Moving Forward

Unknown location

Annette was rattled awake as she felt the plane descending rapidly. She gritted her teeth as the shaking worsened, realizing just how much worse it was from regular commercial flights. A few minutes later she felt a hard bump and realized to her relief that they'd finally touched down.

She relaxed and laid on the hard metal inside the crate. She was still hungry, cold and drained. But she wasn't as exhausted as she had been. So now it was time to figure out how she was going to get out of this place. Running for it was a distinct possibility…unless they'd landed on an island or barge of some kind.

But if possible, she wanted to leave without being detected, because even if she did manage to outrun the guards who were surely stationed outside, EXALT would immediately know the area she was, and have their people in all the nearby cities and towns.

Annette slowed her breathing, closed her eyes and concentrated. The mishmash of words, sentences, images and emotions of those nearby washed over her. It took some more concentration, but she was able to separate them into little clusters in her head. Distinct, unique minds working ceaselessly.

There were…thirteen? Probably more and she couldn't sense them. Few enough that she could probably escape unnoticed if she waited for the right moment. But waiting was going to be difficult. Not to mention she didn't know if they'd be looking her way or not, and she wasn't sure if she could reliably control their minds.

An indefinite amount of time passed before she felt two people coming closer, as well as hearing a loud door open. Now she could hear the two men actually talking, the language foreign to her. It sounded like Chinese, but she didn't know for sure. Her box began moving and now she was close enough to the person pushing it to hear more coherent sentences.

…Cargo delivered on time…

…Russians need to get their act together…

…XCOM on the defensive again, hopefully they'll prepare…

…Mercado better upgrade the tech soon…

XCOM again. She still didn't know who they were, but if they were enemies of EXALT, it might be a good idea to try and find them. Because she probably couldn't trust anyone else in the government, or military for that matter. Not worth taking the risk of them catching her again.

So…what was her plan?

Get out of here first, she told herself, then strategize.

Her crate had stopped a few minutes ago and she didn't feel anyone near her. She took a breath. It was now or never. She pushed up and pulled herself out of the crate and tumbled onto the ground. It was early morning, so it wasn't that bright out yet. Still the first thing she noticed was, to her relief, that it didn't seem to be an island, and definitely wasn't a barge.

She was on an airstrip, true, surrounded by boxes and crates. The plane was parked in front of a warehouse, but it was the only building in the nearby area. There were some dirt roads that she could see in the distance, but she couldn't tell how far they went.

The area itself appeared to be fairly isolated, as trees surrounded them completely, though she couldn't tell how deep in the forest they actually were. There were also guards, but they weren't focused her direction and the workers were moving cargo directly from the plane to the warehouse.

But what gave her hope was that she could see city lights in the distance, above the trees that surrounded this airstrip. She heaved a sigh of relief. Now-

"Hey?" Someone behind her called.

Adrenaline coursed through her body and without thinking she locked in on the mind behind her and closed down on it, light purple waves rippled down her arms as she spun around, raising her hand at the man who was standing behind her, a confused expression on his face.

He was Asian, but if he was a native here, she couldn't tell. "Down!" She whispered, echoing and emphasizing that sentiment in her mind. She realized she'd likely lose control once her adrenaline faded. His irises shimmed a faint purple, a reflection of her control, but it wasn't direct like when she'd taken control of the EXALT guard at her cell. He would simply follow whatever orders she wanted.

His expression turned blank and he knelt to the ground.

Great. What was she going to do? She couldn't just let him go, and even if she incapacitated him, he'd wake up and tell them she was here. She really only had two options: Kill him or let him go.

She could certainly kill him, either with his gun or her knife…but she didn't really want to do that again. Yet killing him was the only chance she'd have of escaping unnoticed. Whereas by just knocking him out, she'd essentially be letting them know she was here.

A distraction, that was best, yes. "Listen," she ordered. "Take your gun, walk out in front of the warehouse and shoot yourself in the head." The man nodded blankly, and without comment, walked past her and kept going.

Now was the moment of truth. She relinquished her control and prayed he'd follow through on her order. He kept walking and she breathed a sigh of relief. When he shot himself and everyone went running…then she'd make her escape. The man stopped in front of the warehouse and put the gun to his head, which caused some of the nearby guards to yell something at him.

She smiled while she watched.

Too late.

The gun went off with a bang, and she felt the ripples of shock, surprise and alarm ripple through everyone nearby. Her smile turned to a grimace as a wave of exhaustion washed over her, causing her to double over. Taking several quick breaths, she quickly glanced right, then left, and seeing no one, took off into the trees before the city.

