JTF Base of Operations

South Entrance

Two Hours Later…

"Sarah...welcome back." Faye says happily. "I had a feeling Jay's story of where she found all that intel was a load of shit." I glance at the Agent in question, who shrugs at Sarah's look of questioning. Lau puts an arm around Sarah as we enter the White House.

"How were things while I was away?" Sarah asks. "Everybody behave?"

"More or less. Jay was the most uppity out of all of us. As was Roxwell...and me."

Sarah stops, giving Faye a quizzical look. "Is that right?"

"When we got the news...it was devastating. Jay barely made it back. A Militia patrol found her after a spotter reported someone wandering the South Lawn."

"I'll tell you later." Jay says at Sarah's look of worry.

"Then the recording." Roxwell adds. "How Ellis acted so...casually. Like killing is second nature to him."

"Sarah…" Faye begins, stopping in the middle of the hall. "Everything you had to do while with Black Tusk...it couldn't have been easy. How about you take a walk and clear your head? Take Jay, or Kelly, or go alone if you need to."

Predictably, she nods to Jay and the two head towards the North Lawn exit.

"You know? It's a little scary how easy it was." I say quietly once we're out of earshot.

"What?"

"The whole Washington Monument thing? The first few, I almost couldn't. But after that, it was nothing...Is that bad?"

Jay studies me for a long moment as we walk. I find myself wondering what could be going through her head. Ideas like 'Why am I talking to this lunatic? She's clearly lost it.' or 'This bitch is a traitor. We ought to hang her right now.' come and go, but my companion doesn't give any indication to what her thoughts might be.

Only when we exit the White House, and are greeted by an orange and purple sunset sky, does she finally speak.

"I don't know. Given how experienced we are, it's not surprising that it was easy. But at the same time…"

"Maybe have a chat with Doctor Mercer when we get back home?" I suggest.

Jay nods. "Yeah. Good idea."

"Hey." I pipe up, holding out my new prosthetic. "Have a look-see at this."

My partner looks at the arm, clearly puzzled. "So what? It's your arm."

"Feel it."

Jay wraps her hand around mine and almost immediately notices a difference. She begins tapping and poking various places before stopping and looking up at me. "This isn't some typical fuck around of yours, is it?"

A grin coming on, I pry off a small section of my forearm, which reveals some wiring and artificial tendons. I hold out the spot for Jay to see.

"No fuckin' way."

"A little present from Ellis." I say, fiddling with some of the wires. In doing so, one pops out, causing my fingers to spark for a moment before going limp. Watching the spectacle, Jay starts to giggle as I fumble around, frantically searching for where the wire came from. Plugging it back in, my fingers go rigid for a moment, before going back to normal. I quickly cover the spot again, sheepishly looking at my partner.

"Still getting the hang of it." I say after a moment.

"You could say that." Jay replies with a laugh.

We walk silently for several minutes, just enjoying the peace and the fact that we were together again.

I find my eyes lingering on Sarah for a long moment. We weren't separated for long, yet it had impacted us so much. Especially with how sudden and violent her exodus was. Despite how brief her time with Black Tusk was, my companion appears to have been changed by it. She's even more callous than usual, at least from what Kelly had said on the trip back. Privately, I hope that my absence didn't cause harm like it has in the past.

"She doesn't seem angry about it. Maybe she's used to it? Oh God, that's even worse."

I inwardly decide not to question it, at least not yet. Allow her to recover from her time on the dark side.

"So what's first on the 'To-Do' list?" Sarah asks. "Hit the Tidal Basin?"

"I would say take care of that." I say pointedly, gesturing to my partner's red Smart-Watch. "Maybe talk to Alani about it. Or Manny."

"Good idea. I don't want any unnecessary complications."

"Only necessary ones?" I ask as I steer our walk back to the White House.

"There are always a few."

"The only thing I can think of," Alani says. "is to find a way to redeem yourself."

Sarah rolls her eyes with annoyance. "Seriously? It's not enough that I came back, and that I only joined Black Tusk against my will?"

"Since the color of your Watch hasn't changed back to orange, I'd say 'No.' Think about it, Sarah. No matter the rhyme or reason, you joined a vowed enemy faction and murdered several civilians by their command."

My partner looks down glumly.

"Frankly, if it was anyone else, you'd be dead right now."

"I appreciate your restraint...I guess. Still though. Redemption? That's such a cliche, like something out of the movies."

"I recall you saying something similar about this entire situation." Faye interjects. Sarah waves her off, rolling her eyes again.

"Face it, Sarah." Alani insists. "This is the world we live in. You did some real bad shit, and there's only one way to fix it."

"Killing Ellis?" I ask.

"You didn't think I'd get off with Community Service, did you?" I slap Sarah on the shoulder at the comment.

"Doing that may counter your 'Rogue' status and bring you back into the fold."

"If ever there was a business that needs a customer service hotline…" Sarah grumbles, causing me to look at her in disbelief. Why is she being like this? Going Rogue is a big deal, and it's as if she doesn't care. Granted, Sarah has always tended to lean towards jokes and sarcasm even in serious situations, but this is really pushing it. She killed all those people at the Washington Monument and the Event Center. She nearly got Roxwell and Kelly killed, lost an arm during Ellis' betrayal, was missing for several weeks, and she acts like nothing happened.

"Regardless…" Faye says, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Before any action is taken against Black Tusk, we'll need some reconnaissance of their base."

"No need." Sarah replies, tapping the side of her head. "It's all here. I've been there, remember?"

"Ah, then I assume that means you know about all the defense emplacements, every exploit, every possible entry method, every inch of the grounds and interior, and that you'll know exactly where Ellis, Schaeffer, Kayhill and Radek will be. Is that it?"

My partner looks at Faye blankly for a moment. "Well, when you put it that way…"

"That's what I thought." Faye looks down at the D.C. map on the table. "The only place where we can find at least most of that information...is here." She points to the area designated 'D.Z. South'. "The west wall of D.Z. South has several buildings that are just high enough that you can see over and into the Tidal Basin. According to scout reports, the place is lousy with Outcasts and fuming with DC62 gas, so be extra careful. Sarah, I'd get kitted out, unless you want to stick with your new gear. Jay, take Kelly and Roxwell with you. The rest of us will keep tabs on Black Tusk activity outside the wall. If it's war they want...it's war they'll get."

A/N- Happy New Year, Agents! Sorry this chapter took so long to come out. Blame it on a combination of writers block, binge watching The Mandalorian, and doing so on a new Disney Plus account.

Sarah has her work cut out for her, and she's not exactly thrilled. The gang doesn't seem to like the new Sarah. Hopefully she'll be her old love-able self again soon. We'll have to see.

So it seems as though the entire Australian continent is on fire at the moment. I know some readers are from there, so I really hope all is well for you. Check in with a comment to let us know. I worry, ya'know?

Thank you all for reading, and see you next time!