"Kara?" Nia's voice snapped the hero out of her thoughts and back to the present moment.
"Yes?" She replied, shaking her head slightly. The cub reporter was standing at Kara's desk in CatCo, holding a stack of papers, and looking slightly frazzled.
"I just had a dream flash," Nia said, lowering her voice. "I think it's related to the lab that you raided with the DEO."
"What did you see?" Kara demanded, sitting up in her chair.
"Not much, it was pretty choppy. But I got an address: 138 Cypress Street."
"I'll tell Alex," Kara replied, opening up her phone and calling her sister.
"What's up?" Alex asked, directly upon picking up.
"Can you get Brainy to find 138 Cypress Street?" Kara said. "Nia had a dream flash and thinks it has something to do with Selah and the lab."
"I am on it." Brainy's voice came distantly from the background. After a moment, there was a shuffling sound, and Alex made a indignant noise as Kara assumed Brainy took her phone. "It is in the warehouse district, two blocks away from where we first found Selah."
"I'm setting up a strike team," Alex said, taking her phone back from Brainy. "Meet us there in fifteen minutes?"
"I'll be there."
"Was it any good?" Nia asked, as Kara hung up the phone.
"We're going to go in and check it out. Do you want to come along?"
"Andrea wants me to rewrite some articles and I'm already pushing to make her deadline. Let me know if anything interesting happens, though."
"Will do."
Ten minutes later, Alex's strike team arrived at 138 Cypress Street. The warehouse was nearly identical to the first building that they found Selah in; two stories, painted black, and studded with broken windows. Kara soared in and landed next to Alex as she finished organizing the strike team into position.
"On my mark," she said quietly, signalling to the other agents. "Move in." Kara kicked in the door, and the agents poured into the room, weapons up. It was pitch black in the building, and uncomfortably warm. Alex squinted, trying to make out shapes in the darkness.
"Kara, can you see anything?" she asked, as her sister came to her side.
"Um," Kara answered, turning her head. "I see..." she trailed off. "Oh Rao."
"What is it?" Alex pressed. She had barely finished speaking before the fluorescent overhead lights kicked on, momentarily blinding her. As the spots cleared from her vision, she looked around the room. Nothing seemed out of place upon first glance. Then she noticed the bodies on the floor. There were fifteen of them, neatly lying face up in rows of five, and staring emptily up at the ceiling, each with a bullet hole directly in the center of their forehead. Alex's whole body went cold, despite the heat in the building.
"Are they-" she began, already fearing the answer. Kara nodded stiffly.
"They're all dead." She whispered. The agents stood still for a second, taking in the gravity of the situation.
"Check the whole building for anyone else, dead or alive." Alex ordered. The agents all began moving out through the building. She crossed to the nearest body- a woman who she recognized from the dashboard camera footage they found weeks ago.
"Who did this to you?" She murmured. Nova offered no response.
"Ma'am?" Vasquez asked. Alex turned to see the agent, who was holding a note in a gloved hand. "We found this taped up on the far wall in front of the bodies." She held it out for Alex to see. On it, in swooping red letters was written:
A gift for you
From The Agenda
"Bag it up." Alex ordered. Vasquez turned away, and the director looked to her sister, who was still standing by the entrance.
"They're still warm." Kara said quietly. "Whoever did this must have just left."
"Do you think that there's a chance that they're still in the building?" Kara shook her head slowly.
"I scanned it already. No one else is here besides our agents." Alex took a deep breath, thinking as her agents began to regroup together, having finished the search.
"Brainy?" She asked, activating her comm.
"Present," he replied.
"Send out a recon team to this location to scour it for any DNA. Tell them that when they are done they should call the police and get them to process the bodies."
"Right away," he replied.
"Move out," Alex said to her team. She waited for the other agents to file out of the building before leaving hastily, needing a break from the stifling heat and the blank stares of the corpses.
"So the only survivors of our original list were these three?" Alex asked, looking at the list of names and faces in front of her. She, Brainy, and Kara were cross identifying the bodies from the warehouse with the images of the agents that Selah had given them. The two Directors and a doctor were the only ones that had not been found in the warehouse.
