JTF Base of Operations

Coordinator Office

Later that day…

"I don't even know where to begin." Manny Ortega addresses the group in his office. "Shelby, your team managed to capture an entire True Son company." The guardsman in question waves him off.

"They surrendered. Willingly." She says modestly.

"Sarah, you three rescued a besieged JTF holdout. How they lasted so long is beyond me."

"We wouldn't have made it without Roxwell's help." Kelly pipes up, receiving a playful shove from her friend towering behind her.

"And Kelso, you found a way into the Tidal Basin." Alani makes a show of giving a bow to the group.

"But before we go handing out medals." Manny continues. "We still need a plan of attack. Sarah and Jay's intel have given us some things to work with, troop strength, defensive positions and such. But I'm not the biggest fan of sending our new friends into a meat grinder."

"What other options do we have?" I ask. "The place is a fortress. One way in and out, minus the one we're creating, but without the distraction, you've already said what would happen, Manny. 'Slaughter.'"

"That Parker guy seems to be on board." My companion points out. "He has the most men, other than us. They just really seem keen on helping us, probably looking for forgiveness for the mutiny."

Manny shakes his head for a moment, before looking up again.

"Alright then. Sarah, you and Lazka talk to them. There's no rush. The people you all brought in need time to rest and recover, and I want to polish this attack plan as much as possible. If this is worth doing, it's worth doing right. Faye and Alani, stay with me for that. Everyone else is dismissed."

Those leaving the room go their separate ways, but Roxwell calls me over before I can go anywhere.

"What is it?"

"I wanted to tell you...away from Sarah." He begins quietly. "I've been thinking about everything we talked about. The companionship you two have. While Tommy and I were out and about, I found you something."

Roxwell opens his backpack and produces a small box, passing it to me. Upon opening it, my eyes shoot up to him, demanding an explanation.

"Think she'll like it?" He asks, his voice almost innocent sounding.

"Roxwell, I…" I struggle to form words, the shock of this incredible gesture still not worn off. "I...I don't know what to say. This is amazing!" I look down at the ring inside the box again, finding myself being dazzled by the row of tiny gleaming gemstones.

"You kept saying you wanted to be with her forever...so I figured, y'know?" My friend says. I close the box, clutching it tightly, and reach out to pull the tall man down for a hug.

"How the Hell am I ever going to repay you?" I ask, voice choking slightly, muffled by his shoulder. Pulling away, I see the bright smile forming on Roxwell's face. He shrugs thoughtfully for a moment.

"Being your Best Man might help." He says finally.

"Deal."

Elsewhere on base…

"That was fuckin' insane." Gaz mutters, rubbing his grubby face tiredly. I silently nod, walking beside him. None of us had ever expected to see the White House again, let alone the outside world. I look further ahead, spotting one of the Division Agents who had rescued us, Sarah, I think her name is. She and her companions nearly got themselves killed trying to save us from the Dark Zone. She had said that they had had experience with places like that, but nobody thought that those two Agents would turn the tide of the battle all by themselves.

"Never thought I'd see this place again." My partner echoes my own thoughts, likely thinking of similar things.

"It looks...different." I say. "From when we were last here."

"Yeah. No sick people...less people in general."

"Wait." Says a voice off to the side. "Garrett? Rose?"

We stop and turn in the direction of the voice to see a young man mature beyond his years. He looks familiar, just missing the winterized uniform from the original deployment. There's a tense silence, before Gaz breaks it.

"Kevin?"

"Holy shit." Our old friend says in disbelief, reaching Garrett first and giving him a big hug. "I never thought I'd see you two again." He pulls away from Gaz, happily repeating the gesture with me.

"Likewise." I say into his shoulder.

Kevin pulls back after a moment. "Let me look at you." He eyes me top to bottom. From battered helmet and worn uniform, to mud-stained boots and weathered rifle.

"You got fuckin' old, Rose." He says with a warm smile.

"Hey, I could say the same to you." I say, the exhaustion having left my voice upon reuniting with an old friend.

"I'd heard that one of the groups that left the other night found survivors in one of the DZs, but...I didn't expect you guys." Kevin looks behind us at the equally battered soldiers shuffling, and limping, past. He waves to a few, counting them as they pass. Reaching a total, he appears worried at the low number.

