Two Blocks West

L'Enfant Plaza

Southwest

Roxwell

"Amazing." Thomas says quietly, looking around the shopping center. "Just two yeahs ago, hundreds of people would've been goin' about their business...right here." He stops for a moment, then looks at me. "Eerie, ain't it?"

"Two long years." I say, curiously stepping into a jewelry store.

"True." My companion says with a nod. "I wonder how long it took to get to D.C.?"

"Not long at all." I, a city native, say. "First death in New York was December 8th...according to Faye, the Second Wave was activated just after New Year's...By then, half the city was infected."

As Thomas reacts to the exposition, I find myself poking through the store, with a few close friends in mind as I stop in front of a case of rings. I tap on the glass absent-mindedly, eyeing the small lock on the lid. Stepping around some shards of broken glass, I make my way towards the check-out counter.

"What're you doin'?" 'Sheriff' asks, entering the store. "Acting out the Vangelico Raid?"

"Looking for some keys." I say dismissively, rummaging through the drawers in the counter.

"For what?"

I look at Thomas for a moment, holding up a small ring of keys. "A gift for a friend."

My companion puts a hand over his heart. "How thoughtful." He says as I brush past him. "I appreciate the gesture, but this place isn't really my style. A good gift for me would be...I don't know...a gift card to a guitar shop?"

"Not you, dingus." I say, trying each of the keys on the case. "For Jay."

"Ain't she already taken?"

"Yep."

The pieces of the puzzle come together for Thomas as I finally open the case. "I'm thinking a ring for Sarah."

"Good idea. Think it'll work?"

"Absolutely." I begin to look through the display, looking at each ring closely. "Jay and I have had...more than a few conversations about her, while she was in the clinic."

"How is she now that Sarah's back?"

I hesitate before answering. "I want to say better, but…"

"Sarah changed." Thomas finishes the sentence.

"Yeah." I nod glumly. "Alot. I'm holding onto the hope that this operation helps. That working together again brings the old her back." I lift another ring into the narrow strip of sunlight before me. A simple one, with a single diamond and several more encrusted into one of the twists. It's box has a small description card, which I pull out and read.

"Platinum. Twisted vine." I say to myself. After a moment of thought, I nod, slipping the ring back into the box and offering it for my friend to see.

"Very nice." Thomas comments. "Think it's the right size?"

"Well, rings are usually worn on the left hand." I say. "And since Sarah technically doesn't have a left hand anymore…"

My companion shrugs after a few moments. "They'll figure something out." He passes the ring box back. I slip the box into my backpack, closing and locking the ring case.

Meanwhile

West Potomac Park

Dima

"Never thought I'd see the Reflecting Pool empty." Faye muses as we pass.

"It's not as deep as it looks, is it?" Alani asks. "Two feet at the edges, three in the center. Give or take."

I stop for a moment, looking at my reflection in a rapidly evaporating puddle. "It makes you think of the scene from Forrest Gump." I say. "With Jenny wading through it?"

"She was pretty short." Alani points out. The walk continues, with us stopping again momentarily for Faye and Kelso to remove their overshirts. I take the time to look up at the sky, squinting at the boiling sun.

"And we thought last summer was bad…" Alani mutters, tying her shirt around her head to protect her neck from the sunlight. "Ever felt heat like this, Dima?"

I shake my head. "Russia is mostly known for her unforgiving winters. The south can get quite warm in the summer, though. Around the Caspian Sea."

"Ever been there?"

"No." I say simply as we resume walking. "I grew up in Volgograd. Moved to Moscow when I joined Spetsgruppa A. Got there just in time for a mission, actually."

"What was it?" Alani asks curiously.

"The 2002 Nord-Ost siege, as it was called." I explain. "Over three days, Chechen radicals held over 800 people hostage at the Dubrovka Theatre. Around 200 people were killed, including the hostage takers."

"How many Chechens were there?"

I hesitate before answering. The Russian government had attempted a cover-up, and the media had leaked tons of information at the same time, plenty of which wasn't true. However, quite a bit of it was.

"Forty." I say finally. At my friend's reaction, I continue. "An aerosol gas was used to try to subdue everyone inside, but it wasn't properly mixed. Some hostages died days later from complications."

Since Faye already knows many of my stories, including this one, Alani is very taken aback. Her attempt to process my words creates a long silence, only interrupted by the coo of a Mourning Dove.

"I...couldn't even imagine something like that." 'Knight' says after nearly a minute of quiet thought.

"I wouldn't try." I reply, voice turning somewhat cold from the direction the conversation has taken. "You aren't missing out."

"No-no I didn't mean…" Alani looks down in defeat. "Never mi- hey what's this?"

Up ahead is the unmistakable architecture of the World War II Memorial, yet oddly, there appears to be a boat in the center. Several small and medium sized boats had found a new home on land thanks to the massive winter storm a few years back, yet none had ever sunken into the ground. Alani steps onto the memorial and towards the boat.

"There's a hole here!" She exclaims. Faye and I exchange quick glances before rushing to follow. Sure enough, a large hole has opened up in what was once the Memorial's pool. It slopes down and towards the Tidal Basin, which appears to give Kelso an idea.

"I'm gonna check this out. Wait here." Before either of us can protest, the veteran Agent hops down into the muddy hole and vanishes from sight.