"Correct. As well as the third Director who we do not yet have a visual for," Brainy replied.
"Ma'am?" An agent asked, going up to Alex. "The recon team was unable to find any evidence at the scene, DNA or otherwise."
"Nothing?" Alex repeated, her voice frustrated. "Not a single strand of hair, or a fingerprint? In the whole building?"
"I'm sorry." The agent replied. "However, they were able to determine that all of the victims were shot simultaneously, and that we arrived on the scene roughly five to ten minutes after they were killed. We also believe that the bodies were not shot where we found them, but were placed there after the shooting, as there was no blood found anywhere on the first floor."
"So they were killed somewhere else?" Alex asked.
"Yes. Likely on the second floor, there was still no blood, but we found gunpowder residue there."
"So whoever did this shot fifteen people simultaneously, moved all the bodies, mopped the floors, and left within ten minutes?" Kara asked, incredulous.
"That's what our evidence suggests," the agent said.
Kara angrily pushed her hair off her forehead and turned away from the desk, as Brainy and Alex continued questioning the agent and going over the images. She tipped her head upwards and stared at the ceiling, trying to tune out the voices around her. No matter how hard they worked and how much they did, this group- The Agenda- seemed to be just beyond them, just out of reach. It reminded her of CADMUS, with all the violence and mystery. They had checked to make sure that Lillian and CADMUS weren't behind all of this again, but she was safely in prison. A truth seeker had verified that she had no idea what this group was, and that she wasn't involved.
Taking a deep breath, Kara lowered her head again. She noticed Selah standing quietly on the balcony, and decided to join her. They had told Selah about the raid and what they had found as soon as they returned, but the girl was as unreadable as ever, showing no external reaction to the news. Kara didn't quite know how she would expect her to respond to the situation, whether she'd be relieved or scared or angry or some combination of them all, but she was certain that the girl's mind was still reeling with the news.
"I want to see my aunt," Selah said, her back still to Kara as she approached.
"Okay," Kara replied. She leaned on the railing of the balcony as the girl continued to speak.
"She deserves to know what's going on. The Directors are still out there, and they're clearly not afraid to hurt or kill people." Selah's face was serious as she turned to look at Kara, and her voice was quiet. "I don't want her to get hurt because of me."
"We can go over to Noonan's tomorrow." Kara put an arm around the girl's shoulders. "We won't let anything happen to her, I promise."
"I appreciate that Kara, but-" Selah hesitated. "You don't know that you can keep that promise."
The next morning, as promised, Kara went to Noonan's with Selah. The girl was not nearly as lively as the last time they had left the DEO, but Kara still felt a wave of energy rush out from her as they walked out the door.
"Sorry," Selah said, smiling ruefully as Kara shivered.
"You have got to learn to get a handle on that," Kara said, smiling back despite herself.
"I'm just keeping you on your toes."
"How are you feeling?" Kara asked gently, glancing over at Selah as they began walking to the cafe. "You seemed pretty shaken up the last time you saw your aunt."
"I'm okay, I think," Selah answered, scrunching up her face. "I was mostly just caught off guard before. Now that I know I'm going to see her, I'm alright with it." She was quiet for a few moments before adding, "I missed her."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." She kicked a pebble into the street. "My mom was an alcoholic when I was a kid, so even when she was around, she was never very consistent. Living with my aunt was the first time anything was really stable in my life."
"I'm sorry," Kara said.
"Don't be. I'm done with apologizing for my mother's bad choices." The girl was silent for the next few blocks, and the closer they got to Noonan's, the more fidgety she became.
"Hey," Kara said, as they walked up to the door, and the girl began cracking her knuckles for the fourth time. "You don't have to do this if you don't want to. I can tell her for you, or Alex can."
"No," Selah replied. "I want to do it." Kara opened the door, and Selah entered the cafe. It was soon after opening, so there were only a few customers in the store, and Selah's aunt was behind the counter as they walked in. She was a tall woman, with dark red hair, broad shoulders, and the same greyish-green eyes as Selah.
