painful than the last.
"Hey, Captain ¨C check it out."
"What is it?"
"My wife just sent me a video of my daughter trying to walk. Cute, isn''t she?"
"And what about them?" Thirteen asked, interrupting his thoughts once more as she motioned towards yet another person, this one a man typing away on a tablet as he sat on a bench on the shore of the lake.
Eric hesitated as yet another memory came flooding back. "He''s writing something," he said, his voice coming out choked.
Thirteen turned towards him, her expression showing a bit of concern. "Eric?"
"I''m¡­ I''m fine," he said, sitting upright. His heart hammered in his chest, and he could feel himself beginning to sweat, but he took a few breaths to calm himself. "Just¡­ memories."
"What kind of memories?"
He hesitated, then gave a tired sigh. "...I served with a lot of people," he said. "Commanded plenty of them, too. I tried not to get too attached ¨C casualties were still pretty high back when I was in, before the Angels really came along and started to turn the tide. Most of the men I commanded didn''t make it back, so I knew better than to get attached. But despite that, there were still a few."
"And these people remind you of them?"
He nodded. "Some of them, yeah." He sucked in another breath.
She turned back towards the lake. "It never gets any easier, does it?" she asked quietly.
Eric shook his head. "No. But some days are more bearable than others." He gave another tired sigh. "...I take it you''ve lost a fair few of yours, too?"
She nodded. "There were fifty of us, of course. Half went to the Marines and half went to the Army, not that it mattered, since we were often working jointly. Fifty of us¡­ the records won''t reflect every loss, but I know that when I left, there were only twenty-three left in total, myself included."
Eric looked to her in surprise. "Only twenty-three? But the brass always said-"
"Only three were confirmed dead, and the rest were just missing in action." She shook her head. "They''re dead, Eric. The rest of us know for sure because we helped look for them, and eventually found their bodies. Not all of them, but enough to know. The few who are truly missing in action are almost certainly dead by now, and we simply couldn''t find their bodies."
Eric shifted in his seat, uncomfortable. "I''m sorry. I want to say I know how much it hurts, but I don''t. I was very close to the people I lost, but you¡­ they were like your sisters, weren''t they?"
She nodded. "They were the only family I had left. We did everything together, up until we ended up in the field. Ten years sent living and training together, caring for one another as best we could¡­ And now more than half of them are gone."
Eric didn''t know what to do, or what to say. For several seconds, he just sat there, before finally sighing.
"You remember them, right?"
Next to him, she nodded. "Yes. Though it gets harder with time. I want to remember them, but it gets more difficult trying to recall their faces. Their names, though? I''ll never forget those."
"You need to picture them doing something," Eric said.
"Hm?"
"I said, you need to picture them doing something," he repeated. "Makes it easier to remember what they looked like. I don''t know why, but it works for me. Maybe it''ll work for you."
She blinked, but after a moment, she nodded. "Thank you, Eric."
He said nothing in response, instead pulling out his phone to check the time. "Shit¡­ it''s supposed to start raining again soon. We should head back."
She nodded, and the two of them stood up. Eric picked up his jacket off the bench and slung it over his shoulder, and the two of them began to walk back to his car. Both of them were silent the entire time, and yet somehow, he felt as if they''d gotten to know each other just a bit more closely than before.
It was a small step, but a step nonetheless.
An Angels Retirement - Chapter 11
It was only one day after they''d gone people-watching, and already, Eric was fresh out of ideas.Sure, him and Rosa had come up with things to do with Thirteen, but thinking back on it, they were all so¡­ he couldn''t even think of a word to describe it. They were almost too mundane; they''d already done the people-watching thing in the park, and while it had been a great way to get her to open up, something told him that it was going to be better to do something more relaxing and give her time to decompress after revealing so much to him.
"Eric?"
He jumped a bit at the sound of her voice, just barely managing to avoid hitting his head on the lamp that was hanging over the stove top. Eric shook his head, then looked over to her, his stupor fading and his senses returning. The sound of bacon and eggs sizzling in the pan came flooding back, along with the scent of it all. The sensation washed over him for just a moment, reminding him what he''d been doing before he''d spaced out; that, in turn, lasted for as long as it took for her to tilt her head confusedly.
"Eric?" she repeated.
"Sorry," he offered. "What''s on your mind?"
"Did you have any plans for today?"
Eric winced. Of course she picked today to be direct with him. He let out a tired sigh, bringing a hand out to rub at his chin.
"...Sorry," he said. "I''m trying to think of something that''d be more interesting than not. I appreciate the little heart-to-heart we had yesterday, of course, but now I figure it''d probably be best to take it easy for at least one day."
Slowly, she nodded. "...Understandable. I¡­ am in no hurry to unearth the things I felt yesterday, though I recognize that on a certain level, it has to be done if I am to adjust."
"Only if you''re comfortable with it," Eric assured her. "You don''t have to tell me or Rosa anything you don''t want to. But just know that the two of us are here for you if you ever want to talk about anything."
"And that will really help?"
"Can''t be any worse than bottling it up."
"Mm¡­" She peered past him, looking into the pan. "Breakfast?"
"Shoot!" Eric said, whipping around to face the stove again, one hand going for the knob to the burner and flipping it off. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Good¡­ it''s not burnt. Thanks for reminding me about that ¨C I almost messed up breakfast."
"Is that a big deal?"
"Not really, I guess," he admitted. "But eggs and bacon aren''t exactly cheap, what with all the post-war shortages going around. And beyond that¡­ I don''t think my ego would let me forgive myself if I managed to fuck up breakfast, of all things." Seeing her questioning glance, he added, "It''s hard to mess up breakfast. Generally the only way to do that is to burn it, particularly with bacon and eggs."
Slowly, she nodded. Eric retrieved two plates from the nearby cupboard, then filled one up with bacon and eggs and passed it over to her. Thirteen accepted it, then stepped over to the table, sat down, and began to eat.
And, as usual, she ate like a fucking animal, not that he particularly cared.
Eric took a seat across from her and speared a piece of scrambled egg on his fork. It was halfway to his mouth when he thought of something.
He paused, the mere thought of it seeming downright humorous to him. Still, stupid as it seemed at first, it actually didn''t seem like that terrible of an idea. If nothing else, it''d take their mind off the heavy conversation they''d had the day before¡­
Eric lowered his fork, then looked over to Thirteen, who had nearly finished her plate. She paused midway through chewing her bacon and looked back to him.
"I think I know what we can do today," he said.
She tilted her head, and he just smirked.
If nothing else, this would at least be somewhat amusing.
***
"Eric, what is this place?"
"It''s called a zoo," he explained as they both stepped out of the car. "It''s a place where we keep captured animals in captivity."
"And people come to these for entertainment?" she asked as they began to walk up to the front gates.
Eric nodded. "Yup. Most of the animals they keep in these things are pretty exotic ¨C they come from far-off places on Earth, and beyond. Most people wouldn''t ever see any of them outside of the zoo. Of course, just because they''re in captivity, that doesn''t mean they''re mistreated. I won''t sit here and say that all zoos are well-managed, but I did some reading on this one before we left, and the employee reviews said it was a good one."
Thirteen said nothing in response, instead drawing closer to him as a crowd of people approached. Eric raised an eyebrow at that, but didn''t draw any attention towards it.
Eventually, they made it to the front of the line and got their tickets, then entered the zoo. Immediately, Eric''s brow furrowed.
"Shit¡­" he muttered. "Forgot that parts of these places can stink¡­"
Thirteen, curiously, seemed unaffected. He could only assume she''d experienced far worse during her time in the military, as usual.
And also as usual, he was quick to push that thought away.
"Is there anywhere we should start?" Thirteen asked.
"Nope," Eric replied. "Today, I figured we''d just wander around a bit, see if anything catches your interest."
She blinked, but nodded, and Eric couldn''t help but relax a bit at that.
If nothing else, she was at least willing to indulge his dumb ideas.
***
They spent about an hour just wandering around the park, checking out the various exhibits before Eric needed to stop. He sat down on a nearby bench, a tired sigh escaping him as he massaged his leg.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. "Longest I''ve walked since getting out¡­" he muttered. He let out another sigh, then leaned back on the bench, staring up at the sky. "Well, I guess we can keep going for a bit longer. Just give me a few minutes to rest up for a bit."
He expected her to give some kind of affirmation like she usually did, but instead, only silence greeted him. His heart skipped a beat, and he immediately began to look around, desperately searching for her. Thankfully, she was still nearby ¨C he saw her from behind a short ways away, looking into another of the exhibits. Now curious, Eric couldn''t hold himself back from standing up and approaching her, making sure to put just enough weight on his leg that the noise of it resounding against the ground was louder than usual. Thirteen turned to face him, and Eric couldn''t help but pause.
She looked different somehow. Normally, her face was as monotone as her voice, but now¡­ there was a sense of almost childlike wonder on it. She locked eyes with him for a second, then turned back towards the exhibit and continued to stare.
Alright, now he was truly curious. Eric stepped over to her, coming up alongside her enough that he was able to look into the exhibit along with her.
"What are they?" she asked.
"Wolves," he answered.
"They look like big dogs."
"That''s basically what they are," he explained. "Pretty much just oversize dogs that weren''t tamed by our ancestors. They''re quite dangerous, in fact ¨C they hunt in packs normally, but even a lone wolf is still more than capable of taking down larger prey."
"Lone wolf?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Like I said, generally they''re pack animals. But occasionally, one will get separated from the rest for whatever reason, and it''ll be on its own for awhile."
"And it stays on its own?"
Eric shook his head. "Not forever. Eventually, the wolf finds a new pack of its own ¨C its new family, pretty much. See, that''s the thing ¨C a lone wolf is dangerous, for sure, but that''s really all it is. Put it in a pack, though? That''s when it changes."
Thirteen''s expression softened as she looked at the wolves in the exhibit. "They''re¡­ beautiful, I think is the word? Putting them in a group like this¡­ far better than leaving them alone. They wouldn''t look as beautiful by themselves."
Eric blinked, but after a moment, he nodded.
"Yeah," he said, "I suppose you''re right."
***
They stayed at the wolf exhibit for some time, Eric doing his best to regale Thirteen with whatever facts he could recall about them. If nothing else, she seemed intrigued by them, which was good ¨C at the very least, it was an interest she''d begun to develop that didn''t involve killing something, and that could only be a good thing.
Once they left the exhibit, they spent a bit more time wandering around, though Eric could tell she was only doing so to indulge him. He could see on her face that nothing else had interested her as much as the wolves had. Eventually, he decided they''d both had enough, and told her they were leaving, to which she''d been more than agreeable.
As the two of them went to leave the park, however, something strange happened ¨C they passed by a worried-looking young woman who was talking to a security guard on their way to the parking lot. As they moved past her, Eric was able to overhead part of their conversation.
"-know where he went! One moment he was with me, and the next he was gone!"
Eric felt his heart skip a beat, but ultimately, that was a job for the park''s security, not him. He went to keep walking, but he only made it a few steps before he noticed something.
Thirteen wasn''t there with him anymore.
Eric paused, then turned around. To his shock, she had drawn closer to the woman and the security guard, in order to overhear what they were saying. He mumbled a curse under his breath, then began to move back to her, which brought him within range of the conversation again.
"-about five years old, with sandy-blonde hair and green eyes. He was wearing this black-and-white striped shirt and blue jeans-"
Whatever she''d said, it had seemed to have set Thirteen off. She immediately turned and began to walk away, leaving him behind. Eric watched her go for a moment before calling out to her.
"Hey, wait up!"
But she didn''t stop. If anything, she got faster, to the point where he was struggling to keep up with her. Before long, he was barely able to keep her in his line of sight through the crowd of people. Finally, he blinked, and she was gone.
Eric stood there, doubled over and gasping for breath, silently cursing the fact that he''d given up on exercising once he''d left the service. He looked around for a place to rest for a moment, and found a nearby park bench. With a sigh of relief, he took a seat on it, and began to massage his leg again.
"Eric."
Only for Thirteen''s voice to nearly make him jump out of his skin. He turned around to face her, glaring daggers at her the entire time.
"There you are!" he said. "Where did you-"
He paused when he saw a small figure standing next to her, his eyes going wide in amazement. "...Is that who I think it is?"
Standing next to Thirteen was a young boy, no older than five, with sandy-blonde hair, dressed in a black-and-white shirt with blue jeans. He was sniffling and rubbing at his eyes, which were puffy and red.
"Affirmative," Thirteen confirmed. "He was not difficult to find."
Eric just stared at her.
"He is only five," Thirteen said. "He could not have gotten very far unless someone took him, but I figured that if that were the case, the park would already be locked down, which it was not. Moreover, he is dressed in a very distinctive outfit; not hard to find through the crowd of people."
Eric continued to stare at her. He opened his mouth to say something, only for another person to cut him off.
"Christian!"
At the sudden voice, the young boy took off running. Eric turned and watched him run over to his mother and embrace her, crying his eyes out the whole time. She bent down to return his hug, rubbing him on the back as she did so, choking back tears of her own at the same time. After a moment, she looked up and found Thirteen standing there. She bent down and gently said something to her son, which was enough to get him to stop crying; she then took him by the hand and walked over to Thirteen, smiling gratefully the entire time.
"Thank you for finding my son," she said.
Thirteen hesitated, apparently unsure of what to say. Eric came to the rescue, clearing his throat to get the woman''s attention.
"She''s, ah, not so good with words," he offered. "Consequence of¡­ well, you can probably guess."
He motioned to his own eye. Immediately, the woman''s expression softened. "Oh¡­ oh, I''m so sorry. Well¡­ this must seem silly to you both, then ¨C I mean¡­ after everything that happened, helping a woman find her missing son at a zoo? That must seem so mundane to you both, especially her. Still, you''re both heroes, in my book. Her especially."
Eric''s heart skipped a beat, a sense of unease settling over him. Thirteen, meanwhile, shifted nervously, apparently still unsure of what to say. Frankly, he was at just as much of a loss as she was. Finally, after a few seconds, he managed to swallow the sudden lump in his throat, then turned back to the woman.
"...It''s nothing," he offered. "Really. She was just doing the right thing. No need to thank us."
The woman pursed her lips, but nodded nonetheless. "...Very well, if that''s what you want. Still¡­ you both have my appreciation for everything you''ve done. I hope you''ll allow me to say at least that much."
Eric didn''t offer any arguments, and the woman gave him and Thirteen one last smile before taking her son by the hand and beginning to walk away. They both watched her go before Thirteen broke the silence between them.
"She called us heroes. I don''t feel like a hero."
"Yeah," Eric said, his mouth suddenly dry. "Neither do I."
***
Once the woman and her son had left, Eric figured he''d had enough time to rest and recover. He stood up from the bench and stretched out a bit, then motioned for Thirteen to follow him back to the car. Together, the two of them began the walk back. It would have been uneventful, had Eric not happened to pass by the gift ship on his way out. Something inside caught his eye, and he turned to look at it through the window.
It didn''t take him long to make up his mind.
"Wait here," he said. Thirteen gave him a questioning glance, but didn''t argue as he entered the store. A few minutes later, he came back holding something, which he offered to her.
She stared at the stuffed wolf in her hands for a moment, then gave him a confused look. Eric shrugged.
"Most girls like stuffed animals, you know," he said.
Thirteen said nothing, but she couldn''t hide the small glimmer of amusement that flashed across her face as she tucked the wolf under her arm and the two of them began walking again. An Angels Retirement - Chapter 12
It was dark by the time the two of them made it home. Eric came stumbling through the front door, a tired groan escaping him.
"Fuck me¡­" he muttered. "I don''t regret going, but that took way more out of me than I thought¡­"
Thirteen came up alongside him, the stuffed wolf he''d bought for her still tucked underneath her arm. As she stepped inside, she paused, then pulled it out and stared at it for a moment before turning to him.
"What shall I do with it?"
He shrugged. "Whatever you want. Sleep with it, play with it, use it for decoration¡­ I don''t really care. It''s yours now."
She blinked, but then nodded in understanding before stepping past him and heading for her room. She emerged from inside a few seconds later, apparently having simply put it down somewhere for now. As she approached him, Eric flopped down onto the couch, groaning tiredly once more.
"Oh yeah," he said. "I still need to cook something¡­ or maybe we could just order pizza."
"Pizza?"
"Picture a big disk made up of bread, tomato sauce, cheese, meat, and grease."
Her brow furrowed. "Doesn''t sound very healthy."
"It''s not, but it tastes good, and it''s better than me cooking right now."
She tilted her head. "Your cooking is good."
Eric blinked, taken aback by her statement. "Uh¡­ thanks, I guess." He shook his head. "Anyway, I meant to say that I don''t really feel like cooking right now, so I''ll probably just order food and have it delivered here. If you''re not good with pizza, I can order from somewhere else. Chinese, maybe."
She nodded, and Eric took that as his cue to pull out his phone and place a quick order for delivery from the local Chinese place. Once that was done, he pocketed his phone, then turned back to her, only to find she was still standing there.
"You can sit down, you know. You don''t have to ask permission for anything. At least, not anymore."
To his surprise, Thirteen hesitated. "I¡­ have a question."
"Alright, shoot." She gave him a puzzling glance, and he exhaled briefly. "Ask away, I mean."
"Why did you agree to take me in?"
Eric paused. "...Come again?"
"Why did you agree to take me in?" she repeated. "And what changed in the last few days to make you suddenly try to be much more friendly to me?"
Eric blinked again. "...I, uh¡­ this is a difficult question to answer-"
Thirteen sat down in the chair across from him. Silently, Eric cursed himself for telling her she could sit. Still, apparently they were doing this now, so there was no sense in denying her any longer. He took in a deep breath, then slowly exhaled it through his nose.
"I''ll admit it," he said. "At first, it was only for the money. The OVA offered to pay me triple my pension every month if I took you in. I''m not exactly a rich man, so that was life-changing money for me. Couldn''t say no to it."
"That was why?" she asked.
He nodded. "Yeah, at first. That''s why I was so distant and rude to you the first few days ¨C because, truthfully, I didn''t want you here."
She fell silent for a few seconds before speaking again. "¡­But that didn''t last?"
He shook his head. "Nah. Truthfully, you remind me a lot of myself when I first got out. The big difference is that I had my father to help me adjust at first, which made things much less worse for me than they otherwise would have been. You, though? You didn''t have anyone. And¡­ for that matter, when I learned what you''d been through during your time in the service¡­" He trailed off, then shook his head again. "...I couldn''t exactly give you a hero''s welcome at that point, and I''m sure you wouldn''t have wanted one, anyway. But I figure, hell, the absolute least I can do now is help you adjust to civilian life the best I can." He stretched his arms out. "And now we''re here, together. And I''ll admit, I''m beginning to enjoy having you around."
She tilted her head at that, and he smirked. "Believe it or not, you make for good company. Certainly beats the monotony of what I had been doing before you showed up."
"And what was that?"
Chain-smoking and drinking, mainly, but she didn''t need to know that.
"Ah, you know¡­ mainly just boring stuff around the house, when I wasn''t lazing around," he answered. "Nothing you''d find interesting. At the very least, I kept the place from falling into complete disrepair, so I''ve got that going for me, I guess."
There was a knock at the door, and Eric paused. "Well, that was fast. Hold on, let me-"
He went to stand up, but she beat him to it, reaching the door and accepting the bag of food before he could even finish getting up. She hardly said a word to the delivery driver, of course, and the entire thing was over in the blink of an eye, but he couldn''t bring himself to fault her too much, not when there was suddenly Chinese food to eat.
The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Baby steps, and all.
***
The two of them made idle conversation as they ate, speaking about nothing in particular ¨C mostly recalling what had happened over the past few days. But before long, Eric was ready to turn in, the events of the day, the food in his stomach, and the glass of bourbon he''d had with dinner finally working to knock him out. And so, the two of them had bid each other goodnight and retreated to their respective rooms.
And yet, somehow, despite his exhaustion, Eric found it impossible to fall asleep that night. He spent an hour tossing and turning, trying in vain to will himself to sleep, before finally having had enough. He let out an irritated groan, then threw the covers off himself.
"Fuck me¡­" he muttered. "Guess we''re doing this again¡­"
It wasn''t surprising; this happened from time to time, and the events of the previous day had no doubt only exacerbated it. Frankly, he was surprised it hadn''t happened the day before, but he supposed it was impossible to properly time these things, annoying as they were.
Eric pulled on some clothes, then carefully stepped out into the hall, doing his best not to wake Thirteen. He crept through the house, pausing only to turn the lights on in the den. Once the room was properly illuminated, he stepped over to the mantle and reached for a small leather-bound book that rested upon it. He took a breath to steel himself, then sat down and opened it.Inside were several old photographs, their edges and corners stained with old, dried liquor. A lump formed in his throat as he looked over the pictures.
"Hey, guys¡­" he managed to get out, running his hands over one of the pictures. "Sorry it''s been awhile. Haven''t felt the need to come to you all for a bit now ¨C the new house guest keeps me busy, I suppose."
"Eric?"
At the sound of her voice, Eric gave a small sigh of resignation. Of course she would have woken up and found him like this.
"Hey," he said, without looking back.
"What are you doing?"
"Exactly what it looks like. I''m reminiscing."
Thirteen said nothing. After a moment, he motioned for her to join him, and she did, stepping over and taking a seat on the couch next to him. She leaned down to look at the book of photographs in his lap, a small tinge of surprise crossing her face.
"That''s you," she said.
Eric nodded. "Yeah, that''s me. A few years younger, but it''s me."
"And¡­ these are your squadmates?"
"No," he said sharply. "These two idiots are ¨C were ¨C my friends."
Thirteen looked at him, surprised. "Idiots?"
