Traitors

Now there is something else keeping me up at night.

I've been having a hard time trying to process everything that happened. We almost kissed. What's so crazy about it that I can't seem to wrap my head around it? It was just a kiss which didn't happen and probably wouldn't have meant anything anyway. In the moment, it felt like it was going to be something, but now that we've been freezing each other out for about a week, I'm starting to think it was just a fluke. What's worse than being confused about a nonexistent kiss is the people around us noticing how tense both of us get when the other is around. We are making it too obvious something happened. I don't even know why I feel the need to act like he isn't sharing the same air as me, but I still do it.

Part of me wishes I won't have to talk to him about it. That hopefully we can just forget it happened. But the other part of me wants to tell him what this has been putting me through. I replay that moment over and over in my head, but no matter how hard I focus on it I can't change the outcome. We still don't kiss and he doesn't chase after me. I still can't decide which one disappointed me more.

A beep draws my attention back to my computer. I blink my eyes a few times taking notice of how dry they got from the lack of blinking. I slide my mouse over to the envelope in the corner with a blinking number one above it. I click it and a chat log appears in the middle of the screen.

You okay? You've been acting strange lately. I slide my keyboard closer to me.

Just distracted. I close the chat log, but it only pops back up.

Is there something going on with you and Fierce? Typical Lia.

Sexual tension.

I glance over at Lia waiting for her reaction. As soon as she reads it, she quickly whips her head over to me with her jaw dropped open. I roll my eyes shaking my head. Lia lives for this kind of thing. If she couldn't have a relationship with Gabe, she would live vicariously through other people's romances. She pushes away from her desk and tries to wheel over to my station. She bumps into Hunter who grips the back of her chair and wheels her back to her station. I giggle with a couple of other people as she directs her pouting towards him.

I exit out of the hacking program deciding I've had enough of it today. I rub my eyes giving them a break from the lit computer screen. I lean back in my seat letting out a deep sigh. I reach forward gliding the mouse over to the saved video file of the Hector T. Bloomsburg building burning down. Watching it on the screen wasn't the same as actually being there in person. I couldn't feel the heat and the adrenaline through the monitor. All of that was felt firsthand. As much as I'm itching to burn another building down, I personally think it'd be too dangerous. The government knows their buildings are targets and have stepped up their security. When I'm not working on my hacking skills, I'm reading up on what the bastards are up to and what their plan of action is. So far they've only leaked about their security, but that isn't too much of a threat.

I feel a hand slip onto my shoulder. I jump up startled by the sudden gentle touch. I hit the escape key and the video disappears. I turn my head up and lock eyes with Fierce. I feel my cheeks become heated with embarrassment. He eyes the back door and asks quietly if we can talk. I shrug rising from my seat. I follow closely behind him out of the plant giving Lia a scared look in the process. He pushes open the back door leading me out into the late autumn air. I leave the echo of the door closing marinate between us before speaking up.

"So what's on your mind?" I ask folding my arms across my chest to protect them from the chilled air. Fierce shoves his hands into his sweatshirt pockets. He releases a noticeable breath of air.

"I --" he hesitates rocking on his heels, "something has come up." He says barely audible. He shakes his head in defeat. "Bestion wants another building --"

"No!" I bark at him with fury. "I told you already. I need time. You can't just rush me into something like this. I'm not you!" I growl sounding angrier than what I am.

"I know," he says staring at the ground, "but it's important." He chokes on his words and I can't help but laugh.

"No, of course it is." Fierce looks up at me sensing my sarcasm. "Which building?"

"The one Simmons is stationed at." He mumbles out. I squint my eyes at him.

"Simmons? Wasn't he in questioning the other day?" I suspiciously stare at him trying to decipher what is going on. Fierce nods refusing to look me in the eye. "Is he alive? Is he still on our side?" I can tell my questions are ones he has himself since he flinches as I ask them. "You don't know, do you?" The tone in my voice sounds shaken which is what I wanted to avoid.

"Brestion says Simmons is willing to help you get in the building, but that's it."

"Does that mean he's going to call officials as soon as I'm in or is he going to let me do the job?" I ask feeling my stomach begin to turn as Fierce shrugs. His silence is deafening. "And when exactly am I expected to do this?" He bites his lip remaining silent which can only mean one thing. "Goddammit!" I shout punching the wall next to him. "It's tonight, isn't it?" He looks away from me. "And you waited until now to tell me?" I shake my head reaching for the door to go back inside.

I race down the hall feeling my anger rise. If Gabe wants me to go, he can tell me himself. I waltz into the plant in search for the son of a bitch. He leans on Lia's computer monitor with a smile plastered on his face. I glare at him, steam exiting through my nose. I march across the plant and shove him off of the monitor. The room which was filled with taps and clicks is suddenly silent.

Gabe grips the wall with a confused look on his face. My body fills with rage as I slam my fist into his stomach. He curls over letting a grunt escape. He pushes me away from him returning my anger. The room patiently waits for what the next move. Gabe tries to hide the smirk forming on his face, but I see it. I leap toward him, but I don't go as far as I anticipated. A hand is secured tightly around my waist keeping me from wiping that cheeky grin off his face. I thrash violently letting my rage get the best of me.

"You fucker!" I scream as I feel my body get dragged away from him. "You're a two-faced prick with no fucking balls to tell me yourself!" Shocked faces glance between me and Gabe. He shakes his head at me as the hand tosses me into Gabe's office. I glance up as I realize it was Fierce who threw me in here. He closes the door and crosses his arms.

"Detope, get yourself under control!" He shouts at me. I snarl as I flick up my middle finger. "And here I thought you were classier than that." I roll my eyes.

"Fuck you!" I hiss through my teeth. The door bursts open and Gabe enters with a huff. "Fuck you, too!" He storms toward me ready to strike my face, but Fierce grabs his hand pushing him away from me.

"Are you done?" Gabe says tiredly like my outburst was uncalled for.

"No," I climb onto my feet, "I'm not." Gabe rolls his eyes which ticks me off even more. "You honestly want me to go through with this? No matter the outcome?" Fierce purses his lips together appearing as though this wasn't his decision. "From the sound of it, it's a suicide mission."

"You knew the cost of joining the rebellion. So don't pretend like you didn't see this coming." Gabe barks, knocking me down a few pegs. My mouth falls open completely stunned by his remark. "It sounds bad, yes, but I'm confident everything will be fine. I have a plan and a backup plan and a backup to the backup. Detope, you'll be alive and well at the end of this. I promise." Gabe smiles, but it's Fierce I'm focused on.

He constantly tells me he's a human lie detector when I lie to him which I can't give him much credit for since I'm a terrible liar. Gabe is a little harder to figure out because he always sounds convincing and I believed the words he was telling me until I saw the look on Fierce's face.