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SEPTEMBER 9, 2022

Nemo

Nemo was working Scheherazade through commands in the training center when he felt TB’s presence. It was hard to believe TB was capable of making his six-foot-seven, two-hundred-forty-pound frame near invisible when he wanted to. Nemo realized the man was trying not to sneak up on his teammate by leaning against the doorframe, hands in pockets. Nemo appreciated the consideration, even if it was for the dog and not for him. Scheherazade was new to training. It took very little to distract her in these early days.

Not that he wasn’t distracted himself. Just knowing Haskell was upstairs in his apartment? This training session was more for him than Scheherazade. If he hadn’t left the apartment, he’d be so deep in her right now that they wouldn’t come up for air for days. Somehow, he didn’t think Waters would appreciate that .

Twenty minutes later, he commanded “ Vryheid !” and reinforced the command by placing his hand, palm up, down at his side. Scheherazade yipped with excitement and ran to the far corner of the gym area to grab a ball. This would be perfect. He could throw the ball for Zade, focus on her, but still answer the questions that were about to come from his teammate without having to pay attention to the man himself.

By the time Scheherazade was dropping the ball at Nemo’s feet, TB had made his way over to Nemo’s side. Nemo reached down for the ball, picked it up, and chucked it hard at the far corner, knowing that when it hit, the caroms the ball would take off the corners and equipment would keep the dog entertained.

“She’s looking good,” TB acknowledged. “You’re doing great with her.”

“Thanks. It’s early days, but she’ll get there.”

There was silence as they watched her hunt under the free weights the ball had rolled underneath.

“Listen,” TB began, “I never truly said thank you for everything. You know. With Flame. I?—”

“No thanks are needed, TB. She’s tribe.”

“But still?—”

“TB. Really. It’s unnecessary. Love that girl like a sister who writes porn.” He grinned mischievously while TB just shook his head and rolled his eyes.

“It’s not porn. It’s historical paranormal romantic suspense.”

“That’s a mouthful. Fifty bucks says you can’t say that five times fast.”

“Fuck off,” TB grouched.

“Porn is easier to say.”

“Fuck. Off. You call it porn to her, and she’ll give you a million paper cuts and pour ginger into the wounds. ”

“Nice. You taught her well.”

TB’s face went solid. “Damn straight. No asshole is ever going to take advantage of her again, that’s for sure.”

Scheherazade was back, ball in mouth, which she dropped at TB’s feet, then sat in front of him expectantly.

TB picked up the ball and chucked it into a different corner, this one near the lockers that lined the wall. “Still. I should have said thanks officially. Especially given our contentious relationship.”

“Contentious?” Nemo asked.

“Yeah. You know, the confetti cannons, the airhorns, and everything. And I was pretty much a dick about all of it.”

Nemo smirked, his attention still on Scheherazade as she forgot all about the ball and engaged in mortal combat with a boxing glove she found behind a laundry bin. “Yeah, you pretty much were. But that’s what makes it worth it. You are such a funsucker.”

A grunt off to his side made Nemo grin even wider.

“TB, relax. I get it. And you’re welcome.”

Scheherazade came sprinting back across the gym, her prize firmly clamped between her jaws. She was still fighting it by shaking it, trying to show it who was boss. Both men couldn’t help but smile at her antics.

TB wrestled the glove free from Scheherazade’s hold. “Hard to believe this is the ferocious dog that nearly bit your faces off in Sallum.” He looked closer at the glove. “Aw. It’s Midas’ glove. That’s too bad.” He threw the glove back in the direction it came from.

The dog gave a huff as if to say, “Really? I just rescued it from there!” Then she took off running to recapture it.

Nemo shook his head. “That’s the seventh one she’s destroyed. He’s gonna flip.” He paused. “You didn’t come down here to thank me for helping rescue Flame. ”

“No, but it gave me a convenient opening,” TB agreed. “So… that’s her?”

Nemo’s smile disappeared. “Her, who?”

TB smacked him upside the back of the head. “Don’t play dumb. I don’t believe you’re that stupid that you don’t know what I’m talking about.”

Nemo shrugged. “There are a lot of ‘hers’ in my life.”

“Nah,” TB disagreed, “there’s only ever been one. We just weren’t smart enough to realize it until recently.”

They watched the dog as she totally destroyed the boxing glove, all of its stuffing now more outside than in. Once it had finally succumbed to its inevitable death, she left it where it lay and went in search of her ball.

“Glad it’s Midas’ glove and not mine,” he said with a smile. TB collected himself and reverted to the conversation he’d started. “If we meet the one we’re meant to be with, and we’re too stubborn to go after her, there are only two ways to go. The first option we have is to give up all others and become a monk. That’s who I was. From the moment I was introduced to Flame, even with it being online and never having seen her, I knew she was the only woman for me because she was all I could think about. Option two is where we fuck everything that moves, trying to forget her. That was your route, also because she was all you could think about. And just so you’re reassured, neither option is better than the other.”

Scheherazade dropped her ball at Nemo’s feet. He picked it up and threw it against the far wall again, up high to give it a different carom.

“Did Flame…” Nemo stopped. “Did you know she would accept you as hers?”

TB’s smile was a mile wide. “Fuck no. I knew she was attracted to me. Our chemistry was explosive, but I knew I was unworthy of her. I was terrified she’d tell me to go jump off the roof, actually. That woman never did or said what I thought she would.”

Nemo returned the smile. “I like that for you. Makes you less Hulk and more Bruce Banner.”

“Yeah, I went so Bruce Banner I threw up after killing and disposing of the asshole who kidnapped her,” the giant admitted with a grimace. “Don’t ever disbelieve that loving the right woman changes you.”