"Yeah. We gave each other shit like that all the time." He sucked in a breath. "...Martinez is the one on the right ¨C the one who liked to skateboard."
"What happened to him?"
"Iprenian plasma shell landed directly on top of him. Gone in the blink of an eye, reduced to slag. They didn''t even try to send him back to his family; there was nothing left to bury." Eric blinked, his vision suddenly swimming. "Fuckers said there was no point in looking for body parts or personal items¡­ bastards."
Thirteen said nothing, instead pointing to the other man in the picture. "And him?"
"Jacobs." A thin, wistful smile crossed his face. "Family man. His wife and daughter were the light of his life. Iprenian sniper got him between the eyes during an offensive; dead before he hit the ground. Boom."
Eric''s hand began to gently shake, and his shoulders silently heaved. Thirteen hesitated, unsure of what to do or say at first.
"...I''m sorry," she finally softly offered.
"It''s fine," Eric managed to get out, his voice hoarse. "Honestly¡­ I like to come back and look at these pictures when I''m having trouble sleeping. This might sound stupid, but when I can''t sleep, I''ve found that coming out and talking to them helps."
"That''s not stupid."
"Yes, it is."
"No, it isn''t," she insisted. "It works, doesn''t it? Then it isn''t stupid."
Eric cracked a thin smile at that, shaking his head. "Right, of course¡­ thanks for that."
He went to stand up and put the book back, but she suddenly reached out and gently took him by the wrist, stopping him.
"What happened to you?" she bluntly asked.
Eric froze, his eyes widening. Slowly, he turned towards her. "What?"
"Something happened to you," she said. She motioned to his leg. "I know your leg is artificial. Something took it from you."
Eric stared at her for a moment, then heaved a deep sigh. "...Nothing gets past you, I guess."
He reached down and rolled up his pant leg, revealing the bare metal underneath it that had been grafted to the top part of his knee.
"Iprenian warlord took my leg with his plasma sword."
Her good eye widened in surprise. "You fought an Iprenian warlord and survived?"
"By the skin of my teeth, but yes." Eric nodded. "Fucker thought he had me, but I just so happened to land next to someone''s discarded shotgun. Grabbed it and blew a hole in his head from point-blank range as he bent down to finish me off. I got lucky ¨C the plasma cauterized the wound, so I didn''t bleed to death¡­ instead I just had to sit there for the better part of a day among the remnants of my company, praying that some fucking Iprenian didn''t come finish me off. Got lucky again, though ¨C a day passed, and eventually, the rest of the Corps rolled in and found me among the dead."
He stared off into space, unblinking as he spoke. "I still picture it almost every night ¨C hear the sounds of battle, and everyone dying. I wasn''t the only survivor, but out of all of us who were there¡­ only about nine of us were carried out. 250 people, and only nine of us came out. I don''t even know what happened to the other guys."
"You don''t reach out to them?"
He shook his head. "Why would they want to talk to me? I was the one in charge. Sure, I had orders from higher-up, but still. That loss is mine. If I''d been a better commanding officer, more of them would have come back. But I wasn''t, and now they''re almost all dead. The ones who aren''t don''t want to see me again, I know that much. That''s okay, though ¨C I wouldn''t want to see me, either."
Thirteen stared at him silently. Eric took a shuddering breath, then gently pulled out of her grip.
"Thanks for listening," he said. "But I think I''m ready to go to sleep now. I suggest you do the same."
Thirteen just nodded. "Goodnight."
Eric waved goodbye to her, then returned to his room and climbed into bed, throwing the covers over himself and closing his eyes. And finally, sleep came to take him.
It lasted just a few short hours before he was awoken by the unmistakable sound of breaking glass.
An Angels Retirement - Chapter 13
It took a moment for Eric to realize what was happening, the sound of glass shattering having roused him from his sleep. But reality was quick to set in.
Someone was breaking into his house.
Without a further moment of hesitation, Eric reached for the bedside table and opened the top drawer in it, revealing a pistol. He grabbed the gun and racked a round into the chamber, then stepped out of bed and began to carefully creep towards the door that led out to the hallway. Outside it, he could hear unfamiliar muffled voices speaking. His heart began to hammer in his chest, and he reached for the doorknob, intending to throw the door open and confront whoever had decided to break in.
He never got the chance before he heard the door opposite his come flying open, and heavy footfalls reverberated against the floor. Someone gave a shout of surprise, and Eric flinched as shots rang out inside his house.
A few seconds later, the screaming started.
His eyes widened, and he threw the door to his bedroom open, leading with his handgun.
Frantically, he looked around, but the darkened rooms told him nothing. In desperation, he searched for a nearby lightswitch, finding one within a few seconds and flicking it on. Light came flooding into the house, temporarily blinding him as his eyes adjusted to it.
When they finally did, all he saw was blood staining the floor.
Eric stared at the tide of crimson in shock before shaking himself out of it. The trail led down the hall, and he steeled himself, his grip tightening on his pistol, before following after it, sidling up close to the nearby wall as best as he could in the process. As he drew closer to the living room, he heard moans of agony echo throughout it, and took a deep breath.
When he spun around the corner, he froze at what he saw. Thirteen was standing there, dressed in only a set of nightclothes, and was holding a man aloft by the throat as he thrashed in her grasp, his face steadily turning blue. As Eric watched, she raised a pistol to the man''s head and thumbed the hammer back, her finger hovering over the trigger.
At the sight of it, Eric couldn''t hold himself back.
"Rebecca!"
***
It all started with the sound of glass shattering awakening her in the middle of the night. Thirteen''s eyes immediately flew open, and she rolled out of bed, then picked herself up. Her artificial eye stared into the darkness, the house appearing to her like it would on a brightly-lit afternoon thanks to it. As she listened, she heard several unfamiliar voices speaking in hushed tones down the hall, along with muffled footsteps sounding against the floors. Her eyes narrowed dangerously at the sound of it.
Something told her this wasn''t an ordinary occurrence for civilians. After all, she knew what raids sounded like.
Eric had to still be asleep in the next room over. She didn''t know how capable he was in a fight, especially with his leg, but she wasn''t particularly keen on finding out whether he was a liability or not. The fact was, she had the means to fend off those attackers, and therefore it became her responsibility to do so.
But even more than that¡­ this was her house now, too. And she wasn''t about to let people come in to raid it, especially not when it put Eric in danger.
Silently, Thirteen crept over to the bedroom door and opened it, just enough that she could look out down the hall.
The first thing that caught her eye was the handgun. It was a standard-issue model, likely military or police surplus that someone had stolen. She was so focused on the gun that she almost didn''t notice the person carrying it ¨C tall, thin, mid-twenties in age, apparently untrained, likely addicted to some kind of substance if the way he was twitching and scratching at his arms was any indication. He was quietly conversing with at least two other people in the living room, which meant at least three hostiles to neutralize.
Then, without warning, one of the others stepped out from around the corner and began to move down the hall. Thirteen''s good eye focused on him, and as he crossed near the door she was behind, she threw it open, striking him in the face. The man gave a muffled cry of pain as his nose was broken by the impact, and she immediately followed up with several strikes to the sternum that broke multiple ribs with every impact. Finally, a kick to his right leg caused a compound fracture and brought him to the ground screaming; she grabbed him by the hair and dragged him behind her as she advanced into the next room, leaving little behind except a trail of blood.
The commotion had caught the attention of his comrades, and the gunman had now angled towards her, pointing the weapon at her while he stammered out a threat. Thirteen didn''t pause, however, and merely continued to advance; as she drew closer, the man tensed, his grip on the weapon tightening, but before he could fire off a shot, Thirteen hefted his downed companion with one arm and threw the man at him. Both raiders collided with each other and fell to the ground; the gunman''s weapon discharged twice into the air as he collapsed, but struck nothing. Footsteps from off to the side caught her attention, and a third man advanced on her, charging with a knife. As he drew closer, Thirteen deflected the incoming stab, breaking both his wrists in the process; he dropped the knife and she caught it in mid-air, then plunged it directly into his stomach several times as fast as she could before letting go, leaving the blade buried in his guts. He fell to the ground, screaming in agony as he clutched at his wounds.
Just ahead of her, the gunman stood up, his face contorted with rage as he raised his pistol yet again. Thirteen raced over to him, grabbing him by the throat and smashing him back-first against a nearby wall. He struggled, kicking desperately in her grasp as she lifted him off the floor with one hand; with her other, she ripped the gun from him, breaking several of his fingers in the process. He gave a muffled shout of pain, but was unable to do anything as she disarmed him.
Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. And yet, the fight wasn''t over yet; she still had a job to do.
Instinct took over. She raised the stolen pistol to the man''s head, thumbing back the hammer as she did so. Her finger moved to the trigger, and-
"Rebecca!"
She paused. Slowly, she turned to look over her shoulder. "Eric?"
He was standing there, a gun of his own held in his hands. Their gazes met, and she realized there was something different about him. He was wearing a new emotion on his face, one that she''d never seen before.
For just a moment, Eric was afraid of her.
That gave her pause. She''d known him for a few weeks now, and in all that time, she had never once seen him show fear. He''d always been very strong, even for a standard service member. But now, he was looking at her differently, like he''d just witnessed something terrible.
Whatever it was, it didn''t last. He blinked, and it was gone, having been replaced with something much more neutral. He motioned to the man still struggling for air in her grasp.
"Put him down."
Thirteen hesitated. "He had a gun-"
"And now he doesn''t. Put him down."
"Eric-"
"The fight''s over," he insisted. "That man is no threat to you. And if you kill him, things are going to get even more complicated than they already are. Believe me when I say that neither one of us wants that. So, please, put him down, Rebecca."
She flinched, still unused to hearing her true name being called like that. After a moment of hesitation, however, she did as he asked, releasing her grip on the man and letting him fall to the ground. Immediately, his hands began to massage his throat as he greedily sucked in deep breaths of air. Rebecca stared at him without emotion, and he shrank back out of sheer terror, pressing himself against the wall and trying to look as small as he possibly could.
"Talk," Eric said as he approached, his own gun still in hand, but lowered. "Why are you here?"
"L-look, man," the would-be home invader stammered out, his voice coming out forced due to him almost being choked out. "We just wanted to score some quick cash-"
"What makes you think anyone here has money?"
Shakily, the man raised a finger and pointed to Rebecca. "H-her! She''s really rich! My little brother mentioned it to me!"
"Your little brother?" Eric asked, confused. "You mean that teenager at the clothing store?"
"Y-yeah, man! Said she was a multimillionaire, or something!"
"So your brother was involved?"
The man''s eyes widened in shock, and he frantically shook his head. "N-no, fuck no, even! He just mentioned it to me in passing, man! Once I heard about it, the three of us broke into the store and checked out the security footage to see if we could find you both! We did, and thought you both looked like you''d be pretty easy, so¡­" He quieted down, clearing his throat before continuing. "...The security camera caught your car through the window. It was distinctive enough that all we had to do was drive around some nearby neighborhoods for a few days looking for it. From there¡­"
He trailed off. Eric stared at him for a moment, then sighed tiredly. Slowly, he turned to her.
"Watch them," he said. "I doubt they''ll do anything, but still."
"What are you going to do?" she questioned.
"I''m calling the police¡­ and Rosa, for that matter. She won''t appreciate being woken up this early in the morning, but I suspect we''re going to need her. Give me a few seconds, I''ll be right back."
With that, he disappeared back into his bedroom.
***
Eric''s hands shook even as he set the handgun down on his nightstand and reached for his cell phone. He took a breath to calm himself, for all the good it did.
He''d known she was a highly-trained killer, but she had completely decimated those three home invaders in a matter of seconds, and left a trail of blood behind. And she hadn''t even broken a sweat while doing it ¨C if anything, it had all seemed utterly casual to her, like she was just going through the motions¡­ which, now that he thought about it, she probably was. Compared to everything she''d done during the war, this was child''s play for her.
It took some effort, but he managed to unlock his phone and dial Rosa''s number. It rang just a few times before she picked up.
"Eric?" she asked, her voice groggy on the other end of the line. "What''s going on? It''s the middle of the night¡­"
"We''ve got a huge problem," he told her.
"What kind of problem?"
"Three people tried to break in. It didn''t end well for them. No deaths so far, but it''s¡­ messy."
There was a pause on the other end of the line. "I''m headed over now," she said, suddenly sounding completely rejuvenated. "Just¡­ do me a favor ¨C call the police and the EMTs, and for the love of all that is holy, don''t don''t
Eric let out a slow exhale. "Please hurry."
The line suddenly went dead, and Eric wasted no time in dialing emergency services. He gave the dispatch operator a basic summary of what happened, and then at her request, hung up the phone and pocketed it, then stepped back out into the living room. Rebecca was still there, watching over the three home invaders, all of whom were still writhing on the ground in a combination of terror and pain.
"Eric," she said, getting his attention. He turned towards her, and the two of them locked eyes again. She was concerned, he noted, though he was only just barely able to tell. "Did I do something wrong?"
Eric said nothing, instead stepping over to her and pulling the gun from her grasp. He unloaded the weapon and field stripped it, then dropped the parts onto the ground before silently taking one of her hands in his. Together, the two of them stood there until lights and sirens began to fill the neighborhood.
Once they did, Eric took a deep breath, then opened the door and stepped outside, still holding on to her hand the entire time An Angels Retirement - Chapter 14
"And that''s all I know."
The police officer in front of him nodded along as he typed something on a tablet. "Alright, so just to recap ¨C you were both asleep in your home when these three broke in. Your¡­ girlfriend?"
"Roommate," Eric hurriedly amended.
The officer eyed him incredulously, but nodded nonetheless. "Your roommate ended up taking them out using her military training, which would explain the extent of their injuries, I suppose."
The cop''s brow furrowed. "Doesn''t explain why one of those guys is claiming she, quote, ''threw him at me like she was pitching a baseball.'' Got an explanation for that one?"
Eric shrugged. "Guy''s clearly a tweaker. Can you really believe anything they say?" He shook his head. "Anyway, that''s all I know. Like I said, I was asleep at the time; I only really caught the tail end of it, after it was already mostly over."
The officer nodded, then looked over to Rebecca. "And you? Got anything you want to add?"
She looked at Eric, and he cleared his throat. "We think it best to wait for legal representation before continuing this conversation."
"Alright. I take it you''ve already called them?"
"Yeah, they should be pulling up any-"
Just before he could finish his sentence, two black SUVs with tinted windows pulled up just behind the line of police cars. As Eric watched, the doors flew open on them, and two men dressed in familiar-looking suits stepped out, along with Rosa, to his surprise. Together, the three of them marched over to where he was, stopping just short of the police officer, who eyed them with surprise.
"Legal counsel, I take it?"
"Of a sort," the man with the receding hairline said. He turned to Eric, then motioned with his head for them to leave. "You two get lost. We''ll take it from here."
Eric wanted to question the man, namely about what him and his partner planned to do, but a quick look at Rosa and a shake of her head silenced him. He pursed his lips, but said nothing, instead again taking Rebecca by the hand and leading her away, all while Rosa flanked them from behind.
"What the hell did you do?" she hissed under her breath as they marched back to the front patio of the house.
"What did I do?" Eric echoed. "Why are you trying to blame me for this? I''m the one whose house got broken into!"
"Because I know she didn''t do anything wrong, and that leaves you."
"How about you blame the idiots who thought they''d get a quick-and-easy payday if they broke in and shook us down for what''s in her bank account? They''re the reason this entire thing happened anyway."
Rosa let out an irritated sigh, running a hand through her hair in frustration. "You got a smoke?" she suddenly asked.
"I thought you were trying to quit," Eric said, even as he reached into his pocket for his cigarettes and lighter.
"Yeah, well, that idea''s been shot to pieces for at least a few days now." He offered her a cigarette, which she accepted and allowed him to light before taking a long drag from it. "Fuck me¡­ you''re going to be the death of me, Eric. The only question is whether it''s from stress or lung cancer."
"Thanks, I try." Eric lit up a smoke of his own and joined her, the two of them saying nothing for a bit as they tried to calm their nerves. Eventually, Eric broke the silence.
"So, what''s going to happen now?" he asked.
"I''ll tell you what''s going to happen," Rosa replied. "This entire thing is going to disappear like it never existed, with nothing to prove it even happened aside from the broken window, the cleaning up you''ll have to do, and the three perps who are all going to be catching only the vaguest of vague charges."
"So you''re not prosecuting them?"
"Oh, no, we are, I''m sure," Rosa assured him. "It''s just that it''s going to come in the form of a plea deal they''d all be very wise to accept in exchange for keeping their mouths shut, because the alternative is disappearing in the middle of the night."
Eric let out a breath. "And us? What''s going to happen to us?"
"Nothing at all."
He stared at her in surprise, and she just shrugged. "This one''s pretty clear-cut, even without our intervention. Even if it were to see the inside of a courtroom, there''s not a jury alive that would convict based on the facts. I mean, come on ¨C three druggies armed with weapons break into the home of two veterans in the middle of the night, and get the hurt put on them in exchange? Talk about a prosecutor''s worst nightmare."
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. "So then what do you all plan to do to help?"
"The facts are on your side," Rosa pointed out. "All we''re going to do is tip the scales just enough to make sure it stays out of the legal system entirely. We''ll do a little sweet-talking to the district attorney, make sure he understands that this case is a losing one for him. Believe me, by the time we''re done, the file for this one is going to end up being very lost, never to be seen again."
Eric breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Rosa."
She let out a grunt, flicking the cigarette stub out of her mouth and onto the pavement, then grinding it beneath her heel. "Don''t thank me, I''m just the messenger. Government''s doing most of the work on this one; it''s above my pay grade, otherwise." She looked over to Rebecca, her expression softening. "How you holding up? Everything okay?"
Rebecca looked like she wanted to nod, but hesitated, then turned back to Eric. "You stopped me."
Eric blinked, confused, but after a moment, the memories came flooding back, and his eyes widened. Slowly, he nodded. "Yeah," he said, "I did."
"Why?"
"Because the fight was over. There was no need to keep going."
"The rules of engagement-"
"We''re civilians now, there are no rules of engagement anymore." His expression softened. "You did what you had to do, Rebecca. No more and no less."
"I could have done more," she confessed. "They could have hurt you. They could still hurt someone else."
"You did more than enough," Eric assured her. He motioned to himself. "See? I''m not hurt. And those guys aren''t going to see the outside world again for some time, now. Most importantly, nobody died tonight. That''s a victory in and of itself. Understand?"
Slowly, she nodded. "...May I go back inside?"
Eric looked over to Rosa, who shrugged. His brow furrowed, but he looked back to Rebecca regardless and gave her a nod.
"Go ahead," he told her. "I''ll be inside in a minute. I''m sure we''re just about done here, anyway."
She let out a soft exhale, then stepped back inside the house, closing the door behind her. Eric watched her go, then turned back to Rosa.
"Anything else you needed from us?"
"Just one thing," she noted, curiosity leaking into her tone. "You just called her Rebecca."
"I did."
"I don''t think you''ve ever done that before, have you?"
"I haven''t."
"So why start now?"
"Truthfully? I don''t know. It just felt right, I guess." He let out a wide yawn, then turned and began to step back into the house. "I''m gonna get breakfast started. You want anything?"
"Just coffee, thanks. I''ll be outside if you need me."
Eric gave her a wave, then stepped back inside the house and headed for the kitchen. As he did so, he noticed the door to Rebecca''s room was shut, and the lights were off. The sight of it made him frown, and for a moment, he considered knocking and trying to speak with her, but ultimately thought better of it. If she was asleep, he didn''t want to wake her.
With his mind made up, Eric stepped into the kitchen and got the coffee started. He pulled out a mug for Rosa, and after a moment''s hesitation, one for himself as well.
He didn''t usually drink coffee these days, but something told him he was going to need it today.
***
The police left after another hour, by the time the sun had started to crest over the horizon. By the time they''d gone, Rosa was the only one left.
"You''re sure you don''t need me here any longer?" she asked.
"Positive," Eric told her. "Go home."
"You''re not just trying to get rid of me, are you?"
"Well, then you explain why you should stay."
"Peace of mind. What''s it to you, anyway? You trying to get rid of me?"
"I''m trying to get you to go get some rest," Eric insisted. "Seriously. Even the bags under your eyes have bags."
"You''ve been awake for even longer than I have," she pointed out. "And you were woken up in a much worse way than I was, too."
"I was in the military, I''m used to it, even after being out for as long as I''ve been. You''re not."
"But-"
"Rosa," he interrupted. "I appreciate you wanting to stick around, but seriously, go home and get some rest. We''ve got it under control here."
Rosa bit her lip. "She hasn''t left her room yet."
"She''s probably asleep. Don''t be so quick to assume the worst with her."
"That''s funny coming from you. She must be rubbing off on you at this point."
Eric shrugged. "What can I say? I''m starting to like her."
Rosa crossed her arms. "Well, what if I don''t want to leave yet? What then?"
"I''ll call the cops and report you for trespassing."
"After a breaking-and-entering call just a few hours ago? They''d have your ass for that one."
He sighed tiredly. "Look, if you want to stay, please at least do me a favor and get a little sleep. You can crash on my couch if you want¡­ hell, you can take my bed for a few hours if you''d like; I''m not tired in the slightest, and I need to clean up inside, anyway."
"Your bed?" she shuddered. "I hate to think about how long it''s been since you washed your sheets¡­"
"I am a responsible homeowner," he retorted. "Seriously, I insist. At the very least, take the couch, then."
Rosa hesitated, then let out a tired sigh. "...Fine, you win. But if it smells like shit in there, I''m gonna be mad."