"She always been this...impulsive?" I ask my companion after a moment. Faye silently nods, likely cursing Alani in her head while reaching into her bag for a water bottle. She twists off the cap and takes a long sip before passing it to me. While taking a much needed drink, I glance back at where we came from. Heat waves rise off the concrete floor of the Reflecting Pool, causing the air above to shimmer and distort. The humidity creates a haze that nearly engulfs the Lincoln Memorial. All of which further emphasizes the brutal summer heat, and makes me miss Russia a little bit more.

While lost in thought, I absent-mindedly nearly finish off the water bottle. My partner snatches it out of my hand and quickly downs the remaining water, a small smirk crossing her face.

Just as suddenly as she disappeared, Alani returns to the surface, kicking mud from her shoes.

"Find anything?" I ask. "Holy Grail? Ark of the Covenant?"

The dirty Agent shakes her head, opening her mouth to speak.

"How about the Lost City of Atlantis?" Faye cuts her off.

"You're both so funny." Alani says with mock frustration. "Let's head for the Flooded Levee outpost and contact Manny. I have an idea."

D.Z. South

Holocaust Memorial Museum - Roof

Jay

For the last hour, Kelly, Sarah and I have silently been watching the activities at the Tidal Basin. The rooftop of the museum has given an unprecedented view of nearly the entire base, with the only real obstacles being the few surviving trees of the Floral Park. As the afternoon turns to evening, the sky takes on an orange-ish hue, and the break from the blistering sun is welcome.

At my side, Sarah has taken advantage of the stiff breeze in our faces by removing her mask and lighting a cigarette. I lift myself away from my scope and remove my own mask, wiping the sweat and condensation from around my mouth. I look up at my companion, with a clearly troubled look in her eyes, and sit back onto the roof. I'm sure she won't like what I have to say, so I choose my words carefully.

"Hey Sarah?" I begin.

"Yeah?" She asks quietly, not looking at me.

"I...er...have been meaning to...talk to you."

My partner looks down at me after a moment, slightly arching a brow. "What about?"

"The meeting at the White House. Before we left? What you said?"

"What about it?"

"'If ever there was a company that needs a customer service hotline.'? Are you serious? Is this just a joke to you?"

"Of course not." Sarah says defensively. "You know me. What are you talking about?"
"Yeah, I do know you...at least I thought I did." The bomb drops.

She narrows her eyes at me. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know what it means. You. You aren't...you anymore."

"Then who am I?"

"I don't know. A dark...twisted...different form of you. Your time with Black Tusk changed you. And not for the better."

Sarah simply scoffs. "Yeah. Being betrayed, left behind by the love of my life, losing an arm, and being told to kill my friends is quite traumatic. Thanks for noticing."

She turns back to the view, but I quickly stand and grab her shoulder. "Left behind? When?"

"In the lab?" Sarah shouts matter-of-factly. "Or were you not there?"

"I got shot too! Almost as many times as you did! Then I was knocked out and didn't wake up for the better part of an hour! You saw the tape. Nobody left anybody behind. Where is this coming from?"

Sarah looks down, as if she's just now heard herself.

After a long, tense moment, my eyes meet Jay's again. She appears visibly hurt by my words.

"God...she's right. What's happening to me?" I feel like I should explain, but don't know how. My companion gazes at me with a mixture of confusion and pain, waiting for me to answer.

"A...conversation I had with Widow on our way to the Convention Center." I say finally. "I remarked that you didn't do much to stop Black Tusk from taking me. Not that there's anything you could've done."

The still-burning cigarette in my hand burns down to my gloved fingers, the heat leaking through. In the moment, I barely notice.

"I was just so afraid that I had lost you again." I continue. "And I guess I started to believe my own words, as well as theirs. I believed my own ridiculous conclusion. That, coupled with the things I mentioned earlier...killing civilians, nearly killing you...this...thing." I hold up my prosthetic, and in doing so, suddenly remember my half finished smoke. I flick away the white-hot roll of paper, shaking the burning out of my hand.

"So that's what she's been holding onto all this time." I watch a clearly troubled Sarah study her singed fingers for a moment, then looking back up at me with sorrow in her eyes.

"I shouldn't've put all that on you." She says sadly. "What the hell is wrong with me? You're right….I want the old me back."

"We'll get you back." I say with determination. "And like I said that night at your place, 'I'm back. And I'm not going anywhere. Because I love you.'"

I pull my Sarah in for a tight hug, which she eagerly accepts, burying her nose into my shoulder. She starts to grip tighter, trying to hide a sniffle.

"I love you, too."

A/N Hi everyone. Been a while since I updated this story.

So we get some foreshadowing, and Sarah and Jay finally have an overdue conversation.

The mission Dima mentioned in fact actually happened. I found a few articles about it while looking through Spetsnaz 'Spetsgruppe A' history, so there's why 'Wolf' is the way he is.

Now you can also see why Roxwell was removed from the previous chapter. As dangerous and violent as he is, he's also adorable.

Thank's to everyone and anyone who is still sticking around for updates. At one time, uploads were regular, but now I'm all over the place. Being an adult isn't at ALL what it's cracked up to be.

Thank you all for reading, and see you next time! (Whenever that will be, right?)