Page 23 of Beta Team-The Saviors: Part two
10
TIVON
Idon’t belong here.
No matter what my intentions are, it's clear that I’ll never be accepted. But I did what I had to do.
I wait until Tyler and Gavin leave and the rest of the group isn’t paying attention before slipping into Aryeh’s room. He’s had many names over the years, but he’ll always be Aryeh to me. It’s what I’ve known him as for my whole life. I sit in the chair someone left by the bed and lean back. The only thing keeping him alive is the tube down his throat and the many IVs they have running. It’s hard to see someone who was always larger than life seem so small.
It honestly doesn’t surprise me that Aryeh didn’t remember me, but I could see the wheels spinning the first time we were face to face. He was close to figuring it out before shit blew up. I was on my way to warn him when I got word that they were being taken from Jason’s apartment. By the time I got my team together and got there, it was already too late. The only thing I could do after that was grab Kira and get her to safety. I might not have been her actual professor, but everything we talkedabout was real. I truly enjoyed our chats and felt awful that I had to lie to her all that time.
The machine beeps, and Aryeh jerks so hard that the bed rattles. He settles after that, and I’m just thankful that I don’t have to sit by and watch them work on him again. I don’t know what to say to the others in those moments, so I quietly stand on the edges, wishing right along with them that he’s okay.
They probably don’t agree with my methods, but it’s how we were trained. It’s howAryehwas trained. I was thrown into Mossad agent training at the ripe age of eleven and by that time, Aryeh was sixteen. He was my commanding officer, and even though he was hard on us, he protected us from the harsher realities of where we came from. What was once an honorable job turned into something that we were ashamed to admit we were a part of. But over the years, I developed an unhealthy crush on the man who taught me to survive.
I don’t blame him for running all that time ago, and I quickly took over what he was trying to start. It got my brother killed in the process, after Aharon caught on to what we were doing. We always flew under the radar, but it took one mistake to lose the one person I had left.
I watched Aryeh’s moves in the states and Aharon’s in Israel because I knew it was only a matter of time before Aharon came for him.. What I didn’t plan on was him sending his sadistic brother, Abraham, instead. All it took was one whisper of Aharon bringing Aryeh back to take over the reins, and I got a team together.
“What are you doing in here?” I look up at Kira’s voice and go to stand, but she shakes her head. “Stay.” Kira pulls a chair up on his other side and grabs his hand. “They said they would allow two visitors.”
“I can give someone else time.”
“It’s okay. Jason is finally back in his room, resting with Keon. It gives me a chance to talk to you.” I nod my head for her to continue. “I don’t know why, but I believe you. I don’t like how everything happened, but I’ve spent enough time with Ari to know that you guys don’t ask for permission, you ask for forgiveness.”
“I never would have hurt you.”
“I know.” She wraps Aryeh’s hand in both of hers and sits her chin on their clasped hands. “What was Ari like when he was younger?”
“About the same as he is now, I imagine. We were raised to be soldiers as soon as we started to walk.”
Kira lets those all knowing dark eyes slide to me. “Why are you really here?”
“I got word?—”
“Yeah, you got word that Ari’s dad was making a move. So you’ve said, but why are youreallyhere?”
“He was there when no one else was.”
“You could have just approached him.”
I’m already shaking my head before she finishes that sentence. “He never would have let me speak.” I sit up. “I want you to know that I was as honest as I could be with you. All our conversations were genuine.”
“Were we only friends so you could get information?”
“At first? Yes. I won’t lie to you about that, Kira. But the more I talked to you, the more I enjoyed our conversations.”
“I feel like I should have picked up on…something.”
“If you did, I wouldn’t have been doing my job. They train us very young.”
“That sounds sad. I mean, my dad fucking sucked while I was growing up. I’m going to assume you know my history.” I nod, letting her know she’s correct. “Kane and Blaze did their best to shelter me from the worst of it, while also training me to beaware of my surroundings. But I never would have guessed you weren’t Professor North.”
“Your guys figured something out.”
Kira smiles at that, and once again I’m struck by the beauty of it. Somewhere along the way, I started noticing things about Kira that I shouldn’t have. Like how her eyes light up when she talks about books, or the way her smile could knock a grown man on his ass. “Tyler is actually the first one who said something was off, but all the information they had kept coming back to the CIA alias.”
“Our given names are well hidden. Aryeh and I are deserters, for lack of a better word, and Aharon most likely has us listed as terrorists.”
