I hadn’t wanted to feel trapped in my room after my confrontation with Ethan. I just needed some alone time to sort through everything and plan my next move. I had walked straight out of the hotel and continued to walk down the road that leads to the Whistler compound. My gait was slow and awkward because of the stiffness in my back. I used the pain to keep my mind clear and my forward movement to loosen up my muscles. This sort of walk was a habit of mine after a bad beating or injury. It gave me time to bury my anger and regain enough control to do what needed to be done next.
I considered the reasons why I had decided to become a Whistler agent in the first place. I wanted to help people in the hope that I could correct my cosmic karma or at least lessen the guilt I felt over my past actions. But I could help people even if I didn’t become a Whistler agent. Maybe I should use the piles of money I had stashed in untraceable offshore accounts to start some kind of non-profit organization to help people.
Who was I kidding? I didn’t know anything about philanthropy. I could find a good organization that already existed to donate to, but giving money was so passive. I needed to act. Needed to work every day to prove to myself that I had changed. I was considering joining the military as a real option when a car rolled to a stop next to me. I had to release my grip on my gun when Ford slowly climbed out of the car and approached me. I had a grudging respect for Ford that had formed as I closely watched him and how he interacted with the trainees over the last four weeks. But I didn’t know his motives for tracking me down and right now I wanted to be alone.
Ford stopped a good five feet away from me and asked, “Mind some company?” I understood that his slow approach and distance was Ford’s way of telling me that he was respecting my personal space and I appreciated the effort.
“That depends,” I replied. “Are you here to uncover if I am a spy?” This caused the smallest smile to briefly touch Ford's lips as he moved to walk beside me.
“Ethan?” Ford asked in an amused voice. I confirmed his suspicions with a nod of my head and Ford’s smile grew in response. “That boy did always jump to the extremes.” I was pleasantly surprised when Ford didn’t question me further on my false background, which he seemed to know all about, and we continued on our walk in peaceful silence.
After about ten minutes Ford asked, “How’s the back feeling today?” Small talk? Ford was interrupting my solitude for small talk?
“A little tight with all of the stitches but nothing that time won’t heal,” I responded. Our combined lack of the gift of gab left us in awkward silence. How normal people were able to do this small talk shit on a daily basis, was beyond me. When Ford didn’t say anything further I offered up, “How are you feeling this morning?”
“Guilty,” Ford mumbled out in his gruff voice before stopping and turning to face me. “I saw how your team was pushing you out and setting you up to fail. I knew about the fight with Brett and Vincent on the first night and the tire slashing and threats that Brett threw your way. I knew about everything and didn’t step in to stop it because I wanted to see how you would handle the situation.” Ford’s voice was one-hundred percent matter-of-fact while he related this admission.
“That is how this training program works, right?” I stated in the same no-nonsense tone and then turned to continue walking. “You put us in certain situations and observe how we deal with those situations. I and every other recruit knew that when we signed up. What happened wasn’t your fault, Ford and I can take care of myself. There is no need for you to feel guilty.”
My words hung between us for the next couple of minutes until Ford finally broke the silence. “For what it is worth, Ethan and his team are good people.”
“You think that I should take Ethan up on his offer and finish my training with his team?” I asked.
“You’re no quitter. See this through before you decide whether to stay or not.” I didn’t know if that statement was entirely true, I had quit my entire life. But I knew I would also wonder what could have happened if I didn’t at least finish the training program. “And for the record,” Ford continued, “Whistler would be lucky to have you.”
The unexpected words of praise were still sinking in when I heard a car screech to a halt next to us, seconds before Oliver jumped out of his car and started yelling. “Jesus Payton. I have been looking for you for over two hours. You do not get to just disappear like that!”
I was so shocked by being scolded by Oliver that I couldn’t form a response. Oliver walked around the hood of his car and engulfed my shocked self in a hug. It felt just like the time he had hugged me by the Green Monster. He buried his nose in my hair and whispered, “Ethan told me that you two go into an argument and when I couldn’t find you, I was worried that you had just packed up and left.” His voice broke on the last word he said, and I felt him swallow hard.
No one in my life had cared where I was before. And here Oliver was almost in tears because he couldn’t find me after only two hours. He really cared about me. That simple idea brought tears to my eyes. I hadn’t cried since I was a child and now here I was getting teary over a hug. Oliver pulled back and looked me over.
“You’re crying. Are you in pain? That’s a stupid question. You were stabbed yesterday. Of course, you are in pain. Let’s go back to my room and spend the rest of the day watching movies and eating junk food.” He gently guided me to the passenger seat and even buckled me in. The entire time Oliver didn’t even acknowledge that Ford was observing the whole thing. Before Oliver could close the door, I leaned out and asked if he wanted a ride back to his car.
“No thanks, I’ll walk,” Ford stated before turning his back and walking back towards his car. At that moment I felt a sort of kindness and connection from the grumpy trainer. When the hell had that happened?
Oliver ran around the car and got in. Before he drove away, he turned in his seat to give me his full attention. “Payton, will you promise me to never just disappear like that again? If you get into a fight with Ethan or anyone else, you can come to me. If you promise to come to talk to me, I promise to always be on your side.”
“Oliver, I don’t think-“
“Please Payton. Just promise that you will talk to me first. I have this feeling that you are going to just disappear out of my life, and I can’t stand it. Even if Whistler isn’t right for you, we can still be friends. Please, Payton.” The tears came back as I nodded my consent. “No not good enough,” Oliver pressed, “I need you to promise.”
