The walk back as the four of them was much more tense than the initial trip, seeing as this time they were passing through all the same areas, but this time with an old man carrying a satchel. Still, the incredibly long trip passed with no real incidents, despite being stopped another time almost twenty minutes away from the hideout.

From there, they took the subway, and Orion was finally free to get out of the wheelchair. Despite not having his crutch, he stood up, keeping most of the weight on his good leg, and stretched.

Agent Ike sat down on one of the train seats and tapped at his watch a little. A grin took over his face.

“What’s got you in a good mood over there?” Orion asked.

“Oh, nothing. Just thinking about the kiddos. And of how successful our trip was.”

“I expected to have to throw down at least once,” his wife said. “Haven’t had a chance in a long while.”

“I’m sorry,” the Gearmaster said, “who exactly are the two of you again?”

“I’m Agent Ike, and this is my wife, Kate. We’re Americans who were on a mission of sorts when Syndra took over, and we’ve been stuck here ever since. Now, I head up the rebellion with my brother, Mike. But I know all about you, Gearmaster.”

“Doesn’t everybody? Still, beats having to make introductions every day.”

“I imagine it does.”

“What mission were you here in Carmsborough for?”

“Classified.”

“So that type of mission. If I had to guess, it has a little something to do with exactly what you’re doing right now, does it not?”

“What do you mean?”

“An American agent just happened to have been in Carmsborough and had the ability to set up a rebellion? Not only that, but obtain the Gearmaster and Orion, two of the most targeted men by Syndra’s regime? Either you’re acting on intelligence that your government sent you here for, or you’re actually one of Syndra’s men, and you’re playing both sides.”

The agent paused and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. “Yeah, alright. I knew Syndra was planning on interrupting the Clockwork event and did what I could to prevent it, but clearly that didn’t work. And that’s why I’m here, and why I’m still here.”

“And you look familiar,” the Gearmaster said, pointing to Kate. “What are you famous for?”

“Nothing,” she said. “I’m just here with him for the moral support, mostly.”

“I don’t believe you one bit.”

The subway doors opened, and the Gearmaster stepped out. The group was greeted by the Clockwork, who didn’t seem to have any new repairs done.

“They really did a number on you, didn’t they?” The Gearmaster gave him a good look-around. “Is there anywhere I can set up to get him back in shape?”

“I’ll lead the way,” the agent said. “Oh, and one thing, Orion: I will come fetch you in the morning when we’re ready to enact the next steps of the plan. Get whatever goodbyes in that you want in the meantime.”

Kate brought him his crutch, and he set off back towards where he knew people were being housed. It took some time, but he eventually found where his dad and Sam had stationed themselves. The two were playing a card game in the dimly lit room when he entered, which they immediately dropped.

“How are you feeling, bud?” his dad asked, approaching and carefully giving him a hug.

“I’ve felt better, believe it or not.”

“I do. Get the Gearmaster back here in one piece?”

“Yeah, but not without finding out I broke my leg for nothing.” He relayed all the information to his dad, including the context needed at the farm, and his dad just frowned.

“That does sort of seem pointless, but what do I know? I’m not some tech genius like him.”

“I guess.”

“So, what are you up to for the rest of the night?”

“Headed to go find Rami and going to sleep. I haven’t done anything today, but I’m exhausted.”

“I’ll bet. See you soon.”

“Yeah. Love you, Dad. You too, Sam.”

He exited and continued down the rows, eventually coming up to Rami’s. He was sitting alone in his room, apparently doing nothing.

“Hey,” Orion said, drawing his attention.

“Hey,” Rami said back, smiling. “How was it?”

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“Boring, but we got him.”

“Well, that’s good.”

“Yeah.”

Orion sat down next to him, and they were both quiet for a while. Orion had a lot to say, but he didn’t know how to say it, or the right order, and it was all a little too much. Maybe if he found the right small little chunk, he could do it.

“I’m sorry.”

Rami looked over at him. “For what?”

“For… for the field. For every second after that where I wasn’t trying to find you or help you. For even getting you into this position in the first place. For everything, I guess. The Gearmaster even said that it might have been my fault the Clockwork didn’t save you. Well, he didn’t word it exactly that way, but—”

“I forgive you,” he said.

“But…”

“All of it. It wasn’t your fault you were chosen to be with the Clockwork, and it wasn’t your fault you crash-landed into our field. It also wasn’t your fault when I ran with you into the field that night, and when I didn’t run away when things were going to get tough. Because I knew what the consequences could have been. But I’m glad you showed up. So no apologies.”

“Okay.”

“You know, as I was laying there in the hospital, after they finished treating my wounds, they ignored me. It was the same day my sister came in, with an injury on the same level of urgency as mine, and they ignored me. All because I was gay. Then, my parents didn’t even show up to see how I was. Can you imagine? Your own parents hating you for who you are?”

Orion said nothing. He was on the verge of crying from it all.

