Legal Disclaimer: I do not own Red vs. Blue or any of the show's characters. They are the rightful properties of Rooster Teeth.

Chapter Eight: Discovery

Vanessa Kimball let out a frustrated sigh, wondering yet again if she was approaching this situation in the best manner possible.

She was currently waiting as patiently as she could for her mystery caller from before at a location they had specified. Supposedly, the unknown stranger was going to make an appearance, but she was beginning to wonder if she had accepted an invitation to a trap. Kimball's brown eyes took in the depressing scenery around her once more as she frowned slightly, shifting her weight on the balls of her feet as she did so.

She was not at all liking the location that her enigmatic contact had insisted on meeting up in. Not only was it a rather remote and dark alleyway, but the meeting place was also located farther away from her office than she would normally care to be. Especially when potentially dangerous jobs were at hand. It said something about the context of this meeting, and potentially the mindset of the person who had arranged it, and that notion definitely caused alarm bells to go off in her mind.

The truth was that Kimball wouldn't have agreed to this at all if her damned curiosity hadn't gotten the better of her.

Her fingers flexed at her sides as she tried to relax by reminding herself that it wasn't as though she were incapable of handling herself. The reality was far from that. She just tended to usually err on the side of caution and not let loose because the aftermath of such actions often made her job more difficult than it needed to be.

The wind above her head began picking up just as the dark-skinned woman started to think that perhaps this whole meeting was simply an elaborate prank and a gigantic waste of her time. Time she could have used doing what else, exactly? Pursuing other dead-end leads, maybe? Getting caught up on some much-needed sleep?

Kimball glanced upwards as tufts of her hair started being pulled in the gust's direction, bits of lightweight debris and trash also starting to dance about in the sudden upheaval.

She tried not to let the surprise show too much on her face when a woman with flaming red hair actually dropped down from the sky, landing just a few meters to her right in a rather graceful, controlled manner.

So, her contact, if this was indeed her, was a Special with the ability to fly. Judging by the way the wind that had been picked up from before was now completely gone with the newcomer's arrival, Kimball wagered that she used some kind of Air Manipulation to do so.

The redhead, garbed in cyan, glanced over at her questioningly. Kimball felt her breath catch in her throat at how piercing the woman's green eyes were. She had always been a bit of a sucker for piercing, stubborn eyes. Doyle had them too.

"I take it that you're Vanessa Kimball?" The stranger asked without preamble.

A flash of amusement crossed Kimball's face. She supposed it would be something of a mild inconvenience for the Special to have wasted such an entrance on a case of mistaken identity out in a nondescript alleyway somewhere.

Kimball nodded succinctly, "That's right." The private investigator crossed her arms over her chest, raising an eyebrow, "And I take it that you're my mystery caller?"

The woman simply nodded in response, glancing one way and then the other in the alleyway as if trying to ascertain any potential threats. Her behavior did not help ease any of Kimball's previous misgivings.

Kimball let out a deep breath that she hadn't been aware she'd been holding until then, "Generally speaking, this is the part of the conversation when a potential client gives me a name."

The woman ignored the suggestion, fixing Kimball once more with an unreadable green-eyed gaze, "You investigate Specials cases." She said flatly.

Not a question. Just a clear statement of something that she clearly already knew. That was one of the main reasons why Kimball had even entertained this meeting in the first place: those who knew about her work were rather few to begin with. "It depends on the situation." She responded, just as flatly.

The anonymous redhead stiffened, taking a step forward before halting abruptly, as if not quite certain what would be a safe distance. "I am looking for someone." She finally said at length, eyes fixated on the ground, "An incredibly power Special. A very dangerous one."

Kimball couldn't keep herself from rolling her eyes just then at how aggravatingly cryptic this whole scenario was, "Well, that certainly narrows the list down."

Her sarcastic tone was not lost on the other female, her seemingly perpetual frown deepening, "You would definitely know if you ever got wind of them." The woman in cyan stated, quietly emphatic.

