“But it was our duty to stop it, and we didn’t. So let’s figure out where we went wrong.”
Liam’s team took their regular seats around the conference table, accessing the terminals. Debriefs, especially around missions gone wrong, were never short. Normally, Liam’s entire attention would be focused on what had happened on the field. That afternoon, he found himself itching to leave. While the team updated Chapman about their fight with the Reborn IRA and the enemy metahumans, Liam wanted to be somewhere else.
He wanted, Liam realized, to find out how Oliver was doing.
When Chapman dismissed them nearly two hours later, Liam was the last to leave out of necessity. He hesitated at the doorway, letting it slide shut between him and the rest of his team before he turned around to face Chapman.
“Sir, do you know Raven’s status?” Liam asked.
“MI6 handled his extraction. As I understand it, they took him to the underground medical facility at Vauxhall once he was cleared by our ground crew,” Chapman said.
“I’d like to know how he’s doing.”
“We’ll receive an update whenever MI6 provides one, if they decide to grace us with that information.”
“And if I want to know his status before then?”
Chapman didn’t look away from the holoscreens. “I suggest you ring his personal line. If that doesn’t work and you insist on heading over to MI6, then you can do double duty and retrieve a package from Chief Bailey for me.”
That was subtle confirmation that Chapman was at least aware that Liam and Oliver moved in similar social circles. Liam knew it would be in his UMG personnel file that they’d gone to Eton together. If the UMG was aware he and Oliver had a history, the brass wouldn’t be surprised if he went searching for the other man.
“Double duty it is, sir.”
Liam saluted and left the conference room, unsurprised to see Samaira waiting for him in the hallway. She’d undone the thick braid her hair was always in during missions, having pulled it back in a simple ponytail instead.
“I sent the others off to get out of their gear,” Samaira said.
“You didn’t have to wait for me,” Liam said.
“One of us needed to let you know that team supper will be at my place tonight. We can get through our after action reports together.”
The Royal Legion had made it a habit over the years to reinforce team bonding with food. Today had been a right mess, and while Liam would be willing to hang out with his team on any other day, he had somewhere else to be.
“Some other time.” At Samaira’s raised eyebrow, Liam only shrugged. “I have somewhere else to be.”
“The palace?”
“No.”
She narrowed her brown eyes at him before her expression cleared. “MI6.”
“Are you sure you aren’t hiding a mental power?”
Samaira snapped her fingers at him, the swirl of water that flashed between her fingertips scattering droplets over his combat uniform. “Just this. But you normally don’t ever ask about the agents who are seconded to our team. You and Agent Archer seem to be at odds more than usual, but that’s never been enough for you to run off after the outsiders. What’s changed?”
Liam thought about lying to her, but the one promise they had made to each other when they were first brought together to lead the Royal Legion was that they wouldn’t lie. They’d had their disagreements over the years, but they’d made a pact to always try to talk through them. He wasn’t going to stop doing that now.
Liam started down the hallway toward the lifts, Samaira following after him. “Oliver and I have a bit of history.”
“Did you shag him?” Liam couldn’t hide his wince, half-wishing he was still wearing his helmet with its mask. The exasperated look Samaira gave him was familiar. “Liam.”
“It’s not what you think. We grew up together.”
“And did him wrong at some point, I’m assuming.”
“It’s not something I’m willing to discuss here.”
“So you did.”
