Work Text:
Everyone in the car was silent as Wolfgang drove to the local BPO headquarters. The rest of his cluster, their loved ones, everyone more than ready to get back to their lives once this was over. One final entry in the saga of Whispers.
Wolfgang didn’t give a fuck about BPO, tying up loose threads, all this legal shit. He was only participating because it was important to them. And it would be the last time they were all together until they reunited for Nomi’s wedding.
It had been over a month since Kala first left Mumbai for Paris, a month since she’d seen her parents. Her sister. And with the news that she was in the hospital they were threatening to come to Naples. Kala had barely stopped freaking out over him and Rajan being in the same room with each other, having her parents meet him would’ve surely killed her. Now that she was on the mend it was time for her and Rajan to go home. They had a lot of explaining to do.
Straight after this meeting, the majority of them were headed to the airport. Capheus was scheduled for a rally immediately upon landing in Nairobi to do his own explaining. Sun, shadowed by her loyal detective, had an appointment with the best lawyer in Seoul. Lito and family were headed to L.A. to catch up on table reads that had begun without him. Will and Riley, with the mostly recovered Diego, were returning to Chicago so Will could finally pay his respects to his dad. And Nomi was headed back to Paris with Amanita and Bug to be proper tourists.
They’d probably join them eventually, he and Felix, having decided not to press their luck with any more trouble in Berlin and simply walk away. They had each other, everything else was just memories and trivial belongings.
Felix was off his crutches but Kala would have to take it easy for quite some time, and a wheelchair just made it simpler on everybody. Plus, it was a lot safer for the new BPO that she couldn’t stand.
“Are you going in packing?” Will asked, appearing over his shoulder as he parked the car beside Bug’s van. Sun’s convoy had arrived first, and she was the only one beside Rajan dressed like this was a business meeting.
“I have yet to meet anyone at BPO I didn’t want to shoot, so yes.”
“He’s talking to Will,” Kala explained to Felix and Rajan in the backseat.
“We going in hot, Wolfie?” Felix asked.
“We are.”
“They’ll have metal detectors,” Will reminded him.
Getting out of the car, he put a gun down the back of his pants. “I do like making an entrance.”
Capheus pulled up next to them and Will got out, following Wolfgang’s lead despite all his talk about metal detectors. And Riley assuring them both there wouldn’t be any trouble.
Wolfgang let Rajan push the wheelchair, preferring to have his hands free to deal with the first sight of a hazmat suit. But instead it was River El-Saadawi and Yrsa, Riley’s earliest childhood trauma, greeting them at the entrance and allowing them to bypass security altogether.
It was just the two of them, no guards, no guns. A fluorescent lit conference room with a giant table separated them from the group of people who’d saved their asses.
“I would like to begin by extending my sincere gratitude to you all for your actions,” River said, “and for agreeing to this meeting.”
Kala cleared her throat. “I have a list. And we’re in a hurry.”
River looked at Yrsa with confusion but it was Yrsa who replied, “Excuse me?”
“She has a list,” Wolfgang reiterated on Kala’s behalf. He kept one hand on the wheelchair, and the other on his gun. He would’ve gladly demonstrated his technique for dealing with those who terrorized children.
“Traditionally, demands are made prior to a task’s completion.”
Riley smiled uncomfortably, no doubt smoothing things over with Yrsa in their minds and convincing her no one was going to get shot today. She didn’t bother trying to convince Wolfgang he wouldn’t be doing any shooting.
“Please,” River gestured to Kala. She must’ve been the one to send flowers to the hospital. Yrsa didn’t seem like the warm and fuzzy type.
“First,” Kala pulled out her list, “you owe us an apology. Wolfgang an apology in particular.”
Yrsa smiled. “It was our understanding Mr. Bogdanow was willing to do what needed to be done.”
Wolfgang quickly moved his hand from the wheelchair to Kala’s shoulder to keep her from leaping across the table and tearing more than just her stitches. But while everyone’s eyes were on Kala turning a furious shade of red, he could feel Felix’s eyes on him.
