BLACKBIRD

Chapter Five

Kansas was a neutrally beautiful state, the gold of the wheat against pillowy gray clouds that swelled in the sky, rich evergreen bushes dotting the fields, and the delicate mottled colors of boulders pairing together to create something quietly appealing. However, Alana didn't find the gravel roads to be appealing, she and James getting jostled with every inch forward as they drove to the site of the vestige. It made trying to check her text messages ever so slightly more difficult than it needed to be. Neither did it help to cool her frustrations, an agitated sigh huffing past her lips. Still no reply from Amara.

James glanced at Alana from the driver's seat, eyes falling to the phone in her hand before returning to the road.

"Hey, you want to explain what that was with Harris back at Langley?" He asked.

Alana's gaze darted up to James, caught off guard by the sudden question. She had expected him to comment about Amara, not the moment of tension she had shared with Harris, which James had thoughtfully left unmentioned up until now. Part of her was impelled to feign ignorance and twist the conversation away from that awkward moment, not wanting to lose James' minimal trust by her lack of faith in his boss, but the better part of her knew that she had to be truthful.

"I don't think he's being completely honest about Nakoma," Alana said, "Something in his tone, in the way he spoke, just doesn't sit right with me."

James gave her a confused side-eye. "What do you mean?"

"There's just..." Alana trailed off in a sigh. "I know what men in power can do and not all of it is good."

James' expression turned suddenly serious, a weight sinking in the air between them.

"You think he did something to Nakoma?" He asked in a hushed voice.

Alana sighed again, unable to sort through her nexus of feelings surrounding the situation and give James a clear answer. "I don't know. My intuition is telling me not to trust him and it's rarely ever wrong."

"Maybe you just haven't gotten used to him yet." James shrugged, though the sobriety in his voice didn't dissipate. "I know Harris can rub off as impassive, but I've known him for almost a decade by now. You can trust him. I do."

James glanced at her, drawing Alana's gaze to him just before he turned back to the road. There was honesty swirling alongside the sobriety. He genuinely trusted Harris. However, even regarding James' words of reassurance, Alana still couldn't bring herself to feel the same, the sight of amber eyes trailing her burned into the back of her brain.

"How do you know him?" Alana asked.

"He's also former military," James explained, "He used to help out with group sessions and VA stuff. Started talking with him one day and became friends from there until he approached me about joining the CIA."

Alana hummed lightly, a wordless response of understanding. They had known each other for a long time, possibly even helped each other out through difficult times, giving reason to James' unwavering trust of Harris. It made Alana a little more cautious of James, a feeble worry that he'd follow Harris' orders over any argument she tried to make, but that backwashed feeling of trust didn't fade from her intuitions.

They eventually pulled off the road, tramping through grass dotted with lingering patches of cold-weather yellow. They parked near a clearing, settling alongside the vehicles of their teammates that arrived just before them, scientists and liaisons alike contributing to the set up of the observation camp just some dozen paces away. As Alana and James exited their SUV, another pulled up alongside them, driven by Andrea Ocampo. They waited for her to join them, exchanging mellow hellos before switching near immediately into the subject of their assignment.