by Adam Bender
Seven felt a vibration in his pants; Talia was calling him. He placed the ring carefully in his jeans pocket. “I should take this,” he said.
Eve smiled and turned back to the rubble.
He took the phone into the hallway.
“Where did you go?” Talia demanded.
“I had to come into the office,” he said quietly.
“Why?”
Seven wasn’t sure how to explain. “Eve’s here.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s a long story. Randall wants her to help protect Danny.”
“And like, you’re just going to trust her? After what she did to you?”
“We talked about it.”
“Oh did you?”
“C’mon, Tal,” he said. “I mean, she is the Elite’s best.”
“Are you seriously defending that bitch right now?” seethed Talia. “You know, when you and I started…Like, I know we said it wouldn’t be serious. But…I want you to be honest with me. Do you still have feelings for her?”
Seven sought the ceiling for the answer.
“It’s still ‘complicated,’ isn’t it? That’s what you told me back in Loganville and I guess it’s even truer now.”
“Talia, I–”
“Maybe we should let things cool off for a little while,” she snapped, “until you figure out what you want.”
The phone beeped.
This was weird, thought Eve. She was sitting at a mahogany dining table in a room that looked like it belonged in a hunting lodge somewhere deep in the mountains. But this was only another floor of the extensive DAY Center. From the maple-wood paneling to the sullen moose head hanging over their heads, Eve was beginning to think Danny Young’s father had been something of an eccentric.
Stranger still was the occasion for the dinner. Eve had come here to celebrate Victory Over Heretics Day…with the Underground. She could think of several reasons why that was wrong, not the least of which being that she hadn’t exactly been the rebels’ strongest ally. Why, if Interim President Randall hadn’t ordered her to help Danny Young and his crew, she probably would never have even seen them again. And yet, here they were like a family, passing dishes around for a holiday feast.
It wasn’t all smiles, of course. Talia, positioned directly across from her, had been giving Eve the evil eye since she sat down. Talia had never been very kind, but today something in her body language had intensified. Eve couldn’t figure out why. After all, Talia had known about Seven and Eve’s history since before the mission at Facility B. The only thing that had changed was that Eve had given her engagement ring back to Seven. If anything, thought Eve, Talia should be nicer to her now.
She noticed Seven looking sharp in a black dress shirt. She hadn’t seen him in something so clean since he went by another name. She smiled a polite kind of smile at him, but Talia–sitting next to him–immediately intervened.
“Like, who invited you anyway?”
“Danny did,” Eve replied.
“Messed up.”
“Honestly? I agree.”
Talia rolled her eyes. “You would agree.”
Eve decided to let the girl have the last word. Instead, she turned left and tried small talk with Ana. It was a challenge to get her attention; the slender brunette appeared more interested in giggling at Danny’s jokes.
“Crazy how empty the city is,” Eve tried.
“I know,” Ana replied. “I would just kill to go dancing, but I haven’t seen any clubs open, and even if they were they’d probably be dead, you know?”
Eve wasn’t much of a dancer. “I suppose that would be true,” she replied.
Ana turned closer and in a low voice said, “By the way, I wanted to apologize.”
At first, Eve thought the other woman was joking. “What?”
The brunette sighed. “I know I was an absolute bitch to you last month.”
It was true, but Eve had already heard the reason. Ana had been upset, rightfully so, over the Guard killing her boyfriend at the blockade. “No, you explained it to me before, and I completely understood,” Eve said. “Anyway, I wasn’t exactly in the best frame of mind either.”
Ana shot a furtive glance at Seven, who was engaged in conversation with Danny. “The truth is, I don’t know how you can stand it,” she said. “You think you know somebody and then they just go and change on you. If you ever want to talk…”
Eve smiled warmly. “Thanks, Ana. I really appreciate that.”
