2.
It was pouring rain that night, and Sal sat reading a book, wrapped in a blanket. She was getting to the good part when a knock sounded at the door.
Through the peephole she saw Liam standing, shivering and soaked.
“Jesus, Liam, what’s wrong?” she said, opening the door and ushering him inside.
“Why should something be wrong?” he asked.
She fetched a towel from the bathroom and tossed it to him. He caught it and started toweling his head off. “Because you didn’t text. Or call. It’s not your style to just drop by. What’s wrong? Did Grace leave us again? Does Menchú have more secrets? Is that angel attacking again?”
“I just wanted to see you,” he said, rubbing the towel over his head. “It’s not Team Three business, so I didn’t think to text.”
That had to be a lie. Liam would always think to text first. He looked nervous and avoided her eyes.
Sal gestured to the couch and sat on the other side, turning to face him.
“What’s going on?”
He sighed. “All the shit with the Network, and Frances, and Menchú holding stuff back, it’s just … made me think about me and my life and my role in others’ lives.”
“Okay,” Sal said slowly. “And you’re here because?” Please don’t want to get back together.
He took a deep breath. “Sal, I treated you poorly when we were together. I struggled with my own faith and I took that out on you. When I needed someone and you were there for me, I pushed you away instead. That wasn’t fair. So I am here to apologize.”
Sal blinked. “You—apologize?”
He nodded, his face earnest. “I do. I’m sorry.”
“And you don’t want anything? Like to start things up again? You’re just apologizing?”
He frowned. “No, I didn’t mean to imply—”
“No, no, you didn’t imply anything. I just haven’t had a conversation like this that didn’t have some kind of other motive, like getting me back. You’re just here to say you’re sorry?”
“Yes. You don’t need to accept it. But I need to say it.”
Sal looked at him suspiciously. This phrasing sounded familiar. “Liam, are you in AA?”
“AA?” He shook his head. “No, I’m not quitting drinking, are you daft? But I am trying to go about this in the same way. Sal, I got really into the Network. And I hurt a lot of people. Mostly women. I worked things out with Frances and realized I had others to apologize to.”
“So you’re addicted to women? Or the Network? I’m confused.”
“Fuck, Sal, do you have to make this so hard? Do you accept my apology or not?” He calmed instantly. “It’s all right if you don’t. That’s not what’s important here—”
She laughed at him then; he was trying so hard to be both Liam the impatient and Liam the contrite. “Yes, I accept your apology. I wasn’t completely perfect myself. I’m sorry for that too.”
“So we’re good?”
“We’re good. We’ve been good.” She leaned forward and hugged him.
“Thank God. Now will you help me find the others?”
Sal knew there’d be a catch.
• • •
The new way of going about things with Fox in control brought a great deal of structure to the lives of the teams who preferred to work on their own. They chafed against a lot of it.
But there was one thing he did give them, and that was guaranteed time off when the world wasn’t on fire. Sal and Liam had a full weekend to themselves, and when they told Menchú what they had planned, he suggested taking Grace with them “to rebuild Team Three camaraderie.” Sal assumed there were a hundred other reasons; he wanted to get Grace out of town because of their recent discoveries, or he thought she and Liam needed protecting, or he wanted to be alone for his continued meetings with Asanti.
She asked him as much, when Liam and Grace had left the Archives to pack.
“Why is she coming?” she asked bluntly.
He looked alarmed. “Do you not want her to go? Is there a conflict I need to know about?”
“No, but you don’t send three of us on a vacation together. That’s not your style. It’s got to be more than team camaraderie. You wouldn’t send the majority of the field team away without a reason.”
He smiled slightly, his eyes dark and tired, and Sal felt a moment of pity for him. “Perhaps there are more reasons regarding our team dynamic. You all deserve a break. There isn’t much going on here except meetings. But really I want you three to get a sense of working together again.”
The unsaid words hung in the air between them, and Sal decided to give him a break. “All right. So long as there isn’t some kind of danger we’re walking into that you haven’t told us about.”
“With Liam’s ex-girlfriends? I can promise nothing,” he said.