Beyond Darkness

Questions

As soon as Michael entered the warehouse, he was greeted by a similar face and by another face who he knew very well and treated with respect but in reality didn't like as much.

"Why is he here?"

The man smiled at Michael's question and moved on towards him. "Nice to see you too, Mikhael, or is it Michael?" The man was already under his skin. He smiled politely and nodded. "Sir."

Michael had not always despised this man at one point in time. This man was one of those people who Michael looked up to, then the same person had gone and messed up everything between them.

Michael sighed exasperatedly. The man he knew and found comfort in, moreover, the man he finally trusted smiled at him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We have some talking to do" he said. Michael nodded and then asked aside for a moment. He made a call at the hospital and asked the attending personnel to take care of his next shift, but that he would return and take his all nighter. The attendees agreed and Michael switched off his cell. He turned to see the two men standing with each other but looking away. They were talking but the voice didn't even reach any near soul. As if it was just them talking in the whole wide universe.

It made Michael feel a bit weird as he had heard his director complain about this very man more than a thousand times when he was with Michael. "Angelo" His director said and then motioned to a corner office and called him there. "What's he doing here, Nat?" Michael asked. Nat looked at Michael as if whatever he was going to answer would be insufficient for Michael's tactile functioning and understanding.

"Nat." Michael whispered or yelled. Whichever made more impact. Michael was then taken to a small corner desk where there were two chairs. Nat made Michael sit on one and then be brought one besides him and sat down. "Look, this is important. I have some questions, but first I want you to report everything ever since we asked you to rescue that case." Michael wasn't sure what to say or do. "What's so important that you are here talking with him like you both share the same bed at night?" Nat didn't even flinch at the question he neither blinked.

It was as if he had expected the coming accusations. "Angelo, this is important, Now report." Michael was now seething with anger. He had never once crossed the Director of their unit. "It's Angel, director. Don't use Angelo in front of him". Michael warned Nat. Nat nodded and apologized. Why was this man so calm? Every common sense may have evaded him, he thought. "About the rescue? How much do you want to know?" Michael asked, trying to keep his behaviour and his anger under check. "Everything. Everything that has happened. Between you two and with you two, Unfiltered and Everything."

Everything. It took Michael a second to actually think about what Nat was actually asking from him. "Are you asking if I slept with him?" Michael stood up from his seat. Glaring at Nat. Nat pulled Michael down from his seat again. "Yes. Everything. Now tell Angel, we don't have much time and choice." Michael tried to regulate his breathing. This was getting ridiculous and ridiculous. First that man, then Nat asking things like that. Of course, it was a right to ask anything and everything from him but Michael had, well in time, left everything behind and had moved on.

"Not that I absolutely have to tell you everything, but I will because I respect you, but I need you to keep it just to yourself." Nat nodded and Michael took a deep breath. "When you first sent me after him, I found out that the men who were there with him were planning to kill him, they had joined with someone and had to eliminate him, so when they had accidentally left me in the room, I managed to untie one of my wrists and write a note which then i gave it to him secretly. When they all got inside the room, they thought that they had left the rope dangling by mistake as I pretended to be unconscious." Nat nodded and urged Michael to go on. Michael took a pause and then another deep breath, "After he gave the orders to send me away , I understood that he was going to dump me in front of a nearby hospital. When they dumped me and I was taken inside to the hospital, I managed to escape to a nearby stairwell through which I went to the switchboard and shut down the main computing systems. I had taken care to not shut off the electricity for obvious reasons. I didn't want to harm any patients present there." Nat nodded and placed a hand on Michael's knee and gave it a squeeze. Michael nodded and then Nat offered him a bottle of water. Michael took a huge swig.

"When I did the short circuit I knew there would be time until everyone could be taken to safety because I passed a chart of the hospital's map and calculated if there was enough time to take the patients out until the fire would spread. Luckily, there was a construction site."

"On the floor where there was construction going on, I started a fire and I knew that he would come to save me. It was intuition but he did come to save me. When he did, I stabbed him and then sedated him and took him to my place. I addressed his wounds and then on the second day when I came back from work, we got attacked by burglars. I think we merely escaped and then we met Jacob Spieler on the road who took us to his estate. After having dinner, we found out that the place was bugged, so we escaped from there as well. When we escaped, we ran into his garage shed and found segways and then we came to my safe house where we parted ways."

