"Have you gotten through, yet?" Ohio asked for the millionth time.

Alaska dropped the thin wires she had been trying to hook together in annoyance as they shocked her and turned to face Ohio.

"Listen," she said, shaking her hand to return some feeling to it. "I think I can get it. I just have to wire something in to mess with the channels, so that whoever they are can't listen in; that was the reason we stopped using the radios to contact eacother in the first place."

She placed her hands on her hips and stared agitatedly at Ohio, then went back to configuring their radio's wiring, threading the thin pieces of metal through the channeling systems. She took a deep breath, trying to even out her anger.

Static started to echo through the small speaker of the portable radio, along with unclear talk.

"I think I've got a signal," she said. "But it's faltering."

Ohio came over and pressed his ear against the speaker. "No- no, I think it's clearing up! Keep doing whatever you're doing, Alaska- I think I can almost make out whatever those people are saying..."

She weaved the wire she was using through and around the radio's cables, also starting to be able tp make out the garbled speaking.

Alaska stopped at a half-clear signal, shaking her head at Ohio. "That's as much as I dare to mess with this thing; if I tinker with it any more, I'll probably fry the comm systems on it."

Ohio bent his head lower to the radio speaker as Alaska held the backing panel onto the radio and listened closely herself, hoping against hope that they had established secure contact.

Ohio started to play around with the radio's aerial, twitching it to the right, then to the left, listening to the static levels. He started moving it slowly to the middle, the signal starting to clear. He nudged it slightly to the right, where it seemed to be the least static-filled.

"Hello." Ohio called into the radio. "Is anyone listening?"

More static replied.

"Are we transmitting?" Alaska asked into it.

A strange but familiar, lightish voice peaked through the static.

"He-lo?" It said. "Plea-e i-entif- yourse-f."

"Go on," Ohio muttered. "Say something."

Alaska pressed the communication button down and spoke into the transmitter.

"This is Agent codename: Alaska. Do you read?" She responded. She was confident that the speaker was 4-3-7, but she still felt as though she wasn't sure if she should be replying.

The signal became slightly clearer; 4-3-7 must have boosted the signal from their end.

"We rea- you, Alaska. Please cont-nue."

"We need assistance, ASAP. Only Ohio and myself have not been caught. All other units have been apprehended by the enemy- and they aren't Insurrectionist. Confirmation code," Alaska said, wracking her brain."G268.. Q4L1."

A silence filled the air, apart from an occassional spurt of static.

"Copy that, Ala-a. We will sen- r-enforceme-ts as qu-ckly as we can," 4-3-7's voice came from the speaker slowly.

Ohio gripped the crevice wall in relief. Alaska got up from her knees and shut down the radio.

"I suppose we just wait now?"

Ohio looked over at her. "No," he said. "We should either set out to the place we got dropped off at," he pointed to the shady, plant covered platform of rock they'd arrived at. "Or we should start looking for areas to scan their base down there."

Alaska unholstered her sniper rifle in response and edged her way across the crevice they had been in. She crouched down stubbornly and looked through the scope of it for what felt like the hundreth time that mIssion.

She stayed that way for a minute or so until she felt a hand lightly grab her shoulder.

"I know you're concerned," Ohio said gently from behind her. "But we'll get them back; all of them. West, Kansas, Hawaii, Tenn, Alabama, Colorado, I swear."

Alaska felt something catch in her throat and she lowered her rifle. It wasn't exactly that she had been feeling sadness before; she had felt enraged- fuming. But now that Ohio was trying to comfort her, she felt the rage fall into a flatter emotion. The glare that had been on her face ever since the suggestion for help faded, and her thinned, annoyed eyes turned back to their normal, wide selves as she felt as though her stomach was plummeting to the canyon's base.

Her head lowered slowly, along with her anger at their inconveniences. She thought she felt something warm and wet slide down her cheek.

"I'm-" she started to say, but stopped. She wasn't fine; and she didn't care if she was.

"What if we don't?" Her voice trembled. "What if we don't find them? And I don't mean the Director's reaction. I-" she stopped talking completely, afraid that if she uttered another word, her mind would fall apart as her head started to pound.

She clutched her head, holding it up. Her eyebrows knitted together under her helmet and she sighed, closing her eyes.

"We will. Just trust me," Ohio said, briefly gripping her shoulder.

Alaska's eyes flew open, her negative emotions coverting into something more determined.

Ohio's hand left her shoulder as she slowly got up from her knee.

"Let's go," he said, offering her his hand.

"What, you don't think I can manage?" She responded.

They looked at each other for a short moment, then Alaska sprinted forward with a glance at Ohio, running behind her. She felt a small grin spread across her face, and looked forward, repeating Ohio's words in her head.

Just trust me.