Greg sat at the edge of the couch, a half-empty glass of whiskey rested by his side. Across the room, Elliot leaned over a blueprint spread out on the table, tracing invisible routes with a fingertip lit by the glow of a flickering lamp then the phone rang.
Greg's eyes snapped open. Elliot was already standing, jaw tight. The ringtone was coded, one they hadn't heard in almost two years. Four sharp rings. Pause. Then two short ones.
Greg picked it up, his voice low, rasped from sleep and instinct. "Greg." A crackle, then a sharp and cold voice followed.
"You're both needed. Package location: Sector 9B. Timeline: immediate. Clearance level: crimson."
Elliot the joker turned serious and grabbed his jacket without a word. Greg's eyes narrowed. "But…We burned those bridges."
The voice didn't hesitate.
"They've been rebuilt. Now no time… Move!"
Elliot looked over, already double checking his weapon. "Well," he muttered, "guess the vacation's over."
Greg downed the last of his whiskey, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and stood. "Let's make it loud this time."
They moved like muscle memory, wordless and sharp. Guns, Codes, Coordinates. The storm outside hadn't stopped, but neither had they.
"Tonight, ghosts are waking up." Elliot muttered, adjusting his watch, the leather strap tightening over his pulse.
"What ghosts?" The voice was curious, young, and sharp-edged. Greg and Elliot both turned.
Sage stood in the doorway, arms folded, eyes flicking between them. Her posture was relaxed, but her expression was anything but that.
Greg said nothing, but his brow twitched. Elliot, on the other hand, stepped forward, blocking her line of sight to the gear on the table.
"Sage, this isn't for you." A scoff couldn't help but fly out of her. "So you gonna start lecturing me on how, it's dangerous… you're a lady you don't understand…"
"Oh…" Elliot smirked rubbing his nose. "How did you know what exactly was I was to say."
She raised a brow pretending she did not notice him trying to divert the main topic. "You mean the mission? The one you clearly forgot to lock the door for?"
Elliot's jaw clenched. He shot a brief look at Greg, who just shrugged like, 'I'm not the one who's a blabber mouth, deal with it'
"You don't get it," Elliot said slowly, carefully, as if explaining to a fuse why it shouldn't ignite. "This isn't just recon. It's not a game. People bleed in these places, Sage. They don't always get to come back."
"Don't talk to me about blood shit, I've seen more than you think," Sage didn't flinch " Headless bodies, swimming pool of blood and even took a shot… wanna see?"
The roles were now reversed, Greg's face was now black how come, and he had investigated everything about her before taking her in.
"Sage you better be a good girl and don't cause trouble for me," What did he take her for, it was clear to her that she should not be ungrateful and enjoy what she had now.
"Greg…" her short feet stood to his taller body forcing her to look up at him. " You should know by now that I'm not the type of girl to owe others, besides this to me more like training, at least let me show gratitude."
Elliot stood there feeling like an outsider and he turned slightly, speaking toward Greg but keeping his eyes on her.
"She's not ready;she doesn't have the discipline or the control."
His words were calm, but they struck like steel on stone.
"Maybe," Greg said under his breath, "she just needs the chance."
Elliot looked back at her then. His voice was quieter, but colder.
"If you freeze out there, you're not the only one who dies...We all do." He softened just for a second. "And I'm not about to let you get killed just to prove a point."
A cold light passed Sage's eyes, but she masked it with a smirk. "So that's a no?" Greg cleared his throat. "That's a not yet." Her head hung low remembering that she was just a slave and nothing more.
Silence hung in the room like smoke. Then Greg exhaled and turned away.
"Get some sleep, Sage. This one… this one's not for you." His lips in a straight line, he understood the look she had in her eyes and he was glad she remembered her place.
The door clicked shut behind them and Sage stood there, still and burning.
Not today…But soon.