The New Haven Incident - Part Eleven

Team Four followed Lilith in careful formation. They occasionally exchanged looks between one another, still in utter disbelief of the woman who led them through the winding streets. Sakata did well to keep them in check. There were no arguments when she gestured for the group to stop. They moved into a defensive perimeter at every pause, determined to see their mission through to completion and protect the Cedarwood scientists until extraction. 

Sakata followed behind the strange woman, Dr. Liu following him closely. Carter and Grier followed them, one on either side of the head of the group. Savage, Bosch and Franz followed up the rear, carefully sweeping behind the group as they moved, in case something was trying to sneak up behind them.

Sebastian, the mysterious agent who managed to disarm Grier twice despite having nothing but a combat knife, was the only person who appeared to move without any tension. For all anyone could tell, he was simply out for a stroll. Sakata was the only one to notice Sebastian’s constant surveillance, his mind constantly working behind those sharp, sky-coloured eyes of his. Sakata also noted that while he seemed casual, his stride relaxed, he also moved without noise. He was very obviously not part of the group and seemed uncomfortable with so many people nearby.

During one of their stops, when Lilith left the group to make sure the way was clear, Sakata approached Sebastian as the group huddled in the mail room on the ground floor of an apartment complex. Team Three had taken up their positions. Not part of the unit, Sebastian did not bother to join them. He instead sat on the end of a countertop, one foot up, one dangling over the edge of the counter.

Sakata nodded to Sebastian. The agent nodded back.

“How’d you end up here?” the captain asked, his voice sounding loud in the oppressive silence, though he spoke quietly.

Sebastian shrugged. “Woke up in hospital. Walked outside. Fought a bear that I think was supposed to be a dog. Got rescued by a real-life fairy.”

“That’s… That’s gotta be surreal.”

“One of the odder moments of my life.”

“You’re taking it well, considering.”

Sebastian scoffed, but declined to comment. He looked over at Captain Sakata. “What about you? You’re working for Cedarwood, I assume, but I don’t see their logo on your uniforms.”

“We work for Sigma,” Sakata replied. “Cedarwood contracts with us. It’s cheaper, I imagine, than maintaining their own militia.”

“Sigma…” Sebastian frowned. “Mercenary group, right? Headquartered in Minneapolis Minnesota, of all places.”

Captain Sakata blinked. “You know a lot about us.”

Grunting, Sebastian turned his attention to the mail room door. “You’re on The Department’s radar.”

“The… Which department?”

To this, Sebastian could only smile, but it was a wry smile, devoid of any true mirth. He gave no other answer. Sakata regarded him. He seemed young to be as bitter as he was. Except for his eyes. Those were hollow, giving him a slightly haunted look. Give the man a cravat, and he could star in some Gothic romance. Sakata smirked at his own private observation and joined Sebastian in silently watching the door.

After a moment, five knocks sounded. The pattern was recognisable; three rapid, pause, then two slow. Lilith had returned. She slipped through the door as the survivors let out an audible sigh of relief. She smiled as Dr. Liu approached, and signed.

We’re close now. The way looks clear, but there is evidence of hounds. We’ll have to move quickly.

Dr. Liu translated for everyone’s benefit.

“Hounds?” someone whispered.

“It’s alright, Hazel,” Dr. Liu said. “We are escorted by good men”

“And Sebastian’s fought one before,” Hannah piped up. She smiled over at Sebastian from her position by Cheryl’s side, immediately hiding her smile with the misshapen stuffed toy she perpetually carried. Sebastian raised his brows at her, a true smile hovering at the edges of his lips. He looked up at her guardian.

Cheryl did not bother to hide her grin. It was so wide that it crinkled the corners of her eyes. There was an impish twinkle to them. Unable to contain it, Sebastian also smiled, if only slightly.

“Okay everyone, look sharp.” The command from Captain Sakata broke the small moment of humour, and Sebastian’s face fell once again into impassivity. A brief pause to make sure the way was still clear, and the group was once again outside, making their cautious way up the road to the new safe house.

The rest of the journey was uneventful. The group slipped into the target building late that afternoon, sliding between racks of tutus, tights and various kinds of dancing shoes, to the stairs at the back and up into the dance school proper.

Captain Harding’s team had arrived two hours ago. The main classroom was beautiful; polished hardwood floors that had some spring reflected the sun as it streamed in from the west-facing windows. Mirrors covered the far wall, and ballet bars affixed to the two walls containing neither windows nor doors bordered the room. The northern wall had two doors, both of which opened into smaller rooms. These, too, had hardwood floors and mirrors along one wall, but no ballet bars. Richards had taken the western one, setting the radio up on the table that sat in the centre of the room, fiddling with knobs, frustrated that once again they’d lost contact with mission control.

Footsteps at the entrance to the studio had everyone on edge. Like as not, it was Team Three, but all of Team Two raised their weapons all the same. Mendez’ shoulder bunched as the sounds beyond the door ceased. Then came the knock; instantly recognisable. Sighing in relief, Mendez lowered his rifle as the handle turned and the door opened a crack. Franz’ familiar face peeked around the door then retracted before appearing once again, a lopsided grin on his long face.

“Thank fuck,” he said, striding into the room. Captain Sakata followed, then the survivors, including Lilith. The two teams greeted each other, clasping hands and exchanging shoulder bumps. They spoke to each other quietly, cognisant that though this place was supposed to be safe, it was still in an active theatre with an unknown number of hostiles in the vicinity. Noise was inadvisable.