For some reason, her tone gave Kimball a momentary pause in dismissing this whole matter outright. The investigator in tan-and-ice colors frowned, her mind jumping back to a photo of absolute carnage completely unbidden…

The other woman, however, seemed to misinterpret Kimball's sudden silence as hesitation. Her stiff posture faltered and she shook her head, ponytail swinging to and fro with the motion, as an almost defeated-sounding sigh escaped her lips, "This was clearly a lapse of judgement on my part." She said quietly once more, not quite meeting Kimball's gaze, "I apologize for having bothered you."

Just like that, with a distinctive upwards swoosh of air, she was floating high above the concrete ground again. Her gaze was already fixated on the sky above, her back to Kimball.

"Wait!" Kimball shouted it before even thinking clearly, her hand outstretched as if she could just reach out and grab the woman's ankle to keep her from ascending any further.

The redhead turned back down to regard her, her expression still very much closed off and guarded.

The dark-skinned woman gave her a tiny, sort-of smile, "Maybe you should give me some actual details on the case first, before you decide that all of this was a waste of time."

The Special still floating effortlessly in the air regarded Kimball silently for another moment, as if internally weighing the potential pros and cons of staying. At length, she silently nodded her head in agreement, feet gently touching the ground once more.

"Oh, being included on Red Team for this mission is just absolutely fantastic, Sarge!" Donut exclaimed happily in a voice that was way too excited and loud for what was supposed to be intel gathering, "I'm primed and ready to positively burst at any second!"

"Um, yes." Next to him, Doc blushed somewhat at Donut's colorful dialogue but nodded his head all the same in earnest agreement, "It is nice to be included!"

"Honestamente, podría importarme menos ya que Sheila está en Blue Team." {"I could honestly care less since Sheila is on Blue Team."}

When Sarge had discovered during the earlier mission briefing that Church had planned on splitting the group up into two different teams for the next phase of his superhero plan, he had downright insisted that his team be called Red Team for reasons that remained rather firmly rooted in his head despite curious prodding from everyone. If his wardrobe was anything to go, the older Special simply seemed to have a rather abnormally strong fondness for that particular color.

"That's right, Lopez!" Sarge said as he puffed up his chest proudly while listening to the others' dialogue, "Red Team is sure to triumph over those dastardly Blues!"

"...Esto ni siquiera es una puta competencia, ¿sabes?" {"…This isn't even a fucking competition, you know."}

The older man nodded his head at whatever it was that he thought his robotic creation had said before turning to face Richard "Dick" Simmons with a victorious grin suffusing his weathered features, "Darn straight! Isn't that right, Simmons?"

The maroon-wearing cyborg had only been partially paying attention to the conversation. He blinked at the sound of his own name and quickly shook his head to dispel the intrusive thoughts that had been circling so persistently all around him.

"Tha—that's right, sir!" Simmons hurriedly stated in agreement to whatever it was that Sarge had just said, pretty sure by the older man's tone that was what had been expected of him.

Sarge's wide grin of approval was enough to confirm that a moment later. Simmons couldn't help but feel gladdened at the sight, though that couldn't cover up the scoff that came from only a few meters away where Grif was standing.

"Suck-up." The tan-skinned Special in orange muttered under his breath.

Simmons promptly glared at him in turn, though the chubby man seemed infuriatingly indifferent to the gesture. Doc looked on at the exchange with a sort-of amused expression clouding over his bespectacled features before he turned to focus entirely on the redheaded cyborg with a slight tilt of his head.

"Are you doing all right, Simmons?" The purple-wearing man questioned, his tone laced with concern, "You've been a bit out of sorts since we got to Armonia."

All eyes were on him then, and the organic portions of Simmons' face started to heat up. He squirmed slightly in embarrassment for having been found out. "Oh! Um…yeah, I'm totally doing all right, Doc." He let out a nervous chuckle and inwardly hated how terrible he was when it came to trying to play things cool, "Everything's just great. Awesome, really."

"Eso fue doloroso de escuchar." {"That was just painful to hear."}

Simmons' attempts at diffusing the situation went about as well as he expected, given the continued scrutiny he was currently under. He fidgeted uncomfortably under the weight of everyone's combined gazes, green eyes peeled to the ground as he clamped his mouth tightly shut before he ended up embarrassing himself any further.