No one shouted after her and no bullets whizzed past her, so she just kept going.

And going.

And going.

Time and exhaustion were meaningless as terror ensured she put one foot in front of the other. She didn't know how long she'd been stumbling forward as the sun rose over her, at this point she was just focused on putting as much distance between her and EXALT as possible. She occasionally glanced up to see the lights, a reassurance she was going the right way. Each time they seemed closer, but at the same time, so much farther away.

Just a bit farther, she told herself, it can't be that far now.

It all became a blur, and before she knew it she was collapsing in some alleyway corner, unable to stop it as exhaustion swept over her. At least she'd made it into the city.

Still an unknown location, possibly Asia

When she woke up, it was growing darker.

Annette pushed herself up, blinking tiredly as she looked around. Well, at least this meant they hadn't found her yet. She was definitely in the slums area, judging by all the rundown apartments and buildings. The area seemed abandoned as well, especially since most of the windows were boarded up.

She hugged her knees to her chest as she tried to think of what to do now.

Right. First order of business was to get food, since she felt ravenous. There had to be some kind of fast food place around here, even if it wasn't a western country. Of course, that highlighted another problem she had.

She had no money.

Which was going to pose a slight problem. So the actual first order of business was going to be to find some money, and there was really only one way she could see that would get her what she needed fast. Theft. Problem was she didn't have the dexterity or subtlety of a pickpocket and would likely be caught.

Except…she really didn't need to. All she really had to do was go up to someone and use her powers to have them hand whatever money they had over. They'd figure it out later, but by then she'd hopefully be long gone. She grimaced, it was one thing to force people to do things against their will when her life had been at stake, not to mention those EXALT guards had deserved it. But it felt wrong to use them on ordinary people who'd done nothing wrong except run into her.

But she didn't have a choice.

Well, at the very least she could limit the damage. She stood, trying to ignore the hunger and as she dusted herself off, realized she had another potential issue, namely her dirtied white clothes. Even had they not been EXALT-make, they still stood out and looked exceptionally odd, like she'd escaped from a hospital or some mental institute. Which technically, wasn't far off, but she didn't want people to know that yet.

So, money, clothes and food. Annette nodded to herself. Not exactly a firm plan, but it was the best she had at the moment. She started walking down the street, keeping an eye out for suspicious people. She didn't fail to notice the billboards, fliers and graffiti all written in Chinese. Or was it Japanese? Whatever, it seemed she was in Asia somewhere, which was going to complicate things further if she had to deal with language barriers.

She walked for what felt like hours before she finally ran into some people on the street, all were Asians, so she figured her hypothesis was correct. Luckily they didn't seem to mind her too much, only nodding in her direction, if they noticed her at all. She could sense their minds, but was too distracted to focus or hear what they were thinking.

A while later she felt she was definitely getting further into the town. Small cars drove through the dilapidated streets, and a decent amount of people roamed the sidewalks. She wasn't out of the questionable part of town yet, but at least she was in the moderately populated part of it.

Annette finally stopped, and glanced around the area, trying to see if there was any place she could go. Her eyes lit up as she saw what looked like some kind of clothing store. Well, that was on her list and she might as well get out of these clothes now. Quickly dashing across the street, she opened the door and entered the small shop.

An older Asian lady was seated at the checkout desk, but the rows of clothes in front of her confirmed that this was what she was looking for. She stood there for a few seconds, trying to see where she should start. A much younger woman walked up, likely no older than her. "Hello," she said, her accent clearly pronounced. "You need help?"

"Uh, no, no," Annette denied, shaking her head. "I'm fine." Ignoring the woman, she went over and began rummaging through the racks. Something neutral, something that wouldn't attract attention was what she would like. Fashion was something she'd never been that into, and now she wondered if an interest would have helped now.

Black seemed to suspicious to her, a little too incognito. Grays were probably best, and with that in mind, she picked out some grey pants that were in her size, along with a jacket the same color. She wondered if a grey shirt would also work for underneath, but wondered if it might be better to break up the color scheme. She spotted a whitish shirt and walked over and picked it up.

It wasn't pure white, it had a grayish tint, but would contrast well with her jacket. At the very least she would look completely normal. All her clothing sorted, she headed over to the changing room and quickly dressed in her new garments.

Now…she needed to leave without paying.

Annette had pulled off all the tags, so she might have been able to pass these as her own had someone noticed her leaving. The problem was that the worker had noticed her entering, when she was wearing a much different set of clothing. So…best case scenario, Annette left when she wasn't looking.

