Disclaimer: I do not own either of the Mission: Impossible series or any of the characters therein. I receive no compensation or any other tangible benefit from this story. I am just a fan who enjoys taking the team out for an adventure every now and then. 🙂
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Nemesis Chapter 32
Nicholas and Max each took a hot shower and stretched out on one of the two full size beds in the hotel room. Max, exhausted, fell asleep right away. He woke up an hour or two later and, in a sleepy effort to recall where he was, glanced over at his teammate.
Nicholas was lying on his back, his fingers interlaced behind his head. The moon was shining brightly through the partially-open blinds, and Max could see that his friend was still wide awake.
"Nicholas?" Max whispered. "You okay?"
"I'm all right, Max. Go back to sleep," Nicholas answered softly. But there was something not quite right in his voice, and Max heard it.
Gingerly, he reached up and switched on the lamp on the nightstand between their beds. As the room lit up, Max blinked, then gazed at his friend. "What is it, buddy?" he asked. "What's bothering you?"
Nicholas sighed heavily but did not respond. It hadn't been so bad the night before. He had been deeply worried about Shannon, but his happiness that Max and Grant were safe had helped to balance that out. But today, he had learned that his actions had jeopardized another member of the team, and in the stillness of the evening the guilt had all come flooding back.
Max, growing concerned at his friend's silence, carefully sat up on the side of the bed, favoring his cracked ribs. "Nicholas, please," he urged. "Talk to me."
There was a lengthy silence while Max waited for him to reply. "I messed up," he answered finally, his voice barely audible.
Max winced inwardly at the self-blame in his friend's tone, and silently wondered how long it had been brewing there. He felt a desperate urge to disagree, but he didn't want to come across as dismissive and shut Nicholas out.
"Why do you say that?" he asked instead.
"I left everything in the car," Nicholas answered. "Keys, communicator, surveillance equipment. And because of that, Jim and Shannon both could have died."
"But they didn't," Max reminded him gently. "Jim's fine, and Shannon's going to be okay, too. You heard the doctor."
"Shannon almost died because I couldn't use the car," Nicholas protested vehemently, as he rose up from his bed and walked to the window, "and Christie should have never been able to find our headquarters."
Max's stomach lurched, and he stood and walked up behind his friend, laying his right hand on Nicholas' left shoulder and gently turning him around until the two men were eye to eye.
"Nicholas," he said softly, leaving his hand firmly planted on his friend's shoulder, "Shannon is alive because you ran into a burning building after her, without taking time to think about your own life or anything else. The few seconds it would have taken to secure your equipment might very well have killed both of you," he added, with a slight shudder at the thought.
Max could see that his teammate was thinking about his words, so he continued on. "And you figured out a way to get you both out of there, by doing something in the field that you'd only seen once." Max's steely blue eyes held a mixture of exasperation and absolution. "You did good work, buddy. You've gotta stop doing this to yourself."
Nicholas stared at Max for a moment, and finally nodded, conceding the point. But he wasn't finished. "But Christie 's men..."
Max cut him off before he could continue. "Christie has been after our team for five years now. They'd have found a way to get to Jim regardless. Second-guessing and what-ifing gets you nowhere, Nicholas. You know that. Our methods of communication were flawed from the beginning. We know that now, and we'll figure out a better way."
Nicholas sighed, recognizing his friend's wisdom. He reached up his left hand and squeezed Max's upper right arm. "You're right, you know," he said softly. "I can't tell you how scared I was, thinking you guys had died in that crash and not being able to reach you." He smiled briefly. "You did good work, too."
Max smiled back at his friend, touched at the underlying concern in his words. "Do you think you'll be able to get some sleep now, buddy?" he asked, with a lingering hint of worry.
Nicholas nodded and gave Max's arm a final squeeze. "I'm okay now, Max," he replied. "Thanks for the reality check."
"Anytime, pal," Max grinned, and he thumped his friend's back affectionately as they walked back to their beds.
Max waited until Nicholas' even breathing told him he was asleep, then he quickly followed suit.
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(c) 2016
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