Eric waved her off. She stepped past him and moved down the hall into his room, then closed the door behind her. Eric watched her go before letting out a sigh and stepping into the living room, then sinking into a chair and staring at the TV. This early in the morning, there was nothing to watch except the news, and naturally, they had nothing to say about the break-in at his house. Somehow, he wasn''t surprised.
Idly, he turned to look at the floor, which was still covered in bloodstains and shards of broken glass. He stared at it for just a moment before turning back to Rebecca''s room, where the door was still tightly shut and it was still silent. Another sigh escaped him, and he closed his eyes, leaning back in his chair.
Somehow, things just kept getting even more complicated with every passing day An Angels Retirement - Chapter 15
It was a few hours before Eric saw either of them again. The first one to emerge was Rosa, who stepped out of his room looking more than a little frazzled, with a nasty case of bedhead and her suit wrinkled in places. It looked as though she''d simply thrown it on the ground and hopped into his bed, then passed out for a few hours. He couldn''t exactly blame her for it, given the circumstances, but admittedly, it was still a little bit funny to see her like this.
She must have noticed his mirth, as she glared at him from behind her ever-present sunglasses.
"Laugh it up," she growled. "But really, I''m the one who should be laughing, since I was able to get a little sleep."
"Rosa, believe me, I wouldn''t have been able to sleep even if I''d wanted to," Eric replied.
She looked around, frowning as she did so. "Where''s-"
"Haven''t seen her come out of her room yet. I can only assume she''s still sleeping."
Rosa''s frown deepened. "That''s unlike her."
"Yeah, I know. But I figure what happened last night got her amped up a little. She probably needs to sleep it off."
Slowly, Rosa nodded in understanding. "Makes sense, I suppose."
She stepped into the living room, then sank down onto Eric''s couch, a content sigh escaping from her. Eric turned his attention away from the TV, staring at her instead.
"Still tired?"
"Honestly, I could go for another few hours," she admitted. "But I need to start my day at some point."
"Today''s not a workday for you, is it?"
"It wasn''t supposed to be, until you called."
"Sorry."
She waved him off. "It''s not your fault a bunch of punks tried to break in. For that matter, it''s not her fault for putting the hurt on them, either."
"I don''t know if she sees it that way."
"What, you think she blames herself for it?"
"In a way, yes. I think she let her instincts take over, and it almost got us both into a lot more trouble than we did. I don''t think she cares so much about sending those guys to the emergency room, I think she cares more about how she very nearly crossed a line she wasn''t even aware of."
Rosa looked down at the floor, sighing tiredly. "Sometimes I forget exactly how hard this must all be for her. I mean, you''re a veteran, so you probably have a basic idea, but even then, what she''s been through¡­"
Slowly, Eric nodded. "I can relate to parts of what she''s going through now. But the other stuff, the parts that are covered in black ink? I have no idea what that''s like. And that''s part of the problem. Honestly, I wish I could. Maybe then I''d be able to do more for her."
"Do more for her?" Rosa echoed. "Eric, look at what you''ve already done for her."
"She''s a mess, Rosa."
"I''m not saying she isn''t, but she''s way better than when she got here," Rosa pointed out. "And it''s only been a few weeks, too. Give it time, maybe she''ll surprise us both." She hesitated, biting her lip before speaking again. "I haven''t said this yet, but honestly, you''re a good man for doing all this for her, Eric."
"What, me?" he asked, surprised. "What makes you say that?"
"Do I really have to spell it out for you?" She shook her head. "You''ve opened your home to her and taken her under your wing. You''re helping her get past some of the more uncomfortable parts of her past, and learning to deal with the stuff she can''t just move on from. You''ve done so much for her already."
"I''m just doing what any decent person would do," Eric retorted. "That''s why the government picked me for this job. I''m still amazed by that, by the way ¨C of all the people, my name came up. Was I really the best one for the job?"
"Even if you weren''t back then, you are now," Rosa said. "I doubt there''s anyone else out there who would have made a fraction of the progress you have with her in such a short amount of time. You should be proud of that."
Eric couldn''t help but flush red at her sudden praise. He went to loudly clear his throat, only for movement out of the corner of his eye to catch his attention. Rebecca was standing there, looking somewhat sheepish, for some reason.
"Hey," he said, his voice gentle. "Everything alright?"
"I''m sorry," she suddenly announced. Rosa turned to her in surprise, having not seen or heard her come in, but relaxed after just a moment.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "Sorry for what?" Eric asked.
"For almost killing those three. I nearly got you into a lot of trouble. It won''t happen again."
"Whoa, whoa," Eric said softly. "Look, just¡­ calm down, okay? Here, come take a seat, we can talk about this."
Rebecca nodded, then moved to sit down on the other side of the couch next to Rosa. Once she was seated, Eric took a small breath.
"Alright, look," he began, "ultimately, the only thing you did wrong was nearly going too far and killing someone who wasn''t a threat. This isn''t war, Rebecca ¨C if they''re out of the fight, then they''re no longer a threat, and you can''t hurt them anymore, at least legally speaking. Understand?"
She nodded. He looked to Rosa for guidance, but she merely motioned for him to continue. Eric''s expression tightened, but he did as she told him.
"If you''re worried that I''m mad, trust me, I''m not," he urged. "Ultimately, this is down to your instincts and training more than anything. I understand those were vital for you in the military, but-"
"I am no longer in the military," she finished.
He nodded. "Yeah. I guess the right way to put it is¡­ you mostly did the right thing, up until the very end. You have a right to defend your own life, but that''s not a license to kill someone, even if they were previously a threat. A distinction has to be made there. Got it?"
"I understand."
Eric allowed himself to relax. "Good."
He looked over at the nearby wall-mounted clock, grimacing as he did so. "Now, unfortunately it''s almost the middle of the afternoon, and I still need to finish cleaning up and arrange for someone to come replace the window, so I don''t think there''s really much we can do today. Sorry."
"That''s fine," Rebecca replied. "I didn''t feel like going anywhere, anyway."
"Honestly, neither did I." Eric exhaled, then looked back to Rosa. "And what about you? Are you staying or going?"
"Is that even a question?" she asked with a huff. "Of course I''m staying, for at least a little while longer."
"Alright, then you wouldn''t mind helping me clean up a bit."
"I mean, I would, but screw it. Not like I''m doing anything else."
As she stood up, Rebecca did as well, but Eric stopped her with a quick motion of his hand.
"Don''t worry about it, we''ve got this under control," he said.
Rebecca hesitated. "I''m the one who caused it. I should-"
"Nope," he said simply. "You take a seat, we''ll get this taken care of as quick as we can."
Rebecca looked like she wanted to argue, but ultimately gave in, sinking back into the couch. Eric let out a sigh of relief.
She meant well, of course, but he wasn''t sure that forcing her to clean up the blood of the people she''d nearly killed the night before was a smart thing to do.
***
The rest of the day passed by almost in a blur, the remaining hours blending together in a haze of monotony. Still, it wasn''t entirely unappreciated ¨C after the night they''d had, monotony was a good thing; it gave them time to collect themselves and get their bearings for the rest of the day.By the time the sun rose the next morning, Eric felt a lot more refreshed than he had the day before.
And judging by how Rebecca was already awake and sitting in the living room by the time he stepped out into the hallway, he wasn''t the only one.
"Morning," he greeted her as he approached. "Anything good on TV?"
She shrugged, and he pursed his lips. "Yeah¡­ not sure why I asked. There''s never anything good on." He shook his head. "You hungry at all? I can throw something together real quick."
She nodded, and without another word, Eric headed for the kitchen. As he pulled out the ingredients for a quick breakfast, a thought occurred to him, and he turned towards her.
"Why don''t I teach you?"
She looked to him in surprise, but he was unperturbed. "I mean it. Breakfast is pretty easy to make, all things considered. All you''re really doing is heating stuff up in a pan. And besides, this is something you''ll have to learn eventually."
Rebecca hesitated, but then nodded. "Okay."
She moved over to the kitchen, and once she was behind him, Eric launched into a quick lesson on how to make bacon and eggs.
"Trust me, this is easy," he promised her. "All you do with the bacon is throw it into the pan and let it cook; the only thing to worry about is whether or not you''re burning it, but if you keep everything at the right temperature and watch it, then it''s not really a concern. Eggs are a bit harder, if only because you have to crack them first, but it''s not much of a step up. Here, I''ll show you."
He raised an egg and gently tapped it on the counter to crack it, then split it apart before dropping the yolk into the pan and setting the shell aside. Rebecca watched closely as he did so, and after he''d done it twice, he stepped aside.
"You try it."
Again, she looked to him in surprise, but he was quick to urge her on. "I''ll be right here," he said, giving her a small grin. "The only thing to worry about with eggs is to use just the right amount of force when you crack them. You don''t want to use too much, otherwise you''ll shatter it and get bits of shell inside the egg. You can always pick them out with a spoon, so it''s not a complete loss or anything, but it''s kind of a pain; easier to get it right the first time."
Rebecca pursed her lips, but nodded in understanding. He watched as she took it out of the cartoon, then did exactly as he had, first cracking the shell against the counter and then splitting it open and letting the yolk flow down. Her face actually lit up a bit when she saw she''d done it correctly, and Eric''s grin widened as he rested a hand on her shoulder.
"See? Nothing to it," he told her.
Her expression suddenly faltered, and Eric looked over to her in surprise. "Something wrong?"
"No, it''s just¡­" She paused, but then shook her head, sighing. "...You''re always doing things like this for me, and I haven''t been able to do anything in return."
"What are you talking about? You basically just saved my life a few nights ago. I''d say we''re pretty even at this point."
"But-"
"Don''t argue this one, because you''ll lose," he said, his grin returning. "Anyway, I was thinking that today, once we''re done with this, we can go out again. Maybe wander around town or the park, anything to get out of the house. Hell, maybe I''ll even call Rosa and see if she wants to tag along. Sound good?"
She nodded, and he patted her on the shoulder once more.
And it may have just been him imagining things, but Eric could have sworn he saw her relax a bit under his touch.
An Angels Retirement - Chapter 16
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
life."
That topic."
An Angels Retirement - Chapter 17
The funeral arrangements were surprisingly easy to take care of, though admittedly, that was because they were mostly being handled by Rosa; Eric was in such a daze over the next week that everything seemed to pass by in a blur. The only thing he really remembered doing was signing off on some paperwork, which she had gently assured him was more than fine, given the circumstances.
It was going to be an empty casket funeral, as there was no body to present.
That tended to happen whenever the Iprenians blew up a ship.
In any case, before long, Eric found himself at the church, dressed in a black suit and tie, surrounded by a small group of visitors and old friends. The service was set to be a private one, with only close friends and family of the deceased being allowed to visit. Everyone here was familiar to him in some way, even if he could only vaguely remember most of them at this point.The sole outlier was Rebecca.
They''d given her a choice ¨C she could come with him or stay with Rosa. She''d ultimately chosen to come with him for the weekend, for reasons that still eluded him. Perhaps on some level, she could tell he wasn''t in a good place, and wanted to be there for him in her own way. Then again, perhaps it was something else entirely. Eric didn''t know for sure, and he wasn''t exactly in a mood to try reading her.
In any case, the funeral came and went, with the sole highlight being a short eulogy he''d written out that he could now barely remember. Soon enough, he was standing there with the others, watching as the empty casket was lowered into the ground. Tears stung at his eyes as he watched it sink into the earth, but he was quick to blink them away.
He''d done enough crying these past few days.
Before long, the priest dismissed them, and the visitors all went their separate ways after offering him another brief round of condolences. Soon enough, it was only him and Rebecca still standing there, watching as clouds gathered overhead.
"Eric?" Rebecca asked.
"I''m fine," Eric managed to get out through the lump in his throat. "Just¡­ it''s hard to say goodbye, especially given the circumstances." He brought a hand up to wipe at his eyes. "I should''ve known the old man meant that he was going off-world hunting."
"There was nothing you could have done, Eric."
"I know, I know. But¡­ it hurts to know he''s actually gone, and it''s all because of some fucking Iprenian pirates."
The Iprenian government had been quick to disavow the attack, of course, instead blaming it on rogue pirates. Personally, Eric didn''t believe them, but whether that was due purely to distrust or grief, he wasn''t sure.
In any case, it didn''t matter. His government had declared that they would specifically hunt the pirates down and destroy them in due time, to which the Iprenians had agreed. Frankly, the whole thing seemed like a political mess to him, but ultimately, none of it mattered. All he cared about was that his father was gone.
Rebecca hesitated, then stepped forward and gently put a hand on his shoulder. "We should leave," she offered. "It is going to rain soon."
Eric''s expression tightened, but he nodded regardless. "...Yeah, you''re right. Just¡­ one more minute."
She nodded, and he turned and approached his father''s gravestone, standing over top of it. After a moment, he snapped to attention, giving it one final salute before turning and marching out of the cemetery, Rebecca following right behind him.
***
It was going to be a long car ride home, he knew. It had taken them some time to get from his house up to the church his father had lived next to. The only solace was that it was early on a Saturday, so the roads were pretty empty.
Even still, it was a long car ride, spent in silence. At least until Rebecca had enough of it.
"Eric," she suddenly said.
"Yes?" he asked, not taking his eyes off the road.
She fidgeted slightly in her seat, as if unsure of what to say next. "...I''m sorry for your loss."
His hands tightened around the steering wheel. "Yeah," he said softly. "Thanks."
Silence reigned over the two of them once more, the car completely quiet save for the roaring of the engine, the wheels pounding against asphalt, and the raindrops gently drumming against the exterior. Next to him, Rebecca fidgeted again.
"Do you¡­ want to talk about it?"
"No offense, but not particularly," Eric replied. "Why do you ask?"
"Because¡­ talking about things with you helps me feel better sometimes. I was just thinking¡­ All the Angels had their own specialties. That''s why we were such an effective fighting force. Do you know what my specialty was?"
Eric shook his head. Rebecca drew in a short breath. "...My specialty was never letting anything shake me, or hurt me, or affect me. I was resistant psychologically to trauma and such, because I was special with close-range fighting. I never talked about what I felt to the others. But you know what? I''m realizing that now, a couple of those people, I regret that I never talked to, because they''re gone. And it''s only now that I''m realizing how much it hurts. And I think, after all you''ve done for me, you deserve any opportunity I can give you to hurt less right now."
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. She trailed off, and Eric felt a pang of emotion surge through his chest. Even with his quick glance at her, Eric saw the blank expression on her face slowly give way to some solemnity. A small, tired sigh escaped him. Truthfully, he didn''t want to discuss any of this, not with her nor with anyone else, but he also didn''t want to give her the impression that what she was doing was completely unwanted. After a moment to consider his options, he finally settled on what seemed like the lesser of two evils.
"My dad and I were pretty close," he said. She looked at him in surprise, and he continued. "My mom died when I was pretty young, some kind of terminal illness or something. My dad never told me anything specific about it; he''d always get too choked up whenever he talked about it. Eventually, I learned to stop asking about anything related to her illness and instead start asking about her as a person. I don''t really remember her much, so I compensated by learning as much as I could from my dad, and also by keeping whatever pictures of her I could find."
"What were they like?" Rebecca asked, tilting her head. "Your parents, I mean."
"Well, from what I''ve heard, my mom was really good to me," Eric replied. "Even when she was really sick, that never changed. Honestly, I wish I could remember her, but I was just too young. Still, when I think about her, I can''t help but feel¡­ warm, I guess. Probably doesn''t make much sense, but something about her memory brings me comfort."
"And your father?"
Eric couldn''t help but crack a small grin. "My father was the best kind of old bastard, really. He was as much my friend as he was my dad. Hell, you heard the way we were talking to each other over the phone ¨C he was like that all the time, save for when he needed to be stern with me. He''s the one who initially inspired me to enlist ¨C he served in the Marines himself, before we went to war with the Iprenians."
"You thought highly of him."
Eric nodded. "Yeah. Very much so, in fact. I just¡­ I can''t believe he''s actually gone, you know? I knew it''d happen at some point, but I thought I''d have more time. Hell, the last thing I ever did with him was have that stupid phone call¡­"
He trailed off, his eyes again misting over. After a moment, he shook his head. "But I suppose it''s done, now. No sense dwelling on it. And at least we had the funeral today, so there''s some sense of closure there, I suppose¡­"
A heavy silence fell over the car once more. Eric focused his attention on the road, while next to him, Rebecca stared out the window once more, watching the trees as they passed by on the side of the road.
"...This may sound strange, but on a certain level, I understand how you feel," she offered. "I, too, lost a father figure. I¡­ am sorry you''ve lost yours as well. I am sure it must hurt badly."
"Hell, compared to you, I only lost my parents," he pointed out. "You lost your entire family, Rebecca. Even if you were really young, that still has to hurt a lot."
To his surprise, she shook her head, then turned to look over to him. "...I barely remember my biological family," she admitted. "My other family ¨C the other Angels¡­ every one of them we lost hurts. But none more so than losing the man who trained us."
It took all of Eric''s willpower not to slam on the brakes then and there as he turned to look at her in surprise.
"Sorry, what?" he asked. "I''m just¡­ I''m surprised. Nobody ever mentioned you all had a specific trainer."
"We did," she said. "Major Jason Miller, though we all referred to him as Archangel. He was the test bed for most of the experimental enhancements that we ended up getting¡­ or at least, the only one of the initial test group to survive the experiments. They put him in charge of training us."
"And¡­ he was like a father to you?" Eric ventured.
Rebecca nodded. "He was. His training was hard, of course, and he could be harsh, but only because he wanted us to survive and complete our missions. The entire Angel program owes him a great debt ¨C we lost a great many Angels already, but were it not for him, we would have all perished by now." Thirteen turned to look out the window again. "He was the closest thing to a father that any of us had ever had."
"What happened to him?" Eric asked.
"Missing in action, considered dead," Rebecca explained, her voice growing quiet. "They sent him on a top secret mission somewhere, after we''d all graduated from his training. A few days later, they found the remnants of his ship floating in space. It had been reduced to little more than a few pieces of slag-covered steel. He was presumed dead at that point; there was no way anyone could have survived a plasma bombardment of that magnitude, and he would have never allowed himself to be taken alive, anyway."
Eric''s expression softened. "I''m sorry," he offered. Idly, he reached out and took her by the hand, and she turned back to him. His mouth suddenly felt very dry, but he pressed on regardless.
"We''ve both lost too many people," he said to her.
Rebecca simply nodded in response.
After a moment, he let go of her hand, and focused on driving again. The rest of the car ride home was silent, and yet somehow, it wasn''t the same tense, uneasy silence that settled over the two of them earlier.
Of course, there was still the elephant in the room, one that he''d nearly forgotten about until now.
"Hey," he said, getting her attention. "I was talking with Rosa before I got the news about my dad. She, uh¡­ wants us to see a specialist."
Rebecca tilted her head. "Specialist? Like a doctor?"
"Something like that, yeah. There won''t be any actual medical procedures being run, but¡­ I guess you could say it''ll be a different kind of invasive. Still, I think it''d be good for you."
"But what about you?"
"I''ll be there, too," Eric added. "Truthfully, she''s been trying to get me to do this for the better part of a year now, and I''m only just giving in. But¡­ much as I hate to say it, maybe something good will come out of this."
Rebecca blinked, then turned to look out the window once more.
"Yeah," she said, "maybe."
Silence fell over the car once more as Eric continued driving, and this time, it lasted for the remainder of the car ride, leaving him alone with his thoughts. Uncertainty and apprehension were at the forefront of his mind the entire time; Rosa had been trying to talk him into therapy for a long time, and now that he''d finally agreed to it, he wasn''t sure what was going to happen next.At the same time, he felt like he was finally ready to begin talking to someone, if only because it could help Rebecca.
At that thought, his gaze slid over to her. She was once again staring out the window, watching the rain drum against the asphalt outside. His expression softened a bit as he glanced at her.
Whatever therapy was like, it was worth it, if only because he''d be helping her out. An Angels Retirement - Chapter 18
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Eric let out an annoyed grunt as he listened to the clock mounted on the nearby wall, his foot involuntarily tapping in apprehension as he looked around. The days had flown by, and now he was here, waiting to see the doctor.
He wasn''t alone, at least ¨C Rebecca was there with him, as was Rosa. They were seated on either side of him. Rebecca looked stone-faced as ever, though she also didn''t seem to know what to make of the therapist''s office. Rosa, on the other hand, simply looked relieved.
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Eric''s eye twitched as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I thought they got rid of those damn things ages ago."
"What damn things?" Rosa asked.
"The fucking analog clock. Thing''s driving me crazy."
"Then it''s a good thing we''re in a therapist''s office." He glared at her, and she returned it with a smirk. "Come on, you set me up for that one."
Eric let out a gruff sigh. "How long are we going to be waiting? We''ve been sitting here for fifteen minutes. Doctor''s running late.''
"He''s a doctor, they''re always late." Rosa reached out and rested a hand on his arm, which gave him pause. "Just relax, would you? I understand you have your reservations about this, but there''s no reason to be so on-edge."
She took her hand off his arm, and Eric snapped back to reality. He shook his head to clear it of the haze that had settled inside his mind, then looked back at her.
"You didn''t have to come along, you know."
"I know," she confirmed with a nod. "But I wanted to. I mean, I''m the one who kept pushing you to do this."
"You sure you didn''t just want to make sure I was actually showing up instead of stopping at a bar or something?"
She gave him a pointed look. "Lighten up, would you? Seriously, you make it sound like you''re about to get a tooth pulled or something."
"Forgive me if I have some misgivings about letting some damn Freud wannabe poke around in my head a bit."
Rosa rolled her eyes. "He''s not gonna be a Freud wannabe, alright? I don''t understand what''s gotten into you so suddenly. You were pretty gung-ho about this right up until it was time to leave for the appointment. Well, I''ve got news for you ¨C if you want to leave, then leave. It''s not like you''re legally bound to stay here. But just know that you''ll be doing yourself and Rebecca a disservice."
