Page 13 of Anything But Convenient

Sinclair jogged back into the room, another man hot on his heels. “I’m not even sure if you’ll be able to help them. We need to try though.”

His smile dimmed as he spoke. Whatever this was wouldn’t be good. Anything that made his normally cheerful self so sad couldn’t be.

I didn’t get the chance to ask before the sound of heavy footfall echoed down the hall. I heard ‘incoming’ being muttered, likely from Memphis if the deep cadence was anything to go by.

Whipping around, I braced myself for whatever came next.

The first person I spotted was a large man in full tactical gear. He looked like a fucking Viking, all dark, mysterious, and bloody.

He wasreallyfucking bloody.

With him were more largely muscular men, each with the same earnest expressions. I tried to take them all in at once, but I was quickly distracted by the people behind them.

The crying was what hit me first. Soft, desperate tears as another voice tried to soothe them in a native language I immediately recognized as Finnish. It was one I was least fluent in.

Still, I could understand enough.

“We will get through this.”

“These are good men.”

“No one else will hurt you, sweet girls.”

As the men parted before me, they revealed a swarm of bodies. There were women cradling their obviously pregnant bodies, young boys scowling as if preparing for battle, and frightened girls. All of them were in tattered clothes and covered in bruises.

Vomit rose in my throat as it became clear what I was looking at.

Survivors.

They were all survivors of something horrific. Something I’d never be able to understand no matter what languages I spoke. All I could do now was help.

Squatting down, I made myself as small as possible. “Hello. My name is Archie,” I said in Finnish. I waited to see how many of them would respond. Once I got one language figured out, I could find out the rest.

One of the pregnant women pulled a little girl into her side. I watched her eyes take me in slowly, then she looked around the room. Since I’d only just arrived at the space, I knew exactly what she saw.

It was obviously an office space, though it was also somehow more. The various desks spread around. The large computer screens on the walls. The materials spread about showing mission details and plans of how they were going to handle things. All of it painted the picture of a well-organized team.

And since the men were standing back waiting patiently, one would say it was a team of good guys. At least I knew that last part well enough on my own. Sinclair would never be with someone evil. He didn’t have it in him.

“These men want to help you. I’m here to help them understand,” I told her.

She looked down at the girl, then nodded. “I am Isla. This is Talia, my daughter.”

My eyes widened. “Hi, Talia. Isla, where is home?”

Her face fell, all semblance of relief dropping away. The largest man of the group stepped towards me. The survivors all froze, like they were afraid I was about to suffer some type of punishment for Isla’s reaction.

I watched as the man in tactical gear kneeled on the floor beside me. “I heard names. Are you able to understand them?”

Talia watched us together, her eyes critical over every move we made. I decided then and there to make a point to them all.

Turning, I looked him up and down. “You’re a bit scary. Is it ok if I hug you? I want to prove to them you can be trusted. She only froze when I asked about home. I think… I think they’ve never really known peace.”

Every man in the room froze at my words. You could feel the icy chill that took over. It wasn’t because they were ready to explode with anger. At least, they weren’t going to do so with everyone around. It was more than that.

The man who’d followed Sinclair back into the room came to my other side. He immediately dropped to his knees like I was, then wrapped me in a hug. I was so shocked, I froze.

“I’m Tank,” he whispered when we were close. “This is my team, and I’m willing to do whatever is needed to help these people. Ronan there was just worried his boy might get upset if he found out he was hugging cute interpreters in the office.”

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