The coffee had gone cold.
Neither of them seemed to notice. Paul sat across from Veronica, his hands resting around the cup while she stared at the photograph on the table.
The silence between them had changed.
It wasn't the uncomfortable silence they had become accustomed to over the years. It was almost familiar. Like something they had forgotten how to have. Veronica finally looked up.
-Do you remember what happened after that mission?
Paul smiled faintly.
-You mean after you decided I was unbearable?
-You were.
-And yet you kept working with me.
-Unfortunately.
Paul leaned back.
-I remember.
Veronica waited. Paul looked toward the window.
-We started getting assigned together more often.
-Because we were effective.
-That's what you told yourself.
She raised an eyebrow.
-That's what the reports said.
Paul smiled.
-They also said I followed orders.
-You didn't.
-I followed most of them.
-That's not better.
Paul laughed quietly. For a moment, they were young again. Two soldiers sitting across from each other after another mission. Neither of them knew what was coming. Neither knew what they would become. Neither knew how much they would eventually lose.
But before all of that...
There was simply them.
Years Earlier
The first few weeks after their initial mission changed very little. Paul and Veronica remained Elite Super Soldiers. They were already considerably stronger than ordinary OPESTM personnel, but neither had reached the level they would eventually attain.
Their assignments were dangerous. Their missions were difficult. But they were still soldiers. They still followed orders. Most of the time. And they still had to report to someone.
Paul walked into the training hall one morning carrying a bottle of water. Veronica was already there. She was standing in front of a training console. Paul looked at the screen.
-You've been here long?
-Forty minutes.
-Why?
-Because some people believe being late is a personality trait.
Paul looked at her.
-Are you talking about me?
-No.
He smiled.
-Good.
She turned toward him.
-I am.
Paul laughed.
-Fair enough.
He placed the bottle down.
-What are we training?
-Close combat.
Paul looked at the empty training floor.
-Again?
-You need it.
-I've beaten you before.
-Once.
-Twice.
-Once.
Paul thought for a moment.
-Fine. Once.
Veronica stepped onto the training floor.
-Come on.
Paul followed. The training session lasted less than ten minutes. At least that's how long it took before they started arguing.
-You left your left side open, Veronica said.
-I knew you would attack there.
-Then why didn't you defend it?
-Because I wanted you to think I didn't know.
She stared at him.
-That makes absolutely no sense.
-It worked.
-You still got hit.
-But I knew you'd attack.
-You're impossible.
Paul smiled.
-And you still keep training with me.
She didn't answer. Paul noticed. But he didn't say anything.
Their assignments continued. One mission became two. Two became five. Then ten. Eventually, people began assuming they would be deployed together.
Paul and Veronica never discussed it. They simply became a pair. They knew how the other moved. How the other thought. What the other would do when a plan failed.
Paul knew that Veronica would always secure civilians before pursuing a target. Veronica knew Paul would always put himself between danger and his team. Sometimes that made him reckless. Sometimes it saved lives.
And sometimes it made her furious.
One evening, after a particularly difficult operation, the two sat on the roof of an OPESTM facility. The city stretched beneath them. Paul had a small cut above his eyebrow. Veronica noticed it.
-You're bleeding.
Paul touched his forehead.
-So I am.
-You should get that treated.
-It's nothing.
-You said that last time.
-And it was nothing.
-You had three stitches.
Paul smiled.
-Still nothing.
Veronica shook her head.
-You know, one day you're going to say that and actually be dying.
Paul looked at her.
-Then you'll save me.
She stared at him.
-You're very confident.
-I have evidence.
-What evidence?
-You keep coming back.
Veronica looked away. For a few seconds, neither spoke. Then she said quietly,
-So do you.
Paul looked at her.
-What?
-You always come back.
He smiled.
-Yeah.
He looked at the city again.
-Always.
Neither of them knew how important that word would become.
There was one person in OPESTM who stood apart from the rest. Even among the Elite Super Soldiers.
De Nemo.
Paul had known him for some time. Veronica knew him too. He wasn't particularly talkative. He didn't need to be. Whenever the soldiers trained together, his presence was impossible to ignore. He was already beyond what most Elite Super Soldiers could achieve.His strength. His speed. His combat instincts.
Everything about him was different.
During one training session, Paul watched De Nemo defeat three Elite Super Soldiers in less than a minute Veronica stood beside him. Paul folded his arms.
-Show-off.
Veronica glanced at him.
-You wouldn't last thirty seconds.
-That's insulting.
-Is it wrong?
Paul watched De Nemo walk away from the training floor.
-No.
He paused.
-Not yet.
Veronica smiled.
-You think you'll surpass him?
Paul looked at her.
-One day.
She shook her head.
-You're arrogant.
-Maybe.
Paul looked back toward De Nemo.
-But he's going to be the strongest soldier OPESTM has ever produced.
Veronica didn't disagree. Neither did anyone else. There was something about De Nemo that made people believe he was destined for something larger. Not merely another soldier.
Not merely another Elite.
Even among the strongest soldiers in OPESTM, he seemed to be standing on another level. Some officers had already begun talking about him as a future Grand Super Soldier. Others believed he could eventually become the leading force of the entire OPESTM army. Paul didn't care about any of that. At least not then.
To him, De Nemo was simply one of the people he fought beside. One of the strongest. One of the best. And one of the few people Paul genuinely respected.
Months passed.
The missions became harder. Paul and Veronica became closer. But neither of them called it anything. They ate together after missions. They trained together. They argued. They laughed.
Sometimes they simply sat beside each other without saying anything.