Eric let out another grunt, running a hand through his hair. "Guilt trip me harder, damn it¡­" A sigh escaped him, and he reached into his jacket for his pack of smokes, only to realize that he wouldn''t be allowed to smoke indoors. His brow furrowed, but he withdrew his hand from inside his jacket regardless.
Finally, the door opened, and a young woman stepped out, a tablet in her hands.
"Eric and Rebecca?" she asked.
Rebecca''s gaze narrowed at her true name being used so flippantly, but he managed to calm her with a brief touch of her shoulder. They both stood up, though to Eric''s surprise, Rosa stayed seated in the waiting area.
"You''re not coming?"
She shook her head. "Doctor-patient confidentiality. I''ll be staying out here unless you want me there. Honestly, though, for your first time¡­ I''d say you might want to do this on your own. You''re apprehensive enough about the doctor taking a look inside your mind, I doubt you''d want me doing the same."
Slowly, Eric nodded in understanding, and together, him and Rebecca followed the young woman back into the office. She led them to a series of rooms, then stopped just in front of the doorways.
"Here we are," she said, a smile crossing her face. "Doctor Blanche will see you, Eric, and Doctor Harvey will see Rebecca."
"Whoa, whoa, hold on," Eric said. "You''re splitting us up?"
The assistant blinked. "...Yes? I thought that was quite clear when I mentioned over the phone that there would be two doctors-"
"I figured you meant some kind of good-cop-bad-cop routine, not this."
Footsteps caught his attention, and Eric paused as a tall older gentleman appeared in the doorway. He was dressed in a beige collared shirt and slacks, and had a small bow tie affixed around his neck. Eric estimated he was in his mid-sixties, if the gray in what was left of his hair and his mustache was any indication. The man pushed his glasses up, then turned towards his assistant.
"Thank you, Amanda, I''ll take it from here." The young woman nodded, then turned and began to walk away. The man looked over at Eric, a friendly grin crossing his face. "Pleased to meet you. I''m Doctor Thomas Blanche. I take it you''re Captain Anders?"
"Just Eric," he replied. "What''s this about you splitting us up?"
"Apologies if it wasn''t clear over the phone, but that was always the intention," Blanche answered. "Therapy is tailor-made for the individual, for the most part, and very few practices offer small group sessions like what you seem to be after. Large group sessions are a different story, of course, but we tend to limit groups of two for marriage counseling and couples therapy."
"That''s not applicable here," Eric hurriedly answered. "We''re just friends who live together under the same roof, that''s all."
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. He blinked as the words left his mouth. For the life of him, he couldn''t recall ever saying Rebecca was his friend before, but he supposed it fit well enough at this point. It was certainly better than saying she was his roommate, in any vase.
Blanche nodded. "Look, I apologize again for not being clear. But I must implore you to at least try a single session separately. I mean, you''re both here, and the session has already been booked and paid for. What''s the harm?"
Eric bit his lip. Much as he hated to admit it, Blanche had a point. He let out a tired sigh, then turned to Rebecca.
"Just take it easy this time, alright?" he said to her. "If you need anything, shout for me and I''ll drop everything and come running. Got that?"
Rebecca nodded, and Eric sucked in a breath before turning back to Blanche.
"Alright," he said, "let''s get this over with."
***
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Already, Eric hated it. Blanche had one of those damn clocks mounted on his wall, too. He stared at the second hand as it ticked away, glowering at it the entire time. He continued to stare until Blanche cleared his throat, getting his attention.
"Okay," Blanche said, reading over the tablet in his hands. "I''ve read through the paperwork you''ve submitted."
"And?"
"It''s¡­ more sparse than I would have expected from someone who spent that much time in the Marines." He peered over the top of the tablet, staring into Eric''s eyes. "Is that what brings you here today?"
"Not exactly."
"Oh? Then do tell, I''m all ears."
Eric crossed his arms. "I''m only here because Rebecca needed this, and I didn''t want to send her in alone. Unfortunately, that plan''s been pretty much shot to pieces, so now here we are."
"Here we are," Blanche echoed. "And I wouldn''t be so sure that your plan is in shambles. You being here probably means more to her than you might initially believe."
"What makes you say that?"
"I saw the way she was looking at you in the hallway. It was subtle, but I can tell she cares a great deal about you, and that she values your friendship."
Eric was surprised. "How can you tell?"
"I''ve been working as a therapist for over forty years at this point," Blanche explained. "I guess you could say I''m pretty good at reading people."
"I suppose¡­"
"Which is how I could tell she''s not a normal person."
Eric''s blood all but froze in his veins. His gaze slid over to Blanche, and he uncrossed his arms as he sat up straighter in his chair.
"I don''t know what you''re talking about," Eric insisted.
Blanche held up a hand. "Don''t mistake my point, please ¨C I have no intentions of telling anyone her secret, and neither does Doctor Harvey. Beyond simply losing our careers, if we did that, we''d be outing her to the world. And if she wants to live a life of secrecy, after all that she''s done for humanity, then who are we to take that away from her?" He shook his head. "You have my word that any discussion as to her true nature will stay strictly within the confines of this office."
"How can I trust you?" Eric blurted out.
"That is the tricky part, isn''t it?" Blanche asked. "It''s simple, really ¨C I already know her secret. I could reveal it at any time¡­ but I won''t, because what benefits would I gain from doing so? Nothing, that''s what. But I''d certainly gain your ire, not to mention hers, and if the rumors are true, she''s the very last person I would want to anger." He gave Eric a small grin. "Besides, I''ve been keeping patient secrets for forty-odd years now. I''m not about to break a streak like that for something like this."
Eric crossed his arms again. "Fine, I guess," he admitted. "So, what''s the deal, then? You have a plan for what to talk about?"
"That''s for you to decide," Blanche offered. "I figure you''re here for a reason, Eric."
"I just told you."
Blanche shook his head. "I get the impression that you''re someone who had to be talked into coming here in the first place. You certainly seem reticent enough for that. So something had to act as the straw that broke the camel''s back, so to speak. Do you know what that might be?"
"Aside from the super soldier living under my roof and eating all my food?" Eric took another breath. "...Been a rough few weeks, I suppose. Lost my father a short while ago."
"I''m sorry."
"Thanks. Past that¡­ I guess I''ve had a few bad memories work their way back to the surface of my mind."
"What kind of bad memories?"
"I''d rather not say."
"That''s fine," Blanche said. "You don''t have to discuss them if you don''t want to."
Eric stared at him in confusion. "I thought you were supposed to be the one running the show?"
"Only as much as you''ll let me. If you''re not comfortable discussing something, then we''ll avoid that topic for now. But surely there must be something that''s on your mind? The young woman in the next room, perhaps?"
"I mean, I am worried about her, if that''s what you''re wondering."
"Worried in what sense?"
"Worried that Harvey is going to accidentally say the wrong thing and get his arms torn off or something."
Blanche cracked a small grin at that. "Oh, I don''t think you''ll have to worry about that. He''s one of the finest therapists I''ve ever worked with. If anyone can handle her, it''s him."
"That''s good, I guess."
"Why don''t we discuss her?" Blanche asked. "Nothing off-limits, of course. But you speak highly of her, and she seems to think the world of you. How does that make you feel?"
"Is that what this is going to be about?" Eric suddenly asked. "You''re gonna ask me about my feelings and shit?"
"That''s my job, yes."
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Eric''s attention suddenly turned to the clock. Somehow, it had been less than five minutes since their session had begun. His brow furrowed, even as he looked back to Blanche.
"You don''t have to stay if you don''t want to," Blanche offered. "This is entirely dependent on what you want to do. If you''d prefer to end the session-"
"Not for as long as she''s still talking," Eric said.
"Okay, then. I apologize if I unintentionally reopened a wound of some kind-"
"No, no, it''s just¡­ I guess I''m a little protective of her."
"And why is that? Does she remind you of someone?"
Eric hesitated before letting out a sigh. "...To an extent, I suppose."
"Someone from your time in the military, perhaps?"
A bolt of pain lanced through Eric''s chest. Slowly, he nodded. "...Yeah. Nobody in particular, but¡­ she kinda reminds me of the more fresh-faced Marines who served under me."
"Then perhaps that''d be a good place to start," Blanche offered. "You can talk as much or as little as you''d like, of course. But whatever you choose, I''m all ears."
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Eric turned his attention back to the clock. Seven minutes. He sighed, then looked back to Blanche. And despite the apprehension that rose to the forefront of his mind, he began to talk. An Angels Retirement - Chapter 19
The hour passed by surprisingly quickly once Eric had decided to begin talking. Before he knew it, Blanche was standing up and apologizing for having to end the session there. Eric blinked, then turned to look at the clock once more. Sure enough, his hour was up.
"I apologize if this is sudden-" Blanche began, only for Eric to stop him with a quick shake of his head.
"It''s no problem," Eric assured him. "I understand you''ve got other patients, I can''t be monopolizing all your time. That and I don''t think my bank account could handle more than an hour at a time. No offense."
Blanche cracked a smile, then stepped out from behind his desk and over to the door. "Come on," he said. "Let''s go see how your friend is doing."
Eric didn''t need any further prompting. He stood up and followed Blanche out into the hall. As he did so, the door to Doctor Harvey''s room opened, and Rebecca came stepping out. Something about her looked different, though it was hard to tell at first; it took him a moment before he was able to place it.
It was subtle, as per usual, but she was just the slightest bit more¡­ not quite happy, but she was getting there. Less monotone, perhaps, though that wasn''t saying much for someone like her. In any case, she seemed to be feeling a little bit better than before, which was a good sign.
And as much as Eric hadn''t wanted to admit it, he felt better, too. He paused as that thought passed through his mind. It felt strange, but not entirely unwelcome.
"Eric."
At the sound of Rebecca''s voice, Eric turned to her. "Hey," he greeted. "How did your session go?"
She shifted, as if unsure what to say. Finally, she turned back to him and nodded. "...It went well."
"That''s good. Here, let''s clear out of the office so other patients can come in. You can tell me all about it on the way home."
Rebecca nodded, and the two of them set off for the front of the office. Rosa met them there, standing up and setting her phone aside the moment they came out.
"There you both are!" she said, rushing over to greet them. "How''d it go?"
Eric paused, taken aback at her demeanor. He''d known Rosa for over a year at this point, and this was the first time he''d seen her so¡­ happy, for lack of a better term.
And yet, somehow, it didn''t look out-of-place on her.
"Well enough, I suppose," Eric steadily admitted. "I don''t feel any worse, at least. I take it that''s a good sign?"
Rosa''s wide grin told him all he needed to know.
***
The drive home, surprisingly, was nowhere near as quiet as the drive to the therapist''s office had been. In retrospect, he probably should have expected that, but it didn''t diminish his surprise at all when Rosa began to pepper him with questions.
"So," she said, "talk to me¡­ Or don''t. I mean, it''s all confidential, so-"
Eric sighed from his spot behind the driver''s seat. "Rosa, you''ve read my file. There''s nothing I talked about today that wasn''t also in there."
"Oh," she said. "Well, start talking, then."
"Say please first."
She pouted, and then turned to Rebecca. "Well, he''s being his usual self. I don''t suppose you''d like to kick things off?"
Rebecca shook her head. "I wouldn''t mind."
"Whoa, whoa, hold on," Eric interrupted. "Rebecca, if any of this is confidential-"
Her expression tightened, and she shook her head again. "I don''t care if it is," she admitted. "My¡­ sisters¡­ they deserve to be remembered by someone other than just the few of us who are still alive."
Eric exchanged a quick glance with Rosa, who just shrugged. His brow furrowed, and he turned his attention back to the road.
"Alright," he acquiesced. "In any case, it''s not like we''re about to go telling anyone. Right, Rosa?"
"Of course," Rosa confirmed with a nod. "So, what''s on your mind, Rebecca? I noticed you just called the other Angels your sisters. That''s new, isn''t it?"
Rebecca shook her head. "Not really. We were always close with each other ¨C saw each other as family, more than anything. But we never really used that word, or at least, I never did. But the more I thought about it and talked about it this session, the more appropriate it seemed."
"Is that what you talked about, mainly?" Eric asked. "The other Angels?"
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Rebecca nodded. "Yes. I¡­ was close to all of them, but some more than others. Is that wrong of me?"
"Not at all," Rosa chimed in. "There were fifty of you, Rebecca. It''s natural that you''d be closer to a few of them as opposed to all of them."
"Even if we were supposed to fight, kill, and die together?"
"Even then," Eric explained. "You remember those pictures I showed you, right?" She nodded. "There were only two people in them. Those two were the men I was closest with, out of everyone I served alongside, but obviously I served with more than just them. Nothing wrong or unusual about that."
Rebecca bit her lip, but continued on. "...Out of all of them, I was closest to Seventeen and Thirty-One ¨C Hannah and Mai. We spent almost every waking moment outside of missions together. We ate together, trained together¡­ everything. The only times we were ever separated were when we were deployed to separate battlefields."
She trailed off for a moment before shaking her head. "...They''re both dead now, of course," Rebecca said softly.
"I''m sorry," Eric offered.
"That must have been hard on you¡­" Rosa muttered. "Rebecca, I''m so sorry they''re gone."
Rebecca shifted in her seat, suddenly uncomfortable. "...Thanks," she said quietly. "It''s just¡­ it''s still hard, knowing they''re both gone. And not only that, but that I can''t really see the others anymore¡­"
"We can''t do anything about that?" Eric asked Rosa.
She shook her head. "Not at the moment, no. Certainly not with the ones that are still in the military, and for the ones that are still out¡­ I imagine they''re all trying to settle in, too. Getting several Angels in one place might draw too much attention to them. But I will certainly make a few calls once I''m back at the office, see if I can''t set something up. If not now, then at some point in the future."
"Thanks." Rosa nodded, and Eric looked over to Rebecca. "Hey."
She immediately looked over to him, and the two of them locked eyes. "I don''t know much about the other Angels, but I know what you''re feeling right now. Don''t blame yourself for what happened."
Rebecca blinked, then bit her lip, turning her gaze to the floor. "...If I''d been there-"
"You can''t think like that," Eric said gently. "Look, it''s sad that they''re gone. And yeah, maybe you being there could''ve made a difference¡­ or maybe you both would have gotten killed. It''s impossible to know for sure. Don''t focus on the possibilities like that, you''ll drive yourself crazy if you do. Trust me, I''ve been there before. It doesn''t help anything."
Slowly, Rebecca nodded. Eric let out a sharp exhale. "Tell me about the two of them," he said. In the rear view mirror, he saw her look at him in surprise, though he was unperturbed. "You did just say that you wanted someone aside from the other Angels to remember them, right? Hard to do that if I don''t know anything about them."
Rebecca blinked again, but nodded. "...Hannah was a year older than me, and a few inches taller. She had short black hair and green eyes. Very good with a sniper rifle, too; on group missions, she was always our first choice for overwatch. Shot-for-shot, nobody else could match her when it came to sheer combat effectiveness, on either side. She was just that good with her rifle." Her expression suddenly softened. "...She ended up getting spaced when her ship was shot down while she was in cryo. They found her remains after some searching; she didn''t have a chance."
Her brow furrowed. "...I made the Iprenians pay for that one. We all did. You don''t want to know how."
Eric simply nodded along. "And Mai? What was she like?"
"Mai was¡­ a force of nature," Rebecca admitted. "She was two years older than me, and tall ¨C easily the tallest of all of us; she was nearly seven feet when she was wearing her armor. She was dark-skinned, some kind of Middle Eastern? I''m not sure¡­ in any case, she had blue eyes like mine, and long dark hair that flowed down to her lower back. And she was very muscular, too ¨C she took to the augmentations more than the rest of us did, for some reason."
"She sounds incredible. They both do."
Rebecca nodded. "They were. Mai went down like a true warrior ¨C she stayed behind to help assist some civilians who were evacuating their planet. She held the line for several days, all by herself; they finally had to call in an orbital bombardment to take her out. There wasn''t enough left of her body to find, but we did manage to locate her empty helmet afterwards, by sheer luck."
Rebecca trailed off. Eric exchanged another glance with Rosa, who returned it with a concerned look of her own. She went to say something, but he just shook his head as he pulled into the driveway of his home. Once he''d put the car in park and killed the engine, he stepped out and walked over to Rebecca''s door, then threw it open. She looked at him in surprise, but he didn''t say anything, instead he just bent down and gave her a hug.
"I''m sorry you lost your friends," he muttered. "It''s always hard to go through. Believe me, I know. But at the same time¡­ don''t dwell on it. They wouldn''t want you to."
Rebecca stiffened in his arms, but didn''t say anything. Instead, she hesitated before bringing her arms up and returning his hug with one of her own.
The two of them stayed like that for just a few seconds before separating. When Eric looked back to where Rosa had been seated, he found her standing just outside the car, a disappointed look on her face. He rolled his eyes, then stepped over to her and hugged her, too.
"Hey!" she protested. "What are you doing?!"
"You looked like you wanted a hug," Eric told her.
"With her, not with you! Let go!"
Eric''s only response was to tighten the hug, much to her dismay.
***
Eventually, Eric had enough of messing with Rosa and let her go. She let out a huff and straightened out the new wrinkles in her suit, then adjusted her ever-present sunglasses.
"Sorry to say, but I have to go now," she said. "I''ve got other people I need to visit, plus I''ve got to make those phone calls, too."
"You sure about that?" Eric asked. "Seems to me like you''re overdue to make it back to your coffin."
She flipped him off, then looked over to Rebecca. "He doesn''t give you grief the same way he does to me, does he?"
"She doesn''t deserve it like you do," Eric replied.
"Ass," Rosa commented, though she couldn''t hide the thin smirk that crossed her face. "Anyway, I''ll be seeing you both."
With that, she waved them both goodbye, then got back into her own car and pulled out of the driveway. Eric and Rebecca watched her go before they turned back to each other, Eric rubbing the back of his head.
"I''m really glad things went well today," he admitted. "For both of us."
She nodded in agreement. "What happens now?"
"Same thing as always, I suppose," he said, as the two of them stepped back into his house. "We''ll carry on and see what tomorrow holds." An Angels Retirement - Chapter 20
When Eric awoke the next day, he did so feeling refreshed for the first time since leaving the military. He blinked in surprise as he stared up at the ceiling. Even just laying in his bed, his body felt lighter, like he was unwound partially. Even the act of opening his eyes and breathing somehow felt easier.
"What the fuck¡­?"
A moment passed, and he brought a hand up and pinched himself on the thigh, trying to wake himself up. The small burst of pain across his skin told him that he was not, in fact, dreaming. Eric couldn''t help but wince a bit as he pulled his hand away, then shook his head.
"Alright, then¡­" he muttered.
Without a second thought, he rose out of bed, then started to get ready, wincing as he stretched his artificial leg out, the joint of the grafted limb letting out a small groan of protest as he did so. Once he was stretched out, Eric moved to the restroom and stepped into the shower. After a few minutes of standing under the water and washing himself, he got dressed, then stepped out into the living room. Curiously, Rebecca''s door didn''t open when he stepped outside. That realization caused him to raise an eyebrow. Generally, she was up not long after he was, but today seemed to be different. Still, he pushed that thought away, instead focusing on getting breakfast ready.
A short while later, and he had two plates laid out, waiting for her. And yet, she still didn''t leave her room. His curiosity officially piqued, Eric crept over to her door and pressed his ear against it, only to pause when he heard her gently snoring from the other side.
Slowly, a grin split his face, and he carefully peeled himself away from her door and headed back to the kitchen to eat by himself.
***
Rebecca didn''t leave her room for another hour, which took him by surprise. It wasn''t unwelcome, though, and he made sure to let her know that when she finally stepped out into the hallway.
"Sleep well?"
She paused, then turned to look at him in surprise. He was sitting in the living room, watching TV. She tilted her head, confused.
"You could hear me?"
"Mhm." He nodded. "You''re quiet, I''ll give you that, but you still have your tells."
"What are they?"
"You really expect me to give away my secrets like that?" He turned towards her, a faint smile crossing his face. "But if you must know¡­ part of the floor creaks when you walk on it. It''s not particularly loud, but if you know what to listen for, you''ll hear it."
She stared at him, and he motioned towards the kitchen. "I got breakfast ready for you, by the way."
"You didn''t have to do that. I can make bacon and eggs by myself."
"Sure, but I figured I''d go for something a little more fancy today. French toast isn''t exactly hard to make, but it''s a bit of a step up from bacon, eggs, and toast."
She nodded in understanding, then stepped over to the kitchen and sat down at the table. As she began to eat her breakfast, Eric stood up and stretched, then moved over to her.
"You never answered my question, by the way."
"Which question?" she asked as she took her first bite of French toast. Her eyes immediately lit up when she first tasted it, but she hesitated before diving back in for more, instead taking care to pace herself.
"You know the one," Eric said. "I asked if you slept well last night. Did you?"
She thought for a moment, then nodded. "I did," she confirmed as she took another bite of her breakfast. "This is really good, Eric."
"Ah, it''s nothing," he said. "I''ll teach you how to make it next time, when we''re both awake for it. Anyway, if you don''t mind me asking, what do you think made you sleep well? I''d wager you''re like me and haven''t had a good night''s sleep in a long time."
She shrugged. "The best sleep always came from going into cryo."
"And why is that?"
"Because I couldn''t remember what it was like."
Eric felt a pang of sympathy lance through his heart. Part of his mind was screaming at him to do something to reassure her, to put a hand on her shoulder in order to comfort her, and he very nearly did so but at the last second, he stopped himself, instead pulling his hand back.