“What Yrsa means to say,” River started, “is that we appreciate the severity of the request we made, and it was not made lightly. You have our apologies, and our eternal gratitude. It cannot be overstated how much your cluster has accomplished, and the good you have done for this world.”
After taking an uncomfortably long moment to stare down Yrsa, Kala continued. “Second, we have some ongoing legal issues, and don’t try claiming you don’t have the power to do anything about that because none of us are in prison right now and we shot down a helicopter with an RPG.”
We. Between the eight of them, Kala was in the minority for not having ongoing legal issues. And technically Will shot down the helicopter.
Mun looked to Sun for permission before interjecting, “I’m personally taking care of Ms. Bak’s legal issues, so you don’t have to worry about her.”
“You can assist my cellmates,” Sun added, giving Kala an appreciative nod. “I’ll provide their information.”
River relented and started writing things down. “We will see what we can do. Third?”
For as much as Kala had been prepared to brawl with her and Yrsa, she was already warming to River. “Transparency. Unless you plan on dissolving this corporation, Sun and my husband will be doing a full audit every six months to ensure everything is above board.”
Sun’s appreciation was short-lived. “I do not need any more work to do.”
“I will!” Rajan enthusiastically volunteered. As if he didn’t have enough to do either.
“No,” Nomi said. “We want full transparency. Public records. And I mean public.”
Amanita added, “Everything. BPO has been getting away with too much for too long.”
“Raoul Pasquale’s reporting must be published,” Lito joined in. “He deserves to have his voice heard, and his father deserves answers.”
“Ooh, Lito!” Dani exclaimed. “You can play him in the movie version!”
Hernando started on a tangent about biopics and the importance of whistleblowers while Lito dismissed both of them over the possibility of ever getting the opportunity or even having the talent to play Raoul, not to mention how weird it would be to portray someone he’d met. As if he hadn’t already slipped into the role of someone he slept with. Multiple times.
River looked to Riley for guidance whether she should be writing any of this part down. Riley shook her head.
Kala continued, “And I want access to your medical research. We intend to provide unlimited blockers free of charge to any sensate who requests them.”
Rajan tensed like he’d been slapped but took it like a man and said nothing while likely doing calculations in his mind on what that sort of thing might cost to their livelihood.
“We’ll be posting that online as well, for anyone who prefers making their own,” Nomi added, Bug nodding in agreement.
“Anything else?” Yrsa asked.
“That’s the end of my list,” Kala said to River, ignoring Yrsa entirely.
“We’re still working on tracking down Mr. Hoy and others from within the Archipelago who went to ground, but we’ll let you know as soon as we hear anything,” River said to Riley. “Mr. Onyango? Is there anything you’d like?”
“No thank you. I have enough to explain to my constituents without them believing that I’m involved with a company such as yours.” If there was a bigger slap in the face of BPO than requiring all their documentation for the foreseeable future be posted on the internet because they were that untrustworthy, it was barely scraping by and still wanting nothing to do with them.
“Mr. Gorski? We do have some contacts within the Chicago Police Department if I’m not mistaken.”
Wolfgang shot him a glare. He now officially liked three cops, but two of them were still on thin ice. Mun was the obvious exception.
“I’ll figure it out,” Will said.
“Mr. Bogdanow?”
Capheus may have been above asking for favors from these fuckers, but Wolfgang wasn’t. Especially when it came to showing his friend a good time. “I need another rocket. I used up my last one on your former leader.”
Now it was Will’s turn to shoot him a look. River dropped her pen. “Haven’t you caused enough destruction, Mr. Bogdanow?” Yrsa asked.
Pointing at Felix, he smiled and said, “Yeah, but he didn’t get to see it.”
“You’re going to get arrested,” Will said in his head.
“And I want diplomatic immunity,” he said aloud to Will. Felix cheered.
Picking her pen back up, River said, “I’ll see what we can do about a weapons demonstration under military supervision.” She didn’t mention the immunity. “Anything else?”
They all looked at each other, their little cluster of eight doubled with their loved ones, making demands of the company that had been hunting them for nearly two years. Diego looked like he wanted to say something. Felix definitely wanted to say something.
