Page 2 of Battle of Hearts
The mission came first, and whatever this was, she decided she would deal with it later—if at all.
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The Humvee’s engine snarled against the endless white terrain, tires crunching over snow-packed roads as they moved deeper into the wilderness. The drive to Icebreaker Station was long and uneventful, the conversation kept short the odd times either of them spoke up. Sawyer kept her eyes focused on the stretch of road in front of her which was well-lit by the bright lights of the vehicle, while Mirren sat quietly beside her, her eyes glued to her tablet as she scrolled through her notes and weather data.
The silence between the pair wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable, which each individual focused on their own thing. But it was heavy with he unspoken tension that came from two strangers being forced together by convenience. The unfamiliar feelings brewing in the pit of Sawyer’s stomach didn’t help at all to ease that tension.
Every so often, when she caught Mirren burying herself deeper into the contents of her screen, Sawyer would steal a glance at her, but only when she was certain the other woman wasn’t looking. And those times she did look in her direction, it was as if there was a supernatural force that made it hard for her to look away. There was something about Mirren’s presence that was so…magnetizing, borderline hypnotizing, and it frustratedSawyer to no end that she couldn’t figure out what it was. The woman who always had a solution for every one of her problems suddenly had no answers cross her mind when it came to this woman. It was frustrating.
“Anything I should know about the weather?” Sawyer was the first to break the silence after a while, more so to do exactly that than out of necessity.
Mirren looked up from her tablet, her gaze barely meeting Sawyer’s briefly before it returned to the glowing screen. “No significant changes since we left,” came her response, spoken in a distracted hum. There was something about the silkiness of her voice that caused a weird feeling to slide down Sawyer’s spine. “The temperature is dropping, but it’s within expected parameters. The wind is picking up a bit, but nothing too drastic. Nothing concerning that should sideline our work.”
Sawyer nodded with satisfaction at the answer. “Good,” she said. “I want this inspection done quickly but thoroughly. The sooner we get that done, the sooner we confirm the outpost is secure, the better.”
“Agreed.” Mirren responded. A brief pause washed over the pair before the younger woman added, “I admire your thoroughness, Captain. Not everyone would go out of their way to take the time to do this.”
A weird feeling panged in Sawyer’s chest. The captain glanced at her, feeling off guard by the comment. “I don’t take chances with my team’s safety,” she responded in a firm tone, hiding her feelings well. “And I don’t trust anyone else to do my job.”
Mirren nodded as a faint smile played on her lips. “I can respect that.”
For a moment they were silent again with only the steady hum of the engine and the crunch of snow beneath the tires. But the air between them had shifted ever so slightly, perhaps dueto the subtle acknowledgement of their mutual respect. It was enough for Sawyer to help the journey feel a little less cold. A part of her urged her to say more, but no ideas came to mind as to how to continue the conversation, so she found peace in the silence instead.
The weather worsened as they neared Icebreaker Station. The road thinned out to a narrow trail enveloped by deep snowdrifts, with steep inclines and sharp drops that made driving difficult and requiring intense focus to navigate. The wind had picked up, howling through the mountains, while the sky had shifted into a grayish hue, the first hints of the storm to come.
Sawyer slowed the Humvee as they approached the outpost, her eyes scanning the small, study building nestled between two ridges. The ridges helped to protect the outpost from harsher winds, but it didn’t make it any less susceptible to heavy snowfall. It looked as it always did, a solid, reliable structure. However, out here, Sawyer knew all too well that the Arctic had a way of wearing things down, of revealing weaknesses that couldn’t be seen from the outside.
Killing the engine, Sawyer parked the Humvee, bathing the pair in a sudden silence barely cracked by the lowly, almost haunting howl of the winds outside. “Let’s make this quick,” she said without sharing a glance with the younger woman in the passenger seat. Sawyer reached behind her to grab her rucksack before stepping out into the biting cold. Mirren followed quickly after her. The wind immediately cut through her layers, but she ignored it, pushing through the heavy snow as she kept her focus on the task at hand. Mirren stayed close behind.
They approached the outpost together, their boots sinking into the deep snow with each step, their footprints disappearing in their wake as fast as they had imprinted. Sawyer reached the door first, testing the handle before pushing it open.
It had been left exactly as Sawyer remembered. The two women were met with a cold, dark interior. Bunk beds lined one wall. Table and chairs sat in the middle of the room with a wood stove tucked in the back room. Besides a few pieces of furniture and shelves stocked with emergency supplies, the outpost was mostly bare and functional, with just enough room for a small team to stay for a few days.
Mirren moved inside right after Sawyer, her eyes adjusting to the dim light as she took in the space. “Cozy,” she commented.
Sawyer glanced to her right to meet Mirren’s gaze, hints of amusement flashing in the woman’s cerulean orbs. A flicker of warmth ignited in her chest at the sight of her, and she found herself suddenly pinned under the woman’s eyes, unable to move a muscle or make a sound. She was only able to nod in response before she made way for the wood stove. It was their only source of heat, so she made sure she checked it before doing anything else, making sure it was in working order. Luckily, it was.
Mirren, meanwhile, was already at the far end of the room setting up her equipment on the table. Her hands deftly arranged instruments and tapped at her tablet while she hummed a nearly silent tune. Sawyer snuck another glance at her through the corner of her eyes. The way the woman worked, completely absorbed in her task, reminded Sawyer of how she herself approached missions—with a singleminded focus that shut out everything else. She should have been satisfied that every single little thing she picked up about Mirren proved she was reliable. But the unknown feelings that surfaced every time she looked at the woman left her a bit frustrated instead.
Satisfied that the stove was operational, Sawyer turned her attention to the rest of the outpost. She checked everything meticulously from the structural integrity of the walls to the condition of the supplies and then finally the state of the bunkbeds. Everything appeared to be in order, but she’d never been the type of person to let her guard down. Especially out here, where the rough environment had a way of exploiting even the smallest weaknesses. They could be in complete control, yet something could find a way to go wrong.
“How many times have you been here?” Mirren perked up, curiosity and friendliness coloring her tone. Sawyer wasn’t used to such pleasantries, having been surrounded by battle-hardened, focused soldiers like herself for her entire career. She wasn’t particularly an expert at small talk.
“Roughly a dozen or so times, I’d say,” Sawyer responded neutrally. She didn’t know why she answered that way. She knew she’d been here exactly fourteen times now. She was on edge, a little more than she’d expected to be.
“Ah,” Mirren hummed. “You must have been the obvious choice then for leading this mission. Your experience matched with your skillset makes you overly qualified.”
Sawyer didn’t know what to say in response to what felt like a compliment, so she only shrugged. “I suppose so.”
Sawyer returned to her work, though she found herself glancing over at Mirren more often than she meant to. There was something oddly calming about the other woman’s presence, a steadiness that contrasted with the harshness of their surroundings. It was as though the storm brewing outside had no effect on her, as if she were immune to the cold and the isolation.
Sawyer was used to being the one who provided that sense of calm and stability for her team, but here in this moment, she found herself on the receiving end. It was…unexpected. And she wasn’t quite sure how to feel about it.
When she had finished her inspection, Sawyer returned to the table where Mirren worked. “Everything looks good on myend,” she said, her voice cutting through the quiet. “How about you?”
Mirren looked up, her eyes meeting Sawyer’s. “The weather is holding steady for now,” she replied before a grim look flashed across her gaze. “But…it looks as if there’s a significant drop in pressure that suggests the storm is intensifying. We need to be prepared for it to hit sooner rather than later.”
Sawyer frowned, her mind already calculating the implications. “How soon?”