VANGUARD(79)

Sevastian followed his lead. “For me as well.”

“You’ve made the right choice,” she said, smiling. “You won’t regret this.”





-





After the team returned for the night, Sophie had a long, heated meeting with the executive committee.

“He’s a living witness to the atrocities in Parnaas, as are you,” urged one of the more fiery members of the team. “We can’t pass this opportunity up. I say we leak Nariovsky-Trent’s story to the media along with your arrival time in New York, and take advantage of the coverage. We’ll get massive exposure.”

Sophie shook her head. “I can’t agree to that. He’s a volatile individual at the best of times, and right now, he’s a walking powder keg. The last thing he needs is a media scrum when he clears immigration.”

“You’re allowing your personal feelings to cloud your professional judgment.”

“I’m no longer here in a professional capacity. I stepped down as the leader of the coalition days ago. I’m here on Michael’s behalf.” She glared around the table. “I recognize what he represents to the coalition; I’d be blind if I didn’t. But he’s simply not ready for the media. And I won’t see him turned into a tool for anyone, even my own organization and causes.”

“Stop for a moment, everyone,” the Rev interjected, holding up his hands. “Can I suggest a compromise?” Sophie gestured for him to go ahead. “What about after you get home? Maybe a week or so. Allow you both to get your feet under you, have Michael visit his family. Then we’ll do a press release and conduct a few interviews under more controlled circumstances.”

She pursed her lips. It sounded like a reasonable compromise. “I can live with that. I can float it to Michael, or you can pitch it to him yourselves. Your choice.” Sophie smiled. “We’re leaving tomorrow. Perhaps one of you would like to try media training him this evening?” Nobody volunteered, and a lot of people couldn’t look her in the eye all of a sudden. Michael’s acid tongue was legend already. “That’s what I thought. Look, I’ll talk to him tonight, and I’ll give you his answer before we leave. Will that work?”

“Yeah, it works.” The Rev nodded to Will, who stood up.

“Sophie,” Will said, “you made this happen. The coalition, this mission, everything. I know we’ll all face some pretty heady things in our careers yet to come, but it’s hard to imagine a bigger one than this.” She saw heads nodding around the table. “We have some ideas on how to recognize you officially, but those will come later. Right now, we wanted to thank you personally for having the guts to pull this off.”

They went around the table, each person saying thank you and sharing an anecdote, something special they appreciated. It was intensely embarrassing and emotional.

Will went last. He looked at her for a long while, his blue eyes sparkling with pride. There were few things she loved more in life than making her mentor proud.

“You’ve always said you’d follow me anywhere. After the last six months, the feeling is entirely mutual.” He swallowed hard. Suddenly, they weren’t in a makeshift conference room on the southern Orlisian border. They were in Dakar, Senegal, covered in dirt and sweat from a day’s labor in a long-ago urban slum.

“You did good work here, Sophie. I hope you know that. You touched some lives.” She remembered him saying the same words to her when they’d said goodbye in Senegal. She’d been seventeen years old, and he’d changed her life forever that day.

“In the end, you saved the one life you so desperately needed to save. We’ll miss you for the duration, but I’m glad you’re going home with him. Michael’s a good man, the right man for you. For what it’s worth, please accept my blessing.”





-





Only the desk lamp was on when she opened the door to their room and slipped inside. They’d drive to Kaliningrad the next day, then fly home to New York via Frankfurt. Sophie had had Michael to herself for days, and it would soon be time for her to share once again. But not tonight.

She locked the door behind her. Michael lay sprawled on the bed on his stomach, all scruff and innocent green eyes. He propped himself up on his elbows, chin in his hands.

He was naked.

“I missed you.” He rolled on to his side and stretched. His long body reached the length of the bed, his feet hanging slightly off the end. Sophie’s eyes widened, and she made a sound in her throat. She looked down; she couldn’t not look down.