Shaan entered the room with a large silver dish and a golden-brown turkey. He was wearing a white chef’s hat that was stained in multiple spots. Gently, he let the bird down in the empty spot between Eve and Talia and sat down at that end of the table. The turkey looked glorious–juicy with a crispy skin slathered in butter. Eve knew from her history watching the man that he was a gourmet chef in the kitchen. She’d always meant to investigate where he learned how to cook, but never got around to it. She was salivating at the chance to finally eat one of his creations.
Eve couldn’t help but notice a certain sadness in Shaan’s demeanor. It was in his eyes, mostly. She wondered why.
A light ding brought Eve’s attention instinctively to the head of the table where Danny Young was positioned. He was holding a glass of red wine in one hand and a spoon in the other. “I’d like to offer a toast,” he announced. “Thank you all for coming. You five are the team that exposed Patriot ID and toppled the presidency of William T. Drake. Thanks to all of you, this country has a future again. And that’s what I would like to toast–the future.”
They held their glasses high. “To the future!”
Ana added, “Let’s not forget that Danny has his first big debate tomorrow with one Susan Levi. Danny, I think it’s safe to say we all wish you the best of luck knocking that bitch down a few pegs.”
“I’ll cheers to that!” burst Seven.
They clinked glasses and then Shaan stood to carve the turkey. Eve found herself hypnotized by the pieces of meat falling delicately onto the serving plate.
The excitement on Eve’s face as she thrust her plate forward amused Seven. A vegetarian she clearly was not. As he looked around the table, Seven realized he was surrounded by friends. He didn’t have any when he woke in the forest so many weeks ago, but now here he was breaking bread with five people he actually trusted. Well, four. Four and a half, maybe. Eve was in trial mode.
Okay, so he wasn’t on the best terms with everyone, Talia being the main example. But she still sat next to him, didn’t she? That broken friendship didn’t seem beyond repair.
He worried about Shaan, who was finally sitting down to his own meal. Seven wondered how the man would act toward him if he knew the truth about Seven’s past, if he knew that Jonathan Wyle had actually smiled when Joanna was dropped. Seven felt the memory tear into him every time he looked at Shaan. He knew he had to tell him, but it never seemed like the right time. Then again, would it ever feel like the right time?
He also hadn’t ever told Shaan that he was sleeping with his little sister. But Seven listed that little truth somewhat lower among his priorities.
“So can somebody please explain why the Underground celebrates this holiday?” asked Eve. “You all do realize that V-H Day celebrates the day the government defeated the Heretics in the Great War, right?”
Seven remembered the last V-H Day. He was still Wyle and had taken Eve out for dinner. They celebrated it because everyone did. Not once did he remember the two of them talking about what the day actually meant. Details like that had never seemed all too relevant when they were out together.
Danny laughed. “The reason for celebrating is simple really. I mean, you’re absolutely right. Today is a day celebrating the loss of religious freedom in this country, the day the government and the Church decreed once and for all that the people would place their allegiance and faith exclusively in them and no one else. V-H Day celebrates the day that fear won.”
Eve laughed. “You’re
pretty much doing the opposite of answering my question.”
“But I am answering it!” he countered. “Think of it this way. How do you beat fear? Do you run away? No, that’s what fear is supposed to make you do. To defeat fear, you have to confront it head on. More than that, you’ve got to laugh in its face!”
Eve half-smiled. “So, what you’re saying is, you celebrate V-H Day…ironically?”
He pointed at her excitedly. “That’s exactly it!”
“Huh,” she said, munching thoughtfully on a piece of broccoli rabe. “You rebels sure are a sarcastic bunch. Well, happy V-H Day I guess.”
Danny grinned and lifted his glass. “Happy V-H Day!”
Seven joined him and downed the rest of his wine. Seconds later, his glass was full again.
He stole a glance at Eve and saw her laughing merrily to some joke he’d apparently missed. He had to fight his eyes from falling to the curves that seemed ready to burst from her navy blue blouse.
Eve saw him looking.
