“Oh geez, Hiamovi. You told them all about me?”
“No, not me. Stories just get around about the beautiful but dangerous spy that brought down the Arthur regime. You’re actually kinda famous in some circles.”
Abby’s blood rushed to her cheeks as she imagined complete strangers talking about her like some kind of celebrity. “Wow, rumors really do blow the truth out of the water, huh?”
“Sounds pretty accurate to me,” Hiamovi replied.
Abby smirked. “And on that note, I’m gonna hang up now.”
“Alright, alright. I’ll see ya.”
“Bye.”
Abby sat on the bed for several seconds after the phone call, replaying their conversation in her head. Was there anything she should have said differently? No. No, that went about as well as she could have expected. She told him she still loved him (which was true), but did not fling herself into his arms. Being so close to Hiamovi again had stirred the smoldering embers in her heart, breathed into them and lit a warm glow, but she couldn’t act on that passion just yet. She still couldn’t forgive herself for what she’d done, and that didn’t seem likely to change.
***
The next two days passed without further contact from Hiamovi as Abby continued to follow her daily routine of whipping herself back into fighting shape. On the morning of the day in which she was to meet the rest of Hiamovi’s squad, she put in an especially hard workout at the gym, going until she barely had the strength to pull her shirt over her head before taking a shower. She spent the rest of the morning and afternoon either relaxing on her couch or doing some light chores around the house, resting her aching muscles until it was time to go. The plan was to meet the Marines for introductions over dinner.
Abby dressed herself in a pair of not-too-tight black jeans, a plain green T-shirt, and a brown leather jacket and headed for the door. She locked up her apartment, then made her way to the appointed location: a sports bar. She arrived a few minutes early, but as she entered the bar she found that she was the last to arrive. She spotted Hiamovi over in the far corner, along with a dozen other men.
At first glance, Abby did not think these men looked much like Marines. Their hair was shaggy and several sported full beards on their deeply tanned faces. But then Abby remembered that these were not just regular Marines. They were Raiders, Tier 1 operators, and men who reached that pinnacle of military aptitude were granted a little flexibility with the regulations.
“There she is!” called one of the men facing the door. The rest of them turned and fixed Abby with stares, ranging from warm and friendly to distant and apathetic.
Abby thrust her hands into her pockets and walked right up to the group. She stopped in front of the two tables they had occupied and said, “Howdy y’all, I’m Abby.”
“Like we couldn’t tell,” said the same guy who spoke earlier, a young man with a handsome face and short, blond hair. “Got-damn ‘Movi, she’s even more gorgeous than you told us!”
Abby turned to Hiamovi with a bemused grin and raised an eyebrow, recalling their conversation a couple days ago.
“No, no, no, I never said that. I said that’s what the stories say!” Hiamovi insisted, trying to extricate himself from the spotlight of attention. But the rest of the group just laughed.
“So are the rumors true? Did you really sneak into the White House and hack Arthur’s computer yourself?” another one of the men asked Abby.
“Oh, no,” Abby said. “I was undercover, yeah. But I was invited to a soiree at the White House, and all I did was plug a thumb drive into his laptop. This guy named Jay is the one who did all the programming. I was just a delivery girl, really.”
“And she’s modest!” the Marine replied. He extended his hand and said, “Nate, pleased to meet you.”
“Hi, Nate.”
The rest of the group introduced themselves to Abby one after another, some with friendly handshakes, others with a barely perceptible nod. Following Nate, there was Todd, the radio operator, then Chris and Vic. Next was Chad, the youngest of the team and the one who had spotted her first. Kurtis and Mike, two of the oldest in the team came next, followed by Miguel, the Corpsman, and Max and Alex, both machine gunners. Yuri was the sniper, Nate was his spotter, and the two of them were very old, very good friends.
The last one to introduce himself was the largest one of the group. His muscle-bound frame and dark skin reminded Abby of Ross, one of her travelling companions back in Illinois so many years ago. He offered Abby his immense hand and said, “Gunny Jackson, but you can call me Jax.”