“But it didn’t matter, because as soon as I was told I could leave, I did. And then I went home while they were asleep, grabbed as much cash and change as I could, and hitched a ride to the city. The rest of the story I think you know. But the whole time, I was wondering why I was doing it. Why I would have wanted to leave my home and go to the city instead of dealing with my parents. And I think I’ve figured it out. I think I love you, Orion.”

They looked each other in the eyes. “I think I love you too, Rami.”

-◦=[ ]=◦-

There was pounding on the door of Rami’s makeshift housing. Orion woke up dazed and disoriented, threw on his shirt, and hobbled to the door. When he opened it, he was face-to-face with Agent Ike. The other agent stood just behind him.

“It’s time, Orion.”

“What time is it?”

“Six. It gives us a few hours to make sure everything is in place, and then we’re going live. Make sure you have your pain meds taken for the day with some breakfast, and head back to the planning room. We’ll be waiting for you, so don’t delay.”

The two of them left, and Orion gently shook Rami awake. “I’ve got to go.”

“Are you sure?” he said, half-asleep.

“Yeah. They told me it’s time.”

“Okay. Good luck. I’ll be keeping up with it on the radio.”

“See you tonight.”

“Yeah.”

He considered going back to where his dad and sister were, but decided if they were still asleep, it was best to let them. Besides, he wasn’t sure he could handle anymore goodbyes for the moment.

He went to the food area and threw a plate together. All eyes were on him as he quickly shoveled the food into his mouth.

All of Carmsborough was counting on him, and he had to see it through. For them. For himself. If things didn’t go well, there wasn’t going to be a lot of hope left for everyone.

Once his food was all gone, he made a quick stop at the medical tent, got his pain medication, and swallowed it down as he made his way over to the planning room. Both agents, as well as a few other people he hadn’t met, were in there, but Ike was at the head.

“Introducing Orion Muldane,” he said, and the room erupted with applause. “Orion, along with the Clockwork, is going to be doing his best to get Syndra out of power and restore Carmsborough back to what it used to be. Some of you already know the plan, but in case you don’t, here’s a brief retelling: there are three Syndra sites that will receive a bomb as a present today. Orion and the Clockwork will handle one of them, me and Agent Mike will handle the second, and a few of you will handle the third. Then, with Syndra’s full attention on us, Orion will attempt to draw him out. From there, a fight may ensue, but the American government will be following close behind.”

It was getting more real with every sentence, and the worried doubts in his head only grew.

That was until the Gearmaster walked through the door. “Sorry to interrupt, crew, but the Clockwork is back to full capacity.”

Ike nodded to Orion, who followed the Gearmaster out to the Clockwork. “There were some things that had reduced functionality, most likely from the blast, but I’ve run as many tests as possible, and he should be good to go.”

He looked up at the Clockwork, who whirred at the sight of Orion returning. They both knew how important the day was.

“I noticed that the plasma storage is nearly drained, so you might have one good shot with it, but otherwise, we’ll have to go stand out in a thunderstorm for a while to really get the most out of it. One bolt of lightning wasn’t anywhere near his max capacity.”

“Good to know.”

The three stood around, Orion leaning on his crutch, until Agent Ike came over to visit the three of them a few minutes later.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Far from it.”

“You’re gonna do good today, kid. I know it.”

“I hope so. I would love to go back to life how it was.”

“With that thing following you around? I don’t think there is a chance of a normal life anymore, Orion. Maybe one with a little less chaos, but never normal.”

“You really think this will work? That the United States military will come through for us?”

“I’ll be honest. I have doubts they’ll even need to be here for us. But yes, I have full expectations that this will work.”

“Then let’s get to it.”

-◦=[ ]=◦-

The groups selected to go forward with the bombings sat quietly in the subway car, all exchanging excited but nervous looks. Orion, who had been given the brief opportunity to change into new clothes and was now wearing essentially a pilot’s outfit, had more nerves than the rest.

Ike did a little warm up to promote confidence in the group, but Orion quickly realized nobody was really going for it. Then, he stood up, drawing the attention away from the agent and to himself.

“Respectfully, Agent Ike, but you have far less stake in all of this going well than we do.”

“That’s true, I suppose,” he said, sitting down. “Take it away, kid.”

He looked around at the small group of people in front of him. “If you asked me a week ago to do this sort of thing to save Carmsborough, I wouldn’t have been able to do it. I mean, I wouldn’t have even been able to stand up in front of you to talk about it. Even now I can only half-stand.”

A few nervous laughs filled the group.

“But this is our country, not Syndra’s. We have to do this to save our families and our lives. We have to do this to save Europe as a whole. And as I’ve learned in the past week, it’s not all about me.”

He looked over at the Clockwork, whose eyes flickered brightly.

“It’s about all of us. We all need to do our best today. For Carmsborough.”

“For Carmsborough,” a few of them said. The nerves in the subway car were gone, even as it came to a stop.

Once they’d exited the subway again, Agent Ike stood next to his wife, who had a camera.

“Good luck, kiddo. Stay safe out there.”

“I will.” He hopped on board the Clockwork, broken leg and all, and a very blurry picture was taken of their liftoff.