He turned away fast, cursing the wine.
The alcohol continued to flow after dinner, and despite her best excuses Eve was unable to avoid her cup being refilled time and time again. She was having trouble remembering when precisely they had moved from the dining room to another chamber full of books and couches. No one was sitting. Eve was sipping her wine when, unprovoked, Shaan came up to her and pointed a finger in her face.
“You killed her!”
She thought she knew who he was talking about but asked anyway.
“Joanna,” he growled.
“God, Shaan,” she said. “No, I didn’t.”
He kept pointing at her but seemed to be at a loss for words. Eve wondered how many drinks he’d had. She wondered how many drinks she had had.
“You were my Watched,” she tried to explain, “but Joanna was watched by…someone else. I remember Joanna, yes, but I never had anything to do with her arrest.”
Shaan looked unconvinced. “You know, when it happened, when she was dropped, I really did think about killing myself. She was my…I was going to propose…We would have been…”
“I’m so sorry,” Eve said. “I wish I could have stopped it, but I didn’t have the power. We were all under orders. And the agent who did watch Joanna…well, he’s dead now.”
“Dead?” Shaan appeared confused. “How?”
“He, uh…” she struggled.
“His name was Jonathan Wyle.”
Eve turned to see Seven approaching.
“Joanna was my Watched,” he confessed, “and I reported her as a Heretic.”
Shaan stared at him cold and hard. “Don’t fuck with me, Seven,” he said.
Eve spoke up. “It was a long time ago. He was a different person.”
Shaan ignored her. He looked like a bull upon noticing the man with the red flag.
“I’m sorry, Shaan,” said Seven. “I didn’t know until I got my memory back. I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time now, but was worried how you’d respond.”
“You were worried how I would respond?” Shaan yelled with incredible volume. “You killed the woman I loved and you were worried how I would respond? Do you have any idea what it’s like to be Watched, what it’s like knowing your emails are being read and your phone is being tapped? Every time you open your mouth, you think, what if this is the time I slip up and say something I shouldn’t? What if I lose control and all the anger comes bubbling out? Jo…she just had one bad day. One bad day and you had her dropped!”
All at once, Eve got why so many had protested alongside the Underground. She had been baffled before because these were the same people who had seemed to accept government surveillance and who went to church every week and who even tipped off the Guard to Heretic activity. The nation had appeared stable and patriotic. Now Eve understood that anger had festered below the surface, and just because the people played by the rules didn’t mean they liked the rules. They were all prisoners, and Danny Young was showing them the way out.
Talia jumped between Seven and Shaan and held her brother by the shoulders. “Shaan, calm down. He’s not Jonathan Wyle. This is Seven.”
Shaan shook his head. “He looks like Wyle. He talks like Wyle. And he has the memories of Wyle.”
“But he’s Seven.”
He looked at his sister suspiciously. “You knew about this, didn’t you? He told you.”
“No, I…” she started, but then she hung her head. “Yes, he told me.”
Shaan gesticulated wildly at the party. “I guess all of you knew, right?”
“I didn’t know,” mumbled Ana. But Shaan didn’t seem to hear her.
“Fantastic, just fantastic,” he grumbled. He turned away and stepped heavily to the door.
Seven called after him, “Shaan, wait!”
He kept going. Bitterly, the broken man called back, “Happy V-H Day!”
Seven felt miserable. The confession had gone just as poorly as anticipated. Maybe worse. He hadn’t expected it would come out that he had confided in Talia. But he had to tell someone and she was always so good at listening.
“What the fuck?” Talia screamed in his ear.
He turned. “Huh?”
“You chose tonight to tell him? Couldn’t you see how mis-erable he was all night?”
He hadn’t noticed.
She shook her head. “Shaan was going to propose to Joanna on V-H Day. During the fireworks.”
“I…I didn’t know.”
Eve looked uncomfortable. “I should probably go,” she said.