"Hey," he said softly. "Those days are over, alright? You''re done fighting, Rebecca."
"I know," she replied, her voice quiet. "I just¡­ I feel guilty about it, to a certain degree. I could have given so much more than I did-"
"You gave more than anyone else possibly could have been expected to have given." He let out a small sigh. "You did so much, Rebecca. You and the other Angels."
"And yet, there are still some of them out in the field, and I''m still here."
"They''ll get out eventually," Eric assured her. "The war''s over. No need to keep them in the service long-term anymore. Eventually, they''ll get out."
"You''re sure?"
He nodded. "I''m positive."
She suddenly bit her lip. "...There''s something I wanted to ask," she ventured. He nodded, and she took a breath. "...How long are you going to let me stay here?"
Eric didn''t even need to think about his answer.
"As long as you want," he replied without any hesitation. "I''m not about to kick you out any time soon, Rebecca. If anything, I''m glad to have you around ¨C keeps the days from bleeding together when I have someone to do stuff with. Plus, you make for good company."
She tilted her head again, and Eric simply grinned at her, and then let go and sat down next to her again. Rebecca stared at him, then lowered her head.
"...Thank you," she offered quietly. "For everything, I mean."
"Hey," he replied. "You deserve all this, okay? Don''t go acting like you''re a charity case, or anything like that ¨C you''re not. You''ve helped me as much as I''ve helped you. This is a mutually beneficial arrangement¡­ and beyond that, you''re my friend."
She turned to him in surprise, and his grin widened. "What, you don''t think that term doesn''t apply by this point, do you? I''d say we''re close enough to be a bit more informal with each other by now."
She blinked once more, but then, the faintest of smiles crossed her face as well. It was barely noticeable ¨C really more of a slight upwards quirk of the sides of her mouth than anything ¨C but it was obvious enough to him.
And in that moment, Eric knew that whatever had happened up to this point, it had all been worth it just for that smile.
***
After breakfast, the two were lazing around watching TV when there was a sudden knock at the door. Eric exchanged a glance with Rebecca, both of them unsure who would be knocking early in the morning. Naturally, he got his answer within just a few seconds.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "Open up, asshole, I know you''re in there."
That was all he needed to hear. Eric rose from his seat and moved over to the front door, then unlocked it and threw it open.
"You know, I have neighbors," he deadpanned. "I imagine it wouldn''t go well for you if they reported your language to your superiors."
Rosa rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, they''ve heard way worse from the two of us by now."
She pushed past him, stepping into his home. Eric watched her for a moment in surprise before closing the door behind her.
"Yeah, come in, thanks for asking," he said. "Why are you here, anyway?"
"Because you weren''t answering the phone," she told him. "I''ve been calling and texting you for some time now."
"Shoot¡­ sorry. Damn thing had no battery this morning, since I left it off the charger last night by mistake." Rosa''s words finally sank in, and he turned to her in confusion. "Hang on, why were you calling and texting me so frequently? Did somebody die or something?"
"No, but we have the opportunity to do something fun rather than just laze around," Rosa announced.
"Like what?"
In response, she reached into her pocket, retrieving three small pieces of paper and thrusting them into his chest. Eric stared at her for a moment before taking the papers and looking them over, raising an eyebrow in surprise.
"A baseball game?"
"Yup!" she said excitedly. "I won a raffle and ended up getting three tickets."
"Alright, not that I''m not unappreciative, but don''t you have other veterans you should be helping? How is it that you''re able to take all this time for the two of us alone?"
"Because one of you is an Angel?" she said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You two are pretty much the only ones I''m supposed to watch over now thanks to that. I mean, how do you think I''m able to be on-call for you both at all hours of the day?"
"Makes sense, I suppose¡­" Eric begrudgingly admitted. "Okay, so when''s the game?"
"In a bit," Rosa told him. A sheepish grin crossed her face. "So, uh, we should probably leave right about now."
"Oh, now you tell us that."
"In my defense, I''ve been trying to reach you for a while now. Not my fault your phone was off."
"Baseball?" Rebecca asked, interrupting the two of them. "What''s that?"
Eric paused, trying to consider the best way to explain the intricacies of professional sports to her, when Rosa interrupted, a wide smirk on her face.
"Oh, you''ll see," was all she had to say.
Eric wisely chose not to let her know how sinister she''d sounded.
***
"And we''re finally here!" Rosa said with a dramatic sigh as she sank into her seat. "Urgh¡­ traffic was a nightmare¡­"
"You''re welcome, by the way," Eric said, sitting next to her. "I could have easily made you drive, considering this was your idea."
"I had to explain how baseball works to Rebecca."
"That doesn''t explain why you had me drive your work car, though."
Rosa just waved him off. She let out another content sigh, then turned to Rebecca. "How''re you holding up?"
Rebecca turned back to her, midway through a large box of nachos. She swallowed what was in her mouth, her eye lighting up. "I already like this sport."
"That makes one of us¡­" Eric grumbled.Rosa gently elbowed him. "Come on, you don''t have to be such a curmudgeon."
"I''m just not really a sports guy. Seriously, these guys make how much money a year just for throwing a ball around? It''s stupid."
"Admittedly, you''ve got a point there, but come on, just sit back and enjoy the spectacle."
"What spectacle?"
As if on cue, the PA suddenly came to life, and the announcer began to speak.
"And now, please all rise for the national anthem."
Eric and Rosa immediately stood up, with him snapping to a salute and her putting her hand over her heart, but to Eric''s surprise, so did Rebecca, her hand rising to her forehead as she stood up. His surprise only lasted a moment before reality sank in ¨C obviously, they''d have drilled saluting the flag into her, the same way they did any other service member.
The lights in the stadium dimmed as a lone singer made her way to the center of the field, a microphone held in her hand. She took a breath, then began to sing. And despite his early wariness, Eric couldn''t help but focus on her ¨C she had the audience captivated, her voice swirling around the stadium, the tones resonating off the stands and out of the speakers, forming a veritable wall of sound that enveloped them all.
Then, just as she reached the crescendo of the song, someone began to set off a series of fireworks to accompany the long, sustained note. Eric flinched at the sudden lights and noise.
And he wasn''t the only one.
Out of the corner of his eye, Eric saw Rebecca suddenly shrink back, her eye widening in shock. He watched as her body began to gently tremble, and his blood froze in his veins as he realized what was happening.
Without wasting any more time, he reached for her, took her by the hand, and began to lead her out of the stands.
***
"I''m sorry¡­ I''m sorry¡­"
"You have nothing to be sorry for," Eric insisted as he led her through the stadium.
Finally, he found an empty hallway the two of them could duck into. They made it into the shadows just as the game started, the crack of the wooden bat against the thrown ball punctuated by the excitement of the crowd. Rebecca again flinched at the noise, and Eric didn''t wait to see anymore, instead pulling her into a hug.
"It''s alright," he assured her.
"I¡­" She trailed off for a moment. "...What''s happening? I don''t understand¡­"
"It''s¡­ combat stress, I think," he offered, not breaking the hug for a moment. "It''s not uncommon at all. I''ve experienced a bit of it, myself."
"But¡­ why? I''ve never acted like that before, and I''ve been through the real thing¡­"
"The brain''s a funny thing, Rebecca. Sometimes it just betrays you like that." He pulled away just enough to look her in the eye, but didn''t let go of her just yet. "Do you want to talk about it?"
She bit her lip, but ultimately nodded. "...It just¡­ the sights and sounds of it, just¡­ brought back some memories, of when I was still in. It''s stupid, I know-"
"No, it isn''t. You''ve been through a lot, alright? This isn''t uncommon for a veteran."
"But I was trained not to feel like this."
"We all were," Eric explained. "But sometimes, you can''t control it. They spend years and years teaching us how to kill, but they never teach us how to stop. That''s on them, not you."
He tightened the hug once again. Rebecca took in a deep, shuddering breath, then pulled away. "...Thanks," she quietly offered.
Footsteps suddenly caught their attention, and they both turned right as Rosa rounded the corner.
"Oh, thank God!" she said, relieved. "Rebecca, I''m so sorry, I didn''t know!"
She carefully approached, and Rebecca sucked in another breath.
"...It''s okay," she said. "Just¡­ took me by surprise. I''ll be fine." Rosa stopped, then turned to Eric. He nodded, and she pursed her lips, then turned back to Rebecca.
"...Okay," she conceded. "But we can leave, we don''t have to-"
Rebecca suddenly shook her head. "I want to see the game," she insisted.
"Are you-"
"Yes," she declared. "I don''t want to leave yet¡­ if that''s okay."
"Of course it''s okay," Rosa said to her. "I just wasn''t sure¡­" She trailed off, then shook her head. "You know what? You''re right. Come on, let''s get back to our seats, before we miss the rest of the first inning."
Rebecca nodded, and together, the three of them began the walk through the stadium once more.
***
A few hours later, and they were pulling into Eric''s driveway. Thankfully, past the opening to the game, there hadn''t been any other incidents. In fact, Rebecca seemed to have had a good time, if the way she''d watched each play was any indication. Eric had been amused, seeing the way she tracked the ball with every throw and every hit.
The only one who seemed to have had a bad time was Rosa, who was currently sulking in the back seat.
"Lighten up," Eric couldn''t help but tease. "It''s just a game."
"It was the first one of the season and they lost!" Rosa lamented. "At this rate, they''ll never make it to the World Series!"
"You''re being dramatic."
Eric put the car in park and turned off the engine, and all of them unbuckled themselves and got out, then began to head for the front door.
They all paused when a familiar-looking black SUV with tinted windows pulled into his neighborhood. Eric''s eyes narrowed when it came to a stop next to his house, and the two men in suits got out.
"What fresh hell is this¡­?" he muttered as he stepped in-between them and Rebecca. He was about to tell them off when Rosa spoke up.
"What can we do for you two gentlemen?" she asked, putting a hand on her hip.
The two suits stopped a short ways away, crossing their arms in front of themselves.
"We''re just here to collect Thirteen," the dark-skinned bald man said.
"On what grounds?"
"Simple," the other one said. "We have need of her for a mission."
Eric''s blood all but froze in his veins. A snarl crossed his face. "She''s retired," he snapped. "The government saw to that."
"Believe us, we wouldn''t be here if it weren''t vitally important. Unfortunately, we have no choice, given what we''ve just learned." He looked past Eric, locking eyes with Rebecca.
"Your mentor is alive, Thirteen," he said. "And we need you to track him down." An Angels Retirement - Chapter 21
For a moment, they all just stood there, the words washing over them. Nobody moved a muscle or said a word, rooted to their spots as they were. Finally, Rebecca stepped forward, as if in a daze.
"You''re lying¡­" she muttered. "You have to be. I was told there was no way he could have survived what happened to his ship."
"Apparently, we were wrong," the bald-headed man said. He motioned towards Eric''s house. "But perhaps this conversation would be better had indoors? I would prefer not to draw a crowd."
Eric looked around. Sure enough, a few of the neighbors had already started to gather around. Slowly, he nodded.
"Fine," he said as he led the way back to his house. "But don''t touch anything ¨C I''ll never be able to get the stench of government agent out if you do."
"Charming," the other suited man said as they all began to follow Eric back to his home.
"You ought to have known what to expect when you came here. You''ve read my file, after all."
After a few seconds, they were all back inside the house, and Eric closed and locked the door behind them. Once that was done, he took a breath, then rounded on them.
"Alright, start talking," he demanded. "I want to know everything. And, for the love of God, some names from the two of you would be nice. If you''re going to try to screw us over, at least have the courtesy to give us that."
Both men exchanged a glance with each other before shrugging. "Davis," the dark-skinned man answered.
"Roy," said the other.
"Alright. Now, Davis and Roy, do me a favor ¨C why the fuck are you both here?"
"Because her mentor-"
"I know, but you could have gone to any of the other Angels for that," Eric pointed out. "Particularly, any of the ones still in the service. Instead, you came all the way out here to find one that was retired, after she''d had a few weeks to start adjusting, mind you, and then you try to bring her back into the fold." He crossed his arms. "Do you realize how cruel that is? Does she not deserve better than that in your eyes? Has she not given enough already?"
"This has nothing to do with what she deserves, or how much she''s given," Davis cut in. "This is about the most effective person for the job. And I think you''ll all agree with me when I say that it''s her."
"Bullshit," Eric replied, rolling his eyes. "She''s the best of them, true, but you''re really telling me this is going to be a one-person job?"
"Yes, actually."
Eric stared at him in confusion. Before Davis could respond, Roy stepped forward.
"This is likely going to sound unbelievable, but we have it on very good authority that Major Miller is not only alive, but that he''s now working for the Iprenians."
Before anyone could react, Rebecca surged forwards. She grabbed Roy by the throat and hoisted him off his feet, then slammed him into the nearby wall, where she began to choke the life out of him. Roy flailed in her grasp, his feet several inches off the floor, and his face steadily turning more and more blue with every passing second. Davis'' hand went inside his jacket, and Eric''s eyes widened.
"Rebecca, stop!" he called. "Let him go!"
"The Major would never willingly sign on with the Iprenians," she snarled. "Anyone who would accuse him of that is lying."
"All the more reason for us to figure out what''s happening before we do anything rash," Eric implored. "Put him down, please."
Rebecca let out a grunt, but did as he asked, roughly dropping Roy to the floor. Immediately, Roy''s hand went to his throat, and he began to suck in deep gulps of air while massaging his neck. After a few seconds, he struggled to his feet, shaking his head the entire time.
"Jesus Christ¡­" he managed to gasp out.
"Talk," Eric demanded. "Because I don''t know if you noticed, but I only just barely managed to get her to release you, and I don''t think I''ll be quite as successful the second time."
Roy gave him a death glare, but said nothing, instead continuing to gulp in air. Davis put a hand on his shoulder in solidarity before turning to Eric.
"I''m going to reach into my suit pocket," he announced. "For a file. Can I trust you to believe I''m not going for my gun?"
Eric nodded in understanding, and Davis breathed a sigh of relief before presenting a small folder. He offered it to Rebecca, who hesitantly accepted it.
"Photos from the black box of one of those ships that was recently destroyed by pirates," Davis said. "Take a look at the pictures, tell me what you see."
Rebecca''s expression tightened, but she opened the folder all the same. The moment she did, her whole body began to tremble, and her expression on the photo turned white-knuckled as she grit her teeth.
"Rebecca?" Eric asked gently. "What''s-"
Her only response was to shove the photo in his face. Eric accepted it, then looked it over, a chill going down his spine in the process.
It was the interior of a civilian passenger ship, full of humans¡­ or rather, it had been in the past; now, they were little more than mutilated corpses, piled high atop each other. And standing there in the center was a tall figure clad in a slate-black suit of power armor. It was unmistakably human; Iprenians were taller than that, and looked closer to bipedal wolves than anything else. No, there was no denying it ¨C this was a human, a male by the looks of their body, and they were clad in the kind of power armor that had only ever been issued to the Angels.
There was no denying it, then ¨C Rebecca''s mentor had thrown his lot in with the Iprenians. Eric didn''t know how or why, but the picture was irrefutable.
Slowly, he let out a sigh, then passed the picture over to Rosa. While she examined it, he turned back to Davis and Roy, uncertainty etched across his face.
"What do you need her to do?" he asked softly.
Stolen story; please report. "We need her to find the Major and either kill him or bring him back to us for interrogation," Roy managed to get out, his voice coming out slightly gruff and choked. "We''d prefer him alive, obviously, but if that''s not possible, then we''ll take him dead, too."
"And it has to be her? Nobody else can do it?"
Davis shook his head. "It has to be a single Angel, I''m sorry to say. We''re not even supposed to have any out in the field at this point according to the treaty we signed, so two would be much too risky. And if we''re stuck sending just a single one¡­"
"Then it makes sense to send the deadliest one." Eric crossed his arms once again, his gaze narrowing. "Still, you have to realize that she''s been adjusting to civilian life. It''s only been a few weeks, sure, but she''s gotten along nicely."
Both men exchanged a confused glance at that, one that didn''t go unnoticed by Eric. His brow furrowed. "Alright, what''s that supposed to mean?"
"It''s just¡­" Davis hesitated. "...Her actually adjusting wasn''t part of the plan."
"What the fuck are you talking about? I thought that was the entire reason you put her with me."
"Are you kidding?" Roy asked. "You''re an alcoholic mess of a man. You were one of the worst choices of candidates when it came to giving her a normal life. That was by design ¨C we needed her to retire, yes¡­ but we also needed her to be ready to come back to active duty if we ever needed her. And so we put her with someone who had no business housing her, who she wouldn''t get attached to."
"You didn''t truly think all that shit about you being the best possible candidate was true, did you?" Davis questioned. "Come on, we could have put her with any number of candidates and she''d have been better off. We picked you because we figured neither of you would get attached."
Eric was dumbstruck. He turned to Rosa, who was just as confused as him. After a moment, Eric turned back to the two of them.
"Let me get this straight," he said slowly, his voice low. "You lied to me, and you lied to her ¨C made it appear like this was going to be a permanent thing for her when you always knew it was possible she''d have to be reactivated for one reason or another. And to that end, you purposely put her with someone you thought was unqualified to help care for her and assist her with adjusting. So you knew
"It wasn''t our decision," Davis interjected. "It came from higher up in the chain. We were just responsible for making sure the plan went off-"
Eric didn''t let him finish. Instead, as Davis was talking, he cocked his fist back and punched him full-on in the face. Davis'' sunglasses shattered under the force of the blow, and he fell to the ground, clutching at his nose as it streamed blood. Eric stood over him, his face contorted in rage and his hands curled into fists.
"Get the fuck out of here," he growled. "Don''t ever come back if you know what''s good for you."
Roy helped Davis to his feet, and both men glared at him.
"The hell is your problem?" Roy demanded. "You just assaulted a federal agent!"
"I''m about to assault a second one if you both don''t leave my property in the next five fucking seconds."
"Make another move towards us and I''m placing you under arrest."
"That''ll be tough to do when you''re out cold."
Eric went to take a step forwards, but Rebecca stopped him by putting a hand on his chest. He turned to her in surprise, but she didn''t reciprocate, instead looking over to the two agents.
"I''ll do it," she said, her voice full of conviction.
"What?!" Eric couldn''t stop himself from asking. "Rebecca-"
She turned towards him, and he paused when he saw the emotion that had suddenly crossed her face. There was pain there, sure, but it was mixed with determination as well. It was a far cry from her usual monotone ¨C so much so that it stunned him into complete silence.
"If it was your father, you''d do the same thing," Rebecca said to him. "That man raised me ¨C raised all fifty of us, turned us into the people we are today. I owe him everything, Eric. He''s the closest thing to family I have left, aside from the other Angels."
"That''s not true," Eric said softly. "You have us."
Rebecca grimaced, but didn''t look away. "...I know. And it hurts, having to leave you both behind¡­ but I have to do this. Please, don''t deny me this."
The two of them held that gaze for a moment before Rebecca let out a sigh and nodded.
"Okay," she said to the two agents. "Let''s go."
***
At first, Eric had thought that they were just going to take Rebecca with them, but Rosa had somehow talked them into letting her and Eric ride with them. As it turned out, there was already a ship waiting at a nearby spaceport, full of Rebecca''s old gear. They were going to drop her off there, she was going to get geared up, and then she''d be on her way. The entire thing would probably only take an hour, by his estimation.
One hour, and he couldn''t think of a way to properly say goodbye. Hell, he couldn''t think of anything to say during the car ride to the spaceport ¨C try as he might, nothing seemed to fit. He wasn''t the only one struggling with his words, at least ¨C neither Rosa nor Rebecca said anything during the entire car ride. The trip was silent up until they made it to the spaceport, and all of them exited the vehicle.
Predictably, the brass was already there ¨C several very high-ranking officers were gathered around the hangar, all of them waiting for her. A few of them tried to speak with her, but Rebecca wasn''t having it, and merely stepped past them, headed for a large metal container. As Eric and Rosa watched, she opened the container, revealing a familiar-looking set of armor.
Eric had seen what the Angels'' armor looked like before, in the propaganda videos and pictures created to show them off. But nothing compared to seeing it in real life ¨C it was big; with her armor on, she''d be about his height. And it was thick as well, so much so that he knew it''d stop anything short of very high-intensity plasma, heavy armor-piercing ammo, or explosives.
Most striking of all, however, it was colored a deep navy blue. He''d heard rumors that the Angels had been allowed to customize their own armor a bit, at least as far as the paint job, and apparently, that was true.
As Eric watched, Rebecca began to pull on the armor piece by piece. She did so with practiced ease, and before long, she was fully armored up, save for her helmet, which she picked up and stared at before setting it down and turning back towards him and Rosa. As he watched, she reached up and removed her eye patch, then let it fall to the ground before opening her artificial eye and staring at the two of them. A moment passed, and she began to walk over to them.
Then, once she was within range, she carefully stepped forward and pulled them both into a big hug.
And somehow, despite her armor and her augmented strength, it was so gentle.
"You both looked like you needed a hug," she said softly. A moment passed, and she added, "I''ll miss you."
Something about that statement got to him. Eric felt tears come to his eyes, and barely managed to avoid letting them leak out, instead wiping them away before pulling her even tighter. Rosa, on the other hand, didn''t even try to hold herself back, the sound of her quiet choked sobs echoing through the hangar. Eric swallowed the lump in his throat.
"...Just come back to us," he begged. "Please."
Rebecca''s only response was to nod.
A few seconds passed, and then the three of them reluctantly broke the hug. They separated, giving each other one last glance.
And it may have just been a trick of the light, but Eric could have sworn he saw Rebecca''s eyes glistening, too.