Problem was that it was a small store and there hadn't been anyone else when she'd entered. Annette sighed, when all else failed she might as well march out with confidence. The worst that could happen was that she was stopped and then had to use her powers to leave.

She opened the changing room door and peeked out. Luckily the worker was speaking with some new customer and Annette saw her chance and began walking towards the door in a roundabout way, occasionally glancing towards the woman. She reached the door and exited as quickly as she could, breaking into a light jog once she was out.

Once she was a couple blocks down, she breathed a sigh of relief. Alright, one thing done. She felt bad about stealing from them, but she'd had no choice. But she couldn't focus on that now. Next order of business was to get money.

She hesitated before pulling up the hood of her jacket. There was a risk she would draw more attention to herself now, since hooded people were generally regarded with more suspicion. But she had several things going for her, namely that she was a white woman, and as a general rule, women weren't treated with nearly as much suspicion as men.

The advantage to this was that it would be a better way of hiding her face for the moment, and then she realized that because she was a woman, it opened up a new set of problems. The most likely of which was being regarded as an easy target for robbery or rape, which was highly likely in this part of town. While she could likely handle whoever came her way, that wasn't something she wanted to deal with now.

She sighed. Worry about that later, now she needed to find some money.

Japan, Somewhere

Annette stood in front of a map written completely in Japanese. At least she assumed it was Japanese, because while she couldn't read anything on it, she had figured out she was somewhere in Japan. Apparently this city was not a very hot tourist attraction either, else there'd be some kind of English guide.

Well, she was in a normal part of the city now, or at the very least, the supposedly non-dangerous part. Annette shivered, it was dark now and she really needed to find somewhere to eat and sleep. She'd considered how best to get some money, and figured the best way was just to get it over with.

The man across the street talking on his phone seemed well off, and likely wouldn't miss a small amount of money. Still, she had to be subtle about it, at least a little bit. Seeing no one around him, she casually strolled over. Fixing the location in her mind, she closed her eyes and focused on sensing him.

She took a breath. Calm. Focused. Time to see if she could just mentally suggest something. Drop your wallet on the ground and walk away. It wasn't a full order, just a small suggestion she hoped would slip through and plant itself in his mind.

She let go and opened her eyes to see the man walking away. Heart pounding, she walked over to where he'd been standing and looked down. A brown wallet was laying on the concrete, just as she'd suggested. Moving quickly, she knelt down and swept it up into her hand and immediately began walking the opposite direction.

"Sorry," she muttered to the man as she began going through it. Four credit cards, an ID of some kind, and what she felt was a decent amount of cash. She had no clue how much this was actually worth, but it must be enough to buy a meal. After that she could make a call.

Japan, Somewhere

This odd mishmash of a bar and restaurant was a little odd, but Annette didn't care that much. She really didn't know what she'd really ordered either, but it was delicious. Some kind of seafood, she thought, but didn't really feel the need to confirm. Though she was wondering if she was drawing too much attention to herself since she'd already ordered three full meals and was still hungry for more.

Nah, she could find somewhere to sleep tonight and have another meal tomorrow. But she was rejuvenated enough to begin formulating a solider plan. It wouldn't be too long before that man realized he'd lost his wallet, so he'd probably cancel all his cards, preventing her from using them. Luckily she'd thought ahead and used the cards to buy the meals and saved the cash.

She would have withdrawn money, but had realized she didn't know the pin numbers for the cards, which would prevent that. Not to mention she had no idea where banks or ATMs would be. As it stood now, she'd ditch the wallet after tonight, then find someone else and get the pin number along with the cards. Next she'd buy a ticket directly to France and plan from there.

First she'd call Latrell after finishing her meal here. Her boyfriend would be able to help with this, and his house would be a place to stay while she hid from EXALT. They had to know she'd escaped now, and would be looking for her. The only thing she was worried about with contacting him was that he wouldn't believe her…which she couldn't entirely blame him for. Her story would sound insane to essentially every rational person, regardless of its truth.

The most important thing she had to stress was secrecy. She'd been gone…it had to be months now. Everyone probably thought she was dead, and for the moment, it had to stay that way. Latrell's father was high up in the French police, so if he knew she was alive, there was a good chance he wouldn't keep it to himself, and EXALT agents would figure out where she was.

She pulled out one of the bills for a tip. She wasn't sure of the exact dollars to yen conversion, but figured that ten thousand of anything was a lot. Standing, she walked over to the bar, wanting to get one last drink to go. After she ordered, the TV playing the Japanese equivalent of news caught her attention.

