I push away from Misha, looking away. "We.. we should go.." I say, and he nods. I go to my bedside table and get my wallet and phone sliding them into my bag. "We'll get you an armband on the way there" I say. "Right, of course" he says, following me out of the hotel room to the lobby, where a car is already lined up with Aaron's unit in front of it. I smile weakly at them and they nod, gently patting my shoulder and hugging me. "Thanks for coming to get us" I say, and they nod. "Your friend is?" One of them asks, "this is Misha, Collins. He works for the TSA." I say, and they nod. The unit commander opens the door for me and I get in, thanking him quietly. Misha gets in behind me and I look up at him after putting on my seatbelt. Misha scoots closer to allow another person into the backseat. The car starts and we head off, myself getting ready for a hard hit of sadness.
L
I exit the car, with Misha behind me, wearing a black armband for respect, and go over to the plot where Aaron is being laid to rest. I stare at it silently, and Misha takes my hand in his. I glance at him, then turn away, headed to one of the chairs. I sit down, Misha following close behind, as Aaron's casket is brought out by an Army honour guard. I sit straight, staring straight ahead of me, deadpanned and silent. They set the casket down, then take the flag off of it, making sure it never hits the ground. I stand and go over to the group, standing in front of the casket, at attention. The honour guard folds the flag into a triangle, a single star at the tip, three in the middle, and five along the base. The leader accepts the flag and turns to me, lowering to one knee and holding the flag up to me. "On behalf of the United States army, the president of the United states, and a grateful nation, we present to you this flag to represent the honour and courage your soldier fought with. And we thank both him, and you for your service to the nation." He says. I take the flag and hug it to my chest, nodding to the man and turning away, going back to my seat. I gently place the flag on my lap and watch as a priest performs the last rites before Aaron is taken to the mausoleum for the night vigil. I hear taps being played and salute, then hear someone behind me. I turn around when taps stops and see Misha, holding out his hand for me to take. I gladly do so, and walk to the mausoleum, with him at my side. "I won't be staying tonight." I say, and the guard nods. I walk away and Misha looks down at me. "Why not?" He asks, and I sigh. "That's another part of the deal, we were to move on immediately after the funeral. Which means, Agent Collins, I'm going to move out of my old apartment" I say, and Misha nods. "If you need a place to stay, I have a spare room" he says, and I smile. "I might take you up on that, thank you" I say as a taxi pulls up.
