The Timeservers

Chapter 15

New York City, New York

The Spire

Guardian Island Park

December 4, 227 P.F.E

1442 hours

Leo takes longer to recover than usual. He still lies on the ground, tucked in a ball and pretending not to listen to Sophia and Kelly argue in hushed tones a few feet away.
"What were you thinking?" Kelly demands.
"I thought I was spending time with my boyfriend. I didn't know this would happen so don't blame me. I'm not stupid. I'm not even your real sister, so don't tell me what to do," Sophia argues. "I'm trying to make the best of things. Being a spy doesn't have to mean being alone."
"You think you know more than me?"
"I don't have to think; I know. Let's not discuss this here, he might be listening."
Kelly's eye twitches and he backs down. "Same place as usual?"
"0400 hours. I need to call in anyway. Let's check on Leo and get him inside."
Sophia settles beside Leo again and puts a hand on his shoulder, turning him slightly towards her. "Are you okay now?"
"I think so. I'm not seeing anything anymore, though I don't think I'll ever really be okay."
Sophia brushes some hair, the sweat dry now, from Leo's forehead to reveal the red eyes beneath. "That's okay. We'll get you through. You're not alone." Sophia smiles, just the corner of one side of her mouth, but tries to make it look reassuring. Leo returns the smile, but with no feeling behind it. "That's not real," Sophia observes.
"How can you tell?"
"I know you. I'm also an analyst, it's my job. But now my job's to make sure that nothing happens to you." Sophia smiles, a real one, full. "Do you trust me?"
"Give me a reason."
"Aside from saving your arse almost every day, I genuinely care about you. You want to trust people like that."
"Then I'll trust you," Leo agrees, putting a hand over Sophia's which still rests on his shoulder.
Kelly fumes, watching for anyone who might come and stumble on the scene. "We should get a move on. We've all been absent for too long. If the others aren't suspicious Via will be. Get up, let's move."
"Alright, I'm coming," Leo agrees, rolling onto his stomach and then standing up, slowly, and with a lot of help from Sophia.
"You sure?" Sophia asks.
One look at Kelly confirms that Leo is sure, quite sure. "Absolutely."
The group moves slowly through the park, careful to avoid being seen by prying eyes. Once the trees thin too much to provide cover Leo stands on his own two feet. His first few steps are labored but he forces the tiredness down and tries to look normal. He runs his hand through his hair to get it to look normal, normal-er. At least Leo is known for having a rough-and-tumble look.
Sophia stays close to Leo, prepared to catch him or keep him steady if he needs it. Kelly leads the group, clearing the path for them. People pass, but no one notices the new tone of the group. Some of them are too awed, blinded by the belief that the spectres are too powerful, too distant, and too disconnected that they must really be closer to ghosts than to people.
Kelly, Leo, and Sophia wish they could disappear like ghosts. The looks aren't helpful at that moment and each just wants to get to their rooms, admittedly for different reasons. The walk through the lobby is interminable, especially for Leo. Each step takes more energy than he thinks he has. A headache still pounds against his temples, pushing them and making it impossible to focus. The attacks always drain him, but the wondering about what they mean, what the trigger means, defeats him. Reprieve comes once they're on the elevator. No one dares to join them. Leo just wants to sink down to the ground, sleep, but he knows that's not an option and the sleep would be almost as bad as the attack itself. "How are you doing?"
"Fine. I just need to get some rest."
"You have to finish showing Via around," Kelly points out. "What are you going to do?"
"We can distract her. I'll show her around the system and you do weird spectre things. Give her tips about staying awake at night. Will an hour be enough?" Sophia asks.
"Yeah." It won't. An hour will barely make a dent, but it will be something.
The elevator gets to the 92nd floor and opens. Via is waiting there, tapping her foot as she waits for the elevator to open. She looks upset about being abandoned, especially to the likes of Viper and Wasp.
"Where were you guys? You look terrible!" Via's annoyance falls away as she takes in Leo. He'd done his best to cover up any signs of what he'd gone through but his eyes are still red and he's practically falling over with exhaustion.