Onscreen was what looked like a…massive spaceship? She frowned. What? She took a seat and tried to figure out what was actually going on. She couldn't understand the commenter, but the…Chinese soldiers moving through it seemed to indicate they were in charge of it.

"About time the Chinese wrap this charade up," the man beside her muttered. She looked over at him in surprise. He was definitely not Asian, as his white skin clearly showed, but he was actually pretty old. There were wrinkles on his face, but he didn't seem to lack much energy. He still had a full head of graying hair so…American, perhaps?

"What charade?" She asked casually, resting her arms on the bar.

He glanced over at her. "Oh, you know, the whole dispute over the alien dreadnaught-ship-thing. I'm surprised it took them this long really."

It was all she could do not to drop her jaw. As it was she couldn't help but blink in shock. Alien dreadnought. Did he actually mean… "Uh, yeah," she muttered tonelessly. "Surprising."

"Yeah," he nodded. "Hopefully the Chinese can actually use some of the tech before they attack again. Good think XCOM intervened or we'd have had something much worse than Hamburg."

She perked up. XCOM. So…if they were known enough to the public that this guy could mention them casually, then was EXALT the same way? Now all those random snippets she'd heard when she was captured made sense. Contrary to what she'd thought, they actually were talking about aliens from space.

She took a deep breath. Alright, new objective. Find out exactly what had been happening since she'd been captured. Unfortunate she hadn't taken that guy's phone, a few searches on the internet could clear this up, and she didn't want to exactly tell this guy that she had no clue what he was talking about.

"I don't think I've seen you around," the man commented, snapping her out of her thoughts. "You new here?"

"Oh, no," she shrugged. "Just passing through."

He almost smirked at that, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Ah, a tourist then. Not many come through here."

"It's on the way," Annette answered, hoping he'd stop pressing. "Not really much to this."

"Still," he mused, looking right at her. "It's nice to see some new faces."

She was getting the impression that he was being a little too pointed in his questioning. As he looked back to the TV she focused on the minds closest to her and pressed hard against the nearest.

Then frowned to herself.

She couldn't hear or sense anything, not even the streams of meaningless information. He did exist, and she was certain it was him, but she couldn't tell what he was feeling, let alone read his thoughts.

"Your drink?"

Annette returned to the world, shaking her head as the waitress looked at her curiously, a cup of juice in her hand. "Right," Annette muttered as she pulled out the card and took the drink. "Uh, thanks."

She left to use the card and Annette got up to go. She had no use for it anymore and had three more anyway. Someone suddenly grabbed her arms and she jerked around to see the old man looking at her intently. "You do have a place to spend the night, don't you?" He asked, very politely.

He let go of her arm and she glared at him. "That's not your concern."

He smiled. "Well, if you don't, I'd recommend a place about four blocks down. Not the fanciest, but they have good prices. Affordable ones, especially for people with a…limited amount of money."

Yeah, he was definitely suspicious. "I'll keep that in mind, thanks." She muttered as she walked away, not making eye contact with anyone in the restaurant. Once she was back on the street, she thought about what the man had said.

It could have just been friendly advice…but given how the past few months of her life had gone, she wasn't exactly that trusting of random strangers offering suggestions, while slyly insinuating that they knew details they shouldn't have known about.

She shook her head. No. Worst case she'd sleep on the streets again, but first she needed to make a phone call. Luckily she spotted a pay-phone booth across the street. It was something of a miracle that these things hadn't been disposed of, what with everyone having their own phones now.

She closed the door in the booth behind her, and looked at the phone stand. This one had been upgraded to take credit cards and cash, so she had options if the man had cancelled his cards. She slid one of the cards and began dialing. She prayed that his number was still the same, or that no one else answered.

She heard a click and his deep voice greeted her. "[This is Officer Latrell, who is this?]"

She closed her eyes. "[Hey Latrell, it's me. Annette.]"

There was silence on the other end of the line. "[Latrell,]" she asked again. "[Are you there?]"

"[Uh, yeah, yeah,]" he answered, flustered. "[It's just…you're alive!]" He started laughing in disbelief at that, which she joined in. It was so great to finally hear his voice again.

"[Yes, I'm alive,]" she repeated. "[But I have to be careful. Are you alone?]"

"[I'm at my house, so yes,]" he confirmed. "[Where have you been? What happened? Everyone thinks you're dead!]"

"[I was kidnapped, experimented on,]" she explained hurriedly. "[I don't know how long I've been gone but I managed to escape.]"