It only lasted for a moment before she gave a shuddering sigh, then turned and picked up her helmet. She slid it over her head, and in that instant, artificial electric blue gave way to an opaque black visor. Eric felt his heart skip a beat at the sight of it, but he said nothing, even as she turned and marched over to the small attack ship that had been provided for her.
As he watched, Rebecca got inside the ship and started the engine, the high-pitched whine filling the hangar, finally drowning out Rosa''s crying. Rebecca flipped a number of switches, but then hesitated at the last one and looked over to him.
And she waved at him.
Eric didn''t get a chance to wave back before she hit the final button.
And just like that, she was gone. An Angels Retirement - Chapter 22
Waking up was a lot different when it was to an empty home.
For a moment, Eric simply laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling as his emotions washed down on him. After a few seconds had passed, he let out a long, drawn-out sigh, then reluctantly got out of bed and started his day.
Even though she was gone, he still went through the motions, despite there being no point to them. He still showered, trimmed his facial hair a bit, and dressed appropriately, then stepped out from his bedroom into the kitchen and started to make breakfast.
And even though he knew it was just him in the house now, he still made a second plate of food. Why, he wasn''t sure. Perhaps some small part of him was hoping, however much in vain it was, that she would come through the door and join him for breakfast. It was impossible, he knew ¨C she was light years away by now, doing God only knew what.
And all because she wasn''t willing to let go of a dead man.
Another sigh escaped him as the thought crossed his mind. Truthfully, she''d been right ¨C if it had been his father, he''d have done the same thing, and made the exact same choice. That didn''t numb the ache any, though ¨C it still hurt whenever he thought about her.
"Damn it¡­" he muttered. Eric pushed his plate of food away, his appetite suddenly leaving him entirely. With yet another sigh, he rose from his spot at the table and began to clean up around the kitchen.
He froze in shock when there was a knock at the door. Immediately, he whipped around to face it, his heart swelling with hope, only for it to fade in just a few short words.
"It''s me. Open up."
Eric did his best not to wince as he set the dirty dishes aside, then moved over to the door and threw it open. Rosa was standing there, a dour expression on her face.
"You too, huh?" Eric couldn''t help but ask.
"Yeah¡­" She let out a small exhale, then stepped past him and entered his house. Eric didn''t bother to tell her off, instead closing the door behind her and locking it. He watched as Rosa stepped into the living room and collapsed onto his sofa, his brow furrowing the entire time.
"So why are you here?" he asked.
"Truthfully?" she answered. "I have no fucking idea. I needed something to kill the time."
"So you figured you''d come torment me? Is that it?"
"Not exactly, I just¡­ I don''t know, Eric. I''m not in a good state of mind, and I figure you''re not, either. So I thought, hell, we might as well both go be nervous wrecks together, because it sure as shit has to be better than being a nervous wreck alone."
"You''re not wrong¡­" He shook his head. "I''ve got therapy today, though."
Rosa turned to him, surprised. "You''re going?"
"Don''t get too excited, I''m only going because the government finally reimbursed me for the full month, so I might as well. That and because I knew she''d be disappointed in me if I skipped it."
Rosa blinked. "...It''s funny, hearing you talk about her. You really like her, don''t you?"
"Of course I like her." Eric took a seat next to her on the couch. "That''s why I got all weepy and shit when she decided she''d throw her life away."
"Don''t say that!" Rosa chastised. "She''ll be back soon."
"What makes you so sure?"
"Because she''s the best out of all the Angels, that''s why. If anyone can make it back from this, it''s her."
***
Thirteen crept along the ridge of the moon, keeping one hand tightly grasped around her carbon-steel knife as she did so. A lone Iprenian trooper rounded the corner ahead of her, the alien soldier unable to make her out thanks to the darkness and the temporary refractive field being emitted from her armor. The Iprenian crossed by her field of vision, and that was when she pounced, grabbing him from behind with a single gauntlet-clad hand and slipping her blade into the base of his skull, severing his brain stem with a single well-placed strike. He was dead before he hit the ground; Thirteen wasted no time in dragging his body back into the darkness, pausing only to give a glance of disgust at the corpse.
The Iprenians looked like tall, muscular, bipedal wolves more than anything. This one was a lower-ranked trooper, judging by the dark blue armor he was wearing; the Iprenians were a martial culture, and placed a lot of emphasis on the act of fighting. To that end, the highest-ranking Iprenian soldiers tended to wear bright, ornate armor, as a way of showing they weren''t afraid to stand out in a battle.
The sole exception to this were the Iprenian Black Ops soldiers she''d encountered a few times, who wore vantablack armor with no rank insignia of any kind, and struck from the shadows. She''d expected to face at least a few of them here; the fact that she hadn''t was cause for alarm, as far as she was concerned.
It was also more than a little disappointing, she had to admit. The Black Ops unit had taken down a few of her sisters, and she hadn''t quite gotten the chance to personally make them pay for it yet. She''d been hoping to run into a few of them, if only to make an example out of them. Her gaze narrowed as she imagined what she''d do to one if she got her hands on him, how she''d shatter every bone in his body and tear him apart piece by piece, leaving him a screaming wreck before finally letting him bleed out, and-
Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. "That man is no threat to you. And if you kill him, things are going to get even more complicated than they already are. Believe me when I say that neither one of us wants that. So, please, put him down, Rebecca."
She flinched as Eric''s words suddenly flashed through her mind. Her stomach roiled, and she doubled over, clutching at it as she began to hyperventilate. It only lasted for a few seconds before she managed to calm herself down enough to stand up straight and take a few quick breaths. Once her heart rate was sufficiently under control, she shifted, the rifle slung across her front moving to a slightly more comfortable position as she did so. A tired sigh escaped her, and she turned back to the Iprenian trooper she had just killed.
She couldn''t see his face through the helmet he was wearing, but she didn''t need to in order to know it was almost certainly staring straight up into the sky, unblinking.
A shudder suddenly rocked through her body, and she hurriedly turned away, instead pushing her mind back to the mission. Ducking back into the shadows and activating her refractive field once more, she activated her helmet''s Heads-Up Display, and a transparent satellite map of the moon''s surrounding area suddenly filled up her opaque black visor. She scanned over it for a moment, honing in on what looked like a metallic structure a few klicks away, just barely hidden among the surrounding rocks.
With the location confirmed, she deactivated her HUD and took off running, the whole time hoping that Eric and Rosa were doing okay in her absence.
***
Eric leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling above him. "I just don''t know what to do at this point, Doc," he said, despondent. "I''m so damn worried about her."
Across from him, Doctor Blanche gave him a sympathetic look, followed shortly after by a small nod.
"That''s understandable," he offered. "Many veterans feel the same way about their comrades who are still fighting."
"This is different," Eric insisted. "They just¡­ took her."
"You made it sound like she went of her own volition."
"She did, but not really." He lowered his head, staring down at the floor. "They knew she wouldn''t refuse if they gave her a chance to meet her father figure again. Even if he''s working for them at this point, they knew she''d never say no. And I can''t blame her for it."
"Why is that?"
"Because she thought he was dead, like I told you," Eric explained. "If I were here, and I''d just learned the person I cared about the most ¨C the one who I was promised had been killed beyond any reasonable chance of survival ¨C was actually alive¡­ I''d go look for them, too."
"You truly think he''s the one she cares about the most?"
Eric stared at him in confusion. "Is that even a question? You should hear the way she talks about him."
"You think she cares more about him than about you?"
"Of course she does, why else would she have gone?"
"So you want her to come back?"
"What''s with this line of questioning?" Eric demanded. "Do you have a point you''re trying to make?"
Blanche held up a hand in surrender. "Just trying to see what your relationship with her is like."
"It''s good, but not as good as the one she has with her father."
"What makes you say that?"
"We just went over this," Eric reminded him.
"We did, but I believe you''re selling yourself short," Blanche said.
"Oh, yeah? How so?"
"Put yourself in her shoes. Obviously, she''d want to go find her father. That doesn''t mean she likes him more than you."
Eric stared at him. Blanche held up a hand again. "Tell you what, we''ll come back to that. For now, I just want to say¡­ these feelings you''re having, they''re perfectly normal. It''s more than reasonable to worry about her¡­ but at the same time, you need to believe in her."
Eric hesitated. "...It''s so hard, Doc," he muttered. "I''ve just¡­ seen too many of my guys die, already. I don''t know if I can handle losing her, too. I know that''s strange to say since I''ve only known her for a few weeks, but¡­ damn it, she''s made an impact on me, alright. She''s my friend, and I don''t want to lose her."
"Then have faith," Blanche gently told him. "I know it''s hard, but that''s all the more reason to do it anyway. Do you really think she''d want you worrying about her right now?"
Slowly, Eric shook his head. Blanche gave him a small grin.
"Then believe in her," he said. "And before you know it, she''ll be back."
Eric swallowed nervously. He looked over at the wall-mounted clock, his gaze narrowing when he saw he was only twenty minutes into an hour-long session.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "Hopefully."
***
With a sickening crunch, Thirteen crushed the Iprenian Warlord''s windpipe and upper spine into dust, then unceremoniously let his body fall to the ground. He fell in a pile of several others, all of whom were in no better shape. Whether they had been shot, stabbed, blown up, or simply pummeled into oblivion, all the Iprenians she''d come across had died a very violent death. In the past, part of that would have bothered her, since the Iprenian religion told them that warriors who fell in open battle were guaranteed entry into their version of the afterlife.
Now, as she stared at the room full of mangled and mutilated corpses, all it made her feel was sick to her stomach.
Bile rose to the back of her throat, and she did her best to swallow it, shuddering as it was all forced back down. With a long, drawn-out breath, she hefted her rifle and swapped magazines in it, then went to breach through the next door in front of her.
Just as she''d stacked up outside it, however, heavy, lopsided footfalls from behind her caught her attention. Immediately, she rounded towards where she''d heard the noise, snapping the rifle into her shoulder.
She froze when that familiar set of black armor came into view.
It was like staring at a ghost, at least at first. But as Major Miller drew closer, she could tell something was off about him ¨C every step was uneven and unusually heavy, like he was limping, and his body was twitching unnaturally as he moved, as if every single articulation of his own body was somehow against his will. Thirteen tensed as he stopped on the other side of the room, then doubled over, his arms hanging limply at his sides. Idly, she noted that he wasn''t armed with any guns, but instead had an ornate-looking Iprenian plasma sword on his hip.
"Major," she announced. "I have orders to bring you into custody, Sir."
For a moment, Major Miller said nothing, simply standing there, still doubled over. Thirteen tensed, pushing the stock of her rifle deeper into her shoulder, her heart pounding in her chest the entire time. She was about to begin barking orders at him when he heaved out a long, uneven breath, and finally spoke his first words.
"Rebecca¡­" he managed to gasp out, the words coming out with no small amount of force or pain. "...Kill me."
An Angels Retirement - Chapter 23
Thirteen stood there, stunned into silence. She peered at her former mentor from behind her opaque black visor, the grip on her rifle tightening.
"Major," she began, only for him to suddenly seize, one hand falling to the hilt of the blade on his hip.
"Don''t¡­!" he managed to gasp out. "Don''t¡­ try to save me¡­"
"Sir-"
"I said don''t!" he snarled. "Chip¡­ in my brain¡­ can''t control¡­"
He seized once more, a loud, pain-filled scream erupting from his throat. Thirteen took a step forward, keeping her weapon trained on him, but the moment she moved towards him, Miller moved. He tore the sword from his hip and activated it, a jet of green plasma materializing out of the hilt with a hiss. He lunged for her, the sword leading his way; Thirteen just barely managed to stumble back, the plasma passing by just inches away from her throat. Even through her armor, she could feel the heat radiating off the blade.
Miller recovered from his wild swing, doubling over, gasping for breath. Thirteen backpedaled, again shouldering her weapon.
"Major," she said.
"Damn it¡­!" he gasped out. "Just kill me, already!"
"I can''t do that, Sir."
"You have to!"
"We can take you back," she insisted, desperation creeping into her voice. "They''ll find some way to-"
"There is
Thirteen grit her teeth, her grip on her rifle turning white-knuckled. She heaved a sigh of reluctance, then took aim directly at his head.
But just before she could put a burst into his head, he seized again. And this time, when he stopped moving, he was different somehow. When he rose to his feet, he stood up completely straight, and relaxed; there was no trace of the agony he''d been in just moments earlier. And when he looked at her, even through his darkened visor, Thirteen knew instantly that there would be no bringing him back this time.
And so she took aim and laid on her rifle''s trigger.
Rounds pinged off Miller''s armor as he sprinted for her, leading with his sword. The heavy-caliber bullets tore deep gouges into his chestpiece, some of them even penetrating deeply enough to draw blood, but he didn''t seem to feel any of them. Instead, he closed in on her, bringing the sword back; Thirteen let her weapon hang from its sling as it ran dry and brought her hands up to intercept his arm. She managed to catch his hand as it came down for a strike that would have surely killed her. The two of them wrestled for the weapon for a moment, their armor audibly groaning under the strain, before Miller finally broke away. As he stepped back, he activated the refractory camouflage on his armor, and disappeared from view.
Thirteen didn''t waste any time. Upon seeing him vanish, she immediately began to retreat, knowing that his camouflage would be on cooldown after he became visible again. She reloaded as she ran, slamming a fresh magazine into her rifle before sending the bolt home. Once that was done, she looked over her shoulder, looking for the telltale shimmer that indicated he was nearby, but found nothing.
Thirteen fell back to one of the rooms she''d cleared earlier. It was full of Iprenian corpses, and the floor was slick with blood. She moved to one of the corners, pressing her back against the wall as she did so. From this position, she could keep watch over the rest of the room, particularly the bloodstains on the floor. Her heart pounded in her chest as she watched and waited for her mentor to make his next move.
And then, the wall behind her exploded, and pain blossomed across her shoulder.
Thirteen fell forwards, her rifle slipping from her grasp, staying connected to her only by its sling. As she landed, she hurriedly rolled to the side, just in time to avoid a follow-up strike that would have impaled her. Miller brought his arm back for another stab, but before he could bring it down, she angled her weapon towards him and laid on the trigger, firing off an entire magazine into his legs. Miller let out a grunt of pain as his lower body was shredded by armor-piercing rounds, and the blade he was holding fell to the ground, deactivating as it left his grasp.
Thirteen''s rifle ran dry, and she let go of it, lunging for the discarded sword. Before she could grab it, however, Miller took hold of her arm with both hands and squeezed. Her armor twisted under the sheer force, and she bit back a scream as she felt her arm be torn to ribbons by the shredded metal, her radius and ulna breaking in the process. Still, she had the sense of mind to bring her other arm around and strike him in the head, shattering his visor and forcing him to let go of her.Once she was free, Thirteen scrambled away, ripping the sling of her rifle off her shoulder in the process, the empty weapon slipping away from her.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Warning: Significant trauma detected,Administering morphine.
Thirteen let out a low gasp as she felt the painkiller flood her system. Almost immediately, the pain began to recede. Across from her, Miller seized once more, his armor no doubt giving him the same type of drugs she was being given.
The two of them stood there for a moment, staring at each other and gasping for breath, before they both let out a loud yell and sprinted for one another once more.
***
Eric let out a sigh as he stared out across the lake, a fresh cigarette burning away between his lips. He took another long drag from it, then exhaled, and watched the thin wisps of smoke curl up around him.
It had been several days since Rebecca had left. Neither him nor Rosa had slept at all since then, both of them desiring to stay up in case some news came in. None had yet, but that wasn''t going to stop him; with his luck, he knew that the moment he tried to get some sleep, he''d get word that she wasn''t coming home.
That thought caused him to grit his teeth, grinding the end of the cigarette down in his mouth. Her not coming back was always a possibility, and the knowledge that he might have to face that reality was bothering him even more than he''d initially thought it would.
"Fucking government," he spat, taking another drag from his smoke. That ended up being the final straw for it; he pulled the stub out of his mouth and threw it on the ground, then ground it beneath his heel. That was the fourth one since he''d gotten here, and yet somehow, it wasn''t enough to make him sick. He let out a grunt of annoyance, then reached into his pocket for another cigarette, only to scowl when nothing but an empty pack greeted him.
"Thought I''d find you out here."
Eric turned, his expression relaxing when he saw Rosa walking towards him. She looked the way he felt, which was to say that even from several meters away and behind her ever-present pair of sunglasses, he could plainly see that she was in desperate need of some rest, a shower, and a meal that didn''t come out of a frozen box. She stepped over to him, only for her brow to furrow as she drew closer. By the time she was next to him, she was coughing and waving a hand around to clear the air out from around them.
"Christ''s sake, Eric," she managed to get out. "Ever hear of pacing yourself?"
"Forgive me if my health is the very last thing on my mind right now," he said. "Do you have a smoke, by the way?"
"I''ve got gum."
"Nicotine gum?"
"Nah."
Eric let out a small huff of annoyance. Next to him, Rosa rolled her eyes. "I''m supposed to be off the cancer sticks forever. That night a few weeks ago was the last time."
"Sure it was."
"It was," she insisted. "Seriously. Anyway, that''s not why I''m here."
"And why is that?"
"Because you weren''t returning my calls."
"Phone was on silent," he told her. "I just¡­ needed to be alone for a while. I figured there wasn''t going to be any news yet, anyway."
"You figured right." She let out a tired sigh. "I like this about as much as you do, you know. I''m not as close to her as you are, but she''s still my friend, too."
"Mhm."
"And so are you, for that matter."
"That''s-" He froze, her words suddenly sinking in all at once. His eyes went wide with shock, and he turned towards her. Again, she rolled her eyes.
"Don''t act so surprised," she told him. "I figure we''re close enough at this point to consider ourselves friends."
"We are?" Eric asked. "I thought you hated me."
"Hated you?" She shook her head. "I never hated you, I just thought you were an asshole. Hell, I still
"That doesn''t make any sense."
"It makes perfect sense, you''re just being too difficult to understand it." Rosa stepped closer to him, crossing her arms as she stared out across the lake. "It''s beautiful this time of day, isn''t it?"
Eric followed her gaze, his expression softening. "Yeah," he agreed, "it is. I just¡­ wish she was here to see it."
"Soon enough, she will be," Rosa promised him. "I''m sure she will."
"Is that why you came looking for me out here?" Eric asked. "Just to try and reassure me?"
"Partly. I also figured that you shouldn''t be alone right now."
"Why is that?"
Rosa shrugged. "Because I wouldn''t want to be. I know what you said earlier, but believe me, that''s no way to handle what''s going on now."
"Says you."
"I mean it," Rosa insisted. She turned towards him and gave him a harsh look. "You know I never liked the way you smoked and drank so much. Always felt like the world''s slowest suicide attempt of all time to me."
"You never tried to stop me."
"Yes, I did. You just never listened." Her expression softened. "Don''t let this drag you back to the way you were before, Eric. You''ve helped her a lot, but she''s helped you, too, even if you don''t realize it. Do you really want to undo all that progress and revert back to the way you used to be? You know she wouldn''t want that."
Eric hesitated, Rosa''s words flowing through his mind. After a moment, he sighed, looking down at the ground.
"...Sorry."
"It''s fine," she offered. "Just¡­ come back with me, would you? I think you''ve been out here alone long enough."
Eric said nothing, instead nodding as she motioned for her to follow. After a moment, he did exactly that, walking after her. And together, the two of them left the park.
His anxiety hadn''t quite gone away completely, but at least for the moment, it had been tempered.
An Angels Retirement - Chapter 24
"Has there been any word?"
Rosa looked up from her spot on the couch, a solemn expression on her face, then shook her head. "Nothing."
Eric let out a slow exhale. "How soon do you think they''ll tell us once she''s back?"
"It''s hard to say, Eric. I imagine there are parts of this mission they''ll want to keep classified. I''m sure they''ll have to debrief her once she''s back. But after that¡­ it shouldn''t be long."
"You''re sure?"
"No, I''m not." Rosa sighed tiredly. "Look, it''s almost two in the morning. You''ve been up for far too long. You need to get some sleep."
"You''re one to talk."
"I''m only up because you''re still up. That''s also why I''m staying at your house instead of my own. That and I figured you didn''t want to be left alone right now."
"What makes you say that?"
"Because I''m not an idiot." Her expression softened. "It''s sweet that you care so much about her, but you''re running yourself ragged doing this. You need to get some rest."
"If our positions were reversed, she''d wait up for me," Eric pointed out.
"We don''t know how long she''ll be out in the field, you know. It doesn''t make any sense for you to stay up for what could be several days, just waiting for news."
That was true, he had to admit. The officers had tried to assure the two of them that the mission would only take a short time, but it had mostly fallen on deaf ears. They both understood what was going on ¨C that she''d been dispatched on an incredibly dangerous mission that she might not come back from. No amount of weasel words or obfuscation was going to conceal that kind of truth from the two of them. The facts were that this was something she very possibly wouldn''t be walking away from, and that until the two of them heard otherwise, they were going to remain on-edge.
Eric let out a grunt, then shook his head. "I just¡­ don''t like the idea of going this long without news, you know? It bothers me, on a fundamental level. What if something happens to her? Are they just going to leave her for the Iprenians to find? I mean, it''s not like they can go in after her-"
"Eric," Rosa interrupted. "Come sit."
"Rosa-"
"Now."
He stared at her for a moment, but gave in, moving to sit next to her on the couch. Once they were side-by-side, Rosa let out a short exhale.
"You''re a good man, you know," she told him. "I feel like I''ve told you that before, but I haven''t said it nearly enough. The way you''ve reached out to her, and helped her try to adjust¡­ it''s nothing short of amazing. You should be proud of yourself."
"Rosa?" Eric asked, taken aback by what she was saying.
