Pathline (22 page)

"This is where the cleaning staff comes in, there's only one camera covering the door and no audio."

He nodded then went over to lean against the wall, out of the cameras range
.
"
S
o, how did your recon go?"

She went to stand next to him.
"Did you talk to Wraith?"

He gave her a questioning look.
"
N
o, I take it you two crossed paths?" 

She nodded, unsure how much she should tell him. 

He frowned at her silence.
"
W
hat happened?  What did you find out?" 

She crossed her arms leaning b
ack against the wall behind her.
"
N
othing definitive.  Wraith mentioned rumors he's heard saying that Mana may have a Shielder on his side." 

Rook cracked his knuckles.
"
A
Shielder?!  How valid are these rumors?"

Rune
shrugged.
"
H
e seemed genuinely concerned, so I'd say they have some merit."

"Great!" he said, walking a few steps further away from the door.  "Great.  So not only does whoever's behind this wa
nt government attention, has a C
harger in their pocket, but also
potentially
has the resources and capabilities of tracking down and recruiting a Shielder?" 

Rune
shrugged
.
"
M
aybe the Shielder
is
the boss?"

Rook turned to look at her.
"
W
hy would a Shielder, the anomalous of the anomalous, risk exposure like this?  No, most likely if there is a Shielder then he or she is just another hired hand.  The payout must be great for both of these outsider AP supers to be willing to cross the agency." 

She couldn't think of what to respond, her mind on other matters, so she just remained quiet. 

Rook frowned again and came to stand in front of her
,
scrutinizing her face.  "This isn't about the Shielder, what else happened?"

She sighed and looked over to the trash bins on the other side of the door.  "I never watched the news reports when the Appreciation Day fiasco first happened, how bad was it when you last saw?" 

His frown deepened.
"
I
s that what this is about, people bad mouthing you in the press?  What did you think was going to happen?  You know how they are, and you went and got yourself involved with their favorite idol.  You should have considered that beforehand.  It's one thing for you to have gone off and joined the agency, but it's another altogether for you to have willingly gone out and made yourself such an obvious target.  I mean damn it Rune, you had to have seen this coming." 

She turned and met his gaze.
"Yes I know, I'm well aware, and I could have handled it if it was just me they were going after."

He turned away from
her with a huff.
"
H
e can handle
himself;
you should be
worried about yourself." 

She bit her nail and stared off into space for a moment.  "It's not Malik I was referring to.  Wanderer protests and riots have broken out all over the country...
it's starting again." 

He whirled arou
nd at her words.
"What?
!
" 
             
H
e came up to her and put his hands on her shoulders looking into her face.

She tried to meet his gaze, but couldn't.  She pulled away from him and took a few steps away. 
Saying it out loud seemed to double the weight of her guilt and fear.  It was all she could do to keep herself together. 
She could hear Rook cursing under his breath behind her, pacing back and forth. 

"Is he worth
this
?" Rook said,
coming up to stand next to her.
"
I
s he worth all this pain you're putting yourself through?  Is he worth the fact that you just put a giant neon target over your head?  The fact that every single Wanderer is going to have to deal with the fall out of this?  Do you think he would have done the same thing?  Do you think he'll still be there at your side when the country turns against him?  How are you going to feel when he's the one leading their damn campaign?" 

She went over and stood with her back to the wall and let herself drop down to sit on the floor, her head in her hands.  "I'm already leaving the agency, what else could I do to stop this now?"

Rook came up
and knelt in front of her.
"
C
ome back with me.  We still have to finish this,
Mana can't get a chance to potentially expose AP supers.  After that, your commitment to the agency will be over.  You could come home, disappear from their world,
and let
the
outcry
burn itself out like it did the last time.  You don't belong with them Rune, you never have.  Malik seems like a nice enough guy, but men like him will never really understand
. 
Please
,
at least tell me you'll think about it
." 

"I'm more dangerous to the outsider community right now than Mana is.  You really think I'll be welcomed back with open arms?  They're just as likely to hang me as all those people out there rioting.
"  She rubbed her
face
, pressing the palm of her hands into her eyes.
 
"
They've been keeping it from
us;
the agency has blocked the broadcasts from
its
in-house system so that the unit wouldn't find out until the op was over.  But they needed Blythe and me to do recon so they had to risk sending us out." 

"Typical. 
Do they know you saw something?  Did Blythe?"  He shifted around and sat on the ground next to her.

"Blythe was with me when
a news report came on near us
, and neither
he
nor I mentioned it in our debriefing." 
Her voice sounded hallow, defeated.

"Good, let's keep it that way.  They want to play their games, we can play ours.  I'll call my team
in;
have them ready in the area in case we need them for the op." 
He put his hand over her knee.
"
L
et's focus on the task at hand for now, what else can you tell me from your recon?"