"[Experimented on?]" His answered, his tone torn between worry and anger. "[What-]"

"[I'll explain everything to you later,]" she interrupted, looking around. "[They'll be looking for me now and I have to keep moving.]"

"[Where are you now?]" He demanded.

"[Japan,]" she answered, looking around. "[I'm not exactly sure where. But I'll be trying to get back as soon as possible.]"

"[Alright, no, just stay put,]" Latrell stated. "[I'll take some people and come to you. You'll be protected-]"

"[No!]" She gasped, since she knew he would actually do it. "[Listen to me, you can't tell anyone I'm alive. They have people everywhere. I probably shouldn't have called you to begin with, but you needed to know I was alive.]"

He was silent for a few minutes. "[Ok, ok,]" he seemed to be talking to himself now. "[You wouldn't make this up, so I'll trust you here. Against my better judgement. But how are you going to get back? Do you have money?]"

She glanced at the wallet. "[Some. If I need to I'll get more.]"

"[How?]"

She sighed. "[I'll have to steal it.]"

Now he sounded concerned. "[I could make a comment on that. But I'm more concerned you'll get caught. You're not a thief.]"

"[No,]" she agreed. "[I'm not.]" She sighed. "[Look, it'll make sense when I get back to France and explain everything. But remember, you can't tell anyone. Not my parents, not my friends and definitely not the police.]"

"[Alright,]" he conceded. "[So where do you want to meet?]"

She thought. "[I don't think we should say here. They might find this call, and we'd be walking into a trap. I'll call you once I'm there. You can come pick me up.]"

"[If they're actually listening, they now know I'm helping you,]" Latrell pointed out, and she winced. "[Lucky that I'll be watching for any tampering. At least tell me who kidnapped you, please? Or do you not know?]"

"[They're called EXALT,]" she answered. "[But I don't know what they are or what they do.]"

"[EXALT,]" Latrell repeated. "[I'll see what I can find.]"

"[Be careful,]" she warned worriedly. "[These people will kill you if you dig too deep!]"

"[They should have thought of that before taking you,]" he stated coldly. "[This won't be the first corrupt organization I've busted.]"

"[Seriously, don't be a hero,]" she insisted worriedly. "[They aren't a gang or random thugs. At least wait until I meet you first, please?]"

She heard him sigh. "[Alright Annie, you win. But if you take too long I'm coming to find you. I don't want to mourn a second time.]"

"[Trust me,]" she whispered. "[I'll come back to you.]"

"[Then I'll see you soon,]" he answered quietly. "[Love you, Annette.]"

She smiled, it'd been so long since she'd heard that. "[Love you too, see you soon.]" With that she hung up the phone and leaned back against the booth door.

She hadn't realized just how relieved she was now that someone else knew she was alive. Now all she had to do was get on a plane to France, make another call, then both of them could figure out how best to take EXALT down.

She drunk the juice that was in her hand, opened the booth door and began walking down the street, blocking out the additional voices as she tried to think. Tossing the bottle in the trash, she began focusing on her next task. Right, now to find someplace to sleep and-

Someone grabbed her arms and flung her violently to the left into a dark alley where she rolled onto the hard concrete. Blinking she looked up at two young Asian men, both dressed in ripped street cloths and pointing pistols at her.

She suddenly laughed. Of course this would happen now, when she needed it the least. These two were as dangerous to her as wild animals. Both of them looked at each other and the left one jabbed his pistol at her. "You. American. Put wallet on ground now."

She stood and her amusement faded with each passing second. The smart thing to do would be just give them the wallet. It was going to be useless soon anyway, and she could just find some other person to steal from. Money was all these thugs wanted, and they'd leave her alone afterwards, probably.

But she was sick of being pushed around. Sick of being forced to act against her will. But she didn't have to give in here. "[I'm not American, you idiot,]" she taunted in French, which he clearly didn't understand.

He jabbed the gun at her again. "Wallet. Now."

She felt the anger building inside her, and the power was already within her grasp.

All she had to do was let it out. But it wasn't fair not to give them a chance to walk away. She shook her head and chuckled. "Listen…I've had a really long day. I'm tired, angry and frustrated. Please don't push me any farther."

The thug on the right snorted, clearly understanding more English than his partner. "Or what?" He demanded, jabbing his gun at her to emphasize his point, his Japanese accent heavily pronounced.

She gritted her teeth as she focused in on their minds. "Otherwise I'm going to kill you."

