Interlude to a Mission.
DISCLAIMER: I make no claim to owning Dark Angel, and Suede comes from the mind of the Wyldegod. My writing is merely in the pursuit of happiness, and I make no financial gain from the endeavour, in fact… I probably won't be financially viable to sue in this lifetime, so put those court papers away and go after someone who is committing a real crime.
A NOTE FROM ABREGAZA: This is inspired by a story I was told recently. Thanks to the Alaidh for the almighty beta, and to the Wyldegod, who helped out a whole lot, firstly by lending me Suede for this story and secondly by suggesting some X5 names for me when I was drawing a blank.
Suede signaled his people to cut through the park on the left. Silently they moved through the shadows, following their commanding officer to the objective.
They were heading towards the compound outside Portland; headquarters to group of foreign military forces that were exploiting the Pulse shattered country to run various businesses from slavery to drug running. They'd come to Suede's attention through a source in Seattle, and he'd decided to use his people to bring them down.
At a faint noise from farther in the park, he signaled a halt, nodding to Aris, who melted away to circle the perimeter. In moments she was back, suddenly reappearing between D'art and Scratch.
"It's a little girl," she signed, "Nothing to worry about."
"A little girl out this late?" asked Scratch, looking in the direction of the now louder sobbing.
Suede thought for a moment then began moving towards the girl, his people following silently as always.
He stopped a short distance away from the girl, scanning the surrounding area for her parents. She was only about 8 years old and seemed to be totally alone. Quickly he made a decision, and turned to his people.
"Aris, approach her; bring her back to the library we passed half a block ago and wait on the steps with her until I signal you."
"Scratch and D'art, you maintain a perimeter around them, don't be seen, and if you hear the cops coming, the three of you get out."
He turned and began striding away only to be stopped by D'art.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm going to call the cops and make sure she gets home safely," he signed then kept walking.
Aris shrugged, and moved towards the little girl, who was now crying violently.
"Are you okay?" she asked, stepping free of the shadows.
The little girl screamed and tried to run, but Aris simply blurred in front of her, ignoring the sniggering from the other two squad members.
"Its okay sweetie. Where are your parents?"
Finally she managed to coax the girl to trust her, and began leading her towards the library, glaring into the shadows that were D'art and Scratch as they continued to laugh at her efforts to amuse the child. Reaching the steps, she waited, assuming Suede would already be there shortly since it had taken almost 15 minutes to coax the girl into trusting her. She scanned the darkness, listening as the others performed sweeps of the area and made sure no one was close to them.
Finally, Suede appeared beside her, startling the girl who was leaning against Aris's legs, almost asleep. "Its okay sweetie, he's a nice man who is helping me find your parents," she said, patting the girl on the head.
He nodded, "The police will be here any minute, be ready to go." Then he was gone again, blending into the shadows.
"Where did he go?" asked the child sleepily, "Can you disappear like that?"
"Sometimes," replied Aris absently.
They waited silently several more minutes until Aris could hear sirens approaching. Shifting the now sleeping child away from her legs, she too melted into the shadows, letting the darkness embrace her as she got back into her mission frame of mind.
She joined the others in the darkness, watching as the policemen ran up the library steps and wrapped the girl into a blanket before bundling her into a squad car.
"She's safe now," signed D'art, "Are we continuing the mission?"
Suede simply led them back into the park, the four of them once again passing through the night like silent whispers of smoke. As they approached the compound Aris thought once more of the little girl and wondered at the soft feelings inside her, before pushing the sensation away. There would be plenty of time tomorrow to consider why they'd done what they had. In the meantime there was a mission to accomplish.