Exhausted, they collapsed on the comfortable couches that Augur had placed in his underground sanctum. The cyber-wizard had taken one look at the exhausted pair and told them that they were welcome to stay for as long as they needed and then, sensing that they needed to talk, he beat a discreet retreat saying that he was going to go visit the Flat Planet and see if he could think up new ways to irritate Dr. Belman.
For at least twenty minutes neither Liam nor Renee moved a muscle. They had spent the better part of the last ten hours working round two squads of Volunteers to rescue some Resistance members that had been careless enough to get caught during one of Zo'or's orchestrated campaign of covert raids.
They'd got the cell members clear with two minutes to spare. A pointed lecture on internal security had followed before moving them to a new secure location.
Eventually, Renee began to stir. She extended her arms out in front of her, stretched and groaned. Liam opened his eyes and watched her, she caught sight of the pain he was hiding and said, "Damn it, will you let me check you out?! I swear, you deny you're injured again and I'm going to turn you over to Dr. Park. You want that?!"
Liam rolled his eyes but did sit up and pull off his black T-shirt, unsuccessfully trying to stifle a grunt of pain as he did so. Renee's eyes clinically catalogued the boot print clearly present on his chest - her eyes grew frosty. That Volunteer had died way too easily.
There were a few other minor cuts and abrasions, without a word, she headed over to where Augur stashed his first aid supplies and grabbed what she needed. Renee silenced Liam's protest that he was fine with a single glare and methodically treated every injury she could see. Liam's mumbled 'thanks' was muffled by his action of pulling his shirt back on.
The mood between them was somber and Renee decided to ask a question that had been at the back of her mind for months now. "Liam, what do you think you'll do when this is all over?"
Liam cocked his head back and met her gaze, saying, "When what is over?"
Renee waved her arm around encompassing the sanctuary. "This, all this. The Resistance... the Taelons... the Jaridians... What will you do when it's over?"
"Nothing."
Renee eyed him in askance. "That's not much of an answer, Liam."
Liam shrugged. "I don't see the point in thinking about it. I'll be dead by then, anyway."
"What?! What are you talking about?"
Liam gave Renee what he hoped was a reassuring smile. There was no need to make her sad.
"I'm just being logical, Renee. How many times have I come within a hair's breadth of dying or having my Resistance ties revealed since you met me?
"One of these days I'll get caught out or someone will betray me. It could be a Resistance member, it could be Da'an or it could be sheer happenstance.
"Alternatively, I'll be killed in the line of duty while protecting the Companions. It's always been a possibility.
"My heritage could be revealed at which point I'll be whisked into an experimental lab by the Taelons so fast that it will make your head spin.
"Whatever way it works out, I'll be lucky to make it to my fifth birthday."
Renee's eyes were full of a sort of horrified compassion. In the back of her mind she had always accepted the risks that she took every day but they paled in comparison to the risks Liam took.
"How can you retain the hopes you have done with an outlook on the future like that one, Liam?"
Simply, honestly, Liam said, "Because what I do, I do to build a better future for humanity and my friends; for you, Renee. That makes it all worth it."
Renee bowed her head at that. This man - her friend - was far more compassionate and caring than she had ever acknowledged and she was damned if she was going to accept his attitude to his own future without a fight.
"Liam, I want you to make me a promise that you'll do something for me. I know you would never willingly break a promise you gave. Will you do that?"
Liam smiled and said, "Of course, I will. What do you want me to promise?"
"That you'll live. That when this is over, you'll still be standing. I intend on being your friend for a good many years yet so you promise me that you'll live! Do you hear me?!"
Liam sighed. He reached out to clasp her hand in his and saw the determination in her eyes. He bowed his head for a moment, she was probably asking more of him than either of them could ever know, but...
"I promise, Renee."
Renee smiled. He'd keep his word. He didn't know how to break a promise to anyone, let alone a friend.