"That's not all, is it?" Nat looked at Michael. Michael shook his head, "After about a week the news about the fire in the complex was aired. He was in my office in the hospital, battered and bruised. It wasn't anything serious, luckily, and I patched him up, but while leaving the hospital, we were chased by some cars and then we pretended that he was my friend who got mugged and stayed at another friend's place until he left again." Nat nodded. "And, nothing happened between us, We might have kissed." Michael whispered the last part. Nat was still looking at Michael. To his surprise, he smiled and patted his knee. "I'll go back to him, you can sit and relax here,. Also, whatever he asks you, be respectful. Okay?" Michael rolled his eyes but agreed anyway. They had to choose this day for Michael to be respectful to a total jerk. While Michael was seated there, drinking water peacefully, he saw him coming.

"Mikhael" The man spoke, putting extra effort into his name. He had stopped going by Mikhael ever since he had gotten into Med school, and this man was doing everything he could to get under Michael's skin which could make him act out to know he didn't know why this was happening, but he surely wanted to find out. The man took a seat and then smiled at him. He had not really changed since Michael had last seen him but he could see that he had definitely gotten leaner. Michael didn't want any feud with him, especially now and especially here.

"Did you find them?" This man had to be given points to hit straight home and hard. Michael took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. "No". He seethed through his teeth. The man nodded grimly and had an emphatic look on his face. The audacity of this man was impeccable. "I know you think it is my fault, but it is not." Michael could not believe his ears, "Sanders, it's okay." Michael said, trying to keep his patience under check. The grin was back on Sanders's face. Michael knew that the questioning was going to get dirty. Sanders shifted and was now facing Michael, even though his form was relaxed. His shoulders were straight and his expression highly alert, the person who was an observer would feel intimidated usually, which was another thing I usually felt like Michael had come to know. It didn't affect him now as he was over these petty tactics and he had left that stream a long time ago. "I didn't know we were on a last-name basis, Angelo?" Sanders said, spitting out Michael's last name, like a curse. "I don't follow you anymore and besides you, mean nothing to me, anymore, Sanders,"

Sanders barked out laughing, "Oh, you're so wrong Angelo, We're about to get real close." Michael was confused as to why this thing was even happening. He was already stressed out and he definitely did not want to bash Sanders's face. Then he would have to take him to the hospital and probably treat him to the cosmetologists, which he definitely did not want. "What do you want, Sanders?" Sanders just smiled and asked the same questions Nat had asked him. Michael gave the same answers, leaving very personal things out. He never dared to take Vincent's and Dylan's names as it would be unfair to drag them into this mess. But Michael had a feeling they knew, and Michael also knew that Sanders was the one to dig everything out in order to use it against him. "Did things happen, Angelo?" Michael looked at Sanders's annoying demeanor and then decided to play him. Yes, we were attacked. Twice." Michael gave a sweet smile to Sanders. He saw the visible twitch of his eyebrow, a sign that he was getting annoyed. Michael did not stop smiling. He saw his face transform from nothing to distort anger. Sanders rephrased the question this time and asked with anger at every syllable.

"Did something happen between you and the subject you were supposed to retrieve?" Sanders was breathing deeply now. Michael's gaze swept around the room and he found Nat looking at him with a weird pleading expression and he signaled Michael to not provoke him, or that's what Michael understood. "Do you mean we f****d?" Michael asked bluntly. He saw the shock in Sanders's face and it was slightly pleasing to Michael. "No, we didn't," Michael said, and leaned back in the chair. Sanders nodded, stood up and left.

After a few minutes, Nat came to Michael fuming, "Could'nt you keep yourself under control?" Michaek shrugged, "I cursed, Once." Nat sighed deeply, He sat down besides Michael, "He's different now, Mikh." Michael looked at Nat with confusion, "Different?" It made Nat look up at Michael and he shook his head. "I'll tell you when I retire." Nat smiled. "So? Never," Michael said with a smile. Nat chuckled and then patted Michael's shoulder. "Come with me." Michael stood up and followed Nat. They passed a few rooms like doors and partitions till they reached one at the very end of the warehouse. Nat turned to Michael. He sighed and told him to stay calm and that he would explain everything soon enough, but he was not supposed to lose his cool. Michael was now more confused and suspicious of Nat's behavior, but then he did trust Nat with his life. After all, Nat was the one who took him out of this mess. "Go inside, I think Sanders will come and I have some calls to make. Don't anger him or bite back. Please. Mikhael." Michael nodded. Nat nodded and then left. Michael sighed and opened the door and went in.