"Don't worry about it. You settle in okay?" Leo puts fake pep in his voice but Sophia and Kelly wince at it.
"Yeah, I'm in the room right next to you and two from Sophia, won't that be nice?" Via asks, waving to Sophia and she makes her way past Via and into the living quarters.
"Absolutely, like having a sister. The best part is that we have that section to ourselves," Sophia agrees.
Sophia, no longer in Via's sight, keeps the doors entering the quarters from closing. She mouths for Leo to get some rest, lose Via, before heading inside.
"So, my stuff?" Via asks.
"Oh yeah, of course. I'll get that for you right away and then I need to take some personal time. I have a lot of preparation to do for your training. Don't be nervous but you're my first trainee. I'd like to do a good job," Leo explains, fighting off another wave of exhaustion and the desperate plea within him to just brush Via off and flop on his bed and sleep for twice as long as he was in that tear.
"O-okay. Maybe I'll spend some time with Sophia. Where did you guys go off to, all on your lonesome?"
"Nowhere really. You didn't miss anything. Don't feel left out." Leo walks through the quarters, careful to avoid the other spectres.
"Stay out here, I'd like to keep the hiding spot secret," Leo orders. Disappointment streaks across Via's face and her eyes dart to Sophia's room. Leo doesn't notice, tired as he is, and locks the door to his room behind him. In his room he opens his hiding spot. He had stashed Via's things there, with his own stuff. Leo pulls out his old clothes and grins. He will need them, but now they remind him of Sophia. Leo stows the clothes under his bed and puts the carpet back in place. "Here's your stuff," Leo offers, handing the bag over to Via but staying half in his room with the door almost closed.
"See ya." Leo tries to close the door but Via stops him.
"Could you suggest a hiding spot?"
"You're good at hiding things. I'd trust you to hide my stuff even." Leo smiles and tries to close the door again. Via stops him once more.
"Are you avoiding me? I don't get it, you put in all this effort to train me and I've hardly seen you all day."
"It's not personal. Via, I value you. I want to be your friend. I've got stuff to do though. The people around here will disappear without notice and keep secrets that you will never find the answers to. You have to be comfortable with that. I'll train with you all of tomorrow, in the mean time you should get to know the other spectres. It's more than likely that you'll be going into the field with them instead of me."
"He's right you know," Sophia says, emerging from seemingly nowhere. Via jumps at Sophia's voice and puts a protective hand to her chest.
"Can you all do that?"
"Pretty much, you get used to it." Leo sighs and rubs a hand over his face, trying to wipe the tiredness from his eyes. "Pretty soon you won't even react."
"I'm the person you'll absolutely need to know. I'll be keeping you safe on missions, providing you with intel, and being your eye in the sky and big brother- sister." Sophia leans against the wall and smiles at Via. "You're also going to want to get to know me because I'm the best chance you have at a nice girlfriend and I know most of the secrets of everyone here. The secrets I only share with my friends, another reason for us to get to know each other."
Via opens her mouth to speak but Sophia cuts her off.
"Come on, I'll show you where all the cute guys spend their time. You'd think the training floors or gyms, but it's actually the screen labs. Hot geeky computer nerds are so cute, and they keep in shape, part of the job," Sophia explains, adding lilts to her voice that make Leo uncomfortable and self-conscious.
Leo feels heat spilling across his face and ducks his head to keep the girls from noticing. Sophia spots it and bites her lip before covering it with a hopeful grin directed at Via.
"Okay," Via says, but it's hesitant. Sophia latches onto Via's arm before she can change her mind and starts walking her down the hall, listing the names of the more attractive analysts. Leo watches them go and Sophia turns back briefly.
You owe me, she mouths.
Leo collapses on his bed with the door locked the minute the two girls are out of the hall and prepares for the nightmares that would come with sleep, if it comes.