“The thing we talked about…” Riley said quietly.
“Of course. Ms. Marks, Ms. Caplan, we understand you’ve recently become engaged. On account of you being displaced from your lives for so long due to the actions of our company, we’d like to pay for your wedding.”
Just to be a bitch about it, Yrsa added, “We found ourselves in a budget surplus, being as we’ve recently had a significant reduction in staff.” She looked pointedly at Wolfgang, but so did everyone else. As if Jonas hadn’t killed way more hazmat guys than he did.
“Which Mr. Rasal will be able to confirm upon review of our financials,” River said. “I know you all have travel plans this afternoon, so we won’t take up any more of your time. We’ll be in touch.”
* * *
Kala’s unexpectedly aggressive negotiations had bought their German-Indian quartet enough time for a final meal before they had to be at the airport for check in. Not that the aggression wasn’t at least partially his, and at least partially from the anticipation of saying goodbye. He knew it wasn’t permanent. Even if she’d died it wouldn’t have been permanent. He still saw echoes of Angelica. Interacted with her. But he also knew what it felt like to say goodbye in a way that was final. That wound that never healed, we’ll meet again meaning he’ll think about her and hurt forever, and hope if she was alive, she wasn’t thinking of him.
He passed Felix the car keys early on in their meal and proceeded to drink enough wine for the four of them. Kala could drive with the cluster’s help, but Rajan was used to being chauffeured and had somehow never even been behind the wheel of a car. Felix could always catch up later. There would be a lot of drinking that night.
He held Kala’s hand under the table, not out of any sense of secrecy, they were way beyond that by now, it just made it easier to bear without making a scene. Neither of them spoke, Felix and Rajan filling the silence with ease as they had been since they met. Felix could talk just about anyone’s ear off, and playing wingman while also cozying up to an obscenely rich guy was certainly in his wheelhouse. But they genuinely liked each other, just as Wolfgang and Rajan genuinely did. Which made their situation all the more complicated.
Kala didn’t cry. She had a little in the parking lot, saying goodbye to the rest of them, but she wouldn’t for him. So he wouldn’t have to for her.
“I left my bank card in your bag at the hotel,” she said in their heads. “Spoil Felix. And our San Franciscans once you get to Paris. You know the PIN.”
The birth year of Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray, the so-called father of Indian chemistry. “You are such a nerd.”
“I have to go.”
“I know.”
“It’s time,” Rajan said as his phone alarm chimed.
Closing his eyes behind his sunglasses, he let go of her hand. He didn’t stand up.
“Aren’t you coming?” Rajan asked, assuming his role as dutiful husband behind Kala’s wheelchair. Such a simple question and yet…
“Nah, I’m dropping you guys off.” Felix scruffed up Wolfgang’s hair as he led them away. They didn’t need a psychic connection for Felix to understand him, and they wouldn’t need one for Felix to be able to catch up with him later, wherever he got off to.
“I’m still here.” Kala wrapped her arms around him from behind, standing on her own without the wheelchair.
“I know.”
They took a deep breath together, just being in the moment until Kala suddenly giggled. “He wiped pizza grease all over your hair.”
“That fucker,” Wolfgang hissed and felt the back of his head.
Kala reached over and smacked Felix in the driver’s seat. He didn’t even ask, just laughed and bragged to Rajan about why he was in trouble. “You gonna go back to the hotel?”
“Yeah.” It was probably the best place for him anyway. This was the first time he’d really been alone in public since Berlin. If he hadn’t been so desperate to keep contact with Kala he would’ve taken blockers by now in case he ran into another sensate. Expanding his psychic social circle was the last thing he wanted. It was bad enough he’d had to meet Yrsa.
He finished the bottle of wine and let Kala light his cigarette for him as he walked back to the hotel. She may not have approved of him smoking, but she certainly appreciated that he carried a lighter everywhere he went.
“You going on blockers at the airport?”
“Rajan will be with me, I can just avoid looking at anyone.”
“Except in the bathroom.”
She smiled. They’d spent more time together in bathrooms than they’d spent in bed. “I’ll see you there?”