She went over everything she had noticed about Mana, and mentioned what Blythe had learned about the area.  She left ou
t the incident with Wraith, and her
potential
plans for luring Mana out. 
We all play our own games
.  But she was so tired of playing games.  Rook left her to go call his team and fill them in on what he knew so that they could all start to strategize an alternate plan for the op.  She stayed out there for a while, sitting on the floor staring out into nothing. 
What am I supposed to tell Marcus
? 
What she hated the most was that she couldn't answer Rook's questions.  Would Malik stand by her?  Was their relationship really worth putting the lives of every Wanderer at risk? 
She didn't know.  It had all gotten so out of control.  She'd never wanted this.  She'd never thought it a possibility because she'd simply never thought that they would have made it this far as a couple. 

After a few hours she made her way to the dorm floor common of all agency field offices; smaller and more limited housing than what headquarters provided.  There was no check-in here, she slid her ID through the entry box and her compartment number appeared on the screen.  She hadn't slept in over a day and she was exhausted.  She stopped by the women's communal bathroom to take a quick shower before sleep overcame her.  The dorm compartments were all individually sized, so she knew Marcus wouldn't be joining her.  She still didn't know what she'd say to him when she saw him.  Her sleep was fitful, spotted with childhood nightmares and memories. 

The sound of her sat-com chirping woke her at day break the next morning.  The unit was convened in a large conference room to go over plans for the assault on the hostile Charger.  Each tactical team took up one side of the conference table and as usual Blythe and Rune sat at the back.  An aerial map of the town and surrounding area was displayed on the large screen at the front of the room.  Command had marked and highlighted important details on the map, such as the location of local law enforcement and public venues considered too risky to involve.  They had also circled the field that Blythe had scouted out as a good place for the attack.  The point of focus was the club that Rune had tracked the hostile Charger to.  She had left the warehouse she believed Mana was staying in out of her
report;
it would have potentially exposed an outsider connection. 
Command had figured that the best plan of attack was to have eyes on the club and wait for the hostile to show up, then they would have to figure out a way to scare him into running in the direction of the field.  It was a stupid plan, completely ignorant of a Chargers abilities and behavior typical of established mercenaries.  A few of the others seemed to sense it as well. 

"Why not just take him at the club?  We could surround the place as soon as we know he's there" Felix asked.

"That scenario, although the most assured course to successful capture of the hostile, posses
too high
a
possibility of
exposure.  The hostile would undoubtedly try to use his ability to fight back and command is adamant that they want to avoid public contact with an AP
S at all costs
" Serk answered, from the
head
of the table.

"What if we pull an alarm, evacuate the people and grab him on his way out?"  Nave said.

Next to her Rook rubbed the rid
ge of his nose shaking his head.
"
T
hese are your agencies
top
people?" he whispered to her.  "And when he starts taking hostages or killing ev
eryone around him to get away?"
He said aloud to the group.

"And what's
your
brilliant master plan huh?"
Catha said,
turning to him with an expression of distaste.

"
My
plan wouldn't involve
twelve
supers and government politics" He replied, matching her expression.

"What if we staff the club with agency personnel and turn away
civilians who try to come in?"
Delph offered up.

"If he frequents the club then he'll know if the people are different, and how would you turn everyone else aw
ay without arousing suspicion?"
Blythe said.

"What if we just have one person at the bar and have the
m
drug his drink?"
Suri suggested.

Rune shook her head.
"He had at least two women with him the whole time he was at the club when I watched him, they would notice if he was drugged." 

They sat in silent thought for a moment.

"Ok, what if we got to one of his girls and ge
t them to lure him out for us?"
Helo said.  "
Donovan's a Charmer right?  Isn't that something she can do?"

Rook chuckled lightly.  "She could, but she wouldn't, Donovan's not someone you want to rely on in the field."

"And that would put the girl in danger, we wouldn't be able to guarantee her
safety" Ash added.

"They're
tying
our hands here" Serk exc
laimed.
"
H
ow the fuck are we supposed to do our jobs without being seen?"

She understood his frustrations, most of them weren't used to working in the shadows; and Rook was right too, a truly covert mission would never have been this big.  She glanced across the table at Blythe. 
Their eyes met and he shrugged with slightly raised brows.  She knew what he must be
thinking;
they
regularly did their jobs without being seen.  If this had been
a
simple government op they would have simply followed the target until he was alone then they would have just incapacitated him in his sleep.  It was a valid plan, but as far as she knew Blythe had never dealt with an APS before, and so he wouldn't be prepared if any part of the plan fell through.

"Okay, here's the tentative plan for tonight: Blythe and Rune will watch the club to w
ait for the hostile to show up
,
keep
ing
eyes on him
and follow
ing
when he leaves
.
Serk's team will be ready nearby in case something hap
pens there, hopefully it won't.  My team will be at the secondary location waiting to box him in if you can get him in that direction, otherwise we'll be ready to go if
T
actical
-
II needs support.  Does
that work for the time being?"
Malik said.