Both of them started laughing, though it did fade after a few seconds as they must have picked up something in her voice that indicated she was serious. The left one raised his pistol and aimed it at her head. "Last chance, girl."

Enough.

She thrust out her hand and sent a light wave of energy towards them, calling on more power as she took a step forward. They stumbled back, their eyes wide and faces suddenly contorted in surprise.

Which then turned to fear.

Her skin split open again as she gathered the energy into her palm. Her vision tinted violet and a cocoon of purple mist and energy gathered around her. But she didn't want to just keep throwing the kid around until she cracked his head. No, she wanted it localized. Controlled.

She twisted her wrist, directing the energy to manifest right on the thug scrambling to raise his gun. He was suddenly engulfed in swirling purple bands of energy, not doing anything yet, but ready at her command.

She cocked her head as he looked around in terror. Too late for him. She squeezed her fist.

He screamed as the energy tore into him, the streaks cutting, splitting and ripping his skin open. What wasn't cut bubbled, warped and melted much like her own. Blood began coating his skin and the ground as the energy tore him apart, entering and exiting with the cleanliness, precision and ease of a sharpened knife.

His screaming eventually stopped as the energy ripped through every part of his body, the eyes, mouth, organs, throat, like a bunch of ethereal piranhas devouring and stripping the flesh off their prey. But he still writhed and convulsed on the ground, and she had no plans of stopping until he was dead.

The area around his body was now slick with blood, and she stood there, cocooned in energy, hand extended to the body that was being ripped apart. But it finally stopped moving, even as the energy continued ravaging what little remained. She pursed her lips as she looked at the corpse. No point continuing, her job was done.

She opened her fist and released her hold on the energy and it instantly dissipated. Now, to deal with the other one. In her rage she realized that he'd completely slipped her mind and was somewhat surprised he hadn't tried shooting her.

She swung her head around to see him stumbling back, hands raised and expression terrified. She cocked her head and began walking over to him. "I surrender! I surrender!" He pleaded frantically. "Please don't kill me!"

She pursed her lips. No. Maybe not yet, perhaps she could get something out of him. She slowly let the power fade, until her vision was normal and the sounds of the world returned fully to her. "Answer my questions and I might let you live."

His head bobbed rapidly. "Yes! Yes! Whatever you need."

She walked over and gingerly picked up the pistol he'd discarded. "Where am I?" She demanded, pacing in front of him. "What city is this?"

"Nagoya," he answered quickly. "A fairly large city."

"Really," she commented skeptically. "Doesn't seem overly tourist friendly."

"Not many come down here," he explained, his eyes darting towards the gun in her hand. "Almost all just stay in the nicer inner city,"

It made sense. A larger city was both good and bad for her. Good in that she would probably be able to find everything she needed, such as an airport or bank. The size would also help if EXALT somehow tracked her here. It was also bad because there would likely be EXALT operatives just on regular business.

"How do I get to the airport?" Annette demanded, eyeing him for any sudden moves. She really didn't have to bother, she could sense he was too terrified to try anything.

"Follow the sidewalks for a couple miles that way," he pointed up the street. "You'll eventually see one of the buses. Just tell them to take you to the airport and they'll do it. I don't know the exact location."

She gritted her teeth. More running, great. "Take out your wallet," she ordered. "Toss it here."

With shaking hands, he tossed it over to her which hit the concrete by her feet. "There. Will you let me go?"

She considered that. Despite what she'd done to his friend, this was a little different than self-defense. She didn't want to kill him, especially since he'd surrendered to her. Not unless he was actively threatening her life. But the fact was that he was too much of a risk to let go.

He could clearly see the conflict on her face. "I won't tell anyone!" He insisted frantically, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "I promise! I won't tell anyone."

She focused in on him. At least to her…she couldn't fully read his emotions, but he practically screamed terror. She didn't know how well that equated to truth, but it was an excellent incentive. "You say that now," she said aloud, not directly to him. "But when I leave? When your terror fades and you believe I can't find you? Perhaps you'll have a change of heart."

His eyes widened. "No! No! I wouldn't!"

It wasn't just that possibility that worried her. She was leaving evidence here, evidence EXALT could find. Someone was going to find this body, and she didn't have the knowledge, time or resources to dispose of it properly. But the sheer manner of death was going to raise questions, and EXALT might likely link it to her.

Once the body was ID'd, then they would try and find all his associates. People who might know what happened. This man had no idea who EXALT was, he had no idea what they'd do to him. Even if he was telling the truth, there was no way he wouldn't say something to them. He knew he was headed to an airport, he'd given her his wallet and EXALT might be able to track purchases if they found out she had it.

