As Knight drove onward, Logan, who sat in the passenger seat, became uncomfortable, and better yet, still unsure about the girl that sat in the driver's seat. He had his suspicions: how did she know about the Caracas mission, or about the Ghosts at all? She drove into rebel territory, a place where neither Logan nor Keegan has ever seen before. This must have occurred after the Ghosts left for Caracas four years ago. She said, while still on Sunset Boulevard, that the resistance called themselves RISE, and they have little factions across the world, each with a name that described their inner beliefs. Logan wondered what must have ticked them off in order to attack and kill people on both sides of this 15-year war. Logan became more uneasy as they drove into the mountains.

"Are you sure we'll be back before sundown? It's already twilight and…" Logan grabbed his head, he was dizzy and his eyesight became blurry.

"You alright, kid?" Keegan asked from the backseat.

"I forgot to take my anxiety pill, that's all," Logan put his head against the window, trying not focus on the anxiety that filled his stomach.

"There's some pills in the passenger cabinet I managed to get after the rebels stormed a hospital last month. You're welcome to look through it to find whatever you need," Knight offered Logan. Keegan silently took a glance at their driver.

The truck became filled with Logan's pill shuffling. After a couple minutes of driving, Logan spoke up, "hey Knight, umm…are we there yet?" Though, Knight didn't answer him; she only kept her eyes on the road. Logan carefully kept looking for his anxiety pill in the passenger cabinet. When he finally found it, he took one and it somewhat calmed him down.

"So tell me, what's up with the rebellion? Why did they start?" Logan prodded, sensing the tense atmosphere of the cabin.

"Well, they started after the takeover of Fort Santa Monica, that's for sure. They seem to have a notion that rising from the ashes of the United States gives them power and patriotism, and many join and give in to the ranks, even as we speak. They kill soldiers from both sides, trying to stop the war that given each member so much pain. I guess that's their purpose, stop the war. But it doesn't stop there. They want power, fear, and pain to be felt in any loyal person to either side of this war, whether you are Federation or United States," Knight sighed. "Most of the time, they are out for blood. They lust for the blood spilled across their face, that's their essence of being. What scares me the most is that they will spill the blood of a civilian and soldier alike. Blood is what gives them strength. You can tell if RISE has gotten to you. You start to think of the blood of the people you kill, instead of their soul. You start to insist to kill a person, whether or not it is the right move to make. You kill for the thrill and exhilaration of the blood that squirts from their veins. It disgusts me to think that anyone would love pain and suffering, death and blood. Nothing comes good out of this, it just creates more chaos and endless fighting." Knight's breathing shallowed and the words became harder and harder to speak.

Keegan and Logan just listened on to Knight as she described RISE members. She continued on about other emotional and psychological traits RISE members exhibited. When she was finished, Keegan spoke softly but sternly, "How do you know?"

"My brother joined after we moved to Fort DLA. He showed those symptoms gradually when we lived there for almost a year. But I don't know how. He was always in the Command room, so he had no contact with any RISE faction or member. So I started to dig, and found the correlation from base attacks to the security system maintenance shut downs. RISE would strike bases when the security systems were down for maintenance, therefore someone from Command is feeding them information."

"Did you ever find them?" Keegan shifted in his seat, as he and Logan looked at each other and back to Knight.

"No. It sure wasn't my brother. I have my own mole in RISE, and he tells me that to have that kind of information passed on to their ranking officers, you need to have rank yourself."

"So you're saying the mole is a high ranking officer?"

Knight fell silent.

Logan felt uneasy again, but this time it wasn't anxiety. He was unsure whether or not to trust anyone there at Fort DLA with this new information. Keegan as well. Both Ghosts were unsure to trust even Knight. From this point the truck remained silent for the rest of the trip. Keegan grew more suspicious as Knight drove on towards the secret destination, hopeful that she is telling them the truth, that she is an ally.

She finally got to a storage facility that was located 60 miles away in the mountains, "Here you go. My ammo and supplies. Seriously, no one has dared to go through these gates to find what is inside. I keep them under lock, key and security safe." Knight then disabled her system to let them in. Keegan and Logan walked through the gates slowly, making sure the security system is really disabled and it wasn't a trap. They walked through and nothing happened. Knight then locked the doors behind them and enabled the system again to make sure others do not go in after. Inside were full storage containers full of ammunition, explosives, weaponry, clothing, food, water and toiletries. Everything both could imagine and more.

