Don’t let it be said that spies were people without consciousness or empathy. Sometimes it was a light pinch in his chest as he looked up from his work and at the grunts that were walking around the base. Sometimes it was nightmarish dreams creeping on him at night, sending chills off his spine and making him curl up on himself as images from the past superposed themselves to more recent ones.
As usual, when it happened, he woke up with a gasp, cold sweat making a thin layer on his skin. Dark eyes searched through the shadows of the dorm room for hidden assailants, and finding nothing, Jay slid off his bed. Getting to his feet, pulling the blankets over Kukri, he grabbed a hoodie from the foot of his bed and made his way to the kitchen. He knew that if he tried to go back to sleep right away, he’d just sink back into the nightmare, back to floors and walls splattered with blood and sounds of a child crying in the next room.
He eyed the clock as he opened a cupboard and found no clean glass, groaning at whoever was on dishes duty that night. Squinting at one he found by the sink, Jay rose it to his eyes, looking for traces of grime -- and judging it clean enough, gave it a thorough rinse before pouring water in it. 3:30 AM wasn’t the time to clean dishes.
Jay felt his heart jumping in his chest when he heard a sound, exhaling and telling himself that it was all a bad dream. It was only the boss opening the door. No biggie. He still blinked in surprise, glass of water still in hand, in an unzipped hoodie and boxerbriefs -- perfect outfit to greet his superior.
His voice was still a little hoarse as he spoke.
“Boss? Hope I didn’t wake you up.”