Talia laughed viciously. “Uh, yes please?”
Eve grimaced. “Tell Danny for me that I wish him good luck at the debate tomorrow. I’ll have a team in place to make sure the event is secure. But we can talk more about it tomorrow.”
Seven wondered why Eve couldn’t tell Young herself. He looked around the room and realized that Danny had already stepped out. In fact, so had Ana. With great horror, Seven realized that he was about to be left alone with Talia.
“Bye, Seven,” said Eve with genuine empathy. She tried to make eye contact with Talia but was rebuked. The younger woman kept her eyes trained on Seven until Eve had gone.
“It’s not really the thing with Shaan that you’re mad at me for, is it?” he asked cautiously.
“Wow, like you should really open a detective agency.” She held her hands up to mime the sign on the door. “Seven No-Last-Name, Private Eye.”
“Tal…”
“Stop calling me that. I hate it! I don’t call you Sev.”
He was completely stymied. He didn’t see any other way out but to apologize.
“You don’t even know what you’re sorry for,” she replied sourly.
“No, I do know. I haven’t been fair to you since I got my memory back. It’s been very confusing for me. It was easy before because I didn’t really remember Eve. Or what she had meant to me.”
Talia sighed. “Do you love her?”
He had been asking himself the question for days. “Yes,” he said finally. “I don’t want to, but…”
He trailed off when he saw tears in her eyes. He hadn’t expected Talia to cry. She was usually so tough, but that hard exterior seemed to have completely eroded. “I guess the procedure worked after all, huh?” she whimpered. “Eve’s plan worked.”
“No,” he said. “You have to understand…The thing is I realize now that I loved her as Seven even before I got my memories back. When I met her for the first time as Seven, I fell for her right away. When I found out she was with the Guard, I thought I hated her and I thought I could make a clean break. But now I realize I just hated myself for still wanting her, even though she was on the other side.”
Gently, he lifted Talia’s chin. “And then you came along and you seemed to understand me. I was drowning and you were there to pull me out. I needed a friend and you were a great one. When things went beyond friendship, I felt like everything was falling into place. I felt like I could put that
chapter with Eve firmly in the past. But I can’t. Now every time I see Eve I think of how we used to be.”
Talia nodded glumly and with a sniffle sat down on one of the sofas. Seven sat next to her and placed his arm around her shoulder.
“You’re my best friend, Talia,” he said. “I should have told you all of this before. I’m really sorry.”
She smiled a little. “Some friend I’ve been. I knew you were still messed up about Eve, but I still took advantage of you.”
Her sudden maturity surprised him.
“I didn’t mind,” he said.
She snickered.
They sat there for a while saying nothing.
“So do you think she’s really changed this time?” Talia asked.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I want to think so. She did help us at Facility B, but she was a mess about me being a different person and was desperate to turn me back. She saw an opportunity and took it. If I was in her shoes, maybe I would have done the same.”
She looked him in the eyes. “Just promise me you’ll be careful. And I’m not talking safe sex here.”
He knew what she meant. “I promise.”
“And don’t worry about Shaan,” she said. “He’ll come around. He likes you a lot. Just don’t change sides on us.”
“I won’t.”
She took a deep breath. “God, that was a lot of wine. I’m going to have one hell of a headache tomorrow.”
Seven felt it, too. “Yeah, I’m not sure how I’m going to get back to the apartment.”
“Are you coming on to me?”
He scowled.
“Joking, joking,” she laughed. Talia shoved him off the couch and stretched out. “Think I might–” The sentence was interrupted by a yawn. “Think I might just stay here tonight. Pretty comfy actually.”
The yawning was addictive. “Not a bad idea, really,” he said.
“Plenty of couches…” she lilted. “Don’t forget…to water the goddamned plants.”
That was it for Talia. Seven lay down on the couch across from her and closed his own eyes. For the first time in a while, he had little trouble falling asleep.