I cleared my throat and choked out, “I promise.” Oliver smiled in response and turned to drive the car. He made a stop at a grocery store and we stocked up on junk food. We then returned to his room and watched movies and ate copious amounts of food, just like he said we would. Even with my aching ribs and stiff back, it was one of the best afternoons of my life.
Later we were halfway through Boondock Saints when Oliver’s phone rang, and he excused himself to take it out in the hallway. I had noticed that he had received multiple texts throughout the day and hoped that everything was okay. When he came back, he told me that it was Ethan calling. I wondered if Ethan had told Oliver his theory that I was an undercover spy. Would Oliver believe Ethan? Would he think that I was only hanging out with him to gain access to Ethan’s team? Would he believe me over the man he hoped would be his team leader?
“He wants to know if you have given any thought to his idea of both of us finishing up our training with his team. They are doing some job in Cuba right now and he is planning on leaving tomorrow.” I had been lying on my side and slowly moved to sit up.
“So, you will be leaving for Cuba tomorrow?” I asked him in a small voice.
“Well, I was hoping that we would both be leaving for Cuba tomorrow,” Oliver said with hope ringing in his voice.
“Oliver, I don’t think Ethan was serious about me coming along. After he mentioned it to me, he accused me of pretending to be your friend to gain access to his team because I was an undercover spy.” I decided it would be better if he heard it from me. Maybe this way he would let me explain. But instead of questioning our friendship, Oliver just started cracking up in laughter. He was laughing so hard he had to brace his hands on his knees.
“That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard!”
“Well you may think it is funny, but it pissed me off. I would never use you to do anything,” I explained in a serious voice.
Oliver sobered up and told me, "That’s why I think it is so funny. I know that you would never do anything like that. There must have been some kind of misunderstanding. You should talk to Ethan. And then we can fly down to Cuba and sit on a beach while you heal. I miss the beach.”
“You really think that I could join you and be a part of Ethan’s team?”
“Hell yeah, I do. You are going to love the guys and I can’t wait for you to meet my brother. No one on the team is an asshole. And I swear that none of them would ever even think about hurting you.” When I didn’t answer right away Oliver continued, “Come on Payton. It will be fun! And what do you have to lose? If you don’t like it, you can leave and do whatever it was you were planning today. Give it a chance. I could really use a friend like you on a day-to-day basis.”
A friend on a day-to-day basis. If that wasn’t worth taking this risk nothing would be. “Okay, I will talk to Ethan.”
Oliver gave me his megawatt smile and said, “Good because he is waiting for you outside in the hallway.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes seriously. He really wants you to join us in Cuba and he is not above going through me to get that to happen.” I couldn’t find the will to be mad with Oliver. He was just too happy. And that made me happy.
Oliver opened the door and stuck his head out into the hallway. “Come on in Ethan. I will give you two some space to talk.” Before he left, he turned to look me in the eye. “Remember your promise,” he said in a soft voice and then walked out leaving me alone with Ethan for the second time that day.
I felt weird sitting when he was standing and moved to stand up. “Please stay seated,” Ethan said when I failed to hide a wince. I settled back onto the edge of the bed and waited for him to talk. “Look, I think that we got off on the wrong foot this morning,” He said as he moved to take a seat at Oliver’s desk. “What happened yesterday was unacceptable and we launched an investigation into everyone involved to understand how it happened. We found that you were in no way at fault. I reviewed hours of footage of your training and believe you to be an extremely talented and experienced individual. This morning I was just trying to fully understand that individual and I got carried away. I’m sorry, Payton.”
I could sense a man like Ethan did not apologize often and nodded my head to show that I accepted his apology. “Now before we get to the details of you joining us in Cuba, I would like to ask what you meant by the United States provided you with your I.D. papers.” His voice was devoid of accusations. I believed that he was just trying to understand me. I didn’t want to start my interactions with her new team leader with lies, and if I didn’t explain some things to him, Ethan was always going to question my motives. So I decided to tell him the truth. Or at least a part of the truth.
“I am in the witness protection program.” I delivered this bombshell while looking directly into his eyes, so he could see the truth to my words. “The background that Whistler has access to is fake, as is the name Payton Taylor. My new I.D. and backstory were given to me by the U.S. Marshals.”
Ethan took a moment to process my words before asking, “Can you tell me how you ended up in WitSec?"
“All I am willing to tell you is that I testified against some very powerful people. Obviously, they were not happy about that and they would do almost anything to find me. Any details about my past have been classified and would put anyone who knew about them in danger. So, I will not tell them to you or anyone else on your team.” I finished with one of the most honest things I had ever said, “I am willing to lie to keep my past from hurting anyone else.”
Ethan leaned back in his chair as he considered all I had told him. He had an excellent poker face because I had no idea what was going through his mind. “I think we can work with that. Will you come with me and assist my team on a job we are doing in Cuba?”
I had a feeling the answer to that question would drastically change my life. Was I willing to give working for Whistler another chance? Could I ever trust a team after what happened here? Then I remembered Oliver’s smile and his promise that these people were safe. I thought about turning down the offer and possibly never seeing Oliver again and pain twisted through my chest. I could do this. I could do this for Oliver. And like he said, what did I have to lose anyway.
“Yes,” I finally replied, “I will go to Cuba.”
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