Simmons still caught sight of the all-too sympathetic glance that Donut threw his way before the dirty blond patted his stiff shoulder in what was no doubt meant to be a consoling gesture. Unfortunately, the action only made Simmons feel about ten times more flustered.

"Is it just me or is it really sort-of warm today?" Donut asked rather loudly to the others, evidently taking mercy on Simmons once his hand fell back to his side, "I don't know about you guys, but I totally wasn't expecting to get all hot and bothered outside like this!"

Despite the short circuit that his brain did at the pink-wearing man's remark, Simmons couldn't help but feel rather grateful for Donut's commentary all the same. He let out a relieved sigh now that the attention was off of him. But, even so, the constant knot of anxiety in the pit of his stomach continued to grow with every second that they remained on the upper levels.

He knew that it was understandable, really, given how he had escaped from Armonia before. But, Simmons couldn't help but feel frustrated by the growing sense of panic that continued to threaten to overwhelm him all the same. He glanced around at everything nervously again for what had to be the hundredth time at least, a tiny shudder escaping his body in the process.

"Here."

The redhead started again, jolted out of his thoughts once more by Grif's voice. He hadn't even heard the heavyset man approach, and he wondered just how long Grif had been standing there in front of him with an unreadable look plastered on his face as he waited for Simmons to finally take notice of his presence in his personal space bubble.

Grif continued to say nothing as he continued staring at Simmons for a moment longer than was comfortable. He finally let out a sigh and dropped his gaze down to the proffered objects he had been holding in his hands the entire time.

The orange-wearing man was carrying two paper cartons of what Simmons assumed must be coffee given the familiar café logo they were sporting. He blinked once more, shocked both by the gesture in the first place as well as the presence of the beverages themselves since he hadn't seen Grif leave the vicinity. Granted, it wasn't like he had been paying as much attention as he should have been given the location of the mission, but...

"Where did you get coffee from?" Simmons heard himself asking as his brain seemed to land on what it felt was the most potentially "safe" question to ask.

Grif smirked in response to his question, and Simmons immediately regretted asking it in the first place. "You'd be surprised at just how useful my ability can be." He informed the redhead in a rather smug, matter-of-fact tone.

Simmons both grit his teeth and rolled his eyes at the statement, "You…you can't just use your power on some innocent bystander to get you free coffee, Grif!" He scolded before he could stop himself.

"Ah, correction, Simmons." Grif was quick to shoot back with a positively gleeful twinkle in his brown eyes, "Some rich, innocent bystander."

Simmons' mouth gaped open like a fish's, and he quickly shut it as his mind began functioning enough again to form a semi-coherent argument as to why Grif shouldn't be so irresponsible. However, whatever sound commentary he was about to make completely floundered when Grif sighed and held out one of the coffee cups to his chest.

"Look, I'm trying to be nice here and it's a little out of my comfort zone, so would you just take this already?"

Simmons stared at Grif for a scrutinizing moment longer, noting that he did in fact appear a bit more awkward in this instance than his usually nonchalant demeanor would suggest. He felt oddly touched in a way at the thought, feeling his face heat up slightly as he shakily nodded his head in thanks and took the proffered beverage out of the other man's hand.

In order to try and cover up the oddly conflicting feelings he was experiencing just then, he quickly downed the whole cup in one long, scalding hot swallow—trying not to notice as Grif looked on while he did so, evidently impressed by…what, Simmons really had no fucking clue.

Instead of pondering Grif, Simmons tried to think about the current mission. Red Team had been scouting this general area of the city, but so far they hadn't seen or heard of anything remotely out of the ordinary despite Church's heated and rater loud insistence that this particular locale had been one of the spots that their apparent thieves had hit before.

"If you're looking for something specific, I'm afraid that you won't find very much." A feminine, rather cheerful voice spoke up from behind the clustered group just then, "Your data thieves are surprisingly good at covering their tracks."

"It's a surprise attack!" Sarge yelled out, fumbling for his shotgun, "Quick, Lopez! Make yourself useful and shield us while we prepare a counter-offensive. Or, better yet, throw Grif in front first!"

"Hey!" Grif remarked with only mild heat in his voice, already apparently used to the older man's oddly placed animosity towards him.