That was not a consideration for Hannah. “Auntie!” she cried, struggling out of Cheryl’s arms, then running forward with open arms to Dr. Lundt. The Cedarwood geneticist dropped to a crouch and wrapped her arms around the child as she threw herself at the doctor’s chest.

“Hello, baby,” Dr. Lundt said, holding Hannah, who was now sobbing, close. She looked up and met Cheryl’s eyes. Releasing Hannah, Dr. Lundt stood. She offered Cheryl a small smile. “Hello, baby.”

Cheryl threw herself forward, falling into Dr. Lundt’s arms. The two embraced. They pulled apart and kissed.

“I was so worried,” Cheryl whispered when they parted.

Dr. Lundt smiled and leant forward, resting her forehead against Cheryl’s. “Nothing could keep me from you,” Dr. Lundt replied. “Not even Hell itself.”

Cheryl smiled. She closed her eyes and let herself rest against Dr. Lundt for a moment.

The pair proved to be of interest only to the Sigma teams. The Cedarwood researchers did not so much as bat an eyelid, except, perhaps, to smile to themselves at this reunion.

“They never really got over the honeymoon stage,” Dr. Liu said quietly, coming to stand beside Sebastian. “Been married five years now. It’s sweet. Who knew Joy actually lived up to her name… sometimes.”

Sebastian grunted, but did not reply. Instead, he cast his gaze around the space, taking careful note of everyone, particularly the Sigma teams. His gaze paused on Captain Harding. He was in build and appearance an awful lot like Master Sergeant Berkley - tall, broadly built, with close-cropped dirty blond hair. Berkley’s eyes had been grey, however. Harding had pale brown eyes. There was something in the manner of his stance that was so much like Berkley that Sebastian could feel his pulse quicken. He forced himself to calm, careful not to expose the alarm he suddenly felt.

He did note that Harding was staring at him, watching him with an unreadable expression as Sakata spoke to him in low tones. He was clearly making as careful an observation of Sebastian as Sebastian was making of him. The agent’s dislike of Harding was immediate. Chalking it up to how much Harding reminded him of Berkley, Sebastian made a mental note to nevertheless remain cautious around the captain. Whether it was the shock of unexpected similarities or not, Sebastian’s instincts had yet to lead him astray. He let his gaze slide past the captain, pretending his interest in the man was little more than new people meeting, and continued his observations of the other new-comers.

Mendez used this time to observe the new arrivals once the shock of the reunion of Dr. Lundt with her wife had worn off. He felt himself smile as the women had embraced. Odd though the sight was — Mendez could not recall any of his female comrades ever mentioning a girlfriend — their love was a small, bright spark of the goodness in humanity shining in a very dark moment. He noticed Agent Connors right away. He was older than the photo in the files Harding had received from Nest. No longer scrawny - the man was visibly strong - he still had the same hair and his eyes, though sharp and pale, contained some hint of shadow, giving him a haunted look.

Features, which could only be described as beautiful, were sullen. There was nothing about him that indicated his humour would be anything but dour.

His watchful eyes met Mendez’ gaze. The pair stared at one another, each taking measure of the other. Sebastian broke first, apparently having seen all he needed. Mendez regarded him a little longer. He frowned slightly as his gaze fell on the bandages around the agent’s wrists. There was a story there. Mendez resolved to learn it when things calmed down.

With everything being adequately being taken care of by their respective teams, Harding and Sakata retired to the radio room to talk in private.

“How do you find him?” Harding asked, peeking at Sebastian through the narrow window beside the door. The agent stood, leaning casually against the wall by the door, arms folded across his chest, watching.

“Quiet. Skilled. Damned unnerving,” Sakata replied. “He’s not particularly trusting, but he doesn’t strike me as a threat. Unless we give him a reason.”

Harding turned to his peer and raised his brows.

“He, uh… he disarmed Grier. Twice.”

Harding’s mouth quirked and Sakata grinned. “Poor bastard’s never going to live it down.” 

Captain Harding chuckled. “I need to hear this tale.”

“Happily. When we’re on safe ground. On our way over here, the agent mentioned something about a department. His employer, I’m guessing. But he wouldn’t tell me which.”

“Which?”

“Which department. I don’t know if he’s FBI, CIA, Homeland or what.”

“None of them, I suspect,” Harding said. He sighed. “Still an unknown. What else can you tell me about him?”

“He and the fairy woman… I can’t believe that’s a sentence that just came out of my mouth… anyway, she’s about as close as he’s willing to let anyone get. There’s something of a bond there, though I’m not sure he’s all that aware of it. The kid, Hannah, also seems very taken with him. To be expected. As I understand it, he saved her life.”

Harding grunted. “Our radio is down,” he said, changing the subject at last. “We were able to get through to Nest briefly, but nothing’s working again.”

“Ours too,” Sakata noted. “We thought our equipment was defective, but if yours is also down… that’s not a coincidence.”

“Not likely.”

“So. Someone is jamming the signal. Fan-fucking-tastic.” Captain Sakata shook his head. “I don’t like this.”

Nodding, Harding turned to face the windows, watching the shadows lengthen as the sun descended. “It stinks.” He rubbed the side of his face with his palm.

“So, what’s the plan?”

Harding did not answer immediately. He stared out over the quiet city, thinking. “We should proceed as planned. If we could get a hold of the other teams, I might have called it and just pulled out. But they’ve no way to know, and we can’t leave them behind. We can only assume they would be continuing as planned, too.”

Sakata nodded. He joined Captain Harding, coming to his side and staring out over the city.

“I don’t like this, Rin,” Harding murmured. “I don’t like any of it.”

Previous Part                                                                                                                                                                          Next Part