“… we’re ready to go. We still have ammo left, but not enough to last forever, some demo, and much, but not all of our equipment, is in working order, so I’d say we’re all set.”
“Finally!” Wang said. “The point.”
I looked at him. “Actually, I’m not quite there yet, and I’m hurt that our little reunion here has been too much of a drain on your time.”
Wang blushed again, and everyone chuckled. I chided myself for snapping at him. I’d meant my retort in jest, though it came off pretty harsh.
“Sorry, James. I’m just used to dealing with Santino all the time.”
He smiled. “Well that’s bloody understandable.”
“Good. Now, speaking of Santino,” I said, holding out my hand, “the bag please.”
He nodded and picked up the small local bag which held the orb and tossed it to me. I watched the unopened bag as it flew through the air, and familiar tingling feeling crept into the back of my mind. I was just about to reach out and snatch it when a blur to my right reached out and snagged it first. I looked to see Helena holding the bag, a know-it-all expression affixed firmly to her face.
“Yeah…” I said, the prickle fading. “On second thought, maybe you should go ahead and open it.”
She smiled and sat back down on the table, while I moved to stand near the door. Gently, she reached into the bag and extracted the most annoying creation to ever exist on this fair planet. It glowed a dim blue, perhaps sensing its proximity to me, but nothing swirled within, and it appeared solid. I eyed it suspiciously, as though it were a conscious being intent on doing me harm. I slide further away, putting just that much more distance between me and it.
Everyone not privy to what we’d been doing tonight looked astonished. Except for Madrina and Titus, who just looked confused.
“You found it!” Wang proclaimed excitedly. “Does that mean we can go home?”
“We could,” I replied, and everyone’s head shifted from the orb, to me, “but not yet. We’re not even sure how it works yet. The last time I used it, I saw the cavern we traveled to within the orb, but now, there’s nothing. That could mean a dozen different things, but we can’t just go about experimenting with it, hoping to make our way home. We could end up in Jurassic Period for all I know.
“What about the other one?” Vincent asked.
“That,” I said, “is the other reason we can’t go home yet. Agrippina has it, and while we’ve caused enough trouble on our own, there’s no telling what kind of damage she could do with it if she ever figured out how to operate it.”
Gaius, Marcus, Titus, and Madrina all looked confused, but the rest understood.
“So what are we to do with it?” Bordeaux asked.
“Well, big guy, today’s your lucky day,” I said as a confused look spread across his face, “because you get to blow something up.”
Unfortunately for Bordeaux, it took another few days before he could act on my promise to let him blow anything up. He’d already been out of his seat and rifling through his bag for explosives when an insistent knock had sounded from our door. It had been four in the morning, but despite tired and drooping eyelids all around, the entire room sprang into motion at the interruption.
Hands went to rifles or swords, chairs were abandoned and strategic positions were taken to best defend the room. I’d been the last to find cover, of course, so I had the unpleasant duty of answering the door, which I did very carefully, half expecting one of Agrippina’s ninjas to be standing there selling girl scout cookies or something.
It turned out to be no more than a few of the prostitutes infesting our building. They’d seen the constant flow of men into the room earlier, and had recruited a force of eight to try and infiltrate our lines and make some serious money. I tried not to look directly at them as they crowded around my door. Most were hideously ugly, and I could feel the venereal diseases trying to claw their way towards me from across the hall, and I just prayed they didn’t rush me.
I politely told them to get the hell away from us and slammed the door shut. That had been enough excitement for one night. We packed up the orb and turned in. Helena offered Bordeaux and Madrina our room. Even though it offered little in creature comfort, it was the only private space we had. Helena figured Madrina, at least, would appreciate the room while I only hoped the abnormally large couple fit on the bed.
The rest of us conked out in the main room. Santino took the bed, claiming it had been his all along so there was no need to give it up now. The rest of us laid ourselves out on the floor, using as many pillows and blankets as Wang and Santino could pilfer from neighboring rooms. Helena and I flipped our table on its side and pushed it parallel to the back wall, creating a basic barrier between us and everyone else. We didn’t plan on doing anything frisky, but the added shelter was nice. I’d had worse accommodations over the years, my mind wandering back to the few months I’d spent in Mexico agai, when my men and I would find our way to a random forward operating base and spend the night with one Army unit or another.
Not the most ideal of living conditions.
The rest of the guys spread out as best they could, but had about as much room as sardines in a can. Helena and I were comfortable, but with that many men in one room, the collective snoring kept me awake until sunrise. Helena had been out as soon as her head hit my chest, and had slept like a rock. Hours later, she didn’t so much as mumble in her sleep when I pushed her off me, frustrated I couldn’t join everyone else in sleep’s soothing embraces.
At least Helena didn’t snore, even though I always joked that she did.
So, when I noticed the first wisps of dawn peak in through the window, I decided then would be as good a time as any to adhere to my annual tradition of watching the sun rise. I hadn’t missed a year since I started doing it in high school, but something about this one seemed like it would be special.
I climbed out through our window and up to the roof. Our building was situated perfectly for a wonderful view of the Propontis, and I sat there and watched as the sun rose from the watery depths to claw its way into the sky. With no trees, buildings, or other obstructions, I almost understood how ancient man could believe the sun was nothing more than Apollo racing his chariot across the sky on its day long journey.
I let the sun warm my face for a few minutes, relishing in the peace, quiet and tranquility the early hour offered. I felt calm, allowing the only negative thought in my mind to consist of the fact that this moment wouldn’t last forever. I let everything else fall away, basking in the glow of blissful ignorance, but as soon as the sun sat above the water line, its mirror reflection beneath it, I snuck back into our room.
I slipped into the little cubbyhole I shared with Helena, a smile on my face. I pulled her dozing form in close and fell asleep. Three hours later, my smile was gone when Bordeaux walked in from his room, cheery and happy after a good night’s sleep. The rest of us weren’t quite so receptive and took a moment to throw pillows and blankets at him for being so fucking happy, so early in the goddamn morning, while Helena slept on uninterrupted. Wang even threw his pistol at him, but the large Frenchman simply caught it in midair. Two hours later, the rest of us woke on our own accord, complaining of stiff backs and sore muscles, all except for Santino, of course.
After one last meat-on-a-stick for breakfast, we prepared to leave. I wasn’t ready to tell everyone what we were doing quite yet since my plan was still percolating in my own head, but once our gear was packed and loaded into our wagon, we headed east. Again. The only two exceptions were Gaius and Marcus. They were headed back to the German front so that they could report to Agrippina that we now possessed one of her time traveling toys. They didn’t fully understand why they were going, and I didn’t blame them. They said their goodbyes and dutifully left, sad to leave, but completely willing to do their part.