“She didn’t change you, bruh. She just unburied your conscience. Doesn’t mean you won’t still do the scary shit you do. It just means that you’ll mull it over a few extra seconds before doing it.”

“Maybe,” he mumbled. “Some things do change, though, and in ways you never think they will.”

Nemo registered TB’s change in tone and turned to him. “What’s going on?”

He assessed his teammate with concern. TB was staring at the far wall, not seeing it or anything else in the room. “I thought someone should know. In case something should happen to me,” the man finally said.

“Someone should know what?”

“You can’t tell anyone. Not Waters, and definitely not your brother. We need some time to figure out how we’re going to handle it before everyone tries to insert themselves into the situation.”

“What situation? Spit it out. It’s not like you to be so vague.”

TB frowned. “Flame’s pregnant.”

Nemo’s eyes went wide. “She’s what ?!”

“You heard me.”

“No, I don’t think I did. What I thought I heard was that Flame’s pregnant, but that can’t possibly be right. ”

“Well, that’s what I said.” TB shuffled in place, then looked over at Nemo. “This was not planned. To be honest, we’re not exactly sure how it happened.”

Nemo looked at his teammate in total seriousness. He placed a hand on TB’s bicep and leaned in with a whispered, “So when a boy and a girl love each other very much…”

TB smacked him again, this time good-naturedly. “Fuck off, Needledick.”

Looking at each other like two naughty little boys, both were grinning.

“Are you good with it?” Nemo asked. “Cuz you look good with it.”

TB smiled. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m good with it. Freaked the fuck out, but good.”

“And Flame?”

“She’s scared. Thinks it’s going to change things or some stupid shit. I told her, of course it’s going to change things, but not the way she’s imagining. She’s worried it’s too soon. The woman already wears my collar, so she’s as tied to me as it gets. A baby’s not going to make me stop wanting her or loving her.”

“Happy for you, man.” Nemo saluted, a smart-ass grin on his face. “Consider me informed and on duty to protect, aka babysit, if needed.” He didn’t bother to tell TB there was nothing to worry about and that everything was going to be okay. In their line of work, you couldn’t make those kinds of promises. “You’re not thinking of leaving Tribe, are you?” Nemo asked.

Blowing air forcefully out of his lungs, TB shook his head. “It’s not what we want, but the concern is that it’s not like I can exactly be a visible part of the child’s life in the traditional sense since I’m ‘dead’ and do what I do. The child and Flame would be too vulnerable. I mean, I’m off the grid now, but Flame isn’t. I suppose she could be, given that she doesn’t spend a lot of time outside her house other than The Library with me. It would probably be safer to go live somewhere outside the States. She can write from anywhere, and retirement for me has a nice ring to it now that we’re together. More importantly, I’m not sure if I can keep at this if I’m suddenly going to be responsible for a little Flame.”

“Sparks.” Nemo snorted. “That’s what we’ll call her.” He became thoughtful. “What if it’s a little TB?”

“Fuck, I hope not. The world doesn’t need more of me in it.”

“Are you sure? Raising a little girl might be okay now, but how about in sixteen years when a little Nemo shows up to take her on dates?”

Horror crossed TB’s face. “Shit! I didn’t think of that.” His face and body showed resolve. “Nope. Not happening. She’s having a boy.”

Nemo laughed out loud. “Don’t think it works that way, big guy.”

“Nope. Abso-fucking-lutely works that way. If it’s a girl, I’m shoving it back in there until it cooks all the way and pops a penis.”

Nemo doubled over with laughter at the despair his teammate was now in. Wiping the tears from his eyes, he clapped TB on the arm. “Good luck with that. You try to shove a baby back inside Flame, she’s going to stab you with one of those pencils she holds her hair up with. You won’t even know what hit you.”

TB groaned. “I’m not meant to be a father. I don’t suppose this is a sick practical joke you put together with fake pregnancy tests?”

“I would never, ever joke about pregnancy. Even with you,” Nemo promised. “TB, other than Waters, who is going to be jealous as fuck, by the way, I can’t think of anyone more worthy,” Nemo assured him.

TB agreed. “He can’t even get Kubrick to entertain the ‘M’ word, much less have babies. Although, how any of us can get married is a whole other issue.” TB pleaded one more time for secrecy. “Look. Just… just don’t say anything yet, okay? I’m going to tell him and everyone eventually. We’d like a little time to let ourselves process it.”

“My lips are sealed.”

Scheherazade collapsed at Nemo’s feet, tongue lolling out of her mouth as she panted hard from all the exertion. Nemo dropped to his knees, which was her cue to roll over on her back for belly rubs. Nemo made sure to fulfill his end of the bargain.

Still standing behind him, TB asked, “What are you going to do about Le Chatte Noire?”

Without looking up, Nemo contemplated his options before speaking. “Truth? No fucking idea. I can’t let her get away again, but she’s proven to be a runner, so I’ve probably got less time than I think to make this happen.”

“I could tie her up for you. She’s not getting out of my knots. Would keep her in one place.”

They stared at each other. Imperceptibly, a twitch occurred at one corner of TB’s mouth, and that was all it took before both men were laughing.

Nemo glanced at his watch. It was quarter to six.

Time to go wake her up from her cat nap.

Nemo stood. “I’m going to go collect Haskell. See you in a few.”

TB nodded. “See you in the conference room. And Nemo?”

Nemo waited expectantly.

“If she’s it, don’t let go. Even if she runs again, go after her. Bring her back. And if she keeps running, keep going after her, and keep bringing her back. It’ll be worth it. She’ll figure it out eventually.”

Nemo nodded, then walked off to the elevator with an exhausted Scheherazade in tow.

If she runs, there’s nowhere she can go that I won’t find her.