The entirety of Team Rainbow were assembled in the commons room, each CTU seated at their own table. The room was large, capable of fitting the thirty eight people in it, while still having space to be comfortable enough to prevent any unnecessary agitation across the inhabitants, which was good, considering they were highly trained operatives that were taught the most efficient ways to execute somebody. Each team was conversing among themselves, most, but not all, talking about some rumors about new recruits that had circulated the entire base. From the GROM unit to the JTF2, everybody was yammering off, discussing who they thought the new operators could be, except for the SAS, as they already read the file. Sledge was slumped in his chair, left arm slung over the back of it, with the other resting on the table, tapping it rhythmically in an impatient manner. Thatcher was flexing with fists, trying to calm the shaking in his hands. He was the oldest operator in Six's repertoire of soldiers, and with age comes experience, sure, but it also came with less desirable things. Take, for example, his mild but still notable case of osteoarthritis. This wrists ached often, hindering his performance on the field. Doc had assessed his problem and recommended arm braces, but they didn't help. The duo that was the JTF2 team was sitting near the podium, chatting nonchalantly about the new operators. Tina "Frost" Lin Tsang was sitting upright in a polite manner with her hands on her knees. She was wearing blue jeans, her black boots, and a grey t-shirt, along with her Under Armor tuque. Buck, sitting beside her, was in a more relaxed position with his arm slung behind the back of the chair.
"Have you seen this Arson character? He looks like he's off his rocker..." Buck had said to Frost with a slight chuckle in his french-accented voice. In an unresponsive stupor, Frost just shrugged.
"Haven't seen the file yet. Pass it over." She requested calmly, sticking out her hand. She opened it. She looked at the picture attached, which was a mugshot. 'A criminal, huh. What are you thinking, Six?' She thought while looking at his file. "Devin Whitecastle... stutter... first, second, and third degree arson... organized crime waves... illegal human trafficking... use of concealed carry... murder." She read off the information. "Yeah, he's nuts." She agreed with Buck. "Tā kàn qǐlái hěn qíguài..." She stated.
"What?" Buck asked.
"I said he looks odd." She translated, whilst looking over the file again. She noted Arson was from Kamloops, British Columbia, along with the next new operator, Blowtorch, who seemed to be his sister.
"I knew you could speak Mandarin, but not that much." Buck said.
"I was bound to pick something up." She turned her head to the podium after hearing the jingling of shackles, ambient conversation, muffled laughing, and loud footsteps. A female guard waltzed onto the stage, leading four people in slate grey jumpsuits, which Frost had easily and quickly identified as Arson, Blowtorch, Slugs, and Ace, in that order. Blowtorch looked down at her shuffling feet, Ace stared blankly at the back of Slugs' head, zoned out in a daydream. Arson was fucking with his chains, trying to find a way to rip his hands out. He considered breaking his thumbs on the edge of the podium, then slipping his hands out and strangling the guard, but decided against it due to the mass of trained soldiers in the room. Six then walked onto the stage by the right side, and stepped onto the podium. She opened her mouth to speak.
"As most of you have been speculating, there are some new people joining our forces. Devin and Lilith Whitecastle, Mila Brooks, and Markus Nowak. These new operators are a part of our new Criminal Correction Unit, or CCU for short. Some of them are here for worse crimes than some others. They will be fighting along side you, and you will all get along. They will introduce themselves now. Devin Whitecastle..." She finished, gesturing for the scarred maniac to step to the podium. Devin did not. Instead, his gaze was fixed on Frost in a haze of some cocktail of something he couldn't quite put his finger on. It was a feeling he had never felt before. His chest felt warm. Stars danced in his eyes as he eyed the Chinese-Canadian operator. The entire room shifted their sight towards her as she sat in confusion. Buck just leaned over and spoke to her quietly.
"Devin. DEVIN!" Lilith shook him out of his daze.
"W-wuh-what..?" He choked out. "Oh..." He stepped up, tapping the microphone piece. "Now what t-the fuck am I doing? I wasn't listening." He asked as Lilith sighed.
"Just introduce yourself."
"Ah. Well, my n-name is, um, Devin, and I'm here for a s-shit ton of shit, but who the fuck cares, r-ruh-right?" Whispers worked themselves around the room. "I'm from Canada, and I-I don't know what else to say... so I don't nuh-know." Devin hopped off the podium and sauntered off in a cloud of confusion. Lilith then stepped up.
"Hi. Uh, I'm Lilith, but you can call me Lily if you want. I'm his sister. I like to play blackjack." She got off the podium as well. While Mila started to talk, Lilith worked towards her brother demanding an explanation.
"Hi." Devin greeted abruptly, still pacing around.
"What was that all about? I've never seen you like that before..." Lily inquired.
"Did you s-see that Asian chick with the b-black hair and the Under Armor beanie?" He asked back.
"Yeah. Why?"
"I think I'm in love?" He said.
