Inescapable History, Inescapable Fates

Six Bullets

Leo's first call after speaking to Henry, was to Zahra, "You sent Ellen's son to Sandhurst? Are you people insane?"

"He is an adult, and wanted to be put on the case." She answered defensively. "We needed someone to spy on Henry,"

"- What is this organization's decision-making system?! How do you even-"

"- Excuse you," She interrupted, "I am the organization's decision-making system, and we are doing a pretty good job."

"Except for the multiple deaths,"

"Ok mister M15 - you want to talk death count, really? Really? Alex was ready for a spy mission and he quite literally would not shut up until we sent him into the field. You do not even understand –"

"I'm sorry, you let a nineteen-year-old talk you into sending him into the field?"

"He's incredibly persistent." Zahra sighed, "You know Alex. And he was doing a great job... until he put his dick in the mark and also got into some fights about imperialism. Really wish he had figured out the whole sexuality crisis thing in training."

Leo frowned, "A sexuality crisis? Didn't he have that boyfriend in high school?"

Zahra tried to remember, "Apparently... not. I think he struggles to identify emotions. Like he thinks he admires Raphael Luna a lot and that's why he follows him around with puppy dog heart eyes."

"We could have definitely exposed him to more SEL as a child." Leo agreed, "Umm.. can you please get him out of the hostile foreign nation and away from the boy who now knows all his secrets?"

Zahra was already typing an email. "Yeah... I can definitely get on that."

Alex needed to act. Henry already knew far too much. Zahra called, and he inwardly groaned. Never once in his life had a call from Zahra been good news.

"Sorry to interrupt your trauma processing kiddo," She said, "But we are literally in a clandestine war and you told Henry" She checked her notes, "Everything... yeah, just about everything important."

"I did not!"

"Well either he's a better spy then all of M15 or you gave something away. Pack your bags, I want you on a plane at 5 pm tomorrow. And Alex?"

"Yeah?" He replied

"Do not pull anything, so help me god." She hung up, and Alex immediately began to plan.

It was now. Now or never. How dangerous was Henry? Too dangerous, Alex knew. Henry was still a soldier, still a darling of M15, with too much information, even if he did not realize yet the information he held. Alex's mom had been a spy. She had fallen in love with a foreign soldier. And she was dead. Everyone said Alex was so much like his mother, but he wouldn't make the same mistakes she had.

Alex put six bullets in that gun, the one his mom had taken from the M15 barracks in Belize. His fling with Henry was officially over.