"Where's Jackie?" He asks. "And Carlos, and Walt, and Susan?"

"Well, Susan is over there." Gaz points to the clinic behind Kevin, who turns to see the veteran soldier being hustled behind a curtain, having been wounded a few days before the escape. "The others...didn't make it."

"And...Tommy?" Kevin asks slowly.

Garrett shakes his head solemnly.

"There's eleven of us left." I say. "And even fewer are combat ready. Kinda makes you wonder if all that fanfare was even worth it."

"Of course it was." Gaz insists. "Would you really rather still be in there?"

I take another look around at the early morning hustle and bustle. Morning shift heading out to start the day, night shift turning in for some rest. The JTF sergeant that helped us escape sits with her team nearby, likely filling them in on the events of last night. A pair of Militia engineers politely push past, pointing out walls that have 'Tagged For Removal' signs on them. All in all, the White House is a mess, and the people are rag tag at best and look about as tired as we feel, but everything around us is still leaps and bounds above what we had in the Dark Zone.

"Not for a second." I say finally.

"That's the Rose I remember." Kevin says with a smile. Gaz looks at me happily.

"Lets see what this place has for food." He suggests.

"That sounds like a great idea."

Three days later…

BoO Map Room

Jay

"Black Tusk is starting another offensive." Alani says with a growl in her voice. "The Campus has been cut off. Jammers have been set up all around their perimeter, and EMP devices have been sighted."

"Now they're attacking our technology." Sarah says, so ominously that it doesn't sound real. "It's an invasion."

"We have to hit them now." Roxwell proclaims. "They're sniffing around the few Control Points we have left. If we wait much longer, they'll target the White House. Then, we'll have nowhere to attack from."

Manny shakes his head in frustration. "We still don't have a plan. All we have is a bunch of random pieces from a jigsaw puzzle. There's too much risk."

"Jeezus Manny, how hard is this?" Thomas exclaims, pushing through the small crowd and jabbing his finger at the Tidal Basin. "The JTF and Militia still exist, right?" At the Coordinator's nod, he continues. "We send them, and the True Sons help Lazka picked up here to the perimeter walls. Make 'em think we're stupid. Then send us through the sinkhole Faye found, blast our way in, and kill everything in our way 'till we find Ellis and his goonies. We'll bring mortars, anti-air, air support, anything and everyone that can help. They're a private company, not the Red Army." He glances at Dima for a moment, who simply listens quietly. "They are not invincible. We can do this."

Manny looks down at where Thomas' finger still points, thinking hard, then back up at my companion. "Sarah? Anything to add?"

'Dove' thinks for a moment. "Have our radar systems or lookouts picked up any vehicles coming in or out of the Tidal Basin?"

Alani shakes her head. "We've had constant eyes on it since movement was first detected, Plenty headed out. Nothing new coming in."

Sarah nods. "So they haven't been reinforced yet. And since all these offensives keep popping up all over the city, that may suggest that Mr. Schaeffer is running low in the manpower department." She looks around the room. "This could be far easier than we suspected."

"I was afraid you'd say that." Manny grumbles.

"At least it's a plan." I chime in.

Manny looks at me for a long moment, then around at the Agents and team leaders surrounding him.

"All in favor of coming up with something else?" He asks. The room is silent, with no movement. "And all in favor of going with Thomas' plan." Every hand in the room goes up. Ortega looks down and nods for a moment.

"Okay." He says finally. "Team leaders, get your people together, get your gear ready. We move tonight. This time tomorrow, Black Tusk will be no more."

A/N Hi everybody. Wow it's been a while.

I really don't have an excuse for how long it took for this update other than writers block. I've had a flurry of ideas and they're all super distracting, so... sorry about that.

Speaking of ideas, I had an interesting one not too long ago. How would you, my beautiful readers, feel about turning this into a trilogy? After all, despite it being for revenge, and how far gone he is, I would think Sarah might get into some trouble for killing a sitting president. A mission to clear her name is what I'm thinking, and it might involve more Rogue Agents. (Can't reveal too much, can I?) Let me know in the comments. I could also turn it into an IP, or scrap it completely if that would be better.

Again, my apologies for taking so long with this. The days just kinda disappear.

Thank you for reading, and for any feedback. See you all next time, Agents!