They’re in the car, they’re returning to New Skrullos, but Pagon is aware that Brogan will not live much longer. His fate is sealed, from the moment Gravik understands that he has spoken... There are five of them, Brogan is semi unconscious and is in the middle, between him and Beto. Pagon can feel the unnatural heat emanating from his skin, his right hand is missing a finger. Halfway through they stop at the sides of a grove. Without a word, Gravik hands him the gun, the message clear: it’s his turn to do the dirty work. He tucks the weapon into his belt and opens the door, reluctant to get out. Brogan wakes up briefly: «Did we make it home, Pagon?». «Almost there, bro» he replies. He gets out of the car, helps the other out and, supporting him, together they walk through the trees. Meanwhile he’s thinking fast, desperate for a way to save him. After all, he’s a brother (and maybe even something more, says a little voice inside him, but immediately silences it) and he was brutally tortured. But he has to be very careful or Gravik won’t think twice about getting rid of him too, sometimes he gets the impression that their “fearless leader” is waiting for nothing else. He takes a quick look over his shoulder, they’re quite far from the car, visible but not too much, and it’s the middle of the night, which will help. He leans Brogan against a tree, then takes out his gun. Upon seeing the weapon, an expression of first confusion then understanding crosses Brogan’s face. Pagon stares at him intensely and, without taking his eyes off his, gives him an imperceptible nod to the side with his head. He hopes Brogan understands. So he raises his gun. He takes aim. He shoots. The shot rings deafening in the silence. Brogan slumps sideways, like a sack of potatoes. With the gun at his side, Pagon returns to the others. He gets back in the car and hands the weapon back to Gravik. Quickly, the four remaining leave again and go away like thieves in the night.
Brogan is on the ground, motionless. He has his eyes closed and holds his breath. He hears the car drive away but decides to wait a minute then two to be safe. He hears no one come back. He takes a chance to glance around, then slowly gets up. As he clings to the tree to get to his feet, he sees the bullet lodged in the trunk, inches from where his head had been earlier. Pagon took pity on him, gave him the chance to save himself, even if he ran an enormous risk. Hugged to the trunk, Brogan knows that what he feels in that moment isn’t just gratitude. The other was (is) more than a brother to him and he believed he had perceived the same feeling from him (nothing too obvious, Pagon is always so reluctant to let himself go) and now something, an emotion that can give a name (happiness?) stirs in his chest, at the thought of not being wrong about him. But now he has to get out of there and fast.
***
A few days later, on a mission for Gravik, Pagon is crossing a Moscow street. From a few blocks away he realized he was being followed. Continuing to walk, he turns quickly into a narrow alley and waits against a recess. At the exact moment the guy enters the alley, Pagon grabs him by the neck and slams him against the wall: «Who are you?! Who do you work for?!» he hisses menacingly. But under his gaze the other changes his face and reveals himself for who he really is: Brogan. Pagon is shocked. He looks around quickly to make sure they are alone. «You’re crazy?! If they see you you will have us both killed!!» he hisses angrily, making no move to let him go. «I know, I took a risk, a stupid risk but I had to see you.» Something melts inside Pagon and he loosens his grip. He pulls him further into the alley and, with a less angry voice, repeats: «You know you have to disappear, don't you?! If Gravik finds out you're alive...». «I know, that’s why I’m here. We probably won’t see each other again and I wanted to see you one last time.» Brogan is silent for a moment, as if he’s forgotten what he came to say. «I will never be able to repay you, brother», he finally says. «You can repay yourself by not getting me killed!» Pagon replies half-jokingly. Then a half smile curls the lips of both. «Pagon…» Brogan begins to say. The other knows what he’s about to say and shakes his head: «I can’t, Gravik would see me as a traitor and would hunt me down...». They know they don’t have much time so they greet each other in the skrull way, with their foreheads resting on each other, and that contact is enough to say the unsaid. Casting him one last look, Brogan leaves the alley and disappears. Pagon stays there, leaning against the wall, for a while. He feels strangely empty. He thinks: “Maybe one day when this is all over... Hell, maybe Gravik will die in this war and then... I could go find him.” He collects himself with a wave of annoyance, he’s not the sentimental type, and he has a mission to complete. However, as he gets back on the road, that thought, that hope, doesn’t completely abandon him.