On a dark stormy night, with the thunderclouds high, and the rain loud, a jeep pulled up to the silent camp. The only building that showed some life was the mess hall with its pulsing lights and chatter. The door clanged open, every head turning to see who it was. In a flash of lightening three figures were seen standing in the doorway, all tall, all wearing black. In the silence, one man stepped forward heading towards a distinct table. Dressed up in a black suit, and slicked back hair, he walked with a purpose. Eyes followed him as he walked up to the table where the Sergeant was eating.

"Sir," he acknowledged. The Sergeant looked up at the man, and then glanced around him. The two others had followed and were standing there. "I'm sure you got the phone call from Garvey and are informed on everything. We're just delivering the girl as promised."

The Sergeant shook his head. "I still cannot believe you are putting her back under my command. Remember what happened last time!?"

"Last time was just a……misunderstanding, Sir."

"Yeah right. She almost blew up half the camp just because of that rag-tag unit. I just don't trust her with my men anymore. She's tried to get half of them kicked out of the SOF." The Sergeant glared at a person.

"Well," came a southern drawl. "I can tell you missed me lots." Every head turned toward the voice. It came from the middle figure that had entered the hall. He was the only one not dressed up in a suit. Instead, baggy army pants and a black hoodie covered this person. As an arm reached up to take off the hood, the men unconsciously leaned closer to see who it was. The hood dropped, and the men looked astonished.

A young girl stood there, middle teens most likely. Her black hair was up in a bun and her green eyes sharp, ice cold as they scanned the room quickly. She turned her gaze back to the Sergeant and smirked. He glowered back, unhappy with the deal.

"We will be staying here for a couple days just to make sure she settles in and doesn't do a runner. Garvey also wants a full report on her assessment as soon as possible." The man looked at the Sergeant knowingly.

"Very well," he sighed. He wouldn't be able to get out of this even if he wanted to. And boy did he want to.

"Z-Unit," he barked.

"Sir," four men yelled standing up in the far corner.

"You will be taking on an extra member for a while. Treat her like one of the boys. If she causes you any trouble, come to me immediately."

"Yes Sir."

The Sergeant turned back to the girl. "Shadow, this here is Z-Unit. No playing around with them. You cause any trouble I will personally set your execution date. Understood?"

"Of course," she drawled, not really caring at all.

"Excellent. Now get to know each other, and behave while I talk to the agents." With that said, the Sergeant left the building leading the two agents behind him.

Z-Unit studied the girl with curiosity burning in their gaze. They slowly sat back down, inviting her to join them. She sat with cool indifference waiting for them to speak. "So, I'm Wolf, team leader. This man here is Puma our team medic. Beside him is Dragon, team prankster, and then Hawk, the peacemaker."

She took her time to examine each one of the men before introducing herself. "I'm Shadow." That was all she, quite coldly, said. Shadow looked them over once more, her gaze calculating.

Wolf was relatively tall with black hair and brown eyes. His gaze was strong willed as he stared back at her. Shadow's gaze flickered onwards to Puma. He was shorter, yet with a strong build; his gray eyes and blond hair sticking out the most. Dragon and Hawk looked almost like twins, having brown hair and the same height. The only difference was their eyes; Dragon's were blue while Hawks were brown.

Shadow scowled at them and abruptly stood up, turning on her heel and walking out. The rest of the men stared after her. As soon as she was gone they broke out into whispers.

The Sergeant came back in a few minutes later followed by the agents. "Very well," he was saying. "I'll keep that in mind while training her." He looked up and around. Shadow was nowhere to be seen.

"Z-Unit. Where is she?"

"Sir, she just got up and walked out." Wolf stood up tall and looked the Sergeant in the eye.

"Fine, but if she does a runner, it's on your heads." The Sergeant glared at them and looked back at the agents. They were ignoring him, and talking in hushed, quick tones to each other.

"If she ran…" one of the agents was saying. "She is so dead."

"No, Borkin, we are so dead if Garvey finds out." the other said worriedly.

"Chill, he won't worry, Alfred. After all, she is just a tool, and plus, we can easily bring her back by threatening her."

The next morning Shadow didn't show up at breakfast. When questioned, Z-Unit told the Sergeant that they had not seen her at all. As the hours passed, the agents realized that she had done a runner and probably wouldn't be back for awhile. They frowned and hesitantly called Garvey. When they got off they were frowning and rather pale.

"Shit, she's going to kill us herself." Alfred said, fear flooding his voice. "I told Garvey we needed people there to watch over them."

"Man, don't worry. She's not allowed to kill any of the agents. She won't harm us. Besides, she doesn't even know yet."

Four days later, Shadow entered the camp, blending into the tree shadows. She crept up to the mess hall and entered for breakfast. She grabbed an apple and sat down by herself, away from the other soldiers. She looked relatively peaceful eating that apple, until Z-Unit came over and plonked their trays next to her. Shadow looked up and glared at all of them.

"What!?" Puma asked. "We just want to sit with the teammate we haven't seen in awhile."

They began discussing their schedule for the day. It would be quite busy, with no free time, and Dragon was complaining. Suddenly a phone rang, and everyone looked around. Cell phones weren't allowed at camp, and you couldn't get coverage anyways. They all looked straight at Shadow, who calmly flipped open her cell phone.

"Hello?" She was confused because she did not recognize the number.

"Ah yes. Is Max Weber there?" A male's voice came over the speaker.

"Yes, this is her. You are?"

"I'm the police chief from Allstown. I got your number from Mrs. Spencer, the guidance counselor at the elementary school."

"What do you want?" She was thoroughly annoyed. This number was private, and only the guidance counselor was supposed to know it.

"Max…..I hope you're sitting down." His voice suddenly seemed sympathetic and sad."

"Why? What's wrong? Is Sou-kun okay?" Her voice, although calm, held worry and confusion.

"Max, there was an accident."

"What do you mean?" She was standing up and facing the wall, away from prying eyes and ears. Her hand clenched the phone tight to her ear.

"Five days ago, at night, Jeb, Zeb, Tom, and Sou-kun were driving down the road. We think they were on their way home from dinner. They were driving through a green light, when suddenly a truck ran a red light. Their car was totaled, and…." His voice grew quieter and quieter.

"And what?" Shadow asked, her voice suddenly very cold, and forceful. "What happened?"

"They're dead Shadow. Zeb died on the way to the hospital, and the others died on impact. Zeb said he loved you and sorry." A silence filled the phone, neither one seemed to be breathing.

On the other side, Shadow was pale and tense, clenching her hands hard. She tried to take deep breaths but they weren't working. Finally she found her voice and asked, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"We tried to find your number, but we couldn't. Someone just mentioned the guidance counselor. I'm sorry."

Shadow growled and hung up the phone. She stood there for a moment, and suddenly punched the wall. Everyone looked at her; she was trembling. "Shadow," an agent tried approaching her.

"Don't you dare touch me. You knew and didn't try to contact me." She turned around violently and glared at him. He stepped backwards; her eyes were almost black with hate. If looks could kill, Borkin and Alfred would both be dead. She took a step forward. "Why the hell didn't you call me? Huh? You know my number. Is it too much to call me for a minute?"

"This is what we were afraid of Shadow. We knew you would blow up on us and we…" Alfred was cut off by a very angry Shadow.

"You guys are exactly right. In fact this is your fault. If you had sent someone to look after them, none of this would of happened." She gave them one last glare, and suddenly twirled around, leaving.

"Wait, Shadow!"