"You seriously didn't raid these bases without anyone helping you?" Keegan crossed his arms behind Logan and Knight.

"Yeah. With no one. It's like anyone would help me. The resistance is strong out here, because of the darkness and ambiguity that the mountains can cover," Knight sat on a wood crate with her hands in an enclosed fist. Keegan and Logan opened a few of the storage lockers and found their ammunition and explosives they needed.

"I was starting to think it was you who raided the shops and bases for these things," Logan said as he took enough ammunition for a month worth of fighting for the entire squad, as did Keegan with explosives and food and water for the Ghosts. "Sorry, if we doubted you."

"It's alright. I always get that question from the General."

"Tell us, how do you really know the Ghosts? I didn't hear it until my father told me about them," Logan sat on the floor, next to Knight as Keegan packed their things in empty crates Knight gave.

"Well, for starters, I heard it from your captain. Captain Elias T. Walker."

Both Ghosts looked at her, astonished to hear their old captain's name. "How do you know Captain Walker?" Keegan stuttered out, both sadness and surprise in his voice.

"I know him…because I know Joana."

"Who…" Logan became confused, but somehow recognized the name.

"Logan, your mother." Keegan said bitterly. Unable to express his shock, Keegan just stood there, remembering his duty to Elias. Elias' words rang in Keegan's head: keep my family safe. Keegan was only 10 or 11 when he heard about Joana's death and 15 when he found out that Rorke murdered her.

"Joana," Knight sighed, "isn't dead. I shouldn't even be telling you she's alive either. If Rorke got his hands on this information…"

"She would certainly be killed." Keegan finished the sentence.

"Wait, I found out my mom died when I was five…" Logan still in shock, thought instantly how his brother, Hesh, took their mother's death. "Hesh took it hard, unable to express any emotion until he was a teenager…"

"What about you?" Knight became curious.

"I was…I don't even know. I think I just thought my mom would come back, she always was strong, so I just thought she just went somewhere and is coming back…but after a certain time, I became at peace with her death. I accepted she was gone." Logan struggled to think of anytime he was sad for his mom's death, which made coping with this information a lot worse.

Knight put a hand on Logan's knee, "it's okay. I was the same when my parents died in the ODIN attacks."

The whole ride back was silent; Logan was still trying to figure out if his father knew that their mom was alive. All the signs, he kept thinking about all the signs his father showed. Keegan's mind was also reeling. He met Joana when he was young, she was like a mother to him. Logan just looked out the window, unable to say anything else to either Keegan or Knight.

When they got back to the fort, Keegan was unsure to trust Knight. Obviously, she's been telling them something but unsure what to make of it. Logan just took the ammo crates without looking back at Knight.

"Hey," as the Ghosts walked to the entrance of the command tower, "If you need a listening ear, I'm here. I know how some of what you're feeling hurts. I just…get it." Knight looked on as the Ghosts just kept walking.

"Okay…I guess." He turned slightly to see her. But too confused to really look at her.

Knight walked back to her tent. She sat on her cot and looked around her tent, remembering all the times she had with her brother. It was her duty to protect him, but she failed him and her family. She felt a ping in her heart that neither Logan nor Keegan said a word to her, even after their conversation at the storage facility. Mostly Logan. Knight laid on her bed. She felt a sort of protectiveness over Logan, like she loved him. She's sure it was a phase. But she couldn't rub off the feeling that she was starting to fall for Logan, starting to care. She didn't even know him, but she couldn't stop feeling like she knew him for years. His eyes showed a warmness and comfort that she couldn't forget, let alone not care for.

Knight moved her body to the side as she pictured a smiling Logan as she fell asleep. ~

Logan was in the rec room as he contemplated how to break the news to Hesh, how even to believe himself that Knight was telling the truth. Then, Logan couldn't shake off the feeling that he hurt Knight. He shook his head. Logan sighed and closed his eyes. All these ideas, feelings just made him dizzy. But he found the thoughts of Knight, reminded him of something, a comfort he experienced so long ago. He fell asleep in his chair, with his thoughts of the aqua-eyed girl.

Author's Note:

Busy on re-working some parts of the story. You'll see some parts have changed for better direction and thought. Thanks for reading!