Chapter 2
“So, who’s the CIA guy who stopped by today?” Erik asked Charles take his knight off the board
“How’d you know he was CIA?”
“You don’t have to be a mind reader to get information.”
Charles raised an eyebrow.
“Alex told me.”
“Of course he did,” Charles smiled.
Silence settled in the room again.
“Check. So, what is your plan with all these kids? Just for them to hang out here for the rest of their lives?”
“I don’t know Charles. I guess that was the plan. These kids need a place to stay, they need someone to protect them. We can’t just leave them to the wolves. Not like they left us,” Erik’s voice cracking at the last sentence.
“Er, they can’t just stay here. They need an education, social interactions, a life. We can’t hide them away. Then there no better off than us.”
“Ok, well then let’s provide that for them. Let’s open up the house. We can bring in my kids. You’re a professor, you can teach them.”
“It’s not a bad idea you know. And we can help out too. I’m sure bozo could do something. I can help with self-defense,” a new voice entered the conversation.
“Alex, I thought you went to bed,” Charles stated to the younger.
“Well, you thought wrong,” he reposting plopping onto one of the empty leather chairs.
“Are you serious about this Erik? Do you want to do this?”
“More than anything.”
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“If you’re going to be living here I want you guys to learn basic self-defense. You never know when you can be caught in a bad situation.”
All while Charles was talking Alex snuck up behind him, capturing him in a chokehold. Charles easily escaped.
“Now, I want all you to try. Partner up.”
“I...I really don’t see why this is necessary. I’m an ex-CIA agent I know how to handle myself.”
“Hank, you have never done a second of fieldwork. And even then you never know what can happen. How about you partner up with Alex.”
Hank’s face fell.
“Well, guess it’s you and me, Bozo.”
“Yep, I guess it does,” Hank said nervously walking towards the mat Alex had chosen.
“Let’s see what you got. Come at me.”
Alex must have seen the hesitancy in Hank’s eye because he added, “You not gonna hurt me. I promise.”
A few more seconds passed before Hank lunged at the latter. Alex swayed to one side, causing Hank to stumble. Quickly tuning he grabbed the back of Hank’s arm and pulled it behind his back. Within moments he was on the ground.
“And...time,” Alex counted to three in his head before helping Hank back up, “Nice job for your first time.”
“It’s..it’s not my first, first time.”
“Ok, I bet you were a beast back in the day, but today ain’t that day.”
“I, I never said...Nevermind.”
“Ok, you ready to go again?”
“Not really.”
“Too bad.”
The two went through a couple more rounds. Each round lasting longer. By the end, they were both sweating like pigs and Alex had ditched his shirt.
“Ok, that’s enough for today. You’re a quick learner,” Alex said, tossing a water bottle at Hank.
Hank caught it with ease, “Yeah, I played football in college.”
“I can not see you surviving being tackled by two hundred pound guys.”
“I used to be pretty agile before I got out of shape.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
At this point, the two had left the gym and made their way to the nearby kitchen. Alex started pilling different frozen fruits and a handful of bags onto the table.
“Protein shake,” Alex stated at Hank’s confused face, “Want one?”
“I’m good.”
“I should tell you that’s not good for you, but I ain’t your mom.”
Hank smiled. Alex resumed making his shake, throwing a few of everything into the blender. Once the lid was on he stopped.
“Hank, I wanna trust you. I’ve run with Erik for a long time, I trust him. And he trusts Charles, that’s why he took us here. But, you, you’re a new face. A new CIA face I must say. How do I know I can trust you to not go running back off to a contact at the CIA.”
“I can’t say I’m upset. I get it, that feeling you can’t trust me. But, like you said on the first day, do I look like I can be much of a threat.”
“See, that’s not enough for me. For this to work, there needs to be trusted. Cause your gonna need to know a heel a lot of our personal information. Just because you’re not a threat, doesn’t mean your risk-free.”
He spoke calmly as he moved closer to Hank. The scene was all too familiar for the young man. His eyes darted for an existing, but the door was being blocked. They darted back and his eyes meet Alex’s. They weren’t filled with the same taunting that Hank remembered. They instead were wild with fear, anger, and distrust. The walls came crumbling down before he instead.
“I know the feeling. Gowing up hiding, living in a constant state of anxiety of what would happen if the world found out. I decided long ago no one deserved to live that way. You don’t have to believe me. But, I’m asking you too.”
Alex’s face softened as he took a step back, “Wait, your gay?”
“Bi technically, but yeah.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. So, you can tell me you don’t trust me, I get it. But don’t ever accuse me of putting kids at risk.”
“I didn’t know,” Alex stated sheepishly running his hand through his hair.
“Hey, lovebirds, Profesor wants us in the commons,” Sean’s voice called out.
The two, seemingly now remembering how close they were backed off.
“We...we’re not, lovebirds,” Hank sturrted.
Sean gave a smirk before disappearing down the hallway.
“Well, I guess we should go join them,” Alex followed.
“Um, yep lets do that.”