He was too much of a risk to let live.

She flipped the pistol in her hand and grasped the barrel. "I believe you," she finally said as she offered him the hilt which he took shakily. He began opening his mouth, likely to thank her, but she held up a hand. "But the people who are chasing me will find you," she continued, focusing her energy on his terrified mind, preventing him from moving. "Then you will tell them everything they want to know, whether you want to or not."

She shook her head, the man unable to speak as she retained control over his mind. "I can't take that risk," her voice hardened. "I also can't trust people who try to kill me."

She forced him to place the gun under his throat and had him pull the trigger. The bang seemed unnaturally loud, and the thud the corpse made as it hit the ground was the same. She looked over his body as his blood began leaking onto the ground.

Annette shivered and knelt down and picked up the wallet. Mostly cash, but one credit card. Hopefully it would be enough for a plane ticket, as well as bus fees. Sticking it in her pocket, she stood back up and looked around. The streets were still abandoned, but it was only a matter of time before someone came this way.

She looked at the mutilated corpse she'd torn apart. She could only hope that no one decided to report it until much later. But now she was on a clock. EXALT would be looking for any odd reports, and a shredded corpse along with a man who committed suicide right next to him would probably qualify as odd.

She pulled up her hood and began walking up the street, her exhaustion burned away by the adrenaline. She couldn't wait any longer, no way could she risk sleeping now. Once she was on a plane she could do so, but that wasn't an option now.

While she walked, Annette thought about how to best move now. Ok, technology was going to be her greatest enemy here. Once they even knew her general area, they could just look up security footage, and from there find out her flight, destination or more. It wasn't a matter of if she would be tracked, it was a matter of when.

Flights to France would be long, and might give them time to set up people to intercept her. So to avoid that…short trips were best. She could leave and go to another airport and repeat as long as she needed. It wasn't perfect, but at least EXALT would have a little more trouble pinning her down.

Which was why it was imperative she get out of Japan as soon as possible, because if there was a reliable time she could be caught, it would be now. Once she got anywhere else, they'd have a much harder time. China was probably best, the sheer population would help hide her.

Her head snapped up and she groaned as she realized yet another problem. She didn't have a passport, which was somewhat essential in traveling to different countries. And unlike stealing credit cards from random strangers, she couldn't just take someone's passport because they would check for it.

Which meant she'd have to use her abilities, something she wasn't sure would actually work. But she had little choice here. If she was going to leave, she need to use everything at her disposal.

After walking and running for what felt like hours she finally saw a bus stop, with a bus waiting. With a surge of adrenaline, she charged toward it, waving for the driver to wait. She saw him sigh, but he did wait and she boarded clumsily, but soon righted herself.

"3000 yen," the driver asked, holding out his hand. She looked in her wallet and found the right amount.

"Here," she said as she handed it to him. "I need to get to the airport, can you let me know when that stop is?"

He shrugged. "Sure. Might as well get comfortable, it's a ways back."

"Thank you," she told him, then slumped into the nearest seat, avoiding eye contact with the other person on board. She closed her eyes and concentrated, finding the mind of the bus driver with surprising ease.

Even if it was his job, she couldn't wait for him to go to every stop. Time was of the essence. All it would take was a little suggestion planted in his mind. Get the girl to the airport, don't stop for anything. She'll pay you extra if you get her there fast.

She pressed that mantra on his mind repeatedly as he kept driving, afraid it would fade if she ceased. Time melted away, as she focused on nothing but pushing her will on the driver. She only woke from her trance as the bus slowed to a stop.

She released her hold and looked over as the bus driver looked around wearily, blinking in confusion. "We're…here, miss," he said, not seeming to believe it himself. "Airport is right ahead."

She stood and walked over to him. "Thanks for getting me there fast," she said sincerely, as she pressed a large amount of cash in his hand. "I won't forget it."

"Uh…thanks," he answered, his voice hollow as he was clearly trying to remember the past hour or so. "Good day."

"Same to you," she nodded as she exited the bus. The bustling airport was before her, hundreds of people going in and out. Annette took a breath, well, time to do this. Hopefully EXALT hadn't found her trail quite yet.

The Bastion, Subject Cells

Saudia stood over the two corpses of the guards, trying to piece together exactly what had happened. Two analysts were taking data from the bodies, causes of death, and other details that would be important in determining exactly what had happened. Her chief scientist and Ethan stood behind her, waiting for her to speak.

These weren't the only casualties either, two more soldiers had been found dead up by the hanger, which indicated that Subject Four had likely left on the cargo plane yesterday.