"Ambos planes serían ridículamente horribles si se tratara de un ataque real." {"Both of those plans would be ridiculously awful if this was an actual attack."}

"Coming in from the rear, huh?" Donut quipped, nodding his head as if he had just met a worthwhile adversary, "I can totally respect that."

Doc was looking between Red Team and their surprise visitor as if debating on which way to run if a fight should break out, while Simmons was still honestly in a state of utter disbelief that this was a way he might possibly die.

The newcomer, a dark-skinned woman with bobbed hair, was currently regarding all of them with a terribly amused expression on her face. She smiled brightly a second later and clapped her hands together as if she had just figured something monumental out while they were still trying to collect themselves.

"You must be the contacts that Tex told me to be on the lookout for, right?" The woman said with a distinct singsong quality to her voice as she continued beaming at them rather disconcertingly, "I'm Doctor Emily Grey, and do you mind if we had a seat somewhere?" There was a knowing glint in her sharp eyes following that particular question, "I have a feeling that there's a lot we need to discuss."

In another section of the city, the so-called (at Sarge's vehement insistence due to Red Team's apparently "obvious and vast" superiority) Blue Team was not having much luck in regards to their own intelligence gathering attempts.

Lavernius Tucker suspected that was largely due to their complete lack of social awareness skills. All things considered, he was pretty awesome in that regard. But he knew that he was maybe, just maybe, a tad distracted to be of much help right now, what with constantly checking his phone every five minutes to make sure that Jensen was still reporting everything to be fine at home. In his defense, he rarely ever went to the hoity-toity Armonia, one of the upper districts of the city. It felt like a whole other freaking country even if it was still technically part of Chorus.

Meanwhile, Kaikaina was pretty much content to hit on anything that so much as moved instead of doubling down and focusing on the task at hand. Okay, he totally could admit that he would be more than happy to do so as well, but that probably wasn't what Church had in mind when he had said to ask questions of the locals.

Whatever. It wasn't like the cobalt-wearing man was doing remotely better in that department of their investigation, unless sitting his ass down on a bench in front of the café they had claimed as their "mission headquarters" and glaring at anyone who remotely looked their way as if he could burn holes in them counted as asking questions. Which Tucker was fairly positive it didn't, in any fucking universe.

Caboose might actually end up stumbling onto something thanks in large part to his Special power, though currently the blond seemed content to remain close by Church's side since the man had actually neglected to give him any other task to do. Being outside of his element definitely threw Church a bit off his mark, no matter how much he might try to deny it.

That pretty much just left Sheila on point. And, as good as the Virtual Intelligence was, she was sort of limited in how much she could really physically do by being a hologram and all. Given that they didn't know exactly what pieces of tech would be helpful for her or Church to explore right now, she was sort-of stuck.

…So, yeah. Blue Team problems were kind of majorly dampening their style right now.

Tucker finally put his phone back in his pocket (yes, Jensen had assured him, Junior had finished his homework before asking if he could play his video games. She would keep him on his time table, no worries). He glanced over just as Church successfully convinced a couple to cross over to the other side of the street instead of meandering over to where Blue Team was sitting through the sheer power of his death-glare. Tucker guessed that the asshole was going to get them kicked out in about twenty minutes.

"Are you fucking positive that this part of town was hit, Church?" Tucker asked for what was no doubt the umpteenth time since they had gotten here.

His friend's eyebrow twitched in that way it always did when he was about to have a major freak-out. He could practically see Church counting to ten in his head when he closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before testily responding, "Yes, Tucker, Tex was pretty sure. If you want to take it up with her, be my fucking guest."

Tucker scoffed abruptly at the notion, "Uh, no thanks. I want for there to at least be a tiny chance for Junior to have a sibling in the future."

"However remote and miniscule that chance might be?" Church joked right back.

Tucker's oh-so-eloquent response was an upraised middle finger. Said it all, really.

His awesome reply was no doubt why Church pointedly ignored him to let out a frustrated sigh instead, "We just have to keep combing the area for clues."

"But, Church, what if one of us did not bring a comb?" Caboose whispered, visibly distraught as he leaned closer to Church to quietly inform him, "I am only asking because I think Tucker forgot his."

