Now for a short interlude of sorts : )
Special thanks to secretlystephaniebrown, prettyarbitrary, staininspace, Bluebird202, Yin, and MeteorAtDusk for the feedback on AO3 and on tumblr!
Recovery None
Intermission: First Loyalties
Niner carefully held her head up, focusing on the monitors. Her eyes kept forward and she watched the monitors so carefully, her internal clock ticking away at the seconds, praying to the stars that Carolina and York were still as good, if not better than she remembered them being.
They should have finished with the supply cache at that point and have moved on to the bowels of Command's storage facility for who the fuck even knewwhat.
"Come on, Carolina," she hissed before glancing toward the three constant monitors overhead.
The three of them lorded over her. The first wrong, giving Zero's last known coordinates as nearly half the continent away. The second mortifying, displaying several glaring alerts including MIA and CRITICAL INJURY across One's name and last transmission transcript. The third devastating, with Two's name overwritten by the flaming red text screaming KIA across it.
Each screen made her blood run cold. All of them were failures of Command –her failures.
But she hoped to find pride in at least one of them.
Clutching her headphones closer to her ears, Niner waited for word from Carolina and York so intently she almost didn't register the footsteps behind her.
But she did still hear them coming and she was quick to turn her chair just as the door to her command center opened. The Counselor came to stand at her proverbial doorstep.
He stood there, looking in with that infuriating stance that loomed and seemed to say he knew answers to what he was about to ask already. Like he'd already caught something he hadn't yet.
Niner hated that look when she didn't have anything to hid and she especiallyhated it now that she did.
"You've got a lot of nerve dragging yourself in here right now," she growled.
There was a chance that if she went immediately for offense, she could quickly shift his focus. And, perhaps, make it that much easier for him to turn around and try again with her later.
With time of the essence and each second bringing Carolina and York a moment closer to being caught, it had to be worth the risk.
The Counselor's well practiced face did not react to her outburst immediately. He merely turned his head and appraised her carefully before moving his gaze to the screens overhead.
"Ah," he said, as if the screens told him anything different than what his own palmtop would have. His eyes settled back on Niner. "Are we upset over the recent… misfortunes with our field agents?"
Setting her jaw, Niner flared her nostrils at him. "I don't know about we, but Isure as fuck am not happy," she told him truthfully. She then gave him a scrutinizing look over. "But you seem to be doing just fine, all things considering."
Her pointed words were not lost on him. The Counselor tapped the butt of his pen against hist tablet.
"Unfortunately, the needs of my position make reacting emotionally to challenges… disadvantageous," he replied crisply. "I can allow the rest of you to react as needed instead."
Niner snorted despite herself. "How noble of you to not care about losing some agents," she sneered.
"You misunderstand," he replied solemnly. "I care very much about the condition of my agents." He tilted his head. "Including you."
Not liking the conversation being turned back on her, Niner scowled in return. Her grip on her chair's wheels tightened.
"What exactly about me do you find yourself caring about all of the sudden, Counselor?" she demanded.
"Four Seven Niner, I have always been very concerned for you," he replied. "You have been through severe trauma, as well as have been put in a position of severe stress." His eyes returned to the screens. "In fact, I believe you take the success and failures of our operatives extremely personally. I worry that you may have forgotten to concern yourself more with the fact that you have family that needs you."
In an instant, Niner felt herself rendered breathless and cold.
"What did you just say?" she demanded darkly.
"You come from a large family," the Counselor said in faux innocence. "I simply felt in these stressful times that you would do good to remember you have such a family to return to."
A silence carried heavily between them for a moment and then the Counselor nodded before walking out.
"Good work," he complimented.
Niner's body shook violently as she stared out the door. Her body hardly reacted to the cackle of static in her ears as Carolina's radio finally turned back on.
"What an absolute mess."
The power plant had been somewhat in disarray before they had discovered. Like much of the testing grounds being evacuated, it had been left in a rush by soldiers who had barely ever understood the full impact of facility while they were in it.
But the equipment they had need for was in tip top shape.
Gary would have had it any other way.
"You would think an old friend would have had the decency to unplug things," Wyoming continued as he looked at the wall where the missing capture unit had been resting. The former Freelancer clicked his tongue and shook his head before glancing to the blue glow projecting from the main screen. "Not tear the bloody wires out of the wall."
"It is very rude," the AI droned before projecting a small sprite. It nodded downward from where it projected. "Reggie."
"Hmm? Find something, did you?" he asked before walking closer to the computer.
As Wyoming knelt, Gary disappeared again, letting the marksman see the splatter of blood on the floor unobscured.
"Well, well, well," he chuckled. "It seems clear old Washington didn't fake for us back at Battle Creek after all. And here I've been so concerned for the reputation of my follow through."
When Gary appeared again above him, Wyoming glanced to the AI with something of a knowing smirk. "Don't suppose this is enough to make him lie in some ditch outside, do you?"
"Coupled with Agent Washington's known determination… no," the AI replied.
"Hmm," Wyoming hummed before tapping his fingers against his gun. "Do you think he knows what's going on?"
"No," Gary replied. "Unless he also was contacted, I do not believe he would be aware of the location."
Wyoming wiggled his mustache. "Would he contact Washington?"
"Yes. Maybe."
Sputtering, Wyoming gave the AI an incredulous look. "Why, whatever for while we're on the case?"
The AI wasted no time in saying. "Knock knock."
Knowingly, Wyoming leaned back. "Who's there?"
"Competitive prices."
"Damn," Wyoming sighed with a shake of his head. "Well, in that case we'll have to kill him ourselves. Nothing like some friendly competition, after all."
Gary agreed in silence just before a blip began to ring over the radio.
Wyoming glanced to his AI. "That him? Well speak of the devil!"
The AI hummed before giving a definitive, "No."
"Bell bugger all, who is giving out our number? I signed us up to be on the intergalactic no call list, after all," Wyoming continued to joke just before the AI pulled up the territory map and positioned a flashing beacon on the bases of Blood Gulch.
"Now isn't that interesting," Wyoming replied. "Are you friendly with the sender?"
"Yes," Gary responded quickly. "Very."
"Then you handle that and I'll step out and tell those overly religious fellows nipping at our heels that we're on the move again."
As Gary's projection disappeared, presumably to do as told, Wyoming made his way back to the door, grabbing the remaining capture unit on the way. "Always such complicated business with other Freelancers involved," he sighed as he walked out.