Overall, she was not happy to put it lightly. Bad enough they'd given one of the Furies to the aliens, but now their most powerful subject had managed to escape. Which should have been impossible.

Saudia had an idea of how this had happened, but wanted to see what her chief scientist had to say. She turned around and fixed him with a hard stare. "You've had time to look, doctor. I don't suppose you could explain how Subject Four not only managed to escape a cell you assured me was inescapable, killed her guards and managed to sneak out without any notice?"

He swallowed. "I don't know for sure, Director, but I believe-"

"I want an answer," Saudia interrupted, stepping forward. "Not what you believe."

"Of course," he explained hastily, adjusting his glasses. "Based on the circumstances, along with our understanding of psionics, the best explanation of this is that she utilized some form of mind control."

"You didn't think to account for that ahead of time?" Ethan demanded incredulously.

"We still don't know the full extent of psionic abilities," he defended. "Mind control was a potential possibility, but we couldn't prove it. It was all theoretical!"

"Enough," Saudia interrupted, then sighed. Bickering was pointless now and nothing could really be done to fix this here. Subject Four was gone, and they had to focus on finding her and ensure this didn't happen with the remaining Furies. Punishing her chief scientist, while justified, would not be the best move. He'd made a costly mistake, but was now aware of it.

That being said, she would not be so lenient if this happened again.

"Let me be clear," she stated, addressing him. "This will not happen again. Take whatever precautions you feel are necessary. Because of your negligence, four soldiers are dead. Do not fail again."

He nodded emphatically. "I will not, Director."

She waved him away. "Get to work."

He scurried off and she walked the opposite direction, Ethan beside her. "You let him off too easy," Ethan muttered. "Why?"

"Because it was a mistake and not intentional," she explained calmly. "Despite his failure this time, I don't think he wanted this. He is now aware of this problem and will take steps to deal with it, and have sufficient motivation to do so. If this happens again, then he will be removed."

Ethan pursed his lips, but didn't contest her. "Your call, Director."

They stepped into the elevator and she pressed the button to the top floor. "We need to focus on reclaiming Subject Four now, before the aliens orXCOM find her."

"She was clever, I'll give her that," Ethan commented, a grudging complimentin his voice. "She took out the cameras, snuck up to the hanger without being seen and stowed away. She'd clearly been planning this for a while."

"Do we know where that plane was headed?" Saudia asked as the elevator arrived.

"Our base in Japan," Ethan answered as he consulted his tablet. "Supposedly no one saw anything, but one of the guards walked out into the middle of the unloading and shot himself in the head for seemingly no reason."

Saudia pursed her lips. "That's concerning."

"Yes and no," Ethan countered. "We just have to be careful about how we approach her. If we can track odd instances like this, eventually she'll slip up and we'll be able to track where she's heading."

"Has she left the country?" Saudia demanded, thinking hard. It was going to be a lot more difficult if they couldn't prevent her leaving.

"Unknown," Ethan answered, pursing his lips. "I've alerted our people to converge on the airports, but she could go anywhere, and we can't watch everything."

"We don't need to," Saudia said. "We can access the security cameras, then run her face through them. She's no spy and will be seen somewhere. I'll contact Mercado and let him know the situation."

"Have you read her file?" Ethan asked.

"Yes," Saudia confirmed.

"We might want to look ahead," Ethan suggested. "If she does manage to leave, where would she go?"

Saudia nodded, seeing where he was going. "To people she trusts. Her family perhaps,"

"France," Ethan agreed. "She has a boyfriend as well, I'd suggest we watch everyone she knows in case she tries to contact them."

"I'll bring Elizabeth on this as well, then," Saudia added. "France is her jurisdiction. She might also make it easy for us and go directly to the police. Our job would be much easier then."

"I wouldn't count on it," Ethan muttered. "This girl isn't an idiot. But again, we'll have to be careful how we ultimately take her down. I can guarantee she'll die before being taken in alive, so any uses of force will only provoke her."

"Not to mention she can control minds," Saudia said. "That's going to make it easy for her to get out of any issues with the airports or police."

"Not indefinitely," Ethan corrected. "We may not know the full extent of her powers, but she can't use them I think our best bet is to start watching her friends and family."

"Sounds good," Saudia agreed as they walked into the Control Center. "We can't afford many more delays. Too much is at stake."

"You don't have to tell me twice," Ethan nodded. "We'll bring her back soon."

Saudia pulled up a map of Japan on the holotable. "Then let's get started."