Tucker rolled his eyes.

"Maybe actually doing something and moving your asses might help a little, you know?" Kaikaina suggested as she made her way over to the bench with her hands on her hips, "Simply lying there is never as great as people think."

"Yeah, yeah…" Church said before pausing to grimace slightly a moment later, "Wait, what?"

"I mean, if you're trying to conserve your energy then I can sort-of understand. But that only really applies to group scenarios or when you're totally expecting to go all day, you know?" The younger Grif sibling continued with a slight nod of her head as if she was recollecting something, "But there's seriously all sorts of things you can try out that are way better, if you catch my drift."

"Fuck yeah!" Tucker exclaimed in response, grinning from ear to ear.

"I do not." Caboose said thoughtfully a moment later, "Are you talking about sports?"

"Staying active definitely helps." The yellow-wearing Special stated matter-of-factly, "How else do you expect to keep your grip on the tennis racket while hanging from a chandelier all night?"

Caboose's eyes went as wide as saucers then, and he turned excitedly to Church with a question already on his lips that the other man promptly cut off with an exasperated groan, "No. Never gonna happen, Caboose. You'd just fucking hurt yourself." He told him quickly, "Besides, she isn't talking about a game."

Caboose pouted despondently at the news, and Kaikaina made a face in Church's direction before speaking again, "Geeze, you're even more of a fucking killjoy than Dex is."

Church ignored her, now pouting himself probably due to the whole "killjoy" remark. Tucker, meanwhile, was making a quick mental note to ask Kaikaina more about the chandelier and tennis racket bit for, you know, potential future reference.

"Even if you currently weren't attempting to break your own brains with this conversation," an all-too familiar voice cut in just then, "I think it's highly doubtful that you'll find anything out here."

"Agent Washington!" Caboose exclaimed happily at his sudden appearance, waving him over exuberantly even as his trio of teammates groaned, "Over here!"

"Whoever this group is, they're at least competent enough to cover their tracks." The Freelancer carried on as he joined them, nodding slightly in way of greeting to Caboose in particular.

Tucker had nearly forgotten that Washington had insisted on running his own investigation alongside theirs. He rolled his eyes dramatically at the blond's reappearance, "Oh, good. The stalker's back."

The exasperated shout from Washington that followed was practically instantaneous, "I am not a stalker!"

"So are you a cop then?" Kaikaina quickly countered, narrowing her brown eyes at the older man in obvious suspicion.

A tired sigh followed as Washington's shoulders slumped, "Definitely not."

The girl continued to glare at him all the same. Washington shot a "save me" look Tucker's way, but his neighbor was far too amused to really try and help. Washington getting flustered was oddly charming in a way, considering how big and badass he always tried to be.

Church put his head in his hands and groaned while Caboose patted his shoulder comfortingly, "Now I almost wish that I was on Sarge's goddamned team." He muttered out between his fingers.

"Speaking of Red Team," and here they all started a bit when Sheila suddenly appeared out of nowhere, "According to Lopez, they may have just found our first lead."

Church's demeanor brightened considerably at the news, his posture straightening almost immediately, "Fucking finally!" He stood up abruptly and turned to Sheila again, no doubt about to ask the transparent brown-haired woman for more details.

"Washington? Tucker?" Someone called out at that exact moment in utter disbelief, "Church?"

All three men in question froze suddenly at the newcomer's readily familiar voice. Washington in particular looked oddly sheepish for being a supposed high and mighty Freelancer, and he seemed very surprised to see Tucker looking much the same when they caught one another's eye a moment later. Their reactions were nothing compared to the cobalt-wearing man's though, as Church looked as though he just realized that he had stepped out into a field of active landmines.

Which, to be fair, was probably rather accurate.

The cyan-wearing redhead who had spoken up took a step forward, the wind around them picking up sudden speed as she did so, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Tucker whistled despite his own sudden terror at how things were playing out, "Uh-oh. Looks like you've been busted, dude." He muttered over to Church, who glared his way with a look that could have burnt holes into him.