“Alright, Jax. Nice to meet you.”
With the introductions finally complete, Abby joined the men at their table, taking a seat in the corner so that she could watch the two entrances to the bar, but also so that she could sit next to Hiamovi. Meeting this many people all at once was a little overwhelming, and she wanted to be by a familiar face.
“Is this everyone?” asked the pretty waitress who approached the group.
“Yes ma’am, our last member just arrived,” said Jax with a gesture towards Abby.
“Can I get you a drink, hon?” the waitress asked, turning to Abby.
“A beer is fine. Whatever you have on tap,” Abby replied.
“Sure thing. And how about some appetizers to start off?”
Food and drinks were then ordered for the group, and before long their corner of the bar was filled with the sounds of boisterous laughter and loud conversation. Most of the Marines more or less ignored Abby’s presence, telling stories amongst themselves about past missions and deployments, with the occasional embarrassing tale of training goof-ups or failed attempts at picking up a girl on leave.
Part of Abby wanted to speak up, to tell them all about her own experiences. If they knew the things she’d done, surely they’d respect her then. But Abby knew that was foolish. These were men of action, and they wouldn’t be swayed by words. Besides, they’d already heard a bunch of stories about her, and while a few were amicable to her at first, the majority of them seemed wholly unimpressed by stories. If she wanted their respect, she’d have to walk the walk.
Just like Zach, Abby thought as she remembered her late father.
After a couple of hours, the party wrapped up and Jax led the entire group outside. “Remember, we’re doing a team workout tomorrow at 0800 hours. I called the gym we saw earlier, and we should have the place to ourselves for an hour. Don’t be late.”
Jax looked askance at Abby as he said those last words, his eyes making it clear for whom that message was intended.
“Alright, get outta here,” Jax said to the men. Abby turned to walk away, but Jax put a hand on her shoulder and said, “Hold up, ma’am. Would you mind walking with me for a minute?”
“Sure,” Abby said as Jax led the way down the sidewalk. She glanced over her shoulder and caught Hiamovi doing the same, watching her, though he turned back around as soon as he met Abby’s gaze. The corners of her mouth tilted up in a small smile, but she moved her attention to Jax.
“So you’re the famous Abby,” he said.
“I reckon so,” Abby replied. She zipped up her jacket as they walked, the crisp, night air beginning to bite.
“Hiamovi’s told us all about you.”
“Only good things, I hope,” Abby said with a nervous chuckle.
“Terrific things, really,” Jax replied. “The way he’d go on and on about you, it’s a wonder why the two of you didn’t stick together. He never really gave a reason for that.”
He turned to meet Abby’s eyes, fixing her with a hard stare. There was no anger or unkindness there, though he seemed to guess that something untoward had happened between Abby and Hiamovi.
Abby sighed. “I, uh…I cheated on him. With my fake boyfriend while I was undercover, ironically enough,” she admitted.
“Really?” Jax said, his eyebrows arching up. “I never would have guessed that.”
“Why not?”
“Becaus
e he’s never said a single bad thing about you, let alone anything about that.”
“Well, I guess he still loves me, somehow. I still love him, too. We’re just trying to figure things out, I suppose.”
Jax nodded his head. “Well, you’ll certainly have plenty of time together soon.”
They stopped at an intersection as Jax pushed the button for the ‘walk’ signal across the street, then waited for the lights to change.
“Is that what this walk is about then?” Abby asked.
“No, that was just curiosity,” Jax replied. “I wanted a little alone time with you tonight, to make sure you’re gonna fit in with the group.”
“I won’t be making any waves, if that’s what you’re driving at.”
The traffic lights changed, and across the street the crosswalk signal changed from a red hand to a little white stick figure.
“Not exactly,” Jax said as he and Abby crossed the street. “Why don’t you tell me more about your role in the war? From all the scuttlebutt flying around the Corps, it sounds like you were a real hero.”