One night, after returning from an assignment, Paul found Veronica sitting alone in the cafeteria. He walked over.
-Can I sit?
She looked at the empty chair.
-You need permission?
-Usually.
She rolled her eyes. He sat down.
-What are you doing here?
-Eating.
-I can see that.
-Then why ask?
Paul smiled. She pushed a tray toward him.
-I got extra.
Paul looked at it.
-You got food for me?
-No.
He raised an eyebrow.
-I got extra because I was hungry.
-You're not eating it.
-I changed my mind.
Paul took the tray.
-Thank you.
Veronica looked away.
-You're welcome.
They ate in silence. After a while, Paul asked:
-Why did you join OPESTM?
Veronica stopped. She hadn't expected the question.
-You first.
Paul leaned back.
-Because I wanted to protect people.
She looked at him.
-That sounds rehearsed.
-It wasn't.
-You actually believe that?
-Yes.
Paul looked down at his hands.
-I saw what happened to people when nobody came to help.
His voice became quieter.
-So I decided I'd be someone who came.
Veronica remained silent.
-And you?
She looked at her food.
-I don't know.
-You don't know?
-I used to.
She paused.
-Then things changed.
Paul didn't push. That was unusual for him. Veronica noticed.
-That's it?
-What?
-You're not going to ask?
-If you want to tell me, you'll tell me.
She looked at him. For the first time, she saw something beneath his recklessness. Something she'd never noticed before. Paul wasn't careless. He simply cared too much. He believed he could carry everything himself. And perhaps that was why he kept throwing himself into danger. Because if he was the one taking the risk, nobody else had to.
Veronica looked down again.
-My father was in the military.
Paul listened.
-He died when I was young.
She paused.
-I thought joining OPESTM would make me understand why he chose that life.
-Did it?
-No.
Paul smiled faintly.
-That's disappointing."\
She looked at him.
-Very.
Then she smiled. It was small. But genuine. Paul smiled back. And neither of them noticed how long they stayed there.
A few weeks later, they received another assignment. This one went wrong. Badly. Their team entered a facility expecting light resistance. Instead, they walked into an ambush. he first explosion separated the team. Paul was thrown through a wall. When he regained consciousness, his communications device was damaged. He heard gunfire in the distance.
Then silence.
Paul stood.
-Veronica?
No response. He tried again.
-Veronica!
Nothing. He looked toward the corridor. The mission objective was still ahead. He could finish it. He knew he could. But something felt wrong. Paul turned around. He ran back.
Veronica was trapped beneath a collapsed section of the facility. She tried pushing the debris away. It didn't move. Then she heard footsteps. She looked up.
Paul appeared through the smoke. She stared at him.
-What are you doing here?
Paul crouched beside her.
-Saving you.
-I didn't ask you to.
-I know.
He moved the debris. Veronica watched him.
-You left the objective.
-Temporarily.
-You could've completed it.
-So could you.
-I was trapped.
-Exactly.
Paul finally moved the last piece of debris. Veronica pulled herself free. She looked at him.
-You're an idiot.
Paul stood.
-I've heard that before.
-You could've failed the mission.
Paul looked at her.
-You're part of the mission.
She stopped. Neither spoke. For some reason, those words stayed with her. They continued toward the objective. And they completed it.
Together.
As always.
That night, they sat outside the medical wing. Veronica had a bandage around her shoulder. Paul had another cut across his face. She looked at him.
-You really came back for me.
Paul shrugged.
-Of course.
-Why?
He looked confused.
-Because you're my partner.
-That isn't what I asked.
Paul remained silent. For once, he didn't have an answer. Veronica looked away.
-Never mind.
Paul watched her for a moment. Then he smiled.
-You'd have come back for me.
She looked at him.
-Obviously.
-Then we're even.
She smiled.
-Maybe.
They sat there together. Neither moved. Neither said what they were thinking. But something had changed. Neither of them could pretend otherwise anymore.
Present Day
Paul opened his eyes. The memory faded. He was back in Veronica's apartment. The same woman was sitting across from him.
Older, tired, changed.
But somehow still familiar. Veronica noticed his expression.
-What?
Paul shook his head.
-Nothing.
-You're smiling.
-I was remembering something.
-What?
-The medical wing.
She smiled.
-You got hurt because you went back for me.
-You were trapped.
-I could've handled it.
-You couldn't move.
-That wasn't the point.
Paul laughed.
-You haven't changed.
Veronica looked at him.
-Neither have you.
This time, neither of them smiled. Because they both knew that wasn't completely true. They had changed. Life had changed them. The world had changed them. They had lost things neither of them could ever get back. Veronica lowered her eyes.
-Paul
-Yeah?"
-Do you ever think about what our lives would've been like?
Paul didn't answer immediately.
-All the time.
She looked at him.
-What do you think?
He stared at the coffee in his hands.
-I don't know.
Then he looked at her.
-But sometimes…
He paused.
-I think we were happy before we realized we were happy.
Veronica's expression softened.
-Hm..
The room became quiet again. Outside, the city continued moving. People were still arguing about the MJC. Governments were still deciding between submission and resistance. The portal still stood somewhere beyond the city. And whatever existed on the other side remained unknown.
But inside that small apartment, none of it mattered for a moment. They were simply Paul and Veronica. Two people remembering a life that had once belonged to them.
A life before the child. Before the separation. Before the silence. Before everything changed. Veronica finally looked up.
-Do you remember the first time we actually went somewhere together?
Paul smiled.
-That's a long story.
-We have time.
Paul looked at her. For the first time in years, he believed her.
To be continued...