Page 111 of Agency
Then Ambyr, when sufficient warmth had been achieved and Jericho’s defenses seemed to enter a more relaxed state, would be our shock troops, our primary unit to put on the field. She’d easily claim her objective once the rest of the stage was set. We wouldn’t even have to really do anything, he’d assured me.
At the time, I’d thought the plan was kind of goofy. But, he’d been really selling the idea, so I went along. I’d almost balked at the pinkie swear he insisted on, but had finally rolled my eyes and stuck out my own digit to meet his.
I had to give Andrew credit. He was smarter than he looked, or acted. Maybe that also played into his intelligence. After all, how could his opponentnotunderestimate him once they started hearing some of the shit that came out of his mouth?
And so, after the first part of his plan had panned out, I’d wrestled my angels and demons to a standstill, and stayed in bed, fighting the urge to wrestle the rest of me.
Putting water on to boil, I went to look out through the kitchen window at the backyard while the heat worked its thermogenic magic. The water hissed, spit, began to boil, even as I looked out at this place that was the genesis of Jericho.
I would have loved to be here as a kid. Plenty of spaces to run and roam. To be a child that didn’t have to see prostitutes on his way home from school, didn’t have to buy cigarettes for his nana down at the corner store. Hell, I would have loved to have a pop-pop, a gramps of my own, that could have actually been something like a real dad who wasn’t a drunk at home between tours on the road.
I could almost imagine hearing my nonexistent pop-pop shouting, telling me to keep the dogs with me, and not run too far beyond the trees separating the fields… No, wait. Wind break. That was what Jericho had called them the other night. Don’t run beyond the wind break, pop-pop would shout, but keep the dogs with me if I did in case of snakes or wild animals.
Just being a kid.
Life wasn’t that simple, though?.
We’re here, and we need to embrace the suck.
Shaking myself free of nostalgia and ennui, I brought myself back to life, to the here and now. Ambyr was here, and so was my job… And there was plenty of killing left to be done.
Couldn’t forget that.
Couldn’t ever forget that.
The kettle began to boil. I cut the burner on the stove, let the water bubble and pop inside the kettle as I scooped out freeze-dried coffee grinds and dumped them into my cup. As I did, I was transported a thousand miles away, to a land where quality of coffee didn’t matter. This wasn’t nostalgia for Jericho’s childhood. No, this was all mine. And not for my childhood, either.
Was the coffee freeeze-fried, fresh-brewed, fresh-roasted? Who fucking cared? We stuffed the crystals in our gums, carrying pouches of caffeine like chewing tobacco as we tried to stay awake and frosty through our missions. The caffeine absorbed through the lining of our mouths, and didn’t taste any worse. Life, death, that razor edge between existing… and not…? Better to be awake when the suck came for you.
Rattling away the intrusive memory with a shake of my head, I poured water into my cup and brought the beverage to a frothy, brackish-looking head.
I was here. I was now. I was back in the civilian world. The coffee might still suck, but at least I wasn’t on deployment. I added some hazelnut creamer to my mug and went over and grabbed the GPS tracker from the counter.
Sipping the sweet and creamy, yet somehow still bitter, brew I returned to the windows overlooking the backyard as I looked over the GPS device. One more look to the back of the house, then back down to the screen as I went to take another sip.
My eyes flickered over the display, and my stomach tightened as if my balls were trying to withdraw inside me.
“Shit.”
Coffee sloshed as I slammed the mug down on the counter, and then I was rushing into the living room. Stomach already turning into a cold, hard slug of steel, the sudden surge of adrenaline did more to wake me up than any cup of freeze-dried caffeine ever could.
“Jericho!”
My boss didn’t move as I entered the room–only Ambyr.
“Huh?” she asked. Looking like a puffy-eyed flower turning its head to the dawn, she lifted her face from Jericho’s shoulder and locked bleary eyes on mine. “Oh, hey Morgan.” Her warmth washed over me as a smile spread on her face, seemingly transforming her countenance into the newly risen sun. “Good morning.”
Despite what I’d just seen on the GPS tracker’s screen, I couldn’t help but smile a little as I dropped to my knees beside them. Jericho still didn’t stir, but my gut softened.
“Morning, beautiful,” I said with a wide smile. “How’d you sleep?”
“Like a rock.” Ambyr lay her head back down against my friend’s shoulder, but her hand left his chest and reached out to me, finding the scruff of my unshaven cheek. Fingers warm enough to spite the chilly air, she caressed my face, looking as if this was her version of pinching herself to make sure this wasn’t some hazy dream.
Letting out a long sigh, I turned my face into her fingers and lightly kissed them.
“Have fun last night?” I asked as she returned her hand to Jericho’s broad chest.
Ambyr’s smile was almost shy as she nodded, and she turned her face into the meat of Jericho’s shoulder, as if she could use him as cover. But, there was no hiding her radiating warmth and joy as her gorgeously blue eyes found mine from behind fluttering eyelashes. Still hiding her smile, but not her eyes, she kissed my friend’s shoulder, her lips smacking against his skin as she gave him a lover’s tender kiss.