Abby immediately shook her head. “No, definitely not,” she said. “A lot of people got hurt or killed fighting that war. They’re the heroes. I just happened to show up at the end and play a role, and I didn’t even do that very well.”
“You helped spark the final showdown that brought Arthur down. Sure seems like you did a good job.”
“I guess. But I did some real bad things, too. Hurting Hiamovi the way I did is just the tip of the iceberg.”
“I’ve done some real bad things myself, you know. So has everyone in my team. So has Hiamovi.”
“I know. And I’m not beating myself up like I used to, but I’m no hero. I’m just not.”
Jax nodded his head. Abby tried to read his face, but he wore an inscrutable mask.
“Alright,” he finally said. “You can head on home, then. Don’t forget our group workout tomorrow. I don’t want to pressure you but a lot of the guys will want to see some impressive effort from you.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Outstanding. See you in the morning.”
Abby turned and began the walk back to her temporary home. She wondered exactly what Jax had been hoping to learn from her in their talk, and if she’d made a good impression on him. He was hard to read, especially since she didn’t know him well.
And what about Hiamovi? She’d be spending a lot of time with him over the next few weeks, and then for however long the mission lasted. Would it bring them closer together, or just confirm to Abby that that ship had sailed? Part of her was scared and didn’t want to find out. But her whole reason for going on this mission was to confront her demons, and if it became clear that she and Hiamovi could never be together again, so be it. Wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if one more depressing memory was added to the list.
Hopefully that’ll be the only addition, Abby thought. She shrugged and thrust her hands into her jacket pockets.
Chapter Five
Just fifteen minutes into the planned hour-long workout, and Abby’s skin glistened with sweat already, her blue sports bra stained a darker hue. Jax was leading a fast-paced circuit workout, with everyone divided into seven groups of two, each pair moving from station to station inside the gym. Abby was paired with Jax, and they’d started on the pull-up bar, went through several other exercises, then ended with the squat rack. After that, it was back to the pull-up bar to start the circuit over again, for a planned total of four loops around the gym.
“You holdin’ up?” Jax asked as he calmly busted out another twenty pull-ups.
“Yup,” Abby replied through heavy breathing. The man’s an absolute machine, Abby thought as she watched Jax. She was glad that she’d stayed in decent shape over the last few years because this workout was a killer. But she had to prove herself to these guys, and putting forth a respectable effort in this workout was the first step.
Jax dropped from the pull-up bar after the twentieth rep and motioned for Abby to hop up. She managed to complete ten pull-ups before dropping from the bar herself.
“Switch!” Jax called out after checking his watch, then he and Abby quickly made their way to some soft mats to do planks.
While down in the plank position, Abby raised her head to look around, searching for Hiamovi. She found him over by the dumbbells with his partner, each doing bicep curls. Her eyes lingered, as Abby could not resist watching the muscles in Hiamovi’s arms contract and expand over and over, and she almost missed Jax’s signal to roll to her side, propping herself up on one arm to work her sides. At least this position made it easier to ogle Hiamovi, she thought.
Hiamovi looked up then and caught Abby watching him from her side plank position, just as she had caught him watching her walk away the previous night. Now it was her turn to be embarrassed as she quickly dropped her gaze to the floor in front of her.
Hiamovi shook his head, amused but a little frustrated. She loved him. That much would be obvious even if she hadn’t told him herself. And she apparently was still attracted to him, too. But she still hadn’t forgiven herself for betraying him, even though he had.
“Switch!” Jax called out yet again, and everyone moved with their partners to the next station.
After the grueling, hour-long workout, Jax called everyone together for a quick discussion.
“Good shit today, boys. And girl,” he said, gesturing towards Abby. “Go shower and chill out for a few hours, and don’t forget we’ve got those riding lessons at 1400 hours.”