Church's big sister, on the other hand, continued to stare at them in shock and anger from where she was standing across the street next to an unknown dark-skinned woman. Judging from Carolina's green-eyed glare, the "burning holes" stare was hereditary.

All things considered, Tucker so wouldn't want to be in Church's shoes.

As it turned out, Emily Grey was a doctor at a nearby hospital here in Armonia.

"I was first approached by a trio of colorful individuals following a particularly grueling shift. Back-to-back emergency surgeries, hardly enough sedative to go around. You know how it is." She informed Red Team chipperly enough, taking a sip of tea from the cup that Doc had provided her with earlier.

Everyone around the café table glanced at one another. None of them, in fact, had any idea what that was like. Simmons had the distinct feeling no one wanted to know, either.

The group had settled at an outdoor café to listen to her story, Doc and Donut having been kind enough to get drinks for everyone even though Lopez only glared at his beverage as if it had personally affronted him. The robot seemed downright distraught at the notion that Donut might take it away though, causing the younger pink-wearing man to mutter something along the lines of "obviously conflicting feelings" to a Doc who merely nodded his head in understanding. Lopez's sigh in response was applause-worthy.

"Anyways," she carried on once it was apparent that none of them were going to interject any commentary of their own into her tale, "They claimed to be working for a group who described themselves as "benefactors" for Specials, and they asked to see any medical records we had related to cases involving them."

Doctor Grey set her cup down carefully, tapping its rim with her finger, "Naturally, that situation drew all sorts of alarm bells. Their request was rightly denied." Her lips pursed into a thoughtful frown, "Everyone on staff assumed the matter to be closed, only for those very same records to go inexplicably missing just a few weeks later."

Thievery of information directly related to Specials. Simmons shuddered slightly at the potential implications, looking over at Grif to see the chubby man frowning as well. When Grif noticed him looking his way, he raised a questioning eyebrow in Simmons' direction. The redhead quickly turned his head away, hoping the sudden heat on his cheeks wasn't too obvious visually at least.

"I had been doing my own bit of investigating into similar thefts since then, which is how I ran into Tex." Doctor Grey recounted, "As we seemed to be gathering intel on linked cases, we both figured that it would probably be prudent in the long run to work together."

Sarge let out a low whistle of appreciation, "Your tenacity is mighty impressive, little lady!"

Grey smiled, slight splotches of color momentarily darkening her cheeks, "I just can't let doctor-patient confidentiality violations slide."

"But what could they possibly want with the medical records of potential Specials?" Doc mused out loud contemplatively from his spot sitting rather close to Donut at their crowded table.

A heavy silence filled the air as the group quietly pondered over their own answers to that question. Simmons had a very large suspicion that they were all dwelling on less-than-pleasant scenarios. "Do you have any idea who these people might be, Doctor Grey?" He finally worked up the nerve to ask when he couldn't take the wholly horrific possibilities that his mind was making up anymore.

"I'm afraid not." Grey said as she shook her head regrettably, "They gave the hospital fake names."

Red Team's collective shoulders all slumped dejectedly at this latest development, feeling as though their first promising lead had ended up taking them nowhere.

The doctor in white and purple took in their disappointment and smiled encouragingly all the same, "But I can actually help you out still." When she was absolutely certain that her remark had caught their attention once more, she elaborated even further with an anticipatory gleam in her brown eyes, "After all, I know their next target's location."

Author's Notes: Who guessed that Kimball's mystery caller would end up being Carolina because I'm predictable like that? You get a virtual cookie if you did! XD Writing her and Grey into the story was rather fun. :)

I do believe this chapter contains the most innuendos by Donut in one update that I have ever written. Fun times, that. :) I maybe enjoy writing him and Kai's dialogue a tad too much. XD

Next time in Specials: Church gets a bit of a talking-to from Carolina; Washington can't really escape the "stalker" commentary EVER and has a rather enlightening convo with Carolina only to get surprised by Tucker; the Triplets think they may have gotten away scot-free again on their mission only to have some surprise reunions; plus, Grif is totally tired of fighting already and would tell you that he is no way at all sporting a massive crush on Simmons (denial!). XD

Thank you to everyone who reads this fic! I hope you enjoyed the update! :D