Her mobile then began to buzz with the incoming call signal marked “Sam”, bringing about an awkward, panicked pause from each of them. But she refused to let it ring much longer, picking it up: “Hey, how you feeling? The meds finally wore off?” she greeted, shedding the hesitation she originally had from her voice. Sam spoke back, albeit inaudibly to the ears of Sebastian and Andre. “Figured so, but no, wait there,” she continued, looking over to the guys as if preparing to measure their upcoming reactions. “I’ll come to you.

“What?!” Andre’s eyes messaged to Kerry as he sat up.

“Alright,” Kerry responded once more to Sam before hanging up. “I’ll go see what’s up,” she said with a sigh, grabbing her messenger bag as she stood up.

“Wait,” Andre laughed in disbelief. “Hold up, Kerry, what the fuck? We just agreed clearly that we are to start being suspicious of Sam, did we not?”

“Huh?! No, if anyone that was you,” Kerry retorted, pulling up her part of the tab on her mobile to pay before leaving. “I agreed that there’s more to her story and the circumstances seem fishy, but never said I was about to start doubting her- I mean, who the hell said she’s doing anything on purpose? Like she was planning all this shit?” she huffed, turning to walk out.

Sebastian sighed uncomfortable, burying his face into his elbow-propped hand as Andre got up to follow Kerry out.

“No-no-no, you can’t just act like we didn’t start finally figuring shit out, huh?!” Andre fussed, hands up. “What, are you planning to keep the same ball rolling? Let it go- Let her go before the remaining Cloak and his crew come busting in!”

“Leave, then,” Kerry snapped, turning to face him. “Cuz’ this is the kind of toxic shit that would bring us apart anyway-”

“-The fuck you talkin’ about-”

“-I see your true colors,” Kerry chided. “You’re chickening out again and this time blaming it on shit Sam can’t even control no matter how fishy you think everything else might be.”

“What, so you’re against me now?” Andre chided back but with much more stinging sincerity. “You know, you’ve been awfully suspicious, too, ever since we got Sam back, anyway. Did y’all get involved in some side shit I don’t know of?”

“The fuck you goin’ on about?!” Kerry laughed, shaking her head and turning to leave once more with a wave. “You know wha- don’t even worry about it, Andre. You just keep doing you!”

Sebastian could tell it was perhaps the alcohol that fueled Kerry’s and Andre’s uncharacteristic outbursts, having by now been used to these types of moments being more comical and not this heavy. He knew just as well it was best to let it defuse on its own, electing to remain quiet.

Exasperated, Andre turned around to fuss: [Bro, you just going to sit there?]

[Please. Don’t ask me,] Sebastian tried his best to respond in a calmly manner, keeping his eyes over his mug. [I said what had to be said because we all need to know certain things.] A brief, heavy pause fell between statements. [We can’t afford this infighting.]

Andre thought to reply otherwise, but decided it wasn’t worth further emotional investment. [You’re right. We can’t.] He saw Sebastian look up at him as if expecting him to cave. [But that won’t be my problem anymore. It’s set; I’m out,] he huffed, turning to leave. [And I already paid. You all do what you want from here on out.]

Sebastian, feeling a mixture of betrayal and surprise, struggled to keep his mouth shut. [Really…] he mumbled under his breath, shaking his head as he stared down at the table once more. [How did everything spiral out of control so fast?] It felt so distant the last time he could communicate openly and freely as he always had with his team back home, never afraid to express his opinions. He missed the shoulder his brother and sister always had despite their quarrels. And now, all of the sudden, he missed Sam by his side, there to listen to his troubles.

He reached over to order another beer, preparing to potentially spend the rest of the night by himself.

.

.

He didn’t realize that there was another sitting alone at the bar counter, back facing him.

Marian wore a hoodie with the hood itself only half pulled up the back of her head, hair tucked in as to avoid looking like she was trying to hide something. She held her mobile in hand, casually inputting a message that read: “Party is splitting. I have got a lot to report. Moving soon.”

.

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Sam and Kerry had met up between HQ and the bar, and Sam finally had her opportunity to somewhat return a favor by letting Kerry choose the food vendor she had been wanting to stop by since returning. Sam wasn’t sure what the banana-looking item was handed to her, but being she wasn’t that hungry after eating earlier and that this was just fruit more or less, it couldn’t be that bad.

“What’s this called again?” Sam asked, holding it up once more under closer inspection as they headed down the hallway for their dorm.

“Turon,” Kerry answered with a mouth half-full. “These are better with ice cream, but I don’t think I have the space for it, either.” She laughed at the sight of Sam still being cautious and hesitant. “Damn, Sam. You already braved something earlier, and this is way simpler I’d bet.”

Sam gave in, taking a crunchy bite through the fried, brown-sugar coated exterior to find it was as described. “Not bad.”

The two passed through the final connection hallway and into their dorm, finding conditions were just as nice as their Singapore dorm looked. “So, here we are again,” Kerry sighed.

Sam reflected once more on the notion her and Devin’s apartment was off-limits for who knows how long. She even pondered for a moment the possibility it had already been ransacked for all she knew. “Are we really going to be safe to talk here, though?”

“Only so many moles here, and we weren’t even scheduled to stay here until just now,” Kerry calmly replied as she took a seat on one of the beds. “Here,” she spoke with a suggestive pat of the empty spot next to her.

Sam took another bite before placing the wrapper and her tea down on the bedside stand, brushing her fingers off and taking a seat. Kerry scooted closer, now with her legs firmly pressed against hers. By doing so had Sam at peak awkwardness, afraid to react as things were, but she also noticed Kerry was quite at ease.

“I don’t know what level of audio detection is in the hallways or even in this room,” she spoke in a whisper as her head leaned in, cheek gently resting on her shoulder as her loose locs fell and rubbed against her back.

Oh. Of course. Sam played off her uneasiness, acting casual and returned a whisper: “So, yeah, listen.” She now returned the communication effort with her head leaning against hers now. “I met with Devin, and that girl, too.”

“You did?” Kerry answered back with suppressed emotions.

“Yeah. He was still worried to death about you… still sorry about making you wait under these circumstances.”

“What is he doing- I mean, how involved is he, still?”

“He came to see me on his own accord, seeing he’s still in hiding. I think he knew his risks but I think that’s the last we see him until the last of the shit hits the fan.”

Kerry’s next line quickly grew sullen: “The last Cloak is coming, isn’t he.”

“Yeah,” Sam sighed. She felt the fear, concern, and uneasiness exuding from her so much that Sam had completely forgotten her own uneasiness from earlier. She had forgotten to think how much of an emotional roller coaster this had also been for Kerry as well, feeling the hints of desire to return the emotional support she was always one to receive. “You know, he really is a good guy. He’s just stuck between a rock and a hard place… But don’t get him wrong. he’s doing what he can behind the scenes for you. And me, too.”

It was over the next seconds that took Sam by surprise as she felt Kerry’s arms wrap around the front and backsides of her waist, hugging firmly as she grew closer. “I’m still losing everyone else around me, Sam. I feel like a Devin I can’t see might be the only one I have left.”

“Kerry, what are you talking about?” Sam tried to keep the mood light, awkwardly putting her hand over and across her opposite shoulder.

“We got word that your dad is coming. You’re going home, aren’t you?”

Well… shit… she already knows…

“Kerry…” Sam spoke through her continued whisper while her mind raced.