Abby didn’t know what he meant by riding lessons, and she was too exhausted to ask. She had given each set everything she had, and if it wasn’t for the sheer determination to not show weakness in front of these Marines she may have keeled over on the spot. But she stood strong, and she noted that most of the men seemed less dismissive of her than the night before, though not wholly welcoming yet. One by one the Marines filed out, bidding each other and Abby goodbye, until only Abby and Hiamovi remained.
“Do you need to lie down?” Hiamovi asked once they were alone.
“Oh my God, yes,” Abby replied, and she flopped down on the ground as her whole body quivered from exhaustion.
Hiamovi chuckled and sat down next to her. “Not quite as buff as you used to be, eh?”
“Shut up, you,” Abby replied. “I kept up, that’s what mattered.”
“I agree. Now I think I can tell you that some of the guys thought you’d be puking your guts out after twenty minutes.”
“Sure showed them. Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I have to go puke my guts out.”
Abby pushed herself up and quickly walked into the bathroom, leaving Hiamovi out in the lobby of the gym. She didn’t actually puke, but the feeling lingered in her gut as she gave several dry heaves into an open toilet. After a minute or so of close calls, she exited the bathroom to find Hiamovi still waiting for her and doing something on his cellphone.
“Texting your girlfriend?” she asked.
“Ha. No,” Hiamovi said, flipping the phone closed. “Gunny texted me, said he liked what he saw out of you.”
Abby did finger guns at Hiamovi in response, earning a little laughter.
“How ‘bout I walk you home?” he asked.
Abby hesitated, then said, “Sure.”
The walk from the gym to Abby’s apartment was not far, and the pair was able to fill the time with small talk about weather, work, and the like. It wasn’t until they came within a block of Abby’s building that Hiamovi steered the conversation in a serious direction.
“So you feel good about the mission?” he asked.
“I guess,” Abby said, shrugging her shoulders. “I mean, it’s gonna be dangerous as hell. There’s people and creatures out there that shouldn’t exist outside of nightmares or movies. Honestly, I hope that I end up being useless because if anything I came across is still out there, we might be in for some trouble.”
“I’m still surprised y
ou agreed to go. You don’t owe Grandad anything after all you did back in the war.”
“I know,” Abby whispered. She paused, then continued, “But like I said on the phone, I need to go see Zach again. I’ve still got a lot of stuff up in the shadows in my head, and I feel like I’ll never get a firm hold on it unless I go back to where it all started. The places I saw, the people I met, I need to retrace those steps. If I can do that, confront my demons head on in the places I picked them up, I think I’ll finally find myself in a better place.”
“You think so?”
“Maybe. It’s all I’ve got left. Otherwise I think that this is as far as I’ll ever get on the road to recovery.”
Hiamovi nodded his head. “That’s awfully brave.”
“It is what it is. Either that or I just work my life away at a steel mill in the deserts of Nevada, surviving but not really living.”
Hiamovi smiled at this, but didn’t say anything.
“What’s so funny?” Abby asked, smiling herself.
“There’s that Abby I knew,” he said, looking into her eyes. “That’s the Abby I love.”
Abby blushed and looked away as she fumbled with her keys. She unlocked the front door to the apartment building and held it open for Hiamovi.
“I’m on the first floor here,” she said, pointing at the door marked #112.
“Hey,” Hiamovi said as Abby unlocked her door. “You know I’ve forgiven you, right? I mean…you know that, don’t you?”
Abby opened her door then turned to Hiamovi. “I do know,” she said, “and I don’t have the words to tell you how grateful I am that you don’t hate me.”
“Then why do we act like strangers?”
Abby sighed and fidgeted with her hair. She looked down at herself and said, “I don’t think a sweaty sports bra is the right attire for this talk.”
“Come on.”
“I don’t know,” Abby admitted. “I don’t know why I can’t move past all that. But I’m kinda hoping this mission brings me some answers for what’s going on between you and me, on top of everything else.”
His Name Was Zach | Book 3 | Their Names Were Many Page 3