But she ignored him, instead turning to look out the window. "...I''ll admit, when the government first told me they wanted you to house her, I had my reservations, especially after the first few days. But once it became clear just how much help she needed, and how fucked-up she really was¡­ you went above and beyond. The government said they picked you because they figured you''d drive her away, but they were wrong, more wrong than they could ever have imagined. You''ve been incredible to her."
Eric stared at her, unsure of what to say. Rosa turned towards him, and then did something unexpected.
She leaned forward and gently hugged him.
Eric blinked, taken by surprise. The two of them had hugged each other, sure, but it''d always been in the context of Rebecca being there as well. This was the first time ever it had just been the two of them.
And yet, despite all the things said between the two of them since she''d become his handler, it wasn''t unwelcome.
Slowly, he brought his hands up to return the hug.
"I believe she''ll make it back," Rosa told him. "Do you want to know why? Because she loves you."
Eric''s heart skipped a beat. "She¡­ doesn''t know what love is, Rosa."
"I think you''re wrong. She may not have a word for what she''s feeling, but it''s clear to me that she cares a great deal about you. You''re the one she''s come to rely on more than anybody ¨C the one who cares for her, comforts her¡­ in the absence of her sisters and father, you''re her everything, Eric."
He shook his head. "I''m not. She has you, too."
"Maybe so, but not to the same extent as you. You''re the one who lives with her ¨C the one she wakes up and sees every day. Can you imagine what that''s like for someone like her? After all those years of fear, and terror, and combat, she finally has something stable she can cling to. They raised her to be a killing machine, but you''ve brought out the human side of her in a way nobody else ever has. And that''s why I believe she''s going to make it back eventually ¨C because if she doesn''t, then she''ll never see you again, and I know nothing scares her more than that."
Eric blinked, his vision blurring at Rosa''s words. "...You''re wrong," he said softly. "If that were true, she wouldn''t have gone off in the first place. So why-"
"Because this is unfinished business to her," Rosa explained. "She has to see this through to the end in order to move on, Eric. Because if she doesn''t, she''ll always be left asking herself why. She has to do this, because until it''s done, she''ll never be able to fully leave that life behind her. Don''t you understand? She''s not doing this because she loves her mentor more than you, she''s doing it because she doesn''t want anything left that can drag her back into that life and away from you."
Eric froze, unsure of what to say. Try as he might, the words simply wouldn''t come to him. Finally, after a few seconds, he settled on simply holding Rosa even tighter, which she reciprocated.
And for just a moment, everything felt right in the world.
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ***
Warning: Significant damage detected.
Warning: Vital signs are dropping.
Warning: Seek medical attention.
Thirteen let out a low hiss as she pressed her back up against a nearby wall, then stuck her head out to peer around the corner. Through her cracked visor and flickering night vision, she was just barely able to make out that the darkened hallway behind her appeared to be clear for the time being. She let out a short breath, wincing as she did so. Her vision blurred, black spots dancing on the corners of her eyes. And all around her, an alarm blared throughout the facility, the flickering red light going off every few seconds, illuminating the shadows she''d hidden herself in.
The fight with Major Miller had been a back-and-forth. The two of them were evenly matched; every blow she dealt ended with one being returned to her with just as much force. Already, parts of her armor had been caved in, and others had been reduced to liquid slag thanks to his plasma sword. Injury-wise, the armor around her left arm had been crushed, mangling the limb within; her armor''s automatic injectors had given her enough morphine and adrenaline that she couldn''t feel it, but she could tell from the blood leaking through the cracks in her gauntlet that the moment the armor came off, her arm was going to need emergency medical attention.
Beyond that, she had a litany of other injuries that were going to need surgery. Several of her ribs had been broken, and one of her lungs had collapsed. Each breath was coming out more as a labored gasp, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to do even that with every passing moment. And as if that wasn''t enough, she had several gashes along her body that had been cauterized thanks to that sword.
"Rebecca¡­"
At the sound of her old instructor calling her name, Thirteen stiffened. She unslung her next weapon, an automatic shotgun, and hefted it with one hand, the other arm dangling uselessly at her side, and tucked the stock of her weapon under her armpit as she rounded the corner.
"Kill¡­ me¡­"
Thirteen grit her teeth as she turned, searching for Major Miller. But she couldn''t find him ¨C his armor had the same refractory camouflage hers had, which made detecting him in the darkness almost impossible. He didn''t have the same problem, though ¨C unlike his armor, the camouflage on hers had burned out after the big hit to her chest from earlier.
Thirteen cautiously took a step out of cover, still keeping her shotgun leveled at the area ahead of her. With a small wince, she began to move forward, limping the entire time.
Whatever they''d done to Major Miller, it was clear that he wasn''t in control of his own body anymore, and that on some level, he was aware of what he''d been forced to do. Perhaps that was why he was begging her to put him down, or maybe it was because he knew there was no way they''d be able to undo what the Iprenians had done to him. Either way, it didn''t matter to her ¨C her superior officer, and more importantly, her father figure, was giving her an order, and she would see it through to the end.
Even if it killed her.
Eric''s face flashed through her thoughts at that moment, and she grit her teeth as she shook it away. There was no regret in accepting this mission, but that didn''t change the fact that, more than anything, she wanted to go home and see him and Rosa again.
It was funny on some level, she mused as she continued moving through the facility ¨C when she''d first arrived at his house, all she''d wanted was to get back into the field. And now that she was out in the field again, all she wanted was to go back to him. Some part of her had changed during her short time with the two of them, which almost belied belief. But those were the facts, and there was no denying them.
She was sick of war. It had been all she''d known, and now that she''d had a taste of civilian life, there was no going back.
But the mission came first, as always. And not even Eric could change that right now.
Thirteen moved into a nearby room, one filled with bizarre Iprenian contraptions and machines she couldn''t make heads or tails of. This facility was for some kind of research, though she had no idea what. Whatever it was, they''d seen fit to station Miller here, which meant that once she was done with him, it''d have to go, too.
"Behind¡­ you¡­"
Thirteen''s eyes widened, and she moved just in time to avoid a swing from Miller that would have taken her head clean off. She whipped around, firing off what remained in her shotgun at him. Three loads of copper-plated buckshot impacted against his chestpiece, but the armor held, though the force of the shotgun blasts sent him stumbling back. Thirteen tossed the empty weapon aside, and then with all her strength, launched herself at Miller. The two of them collided, and were sent sprawling, the plasma sword slipping from his grasp.
Both combatants hurriedly picked themselves up, then stared each other down, the two of them gasping for breath. For as bad a shape as Thirteen was in, Miller looked even worse. His body was riddled with bullet holes, some of which had gone through but most of which had merely dented his armor. One had even gone through his helmet, though it had only grazed his head, if the thin trickle of red coming from the side of his helmet was any indication. His legs, on the other hand, had been all but shredded by gunfire, and if it weren''t for the cocktail of painkillers and hemostatic medicine his suit had provided him, he would have keeled over and died minutes ago.
The two of them circled each other, Thirteen drawing her knife, the final weapon she had on her person. Miller, meanwhile, eyed the hilt of his sword, lying on the ground a few feet away. Thirteen tensed, waiting for him to make his move.
When he finally did, she wasn''t surprised ¨C he dove for the plasma blade on the ground, and Thirteen dove after him, slipping her blade through one of the bullet holes in his chest armor. She felt something crack as the knife was driven into him, followed by blood gushing around her gauntlet-clad hand, and a choked gasp erupting out of his throat. A sigh of relief escaped her, knowing she''d just dealt a death blow to him.
And then, before the breath had finished leaving her lungs, she seized, the smell of burning flesh filling the air. Slowly, she looked down, and saw the green blade of Miller''s sword jutting into her stomach. Her breath caught in her lungs, and she sank to her knees. Miller, meanwhile, struggled up from his spot on the ground, his free hand going to the knife still embedded in his heart. As Thirteen watched numbly, her vision blurring so badly that it was almost impossible to see at all, he grasped the hilt of her blade and roughly tore it out. Blood spurted from his wound as the knife came clattering the ground, and as she watched, Miller looked up to her.
And, of all things, he gave her a small nod.
"Well¡­ done¡­ thank you¡­"
Before she could do anything else, he reached up and grasped the hilt of his sword. She tensed, expecting him to finish her off, but he didn''t.
Instead, he hit a button on the side of the hilt, and the plasma was cut off entirely, the hilt falling to the floor next to her knife.
And then Miller fell over, his body seizing as he gave one final, desperate gasp, before the last breath left his lungs and he finally died.
Thirteen stared at the corpse of her former instructor for a second, unable to believe what had just happened. Tears filled her eyes at the realization of what she''d just done, but she was quick to blink them away, even as she struggled to her feet, despite the all-encompassing agony she was in. Slowly, Thirteen turned and began to limp out of the facility.
She was still alive, even if only barely, and that meant it was time to go home.
***
With shaking hands, Eric dumped the remnants of his cigarette into the nearby ashtray, then went into his pocket for another one. As he lit it, he checked the nearby clock. It was almost midnight yet again.
Three days. She''d been gone for three days, with not a single word from anyone else. Him and Rosa had stayed up the entire time, waiting for any kind of news, but they''d received nothing.It was driving him mad. He''d gone through two bottles of bourbon in that time, not to mention several packs of smokes. Coupled with his sleep deprivation, and he felt like death, but he wasn''t about to risk falling asleep and missing something important.
Rosa, for her part, felt the same. Despite her words to him earlier, she was just as guilty of everything as he was, which was why she''d long since given up trying to admonish him and instead had joined him in drinking and smoking.
Eventually, though, something had to give. Eric let out a wide yawn as the clock finally struck midnight, and was just about to tell Rosa that he was willing to throw in the towel and go to sleep if she was, when her phone suddenly dinged. She grabbed it as fast as she could, reading over the message, before turning back to him and giving him just two words.
"She''s back."
An Angels Retirement - Chapter 25
The two of them made it to the makeshift hospital in record time. As soon as they''d gotten word of where to find her, they''d both piled into Rosa''s car and sped down the highway to the ramshackle military hospital. It had taken everything Eric had to not encourage her to blow through every single stop sign and red light on the way there, but in the end, they''d made it after about an hour of driving.
It was still very early in the morning once they arrived, bursting through the front doors to the warehouse. And it was truly little more than a warehouse at its core ¨C apparently, the military had hastily converted an old building on the outskirts of town in preparation for Rebecca returning wounded.
That didn''t change the fact that it was still an abandoned warehouse more than anything. Even with all the state-of-the-art medical equipment set up everywhere and the opaque white tent standing in the corner, it was still very easy to tell that it had originally been used for storing goods rather than people. It was still run-down and dilapidated, with cracks in the ceiling allowing droplets of rainwater to come spilling in, echoing as they drummed against the concrete floor. The sound of rain combined with the distant coppery tinge of blood.
Somehow, it reminded Eric of an abattoir more than anything. That thought sent chills down his spine even as he began to step towards the medical tent.
Eric and Rosa turned, and found Roy standing there. He eyed them both with no small amount of contempt, but beckoned them to follow him all the same.
"Come on," he said gruffly. "She''s been asking for you both."
"She''s awake?" Rosa asked as they began to follow Roy towards the tent.
"Of course she is," he replied. "You know what she is, after all. This is expected of her."
Eric bit his lip hard enough to draw a small spot of blood. He wanted nothing more than to tell Roy off for that, but ultimately held himself back.
Seeing Rebecca was far more important than getting even.
Roy led them towards the tent. As they approached the front flap, Roy stopped and turned to them.
"A few ground rules," he said. "First off, try not to get her too agitated or excited ¨C she''s still recovering, and we don''t need anything jeopardizing her health at this point. Second, no mentioning to anybody how she really got her injuries. If anyone is dumb enough to ask, tell them it was a car accident. For all intents and purposes, this mission didn''t happen, and the government has no knowledge of it. Understand?"
Reluctantly, Eric nodded, as did Rosa. Roy let out a tired sigh.
"Very well," he said with a grunt. "She''s yours now."
With that, he stepped aside, and Eric and Rosa wasted no time in pushing their way through the tent flap.
As they stepped into the room, Eric was taken aback. He''d seen people hooked up to all sorts of life-giving machines before, but this surpassed all of them. To him, it seemed like the entire room was covered in wires, all of them leading back to some part of her body. Several IV drips were lined up next to her bedside, and an ECG steadily beeped away between them.
And there, in the center of the room, lying in bed, was Rebecca.
Eric didn''t wait any longer. He ran over to her, gently taking her hand in his. She turned towards him, a surprised expression on her face.
"Hey," he said gently. "Don''t worry, we''re here now."
Rebecca blinked, her expression relaxing. "Thanks for coming."
"Of course we came," Rosa said, moving over to stand next to Eric. "We wouldn''t have missed seeing you come back for the world."
She flashed Rebecca a smile, one that went unreciprocated. Instead, Rebecca hesitated, then looked up at the ceiling.
"...I''m sorry," she muttered. "I almost failed¡­" "
You''re here now," Eric told her. "That''s what matters, Rebecca."
Again, she said nothing, instead continuing to stare up at the ceiling. "...I couldn''t save him," she added. "Miller, he¡­ they put some kind of chip in his brain ¨C controlled his movements against his will. He begged me to kill him. I didn''t want to, but¡­"
She trailed off. Eric gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
"You did what you had to do," he assured her. "Nothing more, nothing less."
"It sounds like he knew there was no way to save him," Rosa muttered. "If he was so sure of that, then it must have been the right thing to do."
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. "She''s right," Eric added. "Rebecca, don''t blame yourself for what happened. If anything, the fault lies entirely with the Iprenians."
Rebecca was quiet for a moment before she looked back to the two of them. "...I couldn''t stop thinking about you both," she admitted. "While I was out in the field, I mean. Every waking minute, I was just thinking¡­ am I going to see them again?"
"Rebecca-"
She suddenly blinked. "...He''s really gone," she said softly. "I¡­ he''s gone, and I killed him¡­"
"You didn''t have a choice."
"That doesn''t make it right." She swallowed, a lump forming in her throat. "...The closest person I had to family, and he''s dead now, because of me."
"Not because of you," Eric insisted. "If anything, all you did was put him out of his misery, Rebecca. Think about it ¨C the things the Iprenians made him do, and were going to keep making him do¡­ this was a mercy killing more than anything. You shouldn''t think of it as anything else; Major Miller clearly didn''t."
Rebecca fell silent. Eric shifted, suddenly nervous he''d said something wrong.
"Hey," Eric stated softly. "If you truly think you''re alone-"
To his surprise, Rebecca simply shook her head. She turned towards him, their gazes meeting, and then with nine simple words, took his breath away.
"I know I''m not alone, because I have you."
Eric''s heart skipped a beat. Next to him, he heard Rosa give a small, choked sob, and despite his best efforts, he found himself forced to blink away tears, too.
Rebecca bit her lip, then turned away. "You''re always there for me, and honestly, I still don''t truly know why¡­ I don''t know what you''re supposed to be to me, Eric," she confessed. "You said I''m your friend, but¡­ that doesn''t feel right, somehow." Her eyes suddenly widened. "...I never thanked you¡­"
"You''ll never have to," Eric insisted. "Rebecca, everything we''ve done, we''ve done because you deserve to be happy, and healthy, and safe. You deserve to have people who care, and I don''t just mean that because of what you''ve done for humanity during your military service. You''ve gone almost your entire life without knowing what it''s like to not be in combat¡­ it''s enough. You deserve to have a chance to settle down and live your life how you see fit. Plus, it''s not like you were the only one saved by this arrangement, either."
Rebecca stared at him in shock. Eric let out a small, embarrassed sigh.
"¡­I don''t know if you realized it at the time, but I was on a downward spiral," he emphasized. "I had been for years. I was content to sit at home, smoking and slowly drinking myself to death. Hell, if you hadn''t been there when my dad died, I probably would have succeeded in doing exactly that." He sucked in a shaky breath before continuing. "¡­But you were there, Rebecca. You gave me a reason to keep going ¨C because I had you to worry about, and I knew you needed me. I couldn''t let myself go, not when you still needed help."
Rebecca bit her lip. "T-that''s not¡­ I didn''t do anything¡­"
"Doesn''t matter," Eric declared. "You needed me, and so I stuck around¡­ and, damn it, I got attached." He flashed her a small smile, even as his vision blurred once again. "You''re my friend, Rebecca. You''ve saved my life multiple times ¨C between the drinking stuff and that home invasion¡­ you talked about never being able to repay me? You''ve already
She froze at that, her gaze falling to him once more. He saw her throat working, trying to form words, only for her to fail at speaking them. More than that, though, he saw her eyes, and how they were steadily growing wetter with every passing moment.
"I¡­" She paused to take a breath, probably trying to hold herself back, but Eric could tell it wasn''t helping much. "¡­I don''t want to leave again," she said softly. "I never¡­ w-want to go back in the field again. Not if it means leaving you both behind¡­"
"That''s okay," Eric assured her. "You don''t have to go out again, Rebecca. Not if you don''t want to."
"You''re sure?"
He nodded, his smile returning. "Yes, I''m sure. After all, you''re an Angel ¨C there''s not a person alive who can make you do something you don''t want to."
He smiled at his own joke, and next to him, Rosa let out a small laugh, even as she wiped at her eyes. Eric had expected that.
But what he hadn''t expected was for Rebecca to crack the smallest, faintest of smiles, too.
The sight of her smiling caught him off-guard. He stared at her, as did Rosa, but to his amazement, she didn''t let the smile fade. Instead, she held it there.
That was too much for Eric. As he stared at her, grinning away in her hospital bed, he finally stopped holding himself back. He stood there, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs, as he let the tears fall freely. Next to him, Rosa did the same. And that was enough for Rebecca''s grin to finally fade, replaced with a look of worried shock.
"Eric?" she asked. "Rosa? Is¡­ something wrong?"
"No," Eric insisted. "No, no, nothing''s wrong. We''re just¡­ happy to have you back, and that you''ll be staying."
Rosa, for her part, didn''t say anything. Rather, she suddenly lunged forwards, engulfing Rebecca in a big hug. Rebecca paused, unsure of what to do at first, and it only got worse when Eric followed Rosa''s lead, joining her hug.
If Rebecca had been unsure of what to do at first, now she was downright perplexed. She sat there for a moment, before reaching out with shaking hands, wrapping them around the two of them. As he hugged her, Eric could see her desperately trying to swallow the lump in her throat, holding herself back the entire time.
And that wouldn''t do at all.
"Rebecca," he said, getting her attention. "It''s okay."
She stared at him in surprise, but only for as long as it took for his words to fully sink in.
And when they finally did, she stopped holding back.
Rebecca''s grip around the two of them tightened as she finally let herself cry, the tears spilling down her cheeks as her body was wracked with quiet sobs of happiness. Eric and Rosa joined her, the three of them holding each other as they fell to pieces. And through it all, Rebecca kept muttering the same two words over and over again.
"I''m home¡­ I''m home¡­ I''m home¡­"
And as the three of them held onto each other, all of them gently losing control, all Eric could think about was how, for the first time in years, he felt truly happy. An Angels Retirement - Chapter 26
"Give it to us straight, Doc," Eric stated, crossing his arms. "How much longer is she going to be here?"
It had been almost a week since Rebecca had made it back from her mission. In that time, she''d been steadily getting better, though somehow, the medical staff the government had supplied for her hadn''t seemed surprised by it at all.. Eric suspected there was some kind of augmented healing at play there, but he decided not to dig too deeply into it. As far as he was concerned, it didn''t matter at this point; she''d officially announced that she was never going back to the military. And truthfully, he didn''t doubt her ¨C with her mentor dead, there was no reason for her to go back at this point.
"Well," the doctor said, taking a look at the pad in his hands. Eric shook his thoughts away, instead focusing on the doctor. He watched as the man''s brow furrowed. "...Truthfully, her rate of recovery is nothing short of astounding. Even for an Angel, this is remarkable. I don''t know what the cause of it is, but I know better than to question it."
"It''s really that good?" Rosa asked.
The doctor nodded. "Oh, yes. I don''t think either of you understand ¨C she was impaled by a plasma sword. That''s generally not the kind of thing someone can just walk off, and yet by all accounts, that''s exactly what she did. I''d go so far as to say that her injuries would not be survivable by an ordinary human being. Even for an Angel, it''d be pushing the realm of believability, had I not witnessed it with my own eyes. This was a razor-thin line between life and death."
A chill went down Eric''s spine at that. "So¡­ you''re saying we almost lost her?"
That earned him another nod. "Very nearly so, yes. Thankfully it didn''t come to that, however. And even better, her recovery, like I said, is simply astounding. But to bring it back to your original question¡­ ideally, I''d like to keep her here for a few more days, at the very least. The worst of her wounds have been dealt with, and we have her on a pretty heavy-duty cocktail of medications, so there''s really no concern with anything going wrong at this point. Of course, anything is possible, I suppose, but if she''s up and talking to you and showing no pain or discomfort while doing it, then I''d say that''s a very good sign."
"How soon until we can check her out?" Rosa questioned.
The doctor shrugged. "Honestly? That''s mostly up to her at this point. Like I said, I''d prefer to keep her here for at least a few more days, but if she feels she''s ready to leave, then there''s not much I can do to force her to stay. If you are going to check her out, though, I''d like to make a suggestion ¨C keep the physical activity light, and keep a pair of crutches or a wheelchair nearby, just in case. We didn''t detect any neurological damage, but if she even feels slightly uncomfortable, consider that a sign to get her off her feet immediately."
"Will do," Eric said with a nod. "Thanks, Doc."
"And one more thing," the doctor added, "please don''t call me Doc. I have a name, and I assure you, it''s far more personable."