"Just a moment please, I'll be right with you," she said, not looking up. Her voice was soft, and had a slight lilt, similar to a French accent. Selah cleared her throat, rubbing her hands together nervously, and the woman finally looked up, slightly irritated. "I said-" she began, but she trailed off in shock upon seeing the girl.
"Hi, Aunt Lea," Selah said quietly.
"Heather," Selah's aunt said, turning to another waitress. "I am taking my break, can you cover the till?" The other woman opened her mouth to protest, but Selah's aunt was already taking off her apron and moving out from behind the counter to go to her niece. She put a hand on the girl's cheek in disbelief, and smiled sadly.
"I thought you were dead," she said quietly. "I looked for you everywhere I could when you were first gone, and I begged your mother to tell me everything that she knew but she would not. By the time she told me, it was too late. Still, I kept trying for years to get you back." She dropped her hand down to her side. "I am so sorry I didn't do more for you, my dear Selah."
"I'm going to go for a walk," Kara said, excusing herself. "Call me if you need anything?"
"Okay," Selah replied. Her aunt led her to a table, and they sat down across from each other.
"Last week, I thought I sensed an Andromedan here but convinced myself I was wrong. It was you?"
"Yes."
"You didn't come inside," she said, a twinge of sadness in her voice. "I cannot say I blame you."
"I wasn't expecting to see you. I was overwhelmed, I suppose."
"Why did you come now?"
"I have something to tell you." Lea tilted her head, her eyes concerned. "The people who took me, they call themselves The Agenda. They're still out there, and I'm afraid they're going to try to get me back. I don't want you to get hurt because they want me."
"If they come for me, I will not tell them where you are," Lea replied, her voice heavy.
"I know." Selah bit her lip, and looked down at the table, studying the wood grain. "My mother?" she asked.
"She is... around. She comes by my apartment sometimes. Never sober. She hasn't been the same since we lost you." Lea hesitated before asking, "Do you-?"
"No." Selah replied evenly. "I don't want to see her." She looked up to meet her aunt's eyes. "Don't tell her you saw me, please."
"Of course." Lea scanned her niece's face, still in disbelief. "You have grown up so much. Thank you for coming to see me."
"I missed you."
"I missed you too. Every day." Angry tears welled up in the woman's eyes. "I should have never let her take you from me, I should have protected you."
"It wasn't your fault."
"Lea," The other waitress said pointedly from the till. "The morning rush will be coming in soon." Lea sighed heavily.
"I will be right there," she said sharply. Pulling out her notepad, she ripped off a piece of paper and scribbled something down on it. "This is where I live," she said, handing it to Selah. "You are welcome whenever you need. I wasn't there for you when you needed me. I will be now."
"Thank you." Selah replied, taking the paper.
"I love you, my dear niece."
"I love you too." Standing up from the table, Lea pulled Selah into a tight hug, until the other waitress cleared her throat loudly.
"I'm sorry, I have to go. Come in any time, I'll give you free sticky buns and coffee whenever you want."
"Okay," Selah said, smiling. Lea put a hand on the girl's cheek again, before going back behind the counter.
"Thank you," Lea repeated, putting on her apron.
"Of course." Selah replied. "I'll come back."
"Good." Her aunt smiled apologetically, and Selah turned to leave, following the trail of Kara's thoughts until she found the reporter sitting on a bench with a hot chocolate.
"Hey!" Kara exclaimed, standing up as she approached. "How'd everything go?"
"She said that I can have free sticky buns for life," Selah offered.
"So amazingly?" Kara asked.
"It... it was good."
"Good."
"Kara, I need to tell you some things about my mom," Selah began, but Kara's phone rang before she could finish.
"Hang on, sorry." Kara said, answering the phone. "Alex, what's up?" she paused. "Okay, I'll be there in five." She hung up and turned back to Selah.
"DEO calls, sorry, we have to head back."
"Okay." Selah replied. "I don't suppose we have time to get me one of those hot chocolates?"
"Sorry, kiddo."
"I'm never giving you any of my free sticky buns." Selah grinned as Kara gasped in feigned horror.
"Sorry, what were you saying before Alex called?" she asked, after she was done clutching at her chest dramatically
"It wasn't important."
.
.
.