Wolfgang nodded, closing his eyes again for her second departure. It should’ve been easier when she wasn’t physically there. Whatever long-distance-dual-life-relationship they were destined to have was going to hurt. If not them, then Rajan.
He drank most of another bottle of wine and washed the pizza out of his hair, then stood on the balcony overlooking Naples while he finished the rest of it. Mai Soli felt very much the opposite in this city. Would Lila haunt him the way Angelica did? Would Whispers? He’d love to hear what they had to say about that rocket launcher.
“Wolfie?” Felix called out from inside the room. He’d nearly learned the hard way that sneaking up on him wasn’t the best idea.
“Out here.”
He was carrying a bottle of vodka, which Wolfgang gratefully swapped with him for the wine. Felix took the last sip and set it aside. “I’m getting sick of wine, man. And Italy. Napoli. That fucking bitch.” He wasn’t wrong. He also wasn’t waiting for Wolfgang to contribute much to the conversation. Felix knew him better than that. “That Yrsa was something else too. What an asshole. I hope Nominita’s wedding bankrupts their shit.”
“Nominita?”
He laughed. “What else am I supposed to call them?”
Wolfgang shrugged and shook his head.
“What was she talking about back there, Wolfie? About you.”
“They asked Riley to kill Whispers instead of doing the exchange.”
“Right, that’s why you had to physically restrain your girlfriend from clawing some eyes out. I mean why did she say you were going along with it.”
Whatever stories the rest of his cluster had told Felix while passing time in the hospital, none of them would’ve told him about that. It wasn’t like Felix didn’t know, hadn’t grown up watching him do stupid shit that should’ve killed him. That Wolfgang tempted to kill him. But Kala climbing over that banister made quite the point, and her yelling at him over putting a gun to his head at the rendezvous further cemented it.
After a lifetime of Felix putting up with his shit and never saying a word, he deserved more than Wolfgang’s usual brushing him off. “I wasn’t going along with them. I got loose and killed a bunch of guys. And only had one bullet left. Figured I’d make the most out of it.”
He opened his mouth to speak, but it still took a second for him to decide what to say. “Yeah, that’s how I always figured you would go. Or the whole mortally wounded, stumbling down the street, the only one to walk away thing.” Before Wolfgang could respond, Felix was smiling again. “I bet your girl went off about that shit.”
“Almost off a fucking balcony.” In her nightie. If anyone was crazier than him, it was Kala.
“Did she?” he laughed.
“Yeah. Didn’t even hesitate. She might be legitimately nuts.”
“Someone finally beat you at chicken.”
He smiled. She had beat him at chicken. And they’d both survived it.
“You’re perfect for each other. As long as you have someone to put out all the fires.”
Sliding his arm around his shoulders, Wolfgang said, “That’s what you’re for.”
“Have I ever put out your fires? I fan the flames, man. That’s what Rajan’s for.”
If only. “I don’t think it’s gonna work that way.”
“Well I think Rajan was totally bummed he didn’t get a big Wolfie goodbye hug at the airport. Mark my words, man. You’re gonna sugar daddy this shit for me so well I’ll forget all about Fuchs’ money we left behind in Berlin.”
If nothing else, he could at least spoil him temporarily. He held up Kala’s bank card. “Hmm?”
“Sugar mamma. Impressive, but I’ll raise you this.” Felix held up Rajan’s credit card.
“You did not steal from him!” He tried snatching it out of Felix’s hand but he moved it out of reach, not having several bottles of wine to slow him down.
“He gave it to me. Happy wife, happy life. You are precious cargo, my friend.” He put it back in his pocket. “Worth a lot more than Whispers, no matter what that Icelandic bitch thinks. Or any other idiots for that matter.” Felix gave him just enough of a nudge to knock him off balance, but held onto him so he didn’t tip completely over. Then he took the vodka to start affecting his own balance. “Hey, you wanna test that diplomatic immunity and go Molotov cocktail the BPO building tonight?”
Taking a moment to check on Riley, fast asleep on Will’s shoulder, who was fast asleep and drooling on Diego’s, Wolfgang said, “Fuck yes I do.”