He motioned to his nametag, which read ''Doctor Adrian Gray''. Eric stared at it for a moment, then let out a slow exhale and brought a hand up to sheepishly rub the back of his head.
"Sorry," he offered, "force of habit."
He gave Eric a small, reassuring grin, then turned, tucking his pad under his arm as he moved towards the door. "Anyway, that''s about all I''ve got for you three. I''m sure you all know the drill by now ¨C if she starts feeling any pain or discomfort-"
"We''ll call the nurses," Rosa promised. "Thanks, Doctor Gray."
"Mhm."
With that, he exited the building, leaving the three of them alone. They both stepped over to Rebecca''s bedside, and after a moment, she reached out and took them both by the hand.
"...I think I''ll be ready to leave in a bit," she said quietly. "Would that be okay?"
"Of course," Eric promised.
"Even if I''m still in a wheelchair?"
"Then I''ll build a ramp for you." He gave her a reassuring smile. "We''re in this together at this point, Rebecca. I''m not leaving you behind, no matter what. Understand?"
She blinked, taken aback by his words, but surprisingly, she didn''t seem shocked by them anymore. If anything, she seemed nothing but reassured by them instead. It was a far cry from how she used to be, when every kind act or word brought about more questions or concerns from her. But not anymore, apparently.
Now, she seemed content to simply take them all at face value.
And that thought only made Eric even happier, his smile widening as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
***
"And here we are," Eric announced as they stepped out from inside the warehouse and into the outside world. "Fresh air, at long last."
If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. "At long last?" Rebecca echoed. "It was only two weeks."
"Two weeks too long. I hate triage ¨C it''s always too damn sterile; even the air somehow tastes stale. And the food was awful, as expected of the military."
"It wasn''t bad," Rebecca confessed. "But¡­ not as good as your cooking."
"You sure about that?" Rosa asked, stepping up alongside them. "I''ve had some of Eric''s cooking. And if you ask me, bacon and eggs taste pretty much the same everywhere you go."
"Lies," Eric chastised. "The MREs use powdered eggs. Garbage."
"If you say so." Rosa checked her watch, then adjusted her sunglasses. "Well, shall we? I imagine you''re both pretty eager to make it back home."
"You can say that again." Eric began to move, steadily pushing Rebecca''s wheelchair through the warehouse parking lot, over to where Rosa''s SUV was. "This thing is a pain in the ass, I must say."
"What happened to that speech from a few days ago?" Rosa asked. "The one about you building a ramp?"
"Now, what makes you think I haven''t already built it?"
"You did?"
"Yeah? It''s a ramp, not a fighter jet. I did it in, like, a night. All it took was some two-by-fours and some nails."
"Bet the neighbors really appreciated hearing you hammer away after dark."
"Yeah, well, fuck ''em," Eric declared. "I''ll take the noise complaints if it means making her more comfortable."
Rebecca''s brow furrowed. "...You realize I''m only in this temporarily, right? Doctor Gray said it would be for a few days at most¡­"
"Don''t care, already built it."
Rosa sighed, bringing a hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Alright, alright¡­ let''s just get home, first."
"What do you mean, home?" Eric asked. "We''re going to my house."
"Eric, at this point, I''m over there so much, it might as well be my second home."
"That-" Eric paused. "...That''s a fair comment, actually¡­"
The three of them reached the SUV, and Eric helped Rebecca to her feet while Rosa folded up her wheelchair and placed it in the trunk of the car. Rebecca moved gingerly, being careful not to put too much weight on her legs, Eric helping her the entire time.
"Easy," he urged. "No need to rush."
"I know," she replied. "...Truthfully, I''ve been through worse-"
"Don''t care, I''m here to help anyway."
He opened one of the back doors for her and helped her inside, then moved around to the passenger side. Rosa entered the driver''s side seat just as he finished buckling up his seatbelt, and after taking a moment to adjust the rear view mirror, she started the car.
"Alright," she announced. "Let''s get the hell out of here. I always hate going to medical appointments ¨C like Eric said, everything is just so sterile and lifeless¡­"
Eric shook his head, grinning to himself as Rosa pulled out of the parking spot and began to drive them home. As the car moved, he looked into the rear view mirror, and caught sight of Rebecca, the sight of her making him pause.
She was grinning once more, and somehow, the sight of it didn''t seem nearly as alien on her face as it once had.
***
"...And that''s about where we''re at now," Eric stated.
Across from him, Doctor Blanche interlocked his fingers, then leaned forwards. "I must say, it sounds like you''re in high spirits."
"I suppose you could say that," Eric admitted. "I just¡­ I''ve felt good, ever since she''s been out of the hospital. Sure, it''s only been a few days, but I don''t know, I just feel¡­ content. For the first time in a long time."
"Mhm. And what about her? How do you think she feels?"
"Honestly, Doctor, I think she feels as good as I do, if not better," he said. "I can see it on her face ¨C the way her expression just lights up now¡­ it''s beautiful."
"Mm. Sounds like she really enjoys living with you."
"Yeah," Eric said quietly. He paused for a moment, then sighed. "...I suppose at some point this arrangement is going to have to end, though."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, she''ll have to move out sooner or later ¨C find her own place, hopefully meet someone and start a family or something."
"And what about you?" Blanche asked. "Ever thought of doing that for yourself?"
"One thing at a time, Doctor," Eric said with a chuckle.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, it''s just that I''ve still got some adjusting to do."
"So does she," Blanche pointed out. "But that hasn''t stopped you from thinking about her future."
Eric paused, then reluctantly nodded. "...You might have a point," he conceded. "Still, I just¡­ think that maybe my efforts would be better focused somewhere else."
"Oh, really? Like where?"
"I don''t know," Eric confessed. "But, truthfully¡­ I think she might feel the same way. We''ve got each other, and Rosa too of course, but I still feel like there''s something missing."
Blanche was silent for a moment. A few seconds ticked by, but then he opened the drawer to his desk and pulled something out ¨C it was a flier, Eric realized; he didn''t get a chance to see what was written on it before Blanche handed it to him.
"That''s a flier advertising a local group for veterans," Blanche told him.
Eric looked to him in surprise. "And you think I should attend?"
"I think you both should," he explained. "You''ve done such a good job helping her, and she''s done such a good job adjusting¡­ there are plenty of other soldiers out there who still need help, you know. You feel like you might be missing something?" He tapped the flier in Eric''s hands. "You both could really make a difference to those guys."
Eric blinked as he read over the flier. In the past, he would have refused outright, but not anymore.
Now, it felt like there was something calling to him, screaming at him to do it.
He looked back to Blanche, and gave him a slow, emphatic nod.
"...Alright," was the only answer he could give. An Angels Retirement - Chapter 27 (Final)
"We''re here," Eric announced as he pulled into the parking lot just outside the rec center. Next to him, Rebecca shifted, clearly anxious to get inside. It had been a few days since Blanche had introduced him to the idea of attending the meeting, and in that time, they''d all tried to take it easy, mostly. As of that morning, Rebecca was now out of her wheelchair and walking under her own power, which he was thankful for, as she''d started to get very stir-crazy after a few days of being confined to it. Rosa, meanwhile, had come by to visit every day, as was now the norm for her, apparently; Eric had questioned her about that and she''d simply replied that she was just making sure he wasn''t back on the cigarettes and alcohol like he had been. It sounded like bullshit to him, but at this point, he wasn''t averse to her company at all.
At that thought, Eric looked in the backseat, only to find Rosa nervously biting the side of her cheek.
"...You sure it''s okay for me to be here?" she asked. "I mean, it''s supposed to be a meeting specifically for veterans-"
"I''m sure it''ll be fine," he insisted. "And if it isn''t, then I won''t be coming back."
"Eric-"
"That''s not negotiable," he argued. "If they won''t let you in, then that''s that. We''ll find another group. I mean, it''s not like you''ll be speaking for anyone there ¨C we want you there for moral support, more than anything, the same way you''ve always been there for us."
Rosa blinked, her expression softening at his words. She sucked in a breath, then gave him a nod. "...Okay," she said. "Let''s do this, then."
With that, Eric killed the engine, and they all unbuckled their seatbelts and stepped outside. It was already dark, as expected given that it was almost eight at night; still, that didn''t bother any of them. Eric motioned for Rosa and Rebecca to follow, and he led the way to the front of the rec center, where the double doors had been propped open. Light spilled out onto the street from within, signifying that there was already someone inside. Eric swallowed whatever was left of his apprehension, then stepped through the double doors and into the building.
Immediately, he was struck by just how small the group before him was. There were eight, from what he could tell; several of them sported artificial limbs, the same as he did. But that wasn''t what really caught his eye.
No, that would be the one woman in the group aside from the newly-arrived Rebecca and Rosa. She was sitting in the back, dressed in dark jeans and a large gray hoodie with the hood pulled up over her head despite the summer heat, with only her brilliant green eyes and a few stray strands of long black hair peeking out from behind it, looking incredibly uncomfortable at being in a group setting, even as the man next to her held her hand. Eric''s eyes narrowed in on her, and it only took a moment for him to understand why.
His suspicions were confirmed when Rebecca and the woman met each other''s gazes, and they both suddenly stiffened, surprise crossing their faces. It only lasted for a moment before they both managed to calm down, though Rebecca was doing a pretty poor job of keeping her excitement contained. As with everything she did, it was incredibly subtle, but at this point, he knew her tells ¨C the way she bit her lip and shifted a bit from side to side was a dead giveaway. Eric leaned in to whisper in her ear.
"We''ll stick around after, give you both a chance to catch up."
Rebecca nodded in understanding. With that established, Eric gently took her by the hand and led her to the center of the room, where a circle of folding chairs had been laid out. There were still a few left unoccupied; the three of them settled down into their seats, all of the other veterans giving them a curious look.
"Welcome, welcome," one of them, a tall, blonde-haired, bespectacled man said. He gave Eric a warm smile. "Quite the crowd we have tonight. It''s rare that we get so many new veterans in one night."
"Ah¡­ I''m not a veteran," Rosa offered weakly. She motioned to Eric and Rebecca. "I''m here for them."
"Ah, well, that''s quite alright," the man answered. "You''re welcome here, too. In fact, some of the guys could probably use a civilian perspective on certain matters, so it''s quite nice that you showed up."
Eric looked around the group, surprised. "No offense, but are you guys fresh out?"
"Most of us," one of the other men grunted. He leaned over and offered Eric a hand. "Staff Sergeant Blake Warwick. Pleasure to meet you."
"Eric Anders," Eric replied, accepting the handshake. "Good to be here."
Blake nodded, then looked towards Rebecca. "Nice to meet you, too, Miss¡­?"
"Rebecca," she answered.
Blake blinked, clearly expecting more to her answer, but thankfully he didn''t push the issue. He turned to Rosa, and she hurriedly cleared her throat.
"Rosa Herrera," she said to him. "Pleasure to meet you."
Blake gave her a small smile, then sat back in his seat, and the man with the glasses cleared his throat.
"Alright, then," he began. "Let''s get started. For any new people out there, my name is Craig Harper. I was a Lieutenant in the 75th Ranger Regiment throughout the war, until I lost both my legs in an artillery bombardment."
He reached down and rolled up both his pant legs, revealing nothing but bare metal up to the middle of his thighs. After a moment, he rolled his pant legs back down, then sat up straight.
"You''ll find that my story isn''t uncommon," he said. "We''re all injured here, one way or another, physical or not. No point in trying to run from it. The point of this group is to help us deal with that reality. Of course, we''re not here to wrestle stories out of everyone ¨C speaking is strictly on a voluntary basis. If you''d rather sit back and listen, that''s fine, too. But if not¡­ well, consider the floor open."
Craig turned towards Eric and Rebecca, again giving them both a warm smile. "Of course, given that we have some new faces here tonight, I''d like to extend the invitation to speak to them first, if they''d like."
Eric hesitated, shifting in his seat. His mouth suddenly felt dry, and he wasn''t entirely sure why. He''d spoken at length about his history and state of mind with Doctor Blanche, so this shouldn''t have been as hard as it was now, but seeing everyone else staring at him¡­ for some reason, it left him nonplussed. Inwardly, he suddenly found himself silently begging for a smoke, though he was quick to chastise himself for that thought and push it away.
Idly, he was aware that he couldn''t recall when he''d last had a smoke or a drink, and that thought gave him pause, his eyes widening in surprise.
After a moment, Eric let out an irritated grunt. He''d come here to speak, and that was what he''d do. With that in mind, he opened his mouth to begin.
"I''ll speak."
Only for Rebecca to cut him off. He turned towards her, surprised at her sudden boldness. For her part, she seemed just as surprised as he did, if the look on her face was any indication. That wasn''t about to stop her, though ¨C instead, she sucked in a shaky breath to calm herself, then kept speaking.
"...The days I was in kind of blur together at this point," she confessed. "I can''t really remember many specifics anymore. All I can really recall at this point is the sensation of it all ¨C how the gun recoiling against my shoulder feels, and the sound of my rounds flying downrange or enemy plasma bolts passing by my head, or the feeling of being in cryo¡­"
"Cryo¡­?" one of the other soldiers muttered, his eyes going wide. "Whoa¡­ she was special forces¡­"
A brief murmur of excitement went up through the small crowd of veterans, and for a moment, Eric was afraid that Rebecca would suddenly feel as though she''d revealed too much about herself and back down. But she didn''t ¨C in fact, she didn''t hesitate, even for a moment.
Instead, she simply bit her lip and continued.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. "...I remember getting shot, mostly," she said quietly. "That and how it feels to lose friends."
"That''s not uncommon at all," Craig offered. "Is there anything else you remember?"
Slowly, Rebecca nodded. "...Yeah," she confessed. "I didn''t realize it at the time, but what little downtime between missions I had with the rest of my unit¡­ I don''t know why, but those are some of my happiest memories. It doesn''t even make sense ¨C all we did together was train, eat, and generally be around each other¡­ but something about that, it just¡­ I don''t know, it stuck with me."
Across from her, the other woman sat up a bit straighter, a look of shock crossing her face. Rebecca gave her a small nod, and she blinked, then shrank back down in her seat. Rebecca drew in another breath, then turned back to Craig.
"That''s all," she said softly.
Craig nodded in understanding. "Thank you for sharing, Rebecca." He looked over to Eric. "I believe you wanted to add something?"
"Uh, yeah," Eric said, suddenly feeling very awkward. He hadn''t expected Rebecca to both interject and to get emotional, but apparently, she was still full of surprises. "Yeah, uh¡­ I just wanted to say¡­ when I lost my leg and got discharged, I thought my life was over. Hell, I lived like it was over ¨C all the drinking, and smoking, and just generally feeling like shit all the time." He let out a sharp exhale. "...Honestly, I know exactly what did it. I led my men into a disastrous mission; only a small handful of us came out of it, myself included. I lost over two-hundred people that day¡­ and all this time, I just kept asking myself why I had to be one of the few to survive it. Of all the people to make it out, why me? It didn''t make any sense." He shook his head. "Guess that''s why I hit the bottle so hard. I''m sure the few other survivors hate me and want me dead at this point, so that was my way of secretly giving them what they wanted, I suppose; my way of atoning for my failure."
Tears stung at his eyes, but he was quick to blink them away as he took a shaky breath.
"I''ve been out for a few years now, and I only now feel like I''ve started to really live,." he offered. "So I guess this is a message to you guys who just got out ¨C don''t do what I did. Don''t let yourself wallow in the bad memories, and the despair, no matter how much you''re tempted to some days."
"If I may ask," Craig interjected. "What made you decide to break out of that cycle?"
Eric swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. Rebecca and Rosa reached out and took him by his hands, and he suddenly found himself forced to blink away the wetness that had formed in his eyes once again, too.
"...Sometimes, it just takes the right people," was all he had to say.
***
The veterans'' meeting lasted about an hour before they all had to leave. The three of them helped put away the chairs and clean up the rec room, and then watched as the last of the other veterans bid them goodbye for the night and went off on their own. Eric watched the man go, then turned to look for Rebecca.
And as expected, he found her nearby, staring at the other woman, but apparently far too nervous to actually approach her. He pursed his lips, then put a hand on Rebecca''s shoulder.
"Go talk to her," he urged.
Rebecca looked to him with concern. "But¡­ what should I say?"
"Come on, you haven''t been out for that long. I''m sure you''re capable of having a conversation with your sister."
"So it''s true, then," someone said from behind them. "Then again, I shouldn''t be surprised ¨C I suspected it from the moment you three walked through the door."
Eric turned, and found Craig stepping out from a nearby hallway. He approached the black-haired woman, gently taking her hand in his. She brightened a bit at his touch, but still continued to just stare at Rebecca, neither of them saying or doing anything. Slowly, Eric nodded.
"Yeah, it''s true," he offered. "Rebecca is an Angel."
"I thought so," Craig mused. "Well, I''m not surprised ¨C so is Sasha, here."
"I know." Eric paused. "How long have you two been living together?"
"Not long," Craig explained. "Sasha just got assigned to me a few weeks ago. I''m still trying to make her feel at-home, you know? I''m just not sure how I can-"
Rebecca cut him off by taking a few steps forward. They all froze, watching her as she hesitantly approached Sasha; Sasha, for her part, stared with wide-eyed shock as Rebecca approached.
And then, as soon as she was within range, Rebecca surged forwards and pulled Sasha into a big hug.
"...It''s good to see you again," she muttered. "I was worried they''d keep us separated."
Sasha froze, unsure of what to do. "Lieutenant, I-"
"Don''t call me that. We''re civilians, now ¨C you can use my name, Sasha."
Sasha bit her lip. "...It just feels so¡­ unnatural. All of this does. You were never like this before¡­"
"You''ll get used to it." Rebecca broke the hug, giving her sister a thin smile in the process. If Sasha had been confused before, now she was downright perplexed.
"You''re different," she observed. "Very different."
"I know," Rebecca said with a nod. "And it''s all thanks to the two of them."
She motioned to Rosa and Eric. Sasha peered past her to stare at the two of them, blinking as she did so.
"I don''t get it," she said. "Who are they?"
"Simple," Rebecca answered without even thinking. "At this point, they''re my everything." She turned towards Eric, her smile widening. "Especially him. He''s my family."
For the third time that night, Eric found himself forced to blink away tears.
***
They all spoke with Sasha and Craig for about an hour after the veteran''s meeting. As it turned out, the OVA had started processing out a number of the other Angels still in-service; Eric wasn''t sure what the impetus had been for that particular decision, but something told him that Major Miller being gone was probably a factor. Still, he knew better than to pry.
In any case, Sasha had been assigned to Craig on-purpose, as far as he could tell; apparently, the OVA had figured the best course of action at this point was to put some of the newly-released Angels close by to some of the others who were already out, presumably to make the adjustment easier on them. It was a small gesture, but Eric knew it would mean the world to them all.
And judging by how Rebecca''s thin smile had yet to leave her face even after they''d returned home, he was right.
"Alright," he said. "So, it''s agreed, then ¨C we''re giving them a call first thing tomorrow, right?"
"Of course," Rosa emphasized. "I mean, why wouldn''t we?"
"I don''t know, I just figured I''d get that established early on. No need to chew my ear off."
Rosa rolled her eyes. "Your standards for banter must have really fallen if that''s your new idea of me chewing your ear off."
"What can I say? I kinda like the new Rosa."
"Yeah, well, I kinda like the new Eric."
"What do you mean by that?"
She just gave him a mischievous smile as she flopped down on the couch. Eric''s brow furrowed. "You''re staying the night?"
"Of course," she answered without even a moment''s pause. "It''s supposed to storm tonight. You wouldn''t make me drive home in a-"
"Alright, alright." Eric sighed, running a hand through his beard. It was getting a bit long; he figured it was about time to trim it. And an actual haircut probably wouldn''t hurt, either. "Just¡­ at least let me offer you my bed. Making you sleep on the couch doesn''t sit right with me."
"Yeah, well, kicking you out of your own bed doesn''t sit right with me, either," Rosa retorted.
"Then it seems we''re at an impasse."
"Only if you don''t want to share the bed."
Eric turned towards her, stunned. He wasn''t sure if she was just teasing him or not, and he was too afraid to ask. Rosa seemed to realize that, as she just gave him that same mischievous grin from earlier. He cleared his throat, then looked over to Rebecca.
"...Right," he began. "So, who''s hungry? I can throw something together real-"
"Don''t," she replied, interrupting him. "I want to do it."
"You do?" She stared at him, and he cleared his throat again. "I mean, uh, of course you do. Rosa, you''re okay with breakfast, right?"
"Actually, that sounds great right about now," she confessed.
"Okay, then. Go nuts, Rebecca. Just please do me a favor and don''t make a mess in there."
Rebecca nodded, then stepped into the kitchen. Eric did his best not to panic as she stepped over to the stove, but thankfully, she managed to light it without burning the house down. He let out a sigh of relief, then stepped into the living room and sank down into the nearest chair, bringing a hand up to rub at his eyes.
"Honestly, I don''t even know anymore," he muttered. "This has been the strangest couple of weeks of my life¡­"
And yet, even as the words left his mouth, he couldn''t hide the thin grin that accompanied them. Eric cracked one eye open, staring first at Rosa as she fidgeted with the TV remote, and then at Rebecca as she worked at the stove top. As he did so, his smile grew. Strange as the past few weeks had been, he knew wouldn''t have traded a single moment of them for anything.
In the end, everything ¨C all the hurt, and pain, and sorrow¡­ it had all been completely worth it just to see Rebecca smile.
And as Eric closed his eyes once again, a gentle sigh of contentment escaping him, he sent up a silent plea that he''d never again see her upset or downcast, the way she had been when she''d first arrived.
After all, he decided, that smile of hers was far too radiant to stay hidden like it had been for so long.